Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

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

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

All your base are belong to Tunch.

Everybody saw this coming.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Second rate reporter says what?

Optimism opens the door to great things.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

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

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

No one could have predicted…

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

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266Comments

  2. 2.

    DBrown

    Its just a game with people paid many millions to hurt each other so we can act like they are playing (or even give a shit) about us (our city … )

  3. 3.

    AngusTheGodOfMeat

    Now you know what it felt like to be a Cardinals fan for the last 20 years. And a Forty Niners Fan in the 1970’s.

    Fandom takes guts, it is not for the weak. Anybody can beat their chest for a winning team, but character is built when you root for a shit team. And then they get worse. And then they say, oh, yo think that sucked, wait until next week, when we shit on your every hope ten times over.

  4. 4.

    bayville

    Not to sound like Jimmy the Greek but — suck it up.
    Even if the Stillers lose tonite, team has a cakewalk schedule with only Miami on the road (last game) and Baltimore in Steeltown representing a tough clash.

    With a little luck Paolamoulou will be back for those final two games. You could QB Pittsburgh next week and still win by 2 TDs against a done Oakland team heading east (again)to play in 20-degree temps.

    10-6 is making the playoffs this year in AFC (especially considering heads up wins vs. Denver & San Diego).

    Once in, anything is possible. Remember the Cards of ’09 and the Steelers of a few years ago for most recent examples.

  17. 17.

    debit

    @jwb: What kind of bad feeling?

    ETA: I see, just a general bad feeling. I get that all the time. Chips, dip and beer usually make it go away.

  23. 23.

    Zach

    According to the Baltimore Sun’s latest update, Suggs is definitely out, Reed is likely out and hasn’t practiced all week, and Ray Lewis will play but will be slowed down by injury. Not sure how good Ngata will be.

    Apparently Dixon didn’t get all that much practice time; if he had, the Steelers could’ve put together a run package that would’ve been very effective against a decimated Ravens D. That’d lead to 1 on 1 pass defense, and any unexperienced QB could beat the Ravens secondary right now w/ the Steelers receivers.

    Unless it turns out that Dixon can’t hold onto the ball when he’s sacked or Baltimore rediscovers the secret to scoring a touchdown, I think Pittsburgh wins. You’re forgetting that Baltimore couldn’t even get an offensive touchdown against the Cleveland Browns, who were subsequently thrashed by the Detroit Lions.

  28. 28.

    Steeplejack

    @debit:

    Like I have a choice. It’s Redskins-Eagles or nothing. Ugh.

    . . . Holy shnikeys! Redskins just scored a touchdown in the first two minutes.

  30. 30.

    Mike

    If the Bengals could beat the Steelers (twice), and the Raiders could beat the Bengals, that makes the Steelers worse than the Raiders, right?

  31. 31.

    Andy K

    @debit:

    Eagles start off with an onside kick why?

    Because the Redskins’ offense isn’t very good and Philly’s at home?

  32. 32.

    arguingwithsignposts

    I am totally bummed on the NFL restricting online streaming access to people who don’t live in the US. As a US citizen without a TV, but with Internet access, I’m screwed because of their dickish behavior.

    FU NFL.

  33. 33.

    donovong

    Feeling bad about the Stillers? Tough shit, dude. Try being a Braves fan. Since about 1973.

    No edit funkshun.

    Okay, i haz edit, but only after I hit refresh. Weerd.

  35. 35.

    Andy K

    @Zach:

    Didn’t Cleveland score 30+ against the Lions only to lose by a single point? That’s not the way I’d define “thrash”.

  37. 37.

    debit

    Even if I would ever drink domestic beer of my own free will, I would boycott whichever brand they do that mock infomercial for. Unfunny, annoying and pointless because I can’t remember the brand 60 seconds after it’s over.

  39. 39.

    shoutingattherain

    @AngusTheGodOfMeat:

    Fandom takes guts, it is not for the weak. Anybody can beat their chest for a winning team, but character is built when you root for a shit team.

    GO SEAHAWKS!

  40. 40.

    debit

    @jwb: You shush. If it’s gonna happen, it will be on the Monday night game, when our shame will be witnessed nationwide.

  41. 41.

    JenJen

    This is gonna be a rough game for your Steelers, Cole. And I only break my “Boooo, Steelers” rule twice a year… when they play the abhorrent Ravens.

    So I’m actually pulling for you! (Although I do cop to dropping Mendenhall out of my lineup and sliding Turner back in, since the ankle doesn’t seem to be that bad.)

    ETA: I’m using Windows XP, and Chrome 3.0.195.33, and I have the edit. Hooray!

  42. 42.

    licensed to kill time

    @John Cole: Yes! Edit AND delete, I was so happy when I saw that this morning! Firefox 3.5.5 and XP.

    P.S. Hope your Stillers win. I know zippo about foozball.

  45. 45.

    Tokyokie

    @debit

    Even if I would ever drink domestic beer of my own free will, I would boycott whichever brand they do that mock infomercial for. Unfunny, annoying and pointless because I can’t remember the brand 60 seconds after it’s over.

    I frequently wish I drank so that I could boycott American-brewed industrial beers, just because their ads are so offensive.

  46. 46.

    Nethead Jay

    For me, the big game is Saints – Patriots tomorrow. Geaux Saints!!!

    But tonight I hope that the Steelers pull together and win despite the circumstances, that the Vikings pound the Bears into the ground, and especially that the Texans end the Colts’ undefeated run. Looking good so far on the last one, they’re up 14-0 and Matt Schaub looks like a man on a mission.

