Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

This blog will pay for itself.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

The lights are all blinking red.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

I really should read my own blog.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

You cannot shame the shameless.

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Reader Interactions

121Comments

  1. 1.

    liberatemeiexinfernis

    i need to get married…am 30 yrs old and doing nothing but surfing the web. I am gonna end up as one of those fat guys u see on TV on the couch with the remote and a can of beer.

  2. 2.

    liberatemeiexinfernis

    btw, I am almost beginning to wonder if Obama campaign and those of us voting for Obama should take bait and get all upset with the game Republicans are playing..the whole anti American and red baiting game they are playing, ie accusing Demcrats of sleeping with Bin Laden and all…they want us on their turf because thats when they play best and dirty…they are hoping Democrats scream racism, which will rile up all the working class white folks even more.

    we need to focus on the economy ..with Huff Po and Daily Kos screaming racism in their headlines, we are just fallin into the GOP trap

  4. 4.

    Comrade Stuck

    i need to get married…am 30 yrs old and doing nothing but surfing the web. I am gonna end up as one of those fat guys u see on TV on the couch with the remote and a can of beer.

    And who says marriage will prevent that. It’s a roll of the dice. Come up snake eyes and you’ll be wishing for the good ole days. Of course, it could work out and after all the hard work, you’ll still die.

  5. 5.

    mgordon

    ie accusing Demcrats of sleeping with Bin Laden and all

    You should see the mailers we’re getting in Missouri.

  6. 6.

    LiberalTarian

    Well, they are in fact being racist.

    But, you are right. The economy is where the votes are.

    You wonder though … lots of folks are voting Democratic this year. Does the GOP really think that calling people un-American for voting Democratic scores them any points with people? I mean, I know that when the spell is broken (great Richard Thompson song) it stays broken, but don’t they realize they do themselves more damage in the long run exposing their seamy, flea-bitten, bigoted underbelly?

  7. 7.

    Soylent Green

    It’s 2009. How can President Palin use the powers of her office to hasten the Rapture?
     
    I’m being serious. These end timers who crave political power must have some idea how they would shape events in the world to conform to biblical prophecy. I’ve never been a Christian so am not up on what they’re looking for. Help me out here.

  8. 8.

    Darcy

    Apropos of nothing, the longer this campaign goes on, the more I think most people in this country would be better informed if they took 1/10 the time they spent in (any) church and watched Reading Rainbow instead. That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it.

  9. 9.

    Comrade Stuck

    I used to religiously watch John Mcglaughlin every week on PBS. He’s become such an anti- Obama wanker I won’t anymore. Tonight He and wingnut Buchanan and Nixon Groupie Monica Crawly were going on about whether Obama is a Marxist liberal democrat, or a socialist democrat marxist leftist, or whatever. Poor Eleanor Clift was trying point out the stupid but was shouted down by these RW shit slingers. IE Obama’s progressive tax plan is the stuff of socialism ergo Obama socialist. Idiots.

  10. 10.

    BlizzardOfOz

    liberate & mgorden-
    That’s funny. I’m almost 29 and doing the same thing. We should all form a "so uh wtf are we supposed to be doing" 2 5ths life crisis group.

  11. 11.

    liberatemeiexinfernis

    @LiberalTarian

    don’t they realize they do themselves more damage in the long run exposing their seamy, flea-bitten, bigoted underbelly?

    I dont know, Liberaltarian, the culture wars worked pretty well for the GOP in 2004, and even 2000..in fact it has worked for them since Reagans time and Newt Gingrich and Rove did their part in perfecting this art. I have people in my office who tell they wont vote for Obama because he is a baby killer, their own stocks and money market funds be damned. I know the all of GOP voters are not like that, but I think the American people are still pretty freaked out with 9/11 and they are still willing to see what McCain has to offer, and if McCain wasnt screwing up so bad he would trouncing Obama in the polls, no what matter where the economy is heading

  13. 13.

    Comrade Stuck

    And it’s curious that both of my comments put in moderation. The first is out, but not the second. Have used this same handle many times.

  16. 16.

    Conservatively Liberal

    And it’s curious that both of my comments put in moderation. The first is out, but not the second. Have used this same handle many times.

    It’s the new spam algorithm, I think John calls it Moderation Roulette.

