Today was a good day:
I love this time of year. Sunny, cool, clear skies. Summer just gets too hot for me, but spring and early fall are just perfect.
Also, don’t forget about Radio Kaos tonight, dj’d by one of our readers. I’ve listened two weeks in a row and like it. RSS feed here.
Mnemosyne
Damn, those are some big paws!
Our big black-and-white boy does that, too — spreads his front toes out and uses them like fingers. If he had an opposable thumb, we’d all be doomed.
Bad Horse's Filly
I don’t know if the link will work, but Littlebrit posted this in another thread and it made me feel better, so I thought I’d bring it to this thread.
@Litlebritdifrnt
http://ia311028.us.archive.org…..5.13.0.pdf
A Georgia Judge smacks the treacle out of Oily Titz. The opinion is a thing of beauty, it is snark, wrapped up in rainbows, with cherries and sprinkles on top, and makes Titz look like the total and utter birfoon that she is. I want to have Judge Land’s babies.
The Grand Panjandrum
I just wrote a long off topic comment in the last thread. If you haven’t read this post by TNC I recommend it to everyone. It is exceptional.
Have a good’un Cole and the Gang. I’ll turn on Radio Kaos after I finish telling a bedtime story to my second graders. Cheers!
JK
Orly Taitz gets laughed out of court
http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/09/16/ga_dismissal/index.html
CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo Pretends Her Medicare Flub Never Happened
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/16/cnbcs-maria-bartiromo-pre_n_288991.html
Dreggas
Must be nice, we’re gearing up for the Santa Ana winds next week.
Bad Horse's Filly
Is that adorable cat polydactyl? What a cutie.
On a different track – it’s a little odd, being in the middle of the country and suddenly have a terror suspect having his house searched and the news full of theories and inuendo. I think about it when I travel, but with the exception of the DNC last summer, I feel pretty distant from terrorism here. It will makes us all think differently if this turns out to be real.
And if not, this guy’s life is ruined.
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13349618
JK
Paging Fat Slob Rush Limbaugh
Army reservist beaten in front of child
http://www.ajc.com/news/clayton/army-reservist-beaten-in-138917.html
Leelee for Obama
@Mnemosyne: I had a cat that actually had opposable thumbs! He was born near the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant site on Long Island about 20 years ago.(go figure) He could pick up pieces of melon and garlic bread and eat them like a human. True story.
Mark S.
So what happens if no bill comes out of the Finance committee? Do they just vote on the HELP bill? What if that doesn’t pass? Does the Senate then just vote on whatever comes out of the House? Can that be filibustered? Why is this process a billion times more confusing than that after school cartoon that made it seem so special?
I don’t really give a fuck about it right now; I’m too busy laughing at Max Baucus. Oh, and that abstinence czar I mentioned in the last thread.
Shell
Looks like that cat got drunk on printer’s ink. ;-)
John Cole
@JK: At, of all place, the Cracker Barrel. Go figure.
Dreggas
@John Cole:
what you expected it to happen outside a waffle house? Maybe a Piggly Wiggly or Wal-Mart?
John Cole
@The Grand Panjandrum: He is just great.
Bill E Pilgrim
@Mnemosyne:
Our big black-and-white boy does that, too—
I think “President” is a more dignified way to refer to him, please.
Oh wait, sorry. Cat thread. Never mind.
Brian J
By now, I assume that most have read or at least heard about Matt Latimer’s excerpts about his time as a speechwriter during the economic crisis. Out of all the really gripping revelations that this guy wrote about, the one that stood out to me was the fact that Bush misunderstood what TARP was meant for. Bush apparently thought it was purely a matter of Treasury making money, as opposed to purposefully overpaying to inject ailing banks with capital.
Maybe I missed something, but wasn’t it possible for the government to make money buying these assets? Was Latimer simply saying that while the president assumed this was the primary objective, that wasn’t the case, while not ruling out the possibility that the assets could be worth something?
