Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let there be snark.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Fear and negativity are contagious, but so is courage!

… gradually, and then suddenly.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

I would gladly pay you tuesday for a hamburger today.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Keep the Immigrants and deport the fascists!

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

To the privileged, equality seems like oppression.

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

You cannot love your country only when you win.

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84Comments

  2. 2.

    JK

    Meg Stapleton, a close Palin adviser in Alaska, is now blaming Rahm Emmanuel. “I just hope to God Rahm Emanuel isn’t using taxpayer money to come after Alaska.” That’s the way they think about it: that these Alaskans filing ethics complaints have been hoodwinked by Obama operatives into wasting the Alaskan government’s time and resources.

    h/t swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/07/09/a-final-palin-post/#more-14455

  5. 5.

    geg6

    JK: Evil Rahm, making the whole raison d’etre of the Obama administration to get Palin. Not to mention that according to Bibi, he’s a self-hating Jew, too. Obama really does seem to make all hos opponents say the craziest shit, huh? And John? I agree with the allergies thing. Mine have been on high alert the last couple of days and it wipes me out, too.

  7. 7.

    used to be disgusted

    If you were a Republican elected official, I’d guess “mono.”

  8. 8.

    Comrade Stuck

    hoodwinked by Obama operatives

    There ever where/

    Sometimes I wonder what wingnuts dream

  9. 9.

    ellaesther

    John, please, don’t fall apart on the internet. We need you out here! I hope you get good sleep tonight and are well rested on the morrow. Of course, it may be the general national insanity that’s wearing you down, in which case, there’s little hope…. But I’ll cross my fingers that a good night’s sleep might do it.

  12. 12.

    cbear

    Yeah, between all the Ensigning and Sanfordizing I’m feeling a little tuckered myself.
    Plus I need a cigarette.

  13. 13.

    ** Atanarjuat **

    It’s gotta be those 6-10 mile walks with your dog that’s wearing you down. No doubt, it’s good exercise, but the body needs rest, too.

    Take a couple of days off to recharge.

    -A

  14. 14.

    JK

    Judge Sotomayor’s Record in Constitutional Cases
    brennancenter.org/content/resource/sotomayor

    From Executive Summary

    Our analysis shows that – far from casting her as an “outlier” – Judge Sotomayor’s record is remarkably consistent with that of her colleagues. The analysis also refutes charges made since the day of her nomination that Judge Sotomayor is a “judicial activist.” Any honest reading of the facts make it abundantly clear that Judge Sotomayor is a mainstream jurist.

  16. 16.

    ellaesther

    I know that some of the folks here feel as strongly about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell as I do, so I thought I would make a humble suggestion:

    Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA) was on Rachel Maddow yesterday, talking about his efforts to get a bill to repeal DADT on the desk of the President — who has promised to sign it, if he gets it.

    DADT is, IMHO, un-American, and compromises our national security, but this is one of those lovely cases we discussed yesterday in which “all (we) have is a voice, to undo the folded lie.” If you feel strongly about this, and your Congress member hasn’t signed on to the bill yet, you can drop a note or make a call, and it will truly matter. This is not something that is beyond our grasp as a nation — this is something that we can make better, now, today (well, soon!).

    I don’t want to blog pimp, but if you go to my blog (…) I posted on it today, and you’ll find a bunch of links and a sample letter/phone script. If you’d rather not go via my blog, you can find out if your rep. has signed on via GovTrack.us (the actual site isn’t loading today for some reason, but you can go via the Google cached version).

  17. 17.

    Ruemara

    90 degree heat, sunshine, and cat chi make for a lazy afternoon. Which is why I head into work, drink caffeine and never let a cat sit on me.

  18. 18.

    jenniebee

    Give it a couple of years and they’ll be claiming that she was ousted in a coup engineered by the CIA at the behest of the RAND corporation in conjunction with the reverse vampires.

  19. 19.

    Demo Woman

    I think it’s time for Obama to visit every state that a Senator resides who is against health care reform. He could say that your senator is preventing me lowering your health care costs.

  20. 20.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    Ditto on the ditto on the allergies thingy, my DH insists on sleeping with the bedroom window open, (and the ceiling fan going and the AC on) so I tend to wake feeling like crap with a snotty nose and gummy eyes. Strangely enough I never suffered from allergies (or “hay fever” in the UK) until I moved here, damn communist US pollen must be different than in the UK.

    PS) Gave Cueball and Judy pooch a bath this evening. Strangely enough Cueball looks like a dalmatian when he is wet it always amuses me, Judy thought I was trying to murder her (as she always does). They are now both flea free.

