Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

I really should read my own blog.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

“But what about the lurkers?”

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

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

In my day, never was longer.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Accountability, motherfuckers.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

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Street-fighting men

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Normally, when there are large demonstrations associated with the left, wingers start having violent fantasies about attacking the demonstrators. Anything like that going on in the wingosphere over the Occupy Wall Street movement? McMegan’s too obsessed with Solyndra to indulge her inner Bull Connor but I’m sure there are other righties with more time on their hands.

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  2. 2.

    Yutsano

    I don’t think Rush has given an official condemnation yet. Nothing can happen until Jabba gives the order.

  3. 3.

    Spaghetti Lee

    I don’t dredge through the wingosphere like some do (don’t have the stomach for it), but the secondhand stuff I see (Edroso, Sadly No, etc.), it looks like the attitude is more dismissal than anger.

    Besides, the Tea Party is a Populist Uprising, you know! I’m sure they’ll stake out a spot in Zuccotti Park any day now.

  5. 5.

    ChrisNYC

    I’ve been checking. Everything I’ve seen is, “Damn Commies!!!!” A few runs at “They’re attacking cops!” But that sort of sputters because the righties have been so infected (infected!) by libertarians, sovereign citizens and the hatred of pensions, so they generally despise cops, aka disgusting public employees who don’t generate profit and impinge upon our sacred freedom to drive without seat belts. Some spectre of union thugs behind OWS. They are definitely watching though. The tiny sliver of internet users, at least.

  7. 7.

    lacp

    Have you ever tried to assault someone from your Hoveround? Damn hard work, I tell ya.

    Also, once the manufacturers started adding benzodiazepines to Cheetohs, we were pretty much assured that there wasn’t going to be any American version of the Freikorps, regardless of what ErickSonofErickSonofErick might say.

  11. 11.

    ChrisNYC

    O/T — also, new Bloomberg piece (apparently heavily reported over many months) about how the Koch Bros trade with Iran and pay bribes for business (violating the FCPA).

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-02/koch-brothers-flout-law-getting-richer-with-secret-iran-sales.html

    I’m thinking the DOJ is already investigating and somebody at BBG got a tip. The incriminating facts apparently come from a French lawsuit and there is quite a bit of cross borders cooperation on bribery/FCPA enforcement.

  12. 12.

    Willam Hurley

    Too close an inspection by RighTards will reveal the genuine grass-roots composition of the OWS action – calling attention the the Koch’s astroturf and their penchant for tri-cornered hats.

  13. 13.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @ChrisNYC:

    the righties have been so infected (infected!) by libertarians

    You know what we need? Some term to describe a group of libertarians, like “A flock of geese” or “a scrotum of teabaggers.” I’d put forth “A privilege of libertarians”, “a gulch of libertarians”, or “a gripe of libertarians.” Suggestions welcome!

  14. 14.

    Tom Hilton

    Perhaps the relative absence of hysteria on the right illustrates just how much of a threat the 100% designed to fail “Occupy Wall Street” isn’t.

    (Of cours, the Iraq protests were no more effective and they did throw a hissy over those. Still.)

  15. 15.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    No, but I just waded in and watched the “This Week” roundtable, which consisted of four of the most clueless lost sheep you’ve ever seen, joined by the CEO of Starbucks who talked about going Galt politically and bragged about how he had talked to Nicolas Freaking Sarkozy about it.

    The big debate was Jake Tapper and a Republican strategist arguing that Blue Dogs and “moderate” Republicans were still worth supporting because they’re willing to compromise about how much to cut spending in order to control the deficit, so Schultz and other business people shouldn’t go Galt because of them.

    That was after the first debate about whether gridlock was a good or bad thing (George Will was pro).

    That made three conservatives, four if you include Sarkozy, one mealy-mouthed Blue Dog booster reporter, and Mark Penn. There was not one representative from “Sanity, party of two”.