    ;)

  21. 21.

    liberatemeiexinfernis

    @Comrade Stuck

    Regd McLaughlin group, my sentiments exactly. I don’t know about you, but I started suspecting McLaughlin was harping on Obama the min he began getting ahead of Hillary. Almost every line he said was pro-Hillary. Hardly one positive thing about Obama. Even Buchanan has better things to say about Obama than McLaughlin. needless, i dont watch his show anymore. and if I do, I tune out everyone else’s comments except that of Eleanor Clift. Maybe McLaughlin is turning out to be one of those liberals who expect praise for any good liberal minded activity they do to the "poor souls"

    @BlizzardOfOz: Maybe we should form a group. Im running out of ideas :)

  23. 23.

    LiberalTarian

    Changing your email addy also prompts the moderation filter.

    Really, considering at least you don’t have to register to comment, I think it is pretty tame. And, he seems pretty quick on the moderation … I think we should give him a break.

  24. 24.

    LiberalTarian

    Giving a real non-bogus email addy. Might as well use the real one, I doubt I’ll ever be contacted. :)

  26. 26.

    Soylent Green

    Well, I could see her giving birth to the Anti-Christ but I don’t think that’s what you have in mind.

    No, I want to know what she would do vis-a-vis Russia and the middle east if she believed she could get the Revelation gears turning.
     
    Anybody? Bueller?

  27. 27.

    nicethugbert

    Well, there we have it Separatist, i.e. America Hater, Todd Palin let’s his terrorist sympathizer freak flag fly.

  29. 29.

    steelhead

    Be happy that he is being picky about the food. I had to E&C my 14 year old cat yesterday and it was one of the hardest things I ever had to face. It is so true that our pets are like close family members and it is so very hard to let go .

  30. 30.

    RoonieRoo, dontcha know

    What did you change Tunch too? You do need to switch kitties gradually to new food. A dog can go a day or so on food strike and it’s okay but cats shouldn’t. If they drop weight too fast on a food strike it is dangerous to their livers and can lead to fatty liver disease.

    This is a fantastic site on cat nutrition and it has the recipe we use to feed our cats. But beyond what type of food, it has a lot of information about how to transition your cat to new food and lots of other good stuff.

  31. 31.

    kommrade jakevich

    @Soylent Green: Oh, I see. You’re assuming the TalEvan wants that to happen. Good Lord, no.

    Armageddon is a threat used to frighten other people. "If you do that, Jesus will return and stomp your ass." To which the obvious response is: "What the fuck do you care, you’ll be sitting on a cloud watching Him pimp-slap the sinners." And then they mutter about wanting to save souls.

    The only reason they worry about when the fun will begin is they don’t want to be in the middle of [Ahem] "coveting" their neighbor and their neighbor’s ox when Jesus shows up and shouts GAME ON BITCHES!

    And of course the preachers use it to fleece the flocks, which is odd because supposedly once you’re saved, you’re good. It isn’t like you get salvation on the installment plan.

    But to actually try to start The End? Nope. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard any Tally suggest such a thing.

  32. 32.

    Conservatively Liberal

    I think we should give him a break.

    Never! The Volvo-driving latte-sipping fascist commie pinko atheistic christomuslim librul in me has to have someone to blame and I know Tunch can do no wrong.

    So John it is. :)

  33. 33.

    SGEW

    No, I want to know what she would do vis-a-vis Russia and the middle east if she believed she could get the Revelation gears turning.

    Hmm. I’ll give this one a half-assed shot . . .

    1) Establish a "unified" Jerusalem and move the U.S. embassy there, pushing the Israeli gov’t further towards crazy town.

    2) Destroy the Dome of the Rock through covert action.

    3) Infiltrate and enflame the intifada further through the assassination of moderate figures, psy-ops, and tactical ratfucking.

    4) Help Israel build the Temple on the Mount, fulfilling prophecy.

    5) Destroy said Temple on the Mount (see #3, above), fulfilling prophecy.

    6) Initiate nuclear war with Russia, Pakistan, North Korea, India, and, oh why the fuck not, France and Israel too. World civilization teeters on the brink, fulfilling prophecy.

    7) Nominate a gay Jewish atheist to be Secretary General of the United Nations and cede sovereignty to same, fulfilling prophecy.

    8) Profit!

  35. 35.

    Soylent Green

    Comment following a Boston Globe story about diehard women Hillary supporters:

    Barack Obama, his wife, and his supporting cast of thugs, thieves, and self-avowed terrorists disgust me to the point of vomiting.
     
