Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

American history and black history cannot be separated.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

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

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

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

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

If America since Jan 2025 hasn’t broken your heart, you haven’t loved her enough.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

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107Comments

  1. 1.

    JK

    Product Description for Glenn Beck’s new book Arguing With Idiots

    “It happens to all of us: You’re minding your own business, when some idiot informs you that guns are evil, the Prius will save the planet, or the rich have to finally start paying their fair share of taxes…

    The next time your Idiot Friends tell you how gun control prevents gun violence, you’ll tell them all about England’s handgun ban (see page 53). When they tell you that we should copy the UK’s health-care system, you’ll recount the horrifying facts you read on page 244. And the next time an idiot tells you that vegetable prices will skyrocket without illegal workers, you’ll stop saying “no, they won’t” and you’ll start saying, “actually, eliminating all illegal labor will cause us to spend just $8 a year more on produce.” (See page 139.)

    Idiots can’t be identified through voting records, they can be found only by looking for people who hide behind stereotypes, embrace partisanship, and believe that bumper sticker slogans are a substitute for common sense. If you know someone who fits the bill, then Arguing with Idiots will help you silence them once and for all with the ultimate weapon: the truth.”

    h/t http://www.amazon.com/Arguing-Idiots-Small-Minds-Government/dp/1416595015/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252195033&sr=1-1

  4. 4.

    General Winfield Stuck

    Just recieved the American movie version of State of Play so it’s movie night. It is discouraging that there are so few good recent movies coming out. Maybe this will be one.

    And what was the ransom Tunch extracted to share a seat on his Throne.

  6. 6.

    Demo Woman

    Best picture ever. One more inch and they will definitely be the best of friends. Are we sure that Lily weighs more?

  7. 7.

    madmommy

    Awww…inter-species futon lounging!

    Watching the Bama/Va Tech game. Why in the hell are they playing in the Georgia Dome?

    Wow, Brent Musberger has gotten old suddenly.

  11. 11.

    Linkmeister

    BYU – OU is also on if you can’t work up a rooting interest in the ‘Bama – Va Tech game.

    Looking at Glenn Beck, it’s painfully clear that he doesn’t eat produce at all, so why should he care enough to claim it would only cost $8 more/year if all illegal workers were used to fertilize the fields it grows in deported?

  14. 14.

    Chad N Freude

    @JK: Do you suppose he has any reliably sourced, uncontested, unskewed actual facts to support his assertions? Someone is going to have to do verification run through the book, which requires (shudder) actually reading it. Won’t be me who does it.

    Is there any information about whether Beck writes his own books?

  16. 16.

    Wile E. Quixote

    @JK

    Idiots can’t be identified through voting records, they can be found only by looking for people who hide behind stereotypes, embrace partisanship, and believe that bumper sticker slogans are a substitute for common sense. If you know someone who fits the bill, then Arguing with Idiots will help you silence them once and for all with the ultimate weapon: the truth.”

    Does this mean that irony is dead?

  17. 17.

    General Winfield Stuck

    Special Ed reports on the catastrophic example of Obama incompetence that not all schools will be open on Sept. 8, for the brainwashing attempts via telling kids to stay in school.

    Mark Tapscott picks up the thread of yesterday’s Obamateurism and follows it back through the first seven months of the Barack Obama presidency. The failure to check with school districts on start dates before scheduling a national address to “schoochildren” is not an isolated fumble by the administration headed by the novice executive. It’s becoming a pattern of incompetence, which can be seen at all levels:

    Ed lists several schools who won’t be open then, which illustrates clear evidence of Obama’s failed presnitcy after 8 months. I think Obama should enlist the tykes to search for Bush’s WMD’d and to go down and clean up after Katrina. That would fix Ed’s wagon.

    Please, somebody just shoot meh.

  19. 19.

    xj - not the auto

    Glenn Beck’s new book Arguing With Idiots – Is it because only idiots would bother to argue with him? Is the title self-referential? Did he argue with himself,ala Stephen Colbert? Answers, we need answers…

  21. 21.

    Chad N Freude

    Does this mean that irony is dead?

