Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Come on, man.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Everybody saw this coming.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

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

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

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

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

The words do not have to be perfect.

I really should read my own blog.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

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Reader Interactions

131Comments

  1. 1.

    Violet

    Oh, poor Lily! I’m glad she’s okay. That jackass better watch himself. No one should treat the lovely Lily like that.

    And thunderstorms? Rain? What is that? So jealous….

  2. 2.

    JPL

    oh I get it .. you were the jackass.. I want bread and I want it now..

    also too, I reposting this cuz I think it is cute
    Political compromise between dogs and dogs. I’m taking care of my son’s five lb. mutt and Miss Moxie who is all of seventeen pounds is acting the momma. After a hard day of working outside they were rewarded with a cookie. Miss Moxie normally goes first but was feeling out of sorts so the five pound mutt Miss Nona took a treat and put it in Miss Moxie’s mouth and then came back for hers.
    Congress could learn something from this but not the mouth thing.

  3. 3.

    JPL

    How’s Tunch? Last we heard he was out of sorts because of company that seemed to be threatening.

  4. 4.

    Bruuuuce

    Ow! No dog should ever have to face thunderstorms without their humans. Glad Lily is safe now.

    But that’s not what I came here to talk about. I wanted to note this beautiful piece called The Non-Libertarian FAQ (aka Why I Hate Your Freedom), which addresses most of the major arguments in favor of libertarianism, and shoots them down using evidence, logic, and (in some cases) math. It’s a handy reference for when th IGMFY jerks assert stuff that’s just plain wrong.

  5. 5.

    Brian S

    I got hired today. I’m making a third less than I did at my last job (and I wasn’t making a ton there), but my partner’s new job is paying her significantly more than she was making back in Florida, plus lower cost of living, so we’re way ahead. Big plus–I’m working a block from my house, and I’m working in the wine and beer section of a semi-upscale market. I’m pretty excited about it on the whole.

  6. 6.

    The Spy Who Loved Me

    Better to leave Lily in the rain than some forgetful parent leaving a child in a car. Lily will be ok after she dries off. Kids left in cars during the summer, not so much.

    Don’t beat yourself up. Everyone does something stupid every once in a while. Once I forgot I had let the dog out to pee before going to bed. She never barked. Ever. I forgot and she was outside all night long. Thank God the weather was fine. I felt really, really bad.

  10. 10.

    jharp

    My local team, The Dragons, plays Whiteland tonight.

    And in cased you’re wondering this is an old Klan stronghold.

  11. 11.

    jharp

    My local team, The Dragons, plays Whiteland tonight.

    And in case you’re wondering this is an old Klan stronghold.

  14. 14.

    Brian S

    If you’d like something cool to look at, check out the latest piece from Wendy McNaughton at The Rumpus. It’s one of the best series we run, I think–watercolors of these communities that she envelops herself in. Really beautiful stuff.

  15. 15.

    jl

    I thought Sarah Proud and Tall took over the joint.

    Oh well.

    Mr. Cole is about the most absentminded, oblivious forgetful ‘out of it’ nincompoop (even when sober) I have ever heard of, except for…

    uh oh, come to think of it, never mind.

    Try to do better Cole, just like I do, when I am able to remember about issues that arise from wandering through my environs competely clueless.

    And, I assuming Cole was sober when he left the house.

  16. 16.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Brian S:

    congrats a job is a job in this economy but hey if you are learning about beer and wine in the process what’s not to love?

  18. 18.

    Jager

    Not a good week for my old, tired, soon to be 13 year old, German Shepard. My daugther and grand daughter have been here all week as my lovely Sophia will be going to UCLA this fall. They brought their year old terrier/what ever mix and the little shit is jumping on our old boy every chance she gets. As a dog in his golden years, he prefers to sleep, eat and take several strolls a day, have his belly rubbed and ears scratched and take life at a pace he enjoys. Little shit obviously has short term memory problems because 10 minutes after she gets a snap, a growl and a threatening look she is back for more. I told Sophia if he gets really pissed the little shit will be in surgery! And Gramps isn’t paying! (especiall since I signed her apartment lease) I noticed after our chat, the little shit has been on a leash. In the house!

  19. 19.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @The Spy Who Loved Me:

    I let my dogs out into the yard one morning and while brushing my teeth forgot to count them back in. I left Sal outside in the yard who then dug his way out and got hit by a car. I NEVER forgave myself for that one. EVER.

  20. 20.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Bruuuuce:

    My FSM, that is Wonderful!. Thank you for the link. I’m printing it, I’m forwarding it, I’m linking it, I’m sharing it. Great stuff!

