Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

The gop couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

Fuck that bum, let’s go Joe!

Democrats are back in array!

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

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

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Never forget that he train is barreling down on Trump, even as he dances on the tracks.

It’s a new day. Light all those Biden polls of young people on fire and throw away the ashes.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

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

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Not all heroes wear capes.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

“Joe Biden deserved better than he got from some folks in his own party.”

Shut up, hissy kitty!

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Reader Interactions

250Comments

  3. 3.

    schrodinger's cat

    John, thanks for this wonderful blog with thoughtful, smart posts. Just one more request this being Christmas and all,
    Tunch photo with antlers! A gift to us all, that will bring us immense joy and happiness.

  4. 4.

    Midnight Marauder

    And I’m sure one of you delicate flowers will decide this is a personal attack on you.

    WHAT DO YOU HAVE AGAINST MARAUDERS WHO RIDE AT MIDNIGHT, JOHN COLE?!

  6. 6.

    fizzlogic

    I saw Avatar in 3D last night and it was pretty cool. I sat a bit closer to the screen than I usually do for regular movies. Maybe that’s why it came through so awesome.

  7. 7.

    General Winfield Stuck

    For anything other than the usual crap

    CORPORATIST SELLOUT!!

    Oh, and Merry Christmas to all., Trolls included.

  8. 8.

    Max

    Merry Christmas to Me!

    I just read that Tim Robbins is back on the market.

    I got first dibs, ladies.

    But, he’s a little old for me in the long term. I just want him for the short term and then he’s all yours.

  9. 9.

    Short Bus Bully

    How dare you… (running out of outrage due to XMas season) not provide me with more outrage!

    A pox on grumpy cat owners.

    =)

    But happy holidays either way.

    WOOT!

  12. 12.

    comrade scott's agenda of rage

    And I’m sure one of you delicate flowers will decide this is a personal attack on you.

    I. Am. Outraged.

    I’ll think I’ll go appear on Fox and Friends as consolation.

    Tunch photo with antlers!

    John has never struck me as a risk taker. Since he’s convinced Tunch wants to smother him in his sleep, this probably wouldn’t be good for John’s longterm outlook on, well, living.

  13. 13.

    A Mom Anon

    Well,my husband got a new job with a HUGE bump in pay. He starts Jan 11. YAY!

    The only crapola part is that the new employer only pays 150 dollars a month toward health insurance. Which means that big bump in pay ain’t quite so big. BUT it’s still a bump up.

    The Husband has also promised to take me and the kiddo to Yosemite this coming summer when he gets his vacation. I’ve wanted to go there forever,now I get to. I did a happy dance today for the first time in a very long time.

  16. 16.

    R-Jud

    I am making a paper chain for the Christmas tree. It’s very soothing, Cole, you should try it.

    Course, the rum might be helping, too.

    +2.

  17. 17.

    Guster

    Are there any Indians among us? I mean sub-continent Indians, not Native American Indians.

    I’ve got a few dumb questions–none of them about Health Care Reform.

  18. 18.

    donovong

    @A Mom Anon: Congratulations!!!

    And when you go to Yosemite, be sure to allow for a couple of days or more if you can. It is, hands down, the most beautiful place on the planet. I have actually asked that my kids dump my ashes there when the time comes.

  19. 19.

    WaterGirl

    I have a question for the mac people…
    My macbook pro is my main computer, but I am taking my macbook air on my 2-week trip, leaving tomorrow.

    I want to sync a few specified folders between the two macs, and I should tell you that I have stupidly added new files to both computers since I originally copied the folders to the macbook air a few months ago.

    Any suggestions for the best way to do this?

  22. 22.

    Rex

    JC: A few months ago you mentioned that The Killer Angels was a great book. I recently started reading it and I have you to thank for the intense lack of sleep that I am feeling over the past few days as I find myself needing to read “just a couple more pages” for two hours before I can fall asleep. Consider this a Festivus airing. Thanks, Cole.

  23. 23.

    Dreggas

    @A Mom Anon:

    FWIW King’s Canyon beats Yosemite any day of the week. It’s less crowded and the camping is excellent especially at the last campground in the canyon, it’s in a cedar grove.

  24. 24.

    martha

    I did something really fun this week–I took a class and learned how to make blown glass ornaments (both glass balls and icicle drop style ones). Lots of hot fire, molten glass, a bit of panic when it was time to either blow them up or pull the molten glass into shape, and searing heat, but they turned out pretty well. Now, I want to make lots more. That is all.

  25. 25.

    D-Chance.

    I love it when bloggers will proudly blog about not blogging on a subject… there’s just that delicious META arrogance amid the hypocrisy of it all.

    “I won’t talk about it, but I want that Memeorandum link that only comes from talking about it. So…. I’ll do a workaround by talking about not talking about it.”

    Excellent.

  27. 27.

    WaterGirl

    @arguingwithsignposts: Really sweet picture! Am I crazy, or does Smudge already look bigger and older than she was when you got her?

    I have never had a kitten – do they really change that fast?

  28. 28.

    A Mom Anon

    @donovong: Oh we WILL be spending a week there,lol. We went to N.CA to see the coastal redwoods on ’07,I cried like a little kid on the flight home. I didn’t want to leave. The Husband will probably have to pry me off the floor of Yosemite Valley to get me back to the airport.

  29. 29.

    Redshirt

    Attention Lost fans! You have about 1 month to catch up, or refresh yourself on past seasons! The final season starts at the beginning of February.

    If you were thinking of jumping on the Lost bandwagon, now’s the time – you don’t want to miss this last season.

  30. 30.

    Mark S.

    All right, this is only tangentially concerning the taboo topic, but I really wondered how legal the deal with Nelson was. Apparently, I’m not the only one:

    In a move being made by other states, Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell called for legal action Wednesday if Nebraska receives more Medicaid money than the other 49 states as part of the national health care bill. Rell wrote a letter to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal regarding a provision inserted into the massive federal legislation that would fully fund Medicaid for the home state of Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat. The provision has been widely reported as part of the many deals struck to reach a compromise on health care. Across the country, attorneys general in at least seven states are voicing similar concerns about the Nebraska compromise and questioning its legality.

