Open Thread…
Reader Interactions
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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”
I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.
We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.
Can we lighten up on the doomsday scenarios?
Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.
People are weird.
Bark louder, little dog.
FFS people, this was a good thing. take the win.
Books are my comfort food!
There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.
The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.
Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.
I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.
Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.
If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.
“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”
T R E 4 5 O N
Come on, man.
A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.
Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.
I also would like a pony to improve my balloon juice experience.
This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.
“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”
Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.
rachel
What does basil need to grow well indoors? Anybody here have any luck with it?
robertdsc
Can we haz new Tunchinator pix, plz?
Jean
Since OT is the topic, I find I can read only BJ these days. TPM and dkos are now just too anxiety-producing.
mr. whipple
Is it safe to come out?
Jack
A Short Play
GEORGE W. BUSH enters and walks to center stage.
GEORGE W. BUSH: Hey world! SUCK IT!
BUSH punches 5 billion poor people in the face.
WORLD: Boooooo!
BUSH exits.
BARACK OBAMA enters and walks to center stage.
BARACK OBAMA: War is not healthy for children and other living things. What’s so funny ’bout peace, love and understanding? As Dr. King taught us, the arc of the universe is long but it bends towards etc., etc., and so on.
OBAMA punches 4.88 billion poor people in the face.
WORLD: Yaaaaaaay!
—Jonathan Schwarz
http://www.tinyrevolution.com/mt/archives/003176.html
Thoroughly Pizzled
Some idiots over at the Kos are going orgasmic over the imaginary Obama-Dean feud. The way it looks now, I really think that Daily Kos and FDL will lead an effort to primary Obama in 2012.
tofubo
mr. whipple
Is it safe to come out?
cole: You’re talking to me?
mr. whipple
Is it safe to come out?
cole: Is what safe?
mr. whipple
Is it safe to come out?
cole: I don’t know what you mean. I can’t tell you something’s safe or not, unless I know specifically what you’re talking about.
mr. whipple
Is it safe to come out?
cole: Tell me what the “it” refers to.
mr. whipple
Is it safe to come out?
cole: Yes, it’s safe, it’s very safe, it’s so safe you wouldn’t believe it.
mr. whipple
Is it safe to come out?
cole: No. It’s not safe, it’s… very dangerous, be careful.
SGEW
Cripes, my news sources all run red with blood and despair this morning. Blah.
Anyone seen any good news stories today? Something to cheer us all up? Or is today going to be another day of doom, gloom, and the terrible stench of bickering in the room?
Steeplejack
Anybody have a recommendation for a Nintendo Wii game, accessory or whatever that they really like? My brother (middle-aged hipster) bought one a few weeks ago, and I thought I would get him a game or something for Christmas. (He doesn’t have kids, so this is not a “family” thing.)
The Grand Panjandrum
@rachel: Put it in an area where it will get at least 4 hours of direct sunlight.
@Jean: I can read GOS front pagers and TPM as long as I don’t go to the comments. The commenters are generally, with a few notable exceptions, a bunch of know nothing WATB hand wringers.
Brian J
@Thoroughly Pizzled:
Whether or not they feel that way now, I can’t imagine that succeeding for one of two reasons: either they come to their senses and realize that unless some one appears out of nowhere, he’s the best shot we have and/or they aren’t that powerful in the party.
I know I use this sort of excuse a lot, but I can’t help but think there’s some sort of master plan here. I don’t think the White House preferred to have Lieberman stab them in the back, the front, and the sides before pouring salt on their wounds, but once what has happened has actually happened, my guess is, they figured that they needed to pass something decent before the bill really started to suck. So they had Dean go on KO’s show and announce the bill was a dud, which would enrage the left and then give cover to the moderates without watering the bill down any more.
Noonan
We’re seeing the netroots version of televangilisism.
SGEW
Heh. Patrick “The Other Sully” Appel gives a big shout out.
John Cole Is Not Smoking Rock
Prepare to repel boarders!
NobodySpecial
@SGEW:
Blackhawks won! Another shutout too.
That’s it, that’s all I got.
Jean
@Thoroughly Pizzled: I stopped reading FDL during the primaries. There’s another one I’ve stopped reading. I could list others, but really, so many are just depressing.
Trinity
@Jean: I have been doing much the same thing for months Jean. Of course lately even more so.