  21. 21.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Brian S: Very cool. I’m happy for you. Congratulations!

    And nothing wrong with having a little upscale beer and wine expertise :-)

  27. 27.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Pamoya: Not all Vice Presidents are triggers, but all fritters would fit right in as vice presidents.

    I’m leaving this the way my auto spell dealt with the word G R I F T E R S. Triggers and fritters? LOL.

  28. 28.

    aisce

    might be time for another one of your patented libya posts, cole.

    the ground war officially comes to tripoli. hope it goes better than baghdad. don’t be looting pricks, libyans.

  29. 29.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    Night shift pre-checking in. Still at work and bored out of my skull. Just now getting my “lunch” break due to managerial incompetence fluid business conditions. MOD just put Bee Gees on the in-store play. Shoot me now.

  30. 30.

    Yurpean

    I was going to do a Libya update, but Aisce beat me to it.

    It sounds like the assault on the capitol is about to begin. It’s approaching the final stages at which high-up Gadaffi loyalists can switch sides and stand a chance of preserving their heads after it’s all over. Hopefully enough of them will take the opportunity and there’s a minimum of fighting involved in the takeover, otherwise things could get very nasty.

  35. 35.

    Comrade Mary

    Yay, Brian! Overall, this sounds like a great position for you — as a change, at least. No, it’s not academia, but leaving aside the appeal of fine wines and beers, the fact that you’re so close to home, and the fact that you are doing better financially overall, you get to do a job and LEAVE IT BEHIND at the end of the day. This gives a clean 8 hours or so a day you can read, write, indulge in old and new hobbies, or just plain do nothing, and feel more rested and whole as a person than lots of people on the white collar treadmill.

  37. 37.

    WaterGirl

    @Steeplejack (phone): Maybe I shouldn’t have, but i laughed out loud. Idiot manager + Bee Gees is just too much. When you are relaxing at home later, this will all be just a memory.

    @Cole up top

    Many years ago my cocker spaniel got up in the morning and told me she was “done”. She had fought and fought and today was the day. So I called my best friend so he could say goodbye and took Mellon to the vet. When I came home, the gate was open – in the awfulness of suddenly realizing that today was the day with Mellon, I had absentmindedly left my gate open. I will never forget the feeling of panic – my other dog had gotten out and I thought I had lost both of them in the same day. Happily, my dog had waited at the house for me.

    Now I make a habit of saying goodbye to each pet (one dog, two kitties) just before I walk out the door. That way I know everybody is at least in the house and okay when I leave.

    @ Brian – big yay on getting the job!

  38. 38.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @WaterGirl: My doggie Ralphie, from the C-U quad shepherd collie clan, vanished in the middle of an incredible blizzard. He came home a week later and had a huge gash in his snout. Months later I was walking him by Lincoln Square and a woman came up and said, “My female was in heat and this guy sat on our porch and battled everything that came near her. He was a perfect gentleman and only did her once”!

  41. 41.

    Brian S

    Thanks to everyone for the congratulations. I’ll probably mention a bottle here and there if I find something special. I don’t think this crowd will mind much.

  44. 44.

    Brian S

    I don’t have a lost dog story, but the day after we moved into our new place here in Des Moines, we couldn’t find one of our cats. Now this one is skittish, and at times we’ll go most of a day without seeing her, but this is a new house and we were worried, so we tore the place apart for hours and never saw her. We found a spot under the tub where the pipes go through the wall that wasn’t completely closed up, and we were convinced that she’d gotten into the sub-floor and had gotten lost.

    When she came out into the living room six hours later, we both cried. And I sealed up that hole the next day. Still don’t know if that’s where she was, but we weren’t taking any more chances.

  45. 45.

    lamh34

    @lamh34:

    Speaking of vampires…anyone planning on seeing “Fright Night”.. Colin Farrell and Toni Collete, it might be worth the $10.

  48. 48.

    WaterGirl

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred): You must have been out of your mind with worry! And incredibly relieved when he came home!

    Perfect gentleman.

    My first cocker spaniel was in heat once before I had her spayed. We had all these dogs hanging around for days, and some were really pushy and obnoxious. One fellow, though, took to sleeping in somebody’s car (they left the windows open) and he was quite the gentleman, all week. We would joke that he was saying, “excuse me, but, umm, if you’re interested, I’m available”. So sweet!

  50. 50.

    MazeDancer

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    All of us who are completely pet obsessed and do everything in the world for our animals have ALL also done forgetful and really dumb stuff. We just lucked out, miraculously, that something way more stupid than leaving a dog in a fenced yard didn’t result in the heart-break you had.

