Go Eers!
*** Update ***
Pitt 19, WVU 15. Welcome to the Stewart era. Congrats to the champion of the Big East, Cincy.
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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.
Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.
There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.
There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.
Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.
Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.
The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.
It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.
Damn right I heard that as a threat.
Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!
Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.
This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.
This really is a full service blog.
Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.
Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.
Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.
Usually wrong but never in doubt
Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.
“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”
The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.
Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!
If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.
Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.
One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.
Tymannosourus
I’m sure no one cares, but since my wife won’t listen, I feel I must tell you that Brian Westbrook and Chris Johnson have made dreams come true in my fantasy league this week.
mikesdak
It wasn’t a good day for competitive NFL football.
On a completely different topic, is anyone else slightly concerned about the large number of economic advisors Obama is hiring? I acknowledge that a variety of opinion is desirable, but I’m reminded of an old Bloom County cartoon in which the character’s nightmare is having two economists in the same room discussing the economy. I worry about a confused muddle.
Ned Raggett
Not worried myself — I have a sense that there’s a general division between on-the-spot triage and long term planning being set up. If there’s enough communication between all camps, the rest will get along — still early days yet.
I admit at this point the news of economic woe is starting to get close to Chicken Little status — don’t get me wrong, there’s obviously a lot of pain at work; I know some friends, including ones with families, who are looking at the near future with some grim prospects. But for the past few weeks there’s been a constant ‘the economy is going to collapse RIGHT THIS SECOND if we don’t do x y z’ which is starting to become a numbing commonplace. I don’t think this is anyone fault per se but it’s definitely an example of overriding group psychology run rampant.
mikesdak
Ned,you make a good point. I also think the general aura of simple good sense coming from the Obama camp invites benefit of doubt.
I agree that the news has gotten silly. It’s a matter of incompatibility; it’s going to take time to work the poison out of the system, and the news cycle doesn’t like to wait.
Tonal Crow
I haven’t heard much about the implications of the verdict in the Lori Drew "cyberbullying" case. . While what Ms. Drew did was sickening, and probably a tort (intentional infliction of emotional distress), a U.S. Attorney did his best to make it a federal crime. He prosecuted her (a resident of Missouri) in Los Angeles, for violating a statute originally intended to penalize computer hacking. As extended by their argument, this statute also criminalizes a user’s violation of a website’s terms-of-service. You read that right: it criminalizes a user’s violation of a website’s TOS.
This in a outrageous violation of Liberty. We elect legislatures to make laws. We do not elect MySpace, AOL, or (shudder!) Redstate.com to do so. Yet MySpace’s TOS is exactly the "law" that the U.S. Attorney charged Ms. Drew with violating, and that a jury convicted her for violating. Under this decision, it’s perfectly OK for a legislature to delegate to a private entity its authority to make criminal law, and for it to do so implicitly, or even unintentionally (the statute doesn’t explicitly support this interpretation).
Please pass the handcuffs; I’m feeling too free.
This case also violates the 1st Amendment, since website TOSes restrict all kinds of speech that courts previously have determined to be protected.
Finally, this case violates due process by virtually eliminating the requirement of fair notice, and by requiring a person to defend herself far from the place where she committed the charged act.
Ending creeping criminalization is high on the list of changes America needs.
smiley
@mikesdak:
Isn’t he just appointing/nominating people to preexisting government positions? He’s starting with appointments/nominations of the economic team for obvious reasons. I’m reassured and, apparently, so are the markets.
On second thought, Volker’s position might be new but I don’t think the others are
Paul in Boca
So Black Friday is an appropriate name for at least one family on Long Island. All for what, a 10% savings on some piece of crap that isn’t really needed?
Ned Raggett
@Paul in Boca: Yeah, that news is just headshakingly sad.
boonagain
…and I’ll bet Wal-Mart uses time of death to take him off the clock, too.
calipygian
Mark Steyn:
I wonder what Mark’s final solution to India’s "Muslim problem" is?
tavella
And according to a Wal-mart worker on a board I’m on, Wal-mart *deliberately* doesn’t use line control (queue cords or temporary fencing or whatever), because "crowds draw more shoppers than lines."
