Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

This blog will pay for itself.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Battle won, war still ongoing.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

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

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

This fight is for everything.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

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Reader Interactions

144Comments

  1. 1.

    El Tiburon

    Yep, same here. Debating on going downtown but my couch has me in its grip and won’t let me up.

  2. 2.

    Nicole

    I watched all ten of the BSG webisodes because I really, really don’t want to start cleaning the apartment. And the interview with Richard Hatch. I need help.

  3. 3.

    demimondian

    Just me and my fire in the fireplace. And my family.

    And, yes, srv, a process running to be monitored. Yes, I’m a geek and a loser. Deal.

  5. 5.

    Laura W

    I am feeling progressively sickened by "Sicko".
    (Just got through the French nanny part, JenJen.)

  7. 7.

    demimondian

    @South of I-10:

    Another Saturday night, and I ain’t got no body
    I’m disembodied, so I can’t get laid
    How I wish I had something to hold things
    I’m in a ghostly way.

  9. 9.

    South of I-10

    @LauraW: I checked out your kittehs, your little black cat looks like my deceased and sorely missed Tupelo.

  12. 12.

    themis

    Is this the Saturday night "no life" club? I just wanted to make sure I was in the right place.

    Me, cats, fireplace, the chard and the History of Scotland (BBC) playing on my laptop. If I get ambitious, I might just break out Baldur’s Gate 2… again.

  13. 13.

    Laura W

    @sgwhiteinfla:

    Warning, wait till tomorrow to read it if you are trying to enjoy tonight.

    I stopped enjoying tonight about 7 min. ago when Michael Moore got back to the US from France to find hospitals dumping sick and injured elderly people on fucking skid row because they can’t pay their hospital bills.
    Honestly, people.
    Just honestly. WTF!

  14. 14.

    Stuck

    Tis only meh and da Bird. Who has da word — Serenity – and her awesome Kung Foo crazy.

    ***There are some some Coyotes hanging around yapping their heads off, but they don’t do movies.

  15. 15.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Laura W: Ordered a highly rated Hoover canister vacuum today on the intertoobz. Sposed to get here in a week. :)

    Coincidentally, of course. I’d never engineer something like that deliberately.

  16. 16.

    South of I-10

    I seem to be on my own this evening. Little one is sleeping, along with the dog and the cat, and Mr. South is installing the Roman shades I have been asking him to hang.

  18. 18.

    Walker

    I got bored with mass effect and am downloading neverwinter nights II.

    That is sacrilege. Mass Effect is way better than NWN II. Unless you are talking about the side missions. Those are skippable – just focus on the core planets.

    The other problem with Mass Effect is if you play it as Soldier. You should always grab a character with powers. Singularity rules (Ashley, target that ball of losers in the corner).

  19. 19.

    Laura W

    @South of I-10: Annie is sleeping and purring on my chest right here and the laptop is waaay down on my raised knees. No, I will not prove it with iPhoto Booth.
    She’s one funny girl.

  20. 20.

    Dave

    Remember, though, that the House and Senate versions have to be reconciled. And the total Krugman is using doesn’t include the amendments that were added to the compromise package last night.
     
    I’m not saying Krugman is wrong (what with his Nobel and all) but I would bet the final bill that comes out of reconciliation is larger than the Senate bill.

  22. 22.

    John Cole

    @Walker: I like it, just needed a break.

    Not to depress anyone but you might want to see what Paul Krugman is saying about the effect of the “bi partisan” cuts to the bill will be.

    I know this is sacrilege around here, but I read that Krugman post and the first thought out of my mind was “KISS MY FUCKING ASS.” Krugman ran around for three weeks whining about the bill because it was not exactly what he wanted. I understand that he wanted it to be bigger and with more spending and more “progressive,” but the first words out of his god damned mouth a couple weeks ago were that it was a “disappointment.”

    Now he may have thought he was helping push the bill in the right direction, but all he did was provide rhetorical cover for the Republicans to run around and say “no one likes the bill.”

    He doesn’t like the bill? He should think about his part in that. I’m sure he will pen a column telling us how Hillary would have gotten more.

  23. 23.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Laura W: Right? I had disposed of the cat’s most recent victim earlier and asked Mrs. F where the vacuum cleaner was so I could vacuum up the feathers and she said we need a new vacuum!. (I broke the handle off of it last week in an accident involving my ass so the vacuum situation was even more dire than previously discussed.)

    So I said, let’s do it. Let’s get a vacuum. And she went running for the shower to get ready. While she was in the shower, I googled the best vacuum for our needs. (pet hair, hardwood floors, small critter disposal, cat taunting.)

    I found a good vacuum for a little more than we wanted to pay but it was only available online so we ordered it and didn’t have to go anywhere. Mrs. F was a little put off that it was a canister vac too but I read her some cool reviews on Amazon that put her at ease.

    So about an hour later when I got out there to vacuum up the feathers, there was another kill. This time a dead rodent of some sort. Don’t think it was a mouse. It looked like a micro capybara. Small legs, large head. I got a pic to add to the collection.

    Fucking cat.

  24. 24.

    South of I-10

    @LauraW: Tupelo used to sleep on my head. Tupelo was alive when Mr. South and I started dating, she would jump on his side of the bed stomp over him, then softly lay on my pillow. Never woke me up, always woke him up.

  25. 25.

