Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

It’s the corruption, stupid.

This really is a full service blog.

All your base are belong to Tunch.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

No one could have predicted…

John Fetterman: Too Manly for Pennsylvania.  Paid for by the Oz for Senator campaign.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

T R E 4 5 O N

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199Comments

  6. 6.

    Steeplejack

    Night shift checking in early, after the last of a horrendous run of day shifts. How do you normal people do it?!

    Just beginning my sweet, sweet weekend, which stretches all the way to Tuesday afternoon. Got a rib-eye and a potato the size of my head pending for dinner. And I’m going to make an apple pie in a little bit. And the weather here in NoVa is perfect–80° right now, and it’s only going up to 79° tomorrow. Bliss.

    Steep + 1

  7. 7.

    Comrade Mary

    Hey, kids! Do you like the neo-soul with the crooning and the horns and the decent backbeat and stuff? Definitely Not the Opera played something high and sultry today called “She Said” that I just loved on first listen. It sent me running to the Net once it was over. But the video was a bit of a shock, although the dancing is great. (There’s some boobage on view briefly, so it’s potentially NSFW).

  15. 15.

    KG

    I got bored so I decided to see who the sacrificial Dem is against my corrupt Representative. I may have found a Democratic Tea Partier. I’m in the Ca-42, Gary Miller, who didn’t break 50% against three primary challengers, gets to go against a guy named Michael Williamson. The guy’s website almost reads like a Tea Partier.

    Life behind the Orange Curtain, I suppose.

  18. 18.

    RedKitten

    Well, Hurricane Earl came and went, and we escaped unscathed. We didn’t even lose our power. A lot of people in Halifax are without power, though.

    Now, I’m just enjoying the brisk breeze that has been left behind — it’s SO refreshing after this ridiculous heat and humidity.

  20. 20.

    shortstop

    Early this morning, I dreamed that John Cole was roller skating under our window, waking me up and pissing me off. Turned out to be squirrels in the garbage cans. Someone interpret that for me.

  24. 24.

    Anne Laurie

    @RedKitten:
    __

    Well, Hurricane Earl came and went, and we escaped unscathed. We didn’t even lose our power.

    Glad to hear that! Earl was even more of a bust here than expected — not even enough rain that I could skip watering my tomatoes this afternoon. But, yeah, being outside when it’s around 75 degrees & lightly breezy & NOT STINKING 70+ HUMIDITY is a great mood enhancer!

    Now if LitleBrit could just check in to let us know how things are with her menagerie…

  26. 26.

    morzer

    @shortstop:

    The garbage can symbolizes the state of the economy, and the squirrels are the GOP looting the place.

    As for your dream, sometimes a John Cole on roller-skates is just a John Cole on roller-skates….

  27. 27.

    Mike in NC

    Earl was even more of a bust here than expected—not even enough rain that I could skip watering my tomatoes this afternoon.

    Surfing the cable news stations, there was an almost palpable sense of disappointment that there wasn’t the physical destruction and human misery that much of the media was prepared to report on.

  32. 32.

    Corner Stone

    @shortstop:

    I dreamed that John Cole was roller skating under our window

    The dude can’t even walk down the sidewalk without doing $100K of damage to himself. In your dreams is about the only place that clumsy MF’er is going to put on roller skates.

  36. 36.

    demkat620

    So I had to go to the mall,(my work lets us wear jeans all summer, but its over Tuesday)

    Needed to get pants and a few other things.

    Walked the whole mall just window shopping.

    16 stores had Help Wanted signs. I haven’t seen that in along time.

  38. 38.

    Yutsano

    Moving sucks. That is all.

    @RedKitten: WHEW!! Glad you and yours are okay. I got a touch nervous when I saw that red disk heading right for NS. I’m gonna guess SamKitten giggled through the entire affair?

    @jeffreyw: I smell a frittata challenge coming on! Of course I’m in the middle of the big move so I might be out of touch for a few days, but I’m up to that throwdown meester!

  41. 41.

    Stillwater

    @Yutsano: Just wanna thank you for a tip you unintentionally gave me while I was lurking in yesterdays early open thread. To wit: ad blocker. Amazing. Thanks so much.

  43. 43.

    Yutsano

    @Stillwater: You do realize you will be subjecting me to a rather nasty tirade from JC now because I even mentioned it. Right now though I support him through Amazon (since I won’t torture him through PayPal any further) so I’m not totally leaving him in the lurch. Italian tuna doesn’t just show up in Tunch’s dish you know.

    @jeffreyw: I suddenly have a massive craving for tapas.

  46. 46.

    FlipYrWhig

    Has everyone noticed that Kos’s new thing is to call people “weenies”? Worst. Catchphrase. Ever. He should put Atrios on retainer and come up with some trippy new shit, like “shitweenies” or “WHEEEnie commission.”

  47. 47.

    J sub D

    Craigslist Blocks Access to ‘Adult Services’ Pages

    Craigslist, the popular Web site for classified ads, has blocked access to its “adult services” section and replaced the link with a black label with the word “censored.”

    The action on Saturday follows a wave of criticism by law-enforcement officials and groups that oppose human trafficking, who have said that the ads on the adult section of Craigslist were facilitating prostitution and the selling of women against their will.

    Does anyone believe that Craigslist is facilitating “the selling of women against their will”?

    Oh noes! Transexual escort services! Drop the corruption prosecutions, put the murder and rape investigations on hold, people are paying to get fucked!

  48. 48.

    FlipYrWhig

    From valdivia‘s link:

    The technique for building Stradivari instruments was a family secret known only by patriarch Antonio Stradivari and his sons, Omobono and Francesco.

    How do we know we’re not like Omobonos? Because we’re not like Omobonos!

    [/mcardle]

    (See: McArdle Really Hates Sex at Dawn. Relax, bros, it’s a book.)

  50. 50.