    No, just not applicable to BeckWorld. The Truth? Beck can’t handle The Truth! Or recognize it, or understand it.

  22. 22.

    General Winfield Stuck

    Does this mean that irony is dead?

    Hell no. Irony drives the Peak Wingnut Clown Car. Therefore, eternal.

  23. 23.

    TX Expat

    I’m getting ready to watch the LSU/UW game. 9:30 pm kick-off and according to what I read in the sports page (first time reader!) my school is about whip out a can of whup ass on the Huskies.

    But I think that Seattle is proving to be a bit of a culture shock to at least one of my buddies who’s up there for the game. This is the last text I got from him this afternoon:

    “Seriously TX Expat, I’ve just been hit on by the 4th transsexual in as many days, what’s up????”

    My reply:

    “Maybe God is trying to tell you something punkin’.”

    Geaux Tigers!

  24. 24.

    gnomedad

    @JK:

    “It happens to all of us: You’re minding your own business, when some idiot informs you that guns are evil, the Prius will save the planet, or the rich have to finally start paying their fair share of taxes…

    But, but Glenn, what do I do when some idiot informs me that Obama is a Kenyan, climate change is a hoax, and tax cuts will balance the budget?

  27. 27.

    PurpleGirl

    Not to agree with Special Ed that President Obama is incompetent but the WH should have checked about starting days in various areas. They should have checked at least the larger districts: For example, NYC’s schools open on September 9th. That’s more than a million kids who won’t hear the speech live.

  29. 29.

    South of I-10

    @TX Expat: Ha! How is the Tiger turnout? Lots of purple and gold? In case anyone cares, UL 35 Southern 12 in the third. I hear that Southern’s band was awesome as usual, with a Michael Jackson tribute, complete with Thriller dance.

  30. 30.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @PurpleGirl:

    And some won’t open until the 10th or 11th, and some not till next week. But most around the country I’m fairly sure will open on the 8th. But I get your point about big cities. They just won;t see it live, but on VCR or digital recording when they do return. I don;t think being live is something kids pay much attention to. And certainly not something to hammer on a main stream blog as some kind of giant importance, Though wingers are mostly desperate and insane, and that is lost on them.

  32. 32.

    TX Expat

    @South of I-10:

    I can only speak to law school turnout, but we were definitely representing. I’m getting ready to turn on the game here shortly so we’ll see how our fans are holding up. Well, more accurately how *their* fans are holding up under a full on crazy-ass LA turnout.

    I’m sorry to have missed the Southern game. The band performance sounds amazing!

    I’m going to my first LSU game in a couple of weeks. I’m a little scared…too many years in Seattle have made me a bit timid, I fear.

  35. 35.

    madmommy

    @South of I-10:

    The Southern band always brings it, never fails. The Bayou Classic halftime show is always worth the price of admission.

    Can anyone explain why, if I’m talking to my mom in Alabama while we’re watching the same football game, it is about 20-30 seconds slower on my dish than it is on her podunk cable system? This only happens with sporting events, but it’s very odd.

  37. 37.

    Delia

    Actually, this whole Obama kiddie speech tempest is sort of like when some group decides a movie is particularly sacrilegious and must be boycotted and picketed and fussed over. Said flick immediately becomes a hit no matter how bad it is.

    I mean, who remembered G.H.W. Bush giving a TV speech to schoolchildren until this whole thing started? I’m sure just about every kid whose class watched it snored through it. I’m sure if nobody had made a fuss about Obama’s speech it would have been pretty much the same. “Yeah, yeah. Study hard. Get good grades. Finish school. Go to college. Is this over yet?” Whereas now it’s front page freakout news for weeks and everybody in the country, including the kids, is going to be poring over every word he says.

  44. 44.

    Jen R

    @Delia: Not only that, but some of these kids who are kept out of school are bound to watch the speech later on YouTube or something. And they’ll wonder what was so dangerous about that, and maybe start to wonder whether their parents’ Obama-hatred might not be a little, shall we say, ill-founded.

  47. 47.

    Zuzu's Petals

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    Well, there seemed to be a dictator thing going on, so I was guessing Napoleon.

