Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Joe Lieberman disappointingly reemerged to remind us that he’s still alive.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

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

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Republicans in disarray!

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Bark louder, little dog.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

I was promised a recession.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Old People Suck, But Not As Much as the Professional Left

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108Comments

  1. 1.

    mr. whipple

    You know who really suck? Old members of the professional left.

    Those are the worst, no question. It’s always ‘Viet Nam’ this, and ‘Viet Nam’ that, and going on and on about the music and drugs. Zzzzzzzzzz.

  2. 2.

    Mark

    I do find them a little annoying – I mean, they’re always talking about how they sat in at some segregated barber shop in Antioch back in ’54. But anybody who voted either wasted their votes on the Green party or voted D in the last 11 presidential elections is a free thinker and a true American.

  4. 4.

    Mark

    @mr. whipple – true that. Always bitching about Robert McNamara. Compare Bob Herbert’s scathing “obituary” of him to his ‘no comment’ when Reagan died.

  10. 10.

    Jager

    You know who really pisses me off is my great, great, great, great, great grandfather whining about the pension he got shafted on after the Revoluntionary War and how fucking hard it was throwing off the yoke of the King of England, I don’t think that old whiney bastard could have put up with the god damned humidity in Viet Nam and then there is my grandfather bitching about all the mud in the trenches in WW1…all a bunch of pussys.

  11. 11.

    beltane

    Maybe not everyone in the professional left sucks, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that David Sirota really does suck badly.

  14. 14.

    Politically Lost

    I’m loving the GOP idiot Ghomert, “TERROR BABIES” thing.

    I wonder if I can sponsor my very own islamunifacist woman to come to the US and spawn a terror baby. Is there a website where I can sign up?

  15. 15.

    David Hunt

    You know who really suck? Old members of the professional left. Splitters.

    And I look at the top of the page and under the logo I see, “Screw the Judean People’s Front. Splitters!”

  16. 16.

    steviez314

    I mean, look at the latest PPP generic poll:

    Republicans again lead the generic Congressional ballot test, 45-42, a
    slight jump over a 43-43 tie last month and a 43-41 Democratic edge in June. These are
    the GOP’s best numbers since April, when they had a 47-42 advantage. The difference in
    the last month is small movements towards Democrats among independents, from a 38-
    31 GOP edge to only 37-33 now, but Democrats have become slightly less unified around
    their party’s candidates and Republicans more so around theirs.

    So indies are moving to the Dems, while the Dems frag themselves and the Republicans line up behind their crazy old uncles.

    Jeez, I’d never want to be in a foxhole with any Democrats.

  18. 18.

    Sue

    The only way you are going to repair the damage you have done today is to offer a senior discount at the Balloon Juice Store. And it had better be a big one, ’cause you know we’re not satisfied with half-measures.

  20. 20.

    Lev

    So the professional left is angry because Obama isn’t the fire-spewing, conflict-starting, highly-ideological liberal warrior he promised he would be.

    Except that he didn’t promise that. He kept saying “postpartisan” in reference to himself. He complained about trivial and annoying cable news-style debates. During his campaign he rarely started fights, preferring to let his opponents attack him in over the top ways–remember Hillary and Obama’s Kintergarten paper?–and then counterpunch while making the other guy seem like a heartless aggressor.

    In other words, campaign Obama is pretty much President Obama. I don’t agree with everything he’s done, but the professional left is mostly angry because Obama isn’t like them.

  21. 21.

    steve

    “Listen, if you wanted to join the Disgruntled Progressives, you’d have to really hate Obama.”

    “I do!”

    “Yeah? How much?”

    “A lot!”

    [pause]

    “Right, you’re in.”

  22. 22.

    Comrade Dread

    Oh, sure, you jest now, but just wait until the rest of us are subjected to endless television and print introspective pieces on Boomer hippies and geriatrics as if they’re the first and most important generation to ever wake up and wonder why the f*** those damn kids are on their lawns, and it’ll be treated like the solemn pronouncements from one Mega-Philosopher combined from the DNA of Buddha, Solomon, Socrates, Aristotle, Locke, and Nietzsche.

    Screw those old hippie farts.

  24. 24.

    ruemara

    Anyone know of downers for the most godawful fucking neurotic cat that has ever been in existence? I’m kinda tired of the non-stop screaming for food, 3 mins after he’s eaten and there’s still food inn the bowl. It’s insane and he’s already on medication for thyroid-but it hasn’t helped a bit on the screaming and whining. No, he’s not in pain nor is he interested in anything but eating and sleeping. Oh yeah, and pooping. This is driving us and the other cat crazy.