    HRA

    @demkat620:

    I went to the mall today, too. Help wanted signs almost at every store here as well. I also noticed a lot of shoppers. Then school does start here this coming week.

    We have had super high gusting winds here all day. I had to stop and hold still before I crossed to the parking lot or get blown into the road. It’s not Earl. It came from the West of us.

  53. 53.

    General Stuck

    Greenwaldo complains the SS commission is not providing minutes to their meetings so no one knows what they are deliberating and operating in toto secrecy. SECRECY, CoNsPiRacY Oh noes,

    But he is certain they are doing one thing and one thing only, planning to cut grandma off and feed her catfood, because he read it on a blog and thanks Alan Simpson for doing a service confirming to us in wingnut code (SeCret) what is going on behind closed doors. And no doubt Rahm (The Showermaster) is the puppeteering the whole show, doing the Obamohitler (worse than Bush), bidding. But since it’s secret, well, shut up that’s why!

  55. 55.

    Linda Featheringill

    @shortstop:

    Interpret the dream:

    I see a large, fair cat in your future, with two barky dogs as minions. You, of course, are the cat’s humble slave.

    Okay?

    Or, to be more Freudian, you are jealous of John because he seems so happy in his servitude that you want to be dominated and harassed by little yappy beings.

    Let me know how this turns out.

  56. 56.

    Stillwater

    @Yutsano: you will be subjecting me to a rather nasty tirade from JC now

    Yeah. (Guilty sigh.) I know. Sorry. I was gonna write that post in code, you know, like ‘thanks for the [email protected]*R tip’, but …. well. The hounds of hell have been released. Let’s agree to never speak of it again.

  57. 57.

    FlipYrWhig

    @General Stuck: Glenn Greenwald, certain that someone in politics has malign intentions only he is ballsy and clever enough to perceive? That’s so unlike him.

  58. 58.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Mark S.:

    The Big 10 sure picked a funny way to divide their conference. I guess if you did it East/West you’d have a Ohio St/Michigan/Penn St. Super Duper Division. Still, it’s pretty goofy.

    Coming from a conference that can’t count, you expected more?

  59. 59.

    South of I-10

    @RedKitten: Great news!

    We’ve been out on the bayou all day. Lots of bird watching and Little South got to see some gators. Now I am having a margarita and waiting on the LSU/UNC game.

  61. 61.

    Stillwater

    @General Stuck: Greenwaldo complains the SS commission is not providing minutes to their meetings so no one knows what they are deliberating and operating in toto secrecy. SECRECY, CoNsPiRacY Oh noes,

    I admire your persistent faith in the goodness of President Obama (as distinguished from citizen-author-Senator Obama). I wish you well in this since if your right, it’s still a win for all of us.

  63. 63.

    Linda Featheringill

    @J sub D:

    People sold on Craigs List against their will:

    Probably not. If the authorities received a complaint of such a thing, I would be in favor of a FULL investigation.

    On the other hand, there is no real crime in this country and the guys have to investigate something . . .

  66. 66.

    Yutsano

    @Stillwater: Ah it’s okay. I’m tough and I’ve been through worse.

    And in response to your other comment: well, keep in mind Congress could pass every single cut to SS imaginable and it’s pointless with Obama’s signature. So he is the ultimate arbiter as to what happens with anything that comes out of Congress. But I think the ultimate firewall here is Sanders. I can’t imagine him sitting idly by and letting the Republicans get everything they want here.

  67. 67.

    eemom

    @General Stuck:

    Greenwaldo, tee hee. How come I never thought of that?

    Not quite apropos, however, cuz Waldo is that dude you have a hard time picking out in a crowd. GG, by contrast, kinda stands out on top of that massive tower of updates.

    btw, I have a friend who was in Glennzie’s class in law school. She remembers him as not saying much, and being a “somewhat menacing” presence glowering in the corner.

    No doubt he was seething over those Dear Leaderesque professors who presumed to know more about law than he did.

  69. 69.

    Corner Stone

    @FlipYrWhig:

    I hope I can continue to amuse you, for that is what gives meaning to my otherwise hollow life.

    You keep commenting and I’ll keep chuckling near uncontrollably.

  73. 73.

    FlipYrWhig

    @eemom: I wonder how many of his law school papers included some variant of the phrase, “Only one conclusion is possible.”

  74. 74.

    J sub D

    @General Stuck:

    Greenwaldo complains the SS commission is not providing minutes to their meetings so no one knows what they are deliberating and operating in toto secrecy. SECRECY, CoNsPiRacY Oh noes,

    I always feel better when government policy is debated in secret. That whole open records/open meetings thingee is just a ploy by the right to let the ignorant masses know what their betters are doing.

    They’ll find out what’s in it after we pass it. And they damned sure better like it.

  75. 75.

    Corner Stone

    @FlipYrWhig: Meh, it only happens when people keep insisting that “Nothing can be done!”.
    Otherwise I have a stern countenance as I look for someone to be wrong on the intertrons.

    ETA – I mean other than Stuck. That’s too easy.

  76. 76.

    Stillwater

    @Yutsano: Well, Obama is on record saying he wants to cut the deficit by half by 2014 (is that right?, soon in any event) with military spending for the most part off the table, as is a tax increase on the top income earners. And the takeaway from the most recent G20 meeting was that eurozone countries and others agreed to cut deficits and balance budgets (austerity lights blinking wildly here). He made a case in that meeting for more stimulus, but was overruled by the Germans (and others). He tacitly agreed to endorse those austerity policies, even if the concession was only political.

    The elites have wanted to cut back social program spending since …when were social programs instituted? And echoing a DougJ post from yesterday, I have two additional words about it: bond vigilantes.

    The idea that our beloved Democratic party, which so valiantly fights for the interests of the working poor and middle class,would support these cuts seems crazy, I know. But they’re really a pretty conservative bunch.

