Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Fuck that bum, let’s go Joe!

Motown is Joe-Town!

Nothing worth doing is easy.

The willow is too close to the house.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

The lights are all blinking red.

with the Kraken taking a plea, the Cheese stands alone.

American History and Black History can not be separated.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Cole, when it comes to calico cats, restraint is overrated.

FFS people, this was a good thing. take the win.

President Biden is doing good where he can, and getting it done.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

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

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Lighten Up, Francis

Lighten Up, Francis

by | 364 Comments

This post is in: 

Oh for christ sakes. One post asking if the tone has changed and dozens of you start kvetching about an overdose of introspection and bitching about holding hands singing kumbaya and group hugs. The other half of you launch personal attacks at my front pagers, all of whom I think do a great job and who I like (and you people step back on DougJ). And then a bunch of you come out of nowhere and complain things aren’t as good as they used to be when you walked to school uphill in the snow both ways.

I don’t think you people realize what a pain in the ass you all are and how hard it is to get this many random anonymous people to play somewhat nice together. Screw the tone, you can all go to hell. Jackasses.

Reader Interactions

364Comments

  9. 9.

    TonyDogs

    I’ve been coming here since this morning, and I have to say, since then the tone has really changed. I’m never coming here again and I hope everyone’s hair falls out. I’m going to where people are civil and discuss the issues of today rationally — FreeRepublic.org

  12. 12.

    David in NY

    So I can safely skip comments to the post titled “Somthing to Think About,” can I?

    Except, how will I find out who Francis is?

  14. 14.

    Facebones

    You were expecting sensitive, well reasoned comments?

    You have been on the internets, right?

  16. 16.

    SGEW

    Screw the tone, you can all go to hell. Jackasses.

    This is precisely what I was asking for.

    (revels)

  25. 25.

    kid bitzer

    yup. i came for this and pet pics.

    this, pet pics, and awesome snark.

    sorry–this, pet pics, awesome snark, and nice red uniforms.

  31. 31.

    Third Eye Open

    B..B..But John, does this mean you’re not coming to my birthday party, anymore?

    Seriously, this woe-is-me my minions are mean, schtick is kinda below you. Drink a beer, and revel in the fact that we are all curmudgeonly fvcks with little better to do than rile up the noobs.

  33. 33.

    Stefan

    I don’t think you people realize what a pain in the ass you all are and how hard it is to get this many random anonymous people to play somewhat nice together. Screw the tone, you can all go to hell. Jackasses.

    You had me at oh for christ sakes.

  34. 34.

    El Cid

    Uh oh! Now someone else is “thin skinned”! Now I have to flee to huddle back in the warm embrace of Foreign Affairs.

  35. 35.

    Dan B

    “I’m sick of you people, you’re just a bunch of fickle mush heads.”

    “He’s right! Give us hell, Quimby!”

  37. 37.

    psycholinguist

    I agree in general about the “naval gazing bad” – however, there is something different, and better about the comments section of this blog. Compare it to Atrios, who I began reading about 7 years ago. There was a “golden age” of responses over there (remember woot?) when you were pretty much guaranteed to laugh your ass off and learn something in the process, now it’s “Frist” and inside jokes, etc.

    Don’t know, maybe there is some critical mass of readers that you hit in terms of #’s and demographics where everything works, and then you become a victim of your own success cause all the dumbasses show up for the party. I’ve got the equipment, maybe I’ll do a content analysis on the comments and see what bubbles up.

  39. 39.

    Elroy's Lunch

    Whoaa! I missed the other post asking about the tone.

    Good answer John. For a minute there I thought we might be accused of being “slothful” or “Cole cultists”.

  46. 46.

    Kevin K.

    If John was semi-nekkid and a lesbian, I would’ve paid close to $2000 dollars for that. But I would have put it on Betty Cracker’s credit card.

  48. 48.

    gypsy howell

    Phew. You’re back. NOW can we get on with discussing whether the Boy Scouts is an institution devoted to child pornography and molestation?

  51. 51.

    Kevin K.

    Life was so much simpler when we all focused on Turd Blossom and cockslapping jokes.

    DEAR KENYAN LEADER AND HIS STUPID VICTORY HAVE RUINED EVERYTHING!

  55. 55.

    mantis

    Write things I like in the manner I like them written, dammit! What the hell do I pay you people for?!

  56. 56.

    flukebucket

    I don’t think you people realize what a pain in the ass you all are and how hard it is to get this many random anonymous people to play somewhat nice together. Screw the tone, you can all go to hell. Jackasses.

    Oh yeah. This is much more like it.

    And just for the record I like all of the front pagers.

    But hell I liked Michael D. I can remember how my asshole puckered up when he started a post by saying, “I was reading an article over at Reason magazine…..”

    I knew the expletives were about to start flying.

  59. 59.

    Kevin K.

    Great, now FDL blogger TBogg has shown up so we all have to pour through his financial records. This transparency shit is so much work. I haven’t even finished auditing Blue Texan yet.

  69. 69.

    Poopyman

    Jesus Christ! Hasn’t anybody here ever seen “Stripes”? I swear to Jeebus you’re all a pain in the ass, and if this keeps up, I’m going to have to cut back on my commenting here. Or something.

  70. 70.

    Parole Officer Burke

    TBogg has shown up so we all have to pour through his financial records.

    I demand that Glenn Greenwald disclose his connection to the teeth-whitening advertisement on Salon.com! What is he hiding?

  71. 71.

    John PM

    I see that you are trying to get above 1000 comments with this one.

    As someone who stumbled upon you through a link from Andrew Sullivan and has stayed for the pie and neck-punching, may I just give a hearty BRAVO! to this post. Just call me a Cole-bot.

  81. 81.

    Loneoak

    This supports my theory that an obscenity laced rant is always preferable to introspection. It’s simply more productive.

  82. 82.

    Pigs & Spiders

    Great, now FDL blogger TBogg has shown up so we all have to pour through his financial records. This transparency shit is so much work.

    If there are expenditures for anything other than Basset Hound care, you know you’ve found something.

  85. 85.

    Ash

    @norbizness:

    Hey John, remember six-and-a-half years ago?

    No matter how much things change, they always stay the same.

    What a bunch of crap albums. Parliament, yikes, you have problems with your ears.

  87. 87.

    Anachronym

    Hmm, I suspect that when Cole clears the moderation queue there will be at least twelve links to the same youtube video.

  89. 89.

    Francis

    ya know, as someone whose parents actually gave him the name “Francis”, I’ve always hated that line.