    Watching this sort of thing is painful but it’s good in the sense that it makes it clear why and how we are completely screwed. You get the impression that they have someone like Paul Krugman on shows like that as this sort of tolerable wide-eyed voice from the far left, even though he’s actually the only one who has the slightest idea what’s actually going on economically. When he’s not there though, the ideas he puts forth may as well not have ever existed, the entire argument about what’s actually wrong and how we could fix it is not even considered as a valid part of the debate.

    My point as it relates to the protest, and it was a long way around, sorry, is this: Even if anyone on Wall Street or DC wanted to listen to the protesters, they wouldn’t have the slightest clue what they were talking about. Whether the protesters do or not is almost beside the point, you could make the most focused anti-oligarchy argument possible and they’d hear “blah blah blah, Ginger” because it didn’t address lowering the deficit.

  16. 16.

    Mark B.

    McMegan is too obsessed over the billions that were invested in Solyndra to create a tangible product which didn’t pan out, she can’t possibly think about the trillions spent on the huge banks to make sure that none of the executives had to suffer economic consequences for screwing over their customers and investors. Priorities.

  17. 17.

    Yutsano

    (WARNING: OT & Hufflepuff link)

    Poor Hermie. I guess he’s already feeling the pressure from being a frontrunner so much he has to attack people not in the race yet. Paranoia is fun, you should try it sometime.

  18. 18.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @Tom Hilton:

    Well, define “designed to fail”. Will they overturn several decades of Wall Street malfeasance through sheer force of will? No. Will they get people talking about Wall Street and move discussions of inequality and corporate greed a bit closer to the center and give people practice at organizing and protesting? I’d say they’ve already done that.

    And it took the rightosphere a week or so to catch on to the Wisconsin protests. Give ’em time. They can’t not blow their tops when they see liberals voicing their opinions in public. It’s in the blood.

  19. 19.

    ChrisNYC

    Megan is also pissed off by the post office. Seems her carrier doesn’t ring the bell and WAIT for her to come to the door, but just drops her packages (Williams Sonoma specialty cooking implements, no f-ing doubt) there on the STOOP. I mean, the nerve! Can’t get good help these days.

  20. 20.

    soonergrunt

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    I’m sure they’ll stake out a spot in Zuccotti Park any day now.

    And they’ll bring their penis substitutes guns because there’s nothing wrong with that at all. Of course, the laws in NY are different, so I expect there will be a counter demonstration in Dallas or Phoenix, most likely.

  22. 22.

    soonergrunt

    @soonergrunt: I’m moderated because I used the non-crude word for the male organ.
    My point was that the Teabaggers will stage a counter protest in Dallas or Phoenix (NY having strict gun laws) and they’ll bring their organ substitutes guns because they can’t seem to any kind of politics without them.

  24. 24.

    ChrisNYC

    I went to Occupy Wall Street yesterday, to have a look around. One thing they could really use is a central station. It’s a tiny park, about 1/2 a downtown city block. But there’s no sort of, “JOIN HERE” point. It’s just people (and soggy mattresses).

    A good quip from the friend I went with, who teaches at Columbia and was a fervent protester against NAFTA and the WTO, when she was in college. She said her undergrads are completely checked out of activism and are not into OWS. So I asked, “Where are these kids from then, if not colleges?” (They look like undergrads, maybe 70% of them. The rest are older.) Her response? “They’re from the nineties.”

  25. 25.

    fleeting expletive

    I like a “Glib” of Libertarians–has the benefit of alliteration. I’d also go for a “booger” or a “smear” or a ” dingle”.

    That’s just how I roll.

  26. 26.

    roshan

    Does this from Hannity qualify?
    __

    Today on his radio show, conservative host Sean Hannity interviewed an Occupy Wall Street protester named Heather, who attempted to explain the demonstrations through the Fox News host’s repeated interruptions. Hannity barely let her speak, instead taking time to engage in ad hominem attacks, calling her names like “Marxist” and telling her “you don’t believe in liberty, you don’t believe in freedom.” When Heather responded, “I’m definitely a person who takes things upon myself,” Hannity protested, starting to say, “no you don’t,” before telling her she wants to destroy America.