    Oh look the orange man is on my tee-vee whining about something.

  21. 21.

    freelancer

    K, I’ve been waiting for an open thread for this.
    I don’t recall who exactly, but someone lamented Olbermann’s interview skills and and pointed out the meandering, leading, inherently style of his questions.

    Oh, we all did. That‘s where I got my start.
    The—this is the mainstream media‘s fault. It‘s the fault of the late-night comedians. It‘s the fault of the blogosphere. It‘s the fault of anybody who dares to question her ethics. It‘s the fault of anyone who mentions her children, even when she dragged them out onto the stage.
    Has the soon-to-be ex-Governor Palin raised the idea of victimhood to high art?

    It always kind of got by me, I never noticed it. Now, I can’t watch without noticing it.
    That person can now DIAF. By pointing it out, You have made Countdown unwatchable for me.

  23. 23.

    Hammy

    We should start (and publicize) a count of how many days have passed since Palin quit and we still have not heard a statement from John McCain. Surely he should be asked his opinion on the matter since he deemed her ready to be president. So far it’s been 6 days.

    (If anyone has seen a McCain quote, please tell us).

  24. 24.

    Jackie

    @ellaesther:

    Rep. Murphy is also in a very purple seat. If you have some cash to reward a guy who is taking a risk I’m sure his campaign committee would be appreciative. No blue dog wimp is he.

  25. 25.

    The next-to-last samurai

    If you were previously sedentary, are now very active, and are now extremely tired, a heart problem could be manifesting itself. Back off on the mileage, and if there is no improvement in a week or so, consider seeing a dr. Lily could probably use the rest, too. 6-10 miles a day seems like an awful lot for a short legged small dog.

  26. 26.

    Demo Woman

    @Litlebritdifrnt: Gee, at night it’s the worse. I use to tell the ex that I could not have the window open at night and he still did not get it even though my ear drum popped and I had goop draining out. Of course he was a tad self centered and I’m sure that yours isn’t.

  27. 27.

    Hammy

    I found a McCain statement but he doesn’t address the resignation at all and issued a generic statement:

    “I have the greatest respect and affection for Sarah, Todd, and their family. I was deeply honored to have her as my running mate and believe she will continue to play an important leadership role in the Republican Party and our nation,” McCain said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters.

  28. 28.

    JK

    @freelancer:

    Someone lamented Olbermann’s interview skills

    Compared to whom? Certainly no one on Fox News Channel. They’re all stooges of the Republican Party. I think Wolf Blitzer is usually ok and Anderson Cooper can be ok. I’ll admit that Olbermann could do a better job of editing and paring down the length of his questions.

    24/7 cable news has lowered the bar considerably in terms of the caliber of anchors, commentators, and anchors. Look at the degradation over the past 30 years.

    Then; Edwin Newman, Garick Utley, John Chancellor, Marvin Kalb, Ted Koppel, Howard K. Smith, Eric Severeid, Roger Mudd, Sander Vanocur, and I’m sure there are many others whose names I can’t recall

    Today: Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough, Lou Dobbs, Greta Van Susteren

    Certainly, Olbermann doesn’t measure up so well against people in the 1st group, but he’s head and shoulders above anyone in the second group.

  30. 30.

    John Cole

    Heart is fine- had it checked out recently. I think it is just allergies. I just vacuumed, turned all the HEPA’s on overload, did a neti pot, ate a claritan, and showered.

    All I have left in my arsenal is pinot noir and a shotgun.

  31. 31.

    Morbo

    Good heavens, David Weigel certainly does attract the crazies. I guess it’s appropriate considering the degree to which he reports on them, but man…

  32. 32.

    freelancer

    @JK

    Agreed, he’s better than most, but I don’t have cable so I’m fortunate enough not to be continually exposed to the media plumbing the depths of inanity on an hourly basis. I have Olbermann’s and Maddow’s shows via iTunes.

    Olbermann’s question style, and his invariable pundit bullpen of Fineman, Cilizza, Robinson, Wolfe, and Hayes is just making the show really unattractive.

    My only complaint with Maddow is her silly volleying with Anna Marie Cox.

  33. 33.

    Comrade Stuck

    All I have left in my arsenal is pinot noir and a shotgun.

    don’t know about the pinot noir, but a shotgun can be a great sleep aid, if worse comes to worse/

  35. 35.

    Demo Woman

    I have this image of Tunch, Lily and John on the futon watching the TV. It’s a nice image.

  36. 36.

    Demo Woman

    @John Cole: Claritan weakened its formula to sell it over the counter as non drowsy. The best allergy medicine is Benadryl and after that is Zytec. They don’t advertise as non drowsy. I take a Zytec 24 hr pill before I go to bed at night.

