Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

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

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

The willow is too close to the house.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

Bark louder, little dog.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

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

You are here: Home / Open Threads / A Libya Free Open Thread

Reader Interactions

116Comments

  3. 3.

    BombIranForChrist

    I just wanted to include my monthly reminder that bombing Libya is change we can believe in.

  7. 7.

    mr. whipple

    Maybe if we changed the color of the blog to show solidarity with the Libyan freedom fighters…..

  8. 8.

    Linda Featheringill

    @TooManyJens:

    That judge is getting NO respect. She will probably have to lay on some penalties or face the probability that her authority has just melted away.

    What a strange thing to happen. And in Wisconsin of all places.

  15. 15.

    lamh32

    Finally!

    New Wonder Woman TV show action photos released

    Better IMHO, than the original first official pic. I’m glad they changed the boots back to red.

    But…the boobs (fake or not, I’m leaning towards fake) are very distracting. It’s seems to Pam Anderson “Baywatch” slow mo for me. She looks like she’s gonna give herself a black eyes with those puppies.

    Although, I guess da fellas will love it!

  16. 16.

    JPL

    OT on the OT… ABL has a post about Repubs talking about jobs before the election and avoiding the issue now. It was ignored during the Iraq/Libya meltdown.

  17. 17.

    scav

    Well, clearly, if your name isn’t spelled out carved in stone on the 10 commandments, the whole thing doesn’t apply to you.

  18. 18.

    beltane

    Bloomberg is reporting “isolated uncontrolled nuclear chain reactions” at one of the Fukushima reactors. Maybe that will help everyone take their mind off Libya for a few minutes.

  19. 19.

    Gus

    Dog experts, my dog had bloody diarrhea on his walk today. He seems like his usual energetic self otherwise. Should I keep an eye on him or rush him to the emergency vet?

  23. 23.

    Stillwater

    @TooManyJens: One thing I find interesting about this is that if Wisconsin doesn’t honor the injunction, then what happens – the Fed’s step in to compel them? And what exactly would that look like? It’s a contemporary example of the old ‘who guards the guardians’ drama where the rejection of civil society is happening right before our eyes.

  24. 24.

    Linda Featheringill

    @Gus:

    Not an expert. Do you have someone you could call? His regular vet probably has an answering service and he could tell you whether to rush the puppy out tonight or just bring him into the office tomorrow.

  26. 26.

    Stillwater

    isolated uncontrolled nuclear chain reactions

    Doesn’t the ‘chain reaction’ part sorta negate the ‘isolated’ part of this scenario?

  31. 31.

    MattR

    I had the pleasure of returning home from my business trip to find my carbon monoxide detector in the apartment going off. My paranoia increased as Ellie started whining as she was wondering through the apartment. Thankfully the fire department confimed that the sensor in the detector was shot and the air quality is fine (and the whining was probably the result of the fact that she had just gotten home from the kennel). I felt bad that it took more than a dozen people to respond, but I guess that shows that there is not much going on in this town so they can afford to be extra safe and send extra units for something this mundane.

  32. 32.

    WaterGirl

    @TooManyJens: I clicked that link and literally smacked my forehead with my hand. This had better not stand. I hope this judge smacks them down and has them hauled away in handcuffs.

  37. 37.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @WaterGirl: Something has got to give in Wisconsin. These idiots are just amazing in their bald arrogance and disregard for our legal system. It’s possible they’ve just decided to burn down as much as they can before they all get run out of office on rails, but I cannot fathom the depths of depravity required to say stupid shit like these people are saying.

    Yes, they should be held in contempt. In a just world, they’d be disbarred and put in stocks in front of the statehouse as objects of public mockery.

  38. 38.

    TooManyJens

    I called my GOP congressman’s office to ask how they were going to help me if the Republicans shutting down the government meant my daughter’s passport didn’t get processed in time for us to go to my sister’s wedding.

    I got home, and found the passport waiting for me in the mail. A power I didn’t even know I had.

  42. 42.

    MattR

    @Linda Featheringill: That was my theory, especially since I saw this commercial about a hundred times last summer. I wonder what the rest of the condo complex was thinking as they saw a police car, then an ambulance, then a fire truck, then a few random volunteer firemen in SUVs along with another fire truck drive up.

    @Arclite: Me too.

    @FlipYrWhig: And somehow I missed your comment too :)

  43. 43.

    D-Chance.

    @lamh32: The first outfit with the latex pants and high heels was good for show (definitely has that sultry S/M thing going), but the new one is more practical.

    I still prefer the bare leg look, though… Carter rocked it, even if she couldn’t act her way out of an invisible paper bag.