  47. 47.

    JK

    @asiangrrlMN:

    I’m ok, I figured you had to be feeling a little better if you’re here posting.

    If you skipped CBS Sunday Morning, you missed a nice profile of Tom Petty and a good cover story on Second City. If you skipped the Sunday shows, you didn’t miss a damn thing because as Danny Schechter says when it comes to the MSM “the more you watch, the less you know.”

  49. 49.

    Andy K

    @asiangrrlMN:

    We can go for days! We’re Minnesotans.

    The problem there being that you’ve handed clock management responsibilities to Brad Childress. I’m going to be ecstatic when his lack of skill in that area costs the Queens in the post-season.

  51. 51.

    nalbar

    How and the world can anyone say it sucks to be a Steelers fan right now? They are, without a doubt, the best run team in the NFL. They get rid of players at the perfect time, get the right players in the right places every year. They never have egos driving their teams into the ground. A down year is 9-7 or 10-6. Their owner and general manager ‘get it’.

    They are a ‘Professional Football Team’ in the truest sense of the word. From the owner all the way down. Even if they went 6-10 they would be better than the Cowboys or the Redskins or the Chargers going 11-5 the same year. Why? Because you would know they would fix the issue, instead of smashing the team apart to appease egos. Their fans can say ‘next year’ and it’s TRUE. There is always a ‘next year’, because they know how to win over the long haul.

    nalbar

  52. 52.

    asiangrrlMN

    @JK: Nope. I took off last night for personal reasons, not sick reasons. I don’t watch any of the Sunday morning talkies–ever. Makes me too mad.

    Andy K, I do not doubt that the Vikes will trip themselves up in the post-season. Since I have mixed feelings about the team, I’m not really bothered either way. Yet.

  54. 54.

    debit

    @Andy K: I’ve watched the Vikings fall apart post season for the last 20 years. You think I’ll cry if they do it again? Hah!

    ETA: That was a pretty interception for Houston.

  55. 55.

    jwb

    @asiangrrlMN: Is it just Favre that bothers you or are there other factors? I’m still really having a hard time dealing with Favre as QB.

    Edit to add: Edit function with Safari 4.0.4.

  59. 59.

    Zach

    @Andy K: Their defense was thrashed. Detroit happens to have the other worst defense in the league so it was a mutual thrashing. The halftime highlight reel looked like NFL Blitz.

  60. 60.

    slag

    Re-watching West Wing Season 1 DVDs. Quote that most accurately reflects the Obama Admin so far:

    Our job approval rating is at 48% and I think that number’s soft, and I’m tired of being the field captain for the Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight!

    Also, love the episodes with Edward James Olmos.

  62. 62.

    Terri

    OT, but 4 cops shot and killed in an ambush in a coffee shop near Seattle.

    The world has lost it’s fucking mind.

  68. 68.

    Andy K

    @debit:

    I’ve watched the Vikings fall apart post season for the last 20 years. You think I’ll cry if they do it again?

    I don’t know if you’ll shed any tears, but I think that by the time they do blow it- whether by being pounded by a wild card team at home in the Divisional Round or blowing a double-digit lead in New Orleans or in the Super Bowl- you will feel absolutely gobsmacked.

    Keep this handy.

  69. 69.

    MikeJ

    @Terri: Just south of Tacoma, but fairly close to Seattle. 30 miles or so.

    PI’s not even saying which agency they’re with.

  70. 70.

    Face

    @Terri: NW area a hotbed for hotheads, although more Idaho than Seattle.

    Yowsers. Cant wait for Limbaugh to tell me it’s all Libtards’ fault, somehow.

  72. 72.

    Martin

    Just testing this rumored edit function.

    Edit: Well, check this shit out. Works in OmniWeb (Webkit browser). Looks good John, congrats.

  73. 73.

    debit

    @Andy K: “The Vikings played the Washington Redskins in the NFC Championship Game on January 17, 1988, at RFK Stadium. Trailing 17–10, the Vikings drove to the Redskins’ six yard line with a little over a minute left in the game but failed to get the ball into the end zone. Darren Nelson dropped a pass from Wade Wilson at the goal line to officially end the Vikings’ hopes of a Super Bowl.” (From Wikipedia)

    That was the last time I have felt anything other mild annoyance regarding a Vikings loss. That one gutted me for all of eternity.

  76. 76.

    Andy K

    @debit:

    Not old enough to recall all of those big Vikes’ postseason losses from January of 1970 through January of 1977, huh?

  77. 77.

    JK

    @asiangrrlMN: @jwb:

    There’s a probably a 99.999999% chance that this won’t happen, but how fucking cool would it be to see the Indiannapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints both go undefeated and then play each other in the Super Bowl? There would be some amazing hype for the 2 weeks following the Conference Championship games.

    I can’t stand the insufferable smugness of those 1972 Miami Dolphins, especially Mercury Morris, so I want some team, any team to break that goddamn record one of these years.

  79. 79.

    AngusTheGodOfMeat

    @slag:

    Obama’s approval rating is in the low 50’s, which is remarkable for an administration that has waded into the shitpile we hired him to deal with, at this point. He is on the verge of getting the first comprehensive health bill ever passed in this country, wrestling with two completely fucked up foreign occupation/war scenarios, tightrope walking through an economic trainwreck, and doing it all in the middle of the most divisive and contentious political climate in any of our memories. Playing to a feckless and inane press, and to a demanding public that wants progressive services and low taxes at the same time.