    Anyone, like you, who has given home to enough dogs at one time that you have to count them and might miss one is forgiven of all things at all times. Especially something that wasn’t cruel or mean or intended, just a dreadful accident. So sorry it happened and for your terrible loss.

  56. 56.

    WaterGirl

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred): Brownfield Woods. I had forgotten about that place!

    My first cocker spaniel (who only lived to be 9 months old, hit by a car, a roommate let her out while I was at work) LOVED alcohol. She would knock over your drink on purpose so she could lap it up. (At 21, we thought that was funny, but I would never let a dog do that now.)

    Anyway, one night there was this huge thunderstorm and we thought “hey, let’s go to Brownfield Woods”. (It made sense at 21, what can I say?) Anyway, so we all jumped up and left our drinks where they were in the living room, and went out to watch the storm in the woods. We came back, and all the drinks were overturned, and we returned to puppy puke everywhere.

    Is everyone that stupid at 21, or were we special?

    Edit: love the photo on the truck! You know, it might just have been Ralphie. Didn’t know there was a next thread…

  58. 58.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @WaterGirl: Did you ever go to any parties at the three houses that were across the road? The driveway is barricaded now and the houses appear to have fallen down but, damn, we rocked out there. Fogleberg almost fell out a second story window one night gettin his buzz on. We were driving back into town with 4 people in my GMC and when we hit the big curve the door flew open and a woman just flew out. If the guy whose lap she was sitting on had been quick and had grabbed her she probably would have gone under the wheels and died. As it was she cleared the truck and landed on her ass. She was a dancer so she was strong but she had a nasty road burn for quite a while.

  60. 60.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @mai naem:

    Both, but we started with disco. Just now getting to “Holiday” and “Massachusetts.”

    Hope to be home by 11:30.

  61. 61.

    WaterGirl

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred): Holy shit! (on the woman flying out of the car story) There’s a reason so many people don’t make it to 25. When I think of all the crazy stupid things I did, I feel really lucky that nothing terrible ever happened.

    No, I don’t think I ever went to the parties across the way. Loved Dan Fogelberg, though. I imagine those were good parties.

    Hey, we used to have a party house on Buena Vista, near Hessel Park. Did you ever go to any of those?

  63. 63.

    Jeffro

    Could someone at Salon.com please give Alex Pareene a raise? He has been on a tear today and if he had a big enough megaphone this election…whoops, NEXT year’s election…it would already be over.

    I would think sparing the country from 15 months of the Klown Kar would be worth a few buckaroos.

  64. 64.

    WaterGirl

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred): Great photo! Who’s the guy next to you in the white shirt? He looks familiar. Love the hair of the two guys on the end. Like somebody said the other month when we were sharing photos from back then, the faces were different, but all our photos look the same.

  65. 65.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @WaterGirl: My ex’s best friend was very close with Dan (art students). He played the hall one time and they all got to go eat with his family and hang back stage. I had blown my ankle shooting hoop and had to stay home with my foot in a bucket of ice.

    Hmm, I live 2 blocks from Buena Vista here but I’m not sure about any gig’s in C-U.

  66. 66.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @WaterGirl: Jim Turner. He was at the reunion this summer. The guy sitting on the truck is Steve Greene, he was an incredible fullback for the Illini. He would have played in the NFL but he got his knee blown out and that was that.

  68. 68.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @chopper: We were the kind of bad white guys that would kick your ass if you had some smart ass comment about our hair. How ya like that?

  69. 69.

    WaterGirl

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred): I will have to go find your reunion photos again. The guy leaning on his elbow on the top of the truck was a record service, guy, right?

    A lot of lives get changed in an instant at that age, especially to athletes. When I was 19, my boyfriend died in a swimming accident, he dove off a cliff into water and died instantly. I am pretty certain I would have lived a completely different life if he had not died.

  70. 70.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @Omnes Omnibus: Mine was pretty short by then. When I broke my back they piled my hair up and taped it with athletic tape. Two months later, after the surgery, it was pretty matted so I cut it.

  72. 72.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @WaterGirl: Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. It wasn’t out at the quarries near Danville? We used to fly off those damn cliffs.

    Yea, record service. Actually more than one. Couple of the “owners” are in that pic. Dude behind me was in it until the end and on the Urbana City Council for a long time. My ex was one of the inner circle and I had the contract to clean and buff the floors when it was above McBrides.

  73. 73.

