Ready or not, here it is.
Open Thread
by $8 blue check mistermix| 144 Comments
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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.
I really should read my own blog.
In my day, never was longer.
I was promised a recession.
When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.
Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.
Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.
It’s the corruption, stupid.
If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.
This blog will pay for itself.
When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.
I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.
Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.
A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.
Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.
A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires
Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!
Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?
The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.
They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!
You can’t love your country only when you win.
Good lord, these people are nuts.
Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?
The words do not have to be perfect.
kdaug
Wherever you go, there you are.
artem1s
some good news for Ohio
Associated Press – December 29, 2010 11:05 AM ET
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio has unveiled new disclosure requirements in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year that eased restrictions on campaign spending.
Corporations, nonprofits and labor groups will have to show the amounts they spend on independent ads for or against candidates, under rules announced Wednesday by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (BROO’-nur).
The state’s outgoing elections chief says the ad sponsors also will have to provide voters with a website address in their ads.
The rules include a ban on independent ad spending by businesses that have been awarded state or federal money through Ohio during the previous year.
The rules approved by a Legislative panel give the secretary of state’s office the power to pursue violators.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
somebody in the DNC needs to give Jennifer Brunner a job, now. She is too valuable to lose just cause she not a member of the regular OH “old boys club”. And Lee Fisher needs to permanently retire from professionally running for offices he can’t win.
Maude
@kdaug:
And wherever you’ve been, you’ve been there.
Happy new year to you.
Amanda in the South Bay
If I jaywalk this morning, will Tucker Carlson ask for my execution?
Comrade Dread
Threw back out while carrying baby and slipping on a piece of paper on floor.
Have migraine.
Send alcohol.
I should note for prospective child services folks that Baby is currently in care of second parental unit who will remain sober.
Thoughtcrime
Ready or not, here she is: http://chattahbox.com/us/2010/12/28/orly-taitzs-birther-madness-kenyan-usurper-the-musical/
kdaug
@Maude:
Thanks, Maude.
You too.
Dave
@Comrade Dread: Been there. I once slipped on the steps while carrying my daughter when she was a baby, twisted in mid-air and landed on my back. She thought it was a blast. My take was much more pain-focused…
Southern Beale
Pat Buchanan is a racist asshole.
I know, y’all are shocked. I should have labeled the post “Pat Buchanan is STILL a racist asshole” but I was in a hurry.
Oh and check out the racist asshole coming to his defense in comments. It’s hilarious.
shoutingattherain
@kdaug:
It’s hotter in Heater than Hellmouth today.
We ARE all bozos on this bus.
sstarr
All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what
have the Romanshas the Government ever done for us?Dave
One more way the Chinese are eating our lunch.
stuckinred
@kdaug: funny, you don’t look buddhist!
Tom Hilton
We’re having a brutal, horrific winter here in the Bay Area. It rained again yesterday.
RosiesDad
For those in need of more stimulus to get pissed off, try to go see Charles Ferguson’s “Inside Job.” Not easy to find because limited release independent documentaries just don’t get wide play but this is a great film. Even if the woman who sold me my ticket said, “This is going to make you mad; I hope you left your gun at home.”
What pisses me off the most about it is that Obama appointed the same assholes who helped blow up the system, ensuring that there will be no change we can believe in. Summers, Geithner, Bernanke were all at the center of deregulating the financial industry (along with a bunch of other Democrats, Republicans and academics).
No wonder that when they blew the thing up and passed the cost of fixing it to the taxpayers (i.e. us), no one was indicted, arrested, imprisoned or prosecuted. And they all got to keep their money.
The end result is fewer larger banks and brokerages and the odds of it happening again are too great to think about.
I’m done now. Sorry for the interruption.
geg6
Day started out badly. Coffe maker somehow died overnight. Closest place to get a decent cuppa is the MickeyD’s the next town over. Out the door five minutes after climbing out of bed into 20 degree temps to get a cup of coffee does not a good morning make.
Day is getting better. I’m off to buy a new coffee maker (yay! after Christmas sales). My John and I are headed to the local watering hole for beer and wings and the Pens tonight.
My scoop for the day? I am getting word of a rumored “major announcement” regarding Penn State football after their bowl game is done. Since I am employed there, I am somewhat skeptical but it would make sense of a few things that were occurring before we closed for break. And if true, it will be big sports news, not just because it’s Penn State but because a nationally known sports figure is also involved in the rumor. Should be interesting.
zmulls
@geg6 Get an AeroPress. It’s non-electric and (arguably) makes the best coffee. It won’t die on you when you need it — as long as you can boil water you’re OK.
I love it — it travels easily. My only complaint is that it takes more coffee to make a cup than usual. But it really captures the most flavor without grounds and without grittiness.
