Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

People are weird.

You cannot love your country only when you win.

So fucking stupid, and still doing a tremendous amount of damage.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Everybody saw this coming.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

Also, are you sure you want people to rate your comments?

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Finding joy where we can, and muddling through where we can’t.

People are complicated. Love is not.

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

When we show up, we win.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

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Reader Interactions

88Comments

  1. 1.

    dmsilev

    “I can’t believe you made me sit next to the torpid Oompa Loompa *again*”.

    dms

  2. 2.

    zoe kentucky in pittsburgh

    Thought bubble over Obama and Pelosi’s heads:

    Hmmm, I wonder how we can secretly slip him some caffiene.

  3. 3.

    MikeBoyScout

    Welcome to Wednesday!
    Hope everyone tries to find time to relax like Boehner seems to be doing there.

  4. 4.

    bkny

    i can’t believe my legislation is dependent upon him… boner’s thinking about hitting the links….

  5. 5.

    Ted the Slacker

    I dunno about a caption, but however about Fox chyron…

    OBAMA FLICKS THE BIRD AT PELOSI?

  7. 7.

    Ash Can

    Nancy: “Harry, I know you can come up with something more intelligent than what Boehner just said.”

    Obama: “Hell, just tell me the time and get it right, and you’re good.”

  8. 8.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    Reid:

    “Does anyone else hear that? It’s like snoring, or.. something orange. That’s it, it’s like something orange, snoring.”

  11. 11.

    Keith

    “Maybe if I jam my finger deep enough in my ear, I won’t be able to hear this guy’s inane pussiness.”

  15. 15.

    Pancake

    “The Republican House Leaders with the Three Stooges Who Run the US Government.”

  16. 16.

    Morbo

    Nancy: “This McConnell guy makes me almost glad to be stuck with the Orange Man.”

  17. 17.

    Luthe

    Does that picture get any bigger? Because I feel the need for a “BITCH, PLEASE” macro starring Nancy Pelosi.

  23. 23.

    kwAwk

    Since it is an open thread, I’ve been thinking the last few days about how could John Cole possibly be fat as he claims. Reading this blog you’d get the impression that all he ever eats is fresh tomatos made into a sauce with ground up yard clippings.

    Does Cole have a secret Twinkie fetish that we don’t know about?

  24. 24.

    Allison W.

    Obama: “psst…Harry, is Nancy still giving me the stink eye? I don’t want to turn around.”

  28. 28.

    wilfred

    The U.S. House of Represenatatives approved a bill yesterday to provide an additional $37 billion to fund the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure, which had strong Republican support after a series of domestic spending programs was stripped from it last week, passed 308-114 despite the fears of many Democratic lawmakers that the war in Afghanistan has become unwinnable — a fear amplified this week by the leak of thousands of sensitive war documents.

    It used to be The Great Society in exchange for Vietnam. Now it’s just Vietnam.

    Nothing is more telling than the second sentence in this lede.

  29. 29.

    geg6

    @kwAwk:

    You forget the booze. Loads of calories there.

    And the fact that we never hear of much physical activity going on other than nekkid mopping and dandelion wars.

    And that we get lots of photos of dogs laying on the motionless legs of someone who purports to be Cole who is laying back in a La-Z-Boy watching the tube, but none whatsoever of anything resembling biking, running, or even yoga.

    But remember, folks, I’m not the one that called Cole fat. ;-)

  30. 30.

    dmsilev

    Another entry in the Megan McArdle Is Always Wrong depository, and this time from someone who isn’t a professional McArdle McDebunker. A couple of choice quotes:

    That statement is complete and utter bullshit. Actually, bullshit is a statement with a casual disregard for the truth — realtorspeak is a good example. The statement above is an intentional lie. A lie cloaked with emotional baggage to disguise its intent.

    “As far as I can tell?” I respect that she has the courage to flaunt her ignorance so publicly.

    Edit: One more quote

    It is rare that I find an article that annoys me as much as that one. I don’t mind that people promote their agendas. I do it. I just prefer it when people do so with rational arguments based on facts and data. The piece of crap this woman wrote reads like something from a tawdry political blog. Many of the best articles I have read on the web have come from the Atlantic. This isn’t one of them.

    As they say, read the whole thing.

    dms

  32. 32.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @dmsilev:
    ooh, that is good.

    The source article for today’s post is horrible. I don’t know if the writer is a lunatic, but she certainly is very wrong about her reasons for opposing the 30-year fixed rate mortgage.

  33. 33.

    DanF

    Pelosi: You lost your balls again, didn’t you Harry.
    Obama: Jesus, Harry, I’m tired of this shit. Find your god-damned nut sack, and keep it some place safe.
    Reid: Ummm … sorry …

  36. 36.

    AaronLaperle

    Lol…Reid looks like he’s about to explode. Or, ya know, turn into the Hulk or something.

