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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

So many bastards, so little time.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

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You are here: Home / Sports / Steelers Open Thread

Steelers Open Thread

by John Cole|  August 13, 20097:53 pm| 151 Comments

This post is in: Sports

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I enjoyed writing that title.

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Reader Interactions

151Comments

  1. 1.

    Jersey

    August 13, 2009 at 7:56 pm

    I did not enjoy reading it.

  2. 2.

    Lettuce

    August 13, 2009 at 7:59 pm

    What, you can’t write (on the appropriate day), “Packers Open Thread”?

  3. 3.

    Peyton M.

    August 13, 2009 at 8:01 pm

    Go Colts!

    [ducks, runs]

  4. 4.

    arguingwithsignposts

    August 13, 2009 at 8:04 pm

    And Whole Foods faces the shitstorm

  5. 5.

    General Winfield Stuck

    August 13, 2009 at 8:05 pm

    I could say something. But won’t.

  6. 6.

    demkat620

    August 13, 2009 at 8:06 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts: Hey there! How are things going for you?

  7. 7.

    Joe Lisboa

    August 13, 2009 at 8:08 pm

    Go Lions?

    *facepalm*

  8. 8.

    Joe Lisboa

    August 13, 2009 at 8:11 pm

    (er, it appears asterisks boldface as opposed to indicating physical action on BJ.com, so: {facepalm})

  9. 9.

    MBSS

    August 13, 2009 at 8:19 pm

    preseason football. right behind watching grass grow in terms of excitement.

  10. 10.

    Fencedude

    August 13, 2009 at 8:20 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    *This discussion is closed*

    ehehehehehehe

  11. 11.

    arguingwithsignposts

    August 13, 2009 at 8:22 pm

    @demkat620:

    getting better at times. worse at others. but overall better. and that’s a good thing. :)

  12. 12.

    demimondian

    August 13, 2009 at 8:24 pm

    @Joe Lisboa: [facepalm] is the local standard (square brackets)

    Go Seahawks!

  13. 13.

    MBSS

    August 13, 2009 at 8:25 pm

    thats why i shop at my local co-op and health food stores, instead of whole foods. all those type of places are simply about $$$. they would sell widgets instead of veggie dogs if they could make more money.

  14. 14.

    demimondian

    August 13, 2009 at 8:26 pm

    @Fencedude: [snerk] [chortle] [snork]

    Yeah. Right.

  15. 15.

    jacy

    August 13, 2009 at 8:31 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Glad things are looking up for you, at least a little. Keep it up.

    As to the “open” thread: I just don’t care for the teh football. I know that makes me a commie/fascist/nazi/muslim/socialist/death panel sitting threat to the ‘murican way of life, but….pah.

    How long till hockey season?

  16. 16.

    Calouste

    August 13, 2009 at 8:33 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    There is a fat lie in there:

    WholeFoods pays 100% of the premiums for employees who have worked more than 800 hours. Under 400 hours, no insurance at all. under 800 hours, $40+ per week contribution. Family only insured after 1600 hours IIRC.

    Considering that turnover in the retail sector tends to be pretty high, you can pretty much assume that they don’t pay 100% of the premiums for about 20% of their full time workforce.

    Oh, did I mention that they have a $2500 deductible?

  17. 17.

    The Grand Panjandrum AKA Americans for America

    August 13, 2009 at 8:34 pm

    Just got back from the farmers market with four cloth shopping bags full of veggies grown within 10 miles of here. I should be eligible for canonization pretty soon.

    Hey, John how’s the alleged rapist holding up? Did he ever finish his remedial motorcycle riding class?

  18. 18.

    Reks

    August 13, 2009 at 8:37 pm

    http://deadspin.com/5335760/pittsburgh-steelers-love-their-illegal-gun+shooting-parties-updated

    Care to comment, John?

  19. 19.

    bayville

    August 13, 2009 at 8:37 pm

    Quick, get Taibbi on the Bat Phone.

    HARRY Markopolos — the whistleblower on Bernie Madoff who proved to be much smarter than the SEC — says there are evildoers out there who will make the Ponzi scum “look like small-time.” Markopolos gave a speech to 400 of the faithful at the Greek Orthodox Church in Southampton and predicted major scandals will soon be revealed about the unregulated, $600 trillion, credit-default swap market. “To put it in simple terms, it is like buying fire insurance policies from five different insurance companies on your neighbor’s house and then burning down the house,”

    http://www.nypost.com/seven/08122009/gossip/pagesix/scandal_bigger_than_bernie_184160.htm

  20. 20.

    SFAW

    August 13, 2009 at 8:42 pm

    J-E-T-S!

    Mets! Mets!! Mets!!!!

    I tells ya, it’s tough bein’ a *ets fan these days. Maybe Favrvrvrve will lead them to the Super Bowl? Right after Pedro gets the other guys into the World Series.

  21. 21.

    amorphous

    August 13, 2009 at 8:49 pm

    GO COLLEGE FOOTBALL!

    How’s Gruden so far?

  22. 22.

    dobrojutro

    August 13, 2009 at 8:51 pm

    Open this link in a new tab and compare to Coulter’s mug on the banner ad: http://www.babarshouse.com/Fan%20Art/Killface%20Backround.jpg

    I can’t be the only one to notice.

  23. 23.

    lamh31

    August 13, 2009 at 8:53 pm

    I always say that I’m gonna really start getting into sports like football. ya know watch the games, rooting for my fav team, etc, but I never do. I’m just not into organized sporting leagues (i.e. NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA, etc)I guess. I do like the Olympics though. BTW, when does the regular season start?