    Uncle Clarence Thomas

    .
    .
    Balloonbaggers in the News

    Countdown Names Critic of “Krugman and the Firebaggers” a Worst Person in the World

    Congrats all, you earned it the old-fashioned way!
    .
    .

  74. 74.

    WaterGirl

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred): Thanks. No, he went to forestry camp for the UI the summer after my freshman year, and it happened there.

    We used to go out to the quarries near Danville, alot, though, but that was probably around 1975, give or take a couple of years.

    As I look at the photo, it was the guy to your right, yes? CU was a really great place back then. It’s fine now, but it seems like the magic is gone.

  76. 76.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @WaterGirl: Yea, Michael. I guess it kind of went flat for me when I got sober. I have really enjoyed the last two trips seeing people that have great meaning to me but the place itself, I dunno. I’ve been in Georgia for so long I don’t think I’d ever consider moving back there.

  79. 79.

    Justin Morton

    Tell me you’ve seen John Stewart’s segment last night on class warfare. It was one of his best ever. The graph showing that the bottom 50% of the country only own 2.5% of the countries wealth was mindblowing.

  80. 80.

    CaseyL

    @Brian S: Coming in a little late to say Congrats! The relief in finally getting a job after a long time without – I won’t say there’s nothing better, because that’s silly, but it’s pretty damn good!

  82. 82.

    Steeplejack

    Night shift checkin’ in fo’ realz. Just got home a few minutes ago. I’ma get a Brawndo and be right back.

  85. 85.

    Steeplejack

    Man, where is ever’body? Kinda dead tonight. Oh, that’s right–you all have lives! How could I forget?

    I am deep into the Brawndo and checking out old soul songs on YouTube. Gotta refresh the Droid and bottom-blow all that ’80s stuff from my brother’s birthday. Right now listening to Clarence Carter, “Slip Away.” Man, what a soulful voice.

    Steep + some relatively small integer number

  86. 86.

    Yutsano

    @Steeplejack: Negative two is a small integer. Just sayin’.

    (can’t symbolize it because FYWP)

    I think wifey is packing in anticipation of human-simian relations. Other than that no idea.

  87. 87.

    Steeplejack

    @Jane2:

    Are you the same Jane2 who went to Aaron Burr High School in the early ’70s? If so, friend me on MyBook or FacePlace. I think we know each other.

  88. 88.

    Steeplejack

    @Yutsano:

    Maybe I should have specified a small positive integer number. But –2, –2, –2! Yee-haw! I haz the mad HTML skillz.

  89. 89.

    Steeplejack

    @Yutsano:

    I know people are around, because I can see the “Recent Comments” list on the side, but they’re not in the expected threads, and when I go to those threads they don’t seem to be there any more.

    “Slip Away” really is a great fooking song. That is all.

  90. 90.

    Yutsano

    @Steeplejack: OO and Amir are about for sure. It is a bit quiet though you’re right. General tenor of the blog today though. I think no firebagger/Obot flame wars to raise the howler monkeys. That must be it.

  92. 92.

    Steeplejack

    @Yutsano:

    All right, then. I will subside into fluid-replacement therapy and music research. Deploy the Steep signal if you need me.

  94. 94.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Steeplejack: I no longer have a life, but I am avidly looking for one.

    ETA: An 11:00pm call from the future ex-Mme Omnibus about why onehasn’t proceeded further with the divorce paperwork tends to suck a bit of the life out of one.

  96. 96.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Steeplejack: I am deep into the Raveonettes again. Resilient, I am. She interrupted the Packer game; this actually was more upsetting than the substance of the call. I am working on the details of the uncontested divorce; she is an impatient little monkey while I, as a lawyer, am a careful monkey. In the meantime, here is a video with Go-Go dancers.

  98. 98.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Yutsano: Yeah. I avoided the course in law school. I hoped that would keep me from dealing with it. OTOH and in fairness, the future Mme Omnibus wants to resolve things in a friendly way and is willing to let me do it. Oddly, this is one of the reasons I am being very slow and careful. She is trusting me to do it right. Fuck me to tears for being a decent, moral dude.

  99. 99.

    Steeplejack

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    You know I can’t resist the go-go dancers.

    My condolences on the bumpy ending with the future former Mme. Omnibus. It’s a cliché to say that it will work out for you in the end, but I think it is true nonetheless. I didn’t weigh in on earlier threads because I didn’t want to be a downer, but the whole thing of “I need to move to a different city, but it’s not about our relationship, really it isn’t” was a major red flag that “Yes, it really is about our relationship, and, oh, by the way, I have already checked out and moved on.” Almost the exact same thing happened to me.

