Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Optimism opens the door to great things.

This fight is for everything.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Bark louder, little dog.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

The willow is too close to the house.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

An almost top 10,000 blog!

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

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

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

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

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

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

This blog will pay for itself.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

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Reader Interactions

204Comments

  1. 1.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Meh, I’m sure they’ll fine the Raven. Sorry they didn’t stop the game and fine him right then and there and make him pay up on the spot.

  7. 7.

    FlipYrWhig

    @The Dangerman: Dammit, I was trying to think of a joke along those lines, and you beat me there.

    Tomlin just wants to reach out to his opponents to find common ground!

  8. 8.

    The Dangerman

    @John – A Motley Moose:

    I’m a Lions fan.

    Been watching the Lions this year from a distance; I thought Suh was going to be a stud. Looks like I got one right for the first time in a while.

    Lions have been in every game this year I’ve checked; shitty luck along with shitty officiating. They got boned in Week 1 on the winning catch; I’ll presume it hasn’t gotten better.

  10. 10.

    suzanne

    O/T, so bite me.

    I’m trying to think of the best modern Christmas/holiday/winter songs. “Happy Xmas”, of course. “Fairytale of New York” and “Oi! to the World”, for sure. “It’s Christmastime for My Penis” is a dark horse. “Valley Winter Song” always makes me smile.

    Any other suggestions?

  11. 11.

    bergo

    Also, it is only an illegal hit when the Steelers do it.

    Quit your whining, you sound like a Ravens Fan.

  12. 12.

    suzanne

    Damnit. Moderation purgatory.

    O/T, so bite me.

    I’m trying to think of the best modern Christmas/holiday/winter songs. “Happy Xmas”, of course. “Fairytale of New York” and “Oi! to the World”, for sure. “It’s Christmastime for My Peeeee nis” is a dark horse. “Valley Winter Song” always makes me smile.

    Any other suggestions?

  16. 16.

    Captain Goto

    I don’t even mind so much that Harrison got tagged as many times as he did (I’m sure his accountant disagrees), but c’mon, N.F.L. That kind of hit is the *worst* *thing* *evar*, and a theoretically competent reffing crew never even sees it???

    Maybe the calls on Harrison were legit, but it sure sounds like *no one else* is getting that kind of attention…

  17. 17.

    The Dangerman

    @suzanne:

    I’m trying to think of the best modern Christmas/holiday/winter songs.

    New or old, only one gets me: Happy Xmas, War is over.

  18. 18.

    JohnR

    Oy! Ravens’ special teams have been _realllly_ “special” this year. Thank goodness the punter putzed up.

  19. 19.

    Yutsano

    @suzanne: “Song For a Winter’s Night” by Sarah McLachlan. A little overproduced but a nice modernization of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.”

    And there’s always “Christmas at Ground Zero” by Weird Al. If you wanna get goofy.

  30. 30.

    burnspbesq

    @suzanne:

    Wasn’t there a Paul McCartney holiday song sometime in the 70s, something about “we’re simply having a wonderful Christmastime?” Catchy tune, and it won’t offend older relatives.

    Anything on Bruce Cockburn’s Christmas record.

  32. 32.

    Comrade Luke

    Ben might be a fucktard off the field, but on the field there are few better.

    Also, too, imo he’s perfect as a Steeler.

  34. 34.

    JohnR

    Waiter! More Pepto!

    Cracrapcrapcrapcrap

    Why couldn’t that drunk girl have broken both Ben’s feet?

  35. 35.

    BruceFromOhio

    Holy crap, tap-dancing boot boy follows his nose and throws it away with Suggs trying steal his jersey. They can’t live with three, they got to go for it.

  40. 40.

    Yutsano

    @burnspbesq: Apparently the Liefenstal thing affected you deeper than I had anticipated. Speaking as a lover of Carl Orff, however I really shouldn’t criticize too harshly.

  41. 41.

    FlipYrWhig

    @burnspbesq: Oh, man, that may be the worst single ever recorded, and I’m a McCartneybot who thinks Lennon is spectacularly overrated and kind of a dick.

  44. 44.

    John - A Motley Moose

    @The Dangerman: It hasn’t gotten any better. At least, when you factor in the injuries. Suh got a bad call today. It happened on the Bears’ go-ahead touchdown drive. It wasn’t the deciding factor in the game, but it was just one more thing to complain about for Lions fans. As if we needed anything else. I watch sports to get away from politics and end up listening to Lions fans sound just like the left blogosphere.

    The Lions lost to a better team today. They led most of the game and couldn’t close it out in the second half. That’s been a recurrent theme all year. The only saving grace is that they haven’t given up yet. They are still in there fighting every game. Well, every game, except that 2 game stretch after the loss to the Bills.

    They’ll get a good draft pick in the next draft. Maybe they can trade it for a top-caliber offensive lineman. It would be nice to see a Lions quarterback make it through a game without losing body parts.

  46. 46.