    Anyway, this brought a smile to my face.

    href=”http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/08/13/0813damon.html”>Budding broadcaster Damon Weaver finally snags interview with Obama

    “He did it. He finally did it.
    Damon Weaver, Canal Point’s tiny broadcaster, has become the youngest reporter ever to interview President Barack Obama.Weaver, 11, interviewed Obama for about an hour today in the White House Diplomatic Room. Damon asked 12 questions focusing on education, community safety and reducing violence in urban areas.
    Then he got to take some photos with the president, Brian Zimmerman, his broadcasting teacher, and his mother.The White House also has arranged for Weaver to do a news conference on the South Lawn of the White House Friday morning. Damon will be fielding questions from the Today Show, Good Morning America and The Early Show and later with other network reporters…
    Weaver, who gained national attention doing interviews on the campaigns trail, had been trying to interview Obama since he visited Washington, D.C. for the inauguration… In June, Weaver won top honors in the elementary news division of an international film festival for a video of interviewing then Vice-Presidential candidate Joe. As the loquacious Biden rambled on about the role of the vice president, Damon’s tired arm holding the microphone began to droop”

  24. 24.

    JK

    August 13, 2009 at 8:54 pm

    I’ve had it with these motherfucking NY Yankees and their motherfucking lead in the AL East.

  25. 25.

    Annie

    August 13, 2009 at 8:57 pm

    Go Stillers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I may live in DC, but you never, ever, leave the Steelers behind. Even my nieces who grow up in NY carry the terrible towel to school….

  26. 26.

    MikeJ

    August 13, 2009 at 8:59 pm

    @JK: We’ve swept them at Fenway this year so far. Three game stand starts next weekend, and we’ll eat into the lead.

  27. 27.

    Gex

    August 13, 2009 at 9:00 pm

    @jacy: Stealth Canadian!

  28. 28.

    Keith G

    August 13, 2009 at 9:00 pm

    Been scanning townhall meeting videos. Where are America’s non-white citizens? Where is the coalition that elected Obama to do this job? Where are the folks who are impacted the most by our bs healthcare non-system?

    I also am wondering: It seems to me that more and more, Obama is alone on this. He is getting personally dinged, and I do not see other leaders stepping up to deflect fire. This is a civil rights issue if ever there was one. Where is the civil rights leadership?

    This seems unusual.

  29. 29.

    Demo Woman

    August 13, 2009 at 9:01 pm

    Michael Vick is an Eagle, I didn’t see that one coming.

  30. 30.

    MTmofo

    August 13, 2009 at 9:03 pm

    Vick goes to Philly in 2 yr contract.

    http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4397938

    Go Seahawks!

  31. 31.

    Marked Hoosier

    August 13, 2009 at 9:03 pm

    Michael Vick signs 2 year deal with Eagles. So is this the end of McNabb? What are the Eagles going to do with Vick? The signing puzzles me.

  32. 32.

    Marked Hoosier

    August 13, 2009 at 9:06 pm

    oh and Go Colts!!! :)

  33. 33.

    General Winfield Stuck

    August 13, 2009 at 9:07 pm

    Johnny Gomes has hit 3 homers in row and is up now for chance at record. Go cincy.

  34. 34.

    lamh31

    August 13, 2009 at 9:08 pm

    Sorry, here’s the link to the story I posted:

    Budding broadcaster Damon Weaver finally snags interview with Obama

  35. 35.

    JK

    August 13, 2009 at 9:08 pm

    @Demo Woman:

    According to Mark Halperin, this is good news for John McCain.

  36. 36.

    MBSS

    August 13, 2009 at 9:10 pm

    the eagles just signed vick so he can attack the mascot when they play the browns.

  37. 37.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    August 13, 2009 at 9:12 pm

    Take yer ghey baseball talk to a girlie thread. This is a football thread, assholes.

  38. 38.

    Demo Woman

    August 13, 2009 at 9:17 pm

    @Marked Hoosier: I can’t imagine that after spending the last year in jail, Vick is ready to take control. Now after saying that, I wish him well. He paid his dues and hopefully learned from his punishment.
    I’m just glad that he’s out of Atlanta.

  39. 39.

    The Grand Panjandrum AKA Americans for America

    August 13, 2009 at 9:19 pm

    Lotta faux rage on the internets over Vick going to the Eagles. What about the wife/girlfriend beaters? Shouldn’t we boycott the teams that hires those guys, as well?

  40. 40.

    MBSS

    August 13, 2009 at 9:23 pm

    wives and gf’s can leave you.

    dogs can’t.

  41. 41.

    wilfred

    August 13, 2009 at 9:28 pm

    Ah, the sweet, acrid smell of righteous vindication:

    A 72-year-old Harlem business owner used a shotgun to blast four men who tried to rob his restaurant-supply business Thursday afternoon, killing two and sending two others to the hospital with gunshot wounds, the New York City police said.

    Who’s the chalk for first to exploit?

  42. 42.

    MikeJ

    August 13, 2009 at 9:29 pm

    @The Grand Panjandrum AKA Americans for America:

    I don’t think all the rage is faux, even if I think they’re wrong. Many people honestly have stupid opinions.

    My view is, he did his time in jail, he’s out now. It’s moronic for people to society to punish people for the rest of their lives after releasing them from prison. If he’s dangerous enough to be denied the right to make a living, then change the law and make the prison term longer for his crime, and keep people who break the law in prison longer.

  43. 43.

    bernini

    August 13, 2009 at 9:30 pm

    Tapped – of all places! – had a good piece on Vick paying his dues to society. Whatever, just get us to the f’ing playoffs after McNabb chokes hard. btw: Vegas has Brown’s mascot over Vick in third quarter.

  44. 44.