  37. 37.

    JK

    @freelancer:

    I generally like Fineman, Woolfe, Robinson, etc.., but I hear where you’re coming from. Olbermann and Madow, like any other hosts, aren’t for everyone. I’m not a fan of Ana Marie Cox. It really pissed me off when she told Rachel that she still liked McCain after the McCarthy style campaign he ran.

    Your criticism of Olbermann and Madow is far more evenhanded than that whackjob Baltimore Sun tv critic David Zurawik who compared them both to fascist propagandists.

  38. 38.

    Able Stanton

    I just got a Google Voice invite – google.com/voice

    What makes me so special?

    Looks like they’re worth appx. $50 on eBay.

    I will definitely use mine!

  39. 39.

    freelancer

    I just vacuumed, turned all the HEPA’s on overload, did a neti pot, ate a claritan, and showered.

    But did you MOP before showering?

    You could try combining the pinot noir and the neti pot, also.

  42. 42.

    Anne Laurie

    Demo Woman’s right. Allergies. The weather-assisted Very Bad Tree Pollen Season has morphed into weather-assisted Unspeakably Bad Grass Pollen Season… with a soupcon of Unseasonable Mold/Mildew Allergy Alert as a finishing touch. All you can do, apart from what you’re doing already, is cut back the walks a bit, and shower, or at least change your clothes & wash your face, after every long walk outside. Oh, maybe start using eyedrops — the plain OTC ‘dry eye’ saline drops seem to do me as much good as the medicated variety, and just adding regular eye-rinses seemed to help my allergy-related fatigue level, if only as a placebo.

  43. 43.

    gbear

    Dunno why, but no energy whatsoever.

    I know the feeling. I lay down on the bed after work and just woke up after a one hour nap. The kitties were hungry.

    @geg6:

    Evil Rahm, making the whole raison d’etre of the Obama administration to get Palin.

    I am willing to vote Obama a second term on this issue alone.

  44. 44.

    handy

    @freelancer:

    I generally have little regard for the man. Back a few years ago when it seemed like he was the only left-of-center voice on the MSM (including radio) who dared criticize Bush’s most egregious constitutional violations, I reluctantly got on the KO bandwagon.

    But before that he was always to me an arrogant blowhard of a sportscaster–even before he was at ESPN when he worked at a local TV station here in LA. Now, he’s just an arrogant blowhard of a pundit, liberal or not.

    I’m not a fan of all the stuff he writes, but Somerby has been pretty spot on with his analysis of KO and the quality of his work.

  45. 45.

    Hammy

    Since this is an open thread, I just want to say that I feel like a sucker for paying $359 for the Kindle 2 in February and it has been reduced to $299 now. Sixty dollars would buy me 6 more books.

  46. 46.

    handy

    Evil Rahm, making the whole raison d’etre of the Obama administration to get Palin.

    I can see Emanuel rearing his head and coming into her air space as we speak.

  47. 47.

    Hammy

    Jeopardy just had a question on the Neti Pot and I answered correctly thanks to BJ. The 3 contestants on the show did not know what it was.

  48. 48.

    cbear

    Whoa Nelly!

    Hampton gives a long interview with a Vegas reporter and outs Santorum as the guy who probably alerted Ensign to his Fox News letter.

    Apparently all of these frigging goopers will cover up sexual shenanigans quicker than a Catholic bishop.

  50. 50.

    Skepticat

    At least I’m not the only one who’s been turned into an inert lump for no real reason. Even though it’s cool, dry, and sunny (yes, finally actual sun here in New England!), it’s one of those can’t-walk-across-the-room-without-resting days. Never fails to hit when it’s absolutely necessary I accomplish things, though I’m blaming the fibromyalgia rather than allergies.

    Does anyone have any suggestions for ways to keep a psycho squirrel from chewing on the house? He’s destroyed a foot and a half of a vinyl-clad window track, a good chunk of the vinyl-clad French door frame, and now is chomping away on the porch railing and the house itself. I’ve coated everything with cayenne pepper and hot sauce, but nothing seems to stop him.

  51. 51.

    Comrade Stuck

    a Vegas reporter and outs Santorum

    I knew it. This could get biologically ugly.

  52. 52.

    demkat620

    Sitting in a lawn chair, laptop and an ice tea, watching about ten kids ride bikes in the cul de sac. It’s a beautiful summer night and tomorrow is Friday. Life is good.