    Maybe he reminds ’em of some kind of margarine spread or … floor covering … or yeah, Leon Spinks.

  49. 49.

    South of I-10

    @TX Expat: One of the people who is parked in front of my house has an Ohio State plate on the front of his truck. We just made a “Tiger Bait” sign, took a picture with the Ohio State plate and sent it to my brother. He has a masters in accounting from LSU, and he loved it. He is the super Tigers fan. He is in S. Florida, and is probably mainlining caffeine so he can stay awake for the game.

  50. 50.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @Zuzu’s Petals:

    so I was guessing Napoleon.

    Yea, sounds about right. But who knows what horrors lie in the steamy swamps of wingnut gray matter, or whatever they use for brains.

  51. 51.

    Demo Woman

    @JK: Tom Price of GA thought it was a great idea but when he was asked why some parents objected, he said it was Obama’s fault because of his extreme policies.
    Now for the good news, when I heard that yesterday on the news, I did not break my tv.

  52. 52.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @JK:

    I expect a big walkback and claims of musing from the good gov./ The nutters are out for blood and won’t tolerate this kind of heresy.

  54. 54.

    JK

    @Demo Woman:

    Reminds me a little of David Brooks. Give Obama a compliment in one breath and take it back in the next breath.

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    I expect the Repub governor of Utah to be bullied mercilessly by the wingnuts until he cries uncle and claims that he was misquoted.

  56. 56.

    4jkb4ia

    Gawk
    I would also like to mention that I TURNED ON THE TV to see this (at 6 pm on Friday) and they cut away to the Tennis Channel at 4-4 in the first set. This is very wrong.

  61. 61.

    Chad N Freude

    @JK:

    Maybe Beck is hoping to get Central into a bidding war with Fox News when his contract is up for renewal.

    For Beck, they should start a new network called Tragedy Central.

  64. 64.

    Comrade Darkness

    @madmommy: It does take a few seconds to bounce the signal off the satellite (no, joke, it really does. Geosynchronous orbit is a hella long way off, 22,000 miles from the earth’s surface). Add in a few more for the dish people to do their own compression/encoding of the feeds they get from their provider… 30 seconds would be excessive for all that, 20 maybe forgivable…

    We used to have satellite, and now that you mention it, I couldn’t have the radio on with the game, it’d be a play out of sync.

  66. 66.

    madmommy

    @Comrade Darkness:

    It’s just freaky, if it was 5-10 seconds that would be one thing. But it’s more like the play is over on her TV while the ball hasn’t even been snapped yet from where I’m sitting. We actually timed it with the gameclock once and it’s at least 30 seconds, sometimes a bit more. I guess I just figured that the dish would be ahead of cable. Especially middle of nowhere bumfuck Alabama cable.

  67. 67.

    BCHS 1980

    Yep, that Liberty and I fear for the season as well. Jarrett has the same long looping delivery as Byron and that in football as in baseball is bad news.

    As in VT vs ‘Bama, I actually had some sympathy for VT during that episode even though it nearly eviscerated the Big East. As I recall, Miami & BC were the drivers; Miami was always a mercenary school and I have NO idea what BC was thinking. Travel costs from Boston must be hell for the minor sports. I heard the Syracuse was briefly involved out of self-preservation and then VT came in at then-Gov Warner’s insistence. But it always seemed to me that VT belonged in the ACC and was essentially blackballed by UVa. Of course the Big East is what killed the natural northeastern all-sports conference in the first place…

  68. 68.

    Bad Horse's Filly

    Aaaawwww! Stopping by here for Tunch and Lily pix is worth wading through the rest of the maddness. That Tunch, he plays tough, but he’s obviously a softy. Kinda like the guy who feeds him, huh?

  69. 69.

    jl

    Interesting pic of the Lily The Dog and Tunch The Cat.

    I think this clearly shows that Tunch is the Alpha Mammal of the house. Lily is emulative the Great Tunch’s example. The expression on her face is one of ‘Am I doing it right’ Tunch is signaling that ‘Yes, you are, very excellent canine” by deigning to remain in Lily’s general vicinity.