    However, I will hold my nose and vomit after voting for him due to the policies that I want to see implemented.
     
    His victory will be a vote against Republican policies, not a show of support for him or his disturbing cohorts in crime.

    Whatever it takes, lady. I’ll even hold your hair back for you.

  36. 36.

    Comrade Jake

    McLaughlin might be the only talking head left who’s actually older than John McCain. There’s really no good reason he’s not patched into an oxygen tank on the set.

  37. 37.

    Soylent Green

    7) Nominate a gay Jewish atheist to be Secretary General of the United Nations and cede sovereignty to same, fulfilling prophecy.

    Two out of three, but I’m not gay, so I can’t take the job.
     
    Thanks for the breakdown, SGEW. That’s what I was looking for.

  39. 39.

    SGEW

    @Soylent Green: If you really want to know more about the Apocalyptic Death Cult that is Evangelical America, check out Rapture Ready, the clearing house for all your Christianist eschatological needs (warning: this shit is absolutely clinically insane, theologically inaccurate, and straight up scary).

    Also useful for an easy overview, read the wiki on the Left Behind series – it’s probably closer to what these people believe than anything actually biblical.

  41. 41.

    Fulcanelli

    @kommrade jakevich: Sweet!

    /new keyboard time

    @SGEW: Dont give her any ideas.

    @Soylent Green: If that’s how much Obama and his merry men drive her off a cliff, has she been in a coma during 8 years of Bush/Cheney? Or is her Obamaphobia a result of Bush/Cheney? Cointelpro? Chill, lady.

    Barry may not be perfect, but he’s a damn sight better than the red team. Every time I think I’ve got people on the other side figured out, they mutate. Like germs.

  42. 42.

    Conservatively Liberal

    I like to browse Rapture Ready for the sheer entertainment value. Those fuckwits are certifiably screamingly batshit insane and the way they look forward to the end of things is creepy.

    The bible I have here (inherited) says that 144,000 male virgins get to go to heaven. Sounds like a sausage festival to me so I will pass on that.

  46. 46.

    Comrade Scrutinizer

    @kommrade jakevich:
     
    You should check out the whole postmillennialism movement—actively helping to promote the Second Coming is a blood sport for some of those people.
     
    @SGEW:
     
    Even better than the Left Behind wiki, check out Fred Clark’s deconstruction of Left Behind over at slacktivist.
     

  48. 48.

    kommrade jakevich

    The bible I have here (inherited) says that 144,000 male virgins get to go to heaven. Sounds like a sausage festival to me so I will pass on that.

    144K virgins? Sounds bloody boring. I’d say that was to give early versions of the 101st fRightened Keyboardists hope.

    "So what if I haven’t touched a breast since I stopped nursing? I’m gonna go to heaven!"

    Sad.

    Seriously, I encourage people to read Revelation because it shows that anyone who tries to make sense out of John’s hallucinations – sorry, visions – is also trippin’. I mean, armor plated grasshoppers? Sure Dude. Let’s keep you away from sharp objects until they go away.

  50. 50.

    jcricket

    We talked about this on the other thread – but there’s little we can do except tactical responses to the GOP shenigans right now.

    But once all the new Dems are sworn in across this nation – they have to make electoral reform a major (background) initiative. Make robocalls illegal, ratchet up all the penalties, investigate every Republican sleaze mill, push all-vote-by-mail, make it completely illegal to challenge voter registration within 30 days of an election, make it easier to register, build statewide databases so you have cleaner voter lists (throwing this one in to appease some peeps), make every single false challenge or violation of electoral law a felony with automatic jail time. Push laws that automatically restore felons rights to votes, etc. Make it an automatic firing offense if anyone involved in government work (law enforcement, FBI, AGs office) tampers with an election in any way.

    This is what America did 30 years ago when they "suddenly" found out that black folks were systematically being denied the right to vote. And, just like the financial regulations Dems put in place 50 years ago, the voting rights stuff has been systematically dismantled by Republican fucktards.

    No more sternly worded letters. Just fucking do it.

    Oh, and since Republicans in many states are abusing the initiative/referendum process, make paid initiative gathering illegal too. Let’s see how much "grass roots" support they really have.