  32. 32.

    calipgyian

    But I figured I’d get on record now saying that I think CPAC is making a big mistake inviting the John Birch Society to join the effort.

    Is Jonah just a big stupid piece of shit, or is he the biggest, stupidest piece of shit on the intertubes?

    That he can write this after writing the very serious, thoughtful, argument that has never been made in such detail or with such care that serves as the modern day Bircher Manifesto makes me want to punch someone in the throat. Probably myself for reading the Corner every day.

  33. 33.

    YankeeApologist

    I, for one, am not a delicate flower.

    I am a beautiful and unique snowflake.

    My mom and twin bro just flew in from NYC, but I’m still waiting on them, because they weren’t allowed to deplane in Dallas on time, therefore missing the connecting flight to Austin.

    In other news, I have no idea why the well-run and tightly organized airline industry is doing so badly.

  34. 34.

    Dreggas

    @Mark S.:

    it would be nice to see my state start legal action against the feds for all the money we don’t see back from them that goes to other states all the time…aka red-state welfare.

  35. 35.

    jenniebee

    @Rex: Whew, now that book is a great lesson in why good novel writing is different from good script writing. The adaptation from Killer Angels to Gettysburg was basically to change

    “interesting statement,” said Buford

    to:

    BUFORD: interesting statement

    and then do that about a thousand more times. And the book was good, but the movie stunk on ice.

  36. 36.

    ellaesther

    Am I really the only one in my wee little intertrons-verse awaiting the Shi’ite holy day of Ashura (this coming Sunday) with bated breath? Because Grand Ayatollah Montazeri — Iran’s foremost religious scholar, an 87 year old dissident cleric who recently declared the Islamic Republic neither Islamic nor a Republic but “mere dictatorship” — happened to die exactly 7 days before Ashura, so his first big commemoration will coincide precisely with the commemorations of the martyrdom of the Imam Hussein? A day absolutely fraught with meaning and socio-political significance for Iranians?

    I honestly can’t understand why there’s been so little discussion of this, that I’ve seen anyway, as it’s like the universe sent up a great big flare, reading: Enormous Event About to Unfold!

    Just me? Ok then.

    /Mideast nerd.

    (Just in case you are also awaiting Ashura with bated breath, and/or have no idea what the fuck I’m going on about, here’s what the fuck I’m going on about).

  40. 40.

    Guster

    @freelancer: That’s a great post. You don’t often find the answer to _two_ important questions in the same place. The shuttle makes a double sonic boom? Who knew?

  44. 44.

    GReynoldsCT00

    DO YOU MEAN I CAN’T GRIPE ABOUT HEALTHCARE ON THIS THREAD? I CALL GRIEVANCES GOOD SIR!

    and take it easy with the Jesus key too, will ya?

  45. 45.

    GReynoldsCT00

    DO YOU MEAN I CAN’T GRIPE ABOUT HEALTHCARE ON THIS THREAD? I CALL GRIEVANCES GOOD SIR!

    and take it easy with the Jesus key too, will ya?

  46. 46.

    comrade scott's agenda of rage

    @WaterGirl:

    We foster. Answer is yes. At 8 weeks, they puff balls. At 12-16 weeks, they’re lanky. By 6 months, they start looking like cats, still small, still clumsy.

  47. 47.

    El Cid

    I’m sure one of you delicate flowers will decide this is a personal attack on you.

    Yeah, well FUCK YOU TOO PAL.

  49. 49.

    calipgyian

    @ellaesther:

    I honestly can’t understand why there’s been so little discussion of this, that I’ve seen anyway, as it’s like the universe sent up a great big flare, reading: Enormous Event About to Unfold!

    No, it’s you and Michael Ledeen. I don’t automatically discount everthing that scumbag says, just most things.

    But events in Iran do seem to be coming to a head and its getting lost in the shuffle.

  53. 53.

    Dreggas

    @ellaesther:

    Count me in on that one. Watching what has been going on in Persia has some major implications and I am glad Sully has covered it so well.

  54. 54.

    calipygian

    We’ll have more time to discuss this later, I’m sure. But I figured I’d get on record now saying that I think CPAC is making a big mistake inviting the John Birch Society to join the effort.

    That Jonah Goldberg can write this at the Corner after writing the modern day equivalent of the Bircher Manifesto beggars belief.

  57. 57.

    ellaesther

    @Dreggas: Well, yes, Sullivan! I suppose I should have mentioned him.

    But honestly, he blogs with such ferocious frequency, that I often miss whatever the thing was that he blogged about 5 posts ago…!

    But yes, Sullivan is on it.

  58. 58.

    PTirebiter

    Today, Grover Norquist and I are calling for an investigation into Rahm Emanuel’s activities at Freddie Mac, and the White House’s blocking of an Inspector General who would look into it. Jane Hamsher

    I like this plan, and I’m proud to be a part of it. But the next time some God asks me if I’m a Democrat, I may hedge.

  59. 59.

    James Hare

    @WaterGirl:

    You might also try Sync Folders Automator Action
    I have also used rsync (in a terminal) to synchronize two iTunes Music Folders across a WAN link (I wasn’t sure whether the automator action would be bandwith-friendly).
    Using rsync or the automator action should allow you to do a two-way sync so both folders have the exact same contents. The automator action is more user-friendly, rsync is more powerful. If you’re scared of the command line, rsync is not the tool for you.

    I also second the dropbox suggestion. I just tend to use utilities I control locally in most cases from a combination of paranoia and force of habit.

  60. 60.

    Comrade Dread

    Well, we could start another 400 post thread war on abortion or teh gheys, just to really bring out the emotions.

    Instead, as I have been promoted to Lt. Colonel in the 101st Reindeer Brigade of Santa’s army, I will wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a special shoutout to Independence Day…

    Santa’s coming for you next, you smug bastard, so get ready to take a bottle rocket up the… you know.