Leelee for Obama
@John Cole: TNC got it absolutely right. It isn’t new, it’s what Obama has always been doing, but for some reason, the right seemed to believe he would be different once in the WH. That man is comfortable in his own skin, and they can’t really get to him in the ways that they always used on Black politicians. It’s us they’re making crazy, or angry, or sad, or worried. I ain’t Barack, and I’m not able to react the way he does.
General Winfield Stuck
@Mark S.:
This is the next sho e to drop in the Senate. It is Harry Reid’s call as to what comes to the floor for action. Even if it gets a no vote in markup, it can still be sent to the floor with a negative recommended action. Reid can then accept it, or not, or any of the other bills, or all of them to be voted on.
It is Reid’s choice to select a myriad of options. But all of the bills< I think, have the recon. process trigger if any senator want to pull it, then it’s Thunder Dome time.. ONe or more bills go in, and only who the frack knows what comes out, if anythin.
Tom
Didn’t have to use your A-K?
Litlebritdifrnt
@JK: I hate that woman with a passion, she was on MJ yesterday saying “no no no it is not racist to hold up a sign with the President of the United States head photoshopped onto a witchdoctors body” no it is not racist, all you people who say it is racist are simply stupid. I think the collagen injections into her lips have seeped into her brain, she has obviously lost it. AND I hate the fact that you can actually tell from day to day WHEN she has had those injections cause her lips look extra pouty just after the shots and she looks like a wide-mouthed bass, and why the fuck won’t she wash her hair?
Okay bitch fest off.
Annie
I agree with John. Nice day. Sat on the patio with a glass of white wine, the two “purring monkeys,” and thought about everything I didn’t do today. But, given the beauty of the evening, that was ok, too.
Laura W
@The Grand Panjandrum: KO is doing a very
nicedisturbing job along these lines tonight. Catch the #3 story replay. I mean, if you can bear it.CalD
Here’s an item:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/09/the_baucus_bill_cbo_luvs_it.html
I’ll be derned.
(h/t Politicalwire)
geg6
I had a lovely 24 hours. Took a boat ride with my John and some old friends from my boating days with the ex after work last evening, an absolutely grand evening weather-wise. Went to dinner at a restaurant along the river which is an old (early 20th c) lock house from when the lockmasters and their families literally lived on the job. They have courtesy docks and a lovely patio overlooking the Ohio. Nice. Had a grilled salmon, spinach, and strawberry salad. Then we took a slow cruise from one end of our pool of the Ohio to the other, drinking frozen margaritas. It was lovely. Went to work today and had one of the most pleasant days of work that I’ve had since bills came out on mid-July and the least stressful since freshman move-in day three weeks ago. Life is good in my little world.
Betsy
@John Cole:
Ah hell, beat me to it.
@Tom: You must be around my age. That was the first thing that sprang to my mind.
General Winfield Stuck
@CalD:
That’s interesting. Though pretty far in the weeds for me to get. I trust Ezra about as much as anyone to understand this stuff, so maybe it could be a good starting point subject to amended improvement. And I still don’t have a clue about the coops, but don’t trust them, as per look what happened with Blue Cross/Shield.
arguingwithsignposts
I’m reposting my comment from the previous thread, because i think the Cartman comparison is very apt.
Well, I can’t say I’ve enjoyed it. I just wish payback was more of a bitch like advertised. They suffer no noticeable consequences and pretty much keep on screaming. Hell, I think they like being the permanent minority, as it fits their asshole dispositions better (They’re overgrown Cartmans: “Screw you guys, I’m going home!”)
JK
WTF is wrong with the great state of New Jersey?
(or Joyzee as locals pronounce it)
Extremism in New Jersey
h/t http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2009/09/extremism-in-new-jersey.html
arguingwithsignposts
So I get to the WNOT and everyone’s in a previous thread pissing match with Makewi. {sigh}
CalD
@General Winfield Stuck:
That pretty much sums up my read as well. Anyway it’s nice to hear that Baucus’ subcommittee has at least something to show for the last nine months — perhaps they haven’t all just been sitting around throwing spitballs at each the whole time after all.
JK
Meet the man who changed Glenn Beck’s life
h/t http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/09/16/beck_skousen
Mark S.
