Some pics of Lily from our morning walk, and we don’t even bother with a leash anymore. I just carry it and use it when we are around people in the public areas or when I see someone coming down the path being dragged by a dog they obviously have no control over. Here she is rooting around in the weeds:
And here she is just posing:
I’m not sure what she heard, but we were walking along and she heard something in the woods and stopped for a bit. For a second, I thought I was going to end up chasing her through the woods after a squirrel, but she lost interest a second or two later:
Got a full day ahead of me, so consider this an open thread.
Comrade Stuck
The last one is a terrific image of a self confident dog. Well done.
Barbara
Lily must be thinking she ended up in doggie heaven.
donnah
Sad, scared, neglected dog+love, attention, affection=happy, confident, loving dog.
Ya done good!
Silver Owl
It is really nice to see her confidence level building. The more secure she becomes the happier she will be.
The Saff
Look at that tail standing up in those pictures. I was also thinking how Lily looks like a completely different dog than she was a few weeks ago. Amazing what tender loving care can do.
You’re a good man, John Cole. Oh, and your blog ain’t too bad either.
Bob In Pacifica
John, I may have missed it among the many Lily blogs but did you get much information on Lily’s past life?
Violet
Oh, she looks just great! She really is a completely different dog, like everyone else has pointed out. You’re doing such a great job with her. You guys make a great team!
Those weeds she’s messing in make me homesick for West Virginia. Our weeds look different where I live now. Funny how things like that catch your eye unexpectedly.
linda
the change in her posture in such a short time is a real testament to your care of her. it’s amazing; and she just looks so damned happy.
very nice job.
linda
does she know her name yet?
R-Jud
Yes, but can she brew beer?
The Saff
I find the whole Sanford saga disturbing and highly entertaining at the same time (see Collins, Gail). However, I wouldn’t find it entertaining if I was a constituent.
He repeatedly asked permission to visit the woman in Argentina? Jeezus, WTF? What gives?
linda
going ot, but this is an amazing photo of a cloud formation over nyc last nite.
http://gawker.com/5303179/mystery-popcorn-clouds-above-soho
Max
I’ll offer up an exercise I learned when I took the recall class with my dog, it will help with name recognition (if that’s a problem).
1. Get a hot dog and chop it up in tiny bits, keep it handy in a ziploc bag. (you can use other treats, but make sure they are tiny).
2. While watching tv at night, or any other time that you are just relaxing with Lily, call her name.
3. As soon as she makes eye contact with you, give her a treat.
4. Repeat A LOT! Like twenty times in a sitting.
5. Make sure she’s making eye contact with you before she gets the treat.
It will be handy, especially if you are walking off leash (and will help her learn her name).
Karatist Preacher
Looking good!
Lilly von Schtupp
She’s become your trusty sidekick. What a good girl to behave so well off leash. You two hit the jackpot with eachother.
gbear
What a poser.
The Moar You Know
John, nice going. The dog was a shivering mess of terror and now she’s ready to take on the world. Damn good job.
Steeplejack
Cole!
The (positive) changes in her body language are a really good sign. That last picture, especially, says, “I got this.”
SGEW
@linda: Thanks for the link (esp. the meteorologist’s explanation).
To tell the truth, we were kind of freaked out a little last night here in NYC by the frankly ominous sky. What a color! Luminous and sublime, yet lowering and portentous. Like a Turner painting depicting Yog-Sothoth or something.
Svensker
@SGEW:
Yes, it was scary, wasn’t it?
Those clouds are fantastic. Didn’t see them on the NJ side, but it could have been because I was cowering under my desk. The lightening here was tremendous.
Notorious P.A.T.
Cute doggie )
Pasquinade
Michelle Bachman on the census:
BACHMANN RAISES THE ISSUE OF ‘MENTAL STABILITY’ …. You can enjoy Glenn Beck’s deranged worldview, or you can enjoy Michele Bachmann’s deranged worldview, but for real entertainment, you can watch one “interview” the other.
Yes, the Minnesota Republican appeared on the infamous Fox News program yesterday, and said a lot of the things you’d likely expect her to say. Cap and trade is anti-freedom? Check. The census can be used to round up Americans for internment camps? Checkity check. ACORN is scary and dangerous? Checkity check check.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_06/018786.php
linda
@SGEW:
isn’t that just the coolest/freakiest photo. the nyt also has a cool one from the mets game.
i swear, had i seen that (i live in brooklyn) i would have been waiting for the mothership to roll out…
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/sports/baseball/27mets.html?ref=sports
Shibby
A really cool flash game where you get to control the U.S. budget called Budget Hero.
Make sure to watch the little tutorial at the beginning or you won’t really understand what’s going on.
My Experience: Just for fun I picked my priorities as more efficient government, competitive advantage, and economic stimulus or, in other words, the primary issues I think many of our friends on the right would desire. Then I enacted all/many of the policies that were in line with my liberal tendencies. Lo and behold I cut the national debt, reduced the size of government, and delayed the budget bust. Unfortunately, I had to cut military spending and f$$k the rich in the a$$, so we can safely assume my pipe dream will never come true.
Libby
Wow. What a difference in Lily from the first pics. She’s turning into a really fine pup. She’s so lucky you rescued her.
Mike E
I’m taking care of my daughter’s dog, a beagle/springer spaniel mix. The walk consists of sniffing everything, then chasing after squirrels. Her leash=industrial strength, otherwise it’s off to the races
Nicole
Vh1 Classic is running a marathon of Michael Jackson videos. I didn’t know Martin Scorsese directed “Bad.”
Indylib
@Pasquinade: I read that yesterday and laughed at the “checkity check check”. That’s high snark from Benen.
Xanthippas
USA v. Brazil tomorrow peeps, 2pm ET.
Mike E
@Xanthippas: I’m there with banners on
Brick Oven Bill
I have looked for a picture of Steve Martin’s dog in the movie ‘The Jerk’, who shall remain nameless. But there is a strong resemblance by my recollection to Lily.
It is good to know that Geithner’s checker-partner’s firm got their wish in the House. Al graciously gives his ‘salary’ to charity. It would be nice if he would give his investment holdings now worth billions and his $200,000 speaking fees to charity too, but hey. And then we have the windmill manufacturer who is the economic advisor.
And nothing will change except our utility bills will jump, and the industrial base will accelerate its departure. The Founders were very careful to strictly limit the definition of treason, as they must have witnessed the English power structure abuse the concept. From Article 3, Section 3 we find that:
The Founders codified 3 of the 5 English categories as American treason:
1. Levying war against the US.
2. Adhering to the enemies of the US.
3. Giving the enemies of the US aid and comfort.
The Founders did not include these two:
1. Imagining the death of the King.
2. Having sex with English Royalty and counterfeiting.
In my opinion, the cap and trade legislation does not constitute treason under our Constitution, unless Goldman gets themselves into trouble and somebody gives them an official label (neocons?).
There could be an argument that these carbon credits are a form of counterfeiting though, and Al might want to stay away from England until this whole global economic meltdown plays itself out.
Indylib
@Mike E: lol I used to have a springer and they are not safe to take off a leash if there is a possibility of wildlife. Their instict to chase and return is strong. One evening she presented me with a dead bird at the back door. She was pleased as punch at herself. She had jumped a 4 foot chain link fence, chased down a robin she could see in the yard outside the pen and brought it to the house for me. She was terribly distressed when I didn’t jump for joy and praise her for doing something every instinct in her body told her she was born to do. Namely bring me dead birds.
burnspbesq
Yeah, the free fireworks in the New York area last night were very impressive (I was at Citi Field).
Great place to watch baseball, except when it is half full of drunken Yankee fans. Their presence made it a small corner of Hell.
Mike E
@Indylib: I like to say that this one is part springer, 1,000 parts beagle. She looks like Snoopy, except with freckles. Tenacious and hound-like, a slave to her nose. My daughter and her mother aren’t the dog-owners I’d like them to be, because this one needs a hobby or two — I’d bet she would excel at scent training, for example. Gotta treat ’em like the critters that they are, or they suffer
Anne
Puppeh! She looks great, John. Well done.
burnspbesq
Was listening to new albums by old favorite on the flight from Newark to Denver this morning.
The new Tom Rush album is pleasant, albeit marred by a couple of clunkers.
The new Jesse Winchester album, “Love Filling Station,” is extraordinary. I think it ranks with the very best work he’s done. Highly recommended.
Dennis-SGMM
@burnspbesq:
The new Tom Rush album is pleasant, albeit marred by a couple of clunkers.
“No Regrets: The Very Best of Tom Rush” has a couple of tunes that I would have omitted as well. That said, I’d have cheerfully paid full price for it if the only song was “Panama Limited.”
PurpleGirl
Cole, you’ve done good, very good. Lily is changing so much for the better — that curled happy tail is amazing — and it’s because she knows she’s loved and cared for.
Common Sense
@Brick Oven Bill:
I found one (scroll down or ctrl+F the dog’s name) . Your recollection is off.
Betsy
Yay! Those pictures make me happy. And distract me from the fact that I’m sitting in a windowless office trying to finish this albatross of a dissertation chapter.
shelley matheis
Love that last pic. Lily almost looks like she’s got some pointer in her.
Brick Oven Bill
I stand corrected on the comparison between Lily and Steve Martin’s dog. Thank you Common Sense.
Paul L.
How will Juan Cole and Glenn “so-called “Neda video.” ” Greenwald excuse this?
More Disgusting than Forced Confessions
Notorious P.A.T.
You mean “Lifesaver”? :)
Digital Amish
It occured to me that watching Lily the last couple of weeks is an allegory to watching John Cole over the last few years. Well done Mr. Cole, on all accounts.
SGEW
@Paul “Ratfuck” L.:
1) Why on earth would you think Juan Cole or Greenwald would try to “excuse” this? Have you ever even read their coverage of Iran? Logic fail.
2) When did you start trolling threads by posting stuff from America’s Shittiest Website(tm)? If you’re going to do that, just head straight for the batshit and link to Chuck Norris articles from WorldNetDaily already.
burnspbesq
@Dennis-SGMM:
True enough. “Ladies Love Outlaws” hasn’t exactly held up well, has it? But it’s also full of good stuff.
I learned open D tuning so I could play “No Regrets.”
And Tom Rush’s version of “One Day I Walk” turned me on to Bruce Cockburn.
Laura W
John is lucky Lily rescued him.
Also, Blackberriez iz hard!!
passerby
Wow, her tail tells the tale. It went from comma shape to question mark shape, and now, it’s doing a super-coil.
Shiny happy doggie.
Gravenstone
@Paul L.:
Hey numbnuts, why should they, or anyone, excuse it? It’s simply more proof that the current Iranian regime is populated by power maddened thugs. And this is news to you how, exactly? But then, you’ve never shown yourself to be terribly bright here, simply dumping your written fecal offerings and sauntering back off to the trolls that birthed you.
jnfr
Love seeing the happy Lily.
Libertina
@Shibby:
Full of win! Can I come play with you?
Gravenstone
On the much more pleasant topic of Lilly, she reminds me of my grandparent’s dog from when I was growing up. Her name was Taja and she was also a chihuahua/terrier mix – although she tended more to the chi side. Same coloring, but smaller and with a non-curled tail. Very glad to see Lilly is blossoming and hope you both have many wonderful years together.
Death By Mosquito Truck
@Laura W:
We’ll know how much he’s changed when he posts pics of his tail.
JK
I never understood the sex appeal of Farrah Fawcett. I thought her looks were above average, but I never regarded her as drop dead gorgeous. The reactions to her untimely death are understandable, but I always felt that Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith were 1,000 times sexier and far more deserving of attaining the status of iconic sex goddess.