If that’s true, and documentable, then the amount of money his family should get goes from merely large to a metric fuck-ton.
Paul in Boca
One or the sad things is that when Sam Walton was alive he was proud of the fact that his merchandise was American made. His heirs have certainly done an admirable job of maintaining that heritage, haven’t they? I would rather stick sharp pencils in my eyes than set foot in any of those stores.
boonagain
Psychologically, there is a big difference between a crowd and a line.
With a line, you’re more aware that you ain’t gonna be getting one of those 5 $200 flat screen TVs since there are approximately 3000 people ahead of you, while , in a crowd, you just might think you can crash on through, Wal-Mart workers be damned..
mikesdak
smiley,it was the Volker/advisory committee that got my attention. I admit my anxiety is largely unjustified. It’s based mostly on reading enough contradictory material about economics to glaze my eyes.
As to the Wal-Mart tragedy, it just mystifies me that people can be so desperate to buy something cheap. If I had to engage in involuntary manslaughter at 5am in order to afford to buy something, I’d go without. I saw that Kohl’s started their sale at 4am; completely ridiculous and unnecessary.
Melinda
Crow, I believe that the issue in the Drew case is contractual. That is to say, Drew voluntarily entered into a contract with a service provider (Myspace) and then violated the terms of that contract. I agree that there’s something to worry about here, and that’s that the case is being represented in the press as an identity issue more generally. But I don’t have a problem with the court decision itself. And who knows, maybe if people start paying attention to terms of service and software license agreements and whatnot those things might stop being so egregiously stupid.
dbrown
So Black Friday is our own terrorist central now. From Crooks and Liars, they had this gem –
There’s probably no more dangerous place on the planet than being positioned between marauding shoppers and their objects of desire on the morning of Black Friday — as one unfortunate man discovered today:
A worker died after being trampled and a woman miscarried when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island Wal-Mart Friday morning, witnesses said.
The unidentified worker, employed as an overnight stock clerk, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m.
Witnesses said the surging throngs of shoppers knocked the man down. He fell and was stepped on. As he gasped for air, shoppers ran over and around him.
"He was bum-rushed by 200 people," said Jimmy Overby, 43, a co-worker. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too…I literally had to fight people off my back."
Krista
Holy fucking fuckity fuck — my brain is utterly fried right now. Our office had an open house, as part of the local holiday festivities, and a crazy local lady came in and would not leave for a good two hours. She believes that vinyl siding transmits waves that give you cancer and that insulin is a giant government plot. Evidently she’s sent her findings to the Pentagon. She just left a half hour ago, and it is finally quiet here again.
It is days like this when I think, "Now I know why some people keep a flask of booze in their desk drawer."
Ed in NJ
Back to the original topic, it looks like WV is about to blow this game, which as a Rutgers alumnus doesn’t make me happy. In addition to my preference for WV over the Wanstache’s, a WV loss endangers their Sun Bowl bid, which in turn endangers our Meineke Bowl bid when we beat Louisville next week.
It’s the difference between a road trip to Charlotte or flight to Birmingham for us.
Tonal Crow
@Melinda:
The Drew case is not a contract case; it is a federal criminal case. It’s one thing for MySpace to, e.g., attempt to ban a user that violates its TOS, or even to sue her for damages. It’s quite another for a government to incorporate that TOS into its criminal law, particularly when it does so via a prosecutor’s novel interpretation of a criminal statute.
I do agree, though, that citizens should examine contracts more carefully, and push their representatives to prohibit some of the more egregious provisions that large and powerful entities tend to add to them.
Punchy
colly beatin up on nebraska
Delia
@dbrown:
Meanwhile at the other end of the continent, two people were shot to death inside Toys R Us in Palm Desert, CA.
Oh yeah, and there was something on NPR this morning about some people who started lining up outside Best Buy at 10:00 a.m. Thanksgiving morning so they would be first in line for some cheap laptops when the store opened at 5:00 a.m. today. That was in Arlington, VA. They ate Subway sandwiches for Thanksgiving dinner.