    (and the talking mule)

    [but stripes was a great movie]

    [[and Glenn is still a blowhard even if he’s trying to do the right thing]]

    [[[88: finely sliced cabbage with a light mayo dressing]]]

  92. 92.

    demo woman

    @norbizness: This quote by John is the same time frame,

    I don’t know if I have it in me to watch cable news anymore,

    Some things never change. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

  93. 93.

    Randy P

    Screw the tone, you can all go to hell. Jackasses.

    Actually, I’d say that sets the tone rather nicely.

    I’d be hard put to say exactly what “the tone” is, but the effect of reading that was not unlike when my little long-haired furball hisses. It’s really hard to get offended, or to do anything but laugh.

  94. 94.

    Punchy

    and you people step back on DougJ

    You’ve DEMOTED him! Asshole.

    And how does Greenwald’s PAC and the Duke Lacrosse team factor into this?

  96. 96.

    still liberal

    This blog should have ended a couple of years ago. Closets are not conducive to good mental health. And DougJ remains an asshole.

  101. 101.

    mcc

    I don’t really know what’s going on here. I didn’t read the other thread.

    I think the political blogosphere has been pretty silly lately in general.

    I think some people here really are getting angry and losing perspective on things. I think if Balloon Juice wants to make efforts to try to tone down nastiness in the comments section here that would be a positive thing.

    I’ll say… I don’t know if this is going to make sense or not. I think one reason some of us may be coming to this site is because there are some people out there right now who really are doing some just kind of awful things and a lot of the blogosphere or media tends to hold back from pointing that out for whatever reason. Balloon Juice seems to be willing to actually come out and say that, and it’s refreshing. Covering up child molestation for example really is just a terrible thing. But you can point out things are terrible while being polite and respectful. You can even be really cutting and mean while being polite and respectful. Maybe it’s even more effective if you do.

  102. 102.

    rootless-e

    I dunno if Greenwald realized that he was dissing an Arkon. Talk about putting your foot in it. His Senior Litigator badge is going to be revoked, toot-sweet.

  103. 103.

    media browski

    Well John, you did open up a can of worms and a barrel of monkeys simultaneously…

  105. 105.

    low-tech cyclist

    And then a bunch of you come out of nowhere and complain things aren’t as good as they used to be when you walked to school uphill in the snow both ways.

    You left out the ‘three miles,’ as in “walked three miles to school through the snow, uphill both ways.”

    See, things really are going downhill around here!

  108. 108.

    PTirebiter

    First Greenwald says I don’t have a molecule of self awareness, now JC says I don’t realize what a pain in the ass I am. Apparently I have the full range of molecules, because I am painfully aware of my own ass-holiness.

  111. 111.

    Randy P

    I suspect the real issue here may be that John’s favorite coffee mug is lost in one of the packing boxes and he’s been searching for it since moving in.

    Or maybe it’s Tunch’s favorite toy. Does Tunch do toys?

  112. 112.

    Kryptik

    Oh less navel-gazing note, guys? You know that Obama concession to offshore drilling? Well, guess who isn’t pleased by it:

    President Barack Obama’s plan to allow expanded offshore oil and gas exploration won rebuke from the top House Republican on Wednesday.
    House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) dismissed the president’s plan as not going far enough in opening up U.S. waters for exploration. Obama’s decision “continues to defy the will of the American people,” Boehner said in a statement, pointing to the president’s decision to open Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico waters, while leaving Pacific and many Alaskan waters largely closed to exploration. http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/89999-boehner-rebukes-obama-offshore-drilling-plan

    Shorter Boehner: Obama’s plan to share half the cake with us is a sham. If he was truly bipartisan, he’d give us the whole cake and then half his milk too.

  113. 113.

    RoonieRoo

    I love ya John! When everyone is in danger of taking themselves a bit too seriously, you know how to slap everyone and get them to come back to reality.

  116. 116.

    Da Bomb

    I love it when you talk dirty John. It makes my innards tingle.

    I like the additional front pagers. They don’t bother at all.

  120. 120.

    jibeaux

    @Kryptik:

    Steve Benen    , who you might’ve gotten this from has an interesting thing about this up. I was disturbed to read that there is a Broder/Friedman/Brooks Axis. I assume that’s the Axis of the Banality of Evil.

  121. 121.

    Punchy

    Also, was it expensive to hire a separate moving van just for Tunch?

    This is really funneh.

  122. 122.

    Laertes

    If I were you, I’d go ask Teresa Nielsen-Hayden about moderation.

    Ultimately, the only way you can exercise any real control over the tone is to roll up your sleeves and moderate. It’s easy to fuck it up, though, so you want to think good and hard about exactly how you’re going to do it if you’re going to do it, and Nielsen-Hayden has done that kind of hard thinking.

    I mean, look at the comments section over there. Jesus.

  124. 124.

    Lee

    Bestest post evar!!

    To be honest, I’ve never really noticed a change in tone and I’m a pretty longtime reader.

    Two things I have noticed:

    Fewer WoW posts (but I figured that was due to WoW burnout).
    Fewer sciencey posts from Tim F. (I figured I was in the minority of readers enjoying reading about something I could barely understand).

  125. 125.

    Leelee for Obama

    Glad to see you back in form, John! Too much introspection spoils the broth and all that.

    Can I get an amen?

  127. 127.

    ajr22

    Who is talkin bad about Doug J? Cole something like this would have been appropriate. “I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to people who rise and sleep under the blog that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way.”

  128. 128.

    Comrade Dread

    Are people really just now discovering that internet commentors are jackasses, trolls, and dicks?

  129. 129.

    Pooh

    John Fucking Cole!

    I was gonna post one of those “back in my day comments” but I didn’t because I realized that it would be just like “I liked Green Day before they were popular” type bullshit. We live in outrageous times, so it’s pretty easy to stay outraged IMO.

    And tell Glenzilla (who I usually love) to eat a nice big plate of shut the fuck up.

  130. 130.

    CaseyL

    don’t think you people realize what a pain in the ass you all are and how hard it is to get this many random anonymous people to play somewhat nice together. Screw the tone, you can all go to hell. Jackasses.

    OK, sorry John, but this made me giggle like a madwoman.

    Meet the New Cole – same as the Old Cole. And a good thing, too!

    JFTR: I approve of all your front pagers, and even if I didn’t wouldn’t carp because this is your place and you get to run it as you like.

  132. 132.

    WereBear

    @jibeaux: To bring up the topic of why I keep coming here, there’s usually a great article I might have missed. In the Benen one, it would be this phrase:

    the great crazy of 2009

    Which is going into the vocab, toot sweet!