It mixes the “brewing” method (the grounds sit in hot water for a few seconds, the way they would passing through your filter); with the “espresso” method (you force steam through the grounds using the press). You get a concentrated shot in your mug that you can drink straight like espresso, or you can fill it up with hot water to make a cup of coffee.
Comrade Dread
@RosiesDad: I’m suffering from outrage overload.
Every time I think about the banks and the government, it’s harder and harder not to just accept that we’re all proper ****ed and just open up a six pack, sit back, and enjoy the coming free fall.
srv
Someone needs to make more fun of Paul Ryan and Douthat again.
Makes his staff read Shrugged.
joe from Lowell
The Talking Heads “True Stories” movie, from 1986, does an amazing job describing the what would happen in the computer industry over the next two decades, and the effect it would have on our culture.
And it does this via a monologue in which Spaulding Gray plays with his food.
freelancer
@RosiesDad:
No need to apologize. I’m of the understanding Ferguson deconstructs the greed and collapse with the same amount of withering detail he showed when he made “No End in Sight” about how the Bush Administration fucked up post-war Iraq in every way imagineable. I can’t wait to see it.
Crashman
Some jerk went into the office fridge and threw my lunch in the trash.
PeakVT
It looks like the capacitors in my monitor just blew. I’m now using the cheapo monitor from my Sun and Linux boxen. How did anyone live with 1024×768?
Carnacki
I think that calls for The Roots
Carwin
@srv: Its kind of amazing that people admit in public to being influenced by a sociopath.
Punchy
From a commentor at CR, anyone ever buy summa these? I figger they’d be a stitch to use at the 7-11, where the clerk would just stare at it for 5 minutes trying to figgy out if it’s legit.
Southern Beale
@srv:
Yes because when looking for someone who can offer insight on real world issues, the author of FICTION is always the conservatives’ person of choice.
It’s always better to live in a fantasyland when you’re a right-winger. Those of us in the reality based community prefer someone who deals with facts, not fantasy.
Geez.
JPL
@geg6: Tell me it ain’t so Joe.. Nah, I can’t imagine that he’d ever retire.
BTW..my ex-step sister and brother in law are both retired from Penn State..She was in women’s studies and he in math… It’s a big university so I doubt that you’d know them
Rosalita
Just came back from lunch. I think everyone who has a car is now out on the road since we’ve managed to clean up the snowpocolypse. Like freaking rush hour out there.
And holy crap, I saw the ‘return’ line at Target. Hope they all packed their lunch.
The Republic of Stupidity
@Southern Beale:
.
Hmmmmmm… pretty good description of our previous POTUS, and tea partiers in general there, if I’m not mistaken…
It would appear Pat is also suffering from an irony deficiency…
J. Michael Neal
Waiting for a call from the vet. I picked Eddie up yesterday from the hospital, where he was boarded while I was out of town. For some reason, every time he drinks his face gets soaking wet, which then dribbles all down his front and leads to litter getting stuck to his whiskers, paws and other assorted places. This wasn’t happening before I left town. He also has diarrhea.
He’s been diagnosed with some form of hepatitis; the vet told me what it was, but I don’t remember. So the diarrhea is particularly troubling. He’s still eating (and drinking, obviously) and had plenty of energy yesterday. It’s been hard to tell whether he’s still full of energy today, other than that he can dive under the bed pretty quickly.
I’m starting to get really worried about him.
Okay, I was already really worried about him, but in a more acute sense.
Poopyman
I didn’t get my fucking Five Gold Rings today. I’d better get them with the Calling Birds tomorrow.
On the plus side, I’m writing this on my new Dell with 4 Gig memory – 3 GB more than the old one. And my fabulous wife got the 23″ monitor with it.
Life can sometimes approach being good.
Dork
You mean….did you start with your left foot, then your right, how many times you looked both ways, your posture, etc?
JGabriel
@srv:
Weird. Even weirder, he makes the people who work for him read it too.
.
JPL
@JGabriel: Did he have them read Lord of the Rings???
Bnut
The Army whitewashed the Battle of Wanat today. Apparently war is “unpredicatable” so mid-high level officers can’t be held accountable. Instead, they blame the dead 24-year old platoon commander. What a farce.
Face
Anyone here a soccer/futbol geek? Can you tell me why they (specifically, the English) start their matches on the :45 after the hour mark? Is there some reason they cant start at the top or bottom of the hour?
Thanx.
geg6
@JPL:
Well, I can’t say it is a “retirement.”. All I can say is that it is rumored that a very famous person has been looking at properties in the State College area. I know for sure that a large number of important assistant coaches have been interviewing with other schools, including one who has never done so in all his years at the University.
And, yes, it’s a big university. I work at one of the campuses near Pittsburgh and rarely know any faculty at the University Park campus. But we’re all Penn Staters and it’s a great place to work.
gogol's wife
@JGabriel:
thanks for making me laugh on a lousy day.