    Janet

    Hi John. I am a new fan of about a month. I enjoy your writing and your righteous indignation. I am a Mitch Hedwig fan and was glad to see him remembered here.

    I also enjoy the pet pix. My old cat Pixie transitioned to her great reward today ( I have trouble with the d word) and she’d be honored for you to admire her photo. She was 20. Trouble is, I can’t figure out how to attach it here.

    Oh well, trust me, she was beautiful. Keep up the good work

    Janet in Richmond VA

  26. 26.

    Punchy

    Just me and the cat.

    And us!

    John, if you want any hope for a contriby to this great site, you’ll root for 2+ goals in the Blackhawx/Canny 1st period. Trust me. (Vegas is wonderful, Mr. FBIman)

  28. 28.

    demimondian

    @John Cole: So I’m not the only one who thinks that Krugman is letting the perfect being the enemy of the good? That’s a relief.

    Don’t get me wrong — I’d have liked to see something much bigger — but I’m glad to see anything at all. I wish Krugman would spend a column pointing out how this package shows the utter futility of the Republican efforts to set the terms of the debate, instead of griping about the fact that this bill is not perfect.

  29. 29.

    Walker

    @John Cole:

    I really liked the story-line in Mass Effect a lot more than the NWN II plotline. But NWN II can be really fun for the sheer smackdown.

    Believe it or not, one of the best characters in NWN II is a figher-thief. They decided to remove the 3E rule of "sneak attack can only apply to the first attack a round", and instead allow it to apply to every attack. So if you have a two-weapon fighter with 3 attacks around, NWN II allows you 6 sneak attacks a round.

    I guess they thought this was okay in playtesting, because sneak attacks are supposed to be so rare (e.g. only once, after you come out of hiding). Except that Improved Feint makes your opponent flat-footed and gives you sneak attack for that round. And none of the game NPCs have a high enough sense motive to resist your Feint.

    I played with this character and had Improved Feint as a hot-key. My character was a blade cuisinart that went through Gith like butter. Except for boss battles and buffing, I never bothered to use the other characters.

  30. 30.

    MeDrewNotYou

    You people and your fancy-schmancy games with graphics!

    I’ve got a nice evening planned with NetHack and I’ll enjoy it dammit!

    (But only because I just finished up Persona 4. If you’re a fan of jRPGs, don’t miss it.)

  32. 32.

    Fulcanelli

    A former Morgan Stanley executive and his wife looted $400,000 from bank accounts set up by customers to pay for their children’s college education, police sources said. [Link]

    Now can we shoot a few of of ’em? WTF? A round of Tax Cuts on me. A put ’em in a dirty glass.

  33. 33.

    Laura W

    @Janet: That’s very sad, Janet. 20 is amazing! My oldest is 17. How can you possibly be operating a computer and typing English words tonight?
    Send the pic to John’s email up top. He claims to read his email upon occasion.

  34. 34.

    John Cole

    @Walker: I am ahving fun with Mass Effect, and it has a very KOTOR feel to it. That is a good thing, as I thought KOTOR was the best game ever made, with Deus EX right there with it.

    I play only female toons anymore because the gear models always look better on female characters, so I have a Charlie’s Angels thing going. My toon is an infiltrator, and I pal around with Liara for biotics and Ashley as the combat specialist.

  36. 36.

    sgwhiteinfla

    I understand that Krugman can be an asshole, just like when he tried to call President Obama out for not addressing universal healthcare yet. But on factual stuff he usually gets it right. And if that 600,000 number is correct and Benen has another economist who pretty much agrees that is some bullshit. Yeah something is better than nothing but if we get less than 3 million jobs out of that bill the Dems in 2010 are fucked and President Obama might be in 2012. Hell we lost over 3 million jobs in just the last 13 months.

  39. 39.

    Brick Oven Bill

    I left the house today. The mall common area was very busy, but there were very few people in the stores. The parking lot was full. JC Penney was having a 75% off sale. I didn’t intentionally look, but cannot recall seeing anybody at the cash registers. We walked around for ninety minutes and left. The youth at the mall reinforced to me the fact that there will be no social security for me.

    Then to Sam’s. The Pizza Price Index (PPI) is down 5%, on a $0.54 price drop per 5 pounds of cheese since ten days ago. The other ingredients are holding steady. Cheese is selling for $1.82/lb. I cannot recall it being that low. I suspect the cause is that people are putting less cheese in their mac.

    Then to the local grocery store, to replace my ice cube trays and buy a loaf of bread, where I met a TV personality! Usually, when you meet somebody you recognize from mass media in person, you walk away disappointed (Al Frankin is one of my cases). This person impressed me however, so the outing ended on a high note.

    Then back home. The family consumed a pasta dinner, and I ate some hamburger that was three days past its use by date. This was two hours ago, it tasted good, and I feel fine.

  40. 40.

    Walker

    @John Cole:

    I play only female toons anymore because the gear models always look better on female characters, so I have a Charlie’s Angels thing going. My toon is an infiltrator, and I pal around with Liara for biotics and Ashley as the combat specialist.

    That’s a pretty good set-up, but I find the AI for Liara is not all that great. Optimal placement of Lift and Singularity are key to the Insane Difficulty. I prefer the Adept with Ashley and Tali as support

  41. 41.