  27. 27.

    suzanne

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    You know what we need? Some term to describe a group of libertarians, like “A flock of geese” or “a scrotum of teabaggers.” I’d put forth “A privilege of libertarians”, “a gulch of libertarians”, or “a gripe of libertarians.” Suggestions welcome!

    A murder of libertarians.

    I’m watching “Prohibition”. Holy shit.

  30. 30.

    Q.Q. Moar

    @Tom Hilton: “Designed to fail?” At least they’re doing something, though I must say their protests pale in comparison to a re-enactment of the Whitney Survey. Gripping!

  31. 31.

    SRW1

    @lacp:

    You are probably confusing Volkssturm and Freikorp. Freikorp was a WW I veterans thing. Volkssturm was the old geezers (and the still-wet-behind-their-ears) who were going to swat Allied tanks with their spades at the end of WW II.

  32. 32.

    Spaghetti Lee

    As far as OWS miscellany goes, I talked to my mom tonight. My parents are, I’m happy to say, examples of that mythical specimen of the political moderate who’s become a solid Democrat after witnessing all the Tea Party craziness. She asked me what was up with the police arresting all the people on the Brooklyn Bridge. I didn’t really know, so I couldn’t answer, but I’m now kinda realizing that’s a bit significant if there’s supposed to be this news blackout/heavy distortion from the media. The news is getting out somehow, I guess. And she gets all her info from broadcast news, no social media or blogs or anything.

  36. 36.

    eemom

    OT, but…..there was once a man named John Cole on this blog.

    He was, amongst other things, totally into football ‘n shit. But now it’s been a whole, entire, complete Sunday…….football games won and lost……and nary a Cole to be seen, anywhere, from dusk till dawn.

    I guess……he’s just not that into us, anymore.

    I haz a sad. : (

  39. 39.

    Gex

    We could go with a murder of libertarians. Most of their policies would result in people needlessly dying.

    Or how about an entitlement of libertarians?

    Hmmm… this is fun.

  42. 42.

    Bnut

    A perineum of libertarians. Or taint of libertarians. Or gooch of libertarians. They are the intersection of dicks and assholes after all.

  44. 44.

    Violet

    @Spaghetti Lee:
    Wow. That’s not good.

    @eemom:
    Yeah, he’s so busy with his fundraising, cool musicians, and semi-pro chef duties, not to mention his Twittering, that he seems to have forgotten all about us.

  45. 45.

    WaterGirl

    @Spaghetti Lee: I don’t follow much football so I don’t know which team is which. Looked at the photo… let me guess… the darker skinned players are doing the mugging, right? Geez, this stuff is so thinly veiled these days that it’s not even veiled at all anymore.

  49. 49.

    Spaghetti Lee

    Howabout a ‘fallacy’ or an ‘error’ of libertarians? Maybe a ‘Fonzi of Libertarians’, if we want to get more specific?

  51. 51.

    Violet

    An entitlement of libertarians. They think they’re entitled and they claim to hate entitlements. It fits.

  52. 52.

    gocart mozart

    So far we have:

    “A privilege of libertarians”
    “a gulch of libertarians”
    “a gripe of libertarians.”
    “A tech support department” of Libertarians.
    “A Glib of libertarians”
    “A murder of libertarians”
    “a poutrage of libertarians”
    A factoid of libertarians
    ‘apathy of libertarians
    A perineum of libertarians. Or taint of libertarians. Or gooch of libertarians
    a yap of libertarians
    A “Band of Randians”
    A Fountainhead of Libertarians
    A fountainhead of Free-Marketers
    ‘fallacy’ or an ‘error’ of libertarians? Maybe a ‘Fonzi of Libertarians’
    A jacket of libertarians
    An entitlement of libertarians.

    [vote for your favorite]

  53. 53.

    Mike G

    McMegan’s too obsessed with Solyndra

    Find me one of these asshats who ever gave a shit about the $8 billion in US taxpayer cash that went missing in Iraq.