Southern Beale
@The Republic of Stupidity:
Eggggg-zactly!
Rosalita
@J. Michael Neal:
Is Eddie taking meds too?
quaint irene
Hey, 30 inches of snow here in NJ. I’d kill for a heavy rain fall.
The Republic of Stupidity
@Southern Beale:
Kind of astonishing, innit?
Astonishing, it is…
Poopyman
@geg6: Well, JoPa was head coach for a decade before I got there, and I’m an old man. Bear Bryant keeling over after he retired scared the shit out of him, but I think he’s been more open to it since his good bud Bobby Bowden retired, and he’s still kicking around. Probably trying to get Joe out on the golf course, actually.
Still, it’s hard to think of a Penn State game without him there. Too bad for Tom Bradley, but at least we won’t have a particular QB coach to bitch about.
The Republic of Stupidity
@quaint irene:
Why… just last night I saw a school of salmon doggedly working their way up a set of concrete steps in the Berkeley hills…
Poopyman
@quaint irene: You do NOT want a heavy rain after a heavy snow, believe me, unless you like heavy flooding.
joes527
@kdaug: I hate that excerpt. It sidesteps the point of the original quote and turns the whole thing into an idiot profundity.
The whole quote is actually worth remembering:
Face
@quaint irene: I’d kill for 30 inches of white. Not a drop of snow on the ground here in Flyover Country(TM) . Sad.
timb
@RosiesDad: John Stewart may be right. There are really two political parties in America. The vast and hugely powerful money party and the rest of us. They have the influence and money and we have the people.
we are so screwed
J. Michael Neal
@Rosalita: Well, kind of. He’s been on buprenorphine and prednisolone, which he generally takes pretty well. He also came home with prescriptions for clavamox and ursodiol specifically for his liver. As soon as he smells the clavamox, he runs under the bed. His reaction to the ursodiol isn’t that extreme, but he won’t eat the gravy that it’s in.
The people at the hospital said that he is the hardest cat to medicate they’ve ever dealt with. (Other than that, they love him.) At home, it’s pretty much the case that, if I can’t mix it with gravy and get him to slurp it up, it isn’t going to get into him. It’s almost impossible to wrestle him into sufficient submission to get anything into him in the first place, and by the third time I try to give him anything, he runs under the bed any time he sees me.
That’s not a viable way to live. So, at this point, if his life requires forcing medication into him, even for only two weeks, then he’s going to die. Unfortunately, that’s the way it has to be. At this stage, I want him happy and enjoying what life he has left. Hiding under the bed any time he sees me doesn’t qualify.
suzanne
@Comrade Dread: My deepest sympathies.
This is the first time I’ve lived in a two-story house while having a baby, and I’m constantly afraid of taking a plunge down the stairs while she’s in my arms. Oi.
Speaking of the baby, she’s a week old and she’s already doing a fair job of holding up her head. Overachiever.
My mother-in-law is making me crazy. She is the Most Boring Person Alive. I want her to LEAVE.
I have no idea what is going on with the rest of the world. I vaguely understand there to be political happenings.
Mojotron
No, but if you get hit by a government vehicle while crossing Tucker’ll give you a column.
Alison
@Face: Well, generally the TV block starts on the half or the hour, but there’s some lead-up stuff before kick-off (announcer chit chat, lineups, etc). Easier to do it that way for the TV viewers/radio listeners.
change
Religion of Peace update!
This is what mass immigration from backward Muslim hellholes gets you.
Redshirt
Rewatched Lord of the Rings recently, and I love-love-love the book, and find the movies to be very well done, still, there’s something cold and repetitive about them. That I am bored with every major battle scene after the first few is not good, but I have no idea what could have been done differently.
And the Ghost Army winning the day in ROTK? Still exceedingly stupid.
different church-lady
Picking up on a BJ topic from yesterday, The Great Orange Incoherence seems to be slowly stumbling its way back to sanity:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/12/28/932077/-Gullibility-and-Community-Moderation:-A-Rant
Just within the past few days they had three “wreck list” diaries get discredited in very public fashion. Kossaks with sensitive noses seem to be talking about the barnyard smell more readily.
Mike in NC
While driving to work today I was passed by a pickup truck with a “Sons of Confederate Veterans” license plate. On the rear window was a sign that read “Time To Take Our Country Back”. Whatever could that have implied, I wondered?
Chat Noir
@suzanne: How is big sister doing with her new sib? And didn’t you say that your family adopted a kitty shortly before you had your baby?
kdaug
@quaint irene: Yeah, it’s a bone-chilling 68 here in Austin.
I may have to change out of my shorts and into jeans if this keeps up.
liberal
@Southern Beale:
In the comments there, you wrote:
While Buchanan is IMHO pretty clearly racist, and there’s many things I don’t like about Ron Paul, IIRC their arguments against getting involved in Iraq were pretty reasonable. (One problem with Buchanan is that IIRC he supported Bush for reelection in 2004, which kind of negates his antiwar stand, given the enormity of the war.)