    ETA: By ‘tax increase’ I don’t mean letting the Bush cuts expire. I mean a real tax increase.

  77. 77.

    Mark S.

    @eemom:

    btw, I have a friend who was in Glennzie’s class in law school. She remembers him as not saying much, and being a “somewhat menacing” presence glowering in the corner.

    Uncredited sources? Get ready for a 10,000 word rebuttal with ten updates.

  78. 78.

    burnspbesq

    @KG:

    I can relate. I’m in CA-40. Another election cycle of sending my money out of state to places where it might do some good.

  79. 79.

    metalgirl

    Humidity down to 36% from this morning’s 58% (which was such a welcome change from yesterday that I ran an extra mile this morning)! Lows in the 50s tonight!! Gonna have to have a long run tomorrow too, just because :) I guess this makes running all these muggy mornings over the summer worth it.

    Did anyone else get their “VOTE 2010 Official Campaign Kit” from the DNC today? It contains a 8″ x 10″ sticker to put in your window that says “This house stands with President Obama. Vote 2010” (with is picture) and a bumper sticker.

  80. 80.

    Allison W.

    OMFG!

    I was looking for wallpapers on National Geographic’s site when I saw this:

    Giuliani’s 9/11:

    Giuliani’s 9/11 reveals how one man, confronted by a city on its knees, stood strong in the face of the life-or-death challenges he never dreamt he would encounter. The mayor describes his urgent efforts to establish a safe command post for the city’s leadership team; protect sites like the Statue of Liberty, bridges and subways; marshal doctors and nurses; and conduct a press conference to let people know city leadership was intact and working to protect them.

    http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/giuliani-s-9-11-4981/Overview?source=fongcfeat1

    ugh,gag, choke, gag, puke. UGH!

  81. 81.

    General Stuck

    @Stillwater:

    Obama is on record saying he wants to cut the deficit by half by 2014 (is that right?, soon in any event) with military spending for the most part off the table,

    Not really.

    And fairly large ones in contracting. The military knows it needs to pare down unnecessary spending to focus on rebuilding a broken or near broken Army.

    So cuts in military spending is not off the table, but imo, should go much further, but then Obama and Gates run into all sorts of complaints from congress (D and R) about lost jobs in their districts. So the problem mostly lies with congress, and always has with reducing wasteful or unneeded military spending.

  82. 82.

    J sub D

    74 September 4th, 2010 at 7:23 pm
    J sub D

    Your comment is awaiting moderation.

    Followed by a most reasonable, civil if somewhat snarky comment.

    Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

  83. 83.

    burnspbesq

    @FlipYrWhig:

    I wonder how many of his law school papers included some variant of the phrase, “Only one conclusion is possible.”

    If he ever did that, he gets a pass from me. I have written those very words in briefs, protests, and requests for competent authority assistance. Usually followed by “The proposed adjustments are arbitrary and capricious, and represent an abuse of the Commissioner’s discretion.”

  84. 84.

    Allison W.

    @General Stuck:

    Greenwaldo complains the SS commission is not providing minutes to their meetings so no one knows what they are deliberating and operating in toto secrecy. SECRECY, CoNsPiRacY Oh noes,

    Well he and the FDL crowd certainly talk as if they know exactly what’s going on.

  86. 86.

    Yutsano

    @Stillwater:

    ETA: By ‘tax increase’ I don’t mean letting the Bush cuts expire. I mean a real tax increase.

    I’m okay with a gradual or phased in tax raise, but it won’t happen in Obama’s first term and it won’t happen until the Bush tax cuts phase out. And I’m in the let them all expire school, it was a cheap political ploy that the Republicans are demagoguing horribly. So for once I really want Congress to do what they do best here: nothing. And if the GOP does retake the House, they won’t win them back.

    EDIT: Jesus my alma mater is getting pasted right now but fuck we’re gonna have an awesome QB. And 56 yard field goal help a wee bit too.

  87. 87.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Stillwater:

    He made a case in that meeting for more stimulus, but was overruled by the Germans (and others). He tacitly agreed to endorse those austerity policies, even if the concession was only political.

    That single word “tacitly” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that passage. It lets you say that even though he’s on record preferring the opposite course of action, somewhere beneath it all is secret, “tacit” support. Oh, sure, there may be no evidence, but that is itself proof of his nefarious intentions!

  89. 89.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Allison W.:

    The mayor describes his urgent efforts to … protect sites like the Statue of Liberty, bridges and subways

    I imagine a spandex-clad, cape-bedecked, primary-color hued Rudy! hovering in the air near the Statue of Liberty, purposeful grimace on his face, chin thrust forward, his two fists clutching his Unbreakable Comb Of Thunder.

  90. 90.

    handy

    Was driving around today doing errands and had AM radio on to local station KKKFI, some glibtard dood waxes on about how poor Pfizer gets all their money taken away from them by big bad gubmnit taxes, therefore they’re forced to dump their money in foreign labor. Some guy (from OC of all places) calls him up, calls him on his Bush-Taxcuts-Now-And-Forever crap by pointing out that in the 50s, wages were high and jobs were everywhere, yet the top marginal rate in the 50s was 91%…

    And I kid you not, this lametard’s response was, “Yeah well it’s different because back then they could claim write-offs.” I turned off the radio.

  91. 91.

    Yutsano

    @Yutsano: Answering my own edit: Now it’s 17-10. I’ll take down by a touchdown with the QB taking the game by the balls. Now if the defense would just start stepping up here…

  92. 92.

    mr. whipple

    @valdivia:

    In fact, at least one study concluded that most people don’t even notice a difference in sound quality between a Stradivari violin and a modern counterpart.

    No shit.

  93. 93.