    The Dangerman

    OK, it was outside the pocket AND a forward pass, but how is that not grounding? Shouldn’t there be a “I’m calling bullshit” clause in that rule?

  56. 56.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @FlipYrWhig:

    and I’m a McCartneybot who thinks Lennon is spectacularly overrated and kind of a dick.

    Did you really say that out loud?

  57. 57.

    suzanne

    @Corner Stone:

    What the hell is your target audience?

    Me. (Essentially good-hearted, more than slightly bent, with zero tolerance for schmaltzy crap.)

    @The Dangerman: “Happy Xmas” is my favorite Christmas song ever. First on my list, if you noticed. Paul McCartney earned himself some bad karma with “Wonderful Christmastime”, though. Like getting in a fender-bender or getting hosed for sixty million dollars by his ex-wife or something.

    @Yutsano: Of COURSE I want to get goofy! Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? I listed this, for Christ’s sake!

  60. 60.

    Zach

    It’s too bad Ben didn’t rape Chris Collinsworth; I think he’d like it… he’s even enamored with big Ben’s big shoe. This game is great. I feel bad for the 8th string tackles and tight ends having to stop Suggs, though.

    This game shows why Rice gets more snaps than McGahee… Flacco’d be way worse off than a broken nose without him even if he’s missed a couple blocks.

  63. 63.

    suzanne

    @Corner Stone:

    What the hell is your target audience?

    Me. (Essentially good-hearted, more than slightly bent, with zero tolerance for schmaltzy crap.)

    @The Dangerman: “Happy Xmas” is my favorite Christmas song ever. First on my list, if you noticed. Paul McCartney earned himself some bad karma with “Wonderful Christmastime”, though. Like getting in a fender-bender or getting hosed for sixty million dollars by his ex-wife or something.

    @Yutsano: Of COURSE I want to get goofy! Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? I listed this, for Christ’s sake!

  64. 64.

    burnspbesq

    @Yutsano:

    “O Fortuna” may be eerily appropriate now that the Steelers have taken the lead.

    Statu variabilis this, Ravens fans.

  65. 65.

    Zach

    I’m in Baltimore and there’s no way I’d kick into this wind. My dog won’t even go out in it and he hates staying inside.

  68. 68.

    jaywillie

    what a stupid call by Harbaught go for it. No timeouts, under 40 seconds, fourth down…you have to kick it.

  71. 71.

    sherifffruitfly

    wtf was wrong with flaco on that last pass? Shoulda been easy-breezy.

    Damn good game by both teams though. And the good guys won. woot!

  72. 72.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Great game. Sucks to lose at home but ya gotta hand it to the Steelers D for coming up big.

  74. 74.

    asiangrrlMN

    Yawn. So, apparently I missed Cole opening a second Stillers thread. I will repeat. I saw Ben’s broken nose over and over again. Then, I snoozed, only to wake up in time to see Troy Polamalu’s strip and the subsequent Stillers TD. In other words, I saw everything important!

    @JohnR: Polamalu is BETTER than Lewis. Harrumph.

  77. 77.

    JohnR

    Well, Ben’s a hell of a QB. And Polamolu is almost as good as Ray. Course Ray is a few years older…
    And so, off to bed.

  78. 78.

    Zach

    Nice touch. Oh well, looking forward to the next match-up. Hopefully we’ll figure out how to not let blitzers run untouched to the quarterback if this is repeated in the playoffs… Flacco’s fumble could’ve easily happened on two or three other plays.

  83. 83.

    Yutsano

    @suzanne: I am now advising all my female friends for situations that warrant it: aim for the balls. Hitting a man’s jewels is the single best way of taking him down, with the added plus that it’s humiliating.

  84. 84.

    J.W. Hamner

    Grudging gratz to the Steelers. Painful loss at home.

    Not really sure how Flacco managed to miss that pass… and I’m totally fine with Harbaugh going for it.

  85. 85.

    jaywillie

    @The Dangerman: It was what? A 52-yd attempt? I know they had the wind going against them, but Cundiff has leg power and is accurate…I just don’t understand that call at all. Harbaugh’s in for a rough week in Baltimore I think.

    And Polamalu…again, steps up, makes a play late, and gives the Steelers a chance to win.

  86. 86.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Meh, I like pop better than boundary-pushing. Late Lennon grates on me, and then you add to that his reputation for being so thoughtful and intellectual. Of course McCartney has been declining for decades. But in terms of Beatles and post-Beatles, I definitely prefer McCartney’s low points to Lennon’s low points. Lennon has a few very high highs, but McCartney has more, lower highs, if that makes sense.

    Actually the guy who’s underappreciated is Harrison, but everyone says that.

  87. 87.

    suzanne

    @Yutsano:

    I am now advising all my female friends for situations that warrant it: aim for the balls.

    Sweetie, I grew up in New York. I know. :)

  88. 88.

    Comrade Luke

    This fucking playoff change talk is ridiculous. I can totally get behind (maybe) reseeding based on records, but I don’t care about the team’s record if they win their division – they should be in the playoffs.