  44. 44.

    virag

    the orca moral equivalent of our founding fathers got back in the game today, stalking his next victim. since his memory is better than most humans, it’s only a matter of time till somebody fucks up, and he’ll bag number 4. because he’s a proven breeder, he gets to kill whoever he wants. my daughter had a good idea: a few times a week, drop 500 live penguins into the orca tank from a helicopter and let the shamus go nuts. it’d be great for the gate and maybe the big psychos wouldn’t feel the need to drown an annoying monkey ever 6 years. any penguins that live through three drops get to go to a nice, safe zoo.

  46. 46.

    WaterGirl

    @Gus: Not an expert, just a dog owner for 35 years. If it were my dog I would keep a close eye on him and would call my regular vet first thing in the morning.

    Stuckinred’s link looks like a great resource.

    I had to laugh, though, when I go to the section titled “Dietary Indiscretions”. I had to do a quick double-take to see if they had a picture of my cocker spaniel next to that section.

    When she was a pup I had to call the vet because she had just eaten flash cubes from my camera. (Some of you may be too young to know what these are.) Next up was christmas when she was 2, and while eating dinner, we suddenly noticed it was very quiet and the dog and the 2-year old girl were gone. Found the little girl in the living room feeding my dog fannie mae chocolates one at a time, being sure to say “okay!” each time before my dog would take the treat, because she knew that was the rule.

    The following thanksgiving my mom sent me home with leftovers, which got shoved to the back of the refrigerator. So we cleaned out the fridge – a couple pounds of old leftover turkey, moldy mashed potatoes, a moldy tub of margarine, and then we went off to a movie. What can I say, I was in my 20s and not very bright. Returned home to a very bloated, unhappy dog and I had to call the emergency vet, who thought it was a prank call.

    For the sake of brevity, I will fast-forward to late in life and what I believe was the pinnacle of her lifelong quest for food: she learned how to open the refrigerator, and I learned about the uses of duct tape.

    She was a wonderful dog, and she lived to be 16.

    Edit: Forgot to mention her first “refrigerator” meal, which was when we learned she had figured out how to break in. 3 chicken breasts, bone-in, long grain and wild rice, and an entire homemade chocolate cream pie and bowl of whipped cream. She didn’t care for my crust, apparently, because she ate everything else, but left the pie crust.

    In case anyone doesn’t know, chocolate is VERY BAD for dogs. It can kill them. I know, because she spent a week in doggie ICU.

  50. 50.

    MattR

    @WaterGirl:

    For the sake of brevity, I will fast-forward to late in life what I believe was the pinnacle of her lifelong quest for food: she learned how to open the refrigerator,

    Thanks for reminding me why I am happy that my Ellie is sweet, but stupid. So sweet that I have had one of the techs at the kennel complain to me when I cancelled a boarding reservation. But not sweet enough that they don’t charge me :)

  55. 55.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    Here at the store doing annual inventory until probably 2:00 a.m. Overtime? Hahahahahahahaha! I kill myself. But we get pizza!

    Somebody have a drink on my behalf.

  56. 56.

    eemom

    speaking of meltdowns, someone oughtta go pour water on fuckhead. He’s back there in that earlier thread, actually trying to engage in an actual argument, while simultaneously declaring himself Blog King For Life and yelling “banned with his head!” at everybody who, um, “crosses” him.

    I wouldn’t care, except I think he’s going to ‘splode any second now and then Cole will have to evacuate the blog for like 27,000 years.

  57. 57.

    Gina

    @Gus: Is he up to date on vaccinations? Any fever? Lots of gushing blood, or just some streaks? If answers are yes, no, no, yes then I’d wait til the AM.

    My first Rottie used to get the runs all the time, and we lived in Brooklyn, so that was always fun cleaning up off the sidewalk/street. When she was little, and still learning the “leave it” and “out” command, she’d often get ahold of crap off the street, usually chicken bones (there was a wing place and a chinese place near our house, all by the bus stop, so lots of litter).

    The protocol would be to skip a feeding, and give Pepto Bismol to calm things down. She hated the liquid, so I tried the tabs + some chicken mushed together and that would work.

    For a first time, check with the vet, but unless there’s other dramatic stuff, I’d not panic and go to the emergency vet.

  58. 58.

    Jamey

    “Rebels are we
    Born to be free
    Just like the fish
    In the seee-eee!”

    -Esposito, leader of the San Marcos rebels

  61. 61.

    TooManyJens

    @Stillwater:

    One thing I find interesting about this is that if Wisconsin doesn’t honor the injunction, then what happens

    That’s what I want to know. I assume the judge orders a whole bunch of people thrown in jail for contempt of court.

  63. 63.

    Roger Moore

    @WaterGirl:
    When I hear stuff like this, I’m glad to have a cat, what with their notorious finickiness. Jake is only interested in eating people food if it is meat or occasionally a mild flavored cheese. He doesn’t even want eggs, and his interest in anything of plant origin disappears as soon as he’s done smelling it.

