Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

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

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

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

This blog will pay for itself.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

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

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

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

No one could have predicted…

Infrastructure week. at last.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

The revolution will be supervised.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

T R E 4 5 O N

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread

Reader Interactions

45Comments

  1. 1.

    Corner Stone

    There are still quite a few challenges to overcome, but if this can be done it’s going to be crazy good for future endeavors:
    The Pirate Bay to start work on P2P DNS system

    According to a hastily written up news post, the goal behind proposing a P2P DNS system is to have an uncensored Internet. The group claims that “having a centralised system that controls our information
    flow is not acceptable.” It added that at this stage nothing has been organised yet, not even a press release.
    __
    The outfit goes on to say that it will use existing decentralisation technology and has a group of “skilled programmers, communicators and network specialists” and proclaims that “an alternative system is not far away”. It tempers this grandiose talk by saying that the group won’t be trying to re-invent the wheel, but will build upon existing technology as much as possible.

    HT Corrente

  2. 2.

    Corner Stone

    Damn. Block quote at comment 1 used “network spec!alist” as a descriptive and I didn’t see it. So, alas. Moderation you haz me nao.

  5. 5.

    J. Michael Neal

    A former professor an I are setting up a business. We made the decision on Monday. I’m still not sure exactly what value I bring to the organization, beyond my sheer brilliance, but I’m excited about the opportunity.

    Having established that, the world decided that it was finally okay to allow me to get (almost) a job offer. It’s not a very good job offer, but it’s something. Major Bank recently merged with Another Major Bank. Major Bank allows its customers to make withdrawals from their brokerage accounts at any bank branch. Another Major Bank does not. The merged major banks have decided to roll it out as a feature for all of their customers.

    This means that there are thousands of tellers at the branches of Another Major Bank who don’t know an ETF from an IRA that are supposed to process these transactions. That’s a problem. So Merged Major Banks are setting up an internal call center that can help them by explaining what all of this stuff is. They want it staffed by people with investments experience, which I have.

    The upsides are that it’s a job, it doesn’t involve dealing with outside customers, and that it pays well for a call center job. The downsides are that it’s still a call center job, and that it has nothing to do with accounting. My partner said that we can meet evenings and weekends, so I can do both. I’m going to take the job, but this is not exactly what I envisioned when I entered a program for a masters degree in accounting.

  7. 7.

    Sko Hayes

    @Steve L.:
    Fingers and toes crossed.
    An additional motivation would be to stick one right in the eye of Marine Commandant Amos and John McCain. Take that, you homophobic jerks.

  8. 8.

    Zifnab

    @maye: Whoa! Slow down there, buddy. DADT repeal is nice and all, but I don’t think it’s going to excuse a long and established career of pro-war, business-whore, Republican-lite douche baggery.

  9. 9.

    Ronbo

    If DADT repeal does NOT pass, then 77% of the public will know that they don’t matter. I don’t think that our monied overlords would be that obvious. Do you?

  14. 14.

    PurpleGirl

    @maye: No, take back only half of the “nasty” stuff you’ve said. He’s still a piece of work who does not really have the country’s interest at heart.

  15. 15.

    dmsilev

    @maye: I dunno. I’ll take back about 10% of the things I’ve said about Lieberman; I figure that’s about the right amount given the sorts of things he’s said and done over the last several years.

    dms

  17. 17.

    J. Michael Neal

    @stuckinred: It’s really dumb for almost everyone. In exchange for a small premium on an OOTM option, you give up all of your upside risk in the stock without reducing your downside risk at all. Beyond that, the trading costs are going to eat up the premium you gained very quickly.

    Don’t do it.

  19. 19.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @J. Michael Neal: I think taking the job is a wise decision if for no other reason than having a job makes you more attractive to prospective employers. Plus, in this economy, any job is a good job.

  21. 21.

    Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther

    Continuing to flog this:

    HOLIDAY MARKETPLACE

    Don’t forget!