  29. 29.

    DickSpudCouchPotatoDetective

    In contemporary politics, the contest seems to be between people who don’t know much of anything, and don’t care, and people who know a lot, and think they know everything.

    Both groups are insane. The main difference for me is that the former group has no history, and doesn’t seem interested in how we got here. The latter group knows some history, but doesn’t seem to be able to learn anything from it.

    As a ward of the state, now that I have retired, I can sit back and watch both of these groups go to work every day and earn my living. Serves ya all right.

  30. 30.

    Stuck in the Funhouse

    @steviez314:

    Polling in mid terms is notorious for inaccuracy and triple that before Labor Day, when the campaign begins in earnest. It will all likely come down to, How much more enthused are the wingnuts to go vote for goopers, and how the choice and motivation for independents and dems between their impatience on the economy and putting the party of Bush back in power. Personally, if I was a dem running for congress, I’d carry around a Mission Accomplished placard all the time, blare Katrina and the Waves music ever where I went. “Walking on Sunshine” Oy yeah.

    Oh, and every few days shoot somebody in the face, metaphorically, of course

  32. 32.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Lev:

    the professional left is mostly angry because Obama isn’t like them.

    The professional left is mostly angry because the professional left is professionally angry, or at least _performing_ as angry. It’s a fine role to play, and it never goes away. (I’ve been to graduate school in the humanities. I know the type.) It’s just louder than it used to be, because of the internetz. And it enters the broader political discussion more often because the other media got worried about their irrelevance and decided to try to harness all this energy out there they never felt themselves.

  33. 33.

    DickSpudCouchPotatoDetective

    @ruemara:

    Yes. The remedy is a 3 x 5 card at the grocery store that says “Nice cat free to good home.”

  35. 35.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    @steviez314: Actually in a foxhole, I would only want to be with Democrats. It’s just convincing them that they need to get in the foxhole which is driving me crazy.

  38. 38.

    homerhk

    I would urge everyone to read this article in Vanity Fair – http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/08/can-washington-be-fixed.html

    anyone not understanding the frustration right now in the WH could do with reading this and reflecting.

    it is illuminating watching re-runs of the West Wing. The Stimulus Bill alone would have been enough domestic and foreign policy liberal achievments for 2 series of the West Wing! A whole episode devoted to mandatory minimums and that was done pretty much without a peep. A victory when a healthcare bill is passed which limited lawsuits to $5 million! The things that Obama has achieved have been liberal wet dreams for decades and yet that’s just not enough.

  39. 39.

    jl

    Self proclaimed Deadheads who worry about whether they should clap as snooty classical music concerts are the worst sort of people.

    What would Mickey Hart say about such a thing? Nothing good, I am sure.

    They are very dangerous because of their obvious deep existential confusion.

    After that, self professed hard as nails and zealous Steelers fans who get pedicures, and then advertise it in public.

    After that, home gardeners who hate on growing zucchini.

    After that, self advertized pet loving bloggers who refuse to post on a regular basis pictures of their pretty pet cats of obscure Turkish ancestry.

    We will fail as society unless these dangerous elements are ostracized, reviled, renounced, rejected, repudiated and refudiated.

  40. 40.

    Eric U.

    Today I had to sit through three light cycles because of an old person too timid to turn left. That sucked.

  41. 41.

    fasteddie9318

    @steviez314:

    Jeez, I’d never want to be in a foxhole with any Democrats.

    It’s a big tent party. You’ve got Democrats who would jump on a grenade for you, Democrats who would rather throw you on the grenade, and Democrats who would yank the pin on their own grenade to kill both of you.

  43. 43.

    WereBear

    @ruemara: What is he eating? My cat had the nickname of Hurl Boy until I got him off grains, and added probiotic to his canned.

    Now he’s happy as two clams with erotic intentions.

  45. 45.

    MikeJ

    Stayed up til 4 this morning, saw several good meteors, but not the numbers I’m used to. I usually go out in the middle of nowhere, but just couldn’t be arsed last night.

    I took about 50-60 long exposures, but only managed to get one meteor pic, and even in it, you need to know in advance what you’re looking for. (red streak, right side center.)

  47. 47.

    DickSpudCouchPotatoDetective

    @fasteddie9318:

    All of them better than the Republican who pulls the pin and hands you a grenade and tells you it’s a multi-tool.