    Seems to me the guy doing great, and statements like yours just wither into gratuitous WATB blog bullshit.

    But hey, I’m just a creature who walks on all fours who has to type with a hoof.

  80. 80.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Andy K: Hon, I lived through the 15-1 season, only to have Gary Anderson blow it on a field goal to the Falcons–who then blew it when Robinson (I believe that was his name) hooked up with hookers the night before the Super Bowl. In addition, I have lived through the Twins winning the division on the last day three times in the last four years, only to be swept in the first round of the play-offs two of those three years–by the Yankees. NOTHING in sports will leave me gobsmacked any more.

  83. 83.

    debit

    Oh that was such a pretty catch. Man, look at Houston go.

    ETA: I am making a pork loin roast in the French tradition, with roasted Yukon Golds with rosemary butter and a some caramelized pearl onions. I dare say my house smells delicious.

  85. 85.

    IndyLib

    I thought I was unfond of Kyle Orton, but I found that I was even more unfond of Phil Simms kid, who is a crappy backup quarterback.
    This post is to see if I have edit. I haven’t had it for so long on Firefox I’m not sure I’ll recognize it.

  90. 90.

    slag

    @AngusTheGodOfMeat:

    Obama’s approval rating is in the low 50’s, which is remarkable for an administration that has waded into the shitpile we hired him to deal with, at this point. He is on the verge of getting the first comprehensive health bill ever passed in this country, wrestling with two completely fucked up foreign occupation/war scenarios, tightrope walking through an economic trainwreck, and doing it all in the middle of the most divisive and contentious political climate in any of our memories. Playing to a feckless and inane press, and to a demanding public that wants progressive services and low taxes at the same time.

    Yeah. Well. Life’s tough. Obama’s got a job to do, and he needs to deliver. Stat. And if recognizing that fundamental reality makes someone a WATB but spending a whole paragraph making excuses doesn’t, then so be it. Life’s tough.

  92. 92.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @slag:

    Obama’s got a job to do, and he needs to deliver. Stat.

    Good thing we’ve got that unitary executive, right? /snark

  93. 93.

    Nethead Jay

    @debit: That’s the worst I’ve seen from P. Manning in quite a while. Wonder if he’ rattled? Houston is looking good now.

  95. 95.

    Lisa K.

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Yeah, only two Super Bowl wins in the past five years. That is a major drag, man.

    Raiders and Chiefs fans would love to tell you what suckdom is really like.

    Signed,

    A Patriots Fan

  97. 97.

    AngusTheGodOfMeat

    Yeah. Well. Life’s tough. Obama’s got a job to do, and he needs to deliver. Stat. And if recognizing that fundamental reality makes someone a WATB but spending a whole paragraph making excuses doesn’t, then so be it. Life’s tough.

    That’s your response? A long-winded “oh yeah?”

    I’ll just stand on what I wrote at 78, then.

    You wouldn’t know a “fundamental reality” if you stuck your dick in it, dude.

    Obama’s “delivery” is due in early November 2012. Check back then, and let’s see what happens. And the “job he has to do” is not to make whiny little crybabies happy every day while he gets there.

    Fucking idiot.

  99. 99.

    Dave C

    Since this is an open thread, WTF is up with this:

    TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Four police officers were shot and killed Sunday morning in what authorities called a targeted ambush at a coffee house in Washington state, a sheriff’s official said.

    Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer told The News Tribune in Tacoma one or two gunmen burst into the Forza Coffee Co. and shot the four uniformed officers as they were working on their laptop computers, then fled the scene.

    Troyer said investigators believe the officers were targeted, and it was not a robbery.

    ”It looks like a flat-out ambush,” Troyer told the newspaper.

  100. 100.

    Dave C

    Everything except the first line in my previous post was meant to be in block quotes. And, no, I still don’t have an edit function.

  101. 101.

    Andy K

    @asiangrrlMN:

    You probably shouldn’t bring the recent Twins’ teams into the conversation- the AL Central has been the back door into the post-season for most of the decade. In the old two division/league arrangement, the Twins wouldn’t have made the playoffs. The pervasive attitude should have been “Just happy to be here. Success will be a bonus.”

    But I know your pain following the loss to the Falcons. As a Packers fan, I felt it after the playoff loss to the Niners in ’99 (two weeks before Anderson’s miss), and that was a year removed from the SB loss to the Broncos, and only two removed from winning the SB.

    But the NFL is a roller coaster ride of emotions, and it only fully satisfies the fans of one team a year. If you aren’t able to appreciate the lows along with the highs, why ride?

  103. 103.

    slag

    @arguingwithsignposts: Yeah. Keep making excuses. Fun times!

    I, for one, am highly sympathetic with the plight of this administration. But I’m also not blind. No amount of placing blame on the south or on the press or on Congress is going to help at this stage. Maybe you’ve heard of a little something called a narrative. Well, it’s been in the works for a while now (the Peace Prize was when it really started to roll), and now it’s finally becoming worrisome. Whether or not it’s fair is totally beside the point.

  107. 107.

    AngusTheGodOfMeat

    Maybe you’ve heard of a little something called a narrative. Well, it’s been in the works for a while now (the Peace Prize was when it really started to roll), and now it’s finally becoming worrisome. Whether or not it’s fair is totally beside the point.

    Narrative? I’ve heard of such a thing. Maybe if I discover a way to string together the posts you make and find a coherent strand of thought in them ……

    You sound like Brick Oven Bill, but without the guile.

