Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

American History and Black History Cannot Be Separated

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

This blog will pay for itself.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

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

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

Bark louder, little dog.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

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50Comments

  2. 2.

    Spaghetti Lee

    I’m happy for the Giants, but I don’t get all the Rangers hate. Probably 90% of pro sports owners are vile wingnut plutocrats. Bushie just happened to become more famous than the rest, and he doesn’t even own them any more.

  3. 3.

    morzer

    The Houston Texans lost as well tonight. On the other hand, that means the Colts won.

    Then there was the Randy Moss Comet, which portends the overthrow of dynasties and kings, or something similar.

    What does it all mean?

  5. 5.

    Hunter Gathers

    The Giants made the most of their window of opportunity that they currently have with their bad-ass pitching. Now, we just wait for Lincecum’s arm to fall off, ala Pedro Martinez.

    At least the days of Gorilla Ball are over. Pitching is king. You can no longer slug your way to the title. Shit, the Giants proved you can win it all with a group of re-treads and waiver claims as your position players, as long as you have the arms.

  6. 6.

    Bender

    What an insanely stupid cartoon. I’m sorry, are some of you actually labouring under the nonsensical notion that the players are actually chosen from the populace of the city they represent?

    What, do you think that the SF Giants are a team of gay-marriage advocates? There’s two Californians on the whole team (the Rangers have twice as many). Most of the Giants are from the Deep South or Latin America, and they’re all super-rich. How do you think they vote, if they do?

  7. 7.

    The Dangerman

    I just hope the entire Bay Area isn’t so hung over they forget to vote tomorrow.

    I’m a Dodgers/Angels fan, but am thrilled a team of castoffs and no names beat the team that beat the fucking Yankees.

  9. 9.

    Loneoak

    @Bender:

    Besides a few vague regional loyalties, I always interpret sporting events in terms of culture war psychodramas.

    If you have another way of thinking about sports that is actually any more rational, I welcome your suggestion.

  10. 10.

    Yutsano

    @Bender:

    I’m sorry, are some of you actually labouring under the nonsensical notion that the players are actually chosen from the populace of the city they represent?

    I’m labouring over you using proper British spelling without even realizing what you just did there. The fact that you miss the humour of the actual cartoon (it’s called a JOKE, son!) is pretty much gravy on top of that.

    Plus isn’t your side supposedly up for a massive victory tomorrow? I figure that would put you in a less sour mood.

    @BerkeleyMom:

    Hey now—Buster Posey would never talk that way!!

    Buster Posey is a damn infant I swear! I think if he even THOUGHT of talking that way he’d get sent to bed without supper. Plus what a perfect baseball name.

  11. 11.

    BerkeleyMom

    Hey now–Buster Posey would never talk that way!! And those re-tread position players made some unbelievable defensive plays during this series with Renteria winning the MVP award. It wasn’t all pitching–the Giants racked up plenty of offense too.

    Well done SF Giants. Congratulations.

  12. 12.

    Mary G

    Someone here turned me onto the “Hyperbole and a Half” blog. I haven’t read it in a while, but looking for something to cheer myself up with, I went over there and caught up tonight. This post The God of Cake had me laughing out loud.

    It involves a small girl, a birthday cake and a commando mission that goes somewhat wrong.

    It reminded me of many epic battles over food I had with my mother when I was young. My favorite was burying the frozen spinach in the back yard. Worth every minute of the timeout.

  13. 13.

    The Main Gauche of Mild Reason

    @Bender:

    I wouldn’t be surprised if most baseball players (and other sports figures) were totebagger “independent” types. There’s just too much money to lose by being overtly political, and one never knows where one will get traded in professional sports.

  18. 18.

    Martin

    @Bender: Hmm. Wingnuts really don’t get humor do they? When you see someone getting hit by a pie, you can’t get past the waste of economic output, can you?

  19. 19.

    morzer

    Off-topic, but pretty interesting for the geek constituency, as well as anyone who has ever suffered from a cold:

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/a-cure-for-the-common-cold-may-finally-be-achieved-as-a-result-of-a-remarkable-discovery-in-a-cambridge-laboratory-2122607.html

    In a dramatic breakthrough that could affect millions of lives, scientists have been able to show for the first time that the body’s immune defences can destroy the common cold virus after it has actually invaded the inner sanctum of a human cell, a feat that was believed until now to be impossible. The discovery opens the door to the development of a new class of antiviral drugs that work by enhancing this natural virus-killing machinery of the cell. Scientists believe the first clinical trials of new drugs based on the findings could begin within two to five years.

  20. 20.

    Yutsano

    @The Main Gauche of Mild Reason: Considering the amount of shit Albert Pujols got for showing up at Beackapalooza, this seems like a smart move. In fact most players keep their politics under their caps until they retire for good reason, mostly that.

  21. 21.

    morzer

    @Martin:

    Actually, the key question is from whom did the black liberal fascist welfare moocher steal the pie. At least, so wingnuts lead me to believe.

  23. 23.

    freelancer

    Wow, but does AMC rock for having the 3 best TV shows currently going right now. Can I get an AMEN that The Walking Dead is some fucking great entertainment?

  24. 24.

    TEL

    Well, this makes at least one thing this Bay area commie/soshalist-loving resident can lord over their Texan Limbaugh/Beck-loving brother. Unfortunately, we’re both more interested in politics than baseball, and we both know it. Sigh.

  27. 27.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @Martin:

    Bender Bent might be a Teabagger of the British persuasion so it’s possible that our humor is lost on some used to humour.

    Maybe he’s “labouring” to understand it? ;)

  28. 28.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Yutsano: Ahem. Speaking of cookies….