While there are elements of (neo)imperialism to our invasion of Iraq, I don’t see what capitalism has to do with it. IMHO our “special relationship” with Israel had much more to do with the decision to invade than did oil politics. (Cf Meerscheimer and Walt’s book.)
peach flavored shampoo
Not possible. B/c I’ve been on a date with The Most Boring Person Alive, and unless your MIL trolling Match.com for dates, I likely didn’t buy her dinner in exchange for a truly horrible experience.
(BTW — if someone has a hot mother in law, does that make her a MILILF?)
Chat Noir
@J. Michael Neal: I’m so sorry. I have three kitties, one of whom was diagnosed with diabetes back in September, so I totally understand your worry. Best wishes coming your way.
kdaug
@joes527: You forgot about the “Is there someone crying?” part, which lends additional (and I’d say, critical) context.
The Republic of Stupidity
@change:
Gee… stereotyping 1.5 BILLION people based on what FIVE people in Denmark did… that sure is meaningful… by that measure, would it be fair to stereotype ALL CONSERVATIVES by what Byron Williams or Scott Roeder did?
Too… also?
Sorry, folks…
I know by and large we’re not supposed to engage trolls here, but that’s just too inane to not parry…
change
So, I guess liberals think the attempted bombing of a Danish newspaper was OK because of well, cowboy imperialism and globalization racism blah blah blah…?
timb
@kdaug: Irene still wins, because you’re still in Texas.
the best part of Texas is still Texas…..sorry
change
@The Republic of Stupidity:
There riots by millions over fucking cartoons, the burning of embassies and the kidnapping of tourists that “looked” Scandinavian.
There was even pressure from the Egyptian and Saudi governments for Denmark to censor their newspaper, and a call to destroy Denmark’s economy.
Don’t pretend like this is “five people”.
Go into Saudi Arabia and draw a pic of Muhammad and see what happens.
You just sympathize with Muslims because the proletariat decided they didn’t want a socialist revolution after all, and now are deluded enough to believe the mass of Muslims can become the new “progressive” anti-western force.
Tools.
change
@The Republic of Stupidity:
There were riots by millions over fucking cartoons, the burning of embassies and the kidnapping of tourists that “looked” Scandinavian.
There was even pressure from the Egyptian and Saudi governments for Denmark to censor their newspaper, and a call to destroy Denmark’s economy.
Don’t pretend like this is “five people”.
Go into Saudi Arabia and draw a pic of Muhammad and see what happens.
You just sympathize with Muslims because the proletariat decided they didn’t want a social1st revolution after all, and now are deluded enough to believe the mass of Muslims can become the new “progressive” anti-western force.
Tools.
timb
@change: Any chance you could be in the building when it exploded? if so, I am suddenly interested, but –strangley– more undecided about how many Danish newspapers the world needs.
Chat Noir
@Mike in NC: Earlier today, I drove behind an SUV with a “Fire Pelosi” bumper sticker on it. As I passed, I flipped the driver off (kept my hand below the window so he couldn’t see). It was an immature gesture but I felt better for doing it.
liberal
@change:
Liberals are intelligent enough to think (1) the attempted bombing is not OK, (2) “coyboy imperialism and globalization” (if you want to call it that) is not OK.
Please don’t project your own lack of intelligence onto us.
JGabriel
@Redshirt:
Yeah, it worked better in the book, but when they’re fighting on-screen they look like radioactive Scrubbing Bubbles(r).
.
J. Michael Neal
@Redshirt:
1) Reduce the amount of elf-fu. Legolas was fun in Fellowship, but got progressively more ridiculous as the series wore on. By the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, it was cringeworthy.
2) In the books, each of the battles was different. The fight in Moria was small scale. Helm’s Deep was at night, and while it was large scale, it also felt very claustrophobic. As Legolas pointed out, it was knife work in there. Pelennor Fields was vast and came in waves. The siege is just about to crumble Minas Tirith when the Rohirrim arrive. Their charge drives deep into the besiegers and then runs out of momentum despite the death of the Witch-King. Then the fleet, with the ghosts and the army of Belfalas arrives and the former demoralizes the forces of Mordor while the latter provide the necessary manpower.
It’s been a while since I watched all the movies, but Helm’s Deep and Pelennor Fields were both disappointments. All of the digressions in The Two Towers had me fidgeting and unhappy before the start of the former, but it never developed that feel for me. The latter lost its narrative focus somewhere in the midst of all the special effects and fell flat. For me, it was more proof that special effects have become a crutch for directors, who let them dictate to the story rather than the other way around.