    All it is is a bunch of fucking whining over an issue that happens…when has it ever happened before this year? Ever?

  89. 89.

    The Dangerman

    @jaywillie:

    It was what? A 52-yd attempt?

    Just looked it up; he had a long of 62 in college. Even with wind, ya gotta take the shot at it.

    Only concern I might have is there were 35 or so seconds on the clock; with BR’s habit of pulling winning drives out of his ass, I’d factor that in … and still kick the fucking ball.

    No clue on the spread, but if it was a Pick ‘Em, I’m sending Harbaugh a stocking of coal.

  90. 90.

    FlipYrWhig

    @sherifffruitfly:

    wtf was wrong with flaco on that last pass? Shoulda been easy-breezy.

    Looked like he changed his motion so he wouldn’t throw it into the oncoming rusher’s hands. Floop.

  91. 91.

    Martin

    Heh, now that the game is over, I wonder if Cole will realize that the kids have spent the last 3 hours in the basement of ABLs thread fucking the livestock.

  92. 92.

    Bnut

    The NFL went for parity. Instead they got parody. I didn’t write that line, but eh 49ers make it true.

  93. 93.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @FlipYrWhig:

    Meh, I like pop better than boundary-pushing.

    You’d love my new jukebox. Over the years, I’ve collected every Top 40 hit from 1955 to 1989.

  94. 94.

    Zach

    @Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle: This is like the Colts/Pats game. Common wisdom says kick/punt but not if you look at the stats. Cundiff is capable of kicking it far, but only if it’s low. He has a miserable record on 50+ yard field goals (4/13; never made one in Baltimore) and that was 49 yards with winds gusting 30 or 40mph assuming the weather’s similar a mile and a half from here. I’d give him favorable odds of making it but not much over 50%. Then you’ve got a 50% chance of winning in overtime. If there’s a 50% chance of making it on 4th down, a 20% chance of scoring a touchdown from the 30, and a 70% chance of making a field goal from the 30, the odds for each choice are about identical.

  95. 95.

    suzanne

    @FlipYrWhig: In my comment that is apparently so raunchy that a grown-up needs to give it the A-OK, I said that McCartney earned himself some seriously bad karma with that damn Christmas track of his. I think that’s why his ex-wife took sixty million of his dollars. All in all, though, I love Paul, and I think he’s great. But one must atone.

    I concur with you on Harrison, though. This song is so damn great.

  96. 96.

    Comrade Luke

    @Martin:

    (briefly takes a look at the ABL thread).

    Wow, the inmates took over the asylum over there. And all while I’m over here complaining about the NFL :)

  97. 97.

    Yutsano

    @Bnut: The things you wish you had thought of first eh?

    @suzanne: Duly noted, and I now feel sorry for your husband when your labor hits. Might I suggest him NOT being in the room when the space alien comes out?

  98. 98.

    burnspbesq

    OT, but the extent to which Boise State got hosed by the bowl powers that be is truly mind-boggling. The Las Vegas Bowl? Before Christmas? Unpossible. And Kellen Moore is going to get hosed by the Heisman voters as well (albeit not nearly as much as Andrew Luck is going to get hosed).

  100. 100.

    suzanne

    @Yutsano:

    Might I suggest him NOT being in the room when the space alien comes out?

    Oh, he’s not in any danger. Last time, though, I needed to be restrained from slapping the anesthesiologist. I ended up just shouting swear words and referring to him as “Dr. Mengele”.

  101. 101.

    Comrade Luke

    @burnspbesq:

    I was going to mention that. Just completely insulting to Boise St, and it just has the ring of a bunch of privileged fucks getting together to screw over the little guy.

    ETA: So far I haven’t seen any articles talking about this either. Very annoying.

  102. 102.

    Yutsano

    @burnspbesq: We call that sports life west of the Mississippi. There’s an up and coming sophomore quarterback at Washington State that will light up the fucking field by the time he’s a senior that I bet you’ll never hear of again.

  104. 104.

    sherifffruitfly

    @burnspbesq:

    To some degree I agree with you about bcs hosing bsu, but on the other hand, bsu was only 1-and-1 versus decent teams (both of whom were clearly not as good as bsu). So I can kinda see both sides.

  107. 107.

    JWL

    “Mets general manager Sandy Alderson seemed to think Werth got the better end of the deal”.

    That noted, after the Washington Nationals drove a dump truck onto free agent Werth’s front lawn, and emptied $126 million dollars onto the outfielder’s lawn.

  110. 110.

    The Dangerman

    @burnspbesq:

    And Kellen Moore is going to get hosed by the Heisman voters as well…

    Wouldn’t worry much about that; Newton has a dead solid lock on it.

  112. 112.

    Bnut

    @jwb: I know, cuz AQ is going to blow up trans-oceanic comm lines and defense systems factories. Sounds more like a job for anarchists, or the CIA.