  51. 51.

    jcricket

    I should also add – no partisan-tied election equipment companies. There should be federal standards for optical scan readers, every state should have machines that are independently audited and certified, and secure election centers where anyone can observe (but not interfere). Plus encourage media or non-partisan groups to do spot-rechecks after elections (make the votes available for hand recounts).

    Sunshine is the great disinfectant – and Republicans, as vampires, can’t withstand the light.

  52. 52.

    Clor

    The voter purging is really making me nervous. Is there anything a normal person who doesn’t have a law degree (like myself) can do? I’m already signed up to volunteer on election day but I think it’s just more GOTV stuff.

  53. 53.

    Calouste

    @liberatemeiexinfernis:

    mgordon, BlizzardOfOz

    You can actually meet women (men, whatever you’re interested in. (No myiq=0, goats can’t use keyboards unfortunately.)) on the internets. There are even sites dedicated to it, I have heard.

  54. 54.

    ComradeJ. Michael Neal

    It’s an open thread, so what the hell . . .

    I have a group project in my Business Communication class that is due by the end of the semester. We have to devise marketing ideas for Target to connect with Millenials, the age group from 10-26. I’m sure you can all guess how thrilled I am with this. I’m not a Millenial, I don’t know anything about marketing, and there are parts of Target’s general marketing approach that I find actively objectionable. For instance, when I am shopping at Target, I am not their guest; I’m their customer. It’s a different set of social obligations, and I resent the attempt by an intangible entity to pretend that it is somehow my friend.

    I haven’t mentioned the part that bothers me the most, and I’m trying to figure out whether it should bother me as much as it does. The project ends with a presentation to a group that includes people from Target. Four of the groups from all of the classes will win a prize and advance to present their ideas to a bigger group of Target execs.
    My problem is that this means that, as a condition of my graduation (this is a required class), I have to be an unpaid (or underpaid) consultant to a particular corporation. Any idea that any of us come up with that is actually useful to Target is worth a lot more than the top prize of $400. For most of us, we just give our ideas to Target for nothing.

    I really object to this. I have no idea what to do about it. One of my numerous objections to business schools at universities is that they are far too in bed with the corporations they are supposed to be discussing and researching. This also manifests in the guests that we
    have come in and take up class time, nominally discussing the subject, but really spending their time doing a recruiting spiel.

  55. 55.

    Joshua Norton

    144,000 male virgins get to go to heaven.

    Define "virgin". Never having sex with a woman? Or never being in any situation where friction may have been applied, even involuntarily? Eunuch?

    They should have thought that one through a little more. It sounds like a lot of gay guys are going if it just applies to having sex with the possibility of reproduction.

  56. 56.

    Comrade Kevin

    @Soylent Green:

    There is much crazy in the comments on that story, like:

    Wherever Obama’s policies are similar to Clinton’s is where he copied them. Otherwise, his policies are inappropriately leftist and scary. I think there will be a sizeable Hillary effect (myself included) that will reflect a backlash against the media and Obama.

    Which planet do these people come from?

  57. 57.

    Comrade Stuck

    BREAKING NEWS!

    Wingnuts strike gold. Ayer’s and Obama shared an office on the same floor (maybe) but at least in same building at Annenberg Headquarters in Chicago!! They had to have run into each more often than the reported occasionally (could be).
    Even though Obama was a state Senator at the time, doesn’t matter, this is HUMONGUS!!!! as blog comment on Verum Serum tells us!!!!

    # RedRepub October 18, 2008 @ 7:42 pm

    You HAVE to SEND THIS TO DRUDGE~!!! THIS IS MAJOR!!!!

    Git yer pitchforks germs, we got us a terraist sympathizer to filet . NOW Who likes dark meat?

  58. 58.

    Comrade Kevin

    @steelhead:

    I know what you mean, steelhead. I had a cat that I got at age 8, and had to have him euthanized when I was 29, it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.

  60. 60.

    Soylent Green

    144,000 male virgins get to go to heaven.

    That’s enough to meet the reward requirements for exactly 2,000 homosexual suicide bombers.

  61. 61.

    Unrepentent Dennis - SGMM

    The Repub’s recent tack of identifying McCain/Palin supporters as the real Americans begs a question: If McCain loses due to an insufficient number of real Americans do we have to change the name of our country to UnAmerica?

  65. 65.

    mgordon

    Palin got through her SNL opening without making an ass out of herself.

    Of course, she barely had any lines.

  66. 66.