@arguingwithsignposts:
Thank God I missed that, and I’m not going to check in on it. Makewi annoys the shit out of me.
@General Winfield Stuck:
Thanks for the response. It’s still a big clusterfuck.
Punchy
Ice Cube is preparing the copyright infringement legalese as I type….
Hypatia
This is the best thing I have read at the NY Times for a long time:
http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/cracking-the-spine-of-libel/
The way the end notes are done is perfect.
And the comments are good also.
freelancer
@Hypatia:
That is a great brief on the Singh case.
JK
@Hypatia:
Very interesting story. Thanks for the link.
Demo Woman
@arguingwithsignposts: Definitely not worth visiting down stairs. At least BOB entertains us with his pizza recipes.
arguingwithsignposts
@Demo Woman:
Yeah, I wondered why the dearth of comments, so I checked it out, but thanks to Cleek, it seems to be a heated conversation about pie.
arguingwithsignposts
Wow, that Olbermann takedown of the PR spin on Palin’s speakers bureau bio is classic. I don’t think I could possibly write that much bullshit in concentrated form.
gnomedad
@Hypatia:
Wow, no kidding; I nearly fell off my chair. Actual journalism!
gocart mozart
Decision in the Oily Taint, JD,DDS,LMT case. The Court quotes “Unlike Alice in Wonderland, simply saying something is so, doesn’t make it so.” There is also a dig, “even a junior high civics student would know . . . ” Awesome bitchslap by Da’Judge. Also, Court orders Taint’s client to pay defendants legal fees.
http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/wtvm/ConnieRhodesvsArmy.pdf
Laura W
@Demo Woman: I am so glad you said that. I knew you’d come to grow fond of him if you would only just give him time to grow on you (insert fungus, mold or bacteria joke here.)
And you reminded me that a mere two hours ago I was lamenting my loss and pleading to the stars above: WHERE OH WHERE IS OUR BOB?
I know he loves it when I post Joni videos for him:
There’s a man who’s been out bakin’
in an oven full of bricks
freelancer
@Demo Woman:
BOB got scrubbed this morning, as did my comment screaming at him for being such a Baucus (too soon?)
He went into this really repugnant, vile racial tirade about how white people aren’t gang members but every other ethnicity has gang members. I think he’ll be gone for a bit.
arguingwithsignposts
@gnomedad:
And the NYT blogs are actually on wordpress, as a recent blog post pointed out.
gocart mozart
That was the full 15 page Court decision by the way, not a news article. Read the whole thing. Funny as hell.
http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/wtvm/ConnieRhodesvsArmy.pdf
Laura W
@freelancer: Sigh.
OK, that Joni’s for YOU then.
Why can’t BOB just BEHAVE?
Such a bad, bad, nasty boy.
arguingwithsignposts
@Laura W:
Indeed, BoB was a harmless enough troll when not going off on the racist, sexy, creepy path. Not like Makewi or Phil, who bring a different level of detestability.
Jay in Oregon
@arguingwithsignposts:
I’m not. I’ve got better things to do right now than indulge trolls.
Good to see you here.
Linkmeister
Mary Travers of Peter Paul and Mary has died.
She was 72 years old. I remember hearing their music on the radio in the early 1960s; they marched with Dr. King at Selma and in DC in 1963.
JK
@gocart mozart:
Orly Taitz needs to go back on to the Colbert Report to salvage her reputation.
arguingwithsignposts
OMG, Glenn Beck draws a connection between himself and Murrow. I’m going to puke.
freelancer
@arguingwithsignposts:
Why are you watching Glenn Beck?!
gocart mozart
I know, who would want her to clean their teeth now.
arguingwithsignposts
@freelancer:
Olbermann just played a clip.
arguingwithsignposts
@Jay in Oregon:
You too man. hope your week is going better.
IndyLib
I love have a Pres who is a geek. Apologies if this has been posted already.
Demo Woman
@freelancer: He doesn’t learn. Are we sure that it wasn’t BOB at the Cracker Barrel in Atlanta last week?