Fellowship was, by a large margin, the best of the three films, even though Return of the King won the Oscar.
change
@liberal:
Yes because when I think “Denmark”, I think “aggressive imperialism”.
jibeaux
@suzanne:
Yay baby Mia Rosalia! Are the stairs carpeted? If so, just be mindful. If they’re hardwood, be super careful and don’t go on them wearing socks, because they’re lovely but they’re an accident waiting to happen. I’m sorry about your MIL, does it help to think that you could do worse than boring?
change
Or maybe, just MAYBE Islam as followed in the Koran is totally incompatible with western civilization, free speech, and women’s rights?
And maybe (hold on a sec, this might be CRAZY I know!) even the most reactionary Christians don’t come close to even “moderate” Muslims? Maybe some religions are worse then others, even if they’re practiced in non-western countries?
No, silly me! The REAL threat to civilization is Pat Robertson and the Creation Museum in Kentucky!
kdaug
@timb: Just here for the food. Y’all get decent salsa and chiles up north, I’ll travel back.
liberal
@change:
You’re the dumbass who put up the conflation of the two issues, not me.
change
Whens the last time a film maker was ritually murdered (disemboweld like a sheep, in fact) by a Christian because he made a film, critical of Christianity?
liberal
@change:
Yet another ignorant, low-IQ right-winger, who apparently has no acquaintance with the history of war in Europe.
Rosalita
@J. Michael Neal:
I’m so sorry to hear that. It’s tough to take care of them when they don’t understand. One of mine was just diagnosed with diabetes and I was terrified of the same result–that she’d run away but I have been very lucky that she is taking the injections without complaint.
I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you. Good thoughts coming to you and Eddie…
Mnemosyne
@The Republic of Stupidity:
Don’t bother. It posts inanities because it knows it can get a rise out of people.
Just don’t look. Just don’t look.
Chyron HR
@change:
That explains why a huge majority of American Muslims voted for George W. Bush. They’re natural Republicans!
Ash Can
@liberal #60:
Nothing, other than oil companies, construction companies, private security companies, et al. salivating over the idea of
no bid contractsspoils of war.suzanne
@Chat Noir: Big sister is doing just fine with the new arrival, though she’s on Winter Break from school, my husband is on paternity leave, and my MIL is staying with us, so we haven’t really settled into our “new normal” yet. I fully count on some resentment at some point.
Yeah, we do have a new kitten, rescued from my mom’s roof… brought her home the day before the baby was born, in fact, because I’m crazy. Kitteh has been named “Zelda” by my video-game-loving husband and daughter, and is working out well so far. The older kitteh, Scout, plays with her a great deal, though we still occasionally have standoffs between Zelda and Luna, the puppeh. I want Zelda to go ahead and just swipe Luna across the nose with her claws ONCE to teach her some boundaries, and then I have a feeling everything will calm down considerably.
Thank you for asking. :)
@peach flavored shampoo:
I don’t know. I really think my MIL is a contender. She’s been here for a week and a half, and pretty much the only things she talks about are (a) Walmart’s produce selection sucking, (b) her allergies bothering her here more than “back home in Arkansas”, (c) cows, and (d) being mad that “True Grit” wasn’t filmed in Arkansas.
Have I mentioned that I hate Arkansas?
change
@Chyron HR:
In Europe the far-left are now the ones making alliances with radical Islam, because they actually see western capitalism and Christianity as a bigger enemy than places like Saudi Arabia.
They’re so deluded they think they will lead some left-wing revolution someday, rather than end up being beheaded for refusing to mark Eid.
catclub
@Mike in NC:
T shirt design:
Never forget!
The _North_ Won the War of Northern Aggression,
Crackers!
liberal
@change:
LOL.
timb
@change: I’m starting to think the real threat to civilization is thread-jacking in the name of bigotry…
Still, it’s an accomplishment, since I didn’t know thread-jacking an open thread was possible.
Still, if you want to argue about which religion based upon the Israeli God is the most depraved, you might want to ask the Iraqis and Afghanis about “civilization” and “Western values.” The Iraqis may have gotten pretty tired of your making omelets using their kids as eggs.
Hey, I have an idea. Take your Islam is evil talk over to protein wisdom.com. They love that stuff over there and you can learn about wrestling and socialism and other cool stuff
liberal
@Ash Can:
Meerscheimer and Walt showed that the evidence that Western oil companies had anything major to do with the decision to invade is weak/nonexistent.
kdaug
@change: Not too long ago.
Jackass.
jibeaux
If we’re going to feed the trolls, could we at least not feed the most boring ones of them imaginable. Okay, d-chance was possibly even more boring. But this is the blog of BoB and Birdzilla, dammit!
change
In fact I don’t know why liberals wont’ make the follow deal on immigration:
Amnesty for the current illegals here (mostly Latin Americans which can someday be integrated) in exchange for a ban on all future migration from Muslim countries.
timb
@change: When’s the last time the Olympics were blown up by a Christian? Or a doctor murdered at church? Or, Unitarians shot-gunned at a mosque.