Notorious P.A.T.
@JK:
I agree, Farrah was hot, but not the hottest. But I can understand someone thinking she was. Just not my cup of tea. As if I can afford to be the slightest bit choosy.
gbear
If PaulL can drop fecal offerings this morning, then I can invoke Godwin’s Law via Pandagon.
Dennis-SGMM
@burnspbesq:
One of the many things that I appreciate about Tom Rush is that although he’s a hugely talented songwriter he was never afraid to cover the songs of other musicians.
“Ladies Love Outlaws” is just weird now. It was a part of that Waylon Jennings-Charlie Daniels-Hank Williams Jr. vibe that took over for a mercifully brief period. When it comes to cowboy music I’ll take Ramblin’ Jack Elliot every time.
His album “Young Brigham” has been a constant in my life since I first heard “912 Greens” on a San Jose pirate radio station back in 1968 – or perhaps I should say “Many years ago…”
inkadu
@Notorious P.A.T.: I think Farah Fawcett’s main appeal was she was concentration-camp thin. I don’t know if she actually had a bonafide eating disorder, but watching the 1981 Gumball Rally (Burt Reynolds) I was really afraid she would snap in half at any moment.
But as a child of the eighties, she had perfect hair. When I am going to see long feathered hair again? Only when I am too old to have sex with any of the chicks wearing it.
Steeplejack
@burnspbesq:
Tom Rush is a little uneven, but when he gets one right it is sublime. I have always loved “Wind on the Water” from Merrimac County.
Deborah
Her tail is up in every shot. Such a change in a couple of weeks. Clearly she knew what she was doing when she directed those big eyes your way.
JK
@inkadu:
You can’t mention concentration camp thin without making reference to Olivia Wilde. Inexplicably to me, she was recently voted number 1 on the Maxim Hot 100 list. To me, Wilde is a human toothpick and truly painful to look at. I can’t imagine how any man could be turned on by Wilde.
Farley
John, you are doing a great job with Lily! She is such a sweet dog.
However…
I have to comment about your off-leash remarks. While it is true that some people do not have control over their dogs in public areas, it is also possible that dogs on a leash behave differently than dogs off a leash. They are more vulnerable on a leash, and I think they sense that. And when a leashed dog sees an unleashed dog, I would be surprised if they did not sense the “inequality”. It might make the leashed dog more uneasy.
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this, because of your experience with dogs, but some dogs are more independent, more interested in meeting new doggy friends, and have a stronger prey drive than other dogs. This accounts for at least part of the different behaviors in public places of different dogs. Some dogs are well-behaved with almost no training, others need constant training.
I walk 140 pounds of dog (2 dogs) every day in a public place, and one of my pet (sorry!) peeves are people who take their dogs off-leash as though the public place was their own backyard. My young, leashed, energetic, but very well-trained dogs seem to get MUCH more excited when they see one of these unleashed dogs in the park than when they see a leashed dog. The unleashed dog is running toward them (while their owner is screaming at them – great method) and this is very exciting to my dogs.
All of this is to say is even though Lily is not running toward them at the park, these dogs might be even more excited if they see her off-leash.
Svensker
@Farley:
Yes.
Unleashed-dog owners are also assuming that other dogs, leashed or not, will behave and not be aggressive. My foster boxer (on a leash) almost killed a small friendly unleashed dog the other day who decided to come over and play with the boxer — fortunately, my husband was strong enough to pull the boxer off the little guy before the jaws of death closed on the little one’s neck. The boxer loves people but hates other dogs. The small dog owner was shocked and upset, and couldn’t understand why I was angry at him for allowing his dog to run free like that.
Then there was the time that I was being stalked by an off-leash German shepherd… Never been so scared in my life.
Dogs are too strong and too unpredictable to be allowed off a leash in a public spot.
Still, glad to see Lily happy and confident.
Phoebe
Does she like to fetch yet?
Last night during the insomnia time, she popped into my head with a frisbee. Then it went back to the usual programming of chipmunks with knapsacks etc.
Dennis-SGMM
@Farley:
I have to agree with you. Our small dog just immediately assumes that all other dogs are his friends and want to play. He gets time off the leash by waking me up at five in the morning and then dragging me to the local park for a Dawn Patrol. Even then I have to keep an eye peeled for coyotes (We live in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains) because he thinks that they’re his friends too.
Mike
Nice pictures of Lily (though I don’t think they’re what Pete Townshend had in mind.)
LD50
@SGEW:
Here’s Paul’s ‘logic’:
“Libs don’t think we should bomb Iran. Therefore they approve of everything horrible that happens there.”
Really, conservatives have gotten to where they’re just like little children.
Farley
@Svensker: So sorry to hear about the incident with your boxer. Good thing you had someone else there. And a GSD stalking would scare the shit out of me. Some dogs just do not like other dogs, and we can work with these dogs, but the behavior just cannot be undone, despite our best efforts. Experienced dog owners know this.
I am amazed at how indignant people are when I suggest they leash their dogs. In a public place. Where there are laws about this. Laws in place to protect dogs and people and wildlife. I really think these are examples of laws that make alot of sense.
inkadu
@JK: I didn’t mention Olivia Wilde because, um… I don’t know who she is. The last dirty mag I picked up was my mother’s Victoria Secret catalog; and the last time I saw a VS ad in a magazine, my only thought of the model was, “Shouldn’t you be in school, young lady?”
But… yeah… I don’t mind athletic thin… that’s sexy. But when it’s just skin stretched over bones, I get concerned.
@Farley: It seems that “off-leash” is synonomous with “out of control.” That is a really sad mistake; you can have an off-leash dog that is controlled; and if another off-leash dog comes around and attacks your off-leash dog, a leash isn’t going to make a difference; in fact, if you yank on the leash, it’s probably worse for your dog; he’s going to get freaked out.
I used to walk my dog in a really open and friendly community of dog owners. They mostly walked their dogs off leash, and there were groups that would meet in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening and walk. Dogs are pack animals, and it’s natural for them, and probably healthy for them, to get together with other dogs.
But, again, it’s the owners responsibility to control their dogs, and help them socialize properly. You are probably right — in an uncontrolled area where a lot of people walk their dogs, and there are a significant number of irresponsible dog owners, you probably DO need a leash law; but it’s not the ideal situation. And it just makes me sad. There’s has been nothing in my life that has given me more pleasure than running in the woods with an off-leash dog behind me. And I get the feeling the dog was happy, too.
I have had some bad experiences — a nip here, some moments of terror there, but on balance, in the area I was walking with the dog I was with, it was worth the risk. I also think if you have two dogs, your responsibility goes up exponentially. I was never more terrified then when two aggresive Rhodesian Ridgeback sisters came tearing around the trail. Those dogs need a lot of work to be half-way sane.
There are still problems, even with friendly dogs. Sometimes dog play, especially introductions, can be a little nerve-wracking, especially if you don’t know the other dog, but especially if the other owners don’t know your dog AND don’t know how dogs actually interact. So there’s a whole social aspect between people, too, that has nothing to do with the interaction between dogs. But, like I said, I was in a very special situation where everyone basically knew that if your dog was in the park, he’d be meeting other dogs; there were other places where you could go if you or your dog wasn’t up for it.
And you are absolutely right about the status of leash vs. off-leash. I was walking a dog on a leash once, and he was CRAZY to meet other dogs. “OMG! ANOTHER DOG!” he was really excited. So after a while, I took him off leash. When we passed another dog, I expected him to get excited again. But, no, if the other dog was on leash, he would get nary a glance nor a sniff. A leash for dogs is like wearing underwear on the outside of your pants for people.
JenJen
To leash, or not to leash? It depends on how well your dog is trained, if you ask me.
I walk a very vigorous Aussie Shepherd and an Aussie Cattle Dog-mix twice a day, on leash since we’re usually in the neighborhood, and I’m more concerned about cars and children than other dogs. But if we go on a trail hike, I love taking them off-leash. They are, again, highly-intelligent and well-trained, and they know to follow me, or stick right to my side (pack leader!!) and to never get in front of me.
To take dogs off-leash, they must have mastered the “Come” command. It is by far the most important thing you will ever train your dog to do, and if they won’t come immediately, especially in the presence of other dogs, they really shouldn’t ever be off-leash, for their own safety. I hope I never again in my life see a dog off-lead getting hit by a car. :-(
As well-trained as my dogs are, there is this one thing I have no control over: Squirrels and Bunny Rabbits! If the Aussie Shep, especially, sees a squirrel, all bets are off, and suddenly it doesn’t matter how much we trust each other and how much I’ve worked with him. ZIP! He’s gone. And if I can’t see him, and he can’t see me, then we’re in the danger zone.
And that’s why I think, for the most part, leashing your dog is the smart option. Even though I feel like I can predict the behavior of my dogs, I can’t predict the behavior of other dogs, nasty people (don’t ever forget, a lot of people really, really hate dogs), and small children.
I think it’s AWESOME that little Lily is coming along so well, and seems so confident. Again, I don’t have a problem with unleashed dogs as long as their behavior can be predicted by their owner, and I think it’s terrific that you’re both testing the waters together, and discovering your limits. I’m not big on letting my dogs get in front of me, but I know a lot of people don’t mind, so maybe the best solution here is just a really long lead?
Turgidson
The last pic has me more convinced than ever that Lily has a decent amount of Shiba Inu in her blood. That is almost the exact pose my aunt-in-law’s Shiba Inu takes when he’s happy or excited.
Brick Oven Bill
“We cannot be afraid of the future. And we must not be prisoners of the past. Don’t believe the misinformation out there that suggests there is somehow a contradiction between investing in clean energy and economic growth.”
– President Barack Obama
This is simply a lie.
#1. Europe’s experience with wind energy is that it does not reduce CO2 emissions, as if CO2 emissions were responsible for warming the globe, which has had steady or cooling temperatures for the past decade. This is because the wind stops, and must be backed up with conventional power sources, operating in an inefficient manner.
#2. If energy becomes more expensive in the US, in the absence of significant tariffs, industrial production will move elsewhere.
#3. As Taibbi spells out in his excellent Rolling Stone article linked to above, Goldman Sachs expects energy caps to become a $1 trillion/year market, from which they will take their generous cut.
The President is behaving as a compromised man.
The Other Steve
I watched a bit of TV and am now convinced I need to buy a Dual Saw.
First I have to start my new job making $15k a week out of my home.
inkadu
Oh, while we’re talking about goggies, I used to have a american hound (but a mutt, really) rescure that was very good off leash… until she SMELLED a deer. It’s very hard to walk a dog in the woods, when just a wiff of ungulate hoof makes them absolutely road runner nuts. It was the leash after that for all unfenced areas. I’ve never had a scent dog since, but, damn, that is some powerful urge there.
John Cole
@Farley: Maybe I wasn’t clear. We use a leash when other dogs are around. When we are not around other dogs, the leash is off. And considering this is West Virginia, and not Central Park, we are rarely around other dogs
JenJen
It’s Saturday afternoon, and everybody needs a laugh, right?
The Great Orange Satan just posted what is probably the funniest piece of wingnut hate mail that I have ever had the privilege of reading.
Saturday Hate Mail-Apalooza!
How can you not love an email that begins with “dear socialist fuckstick,” has a meaty middle that includes some rambling about Guatemala being in the Middle East, and ends with “stop publishing antiamerican communist screeds”?