    DecidedFenceSitter

    August 13, 2009 at 9:31 pm

    Woo-hoo! That’s my Redskins losing 13-0 against the Eagles.

    On the upside, I can that usually the Redskins keep their 1st string in the whole game so the pre-season looks better. Let’s see what they do this year.

  45. 45.

    JK

    August 13, 2009 at 9:33 pm

    @SFAW:

    Orly Taitz will acknowledge Obama’s legitimacy as president before the NY Mets win the World Series.

    @The Grand Panjandrum AKA Americans for America:

    Absolutely right. Those teams need to be condemned in the strongest possible terms

  46. 46.

    John Cole

    August 13, 2009 at 9:34 pm

    @Reks: I’m really hard pressed to get worked up about a bunch of guns at a State Police function. I don’t care for guns, but seriously- it isn’t like the guns fell out of their waistbands in a NYC club.

  47. 47.

    HRA

    August 13, 2009 at 9:34 pm

    I have mixed emotions about Vick. Sure he paid his dues. Sure he has to work again. Not sure he learned how wrong it was to do what he did to the animals.

    Then it comes down to who am I to judge with an OJ being an ex-Bill. :(

    The news today was a quick sellout of a preseason game here on Saturday. That’s very unusual in these last years.

    Go Bills!

  48. 48.

    The next-to-last samurai

    August 13, 2009 at 9:38 pm

    Hello, Signposts! President for Life Tunch welcomes you back to the Democratic republic of Tunchany, as do we all, and wants to know what kind of snax you brought us. As do we all. John, is there any word on the newest Tunchianian?

  49. 49.

    amorphous

    August 13, 2009 at 9:39 pm

    All the Vick outrage and “he did his time”… Donte Stallworth KILLED A MAN and got THIRTY DAYS in jail. Thirty DAYS. The problem is less Vick, more the legal “system.”

  50. 50.

    YellowJournalism

    August 13, 2009 at 9:40 pm

    Argh. I had a whole post about the Whole Foods guy that was eaten up by my Internet connection.

    Basically, John Mackey is an ass who really needs to talk to his Canadian employees before speaking on their behalf about their health care system. And it doesn’t matter if health care is a constitutional right or not. Health care is just as important as food and shelter, especially when lack of proper access to it or shitty access via greedy insurance companies will affect your ability to keep that shelter and purchase that food.

  51. 51.

    JK

    August 13, 2009 at 9:42 pm

    William Kostric / Katy Abram 2012

    They’ll prevent the US from turning into Russia

  52. 52.

    Marked Hoosier

    August 13, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    I don’t mind the Vick signing, it is just what are the Eagles planning on doing with him that I wanna know. Vick served his time, and he got a fair sentence. I am more upset that Donte Stallworth had a DUI/Manslaughter that he only had to serve 24 days in jail for. THAT is a gross miscarriage of justice in my eye.

    Anyhow, Brady threw two touchdown passes… I just can’t wait to hear how he is GOD again from everyone from ESPN. /sarcasm

  53. 53.

    Punchy

    August 13, 2009 at 9:50 pm

    Maybe Philly fans will chuck dog bones at Vick insteada batteries when he fucks up.

  54. 54.

    MikeJ

    August 13, 2009 at 9:51 pm

    I’d be interested in seeing what the average sentence for dui/manslaughter is in Fla before I got too outraged. Yes, he was criminally negligent, and should be punished, but the lack of mens rea really puts all manslaughter type charges in a different class. I hope there’s mandatory treatment in his sentence.

  55. 55.

    Demo Woman

    August 13, 2009 at 9:55 pm

    It’s hard to say that Stallworth served his time after 24 days.

  56. 56.

    gau

    August 13, 2009 at 9:57 pm

    McNabb, Westbrook, Jackson, Maclin, McCoy, Curtis… and now Vick? That is one quick and agile offense… (assuming Vick still has anything close to his old legs)

  57. 57.

    Paul

    August 13, 2009 at 9:57 pm

    As a Giants fan, the Vick signing is NOT good news.

    We hates scrambling quarterbacks, preciouss.

  58. 58.

    Comrade Jake

    August 13, 2009 at 10:00 pm

    OT, but I assume you guys have seen this shit?

    The Senate Finance Committee will drop a controversial provision on consultations for end-of-life care from its proposed healthcare bill, its top Republican member said Thursday.
     
    The committee, which has worked on putting together a bipartisan healthcare reform bill, will drop the controversial provision after it was derided by conservatives as “death panels” to encourage euthanasia.

    You read this sort of thing and it just makes you realize why health care reform is so necessary: it might allow the Democrats to actually get a spline transplant.

  59. 59.

    Martin

    August 13, 2009 at 10:00 pm

    Clinton (Big Dog) keynoting at Netroots Nation, streaming live at GOS. The little bloggers keep growing up.

  60. 60.

    Corner Stone

    August 13, 2009 at 10:09 pm

    Listen. I’m a hetero male but I gotsta tell ya’s – that commercial ESPN’s playing with Adrian Peterson running a shirtless schlo-mo sprint makes my wood wonder where I went wrong.
    That is some crazy shiz.

  61. 61.

    MikeJ

    August 13, 2009 at 10:13 pm

    It’s hard to say that Stallworth served his time after 24 days.

    He’s serving the time he was given. If you think Florida should give him more time, I won’t argue, but it’s not up to the NFL to do it.

  62. 62.

    Demo Woman

    August 13, 2009 at 10:18 pm

    @MikeJ: The NFL suspended him for a year.

  63. 63.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    August 13, 2009 at 10:22 pm

    Sometimes lightning strikes and a person of color gets a white man’s sentence. This is something to celebrate, not lament.

  64. 64.