Dear lord, this arguing from anecdote stuff is easy! no wonder change likes it
burnspbesq
@geg6:
Said “nationally known sports figure” is steadfastly denying that he will be retiring at the end of this season. We’ll know soon enough.
change
Emphasis mine.
http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2008/06/rape-in-gare-du-midi.html
catclub
@liberal:
Granted, but they were probably in Dick Cheney’s office saying: “Gosh, if you are going in you might as well let us take care of the oil of ours that is under their sand.”
Oh, gates of vienna? (Change @ 94) Extremely unbiased and completely not unhinged winger website. Except for he being convinced that all of Europe is run by Muslims.
timb
@liberal: Did you know, if’n you were a Catholic at the English/Scottish border back in the 17th century, the soldiers might stab you to death if you failed to say “God save the king” quickly enough?
Still, everyone knows the West became more civilized as it became more religious….
kdaug
@suzanne:
Ummm – your MIL wouldn’t be related to one Matoko_Chan, by chance?
suzanne
@jibeaux:
That’s the thing… I KNOW I’m actually really lucky in the MIL department. My ex-husband’s mom was an absolute nightmare, so I feel guilty being as bothered as I am. But OI! I’ve been taking the baby and inventing reasons to leave the house because I *just cannot make conversation anymore*.
@Chat Noir: I fully believe that, at times, acting petty and childish is the best thing for the soul.
@J. Michael Neal: Hugs to you and Eddie. Some cats just don’t tolerate being messed with—my Nico was like that. I made a similar decision with her to the one it sounds like you’re coming to. Painful, and ultimately for the best.
suzanne
@kdaug: My MIL is nowhere near as amusing as matoko_chan.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
My New Year’s Resolution is to (continue to) not feed the trolls, although I hear they really like pie.
Redshirt
@J. Michael Neal: Good comments.
For me, TTT and ROTK both suffered from severe cases of “The Bad Guys are unstoppable, except when they meet our small band of heroes”.
Like Stormtroopers in Star Wars, hearing how scary and dangerous these armies of Orcs are is one thing; seeing how a couple of our heroes can take on 100 of them at once, and win, is another.
“A legion of my finest soldiers”, punk’d by some furry Ewoks.
Chat Noir
@Rosalita: My diabetic cat is so good about his twice daily injections. We’re at the point where he has this momentary look on his face like “whut?” after he gets his insulin and goes back to his regularly scheduled activities. Glad to hear you’re having no trouble with yours!
@suzanne: Scout, Luna, and Zelda. What great names! As is Mia Rosalia. I look forward to more stories from your household. I’m so glad that the delivery was uneventful and that the epidural worked. Also, my birthday is Dec. 4 so I can relate to being born so close to a major holiday.
The Republic of Stupidity
@Mnemosyne:
I know… I know…
I did apologize…
suzanne
@Chat Noir:
You sure about that? Many of them involve dog farts. ;)
Chat Noir
@suzanne: Oh sure. We have those too, from the Wheaten Terror, so we can compare notes.
Violet
@suzanne:
Have you suggested that she try staying at a hotel since your house is affecting her allergies? Or that if it’s your area instead of your house, perhaps she should consider heading back to Arkansas a little sooner? Of course it’s all out of your deep concern for her. You hate that she doesn’t feel well and you truly don’t want her allergies to get any worse. Heh.
Can you send her to Wal-Mart on a shopping trip? Aren’t you in Arizona? Perhaps you could send her on a field trip here: http://www.superstitionfarmtours.com/Tours.html
suzanne
@Violet:
Heh. Yes, and yes. Even before she came. LOL. Problem is that she’s mega-broke, so she can’t afford a hotel, and she asked if she could in fact make her stay longer b/c it reduced the price of her flight by like fifty bucks. And I’ve already sent her to Walmart and over to The Farm at South Mountain, which is a similar thing to the one at Superstition. So pretty much I’m constrained to finding ways to occupy her that don’t cost anything, but she’s not interested in museums or movies or, well, ANYTHING, and she doesn’t want to spend time outside b/c of the allergies, so that rules out any of the fun outdoor stuff we have here.
Like I said. Most Boring Person Alive.
Thank you for the suggestions, though. :)
Barca
@J. Michael Neal,
A lifesaver for me and my chronically-ill cat was going to a compounding pharmacy. Compounding pharmacies can take any prescription and make it into a liquid (with a wide choice of flavors ie chicken, cheese, etc), that you can then squirt down the cat’s throat with a plastic syringe made for that purpose – no struggle, no coughed up pills, no serious injuries for cat or owner. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to medicate my cat, simple as that. Google “compounding pharmacy,” there are plenty that ship all over the country – I did all my business with them online, with no problems. I wish you luck!