Balloon Juice has been a lifeline of sanity.
jacy
@Jean:
I’m down to BJ and I Can Has Cheezburger. And I had to flip NPR to the local college station this morning to avoid having to contemplate the horror show that is Joe Lieberman.
Soon I’ll be reduced to sitting alone in a darkened room with earplugs in.
I am finding my Festivus/Solstice/Yule spirit is at low ebb this week.
4tehlulz
@Thoroughly Pizzled: John Edwards should be available.
Cat Lady
@Jean:
As is every newspaper except for my local paper, and every TV program that isn’t about home decorating and/or food. I come here now to look at the world with people who haven’t all gone stark raving coo coo bananas. It’s like looking at the world from the bottom of a well, but with Cole and DougJ reading the idiots so I don’t have to, I’m good with that.
Brian J
The other day I mentioned that I hadn’t regularly received the paper copy of The Wall Street Journal in a long, long time, except for the weekend edition. After having my mind occupied with other stuff so that I didn’t care as much, I finally sent an e-mail about this to them trying to clear up any problems. The next day, I had one waiting for me when I woke up. Then the problems started up again, as I didn’t get a copy the following day. And today, I received a copy of the Investor’s Business Daily. It’s pretty funny actually.
I think I may just read that. If nothing else, it may make feel better about myself. I may be a little nuts, but I’m not that fucking nuts.
rachel
@The Grand Panjandrum: I don’t have such a place in my apartment. :-(
Steeplejack
@SGEW:
Got my cutlass and eyepatch. Where’s my parrot? Damn it. Be right back.
SGEW
@NobodySpecial: Sometimes I wished I enjoyed sports, so I could feel that apparent, unmitigated joy of victory, and the consequence-free, swiftly-healed pathos of defeat. Oh well.
Instead, I have Lolcats. Which is actually good enough, mostly.
Brick Oven Bill
“Close the Achievement Gap” = “War on Gifted Students”
Washington Post: Achievement Gap.
Journal of Blacks in Higher Education: Achievement Gap by Income Group.
Wall Street Journal: Achievement Gap Widens.
Thomas Jefferson stated his opinion that the State should seek Talent from all walks of life, and fully fund a solid education for the most gifted students. These students were to be taught the ‘useful sciences’. This knowledge, imparted into the minds of those with the intellect to harness it, was to benefit all, and combat the powerful forces of Wealth and Birth.
Today, the students receiving the highest levels of public funding are the stupid ones who will not benefit from the resources being allocated to them. Talent is denied resources.
Intelligence is inherited.
The current system is designed to protect the Bushes, the Kennedys, and those who own Obama, from the Clintons and the Carters.
“Legacy Scholars.”
jacy
@Steeplejack:
Wii Resort is teh cool. As for accessories, the kids love the steering wheel for racing games. I like the gun accessories for first person shooter type games.
I can’t play the racing games because I am a spaz.
donovong
@rachel: As TGP mentioned, four hours of sun is necessary – south facing if you can get it. They are water and PH finicky, but not too bad. Darn well worth it, fer sher!
Noonan
Any thoughts on who will be next to say something about not voting for the bill in the hope of getting their picture in the paper?
Smart money is on Ben Nelson but I’m going to go with Evan Bayh concern trolling for interviews.
Jack
Heh. The comments are an invitation to:
http://americancrackpot.blogspot.com/2009/12/personality-politics-and-great-man.html
Kryptik
@Steeplejack:
Depends on how serious of a gamer he is.
Wii Sports Resort is definitely a good choice all around though.
Jean
@Cat Lady: It’s so crazy out there. And to Trinity and Jacy too: Yep, I barely glance at our daily paper in Richmond because of what it implies to me about the incoming admin of McDonnell. During the primaries and the general election campaign, I read Giordano for sanity. Now it’s BJ because Al’s attentions are elsewhere at this time.
Brian J: I continually hope there’s some master plan or any plan that will lead to an unexpected punch to the GOP. It’s the 24-hr OH NO! as if every day is the last day progress can be made.
Trinity
@Noonan: I’d put my money on Bayh for sure. His narcissism knows no bounds. He’s been waiting for a moment like this to stick a shiv into the Dems.
Steeplejack
@jacy:
Thanks for the suggestion. From what I have (over)heard, the big hits so far are tennis, beach volleyball (Bro’ Man’s S.O. is a real-life V-ball nut) and–WTF?!–bowling.