  37. 37.

    gene108

    Oh god Boehner, you’re doing what with your hands under the table…

    Uh…just look away from him…just look away

  38. 38.

    Bnut

    Only Barrack noticed the subtle come-hither stares electrically flying between the leaders of the 2 Houses….

  39. 39.

    SenyorDave

    Let’s see, be President or not having to listen to Reid and Pelosi droning on an on. It’s a pretty close call, thank God the Orange Man Group is asleep in the back.

  40. 40.

    PeakVT

    O: “Pretending to care about what Republicans say has gotten old.”

    N: “Pretending to care about what Republicans say has gotten really, really old.”

    R: “God, I’m old.”

  41. 41.

    Chyron HR

    Ron Howard: However, the man Lucille mistook for a waiter was in fact the President of the United States of America.

  42. 42.

    freedom tower

    Okay guys, no matter what happens between now and November we’ve got to make sure our one, ahem, two party rule remains intact. Now, Harry, fart through this piece of bread and eat it.

  43. 43.

    Punchy

    Is it just me, or does Nancy have a “Oh come on, DO ME, DAMMIT” look to her face? In the direction of Reid, of course.

    Now enjoy your breakfast.

  45. 45.

    SRW1

    Boehner: Sweet Jesus, I could be on the back nine by now! And the last fag is already more than an hour.

  46. 46.

    Culture of Truth

    Pelosi: “fuckin’ men”

    Obama: “fuckin’ white people”

    Reid: “fuckin’ tea partiers”

    Boehner: “Zzzzzzzzzzzz”

  47. 47.

    SRW1

    @kwAwk:

    Since it is an open thread, I’ve been thinking the last few days about how could John Cole possibly be fat as he claims.

    Maybe he regularly has to taste Tunch’s tuna. Oily stuff that.

  48. 48.

    NobodySpecial

    @kwAwk:

    Since it is an open thread, I’ve been thinking the last few days about how could John Cole possibly be fat as he claims.

    He captures mass that comes close due to the proximity of Tunch’s gravitational pull. Think of him as Colemari Damancy.

  50. 50.

    Bill Murray

    @dmsilev: Tbogg’s got a good one too

    tbogg.firedoglake.com/2010/07/27/quivering-with-antici-pation/

    It seems that James Joyner wrote a somewhat passive defense of Our Lady of the Broken TI-84 and in the comments there was some minor quibbling and tut-tutting and a healthy-heapin’ handful of econobonics words like “predictive” “multi-causal” “independent predictor” “differing methodologies” and “intervening assumptions”, all of which will undoubtedly remind you of the the many reasons why your guest lists for parties are usually fairly light on economists and quite top heavy with strippers.

    econobonics, so good

  51. 51.

    Face

    @dmsilev: The guy(s) from IHB are ususally pretty reserved and straight (no politics, no rants). That he blistered her article so thoroughly tells a lot about just how pissed he must have been.

  53. 53.

    jayjaybear

    Chyron HR: That was genius! I never did realize just how much Nancy Pelosi looks like Jessica Walter before…

  54. 54.

    fourmorewars

    Two open-thread thoughts, one actually involving someone in the pic:

    First, off-pic: was curious if someone was interested in making a snarky post regarding a rightwing ad that’s run on this page recently (I know the deal about googleads, and the-ads-don’t-have-to-reflect-the-blog’s-opinion, etc.) . It criticizes Barbara Boxer’s ‘arrogance’……by showing a clip of that remarkable exchange she had with Inhofe, where she had the ungodly arrogance to inform him he didn’t get to run things anymore. Pretty goddamn ballsy of them, and what does it say about the target audience, that the ad assumes they’ll watch that exchange and conclude BOXER is the asshole?

    Secondly, regarding Pelosi. A coupla months ago it was pointed out somewhere that Gingrich had been on MTP five times last year to Pelosi’s zero. Unbelievable. But, then, I read something that made me wonder, ‘is it?’ Read the start of a recent article in the LAT about Democrats and the Sunday shows. It claimed, bs or not, that one or another of those show’s staff had found Pelosi’s office tough to pin down, i.e. she was somehow reluctant to be booked.

    Obviously I wouldn’t put it past the now-right-leaning LAT, or past any of those quisling Sunday morning shows, being disingenuous about how hard they try to book Democrats. But the thing is, that had better be the explanation, because if Pelosi was actually ducking those shows she should be de-Speakered, like yesterday.

    Maybe someone should ask her office about it.

  56. 56.

    Sentient Puddle

    @dmsilev: Well, there’s a small, miniscule grain of truth to what McArdle is saying. Government intervention was necessary for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. From the point of view of the banks, those are things that should have died out long ago, or better yet never been born to begin with.