  113. 113.

    burnspbesq

    @The Dangerman:

    One one level, I’m not troubled by that. There is a decent argument for Newton being the best player in college football this year. But I think there is a real possibility that at the next level, he’s going to be the second coming of Ryan Leaf, while Luck will have a long and distinguished career (second-best Stanford QB, behind Elway and ahead of Plunkett?), and Moore will cash a lot of decent checks as a backup.

  117. 117.

    MoeLarryAndJesus

    The Steelers/Ravens game was epic, but I’d just like to report that the Patriots beat both of them already this year.

    And tonight the Jets will be added to that list.

  118. 118.

    jwb

    @Bnut: I’m amused by her ability to spin every ridiculous aspect of the Wikileaks stuff into a harbinger of the coming revolution. And if I have to watch disasters unfold, I find Wikileaks more bearable to contemplate than Congress.

  120. 120.

    Yutsano

    @suzanne: You really shouldn’t do things like that to your brain. It doesn’t make for a happy marriage or a happy parenthood.

    @burnspbesq:

    But I think there is a real possibility that at the next level, he’s going to be the second coming of Ryan Leaf, while Luck will have a long and distinguished career (second-best Stanford QB, behind Elway and ahead of Plunkett?), and Moore will cash a lot of decent checks as a backup.

    The Heisman, technically, isn’t supposed to be about that. But they really should take character into account before giving out the award. Reggie Bush was forced to give his back after all the crap he got away with at USC (and yes I know the biggest enabler of all that now coaches the Seachickens, do NOT get me started!) and I get the feeling Newton may not totally be in the clear with all his shenanigans. I’m fully aware I can’t make the Heisman voters see sense, but ar least a few of them have to wonder if they’re handing out a trophy they’ll just have to take back later.

    And I’d go with Luck over Moore in your scenario, as much as that kills me to say. He’s just a better overall game manager.

  123. 123.

    suzanne

    @freelancer: My mom was an English teacher. If I even attempt to mimic matoko’s verbal vomit, I hear my mom’s voice screaming at me, “That’s not even A WORD!!!”

  124. 124.

    jwb

    @arguingwithsignposts: You know she’s coming:

    If the system killer works, the closed US system collapses. Assange is field testing a closed information system killer. This is why Wikileaks drips out the cables one an hour. The US is keystone cops. They are using 20 year old technology. Assange is a cyber-insurgent, the Crown Prince of Hacktivism and his system killer is the New Paradigm. He has just released his fifth column.

  125. 125.

    Corner Stone

    @JWL: Can you imagine?
    What a clusterfuck of a deal for the rest of the league.
    More power to Werth though.

  127. 127.

    JWL

    @MoeLarryAndJesus:

    M.L.&Jesus: I’m no gambler. A once-in-a-blue moon twenty dollar bet looms large with me. And there has yet to be the game played in which I’d bet against Tom Brady.

    But I predict the Jets will whip the Pats tomorrow night. Youth and hunger will be served.

  129. 129.

    Yutsano

    @Corner Stone: You’ll forgive me if I don’t declare Assagne the 21st Century cyber-Messiah. In fact, I’m going with my theory he’s just a big douchebag with a chip on his shoulder regarding the US.

  132. 132.

    Corner Stone

    @Yutsano: No I won’t forgive you. Because that will reveal a bias that doesn’t comport with reality.
    If you’re not clear on what is happening here it has nothing to do with M_C’s ability to use standard English.

  133. 133.

    Bnut

    @Corner Stone: I’d be happy if I agreed with you. I think releasing the fail safe doc he does now (which has business stuff in it) would be a better way to start the revolt. But it won’t. I’m trying to imagine a detail he could release that would be game changer.

  134. 134.

    Corner Stone

    @FlipYrWhig: Now you’re wounding me. Because Beltran left my Stro’s to go to NYM.
    Dude was so silky smooth in the OF, and had easy power to spare.
    Great arm, etc.

  135. 135.

    burnspbesq

    Heavy rain in Adelaide. Looks like another draw. The Ashes is going to be a best-of-three series.

  136. 136.

    MikeBoyScout

    Thanks to the intertubes am listening to the Stiller post game on DVE.

    John, u’r a smart man but u ain’t as smart as Tomlin is in managing a game.

    The Stillers are 9-3 not because they are more talented, but because of their leadership.

    Obama should do a week’s internship with Coach Tomllin and Coach Dad.

  138. 138.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Corner Stone: I saw Beltran play in single-A. Wilmington Blue Rocks vs. Lynchburg Hillcats, Wilmington DE. Lynchburg’s 3B was Aramis Ramirez. Neither Beltran nor Ramirez did anything of note in the game. I was there to see a new pitching pheenom who everyone agreed would be one of the best of the next few years: Kris Benson. That didn’t work out according to plan.

  139. 139.

    Corner Stone

    @Bnut: The game changer has already happened.
    I don’t know why I have to keep pointing this out to people on the intertubes.
    Are we all Ted Stevens now?