    If only a certain impertinent owner could follow Tunch’s example.

    Tunch and Lily seem to have very good characters, and I trust will be kind to the lowly Gamma Mammal, if he displays good behavior and serves his masters well and faithfully.

  71. 71.

    bedtimeforbonzo

    I had a shitty, shitty day.

    Then I saw the picture on Tunch and Lily, which could be covered with a one-word caption:

    “Happiness.”

    P.S. Speaking of Pujols, as much as I’d like to see my team’s key guy — Ryan Howard, who has been excellent down the stretch for the Phillies — win the MVP, it would be ignorant of me not to acknowledge that Albert Pujols is having another season for the ages.

    I don’t know much about St. Louis. But I know it is a great baseball town, so I guess it is fitting that they get to enjoy such a great player.

  74. 74.

    bedtimeforbonzo

    And speaking of Brent Musberger, I am old enough to remember when Brent, Phyllis, Irv — and Jimmy “The Greek” — put on THE pregame show.

    In fact, it almost seems to me that they practically invented the genre with their “NFL Today.”

    As for today’s NFL pregame shows, I turn to ESPN. They seem to have the right blend of interviews, frivolity, news and Xs and Os.

    For some reason, I have never liked the Fox pregame. Seems to me they come on too strong and are always yelling at you.

    I guess John will have Lily all dressed up for Thursday’ s Very Special Opener: Tennesee at Pittsburgh.

    That’s a good rivalry game to start the NFL season. FWIW, I just can’t take a team seriously that has Kerry Collins as its starting QB.

  78. 78.

    Molly

    Since it’s an open thread, wanted to say how sweet it is that when ya’ll are griping about the idiots in my home state, you throw in a “Texans on Balloon Juice, no offense.” Reminds me of the “not that there’s anything wrong with that”Seinfeld episode.

    Have a good Commie Labor Day, all.

  79. 79.

    madmommy

    @bedtimeforbonzo:

    Geez, I’m old. I remember that, too. Having Phyllis on was quite groundbreaking for the time.

    I prefer the Fox pregame, maybe because Bradshaw cracks me up and Howie is easy on the eyes.

  80. 80.

    Steeplejack

    @Bad Horse’s Filly:

    Just got in from work. Let me collect myself and get back to you in a bit.

    Are you just Edwin Starr-deficient, or did you miss that whole semester on late ’60s-early ’70s non-Motown soul?

  81. 81.

    Yutsano

    My Cougs got pasted, my Broncos won. Sometimes going to two schools can be so damn confusing. Sigh. At least BSU is gonna give the BCS massive heartburn again.

  82. 82.

    jl

    Hope some one here keeps track of whether, and how often, a certain impudent owner dresses up Lily The Dog in Steelers Gear.

    The karma will be unspeakable, and Tunch may throw in some revenge too, on the general principle of Violation of Dignity in His General Vicinity. But whatever it is, it will not be enough. There must be a record for history to judge, and it will judge harshly.

  83. 83.

    Keith G

    I have no reason to like ‘Bama, but for the most part they are playing good football. Still, the Hokies have a lot of fight in ’em; tho not enough talent.

    Football on Saturdays, yay!

  85. 85.

    DRD 1812

    It takes the signal about an eight of a second to reach the satellite, traveling at the speed of light. The delays are all in processing.

  88. 88.

    TX Expat

    @Comrade Luke:

    If you ever went to the Crocodile (the old one, not the new incarnation) or Linda’s anytime between 1992 and 2005, I’ve probably served you a drink or two. Loved that town!

    Baton Rouge has its charms, but just can’t compare to the PNW…

  89. 89.

    gbear

    I wonder if schools are going to compile a list of the students who are kept out of school because of Obama’s speech? The list would probably be a good indicator of kids that will need help in science and social studies (since their parents are probably a net negative in the homework help department). This speech boycott could provide a sample group for some interesting data in regard to how kids with extreme wingnut parents perform in comparison to kids with normal, resonable, sane, smart parents.

  90. 90.

    madmommy

    @DRD 1812:

    The strange thing is it only happens with live sports. If we’re watching general broadcast shows there’s little difference between what she’s seeing and what I see.