  109. 109.

    debit

    Pictures if my iphone can do a decent job, which I rather doubt. Sadly, it’s my only option ATM.

    Why are the Texans doing what Minnesota usually does in the third quarter? Stop falling apart right now!

    ARG! Didn’t I say to stop falling apart?!

  114. 114.

    peach flavored shampoo

    OT, but 4 cops shot and killed in an ambush in a coffee shop near Seattle.

    This wouldn’t have happened if cops were allowed to carry guns to defend themselves. Wait……

  116. 116.

    flukebucket

    @slag: Approval ratings will go up and down. No need to dwell on them. When he gets into the high teens or low twenties and stays there for months maybe it will be time to worry. He is going to be the President until at least 2012. I am not too worry about what happens in 2010. I cannot imagine people flocking to Republicans for answers.

  118. 118.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Lisa K.: Um, I am a Vikings fan. You know, the Vikes who haven’t won a freaking Super Bowl despite making it four times? That team? I was snarking at Cole.

    @jeffreyw: My god. That looks so fucking good.

    @burnspbesq: This is true. That would make me gobsmacked.

    Andy K., yeah, whatever. Twins have two World Championships. I’ll take that.

  119. 119.

    asiangrrlMN

    @flukebucket: In addition, it’s not Obama’s job to pump up his ratings. Indeed, with our dipshit media, I doubt there is much he could do that would help the country AND please the dipshit media.

    People are stupid and are going to believe what they want to believe. Nothing Obama can do about that.

  120. 120.

    AngusTheGodOfMeat

    @slag:

    Small words? Is that like a really tiny typeface?

    Oh well. There’s no snowball effect. Your argument = fail.

    You remind me of George W. Bush. “Being presnint is haaaaaaard! Waah!”

    Only with you it’s “Being a citizen is haaaaaaard, and skeery too! I want more deliveries of puppies!”

    Bleah.

  122. 122.

    debit

    And Colts come storming back.

    @asiangrrlMN: I’m trying to not think of politics today, but I have to agree with this. The dipshit media is going to keep trying to sell their narrative until people stop buying it. And if the people keep buying it, I guess it makes them dipshits too.

  123. 123.

    slag

    @flukebucket: I totally get that thinking. And I’m not quite pessimistic enough to think that sane people will be running to Republicans for answers. But a depressed Democratic base is a huge concern to me. We don’t need more Dick Morris’ lurking around the WH. Not that I necessarily think Obama’s that stupid. But I don’t have much faith in our Congress to keep things moving in a positive direction. Especially if they start to panic, which is not exactly unheard of.

  124. 124.

    gwangung

    @slag: Yeah, but approval ratings are the quintessential daily news cycle. Ignore those. Pay attention to longer range things. And long range is 2012.

  128. 128.

    charles johnson

    Obama’s approval rating is in the low 50’s, which is remarkable for an administration that has waded into the shitpile we hired him to deal with, at this point. He is on the verge of getting the first comprehensive health bill ever passed in this country, wrestling with two completely fucked up foreign occupation/war scenarios, tightrope walking through an economic trainwreck, and doing it all in the middle of the most divisive and contentious political climate in any of our memories. Playing to a feckless and inane press, and to a demanding public that wants progressive services and low taxes at the same time.
    Seems to me the guy doing great, and statements like yours just wither into gratuitous WATB blog bullshit.

    Hear Hear!

  129. 129.

    Violet

    @JK:

    Fuck Maureen Dowd

    Gah. No kidding. From her column, winning observations such as:

    She nurtures her grass roots while he neglects his.

    So I guess leaving without signing books for her fans who waited for hours in the cold, and even had the required wristbands, is “nurturing”? Or maybe her quitting the 5K before the end so she wouldn’t have to deal with all those pesky fans is the “nurturing” of which Maureen Dowd speaks.

    Maureen Dowd is an idiot, an embarrassment, and a very poor excuse for a columnist at a major newspaper.

  130. 130.

    JenJen

    @slag: @flukebucket: Actually, when he gets into the low-to-mid 40’s, it’s time to worry, if electoral history is any indication. I think he’s fine right now, but I’m with slag, in that the narrative is real, and the narrative is growing stronger, even though I don’t personally believe it has anything to do with Obama’s drop in approval.

    It’s the economy, and he could be a bare-breasted Sarah Palin on a Unicorn* and he’d still have falling approval among the mushy center.

    *I apologize in advance for the imagery

  131. 131.

    burnspbesq

    @slag:

    Aww, just give it a fuckin’ rest, willya?

    It’s Sunday, and it’s football season. On Sundays in football season, football provides more than enough misery.

    Save your whingeing for tomorrow. K?

  132. 132.

    Pigs & Spiders

    I’m confused. Isn’t the Steeler’s game at 8:20pm? We have one open thread for five more hours of this shit?

    Edit button or no edit button, talk about living in squalor.

  135. 135.

    burnspbesq

    Fuck Maureen Dowd?

    Doesn’t the Constitution say something about cruel and unusual punishment?

  137. 137.

    burnspbesq

    @Fern:

    You have one football game today, and then no more until July?

    You cannot begin to imagine how jealous I am.

  138. 138.

    burnspbesq

    Time to fire up the DVR and watch some real football. Arsenal – Chelsea.

    Enjoy the rest of your afternoon, gridiron fans.

  140. 140.

    Ed in NJ

    @burnspbesq:

    +1000

    slag, please stfu and stop shitting on the thread. We get it, you are all butthurt because Obama hasn’t presented you with your pony yet.