    This article also sums up what I love best about our current President; he goes as far as he can, while still getting stuff accomplished.

    That’s a bit of a parse that I think a lot on the Left could ponder on.

  133. 133.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    You know who else was disappointed in his people and told them all to go to hell…

  134. 134.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @jibeaux:

    I assume that’s the Axis of the Banality of Evil.

    Golfclap

    (On topic: I have no idea what the topic is)

  138. 138.

    ricky

    Try harder, Cole. On further reflection I still don’t care for fat white cats who play quarterback. Or being in moderation.

  139. 139.

    Laertes

    Here, for instance, is an article she wrote on the subject.

    Especially apt, perhaps, is this item:

    10. Another important rule: You can let one jeering, unpleasant jerk hang around for a while, but the minute you get two or more of them egging each other on, they both have to go, and all their recent messages with them. There are others like them prowling the net, looking for just that kind of situation. More of them will turn up, and they’ll encourage each other to behave more and more outrageously. Kill them quickly and have no regrets.

    If you think the tone has changed, it’s probably because this site has achieved a critical mass of people who set out to be unpleasant. They can’t be reasoned with or talked down–they thrive on the negativity they create. Once they’ve arrived, your only options are to shut them down or let them set the tone.

  140. 140.

    Waynski

    That’s the fact, Jack! Right on, Cole.

    You hear that boys, we’re goin’ to party Italian style.

  142. 142.

    numbskull

    Geeze, I’m still laughing and I’m in the middle of passing the third stone of the month…

  143. 143.

    Quackosaur

    @Sentient Puddle:

    Oh, there are times when I miss the days that Stewart had his nefarious liberal mind-control-hold over Colbert.

    —–

    Also, I am shocked and appalled (shocked, I say!) that Mister Cole would speak to us in such a rude tone! I must call Congress and insist that they draft a non-binding resolution condemning his harsh words! Only then will he know that he has gone too far!

  144. 144.

    kid bitzer

    @132–

    now all we need is a youtube of “downfall” where dougj and the other posters break it to john cole that his blog still sucks.

    the rest of us are the subalterns and blond dolls cringing in the hallway.

  145. 145.

    Sarcastro

    I’ve got a bottomless well of deep thought right here in my fist.

    Woa! Woa! Down Mr. Fisty, down!

  149. 149.

    Wiesman

    Who had 2 hours, 41 minutes in the “How long it will take before John posts a rant complaining about the response to his thoughtful post” pool?

  150. 150.

    Frankly

    It’s always a challenge when hunting the snark

    The snark is a peculiar creature that cannot be captured in a commonplace way. Above all, courage is required during a snark hunt. The most common method is to seek it with thimbles, care, forks, and hope. One may also “threaten its life with a railway share” or “charm it with smiles and soap”.

  152. 152.

    David in NY

    @jibeaux:

    [The] Broder/Friedman/Brooks Axis. I assume that’s the Axis of the Banality of Evil.

    Beyond win. Deserves to become an “internet tradition” of which all must be aware.

  153. 153.

    Citizen_X

    What the fuck, people, I get through this whole thread, and not a single DIAF!? You guys are slipping.

    I am reporting you all straight to Radok Obama.

  155. 155.

    LiberalTarian

    I still like you guys. But I just don’t comment much anymore. But still, you read those guys so I don’t have to, and that’s what I like!

  163. 163.

    BruinKid

    So is this a bad time to ask why my comment in the George Takei PSA didn’t appear after I submitted it? Tried to resubmit, and got a message saying I already submitted it. And it was a good one with nice facts on redistricting too. :-(

  165. 165.

    Lawnguylander

    @Laertes:

    If you think the tone has changed, it’s probably because this site has achieved a critical mass of people who set out to be unpleasant. They can’t be reasoned with or talked down—they thrive on the negativity they create. Once they’ve arrived, your only options are to shut them down or let them set the tone.

    BORING!

  169. 169.

    williamc

    @jibeaux:

    Axis of the Banality of Evil

    WIN

    I’ve been thinking of Broder/Friedman/Bobo like this for years! Boring people who advocate evil things like they are run-of-the-mill…

    As for the BJ shitfits of late, I assumed everyone here was an asshole…

  170. 170.

    Ash Can

    Now that’s the John Cole I know and love. You go, boy.

    And I like the other frontpagers just fine. If they post something I’m not really into, I skip over it. Big deal. Nothing in my BJ Jackass Commenter contract obligates me to read every last fucking line on this blog. What the contract does say, on the other hand, in big-ass letters right across the top, is “it ain’t your goddamned blog, jackass.” I can live with that.

  172. 172.

    Josie

    Now this is the blog I came to as a refugee from over-earnest, sanctimonious, petty sites (we won’t name names). I am a kindly 66 year old granny lady with cats, dogs, a garden and other boring granny lady pursuits and have no problem with the stuff on this blog. If I did have a problem at any point, I could solve it easily enough by clicking on the little red button on the upper left hand corner of my computer screen. Thank you, John Cole.

  175. 175.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    @Darkmoth:

    I can’t find the “Chastised by John Cole” line on my RNC expense form.

    Suddenly the phrase “I didn’t get a pony” takes on a whole new meaning.

  176. 176.

    kid bitzer

    @162–

    so how come there’s no entry in the bj lexicon for “helicopters, laughing/crying”?

  177. 177.

    Poopyman

    As for the BJ shitfits of late, I assumed everyone here was an asshole…

    A badge of honor, man. We wear it with pride.

  181. 181.

    debit

    @kid bitzer: Maybe Cole thinks the helicopters are not worthy. Like I said, he’s an asshole.

    (Seriously, I looked and there’s nothing under Balloon Boy either. How odd.)

  184. 184.

    JoshA

    From someone who usually just lurks: I like this place, I like your front-pagers, they’re part of the reason I visit.

    Although mainly I visit here because I fear Tunch’s retribution if were to stop.

    That’s it.

  185. 185.

    thejoz

    Less kumbaya, more Tunch. STAT.

    I DEMAND IT OR I WILL PROTEST YOU FOR BEING A SOCINAZICOMMUNOISLAMISUPERFACIST.

  190. 190.

    williamc

    @Poopyman:

    Hey, thats no slight against you assholes…I’m told all the time that I’m a mean asshole, and I believe it because I hear the words coming out of my mouth…I like assholes, it makes me feel accepted…

    And I love Arkon DougJ, but I would as I’m only a Senoir Gunner…

  192. 192.

    comrade scott's agenda of rage

    This comment spree is why BJ is the best place on the intertoobes.

    And norbizness is still an insufferable music snob.