  61. 61.

    Zzyzx

    Well the good news is that Dkos is starting to get to the second phase of the circular firing squad, the one where we’re all like, “Yeah, we aren’t very good at this politics thing, are we?” and start making jokes about the all of the infighting. A few people try to keep it going and they’re getting everyone laughing at them.

    Yeah it doesn’t take much to get us to start fighting but we do it so often that it doesn’t cause the same rifts that it would otherwise…

  67. 67.

    Svensker

    Who you calling delicate flower, asshole? she queried.

    Or something like that.

    I don’t wanna read about politics and war and stuff. Just want to bake and listen to Handel interspersed with Irma Thomas and some frigging brilliant backup piano. Cheering me the hell up.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqWQCoXGy20

  71. 71.

    Mojotron

    In case you were wondering what the Gary Oldman character from the Fifth Element was up to nowadays

    Who benefits from Senate healthcare? ACORN!

    A legal scholar says the Senate healthcare bill is not only stuffed full of racial quotas and preferences, but it also gives the disgraced liberal activist group ACORN opportunities to receive funding from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

    Harry Reid’s (D-Nevada) “manager’s amendment” in the Senate healthcare bill requires that six federal agencies each establish an “Office of Minority Health.” Under that requirement, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is supposed to award grants and contracts to organizations that are “indigenous human resource providers in communities of color” and engage in “community outreach activities” — the type of work ACORN says it has been doing for years.

    Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, says scandal-plagued ACORN — the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now — is exactly the kind of organization that will be applying for and receiving these federal funds.

    “It illustrates this wrong assumption that’s all throughout this huge bill, and that is there are all these racial preferences and racial quotas everywhere in it,” he explains. “There’s this whole assumption by the left that the disparities in healthcare have to do with the racial background of doctors — something that is completely untrue — and it’s these kinds of things that in fact may worsen healthcare across the country.”

  73. 73.

    El Cid

    Today’s weird news:

    *********************************

    5 held hostage at rural Virginia post office

    (AP) – 19 minutes ago

    WYTHEVILLE, Va. — An armed man in a wheelchair took five people hostage Wednesday at a post office in a small, rural town, forcing officials to cordon off a three-block area of a downtown filled with holiday shoppers.

    Shots were fired, but there were no reports of injuries. The man made no demands other than to ask for a pizza, said Pete Rendina, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

    Rendina said the man was in a wheelchair and missing part of his leg, but he had no other information. Postal inspectors from Roanoke and Charleston, W.Va., were at the scene.

    Virginia State Police sent in a SWAT team and a bomb technician, and police at the scene told the Wytheville Enterprise the man had five pounds of a common plastic explosive strapped to his chest. State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller would not confirm that…

  75. 75.

    Midnight Marauder

    @mcc:

    That kind of seems like a “last 400 threads” discussion to me.

    Are you be that surprised when it comes from the same person who wrote this upthread:

    I love it when bloggers will proudly blog about not blogging on a subject… there’s just that delicious META arrogance amid the hypocrisy of it all.
    __
    “I won’t talk about it, but I want that Memeorandum link that only comes from talking about it. So…. I’ll do a workaround by talking about not talking about it.”

    No, you probably aren’t.

  76. 76.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    @JK:

    Obama interview with Jim Lehrer is now airing on the NewsHour

    Please tell me it doesn’t end with “…beam me up Scotty, there’s no intelligent life on this planet.“

  78. 78.

    Comrade Dread

    Wait, where’s my promotion? Will I always be a buck private in Santa’s Army?

    Yeah, and until you learn how to spread holiday cheer by screaming at baggers and checkers who say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, expect to remain on the naughty list.

  81. 81.

    WaterGirl

    @mm: Thanks for the suggestion! Looks like a good possibility for the future. Am I right in thinking it will NOT sync the two existing folders that are already in place on the two computers?

  86. 86.

    PurpleGirl

    Happy (whatever you celebrate) to all BJs. Peace and Joy to everyone.

    A friend and I started a tradition several years ago of going to a church service for Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning for the music. Tomorrow is a service at a Lutheran church and Christmas morning at an Episcopal church this year; we changed churches from year to year.

  87. 87.

    beltane

    @D-Chance.: Correction: Jane Hamsher and Grover Norquist are demanding Rahm Emanuel’s resignation. They are working as a team now.

    I never thought it would be possible, but someone has finally made me like Rahm Emanuel.

  91. 91.

    mm

    @WaterGirl:

    I’m not 100% sure, but I think it will sync the 2 folders so that the most recent versions of any file are kept and the older versions are overwritten.

  94. 94.

    schrodinger's cat

    My kitteh is sitting on my feet. It would make a great pic for
    the view from my sofa contest, but alas I no has a camera right now.

  105. 105.

    Comrade Jake

    @beltane:

    Jane Hamsher and Grover Norquist are demanding Rahm Emanuel’s resignation. They are working as a team now.

    Welome to the Brave New World.

  106. 106.

    kay

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    Did you read her statement?

    Grover Norquist is the director of a transparency foundation?

    Hmmm. That’s one way to describe what he does, I guess. Her statement itself is dishonest, and intended to mislead. She’s already corrupted, in her new role as fearless whistleblower, and it’s only been 96 hours.

  108. 108.

    James K. Polk, Esq.

    Jane Hamsher and Grover Norquist are demanding Rahm Emanuel’s resignation. They are working as a team now.

    It can be go timez nao?

  113. 113.

    WaterGirl

    @James Hare: Thanks for your suggestions. It’s definitely not the week for rsync – my brain seems to be working at about half capacity this week anyway, and I always get a bit flustered as I am getting ready for a trip, so that makes it worse.

    Maybe I will skip the synchronization before the trip and just make sure I copy the stuff that really matters to me right now: my music, my financial stuff, and all my photos of the kitty I just lost. I am just so used to having everything with me that I feel lost without it.