Insta-classic!! Hey John, one Saturday, couldn’t you amuse us by posting some of your PUMA hate mail? Pretty please?
but i digress
I lurk here a lot, but comment rarely. I’ve been following the Lily Chronicles and every milestone touches my heart. I have two rescued cats who spent their first month with me hiding in places I didn’t even know existed in my house. Now, a little over a year later, I can barely make a move without one or more of them entwined around my feet. They follow me into every room and at night they settle in on top of me or right next to my head. We know our animals love us and depend on us, but rescued pets are so appreciative it’s humbling.
Brachiator
@inkadu:
Uh, Wilde is an actress who appears on the tv show House. I’m pretty sure that photos of her appear in other than dirty mags.
I didn’t know much about her background, but after reading her bio I guessed correctly that she chose her stage surname from Oscar Wilde, reflecting her Irish heritage and her family’s literary and journalistic background.
And yes, she is too thin.
JK — I never understood the sex appeal of Farrah Fawcett. I thought her looks were above average, but I never regarded her as drop dead gorgeous. The reactions to her untimely death are understandable, but I always felt that Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith were 1,000 times sexier and far more deserving of attaining the status of iconic sex goddess.
The world disagrees with you. Accept it.
More semi-seriously, I’m not sure that anyone ever “deserves” to attain the status of sex goddess. Taste, popularity, allure, public interest are all fickle and arbitrary.
Oh yes. And Lily continues to be a charmer. It’s great to see how much she is enjoying herself.
Linkmeister
@Indylib: I have photographic evidence of similar behavior by our late and much-loved German short-haired Pointer.
inkadu
Technical question: Why doesn’t Balloon Juice ever finish loading in Firefox 3.0.11 on my Windows XP system? The tab wheel is always spinning, and the status is always “Waiting for http://www.balloon-juice.com...” even after the page has finished loading (as far as I can tell).
JenJen
I do believe this is the smartest thing Meghan McCain has ever tweeted!!
Word.
MikeJ
Most children are smarter than that.
Incertus
@gbear:
Speaking of Pandagon, Jesse tweeted this this morning, and since he didn’t blog it, I did. Obama’s Kenyan birth certificate on Ebay; starting bid is a grand. Think Andrew McCarthy is stupid enough to bid on it?
InflatableCommenter
It says open thread, so I will treat this as an open thread.
I’m watching “Sicko,” the Michael Moore film, for the first time.
It’s no surprise that I am an assiduous and vociferous supporter of healthcare reform for this country. I think I know the subject pretty well.
But watching this film is like being punched in the gut, and if you haven’t seen it, I urge you to find it and see it as soon as possible. The story of how the healthcare industry has demagogued and lied and manipulated this issue for its own profits and own benefit, at the expense of citizens, is shocking beyond words.
Make no mistake about it, evil and greedy people are at war with the best interests of the American people this summer, dedicated to defeating adequate reforms once again.
Make it your business to learn about this subject and do what you can to support and promote the needed change. Don’t listen to the lies of the profiteers, and more importantly, don’t listen to the gloom and cynicism, rampant on these pages where frontpage posters are already declaring the battle lost, and over. The battle is not lost, and it is not over. Get involved and make a difference.
You can start with google, and you can start here.
Brick Oven Bill
“When I was asked earlier about the issue of coal…under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket…even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad, because I’m capping greenhouse gasses, coal power plants, natural gas…you name it…whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retro-fit their operations.
That will cost money…they will pass that money on to the consumers.”
————
“It is paid for by the polluters who currently emit dangerous carbon emissions,” the president said. “It provides assistance to businesses and families as they make the gradual transition to clean energy technologies.”
————
The Audacity of Complete Bullshit. Goldman’s brokering cut is probably 10-15%, or $100-$150 billion annually. Hello.
linda
@Brachiator:
i have no idea who she is, so read wiki, and loved this:
She married Italian-American documentary filmmaker, prince, photographer and flamenco guitar player Tao Ruspoli
now that’s a resume… lol
and i love that megan mccain is such a pain in the ass to her father’s party.
Indylib
@JenJen: Jeebus on raisin toast, that is funny! My favorite part
Has to be a spoof, but damn, best laugh I’ve had in awhile.
InflatableCommenter
Sorry, this should have been included in my previous post.
These are “Sicko” airings coming up on Showtime. Watch or record the film and view it soon, if you have not seen it. Invite friends and neighbors to view it also.
If you don’t have Showtime, you can find other opportunities to see it. Make sure that you watch it this summer.
Times are Eastern.
On Showtime Showcase
06/28/09 at 12:30 PM
On Showtime Showcase
06/28/09 at 5:45 AM
On The Movie Channel
07/05/09 at 11:45 AM
gnomedad
@Brick Oven Bill:
Thank you for pointing this out for the 3,714,386th time. How silly of us to have overlooked this.
Also, the sun rises in the east.
JenJen
@Indylib: Ha! You know, the fact that he spelled Guatemala correctly raises my suspicion that it’s a spoof. But then you read this, and it’s hard to imagine even the most creative troll making this up:
Silly libs and our silly science! Science is not proof, dumb libs!! However, I will use science to prove that you are dumb hippy commie scum! :-)
@InflatableCommenter: “Sicko” is one of the best films Michael Moore has ever done, and you know when it came out, I thought it was so good, and surprisingly funny in parts, that it would really get America talking about our f’d-up health care situation. I guess I’m still a little bit naive, unfortunately. However, I’d like to see health care reform advocates blast out, to as many people as possible, the scene of the ex-pats in Paris comparing American health care to French health care. It’s the most illuminating discussion, and I think all Americans need to hear it.
The Saff
@Indylib and JenJen:
I liked, “SOC I A LISM CANNOT WORK OR RUSSIA WOULD STILL EXIST.”
Did Russia go somewhere?
demkat620
Since it is an open thread let me say this:
Aluminum Bat+Baseball=Wrong. I don’t care how old they are. Pay for the wood. That sound is bad.
That is all. The kids and I are taking fresh potato salad, fried chicken, sandwiches and fruit to our community pool and enjoying a Saturday afternoon and evening.
Y’all stay cool and behave.
gex
@JenJen: And a lot of people are really afraid of dogs. And the body language of a person who is afraid can really trigger some dogs to react, and badly.
It sounds like John does make an effort to put Lily on a leash around the public places and other dogs. While I’m not sure I approve of the off-leash in public, I do approve of making an effort to do so responsibly.
Kevin K.
@Paul L.: Whenever you see the words “Michael Rubin” and “Word from Iran” located in close proximity to each other and cite where they appeared as a reliable source of information, you should, quite swiftly, commence punching yourself in the face and don’t stop until the first Ugly Coyote franchise opens in Tehran.
MikeJ
Does it say in the status bar what’s loading? Feedburner seems to take forever. Goosegrade seems to be the second slowest to me. I just null routed them since I don’t use either service.
Killing javascript for sites other than baloonjuice could speed things up too, but in theory could degrade your user experience. I don’t understand why people even bother with the internet without noscript.
MikeJ
Forget the sound. We now have people in the bigs who grew up swinging metal bats. When forced to use real bats the bats they pick are far too light for safety and snap left and right, throwing huge chucks of wood everywhere.
Linkmeister
@MikeJ: In my case (also FF 3.0.11) with Vista I’m showing “Read static.addtoany.com” in the status bar. This may have just begun this morning; I don’t remember it happening in previous visits.
John Cole
@gex: Do you all understand what public means in West Virginia? Once I am away from the parking place and the area where they set the boats in, when I am on the trails, I go 10-15 minutes in between seeing someone. And then, usually, it is some jackass on a bike trying to set a land speed record on the rail trail, and all I have to do is pick up the dog for 8 seconds.
And really, you want to talk about a menace, it isn’t me. It is all the retards on the rails to trails on their bicycle who thing they are the next fucking Lance Armstrong who appear out of nowhere yelling “ON YOUR RIGHT” OR “ON YOUR LEFT” and you don’t have any time to react whether the dog is leashed, paralyzed, or being held in your arms. If I wouldn’t get prosecuted, I pull a Breaking Away and put a tire pump in their spokes and watch them crash in pain. It infuriated me before I had a dog.
demkat620
@MikeJ: Yes. I was at a minor league game last night and 3 bats broke. It isn’t normal for one per game and then you have three. Well, it didn’t use to be normal.
My dad was saying they are making them out of maple but the league may ban that. Haven’t had a chance to look that up yet.
Lesley
The lovely and delicate Lilly looks confident. (Say that ten times fast.)
Maude
@inkadu:
Do you have flash block? That stops flash objects from loading.
I have the same set up as you on an old laptop. The pages are loading okay and I’m on dial up.
I also have ad block plus and tab mix plus.
If it continues, you can always go back a version of firefox.
Maybe someone else has a solution.
gex
@John Cole:Christ, what did I say? I was joining in on a general comment about *other* dogs off leash in *other* situations and I meant that I was *unsure* if I approved or not, [Edit:] but I was not specifically referring to you. I guess you can take that as a slam and get pissed. Certainly, whatever you do, do not notice that I noted that you were behaving responsibly in what you described above.
Sorry if I was unclear.
JenJen
@John Cole: Personally, I have no idea where you walk Lily, or what the dog/people/children ratio is on any given day. I don’t think anyone thinks you’re being reckless; your post just opened a window for dog lovers to talk about dog stuff, that’s all. It’s not personal, silly goose.
The “Lead or No Lead” debate will rage on, regardless. But I have seen some very bad things happen to dogs off-lead, or to leashed dogs approached by an off-leash dog. Now, every time that I have personally seen a bad dog event, it had everything to do with one or both of the owners being a complete flippin’ idiot. Since that’s obviously not the case with you, I think it’s great that you allow Lily off her lead when it’s safe for her. I do it all the time! But seriously, watch out for flippin’ idiot dog owners. They are in abundance, in every corner of the world, even West Virginia!
Speaking of Lance Armstrong wanna-bes, I gave up rollerblading forever after too many crashes with these assholes. The last time it happened to me, the guy literally screamed “ON YOUR LEFT!” a second before plowing me over. He must have also been going after a land speed record, because he didn’t stop to check on me; he did glance behind him for a second, though. You go, champ! Jerkoff.
inkadu
@InflatableCommenter:
I can’t believe we are having this discussion on the internet of all places. I would also suggest looking up “torrent clients” and “torrent sicko.”
Or, if you want your internet health policy jollies the legal way, look up PBS’s documentary “Sick Around the World.” I think you can still it watch over the web. It doesn’t have too much on the US health care ‘system’ directly, but it is a serious look at the many, many ways there are to structure a viable public health care system. For all the technical discussion, my favorite part of the video is the look of shocked horror that crosses the faces of plan administrators around the world when the interviewer asks, “So under the system in your country, how many people go bankrupt because of medical bills?”
JGabriel
… And the Purity Spiral™ goes ever on and on. Michelle Malkin (via Steve Benen) pulls out the eliminationist rhetoric and aims it at her own side:
I love it when they attack their own.
.
gex
@John Cole: And, I agree on the biker menace. I have that same problem with bikers around my dog. And here in the suburbs of the Twin Cities, we have these bikers who simultaneously believe they should be treated like all other traffic on the road, so drivers need to follow the rules like they are cars. But they don’t have to do things like stop for stop signs or lights, or signal turns, or even wait until they would have the right of way if they were a car.
Brick Oven Bill
Generation Investment Management
Owner #1: Al Gore
Owner #2: David Blood (Goldman Sachs)
“What is clear to us and many others is that market capitalism has arrived at a critical juncture. Even beyond the bailouts and recent volatility, the challenges of the climate crisis, water scarcity, income disparity, extreme poverty and disease must command our urgent attention.”