  195. 195.

    AB

    Yes!

    By the way, I think there is a way to actually go uphill both ways (but you can also go downhill both ways). You start with a 2 story house with the top floor having a balcony and have the school entrance some distance away right between the front door and the balcony. One ramp goes from the balcony to the school, and one goes from the front door to the school. If you’re stupid, you end up walking uphill both ways.

  196. 196.

    Josie

    @stuckinred – I was not familiar with that song. I looked it up and loved it. Made me want to dance. Thanks.

  198. 198.

    J. Michael Neal

    I don’t think you people realize what a pain in the ass you all are and how hard it is to get this many random anonymous people to play somewhat nice together. Screw the tone, you can all go to hell. Jackasses.

    I resent this accusation deeply. I am *not* anonymous.

  202. 202.

    J. Michael Neal

    @Phoebe:

    What she said. Although I liked it better when I misread it to say “boring granny lady pantsuits”.

    PUMA alert

  204. 204.

    dr. bloor

    @stuckinred:

    “we’re the USA Army, we’re 10-1!

    Clearly predates Iraq and Afghanistan.

    This is why big-name schools are always so reluctant to put mid-majors on the schedules.

  205. 205.

    Little Dreamer

    @stuckinred:

    Awesome album, one of my absolute favorites. TZ and I got to see Steely Dan in concert a few months ago and they did the entire album. Wonderful show.

  206. 206.

    The Moar You Know

    I assume all the trouble was caused by the change in my handle. It’s changed back now.

    Also, the recent bickering has been REALLY good news for John McCain.

  208. 208.

    Darkmoth

    Reason #85 to reserve our greatest scorn for wingnuts: conservative friend sends me –

    These are possibly the 5 best sentences you’ll ever read.

    “You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

    What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

    The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

    When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation.

    You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.”

    Now seriously, would a liberal ever send out some shit like that?

    My response

    Going to have to say that #4 is not one of the best sentences I’ve ever read. It runs on, and the construction is off. A tighter version would be –

    “For some reason, I think we have 50% unemployment.”

  209. 209.

    Josie

    @Phoebe – I am old enough to remember pantsuits and how liberated we felt to be able to wear them to teach. Now I’m retired, and it’s all jeans, all the time.

    @LT – I’m blushing.

    @ I will go now even as we speak and check out the clip. Thanks.

  211. 211.

    stuckinred

    @dr. bloor: Predated Grenada, Panama and the first Gulf Cluster Fuck too. I thought about editing but figured it’s best to preserve original intent, specially since I was part of the “1”!

  214. 214.

    Joel

    @still liberal: something, something, something…

    All that gibberish that you’re spitting, you best had quit it
    your style is like dying in my sleep, i don’t feel it…

    Also, is it just me, or does <3 look like a gnome's testicles?

  216. 216.

    SectarianSofa

    Hadn’t really noticed anything. I thought in fact that DougJ had started sounding more like Cole, a few months ago.
    Anyway, change is bound to be hard for some people, especially now that we have our first black front pager on Balloon-Juice.

  218. 218.

    MattR

    @Darkmoth: Nice response. And I think that email is pretty indicative of the Republican mindset. They really seem to believe that it is a giant portion of the country that is getting hooked up with things like welfare or Medicaid.

  219. 219.

    Bill Section 147

    I would have said, “FVCK YOU! You fvcking fvcks!” I applaud your ability to shout so politely without sputtering and with so few expletives.

  220. 220.

    LT

    I missed the “tone” thread (I’m totally sure it was a minor), but I don’t think it’s changed in the way the emailer says. It’s just changed. And, like always, sometimes it’s a wild fucking fistfight, mostly it’s not. And for those who come for the posts and not the threads – you don’t know what you’re missing. A+ fucking hilarity. I try not to cower at it, it’s so good.

    Edit: You see? this is what I’m taking about:

    SectarianSofa: “Anyway, change is bound to be hard for some people, especially now that we have our first black front pager on Balloon-Juice.”

  221. 221.

    Brandon

    I’m confused. Does this mean that we all agreeing to disagree or only agreeing to dislike firebaggers and disagree about everything else? If there was a choice, I’d vote for the latter.

  222. 222.

    Sentient Puddle

    @Darkmoth: Not to mention that in my mind, any one of the five best sentences that I will ever read would involve me spontaneously creaming my pants. And really, pedestrian wonkery does not turn me on.

  223. 223.

    Craig

    Screw the tone, you can all go to hell. Jackasses.

    Kind of reminds me of the movie “Talk Radio” where the talk show host yells at his listeners to go away and leave him alone. Truly awesome in a mind bending way.

  224. 224.

    MattR

    @Face: The only way a 96 team tourney is remotely acceptable is if all the automatic bids get byes into the second round. Not that I would like the decision in any event, but at least it would be a bit more palatable.

  226. 226.

    jl

    Cole should know by now that the recent nastiness is the kind of thing that happens unless we have enough pics of Lily and Tunch.

    When will he learn?

  227. 227.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    @Darkmoth:

    You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

    How about this for a response: I agree with you that the SIVs and tranched CDOs so popular on Wall St. are an abomination in the eyes of God and Man, which can only be responded to with the severest possible regulation of the market for financial derivatives. Thank you for supporting these very necessary and overdue reforms.

  228. 228.

    Face

    @MattR: That aint gunna happen. Top 8 seeds will get a bye, while 9-24 will play each other.

    Coupla things:
    1) who gets the 8 vs. 9 seed will become a HUGE deal, as its the line of demarcation between playing 6 games or 7 to win it all. Currently, nobody really cares if they’re a 8 or 9, since they play each other anyways.

    2) Automatic conference winners of the smaller conferences (Ivy, MEAC, etc) aren’t going to be seeded 8 or better. Never have been. I’m not sure how they can fix that and still consider the seeding process legitimate.

  229. 229.

    El Cid

    @ThatLeftTurnInABQ:

    You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

    Not only can you, it’s what keeps the economy going. A billion dollars in the hands of a corporate investor does far less to promote economic growth than a billion dollars in the hands of low income consumers.

  230. 230.

    Jager

    “Listen up people and listen good, I won’t ever step on your dicks, you fucking people will step on your own dicks and that’s a goddamned fact!”

    Sgt Bill Manley, DI, US Army Infantry, Ft Leonard Wood, June
    1968

  232. 232.

    RedKitten

    I don’t think you people realize what a pain in the ass you all are and how hard it is to get this many random anonymous people to play somewhat nice together. Screw the tone, you can all go to hell. Jackasses.

    Now THERE’S the curmudgeon we all know and love!