  114. 114.

    KDP

    Happy holidays (of whatever flavor) to everyone here.

    I am very grateful that this blog exists to provide an oasis of rational thought, amusing dialogue, and cheering pet pictures in my life.

    I wish all of you a healthy, happy and prosperous new year.

  115. 115.

    Rhoda

    Jane Hamsher is determined to create a Whitewater for Obama. This is such bullshit.

    Googling this story it’s obvious that Emmanuel was just collecting a check from a board and left the place when he ran for office. There is nothing there; but watch this become a main story in 2010 now.

    This woman is insane.

    The role of the 18-member board of directors, including Emanuel, was not addressed in the SEC’s public action but was heavily criticized by the oversight group (OFHEO) in 2003. The oversight report said the board had been apprised of the suspect accounting tactics but “failed to make reasonable inquiries of management.” The report also said board members appointed by the President, such as Emanuel, serve terms that are far too short “for them to play a meaningful role on the Board.”

    Sarbanes-Oxley came to remedy these abuses in the wake of compliant boards and the Enron type scandals that happened at Freddie/Fannie.

    Rahm hasn’t covered himself in glory; but I haven’t seen anything that suggests he’s a crook. In point of fact, the tribune couldn’t find him or Ickes or that third dude Clinton appointed even part of any of the working groups. Apparently, he was a “solid guy” who gave political advice. He did nothing that folks could find or document. He collected a check.

    She’s deliberately fighting to engulf this administration in investigations when there is so much important work that needs to get done.

    I mean wow. Grover’s been quite the last eight years for an effing reason, Jane. Maybe you should take note. There’s an open primary in 2016 likely, that’s when you push the base. That’s what the Republicans did.

    Shoot. It amazes me there are so many so called progressives determined to make Obama a one and done dude…another Carter. Because that’s what this play is all about. Not ethics.

  117. 117.

    comrade scott's agenda of rage

    @kay:

    Hmmm. That’s one way to describe what he does, I guess. Her statement itself is dishonest, and intended to mislead. She’s already been corrupted, in her new role as fearless whistleblower, and it’s only been 96 hours. since Day 1

    Fixited.

  118. 118.

    kay

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    I cannot believe anyone, anywhere, is promoting Grover “Jack Abramoff” Norquist as a good government crusader.

    I’m just speechless.

    I read the director of the AMA’s statement today, on Medicare expansion. Providers killed Medicare expansion. The AMA panicked at the prospect of Medicare rates for 55 and older, did a last ditch lobbying effort and flipped the Senate. The AMA head stated as much, this morning. Olympia Snowe said that, so I wasn’t surprised.

    Mystery solved.

  119. 119.

    R-Jud

    @Annie:

    Try the laser light. Kitties just go crazy over that…

    Ours go NUTS. My husband always provides an inner monologue for them: “You die tonight, Dot!”

  120. 120.

    mcd410x

    Shock and awe this, Cole.

    I can’t wait for the challenges to health care from those activist Republican judges. Also.

    Happy Festivus!

  121. 121.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Breaking News: Balloon Boy’s parents… will serve jail time… not much… but enough… to keep the helicopters… amused. If you think their punishment… should be… more severe… fax your credenza… to John Cole.

  122. 122.

    JK

    @Doctor Science:

    I’ve heard of the similarities between Avatar and Call Me Joe leading me to wonder if Cameron was influenced by Anderson’s story and simply chose not to acknowledge it.

  123. 123.

    schrodinger's cat

    @Guster:
    What do you want to know? Fire away. I have to warn you that I haven’t gone back to the old country in quite a while so my knowledge may be dated.

  124. 124.

    AkaDad

    And I’m sure one of you delicate flowers will decide this is a personal attack on you.

    Have a good Christmas John, then die in a fire.

  127. 127.

    BR

    @Rhoda:

    Seriously.

    Someone else pointed out the maybe-obvious: Hamsher, who claims to be always working hard for the progressive cause of getting a public option in the hcr bill, has now decided that the path of righteous progressivism goes through an alliance with grover to not only get rahm to resign but to have criminal charges brought against him.

  128. 128.

    And Another Thing...

    In the interests of maintaining perspective…this blast from the past…cribbed from Wonkette

    THE BUSH DECADE: “I couldn’t imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah.” — George W. Bush at a White House menorah lighting ceremony, December 10, 2001.

  129. 129.

    John O

    @James K. Polk, Esq.:

    Great post, John. I try to be nice. Merry Christmas to you and your crew, and all the funny smart commenters out here too.

    I’m assuming this Hamsher-Norquist thing is actually true from subsequent comments, but I haven’t seen anyone wonder if her cancer is back.

    A person might do some strange things they might not otherwise given a death sentence on a pet issue. Am I the only who has wondered what I would do given a death sentence?

    *sticking toe gently into water*

    I’m a big fan of Jane, and I think she’s done far more harm than good, and is getting the business end of this weird human thing wherein someone gets crucified for not thinking or behaving exactly as WE think they should. She’s a fighter, period, and has done a lot more than my sorry ass.

  130. 130.

    scudbucket

    @Rhoda: Jane Hamsher is determined to create a Whitewater for Obama.

    The woman, as Stuck said, has lost her fucking mind. It’s one thing to think the bill sucks Zombie teat, but to go postal the way she has indicates a new form of adventurously suicidal political pathology that text-book studies can’t account for. That, or she’s getting a boatload of juice from (what was once) the enemy.

  131. 131.

    Mnemosyne

    @JK:

    It wouldn’t be the first time. They had to go back and give Harlan Ellison a story credit on The Terminator because Cameron “forgot.” Well, that and Ellison is a litigious asshole on whose wrong side you don’t want to get.

  132. 132.