    Marked Hoosier

    August 13, 2009 at 10:23 pm

    I feel dirty… I am so desperate for football I am still watching this preseason game.

  65. 65.

    demimondian

    August 13, 2009 at 10:25 pm

    Well, it’s good to see that the Iggles are getting the appropriate treatment from the PatRiots.

  66. 66.

    john b

    August 13, 2009 at 10:25 pm

    man punched in face at town hall in durham, nc. note: durham went something like 75% for obama.

  67. 67.

    JK

    August 13, 2009 at 10:26 pm

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Tell that to the family and friends of the person Donte Stallworth killed.

  68. 68.

    MikeJ

    August 13, 2009 at 10:33 pm

    btw, thanks for that link above. Bill killed at the commiefest.

  69. 69.

    Comrade Jake

    August 13, 2009 at 10:35 pm

    @john b:

    I’ve actually been to a town hall meeting in Durham not too long ago. Someone getting punched in the face is basically par for the course.

  70. 70.

    Joe

    August 13, 2009 at 10:45 pm

    screw the Steelers, how ’bout those Pirates

  71. 71.

    Joe

    August 13, 2009 at 10:47 pm

    so help me Allah, I’m gonna punch a Steelers fan in the neck.

  72. 72.

    JK

    August 13, 2009 at 10:48 pm

    Knuckle dragger Michele Bachmann has a message for her supporters in a new fundraising letter: “Don’t let the media Palinize me”

    h/t http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/bachmann-dont-let-them-palinize-me.php

  73. 73.

    Martin

    August 13, 2009 at 10:54 pm

    The Senate Finance Committee will drop a controversial provision on consultations for end-of-life care from its proposed healthcare bill, its top Republican member said Thursday.

    You read this sort of thing and it just makes you realize why health care reform is so necessary: it might allow the Democrats to actually get a spline transplant.

    So, Republicans spend 2 weeks lying about the bill and you trust a Republican to tell the truth about the bill and start blaming Democrats.

    There are days when I wonder who’s stupider – the idiots screaming at the town halls, or us.

  74. 74.

    mai naem

    August 13, 2009 at 10:58 pm

    What’s worse -to Palinize Bachman or to Bachmanize Palin

  75. 75.

    demimondian

    August 13, 2009 at 11:03 pm

    @mai naem: Neither one is as bad as Palin or Bachman themselves.

  76. 76.

    grimc

    August 13, 2009 at 11:15 pm

    @JK:

    The solution for Bachmann to avoid being “Palinized” is obvious: Resign.

  77. 77.

    SFAW

    August 13, 2009 at 11:17 pm

    Orly Taitz will acknowledge Obama’s legitimacy as president before the NY Mets win the World Series.

    Does President of Kenya count?

    Knuckle dragger Michele Bachmann has a message for her supporters in a new fundraising letter: “Don’t let the media Palinize me”

    Is that Bachmannianese for “They’ll make me seem like I’m not a dull-normal whack-job”?

  78. 78.

    Punchy

    August 13, 2009 at 11:19 pm

    @Joe: I’m still waiting for PA to pass a gay marriage bill so Steeley McBeam can just get it over with and stop hiding it.

  79. 79.

    JK

    August 13, 2009 at 11:20 pm

    @mai naem: @demimondian: @grimc:

    I don’t know which one is worse, but Palin and Bachmann are both malignant cancers who are trying their damnedest to dumb this society down to the Cambrian period.

    Fuck the NY Yankees.

  80. 80.

    J Bean

    August 13, 2009 at 11:28 pm

    Rep. Darryl Issa would like some feedback on health care:
    http://issaenews.ic0.org/mail/util.cfm?gpiv=2100044975.867666.401&gen=1

  81. 81.

    JK

    August 13, 2009 at 11:37 pm

    @SFAW: No. President of Kenya doesn’t count.

  82. 82.

    General Winfield Stuck

    August 13, 2009 at 11:38 pm

    @J Bean:

    I filled out his survey, hopefully to add a monkey wrench in the wingnut wurlitzer.

  83. 83.

    Joe

    August 13, 2009 at 11:49 pm

    @ Punchy

    Had to google Steely McBeam. That is a thread winner.

  84. 84.

    Adolphus

    August 13, 2009 at 11:56 pm

    Ravens 23
    Redskins 0

    ahhhhhhhhhh

  85. 85.

    amorphous

    August 14, 2009 at 12:04 am

    @JK: Ha! jokes on YOU! The Cambrian period didn’t actually happen! It’s only been Holocene to them.

  86. 86.

    Brachiator

    August 14, 2009 at 12:11 am

    @amorphous:

    All the Vick outrage and “he did his time”… Donte Stallworth KILLED A MAN and got THIRTY DAYS in jail.

    There’s a reason the law makes a distinction between intentional and non-intentional killing. One of the things taken into consideration was the fact that the victim, Mario Reyes, was not in a crosswalk on busy MacArthur Causeway when he was struck by Stallworth’s car.

    So let’s look at a summary of the entire outcome of Stallworth’s case:

    Stallworth was charged with DUI and second degree manslaughter…. He pleaded guilty, and received a sentence of 30 days in jail, plus 1,000 hours of community service, 2 years of house arrest, and 8 years probation. He has also received a life-time suspension of his Florida state driver’s license…. On July 10, 2009, Stallworth was released from jail after serving 24 days of a 30-day sentence….On August 13, 2009, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated that Stallworth would be suspended for the entire 2009 season without pay. Stallworth will be reinstated after Super Bowl XLIV.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donte_Stallworth

    You might still consider the sentence to be too lenient, but still you have to put it into context.

  87. 87.

    Indylib

    August 14, 2009 at 12:12 am

    @arguingwithsignposts: Thanks for posting all the updates on this.

