Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Eh, that’s media spin. biden’s health is fine and he’s doing a good job.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

The willow is too close to the house.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

T R E 4 5 O N

Bark louder, little dog.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

I really should read my own blog.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

You are here: Home / Popular Culture / Turkeys Away

Reader Interactions

55Comments

  1. 1.

    rob!

    do you think all the supers will announce the morning of June 4 in a group, or spread it out over the day, letting a big name Dem–Pelosi, Reid, Gore, etc–be the one SD that puts Obama over the top?

  7. 7.

    Josh

    WKRP…one of the most funny and under-appreciated shows ever. My favorite episode was the one where Venus and Johnny do shots with the state trooper on air to demonstrate how alcohol impairs reaction times and Johnny actually starts getting sharper and quicker the more he drinks. That and Jan Smithers was infinitely hotter than Lonnie Anderson. I just wish TV Land would show it.

  8. 8.

    SnarkyShark

    That

    and Jan Smithers was infinitely hotter than Lonnie Anderson

    Yep. That 80s poofy hair and get-up is sooooo hot.

    And I am such a fossil.

  10. 10.

    Karmakin

    As an aside (can you have an aside in an open thread?) The guys over at Penny Arcade, in order to advertise their new game (it’s actually really good.) are using banner ads with quotes from a rather..widespread anti-PA troll.

    Made of win.

    Good way to advertise this site really, if you think about it.

  11. 11.

    Josh

    Yep. That 80s poofy hair and get-up is sooooo hot.

    Yeah, that whole being married to Burt Reynolds thing was kinda unsexy too.

  12. 12.

    Mary

    OK, Krista, when did Nova Scotia become the 51st state? It sounds as if you can see Hulu while I can’t.

    /pouts

    But, yeah, what she said about the hair and the jeans. Especially the jeans.

  13. 13.

    SnarkyShark

    Yeah, that whole being married to Burt Reynolds thing was kinda unsexy too.

    Actually I was drooling over Jan Smithers. Loni Anderson always looked kind of fake to me. Like in a “if she sneezed too hard her face would fall off” kind of way. And shacking up with Burt didn’t help at all.

    Me and the buds always discussed Jan and Loni the same way as Mary Ann and Ginger got discussed.

    Looking back on it, I am sure that is where is became a vile misygonist(tm) and sexist and a sufferer of Clinton Derangement Syndrome. If only I had known.

    In my defense though, I always picked Mary Ann and Jan Smithers.

  14. 14.

    nightjar

    Well it seems we’ve got a new Obama gaffe to bounce around in the wingnut-sphere. Woe is me, Obama says Sunshine in the city of Sunrise, FL. Damned eilist.

    From the ever vigilant Sundries Shack of fools.

    SUNRISE, Fla. — At first, it seemed as if Barack Obama might just be speaking figuratively, as is his wont sometimes. “How’s it going, Sunshine? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you everybody. It’s good to be in Sunshine!” Obama declared on taking the stage this afternoon for a rally at the BankAtlantic Arena in Broward County, Fla., just west of Ft. Lauderdale.

    Obama, who often comments admiringly on the climate and regional aura of his various destinations, may simply have been evoking the warmth of the Sunshine State, which he campaigned in for the first time this week after staying away for months to observe the Democratic Party’s primary ban against the state. Or perhaps it was a term of endearment, similar to his recent (and later regretted) use of “sweetie” in speaking to a woman reporter.

    But then he said it again, and again — “When we are unified sunshine, nobody can stop us!” — and it became clear: Obama thought he was in Sunshine, Fla. But he was not. He was in Sunrise, the name given to this particular swath of South Florida palm trees, bungalows and outlet stores.

  16. 16.

    SnarkyShark

    From the ever vigilant Sundries Shack of fools.

    Yeah, that’s gonna be the talk of the town this weekend.

    Not

  17. 17.

    Bey

    OMG that’s gonna throw a monkey wrench in the whole election! Imagine getting Sunrise and Sunshine mixed up – clearly he can’t be trusted to lead the nation. The man’s a fool! A fool I say!

    In other news, paint continues to dry.

    Thanks for the great WKRP episode. Was there ever a better line than “As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”?

  18. 18.

    Genine

    I watched WKRP a little bit when I was little, but that’s about it. But watching that made me remember other 80’s shows I used to watch, including G.L.O.W. It made me nostalgic and so I am watching some clips online.

    I loved that show when I was a kid and seeing it now- its just funny.