  141. 141.

    slag

    @JenJen:

    It’s the economy, and he could be a bare-breasted Sarah Palin on a Unicorn* and he’d still have falling approval among the mushy center.

    In spite of the imagery, I find this point hard to disagree with. But points can be earned with a more populist message. At least with the Dem base, which is really our best hope for minimizing the damage in the midterms. That and more movement on social issues and on civil liberties and…

  146. 146.

    gwangung

    Irritated that posting ability is intermittent. But the “snowball” is quintessential daily news cycle. Focus on the long term.

  148. 148.

    charles johnson

    Honestly, though, I’ve pretty much given up on politics. I live in a conservative county, and these people would literally vote in a republican arsonist child molester if he promised to cut property taxes by 5%. The country’s falling apart, the soon-to-be-elderly baby boomers, who if history is any guide, will vote in record numbers, are all programmed with that “Gummint is always bad free market always good.” mentality which is wrecking our infrastructure and social net. Ecologists say we’re witnessing and initiating a period of species collapse and environmental degradation and I turn on the tv and see ACORN! White House party crashers! I get an email from an otherwise intelligent friend along the lines of “ZOMG these two out of context words in one of a thousand emails from ten years ago totally invalidates all so-called climate science EVAR!!111” And he’s a relatively smart guy. Most people in the US are more like my Alabama relatives who, this past thanksgiving, told me that for every white Murkin paying into Social Security, there are 10 illegal aliens drawing checks from it. They’re too dumb to even talk to, much less successfully reason with.

    In short, and I say this not out of hostility or depression, but rather a casual acceptance, I don’t think our species has the ability to not doom itself. Maybe that’s the solution to the Fermi Paradox–once a species gets enough technology to make an impact, they quickly bone themselves into oblivion. We’re naked, greedy monkeys who’ve now figured out how to build nuclear bombs and set mountain-fulls of carbon on fire, and we are not long for this Earth.

  149. 149.

    AngusTheGodOfMeat

    Ronald Reagan may provide a closer parallel to Obama. Both took office as the nation’s economy was in perilous times. Reagan was at 60% at six months, but his standing slipped below 50% by the end of his first year in office as the jobless rate swelled. It would take two years and economic recovery before a majority of Americans would approve of his presidency again.

    Obama’s approval rating will fall, and rise, on employment figures.

    Meanwhile progressive policy continues to make inroads, by fits and starts, but nothing is going to happen “stat.” First, or A, America is not a big hospital ward. And B, or Two, employment is a lagging indicator, and as we predicted last year, unemployment will probably not peak until well into the first half of 2010.

    Between the two possible reactions, “EEK!” versus “Keep our eyes on the ball,” I prefer the latter. “EEK!” has just never worked that well for me.

  150. 150.

    JK

    @Violet:

    I know it’s not newsworthy to point out something stupid by Maureen Dowd, but in this column she borrowed that goddamn Cheney line about dithering. That’s a new low for Maurren as far as I’m concerned.

    @burnspbesq:

    Fuck Maureen Dowd? Doesn’t the Constitution say something about cruel and unusual punishment?

    Tell that to Charlie Rose who almost had an orgasm when he interviewed Dowd for her stupid book Are Men Necessary?

  151. 151.

    JK

    @JenJen:

    A bare-breasted Sarah Palin on a horse

    If she could ever pull that off, I’d want to have Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck hooked up to EKG monitors to see which one would pass out first.

  155. 155.

    licensed to kill time

    @charles johnson:

    The country’s falling apart, the soon-to-be-elderly baby boomers, who if history is any guide, will vote in record numbers, are all programmed with that “Gummint is always bad free market always good.” mentality which is wrecking our infrastructure and social net.

    Please don’t tar all us baby boomers with that brush. A lot of us are still DFH’s and proud of it.

    I get your sense of despair, however. Some days I share it – well, a lot of days actually.

  157. 157.

    asiangrrlMN

    @slag: This actually makes some sense, but I disagree in that our side is much more picky about what they will and won’t support. I would love Obama to move to the left, but I don’t think he can move far enough to satisfy the lefties. Batshitcrazynutters are unified in their hatred of him. Supporters are all over the map as to what they think Obama needs to do. It’s just easier to unite around hate than around a common good.

  160. 160.

    JK

    Does Bill Belichick remind anyone of Richie Aprile from The Sopranos in terms of his moody, miserable fucker demeanor?

  161. 161.

    Maude

    @AngusTheGodOfMeat: It’s amazing that he has as high a rating as he does. Look at what shape things are in.
    I’m so sick of the whingeing and harping on every little thing.
    Wait until Wednesday.
    Gonna test edit on K-Meleon, xp

  162. 162.

    dan robinson

    Now you know what it felt like to be a Cardinals fan for the last 20 years. And a Forty Niners Fan in the 1970’s.

    Fandom takes guts, it is not for the weak. Anybody can beat their chest for a winning team, but character is built when you root for a shit team. And then they get worse. And then they say, oh, yo think that sucked, wait until next week, when we shit on your every hope ten times over.

    Oh, now I get it. It is about being a fan. Can you display the same kind of guts for your local girl’s soccer team? Or does it work only for steroid pumped men who make millions of dollars a year playing for pasty white men making hundreds of millions a year while getting a billion dollars in subsidies from local and state governments?

    Like they said when I was a soldier, I got your fandom hanging.

