Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

In my day, never was longer.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

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

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

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

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

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

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Happy St. Patrick’s Day, BTW

Reader Interactions

72Comments

  3. 3.

    Joe Beese

    So here’s a story on the two counties in Ireland bidding to attract Obama when he visits.

    They’re always after his lucky charm.

  5. 5.

    Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther

    @Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther: PS: Totally stole this joke from a tweet I saw, originally tweeted by @byepluto, & RT-ed by my good Twitter buddy (introduced to me by Adam Serwer’s tweets – though it turns out we’re nearly neighbors, as we live in the same town and our boys go to the same school) @Dave_von_Ebers.

    Which is to say that Twitter is a tiny universe, and if I were a comic, I would be a joke thief. (But an honest one, at least).

  6. 6.

    burnspbesq

    Has anyone managed to actually find and buy an iPad 2?

    I am rapidly coming to believe that they are figments of Tim Cook’s imagination.

  7. 7.

    celticdragonchick

    I made a lovely shepherd’s pie for dinner, and washed it down with a Guinness.

    Me and my spouse wanted to do the Savannah Georgia St Pats like we used to do every year, but school and all that…

    Still, Keven Barry’s on River Street in Savannah is the place to be tonite.

  8. 8.

    Chet

    Dragon Age II sounds so much better.

    Than the first one? It plays better, and it looks a whole hell of a lot better – more dynamic animations, more original art instead of cookie-cutter armor and weapons – but the story just isn’t about anything. It feels like “chapter 1” intro material all the way up to the end.

    Looking forward to some DLC for it. If they dropped something as good as “Lair of the Shadow Broker” was for ME2, it’ll have made owning it worthwhile.

  9. 9.

    JPL

    John, I’m glad that you started a new post.
    Fiddle dee dee. War, war, war. This war talk is spoiling the fun at every party
    The south must be getting to me. I’m drinking herb tea and watching “Shades of Ray” on netflix instant. Zach Levi is adorable by the way.

  10. 10.

    J.W. Hamner

    I’ll say what I said last year:

    I’m not wearing green, I won’t be having a boiled dinner, and I most definitely won’t be going near an Irish bar in Boston (all of them). But… uhm… go Irish people!

  11. 11.

    John Cole

    @Chet: I’m actually playing through the first right now. I forgot the story, and my new computer just came back from the shop (I got it in December, it crashed in January, and had to have the mobo, one of the video cards, and all the memory fixed, and the maker took forever fixing it), so I am experiencing everything in high detail for the first time. Plus, I never played the expansion.

  14. 14.

    JPL

    @lamh32: Mansour is everything that I thought a puma would be. It was surprising that she mentioned that Sarah was such a good governor without mentioning one reason why.

  15. 15.

    Jager

    One St Patrick’s Day, long ago at an Irish bar in Boston my lovely girlfriend was sitting on my lap (facing me,btw) and out of the corner of my eye I noticed her girlfriend stumbling towards the door with her car keys in her hand. We both jumped up and said “no you don’t”! The Irish American Princess let loose a stream of curse words that would have made her bricklayer father blush. Lovely girlfriend and I got her keys, called a cab and took her home with us, the three of us ended up in bed together. The ladies were asleep before their heads hit the pillows and I simply snuggled inbetween the two of them, allowed myself a fantasy or three and fell asleep with a smile on my face. First thing out my girl’s pal in the morning was, “nothing happened, did it”? Sadly, no.

  17. 17.

    MikeJ

    I did wear green today, but that’s about the extent of my participation.

    Trekked way the hell down to Tacoma and went to the Norman Rockwell exhibit. It’s easy to write him off as schmaltz, but he was a masterful technician, a genius at putting a whole story in one image, and on the right side of things politically.

  20. 20.

    jl

    Sheen can be an Irish name and green tiger piss whiskey runs in Charlie Sheen’s veins, so this is not off topic.

    My take home from this story is that if we primary Obama, it should be with Charlie Sheen.