    CaseyL

    TPM has a new article up about the CSPAN caller who choked up when he thought all his prayin’ for a Senator to die had backfired and killed Inhofe rather than Byrd. As delicious as it was to think the loon was for reals, there is very strong evidence that he was, as first suspected, a prankster. Apparently he made a similar emotional call to David Brooks last month or some such thing. Lookee here:

    http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/was-c-span-caller-a-prankster—-and-has-he-done-it-before.php?ref=fpb

    In other news, I am so sick of Jane Hamsher I wish she’d go back to Hollywood where OOT poutrage is always in fashion. FDL now joins TalkLeft and MyDD on my Do Not Want list (except for TBogg, though he better get off the kill-the-bill hobbyhorse, too!).

  133. 133.

    Delia

    @A Mom Anon:

    Congratulations and this is for planning your Yosemite trip. The Valley floor is hot and crowded in the summer and the camping there sucks. Also, you need camping reservations about two years in advance. But if you enter the park from the west (coming from Fresno) there’s a really nice campground a bit of a drive off the main road. I can’t remember the name, but it should be on the maps. I stayed there with my daughter and her friend about ten years ago. It’s at about 7,000 ft elevation, so it stays cool at night. It’s first come first served, so you should arrive around noon to get a good spot.

    King’s Canyon is very nice, too, and is close by, if you’ve got the time.

  134. 134.

    kay

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    “After endorsing the Senate legislation at a news conference on Monday with the Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, Dr. Cecil B. Wilson, the president-elect of the American Medical Association, took credit for securing several last-minute changes in the bill to protect doctors from various payment cuts or fees. Among other things, Dr. Wilson said, the A.M.A. had enlisted its network of physicians around the country to protest the short-lived proposal to let people over 55 buy into Medicare, which pays fees the A.M.A. considers too low.”

    Now I’m going, before I ruin the evening :)

  136. 136.

    Martin

    This is interesting for the ‘why do our newspapers hate us’ crowd here.

    Its a short piece about the implications of Josh Marshall building out his little media outfit now that he has investors:

    My friend’s point was: here is an editor, who built and owns his publication, who is now going to be the editor-owner, who will employ the publisher. For those of you who have worked at any sort of publication, the implications of this are staggering.

    Consider it my latest dart thrown in favor of substantive discussion and less bitching about the usual shit.

  137. 137.

    gbear

    CRAP!! DAMN!! You know what really sucks? What really burns my buttons? Not getting to comment on an open thread until there are literally hundred of comments before mine!! How am I supposed to have any impact here?? I’m pissed and I can barely type because my hands are literally shaking with rage!!

    I blame Obama. And the fact that I had to stock up on groceries before the snowstorm of the century buries everyone in the midwest. Just kill me now.

  138. 138.

    mr. whipple

    This woman is insane.

    Looks like some folks are catching on, although some will be true believers until the end.

  140. 140.

    James K. Polk, Esq.

    @A Mom Anon: Just outside of Yosemite to the north-east is Sonora Pass. If you get there after spring thaw, you can see the high Sierra Nevadas with little to no physical cost (and no crowds). If you get the chance, roll through the pass and take a look around at some of the most easily accessable high alpine meadows in California.

    And it’s free. If you get there when the wildflowers are out, it will knock your socks off. The high altitude makes the flowers bloom later than in the valley, often through June/July.

  143. 143.

    Cat Lady

    @Max:

    I just read that Tim Robbins is back on the market.

    You can have Tim and I’ll take Tom. I’ve loved him since Another Roadside Attraction, and it got a little embarrasing after Skinny Legs and All. The next house I live in will have a room with wolfmother wallpaper.

  145. 145.

    SenyorDave

    Years ago I took an exam where I had to know what ses ipsa loquitur was. It is Latin for “the thing speaks for itself,”, which is used in negligence cases.

    I think it applies to Hamsher working with Grover Nordquist.
    The fact she would work this being (I can’t call him a man, that implies that humanity of some sort) shows her mindset.

  147. 147.

    Martin

    @Rhoda:

    Career bomb-thrower throws bombs. Shocking.

    Jane can DIAF. I appreciate liberals pushing, but some of them devolve into this scorch the earth kind of mindset, and Jane has always been susceptible to that. It’s just not worth it. In that capacity she’s more like Erick Son of Erick Erickson than she realizes.

    By the time the climate change bill compromises and financial reform compromises have been recorded, she’ll be in full-on jihad mode against everyone except for Kucinich and Sanders.

  148. 148.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Amazon, you are my god:

    Despite being written in all caps and the somewhat higher than average price tag, this book has motivated me to stop slipping all the random women I sleep with, an average of about eleven a week, birth control pills in their drinks and then wear a two ply precautionary condom whilst having my way with them. This is obviously not what the Lord does want me to do.

  149. 149.

    Ruemara

    So I walk in after a long final day at work, with tons to do as the holiday starts and what do I find, the tv doesn’t work. No roommates, the mate is still unemp and I have no telly to play my dvds on. The gods better have some serious wonderful planned to make up for this ignoble start or this year’s saturnalia will be decidedly festivusian in aspect. Merry *bleeping* Festivus.

  153. 153.

    Something Fabulous

    @AngusTheGodOfMeat: These are my favorite thing. Almost part of why I moved to LA from the midwest: these big searing banks of saturated color growing everywhere cheer me right up. The purple are my favorite, but they’re all good. And, as you say, indestructible. Moo to you. (And beware o’ thorns.)

  155. 155.

    gogol's wife

    Happy Holidays to all you hilarious people, and especially to all the animals I have come to love through their virtual images: Lily, Tunch, Smudge, Charlie, etc., etc.

  156. 156.

    Martin

    Anyone every go camping in California’s white mountains up near the bristlecone pine forest? I was thinking of taking my son there next summer.

  157. 157.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @John O:

    She’s a fighter, period, and has done a lot more than my sorry ass.

    I have never been a Jane hater, and I always keep in mind her personal battles with a deadly disease. And I always respect people who fight. But we are in an eternal cage match of politics in this country, and the other side are some dangerous motherfuckers that you don’t make hay with, regardless of your passion, you just don’t. And if you do, you deserve all the riducule you get, in spite of personal or medical problems as mitigating factors.