    Will Hunting

    JM Neal – I always found that annoying about B school as well. The schools cozy up to many corporations and shill for them to some degree. When I was at UT-Austin in the late 1990’s, it was Enron, Dell and the big consulting firms.

  67. 67.

    Unrepentent Dennis - SGMM

    Not as silly a question as you might thing. Marc Ambinder posits a hidden pocket dimension ("unreality") only the wingnuts are aware of.

    Must be the one where the National Debt isn’t ten trillion dollars and the Iraq war was over in six months.

  69. 69.

    NR

    @Soylent Green: PPP had an article up at their blog recently about the vanishing PUMA effect. At this point, the only PUMAs left are the hard-core wackjobs and racists (like the crowd over at Riverdaughter’s place). Everyone else is on board, however reluctantly.

  72. 72.

    ChiBri

    One of Little Lulu’s commenters named aptly enough "Scaredforamerica":

    Honestly,
    What will happen in the Obama presidency? This is a serious question. What do you guys think will really happen?
    Some questions I have are:
    1. Will conservative talk radio now be limited and restricted, censored on in the name of “fairness”?
    2. Is being a caucasian person now a reason to be afraid for your life?
    3. Is being a christian now taboo and going to be restricted?
    4. Is being any of those things now considered a hate crime?

    These people can’t be serious. Right?

  75. 75.

    Unrepentent Dennis - SGMM

    Another Free Market solution that’s working out well. From today’s NYT:
    29th on Infant Mortality
    …The infant mortality rate in this country declined sharply in the 20th century but then plateaued from 2000 to 2005. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week that in 2006 the rate of infant deaths in the United States fell to 6.71 per 1,000 live births, down from 6.86 the previous year. That is still 50 percent higher than the official national goal of 4.5 deaths per thousand…

    …What is particularly shameful is how poorly this country compares with other industrialized countries. In 1960, the United States ranked 12th lowest in the world in infant mortality. By 2004, the last year for which comparative data are available, it had dropped to 29th, tied with Poland and Slovakia. Even with the improvement, it is still likely to rank 29th, far behind many Scandinavian and East Asian countries that report rates below 3.5…

    The 28 countries ahead of us all have some form of the dreaded Socialized Medicine. We also spend more per capita on medical care than any of them. While infant mortality rates are only a part of the picture this number is definitely an indictment of the World’s Most Expensive Medical Care System™.

  76. 76.

    gbear

    I like to browse Rapture Ready for the sheer entertainment value. Those fuckwits are certifiably screamingly batshit insane and the way they look forward to the end of things is creepy.

    I worked with a woman who told me that flossing didn’t really matter because she’d be welcomed into heaven before she ever developed gum problems. She really said this. That was over 20 years ago. I wonder how that’s working out. I wanted to ask her how many previous generations of her family had passed away thinking that Jesus wouldn’t DARE to keep ME waiting. Better start brushing…

    Tunch is driving me insane because he hates his new food.

    I’m having the same cat problem but for the opposite reason. I found a new food that Halley just LOVES so now she keeps bugging me for more after wolfing it down. I also still have a few cans of the previous food to get thru (in a gradual switch over) but everytime she gets the old food now she’s all WTF with this shit??

    The other 15 year old cat is on prescription diet food because of failing kidneys. Trying to convince the cats to keep out of each other’s food makes mealtimes a joy.

  78. 78.

    Unrepentent Dennis - SGMM

    Five Million Miles To Earth kicked butt!

    A nicely understated gem of a movie. No monster costumes or Kill o’ Zap rayguns, just a steady, low-key build up to a disturbing conclusion. Also known as "Quatermass and the Pit." One of my enduring faves.

  79. 79.

    DaveA

    @Jeff: Yep. Somewhere tonight, there’s a bald cajun who is laughing his a** off.

    IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID!

  80. 80.

    Delia

    The other 15 year old cat is on prescription diet food because of failing kidneys. Trying to convince the cats to keep out of each other’s food makes mealtimes a joy.

    Many years ago I had a cat who developed failing kidneys at about 14, He absolutely refused to eat the prescription food, so we just gave him his old food. He got along okay, just kept getting thinner, for a couple of years until he finally seemed to be too weak and in too much pain to go on and I had him put down. But 16 years seemed a pretty good run.

    Meanwhile, in voter abuse news, this story emerges in California of rethug groups surreptitiously reregistering voters as Republicans. Hmmm. I wonder if DOJ will investigate this like they do ACORN.