    Or puts it in a shoebox and tells you it’s a pair of sneakers.

    Or tosses it into your yard and says it will play the 1812 Overture.

    Or insists that the country was founded on principles of grenade warfare.

  48. 48.

    Bill Murray

    In any case aren’t the Baby Boomer, professional leftists mostly people like Chris Matthews, Joke Line, Maureen Dowd? Sure they are really 1 out of those three (baby boomer, professional, leftist) but they are as far to the left as polite discourse is allowed to go. Sure they know when to clap at the symphony and how to wax poetic at wine tastings, but sometimes life requires more than that

  49. 49.

    applecoreinaz

    Stupid shit, this whole thread and both manufactured tropes. Just bring the “I’m lazy” and call it a week. Fuck.

  50. 50.

    DickSpudCouchPotatoDetective

    professional leftists mostly people like Chris Matthews, Joke Line, Maureen Dowd?

    Three pretty diverse folks. One is an embarrassing suckup to anyone with money, or power, or even looks. One is a joke line. And the other is a crazy shrew who thinks sarcasm is penetrating analysis.

  53. 53.

    Ailuridae

    @Trinity:

    Its an excellent and interesting beer. I never understood the “can’t cook” thing; are you scared of your stove?

    Google on beer pairing + recipes and fine something with minimal ingredients that sounds appetizing.

  55. 55.

    FormerSwingVoter

    i was once a treehouse
    i lived in a cake
    but i never saw the way
    the orange slayed the rake
    i was only three years dead
    but it told a tale
    and now listen, little child
    to the safety rail

  57. 57.

    Violet

    @ruemara: @WereBear:

    What is he eating? My cat had the nickname of Hurl Boy until I got him off grains, and added probiotic to his canned.

    Definitely look into the food situation. And think outside the box with it. A friend of mine’s dog has had a finicky digestive system for several years now. After trying various specialty foods, the vet has finally put the dog on a vegetarian diet. Yes, a vegetarian dog. And the dog is finally doing well. His digestive problems are down, his coat is healthier, and he’s overall happier and full of much more energy despite this being the hottest time of year. My friends are thrilled and feel like they’ve gotten their old dog back.

    You never know what the problem might be and it could be something you would never consider.

  59. 59.

    MNPundit

    It doesn’t work because old people of the professional left like Bob Herbet while critical (rightly) of Obama aren’t as livid at the wasted opportunity as we (younger) are.

  61. 61.

    Allison W.

    Rachel Maddow doesn’t suck – even though I don’t always agree with her. I rec her to anyone who asks.

  63. 63.

    Allison W.

    @DickSpudCouchPotatoDetective:

    Three pretty diverse folks. One is an embarrassing suckup to anyone with money, or power, or even looks. One is a joke line. And the other is a crazy shrew who thinks sarcasm is penetrating analysis.

    they have a common thread – people I can’t stand listening to or reading.

  64. 64.

    Kerry Reid

    You know who really suck? Old members of the professional left. Splitters.

    Especially the ones with the first name “Bob” and the last name “Somerby.”

  65. 65.

    soonergrunt

    @Politically Lost: @SpotWeld:
    I’d say that’s something that could be represented by a picture of John’s pets on a coffee mug or a T-shirt maybe, with an “oh, noes, TERROR BABIES!” blazoned across the top in Homeland Security Red.

  67. 67.

    Kerry Reid

    @mr. whipple:
    It reminds me of an alternative-universe version of A Hard Day’s Night:

    “I protested the war for you!”
    “I bet you’re sorry you won.”

  70. 70.

    Trinity

    @Ailuridae: Good suggestion and instead of “can’t cook” I should have said “prefer-to-sit-on-my-lazy-ass-and-just-drink-beer”.

    Cooking requires patience. Of which I have little.

    I do however have a wonderful little Italian restaurant near by that makes some delightfully fresh salads. hmmmm….

  73. 73.

    Malron

    OhMyFuckingGod.

    I just saw the previews for some new sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart. She’s still smokingly hot. And the olds suck. That is all. You may now return to your regularly scheduled freakout.

  75. 75.

    Third Eye Open

    Hey there everyone. I would like to ask that you all take a moment and vote for Apalachicola River Keepers in their endeavor to get a grant to continue monitoring the Oilpocalypse’s effect on the Apalachicola River. If you can’t do this, may I suggest you listen to this.