  88. 88.

    JR

    August 14, 2009 at 12:13 am

    Thanks for fixing Turley’s name on the blogroll. Oh, and for coming around to rejecting the Republican party–you got out at the last possible moment before the full-bore batshit insane lunatic nutjobs became the party’s whole raison d’etre. Decent timing, I suppose.

  89. 89.

    shoutingattherain

    August 14, 2009 at 12:14 am

    Only 49 days until the STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS first game of the season.

    Just sayin’. And fuck the Steelers. An’ ‘at…

  90. 90.

    Comrade Kevin

    August 14, 2009 at 12:18 am

    Some photos I took the last two days.

  91. 91.

    General Winfield Stuck

    August 14, 2009 at 12:22 am

    @Brachiator:

    You might still consider the sentence to be too lenient, but still you have to put it into context.

    New Mexico used to be the top state for per capita deaths from drunk drivers. There are places in the Northern part of the state where makeshift crosses from families who’ve lost loved ones resemble guardrails in bad curves of the road.

    They have toughened the DUI laws to where you kill someone drunk driving, a seven year sentence is lenient and some of the multiple death ones can bring a 20 year sentence, or longer. We are no longer number 1, and that is a good thing.

  92. 92.

    ninerdave

    August 14, 2009 at 12:25 am

    I enjoyed writing that title.

    Even though the Steelers can kiss my lilly-white-whine-and-cheese-loving-niners ass…

    I enjoyed reading it. Football is upon us!

  93. 93.

    Calouste

    August 14, 2009 at 12:41 am

    And surprise, surprise, Amy Sulivan from the Time’s swmpland did some digging in old Congressional records and see what she found:

    that’s right the 2003 Medicare bill, passed with the support of 204 GOP Congresspeople and 42 GOP Senators, including Chuck “lying sack of shit – talk to Jesus about your end of life” Grassley. And look what is in there:

    “The covered services are: evaluating the beneficiary’s need for pain and symptom management, including the individual’s need for hospice care; counseling the beneficiary with respect to end-of-life issues and care options, and advising the beneficiary regarding advanced care planning.” The only difference between the 2003 provision and the infamous Section 1233 that threatens the very future and moral sanctity of the Republic is that the first applied only to terminally ill patients. Section 1233 would expand funding so that people could voluntarily receive counseling before they become terminally ill.

  94. 94.

    asiangrrlMN

    August 14, 2009 at 12:54 am

    @lamh31: Thank you for posting this video. It brightened my day.

    GO VIKES!!!!!!!!!

  95. 95.

    JK

    August 14, 2009 at 1:05 am

    @Brachiator:

    Sometimes, as in Donte Stallworth’s case, the law is an ass.

  96. 96.

    burnspbesq

    August 14, 2009 at 1:22 am

    Newt Gingrich never fails to amaze.

    According to an article in tomorrow’s Tax Notes Today, he apparently said, in a speech at AEI earlier today, that the fact that more than 65 percent of Californians voted against Proposition 1A, which would have raised taxes to help close the state’s wide budget gap, reflected a “huge disconnect between the popular will” and the nation’s elected representatives.

    Umm, excuse me, but how did those elected representatives become elected representatives, if it wasn’t through the expression of the popular will?

    Jeebus H. Keerist.

  97. 97.

    handy

    August 14, 2009 at 1:23 am

    This whole townhall stuff is really getting out of hand I feel like. Was chatting with a couple co-workers today and the subject came up. From all I’ve been able to tell, they’re pretty reliably left-of-center on all sorts of issues, health care being one of them appropriately since I work in a very large health care organization that shall remain nameless. But they were absolutely furious on the “attacks” on the anti-reform protesters at these townhalls, essentially conceding, “Damn right people are pissed!” and saying things like Obama and the Dems have no right shutting people up about it.

    I really think a lot of people like Katy Abram are genuinely pissed off right now. No, they are not informed. No, the anger’s not directed at the right people (or maybe it’s directed at only half of the right people–Dems are pretty much f’ing this whole debate up and aren’t putting forward what I would consider real reform).

    But if like I’ve read its suggested that this is all part of some strategy by the Obama administration, my only response is–they are gonna get seriously burned.

  98. 98.

    General Winfield Stuck

    August 14, 2009 at 1:24 am

    @burnspbesq:

    Umm, excuse me, but how did those elected representatives become elected representatives, if it wasn’t through the expression of the popular will?

    ACORN, of course/ sasq/

  99. 99.

    burnspbesq

    August 14, 2009 at 1:26 am

    @john b:

    “man punched in face at town hall in durham, nc.”,/i>

    Please tell me it was Mike Nifong.

  100. 100.

    General Winfield Stuck

    August 14, 2009 at 1:40 am

    Another gem from lying sack of shit Grassely.

    One of the most surprising of these was the rumor — given an airing by Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), a former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and now its senior Republican member — that Kennedy, 77, a Democrat from Massachusetts, would not receive treatment for his brain tumor if he were in England because he is too old.

    I’m done with these bastards. They can DIAF for all I care.

  101. 101.

    General Winfield Stuck

    August 14, 2009 at 1:44 am

    Netanyahu – Birther/

  102. 102.

    JK

    August 14, 2009 at 1:48 am

    @handy:

    I don’t want to shut people up, but I’d like to see some civilty at these town hall meetings. If you want to ask a question, go ahead and ask it.

    Don’t ask me to support people who try to shout down politicians because they don’t like the answers they’re hearing.

    Shouting people down is thuggish, neanderthal behavior and should be denounced as often as possible.