    MeDrewNotYou

    @demimondian: If he didn’t get an A in your class…

    And no, I don’t care if you taught Art History or Biology. Dude deserves a 4.0 across the board! ;)

  42. 42.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Laura W: Yeah, that. I was standing on the couch in the game room cleaning the blinds and I stepped down off the couch backwards, not realizing the vacuum was there, and snapped the handle off with my ass in the resulting mayhem.

  43. 43.

    Fencedude

    Am I the only one who thinks that the Conference committee should just put EVERYTHING in the damn bill? All the spending, all the tax cuts, make everyone god damn happy.

    And if the R’s don’t like it, fuck them. They get their tax cuts, the D’s get their spending.

  44. 44.

    srv

    @demimondian: I was going to go to the Chinese New Year parade, but it won’t be the same without the freezing rain and absent crowds.

    Ah well, Kurosawa brought a movie. For those of you who netflix, No Country for Old Men is available now on instant-watch. If that doesn’t have enough action for you, try Exiled.

  46. 46.

    JGabriel

    John Cole:

    [Krugman] may have thought he was helping push the bill in the right direction, but all he did was provide rhetorical cover for the Republicans to run around and say “no one likes the bill.”

    Right. Because Republicans really need cover for that. I mean, it’s not like they ever just make shit up.

    Except that it’s exactly what they do all the time.

    Krugman’s got his Nobel, and he’s gonna use it to expand his bully pulpit and get his views heard. No surprise there. Nor is there any surprise that he’s critical of Republican tax cuts in the bill.

    If everyone on the left who’s critical of the bill says nothing, then only changes from the right will get any action. So criticism from the left is a necessary counter-balance.

    .

  48. 48.

    Dave

    @Fencedude:
     
    This is what I am praying for. I think a lot of stuff will go back in and then the Republicans will be forced to either vote for it (looking like idiots for changing their votes) or against (looking like foolish obstructionist idiots).

  49. 49.

    Punchy

    Goal in less than the first minute. Your (admittedly small) contry is looking good.

    One down, one to go.

  50. 50.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Just a clarification on the Krugman thing. He has long made the point that a stimulus won’t work if it isn’t huge and amibitius, bigger and more ambitious than what we’re getting and so it makes perfect sense for him to point out it sucks, since by his reasoning all along it won’t work in it’s present form.

  52. 52.

    JGabriel

    demimondian:

    I wish Krugman would spend a column pointing out how this package shows the utter futility of the Republican efforts to set the terms of the debate…

    Kind of hard to make that argument, given that the Republicans just got 350 Billion in tax cuts in the Senate compromise bill. Republican term-setting is what got them those cuts, since no else in the center or the left thinks they’re a good idea.

    .

  53. 53.

    JGabriel

    Just Some Fuckhead:

    [Krugman] has long made the point that a stimulus won’t work if it isn’t huge and amibitius, bigger and more ambitious than what we’re getting and so it makes perfect sense for him to point out it sucks, since by his reasoning all along it won’t work in it’s present form.

    I totally agree.

    .

  54. 54.

    Chuck Butcher

    My wife is out doing pool league so it is me, the cat Marlin on the couch looking longingly at my lap occupied by laptop and Gus at my feet panting at the volume you’d expect of 150#. Right this second the TV is playing Bill Perry’s "I Ain’t Lyin’," which is probably appropos for poli-blogging.

    A note regarding Hoover canister vacumes, Great White Pyrennese hair chokes them badly and winds around the brush mechanism. I don’t know why but Gus sheds great clumps of hair in the winter.

    A pork roast stuffed with galic cloves and dusted with rosemarty, dill seed, celery seed, and mustard seed is in the oven surrounded with potatoe slices awaiting onions. My wife loaths the stuff and I like it.

    I’m trying to decide whether to take the Xbox 360 off the old RCA rear projection 50" with Hughes stereo and move to the living room with the 53" HDTV and movie surround and play one of the games I’ve beaten – again. Probably Oblivion, Mass Effect is too limited in dialogue and sound to be worth the move. I still don’t understand how the Hughes works in a 55" wide cabinet to make the sound room wide to the ears. The RCA has a good picture but there is no comparison to the big Sony rear projection HDTV.

    See ya…

    Gonna move and laptop and game don’t mix.

  55. 55.

    Punchy

    Momma likes the Vancoveys. You win Jonnie. Only 3 minz in.

    BTW, Punchy +7 (as if there’s any doubt)

  56. 56.

    John Cole

    I am aware of Krugman’s position on the bill, I think he is right, but if you don’t think that Krugman’s constant whining and inability to ever balance his criticism with praise didn’t feed the ‘no one likes the bill’ Wurlitzer, you just don’t get it.

    What people saw was Krugman trashing the bill and saying it wasn’t a good bill. The “why Krugman doesn’t like the bill” never penetrates the news cycle. I didn’t make those rules, it is just how it is.

  58. 58.

    amorphous

    @John Cole: But even if I were to post here under my pseudonym that I don’t like the bill even though I am a liberal, Fox News would find it and use it as one of their "even some liberals say…" indefensible insertion of editorial in "news reporting."

    Check that, they wouldn’t even need to find it to make it up completely.

  59. 59.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    John, if Krugman doesn’t think it will work then his position is exactly the same as Republicans who don’t think it will work. Whether they have different reasons for their positions is irrelevant. A bad bill doesn’t become better because of someone’s good intentions.