    The Biggest Loser: Sarah Palin trails Charlie Sheen among independents

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/17/957316/-The-Biggest-Loser:-Sarah-Palin-trails-Charlie-Sheen-among-independents

    Edit: forgot the fun text excerpt:

    “independent voters say they would support Charlie Sheen over Palin for President by a 41/36 margin. Seriously. ”

    Edit edit: I have nothing to say about this bogus excuse of a holiday. Being part Irish myself, I seen things. Damn Celts. A lot of them are undocumented, you know. they just got off the boat and swaggered into the country like they owned the place. I heard stories about one of my great great great something grand pappies.

    The nerve. Ship them back and all their kids.

  22. 22.

    Elizabelle

    St. Patrick’s does seem to be the national holiday for alcoholics.

    However, two Irish bars a block or two away. Might amble over later …

  23. 23.

    Phyllis

    @celticdragonchick: Shepherd’s pie for dinner here as well; washed it down with diet root beer, alas, as there was no Killians or Harps available here in tinytown.

    And have done the Savannah St. Pat’s myself back in my college days, a quarter century ago now.

  24. 24.

    jl

    I do like corn beef and cabbage, with beer, and shepherd’s pie. I guess this holiday is good for something.

  25. 25.

    lamh32

    @JPL: @fraught:

    It doesn’t surprise me that this woman is Palin’s “right-hand”. “Mean Girl” beauty queens like Palin want to be the only “beauty” in the group. There is no way she’s gonna let some lowly handler outshines her “starburst”-ness.

    Seriously, anyone ever wonder why Palin never does interviews with the cookie-cutter “hot Blondes” on FOX News? Nope she talks to O’Really or Crazy Beck or KKKLannity or Greta van Susteran.

  26. 26.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @JPL:

    she mentioned that Sarah was such a good governor without mentioning one reason why

    Could it be because there isn’t one? Lovely lady – have you seen how eloquent she is as the voice of Palin? A perfect temperamental match.

  27. 27.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    A salute in the state of Kentucky for all you Morehead State grads, now you can talk major smack to any Louisville fan, and if you survive farther than UCheat oops I mean UK, then you are the Kings of the Commonwealth.

  28. 28.

    Opie-jeanne

    Spending the early evening watching the Mariners and Royals, surrounded by a lot of green shirts and caps. We are wearing red Angels caps.
    All of this splendor taking place in sheriff Joe’s county, Surprise AZ. We are being careful to not get a ticket here, what with our Wa plates.
    Sitting behind home plate. Life is ok.

  29. 29.

    Opie-jeanne

    Singer botched the words to the National Anthem. We watched for he ramparts. Nice voice, good technique but maybe he needed a cheat sheet

  30. 30.

    MikeJ

    @Opie-jeanne: Ichiro playing? I know he took off for a few days after the quake.

    If they don’t have an electronic scoreboard you need to make cardboard hydroplane boats and tape them to hyperactive children for the 7th.

  32. 32.

    Opie-jeanne

    Takahashi played yesterday for the Angels but he’s having a lot of trouble with survivors guilt. His family is ok.

  33. 33.

    patrick II

    @Cat Lady:

    Those pieces are remarkable. “Folds” is also a pretty nifty film about origami on streaming video at Netflix.

  34. 34.

    Mnemosyne

    I managed to slice my thumb open with the vegetable peeler while I was getting the potatoes ready for the corned beef and cabbage. G got to take me to Urgent Care at 7:30 am because I couldn’t get it to stop bleeding. Fun for all!

    (Yes, yes, I know corned beef and cabbage is Irish-American, not Irish. You can complain about it when you stop eating pizza because it’s Italian-American and not really Italian food.)

    ETA: Is Yutsano around yet? I thought of a possible rationale for him to enjoy some corned beef and cabbage — Irish immigrants adopted corned beef because their Jewish neighbors were using it, so really it’s an Irish-Jewish-American dish.

    Also, too, Mnemo +1. It’s been a long day.

  38. 38.

    burnspbesq

    @tkogrumpy:

    You should only buy it if you have a weak spot for products that, although expensive, do what you expect them to do first time out of the box and every time thereafter, and do it brilliantly. If that’s not the way you roll, then pass.

  39. 39.

    burnspbesq

    And Duke whacks Carolina again, this time in men’s lacrosse.

    GTHC! there is no blue but royal blue, and Danowski is its prophet.