  164. 164.

    smiley

    Over at CNN/SI as I was looking at scores and I noticed that their game-time weather conditions for tomorrow’s Saints/Pats game was mostly cloudy/72 degrees. I guess they think that white ceiling in the Superdome is cloud cover.

  165. 165.

    Morbo

    We’re going to need another thread…

    Who the hell is Buckley? Let McCoy score a damn touchdown; screw you, Andy Reid!

  166. 166.

    dan robinson

    Should be:

    Now you know what it felt like to be a Cardinals fan for the last 20 years. And a Forty Niners Fan in the 1970’s. Fandom takes guts, it is not for the weak. Anybody can beat their chest for a winning team, but character is built when you root for a shit team. And then they get worse. And then they say, oh, yo think that sucked, wait until next week, when we shit on your every hope ten times over.

    Oh, now I get it. It is about being a fan. Can you display the same kind of guts for your local girl’s soccer team? Or does it work only for steroid pumped men who make millions of dollars a year playing for pasty white men making hundreds of millions a year while getting a billion dollars in subsidies from local and state governments?

    Like they said when I was a soldier, I got your fandom hanging.

  168. 168.

    SiubhanDuinne

    O/T but I have had a mildly interesting coincidence today. In last night’s open thread the subject of the Spanish Civil War came up for a while. Today I watched a couple of old movies I had never seen: The End of the Affair, and Dancing at Lughnasa. In EotA, early on, there was a reference to drinking “bad sherry from South Africa” because the SCW had made it impossible to obtain the good stuff. Then in DaL, a secondary character heads off to Spain to fight against Franco. Now I realise both films (like last night’s Casablanca) are set in the ’30s and ’40s, so maybe it’s not a huge stretch. But none of the films was *about* the SCW — the references were all in passing — and I was just struck by the way it came up for me in three successive films.

    / woo-woo spooky synchronicity

  171. 171.

    charles johnson

    “Please don’t tar all us baby boomers with that brush. A lot of us are still DFH’s and proud of it.”

    You’re right, I wrote imprecisely, of course, as we all do. I should have said “who are disproportionally programmed…”

    Reagan’s popularity in the 80’s created a large bolus of voters who still share that ideology.

  172. 172.

    demkat620

    @Morbo: What did I just say?
    I hate this shit. The Eagles are going nowhere. They know it, the fans know it, the sports reporters know it.

    But, they will win just enough games to get a shitty draft pick and give Andy Reid another five year extension.

    ARRRRGH!

  175. 175.

    Martin

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Unfortunately, folks like at GOS think that Obama was elected supreme leader of Congress as well. They’ve unknowningly bought into the GOP meme that everything is Obama’s fault. If the GOP filibusters everything, that too will be Obama’s fault.

    Never underestimate the stupid GOP to properly take advantage of a stupid electorate.

  177. 177.

    JenJen

    @Nethead Jay: @Lisa K.: Sorry. I should have mentioned that my temporary affection for the Colts had everything to do with my fantasy football team playing Matt Schaub, and Reggie Wayne being one of the stars of my team, and yet Schaub still did a lot of damage. Booo, The Schaub. Why is fantasy football so gut-wrenching at times?

  178. 178.

    JK

    @dan robinson:

    Fandom takes guts, it is not for the weak. Anybody can beat their chest for a winning team, but character is built when you root for a shit team. And then they get worse. And then they say, oh, yo think that sucked, wait until next week.

    Try telling that to a New York Yankees fan. Prior to them beating the Philadelphia Phillies, all I heard from these bozos was pissing and moaning about not having won a World Series title since way the hell back in 2000. Are there any sports fans on Earth who are more spoiled rotten than these miserable brats who root for the Yankees?

  179. 179.

    charles johnson

    “I get your sense of despair, however. Some days I share it – well, a lot of days actually.”

    I didn’t have quite as much despair until rather recently, with reports that global temps could go up by 10 degrees F in the next century, some ecologists and biologists telling me their colleagues expected not just massive extinction, but probably a large human die-off, and the aforementioned inability of many people to even accept the possibilities of such things.

  181. 181.

    licensed to kill time

    @charles johnson:

    Reagan’s popularity in the 80’s created a large bolus of voters who still share that ideology.

    I hated LBJ for the escalation of the Vietnam war, Nixon because he was a slimy crook, Ford/Carter – meh , but Reagan was the first guy that made me say “If that guy gets elected, I am leaving the country”. And did, for a large part of his term(s).

    Guess who was the second guy? ;-)

    (I understand your point. He was poisonous to the body politic).

  182. 182.

    geg6

    I have no doubt my beloved Stillers are gonna suck balls tonight. But to make up for it, my John is making steaks, a wonderful salad with bleu cheese (my fave!), garlic mashed potatoes, shrimp appetizer, and raspberry cheesecake for dessert. With a nice big bottle of syrah that I picked up on sale, I expect to be +4 or 5 by the time our humiliation on national teevee is complete.

  183. 183.

    Lisa K.

    @Nethead Jay:

    The Saints are my second favorite team, from having lived a little while in the Big Easy.

    But tomorrow, I want them ripped to shreds. from limb to limb. I want Drew Brees in bloody pieces across the Superdome floor.

  185. 185.

    AngusTheGodOfMeat

    @JK:

    Yankees fans give all fans a bad name, for sure.

    But professional sports is all about the fandom.