    He didn’t tell us to DIAF, though, but hey…you can’t win ’em all! This was still refreshing, and still sorely needed (between blog drama and family drama, I’ve been ready to start adding tequila to my Frosted Flakes.)

    And Pooh! Where the fuck have you been, man?

  233. 233.

    cleek

    You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

    a wonderful aphorism. how it applies to the current situation is a mystery.

    What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving

    it’s cute how “conservatives” think taxes just vanish into the aether. as if they think JDAMs, CIA black detention facilities, torture training camps and all the other things they love about the US government grow on trees.

    The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

    the government gives us safety from foreign invasion. from whom did they take this safety ?

    When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation.

    if we hit 50% unemployment, we’d be well past the “beginning of the end”.

    You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

    the existence of people who lend their own money for business investment proves otherwise.

  235. 235.

    snarkypsice

    And that is why this is my favorite blog. <3!

    I love all the front-pagers, love John Cole and love the comments. Either I'm just really easy to please, or this place is awesome.

  237. 237.

    Sentient Puddle

    Y’know, if you really wanted to sum up the correct response to the five sentences, all you really need to say is that economics is not a zero-sum game.

  238. 238.

    RedKitten

    When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation.

    That is complete and utter shite. Believe it or not, there are plenty of countries out there with robust social safety nets AND universal healthcare that are still ticking along quite nicely, thank you very much. And their citizens, in a bizarre twist of fate, still aspire to gainful employment and personal prosperity. Who coulda thunk it?

  241. 241.

    Fester Bestertester

    And this post is why I keep coming back here – I was laughing harder and harder while reading it. I love it when you’re angry, John.

  242. 242.

    Comrade Scrutinizer

    Ah, shit. Wanna talk about how the tone of the Intertron declined? It all started in September, 1993…

  243. 243.

    Zuzu's Petals

    So Bud Day, the man who disgraced his MoH by wearing it to McCain campaign rallies and even more despicably, in a Slow Boat ad smearing a Vietnam combat veteran, has endorsed Charlie Crist:

    “You know, we just got through (electing) a politician who can run his mouth at Mach 1, a black one, and now we have a Hispanic who can run his mouth at Mach 1,” Day said. “You look at their track records and they’re both pretty gritty. Charlie has not got a gritty track record.”

  244. 244.

    FormerSwingVoter

    @Darkmoth:

    These are possibly the 5 best sentences you’ll ever read.

    This is one of the things that amazes me. It is literally incomprehensible to wingnuts that liberalism could possibly consist of something other than seizing money from the rich and giving it to the jobless minorities. Like, they spend so much time attacking strawmen that if you explain your position on something, they just kinda squint and pause and bite there lip before saying “No it isn’t. You just hate rich people. And America.”

  246. 246.

    The Main Gauche of Mild Reason

    Black front-pager? I have not detected the presence of any Negro dialect! I call shenanigans.

  247. 247.

    williamc

    @MattR:

    That’s what was so funny about The Long Hot Teatard Summer (whomever came up with this upthread, genius!, though I will also agree that Hepburn’s character in Suddenly, Last Summer is totally the forerunner to the teabaggers)…if there were Death Panels in the bill, wouldn’t they be a Republican idea? I hear from my libertarian friends all the time that the poor should be left to die if they aren’t going to work and that we should just get rid of the old and unproductive Logan’s Run style. Sounds like a death panel to me…

    @Darkmoth:
    The person who sent you this list is a mental invalid and doesn’t deserve to live in any place that is not a libertarian paradise (aka Somalia). Are you friends with them just to take advantage of their stupidity?

    Sentient Puddle:

    I concur. The best sentences ever should make me trip like on acid, make me hunger for food, or make me want to cum, not make me think that I just ran into a brain dead Russian-immigrant cult leader with daddy-issues who died a long time ago…

  248. 248.

    Mister Colorful Analogy

    John, great post, but it’s a bit unfair to win your own thread. :)

    FWIW, I love the current mix of front pagers and most of the commenters. You’re all a bunch of smart, snarky, lovable, good-hearted curmudgeons (trolls excepted).

    B-J is in good shape. Carry on.

    MrCA

  249. 249.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    @El Cid:
    I was told there would be no math.

    /snark

    OK, more seriously, I’m done trying to accomodate the views of people who freak out over a 3% increase in the top marginal tax rate. It’s time we went back to the rates of the Eisenhower era. 90% top marginal rate, assholes. You had your time to play let’s dress up and pretend it is the 1890s and it was all fun and games until you wrecked the economy. Too bad W pissed all over your precious legacy of Reagan proved deficits don’t matter (thanks Dick!), but that’s the breaks. Don’t like it, just leave already. Go Galt. I’m sure China will be happy to have you – just don’t piss off the wrong people over there or your family may end up paying for your bullet, ’cause that’s just how they roll.

  250. 250.

    arguingwithsignposts

    I don’t think you people realize what a pain in the ass you all are and how hard it is to get this many random anonymous people to play somewhat nice together. Screw the tone, you can all go to hell. Jackasses.

    Please, just stop ramming your huge message down our throats, Cole!

  252. 252.

    MattR

    @Face: I agree with you. Not sure if the NCAA is gonna be able to get the smaller conferences to buy in (or get bullied into acceptance). I would guess that 28+ of the additional spots would go to major or mid-major conference teams.

    And the logistics of scheuling the extra games is not too easy either. Would they play them on Tuesday and Wednesday so that some teams are playing three times that first week (and some within 40 hours of the selection announcement)? And I am guessing that would hurt the ability of smaller conference temas to have their students/fans travel to the games.

  253. 253.

    srv

    John, since you may have given up on the other thread, I think the suggestions to have an RSS feed by poster is the best idea I’ve heard in a long time.

    Tell us what’ll cost, we’ll come up with the dough. I’d ask cleek, but I’m sure I’m on his pie filter.

  254. 254.

    Rick Taylor

    Most everyone here has probably already read this, but Digby, quoting Eric Boehlert, just about perfectly writes aboutwhat’s been on my mind the last couple weeks:
    __

    And yes, it’s been the rationalizing that’s been so disturbing to watch — the way the GOP Noise Machine fervently excused last week’s violent behavior and eagerly tried to shift the blame onto the victims of the intimidation, and then demanded to know what the big deal was.
    __
    I mean, who hasn’t had the line on a propane tank outside his house slashed by vandals? This stuff happens all the time, right? Didn’t scores of members of Congress, immediately following the vote in 2002 to authorize the invasion of Iraq, find their office windows shattered by flying bricks hurled under the cover of darkness by nasty anti-war libs? Didn’t they receive a steady stream of specific death threats and watch as relatives (and even their children) came under attack? Doesn’t this kind of harassment and intimidation come with the territory, and hasn’t it always been pushed out and legitimized by mainstream media outlets?