I haven’t been to Best Buy in months. Guess I’ll have to mosey over and see what’s what.
rachel
@donovong: It’s totally worth it (assuming I can get it to grow), but I don’t have four hours of sun because of this honking big building just to the south of me, and I don’t have any windows to the east or west. Is there any kind of artificial light anyone has used that works for this?
Michael D.
CompromiseCare!
Napoleon
@rachel:
Last year when I used natural light with some really poor grow lights that were likely not better then no lights at all I did not. It basically did not grow all winter. This year with some good grow lights they have been doing well.
PS, noting the comment upthread about putting it in 4 hours of daylight daily I should add I live in Cleveland and because of the lake the winter months are often much more overcast then other northern locations.
Steeplejack
@Kryptik:
He is not a computer gamer, but I was actually thinking of slipping in some shooter game so that I could camp out on it when I’m over there. Heh. Any recommendations?
General Winfield Stuck
@mr. whipple:
Only if You’ve been vaccinated against the stoopids. Rumor has it, it’s an epidemic out there.
I plan to use only mock therapy to cope.
Steeplejack
@General Winfield Stuck:
If you’re going to spring for therapy, you might as well get the real thing, not the mock stuff.
SGEW
Shorter B.O.B.:
“I believe in a natural aristocracy, wherein mental and moral superiority is bred through heterosexual caucasian males; this aristocracy should be backed by the force of law, and is supported by the political philosophies espoused by historical slave societies. I believe in this because I am a heterosexual caucasian male, and I believe myself to be mentally and morally superior to others. Sadly, I am of merely average intelligence (at best), suffer from debilitating neurological disorders, and act unethically without any thought for others’ well-being. I only dimly understand the very documents I nominally worship, and have misconstrued many of their core principles through my own biased and mentally unstable perspective. Therefore, I will make up for my disabilities and confusion by writing disjointed, illogical, conspiracy-laden comments pseudonymously on a blog where every other commenter ridicules and/or despises me. This gives me pleasure, but I do not have the capacity for self-examination to even begin to understand why.”
rachel
@Napoleon: Ah, interesting. Do, tell me more about these grow lights’ specs (type, wattage, warmth…), as I’m in Korea and can’t buy grow lights by brand name.
Edited to add: And what about fertilizer?
Bob In Pacifica
Wow. Olbermann was sure angry last night.
Will the SF Giants find a power hitter this winter?
Things look bleak for healthcare.
Go Niners.
I missed a couple episodes of “Flash Forward” last month. What’s happening there?
jibeaux
Rachel, I don’t know if you’re trying to grow from seed or not, but also worth mentioning that it is worth the few bucks to just buy a plant and keep it alive. Basil from seed can be tricky.
As for Wii, only have the family games, but the Lego-based ones are pretty adorable. If he’s hipster enough, the uncool factor of Lego Star Wars wraps all the back around to ironic cool again. But it’s also highly possible that it would miss its goal and still wind up uncool. Hard to say.
And onto the health care thing, heaven forbid, last night I was thinking about Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders, God love him, is an honest to God soc-ialist who wants single payer and has deep and genuine objections to private health insurance. And Bernie is going to vote for this bill and even take his own amendment out to save time. Bernie is getting absolutely butkiss concessions in all this, and his vision for health care and reality reflected in this bill are many light years further apart than they are for Lieber@*&$Y*#% or Nelson or Landrieu or any of the rest of them. But Bernie is a fucking team player and he believes health care is a right and he’s going to vote for something that gets us closer to that goal. I don’t know what my point is here. Maybe it’s just that there’s a reality at work in that when you really want something, you have no leverage, which is annoying. Maybe it’s just marveling that someone who is presumably quite a bit to the left of the manic progressives is more level-headed and attuned to reality than they are.
Brick Oven Bill
CNN: Patrick Kennedy.
2:45am, Pat crashed into the Capitol complex at a high rate of speed in his green Ford Mustang. He told the police he thought he was showing up for a vote, and was not given a breathalyzer.
Pat told us that he was taking ‘prescription medication’, just like Tiger. Tiger at least had a pillow to rest his head on as he snored in the street.
Pat’s dad Ted at the time:
“He has taken full responsibility for events that occurred.”
Glenn Beck Principle Number Five:
“If you break the law, you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.”