  60. 60.

    sgwhiteinfla

    John Cole

    I agree with you for the most part about Krugman, but in all fairness he did have some columns that "balanced it out" like this one that did a pretty good job of explaining the difference between real criticisms of the bill and red herrings.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/opinion/26krugman.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

    Now I don’t think Krugman can help being an asshole, thats just who he is. But he is also right most of the time so what do you do? One thing I know is its better to have him on our side like when he slapped down the talking heads on "This week with Stephanapolous" last week than to not have him in the fold. At least thats my opinion. Its kinda hard to argue against the Nobel prize winner in economics when the issue is the economy.

    I don’t know if anyone saw it but he kicked Scarborough all in the nuts yesterday too and it was almost as good as when Dr Z got him.

  61. 61.

    kdaug

    @JW Hammer

    Now you’re talking. I’ve been in the game-making industry for ~15 years (art/tech side), and The Witcher is one of the two games I would recommend to anyone, game-player or not. The other is Planescape:Torment.

    Works of art.

  62. 62.

    gbear

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    Today I went to the winter clearance sale at a small independent shoe and work/outdoor clothing store called Nokomis Shoe. The store was packed with people who like good stuff from a neighborhood store. I also went to an independent used book and record store that had a lot of people in it. I bought some used CDs. Personally, I can understand why the malls are failing. I’m still fairly secure at my job, but here hasn’t been anything to attract me to a mall store since mid-December.

    Just me and the two cats this evening. I took sgwhiteinfla’s advice to not read Krugman tonight, but I figured Frank Rich would be a good read. Wrong. Even Rich is cranky.

    gbear +5 new used CDs.

  63. 63.

    Laura W

    I don’t know if anyone saw it but he kicked Scarborough all in the nuts yesterday too

    I saw that and thought Joe put that simpleton in his place pretty quickly and decisively.
    Idjut.
    This is like a really fun and smart slumber party with bizarre strangers when done from bed. Scrabble anyone? Is there online scrabble anywhere? I’ll go look.

  64. 64.

    Stuck

    As I understand it, it’s a done deal in the Senate, and therefore goes to conference where it will exit looking like Jeff Goldbloom without his flyswatter in the The Fly remake. Then we will get to go thru all this craziness again. and since i t ‘s the one and only bill Obama will have, we better get it right, or we’ll all be washing down grasshopppers with puddle water. Ahem/

  65. 65.

    kay

    @sgwhiteinfla:

    I agree with you for the most part about Krugman, but in all fairness he did have some columns that "balanced it out" like this one that did a pretty good job of explaining the difference between real criticisms of the bill and red herrings.

    Following the link to the Krugman article, there are 5 "recent columns". 4 of the 5 are critical, including a silly slam on the inauguration speech, and hand-wringing because Obama stopped talking about health care.

    Krugman has the same problem he had with Bush. He’s all over the place. He’s mad as hell about everything. If he’s concerned about the stimulus bill, maybe he should have focused on that.

  66. 66.

    Laura W

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Speaking of James Taylor…he and Alison Krauss just came on my acoustic coffeehouse xm DTV thingey singing The Boxer. Wow. How can two singers I like fuck up a song I like so totally?
    Some things just should not co-mingle.
    Apparently there is online scrabble and I could’ve taken on anonymous guest #2033 but I’m not so sharp this time of day.
    Obviously.

  68. 68.

    gbear

    there is online scrabble and I could’ve taken on anonymous guest #2033

    Something about that just sounds creepy…like it can’t end well…

  69. 69.

    Laura W

    @gbear: I know! Especially since the window popped right up and he was all ready and eager to play me, without drinks or dinner or anything.
    I bailed!

  70. 70.

    John Cole

    John, if Krugman doesn’t think it will work then his position is exactly the same as Republicans who don’t think it will work. Whether they have different reasons for their positions is irrelevant. A bad bill doesn’t become better because of someone’s good intentions.

    First, Republicans don’t oppose the bill because they think it is bad, they oppose the bill because they think it is politically advantageous to pretend they are budget concerned fiscal conservatives and because they think a “loss” for Obama is good for them.

    Second, even if the Republicans were arguing in good faith and thought the bill was bad, they would not think it was bad in the same way that Krugman does. Krugman thinks is is bad because it does not do enough- there are still parts he likes. Republicans, assuming they are arguing in good faith (they are not), think it is bad all the way around.

    My beef with Krugman is he never spends any time outlining the good in the bill. Sure, I agree with him it should do more, but see Kay above- it is just slam, slam slam the bill. His rhetoric helps the opposition, even though he is 180 degrees on the other side of the fence with them.

  71. 71.

    J. Michael Neal

    Now I don’t think Krugman can help being an asshole, thats just who he is.

    He’s an economist. They’re all like that. The rational expectations jerks here at Minnesota are bigger assholes than other economists, but it’s a difference of degree, not kind.

  72. 72.

    themis

    @kdaug: Now I have to find The Witcher. Planescape is one of my all-time favorites.

    And now I have to find my copy of Planescape… wonder if it will work on an XP machine?

    Damn free time…

  73. 73.

    Elie

    Krugman is not helpful and is particularly egotistical.

    He, like us, does not know what will and will not work when and for how long. These are uncharted waters that must be worked in a highly politisized and polarized environment.