  81. 81.

    Phoenix Woman

    People are starting to get pissed off enough to put their money against the right wing smears.

    A spokesman for Democratic challenger Elwyn Tinklenberg’s campaign said today about 9,000 people from across the country had donated at least $450,000 online since about 6 p.m. Friday, just after Bachmann appeared on "Hardball" with Chris Matthews.

    That video went viral almost before she’d finished speaking. The DCCC’s going to toss in an ad or two as well. Tink’s people were trying not to weep tears of joy on camera, but it’s obvious that they hadn’t expected even a tenth of what they actually got.

  82. 82.

    gbear

    @Jeff:

    450K. Wow. That’s about 3x more than I thought he’d end up with. According to the story its almost 150% better than he’s raised over the last 5 weeks. Cool.

  83. 83.

    Brian J

    I might ask this again tomorrow in some open thread, but right now, for those who are up, let me ask, at what point do you decide that it’s not worth your time to talk politics with a friend? I ask because it seemed like the one guy, a conservative, that I talk politics with the most at work was being a true asshole today. We almost started to get loud. I don’t know if it’s his personal life or the fact that he can’t wrap his head around the idea that his side is probably going to take a beating in November, but I’ve been getting increasingly frustrated with him lately. It’s not so much what he says, but how he says it.

  84. 84.

    gbear

    Many years ago I had a cat who developed failing kidneys at about 14, He absolutely refused to eat the prescription food, so we just gave him his old food. He got along okay, just kept getting thinner, for a couple of years until he finally seemed to be too weak and in too much pain to go on and I had him put down.

    Josie is actually pretty good about eating her prescription food. She likes it (unfortunately so does Halley). She’s been getting thinner and thinner too and I can see it’s just a matter of time although she doesn’t seem to be in pain yet. She goes in for a checkup next saturday.

  85. 85.

    Comrade Kevin

    @Delia:

    I had a cat who became diabetic after being hit by a car; I had to give him a shot early in the morning, then have him gnaw at me for a few minutes before giving him his prescription food. He chowed that stuff down in record time.

  86. 86.

    Unrepentent Dennis - SGMM

    I might ask this again tomorrow in some open thread, but right now, for those who are up, let me ask, at what point do you decide that it’s not worth your time to talk politics with a friend?

    I’m an Old Guy and maybe times have changed but I have tried throughout my working life to never discuss politics or religion in the workplace. The enmity it can cause just isn’t worth it.

  87. 87.

    Far Left American Hater Incertus

    @Brian J: When it happened to me, I eventually told my friend that we could not, under any circumstances, talk about politics again, or we would stop being friends. He pushed me once and I didn’t speak to him for a month, and he apologized. We have a tenuous relationship now, and that was four years ago, but we don’t talk about politics at all.

  88. 88.

    gbear

    @Brian J:

    Brian, start a book of the month club. My scattershot suggestions for the first book would be Alan Weisman’s ‘A World Without Us’ or else ‘The Lathe of Heaven’ by Ursula LeGuin. If you can’t talk without politics coming up, give it a rest for three weeks. After that, one of you can gloat.

  90. 90.

    Comrade Darkness

    I’m already signed up to volunteer on election day but I think it’s just more GOTV stuff.

    You can sign up to be a poll watcher. You learn the basic rules about how your district handles voting eligibility questions (like who deserves to cast a provisional ballot) and you sit at a polling site and if there is an issue with a voter that does not seem to be handled properly, you document everything.

  91. 91.

    tripletee

    Amy Poehler’s Palin rap on Weekend Update was AMAZING.

    Has SNL ever had a weirder combination of guest stars? Palin, Alec Baldwin (who seemed genuinely uncomfortable), Marky Mark and Oliver Stone? Backstage must have been interesting.

  92. 92.

    Unrepentent Dennis - SGMM

    One word: Ergot.

    Not quite so sure about ergot. IIRC, it is most at home in Rye and in some tropical grasses and cereal grains. On the other hand, I do remember reading somewhere that there was scanty evidence that early Christians may have ingested Amanita Muscaria or a Psilocybe species. There are some cave paintings in Algeria, dated about 3500 BC, that seem to portray Amanita Muscaria.

  93. 93.