This is why I stay home the day after Thanksgiving. I may have to run out to Safeway for some bananas, but I can probably get by until tomorrow. So I’ll just walk my dog and eat apples instead.
Laura W
Speaking of pie…Buttermilk
CheeseChess Pie.I impulsively snagged one of these today for $10 at the Friends for Life (pet rescue) booth at the art/craft show I attended. Never heard of the thing. Thought it said "Buttermilk CHEESE pie", so by the time I was reaching for it and was corrected, it was too late to turn back. And then she said "pudding-like, tapioca/custard-like" and I was sold again. I should’ve stopped for whipped cream on the way home, I now realize.
I bought a 2009 calendar from the same booth, full of pets and rescue pets photos, therefore perpetuating my consistent tradition of spending money at the show before I make any. It’s good karma. Especially when it goes for the fur babies.
Laura W
@Krista: Did you get her name? I’m thinking Gayle Quinnell.
(And in case you missed it recently, as Circus Max can attest to, keep Vodka in your desk drawer flask. Apparently, other folks can’t smell it on your breath. Which I don’t understand since I can always smell it on my breath.)
South of I-10
I think LSU is actually tring to lose.
South of I-10
That would be trying. Damn iPhone.
Screamin' Demon
Are you serious? The family will never see a dime. This is WalMart we’re talking about — a malignant quasi-criminal enterprise with hundreds of attorneys who are at this moment plotting ways to blame the victim and screw the family out of any possible settlement.
This is a corporation that discourages injured workers from going to the hospital. That demoted an Oregon woman who took time off during the Christmas season to have a hysterectomy. That tried to sue Debbie Shank and seize the money her family had won in an insurance settlement against the truck driver who rammed into her on a Missouri highway. That forces employees to wait twice as long for health insurance coverage than its competitors. That makes employees with pre-existing conditions wait from 12 to 18 months for coverage. That charges an extra $100 deductible for the use of an ambulance, and another hundred for an emergency room.
I could do this all day…
These motherfuckers are evil. They wouldn’t settle unless the Supreme Court ordered it, and it’s doubtful the current pro-business court would hear the case anyway.
Laura W
@South of I-10: Hey, aren’t you supposed to be sitting in a corner getting drunk, laughing at aging high school losers?
Er…never mind.
smiley
@South of I-10:
Bad season. Maybe Les Miles isn’t what he’s cracked to be. Pretty much all of my family went to either LSU or LaTech – or both. I went to Florida (I know, but I strayed like a great uncle or two who went to either Ole Miss or Tennessee). The Gators won the national championship in 2006 and lost 4 games in ’07, including the fricking bowl game against fricking Michigan. Now they’re on track (please, FSM) to play in the MNC game. LSU WILL be back. Too much talent, year in and year out, not to be back.
South of 1-10
Leaving in an hour or so. If you knew these people you would understand and toast my mockery from afar. Short story: I went to Catholic school for 12 years, with people who think God + money = carte blanche to be an asshole. Some of them seem to still think we are there.
South of 1-10
@smiley: My brother went to LSU and my sister in law went to Florida. No one will watch LSU/Florida with them anymore.
Delia
@Screamin’ Demon:
Re Walmart:
Ya know, I went to Walmart a few times back in the nineties when one first opened near me, and I stopped going before I even learned they were evil, just because the experience was so unpleasant.
smiley
@South of 1-10: Ha! My family is pretty laid back about it. I’ve gone to more UF/LSU games in Baton Rouge than I have in Gainesville. Both great college game-day towns. And I don’t mean the ESPN show.
BTW. spent a weekend in Athens during UF/GA week recently (it was Fall break) and that is one awesome college town.
Delia
God + money, huh? We don’t need either excuse up in these parts. Oregon Ducks football fans are famous for their bad manners and this is one of the least religious parts of the country. Some alumni have money, but certainly not all. The Civil War game with the Oregon State Beavers up the I-5 a bit in Corvallis is tomorrow, and the state troopers are all bracing to pick the pieces up off the freeway. OSU goes to the Rose Bowl if they win, but in Eugene we’re betting that Ducks fans know more dirty words.