    Obama tried the old "lets do it together and everyone put some skin in it" and it didnt work. The progressives are pissed that there is not enough of the right stimulus and jobs and the right is pissed because there arent enough tax cuts. Everyone is pissed off — bill is too big and bill is too small.

    In truth, NO ONE REALLY KNOWS FOR SURE, including Lord Krugman who from the comfort of his Nobel Prize has appointed himself the insuffarable "I am the only one with the right answer". He isnt talking to O directly, or trying to influence him through other connections. He is purposely trying to play cock of the walk in the paper — as though anyone is going to take your advice when its presented like that!

    I am not saying Krugman is not smart, or that he may indeed have a good idea about what he is talking about. However his method of trying to influence this is mostly being a wise guy know it all, rather than to really influence in a way that decision makers are more likely to listen. After all, from his place of comfort and little risk, what has he got to lose?

  75. 75.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Laura W: That’s one of my favorite songs. In fact, I carry a Simon & Garfunkel CD in my truck. I can’t imagine how anyone else could ever cover The Boxer.

    I used to play a lot of online scrabble but everyone cheats nowadays. I’ve been told it’s available on Facebook or Myspace or one of those other places I’d never go.

  76. 76.

    demkat620

    @Janet: Aw Janet, rest easy, the friends here are good and the words, well, entertaining. We ain’t the smartest on the nets but we’s family now and you come round as much as you need to.
    Somebody funny is always here.

  77. 77.

    kay

    "Why has the Obama administration been silent about one of the key promises during the campaign the promise of guaranteed health care for all Americans?"

    Oh, I don’t know, Paul. Because…Obama can’t both explain the economics of an unprecedented financial meltdown while also promoting your preferred health care fix?

  78. 78.

    burnspbesq

    @sgwhiteinfla:

    Krugman’s probably mostly right about the economics of the package, but he has a huge blind spot where political reality is concerned. A bill he would have liked couldn’t have been passed.

  80. 80.

    AhabTRuler

    I am making final KITTEH preparations, as we are at K-minus 24hrs and counting. That, and cooking a pair of beautiful artichokes.
    I have emailed a pic to the "John Coles of the Left," but it will no doubt be awhile.
    Edit: of the Kitteh, not the artichokes. Although I could, if people were really that interested.

  82. 82.

    John Cole

    @kay: But Hillary’s plan was so much better! XOXOXO HILLARY! HUGS AND KISSES, DR. PK, Nobel Laureate.

    Wouldn’t surprise me if he has a PUMA bumpersticker on his home laptop.

  83. 83.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @John Cole: I agree with most of that, particularly the part about Republicans.

    But this bill sucks, if for no other reason than all the accomodations made to Republicans who then voted against it. So kill this bill and start over and do it right without Republican input and then let it go to the Senate where we blow up the fucking fillibuster and pass it on a party line vote.

    No more fucking around.

    As far as Krugman goes, he’s prissy and annoying. I just pointed out he’s being consistent.

  85. 85.

    Laura W

    @AhabTRuler: What is the backstory on the kitty?
    (I can’t believe I am confessing this in public but Bird’s Eye makes some pretty darn good Brussels in the steam in microwave bag! I’m not always up for all that chopping and sauteeing for half an hour.)

  90. 90.

    John Cole

    BTW- I am pleased to report that the Never Winter Nights II download took only 45 minutes, and was so easy, I will probably never buy another CD again. Save on materials, packaging, and shipping, and have it in an hour rather than three days for the same price. Win.

  91. 91.

    Laura W

    @demkat620: No doubt!
    I usually can’t stay up this late but I was asleep early last night. Which turned out to be very fortuitous because around 11:30pm some persons were saying very hateful things about some things that I did not find until I had consumed one cup of coffee this morning. That was lucky.

  92. 92.

    Stuck

    And we should arrest and all those nasty republicans and put up the Blue Flag of Peace. The Filibuster is the only thing holding back the tyranny of the majority, from either side, and endless civil war that would likely commence.

    Though it might be fun for awhile.

  93. 93.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Laura W: Never been there either. Not much of a game player anymore, except p0k3r.

    Maybe I’ll post some pics of my ass on Flickr later so we can all enjoy it.

  94. 94.

    AhabTRuler

    Friends adopted a stray that surprised them with a litter. The SO (her first Kitteh) and I decided that it was time to cat up. Tomorrow our other friends, who are adopting two of the other siblings of our kitteh, are bringing ours back with theirs, with an eta of 10 or so.

    I am so picky about veggies (I didn’t eat them for the first 25 years of my life), that I always do fresh, not frozen or boxed.

  95. 95.

    Bob In Pacifica

    Our dog almost died two weeks ago. Limped out to the backyard and stayed out there for two days. He’s a hundred-pound Akita, so when he decides to do something it’s hard to make him do otherwise. After two days he came back in, we got a vet and he’s back to his old doleful self. He’s dreaming in front of the blazing fireplace.

    Girlfriend went upstairs to bed. Girlfriend’s daughter is sleeping on the couch after a day down in Half Moon Bay.

    I’m nursing some Jameson’s and watching the Chinese New Year’s Parade in San Francisco on tv. There are lots of cute little kids dressed up like cows (it’s the year of the Ox).

    My Saturday night.

  96. 96.

    AhabTRuler

    @Bob In Pacifica: I am glad he is doing better.
    I am a sucker for all sorts of pets. The SO and I have had rats, mice, a guinea pig, tons of fish, some reptiles, even mealworms that we raised to adulthood and released. I am even trying to get overcome my fears of insects (I don’t kill spiders, wasps, bees, hornets, &c., but I am somewhat fearful of them).