    When it comes to amateur sports, I spent a lot of time at Pop Warner games and Little League games for the kids and the grandkids. My recollection was that, among the adults, the buzz was mostly about the kids. Will my kid get to play? Will he have fun? I hope he doesn’t get hurt. Ow, that was a helluva hit he took. That sort of thing. Winning and losing the games wasn’t really the big deal in the leagues I was circulating in, except for a few hothead parents here and there. And they were the exception, not the rule.

    No way to compare amateur sports spectatorship with professional sports fandom. Apples and mangoes. Amateur sports is human interest, while professional sports is some kind of mass hypnosis thing. How else to believe in the Immaculate Deception, for example? Heh.

  186. 186.

    Lisa K.

    @JK:

    Are there any sports fans on Earth who are more spoiled rotten than these miserable brats who root for the Yankees?

    Let me tell you, if the Colts even sniff the SB, then 2009 is going down as the worst sports season on record for me. First the Lakers, then the Yankees, then…ugh. I can’t even think about it.

  187. 187.

    JenJen

    Wasn’t the most impressive victory, but the Bengals got it done! A win is a win is a win, and that’s a CLEAN SWEEP in the AFC North. Whew. Who Dey?!

  190. 190.

    debit

    Here we go, Vikes!

    My roast turned out perfect. No pics that weren’t gray and grainy, sadly.

    debit +2 glasses of an okay Sauvignon Blanc

  192. 192.

    JD Rhoades

    @AngusTheGodOfMeat:

    Fandom takes guts, it is not for the weak. Anybody can beat their chest for a winning team, but character is built when you root for a shit team. And then they get worse. And then they say, oh, yo think that sucked, wait until next week, when we shit on your every hope ten times over.

    Fan 1: What about last season?
    Fan 2: What about it?
    Fan 1: They were rubbish. They were fucking rubbish.
    Fan 2: They weren’t that bad.
    Fan 1: They were fucking rubbish last year. And they were fucking rubbish the year before. And I don’t care if they are top of the League, they’ll be fucking rubbish this year, too. And next year. And the year after that. I’m not joking.
    Fan 2: I don’t know why you come, Frank. Honest I don’t.
    Fan 1: Well, you live in hope, don’t you?

    -Fever Pitch (the original, and far superior, British version)

  198. 198.

    JK

    @AngusTheGodOfMeat:

    Lisa K

    Yankees fans give all fans a bad name, for sure.

    Thanks for your comments. I’m glad to see that there are still some Yankee haters out there. One of the most disgusting things I observed after the Yankees beat the Phillies in the deciding game were congratulatory messages to Yankee fans on the NY Yankees Message Board posted by fans of other teams. I couldn’t fucking believe these assholes were congratulating the most arrogant, obnoxious, classless sports fans in America. I mean what unbelievable obstacles did the Yankees have to overcome after signing the top 3 free agents during the off season?

  205. 205.

    licensed to kill time

    @AngusTheGodOfMeat:
    Or this:

    “All the problems we face in the United States today can be traced to an unenlightened immigration policy on the part of the American Indian.”

    Wait – maybe that wouldn’t fly…

  206. 206.

    JK

    @asiangrrlMN:

    The way the Vikings are playing this season, they may make you forget all about those Twins. Lucky you.

  210. 210.

    Andy K

    @dan robinson:

    Oh, now I get it. It is about being a fan. Can you display the same kind of guts for your local girl’s soccer team? Or does it work only for steroid pumped men who make millions of dollars a year playing for pasty white men making hundreds of millions a year while getting a billion dollars in subsidies from local and state governments?

    You mean the local girls soccer team whose unis, coaches, transportation and pitch are subsidized by taxes? Federal, state and local taxes? And if I displayed any sort of guts supporting the Springfield High tetherball team, would anyone outside of Springfield care to discuss, let alone pay attention?

    Do we display any guts as fans of the Springfield High debate and forensics teams? Probably not. But when those kids grow up, they become lawyers, elected officials and bureaucrats, and we subsidize what they do and hope that they’ll make us happy by performing their duties to the best of their abilities. Some days they piss us off and we let the world know about it.

  215. 215.

    JK

    @freelancer:

    Freelancer,

    What’s the url for the group blog you also post to? I just checked the blogroll on forgetthenoise and didn’t find it listed there.

  216. 216.

    arguingwithsignposts

    All I know is AP is my feature back on fantasy team, so I hope he gets the TD carry.

  217. 217.

    AngusTheGodOfMeat

    Oh well, nobody took my glazed alfalfa offering on the The Immaculate Deception.

    Dang it. Okay, off to graze the north forty for a while. Keep the flies off your butt, as we say.

  218. 218.

    JK

    @asiangrrlMN:

    I don’t like Favre either and was hoping he’d be carried off the field at some point this season. The prima donna act that he goes thru at the end of each season debating whether or not he’ll return is so fucking tired, I just want to see him pulverized so that he’ll stop jerking everyone’s chain.

  219. 219.

    Andy K

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    I’ve got Shiancoe and Berrian going, with James Harrison and Dawan Landry yet to come (IDP league). Good week so far, thanks in no small part to A-Rodge’s and Double D’s production in Motown.

  221. 221.

    licensed to kill time

    Has John Cole gone into a pre-Stiller coma? We are +4 on the hours here…this thread is gonna get drunk.

  226. 226.

    debit

    Pssst, Defense. You gotta stop the offense. That’s your job. Thanks for your attention.

    xoxoxo

    debit

  227. 227.

    Punchy

    Matt Forte needs to get his tall ass in gear and gimmie 20+ fantasy points.

    Gunna be a lotta points scored in this Chefs/Boltz game.