  53. 53.

    trizzlor

    I think there was a pool going on when someone would compare Palin to George Washington or the Declaration of Independence. It took them a while, but here it is from Investors’ Business Daily (interestingly, in my profession IBD generally stand for Irritable Bowel Disease, probably a more apt acronym), via Sully:

    “In 1754, Lt. Col. George Washington quit the Virginia militia, an obscure fact that now seems a bit more interesting in the wake of Gov. Sarah Palin’s resignation in Alaska,”

  56. 56.

    gypsy howell

    Rep. Murphy is also in a very purple seat….No blue dog wimp is he.

    Well, it’s possible he’s not a wimp, but he is most definitely a Blue Dog.

  57. 57.

    MikeJ

    In 1754, Lt. Col. George Washington quit the Virginia militia

    And just a few years later he committed treason against the government that organized the militia.

  58. 58.

    JK

    @handy:

    Somerby has been pretty spot on with his analysis of KO and the quality of his work

    I agree with Somerby regarding the comedic excesses of Olbermann and Maddow, but I think he’s flogging a dead horse. All he’s essentially doing 75% of the time on Daily Howler is saying Olbermann and Maddow suck day after day after day.

    Does Somerby ever have anything positive to say about anyone? There’s something to be said for constructive criticism, but he just seems deranged and delusional. He’s still pissing and moaning about pundits treating Clinton and Gore unfairly.

    One other thing with Somerby, WTF with always referring to himself in the 1st person plural? Every blog post reads “we read”, “we watched”, “we heard”. Who do you know who constantly refers to himself or herself using the 1st person plural?

  60. 60.

    geg6

    I don’t care how KO frames his questions or the fact that he comes off as a giant blowhard at times. He will always be No. 1 in my book and a personal hero. He was, for FUCKING YEARS the ONLY person on cable teevee who was questioning the Iraq stories the administration was shoveling down all our throats, who questioned what was happening at Gitmo, who was outraged by torture, the US Attorney firings, the religious right…and on and on and on. He gave me hope and let me know I wasn’t insane or the only one who was horrified by what was happening to my beloved country. He was brave to it and he will always be a great man in my book. Hell, I even forgive him for being a damn Yankees fan. And I don’t think I’ve ever given anyone that sort of pass.

  61. 61.

    Elie

    John —

    You have severe Palinfever spores allergy…it can be quite severe and lead to pneumonia and prolonged powerlessness.

    Antidote:

    Stay away from the noxious source which triggers the inflammatory/allergic response. Remember, the clever thing allergens do (including Palin spores) is make your body attack itself after effing with your mast cells so that they think YOUR body cells are the foreign invaders (sound familiar?)

    If antihistamines do not work well, which is common, you have to STAY AWAY from it — get it? (and everyone that has Palinfever?)

  62. 62.

    Elie

    Skekptikat @ 50 —

    You have to get some humane squirrel/rodent traps baited with their faves: Peanut butter sprinkled with unpopped popcorn.

    GUARANTEED!

    Then you have the moral choice to take that critter and…

    (wink, wink — Palin it) — or turn it loose about 600 miles away

  63. 63.

    JK

    @geg6:

    I’d forgotten that part about Olbermann being a Yankees fan. I’ll give him a pass on that too, but I still hate those goddamn Yankees.

  64. 64.

    AhabTRuler

    WTF with always referring to himself in the 1st person plural?

    It’s part of the affected gossip column” style of the posts.

  66. 66.

    asiangrrlMN

    @ellaesther: Thanks. This is an important issue to me. I was impressed with Patrick Murphy on Rachel’s show. Blue Dog notwithstanding, his lead on this particular issue is exemplary.

    John Cole, have you been hiking the Appalachian Trail by any chance?

    I’m pretty lethargic, too. I think it’s time for a nap.

    geg6, I’m with you. I find Olbermann amusing partly because he knows he’s a pompous blowhard. I also like Gene Robinson and Richard Wolffe, so that helps.

    As for Rachel, I love her show except for the last segment with Ken Jones. I can deal with that, however, because Rachel actually is a pretty good interviewer (for the most part). Oh, and I liked Ana Marie Cox until she said that she has a soft spot for T-Paw (my stupid governor). That did it.

  67. 67.

    Ash Can

    @JK:

    Meg Stapleton, a close Palin adviser in Alaska, is now blaming Rahm Emmanuel.

    LOLZZ! Oh, how they WISH someone — anyone — in the White House was paying any fucking attention to them. Good grief. I can’t believe how pathetic they are.

  69. 69.

    Demo Woman

    @JK: The only time that I said the words, I love the Yankees was during the 2001 World Series. Hating the Yankees never worked. It was so glorious when Arizona won. Johnson and Schilling were awesome.