-Al and Dave
The average pay at Goldman Sachs is $622,000. Al Gore’s net worth was estimated by ABC News to be $100 million in 2008. He would likely become a billionaire under this corrupt legislation. In the name of poverty, income disparity, and doubling working class houshold’s electric bills, of course.
Hello.
John Cole
@JenJen: It really isn’t that difficult a decision process, TBH, so I’m not sure why people struggle with the concept.
Is there anyway possible your dog could get hit by a car where you currently are or where your dog could run in 10 seconds? Yes? Use a leash.
Are there any other people around? Yes? Use a leash.
Could anything bad happen to your dog without a leash? yes? Use a leash.
Could your dog do something bad to someone else if they are not leashed? Yes? Use a leash.
If you can’t figure that sort of stuff out, you are probably too stupid to have a dog, and will probably find a way to get yourself, someone else, or your dog hurt even if you use a damned leash.
I wait until we are 2-300 yards away from the public area, take the leash off, and we are fine. If I see someone approaching, I just have to say Lily, come, and she comes over and I either leash her or, if it is aforementioned asshole biker going 40, I just pick her up.
This is not rocket science.
steve s
Oh yeah? Well….well… you’re Objectively a Meany-Pants! So there!
Friend and I are trying to decide which sentences are dumber, on average: ones of the form “X is Objectively Pro-Y”, or ones that begin “FACT:…”
gnomedad
@JGabriel:
Republican Autoimmune Disorder.
Update: Dangit, I was feeling pretty clever, but I’ve been scooped.
Laura W
@Death By Mosquito Truck:
Do you think it will be curvier, or held higher?
Indylib
@JenJen: This has to be spoof though, no honest to Jeebus, realAmerikan wingnut would write this
They will never stop hating us.
Deborah
To sound in on leashing, I’m with John. Our dog is actually better-behaved off-leash than on- if we’re encountering other dogs in a tight spot (narrow sidewalk by road), I think because she reasons she isn’t so responsible for herself on leash–I’m in charge then. But she is a well-behaved dog who has figured out that not all dogs want to play with her.
A week ago I was walking by myself in a popular dog-walking spot and a woman, seeing me coming, leashed her lab and then was dragged past me. I smiled and nodded to the human, like you do, following my unconscious rule of not greeting a dog who’s already causing their owner effort so as not to confuse things, and she replied “You didn’t make eye contact, did you? They’ll come at you if you make eye contact–you know that, right?!” It took me a minute to process this, by which time we’d passed, and I was left thinking, “Wait, the issue here is not that your dog is untrained and needs more work walking on- and off-leash, the issue is that people he meets on popular hiking trails might make eye contact?”
In Sanford news, the State is suggesting that the e-mails were leaked by a man who dated the mistress. So everyone who thought “it could be the wife” and then proceeded to “so it must be the wife, and any embarrassment generated for her by the e-mails is really her own fault” should apologize to the poor woman, and not take up any careers in science or detective work. That statement she issued appeared to have been written, chronologically, shortly after the e-mails were released, which I have to think would destroy anyone’s ability to sound quietly devastating but composed, and not self-righteous, at least for a few weeks.
steve s
Balloon Juice was actually the reason i got NoScript. To get rid of that stupid box that used to pop up with all the Share selections whenever my mouse would wander over it, invariably blocking whatever i was trying to read. But it seems they got rid of that bit of junk.
demo woman
The pet rescue was set up outside between Trader Joe’s and Pets Mart. The temperature is in the mid nineties but feels closer to one hundred. They did have a mutt that caught my eye. Looked like Moxie, eighteen pounds, but rather than wiry gray hair the mutt had a brown and black coat. Pretty cute. I did discover though that the fee for adoption is now $299.00. That seemed high to me. When I adopted Moxie eight years ago, I paid $129.00 which included spaying and updated shots. Is that the new normal price for a mutt?
Brachiator
@inkadu:
You can get to all kind of information on the Frontline program Sick Around the World by going to the PBS site here.
And yes, you can watch the full program online.
magisterludi
On the subject of dog walking etiquette- I hate it when runners run right at dog-walkers. Matters are made even worse when the runner is running with his/her dog. My three dogs pay no attention to other dogs or people UNLESS THEY ARE RUNNING STRAIGHT AT THEM! Then, if I am off-guard, all hell breaks out.
We were out walking one evening and a runner came up behind us with his dog, like he was planning on just plowing right thru us. Our startled dogs acted like dogs and started barking and trying to get out of the way. We muttered “asshole” as the guy passed and he wheeled around and started kicking at our dogs and threatening us- went batshit crazy.
Thing is this wasn’t the first time he had pulled this- previously blood and bruises (mine) had resulted when he intentionally collided with me and the beasts on a solo walk.
So we called the police when we got home and they told us the runner had assaulted us and, if there was a next time, just shoot him dead.
John Cole
@demo woman: Lily cost $85.00.
JenJen
@Deborah: Exactly. Flippin’ idiot dog owners like the woman you encountered are a dime a dozen. It’s depressing to me, especially considering how mellow labs are by nature, and how easily they take to training. She might want to look into it.
Re: Sanford, I just finished reading that! You know, one of the top wingnut responses to L’Affaire Sanford is that The State is a disgusting liberal mouthpiece that had no business printing the private emails of the Governor. Rather than discuss the actual conduct of the Governor, they’d rather the entire issue morph into an email privacy debate. It’s one of those classic, “Hey, look over here!” responses. Personally, I could care less about the sexual conduct of Sanford; isn’t the real his complete abdication of responsibility to his constituents, the betrayal of his staff, and the increasingly ridiculous stories that were concocted to explain his disappearance? No. To nutters, it’s all about The State printing the emails. So, go figure.
By the way, Team Jenny! You gotta love a political wife who just refuses to play. Good for her. And my heart just breaks for what her nuttier-than-a-Jif-Factory husband is putting her and her children through.
@demo woman: $299? That’s a bit ridiculous. The last rescue dog I adopted, Rocco the Aussie, cost $85.00, two years ago, which of course included his shots, neutering, and microchip. Wow. $299? Do you recall the name of the organization?
Death By Mosquito Truck
@Laura W:
*blush*
demo woman
John, If you are still around can you post a picture of Lily when you first brought her home and a picture now.
Moxie has been off leash when she escapes the fenced in area. She loves her yard so that is seldom. The other time she was allowed off leash was when I was on a rail to trails hike while vacationing in West Virginia.
Dennis-SGMM
@gex:
Don’t even get me started on those Spandex-wearing shitheels. On weekends they would infest the (mostly) two lane roads of our little town in herds of anywhere from twenty to sixty or more. They pushed aside our own aged cyclists, moms pushing strollers, kids on skateboards, walkers, runners, and ignored stop signs, stop lights and every last rule of the road and then would get in your face if you ask them to show even a bit of courtesy. It became so bad that our local PD made a habit of enforcing every last applicable law on them until they started choosing other places to be obnoxious.
MikeJ
Yes, they are in fact using maple, and it’s mostly the same people using the lightest bats. I almost mentioned this earlier, but I’m not prepared to pretend I know enough about the materials to weigh in on the ash v maple holy war. I’m not sure if the high number of broken bats is because of use of maple or simply because of the insanely small diameter.
I should probably search LGM’s archives. This discussion sounds like something they would have already tackled.
inkadu
Just downloaded NoScript and it looks like a wonderful program… and it seems to be blocking something, and now… voila! the page is done loading. thanks!
Farley
All I was suggesting John, was that maybe the other dogs see Lily before you see them. I said it in a nice and constructive way. You were kind of condescending in your original post about other dog owners; I was trying to show you maybe you were being a little unfair to them.
Every dog is different, every dog owner is different. Every dog owner makes educated decisions about their own dogs.
Once again, you implied that I (or other posters and, this time, dog owners) are slow or stupid or struggling to “get” you. I can assure you that after many years and many dogs, and my years of experience in animal rescue and training, I am not struggling to get you.
Best wishes with Lily. She seems like a great dog.
Eric U.
@gex: that’s horrible about all those lawless cyclists. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been assaulted by motorists while riding a bicycle legally, but I guess I deserve it because I ran a stop sign once. On the other hand, no motorist around here stops for stop signs unless forced, the frat boys speed up. Most of the time I’m half afraid of getting rear-ended if I stop for one.
I don’t like the way people ride on bike paths, and I don’t like the clueless way people walk on bike paths. So I don’t use them much. I think it’s about time we built some nice pedestrian infrastructure anyway, don’t see why we have to justify it with bicycles. The truth is, bicycles and pedestrians are not compatible users of the same paths, particularly with dogs on lazy leashes in the mix.
For years, there was a dirt trail leading from my town to the bigger town down the road. They built a bike path on top of it which has been a boon for the pedestrians. The bike path actually should have been on the other side of the road so there wouldn’t have to be 13 stop signs vs. 3 stop lights on the road. But as a sidewalk, it’s perfect. Personally, I ride down a rural road which is an extra 3 miles on my commute. Saves me 10 minutes. Some people ride down the main drag, which would probably save me 15 minutes over the bike path, but the harassment, honking and threats of violence would get to me.
Martin
Yeah, a lot of that is inexcusable – particularly interactions with pedestrians, but laws are changing for how bikes interact with traffic rules, so be aware of that.
I don’t know what it’s like there, but we have cyclists run down and killed all the time while just cruising in the bike lane. Recently I passed a cyclist that was run over and killed by a gravel truck which veered into the bike lane. It’s forced cyclists to be a bit creative when interacting with cars, just out of their own safety.
bago
As a snowboarder and a biker, I have to pipe up. The tricky part about passing is knowing when to start your sentence initiating passing protocol (“on your left”). If you start to say it too early all you hear is “r left”, or “ft”, which most people will stop and try to parse, sometimes leading to unfortunate results. If you say it too soon, you don’t get heard, and if you say it too late you can’t react in time. In general, if you’re on a smooth area be prepared to deal with players highly invested in kinetic energy.
Dennis-SGMM
@inkadu:
Now you just need to download Grease Monkey and Cleek’s Balloon Juice Disemvoweller script and you, too, can convert the musings of BOB of PaulL or anyone else to comments on the virtues of pie.
bago
Squirrel! Also.
John Cole
@Farley: I thought it was good advice, but this comment makes me think you perceive I’m being aggressive or something. I’m not. I just don’t think people realize how isolated the area I go to is. Around where you park, the most people I have ever seen is 6-7, and that is at peak hours. Beyond that, I rarely if ever see more than 4-5 people for an hour – hour and a half walk.
As to the comment in my original post, I guess it did sound testy, but I kind of am testy towards this woman I had in mind when I wrote it. She has two 100 pound dogs that she simply can not control. They drag her all over the place, and I have to literally get off the trail, stand in the woods holding Lily while her out of control dogs drag her down the trail. She is a total idiot, as far as I’m concerned, and she always acts like there is just nothing she can do, which kind of irritates me. Well, yeah, there is. Train your damned dogs, and if you can’t do that, walk them one at a time so that we can at least pretend you are somewhat in control.
It is only a matter of time before one of those dogs gets a kid.
Indylib
@demo woman:
I don’t know where you are but when we went looking to adopt a dog 3 years ago in San Diego the Humane Society wanted something in the range of $400 and you had to fill out more paperwork than if you were going to adopt a child. They wanted to screen us, visit our house, have our last 3 addresses, etc. It was frickin’ ridiculous. I understand being careful, but that was way over the top. We ended up going to a private animal shelter in Chula Vista and we only paid $75, which included spaying, first shots and insertion of her microchip (activation of the chip was about $30). I don’t know if that’s standard for the Humane Society everywhere, but I won’t donate to them anymore. I give to my local shelter wherever we are living.
