Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

No Kings: Americans standing in the way of bad history saying “Oh, Fuck No!”

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

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

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

This really is a full service blog.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

So many bastards, so little time.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

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

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

You are here: Home / Music / Open Thread At Eleven

Reader Interactions

63Comments

  4. 4.

    Luthe

    Jon Stewart just owned every glibertarian *EVER*. Can we have that segment played in schools as a civics lesson?

  5. 5.

    r€nato

    Synchronicity is one of the best. albums. ever. to listen to while stoned.

    That’s what I’ve been told, at least…

  8. 8.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @r€nato: I bought the album about 2 weeks before Every Breath You Take went into constant rotation on every radio station in the US. I have had trouble listening to it since then.

  9. 9.

    r€nato

    I was shocked to find out from Wikipedia that Zenyatta Mondatta was not well-thought of either by the band or by rock critics. It’s absolutely my 2nd favorite Police album, perhaps tied with Ghost In The Machine (which I never really liked quite as much as everyone else did).

  13. 13.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Zam: Thanks.

    Libraries are free, not like government programs…

    @r€nato I have it on vinyl. Skipping would be a pain.

  14. 14.

    Brick Oven Bill

    Stewart (Leibowitz) makes money with his Glenn Beck position. He should go on Beck’s show, or invite Beck to his. We all benefit from the free exchange of ideas.

    He won’t.

  15. 15.

    Brian J

    @Zam:

    I’m sure I’ve probably asked this before, but in the vein of the above comments, I’d like to ask how George Mason can have so many Libertarian economics professors. It’s a public university. Is there some sort of special exemption for public colleges that I am not aware of?

  16. 16.

    burnspbesq

    Never quite got into the Police. Their first couple of records came out when I was heavily into Elvis Costello and Talking Heads. Then I moved to Los Angeles for law school and started listening to unsigned local bands … like X, the Blasters, and Los Lobos.

  17. 17.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Brian J: As I understand it, GMU decided to build a reputation. So they went out and recruited. They have risen in the rankings, so it appears to have worked for them.

  18. 18.

    ajr22

    @Brick Oven Bill: Please Beck is to big of a coward to go on Stewart’s show. His ideas don’t really stand up against facts you know. Just like Palin would never go on because they don’t like people challenging their talkingpoints.

  19. 19.

    burnspbesq

    @Brian J:

    George Mason has always been like that. The law school is even worse.

    I’m convinced that Mason exists for the purpose of giving those dickheads a place to teach that isn’t UVa or VaTech. That way, the wingnuts in the Virginia Legislature won’t insist that they be hired by the real schools in Virginia as a condition of continued generous state funding.

    Oh, and Mason also exists to make the Final Four once a milennium.

    /snark

  20. 20.

    Luthe

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Stewart quoted the charter to the Boston Public Library, which discussed how community resources should be free to all for the common good. He pointed out that this sounded a lot like ::gasp:: COMMUNISM! Which Glenn Beck would never support, never ever.

  22. 22.

    Brian J

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I get why the school itself tolerates the economics department. I just don’t understand how a Libertarian can teach there. It’s like a PETA member trying to get a donation from the head of Tyson.

  26. 26.

    burnspbesq

    @apistat:

    Five Republicans actually did that. They will now be burned at the stake by teabaggers. This sort of apostasy cannot be allowed to stand. Infidels!

  31. 31.

    Brian J

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I don’t think that’s it. According to this link, the salaries aren’t anything ludicrous. Granted, I don’t know what professors at other schools make, but none of them look to be really out of whack.

  34. 34.

    flavored coffee lover

    Thanks for this. Used to LOVE the Police. Then I grew up. However, the music is still genius. ‘Tis funny, Sting in his 30’s was like an adonis. Now he looks like Dr. Zaius from Planet of the Apes. Pity

  37. 37.

    SIA

    @Tattoosydney: Hmmm. Surprisingly, some of his commenters don’t seem very bright.

    What a total disappointment you, Scott Smith, have turned out to be to millions of people who contributed to you and supported you

  38. 38.

    CJ

    @Ari:

    I look at his new stuff, then back to Outlandos, then back. . .what the hell man.

    I’m gonna go listen again, haven’t listened in a long time.

  39. 39.

    Brian J

    @Tattoosydney:

    How ironic that I am watching a repeat of “The Simpsons” where everyone turns on the Simpsons after Bart moons the flag as I read the comments about what an alleged traitor Scott Brown is.

  40. 40.

    gwangung

    @SIA: Aside from that, they’re really not any dumber than some of the progressives that’s hollering for Nelson’s et al hides….gotta have a high degree of loyalty to the folks who ACTUALLY elected you, not just gave money to.

  42. 42.

    SIA

    @gwangung: Oh yes, I agree completely. Oh…err…wait. @SIA #33. :)

    I really don’t understand anyone voting against cloture on what appears to be a relatively benign jobs bill in the current economic environment, least of all a Democrat. Oh well, maybe it means Nelson will vote yea on health care reform.

  44. 44.

    KG

    Economic professors (and economists generally) tend to be libertarian, that’s the only reason so many libertarians end up teach economics at public schools. Not all of us believe that public schools (or any/all government programs) are bad. It makes sense if you think about it, they study and understand the free market, and have come to believe in rational actors acting rationally. It only follows that they would try to apply what they’ve learned from economics to policy in general (that is that individual actors, with access to sufficient information, will act rationally, and that in the aggregate this will be a good thing). It doesn’t always work well, because you don’t always have rational actors, nor do you always have people acting in good faith (this also tends to be a problem with the law), but that’s the general idea.