    People who toss around words like fascist, nazi, and communist are stupid sacks of shit and no they don’t deserve any respect whatsoever. Obama is not a communist, a socialist, or a nazi and people who characterize him or his policy intiatives as such are not worth the time of day.

    If Katy Abram wants to question a US senator in a public forum, she should do her fucking homework ahead of time instead of pulling delusional comments out of her ass like “I don’t want this country to become Russia.”

  103. 103.

    MikeJ

    August 14, 2009 at 1:49 am

    While I tend to take the Israeli press with a truckload of salt, the Iranian press is not really your go to source for good info on Israeli politicians.

  104. 104.

    handy

    August 14, 2009 at 1:52 am

    @MikeJ:

    :-D

  105. 105.

    Brachiator

    August 14, 2009 at 1:54 am

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    New Mexico used to be the top state for per capita deaths from drunk drivers. … They have toughened the DUI laws to where you kill someone drunk driving, a seven year sentence is lenient and some of the multiple death ones can bring a 20 year sentence, or longer. We are no longer number 1, and that is a good thing.

    While I am glad to see the number of deaths decrease, the remedy seems harsh. I hope that there is also something being done to try to encourage more responsibility with respect to excessive drinking.

    Newt Gingrich never fails to amaze.

    Sometimes the Newt is an ass.

  106. 106.

    burnspbesq

    August 14, 2009 at 2:03 am

    @Brachiator:

    “Sometimes the Newt is an ass.”

    Only on days that end in “y.”

  107. 107.

    MikeJ

    August 14, 2009 at 2:06 am

    wtf is up with Skins being subtitled? It was funny in Lock, Stock, but why with this show?

  108. 108.

    General Winfield Stuck

    August 14, 2009 at 2:13 am

    @MikeJ:

    oops. I was following a story about a reported feud between Rahm Emanuel and Bibbi and came across this and didn’t check where it was from. A humongus grain of salt is in order. It’s late.

  109. 109.

    Martin

    August 14, 2009 at 2:20 am

    While I am glad to see the number of deaths decrease, the remedy seems harsh. I hope that there is also something being done to try to encourage more responsibility with respect to excessive drinking.

    I seem to recall that a big part of the problem in NM were the reservations. Different laws depending on whether you are on/off tribal lands, plus the fact that we treat tribal residents like shit isn’t conducive to building a responsible community.

  110. 110.

    JK

    August 14, 2009 at 2:24 am

    When will the MSM reveal who wrote Sarah Palin’s latest Facebook entry? There’s no way in hell, Palin wrote that herself.

    Fucking NY Yankees. When are these scumbags going to go on a nice long losing streak?

  111. 111.

    MikeJ

    August 14, 2009 at 2:28 am

    Fucking NY Yankees. When are these scumbags going to go on a nice long losing streak?

    Dad just buzzed me. “Mariners won!” Then I had to tell him it was, “Mariners *one*, Yanquis eleven.”

  112. 112.

    Blue Raven

    August 14, 2009 at 2:40 am

    I’m going to say it because nobody else has, popularity of it be damned.

    GO PATS!

  113. 113.

    JGabriel

    August 14, 2009 at 2:47 am

    @JK:

    When will the MSM reveal who wrote Sarah Palin’s latest Facebook entry? There’s no way in hell, Palin wrote that herself.

    Linky? How can you tell La Palin did not write it? Competent grammar?

    .

  114. 114.

    geemoney

    August 14, 2009 at 3:05 am

    @General Winfield Stuck: Is that a result of the Gordon House trial? Good on NM for trying to get out of first place in the DUI hall of shame.

    And being from New Mexico, I have to say…Go Raiders!

  115. 115.

    JK

    August 14, 2009 at 3:14 am

    @JGabriel:

    11 footnotes was a dead giveaway.

    Sarah Palin is dumber than a horse’s ass. There’s no fucking way that she wrote this on her own.

    http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=116471698434

  116. 116.

    freelancer

    August 14, 2009 at 3:38 am

    OPEN THREAD OT,

    @steve s:

    “I picked up the first season of Breaking Bad last night. I kept hearing good things about it, and even though it’s on AMC and I couldn’t get into Mad Men at all (we get it compared to the 21st century, the 50s and 60s for yuppies seems anachronistic! Could you try and be about something else too?), this is totally different. Anybody here into that show?”

    Dude. Dooooood. I think it’s the best show I’ve seen all year. I torrented and watched every episode over about a 2 week period. This is without a doubt the Golden Age of television. The Wire, Deadwood, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, and Breaking Bad are simply the best tv shows ever made.

    I got as far as the Intervention/Talking Pillow scene in Episode 5, and I had to pause it. Just stop it, in complete awe. It’s the best scene, in movies or TV that I have been witness to in the last 2 years. Simply stunning.

  117. 117.

    freelancer

    August 14, 2009 at 3:47 am

    I hope that change comes soon to the site. Between it eating my comments that I end up badly and haphazardly re-writing as blog posts…

    http://forgetthisnoise.blogspot.com/2009/08/wingnut-prosecuter-vs-indian-willy.html

    …and no real Edit function to satiate WordPress html mistakes or typos that make us feel really gorram stupid or hypocritical, it drives me up the wall. But hey, where else am I going to find a representative voice on the net where the signal to noise ratio isn’t drowned out by spoofs, trolls, or like-minded but non-thinking voices?

  118. 118.

    burnspbesq

    August 14, 2009 at 3:56 am

    @freelancer:

    “The Wire, Deadwood, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, and Breaking Bad are simply the best tv shows ever made.”

    How old are you, 14? Ever seen “MASH,” “Hill Street Blues,” “All in the Family?” How about “Spenser: For Hire,” or “Babylon 5?” How about “Homicide?” “Twilight Zone?” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents?” “Cheers?” “Barney Miller?” “Naked City?” “NYPD” or “NYPD Blue?” “The First Churchills” or the original “Forsyte Saga?” “Prime Suspect?”