MikeJ
Greasefire tells me that at one point there was a script called “lipstick on a pig” designed to run here, but it no longer exists. I wonder what that was.
John Cole
@bago: Here’s a thought. If you are going so damned fast that you may or may not be able to time a one syllable word so that people can react so that you can safely pass them, try this idea out:
SLOW THE FUCK DOWN AROUND PEDESTRIANS.
Laura W
I heard that Rick Warren walks his dogs off leash.
Svensker
@bago:
For my money, the worst are little old ladies (not men, the women) in those motorized wheel chairs. They have a chip on their shoulder and their basic attitude is “I’m old and I don’t give a shite”. Mean little creatures.
And, John, don’t get all het up about the leash stuff. If you’re doing it responsibly then great. A lot of people in my neighborhood could use lessons.
JGabriel
JenJen:
Oh, Jenny Sanford is playing, but her game is a rich person’s brand of Christianist hard ball. See this post on Decoding Jenny Sanford’s Dog-Whistles by Peterr at FDL for more details.
.
Fern
@John Cole:
Speaking as a pedestrian, I’m with you on that.
MikeJ
Agree wholeheartedly. And for peds, if you can’t walk in a straight line, go home and sober up. I don’t mind slowing for peds, I just hate it when they stagger about all over the trail, making you guess which way they’re going to lurch once they get their head out of their ass and notice that other people in the world exist.
John Cole
@JGabriel: Every time I read more about Jenny Sanford, and every time I read more of her bible babble and all the other gibberish coming out of her mouth, it makes perfect sense to me why Sanford was drinking wine with a laid-back, sophisticated, successful latin woman with a “banging body” in outdoor cafes in Argentina.
I would have hanged myself in the closet wearing a wetsuit if I had spent the last twenty years married to Jenny Sanford dealing with all that Left Behind passive aggressive bullshit.
JenJen
Oh, my!
First Lady (SC): Sanford sought permission to visit lover; not certain he has ended affair
You stay classy, Governor of South Carolina. Ugh.
Anyone who has ever gone through something like what Jenny Sanford is going through right now will have a difficult time making it through this interview, but it is a very good read. I have to say, I admire her strength, and especially her unwillingness to assist her husband in the preservation of his political career. Team Jenny, all the way. Sorry, John and JGabriel. Live by the morality sword, as Gov. Sanford has done, die by the morality sword.
Wanna bang other people? Get a divorce.
ETA: John, how is it that the Argentinian homewrecker is somehow more successful than the Governor’s wife? Georgetown and Wall Street? Not too shabby, you know.
Fern
@Svensker:
You’d prefer anyone with mobility problems to stay home at all times?
Deborah
@demo:
When we got our kittens last year our local shelter (private, no kill) was charging $200 each, which seemed steep. Fortunately someone my husband worked with had just had accidental kittens, and his dad on a farm always had a new set of kittens, and so we got our two adorable new family members.
But the first few vet bills certainly added up to at least $200 each, so I think a lot of the reason is that people just don’t add up what vet bills + food + boarding if you’re gone are going to run….they just think of the sack of kibble. When we got our dog from this shelter 8 years ago we had to demonstrate that we owned our house, and I remember one of the questions was how much you think a dog will cost over a year.
I do recall as we were arranging for our dog there were 2 people dropping off their huskies. Lovely dogs but they were moving to Arizona and obviously you don’t take a furry dog to a hot state! Bye! So clearly there are many idiots they are attempting to weed out.
John Cole
@Fern: How could you possibly take this statement:
And from that, infer that she wants everyone with mobility problems to stay at home. You aren’t even trying to argue fairly.
Death By Mosquito Truck
Or a cooler wife.
John Cole
BTw- has anyone made cordon bleu on the grill before? I did it tonight and it is turning out pretty well.
JenJen
@Death By Mosquito Truck: Riiiiiight. Never mind about those kids, either! Just go forth and build a new life, new wife.
Kinda makes me wonder how many of you have experienced infidelity or divorce in your own lives. Maybe I’m a little too close to the situation to judge it objectively?
So, is it only me who finds Mark Sanford’s post-humping-bible-thumping to be far more cringeworthy than his wife’s?
LD50
@John Cole:
Thank you. Bicyclists around here (SF Bay Area) are some of the most arrogant pricks imaginable when it comes to pedestrians.
JGabriel
@John Cole:
Jeepers, John, tell us how you really feel. Seriously, though, I’ve entertained the same thoughts.
@JenJen:
No argument on this either, as far as Mark Sanford’s responsibility and guilt goes. But, to employ a really annoying – and perhaps inappropriate – cliche, it takes two to tango. Both Sanfords strike me as hypocritical grotesques in this morality play – Jenny’s “poor me” facade being pretty much belied by her family fortune. Her whole performance reeks of setting up the narrative for divorce court while maintaining her Quiverfull / Christianist street cred.
Maybe she’s planning to go into politics herself.
.
John Cole
@JenJen: Don’t get me wrong, I still think Sanford was wrong to cheat, and what he did was cruel and should not be excused.
All I am saying is that the more I learn about Jenny Sanford, the more I understand why it happened.
Dennis-SGMM
@John Cole:
Hell’s Grannies
LD50
The Fundies’ answer to Hillary Clinton? Eeep.
Deborah
@John re Jenny Sanford: She comes across as bitter and self-righteous and bible-thumping, but I’d say the first two would take superhuman strength to avoid at the moment, and for the last she was overshadowed by her husband’s “Hey, David didn’t have to step down after his sex scandal.”
If she was bitter and self-righteous 20 years ago, why did he marry her?
If she was bitter and self-righteous after a few years of marriage, classic “had no idea what I was getting into,” why did he stay married and have more kids?
If she was bitter and self-righteous a couple of years ago, before this affair began, why? Isn’t being married to Sanford, raising a family with him, and being part of his political career going to be a large part to blame for how she is now, if she is now different from when she married him?
His complete lack of respect for his wife is very galling. If you’ve grown apart and don’t love her anymore, and you want to date other women, get divorced first. At least respect that you once cared enough about this woman to want to marry her and raise a family–if he thinks his wife of 20 years is bitter and unpleasant, well, she was either that way when he begged her to marry him and raise a family together, or she became that way over 20 years of marriage to him. Neither one gets an “aw poor widdle baby needed someone on the side.” No, not even if she callously wouldn’t give him permission to go visit his mistress and he had to wait until she left town.
Svensker
@Fern:
No, of course not. It’s just the attitude: I’m old and infirm, but I got wheels, so get the heck outta my way. Maybe it’s just a NY thing, and older ladies in whizarounds are nice elsewhere in the country. Here, you take your life into your hands unless you dive out of their way. They say nasty things to little kids, too.
Common Sense
I’m sure John agrees that little old ladies are a menace. Who knows what else Big Ben could have done had one not mowed him down.
gex
@JenJen: So Sanford’s and Palin’s email are subject to privacy, while the rest of us have our email snooped illegally by the NSA? Makes sense in conservative land, I guess.
Death By Mosquito Truck
@JenJen: I think we all fall short of our own expectations every day, whether or not those expectations come from a holy book or are the product of upbringing or attempts at self-improvement.
demo woman
If after all the love emails that were released Jenny took back her man, there would only be one reason. Love is not the correct answer.
John Cole
@Deborah: Trust me, I agree he is a jerk.
But you know what? Jenny Sanford doesn’t get a pass for talking about how concerned she is about her children to EVERY SINGLE REPORTER that calls her, releasing public statements with left behind bible code, sending dogwhistles to the rest of the polite Christianist South Carolina, and basically playing passive aggressive games in the media.
She was wronged, but if this is her essential character, it makes a helluva lot more sense to me why Sanford did it. That is all I am saying. And it doesn’t change the fact that he is a first class heel for doing this to his family.
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
As a cyclist who loves going fast WHEN IT’S SAFE AND APPROPRIATE on her bombproof mountain bike, I completely agree.
I left the house at 7 this morning to see how far I could push myself to ride on the roads and trails before the congestion got to the point that would make me turn around. I wound up riding my first century. (True, it’s a metric century — kilometers, not miles — but hell, I’m in Canada. I even ducked into a Tim’s at the halfway point for a sandwich and some tea.)
While I obviously share the love for speed those spandex-clad assholes show, and I think this would only increase if I ever got a bike that weighed less than an M1 Abrams, it’s not rocket science to figure out that pedestrians are often soft, bewildered, unpredictable and easily damaged. It’s really not satisfying to hit the staggering idiots (hint: you both get hurt), and the decent pedestrians and their dogs obviously should be treated like fine china. We talk a lot about the hazards of traffic, and they’re real, but most drivers do a decent job of following the rules of the road and sharing. Most cyclists are decent too, except for the couple on knife-thin wheels in Mimico this morning who left turned on a red from the curb lane.
I hit my highest speeds on nearly empty roads with very few cars around, while it was still quite cool and breezy. By the time I got to Oakville, I had spent some time on various lake shore trails, with very few pedestrians around, but when they were there, I SLOWED DOWN. While doing my century. Which I may have already mentioned.
If you go out on trails when it’s very early — I am definitely pulling out before dawn next week — you’re alone and cool and ready to push. You don’t have to scare or hurt people and their pets because they won’t be there.
Century. Also.
JenJen
@JGabriel: Wait a sec. Her husband was carrying on a secret life, an illicit affair of the heart (not just the penis), without her knowledge, for quite a period of time. When she discovered his infidelity through his own carelessness (let’s be honest here, Mark Sanford sucks at cover-ups), he begged her to allow him to visit his South American lover again. I’m sorry, but can anyone just step outside themselves for a moment and try to imagine what that might feel like?
I don’t think she’s pulling a “poor me” act. It’s not an act. I feel bad for her, and especially her children. I hate the Quiverfull crap and the Bible-thumping as much as the next liberal, but if she were half as conniving as some are suggesting, she’d have exposed the affair herself during the week he was gone and won the Public Sympathy World Championship.
Mark Sanford is a pig. He’s up there in the John Edwards swine echelons, if you ask me. (And for the record, I lost all respect for Elizabeth Edwards after realizing she was complicit in the swindle with complete disregard for the Democratic Party or her husband’s staff. I might change my mind about Jenny yet, but for now? I’m with her. And if her hubby can stand up and give an embarrasingly rambling press conference about his mistress, I think she’s allowed to tell her side of the story to the press.)
Laura W
@JGabriel:
Here’s my favorite trite cliche offering to this whole subject: “There are three sides to every story: yours, mine and the truth.”
These things are complicated, multi-layered and complex, peoples, ‘cuz we are all complicated, multi-layered and complex. We bring our own shit into these discussions, pitching it into black/white, right/wrong so we feel more comfy. Y’all know that.
It’s hotter than hell here. 91+. I’ve had one of the best 48-hour periods in my life. I’m going to celebrate. (Not sure what that’s gonna involve in full, but some high carb/fat/salty food and cold booze, for sure.)