  46. 46.

    JGabriel

    Man, the GOPers are really crucifying Brown. Oddly, and maybe it’s just because I haven’t looked around enough, but they don’t seem to be giving as much attention to the identical votes from Snowe, Collins, and Voinovich.

    Keep up the good work, Wingnuts! If’n you’re vociferous enough, maybe you can even get Brown to quit the GOP.

    .

  47. 47.

    Tappen

    I’d be confused if it wasn’t so predictable. The Teabaggers are wildly outraged that Brown voted for…. tax cuts? But you know, they’re Democratic tax cuts, so they’re probably evil or something. They’re not even bothering to explain why they feel so betrayed, just… he voted with the Democrats, so he’s invalidated every fantasy that they held when they voted for him. Sigh.

  48. 48.

    BDeevDad

    Remember TeaBagger Logic is:

    Stephen Baldwin, a drug addict who filed for bankruptcy less than a year ago, is an authoritative speaker and Obama is an idiot who cannot put two sentences together without a teleprompter.

  49. 49.

    sfinny

    Delurking just to say:

    Got my Balloon Juice swag today and must say the quality is wonderful. Anyone looking for a great tote or cooking apron, you can find no greater product than this new Balloon Juice store.

    Lastly, the Police were one of my favorite bands that I never saw. Had tickets to them four times yet something intervened. Storm. Concert canceled. Family emergency. Car broke down.

    Finally figured it was bad luck and stuck to other concerts.

  51. 51.

    J. Michael Neal

    @flavored coffee lover:

    Thanks for this. Used to LOVE the Police. Then I grew up. However, the music is still genius. ‘Tis funny, Sting in his 30’s was like an adonis. Now he looks like Dr. Zaius from Planet of the Apes. Pity

    Andy Summers has put together a far more interesting solo career.

  52. 52.

    SIA

    @sfinny: Thanks for reminding me – I need to order the pet food bowl that says “FEED” with a picture of Tunch. Glad to hear the quality of the items you ordered is good!

  53. 53.

    Yutsano

    @Tattoosydney: Buona sera mi amici! You should try having a six letter surname in two words that no one can pronounce right. Not that I’m grousing or anything, it just makes me wonder what the hell my great-grandfather was thinking going south of the 49th Parallel just to open a bar in the middle of nowhere in Idaho. Such is family history I guess.

  58. 58.

    2th&nayle

    @J. Michael Neal: What’s the matter J. Michael, I’m not giving you enough to be insulted about? Fuck Off! I think Gordon Sumner is a genius. So is Steward Copeland, in my opinion. Where the fuck do you get off questioning who the fuck is on BJ? Pompous Ass!

  59. 59.

    J. Michael Neal

    @2th&nayle: Fine. You like Sting and Copeland. Had you said that in the first place, there wouldn’t have been a problem. It’s being offended when I opine that Andy Summers has had a far more interesting solo career than either of them that you acted ridiculous. If you are so easily offended, then you’re going to put your fist through your monitor if you hang around here.

    Now, if, rather than getting huffy, you had asked for a defense of my opinion, I’d have said that, while Sting has done some interesting stuff, I find that a lot of it has blended into a homogeneous mass. I liked Soul Cages a lot. Ten Summoner’s Tales was perfectly pleasant. Since then, I can’t really differentiate it much. Sting seems to have fallen into a state where his main goal is not to offend anyone. It isn’t that I don’t like him, it’s that I think he’s taken the genius he undoubtedly has and used it to be kind of bland. I listen to it from time to time, but not very often For that sort of light rock, I think Chris De Burgh is vastly superior to Sting.

    Andy Summers has done a really broad range of things since the Police broke up the first time. He made a couple of albums with Robert Fripp (from King Crimson) that I don’t particularly like, but certainly tried to achieve a lot. He’s done some outstanding jazz albums, such as World Gone Strange and The Last Dance of Mr. X, as well as a collection of Thelonious Monk’s works. He’s also done a more rock sound, like in Synaesthesia.

    Sting is good. At times he’s very good, but not often enough.. Andy Summers has actually gone out of his way to challenge himself, and has really been interesting.

  60. 60.

    2th&nayle

    @J. Michael Neal: J. Michael, I apologize. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, as regards Andy Summers. He’s certainly a great guitarist! “The Police” was a great combination of talent (and egos). My apologies to fellow Juicers, as well.

  62. 62.

    R-Jud

    I was busy being an infant when the Police were in their heyday. So I only know the tantric, post-Police, doing-gigs-for-brutal-despots Sting:

    The services of Sting – whose personal fortune is estimated well north of £150m – were engaged by Gulnara Karimova, the daughter and anointed heir of dictator Islam Karimov. To explore Islam Karimov’s human rights record in full would take too long: suffice to say he is condemned approximately every 10 minutes by organisations from the UN to Amnesty, accused of such delights as boiling his enemies, slaughtering his poverty-stricken people when they protest, and conscripting armies of children for slave labour. Oh, and the Aral Sea on which his country sits – once the world’s fourth biggest lake – has lost 80% of its volume, partly as a result of Karimov siphoning it off to intensively irrigate his remote desert cotton fields.

    Every little thing he does is tragic.

  63. 63.

    Paul in KY

    Love The Police. Best album (IMO) is ‘Ghost in the Machine’. ‘Synchronicity’ is right behind.

Comments are closed.