    __
    On some level, I can sympathize with wingers feeling despair at the passage of legislation they believe in their bone will be horrible for the country. I went through the same thing back during the invasion of Iraq. But by and large I don’t remember anti-war Democrats acting anywhere near as badly or immaturely as todays Republican party is now.
    __
    P.S.
    I found a link to Eric Boehlert’s original article; it’s all worth reading.

  255. 255.

    Fester Bestertester

    And the comments, forgot the comments. Been laughing like an idiot for the last half hour. My boss is starting to get suspicious.

  256. 256.

    scav

    @RedKitten: yup. Besides

    When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation.

    it all started going downhill round ’bout hereya when we legislated them there children out of the coal mines. Then again, what’s with all the insisting that the good wimmin be stayin home? There ain’t nothing more back-breaking and toilsome that sitting around waiting for the trust fund and dividend checks to arrive.

  258. 258.

    Shinobi

    Back in MY day there was only one auction house per faction and you got your mount at level 40!

    Oh wait…. wrong site.

  263. 263.

    Citizen_X

    @Darkmoth: Along the same lines, you’ve probably seen a set of similar aphorisms attributed to Lincoln, stuff like “You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich,” “You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer,” etc. It’s not from Lincoln, though, it’s from a minister who was director of a proto-Randian group called the Citizen’s Industrial Alliance in the early 20th century. (Surprise, surprise.)

    On the left side of the Lincoln Distortion Field, the quote about “corporations have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow…until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic is destroyed” is falsely attributed to him, too.

  265. 265.

    Little Dreamer

    @soonergrunt:

    Crist is not pure enough for the Freepers, whatever shall they do?

    P.S. – I left you an employment tip on the other thread

  268. 268.

    Svensker

    All you people sucking Cole’s toes make me physically ill. First Cole says that you’re all too mean and you’re all like “oooh, we’re sorry, but that other guy made me do it, Mr. Cole”. And then he says you’re all dorks and you’re all like “oooh, beat me again Mr. Cole.” Have you, at long last, no pride? No decency?

    Seriously. This is the Final Straw. I AM LEAVING. (At least until 3:30 when I get back from the post office. Don’t have any fun without me!)

  269. 269.

    Little Dreamer

    @Citizen_X:
    __

    It’s not from Lincoln, though, it’s from a minister who…

    Those preachers understand prosperity, I hear.

  270. 270.

    Sebastian

    Psycho: The name’s Francis Soyer, but everybody calls me Psycho. Any of you guys call me Francis, and I’ll kill you.
    Leon: Ooooooh.
    Psycho: You just made the list, buddy. And I don’t like nobody touching my stuff. So just keep your meat-hooks off. If I catch any of you guys in my stuff, I’ll kill you. Also, I don’t like nobody touching me. Now, any of you homos touch me, and I’ll kill you.
    Sergeant Hulka: Lighten up, Francis.

  271. 271.

    Woodbuster

    “Screw the tone, you can all go to hell. Jackasses.”

    Jumpin’ Jeebus, Cole – was it something I said?*

    [This comment is not official until such time as it has met with the approval of BTD, JustSomeFuckhead and Glenn Greenwald (is shrill)]

  273. 273.

    IndieTarheel

    Screw the tone, you can all go to hell.
    __
    Dare I suggest that this be added to the banner rotation? You know, just because?

  276. 276.

    danimal

    Don’t have much to say, but I’ll say it anyway so that we get closer to a thousand comments.

    You all are a bunch of arrogant asses, the uncivil tone around here is really upsetting and if you don’t agree with me, you can DIAF. IOW, all is well in BJ land.

    And Glenzilla is an ass, even if he was provoked by Arkon DougJ.

    Cole, your comments were brilliant. Also, too.

  277. 277.

    licensed to kill time

    I love it when John Cole tells everybody to go to hell.

    Old Man Cole was a curmudgeonly old soul
    a curmudgeon of a soul was he
    and he called for his pipe and he called for a bowl
    and he called minions jackassery

  278. 278.

    Athenae

    I really do think we need a blogtopia-wide contest to see who has the stupidest trolls. I was doing pretty good until this week when all of mine showed up at once and people laid out a buffet.

    A.

  279. 279.

    soonergrunt

    @Zuzu’s Petals: I’ve been glancing at the comment thread on the newspaper there. The crazy racists (teabaggers to everyone else) are at each others’ throats over this race. Good times.

    I love all of the attempts to stifle the discussion of the fact that the crazy racist guy is a crazy racist guy: “Col. Day is an American Hero and has earned to right to express his opinion, more stuff that sounds like a disavowel but really isn’t.”
    Then there’s the one from the Rubio camp: “Col. Day is an American Hero and can express his opinion like anyone else, and more stuff that sounds like a complaint but really isn’t.”
    There’s only one person on there that I’ve seen who is saying that “Col. Day is an American Hero which has nothing to do with the fact that he’s a crazy racist person who’s opinion about politics has less to do with being a hero and more to do with being a crazy racist person.”

  281. 281.

    soonergrunt

    @Little Dreamer: CIA–they’d expect me to work for a living. Bastards. I’m going to get a job for the government doing nothing of value. That’s right bitches, Senate Staff from Oklahoma here I come!

  282. 282.

    daryljfontaine

    @Svensker:

    All you people sucking Cole’s toes make me physically ill.

    Hey, since he smashed up his shoulder it’s hard for him to suck his own toes. I understand there’s a rotation.

    There is some weapons-grade snark in this thread that reminds me why I love this place. If you wanted to be told to DIAF, you need to buy the merchandise!

    The rapid turnaround from navel-gazing to “fuck all y’all” reminds me of those days when Cole said he needed to step away from the blog for a weekend, and then we got seven new posts from him over the next two hours.

    D

  284. 284.

    Svensker

    @RedKitten:

    Thanks for the visual.
    Asshole.

    Oh yeah? When I get back from the post office I am going to say something Really Mean and Clever and you will be Sorry. Wait for it. (A credenza may be involved, be warned.)

  285. 285.

    lurkergirl

    @Darkmoth: at least they’re not trying to claim it’s something George Carlin said.

    I skipped the ‘has the tone changed’ post because I don’t come here for the tone. Temper tantrums, pet pics, music chat, anarchic comment threads…hells yeah. Click somewhere else if it offends your delicate sensibilities.