Dennis-SGMM
@Deborah:
The creepy part about Sanford and the other adulterers is that they want it both ways: they want the show family for photo ops and to prove their rock solid family values (And total non-gayness) because that’s good for their careers. Then they decide that they want something on the side too. I’d probably fall down dead if any one of them ever just came out and said “I’m retiring from politics because I’d rather get laid by this smokin’ hottie whom fate put in my way.”
passerby
@Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse:
Go sister.
gex
@Eric U.:
Yeah, that’s *exactly* what I said. Sheesh.
demo woman
Did anyone read the email where Mark was talking about his mother and “Jenny or someone” said that his mom was warm and pleasant but it’s sad that she did not accomplish anything in life. Then Mark spoke about how his mom had something most people don’t and that was the ability to love unconditionally. It was a pretty remarkable sentence. It really does not matter if he was not sure it was Jenny who said it cuz he thought she could. Unfortunately this might be an extremely sensitive guy that could not relate to his wife the way he could Maria.
His sensitive side in the letters are at odds with his political views. Cutting health and education is not sensitive.
JenJen
@Dennis-SGMM:
Which is why McGreevey gets a lot more credit than Sanford. Did you know McGreevey not only retired from politics, but has since pursued becoming an Episcopalian Priest?
steve s
That is a good script. I’ll not accidently read a BOB post again.
I need another script for the morons who think the single pronoun “This.” is an informative sentence.
gex
@John Cole: There’s something wrong with my suburb of 60,000+ occupants, I think. I see fewer than 4 people when walking my dog for an hour than you see out there. Weird. Suburban culture, I guess.
burnspbesq
I think Brad DeLong gets the prize for funniest thing said about the Sanford thing.
Obama has orbiting, time-traveling, mind-control lasers that he is using to systematically eliminate all of the Republicans who could mount a credible challenge in 2012.
http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2009/06/orbital-mind-control-time-traveling-lasers.html
Death By Mosquito Truck
@steve s:
Ow. You seem to be missing the idea of community.
demo woman
@Laura W: I’m jealous! I’ve been demolishing an master bath that was build in ’84. I still have a cast iron tub that hopefully the strong sons will remove tomorrow.
Our temp is 94 last I looked and the humidity is awful… Even Moxie knows not to stay out. Let us know tomorrow about your evening and have fun.
Linkmeister
The Hawai’i Humane Society’s fees are $65, dog or cat. $25 for smaller critters (guinea pigs). For your $65 you get:
* Temperament screening
* Spay/neuter surgery
* Health examination
* Distemper and parvo vaccinations
* Heartworm test on adults
* Worming
* Heartworm preventative
* Flea treatment
* Microchip ID
* Leash
and Post-adoption healthcare for two weeks
Brachiator
@bago:
The problem here is that you are trying to adapt a protocol originally used for two or more bikes moving at a similar speed to interactions between bikers and pedestrians.
You are also falsely presuming that your protocol is some kind of universally understood rule or a traffic law.
You can’t do this.
In most parts of California, a bike not in the street or on a dedicated bike path is being operated illegally. And the general rule is that pedestrians have the right of way.
Out where I live, you would have to be prepared to invest in getting your ass kicked.
steve s
What about the type of people who spread themselves out horizontally to take up all the walking space? They’re pretty bad too.
JGabriel
JenJen:
Ok, I can respect that, even if I’m not with her. I think they’re both pretty whacked out, and probably deserving of each other, though I do feel bad for the kids.
But then, I think the mistress is nuts too. Please remind me to break it off immediately if I should ever get a love note from a paramour suggesting I read Alan Greenspan. Oy vey.
.
Dennis-SGMM
Hey! I wasn’t passed out, I was meditating.
inkadu
Oh, boy… nothing’s better than a vicarious argument between a woman’s who’s been cheated on and men who have cheated.
I think the interesting thing about it is that Sanford asked permission several times. Yes, it COULD be a callous thing to do, but what made him think it was OK to ask? Much less several times?
My guess is that this relationship has been over for a long time, but they both wanted to maintain it formally for whatever reason. I mean, come on, she was COVERING FOR HIM up until the very last day.
Laura W
@demo woman: I like your new handle. I think you should upper case it, however. Far more powerful and imposing.
Demo Woman
Own it, Sister.
Anne Laurie
Lily is pretty close to the Generic Dog, or “spitz type” — a squarish medium-sized canine with a short coat, erect ears & a curly tail. Purebred Shiba Inus are also “spitz types”, as are the “northern” or “sled dog” breeds, plus Akitas, Pomeranians, Chihuahuas, and my own beloved Papillons, among others. Put a thousand random dogs into a DNA blender, and you’ll end up with a thousand approximately 30lb canines (some as small as 15, some as large as 45lbs), most of them shorthaired (with a few wiry terrier-types & another few silky spaniel-coats), most of them with erect wolf ears & tails curled up to different degrees, mostly dun-to-red shading lighter on the underparts and darker on top (like Lily) with a few dark-brown-to-black outliers and a larger percentage of parti-colored splotches-on-white.
Lily’s startle pose in the last picture, where she’s balanced to charge or flee in any possible direction, is also canine-generic. The instinct to hit that pose, exaggerated over thousands of generations of breeding, is the hunting breed’s “point”.
John, one of these days, your commenters are going to have to chip in and get a “DNA testing kit” for you to use on Lily:DNA Breed ID. (Not that I have any idea as to the scienterrific ‘validity’ of such testing — I don’t know enough about either the science or the companies offering it. But the databases on individual breeds do exist, and customizing treatment by breed is one of the Big ‘New’ Ideas in vet med.) I still think Lily’s Chihuahua-plus-something, probably beagle or puggle, for what that’s worth.
Death By Mosquito Truck
@Laura W: That was pretty funny when Tim posted the pic of the two beers on the futon wasn’t it? Gotta say, he’s way up there for me now.
Indylib
@JenJen: I have more sympathy for Jenny Sanford, but am just as annoyed with the sanctimonious religious crap from her as I am from Mark “KIng David on the Appalachian Trail” Sanford. I agree with JGabriel about it taking two to tango. Very few marriages go from good to infidelity without some seriously messed up stuff in between. I’m glad she’s not being the good little stepford political wife, more power to her, but the religious holier than thou stuff is nauseating.
JGabriel
Laura W:
And that’s a proper chastisement. You’re right, Laura.
.
steve s
No, I quite like the community here. I hang out here and almost nowhere else online. I just don’t like poor communication, like imagining that ‘this’ is a sentence, or Dawkin’s is the possessive of Dawkins, or ‘optics’ is a fine synonym for ‘appearance(s)’, etc. I don’t like nazi enforcement of often-arbitrary rules, but I do expect some minimal competence.
(Editad Fore Speling Compitanse)
Brick Oven Bill
This is my expression that steve s will never hear. Sigh.
My pet peeve is those grotesquely overweight people in their 30s, 40, and 50s, who drive those little electric motorized baskets around the aisles of grocery stores that are inevitably filled with boxes of Little Debbie Snack Cakes, sugar soda, and meat. These motorists are also very arrogant. They will run you right into the shelves.
Another pet peeve is Al Gore, who probably has a similar diet, but who is rich enough that he does not have to go shopping at the store.
Laura W
@Death By Mosquito Truck: Ya know what was even funnier?
When it made you weep.
Death By Mosquito Truck
@Brick Oven Bill: They will run yer kid over dead flat at Disneyworld to line up for an attraction first. I lost count of the times those folks ran over our toes. I think those fat sacks of lazy shit should be able to drive those carts, but they shouldn’t be allowed to go any faster than if they were humpin’ it on two legs after eight hours in the park.
Svensker
@steve s:
That.
Death By Mosquito Truck
@Laura W: lolz. I cry easily.
inkadu
Brachiator: The only time I almost ran into a pedestrian in my brief time biking, was when a couple heard me say, “On your left,” which they interpreted “Move TO your left.” You’re right. If there was a protocol to get people to dodgean object moving rapidly towards them from the rear, our saber-tooth-stalked ancestors would have figured it out.
Laura W
@Anne Laurie:
Apologies in advance for my contentious post:
NO. Who the fuck cares what Lily’s gene pool contains? Why does it matter in the least?
I like John’s reply to “What kind of dog is that?”
“Pound”.
I like mine better:
“Mine”.
Deborah
@burnspbesq:
God likes to smite Obama’s opponents with sex scandals–if I believed in divine intervention I would conclude god wanted Obama in the Senate–but it’s early! If only Sanford had won the GOP nomination and then vanished around the end of September on his little Appalachian adventure.
@John:
She doesn’t seem at all pleasant. But I think this week, of all weeks, it is not fair to assume we are seeing her essential character.
We’re seeing someone who was just massively humiliated as her husband would seem to have been trying for the Open Marriage On My End arrangement, after secretly having that for who knows how long. Asking someone not to sound bitter and passive-aggressive and not to continually site their children just seems to put too high a burden for someone who’s living this rather than in a film–if a fraction of it had happened to me I can see where I would keep circling back to “the children…look at how great these kids are….how could he do this to such children?” even if I logically would see that it sounds defensive and p/a.
I’m not on anyone’s team except to the extent I’m relieved one political wife tossed the script over, even if I wish a better writer were composing her restrained put downs and telling silences.
steve s
@Svensker: You.
Death By Mosquito Truck
@steve s: Look, every community is gonna have trolls. Kudos to BOB for recognizing and even acknowlegding playfully his role and working hard to be entertaining otherwise. And I’m fond of the “This” shorthand if it means I don’t have to read the same shit thirty times over in a thread.
Ed in NJ
Seems to me Jenny Sanford is going to throw Mark under the bus and try to position herself for a run for office once she gets rid of the excess baggage.
Every one of her statements seems calculated to make Mark look as bad as possible while making her look like some hero. Not that he isn’t deserving of everything he gets, but I’m sure she’s no angel. She made him, and now she’s pissed that he screwed her over.
Rosali
I agree with JenJen and Deborah here.
Those of you who are critical of Jenny Sanford, realize that you are reading the reactions of post-affair Jenny. Most people would go for the jugular if the cheating spouse kept seeing the other wo/man.
steve s
hmm. script probs. it’s not opening nicely in notepad to edit so’s i can add BOB’s name.
SGEW
I approve of this statement, and duly register my agreement by hereby blockquoting and reiterating its message.
JK
@Linkmeister:
Sounds like an appropriate punishment for Mark Sanford.
@John Cole:
Under the circumstances, I think Jenny Sanford has handled herself extremely well. I don’t have any problems with her statements to the media and I think it’s wrong to judge her character while she’s going thru this traumatic ordeal.
Mark Sanford is a major league prick who deserves to be run out of office while having rotting vegetables thrown at him.
Beyond Jenny Sanford, why is the outrage?
Elliot Spitzer resigned and John Edwards has gone into the witness protection program but David Vitter, John Ensign, and Mark Sanford are untouchable. Why haven’t their offices been flooded with emails and phone calls demanding that they resign?
Vitter, Ensign, and Sanford are scumbags who should be hounded out office. There should have been thousands of people staging protests outside their offices calling for their heads. These bastards had no reservations calling others out for personal conduct issues. They need to be run out of town and their offices need to fumigated.
Laura W
@SGEW:
Word.
JenJen
@Deborah: Word. And honestly, I’m still trying to understand how it is that John knows the mistress is “laid-back and sophisticated,” while the wife is some cold-fish Christianist opportunist, making Sanford’s extramarital sexual conduct “understandable.” Huh?
Anyone want to put an over/under on the Sanford Divorce? And is his governorship going to survive this?
I’ll say it again, the sexual puppy love stuff is icky and I’m not particularly interested in it (although it was kind of fun learning how much Mark Sanford sucks at talking dirty). The issue is his abdication of elected office, and the increasingly ridiculous stories concocted to explain his whereabouts. How do you get away with that? I mean, given five days of “no call, no show,” I wouldn’t put this guy in charge of the dish tank at TGIFriday’s, let alone an entire state. I don’t get it; is this one of those IOKIYAR moments?