    I wish our politics were not so completely polarized and fucked up as they are. But they are, and I see it as nothing less than a cold political civil war for the soul and reigns of this great country. It is side picking time, at least for the foreseeable future, and taking up with the sewer trout that is Grover Norquist is beyond the pale and then some. Besides being really really stupid. Now if her cancer has returned, that is a different matter, if it is making her act crazy. But it doesn’t seem so to me. It seems calculated and self absorbed. I really do hate to see it, because she is a fighter with courage, and though I don’t often agree with her, I have respected her for that.

  158. 158.

    jl

    Hey! Where is that grand old Balloon-Juice tradition of a pic of Tunch dressed up in Santa suit?

    I want my Santa Tunch!

    What gives, anyway? Cole turning into some kind of Grinch or something?

    I thougt this was a sports, pets, and food blog.

    Edit: this is my best effort at something no one has complained about before.

  161. 161.

    CaseyL

    Two news bits for Trekkers who love old and new Trek.

    1. On December 28, Mythbusters will test whether Kirk really could have made a cannon out of bamboo, saltpeter, and diamonds (a la TOS “Arena”). Tune in to YouTube for a preview:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OclaRDU0fNg&feature

    2. There are Trek fans, and then there are Trek slashers. ST: TOS, it should be noted, invented slash: the word itself is an abbreviation of “Kirk/Spock fanfic.” There are Trek slashers who are content with writing a story, or maybe putting together a few manipped images… and then there’s cirrocumulus and jiaren_shadow, who have gone so above and beyond they’re in a universe of achievement all their own. They took the whole 8 hour audiobook of Zachary Quinto reading the novelization of this summer’s ST reboot and edited it down to a 4 minute excerpt of Quinto reading a homoerotic scene between Kirk and Spock which is incredibly explicit AND incredibly funny. How they did it I. Do. Not. Know. (they say it took 2 months) but it’s become an internet sensation. Here is a link. Be warned: It is very very NSFW. And if slash bugs you, for the love of god do NOT go there:

    http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_startrek/1043908.html

  166. 166.

    Annie

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    The comments are priceless…laughed so loud that one of my purring monkeys jumped off my lap and walked away in a huff…no birth control for her, and let’s see how she likes it….

  167. 167.

    Doctor Science

    Mnemosyne @130:

    I didn’t know that about Terminator. The other half of Cameron’s plot appears to come from LeGuin’s The Word for World Is Forest. The thing is, though, that the Anderson story plus the LeGuin would have made a really good story together, yet Cameron’s script is (by all accounts) *way* less than the some of its putative parts.

    For example: Unobtainium. Science fiction: UR DOIN IT RONG.

    I am baffled by how it’s possible to spend $200 MILLION on a movie and not shell out for a good script.

  169. 169.

    Elisabeth

    @Martin:

    Well, Sanders has already felt the sting of Hamsher if only via some crappy email “petition” that I didn’t bother to open.

  171. 171.

    jl

    @Annie: purring monkeys, with birth control? What kind of monkeys?

    That sound like some heavy duty weird action there for a very Merry Christmas.

  173. 173.

    Elisabeth

    @Annie:

    Frannie likes the reflection from the silverware when I’m drying the dishes. Don’t know why. The laser does nothing for her but that flash from the silverware does. Maybe I just have cheap cats.

    Sam likes the twist ties from bread wrappers. (Of course, I’ve seen him playing with bits of paper so small I think he’s chasing ghosts. But he’s a former stray…)

  174. 174.

    Cat Lady

    Jane Hamsher = Orly Taitz. Rahm = birth certificate. She’s gone off on a mission, and that rarely ends well. If she doesn’t see that, then there’s nothing anyone can do but watch the pile-up and hope no one else gets hurt.

  175. 175.

    Chuck Butcher

    My wife always turns Xmas into a really large deal. Well, this year there won’t be Xmas. Grandbaby and mom are home with her parents (320 mi) for the holidays, just married son & daughter in law in FL (way lots of miles), all other family many miles, and the this spring death of other son means any motion in Holiday direction are just off. No lights, tree, presents – none of it.

    I wish all the best Holidays, keep in mind what you do actually have.

  176. 176.

    Davis X. Machina

    The woman, as Stuck said, has lost her fucking mind. It’s one thing to think the bill sucks Zombie teat, but to go postal the way she has…..

    How far down the line of presidential succession is the Secretary of State, anyways?

  177. 177.

    jl

    Hamsher is working with Grover Norquist for Emanuel’s resignation.

    I am hallucinating.

    Maybe this will get Hamsher as much time on the big TV as Norquist.

    Not sure what I think about this. Other than ballsy.

    Jane Hamsher, Grover Norquist Call for Rahm Emanuel’s Resignation

    http://firedoglake.com/2009/12/23/jane-hamsher-grover-norquist-call-for-rahm-emmanuel%e2%80%99s-resignation/

    Edit: I guess Norquist does not mind working with a ‘shrill left wing blogger’. What if he finds out Hamsher once wrote on FDL that her economics was rooted in Rockefeller Republican economics. Norquist will denounce her, since that makes her a commie!

  178. 178.

    R-Jud

    @Elisabeth: Zeno has just been evicted from the living room for having a go at the paper chain I’m making for the Christmas tree.

    Come to think of it, we’ve never had a Christmas tree in this house before (we are hosting for the first time since we got married). With two cats and a baby that crawls, it could get… interesting.

  180. 180.

    Leelee for Obama

    @ellaesther: I wasn’t aware of this coincidence, but I certainly would be surprised that others who follow this are not watching the Heavens for some sort of cosmic informational event. I didn’t know much about the man, but I thought his passing would be important when I heard about it. Going to read your linky now. Thanks, ellasesther.

  186. 186.

    Elisabeth

    @R-Jud:

    it could get… interesting.

    To say the least.

