Yes, I know the website is running slower than the 2008 primaries, and we are working on it.
Been a long, shitty day, and I’m wiped out and I think I am going to keep it light and frivolous tonight and watch My Lai on Netflix.
*** Update ***
The My Lai documentary was excellent, although very depressing. About half way through, I realized, that if the My Lai massacre happened today, no one would even react. Hell, as it is, we kill 90 people at a time with predator strikes (1/6th the death toll at My Lai), and no one even blinks.
Not to mention, Sarah Palin would probably go on Facebook and attack the people who uncovered any similar massacre as America hating troop bashers, and then David Gregory would ask his Sunday morning roundtable of Bill Kristol, Krauthammer, Haley Barbour, Newt Gingrich, and John McCain if Sarah Palin was right.
Kryptik
AVG keeps giving me a warning about a Javascript exploit, which makes it likely that your ad providers are the kind that like to run ones with stuff known to fuck up computers. I have to switch out windows just to get the site as a whole to load. Thank god for NoScript and Antivirus.
Just passing it along in case it helps you guys pinpoint the reason.
MikeJ
Kryptik, it’s not an ad. It’s in the javascript files the site itself serves. It got hacked once before too. Same thing this time.
The Dangerman
I had to load up NoScript, too. FWIW; then give temporary permissions if I want to do something like edit.
burnspbesq
When all else fails, put on “Waiting for Columbus.” Loud. It won’t solve the problem, but you’ll care less about it for about 75 minutes.
Xecky Gilchrist
keep it light and frivolous tonight and watch My Lai on Netflix.
Great soundtrack in that one – loved the remix of “There’ll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight.”
eemom
would this be a bad time to mention that the “Congratulations, you won” talking ad is back and it’s worse now?
me
Firefox is putting an empty space at the top of the page too. You’ve got a rouge iframe with an invalid, thankfully, link that’s being inserted, probably, by the ie6sux.js module.
JCJ
Just wanted to thank Mr Cole for his rant a while ago about the election of senators in Louisiana. Because of where I live (an area that voted 80% Bush in 2004) I receive lots of fund raisers for various Republicans. I recently received something from some anti-union group which used David Vitter as the voice of their cause. I sent it back asking a simple question – “How do I know Senator Vitter won’t just use the money to buy more diapers and fuck more whores?” I haven’t heard back from them.
PurpleGirl
Today is the first time I’ve seen the problems other people have complained about, so I do think it’s a site problem, because in the past I’ve not seen what other people experience.
I’m using NoScript and have enabled some scripts but not all. I found that the animated ads were too annoying and distracting. Also, when Adobe upgraded Flash/shockwave, I kept getting scripting errors that were causing crashes and slowing everything down. Since I installed NoScript, I’ve not hat problems. I don’t mind giving temporary permissions when I need to in order to keep from going crazy with the other problems.
MikeJ
You know he won;t do that because it would be a better use of money than anything the Republican party wants.
Ailuridae
Some random good news.
Chicago Public Library Branch opened a 1/2 block from me yesterday. Made my week.
Linda Featheringill
@Ailuridae:
OOOOH! Lucky you!
Cacti
@JCJ:
Speaking of Diaper Dave…
Bobby Jindal won’t be giving him his endorsement.
J.
Watch “Minute to Win It” instead. It’s NFL week.
Corner Stone
@me: I hate it when I get attacked by rouge links.
Always makes me want to go back to NOLA. Not sure why.
lamh32
@JCJ:
what’s makes me laugh about LA GOP politics, is that it’s funny all the talk about “anchor babies”, when the ultimate anchor baby is currently the governor of Louisiana!
Also, wouldn’t Nikki Haley also count as an “anchor baby”. Isn’t she 1st generation born American as well?
lamh32
Not for nothing ya’ll, but my biggest guilty pleasure is premiering (sp?) tonight: “America’s Next Top Model.
Tyara Banks is a major crazy beeyotch, but damn if she doesn’t draw me in everytime.
Corner Stone
Hell, you may as well watch Sin City or Schindler’s List.
@Dogsdoingthings
Dogs who like to light up a joint, put on massacre footage, and mute the TV so they can “do the announcing.”
Felonious Wench
I had 7 filings replaced today, and I can’t talk because my whole mouth has been numbed.
My husband considers this a feature.
FW
Keith G
@Corner Stone: *Back* to NOLA?
Phyllis
@lamh32: No, she’s the spare-she has an older brother. The family disowned him (for awhile) when he wouldn’t consent to an arranged marriage.
KDP
On a happier note, KO just included a segment about the Heartsong Church in Memphis TN, which put up a large, very visible sign reading:
Heartsong Church welcomes Muslim Islamic Center to the neighborhood.
Additionally, the church has opened its doors to its Muslim neighbors so that they may have a place to pray as construction on the Islamic Center is completed.