My absolute favorite person in this entire sordid saga is The State reporter who cornered him at the Atlanta airport. She was just delightful on Rachel’s show the other night.
gex
@Laura W: I’m relieved you didn’t use “ditto”.
Death By Mosquito Truck
@gex: hehe
demo woman
@Laura W: lol In my last neighborhood I told someone that Moxie was a miniature deerhound. No dna tests for her, I might discover she’s a pit bull.
Rosali
I’m still trying to understand how it is that John knows the mistress is “laid-back and sophisticated,”
She’s tri-lingual and has a banging body.
Tim F.
Let me say that as a biker and a skier (telemarker) with a serious aggressive streak, riders like Bago drive me crazy. If you are the fastest person on a trail then it is your responsibility to watch out for other skiers or bikers. What do you do if the trail is crowded or if there isn’t a lot of room to maneuver? You slow down. Don’t expect beginners who can’t see out of the back of their heads to know where you are coming. If it happens the accident is unequivocally your fault.
Mixed-use trails are generally a bad idea, and lately I see more of them off limits to bikers entirely. Bikers almost never understand that they should give pedestrians the same amount of care that they expect cars to give them. That means that if the mixed use trail has a lot of people or poor sight lines, slow down a lot.
Here is a simple rule: if you would never deface your sleek bike with a loud bell, mixed-use trails are not meant for riders like you.
Ed in NJ
This is a video of Sanford’s mistress. Apparently she worked for a news station and this is her one on-air appearance.
Demo Woman
@JenJen:
My bet is that if they reconcile, it won’t be for love. She wants to tie a tight noose on him. The governorship will survive because the repubs who want to run in 2010 don’t want to be seen as vindictive. That’s my opinion. What do you think?
Death By Mosquito Truck
@Ed in NJ: Mrs. Whatevermyhandleistoday said she has nice cheekbones but needs to thin out the eyebrows some.
Laura W
@Demo Woman:
Awe-Some!
JGabriel
JenJen:
I think this quote from JS, and explication of its dog-whistle significance by Peterr @ FDL, kind of sums up that part (though I know nothing about the sophistication or laid-backness of MS’s mistress).
Jenny Sanford:
Peterr @ FDL:
.
Anne Laurie
Adoption fees vary greatly, not least by region, because at the least the shelter/rescue group needs to recoup some or all of its costs to feed, board, vaccinate, spay/neuter, and microchip your new housemate. Not to mention ‘fixed costs’ like rent/taxes, insurance, administration, etc. This is less expensive for a small shelter in West Virginia than it is for one in Boston, NYC, or Los Angeles.
Most shelters/rescues also have some kind of sliding scale where it’s more expensive to adopt a cute puppy/kitten than an older animal or one with special needs. By and large people want healthy puppies, which is understandable, and laudable insofar as they know their own limits — but in a capitalist society, you pay more to get first pick. Purebred rescue groups also spend their own money transporting surrendered pets, sometimes cross-country, as do the increasing number of volunteer groups who ship shelter dogs from high-kill areas (like parts of the South or Puerto Rico) to places where small dogs or puppies are at a premium (like New England). And finally, many groups set their adoption fees partially on the philosophy that people who pay “serious money” for their new pet are not only establishing their ability to keep paying for all the costs involved with that animal over the next 10-20 years, but that a “free” or “cheap” pet will be discarded with less thought than one that’s not just an impulse purchase.
I agree that some shelters, especially some of the private groups, can take the whole “A pet is for life, not just for Xmas” idea to an extreme. But in their defence, these people have also witnessed a ton of human misbehavior ranging from thoughtlessness & poor impluse control to certifiable cruelty, so it’s not unreasonable that they get a little cynical.
Also, keep in mind — even where they don’t advertise, many groups will give senior citizens a price break, or do a ‘two-for-one’ deal on kittens or for pets who’re bonded with each other (a mother-puppy combo, or two seniors who’ve spent their lives in the same home). You’re dealing with people whose main goal is to give the animals they love a good home for life, so the best ground for negotiation is demonstrating how you plan to do just that.
JK
Unfortunately yes. From the stories I’ve read, there doesn’t seem to be the stomach among SC politicians to demand Sanford’s head on a silver platter.
The worst Republican spin I’ve read or seen about Sanford comes from this useless tool William Beutler http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/20722
Anne Laurie
Laura, I didn’t say John had to share the results, did I? (grin)
Agree that it doesn’t matter to Lily, or probably to John, but it would serve us right to be told “Yes, I know Lily’s background, but I’M NOT GONNA TELL YOU GUYS!”
(Leaving for dinner now. Will be gone some many hours.)
JGabriel
JK:
Unfortunately, it appears that SC’s Lt. Gov, who would take over from Sanford, is even more of a right wing nutjob than he is.
.
Dennis-SGMM
If Sanford was able to rationalize breaking faith with his wife then how does anyone in his state know that he won’t be able to just as easily rationalize taking a bribe, dipping into the till or giving a patronage job to his next mistress?
JGabriel
Anne Laurie:
True, but that works just as well if John lies about it instead of spending the money on the test. It’s not like anyone here is going to demand to see the results – well, ok, maybe some birther will show up to do just that, but not anyone we care about.
.
SGEW
WHERE IS LILY’S GENETIC BREED ID?!1!?
Laura W
@SGEW:
Ditto.
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
I’ve got 23 cents change left over from my Tim’s run. Who wants to organize funding for a billboard?
Death By Mosquito Truck
@Dennis-SGMM: Dennis, with respect, that’s the same sorta stoopid shit Republicans would say.
JK
@JGabriel:
I’m thankful that I don’t live in SC.
I wish the constituents of Sanford, Vitter, and Ensign would stop acting like pussywhipped wimps and march on their offices just like the villagers marched on Victor Frankenstein’s castle at the end of Frankenstein (minus the torches) to force these lying scumbags to resign.
dmsilev
@SGEW:
We must preserve tradition.
-dms
Roza
Lily, you go girl
you have it made in the shade
Dennis-SGMM
@Death By Mosquito Truck:
No respect necessary. I’m just saying that of all of the ways he could have handled discovering that he was more in love (Or at least in lust) with another woman he chose the one that was the most dishonest as well as the one that was the least likely to cause him any personal loss.
Death By Mosquito Truck
@Dennis-SGMM: I’m willing to bet he never had a rational planning-ahead thought about any of this.
John Cole
@JenJen: I fully admit I may be wrong about Maria, but I think I have Jenny dead to rights. Every day there has been a new statement from her, mixed with biblical nonsense and smattered with “i’m just concerned about the kids” bs, all while leaking more info about the affair. I’ve been reading the Instapundit for eight years. I know passive aggressive malicious behavior when I see it.
InflatableCommenter
@inkadu:
That’s appropriate, becaue you and I are not having a discussion.
As for the Frontline show, my opinion is that it was fair, but nowhere near as compelling as Moore’s film.
As for things hard to believe, two items. One is the ABC show from the White House the other night, which did a good job of letting the president bounce his points off a particularly dense ABC crew and an audience stacked in opposition to reform.
The other is that the media, in general, have done a shameful job of illuminating this subject. In most cases, I don’t think that the media influence many people, but in a context like this one, I make an exception. I think their weak and lazy efforts on this subject are irresponsible and harmful to the public’s ability to make good choices.
Americans are being told more about the almost nonexistent information surrounding the death of Michael Jackson, in a few days, than they have been told about the true nature of the national healthcare system in the last 30 years put together.
John Cole
BTW- I just read the DKOS hate mail post. Priceless.
If I were Kos, I would have all my Christmas Cards engraved with “Merry Christmas, Socialist Fucksticks!”
JenJen
@Demo Woman: First of all, I would just like to compliment LauraW on her unstoppable powers. And I like the new handle!!
As far as the Sanford marriage, I doubt it will survive this. I mean, if the wife is indicating that she’s not at all certain her husband has ended the affair, it’s obvious the trust is gone. And trust is the biggest, most “adult” part of marriage. When it’s gone, you can stay together if you like, and even for the “sake” of your children, but the trust won’t come back, and you’re going to miserable forever. Who on earth would want that? A lot of people (*cough* Clintons, Edwards *cough*), for a lot of reasons I’ll never understand, I guess.
@JGabriel: Well, good for her, then? In their weird world, I suppose that was the way she could hit him the hardest, and maybe that was her best attempt at a knee-jerk reaction. I don’t understand any of that Christianist stuff, I really don’t. But I do agree with others who have pointed out that this woman has been humiliated, probably moreso than we can imagine, given the circles she runs in, and her social status. I’m more than willing to give her the benefit of the doubt right now, because as far as we know, she didn’t abdicate her responsibilities to South Carolina, her husband, or her kids. Her husband rode that Bible Train all the way to the SC Statehouse, and now he can ride that train right on out. One would at least think that the social conservatives in SC would be truly up in arms about this, and I’m puzzled as to why they are rather silent. My best answer? They’re all full of shit, just as I have always suspected.
But I will add this: By the very definition, women (and men!) who bang married men (and women!) are not sophisticated. Others may disagree, but I think it’s tacky, destructive, and selfish. It’s not the worst thing anyone could ever do, but it sure as hell isn’t “sophisticated.”
@John Cole: I’ll reiterate that I’d give just about anything to read your hate mail. C’mon, one day you’ve just gotta publish one. Just one? Pretty please?
InflatableCommenter
@John Cole:
That hate letter has to be spoof. Even if it isn’t, it is not distinguishable from spoof.
Death By Mosquito Truck
@JenJen:
Those were private from me to you. Don’t do it.
Deborah
Since it’s an open thread….Dinner was lettuce wraps filled with thin-sliced roast beef, chick peas, artichoke hearts, parmesan, and yellow zucchini, with lemon/salt/pepper/basil/capers to flavor it if you’re old. Plus watermelon, with chili powder for a kick on the grown-ups’. Highly recommended.
Then my son and I made brownies, which are baking now.
geg6
FSM knows, I hate a god botherer about as much as I hate an insurance company, but the atttude I’m seeing here regarding Jenny Sanford makes me want to throw up. No, it doesn’t always take two to tango. Some people, mostly men based on the statistics and my own personal experience, are just out and out selfish, self centered pricks. My lying, cheating ex says to this day that I had nothing to do with his decision to betray me. He enjoyed my company, he loved our sex life, he was proud of me and my career, and he felt I made a wonderful home. He’s a pig and I did not know because he never showed that part of himself until I caught him out. I know how that poor woman feels and I just hope that who are making cracks about her somehow bringing this on herself never find themselves in a similar situation. I could only hope to have acted as classy as she has. Sadly, I was not even a little bit classy about it at the time. I have since recovered, found a real man, and even managed to befriend the ex (we were texting today as a matter of fact), but it took me about 3 years to get here.
Mike in NC
Wait for them to release a statement about how “We’re trying to reach reconciliation for the sake of the four boys” blah blah blah…
Two words: South Carolina
Absolutely! Rush and Newt have sanctioned it.
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
I love you. I live in Canada. I can SO make an honest woman of you.
Seriously, slugs and weird little insects ravaged my choi and anything nearby, including #sob# most of my basil. I cut down and salvaged what I could, taking great care to KILL KILL KILL every little beastie I could find.
But my leaf lettuce is robust and unmolested, as is my second stash of basil, so I am definitely making this for the next few days.