    Arkon DougJ is just fine in my books, as are your other front pagers. BTW, who the hell pissed in Greenwald’s cornflakes the other day? I love his blog, but that was just nuts.

  286. 286.

    tisalaska

    Geez how many back seat drivers can you get in here. Quit pissin on the playground. Dont like the post then as they said in the old days..”turn the damn page”..how lame John had to feel he even needed to address this..

  287. 287.

    different church-lady

    I want to see “Screw the tone, you can all go to hell. Jackasses.” as one of the rotating banner subtitles!!!! GIMMIE!!!!!

  288. 288.

    Tsulagi

    @soonergrunt:

    That’s right bitches, Senate Staff from Oklahoma here I come!

    Senate staff? From red state Oklahoma? You sure? You know you’d have to start as an intern on C-Street for training, right? Not that there’s anything wrong with that. “Suck it up” and “drive on” could take on whole new meanings there. j/k

  291. 291.

    Cain

    The post reminds me of a quote by reputedly by Gene Simmons/KISS back in the 80s or something when concern trolledhim regarding the pyrotechnics in the concert:

    “Concerned about the environment?! FUCK the environment! We ARE the environment!”

    The Tongue man is right!

    cain

  293. 293.

    Libby

    Oh drat! I missed the f#uck you jackass thread? Well, bite me Cole, and the rest of you haters too. AND stay offa my lawn. xxL

  294. 294.

    D-Chance.

    Shorter John Cole:

    “So, what do you think?”

    …

    …

    /covers ears

    “I’M NOT LISTENEHHHHHHNG!”

    Jayzus, what a crybaby… maybe Greeny was right, after all.

  297. 297.

    tim

    Ahhh…the old JC grumpy old man schtick, for which the earlier “tone” post was the likely set up. But you gots lots of hits, so what the hey…

    Your front pagers suck, Cole. And bj has become more of an online cult than a happening blog.

    Folks like me, of which I think there are many, will lurk less and less often as you move to Americablog levels of irrelevancy.

    You coulda been a contendah…

  298. 298.

    scav

    @D-Chance.: And the bipartisanship bullshit reappears. He apparently listened enough to at least hit the highlights of a thread and just isn’t kowtowing to your whatevethehellitis you want. Now DROP! and kick those feet up and down. Harder! Tantrums just won’t flail themselves.

  302. 302.

    pcbedamned

    Yep. Sometimes you need a good fall on the ass to put things back in perspective!!!

    Welcome back Johnny…

  303. 303.

    Darkmoth

    Some great comments on that chainmail, sorry I missed ’em (Doctor’s appointment).

    @williamc:

    You know, I actually like the guy, which surprises even me. Perhaps it’s that I regard his wing-nuttiness as a sort of facial tic that one ignores.

  304. 304.

    tim

    oh oh oh…and I second whomever it was upthread who mentioned that CLOSETS are not intellectualy nourishing, and this is a factor on this blog.

    But I guess it does make it all more interesting from a anthropological angle…

  305. 305.

    Michael D.

    @flukebucket:

    ut hell I liked Michael D. I can remember how my asshole puckered up when he started a post by saying, “I was reading an article over at Reason magazine…..”

    Now, I don’t remember all the crap I wrote here, but I don’t think I ever did this. :-)

  306. 306.

    ellie

    Awesome! I love being yelled at by random strangers on the internet. Give us hell John!

  310. 310.

    glynor

    Ha ha. Epic. Thanks, John.

    FWIW, I don’t comment often, but I love it here and I like all of your front pagers, almost as much as pie.

  312. 312.

    licensed to kill time

    Hey, James Wolcott gave a hat tip to John Cole on the teabonics post:

    Behold the literacy levels of those sons and daughters of liberty Norman Podhoretz welcomes as earthy antidotes to Arid Extra-Dry elitists. (tip of the beret: John Cole, Balloon Juice)
    __
    Lionel Trilling would be so proud.

    ETA- oops, blockquote fail

  313. 313.

    Eric S.

    @Lee:

    Fewer sciencey posts from Tim F. (I figured I was in the minority of readers enjoying reading about something I could barely understand).

    Nope. I miss those as well.

  318. 318.

    Gina

    Much better. Won’t suck toes, but sending a sloppy wet internet tongue kiss to John for snapping out of emo mode.

  319. 319.

    JGabriel

    @Comrade Scrutinizer:

    Wanna talk about how the tone of the Intertron declined? It all started in September, 1993…

    Only 4 months after I got my first internet account.

    COINCIDENCE?

    Or … NOT?

    .

  320. 320.

    Felonious Wench

    My delicate virgin ears are ringing after this post. I am offended and hurt to be called such things.

    I fucking love you, John Cole.

  321. 321.

    RedKitten

    @tim:

    Folks like me, of which I think there are many, will lurk less and less often as you move to Americablog levels of irrelevancy.

    Well, we’ll miss you. We really will. After all, you contribute so much to the discussions around here.

  324. 324.

    Felonious Wench

    @psycholinguist:

    Don’t know, maybe there is some critical mass of readers that you hit in terms of #’s and demographics where everything works, and then you become a victim of your own success cause all the dumbasses show up for the party.

    Have you SEEN what happens here when a dumbass shows up for the party? It’s like velociraptors on the hunt, man.

  325. 325.

    Lisa

    Balloon Juice! Fuck yeah!

    I love this place deeply. I am a regular reader and a semi-spottyish poster. I send much love to each and every snarky and clever regular commenter, every concern-troll, every wingnut-troll, and every contributor here. Please don’t ever change, motherfuckers.

  326. 326.

    AngusJackBootedThugOfMeat

    @Darkmoth:

    When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get

    Yeah, sure. Another way to say this is “When the losers who get sick get the idea that the people smart enough to stay healthy are going to pay for their care …..”

    That’s what health insurance is really about, right? Taking from the health rich and giving to the health poor?

    And car insurance …. taking from the people smart enough to avoid being rear ended and giving to the losers who get in the way of the rear-enders. And no, that’s not a sexual joke.

    Darkmoth, you win the Fail of the Day award for saying the stupidest thing on the blog.

  327. 327.

    Nethead Jay

    @tim: Dude, are you trying for some sort of Epitome of Concern Trolling prize here? For some reason, I think the place will survive without your contributions…

  329. 329.

    geg6

    @AngusJackBootedThugOfMeat:

    Darkmoth, you win the Fail of the Day award for saying the stupidest thing on the blog.

    Darlin’, you might need to get checked for hoof in mouth disease. Cuz poor Darkmoth was just quoting an email some Teabagger sent him.