  76. 76.

    maus

    @Violet: I have a kitteh with a milk allergy, so limited-ingredient foods have been excellent. Mud Bay stores have limited-ingredient (petco should as well) and lib’rul communist Trader Joes have OMGSOCHEAP dry and wet food that lacks unnecessary dairy and other fillers.

    It’s also nice to not use food that won’t be from one of the few megavendors out there, I know my pets won’t be poisoned :)

  77. 77.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Trinity: Find things in your fridge, place them in a tortilla, add salsa, wrap, and eat. You can heat some or none of the the things as you choose.

  86. 86.

    Paris

    Kids these days couldn’t produce a movement of the quality and sincerity of SDS if they ate 2 pounds of beans and took a laxative.

  88. 88.

    stuckinred

    @Paris:

    Sing a song for the children who are gone
    Sing a song for Diana
    Huntress of the moon and a lady of the Earth
    Weather woman Diana [

  91. 91.

    NineJean

    @ruemara: How about water? I assume he has a bowl, but try giving him a running water source. There are fountains & such you can spend money on, but what I did with my thyroid-impaired cats was just turn on a dribble in the bathtub. An hour in the morning, and an hour or so in the evening really did shut them up. And, with thyroid issues, they need as much water as you can get them to drink.

  93. 93.

    Larkspur

    Hey. Bill Moyers was born in 1934. Not a Boomer. You can acquit him on that count anyway.

    Besides, Boomers exist because the Greatest Generation saved the world, then came home and went at it like bunnies. Yes, bunnies. They could have held back a little. Or maybe dropped one, drowned one, you know, the alternate spawn-day plan.

  94. 94.

    Linda Featheringill

    Oh, come on now. Some of us old lefties are actually nice. Okay, we don’t want to talk about Vietnam any more. Would you like to talk about Haymarket? :-)

    The really sad thing about looking at some of this stuff for decades is that the more things change, the more they remain the same.

    Sigh.

  96. 96.

    Larkspur

    I’m reading about the eve of the Civil War right now, because I haz been too ignorant about that whole deal, and holy jeebus, the 1850s was scary. There were some whacked out people with power and/or a soapbox. Dear god, if they’d had some steampunk version of nukes, we Boomers would have never existed.

    On the really cool side, some 40,000 cheering people watched Abraham Lincoln win his party’s nomination in Chicago. And I’m betting (since I haven’t read much further yet) that during Lincoln’s entire presidency, there never was heard a discouraging word, and the skies were not cloudy all day. You know, party unity-wise. Other people said mean things, but party unity was all good. ‘Cause of no Boomers, partly.

  97. 97.

    bobbo

    @Eric U.:

    Today I had to sit through three light cycles because of an old person too timid to turn left. That sucked.

    Seriously! It happens every day of my freaking life in L.A. Is it a universal phenomenon? And it’s not just old people, I think it cuts across all ages, genders, ethnicities, etc. What is it with people? Pull out into the intersection, idiot! So people behind you can turn too.

  98. 98.

    Toast

    My contribution to Boomer Bashing: Kate Miller-Heidke’s Politics in Space. The payoff comes at the 2:33 mark.

    (The studio version is better, but I couldn’t find a video of it. Also, I think this video is kinda cute.)

  100. 100.

    HyperIon

    @FlipYrWhig:

    I thought he was a youngster when he worked for LBJ.

    He was..a 30 year old.
    I am NOT looking forward to the first 20 something Press Secretary.

  101. 101.

    Eric U.

    @bobbo: doesn’t happen here every day, but I thought it fit the thread in an emily litella sorta way. Although it was almost as frustrating as anyone in the WH thinking they can watch TV and see anyone from the left. The “left” as played on TV are nothing more than a batch of pretenders that couldn’t be happier with Republican rule.

  103. 103.

    Bill Murray

    @Malron: and it also has Joey Lawrence as an unemployed commodities broker Hart hires to be a manny for her niece and nephew. Whoa!

  105. 105.

    FlipYrWhig

    @HyperIon:

    I am NOT looking forward to the first 20 something Press Secretary.

    Now I can only imagine a guy in skinny jeans and ironic hornrim glasses constantly texting his way through the “gaggle.”

  108. 108.

    SciVo

    @ruemara: My sister lets her cats jump on the counter when she runs the faucet for whatever, but if that doesn’t work for you, then you may need a cat fountain. I don’t know why they need running water; they’re just weird that way with their delicate systems, like the opposite of dogs that can fearlessly eat poop.

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