    ETA: Dude. Check your spam filter, please. I sent you a card. Read the damn thing.

    Thanks for the open thread, AL. I needed it.

    @Martin: Please to post that in the thread below. kthxbai.

  33. 33.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN: Damn. I get way too many random e-mails from foreign bankers in there I just glanced right by it. We may have to have a talk about you knowing me so damn well, cause that was pretty damn perfect.

    And this is summing up my mood about tomorrow pretty damn perfectly.

  36. 36.

    Bruuuuce

    @Martin: I just clicked through there via Metafilter, and came here to post it. Everyone should read it. (It should be the front screen on all electronic voting machines. Me, partisan? Whatchutalkinabout, Willis? :-)

    I agree. It deserves a top post.

  38. 38.

    Lysana

    @Cathie from Canada:

    Thanksgiving is in October . . .

    That’s part of where the formula for Americans would fall right apart. As things stand now, we have the two most alcoholic holidays flanking the two most family-fraught. This cannot be a coincidence.

  40. 40.

    Mark

    @Spaghetti Lee: I was going to say the same thing, but Bill Neukom (Giants managing partner) maxed out his donations to Al Franken and Patty Murray for years. But yes, most sports owners and executives are vile Republican pricks, and the notion that Texas was worse than the Giants is completely misguided.

    I’m not going to lie – I live in San Francisco and the last few weeks have made me cringe. All of these fairweather Giants fans came out of the woodwork – people who’ve been unwilling to talk baseball with me for the last seven years have changed their facebook photos and are rejoicing over some mini-riots. There are things that make San Francisco great, but god bless america at the ballpark and biker gangs watching the game at my favorite dive bars are not on the list.

  42. 42.

    Comrade Javamanphil

    I just love that the right-wing blogs have all man-crushed on Bush over his pitching while once again failing to acknowledge that anything he touches, even tangentially, turns to crap. (“Your team lost the series in 5!” “Yeah, but did you see how hard he threw that ceremonial pitch?”) The right sure does love to cheer the littlest battle even while never understanding what the ultimate goal of the war was. Perfect metaphor for their whole failed philosophy.

  44. 44.

    New Yorker

    @Comrade Javamanphil:

    Exactly. I try not to mix politics and baseball (and rooted like hell for Texas over the Yankees), but as soon as the wingnut blogosphere jizzed their pants over W’s ceremonial first pitch, I couldn’t help but enjoy the symbolism of Nancy Pelosi’s team beating W’s team.

  45. 45.

    Barbara

    All I know is, I like games in which pitchers dominate so this Series has been really nice to watch, overall. The last “pitching” series I watched was Minnesota and Atlanta in 1991, where every game went into extra innings and I couldn’t stay up to watch because I was pregnant.

    I like the Giants because the first major league game I ever saw was between the Giants and the Pirates, in 1966, in which Juan Marechal was the pitcher and Roberto Clemente hit 27 foul balls, one of which hit an umpire, before he got a single. My dad chose all games based on how good the pitcher on the other team was, so I saw a lot of low scoring hometown losses.

  46. 46.

    Daddy-O

    The San Francisco victory last night, if recent history serves, doesn’t bode well.

    Boston won in ’04, but Kerry lost. My baseball inner fan was thrilled, but the Smirk stole the election again.

  47. 47.

    Daddy-O

    @Bender: Frist, I think the comic effect of this ‘toon went straight over your head.

    Second-O, I remember seeing all kinds of sexual themes from the SF team. For instance:

    The little logo on the back of their World Champion hats they wore after the game? An image of the World Championship trophy? Did you see it?

    What does that look like, really? Put it a little out of focus…step back…there it is, all alone, standing rigid on the back of the cap, with an extended top portion rounded off, helmet-like, with a ramrod straight middle section, and a plump, rounded base from which it springs…

    I thought it was a sloppy capital ‘I’ when I first saw it on Lincecum’s hat, but it really looks a lot more like a dildo.

    I’m all in favor of right-wing-nuts going crazy over little details like that. Let them.

  48. 48.

    Daddy-O

    @BerkeleyMom: I agree with your assessment of the game tactics. It was mainly pitching, but it was mostly a matter of who would blink first.

    Cliff Lee blinked. The Rangers blinked, usually just as a pitch was incoming.

    So did Lincecum, but only after it was too little, too late.

    An excellent Series, no matter who was dismayed or uninterested in the results, and mainly because of the great pitching. Brian Wilson was simply un-stoppable.

  49. 49.

    Nellcote

    Thing is, that wasn’t even the most intersting thing that Lincecum said all night. While conducting an interview with ESPN, he raised a few eyebrows with his response to a question on what was happening back in San Francisco.

    “Just a lot of craziness, I’m hoping,” Lincecum said. “A lot of beer flowing. Smoke in the air, I’m hoping.”

  50. 50.

    nice strategy

    It is true that most of the Giants players are not true Bay Area residents, 2 of which referred to the city as “San Fran” in interviews last night, ouch — a easy marker for a non-resident. And they might not be liberals, either. However, they did play for a team that was particularly diverse, very team-oriented and unselfish, with a major star famous for enjoying pot. There are some liberal values there to compare to the very individual star oriented rosters of other clubs, or the inability of national sports pundits to grasp that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Or at least it is with good leadership from both the top down and the bottom up.

    Given how the A’s marketed their team as especially good looking a few years ago in an advertisement featuring a player bending over, some big league players arriving in SF might have a little culture shock. That’s healthy in the long run so long as it doesn’t scare off Posey, fresh from the South/Fresno, young, cute, and having to play catcher. Really, when you think about it, Posey ought to pitch and Lincecum catch. Sorry guys… :P

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