  40. 40.

    prufrock

    My wife was really jonesing for corned beef and cabbage, so we stopped by an Irish pub on the way home. As it turned out, the pub didn’t normally have food but for St. Patrick’s Day, they contracted out the cooking to the barbecue and soul food place across the street.

    Best corned beef and cabbage I’ve ever eaten.

  42. 42.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @MikeJ: I dunno if it’s the same exhibit, but I saw a wonderful Norman Rockwell show several years ago at Atlanta’s High Museum. I’m old enough that I remembered many (not all) of the SEP covers, but the docential commentary provided a lot of good context. NR may be viewed as fusty and old-fashioned, and truly I’m not sure I would display him in my living room, but I do have a great affection for him and his wonderful illustrations.

  43. 43.

    jl

    @Mnemosyne:

    “I managed to slice my thumb open with the vegetable peeler while I was getting the potatoes ready for the corned beef and cabbage.”

    Glad you are OK now. But that shows the kind of senseless and tragic violence and loss that stems from this miserable holiday. It needs to be banned.

    BTW, I was wrong about CA and official languages the other day. It was only officially bilingual from 1850 to 1879. The damn Workingman’s Party (our early Teabaggers) shot that stuff down during the second CA constitutional convention.

    So, I misremembered my HS civics.

    Almost everyhing official is available in English and Spanish in CA, but I am having a hard time tracking down why.

    At least, thank goodness, the awful Irish were not able to take over with their subversive Gaelic.

  44. 44.

    Mnemosyne

    @Joe Beese:

    O. M. G.

    Joe actually managed to make a funny joke for once!

    I think Nostradamus predicted this day as one of the signs of the beginning of the end.

  47. 47.

    Anya

    @lamh32: Now that his Irish heritage is established, how soon before the wingnuts claim that his anti-British views come from his Irish terrorist sympathizing side of the family?

  48. 48.

    MikeJ

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I’m old enough that I remembered many (not all) of the SEP covers

    He started in 1916. I’d be truly shocked if you remembered all of them.

    They had a separate room with all of his covers and one of the neat-o things was that they were actual magazine covers, with the list of authors. PG Wodehouse showed up several times.

    Here’s another great Rockwell, about the murders in Philadelphia, MS.

    And OT, Go Zags. Not that I care that much, but I always try to cheer for the semi locals. And it would make Der Bingle happy.

  51. 51.

    Jay C

    @MikeJ: @SiubhanDuinne: @MikeJ:

    Second your props about Norman Rockwell – even in his time he got job-lots of disdain from “serious” critics for being a hack schmaltz-merchant, and a “mere” “illustrator”. And if you judge him solely by his SEP covers, and the sappy Americana he has, rightly or wrongly, become mainly famous for (his gutty Civil-Rights works were a late-career shift) , there is something to the dismissal.

    But when you see his original artwork – as, for example, at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA; which I would heartily recommend to all – you can’t help but see that old Norman (hack or no) had a mastery of composition and narrative (and an amazing ability to combine the two) worthy of any Old Master.

    It’s not Rockwell’s fault that realism, composition and narrative aren’t considered virtues in art anymore…

  52. 52.

    Jay C

    @Jay C:

    Hey! We can haz edit again!
    Without tab-shifting! Yay!

    But let me just add a hearty “FYWP” anyway….godd*mn hyphen strikeouts….

  53. 53.

    Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal

    @Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther:

    i think there is a reason no one has ever tried to franchise “a traditional jewish bar” and bring the experience to suburbanites everywhere.

    but hey, a feast to celebrate a jewish military victory? i would be tempted to say something snide like, act like you’ve been there before, but, excluding the last 60 odd years,that would be insensitive.

    btw, how much more jewish stuff do we all have to pretend to know, before we can apply for an associate membership?

  54. 54.

    freelancer

    @Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther:

    No one laughed at my “Rebecca Mansour = Danny DeVito as The Penguin” joke. And I only have an honorary membership inside Judaism, but I was raised Irish-Catholic and all my doctrinal knowledge is in Latin or has to do with the precise structure of the Church in past and present day incarnations.