    Phoebe

    liberateme,
    I owe my boyfriend to my wasting time on the computer, as I got sucked into okcupid.com, which appeared in an ad on the bloggingheads site, which asked me to take some kind of personality quiz, and I am a fool for those. So now I live with this fella, we are very happy, and I still waste too much time on the internet.

    Soylent, I think invading Iran fills that bill for her. McCain just likes invading people [without preconditions], but I suspect she wants Apocalypse Right Now!

  94. 94.

    Brian J

    I’m an Old Guy and maybe times have changed but I have tried throughout my working life to never discuss politics or religion in the workplace. The enmity it can cause just isn’t worth it.

    Like I said, it’s not what he’s saying. Some of my college friends throw around racial jokes like it’s nothing. I’m willing to be friendly with basically anyone. I just can’t stand the way this guy whines about certain things, gets animated for no particular reason, and examines things in such a simpleminded way.

    If I had to guess, however, I’d say that what set him off today was that I said he should finish one thought and then move on, because he comes across as incoherent otherwise. Perhaps that was just a dickhead move on my part.

    When it happened to me, I eventually told my friend that we could not, under any circumstances, talk about politics again, or we would stop being friends. He pushed me once and I didn’t speak to him for a month, and he apologized. We have a tenuous relationship now, and that was four years ago, but we don’t talk about politics at all.

    I don’t usually bring it up, unless it’s a response I had to something someone mentioned a previous day. I spend enough time reading about it at home, and like I said before, there’s always the issue of how people act when I am talking to them.

    Interestingly enough, for a while, I was sort of like a loose match being thrown into a haystack when it came to talking about politics: all I had to do was show up, and people would start arguing. There were at least a few times when I’d walk into work, someone would immediately ask me something, and then others would start yelling at each other. Meanwhile, I didn’t even say a word and would just walk away.

    There might be a greater issue of us being friends outside of work at play here, as well.

    Brian, start a book of the month club. My scattershot suggestions for the first book would be Alan Weisman’s ‘A World Without Us’ or else ‘The Lathe of Heaven’ by Ursula LeGuin. If you can’t talk without politics coming up, give it a rest for three weeks. After that one of you can gloat.

    Huh?

  95. 95.

    Comrade The Other Steve

    It appears the news is finally starting to report on the truth of the ACORN crap.

  96. 96.

    Comrade Kolkhoznik Jon H

    jakevich wrote: "But to actually try to start The End? Nope. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard any Tally suggest such a thing."

    There was some fundy guy from Mississippi, Clyde Lott, trying to raise a perfectly-colored red heifer which, he thought, was required by prophecy to kick off Revelation. He got together with some Rabbis from Israel.

    The most recent information I can find is from the late 1990s, so I can only assume they either failed, or else it was all basically a scam to get people to contribute money to a supposed project of obtaining 2,000 red heifers to send to Israel. (Apparently the prophecy requires that a red heifer be born *in* Israel, then its ashes scattered on the Temple Mount.)

  97. 97.

    gbear

    @Brian J:

    however, I’d say that what set him off today was that I said he should finish one thought and then move on, because he comes across as incoherent otherwise. Perhaps that was just a dickhead move on my part.

    Huh?

    Apparently I have something in common with your friend.

  99. 99.

    Brian J

    Apparently I have something in common with your friend.

    I’m not saying that you do, but I’ve actually noticed this and stuff like it from a lot of people my age.

  103. 103.

    Blue Raven

    7) Nominate a gay Jewish atheist to be Secretary General of the United Nations and cede sovereignty to same, fulfilling prophecy.

    If a bisexual Jewish atheist would work well enough, I know a guy who is desperately seeking a new job that fits the criteria.

    So, how ‘bout them Sox?

    Oy! I was all psyched up for a Tampa/Philadelphia Series in which I’d cheerfully root for the NL until the Sox started to remember they know how to play. I’m oddly annoyed and refusing to shift that to hope until game seven plays out.

  106. 106.

    bago

    If tonight is any indication, I am looking forward to some upcoming racial transcendence.
    Yay for the future.

  107. 107.

    wilfred

    Things to come:

    DENVER – Fort Carson soldiers returning from deployment in Iraq are suspects in at least five slayings, and officials want to know why.

    Commander Maj. Gen. Mark Graham announced Friday a task force will examine any commonalities in the five killings, all allegedly committed by soldiers from the post’s 4th Brigade Combat Team in the past 14 months. A sixth BCT soldier faces an attempted murder charge.