    I’ve had one tree with ornaments and a cat at the same time. I left for work the day after I put the tree up. I came home and several bulbs were broken on the floor and a strand of lights was crooked. So was the tree, for that matter.

    I had the ornaments, lights, and tree boxed up and put away in under an hour I was so pissed off. The whole time I was muttering to the cat, “I’m just trying to make Christmas special and to have a pretty tree, and you go and ruin it.”

    Of course, leaving a chair next to the tree had nothing to do with the adventures of Jack in the tree.

  187. 187.

    jl

    I don’t think it the Hamsher-Norquist odd bedfellows (Hamsher probably puke if she sees that) Rahm jihad will come to much.

    I have no problem with these kind of partnerships. If it makes a dent in the nitwit media narrative of stereotypical lefty versus ‘mainstream’ reactionary narrative, then it might do some good.

    If it doesn’t work or backfires, then time to reevaluate.

  188. 188.

    mr. whipple

    How far down the line of presidential succession is the Secretary of State, anyways?

    Heh. Not too obvious, is it?

  189. 189.

    Leelee for Obama

    @freelancer: You can read the article, or you can live here on the Space Coast and hear and feel the two booms, which will scare the crap out of you, if you didn’t watch the news that day!

  191. 191.

    Svensker

    @jeffreyw:

    My whipped cream-fu is weak.

    Are you sure that’s whipped cream and not the tragic aftermath of the Sta-Puft Man and a fire?

  197. 197.

    mcd

    Just found a post from 2003 with Cole lamenting the loss of Mountaineer Jessica Lynch. Good times!

    And Michael Moore is fat!

  204. 204.

    jl

    @John Cole: Where are the &^%@!$$$*Tunch Christmas pics? Dammit. I want my Tunchy Tunchy Christmas spirit.

    Stop the war on Tunchmas!

    How is that for complaining in the Christmas Spirit?

    I think fights are breaking out in the shopping mall parking across the street. Ho Ho Ho Meeerrrrrry Christmas, everyone!

  205. 205.

    Elisabeth

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    She’ll have some competition when Smudge grows up. How many times have you wanted to wash her head? I wanted to do the grandma thing and lick my thumb to get the “dirt” off. And I’m looking at a picture! (It’s been a looooong week.)

  206. 206.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Chuck Butcher: I am so terribly sorry about your loss. And I will not presume to wish you a “happy” or “merry” anything, but I do hope for you and your family that the season brings some measure of peace.

  208. 208.

    The Dangerman

    @A Mom Anon:

    The Husband has also promised to take me and the kiddo to Yosemite this coming summer when he gets his vacation.

    A little late to this Yosemite thread, but, depending upon the age of said kiddo, a hike to the top of Yosemite Falls or Glacier Point is a must. Spectacular valley views.

    Also, build an appetite and go to what is easily one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to in a little town called Mariposa. How a fine restaurant is in a little town is a story unto itself.

  209. 209.

    Martin

    @jeffreyw:

    Put the bowl and beater from your stand mixer in the freezer a goodly amount of time ahead of time (hours). Put your heavy cream in the freezer about a half hour ahead of time. Get it as close to freezing as you can short of freezing it.

    Mix cream, powdered sugar, vanilla or however you are flavoring, and put your mixer on 11. Give it a good 5-10 minutes. Stop short of butter. Shove the bowl back in the freezer for a spell to cool everything back down again while you prepare your pastry bag (I’m assuming that photo is from a pastry bag and not a CO2 charger, though it looks more like a charger, to be honest). Shove the pastry bag in the freezer for about 5 minutes and then load it.

    It seems like a lot, but once you get the routine down it all fits together quite nicely.

  212. 212.

    Corner Stone

    @R-Jud:

    I am making a paper chain for the Christmas tree. It’s very soothing, Cole, you should try it.
    …
    Course, the rum might be helping, too.

    I’ve been thinking about this a while. And I just can’t figure out what good use a rum soaked paper chain is.

  213. 213.

    Leelee for Obama

    @kay: So, how many of us who are over 55 and not 65 yet, who would have been coming to see those assholes, but maybe won’t be now, because we can’t get jobs so easily these days? I hear-tell that Medicaid pays less than Medicare-that was a genius move, I have to say.

    I have not been listening or watching much “news” the last couple days, so I missed this nugget. Thanks, kay.

  214. 214.

    And Another Thing...

    @Chuck Butcher: Your situation sounds particularly, and unusually lonely for you this year. Everybody deals with these things differently and there’s lot of free (& worth it) advice. So pamper yourself a bit. Do something that’s a bit against the rules. For me, that the effort to buy myself a special present, make the effort to fix a special meal, enjoy a fine book or movies I love. That’ll be something different for you..maybe a bottle of really good brandy or a tool or putter you’ve wanted for a long time. But this you must do..call your wife and tell her you miss her, and love her…and your son and his wife. Nobody does that enough.

    And a bunch of us will keep you specially in our thoughts.

    This blog is a feisty, invigorating place to hang out, and sometimes I get giggling because of the humor and inspired by the intelligence. You’re a significant part of that energy and community.

    So here’s to you and to our wonderful host John who are our valued friends.

    Merry Christmas Chuck,

    Cathy

  215. 215.

    Cain

    @Guster:

    Are there any Indians among us? I mean sub-continent Indians, not Native American Indians.

    Uh, I’m one.. what do you want to know?

    cain

  216. 216.

    Cain

    @Dreggas:

    t would be nice to see my state start legal action against the feds for all the money we don’t see back from them that goes to other states all the time…aka red-state welfare.

    What you got to do is somehow get the teabaggers in California agitating about their taxes going to other teabaggers in the welfare red states. That should be a hoot.

    cain

  219. 219.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Chuck Butcher: I am so sorry about your son, Chuck. My deepest condolences.

    @jeffreyw: Sweet potato pie is one of my all-time favorites.

    Oh, and I know Cole was addressing ME in his remarks because he NEVER posts pics of Tunchie when I ask!

    JESUS KEY. I smell lexicon entry.