    Hollywood and Vine still crack me up, though. And I’m woman enough to admit it!

  19. 19.

    nightjar

    Not

    Well you can’t blame the wingnuts for trying, although you can certainly mock them for same. And Memerandum did pick it up.

  20. 20.

    SnarkyShark

    Well you can’t blame the wingnuts for trying,

    Dude, they’re phoning it in. I have seen the coordinated attack to portray Obama as a gaff machine. They are getting about as much traction as a Hummer on an ice rink.

    Nobody likes Republicans. The Republicans don’t even like Republicans. You just can’t trust em.

  22. 22.

    SnarkyShark

    John two-timed us and went fishing at LGM. In response he got this

    And fuck you right back to you and your whiney ass tittie baby pants shitting tirades on your piece of shit blog. Your had more and better insights as a wingnut.

    from some creature named Naked Lunch.

    Did one of you rowdy types act uncivil to this person?

    For shame, you should go over there and apologize forthwith.

    Be nice, and no unnecessary snark.

    Oh wait, I forgot where I was.

    Never mind.

  23. 23.

    nightjar

    I was living in Cincinnati during the time it ran 78-82. It ram on Saturday nights when I was usually bar hopping on MT Adams, and most of the bars had TV’s with a crowd huddled around hanging on every word. Aw, the good old days.

  24. 24.

    Brachiator

    Bey Says:

    OMG that’s gonna throw a monkey wrench in the whole election! Imagine getting Sunrise and Sunshine mixed up – clearly he can’t be trusted to lead the nation. The man’s a fool! A fool I say!

    John McCain said that this proved that Obama is too inexperienced to be commander-in-chief because the Sunshiners are Sunni while the Sunrisers are Shia.

  25. 25.

    Krista

    OK, Krista, when did Nova Scotia become the 51st state? It sounds as if you can see Hulu while I can’t.

    /pouts

    But, yeah, what she said about the hair and the jeans. Especially the jeans.

    Strange, I was getting a message awhile ago saying that it was only available in the U.S. But when I came back tonight from supper and looked, it now lets me play it. Perhaps we were assimilated while I was eating my clams & fries?

    And yeah….Andy in his tight jeans. Rowr. I’d had crushes on adolescent pretty boys up until then, but this was the first time I’d focused on something besides just the face. I think he kick-started my puberty.

  26. 26.

    UNK

    In my office to this day several employees have Les Nessman walls around their desks.

    “As God is my witness…” What a classic Line!

    It could be changed now to be, ” As God is my witness, I thought Republicans could bounce.”

    Sunrise, Sunshine. Who cares? He wasn’t going to get many votes there anyway.

  27. 27.

    nightjar

    And yeah….Andy in his tight jeans. Rowr. I’d had crushes on adolescent pretty boys up until then, but this was the first time I’d focused on something besides just the face. I think he kick-started my puberty.

    LOL/ Wrestling matches in the back seat of my Camaro got mine started.

  28. 28.

    b. hussein canuckistani

    If I could bring back 2 shows from the dead, they would be WKRP and Barney Miller.
    Yeah, I always thought Bailey was hotter too.

  29. 29.

    Krista

    I have yet to meet even one man who thought that Jennifer was hotter than Bailey.

  30. 30.

    nightjar

    I have yet to meet even one man who thought that Jennifer was hotter than Bailey

    Old Republicans, maybe. Beauty and the cool name Bailey Quarters. Nolo contendre.

  31. 31.

    Wilfred

    I wonder why people in Canada can see whatever is leading this thread.

    I see a black box with white letters saying: We’re sorry, currently our video library can only be streamed within the United States…

    It’s official then – Canada is part of the US.

  32. 32.

    Damned at Random

    My all time favorite theme songs are WKRP, Cheers, Greatest American Hero and Monk. I love Les Nessman

  33. 33.

    Dennis - SGMM

    Thanks for the great WKRP episode. Was there ever a better line than “As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”?

    I would submit Court Clerk MacIntosh’s (Charles Robinson)in “Night Court.” Judge Stone was infatuated with an attractive female judge and when they went into chambers, MacIntosh answered a query with, “When they’re done adjudicating each other.”

  34. 34.

    Conservatively Liberal

    Dude, they’re phoning it in. I have seen the coordinated attack to portray Obama as a gaff machine. They are getting about as much traction as a Hummer on an ice rink covered in axle grease and teflon-coated ball bearings.

    Improved.