Phaedrus
I think this says it for me
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2009/12/no_fight.php#more?ref=fpblg
I’m tired of hearing this was the best bill possible, sausage being made, etc. There are two thousand different ways this could have been negotiated – and it really feels like Obama started by feeding the progressives a shit sandwich and then running to compromise with the Republicans.
Woodrow "asim" Jarvis Hill
@Bob In Pacifica:
He’s young, he’ll get over it.
Anyone here using the new Motorola Droid? I’m loving this comms device (does too much to be just a “phone”), even if BJ’s a tough read on it. Hey John, think we can get a iPhone-formatted version of BJ with the fancy new rebuild? :)
GReynoldsCT00
@mr. whipple:
No, unfortunately B.O.B is online… go back to bed
Brian J
@Jean:
Assuming at least some of the people who are still supportive of the health care bill are right, passing what we have right now will be one such punch. If it succeeds, and we can continually tweak what we have in significant if small steps, they simply won’t know what has hit them. Unless the program is an absolute horror show from the beginning, it’s going to force them to either run against the program entirely or be forced to support it even if they campaign on making changes to make it “better.” Meanwhile, a lot of good things, like people being able to start their own businesses or transfer to more rewarding jobs, could happen.
PeakVT
Do watcha wanna do.
jibeaux
Dammit, I’m in moderation and I said nothing about shoes and I carefully hyphenated my social -ism. Argh.
jacy
@Bob In Pacifica:
Re: FlashForward – can’t tell what’s happening because I get too distracted by the Shatneresque levels of acting (I’m looking at you Joseph Fiennes) and the godawful dialogue.
It’s like taking a really cool concept and 5-year-olds write it. Seriously, my cat writes better dialogue than found on FlashForward and all he as to work with is various inflections of “Meow.”
On the upside – the Avalanche don’t totally suck this year. So, Yay!
Just Some Fuckhead
I have a plan to fix the homeless problem.
Pass a law requiring people to buy a house.
Genius, huh?
John S.
Anyone that disagrees with the “true progressives”: THE ENEMY
Any pundit (Steve Benen, JMM) that disagrees with the “true progressives”: CORPORATE SHILL
Any person that thinks we should pass this bill: GOP PLANT
I really need to step away from the intertubes for a while, because the amount of misinformation masquerading as bold political advocacy is making me sick.
I have seen the teabagger, and it is us.
Shawn in ShowMe
@Steeplejack
If you’re into the Beatles, or even music games in general, Beatles Rock Band is being hailed one of the best games ever to come out of the genre. I’m giving it to my cousin for Christmas.
SGEW
So, Memeorandum’s burnin’ up with a new climate bullshit blogospheric circle jerk.
Breaking news! Fossil fuel industry funded, AGW denying, right wing think tank (whose founder has previously denied any connection between CO2 and climate change) repeats false accusation against climatologists! Cites manufactured evidence of cherry-picking; own evidence created by cherry-picking! Shocking!
But they’re a Russian fossil fuel industry funded, AGW denying, right wing think tank . . . so it must be real, this time!
Gah, everything just drives me nuts.
rachel
@Just Some Fuckhead: If the government gives money to people who don’t have enough to do that on their own with, sure. There are plenty of people out there who could use the shelter.
Actually, change that to “buy or rent” and it’s a deal.
General Winfield Stuck
@Steeplejack:
I am perfectly sane, swear to gawd. it’s just all the other crazy motherfuckers. Bwaaa hhhhaaaa . teehee!
Jean
@Brian J: Ok, I’m sticking with you!
John S.
Nah, problems only get solved with snark!
debit
@mr. whipple: Dustin Hoffman says no. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG5Qk-jB0D4
jibeaux
How about vaguely holiday-related trivia. No, it’s not fascinating or “lude” (gop.am, the gift that keeps on giving) or political or hilarious, but you did say open thread. Why not.
John S.
GOP PLANT!
Any “true progressive” would be adamant that either the government gives you a house for free, or it’s better to stay homeless.
Napoleon
@rachel:
Two of the set ups described on this page as the Compact Light System with 125 watt bulb. Note the bulb, in case you are tempted to just buy it, has a base that is much bigger then a standard socket. If I was just growing basil or herbs in the winter I would never buy these but I have a bunch of house plants that suffer with the lack of light in the winter, plus since during the week while daylight savings is in effect its dark when I leave and when I get home so its a little silly putting the blinds up and down every day just for the plants. So I move them to a spare room with the lights.
