Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

We still have time to mess this up!

Fuck that bum, let’s go Joe!

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

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

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

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

In short, I come down firmly on all sides of the issue.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Democrats are back in array!

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

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

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

We won’t go back.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Afternoon Open Thread Type Thing

Afternoon Open Thread Type Thing

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College football appears to be happening around the country, also some sort of localized winter death storm in the Northeast where brimstone and/or razor sharp obsidian is falling from the skies.

TNC on Up with Chris Hayes this morning was a nice change of pace, but then Mort Zuckerman showed up to blame everything economic, social and political on Obama not having enough meetings with Turtle Man and Orange Julius.

Commence discussionary activities, and such.

Reader Interactions

98Comments

  2. 2.

    donnah

    I just mailed a package containing one of my best hooked rugs to Vermont for a major show. Deadline is Nov 1st. If I get screwed out of this event because of a freakishly early blizzard, I am going to be mightily pissed.

    Not to diminish the amount of problems this will cause residents of the region. Just sayin’.

  3. 3.

    PurpleGirl

    This morning’s rain has changed to snow here in NYC. It looks lovely up here on the 17th floor, but I wouldn’t want to be outside, because it’s cold and windy.

    donnah: I hope it get there. How did you send it — mail, 3-day priority, UPS, Fedex?

    ETA: The bad weather landing path to LaGuardia is over my building, and I think they be rerouting planes because I’m hearing many overhead.

  4. 4.

    Arm The Homeless

    ‘Noles are looking good today. It is NC State, but I am not going to complain.

    Since my football weekend will peak today, I am already looking past the Dolphins and excited for The Walking Dead.
    What I need now is the return of Merle and all the hilarity that will ensue.

  5. 5.

    Cassidy

    It’s looking like my experiment in civilian life is going to end. The recruiter for the PMC hasn’t called me back in weeks, the company I’m working for is cravenly interested in profit squeezing money out of poor people, and, honestly, I miss being surrounded by military people. The FAM’s are taking too damn long and I’ve got bills to pay, so it looks like I’ll be setting up to meet a recruiter next week and see what we can do. Kinda sucks, because I really wanted to be a FAM, but I can’t say I’m not excited about the prospect of rectifying this mistake and being back in the military. And, if things work out, he threw Rescue Swimmer out over the phone which would be totally friggin’ cool. If I’d known the Navy had that 13 years ago, I may have been a squid.

  7. 7.

    Bruce S

    Zuckerman is a bizarre personality. He likes to have it every which way. His comments on Obama were beyond stupid. Then he made a statement about income inequality that actually surprised me given it’s provenance and the fact that it was sensible. Ultimately, he’s a narcissist and a fool, but it was kind of interesting to see him on Chris Hayes – as long as this doesn’t mean we’re in for John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham in ensuing weeks. TNC spent a lot of the time looking sideways at Zuckerman and Spitzer – and it wasn’t the angle of his chair. The expression was priceless. Unfortunately, having two narcissistic “VIPs” – who are used to unusual deference and using up most of the air in any room they’re in – on a round table with normal, very smart people who are used to thinking before they speak and don’t have canned opinions about everything doesn’t work very well. Hayes did an okay job managing the weirdness, but I would like to see TNC back in a more wide-ranging discussion. Loved his take on Herman Cain… Also the young woman from Demos is awesome – her sitting next to Zuckerman made him appear even more the glib, shallow man he is.

  8. 8.

    arguingwithsignposts

    I just confirmed that Mich. St. needs to move the ball better and score more points in the second half in order to come back against Nebraska. Straight from the coach’s mouth. I think he may be onto something. Wonder if anyone else has thought of that formula?

  9. 9.

    Chris T.

    [repost from other not-actually-most-recent open thread]

    Since this is the most recent “Open Thread”, let me put in a quote I just heard on last night’s local TV news:

    In 1971, Richard Nixon declared a war on cancer, by establishing the National Cancer Institute … back when Republicans apparently believed in science.

    What is remarkable about this quote is not that it is correct, but rather, that it came from Jon Huntsman, who was giving a speech in front of the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

  11. 11.

    PurpleGirl

    @Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen: I’m not sure the Goddess really wants any of the rethuglican higher ups (like Turtle Man and Orange Man), but I’d gladly chain them to a rock where eagles or vultures could pick at them.

    ETA: With them being made whole every so often so the eagles/vultures can start picking again.

  13. 13.

    West of the Cascades

    Blizzards in October?? Gawd, the global warming denialists will be shrieking about that.

  14. 14.

    different-church-lady

    also some sort of localized winter death storm in the Northeast where brimstone and/or razor sharp obsidian is falling from the skies.

    Oh, we’re used to that here. It’s just that the obsidian doesn’t usually happen before January.

  18. 18.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Zuckerman is another one of those types whose head would look much better on a pike than on his shoulders.

  22. 22.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Cassidy:

    Well, at least in the military there’s no hiding who gets paid what.

    Unlike the private sector where it’s not uncommon that telling others what you’re paid is a firing offense.