Happy to hear that some Southern Christians can love their neighbor as themselves.
Felonious Wench
@JCJ:
This made me happy.
Ed Marshall
The site ran fine on my iMac at work in safari, and it runs fine at home under linux and chrome.
Marked Hoosier
So the site has gone Galt again?
burnspbesq
Stumbled across a great group of video clips from the 2009 Celtic Connections festival. Must share.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/music/celticconnections/2009/
Damn Cara Dillon. Every time she opens her mouth, my pathetic crush on her grows deeper and more pathetic.
Chris
Here’s what bothers me about Obama and Orszag talking about the Bush tax cuts: any time any Democrat to the right of Dennis Kucinich opens his or her mouth about any policy matter, it has the effect of staking out a position which will inevitably become discussed and compromised by other Democrats – well before any bipartisan negotiations begin – because the media will go around asking, “Democrat X says he’d draw a line in the sand here, where do you draw a line? Are you as liberal – or as much of a loyal partisan Democrat – as Democrat X?”
And no Democrat who gets invited on teevee is going to be so dull or unindependent as to say, “I’m going to follow Democrat X’s lead.”
Because all the money, and all the media attention, flows in one direction: towards capitulation to Republicans.
If Obama or Orszag actually want to get any kind of deal with Republicans that doesn’t involve fucking up the economy or income inequality any worse, they need to not say anything more. Because any statement from either of them – or any Democrat – will become a bargaining position for every cash-horny Blue Dog to triangulate off of.
freelancer
Will comments work in Chrome? (testing)
ETA: Yes! They do! (site is fukked in IE and chrome for iTouch/iPhone though. Won’t even load.)
birthmarker
@Ailuridae: One of my best memories of childhood was living within walking distance of the public library. We read that thing OUT!! That was back in the olden days when parents allowed their kids to walk around the community without an irrational fear of kidnapping.
LongHairedWeirdo
Worst thing is, I heard the guy who fought back and protected the villagers (Hugh Thompson?) ended up isolated and without friends or support.
It’s a very strange thing. My friend, Bill Gawne, is a retired (not “Ex-“) Marine. He loves the Corps. He would consider a Hugh Thompson to be protecting the Corps, by holding it up to to its ideals. I assume that this is true in the Army too – but I don’t know the Army lifers well enough to say.
But I sometimes wonder if the Bill Gawnes of the world are too vastly outnumbered by the “no one had to know that innocent people were being murdered! *NOW* you’ve made us *look bad*!”
And if so, there’s a serious failure in leadership throughout the military.
outofthewoodwork
@efgoldman: same here, dude. i was roughly in your age cohort when i first saw the series in theaters (still am, come to think of it). eastwood is such a compelling combination of superego and nasty, nasty id that you don’t notice the fascist aftertaste until much later.
Rob In Dayton
How about a thread about good netflix movies that can be downloaded.
Rob In Dayton
How about a thread about good netflix movies that can be downloaded.
El Cid
Silence?
When Calley was tried, protesters all across Georgia threatened to assault the courts.
Jimmy Carter as Governor suggested turning your headlights off at the ‘railroading’ of Calley.
In a sense, he was railroaded, because he did personally what the policy for free-fire zones.
Bruce (formerly Steve S.)
No one reacted at the time either. My Lai didn’t become an issue until a year and a half later thanks in part to Seymour Hersh and others. Thereafter it became something like the Abu Ghraib scandal, with the higher-ups avoiding accountability.
D-Chance.
Hell, as it is,
we killObama kills 90 people at a time with predator strikes (1/6th the death toll at My Lai), and no one even blinks.Fixed for accuracy. After all, the O’ster IS your commander-in-chief and approves of all missions. The predator-drawn blood of innocents is on HIS hands. And I don’t see one anti-war “activist” calling for his head on a pike or for him to be arrested and extradited to the Hague.
I guess war criminals are A-OK as long as they wear blue.
Demz Taters
Don’t look now but McNaughton’s dropped another turd.
cckids
@JCJ: Win, win, win.
Origuy
@burnspbesq: Thank you for that. I saw her when she was with Equation; she did a sexy version of The Cuckoo’s Nest. They opened for Fairport Convention. That was right before they broke up. I wondered what happened to them.
Svensker
My husband does not have melanoma. That is all. What a big happy all!
lamh32
Alright now, I’m gonna bring a little culture to ya’ll here at BJ.
Last night, the WH began it “dance series” with a tribute to Judith Jamison. Mrs Jamison is well known in the dance world, and in African American community as the former dancer and artist director of what IMHO is the premiere American born and bred dance studio, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.
Judith’s signature piece was (and still is) “Cry Part 1” (here isCry Part 2.