  140. 140.

    Yutsano

    @Corner Stone: I didn’t even mention her. And I could give a shit about her English abilities or her chosen distortions, pedantic tendencies that I have. I don’t see Assange as some great noble David fighting the American Goliath here. He is wanting some as of yet unknown selfish benefit, and without knowing his exact motivation I’m going with douchebag. And no his rantings don’t cut it.

    @FlipYrWhig: Well played good sir. Well played.

  142. 142.

    The Dangerman

    @burnspbesq:

    …he’s going to be the second coming of Ryan Leaf.

    Leaf, now there was a waste; million dollar arm, vacuum in the head, possibly induced through Roid Rage. Newton’s dirty along with his Dad … and I’d laugh if he busts in the League and/or has to give back the Heisman.

  144. 144.

    jaywillie

    @The Dangerman: @The Dangerman: It would have been 49 yards, so I was off by 3…still, he seems to have the leg strength to kick it, even in that wind (good info on his college longest).

    After the game Harbaugh said he picked the play that gave him the highest percentage chance to win. Even if you make the pass, it looked like it would only be about a five yard gain, plus you run at least ten seconds off the clock getting back to the line and spiking the ball. Maybe that improves your chances somewhat, but it doesn’t seem worth the risk of an incomplete pass or turnover. If it’s incomplete, you have no chance of scoring; but even if you kick, with the wind as a factor, you have a guaranteed chance of scoring. Gotta think kicking is the higher percentage play there. Maybe Cundiff told Harbaugh he didn’t think he could make it from 49, but he seemed to be booming kickoffs all night, even against the wind.

  145. 145.

    jwb

    @Corner Stone: We’ll see. I remain skeptical, but I watch with interest. If she’s right, it won’t be pretty, and we will get to experience the unleashing of full crazy.

  146. 146.

    Corner Stone

    @FlipYrWhig: Can’t comment on A ball. But man that kid could fly in the OF, so easy like Griffey JR in his prime. Like he wasn’t even thinking about getting to the ball.
    And at the plate he would turn on a ball. Damn.
    Oh well.

  147. 147.

    Chuck Butcher

    I’m pretty pleased, came off my cold snowy/icy roof to find Browns 13 – Dolphins 10 and the miserable Ravens beaten. Maybe post Xmas I’ll get a present in Browns v cRavens.

  150. 150.

    Bnut

    @Corner Stone: You are pointing it out on Balloon Juice is the problem. You want to hold some signs, lock some arms and protest? You got em in spades my friend. But there is no draft, that is the game changer.

  151. 151.

    freelancer

    @FlipYrWhig:

    Heh. But also decent pop science fiction.

    It gets ridiculous, after a fashion, when she doesn’t made a distinction that the narratives are about ideas, and the fiction of them is disregarded. This is how Serenity’s Mr. Universe becomes identical to Julian Assange in her mind. Everything fiction is relegated to the gravity of prophecy; she has no suspension of disbelief.

  153. 153.

    The Dangerman

    @Corner Stone:

    Can’t comment on A ball. But man that kid could fly in the OF, so easy like Griffey JR in his prime.

    Interesting you should say that; I saw Griffey Jr in A ball. Just a kid but had greatness written all over him. It was with the San Bernardino Spirit; shittiest stadium ever, it was well before some of these really nice Minor League parks.

  156. 156.

    Corner Stone

    @Yutsano: That’s why I used Griffey as a goalpost. Dude was silk. Made everything seem like he just recently thought about catching that fly ball.

  157. 157.

    RadioOne

    @MoeLarryAndJesus Naw, as a huge Pats fan, I’m not buying this, not with so many division games being played out during this season like they were playoff games, and not with the Pats D playing as dismal as it has this season. The Jets have also had the last month and a half to think about the new Pats offense sans Moss. I think Monday night is going to be a really hard game for the Pats to win.

  159. 159.

    Comrade Luke

    @The Dangerman:

    I think a better comparison than Ryan Leaf is Vince Young when talking about Newton. Young had more talent, but less upstairs. I read somewhere that he had the lowest Wunderlick score ever posted. It’ll be interesting to see how Newton does on that.

  161. 161.

    The Dangerman

    @Corner Stone:

    He made the pros when he was like 20.

    Young enough so he and his Pops could hit HR’s in the same game; I sat in the Kingdome a few times watching him (I have family in Seattle and spent a few years there). That family connection was how I ended up seeing him in A ball; Sister and BIL are bigtime Mariner fans and wanted to see Junior in San Bernardino. He wasn’t in town very long;-)

    I don’t recall much of Jr.’s game other than he was a purebred, but I do recall seeing Ichiro in a game at the new San Bernardino (CA) stadium (much more recently, obviously). Put on one of the best BP performances I’ve ever seen as to HR’s (I mean, LONG HR’s; Dude has some pop if he wants it).

  162. 162.