I just use mircale grow for plants on them once a week.
http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/lights.shtml
russell
Thomas Jefferson was a man who, in middle age, embarked on a long-term affair with a teenaged girl who was his slave and property, who became his slave and property by virtue of being brought by his wife into their marriage.
His wife, in turn, had received the young woman as a gift from her father, who begat her (the slave girl) upon his own slave mistress. So, in addition to being his wife’s property, she was her half-sister.
The children Jefferson got upon his teen-aged slave and mistress were held, in turn, as Jefferson’s slaves and property until his death.
So I don’t give a single rat’s ass about anything Jefferson has to say when the topic is race. F*ck him.
BOB, you appear to be of the opinion that black people are inferior to whites. F*ck that as well.
I can’t tell you who to sock it to.
Noonan
I know I’m going to be branded a corporate sellout for even raising the issue, but I’d like to know how much of this from Kos, Dean and Hamsher is about the issue and how much of this is about their issue getting axed. Yes, the bill would be better with a public option, yada yada. But this feels like bruised egos more than reasoned grassroots leadership.
rachel
@Napoleon: Thanks, that looks like it’ll be useful.
John S.
Isn’t that what purity tests are all about?
Scott Parkerson
Nate Silver’s posts on HCR are indispensable. They are *almost* an antidote to the butthurt emanating from the progressive purists.
Svensker
One of my wingnut friends is on about the French being surrender monkeys. How long, oh Lord, how long?
I’m going to go decorate my house and wrap presents.
Brian J
@Jean:
What do you mean?
J.
Synchronized cat napping. I’m thinking new Olympic sport.
(Hey, someone had to pick up the slack. No pictures of Tunch or Lily or someone else’s adorable pet… again?! Sigh.)
jibeaux
@Noonan:
See #20 of Nate Silver’s questions.
Brick Oven Bill
Book Ratings.
Edward Kennedy: True Compass
Number Twenty
Glenn Beck: Arguing with Idiots
Number Seven
:)
Glenn needs better book-covers though. He has become too powerful to be dressing up like a Soviet officer.
J.
Btw, re the Health Care Bill, I thought David Axelrod made some good points on “Morning Joe” this morning.
@Noonan, to answer your (rhetorical?) question, it’s ALL about ego.
danimal
I’m so bitterly disappointed in the HCR debate because I really thought that Democrats had learned not to make the perfect the enemy of the good this time. The HCR debate is about saving people’s lives and preventing bankruptcies, not advancing an agenda or sticking it to Holy Joe and the Blue Dogs. It’s not perfect, but it will help a lot of people. Including me and my pre-existing condition, dammit.
When the Kennedy tributes were flowing, one story was telling to me: he talked about his regret for not passing a health care bill while Nixon was in office. Apparently the liberals thought a better bill could be passed after he left office.
Nixon’s out of office now.
PanAmerican
@Thoroughly Pizzled:
It worked so well against Holy Joe.
Will
I repeat: Matt Welch gets all of his healthcare from FRANCE.
http://reason.com/archives/2009/12/07/why-prefer-french-health-care
Steeplejack
@Shawn in ShowMe:
Hell to the yes. I yield to no man–okay, maybe JK–in my love for the Fab Four’s music, and in fact later today I am going to snag the remastered boxed set with a 25% off coupon from B&N.
But I digress. Yeah, Beatles Rock Band looks good. I just got back from GamePro.com, where I was looking at an article on the “28 best Wii games,” and BRB was No. 11. My question is: what extra peripherals does it require? Some sort of plastic guitar or something? I don’t want to be like that lame aunt back in the day who always gave you a frustrating “missed it by that much” present, like an add-on pack for some game that you didn’t have yet or an inadequate version of something you really wanted, e.g., starter set of Lincoln Logs where all you could build was an outhouse.
But, damn, just reading the GamePro article sort of got me fired up and thinking about a Wii. I have resolutely avoided a gaming console because I already spend so much of my time sitting in front of a computer. And the games are addictive. The last one that I really immersed myself in–and I am really dating myself–was Half-Life (on the PC), and it was almost scary how much time I spent on that. Plus I know the games now are so far beyond that it would be like going from pot to crack.