    As for St. Paddy’s Day, I’m in John’s camp as far as activities are concerned. What I’ve been emphasizing all day to people all day is that Mom’s maiden name is McGargill. I’m half-Irish. We do enough drinking the other 364 days of the year that we aren’t that compelled by the Americanization of our cultural heritage to drink ourselves silly on just one specific day to pay homage to sullen white people. We are sullen white people, savvy?

  57. 57.

    Chuck Butcher

    Finished first play through of DA2 yesterday. It took about 80% of the game before I knew what it was that I was going to be trying to do vs from 1st moment on in DA. 32/55 Achievements. Played last 10% on Casual thanks to lack of potions & good armor vs character level. (hangs head :-( )

  58. 58.

    Superking

    DA2 suuuuucks. I am so disappointed. The story is terrible and hard to follow. The characters are uninteresting and unlikeable. The gsmeplsy is actually worse in my opinion–no auto attack means repeated button mashing.

    The overall game and story design is the real problem, though. You cant tell where the story is going for the entire time you are playing. It’s told in a flashback, and there are hints that maybe you did something bad, but maybe you didn’t, who fucking knows?

    Because of the flashback device, which obscures the ending from the player, they had to remove any clear goals. In the first one, you knew what you we doing. Get the mages on your side. Get the elves on your side. Get the dwarves on your side. Fight loghain, then kill the dragon. Done and done in terms of epic story line. In the new one, your main goal is to . . . Get fifty gold so that you can go on an expedition into the deep roads and. . . . What? I dunno, something.

    The first part of the game is thus dominated by the run and retrieve type of quests that do not really have any substance to them. And they all take place in cookie cutter set pieces. Then you spend the rest of your time running around a nondescript city that feels purposeless in it’s design.

    None of these things compare well to the first game. It’s so frustrating. Because I don’t even have any desire to play it a second time. You mean I could spend another 30 hours doing pointless quests with boring characters who complain about stupid shit all the time? Sign me up! Ugh.

  59. 59.

    Yutsano

    @Mnemosyne:

    Irish immigrants adopted corned beef because their Jewish neighbors were using it, so really it’s an Irish-Jewish-American dish.

    Alton Brown goes into quite great length about the association of corned beef and cabbage with St. Patrick’s Day. It is indeed a creation of the great American melting pot of neighborhoods that became New York City. And very uniquely American, but like pizza got exported back to the home country and taken up with much relish. Deb Duchon rules my existence.

  60. 60.

    Mnemosyne

    @Yutsano:

    Apparently the actual Irish recipe calls for Irish bacon, which isn’t actually bacon at all — it’s a different cut of pork.

    Food purists really annoy me, because there ain’t no such thing. People think of tomatoes when they think of Italian cooking, but tomatoes originated in the Americas, so any European food with tomatoes in it is one of those dreaded cross-cultural hybrids.

  61. 61.

    Yutsano

    @Mnemosyne: And potatoes, as attested to there being three thousand different registered varieties in Peru alone. Hell three-fourths of Italian cuisine has origins somewhere else. And good luck finding a true American or Canadian food. Though poutine is close. And I wouldn’t call it food. RedKitten and I have gotten into interesting discussions about it.

  62. 62.

    H.E. Pennypacker, Wealthy Industrialist

    John, I’m going to recommend you don’t bring Bethany into the Deep Roads Mine. Saying this as a friend who learned a lesson. You will thank me later.

  63. 63.

    H.E. Pennypacker, Wealthy Industrialist

    @Superking
    I hated the first DA for low production values and tedious gameplay (never enough injury kits, always felt like I was out of everything). The new one is much more to my liking. I play on console tho, not on PC…

  64. 64.

    superking

    @H.E. Pennypacker, Wealthy Industrialist:

    I loved the first one. I never had a problem with injury kits or potions or anything. If you used the mage character, name fails me right now, as a healer, you would even get a spell that lets you heal injuries. So, there reached a point where you didn’t need injury kits at all.

    I am playing on an xbox too.

  67. 67.

    Paul in KY

    @Jon: Saw them at Bogart’s in Cincinnatti back around 1993. Shane McGowan & whole band. Must have been about 9 of them. Good times…

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