    Bailey it was for me. Loni was just ‘too blonde’ and those teeth were just scary. ;) My favorite ‘broadcaster’ was Les, who always seemed a bit neurotic, Arthur was hilarious with his straight-man stupidity and domineering mother, Herb was great for laughs as the typical sleazy sales guy, but I think the funniest guy was Dr. Johnny Fever. Other than the first two episodes (format change to rock), the turkey drop was one of the most memorable episodes.

  35. 35.

    Phoenix Woman

    The turkeys episode was perfect.

    I also loved the one where Bert Parks played the old guy in the plaid sports coat and white belt and shoes showed up and said “Hi there, Jennie-Poo.”

    Jennifer stared at the man in horror. “No… it can’t be…” she whispered.

    “Yes, it is, Jennie-Poo. Herbert R. Tarlek, SENIOR.”

  36. 36.

    Bey

    Wasn’t there an episode where it is revealed that Jennifer is part of a cabal of blonde receptionists that secretly run everything?

    And I loved the Hoyt Axton episode too.

  37. 37.

    Warren Terra

    WKRP, Cheers…ah the days when TV was good.

    I dunno; I watch most of my TV through Netflix, but I had the strong impression there’s a helluva lot of really good TV these days, especially if you like drama (The Wire), Science Fiction (new Dr. Who, BSG), or News Commentary (the Daily Show, the Colbert Report).

    I will concede that these appear to be profoundly grim days for sitcoms.

    On a completely different and more political note, I’d just like to point to a couple of recent posts from an on-fire August Pollak, on why Talklefters’ position on Michigan is counterfactual, not merely unjust, on why the so-called ‘dream ticket’ should be called the ‘shotgun ticket’, and especially his post on a recent nonsensical attempt to promote the shotgun ticket by Sen. Feinstein.

  38. 38.

    the other Steve

    John was looking for a sex scandal and I saw something about a Baptist minister going after a teenage girl just now on the news

  40. 40.

    Beej

    I remember watching the turkey episode the first time it ran on network tv. I laughed so hard my stomach muscles hurt for days afterward. There are so many wonderful moments in that one it’s hard to focus on just one, but, yes, “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.” is hard to beat.

  41. 41.

    Screamin' Demon

    I have yet to meet even one man who thought that Jennifer was hotter than Bailey.

    Gary Sandy must have thought so; he was knocking boots with her on a near-daily basis during the run of the series.

    Or so says E! True Hollywood Story.

    Not that I would know, I mean, I never, you know, watch, ahem, shows like that…

  42. 42.

    Lavocat

    Another favorite is the payola episode where Dr. Johnny Fever had Arthur believing that the cocaine was really foot powder, ultimately leading to Arthur freaking out when he finds out the truth.

    Funny, my parents always thought it was odd that I somehow knew what cocaine looked like. They seemed to keep their eyes on me a lot more after that episode.

  45. 45.

    joel hanes

    In my own heaven, Dr. Johnny Fever is the music director.

    Because the RIAA is a big doody-head, reruns of WKRP must
    pay separate royalties on the music, so in reruns the music is all different and inferior to the original.

    Yes, Night Court.

    I’m surprised no one has mentioned Taxi.
    Andy Kaufman as Latka, and Christopher Lloyd as Jim; Merilu Henner was teh hott, and Danny DeVito incomparable.
    Karol Kane as Latka’s girlfriend Simka.

    And in any list of immortal lines from TV-land,
    I nominate

    “It is the way of my people.”

    “Whhaaaaaat dooooeeeess aaaa yellllooowww liiiiiighht meeeeaaan?”

  46. 46.

    Warren Terra

    Boo, Clip only showing in USA.

    I’d happily forego my ability to access NBC’s back catalog of sitcoms if I had your ability to access the BBC’s iPlayer video streams …

  47. 47.

    Conservatively Liberal

    “Whhaaaaaat dooooeeeess aaaa yellllooowww liiiiiighht meeeeaaan?”

    In Washington state, a yellow light means “FLOOR IT!“.

    No joke.

  48. 48.

    wvng

    Bey:

    Was there ever a better line than “As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”?

    No, never. And never a better, more exquisitely played 20 minute setup for a punch line. I’m with beej:

    I remember watching the turkey episode the first time it ran on network tv. I laughed so hard my stomach muscles hurt for days afterward.

    Yep, and this morning too.

    Thank you John!

  49. 49.

    Rick Taylor

    You cynical folk who predicted Hillary would play the victim a day or so after her remarks? Well, you called it.