Violet
@suzanne:
Maybe you could send her to Costco and open up a whole new world for her. Heh.
Are you near Phoenix? The Livestock Show is going on right now: http://anls.org/. They have to have cows!
How about the Puppet Theater? Would she take your older girl? http://www.azpuppets.org/
jibeaux
@Violet:
12 flavors of milk? I kind of want to go there now myself.
You know what there should be more of? Flavored whipped cream. You could have your pumpkin pie with, oh, maybe a maple-vanilla whipped cream. Or chocolate pie with an Irish coffee flavored whipped cream.
I think maybe I need more mid-day snacks, because this is the extent of my productivity at 3 p.m.
Southern Beale
@liberal:
While there are elements of (neo)imperialism to our invasion of Iraq, I don’t see what capitalism has to do with it.
O
I
L
Please. We went to war in Iraq so ExxonMobil and other multinational oil companies could get their hands on the world’s largest supply of untapped oil. Unless you think it’s pure coincidence that the same Western oil giants kicked out of Iraq when Saddam Hussein came to power and nationalized that country’s oil were the same ones poised to snap up no-bid oil contracts in 2008.
WaterGirl
@J. Michael Neal: I’m sure all this is wearing you down, which doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. I’m pretty sure I have asked before, but have you tried Pill Pockets? (made by the Greenies folks)
They are a miracle, soft things with a hole in one end to put the pill into, then you can smush the open end to cover the pill. If it’s a really big pill or you have a tricky pet, you can always put two together with the pill in the middle. It works like a charm with my pill-fussy kitties. My dog, too!
WaterGirl
@J. Michael Neal: Last time we talked about this someone else mentioned a compounding pharmacy that can put the medicine in something you just rub into the cat’s ears. That might be a good choice, too.
burnspbesq
@Southern Beale:
Umm, weren’t the big winners in that contracting process Shell, BP, Petronas, and CNPC? That’s either deliciously ironic or it blows a hole in your theory.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8407274.stm
suzanne
@Violet: Yeah, I’m in Phoenix. That Livestock show might be good. Hmmm….
She actually told me that I reminded her of a specific breed of cow.
Rosalita
@Chat Noir:
I was shocked that Bug took her injections so well, since she’s pretty skittish. I had another cat years ago that needed them, but only once a day. Vet says that insulin is no longer on the market. She gets her favorite belly rubs after so that makes up for any ‘interruption’ of incoming medicine.
Rosalita
@WaterGirl:
J. Michael Neal, I second this. My cats go after Feline Greenies like a bunch of crack addicts…maybe their pockets will be similarly tempting…
freelancer
@Violet:
“Welcome to Costco. I love you. Welcome to Costco. I love y-“
freelancer
@suzanne:
Somebody’s sleeping on the patio furniture tonight, if that were me. I don’t care if supposed to be 29 degrees tomorrow night.
General Stuck
Interesting take by Floyd Abrams on the Wikileaks saga and comparisons to the Pentagon Papers. Seems the diplomatic cables were held back.
Violet
@suzanne:
Yay! Glad if I could help.
Seriously? ROFLMAO. She doesn’t have a filter, does she? Not quite the thing you say to your daughter-in-law who just gave birth. Sheesh. I agree with whoever above said she’s sleeping on the porch tonight. That is uncalled for, no matter what.
geg6
@burnspbesq:
Hmmm. Said nationally known sports figure I’ve been hearing about is not currently employed to my knowledge.
J. Michael Neal
@Barca:
The pharmacy at the vet hospital does this. The predinolone comes in triple fish flavor. The buprenorphine is tasteless, so it mixes with the gravy and triple fish prednisolone just fine.
Unfortunately, clavamox has a very strong inherent flavor of its own. It is that same bubble gum flavor that you get with a lot of antibiotics. I haven’t found any way to mask it, and the smell alone seems to evoke bad feelings in Eddie.
As for pill pockets, the stuff that I can get in pill form isn’t the problem. It’s the stuff that only comes as a liquid.
artem1s
@J. Michael Neal:
OK, am I crazy but I remember Aragorn releasing the army of the dead after they defeat the armada that Sauron is sending up the river to Minis Tirith. They never make it to Pellenor. They army he brings are the living that would have been wiped out had the armada not been stopped.
They followed him through Gondor’s lands and fiefs south of the Mountains, and at the port of Pelargir they drove away the Corsairs of Umbar, allies of Sauron. Having fulfilled their oath, Aragorn granted them their freedom, and they vanished at last from the world. After this, Aragorn gathered the warriors of the region to him. They sailed to Minas Tirith on the Corsairs’ own ships, and saved the day at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
this was my major objection to that battle but the charge of the Rhohirrim was by far my favorite ‘battle’ moment in the movies. overall I just loved Bernard Hill’s portrayal of Theoden King.
cckids
@suzanne: Good luck! Just remember, boring beats mean & critical, in the MIL department. When my youngest was born, mine showed up regularly to “help”, which meant telling me that breastfeeding my 5-lb premie was not “enough” (??) for her; telling me I have too many books & it gives my house a cluttered look, and warning me that having a third child didn’t mean I had license to “let myself go”.