    Kids.

    Get off my lawn!

  119. 119.

    freelancer

    August 14, 2009 at 4:23 am

    @burnspbesq:

    How old are you, 14? Ever seen “MASH,” “Hill Street Blues,” “All in the Family?” How about “Spenser: For Hire,” or “Babylon 5?” How about “Homicide?” “Twilight Zone?” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents?” “Cheers?” “Barney Miller?” “Naked City?” “NYPD” or “NYPD Blue?” “The First Churchills” or the original “Forsyte Saga?” “Prime Suspect?”

    I’m 27, and for the record, Gray hair, I was raised on Alfred Hitchcock (Happy B-day to him), NYPD Blue, and MST3K. Not to mention, I have every DVD of Homicide: LOTS. (including the so-so TV movie finale: Life Everlasting)

    Watch a cartoon every once in a while, and quit berating people on your side. That’s how the GOP failed, they always hated youth, they just started being more open about it.

    http://www.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/grandpa_simpson_yelling_at_cloud.jpg

  120. 120.

    R-Jud

    August 14, 2009 at 4:31 am

    @Demo Woman:
    Morning! you asked about c-section timing in the last thread. I was sedated, so I don’t remember, but Mr Jud tells me the midwife brought him Bean 15 minutes after they wheeled me out of the delivery suite. I didn’t wake up until two hours after that. I was kept in hospital for five days, partly because I’d had a general, and partly because Bean lost slightly too much weight.

    I’d give Krista and the Mr until late afternoon their time to recover before expecting news. They’ll have had a hell of a long day yesterday, and a new little person who needs them to boot. She will probably feel pretty wrecked for three weeks.

    In other news, my sister-in-law asked me to be her second birth partner last night. So I get to meet my niece or nephew at the very beginning. Yay!

  121. 121.

    freelancer

    August 14, 2009 at 4:32 am

    @burnspbesq:

    and BTW, this sentence, that you falsely attributed to me…

    “The Wire, Deadwood, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, and Breaking Bad are simply the best tv shows ever made.”

    is all Steve S.

    Though I don’t denounce his opinion at all. Enjoy your NIck@Nite reruns of Full House, Dallas, Blossom, Step by Step, Home Improvement, Taxi, Perfect Strangers, Charles in Charge, Growing Pains, Perfect Strangers, Punky Brewster, Who’s the Boss?, Mork and Mindy, Married with Children, Silver Spoons, Fresh Prince, The Facts of Life, My Two Dads, Diff’rent Strokes, LA Law, ALF, and ALF the Animated Show.

  122. 122.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 14, 2009 at 5:16 am

    @ freelancer/4:32 am

    I only wish Nick@Nite, or anyone really, would show reruns of LA Law. That was a terrific show. No idea why it’s never been released on DVD. I’d buy every season. (But all those other pgms you named, I agree with you.)

  123. 123.

    MikeJ

    August 14, 2009 at 5:40 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: Has St. Elsewhere ever been released?

  124. 124.

    JGabriel

    August 14, 2009 at 5:40 am

    @JK: Thanks for the link. Somehow, whenever I read anything from Sarah Palin, my first inner thought upon reaching the end is always, “Oh, fuck you.”

    .

  125. 125.

    Indylib

    August 14, 2009 at 5:46 am

    @JGabriel: Inner thought? I usually say it out loud. Loudly. Also.

  126. 126.

    Zuzu's Petals

    August 14, 2009 at 5:55 am

    @JGabriel: @JGabriel:

    The competent grammar, obfuscation rather than smarmy sloganeering, the use of footnotes (1), and oh yes … using the word “Concerning” in the title as something other than a verb.

    I wrote a detailed two-part response pointing out the obvious lies and misrepresentations in the piece. It was of course deleted.

  127. 127.

    Zuzu's Petals

    August 14, 2009 at 5:56 am

    Oops, I meant “footnotes (!)” not “footnotes (1)”… kinda funny, huh?

  128. 128.

    Demo Woman

    August 14, 2009 at 6:54 am

    @R-Jud: Thanks for the info. I was pretty lucky with my two, relatively short labors and deliveries.

  129. 129.

    WereBear

    August 14, 2009 at 7:26 am

    Best to RedKitten.

    I was a tad suspicious of that poll that asked “Are you sympathetic to the Town Hall protesters?”

    Sympathetic, to most people, means feeling sorry for them, no?

  130. 130.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 14, 2009 at 8:00 am

    @ MikeJ/5:40 am

    Wow, I was forgetting about St. Elsewhere. I’m pretty sure it hadn’t been released the last time I looked specifically (two or three years ago probably) but I haven’t checked for a while. I’ll do some digging, unless somebody else knows for sure.

  131. 131.

    asiangrrlMN

    August 14, 2009 at 8:02 am

    @JGabriel: I avoid all that by simply not reading any of the shit that she spews. I rely on everyone else to read, digest, and vomit back up. Then, I can hear Olbermann and Maddow dissect the remains. Much better for my blood pressure.

    So, Krista has given birth? Is that what I’m reading? Congrats, Krista and Mr. RedKitten, and little RedKitten! Welcome to our world!

    P.S. Timmeh, we can haz new threed, pleez?

  132. 132.

    Demo Woman

    August 14, 2009 at 8:17 am

    @asiangrrlMN: John has been checking Krista’s facebook page and she was suppose to have a C-Section yesterday around 7 pm.

  133. 133.