JenJen
Bengals receiver Chris Henry has died, per ESPN and MSNBC.
:-(
jibeaux
@Will:
Is there something in glibertarian water that allows you to say, “I get my healthcare in France, and honestly it’s better, and our system is really pretty screwy. You really have to empathize with people who can’t get coverage here. Also, I oppose ObamaCare.”
I mean, is calling this magazine “reason” some sort of sick joke?
SGEW
@jibeaux: It’s an honored tradition; it’s not irony, it’s doublethink. After all, Pravda, which was the propaganda clearing-house for the Soviet Union, literally means “truth.” I think that Reason follows the same principle.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Steeplejack:
Hehe.
Comrade Mary
Technology bleg: I’m considering switching from a bare-bones Blackberry to an iPhone. I know I’ll love the bigger screen, can take or leave the apps, but what’s crucial to me is how well it performs as a phone.
I use my crackberry for business, but when I work in my home office, I have it forwarded to my land line, so I receive calls and make outgoing calls from there. It currently costs me $3/month and is worth it because the Blackberry sucks-diddley-sucks as a phone.
So if I get the iPhone, can I just forget about forwarding because it sounds decent?
Will
@jibeaux:
Definitely.
Hunter Gathers
@Brick Oven Bill: It seems more people prefer Morman Vampires and the un-edited ramblings of an Alaskan grifter to Beck’s ripoff of Stephen Colbert’s I Am America (And So Can You!).
jibeaux
@SGEW:
And Balloon Juice is actually inconsistently wrong! It all makes sense now.
Hunter Gathers
@jibeaux:
That sound suspiciously similar to this:
Is Matt Welch secretly Bender from Futurama?
Shawn in ShowMe
@Steeplejack
Well, my cousin already had peripherals he bought for a previous Rock Band game so I’m assuming he can use the same ones. I’d ask the salesperson which Rock Band peripherals work with the Beatles game if you want to be sure. The custom peripherals that are being sold with this game cost too damn much.
jibeaux
Also, does anyone listen to the Stuff You Should Know podcast? I like it. So they had a little bit about Guinea Bissau on the most recent one, and it was fascinating. Did you know that Guinea Bissau is literally run by Colombian druglords, who control the military, and assassinated the president? It’s not the usual story of government sort-of-battling-sort-of-corrupted by drug traffickers with varying degrees of effectiveness — it is that there is NO government. In other words, libertarian paradise! If you can’t get into Somalia, guys, this place is definitely a solid second!
rachel
This is why I want the basil:
Pesto alla Trapanese for two
Bring salted water to rolling boil, covered, in large pot.
Toast
in a dry skillet until fragrant.
Process them in a food processor or blender until smooth with
stopping and scraping down the sides as needed.
With the machine running, slowly add
Process until the mixture is emulsified.
Cook
until al dente. Drain pasta (reserving some of the cooking water to thin the sauce) and put it back in the cooking pot. Add pesto and toss to coat the noodles. Thin the sauce, if necessary, and serve with more grated cheese as desired.
*If you don’t have Tabasco sauce, you may use ¼ tsp vinegar and pinch of red pepper flakes.
I hope to Tunch the blockquote works.
jwb
@John S.: Except the teabaggers, for all the comedy they inspire, are far more effective than our guys.
K. Grant
I have decided to ignore most of the blather about the health care debate (except for those morsels offered here), and instead will focus on Ancient Rome. I will be teaching a class on Ancient Rome in the Spring and need to finish my reading list (which grew far more extensive than I had planned).
Thus, today’s fun and frolic focuses on Sallust’s ‘the Jugurthine War’ and the ‘Conspiracy of Catiline’. If Sallust has anything to do say about health care, I will let you know.
Ah, and as far as Wii games go, the latest iteration of Zelda is extremely cool.