    Lady Sybil

    Something I have been wanting to say for a long time, and I might as well get it off my chest. I know there are a lot of dog lovers here. I understand that you love your pets, I really do. But I have been terrified of dogs all my life. As a child I was severely mauled by a dog. Later, as an adult, I was bitten twice. I am aware that most dogs are not a threat. I am aware that I suffer from a phobia, that my fear is not necessarily rational. I don’t think dogs are evil and I don’t want them destroyed, but every time one comes near me, I have an adrenilin spurt, rapid heartbeat, sometimes a full blown panic attack. I know this is usually not the dog owners’ fault. But no matter how I try to explain my situation, the dog owners invariably take offense, assure me that the dog has never bitten anyone, and almost always say something like, “how can you not love that precious little face?” Yesterday I had an appointment at an office that supplies medical prosthetic devices—I needed a new cane—and the receptionist had her dog sitting on the reception desk, poking its head through the opening in the glass. And when I asked her as politiely as I could to remove the dog from the ledger it was sitting on so I could sign it, she got extremely offended and hostile. I just wish dog lovers would be a little more considerate of those of us who suffer from this fear.

  95. 95.

    General Stuck

    @Lady Sybil: Understandable phobia, and some people are just assholes, whether they own a dog or not, but not many in my experience. There are some dogs to be wary around, for sure, but dogs are especially keen at sensing fear in humans, and react to that defensively. So it is sort of a self perpetuating situation, I suspect, when you come around dogs, even those that are harmless. Maybe try to look at it from the dogs perspective as well as yours, to understand them as creatures of instinct and very keen perception of human emotion. Sounds like you want to like dogs, and that is a good thing, because they can bring you much joy. Might consider hanging around small ones of a friend, or even taking the plunge and adopting a dog. There are many more dogs traumatized by humans than humans by dogs, and maybe you both could help each other out if you found a damaged one from human abuse. Or something like that.

  96. 96.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    I actually got to hear a Stradavarius once, and they don’t let just anyone play those things.

    But the artist who was playing it (on loan from the millionaire who owned it) tried to explain the difference between violins. The only way I could hear the diff. was when he played the same song on both a strad and a high-end modern violin one after the other, and had explained what to listen for.

  97. 97.

    handy

    @Lady Sybil:

    People just can be very self-absorbed and insensitive. It’s like the lady who brought her toddler to the gym I go to a few weeks ago, and when he was playing around with the some of the equipment, a trainer advised her to take him to the kid’s playroom she got all up in a huff and left.

  98. 98.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Lady Sybil: You were mauled and twice-bitten by dogs? I’d say that’s a very rational fear.

  99. 99.

    mr. whipple

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Certainly. And I would think you couldn’t go wrong, investment wise, in buying one and holding it long enough.

    But I would be very interested in seeing some blind studies done to see if experienced musicians could hear the difference between them and other quality makers from the era. The whole thing reeks of bullshit to me.

  100. 100.

    stuckinred

    @Lady Sybil: So you went to a place of business and got that treatment? You certainly should be talking to someone besides dog owners on a blog don’t you think?

  102. 102.

    Allison W.

    @FlipYrWhig:

    I imagine a spandex-clad, cape-bedecked, primary-color hued Rudy! hovering in the air near the Statue of Liberty, purposeful grimace on his face, chin thrust forward, his two fists clutching his Unbreakable Comb Of Thunder.

    You’re generous. I imagined a clown suit.

  103. 103.

    Corner Stone

    @mr. whipple: I just enjoy the music, whether it’s on a multi million dollar instrument or multi thousand.
    But I have heard/read that the Strats need to be played consistently or they lose their vibrancy. That could be part of the hype as well I guess.

  104. 104.

    ruemara

    @Linda Featheringill:

    as a person who gets to witness this, yes-on average. It depends on the rules that the governing body sets forth for those commissions, but most are so boring, you’d claw your eyes out if you had to watch.

  105. 105.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Lady Sybil: Do not blame you one bit. I had a fear of dog when I was younger because my neighbors dog was batshitinsane. Not the dog’s fault (or rather, succession of dogs), but still terrifying. Later, in my teens, the dog broke out of his fence and bit my brother in the leg. It (or one of its brethren) was walking off-leash late at night. I was sitting on my porch enjoying the night when the dog (golden retriever) made a break for me. Freaked me the fuck off even though he pulled back at the last moment under the shouts of his owner. I really think that animals should not be in work places (with some leeway) because not everybody is comfortable around animals. And, some people have severe allergies as well.

    College football question for the general audience: I am watching the NC/LSU game, and NC has had many players suspended for allegedly improperly talking to agents. In the same story in which I learned this, the writer was pointing out the gamespread on each game. Now, I understand some of the complaints about student athletes being in contact with agents, but in general, isn’t it fucking hypocritical to pretend that the athletes are students who should not make any money off their efforts when everyone else is making a shit-load of money off them?

    @Yutsano: Yes, it does. But once you’ve moved, you’ll be so damn happy, the moving itself will just be a faint memory.

    @shortstop: JC’s role is to stir shit up and get people to notice what’s going on. Clattering by in roller-skates would be an excellent way to do it. And, your dream isn’t that weird to me.

    jeffreyw, you continue to taunt, tempt, and delight me, Sir!

  106. 106.

    Corner Stone

    @stuckinred:

    So you went to a place of business and got that treatment?

    I honestly don’t know where this kind of action would be acceptable.
    I can guarantee I’ve never seen anything like it in TX, at least.

  107. 107.

    Steeplejack

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    Sorry, too weak to respond now. Just finished dinner, and all my blood has rushed to my stomach to process the steak and baked potato. I feel a python-like torpor coming on. But I could have just a half-glass more of that delicate screw-top Cabernet.

  108. 108.

    mr. whipple

    @Corner Stone:

    That’s interesting. I would think the marketing would be more romantic if they said each one only has so much life in it, and with each draw of the bow it loses just a fraction of it, before if finally dies spent. Yadda, yadda.