  91. 91.

    4jkb4ia

    PETRA KVITOVA, ladies and gentlemen! Ah well, Safina will always have Rome. And Madrid. This is not wrapping up the tournament and giving it to Serena as you might think since Clijsters and Pennetta remain in the way.

  94. 94.

    Steeplejack

    @madmommy:

    Live stuff has to be processed on the fly. Canned stuff can be done ahead of time and merely transmitted at the required time.

    “Processed” = compressed, converted, reformatted, whatever they have to do to it.

  95. 95.

    Linkmeister

    It’s not just satellite. We’ve got HD on a tv in the family room and regular digital in the kitchen 20 feet away from the same cable company. There’s a noticeable difference between the two; audio & video are both slightly ahead on regular digital.

    Presumably it’s the same sort of thing, though: signal reprocessed for HD.

  96. 96.

    john F. Loehr

    C’mon John, Alabama’s coach is from Fairview, just outside of Morgantown. And VPI is VPI.

  97. 97.

    Steeplejack

    @Bad Horse’s Filly:

    I’m packing it in for the night. If you come back to this thread, let me know what deficiency you perceive in your music collection. Always happy to help, just need a little direction.

  98. 98.

    bedtimeforbonzo

    madmommy: Bradshaw makes me laugh, too. I like his rendition of halftime highlights.

    I just caught the last 90 minutes of the movie, “Eagle Eye,” kind of a modern-day Parallax View.

    Not as good as that classic, but entertaining enough.

    I think that Shia Lebeuf kid has a future in the movies, although I’m sure I bleeped up the spelling of his name.

  99. 99.

    Nicole

    @Jen R: JenJen, I was there- it was awesome. I had to apologize several times to the 10-year-old girl next to me in the crowd for yelling “Fucking wow! Fucking yes! Rachel Fucking Alexandra!”

    It was very unnerving when she started bucking in the post parade and Calvin had to get off (Macho Again cantered past her during the post and she tried to go with him and got mad when Calvin wouldn’t let her. That’s how I saw it, anyway). And then when the first quarter went in 22 and 4/5 seconds I thought, “She’s done. No way.” But the great ones figure out a way to win. What a runner.

    Jess Jackson is putting out a limited edition Rachel Alexandra wine. Which is completely cheesy and I’m going to buy a bottle.

  100. 100.

    Svensker

    @gbear:

    I wonder if schools are going to compile a list of the students who are kept out of school because of Obama’s speech?

    Yes, but that would be PROOF that Obama is getting ready to open the internment camps. The crazy seems to have reached light speed but is still accelerating. God knows what will happen.

  102. 102.

    Jen R

    @Nicole: Man, I wish I could have been there. It’s not a concession I make lightly when I say that I think Rachel Alexandra is as good as Go for Wand.

    (Also, I’m not JenJen. :) I’m thinking of changing my handle to TooManyJens.)

  103. 103.

    ET

    As a Bama alum (though I only resided in the state for 4 years)…..

    ROLLLLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    We won. Ha!

  105. 105.

    Bill H

    @madmommy:
    Several people have touched on this, but to be clear: no it is not the satellite, both HD and regular are bounced off of the satellite, as is some radio, so the delay is all the same. HD has a huge number of pixels which have to be processed by the computer and encoded for transmission. It takes time to do all of that encoding for transmission.

    I got so fed up with the announcers for Chargers pregame football that I decided to listen to the radio and just watch tv with the audio off. The radio would finish calling the play before the players were even lined up on the tv. I got my buddy on the phone, who was watching the game without radio, and made a mint by placing bets on upcoming plays. He still thinks I’m some sort of football genius.

  106. 106.

    Nicole

    @Jen R: I realized my mistake when I went back to reread my comment. I’m sorry! I’d like to claim I was still drunk from the day before, but I didn’t actually drink while at the track, so I have no excuse for my poor reading skills the next day.

    Well, Jess Jackson is talking about her 2010 campaign, so I hope you’ll get a chance to see her in the horseflesh next year. :)

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