I’d have been quite happy to talk about cows or Arkansas.
cckids
@jibeaux: I second this notion. Pumpkin pie with bourbon whipped cream is close to heaven.
Steeplejack
@RosiesDad:
I saw that a few weeks ago. Would have loved to have the concession selling pitchforks and torches to people coming out of the theater. But it will be seen by too few, I think. Maybe it’ll get on Netflix streaming.
J. Michael Neal
@artem1s: Ah, that’s right. I remembered the forces of Mordor being demoralized, but now remember that it was the ships of the Corsairs turning out to be filled with good guys that did it.
And, yes, the charge itself was well done. Very well done. It wasn’t enough to keep the whole battle from falling flat.
J. Michael Neal
And I have a comment in moderation saying why the suggestions for getting medication into Eddie won’t work because of specific bits of the situation.
licensed to kill time
@J. Michael Neal: I have found that the word pfarmacy will trip the moderation filter.
You have really been through the wringer with Eddie, haven’t you? I wish you both the best of luck.
Jay in Oregon
@Southern Beale:
Don’t forget, we have a Supreme Court justice that cited JACK FUCKING BAUER as an example of why torture is sometimes justifiable.
Memo to Scalia: 24 is a goddamn TV show. The Eighth Amendment is real.
Mnemosyne
@J. Michael Neal:
When Natasha was dying, the vet gave us a couple of medications for her to make her more comfortable (like a steroid to help her breathe more easily), but it was so stressful for all of us to have to administer them that we only did it a couple of times before we gave up. In that kind of situation, keeping the cat as un-stressed as possible is more important than whatever minor benefit the medication might have. IMO, anyway.
suzanne
@Violet:
I would have been more offended if she wasn’t really, REALLY homely.
@cckids: I know! My ex-MIL was just like yours: super-critical, image-obsessed, and totally into mindgames. So I feel guilty being as annoyed as I am. But she compared me to a COW.
WaterGirl
@licensed to kill time: Hey, that must be why my post is also in moderation. Thanks for the tip.
Skepticat
@J. Michael Neal:
My heart breaks for you and Eddie having to go through this; it mirrors my too-recent similar pain. I wonder if his getting wet (and glued with litter) when he drinks has to do with the prednisolone, which was the case with my cat at the end. The prednisolone, which they were using as an adjunct chemo, made him incredibly thirsty, so he was in the water dish–and I do mean in the water dish–all the time. Had I the chance to do it over, I’d have them eliminate that med, which made him miserable and actually created the suffering that eventually made me let him go. He hated liquid clamavox too, so the vet switched him to a comparable pill that he didn’t mind as much. The clamavox often causes diarrhea, which can be eased by adding acidophilus to his food.
Our thoughts and best wishes are with you.
licensed to kill time
@WaterGirl: You’re welcome :)
There’s a list of spam words here but the ones that trip us up here most often tend to be words with popular drug names in them or places where drugs are sold, words about games of chance or places they are played, etc.
I’d say it’s a c rap shoot but I’d prolly get moderated :)
de stijl
@timb:
I hate it when trolls thread-jack an open thread!
And how trolls can thread-jack even though no one responds to them? That drives me CRAAAAZY!
There oughta be a freakin’ law or internet aphorism that we could rely upon to prevent such things.
2liberal
test – note to MODS (if you care) – i am trying out a few screen names – I want one to use just in football threads
WaterGirl
@licensed to kill time: Thanks so much for the list.
Edit: bookmarked!
Platonicspoof
@suzanne:
Zombie Ayn Rand will be the next Speaker of the House.
So I envy your
freedomstiming with Mia Rosalia.Even the dog farts might be better than the approaching mule farts.
Redshirt
@artem1s: Yes. This is what I’m talking about. The book version shows, quite clearly and persuasively, why Aragorn is worthy to be King; in the movie, he essentially bribes a Ghost Army. Same results, but one is far more meaningful.
Also, any scene of Legolas surfing is cringeworthy.
But don’t get me wrong, as I still enjoy the movies. They just could have been much better – maybe a sweet 3D version in 2020 (which is only 9 years away, my word…)
Anne Laurie
@suzanne: __
Maybe she compared you to a really good-looking cow, like a nice pedigreed Jersey? I had to memorize the scoring sheet for dairy cattle breed shows for a college class, many many years ago. Out of 100 possible points, 25 were awarded on the size, shapeliness and functionality of the udder, and 10 were for — hand to goddess — “poise”. As I told my feminist friends, not all that different from the Miss America contest, really!