  221. 221.

    Cain

    @Chuck Butcher:

    My wife always turns Xmas into a really large deal. Well, this year there won’t be Xmas. Grandbaby and mom are home with her parents (320 mi) for the holidays, just married son & daughter in law in FL (way lots of miles), all other family many miles, and the this spring death of other son means any motion in Holiday direction are just off. No lights, tree, presents – none of it.

    May your spirit and your family be always strong and that a strong wind is always at your back. (and your bullets don’t miss ! :)

    cain

  222. 222.

    Leelee for Obama

    @Chuck Butcher: Chuck, I just feel for you and your wife. I hope things seem a bit better when this season moves on and thanks for the reminder to remember what we do have. It’s easy to forget and sometimes we need a righteous kick in the slats to stop bitching about the petty stuff.

  223. 223.

    R-Jud

    @Chuck Butcher: A friend of ours who always does Christmas in a huge way lost both her parents to illness and her brother to an accident this year. She’s opted to spend her Christmas working at a soup kitchen this year, and didn’t take the decorations or the cookie cutters or the what have you out of storage. I offered to fly her out here, but she said no thanks.

    Anyway, peace to you and your wife. I hope 2010 brings unexpected joys.

  224. 224.

    jakethesnake

    I think the similarity to “Call Me Joe” has been widely noted.
    The first thing I thought of when I saw the trailer was “The Word for World is Forest”. Considering Cameron’s history re “Terminator” and being sued by Harlan Ellison, I suspect he would be reluctant to admit anything.

  225. 225.

    Something Fabulous

    @arguingwithsignposts: This might sound strange, but be sure that you take some pictures which show her in relation to some objects of recognizeable scale. Then a year from now your mind can be blown: “she used to fit inside THAT?! I forgot! Awww…” etc etc.

  227. 227.

    Guster

    @Cain: @schrodinger’s cat:

    Thanks for responding! Okay, it’s a little silly, so apologies in advance, but here goes.

    I’m looking for foods that a fairly traditional (first generation) Indian-American mother might pack for school lunch for a middle-school child. Some fairly traditional food? Uthappam, if I’m spelling that right? Other ideas?

  229. 229.

    Mnemosyne

    @Doctor Science:

    I am baffled by how it’s possible to spend $200 MILLION on a movie and not shell out for a good script.

    When the director thinks he’s a brilliant screenwriter, that’s what you get stuck with. See also: Star Wars, suckitude of.

  230. 230.

    wasabi gasp

    My girlfriend thinks you’re “such a wonderful guy,” John Cole. (Her words in those quotes there, captain marvelous.) She said’m after I read her that post you wrote a few weeks back, the one about Lily laying on your chest. Jeez, talk about delicate, flower. Anyway, you made her cry with that post. Bastard. I make her cry too, ya’know. But when I do it, she does special things for me, like leave for the weekend. Bastard.

    Thing is, my girlfriend is always right. Her genius often eludes me, but she has assured me, she’s always right. And she is, about you. Bastard.

    Merry Christmas, John.

    Everybody else, have a nice time, too. Whatever.

  231. 231.

    Fern

    @Guster:

    Okay, I’m not south asian, but I do know that the food varies dramatically by region. Does this hypothetical mother come from any particular region of the country?

  232. 232.

    Delia

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    How, amongst all the weirdities of the known universe, did you happen upon that gem? Truly off into bizarro-land.

    @Martin:

    Anyone every go camping in California’s white mountains up near the bristlecone pine forest? I was thinking of taking my son there next summer.

    I was there a couple of times back about 30 years ago. It’s a very unique place and well worth the visit. The bristlecones don’t really create a forest in the sense we usually think of one, as they’re so gnarled and there’s so much space between them, but I believe they’re the oldest living things on the planet. Fantastic opportunities for photography.

  233. 233.

    Guster

    @Fern: No, I’ve got no idea of the region. I knew that matter, but … This is for a side character, and I thought, ‘why not make him Indian? They exist.’ But then he’s written exactly like a white kid and I thought, at least give him _one_ thing that’s ethnically specific …

  234. 234.

    schrodinger's cat

    @Guster:
    I just conferred with husband cat who is from south India (Utthapam is south Indian specialty) and he told me that Utthapam is restaurant food and would not be a school lunch box item.

  235. 235.

    moe99

    Chuck,
    As a long time lurker here, let me also extend my very best wishes to you as you weather a tough holiday season.

    I posted here a bit ago about being diagnosed with lung cancer back in Sept. Two tumors in the lower left lobe and one snaking around the mediastinal lymph node, which cut off my voice (the first clue something was wrong). I’ve had 3 chemo treatments since then but the cancer has spread to a sub clavicular lymph node, so they are changing chemotherapy from curative to palliative. The aim is simply to keep the cancer in stasis, since obviously killing it off is not working. Got the news today. At 57, I figured I would have a few more years with my three kids. But not so sure now. And to lose your voice when you’ve been singing with a choir for 18 years for the joy of it, and practicing as a trial attorney for 33, has been very hard on the spirit.

    I guess I’m just trying to say that we all have to go through tough times. You and I are right in the midst of them right now, aren’t we? I just hope your Christmas comes with some serendipity and that you find something positive from the holiday.

  240. 240.

    And Another Thing...

    @moe99: Well, pardon my French, but that just sucks. There is just nothing to be said…but that just sucks.

  243. 243.

    Guster

    @schrodinger’s cat: A novel. This one’s on spec, but I wanna get the details right.

    I always go back and forth about writing characters who aren’t just like me. On the one hand, hard as it is for me to believe, apparently there really _are_ people who aren’t just like me. But on the other hand, if they’re not just like me, I’m gonna screw up some basic stuff!

  249. 249.

    Corner Stone

    @R-Jud:

    Plus it adds that boozy smell which, for an Irish Catholic like me, just screams “Christmas”.

    I would think in that case it would scream “Tuesday”.
    Ha!

Comments are closed.