    Why? How about because they got away with murder in Iraq – just like Bush. Based on what I’ve seen since being back in the region – seeing the coverage from the other side and what happens every day – I’d say you all had better be a bit careful around these guys.

  110. 110.

    Comrade Jake

    Pretty staggering nos from the Obama campaign. More than 600k new donors in Sept, giving them a 3.1M total donor base. The avg. donation was just under $100.

    The biggest groups giving: students and retirees. Jesus.

  111. 111.

    Comrade Stuck

    Read it and weep, or laugh. The BLACKITY BLACK BLACK SOCIALIST AGENDA.

    Excerpts:

    4. The Pledge of Allegiance will be dropped from schools, to be replaced by the Obama "Sing For Change" song.

    2. Christian churches will be forbidden to ring their bells.

    7. Oil and gas furnaces will be outlawed and all homeowners will be required to install atheist windmills and pagan (Sun God) solar panels.

    Spoof? Maybe. But not according to one GAteway Pundit commenter unless he’s an Obama planted spoof as well. We report, You decide.

  112. 112.

    boonagain

    @JL:

    None of it could possibly be from real-Americans since, by definition, you are NOT a real American if you’re for Obama.

    Do I have to draw you a picture?

    Most of that loot is from collections they made in the Middle East and smuggled back over here to get that terraist in the White House. That’s why the average donation is $86 so that they don’t have to report the particulars when the donations are less than $200.

    And anyway this is GREAT NEWS FOR JOHN MCCAIN!

    So, shut up!

  114. 114.

    Comrade Jake

    MSNBC is reporting that the estimates of 100k people from yesterday’s rally are off. Obama drew closer to 200 thousand. Holy fucking enthusiasm Batman!

  115. 115.

    Josh Huaco

    @Comrade Kolkhoznik Jon H:

    There was some fundy guy from Mississippi, Clyde Lott, trying to raise a perfectly-colored red heifer which, he thought, was required by prophecy to kick off Revelation. He got together with some Rabbis from Israel.

    McCain’s ‘Spiritual Advisor’ John Hagee is doing the same thing here in Texas.

  116. 116.

    boonagain

    I don’t know why the liberal media never mentions Sarah Palin’s crowds when they’re bigger than that.

    and Obama’s crowd is all photoshopped and shit. There were really like 200 people there..and they were ALL from Illinois (East St Louis probably).

    NOT ONE PERSON IN THAT CROWD WAS FROM MISSOURI!!

  117. 117.

    kommrade jakevich

    The most recent information I can find is from the late 1990s, so I can only assume they either failed, or else it was all basically a scam to get people to contribute money to a supposed project of obtaining 2,000 red heifers to send to Israel.

    Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

    Just imagine the looks on Israeli officials faces if some schmuck showed up at customs with 2,000 virgin cows.

    So the next appeal would be money to change Israel’s livestock import regulations. No wait, first they’d need the money to ship the cows, then they’d need the money to bring them back after "Satanic Elements within the Israeli government refused the holy cows." And of course still more money to battle the Devil’s minions in the Holy Land who won’t let a man slaughter and burn a big mound of cows because of "pollution laws that WERE WRITTEN IN HELL."

    Plus, I don’t know much about cattle but I do know they eat.

    Yep, drill a hole in a TalEvangelist and a big bucket o’ con artist will pour out. Not that I am suggesting such a thing.

  121. 121.

    Bey

    @gbear: Gbear, I had 2 cats diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure (CRF). Both lasted another 2-3 years after the initial crash, so I have a fair amount of experience with it. I ended up having to put them down at 20 and 19, respectively. Until the final crash, they had a pretty good quality of life.

    One of the hallmarks of renal failure in kittehs is loss of appetite, so the more food you can get into them the better, but one of the other hallmarks is upset tummies (foamy vomit being a big clue) My vets recommended 1/4 of a regular Pepcid daily crushed in their breakfasts, which worked well for us.

    Neither of my cats would eat the renal food, so I fed them what they wanted. I figured a cat not eating was worse than one eating "unapproved" food. Plus the research is not definitive about whether the low-protein diet is better than the low-phosphorus. For the days when they will. not. eat. try KFC chicken and/or Gerber baby food.

    And if (when) they start talking about subcutaneous fluids, don’t be put off by that. It’s easier than you think and the kittehs don’t mind it a bit.

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