    Bob Loblaw

    @Yutsano:

    He is wanting some as of yet unknown selfish benefit, and without knowing his exact motivation I’m going with douchebag.

    That’s just silly. What, is he in it for the money? Because there isn’t any. Is he just looking to become a global celebrity and get laid all the time? It would be irresponsible not to speculate…

    You’re being patriotic, fine. You don’t like seeing the US get humiliated when other superpowers deserve it just as much. But if wikileaks made Russia its special project instead of the US, just admit that you wouldn’t care one whit about what it turned up, and would simultaneously have absolutely nothing to say about its largely-irrelevant founder or his character.

  163. 163.

    Martin

    @Corner Stone: Yeah, could be a game changer. That outcome hasn’t been written yet, though. They need to leak non-US intel. They need to put corporate leaks out there. They need to do it even when they’re being squeezed.

    They need to show that this is sustainable over time and under pressure.

    If not them, someone else will manage it, but it might be a while. I don’t think what they’ve done so far is enough to have any structural impact. It’s not the damage or volume of the intel, but the variety of sources that will matter in the end.

    And MC is still an idiot.

  164. 164.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Comrade Luke: JaMarcus Russell says hello. And Tim Tebow. These hybrid QBs don’t pan out very well. Then again, I’m shocked that Michael Vick has had the year he’s had.

  165. 165.

    suzanne

    @freelancer:

    Everything fiction is relegated to the gravity of prophecy; she has no suspension of disbelief.

    Her histrionics are what I find alternately hilarious and pathetic. Every disagreement is a personal attack, and every event serves only to burnish her ego. I’ve never seen someone who purports to be so smart who is so uninterested in learning about anything. It’s really amusing, though I suppose I should feel badly for constantly sniping at someone so obviously insecure.

    But I’m really an eleven-year-old boy trapped in a 30-year-old chick’s body. So I keep taunting.

  166. 166.

    Bnut

    @Martin: Agreed. Put out the shit about corporations. I think people are much more likely to throw concrete chunks at those who take their money as opposed to their e-mail. Granted, both deserve a dented skull, but priorities people!

  167. 167.

    The Dangerman

    @suzanne:

    But I’m really an eleven-year-old boy trapped in a 30-year-old chick’s body.

    At 11 years old, I would … oh, nevermind.

  169. 169.

    Comrade Luke

    @FlipYrWhig:

    Vick might not make it the whole season, considering how much he’s getting hit. He’s clearly the best of the bunch, but…yea, I know what you mean. I have to deal with people talking up Jake Locker on a daily basis.

  170. 170.

    Yutsano

    @Bob Loblaw:

    You’re being patriotic, fine.

    Mmm, not so much. But thanks for attributing a motive I don’t have.

    You don’t like seeing the US get humiliated when other superpowers deserve it just as much.

    The worst humiliation is in the ease of access of sensitive information. If anything, Assagne is doing the US a favor here. As far as the information itself being humiliating, only to the diplomats who now have harder jobs to do. But they’ll adjust.

    But if wikileaks made Russia its special project instead of the US, just admit that you wouldn’t care one whit about what it turned up, and would simultaneously have absolutely nothing to say about its largely-irrelevant founder or his character.

    My reaction probably wouldn’t change all that much. If I saw someone single-mindedly going after the Chinese or the Indians, I would question their motives as well. It could be Assagne is trying to be some weird revolutionary against a country he is not a citizen of and really has no true understanding of. Or he’s getting a massive load of kicks out of throwing the US State Department into chaos just because he can. It says more about you that you assume I’m a rah-rah gung ho America First Fuck Yeah!! type just because I find Assange and Wikileaks suspicious. But that’s fine. It just shows you don’t know dick about me and you’re militantly superior in your own mind.

  171. 171.

    Jay in Oregon

    @suzanne:

    Of COURSE I want to get goofy! Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? I listed this, for Christ’s sake!

    I can’t believe…

    …that I’ve heard this song before!

  172. 172.

    Comrade Luke

    @Yutsano:

    Couldn’t it also be something as simple as: the only information he’s being given is coming from people in the US?

  173. 173.

    The Dangerman

    @The Dangerman:

    He wasn’t in town very long;-)

    Had to look it up (these things drive me crazy; yes, I’m a bit A/R and obsessive compulsive):

    Griffey played 58 games for the Spirit. Surprised it was that many….

  174. 174.

    suzanne

    I personally am ambivalent about Assange… on the one hand, I generically support greater transparency; on the other, I have doubts about the value of the information he shared having what I would consider a positive effect. However, I do believe wholeheartedly that, in the endgame, what he’s done will diminish transparency in the future—build a better mousetrap, et cetera.

    And, unfortunately, I believe that the majority of the American public is too apathetic for what he’s got to be too much of a game-changer. I mean, this latest release is pretty much just a punchline for Dave Letterman, as far as 98% of the population is concerned. Same as it ever was.

  175. 175.