Here is the video from WH.gov featuring Mrs Jamison, the First Lady, and dancers from not only Alvin Ailey, but also other American dance theatres/studio, incuding the young dancer from Broadway’s “Billy Elliot”:
White House Dance Series- A Tribute to Judith Jamison/a>
Check them out. Ya’ll won’t regret it!
John Cole
@D-Chance.: We’re so lucky to have you and Just Some Fuckhead around to make sure no one misses an opportunity to attack Obama.
Nick
@Chris: He stays quiet, he gets criticized, he fights, he gets criticized. He can and will never win.
lamh32
Damn my comment is awaiting moderation. Too many links??? Well damn, it’s worth it!
Hey, Let my people go damnit.
Besides, it’s got some great performance links in it, and I know how Anne Laurie likes her performance links…lol
El Cid
@Bruce (formerly Steve S.): Not to mention the alternative press, in the form of the Dispatch News Service — the ‘blog’ of its day — and they are who went to press first.
Nick
@D-Chance.:
Look harder bucko
ruemara
Just a quick ty to all those who popped over to my flickr and gave me such great feedback. This is the final and I think it is much better thanks to you. So, share it.
gnomedad
Dayum, I was this close to giving Caribou Barbie a smidgen of credit for her Facebook post (emphasis mine):
See, building a cultural center is just like burning Bibles!
They really can’t help themselves.
El Cid
@Demz Taters:
All those Founding Fathers and American hero Presidents (like Ronald Reagan) are stunned that the black guy’s in front rather than in back, and the guy on the bench is still heartbroken over the passage of Hitlercare.
El Cid
@gnomedad: What if they built a burning mosque near Ground Zero?
gnomedad
@gnomedad:
Corrections: not her writing, not a mosque, and not Ground Zero, but otherwise …
lamh32
Question. It pertains to my links on the White House Dance Series: A Tribute to Judith Jamison.
Did the Bush WH not have any cultural showcases like the Obama’s have had?
BTW, here’s the WH link to the Dance Tribute, the videography is much better than on YouTube:
White House Dance Series- A Tribute to Judith Jamison
If so why can’t I remember any?
parsimon
Oh, David Gregory is not that bad, ultimately, given the constraints he probably works under.
burnspbesq
There is so little good writing in Sports Illustrated these days that I am letting my subscription lapse after almost 45 years. This week’s issue is a good one to go out on. There is an absolutely brilliant excerpt from a forthcoming book by Susan Casey about big-wave surfing. Highly, highly recommended.
burnspbesq
@Origuy:
My pleasure.
Violet
So I’m behind on my Daily Show/Colbert watching. What’s this I’m hearing about a possible Truthiness Rally?
eemom
@John Cole:
There’s gonna be hurt “fee fees”* if you give no love to all the others we have around to never miss that opportunity.
*does not imply that I accept the use of that incredibly stupid word that has never been uttered by or to any child I have ever seen or heard of.
SiubhanDuinne
@Demz Taters #40: But where is Jeebus? It’s not a *real* McNaughton unless there’s a Jeebus.
SiubhanDuinne
@Svensker #43: I didn’t know about the possibility, but I’m very relieved and happy for your husband and you and everyone who cares for him. Nice to have some really good news, and this puts the political Villager stuff in perspective.
Comrade Kevin
Every time someone uses the phrase “fee fees”, God punches a kitten.
Corner Stone
@John Cole: Who do you think is killing people? Some fucking Lieutenant? You think some asshole Captain set this policy?
Serious question.
You called the tune and now you don’t wanna dance to it?
Corner Stone
@Comrade Kevin: “Every time someone uses the phrase “fee fees”, God punches a kitten. ”
And if She doesn’t, I do.
geg6
WTF happened to the site? FYWP and all, but that is the weirdest thing I’ve ever experienced on the iPhone. Dayum, that was weird.
Just want to mention that I watched an in-depth preview for the new HBO series directed by Martin Scorcese, “Boardwalk Empire.”. Steve Buscemi stars. Atlantic City at the enactment of Prohibition, the Roaring 20s, and the start of what we think of today as organized crime. Looks pretty damn good. The preview is OnDemand. Probably on their website, too. Check it out.
handy
Aww damn, Otho from Beetlejuice died.
Demz Taters
@SiubhanDuinne: It’s jam-packed with right-wing Christianist revisionist history and worn-out tropes. It’s a McNaughton all right.
liberal
You’ve got it entirely backwards. It took years before people (as in, lots of people) really started reacting to our involvement in Indochina. Nowadays? A good chunk of the populace was pissed before Bush actually released the dogs of war.
freelancer
@Rob In Dayton:
Here’s a list based on some of my current Instant Queue:
TV (must watch):
The State Within
Arrested Development
Friday Night Lights (S1-3 available)
Firefly (+ Serenity)
Veronica Mars
The Dead Zone (first 3 seasons are pretty cherry, YMMV after that)
South Park
Ken Burn’s The Civil War
Ken Burn’s The War
LOST
All Frontline and Nova programs that are available
This American Life
Penn & Teller: Bullsh*t!