  97. 97.

    kay

    @John Cole:

    Right. Maybe she would have hired him, although in my opinion he’d last about a month if he actually had to draft and then get something past GOP opposition.

    When people said Democrats and liberals had overly high expectations for Obama I said "oh, no! not MY liberals and Democrats! They’re hardened realists! They survived extinction! There was SELECTION going on, in the political wilderness! They’re tough, now."

    They’re ready to throw the towel in after three weeks. The campaign alone lasted two years, but the week-long stimulus bill battle has left them broken.

  98. 98.

    sgwhiteinfla

    burnspbesq says

    Krugman’s probably mostly right about the economics of the package, but he has a huge blind spot where political reality is concerned. A bill he would have liked couldn’t have been passed.

    I totally agree, but I would ask you and everybody else slamming him one question. If it wasn’t for Krugman would any of us have any idea of just how far from reality the Republicans are when talking about this stimulus? Because I have to say that for all of his faults I am not a regular reader of any other economist. But hey maybe its just me.

    Now here is the rub….What if he is right? Basically what we are saying is he should have STFU about the bill whether he was right or not because even if we passed a bill that wouldn’t work at least we would have passed SOMETHING. Does that REALLY make sense to anyone?

    Don’t forget that people were saying the same thing about Krugman when he was predicting the housing bubble. Telling him to just STFU because all was well and the economy was fine and real estate NEVER has a bubble. Exactly how did THAT work out for us?

    Like I said before, YES he is an asshole and YES he could have cheerleaded a little bit more for the bill. But the truth is if the guy doesn’t believe the bill will frikkin work then how do I look telling him to just go with the flow? And when you are talking counterweights do you realize that 90 percent of Rethugs in the Senate voted for an amendment that would have stripped all spending out of the bill and replaced it with all tax cuts? 90 muthafucking percent!!!

    Now I ask one more time, who other than Krugman has been sounding the alarm on this one that has his kind of a platform, and where would we be WITHOUT him calling for more instead of less? Hell we might be staring at a 500 billion stimulus plan chock full of tax cuts right now if not for him and thats reality.

    Oh and by the way, politics aside. Is there anyone who doesn’t believe his estimate that we just lost 600,000 jobs in the cuts made to bribe 3 republicans for their votes? And if you DO believe him isn’t that the only thing that matters at this point? Im just sayin.

  99. 99.

    bago

    Went to a housewarming party, read the Mass Effect art book, and ate part of a woven bacon cheese log.

  100. 100.

    Comrade Jake

    What is difficult to comprehend amongst all the cuts is the aid to states. State Governors, whether they be Dem or Republican, have practically been begging for money to get there ASAP.

    I’m sort of hard-pressed to see how the aid to states doesn’t get put back in, at minimum.

  103. 103.

    burnspbesq

    @sgwhiteinfla:

    I totally agree, but I would ask you and everybody else slamming him one question. If it wasn’t for Krugman would any of us have any idea of just how far from reality the Republicans are when talking about this stimulus? Because I have to say that for all of his faults I am not a regular reader of any other economist. But hey maybe its just me.

    Bookmark this:

    http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/

  104. 104.

    Comrade Jake

    I like Krugman a lot, but I’m also hard pressed to understand how anything he said or did made a damn bit of difference. The GOP made a political calculation here that was not at all based on facts or the opinion of experts.

    That is what they’ve been doing for at least a decade. That is what they’re doing now. This is the only thing they know how to do. They can get away with it because Democrats have no fucking idea how to call their bluff. As much as we would like them to strap on a pair, we’re talking about the likes of Harry Reid.

    Krugman’s really not much help there either, because he just points out that the Republicans are ignoring the facts. I enjoy that tremendously but it doesn’t seem to do anything to discourage them. Because, you know, Krugman’s a liberal elitist, Nobel-prize winning know-it-all, and all that jazz.

  105. 105.

    Laura W

    @John Cole: I had a dream a few months back that you had diabetes. It was an odd dream. Almost emailed you but didn’t want to "nag". Any more than I already do.
    I’ve concluded you are one of the lucky folks who functions on very little sleep. Up late, up early. I need 9 solid hours/night to function well. Wish it were not so, but t’is.

  107. 107.

    Elie

    –Its not that Krugman is wrong. I am sure that at least some of what he is saying is right — but which part?

    There is a huge noise machine right now — a veritable "tower of babel" of expert opinion and very confident pronouncements of fact — mainly from those outside of any real responsibility for the solution..

    All of this to be expected. There are many, many opinions…

    Don’t know about you, but if I am Obama, I put my damned hand on the tiller, and I turn into the storm and I choose with the advice of those that I know and trust and just be ready to live with that decision. No one else has the responsibility and truly – NO ONE KNOWS FOR SURE — no matter how cock sure they seem.

    (I am also sure that if Krugman truly wants to help, he could find a better way to do it than what he is doing. He is not adding to any clarity, just fanning the flames and setting up the sales for his neck book. He is as self serving as any of the other a-holes flapping their lips)

  108. 108.

    demkat620

    @kay: Part of it Kay is because he now has a spin cycle to break. He hung a lantern on bipartisanship and then they got in the West Wing and all they goodies don’t work no more. So they’re blind in this and the reps have the high ground for now. (The reps have this framed that bipartisanship means accomodating them and only them) They are not entrenched, buzzards mostly and can be scared off easy enough but its work.