Mark S.
@arguingwithsignposts:
That’s pretty much my sentiments exactly, though I’m not sure who Phil is. BoB actually cracks me up when he’s not being racist. Makewi’s just a lying piece of shit.
arguingwithsignposts
@Demo Woman:
FSM, that was a disgusting story.
freelancer
@arguingwithsignposts:
I bet I’m about to see it. Fear for me.
JK
@freelancer:
Maybe he was trying to reconnect with his inner raving, drooling, bedwetting lunatic side. That’s my excuse for watching Beck once every 3 or 4 months. Watching this jackass should be considered a form of enhanced interrogation.
arguingwithsignposts
@Mark S.:
I’ve only seen Phil crop up a couple of times, but he’s on level with Makewi, from that experience. Others could speak to it better. I seem to recall having to invoke the pie filter earlier this week when I was down. Not only was he an asshole troll, but he was attacking personally as an asshole troll.
Demo Woman
@arguingwithsignposts:
The DA reviewed the Cracker Barrel surveillance tape and plans on additional charges.
arguingwithsignposts
@freelancer:
Haha, we’re both streaming the internet feed. :) So much wingnuttery. I wonder if KO just sits in his office and thinks “so many possibilities” every day.
arguingwithsignposts
@Demo Woman:
Good for that. I hope they throw the book at him. The only sad part is he won’t learn, but he’ll find some racist crackers in jail to hang out with. Fucker.
Mnemosyne
@freelancer:
I would love to see his discourse on what the difference is between the Crips and the Gambino crime family.
arguingwithsignposts
I like Melissa Harris-Lacewell. That is all.
arguingwithsignposts
@Mnemosyne:
I’m assuming he would count Italians as among every other ethnicity. I’m not sure who he thinks are “white people,” because the English have gangs too.
arguingwithsignposts
Listening to Wendell Potter’s interview on KO, I was reminded of something I don’t see mentioned enough in the whole discussion of mandates: the effect on the consumer economy. We start hitting people with a $21,000 extra cost (just pulling a figure out of my ass there), it’s going to hit their spending tremendously, and that’s going to keep the great recession going much longer. 70 percent of the economy based on consumer spending, middle class spending, and they’ll never spend again.
If these people are seriously thinking this health care mandate is going to be a good thing, they’re idiots.
freelancer
@arguingwithsignposts:
I just puked into my mouth a little bit. I’m gonna get a soda, I’ll be back into a bit.
Jay in Oregon
@arguingwithsignposts:
Up and down. I got a copy of that “Feel Good” book but haven’t had the time to crack it open yet.
I may be heading home to sleep in my own bed; I’m pretty sure my wife will not be there, though. Which is fine. (By that I mean, we have a spare bedroom; not that we’re trading places.) It’s still a waiting game; I have to keep working on my stuff.
I had a rather tense conversation with my father; he’s fairly pragmatic and his opinion consisted largely of “If she thinks she’s going to be happy without you, why not let her?” I had to politely but firmly tell him that this is my marriage and my wife and I will conduct my affiars as I see fit. I stopped short of pointing out that he left my mother after 29 years of marriage for an “old flame” and ended up slinking back because it didn’t work out, so I don’t consider him a moral authority on marriage.
freelancer
@arguingwithsignposts:
I like her too, but Michael Musto is such an unfunny freak, as far as gut-churningly annoying bores go, it’s a toss-up between Musto and Andy Dick.
JK
arguingwithsignposts
Melissa Harris-Lacewell was interviewed on 2 programs today to discuss Joe Wilson dickish outburst and Jimmy Carter’s comments about racism
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/2009/09/16/segments/140816
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec09/rage_09-16.html
arguingwithsignposts
@Jay in Oregon:
Keep hanging in there. As I’ve said before, I’m rooting for love. Divorce sucks. Always. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy … well, in the current state of affairs, I might be lying there. :)
But I just spent two years going through that particular hell, so it’s a fresh pain. Hasn’t healed yet, not because the relationship was particularly “good” (whatever that means), but because it’s a huge … i don’t know that I have the words to describe yet.