Laura W
@South of 1-10: Not sure if that was to me but since I’m bored I’ll pretend it was…
I DO understand and I DO toast you (heavily, with crappy Pinot, switching over to Ketel One) from afar! (My crack about "aging high school losers" was a ref. to the BJ crowd, but since I seem to be explaining myself a lot lately, perhaps my references are too obtuse.)
Back to you…
I went to Catholic school for 12 years too, if you count Kindergarten. But I was "invited to not return" after my Junior year (oh yeah…high school was ALL GIRL), because I talked too much in typing class (How hard to believe is that?) and wore "non-regulation" socks and sweaters. Always the rebel non-conformist.
I therefore spent my senior year at a public LA high school, and I recall someone on this site recently posted the recipe for the cafeteria cinnamon buns? That is pretty much all I recall from that year, along with my great Anthro/Physio teacher; how much pot was smoked on campus; and the presence of Maureen McCormick, she of Brady Bunch fame.
Omigod! I made it all about me again.
I am SO needy tonight. Always am, after these art shows. I can only smile and chat for so many soul killing hours in a row before I need to feed the gaping maw.
South of 1-10
@Smiley: I was at the LSU/Florida game in maybe 1997 or 98 in Baton Rouge when LSU beat Florida after years of losing. It was so freakin loud I could not hear anything. We were on the first row behind the Florida bench. Much bourbon was had by all.
smiley
@Laura W:
I tend to do that too.
Back away. Back away slowly. You’re going to be okay, Laura. Now come with me…
South of 1-10
@lauraw: Damn you and your crazy socks!! I am off to get dressed, if I ask my husband one more time about any outfit he is going to lose it.
smiley
@South of 1-10::
Is there any other way?
JenJen
Woooooooooooooo Cincy!
:-)
Laura W
Retracted in ambivalence.
Stooleo
This is why I don’t play WoW
smiley
Everyone seems to be a little blogged out so I will pose a question: Bacon, lettuce, and fresh, ripe tomato on toast with a little mayo. Best sandwich ever? Runners up include: Philly cheese steak, Ruben, oyster poboy, leftover turkey the day after Thanksgiving, and PB&J. What say you? (no votes for Cuban– I hate pickels)
smiley
I don’t think I spelled that right.
Comrade Jake
@smiley:
Hard to beat a well-made pastrami, in my book.
Will Hunting
I love a nice MLT – mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe, they’re so perky, I love that.
smiley
@Comrade Jake:
How do you make a "well made" pastrami? Rye? Mustard? Slaw? Really, I don’t know.
Laura W
@smiley: Egg. Salad.
With cheese.
And (sweet, sugar-free) sandwich pickles.
And olives (black or kalmata).
The perfect porta-brunch/lunch for a non-breakfast eater.
(Breakfast non-eater? I’m wiped. Not enuf sleep last night, which means 9-10 good hours for me.)
Today, tomorrow, and next weekend.
And hopefully, not again till next spring.
Comrade Jake
@smiley:
Go to any Jewish deli in NYC. They’ll do you right. It’s not a job for amateurs.
smiley
@Laura W:
Wow. I didn’t know there was such thing. Shows you what I know.
Laura W
@smiley: Some things are worth moving to NC for, Smiley.
smiley
@Comrade Jake: Does a Jewish deli in Pittsburgh count? I don’t live there anymore but the city where I live now is pretty cool about Jews. One of the earliest Jewish settlements in North America was here.
smiley
@Laura W: Laura,
I lived in Nc@Laura W:
I love western NC barbecue. I lived there for nearly 10 years. If I had a choice, that’s where I’d be.
Svensker
Lexington #One — a tray of outside meat. Best food in the known world.
The Moar You Know
@smiley: Add avocado to that BLT (becomes a "BLAT") and you have the closest thing to sammich paradise possible.