  110. 110.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Corner Stone:

    But I have heard/read that the Strats need to be played consistently or they lose their vibrancy. That could be part of the hype as well I guess.

    It’s what I have been told as well. Not just Strads though, any good violin needs to be played.

  111. 111.

    stuckinred

    @asiangrrlMN: The situation at Carolina extends into a number of schools. We (UGA) didn’t play arguably the best receiver in the nation (AJ Green) because of this “party” in Miami. AJ is a pretty good kid but he was held out just in case.

    I need to amend that, the Carolina violations include illegal contact with agents for a couple of players and hanky panky with tutors for the rest.

    Hypocritical? Sheeeeetttttt, the whole of big time college sports is hypocritical. Too bad I love it so much!

  115. 115.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Steeplejack: Hi, Steepman! So weird to see you so early, but cool. Sounds like dinner was YUMMY!

    @Corner Stone: Well, that’s a given. I played the cello for ten years. Gorgeous instrument.

    @stuckinred: Oh, I know. I’m right there with you. I love it, but I hate how hypocritical the entire system is. Ah well. What is a grrl to do? Go, LSU! (I’m a football tramp in that I pick a team per game for whom to root).

  116. 116.

    stuckinred

    @demo woman: It was easy, I gave my tickets away. Even though I’ve been here 26 years and have 2 degrees, I had to stay home and watch the Illini fall to Mizzou again. The Georgia game was not that appealing and I have the Picture in Picture so I watch 2 games at once anyway.

    Like right now I have the LSU_NC and TCU OSU tilts on.

  118. 118.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @asiangrrlMN: For a few seconds only. On a tour of Yale as a young violinist. It was a display item in a museum, but the loaned out to people (not me, I just got to briefly touch it) and such to keep it alive. I never dropped a violin or viola during my playing career, but I was absolutely terrified while holding it.

  119. 119.

    dlnelson

    I was afraid of big dogs all my life. We as a family bought a puppy, a yellow lab, a female, she was the best. She was a big dog, she did not ever scare me. I was never mauled by a dog, but I have been in a serious car accident as a teenager, I still drive, but I am very careful. To have a loving dog, you have to be a loving caregiver. It is like raising children, you get what you give. On another note, re the tea baggers, my dad went to war in wwII the fall of 1944, the war was basically over, he served 2 years on the reconstruction. He signed up with his two brothers, one went to germany, one to austria and the youngest to korea. They were basically norwegian orphans out of minnesota,he is still alive, (my dad), The whole point of this is, not all old folks are t baggers. My dad has a great pension plan through his great retirement plans. Teachers, Keogh, etc. Thanks.

  124. 124.

    burnspbesq

    @mr. whipple:

    Those of us who can tell the difference are always amazed to hear people say they can’t.

    I had a very similar conversation about guitars today with my audio guy – I was able to explain in detail how Russ Barenberg’s old Gibson sounds different from a Martin of the same age, like Tony Rice’s. When someone helps you know what to listen for, you can hear the difference.

  125. 125.

    asiangrrlMN

    @stuckinred: Yep. I posted both Rosanne’s version of I Still Miss Someone and JC’s version and gave you a h/t for turning me on to RC. I’m finding that I’m a little bit country! It’s this thread.

    @Omnes Omnibus: You were a touring violinist? That’s very intriguing. No way I would have touched it. I am such a klutz. One good thing about playing the cello is that it’s a bit more sturdy than the violin.

  126. 126.

    Corner Stone

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Well, that’s a given. I played the cello for ten years. Gorgeous instrument.

    The violin seems more geared to crying. The cello gets deep into your soul and pulls all emotions out of you into the fore. There’s no hiding from it.
    But that may be just me.

  127. 127.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @burnspbesq:

    I had a very similar conversation about guitars today with my audio guy – I was able to explain in detail how Russ Barenberg’s old Gibson sounds different from a Martin of the same age, like Tony Rice’s. When someone helps you know what to listen for, you can hear the difference.

    I think some of that has to do with how much you are familiar with the instrument. I’d be a lot more comfortable discussing differences in guitars than differences in violins.

  129. 129.

    mr. whipple

    @burnspbesq:

    Those of us who can tell the difference are always amazed to hear people say they can’t.

    Those of us that are involved with selling certain vintage collectibles say the exact same thing because people who shell out the money for them frequently want to hear such things. If they don’t get it, we can always blame their lack of sophistication. It’s a win-win.

  130. 130.

    Mnemosyne

    @Lady Sybil:

    I would definitely write a note to that place of business and let them know that the receptionist was rude. I wouldn’t emphasize that you’re afraid of dogs, just say that the dog was blocking the desk and the receptionist refused to move it.

    You do probably get a bad reaction from dogs because they sense you’re afraid of them, which makes them anxious, which just makes you more afraid of them (with good reason), and it turns into a cycle. It might be worth getting a little phobia treatment so you can learn to send signals that will get dogs to ignore you instead.

  134. 134.

    jwb

    @mr. whipple: Some of the violins from other makers at the time (and even good modern violins) sound better than some Strads. It depends on the particular instrument. It also depends a lot on what you mean by “better.”

  136. 136.

    Mnemosyne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Be glad you’re not Peter Stumpf, who managed to have his Stradivarius cello stolen off his front porch when he absent-mindedly forgot to bring it inside after a concert.

    The thief didn’t even realize what he had and dumped it where a woman driving by found it and eventually got the reward after realizing what it was and turning it over to the police. Hopefully she went back and tipped the homeless guy who helped her load it in her car. ;-)

  137. 137.

    burnspbesq

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    It’s incredible to watch a good luthier at work. How they know exactly how much to shave that one brace to get exactly the sound they are looking for is entirely beyond me.

  140. 140.

    burnspbesq

    @General Stuck:

    Agreed. Alas, I have short fingers, and could never get the action right on a Martin. So I have a Guild. If I were in the market for a new acoustic now, I’d probably buy a Taylor.