  23. 23.

    waratah

    @Bruce S: This is the first time I have seen Mort have any one argue his points. Spitzer tried to cushion Mort by trying to put Mort’s garbage in a corporate centrist mode. I loved when he then was made to back down on some of his points.
    Good show this morning.

  24. 24.

    MTiffany

    blame everything … on Obama not having enough meetings with Turtle Man and Orange Julius

    Thanks for that. I’ll be cleaning tea off my brand new monitor for forever…

  25. 25.

    RossInDetroit

    We’ve got heavy rain and lightning, which is exciting but it’s not getting my yard work done or my gutters cleaned out.

    I drove 3 hours to visit my Mom on her 75th B-day yesterday. Worth every minute. We drank tea and talked about garden tractors.
    My stepfather is a plain spoken farm guy but has some hilarious turns of phrase that he uses without calculation or irony. Lots of snow is “Asshole deep to a tall Indian.” A load of waterlogged lumber was “Heavier’n a dead mule”.

  27. 27.

    Comrade Luke

    I’m so fucking sick and tired of having whatever the east coast deems newsworthy shoved down my throat. It’s snowing. So fucking what.

  28. 28.

    scav

    I remember one of these Oct serious snows in IA. Walking out the next day, typical white everywhere, calm, serene, except every single tree had gone WTF, dropped everything and left puddles of bright red and yellow and dingy green underneath. It was being inside a Dali-Van Gogh mashup.

  29. 29.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Comrade Luke:

    Um, the Villagers are cold.

    THIS IS NEWS!

    Remember when the bomb went off in Times Square, and The Village couldn’t bother to break into their own big dinner in DC to inform the nation?

  31. 31.

    Mino

    Israelis are in the street for social justice and sympathy with OWS. I like the sign one was carrying…Put the politicians on minimum wage and see how fast things change.

  32. 32.

    MikeJ

    @Mino: You can’t become a politician unless you already have enough money to not work for a year while you campaign.

    If they needed the money that bad it would be impossible for them to get the job.

  36. 36.

    Mino

    @MikeJ: Ah, but what if they got their current salaries and perks re-negotiated, like some governors are doing to state workers.

    It’s the principle, not the need.

  37. 37.

    Anya

    Why would Chris Hayes give Mort Zuckerman a platform? Is it in his MSNBC contract or does he really believe that Zuckerman has anything of value to say. Also, too, have I mentioned lately how much I loath Andrew Cuomo.

  42. 42.

    Yutsano

    @MikeJ: I’m sorry, but going for a two-point conversion ON YOUR OPENING SCORING DRIVE is a dick move. Period.

    (The season was over when we melted down to the Beavers. I think they’re pushing Tuel to get back in too fast and Lobbestael is perfectly competent to helm things.)

  44. 44.

    Mino

    @Anya: Someone must have forgotten to tell them.

    And I am pleased to see Cuomo exposed, too. His dad must be so proud of him.

  46. 46.

    Ed in NJ

    It’s Hillbillies vs. Guidos week up here in NJ. The terrible weather kept me and my son from the game, but we are looking forward to watching Rutgers snap a 16-game losing streak to the Mountaineers, site overlord be damned.

  49. 49.

    Yutsano

    @Southern Beale:

    It’s a gorgeous day today.

    In more ways than one I take it? :)

    I hope Bnut has his truck parked somewhere close by. A great way to show solidarity and develop a customer base. Win-win!

  50. 50.

    Luthe

    @Ed in NJ: As someone who lives on Busch Campus, I’m rooting for the ‘Eers, primarily because football games make my life miserable.

  53. 53.

    Southern Beale

    @Yutsano:

    You know, even the former communications head of the Tennessee Republican Party has come out vocally and vociferously against Gov. Haslam’s trampling on the Constitution.

    I have to say, this is one area where the left and right are in complete agreement. Good to see a few conservatives step up and call the Governor to task.

  54. 54.

    Yutsano

    @Southern Beale: If anyone is hesitant about this: SoBe and her espoused are definitely good people and all kinds of fun to hang out with. I speak from personal experience here. Definite approval list!

  55. 55.

    Anya

    Via Booman, Romney says he’ll take comand from Israel leaders when it comes to our MidEast policy:

    The actions that I will take will be actions recommended and supported by Israeli leaders. I don’t seek to take actions independent of what our allies think is best, and if Israel’s leaders thought that a move of that nature would be helpful to their efforts, then that’s something I’ll be inclined to do. But again, that’s a decision which I would look to the Israeli leadership to help guide. I don’t think America should play the role of the leader of the peace process, instead we should stand by our ally. Again, my inclination is to follow the guidance of our ally Israel, as to where our facilities and embassies would exist.

    I wonder what happend to “America tells other countries what to do and they follow” crap he’s been spewing in the past.

  56. 56.

    Yutsano

    @Anya:

    I wonder what happend to “America tells other countries what to do and they follow” crap he’s been spewing in the past.