For your listening pleasure – and to get a great song that while about breaking up, actually fits the general mood about all things political – Modest Mouse ‘Black Cadillacs’.
jibeaux
Or maybe Matt Welch is just trying to be constructive, acknowledging the health care crisis and trying to add another right-wing solution to the list that includes “lower taxes”, “don’t get sick”, and “try to become a billionaire”: “Marry a European!”
sparky
@Comrade Mary:
i travel up and down the east coast and here are my observations after a year of iphone use.
it’s totally a function of the AT&T coverage where you use the device.
in south florida, the coverage (voice and 3g) is great.
in between there and say, Delaware, not so much (not via I95).
in NYC it varies, and there is a real problem apparently with too many users hogging the data stream. (yeah i know, AT&T’s problem, but still).
upshot: if you have good AT&T coverage where you are it’s ok, if not and you really need good reliable tel, i’d skip it.
three other things–apple’s bluetooth sucks. period.
if you do get an iphone, i’d suggest a headset of some sort. it’s really a pain to have to try to “press 1” on an iphone if you are speaking through the handset.
lastly, the device does have a fairly high call drop rate. members of the apple borg claim it’s AT&T but frankly it seems more like a device issue.
flames, anyone?
jwb
@Comrade Mary: I don’t have an iPhone, but my wife does. In my limited usage, the iPhone sounds better than my crap cell and it’s on par with the cordless land line phones we have. Some people have had a lot of problem with dropped calls, but from your standpoint I think that would depend on how good AT&T’s coverage is at your office.
Randy P
@rachel:
Our basil has been doing reasonably well, so long as it gets water. It’s a thirsty thing and dries up really quickly. And at times it’s been in some fairly shady places in the house.
Brian J
@Comrade Mary:
To me at least, phones are phones. For the most party, they work pretty well, although I guess yours doesn’t. The thing about the iPhone is that the browser is far and away better than anything else I’ve seen. I don’t know if that makes a difference to you, but for me, it’s a deal breaker. I can’t imagine another phone having a better browser.
Randy P
Department of Crumbling (literally) Infrastructure: I was driving in to Philadelphia this morning, on Rte 291 where it goes under Route 76 (the Schuykill expressway). Noticed a couple of workmen inspecting a support post for I-76 and took a glance at it as I passed.
First impression: Wow, the concrete is really crumbled there, glad somebody’s on the ball.
Second impression: Holy *$&(#*$!!! The concrete on every single post is crumbling or cracked wide open! What the *$&#(* is holding up the Schuykill?
When the Minnesota bridge collapsed, I’d heard a statement that Philly-area bridges were all in bad shape, but I’d never actually noticed any of the issues before. Now I’m going to be glancing nervously upward everytime I drive under this overpass.
Kilks
@JenJen
I just saw that about Chris Henry. What a tragic and bizarre story.
Will
If I see one more self-styled “progressive” bitch and moan about the individual mandate (you know, the one that has been part of whatever bill was going to emerge this entire time, the one they never complained about before), without even mentioning the massive amount of subsidies being provided for low and middle income workers, I am going to blow something up. Probably my toaster.
Hunter Gathers
@Will: You might want to ignore most of the ‘progressive’ blogs for the next week. Brain matter can permanently stain your carpet.
Oh, and can I just come out and say that I HATE the term ‘progressive’. You are liberals dammit! Stop using a new term to decribe yourself because people over the age of 60 equate that term with DFH’s. If you have already lost the battle over language, you have lost the war completely.
Comrade Mary
Thanks, iPhone addicts! I’m not on AT&T, but have a handful of Canadian carriers to choose from. But if the handset is capable of sounding decent on a strong carrier, then I should be fine.
God, hell is browsing BJ or any other web site on a Blackberry. The screen is soooooo tiny.
russell
That works.
But being the true lefty that I am, I require that the government provide us all with spouses or partners from our preferred EOC nation if we are unable to secure one for ourselves.
Steeplejack
@Shawn in ShowMe:
Thanks. And I assume the game box might say what peripherals are needed (or suggested). Guess I gotta read up on all this a bit.
Will
@jibeaux:
I’m waiting for the Reason “Mooch Off France” BIG IDEA column.
jibeaux
@Hunter Gathers:
If you wanna split that hair, to me progressive and liberal have distinct meanings. They overlap the majority of the time, but to me progressive is not a euphemism for liberal. Granted, it’s probably not a distinction most people make.
Jean
@Brian J: I just meant that your posts don’t make me depressed. So I’m stickin with you. But also, Al has a good post up at The Field, just as I was thinking of him.
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield
CynDee
@jacy: There is still something for you. Read Jane Austen and rent “Singin’ in the Rain.”
But first, watch this, which was posted by some wonderful person on BJ the other day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRobryliBLQ
licensed to kill time
my reply arrow comes and goes like the winds of change
here today gone tomorrow
conspiracy?