    It’s the damn idiocy of trying to blockquote on WP. I think I can speak for Darkmoth here when I say FYWP.

  333. 333.

    FlipYrWhig

    @lurkergirl:

    who the hell pissed in Greenwald’s cornflakes the other day? I love his blog, but that was just nuts.

    I think Glenn Greenwald chooses to buy piss-flavored cornflakes.

  334. 334.

    Lisa

    Darkmoth, you should submit that to “MyRightWingDad.com” because that is freaking awesome. I am sure I will be getting one of those “pearls of wisdom” emailed to me soon. I have some old schoolmates who I adore, but are now wingtacular wingnuts out in Orange County in Cali. The problem with the OC is they are rich, wingnutty, stupid (I know, wingnutty and stupid are redundant), and have lots of time on their hands. A deadly combination. They cook up bullshit that wouldn’t even make the cutting room floor at Readers Digest and send that shit out to their Freeper buddies. Someone adds animated flags, and then by golly you got yourself a wingnut meme.

    Good times.

  335. 335.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Darkmoth: That email really is the Rosetta Stone to the wingnut psyche. The fundamental worry is that there are millions of people out there living a cushy life by mooching off your money.

  336. 336.

    MNPundit

    Dear mistermix, you are a total absolute fucking moron and have largely shown yourself as such since the first post.

    That’s what I got to say today.

  337. 337.

    AngusJackBootedThugOfMeat

    @geg6:

    Oh oh, I must have done the Incorrect Attribution thing.

    Okay, I am too lazy to look up the real genius who wrote the blurb. Whoever it is wins the Fail award.

    Sorry. Pull my hoof.

  340. 340.

    MNPundit

    @geg6: You’ve taught me so much buddy. So much.

    @Lisa: It was the post about how No One Looks at Internet Ads. which was so breathtakingly devoid of facts and overflowing with stupid I still smell whiffs of that clusterfuck on the front page to this day.

  341. 341.

    RareSanity

    Late to the party…and what a party!!

    Can you smell what The Cole is cookin’?(exclamation points)

    I was nose deep in a project yesterday so I missed all of the shenanigans, miss a day, miss a lot.

    Sound like just about everyone got thrown under one bus or another, glad things are back to normal today…

    Poopie Heads!

  343. 343.

    Tim (The Oher One)

    I’ve been going between both these posts, reading all the comments.

    This is still my favorite blog since roughly 2005. I always “save it for last” and check in a few times a day.

    I come for the Cole posts, the pet pictures, and the comment section. I have several favorite commenters but if I point them out it will just go to their heads.

    I don’t really focus on the other posters but I read them and check comments according to my level of interest in the subject matter.

    mistermix isn’t killing me but that’s not his problem

    I think the tone issue has been addressed accurately by a number of people from many perspectives and I can’t think of anything better to add.

    That is all.Carry on.

  345. 345.

    Michael D.

    @Punchy:

    I just remember the mistake you made advocating for the flat tax. WOW was that a one-way flame war.

    Never have I done so. That’s Andrew Sullivan and Steve Forbes. I’m for eliminating the Income Tax and replacing it with a consumption tax.

    The biggest mistake I made here – and continue to do – is disagreeing with you people on anything. John is right. You’re all fucking pricks.

    And proudly so, I’m guessing!!

  347. 347.

    AngusJackBootedThugOfMeat

    @Michael D.:

    There are two teams here. The Pricks, and the WATBs.

    Pick a side, and wear your helmets.

    Prick Pride, bitches!

  349. 349.

    soonergrunt

    @tim: good bye! Have fun!
    Don’t forget, Russian Roulette is best played with an automatic pistol.

  351. 351.

    BruceFromOhio

    I don’t think you people realize what a pain in the ass you all are and how hard it is to get this many random anonymous people to play somewhat nice together. Screw the tone, you can all go to hell. Jackasses.

    Whew! For minute there after that email post this morning, I thought we were in trouble.

  353. 353.

    Triassic Sands

    The other half of you launch personal attacks at my front pagers, all of whom I think do a great job and who I like (and you people step back on DougJ).

    And I immediately thought of Roger Ailes defending Glenn Beck. Sweet.

    Said Ailes:

    “We prefer people in the tent not dumping on other people in the tent,” he added.

  354. 354.

    AngusJackBootedThugOfMeat

    @Michael D.:

    Let me tell you how bad an idea “consumption tax” is.

    If it meant taxing people with tuberculosis, it would make more sense.

    Nobody in their right mind or who isn’t rich can be in favor of a tax scheme based on consumption and not on income.

    Just fucking nuts.

    And when you floated this, I don’t recall that you made coherent and specific arguments for it, despite the mountain of specific and technical objections to it. Even at best, it would just be a grand experiment that has not been tried in this country.

  358. 358.

    LanceThruster

    Goth Kid: I guess you can join up with us if you want.
    Goth Kid 2: Yeah. We’re gonna go to the graveyard and write poems about death and how pointless life is.
    Butters: Uh, uhm no thanks. I love life.
    Stan: Huh? But you just got dumped.
    Butters: Well yeah, and I’m sad, but at the same time I’m really happy that something could make me feel that sad. It’s like, it makes me feel alive, you know? It makes me feel human. And the only way I could feel this sad now is if I felt somethin’ really good before. So I have to take the bad with the good, so I guess what I’m feelin’ is like a, beautiful sadness. I guess that sounds stupid.
    Goth Kid 2: Yeah.
    Stan: No. No, Butters, that doesn’t sound stupid at all.
    Butters: Well, thanks for offering to let me in your clique, guys, but, to be honest, I’d rather be a crying little pussy than a faggy Goth kid.

  363. 363.

    DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)

    John, flattery will get you everywhere with this crowd. Nice recovery though I am wondering how you are going to top the two posts relating to this ‘issue’. It’s all about blog hits with you, isn’t it!

    Your poor advertisers, I pity the fools.

    @low-tech cyclist:

    It’s fif-teen miles uphill all the way there and back, most of it through blinding blizzards.

    That last step on the way home is a big one.

  364. 364.

    Colette

    @Darkmoth: To be fair (something in which I normally have not the slightest interest), the idea that life, the universe, and everything are a zero-sum game is not confined to the right wing. I have wasted many hours of my life I will never get back arguing about that very point with my dyed-in-the-wool Marxist stepbrother-in-law. He truly believes that there has been no value added to the global economy since ever, and that every gain for anyone necessarily involves an equal loss for someone else. Economics. Fail.

    And yes, he lives off his trust fund.

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