There was a place up in SF that did a good turkey, stuffing and cranberry sandwich, kinda like Thanksgiving on a whim. Also, Say Cheese on Cole in SF does pretty epic sandwich work if you don’t mind their somewhat soupnazi-esqe attitude.
I’m no pastrami fan, but understand that DZ Akins here in San Diego will set you up but good for all your NY deli style stuff. Being raised here in Cali, I tend to shy away from that. A lifetime of beautiful avocados, real sourdough and whole wheat breads has turned me into the meat-eating equivalent of a DFH.
Delia
Here in Eugene turkey, cream cheese and cranberry sauce on a really good bread is a big favorite. I’d never encountered it before I got here, but it’s quite tasty.
You just don’t get the avocado paradise that you do in SoCal.
burnspbesq
@smiley:
Roast beef and swiss on whole wheat, with horseradish sauce.
South of I-10
Whats up peeps? South of I-10 + 1000 thank god I went tonight so I don’t have to go tomorrow night.
Common Sense
Sliced Texas Brisket with fresh white onions and a sweet tomato sauce and thick cut bread with sides of cole slaw and ranch beans.
MKrem
PB&J – Lots of strawberry preserves jam (with big strawberry pieces) spread on one thick slice of cracked whole wheat bread, PB spread on the other slice. Slap together and enjoy.
Heaven.
Conservatively Liberal
Talking about good eats reminds me that the best Italian subs that I have ever had was at a sub shop in Syracuse, NY. I think it was called Gaetano’s (Gitano’s?), it was up near the Northern Lights area of Syracuse on Wolf Street if I remember correctly. It was the summer of 1980 and I lived in the building behind the sub shop. Just smelling that stuff made you hungry, and you could smell it all of the time. Their meatball subs were the best, but everything they made was excellent eats.
We got to know two of the sons who worked there real well, and frequently they gave us a bunch of leftovers at the end of the day. Great eats and free to boot, it was heaven. Combine that with the biker bar around the corner and it was one memorable summer. I had hitchhiked there (from Spokane) after Mt. St. Helens blew (got sick of the ash real fast). The girlfriend and I decided to spend the summer somewhere that had no ash and we ended up in upstate NY. It was a trip that I have never regretted taking.
One ride we would be talking religion with two old folks from Oklahoma, and the next we would be rolling joints using a Frisbee as a tray while hauling ass in a Chevelle through the backroads of Nebraska. You should have seen the duck that bounced off the upper left side of the windshield (it didn’t break it and he was doing about 70!) in that Chevelle. I was looking out the back window and the guy asked me if I could see the duck. I said Yeah, it’s flying through the air but end over end. It was dead, no doubt about it.
We met all kinds of interesting people, that’s for damn sure…lol!
2th&Nayle
South of I-10 @ 24
Come on Sof10!! Don’t be that way! The game was a classic ‘Battle of the Boot’ in Little Rock!! Hawgs took the lead with 22 secs left on the clock. Bengals had a chance to steal the game back, at the buzzer, but FG try fell short. Hawgs managed to eke out the win 31-30, after being down 30-14. That’s what SEC football’s all about. Never give up! Never give in! Right? Arkansas had a rough go of it this year. They got their asses handed to them by Alabama, Texas, and Florida, by a combined score of 139-31, and then lost 4 of 5 conference games by 3 points or less. Then they’re looking at LSU no less. That would be enough to crush the heart out of most teams, but they kept their heads up and kept playin’ to win. For Pride! Ya just gotta love that, no matter where your from.
Calouste
Dark, seeded, flavorsome bread with Old Amsterdam cheese.
smiley
@burnspbesq:
I concede that that should have been on my list.
@smiley:
I was about +8 at the time so I forgot to mention that despite that fact, I don’t know of a single Jewish deli here (but there might be one that I don’t know about).
Krista
Extra thick bacon, a medium fried egg, old cheddar, just a wee bit of hot sauce, and butter on toasted multigrain.
bud
Been off line for the last week, my first chance to drop in and gloat.
Nice game.