    If he can’t find a way to frame this back, this is what the next four years will look like. No from every rep when they can get it and an occassional squeaker for our guy. They have cleared their field of enough vulnerables. There can be more pick ups but they will be hard and two years away.

    I say, Barack Obama, with a speech, from the east room. Blasting the obstructionists and the consequences. Use your strength and then stemwinders all over the country. You gotta make them pay.

  110. 110.

    kay

    @Comrade Jake:

    I think it’s essential. I think that is why Obama is going to the states. I hope.

    I went to Lake Michigan Friday. Michigan, not Erie, and it was not at all tragic, unlike Erie. I asked the bait-selling man why there were so many out ice fisherman out on a weekday (I thought it was a tournament) and he said "because no one is working".

    I don’t know why Presidents don’t use Governors as allies. I would. Congress is broken.

  111. 111.

    Church Lady

    I was actually able to drag Church Man out of the house tonight for dinner at Caio Bella. Yum. Then back home to watch Memphis beat Gonzaga on ESPN. Damn, we’re old. Meanwhile, the darling daughter is in New Orleans, at some Krewe ball. I’m jealous – I still have a vague recollection of the days when Church Man and I used to party all night long. Now, he’s usually asleep before 9.

    As far as vacs go, I bit my lip, clutched my heart, and bought a Dyson. With a lab and a golden, both of whom shed like crazy, it’s probably one of the better investments in a household appliance I’ve made. Works like a dream, gets rid of all of the hair (hardwood and rugs), and never loses suction or clogs. I just wish it had been a little less expensive.

  112. 112.

    demkat620

    Well night juicers. And escpecially, Laura W. It has been a rough ‘un for you. Peace, friend.

    I am off to sleep for 6.

  115. 115.

    kay

    @Elie:

    There is a huge noise machine right now—a veritable "tower of babel" of expert opinion and very confident pronouncements of fact—mainly from those outside of any real responsibility for the solution..

    Exactly.

  116. 116.

    gbear

    a veritable "tower of babel" of expert opinion

    not to mention the even noisier ‘tower of babel’ of morons.

    g’nite.

  117. 117.

    KS in MA

    I feel incredibly indebted to Krugman because he single-handedly got me through the last year or so of W’s regime– but thank you all for reminding me that he’s not infallible on the stimulus bill. I hope you’re right, because it’s certainly not gonna be perfect!

    Here’s my Econ 101 question. We’re told that tax cuts are not as effective as other kinds of stimulus spending because people will only take their tax cuts and put them in savings or (more likely in my case) use them to pay down debt. Well … in both cases, the tax cut goes to the banks, right? So, that’s a good thing … right?

  118. 118.

    JasonF

    SNL is more miss than hit these days, but the opening sketch with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid was 100% win.

  119. 119.

    Miriam

    gbear,

    I was at the Nakomis Shoe store today too – and was very glad to see it busy. I’m really hoping we don’t end up with only Wallmart to shop at and work for.

  121. 121.

    Martin

    You people and your fancy-schmancy games with graphics!
    I’ve got a nice evening planned with NetHack and I’ll enjoy it dammit!

    If you like NetHack, you should try Dwarf Fortress – it’s a rogue-like sandbox game. Very deep and addictive. Free. Playing it with my son.

  122. 122.

    Ninerdave

    Just me and the cat.

    So y’all are sitting around the house? …cuz when Tunch sits around the house, he sits AROUND…the house. *rimshot*

    I’ll have to send an updated pict of my tub o’ lard when Fu sits you can’t see her hind paws, they are covered by her ever expansive gut. Of course when I mention that to her, I see the back side of her thumbs across my face.

    I just did taxes now I’m off to work on my resto druid macros.

    I did have a huge win this year on taxes. I finally got my wife to understand that getting a refund is actually giving free money to the government. So we can finally adjust her w-4.

  123. 123.

    BethanyAnne

    I’ve been leveling my lock, and my other hunter just tamed a crab. Think I’m gonna name it Itchy :-)

    But, all in all, getting a bit bored with WoW. Gotta see if I can finagle a PS3 or XB360 back into the house.

    /schemes
    Bethany

  124. 124.

    Cain

    So y’all are sitting around the house? …cuz when Tunch sits around the house, he sits AROUND…the house. rimshot

    Bah.. you shouldn’t steal lyrics from Wierd Al. ;)

    cain

  125. 125.

    Comrade Kevin

    @BethanyAnne:

    But, all in all, getting a bit bored with WoW.

    So am I. I bought Wrath the day it was released, started a Death Knight and all, but recently I have been finding that, when I think "maybe I’ll play some WoW", my usual reaction is "hmm, maybe not". I’ve been signing on just often enough to keep from getting kicked out of the guild I’m in.

  126. 126.

    MeDrewNotYou

    @Martin: I’ve downloaded it, just haven’t gotten around to playing it. As soon as my super awesome NetHack monk dies, I think I’ll pick it up. I’m really looking forward to Dwarf Fortress after reading Boatmurdered. I ain’t afraid of no damn elephants!

  128. 128.

    Michael D.