    . . .
    I realize that any reference to that traumatic moment for our nation can be deeply painful – particularly for members of the Kennedy family, who have been in my heart and prayers over this past week. And I expressed regret right away for any pain I caused.

    But I was deeply dismayed and disturbed that my comment would be construed in a way that flies in the face of everything I stand for – and everything I am fighting for in this election.

    And today, I would like to more fully answer the question I was asked: Why do I continue to run, even in the face of calls from pundits and politicians for me to leave this race?

    I am running because I still believe I can win on the merits. Because, with our economy in crisis, our nation at war, the stakes have never been higher – and the need for real leadership has never been greater – and I believe I can provide that leadership.

    I am not unaware of the challenges or the odds of my securing the nomination – but this race remains extraordinarily close, and hundreds of thousands of people in upcoming primaries are still waiting to vote. As I have said so many times over the course of this primary, if Sen. Obama wins the nomination, I will support him and work my heart out for him against John McCain. But that has not happened yet.

    I am running because I believe staying in this race will help unite the Democratic Party. I believe that if Sen. Obama and I both make our case – and all Democrats have the chance to make their voices heard – in the end, everyone will be more likely to rally around the nominee.

    .

  50. 50.

    PeterJ

    You cynical folk who predicted Hillary would play the victim a day or so after her remarks? Well, you called it.

    I would say since it’s all really over, the further she digs into the ground, the further away she will be from the White House.

    So, this is good news.

  52. 52.

    phoebes in santa fe

    Oh dear God, I’d forgotten TV writing could be so good! I’m sitting here with tears of laughter falling down my face.

    And speaking of WKRP, does anyone remember the episode done after the panic riot in Cincinnati at a rock concert (I forget who the band was)? It was not a comedic episode and spotlighted the problems with “festival seating”.

  53. 53.

    Conservatively Liberal

    I realize that any reference to that traumatic moment for our nation can be deeply painful – particularly for members of the Kennedy family, who have been in my heart and prayers over this past week. And I expressed regret right away for any pain I caused.

    Shorter Hillary: ‘Better never than late with any apology.

    But I was deeply dismayed and disturbed that my comment would be construed in a way that flies in the face of everything I stand for – and everything I am fighting for in this election.

    Since she is ‘deeply dismayed and disturbed‘, that her comment ‘would be construed in a way that flies in the face of everything I stand for‘, she should have a good explanation why this is so.

    And today, I would like to more fully answer the question I was asked: Why do I continue to run, even in the face of calls from pundits and politicians for me to leave this race?

    I am running because I still believe I can win on the merits. Because, with our economy in crisis, our nation at war, the stakes have never been higher – and the need for real leadership has never been greater – and I believe I can provide that leadership.

    I am not unaware of the challenges or the odds of my securing the nomination – but this race remains extraordinarily close, and hundreds of thousands of people in upcoming primaries are still waiting to vote. As I have said so many times over the course of this primary, if Sen. Obama wins the nomination, I will support him and work my heart out for him against John McCain. But that has not happened yet.

    I am running because I believe staying in this race will help unite the Democratic Party. I believe that if Sen. Obama and I both make our case – and all Democrats have the chance to make their voices heard – in the end, everyone will be more likely to rally around the nominee.

    Hold it. Where is the explanation? She sure pivots from being ‘dismayed and disturbed’ right back into campaign spin without hesitation. If that is being ‘deeply dismayed and disturbed‘, then she sure does a poor job of acting like it is or explaining why it is so.

    In fact, she offers no explanation. Just more campaign crap that only her hard core fans will be stupid enough to swallow. Sorry Hillary, no sale. What you said the other day stands, and you still have not clearly apologized to anyone other than the Kennedy family, “if” you offended them.

    In fact, I am hearing rumblings that you may have more to worry about than just this incident.

    Good. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving person.

  54. 54.

    Josh

    And speaking of WKRP, does anyone remember the episode done after the panic riot in Cincinnati at a rock concert (I forget who the band was)? It was not a comedic episode and spotlighted the problems with “festival seating”.

    It was a Who concert.

  55. 55.

    Joe M

    I’ve only found this blog recently, and I have to say I like it more and more everyday …. the flying turkeys is one of my favorite tv episodes in history- so this just seals the deal.

    It’s one of 3 things I’ve seen on TV that always makes me laugh – along with Letterman’s Monkey Cam and Robin Williams impersonating Elmer Fudd singing Springsteen onthe tonight Show.

    this is a kick ass blog.

Comments are closed.