  143. 143.

    burnspbesq

    @asiangrrlMN:

    “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” is the Lucinda Williams record that most fans mention first, but I’m kinda partial to “Sweet Old World” – especially the title song, which is incredibly sad and perfectly constructed.

    After that, go listen to “Asking for Flowers” by Kathleen Edwards.

  145. 145.

    stuckinred

    Throw Me A Rope

    I lost you awhile ago
    But still I don’t know why
    I can’t say your name
    Without a crow flying by
    Gotta watch my back now
    That you turned me around
    Got me walking backwards
    Into my hometown

    Throw me a rope
    On the rolling tide
    What did you want it to be?
    You said it’s him or me
    The way you made it
    That’s the way it will be

  146. 146.

    KCinDC

    This Oval Office rug thing is plumbing new depths of idiocy on the right. Seriously, these people worship Reagan, a man who made up quotes from founding fathers in place of clearing his throat. Did Reagan ever correctly attribute a quotation. And of course this minor error wasn’t even something Obama did. Yet one normally not entirely cretinous conservative I follow on Twitter has been spending the whole evening posting “hilarious” misattributed quotes and he’s not alone.

    I can only hope that it doesn’t start plumbing new depths of idiocy among political reporters as well.

  150. 150.

    mr. whipple

    @burnspbesq:

    I am amazed watching any good craftsman. One evening while stuck in Bumfuck, VA I had the pleasure of watching a mechanic manually bend me a new set of exhaust system pipes because he didn’t have the right preformed set in stock. Poetry.

  151. 151.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @stuckinred:
    Add to the distaff collection: Chris Pureka, Corinne West, Ingrid Michaelson, Anais Mitchell, Be Good Tanyas, Po Girls, Caitlin Canty, Caitlin Cary (formerly of Whiskeytown) and Caroline Herring.

    Some are not as country, but more singer/songwriter-ish. But it’s a start.

  159. 159.

    RedKitten

    @Corner Stone:

    But I have heard/read that the Strats need to be played consistently or they lose their vibrancy. That could be part of the hype as well I guess.

    That’s true of most any violin. Playing them consistently gives them a mellow, richer tone. It’s weird, but it’s true. I’ve noticed it myself — if my violin is put away for awhile, when I bring it back out, even after it’s perfectly tuned, it just doesn’t sound as nice.

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Well, that’s a given. I played the cello for ten years. Gorgeous instrument.

    That it is. There’s just something so primal, yet so elegant about its sound.

  161. 161.

    Allison W.

    @KCinDC:

    This Oval Office rug thing is plumbing new depths of idiocy on the right. Seriously, these people worship Reagan, a man who made up quotes from founding fathers in place of clearing his throat. Did Reagan ever correctly attribute a quotation. And of course this minor error wasn’t even something Obama did. Yet one normally not entirely cretinous conservative I follow on Twitter has been spending the whole evening posting “hilarious” misattributed quotes and he’s not alone.

    Just read over at Dkos that the exact quote on the rug was indeed said by Dr. King. It looks like King was influenced by Parker, but word for word what’s written on the rug is by Dr. King. The diarist also pointed out that the rug does not attribute the quote to anyone. The quote is just on the rug, it doesn’t say who said it.

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/9/4/899148/-WaPo-FAIL-on-Oval-Office-Rug-Mistake

  165. 165.

    Origuy

    Female Celtic cello? Natalie Haas with Alisdair Fraser. She’s the daughter of a guy I know, but I had several of her CDs before someone told me of the connection.

  168. 168.

    Suffern ACE

    @jwb: Yep. This is all about setting it up so that when a republican eventually wins again, all we will hear about is that he has “restored the dignity to the office” bullshit again. Cause the right will shut the fuck up then and the MSM will go along.

  171. 171.

    Mike in NC

    @KCinDC:

    This Oval Office rug thing is plumbing new depths of idiocy on the right.

    No doubt David Gregory and co-host John McCain will have a candid conversation about this tomorrow on “Meet The Press”. McCain might even note that he didn’t have any fancy rugs at the Hanoi Hilton. Always a crowd pleaser.

  172. 172.

    Suffern ACE

    ]@Mike in NC: In fairness, at least this scandal refers to an actual item in the White House. I believe that “The Clintons Decorated the Christmas Tree with Bongs and Crack Pipes!” was probably a little lower.

  173. 173.

    Stillwater

    @FlipYrWhig: That single word “tacitly” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that passage. It lets you say that even though he’s on record preferring the opposite course of action, somewhere beneath it all is secret, “tacit” support. Oh, sure, there may be no evidence, but that is itself proof of his nefarious intentions!

    A bit late to respond to this. But your take on what is in fact an accurate description of Obama’s response at the G20 meeting is enlightening. What you conclude from what I wrote is that I’m suggesting Obama can’t be trusted. You surely didn’t read that in any of the words I wrote. It was merely an (accurate) description of what transpired.

    That being said, I do believe that Presidents are, for the most part, controlled in decision-making by factors which hardly ever include personal prerogative. Obama the man might like to maintain SS under its current status. Obama the President is surely not deciding things by such an unsupportable argument.

    And that’s all my comment meant to suggest. He ‘tacitly’ accepted the G20 policy of austerity (ie, cutting budgets and deficits), which binds him by agreement to acting accordingly.

    What is so hard to understand about that?

  175. 175.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Stillwater: Maybe I’m misunderstanding your point or missed something in the reporting on the outcomes of the G20. What in particular was agreed to, tacitly or otherwise?

  176. 176.