  231. 231.

    licensed to kill time

    LOL. Now we get a new thread, and there are SIX links/articles to read before a nuanced comment is possible. Be careful what you wish for!

    (Not that I’d prolly be making a nuanced comment anyway)

  232. 232.

    Morbo

    @Andy K: Bad memories, I’m facing those two this week and a Lions partisan. I need some production out of Boldin and Sims-walker right now… goos eggs so far. Flex league, looks like I should’ve put in Fred Jackson for one of them.

  237. 237.

    Andy K

    @Morbo:

    …and a Lions partisan.

    I feel for ya. I root for the D in the other three pro sports, but the Yooper genes from dad’s side of the family make me a Packers fan. I hope, for sanity’s sake, that you live inside the blackout zone. My friends here in GR don’t have that luck.

  244. 244.

    JD Rhoades

    @JK:

    I couldn’t fucking believe these assholes were congratulating the most arrogant, obnoxious, classless sports fans in America.

    You’ve never met Duke Blue Devils fans, I take it.

  246. 246.

    Andy K

    Is it just my perception, or is that Kay Jewlers’ ad the most patronizing piece of bullshit ever? And is there any middle ground for Avatar? Looks like it will either be great or an unwatchable piece of overblown crap.

  248. 248.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Andy K: I fucking hate all jewelry commercials and holiday car commercials as well, but especially the jewelry ones. “He doesn’t really love you if he doesn’t go into debt to buy a useless piece of carbon that was mined by children in South Africa.”

    Jarrett Allen–just go down with it. Seriously.

  249. 249.

    debit

    Okay, the offense is now here. 1st and goal.

    @asiangrrlMN: I hate jewelry commercials for that and for the obvious marketing ploy aimed at guys: buy her a diamond and it’s a slam dunk that you’ll get head tonight.

    Oh man, stupid penalties. Cripes.

  251. 251.

    Morbo

    @Andy K: Nah, I get to watch them, too. And yeah, that commercial is ridiculously bad; I say that without even knowing which one you’re referring to.

    This half is taking forehhhhhhhhver. I can’t wait any longer; I’m making a sandwich.

  252. 252.

    Andy K

    @asiangrrlMN:

    The ad I’m talkin’ ’bout is the one with the couple in the cabin, where the grown woman gets frightened by thunder and lightning AS SHE’S WATCHING THE STORM THROUGH THE WINDOW! Then her daddy s.o. says, “Don’t worry, I’m right here.” Because grown women are all really four-year olds on the inside. Sheesh….Yeah, I agree with you that all jewelry ads are bad, but this one is the worst I remember.

    Jarred Allen looked a bit turned around there. What is it about those Vikings that makes ’em lose their bearings?

  253. 253.

    jwb

    So how exactly do you throw an illegal downfield pass from your opponent’s 1 yard line? (I’m only getting the text feed here.)

  255. 255.

    Andy K

    @jwb:

    It was in the middle of the field. Allen was spun around before he made the pick, and he thought he was pitching the ball backwards.

  256. 256.

    asiangrrlMN

    @debit: I was just prescient. Favre to Shiancoe! 24-7.

    I watched Wanda last week and there was a woman on the ‘help with your romance’ segment. The woman said, and I shit you not, “I have been living with my wonderful boyfriend for three years, but I told him not to propose until he could afford the diamond ring I was worth. Is that wrong of me?”

    Wanda: Who the hell says that? Really!

    Snotty woman: I worked hard (in politics), and I deserve it.

    Me: Then buy the goddamn ring your own self. Wanda! Tell her boyfriend to R-U-N from her! Women like that give us a baaaad name.

    Andy K., I mute all commercials, so I don’t have a complete meltdown over them, but I’ve seen the visuals to that one.

  257. 257.

    Punchy

    @Andy K: Cannot possibly worse than the bloody ears I get from the Jared commercials, and that ear-splitting chick that screeches out the tagline.

    True story: bawt the engagement ring from Shane Co., and the saleswoman asked me why. I said I refused to step foot into Jared due to their asinine commercials, and they said that about 1 in 3 peeps tell them that very thing. That’s not how advertising is supposed to work, methinks.

  258. 258.

    Andy K

    Stick a fork in the Bears. They’re done for the season. So much for Cutler turning them around.

  260. 260.

    debit

    @Andy K: Hmm. I was gonna say he needs more than a season to mesh with a team, but then I looked at his record when he was in Denver and really his stats weren’t that great even after three seasons. Pity. I’d like to have a young QB to be excited about, but he isn’t it.

    And you guys know there’s another open thread upstairs, right?

  262. 262.

    Andy K

    @debit:

    They should have stuck with Orton and gone after receivers via the draft and free agency. Cutler, in Denver, had some great games in the midst of mediocre seasons, but he helped make ’em mediocre seasons by having some absolutely crappy games where he tried to force it and threw three or more picks- as has been happening lately in Chicago.

  264. 264.

    burnspbesq

    @mcd410x:

    I’ll get over it. I enjoy watching Arsenal, but there’s no love there.

    The team I really live and die for is Forest, and they are making me happy right about now.

  266. 266.

    Lisa K.

    @The Grand Panjandrum:

    As a Yankees fan I’m never quite sure what I enjoy most, the win, or the apoplexy of the haters.

    Eh. That is only because you are in denial about what a bunch of douchebags you actually cheer for. It is the only way you can carry on without wanting to kill yourself, so I understand the defense mechanism, even as I pity it..

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