    But of course, she’s absolutely wrong that those mortgages were what caused the housing crisis. I’d venture a guess to say that those are the safest mortgages out there because they’re so stable. It amuses me that she cites Michael Lewis, but not The Big Short, where he lays out exactly how ARMs broke everything. It’s just not possible to fit FRMs into the crisis.

  58. 58.

    debbie

    No caption, but Boehner looks just as engaged as McCain did when he sat in that very same spot during the emergency bipartisan economic meeting held during the 2008 election.

  59. 59.

    Cain

    @wilfred:

    It used to be The Great Society in exchange for Vietnam. Now it’s just Vietnam.

    I mentioned in another thread that none of oregon’s democratic representatives voted for it. We rock.

    cain

  60. 60.

    PTirebiter

    Lemme guess, Boehner’s checkin’ out his manicure again?

    BTW- TNC put up an interesting take on Sen. Webb’s op-ed yesterday. The consensus from the thread was, among other things, the WSJ wrote the headline and not Webb.

  64. 64.

    Peter

    Breitbart would say that you’ve obviously photoshopped this image to remove Obama’s feet from the table. That’s why “uppity” isn’t showing up so much in the caption suggestions.

  65. 65.

    rikyrah

    Orange Julius: ‘ how long until Happy Hour?’

    Pelosi: ‘First, they stuck me next to Glow Man…and now, I have to pretend to take Harry Reid seriously.’

    POTUS: ‘ How do I pretend to take Reid seriously? Ah, yes, finger to the temple’.

  66. 66.

    QuaintIrene

    “Can’t wait to get to Tastee Sub. Should I order the ham, salami and cheese? Or the tuna?”

  67. 67.

    QuaintIrene

    Can’t wait to get to Tastee Sub. Should I order the ham, salami and cheese? Or the tuna?

  68. 68.

    licensed to kill time

    I see Obama attempting a Vulcan mind meld, with Nancy giving a powerful assist. Or perhaps he’s putting up his deflector shields to block the Boner dumb bomb scatter effect.

  69. 69.

    mclaren

    Obama’s still the smartest guy in the room. He genuinely means well, but what the hell can you do when you’re stuck in a country full of crazy people with a whole host of juggernaut unsustainable systemic crises bearing down on you?

    You can practically hear Obama thinking: And I gave up a shot at a damn-near-guaranteed partner-track position in one of the East Coast’s best law firms for this?

  72. 72.

    Randy P

    @Mattski: It randomly picks from a collection of tag lines every time you see the banner. Even if all you do is refresh the same page.

  73. 73.

    The Dangerman

    I’m fairly certain that Boehner is using his extra long tie to jack himself off. Check for stains on that blue tie!

    Edit: Shitfuck, gene108 at 48 beat me to it (said beating in the time sense, of course).

  74. 74.

    Hugin & Munin

    Nobody Special@48: I don’t relly want to think about Cole’s ‘sticky balls,’ kthxbye.

    But, major win for the Katamari Damacy ref!

  75. 75.

    licensed to kill time

    @Randy P:

    It randomly picks from a collection of tag lines

    For some reason when I read this, I started hearing “It puts the lotion on its skin” in my mind. Weird, I know.

  76. 76.

    nicteis

    O: Seriously, Harry, it shouldn’t be that hard. Just start looking at Blanche and Ben the way Nancy’s looking at you.

    R: Okay, but do I have to mean it?

  77. 77.

    Montysano

    @Bill Murray:

    Tbogg’s got a good one too

    That’s an understatement. It’s another Tbogg masterpiece:

    At The Atlantic, her wrongness is part of her charm, it drives traffic to the site. She is a five-car pile-up of clown cars laden with circus geeks who bite the heads off of chickens. You can’t look away, and it is all for free on the internet…..Thank you Al Gore.

  78. 78.

    fourmorewars

    @PTirebiter:
    Um, if anyone involved in that discussion had ever taken Journalism 101, they’d know Sen. Webb would never write a headline. NObody writes his own headline, except for maybe a longtime columnist who knows exactly how it’s going to be formatted. Headlines have to be formatted for column width, bold/unbold, ital/not ital, letter size, type style. The very words you use depend on whether they’ll fit the available space or not.

    I.e. headline-writing is something the editors do back in the newsroom, putting together the look of the paper. Senator Webb would have had nothing to do with it.

  80. 80.

    Aet

    “I’m already saying ‘No’, so I might as well take a nap.”

    , or,

    “Wake me when I have to say ‘no’ again.”

  84. 84.

    Mike B

    Reid: “Sorry. I had beans for lunch.”

    (Childish, I know. I couldn’t resist.)

  85. 85.

    Phoenician in a time of Romans

    “I bet if I killed this guy by shoving his glasses through his ear drum, my popularity rating would go up through the roof and there’s no way they could get an impeachment vote through. Hmm…”

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