COSMOS
Mythbusters Collections
Louis C. K.: Chewed Up
Dexter
Futurama (Vol. 1-4, and the 4 straight to DVD movies)
The Universe
Movies:
tons of early Hitchcock features
Blood Simple
Fargo
The Big Lebowski
The Man Who Wasn’t There
Stomp Live
The Right Stuff
Big
Boys Don’t Cry
The Whole Nine Yards
Godfather part I and II
The Thin Red Line
Jaws
Black Hawk Down
The Breakfast Club
T2: Judgment Day
True Lies
Stand By Me
Jesus Camp
Hell House
Shawshank Redemption
Fletch
Fletch Lives
All the President’s Men
Inherit the Wind (description says it’s the TV version, but its actually the 60s original with Spencer Tracy directed by Stanley Kramer)
Contact
District 9
Do the Right Thing
Following
For All Mankind
Memento
Gallipoli
HEAT
The Insider
In the Mood for Love
Man on Wire
Paths of Glory
Syriana
Touching the Void
9/11: Press for Truth (hey a documentary about 9/11 that isn’t godawful!)
Breaking Away
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Let the Right One In
The Ghost and the Darkness
Cool Hand Luke
The Searchers
Amadeus
Dr Horrible
Roxanne
Being John Malkovich
Deadline
Our Brand is Crisis
Dear Zachary
The Constant Gardener
The Wind that Shakes the Barley
Rachel Getting Married
Che
Gomorrah
Zulu
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
CSA: Confederate States of America
Fat Man & Little Boy
Last Night
Me, You, and Everyone We Know
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Punch Drunk Love
Blue Velvet
Star Trek (2009)
The Ten
War Games
World’s Greatest Dad
phew! (sorry for the length of this post, guys)
tkogrumpy
@Nick: More like “open your eyes Bucko”
Jinx
John-
Just in case no one has recommended the Daniel Ellsberg movie that’s currently streaming on Netflix, it is well worth the time. Here’s a link to Roger Ebert’s review:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100324/REVIEWS/100329995
I put it on thinking I might just fall asleep but was instead riveted. Beyond the (not so) familiar story, the film compellingly traces Ellsberg’s transformation from Rand Corporation true-believer to “traitor” facing life imprisonment.
I think you’d really enjoy it.
Jinx
Chris
@Nick: You’d think someone as bright as the president would have been able to figure out a way around that paradox that didn’t involve telling his base to fuck off (how often do Republican leaders do that to their base?).
Also, I suggest a corollary:
We complain about Obama moving right (often in violation of campaign promises) and he does it anyway; we don’t complain about Obama moving right (often in violation of campaign promises) and he does it anyway. We can and will never win.
Steeplejack
@Svensker:
Kudos to your husband! I hope you guys celebrate in style. I have been where he is, and I never thought “basal cell carcinoma” could be the three sweetest words in the English language. The difference between death sentence and painful nuisance.
Steeplejack
@Comrade Kevin:
Amen to that. I wish we could also enact a moratorium on “also, too.”
Capn America
Hard to imagine now, but it actually was worse back in the day. Calley was a hero to a lot of people. At least most people nowadays know Lynndie England is scum (maybe because the evidence against her is so much more graphic).
Anne Laurie
@Svensker: Congratulations to the both of you!
thalarctos
@Svensker: Yay! The waiting to hear is so stressful; glad it turned out well.
LongHairedWeirdo
@D-Chance.:
For the record:
If a predator strike kills civilians *while aimed at a legitimate military target* that’s not a war crime, but it’s still (from a moral perspective) murder. This is why one should not fight a war that is not so indescribably necessary that these murders can be justified.
Afghanistan can’t be justified under these circumstances. They are not a danger to us.
But we are in a very strange situation – we *owe* them. If they “want” us to protect them from the Taliban, they deserve our protection. Now, I’m not going to ask how we measure whether they “want” us there or not. But while we don’t have a right to start a war there, we are in a situation in which it can be argued that we must continue the war for a time.
Now: if we used predator strikes to terrorize the population, or to “deny a safe haven to fighters”, that *would* be a war crime. And if Obama was aware that we were doing this, I’d be calling for his head on a pike. Hell – if he suggested we didn’t have to prosecute someone who ordered this, I’d call for him to be in jail for life. That would make him an accessory.
But that’s not what anyone has described happening. They’ve described what is too-fucking-euphemistically called “collateral damage”.
timb
@Capn America: I was waiting for that. The treatment Nixon alone gave to Calley was disgusting and an embarrassment to the nation.
John just forgot America was created in Nixonland and still lives there. Ask Andy Breitbart and Rush and Paul Ryan, there’s not a lesson learned from 64-68 that they have not learned and used.