  54. 54.

    Yutsano

    @gocart mozart: I gotta go with jacket of libertarians. Gives the concept of more than one in a certain space. But don’t tell them that. They’ll think they’ve gone collective and scatter. :)

    @Mike G:

    Find me one of these asshats who ever gave a shit about the $8 billion in US taxpayer cash that went missing in Iraq.

    THAT WAS FOR FEEDOM!! WHY DO YOU HATE THE TROOPS YOU GAWDLESS HIPPIE??

    /wingnut

  56. 56.

    gocart mozart

    Find me one of these asshats who ever gave a shit about the $8 billion in US taxpayer cash that went missing in Iraq.

    Silly rabbit, military spending doesn’t count. LOOK OVER THERE! HIPPIES!!!

  57. 57.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @gocart mozart:

    You assembled it all, so I’d say that’s fair. Lots of clever stuff in there, but for something that strikes the balance of easy to say, gets the point across, and conveys the right amount of snark, I’ll cast a second vote for “a gripe of libertarians.” ‘There was a gripe of libertarians in the computer lab today, whining about soshulism.’ Works real well, I’d say.

  62. 62.

    YoohooCthulhu

    @ChrisNYC: I’m pretty sure most of the OWS protesters are people recently out of college. Most current college students these days (esp at Columbia, etc) still have the parental lifeline that makes them not feel totally desperate.

  67. 67.

    Cliff

    @roshan:
    Well, really, who the fuck is surprised by that? Who goes on Hannity’s show to have a reasonable discussion?
    Any lefty going on there is going to be treated to a big giant fascist baby head bawling at them for five minutes.

  68. 68.

    danimal

    @eemom: Cole’s Steelers lost and Ben Rapistberger hurt his foot. He’s probably lying face down in a gutter about now.

  70. 70.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    After having thought about it while out and about this morning, I think it should be: A rationalization of Libertarians.

    Either that or a calculation, but you’d have to work in that the calculator’s broken, and so far I can’t.

  71. 71.

    anna missed

    There’s no such thing, or term denoting more than one libertarian at a time, such as a “group”, or ” society”. It’s antithetical to consider them as anything but individuals – as they evolved from that ancient secret linage of humans that in olden times were free roaming individuals, and had as such no society which they partook. And that’s why you never heard of them until now.

  72. 72.

    An Idiot

    I’d definitely go with “a gulch of libertarians.”

    Mainly because it sort of reminds me of the Wicked Witch of the West.

  74. 74.

    JGabriel

    ChrisNYC:

    Megan is also pissed off by the post office. Seems her carrier doesn’t ring the bell and WAIT for her to come to the door, but just drops her packages (Williams Sonoma specialty cooking implements, no f-ing doubt) there on the STOOP.

    Hey, those shipments of Pink Himalayan Salt fetch a high price in the ‘hood, and McMegan just don’t wanna tempt any at risk youth into a life of crime by leavin’ her PHS out on a doorstop like jailbait in front o’ Jerry Lee Lewis.

    ‘Cause that’s the kind a gal McMegan is — a gal who is concerned about the trials and tribulations of the less well-off.

    .

  75. 75.

    Samara Morgan

    @anna missed: All libertarians are our implacable enemies.
    they are just cloaking their message like Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J did for 21 years.

  76. 76.

    Samara Morgan

    @dougie

    Julian waz right i think.
    America is becoming a police state on the way to NLS collapse.

  77. 77.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Samara Morgan: Okay, you’ve finally done it. You are a spoof. Citing the Insane Clown Posse like that, you simply can’t be serious. Well played though; you just can’t keep it going forever.

  78. 78.

    Boudica

    @JGabriel: And if McMegan had a baby and postal workers rang the doorbell, she would complain about the postal worker ringing her doorbell and waking the baby up, which is unnecessary because the package doesn’t need to be signed for. She’s gonna complain whichever way the scenario goes.

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