  66. 66.

    WaterGirl

    @stuckinred: What a great video. It brought a smile to my face as I watched the video, but broke out in laughter when your goofy girl was in the car. She’s beautiful, by the way. Loved the juxtaposition about the excited barking from the cocker and the yawn at the same moment from your other dog.

    Yes, I had 3 cockers before I switched to rescues! Wonderful dogs, all of them.

  67. 67.

    Gus

    @Gina: He’s up to date on vaccinations, doesn’t seem to be feverish, but there was a good deal of blood. He seems pretty happy and energetic, so first thing in the a.m., I’m calling his vet. We’ve spent close to $10k on our pets in the last 2 years, so I’m trying not to panic.

  68. 68.

    WaterGirl

    @kdaug: Me, too. The memory of the flash cubes just came to me while I was typing. Seriously, though, iIt got so I was kind of afraid to call the vet because it always sounded so absurd.

  69. 69.

    stuckinred

    @WaterGirl: Yea, she was dumped at our vet in the middle of the night. We adopted her after our 14 year old Raven the cocker lost his fight with cancer. She’s had cataract surgery on both eye’s, no tear ducts so cyclosporine twice a day for life and she’s anemic. All that and she’s a total sweetheart. The Bohdisattva is a great dog, rescue as well.

  71. 71.

    eemom

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    naw. It’s just that you’ve been so busy flailing around like a hooked fish back there that you haven’t had time to remind me lately about how you’ve been commenting here since before I was born. Hurts my fee-fees.

  73. 73.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @eemom: Seven now? Hey, I know what – why don’t you complain to ABL and have me banned? That’ll sure show me!

  74. 74.

    WaterGirl

    @arguingwithsignposts: I think the judge will smack them down. I loved the title of john’s post last night “Did I Stutter?”.

    I read her ruling yesterday and took it as DO NOT FUCK WITH ME ON THIS AGAIN.

    Seriously, these guys are off their rockers if they think they can flip off the judge. Again.

  76. 76.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @WaterGirl: Huebsch is right that his agency is not a party to the suit, but there are people in the state who could and should put a leash on him.

  78. 78.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    @kdaug: Try flash bulbs. In a Kodak Instamatic camera. That’ll fire synapses dormant for 40 years.

  79. 79.

    Incoherent Dennis SGMM

    I brought my dear wife home from the hospital today. After an extensive series of tests they were unable to find anything physically wrong with her so her neurologist has recommended that she begin seeing a therapist.

    Thank you very, very, much to everyone who wished us well.

  80. 80.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @srv: I got it but we don’t really need folks confusing him with me. I get enough two minute hate without taking on his.

  81. 81.

    PeakVT

    @Linda Featheringill: If those are the kind of detectors people I used to work with monitored, they can be pretty sensitive. They were designed to find byproducts of underground nuclear tests in the USSR and China, and now North Korea.

  82. 82.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Dennis, that’s great news. I hope they’re right.

    I see cbear’s around again. We getting the band back together?

  83. 83.

    WaterGirl

    @stuckinred: What a sweetie. How could someone just dump a dog like that?

    @Omnes Omnibus: Not saying you are wrong, but that seems crazy. The are clearly flaunting the judge, and that should just not be okay because of some technicality.

    @Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason: I even have an old “Brownie” that was my father’s. That must be even older than the kodak instamatic, which I believe was my first camera.

  85. 85.

    Incoherent Dennis SGMM

    @Just Some Fuckhead:
    Only if you need someone to play blues harp. I finally plunked for a Shure 520 Green Bullet mic. Me and my Hoehner have become blues legends in my living room.

  86. 86.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @WaterGirl: I agree. I think that on Friday the Judge will issue an order, effective statewide, that the law cannot go into effect until the conclusion of the lawsuit. In addition, I am not sure that this isn’t just big talk for the next couple of days. I could be wrong, but I cannot conceive of Wisconsin politicians just completely ignoring a court order. Naive of me? Perhaps, but I think enough will pull back at the precipice to stave off a full blown crisis.

  89. 89.

    Incoherent Dennis SGMM

    @srv:
    Thanks srv. She agrees that therapy is a good step however we both feel that there’s also something physical that they’re missing. We’re at the beginning of a process that is going to require time and patience to negotiate. We have both.

  90. 90.

    WaterGirl

    @Gus: Not sure if you’re still here, but I wanted to mention 2 things, for what it’s worth. If he is hungry and wants to eat, my vet always had me feed white rice after a problem like that.

    She also used to give him slippery elm, which is some kind of chinese herb that settled everything down, especially if he had eaten something he shouldn’t.

    Be sure and let us know tomorrow how he is doing.

  91. 91.