    Depends. Who was he speaking to and who will he be talking about this with next?

  59. 59.

    Jay in Oregon

    Hat tip to Atrios for showing us the most unintentionally hilarious headline of the week:

    Savings Rate Is Dropping, and Experts Are Puzzled

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/29/business/americans-savings-rate-drops-again-puzzling-experts.html

    I keep these images bookmarked for a reason — pick your favorite:

    http://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/photos/images/original/000/131/351/eb6.jpg?1307463786

    http://www.blogcdn.com/www.comicsalliance.com/media/2011/09/tumblrllhiwairny1qaoq1c.gif

  61. 61.

    Anya

    @Yutsano: I don’t understand how anyone believes anything he says. Poor John Kerry was accused of being a flip flopper because of a stupid gaff, but this phony ass gets a pass.

  63. 63.

    Southern Beale

    @Anya:

    I want that guy in the giant flip-flop costume who showed up at all of Kerry’s campaign events to show up at Romney’s.’

    Of course, McCain was such a flip-flopper we all called him a Pander Bear.

  64. 64.

    Yutsano

    @Anya: I don’t think anyone actually BELIEVES Multiple Choice Willard. They just think he has the best shot of getting the nigra out of the White House. That’s the only basis for his support that makes any sense.

  68. 68.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred):

    When they hit Georgia it shuts the whole place down.

    2″-3″ of snow shuts down any place south of Louisville, but 2″-3″ does not a blizzard make. I was at the “Snowglobe Game” in Green Bay a few years ago. That wasn’t even a blizzard, and compared to this it was the snowpocalypse.

    I’ve been watching the game. It’s that melty sort of snow that makes footing terrible. Throwing and catching passes isn’t easy, either.

    ETA: And seconds after I posted this, botched hold on the field goal attempt.

  69. 69.

    gelfling545

    @Anya: I don’t think anybody is all that fond of him but if he hadn’t been elected the Governor of NY would be Carl Paladino. There are probably people who would have been worse that Paladino but I really can’t think who they might be.

  70. 70.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    Touchdown Illinois, illegal motion, take it off. Field goal, bobbled snap. Third straight scoreless first half.

  71. 71.

    donnah

    @PurpleGirl:

    I sent it UPS on Wednesday. It needs to be there by the 4th, no later. If only I had known a storm was brewing! I would have yanked it out of the gallery sooner. sigh.

  72. 72.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    Did I mention that the dawgs suck. My big thing today is the Hokies beating Duke 14-10. shoot me now

  74. 74.

    David Koch

    What’s the point of giving a liberal(Chris Hayes) a show if he’s just gonna invite on a neo-con like Zuckerman?

  77. 77.

    arguingwithsignposts

    ESPN3 has the Illini game blacked out in my area. WTF? I didn’t even know they had blackouts in college.

    ETA: but I can watch Liberty vs. Presbyterian, so I’ve got that going for me.

  85. 85.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred): No, I’m one of those “the amount of TV I watch isn’t worth $75-90/mo.” types.

    Plus, ESPN3 is usually pretty good with most of the sched. for college. NFL won’t get their heads out of their asses to provide a streaming option unless you’re already subscribed to a cable/dish system, which sort of defeats the purpose.

  91. 91.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Anybody in Ottawa? I’ll be in Canada for a few weeks in November. I have conference commitments several nights, but if there’s the right combination of Free Evening + local BJer, I’d love to meet up.

  93. 93.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Craiglist for a tv? Seriously? I paid $99 for a new 19″ set at Meijer about 9 years ago. You could find something a bit smaller for less than that at, say, Sears.

    What’s probably going to cost you if you buy off of Craigslist, is the digital converter box. The government program under which you could pick one up for $10 lapsed a few years ago.

    ETA: You’ll need rabbit ears, too. The FCC made stations power down their OtA signal when everything went digital.

  94. 94.

    Thoughtcrime

    @Anya:

    Via Booman, Romney says he’ll take comand from Israel leaders when it comes to our MidEast policy:
    ___
    ___
    The actions that I will take will be actions recommended and supported by Israeli leaders. I don’t seek to take actions independent of what our allies think is best, and if Israel’s leaders thought that a move of that nature would be helpful to their efforts, then that’s something I’ll be inclined to do. But again, that’s a decision which I would look to the Israeli leadership to help guide. I don’t think America should play the role of the leader of the peace process, instead we should stand by our ally. Again, my inclination is to follow the guidance of our ally Israel, as to where our facilities and embassies would exist.
    ___
    I wonder what happend to “America tells other countries what to do and they follow” crap he’s been spewing in the past.

    Romney will be seeking permission slips from furners when it comes to defending our country.

    President Bush boasted in his State of The Union Address that “America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our people”
    ___
    http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0421-11.htm

  98. 98.

    Thymezone

    Is it my imagination, or have the people who make Chuck actually discovered cameras that work outside of a studio, in the open air and in daylight and everything?

    It’s refreshing, like the day when the Donner Party started to find out how good their companions tasted.

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