    Having said that, I think you will find that once you are able to finally sever the ties–amicably or not–you will experience a surge of energy that was being invested and bled off in the failed relationship. So don’t be afraid to let it go. It seems like she already has.

    Please forgive me if this sounds too harsh. Just going by my (perhaps faulty) observations on this blog.

    Since I have been wallowing in early ’70s soul tonight, here’s a perhaps appropriate song: Jerry Butler, “Make It Easy on Yourself.” (Written by Burt Bacharach!)

  101. 101.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Steeplejack: It is all good. No forgiveness is necessary. Oh, it is over. I just want to walk away with the good memories from the good times intact. as a result, I am am willing to let the rest go, since it is already gone. Realistic optimist, that’s moi. Plus, I can start looking for brunettes now.

  103. 103.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Yutsano: Historically, I have been a brunette guy. The future former Mme Omnibus apparently happened to be a rather stunning blond interlude. For photos, one can find my FB through your fake wifey.

    ETA: Where is the usual late night crowd?

  104. 104.

    Steeplejack

    Perfect song for 3:35 a.m.: the Meters, “Stormy.” Reminds me of the days when I lived in L.A. (lower Alabama) and went to New Orleans regularly. After a long night of eating, drinking and partying, you would end up in some dive where some song like this would be playing, and you would think that life was pretty much perfect. Then off to the Café du Monde for beignets. And then you would know it was perfect.

  105. 105.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Steeplejack: I truly love NOLA. I am too northern to live there for any length of time, but, god damn, I love visiting. There needs to be some status between resident and pure tourist.

  107. 107.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Steeplejack: The last couple of times I was there, Coop’s Place on Decatur (well away from the crowds and into the area where tattooed boys were in front of bars playing the NOLA version of punk) was whre I wanted to hang out… Great food, fan-fucking-tastic bloodies, and good music. It also had a cat; I am allergic to cats, yet I loved the place.

  108. 108.

    Yutsano

    @Omnes Omnibus: Well I’m pretty sure wifey is packing for her contribution to international relations. Other than that I’m pretty much clueless as to any other absences. I’m not crashing until my sheets are dry. Kitteh had digestive issues all over my bed. Fortunately it was just on my bed though.

  110. 110.

    Steeplejack

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I haven’t been there since Katrina, but I gots to get back. Love NOLA. So many good memories. Mardi Gras, Jazz and Heritage Festival, etc.

  111. 111.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Steeplejack: It is different since Katrina. Too many people, real people, left. I am afraid that it will get Disneyfied. I really hope not. The dirtiness and grime are part the city’s character. BTW the Meters are brill.

  115. 115.

    Yutsano

    @Omnes Omnibus: If the owner wasn’t a neo-glibertarian asshole and they think me joining up gives them the right to do fuck all with my information wasn’t true, I would. The circle of connections would be endlessly fascinating. I don’t have an FB account. I tried it for a bit until a workplace harasser noticed. I suppose I could give it another go, although I don’t have the energy to do that right now.

    And speaking of Nawlins, a big goofy guy acting goofy all over. Plus the song is, well, appropriate.

  116. 116.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Yutsano: No pressure. If you do, you can find me through FW’s page. Otherwise, in a while, I may just post a shit load of Mme Omnibus pics. the lady is photogenic and not at all shy. This is not to say I will post nakie pics. I am, after all, a gentleman.

  123. 123.

    Steeplejack

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    De nada. I am having a great time trolling YouTube for songs that remind me of NOLA back in the day. It has given me a second wind tonight. Cripes! Is it 4:30 already?!

  125. 125.

    Yutsano

    @Omnes Omnibus: 1:45 in the morning. Sheets are clean and dry. And I do have a couple minor errands before the BJ debauchery festival tomorrow. I think I’ll call it a night.

    A night.

  129. 129.

    Steeplejack

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Was trying to find Clarence “Frogman” Henry doing “Stormy Monday” but came up blank. I remember in the ’70s being with some friends in a bar in the French Quarter where Henry was the house band. They were on a break, and my friend’s wife went up and asked one of the guys if they would do “Stormy Monday.” He asked her if she wanted it bluesy or jazzy, and she said bluesy. Somehow the word got transmitted, and as they individually came back up on stage they sort of noodled their way into an incredible version of the song.

    Allman Brothers version here. Closest thing I could find. And it seems to fit the mood of the night.

  131. 131.

    harlana

    GAAHH! When John Cole leaves Lily out in a thunderstorm, something is seriously amiss there!

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