    Stillwater

    @FlipYrWhig: One issue was short term help in the form of stimulus (Obama’s proposal) which was shot down. The Germans hunkered down and stuck with reductions in government spending (cutting deficit and debt) as curatives, albeit of a long-term variety. Obama agreed to this, but it mirrors his G20-independent statements about cutting the deficit by half by 2013. The G20 is the most recent statement he’s made (well, his administration) that some form of austerity is coming our way. Or I should say, austerity is likely if serious military spending cuts and/or increased taxes on the nosebleed income levels are off the table. I’m not asserting that SS will be served, just suggesting that the table is being set.

  177. 177.

    General Stuck

    @Stillwater: If there are cuts, they will be small to get concessions from the wingnuts and conservadems on raising the FICA tax ceiling. Jeebus, are you, and other hysterical progressives unaware that SS is a bedrock of our society at this stage, even the wingnuts will be wary of cutting bennies very much. Though they would go more for privatizing it. It would be shear political suicide for Obama and dems to gut SS, and the House has already said no to that, as if they needed to. This is an example of activist liberals, mostly by spreading fear and divined motives of obama based on face value statements and other political posturing for countering the wingnuts memes. It is politics and deception for Obama to appear to be serious about the deficit, but in bounds deception, in the negating, or blunting charges of his spending and deficits. And folks like you and GG and FDL make it damn near impossible to carry out pol feints by ginning up netroot poutrage at the slightest uttering of Obama, and giving validation to the MSM always looking for an internal war in dem politics, and repub ones as well.

  178. 178.

    Stillwater

    @General Stuck: Well, your insults don’t really change the fact that Obama said he intends to reduce the deficit by half by 2013. On your view, there is nothing he can actually cut to make up that difference. Does that make him a liar, or just a victim?

  179. 179.

    Stillwater

    @General Stuck: This is an example of activist liberals, mostly by spreading fear and divined motives of obama based on face value statements

    You should think a bit about what you just wrote.

  180. 180.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Stillwater: I guess I’m not sure why longer-term deficit reduction that doesn’t _exclude_ the possibility of short-term stimulus is supposed to be synonymous with hardcore “austerity.” I think deficit concerns are overblown, but I’m certainly no economist. (My theory is that many people who say they are concerned about “the deficit” think of it as a savvy way to say they’re concerned about the bad economy, and many others think of it as a euphemism for “money spent on the undeserving.”) But there are a lot of Democrats in Congress who seem to really care about the accurate technical definition of “the deficit,” probably because they remember how much mileage Clinton got out of it.

    My vision of a grand bargain _among Democrats_ — because, let’s face it, Republicans are hopeless — is balancing short-term stimulus with long-term deficit reduction, along the lines of taking out a loan to go to college in order to get a better job that allows you to make more money and also pay off your college loans. I’m not personally too concerned with “the deficit,” but lots of elected Democrats actually are, and we’ll need their votes too. I feel like having a pitch about paying _back_ what is injected in the short term would help a lot with nervous center-right professional Democrats and also many non-ideological good-government type independent voters.

  181. 181.

    Mnemosyne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Just goes to show that even a Stradivarius becomes just another instrument when you get to use it every day. Which is, of course, how the makers intended for it to be used in the first place. :-)

  182. 182.

    FlipYrWhig

    I would also really like to see a higher tax bracket at $1,000,000, although I think the debate on that one would be humiliating to witness, as a bunch of millionaires strove to found ways to rally other people to defend their rank selfish interests.

  183. 183.

    General Stuck

    @Stillwater: Insults? you sure are a delicate flower. Presidents say all kinds of things with predicting this or that, I don’t know if he seriously thinks he can, or is just posturing now for his reelection in 2012. What I am sure of is that SS will not see large benefit cuts, nor internal SS monies going to the stock market, though there may be an add on monies made available.

    And unless the economy starts growing at least 3 to 4 GDP, there aren’t enough cuts anywhere to cut the deficit in half. And it is a kind of hysteria from progs to push this nonsense without any real evidence nor consideration of what it would mean for Obama to sell out SS. Which like I said would be certain pol suicide, and even if he tried, the House nor Senate would allow it. And that would include more than a few dems. This is pol election silly season, and it would be nice if a dem president could play the wingnuts without hand wringing conspiracy libtards screwing it up with braindead political analysis.

    The mistrust of Obama has begun to reach pathological levels on the left fringe. Maybe it already has. Baffling.

  184. 184.

    Stillwater

    @FlipYrWhig: I think deficit concerns are overblown, but I’m certainly no economist.

    Same with me, on both counts. I see a problem with unfunded liabilities coming do in an economy which generates significantly less tax revenue than the CBO projections are based on. And even in those projections, SS and other social programs gobble up ever-increasing percentages of projected spending to the point where either taxes must increase significantly (over 50% like twenty years down the road), or other programs require big hair cuts. And like I said, those projections are based on historical levels of GDP increase (which lots of people currently think are unattainable for several years to decades).

    Overall, I agree with you about the pragmatic solution. But the WH (or the Dems, or the GOP obstructionists, or the WH press-corp, or Illuminati or whoever) apparently doesn’t.

  186. 186.

    General Stuck

    @Stillwater: I don’t need to think about, because it’s true. You quote Obama as saying he would like to cut the deficit in half by 2013, and immediately go to it must mean he is gutting SS because there is a commission and Alan Simpson is saying wingnutty things. It wouldn’t bother me to see Obama actually make recommendations to congress to make big cuts, with the knowledge this congress, or one with a dem majority would never do it. It would be for independents who decide elections in this country and very much care about deficits and would take away the tax and spend liberal tact the wingers have always used against dem presnits, a tact that has served them well electorally. It’s called politics, open your mind a little to it.

  187. 187.

    Mnemosyne

    @Stillwater:

    And if Greece’s and Ireland’s austerity programs weren’t currently pulling all of Europe down, it would make sense to be concerned that we might end up with similar austerity programs here. However, considering that Obama has already been proven right about the risks of too much austerity and Germany proven wrong, I think you’re overblowing the risk here. I would be very, very, very surprised if Germany tries to make the other G20 members continue to stick to austerity measures since the measures they insisted on are already hurting Germany’s economy.