I’m DEFINITELY not a moral authority on marriage, so take whatever I’m saying with a grain of salt. But I’m pulling for the best outcome.
arguingwithsignposts
@freelancer:
I never got the Musto appeal. I also don’t get the appeal of Maddow’s sidekick. I wish they both (KO and RM) would get rid of the dime-store comedians, or at least hire a Maher or someone who could actually bring the “A” game for these little tete-a-tetes.
freelancer
@arguingwithsignposts:
I think it’s corporate welfare for hacks who are even too lame for Open Mic Night. Plus you don’t want the people you bring on to upstage you.
arguingwithsignposts
@freelancer:
Actually heard an interview with Larry King on Bill Maher where he said the opposite. He wants the subject to talk and talk while he asks a few questions. I think that’s the best interviewer, when you let the subject be in the spotlight. Takes a special ego, though. (not that I’m saying LK is the best example of that, but it’s a good philosophy)
Ash Can
@geg6: That sounds simply grand. I love those old, quirky buildings with great histories.
@Linkmeister: Mary Travers? Oh, how sad. I’m so sorry to hear that. Peter, Paul and Mary defined an era. And dang, she had a great voice.
BTW, for all of you Peter, Paul and Mary fans out there, if you have a yen to hear their music and/or reminiscences about them, I’m pretty sure that WFMT (the Chicago fine arts radio station, available on line) will pre-empt at least some of their programming tomorrow for some retrospective on Mary Travers and PP&M.
Ash Can
And PS, WFMT will probably pre-empt pretty much all of its Saturday night programming, which is dedicated to folk music, for Mary Travers retrospectives.
Jay in Oregon
@arguingwithsignposts:
Well, the first crack in the family dynamic has appeared. After the conversation with my father, he sent me an email where he told me she is not welcome in his house. I replied that I understand his feelings and hope that if we can work things out, that he will change his mind.
I do not plan to tell my wife about this conversation. Not until we’re on a stronger footing. My wife was not happy with my father leaving my mother — for Chrissakes, he waited until after the weekend where I proposed to ask my mother for a divorce! — but was willing to accept and forgive him after he went back.
arguingwithsignposts
@Jay in Oregon:
See, I don’t get that. I don’t get that you would actively dig a hole in the heart of your blood relatives for something that’s so intensely personal. I have kids. I don’t know what will happen when they grow up, but I hope I won’t have that attitude. Life is too short.
The weird thing is that people say when you get older you get more conservative. I’m finding the opposite. I get more liberal. I *want* to forgive more, even though the goopers test that theory.
Jay in Oregon
@arguingwithsignposts:
I’m talking to my mother right now; she believes that if we work things out, my dad will come around.
arguingwithsignposts
@Jay in Oregon:
Oh, that’s confusing. I thought you were talking about your wife not being welcome in your house (too many personal pronouns).
Either way. best of luck. The later the evening gets, the more dark I feel.
arguingwithsignposts
father’s house. damned non-edit function.
Morbo
It was indeed a good day.
Jay in Oregon
@arguingwithsignposts:
Yeah, my bad. My father said my wife is not welcome in his house.
Granted, they live in Alaska and I live in Oregon so it won’t make a big difference day-to-day, but that may make things awkward for his 75th birthday celebration in the summer of ’11.
I’m home. Things are polite but strained. It will take time.
Lesley
John Cole and other cat lovers/owners. This book was made for you.
Glamourpuss: The Enchanting World of Kitty Wigs
asiangrrlMN
Seriously, Cole? This is the way it’s gonna be? Whenever I am off the grid, out comes the cute animal pics for the open threads? All right, all right, I get your point. Harumph.
Wah. So Makewakiki is messing up the righteous Balloon Juice Race Gang thread? I knew he was trouble when I saw he’d commented. Damn. I thought it would be so much fun to see who was on which team.
arguing and Jay, good to see both of you still posting.
Jay in Oregon
@asiangrrlMN:
Glad to be here. Keep sending good thoughts and prayers our way.