    Are you a maker, creative type, knitter, photographer, painter, have an etsy shop, whatever? Have something you’d like to sell during this crazy holiday season? Come on over to my place, leave the details in the comments, and maybe your stuff will find itself in the hands of those you know and love online http://emilylhauserinmyhead.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/holiday-marketplace/

    And if you have nothing to sell, come on by to do some some shopping!

    (One of my fellow TNC commenters, who posted about her photography, has cross-posted the marketplace on her blog, too, complete w/ awesome clip of the Lego Beatles singing Happy Birthday. http://blog.thepixelkitchen.net/2010/12/16/holiday-marketplace/ Please feel free to do so likewise, with or without Lego Beatles, if you’re so inclined!)

  22. 22.

    J. Michael Neal

    @stuckinred: In fairness, some people confuse covered calls with delta hedging. Hedging delta and just trading vol can make sense, though, again, transaction costs will eat up anyone trying it on a small scale.

  24. 24.

    stuckinred

    @J. Michael Neal: I’m lost. I hear “never do anything you don’t understand” but I don’t understand any of it! The people we are working with have a long history of working with university folks on retirement and have done well by us up to now.

    Shit.

  26. 26.

    Catsy

    @maye:

    If DADT repeal passes, I will take back every nasty thing I’ve ever said about Joe Lieberman.

    I sure as hell won’t. I’m glad Lieberman has been a strong driving force behind DADT repeal. I give him full and unequivocal credit for doing the right thing on that. He is not 100% worthless.

    But that has no bearing on how much of a malignant tumor he has been in the Senate otherwise. He is still a corrupt, dishonest, moralizing blowhard who enables Republican obstructionism more often than not. And I will still be pleased as punch to see the voters of CT completely repudiate him by throwing him out on his ass at their next opportunity.

    Plenty of toxic, destructive people have their moments of grace. This is Lieberman’s.

  31. 31.

    Zifnab

    Oops!
    http://wonkette.com/432638/army-birther-changes-mind-about-birth-certificate-now-wants-to-deploy#more-432638

    Lakin explained that he tried for two years to figure out to whom in the Army he could raise his questions about Obama’s eligibility but that he was not given guidance what he should do. He acknowledged he used his deployment as a way to raise the issue and that he knew when he disobeyed orders that his “career was over.”

    Also, for the lulz.

    Also Wednesday the jury heard testimony from two men who had served with Lakin. They described him as a compassionate physician, someone who gave therapeutic massages to soldiers on his own time

  34. 34.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Zifnab:

    They described him as a compassionate physician, someone who gave therapeutic massages to soldiers on his own time

    One of my best friends is compassionate.

  39. 39.

    Maude

    @J. Michael Neal:
    I am so glad you got this job offer. You will be a big help to those who are confused by all the financial stuff.
    Those callers are going to be lucky to get you on the phone.

  41. 41.

    liberty60

    Jus tfinished leaving a comment on NRO Online, where Victor Davis Hanson has another gem of an article, decrying the sad state of affairs in rural California; along the way he lets loose with such canards as:

    In two supermarkets 50 miles apart, I was the only one in line who did not pay with a social-service plastic card (gone are the days when “food stamps” were embarrassing bulky coupons). But I did not see any relationship between the use of the card and poverty as we once knew it: The electrical appurtenances owned by the user and the car into which the groceries were loaded were indistinguishable from those of the upper middle class.

    By that I mean that most consumers drove late-model Camrys, Accords, or Tauruses, had iPhones, Bluetooths, or BlackBerries, and bought everything in the store with public-assistance credit.

    Yes, he left out “strapping young bucks” but I am sure it was an oversight.

  43. 43.

    Corner Stone

    @liberty60: They’re never going to let this go. Never.
    No matter what, the person using the “food stamps” will always somehow be doing just as well as the unbiased observer is in relative terms.

  45. 45.

    burnspbesq

    @J. Michael Neal:

    Dude, it’s a paycheck. Congrats. And good luck on the startup.

    Maybe someday the Minnesota women’s hockey team will play its home games at the Neal Center.

Comments are closed.