    Martin

    @Comrade Luke: Well, I don’t think that’s the case (if you take him at his word), but you have to start somewhere. I would also argue (over the protestations of quite a few) that starting with the US has a twofold benefit:

    1) It’s just good marketing. If you want be noticed, punch the big kid first.
    2) The US, for its many faults, doesn’t generally go after people like Assange. Yeah, they’ll hassle him, but unless he pulls out something *really* important, I think we’ll leave him be. He’s got access to the NYT now. He’ll likely get other media benefactors. I think he’s safer now than before people knew who he was. Won’t stop Israel or China from popping him though.

  177. 177.

    Yutsano

    @Comrade Luke: This is true as far as the released diplomatic cables are concerned since they are traceable to a single source (Manning, talk about stupid things to do when you’re young) so unless Assagne and Wikileaks are just sitting on a fuck ton more information you could be right here. But it was my understanding they collected what they could then decided what should and should not go out.

  178. 178.

    Bob Loblaw

    @Comrade Luke:

    Of course not, Comrade, that would be ridiculous.

    It’s far more likely that Assange is taking the thousands and thousands of Nigerian leaker contributions and throwing them in the trash, right alongside the insider documents from within the PRC’s inner sanctum. Because clearly it’s really super easy to find online sources in autocratic countries with underdeveloped data networks and infrastructures, and not bloated Western nations instead…

    @Yutsano:

    really has no true understanding of.

    Ah yes, you totally have no nationalistic motivations here. Indeed.

    Just for kicks, what pray tell, is Assange guilty of “not understanding” about the US?

  179. 179.

    Morbo

    Also, it is only an illegal hit when the Steelers do it.

    Q: What’s the thing Cole misses the most about being a Republican?

    A: Trick question, thanks to his Steelers fandom he didn’t have to give up the persecution complex.

  181. 181.

    Ross Hershberger

    Book recommendation. For the last month I’ve only been able to get to sleep thanks to String Theory and particle physics. But after 458 pages I’m done. Re-reading the part about Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle bought be a couple more nights of early slumber. I’m afraid if I don’t have something dull to look at at bedtime I’ll never sleep again.
    It’s 1:40 am and I’m a little scared.

  183. 183.

    freelancer

    @suzanne:

    I do think her approach to the inarticulate is a badge of honor she wears in order to be above the fray. Cudlips adhere to grammar. The New Order of human thinking is raw, and the encryption is inherent in the message. Couple that with the self-important Delusions of Grandeur WRT to the scifi allusions, and you have a young person who does possess intelligence, and who knows, her grasp of higher end science may be daunting, but is going about the art of communication all wrong.

    Here’s the thing. Especially with this site. It is filled to the brim with what anyone might/should call expertise. Cole is an ABD. Tom Levenson is a novelist with a large background in science. Tim F and anti-Obot polemic WyldPirate are no-shit actual scientists. DougJ works in the field as well, but I’m not sure of his professional background, and that’s the whole point.

    We don’t talk about it, because we aren’t here to measure dicksize vis a vis our resume’s or CV’s. Here is a place that, even intelligent, reasonable, well-rounded folks can mix it up without regard how we look on paper, so long as we act as intelligent, reasonable, well-minded human beings.

  184. 184.

    Yutsano

    @Ross Hershberger: Battlefield Earth by L Ron Hubbard. Not only will you appreciate just how fucking bad of a writer he was, you’ll be bored out of your mind. Plus it’s 1200 pages long. He refused to ever have it edited. It shows. And yes I did. How my brain survived intact is one of the mysteries of the universe.

  187. 187.

    Yutsano

    @freelancer:

    We don’t talk about it, because we aren’t here to measure dicksize vis a vis our resume’s or CV’s. Here is a place that, even intelligent, reasonable, well-rounded folks can mix it up without regard how we look on paper, so long as we act as intelligent, reasonable, well-minded human beings.

    It’s been said before, but it’s definitely worth saying again: this blog is fucking Cheers. We’re a place that folks go to at the end of the day to relax and hang out and unwind and bitch and all that. Some of us like each other more than others, but we all contribute to the fabric of this place. It’s why the massive emo of the last week hasn’t bugged me: we’ve been down this road before, and we’ll go down there again. And we’ll still have the damn bar at the end.

    @Bnut: No interservice wars please. And Hanukkah Samayach BTW.

  188. 188.

    Jay in Oregon

    @Yutsano:

    Battlefield Earth by L Ron Hubbard. Not only will you appreciate just how fucking bad of a writer he was, you’ll be bored out of your mind. Plus it’s 1200 pages long. He refused to ever have it edited. It shows. And yes I did. How my brain survived intact is one of the mysteries of the universe.

    Pfft. I see your Battlefield Earth and raise you ALL TEN VOLUMES of Mission: Earth

  189. 189.

    suzanne

    @freelancer:

    Here’s the thing. Especially with this site. It is filled to the brim with what anyone might/should call expertise. Cole is an ABD. Tom Levenson is a novelist with a large background in science. Tim F and anti-Obot polemic WyldPirate are no-shit actual scientists. DougJ works in the field as well, but I’m not sure of his professional background, and that’s the whole point.