    Since this seems to be kind of an open thread, I’ll use it to plug the fact that we went and saw the Dracula ballet on Thursday night,

    Totally worth it and highly recommended

  129. 129.

    Martin

    @MeDrewNotYou:

    Excellent! Things aren’t usually as hairy as they were in the Boatmurdered days, but there’s plenty of ways of getting your ass handed to you if that’s what you like. Use the forums and the wiki.

    And it can rival WoW for time-sucking. You’ve been warned.

  130. 130.

    Chuck Butcher

    @gbear: Pyrs

    Gus is a very cool dog. He is on the large end of height for one, but even more so in weight despite being sleek (when wet). He is the show variety rather than the working variety. In these parts most working pyrennese are the show variety. (for those who don’t know, it is primarily an issue of coat and size) Gus is very large boned, large framed, and long in the body for his height – built like a tank and with as sweet a disposition as you could ask for – though no one has ever crossed him with my wife or self. I don’ t know that it might be a very serious error.

    One of my previous dogs was a Scotch Collie cross with Pyrennese, a great dog who got the best of both breeds and started my enthusiasm for the breed. I had hoped to have had Gus bred by now, oh well.

  131. 131.

    Chuck Butcher

    Almost forgot why I came back to Sat night fun post, looked at my sitemeter and saw an inlink from a comment on Little Green Footballs and decided to see what sin I’d committed. 480+ stupid comments about a stupid article I find it, someone drooling over my Remington hammered side by side 12 ga coach gun; obviously not in for the politics. Oh it’s a sweet heart if being kicked half to death isn’t an issue. Target loads are ok, but full out loads won’t get shot many times in a row.

    Google loves me for some reason. My archives get large runs from there and when I go look my article is near the top.

  132. 132.

    Mike the Dealer

    Kinda bored with WoW also, waiting for the T8 content as I have just about everything I could want currently.

    Thought about starting my own guild but when I tried to register "Tire Rims and Anthrax" I was told it was already registered, was horrifed.

  134. 134.

    kommrade reproductive vigor

    Yesterday morning we went to Costco and as usual I looked upon the food samples as a challenge. I spent the rest of the day wishing I hadn’t. Now I’m awake because I’m hungry enough to slap one of the cats between two pieces of toast. However, the tiny bag of hate (Chief Spokescat) informed me that their ancestors used to eat my ancestors and asked if I was up for a little historical recreation.

    Guess I’ll have poached eggs instead.

  135. 135.

    headpan

    Just me, the cats, my sound machine and bottle of xanax. Good way to get through a lonely Saturday. Sleep.

  136. 136.

    Xenos

    @KS in MA:

    Well … in both cases, the tax cut goes to the banks, right? So, that’s a good thing … right?

    It is a good thing. If every employed middle-class person got lots of tax cuts, they would pay down debts and the banks would have better balance sheets.

    But that is not stimulus — stimulus is what you need when there is a risk of a deflationary spiral. Giving cash to people who need support because they lost their jobs and would otherwise be on a bread line is stimulative. Paying for infrastructure projects that employ people who would otherwise be out of work is stimulative. Likewise the soft infrastructure: schools, public health, and so on.

  137. 137.

    demkat620

    @kay: I know kay. I am just tired of the galactic level of stupidity I see pouring out of the Senate on the GOP side. And I can’t help but wonder, how did Vitter, and Coburn, and Inhofe, and Thune ever get in the Senate? John’s point from the other day is well taken? How can you have any kind of negotiation with insanity?
    I guess my only question to Obama is; how long do we as a nation have to keep trying?

  139. 139.

    headpan

    If every employed middle-class person got lots of tax cuts, they would pay down debts

    The $500 I will be getting won’t even cover my health insurance premium for one month OR the cost of my monthly meds. I totally wish they would use the money for something else since it is a stupid, pointless gesture. For the last few weeks, when I go to the grocery store, I’ve been picking up a few inexpensive items to donate to the local food drive every week. Since I will be getting my mammoth tax cut back in payroll, I’ll be using it for that. I would love for them to have used that money to help extend unemployment benefits which, if I am not mistaken, was also ripped out of the plan. Correct me if I’m wrong.

    Fuck tax cuts unless it’s going to help small businesses which are struggling to hang on. It’s all bullshit and Dems should not have caved to that – they should have screamed their heads off and stop being republican bitches.

  140. 140.

    Zzyzx

    BTW, one thing I didn’t know about the budget bill until yesterday is that it does require 60 votes to pass and that has nothing to do with filibustering and everything to do a budget rule the Senate passed in the 70s. Every now and then the GOS is good for something.

    Once you know that, the compromises make more sense.

  142. 142.

    kay

    @demkat620:

    I guess my only question to Obama is; how long do we as a nation have to keep trying?

    I’m reminding myself as much as you. I was shocked by the level of vitriol so soon after the election. I thought they would offer a pretense of rational discussion. Maybe Obama made the same calculation. They saw a political opening and just rushed in with 2002 talking points. McCain is running the same campaign he just lost.

    Bringing down Obama and "liberalism"is what they have. Talking to them is a waste of time.

  143. 143.

    Snail Darter

    @Zzyzx:

    I didn’t know it was automatically a 60 vote requirement. Thought the point of order had to be raised by a Senator, and that Paygo rules were mostly being used. The Senate rules are as usual, arcane and hard to decipher. But this should allay some of the Pearl Clutching, if the media would report it.

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