Ash
@John Cole:
ANY woman (or man) who knowingly (which this Maria lady no doubt did) fucks another woman’s husband, is in NO WAY sophisticated.
demimondian
Jenny Sanford’s statements make my skin crawl. Yes, she’s absolutely the party with the moral high horse to ride — but she’s whipping the poor thing into a lather, and enjoying every fading whinny as she does so. Here statements at this point do not serve to help her children; they only serve to reinforce her claims to innocent victimhood.
Mark Sanford may or may not be a crook, but his actions clearly show that he’s a fool and a heel. By the same token, however, Jenny Sanford’s actions show her to be small-minded and vindictive.
JK
More power to Jenny. I fully support her efforts to do everything in her power to humiliate Mark Sanford. As long Sanford is going to be an obnoxious prick and refuses to resign from office, I hope Jenny makes his life a living hell.
Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse
As someone who was also betrayed and dumped, I completely understand the urge for vengeance and wreaking humiliation — hoo-boy, do I understand it — but it’s really not worth it.
JenJen
@geg6: What geg6 said. To the letter, and to the punctuation. It pains me to say I could’ve written that myself. Thanks for that, really. And big props to the FSM for my situation ending up almost exactly like yours, too.
Deborah
@InflatableCommenter:
Isn’t that the mark of good hate mail? I don’t think Rush was attempting satire when he blamed Sanford running off on Obama–Obama is causing Republicans to abandon their elected offices and families and just say ‘screw it!’ in Rush’s very nonironical take, including many ‘screw it!’s.
Death By Mosquito Truck
@JenJen: I usually feel that way but I honestly feel this one is breaking for the most part along
gendersex lines.Dream On
I think Lily sensed the presence of either A) The Jersey Devil, B) the Chupacabra, C) A giant killer fungus with eyes and sharp teeth.
You lucked out, methinks.
LD50
@gex:
I’ve seen neighborhoods like that where whole neighborhoods don’t even have sidewalks. They’re designed for no one to ever walk anywhere.
InflatableCommenter
@Deborah:
Hm. I am not entirely sure that Rush isn’t just fucking with people at this point. The guy doesn’t need more money, and he knows that he is just waving red meat in front of his hyena demographic. I think he is laughing at them, and us. In both cases, because both we and the hyenas are taking him seriously.
I think Rush is spoofing his own choir just to hear them howl. His payoff is watching Olbermann call him Worst Person in the World for another day.
LD50
But don’t forget, Fox punitively marked him with a (D) after his name. That’s heavy with wingnut symbolism.
Dennis-SGMM
@Death By Mosquito Truck:
You’re probably right: he just let his little head do the thinking for the rest of him.
inkadu
On Jenny Sanford – I don’t think Jenny’s detractors understand the argument being put forward here — that being cheated on is so horrible, that almost any amount of vindictiveness is justified and does not reflect on the character of the woman so scorned. And if Jenny’s defenders are making a mistake, it’s to assume that this was anything like a normal marriage, and by extension, that Jenny was a normal wife.
Inflatable Commenter- I was referring to the fact that you are giving times and channels. I haven’t sat in front of a tv for several years, not because I’m some sort of intellectual egghead, but because I can download a tv show or movie with more ease than I can watch it through regular channels. It was like we were on an airplane flying across the atlantic discussing the best boat to take from Spain to Mexico.
And the media situation is even worse than you explain… with the hyper dramatic, scare mongering, gross out, heart-string yanking media, can you believe what these guys have to ignore — against their own training as sensationalist victimization seeking retards — to avoid running stories on thousands who are killed, wounded, or bankrupt by the medical system? I mean, here’s a subject that would provide with years of juicy, “tragic” stories, and it’s completely ignored.
Our media: bought, paid for, and being used to hang dirty clothes.
Goggies: “You can buy a breed, but you can’t buy the wag of a tail.”
InflatableCommenter
@inkadu:
Totally agree.
JenJen
Hey, John!
;-)
Betsy
@inkadu:
If not justified, then at least understandable, and not necessarily a good basis for a complete character assessment. None of us would want to be judged by our worst moments, I bet. I have no opinion about her at all right now – I personally think that A) she was probably as self-righteous and sanctimonious as any other religious right political wife, but B) I don’t know that for sure, and C) none of us here have any idea what their marriage was like. Even if she was as sanctimonious as all that, it doesn’t stand to reason that she “drove” her husband into the arms of another woman – what makes us think he was any less sanctimonious? Presumably that’s what he wanted in a wife. It’s hard for me to blame her for her reactions right now.
ETA: I *do* think she’s not doing her sons any favors by the way she’s talking to the media. I don’t necessarily blame her; in her shoes I would want to make clear to the world that I was *not* standing by my man. But it’s got to be awful to see your parents’ flinging insults at each other on TV every night.
grumpy realist
Random thoughts:
Lily. Yeah, that tail is awfully Shiba-looking (although not thick enough to be truly Shiba.) I’d be more likely to go by Lily’s behavior. Don’t forget that Shibas were bred for hunting (all actual Japanese dogs were) and it’s very hard to get that out of them. (Mine loved to chase rabbits. Not catch them, just chase them.)
Mr. and Mrs. Sanford: “How wonderful for Mr. and Mrs. Sanford to marry each other and make only two people miserable rather than four.” (Originally said by ?? about the Carlyles. )
Wasn’t it South Carolina that was described as being “too small for a country, too big for an insane asylum”? There is a certain subset of Americans who absolutely adore the whole sinners-and-religious-drama schtick. The more loudly you wail about your repentance, the more the crowd loves it and the more religious bonus points you get. Me, I think that the least you can do after you’ve screwed up (in all senses of the term) is to take your lumps, quietly apologize, resolve to do better, and then never open your mouth again on the topic. If I want drama, I’ll go see Gotterdammerung.
inkadu
Maybe if we had more doctors from India the media cover how horrible our medical system is.
JGabriel
John Cole:
I don’t see why you can’t do that as John Cole, now that you’re a commie libtard who sold out the right. Right?
.
JGabriel
JenJen:
Ha! Fair enough.
.
steve s
A sentence fragment doesn’t help you to not reread things. It’s just shitty English.
gnomedad
As a pedestrian, I much prefer to hear a simple “Excuse me!” to “On your left!” or its like. First, “OYL” implies that it’s solely my responsibility to get out of your way (and by implication, that you’re not particularly planning to slow down). Second, the only thing that still causes me to confuse left and right is hearing “OYL”, which delays my response by a fraction of a second. Finally, I’m going to want to turn my head and actually see what’s coming at my anyway.
@bago:
Probably true, unfortunately, but unacceptable. You are presumably on the trail for exercise, not the Tour de France. There’s more kinetic energy where that came from.
steve s
8 years? I thought I had Post-Tard Stress Disorder from following the creationists for 4 years. I don’t know how you’re still alive.
Demo Woman
Except Sanford, Ensign and the rest started their affairs before the Obama era. Repubs like to blame, it’s all they have left.
Just to be clear, I don’t blame her anymore than I blame him, shit happens. I don’t think that she would take him back out of love. She might be playing the vindictive role because she has every right to do so. If it were me, I’d be jealous.
JGabriel
steve s:
This.
.
InflatableCommenter
My cards have said that for years.
Well, without the “soc ialist” part.
LD50
This.
[ARGH! JGabriel beat me to it!]
LD50
If Obama is *really* causing Republican men all over the country to just collapse and go Galt, then I’m more glad than ever that I voted for him.
Brachiator
@John Cole:
I see your point here, and there is a bit from one of her interviews that really stands out in a kind of desperate creepiness: “You would think that a father who didn’t have contact with his children, if he wanted those children, he would toe the line a little bit.”
And yet, I would hesitate to dismiss her various statements as “biblical nonsense.” Both she and her husband are stuck in that they can only react to what they are going through via the prism of a kind of Christianity that reduces everything to sin and forgiveness.
If they were sophisticated New Yorkers, they would be babbling stuff about going into couples therapy.
And having been apparently rejected by Sanford, about the only weapon she has left is her children.
But the bottom line is that it is sad and painful to see this part of their personal lives dragged out in the media because there is nothing that people can say or do when they are dealing with the messiness of their relationship that will not look ridiculous. There is no right thing to say, no right way to fight, no arena in which self-respect can be maintained.
By the way, I understand that Sanford’s paramour is married as well. She and her husband must be going through their own hell.
On the political side, since Republicans insist on linking private behavior with public virtue, I look forward to many more of these sordid spectacles.
JK — Elliot Spitzer resigned and John Edwards has gone into the witness protection program but David Vitter, John Ensign, and Mark Sanford are untouchable. Why haven’t their offices been flooded with emails and phone calls demanding that they resign?
Because Republicans are hypocrites, but they are not fools. But Spitzer could not be salvaged. It’s tough to defend prosecuting people for banging whores when you, yourself are banging whores.
Nope. I just hope that everyone works out whatever they need to work out.
This is a tougher call. His behavior has mostly been sad and ridiculous, but still fairly minor (apart from the pain caused to his family and his lover). On the other hand, he is making things worse by invoking the biblical David.
I haven’t seen the line-ups for the Sunday pundit shows. Are they going to be devoted to fingerwagging over Sanford, or fingerwagging over the decline in civilization evidenced in the supposed “over-reaction” to the deaths of Farrah and MJ?
Svensker
@steve s:
Poo.
asiangrrlMN
@LD50:
That’s my neighborhood. Walk???? Fuck no, you drive, you bastard, like Zeus meant it to be!
My best friend and I have an ongoing argument about the suburbs vs. the city. She insists that it’s safer in the city, because she could get taken in the suburbs and no one would know. My retort: Yeah, but if you get taken in the city, other people will watch and steal your wallet.
John, Lily is looking better and better by the day. You are doing such a good job with her.
In my city, we have leash laws. We need them because most of the dog owners in my neighborhood do not discipline their dogs at all. Thus, we have some aggressive, mean dogs.
gex, I was gonna say ditto. Now, because of you, I can’t.
Chuck Butcher
Gah, what silly shit involving Mr & Mrs Sanford. Chances are they deserve each other – try to remember they’ve been together for some time. There seems to be an awful lot of assuming going on here, maybe the Mrs has been banging the gardener for ages, or maybe those 4 kids are the result their entire sex life – or…
He sounds and acts like a loon, she sounds like a loon and acts like…what? I don’t know and I’m pretty damn sure not one of you does either.
He claimed moral uprightness as a political stance and for that I have and will kick the snot out of him, her I could give a damn. Their problem and too bad for the kids. But, chew on the fact that a hell of a large percentage of SC has a lot bigger problems than the Mr & Mrs & kiddies will ever have short of bloodshed – fuck em, they’ll sort it out w/o any concern on my part. It’s a real bitch to be rich and powerful…
Paul L.
@LD50:
Juan Cole and Glenn Greenwald can take lessons for
Leftist George Galloway Praises Iranian Democracy
Look Iranian thugs beating protesters. Democracy!!!!!!
Tim F.
Paul, we both know that you will probably never reach the level of even one coherent paragraph, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t encourage you to develop your meager communication skills to reach your own personal best. Please try to summarize your point in a complete English sentence. I promise not to mock you your fledgling efforts as long as you make a sincere go of it.
Kim
Lily looks happy. You are lucky that you can let her off the leash. I cannot do that with my dog. The vet says he will act like a puppy for another 2 or 3 years and he is a runner! So if he gets a chance he goes for it and no one has been able to catch him yet. This is why he loves the dog park. He can run free with other dogs and it just doesn’t matter. Is LIly a runner? It really doesn’t matter he likes every dog he has met so far and he is not aggressive. I LOVE that! Keep posting more pics of Lily.