    WaterGirl

    @Roger Moore: My cats want to eat everything I eat! I am very careful about that, though, after learning that even crackers with a little bit of onion salt can cause anemia in kitties. It’s just not worth the risk.

  92. 92.

    WaterGirl

    @Incoherent Dennis SGMM: I’m sure you and your son are both relieved to have her back home, but it must be very frustrating to go through all those tests and have them say they don’t know. I couldn’t quite tell from your comment, are they are suggesting physical therapy to help with the speech and balance issues?

  93. 93.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Incoherent Dennis SGMM:

    however we both feel that there’s also something physical that they’re missing

    Shew, that’s three of us. I didn’t want to be a negative nellie earlier but physical problems usually have physical causes.

  94. 94.

    eemom

    @soonergrunt:

    does somebody have a link to that “helicopters aren’t laughing” thread? Cuz I’ve heard of it but never seen it.

    ‘Twuz before my time…..back when only fuckheads roamed the earth….

  95. 95.

    Yevgraf (fka Michael)

    Why in hell did Richard go goofy on the dessert? It nearly cost him Top Chef. He won by the skin of his teeth.

  96. 96.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @eemom: I had nothing to do with that goofy helicopters are laughing shit but it’s happened in the time you’ve been here, dumbass.

  98. 98.

    J. Michael Neal

    @Mr Stagger Lee:

    well we know one thing Eric Holder is no RFK, so no troops will be federalized

    That’s probably because there’s no federal issue here. In Little Rock, which you like to bring up, the state government was defying a *federal* court order. In this case, not only are they defying a state court, but there isn’t even a federal issue that would allow it to be appealed into the federal court system. Ergo, no federal troops under any circumstances. It would, in fact, be illegal for the feds to do so.

    Not that I expect you to pay attention to these sorts of niceties.

  99. 99.

    soonergrunt

    @eemom: I don’t have a link. It’s from the day that those jackasses in Colorado staged a balloon runaway with the claim that their young child was in the balloon.
    In short order the thread went into people making fun of the whole situation (this was after it was resolved) and there was one guy who was vehemently asserting that it was a real emergency and people were wrong to make fun of it, and at one point said something to the effect of “you know who wasn’t laughing? The helicopters weren’t laughing.”
    I didn’t take part in the thread, but I read it then next day and just about herniated myself laughing.
    It was sometime around October 15, 2009.

  100. 100.

    eemom

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    aha. So now you’re keeping precise track of the time I’ve been here. Do you do that for all of us A.F. (After Fuckhead) commenters or is it just a sweet fuckie favor you did especially for me?

    I hear they’ve got a sale on lives over at your local Wal-Mart — perhaps you ought to think about getting one.

  103. 103.

    Incoherent Dennis SGMM

    @WaterGirl:
    That’s the rub; her ataxia and loss of balance have only manifested lately. She has not, in the prior thirty four years of our love affair, suffered from anything similar. We are blessed with having a top notch care provider so the task is now to push them to come up with a comprehensive and effective diagnosis.

  108. 108.

    Yevgraf (fka Michael)

    eemom and JSF – y’all need to get a room. The angry adoration thing is just sizzling with unstated passion.

    Its all so romantical.

  111. 111.

    D-Chance.

    Our Little Bama wins a transparency award… or so they say. I’m not sure why the Onion still exists. They can’t top anything that goes on in real life with this joke of an administration.

  112. 112.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @D-Chance.: Makes sense considering he got a peace prize while simultaneously running two wars, doubling down on one of them, and now has us right in the middle of a third mess. Ya can’t spell irOny without the O.

  114. 114.

    Steeplejack

    @eemom, @Gina:

    I thought this apposition was funny:

    Speaking of meltdowns, someone oughtta go pour water on Fuckhead. He’s back there in that earlier thread, actually trying to engage in an actual argument, while simultaneously declaring himself Blog King For Life and yelling “Banned with his head!” at everybody who, um, “crosses” him.

    Is he up to date on vaccinations? Any fever? Lots of gushing blood, or just some streaks? If answers are yes, no, no, yes, then I’d wait til the A.M.

  115. 115.

    jwb

    @Omnes Omnibus: How will they be enforced given that the state police are firmly under the control of the GOP? I’m just not seeing how the judge and the Dade County Sheriff can enforce the ruling if the Republicans really decide they are just going to flout the judge. I mean, undoubtedly the state will lose big time as this goes up the legal chain. But in the meantime the workers and the unions will be without those funds, no?

  116. 116.

    Stillwater

    @jwb: That’s the problem I’m seeing. The Gov and the State CC leadership have made it clear that unilateral action by those in charge – by virtue of simply being in charge – is their political goal. Letting a little issue like the law, or adherence to procedural requirements, get in the way is fundamentally inconsistent with their objectives. I hope OO is right in being optimistic about this. I’m less so.

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