  70. 70.

    asiangrrlMN

    @ellaesther: Woot woot! My representative and the first-evah Muslim US Rep, also from MN are co-sponsors, as well as a third MN rep. That makes me happy.

    P.S. Rahm is hot, but he needs to STFU about triggers and stuff in the healthcare reform bill.

  72. 72.

    cbear

    @Comrade Stuck:

    Biological? Hell, this is becoming positively Biblical.

    …and Craig begat Ensign and Ensign begat Sandford and Sanford begat Santorum and Coburn said unto them……

  73. 73.

    jacy

    @Skepticat:

    Re: squirrel problem, I know people who have used peppermint oil for squirrels. They say you can either rub it on or make an emulsion and mist it on whatever you’re trying to protect. Not dangerous, but they say the critters don’t like it.

  74. 74.

    JK

    @Demo Woman:

    The 2001 World Series was unbelievable on so many levels. I’m actually glad it went 7 games because it made the heartbreak that much worse for the most obnoxious segment of Yankee fans. The only thing that would have made it perfect would have been if Mariano Rivera had given up a walk-off grand slam.

  76. 76.

    Elie

    jacy:

    Said squirrel will LOVE anything with peppermint oil on it. Yum!

    But give it a whirl and hope that it stays away from your electrical wires so that you don’t end up with a file or other terrible dysfunction…

    Squirrels and rats unfortunately like to gnaw on all kinds of things. They have to because unless they gnaw, their incisors get too long and this keeps them trim and sharp. You really DO have to get them out of your house, pronto. As I said, humanely trapping them and taking them somewhere else is one choice. If you have a severe problem and don’t want to bother, there are other poison and trap solutions that will address the problem pretty quickly..

    (PS: I am not normally a horrible animal hater but after rats pretty much destroyed our electrical wiring in our old home, I actually applauded each time that I heard one the traps spring shut. I had no sympathy left after pulling a baked rat out of the electrical grid of my new range/stove)

  77. 77.

    ellaesther

    @asiangrrlMN: Woot woot back atcha — I love Keith Ellison! In fact, with Keith Ellison, Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, I kind of wish I were your neighbor!

    I’ve got Danny K. Davis (not bad, also signed the thing) in the House, Dick Durbin in the Senate (ok, pretty damn good), and Roland I-did-not-purchase-my-seat Burris (…). Plus ex-Gov. Blagoevich, who has resigned, it’s true, but left something of a nasty stench behind.

  78. 78.

    asiangrrlMN

    @ellaesther: I should have put a comma between my rep and Keith Ellison because he is not my rep. Betty McCollum is. She’s great, too, though. You forget that we have Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty as governor. He’s not as crazy as some governors, but he’s pretty hard-core conservative.

    Still, I will take MN over IL right now.

  79. 79.

    Skepticat

    Elie, I’m not sure I have the strength to do the trap thing, given the number of critters around here that are certain to love p.b. and popcorn. (The fact that it’s illegal around here is a minor detail I’m happy to ignore at this point.) I might slather p.b. all over a tree way at the back of the yard, though, as a distraction! I just can’t figure out why all of a sudden the house, especially its vinyl parts, is a snack more appealing than sunflower seeds from the bird feeders. I’m used to wildlife, but this new and unhappy development isn’t something I’ve had to deal with before.
    At least they aren’t in the house (yet)(knock on wood). The mice are in charge of driving me nuts on that front, though the cats help control their depredations.

  80. 80.

    Cain

    @Able Stanton:

    I just got a Google Voice invite – google.com/voice

    Pfft I got that a couple of months ago. But I pulled some strings though. It needs some work, the sound quality needs work and there are some other issues about it.

    cain

  81. 81.

    slag

    I’m just exhausted today. Dunno why, but no energy whatsoever.

    Exact same problem here. Woke up exhausted and have stayed that way all day. Inexplicably. Totally bizarre.

  82. 82.

    CT

    Maddow is a much better interviewer than Olbermann, whose questions are so leading he could save some time by just sliding a script across to Robinson, et al. and just say, “Here, reading this response I wrote for you.” Sometimes (as with most things Palin), it is reasonable to cut to the chase and say, “that was stupid, don’t you agree?” rather than pose a mock-balanced question, but not always.

  83. 83.

    Steeplejack

    @Skepticat:

    Give him something else to chew on? Get a bag of sunflower seeds, put some out every day and distract his small-minded ass.

    Yes, it’s abject capitulation, but in the grand scheme of things is that so bad?

    On the other hand, it sounds like you could have a plastic-addicted squirrel on your hands. That’s bad. Very bad.

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