    ETA: Don’t forget, there has already been a big cut in defense spending: we’ve withdrawn 2/3rds of our troops from Iraq. That savings will get counted towards improving the deficit.

  189. 189.

    Stillwater

    @Mnemosyne: I think you’re overblowing the risk here.

    Well, this all began with me merely reporting what Obama agreed to at G20 and reporting some comments he made about the deficit. I’m not sure what I’m overblowing by simply repeating Obama’s own words.

  190. 190.

    Mnemosyne

    @Stillwater:

    Well, this all began with me merely reporting what Obama agreed to at G20 and reporting some comments he made about the deficit.

    Given that the economic situation in Europe has changed fairly drastically since G20, I’m not quite sure how his comments there — comments there that you yourself admitted were just going along with what Germany wanted at the time — are proof that he’s going to disembowel Social Security as part of a drastic austerity program, which is what you’re claiming they mean.

  191. 191.

    General Stuck

    @Stillwater:

    I’m not asserting that SS will be served, just suggesting that the table is being set.

    Yea right, smarmy doesn’t usually go over to well here. But I understand, it would be irresponsible to not speculate/firebagger code.

  192. 192.

    Stillwater

    @Mnemosyne: proof that he’s going to disembowel Social Security as part of a drastic austerity program, which is what you’re claiming they mean.

    Hmmm. We’re clearly speaking different languages here. In you language, a statement of fact about Obama is a criticism of him. A criticism of Obama is, I assume, is also construed as a criticism. So anything I say – short of praising Obama – is a criticism.

  193. 193.

    Mark S.

    Do you dorks ever stop debating politics?

    Since you’re all dying to hear it, here’s my two cents on the deficit. In the short term, get rid of the Bush tax cuts. In the long term, we need single payer to contain health care costs. And yes, ponies for all.

  194. 194.

    Mnemosyne

    @Stillwater:

    We’re clearly speaking different languages here. In you language, a statement of fact about Obama is a criticism of him. A criticism of Obama is, I assume, is also construed as a criticism. So anything I say – short of praising Obama – is a criticism.

    In other words, I proved you were talking out of your ass about what the US’s actions will be in relation to what they said at G20 and now you don’t have a leg to stand on, so your only option is bluster. Gotcha.

  196. 196.

    Stillwater

    @Mnemosyne: I proved you were talking out of your ass about what the US’s actions will be in relation to what they said at G20

    No. You proved that you can’t read. Obama has said – at the G20 and in other contexts – that he wants to cut the deficit by 2013 (those are his words not mine). Tax increases and serious defense cuts aren’t on the table (even an authority like Stuck backed me up on that). Therefore (maybe this is the part that tripped you up, the logical structure of my argument) if Obama intends to cut the deficit in half by 2013, and he isn’t going to appreciably cut defense or raise tax rates on the wealthy, then other non-defense spending must be cut.

    I made a statement of fact, an assertion backed by evidence, and a logical inference. What part of that did you disprove?

  197. 197.

    Mnemosyne

    Obama has said – at the G20 and in other contexts – that he wants to cut the deficit by 2013 (those are his words not mine).

    Yes, he has. Shall we look at some of those words?

    Administration aides say they inherited a budget deficit of $1.3 trillion and project the deficit to grow to $1.5 trillion by Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year. But much of that is emergency spending designed to contain the economic crisis and assist banking institutions. Once that spending stops, the deficit will shrink on its own.
    __
    In fact, if the $787 billion economic stimulus package recently signed into law and the government’s other billions spent on mortgages and banks amounted to the only additional spending undertaken between now and 2013, the deficit would be likely to dip in four years to a sum lower than Obama’s goal. (emphasis mine)

    Funny, nothing about Social Security in there. Can you find us the statements you claim to have where Obama says he is planning to cut Social Security? Nutty statements from Alan Simpson, you may be surprised to hear, don’t actually count as direct statements by Obama since Obama, you may be further surprised to hear, is not actually Alan Simpson in disguise.

    Tax increases and serious defense cuts aren’t on the table (even an authority like Stuck backed me up on that).

    You mean tax increases in addition to the Bush tax cuts expiring and defense cuts in addition to the ones that have already been done? It would help your case if you wouldn’t pretend those things didn’t exist.

    Therefore (maybe this is the part that tripped you up, the logical structure of my argument) if Obama intends to cut the deficit in half by 2013, and he isn’t going to appreciably cut defense or raise tax rates on the wealthy, then other non-defense spending must be cut.

    Which, in your mind, logically means that there will be massive cuts to Social Security because there are absolutely no other options whatsoever and TARP repayments don’t exist because shut up, that’s why. Gotcha.

    I made a statement of fact, an assertion backed by evidence, and a logical inference. What part of that did you disprove?

    The part where you claimed that massive austerity measures are on the way because of G20, even though you yourself admitted that the administration didn’t agree with the G20 about the necessity of massive austerity measures and I pointed out that the G20’s austerity measures have already backfired seriously enough that they’re rethinking them.

    As I quoted above, if Obama just sticks with his proposed measures from last year, we will reach the target he set. So where are these other massive cuts coming from other than your paranoid imagination that insists that a disagreement at G20 between the US and Germany proves that Obama is going to disband Social Security?

  198. 198.

    Mnemosyne

    By the way, everyone here is aware that it was decided back in 1983 to raise the age at which people receive full benefits from 65 to 67, right? We’ve all been aware for 27 years that people born after 1960 won’t receive full benefits until age 67 and this isn’t a brand-new effort by the current administration, right?

  199. 199.

    Michael WIlliamson

    @KG: I am Michael Williamson, the Democratic candidate running against the corrupt Gary Miller. My website is accurate, I am very conservative, a little bit of the best of all parties, with a Democrat registration.

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