    Absolutely. The vast majority of commenters here are intelligent and articulate and witty, and have respect for each other’s specific arenas of knowledge. Which is what makes it enjoyable and stimulating.

    I’ve never met someone I considered truly intelligent who wasn’t also humble. Ive found an inverse relationship between how intelligent someone genuinely is with how much they try to convince me of same.

  190. 190.

    Martin

    @Corner Stone: They don’t. But I work in one of these bureaucratic agencies, so I’ll profess some expertise on how they think.

    Their focus won’t be on what gets published. There’s nothing they can do about that and they know it. Their focus will be on the leaks. If this is one leak, they’ll chalk it up as an anecdotal event, not worthy of much change in operating procedure. Their worry will be that with an outlet for this information, that will motivate more leaks. And with so many people with access to information, there’s going to be takers. But evidence of that dynamic will need to surface for anything meaningful to change.

    Though I guess it all depends on what everyone thinks the goal should be. Whether the goal is to change the nature of the security state or the goal is to just get info out there and keep it out there. I think the goal is (and should be) the former while minimizing the latter.

  191. 191.

    Ross Hershberger

    @Yutsano:
    I actually read Battlefield Earth a long time ago. Hubbard would just piss me off now, which is not conducive to sleep. I have a thing for long books. Gravity’s Rainbow, The Baroque Cycle, Infinite Jest, Atlas Shrugged, Mason & Dixon.
    I could not get through Against the Day. Way too fragmented even for a masochist like me.
    I have some algebra I need to get through for a project. maybe tha twill see me off to slumberland.

  194. 194.

    Yutsano

    @Ross Hershberger: I read Gone with the Wind when I was in high school. To be honest it really isn’t all that terrible. But there are parts especially in the first half that drag out forever. and Vivien Leigh does really do Scarlett justice, she really was that much of a bitch.

  195. 195.

    Anne Laurie

    @suzanne: __

    I’ve found an inverse relationship between how intelligent someone genuinely is with how much they try to convince me of same.

    Lady, you have never been to a science fiction / popcult / comix convention, have you? If it weren’t for the Stanford-Binet version of dickmeasuring, a lot of the people I knew when I was in my 20s would have had no conversational topics whatsoever. And some of them have grown up to be actual rocket scientists. That’s the thing — we all do stuff when we’re young that we should have the grace to be ashamed of later, assuming our boneheadedness doesn’t get us killed first.

  196. 196.

    Yutsano

    @Anne Laurie:

    That’s the thing—we all do stuff when we’re young that we should have the grace to be ashamed of later, assuming our boneheadedness doesn’t get us killed first.

    And there are those who SHOULD be dead because of their boneheadedness but still manage to be existing on this mortal coil. It’s the sort of thing that furthers my belief in something keeping an eye out for us. You being an animist you define it how your heart and soul tells you, my religion actually doesn’t consider the FSM heretical per se (since the exact nature of God is unknowable so any theory could conceivably be correct) so the FSM is as good as anything. But yeah, there are lots of folks I look at and wonder how the fuck they’re still breathing.

  198. 198.

    Martin

    Californians should be aware that Brown will be holding a budget event on Wed. Sounds like he’s gonna tell us exactly how fucked we are and lay out a first budget pass. Word is he’s going for cuts so deep in the hopes that the public will support some targeted tax increases in a special election early next year.

  199. 199.

    Chuck Butcher

    @Yutsano: I have no excuses, I figured I had a pretty good eye for the edge of the earth. I really didn’t. I probably get too close yet and think I’m not. Ah well, something will get you one way or another, just don’t make the invitation too open.

  201. 201.

    JWL

    At long last, Cole, shut the fuck up about how put upon the Steelers are. You’re beginning to sound like the whiniest of the whiny Raiders fan.

    Go Niners….

  202. 202.

    Ross Hershberger

    Thx for the book recommendations. Someone over @ Tomasky recommended Lethem’s Chronic City and I loved that. Maybe I’ll try DeLillo next. All I’ve read by him is The Body Artist, which is short.

  203. 203.

    frostys

    @Ross Hershberger: If you like long books, try Cyteen, by CJ Cherryh.

    I read Gravity’s Rainbow 5 times when it came out. Picked it up a year ago and couldn’t get started. Looks like the attention span has disappeared.

  204. 204.

    JohnR

    @Ross Hershberger:

    Why are you looking for ‘long and dull’? Isn’t that what booze is for?
    As for me, I would avoid RonH; like that self-absorbed imbecile Rand, he tends to make me want to throw the book, and irritation and physical exercise are what you _don’t_ want in that situation.
    Try War and Peace. Or Dickens. The classics are always best. Personally, I just go for books I like, but have read many times. Relaxing, familiar and they don’t get upset if I nod off while they’re talking…

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