    R-Jud

    August 14, 2009 at 8:32 am

    While it makes me sick that this beautiful young man had to lose part of his leg in Iraq, it’s really amazing what he’s done since then:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/sports/14fields.html

    God bless him.

  134. 134.

    The Saff

    August 14, 2009 at 8:35 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: Season 1 of St. Elsewhere is available on DVD (I have it). Wikipedia says, “According to the site tvshowsondvd.com, there was an article dated August 31 by Movies Unlimited, that stated the entire series (along with other MTM Studios shows) is being planned to be released in its entirety ‘in 2009.'”

    Let’s hope! St. Elsewhere was a great show. Many of the same production folks that brought us “The White Shadow,” “Hill Street Blues,” “NYPD Blue,” and “Murder One.” Great storylines, writing, and casts.

    Oh, and season 3 of “Mad Men” starts Sunday!

  135. 135.

    asiangrrlMN

    August 14, 2009 at 8:41 am

    @Demo Woman: Oh, thank you, Demo Woman for the update. Good luck, Krista. I hope mini-you is in your arms as we speak!

  136. 136.

    ihop

    August 14, 2009 at 8:44 am

    the first season of st. elsewhere was released a couple of years ago, but nothing and no word of more since then.

  137. 137.

    jwb

    August 14, 2009 at 8:49 am

    Krugman has a very irritating and unhelpful article up. I don’t mind when he writes this sort of thing on his blog, but using column inches on it is such a waste.

  138. 138.

    SFAW

    August 14, 2009 at 8:53 am

    and BTW, this sentence, that you falsely attributed to me…

    … is all Steve S.

    Unfortunately, some of us have better things to do than go back to last year’s open threads to see if you blockquoted his comment correctly.

    See, dooood, it looked like it was your own writing.

    Yeah, I know, WP sucks and all that, but it would have been better just to say “oopsie” to yourself, and move on, rather than bust burnspbesq’s stones.

    Oh yeah: not that I care about them one way or the other, but just because I miss Gilliard:

    FTFY!

  139. 139.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 14, 2009 at 9:10 am

    @ The Saff @ ihop

    Thanks for info on St. E.

    Mad Men 3, yay!

  140. 140.

    geg6

    August 14, 2009 at 9:11 am

    St. Elsewhere is my favoritest teevee show of all time. Loved, loved, loved it. I’d buy the entire series if I could. Some of the best actors ever assembled and the writing! William Daniels as Dr. Craig is simply divine.

  141. 141.

    Svensker

    August 14, 2009 at 9:13 am

    Dixon was darn good at QB last night. The kid has a future. St. Pierre reminds me of my Jets’ Kellan Clemmons — nice kid with some skills but no real talent. But Dixon was impressive.

    Plus, I got to watch buff guys in spandex pants for 2 hours — a girl couldn’t be happier.

  142. 142.

    Persia

    August 14, 2009 at 9:18 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: Some shows– I know The Wonder Years and WKRP— have been held up because of music rights (or more accurately, the lack of/ridiculous fees for).

    Hubby and I are watching Twin Peaks. He’s never seen it before. It’s pretty fun reliving stuff from two decades ago and seeing it with his fresh eyes.

    Breaking Bad is amazing. And a damn sight better than Punky Brewster!

  143. 143.

    IndieTarheel

    August 14, 2009 at 10:36 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: Ask and you shall receive (if part of your cable/satellite package).

  144. 144.

    IndieTarheel

    August 14, 2009 at 10:37 am

    Stuck in moderation? For that? Really?

  145. 145.

    4jkb4ia

    August 14, 2009 at 11:08 am

    (sigh)

  146. 146.

    4jkb4ia

    August 14, 2009 at 11:09 am

    I suppose John knows Donnie Avery broke his foot because this is 3-day-old news already.

  147. 147.

    JK

    August 14, 2009 at 11:32 am

    @Persia: American Dreams and Freaks and Geeks also had problems getting the clearance rights to the many rock songs they used on a regular basis.

  148. 148.

    JK

    August 14, 2009 at 11:38 am

    @burnspbesq:

    If you’re going to discuss the best tv drama series, you have to include The Sopranos, The Shield, Rescue Me, Columbo, House, Law and Order, Star Trek:TOS, Star Trek:TNG, ER, The West Wing, Law and Order:CI, and Law and Order:SVU.

  149. 149.

    Lettuce

    August 14, 2009 at 12:37 pm

    “Mario Reyes, was not in a crosswalk on busy MacArthur Causeway when he was struck by Stallworth’s car.”

    What time IN THE MORNING was it? Like 3 or 4 AM?

    It’s gotta be REALLY busy.

  150. 150.

    Chinn Romney

    August 14, 2009 at 2:28 pm

    Tom Terrific looked, well, terrific last night. I hope the Steelers enjoyed wearing the crown, it’s coming back home where it belongs this Winter.

    So Mr Vick is back. I’m amused by some of the faux outrage. This isn’t the Washington Redskin Pansyboy Football League, and these are not choir boys. It’s the MEN’s NFL and some of these guys are murderers and other riff raff. Vick fits in perfectly. Would have been even a better fit if he went with the Uber Slimey NY Jets, but maybe he wasn’t nearly as slimey enough for that classless program.

  151. 151.

    SFAW

    August 14, 2009 at 4:27 pm

    … the Uber Slimey NY Jets, but maybe he wasn’t nearly as slimey enough for that classless program.

    Ah, yes, the Jets. Weren’t they the sleazeballs who videotaped their opponents so they could get that little bit of extra intel to prep them for their games? Yeah, I remember that. What scum!

    Yeah, it’s kinda like “I gotta have my andro, because I need that extra edge to keep from letting down my fans”.

    Of course, in a perfect world, they could just crank their playing up to 11.

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