Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

John Fetterman: Too Manly for Pennsylvania.  Paid for by the Oz for Senator campaign.

You cannot shame the shameless.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

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

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

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

You can’t love your country only when you win.

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

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

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

People are complicated. Love is not.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

The revolution will be supervised.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

“Squeaker” McCarthy

In my day, never was longer.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.

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81Comments

  2. 2.

    CB

    id say i cant believe how great crosby looks after 11 months off, but i absolutely can. the guy is a freaking monster. easily the best player in the world.

  5. 5.

    JenJen

    Damn. All tied up before two minutes had ticked off.

    Welcome back, Sid, but GO HABS GO

    By the way, if your TV provider airs NHL Network, this is the national game tonight, so tune in!

    ETA: Canadiens lead 2-1!!

  6. 6.

    Chris

    I assume this is sports related, though I don’t know either side.

    All I gotta say about sports is, go Gators. Or possibly Noles. I don’t know, it gets a little confusing with my folks: no matter who wins, part of this family’s going to be ecstatic and another part’s going to be tearing all the hair out of their scalps.

  8. 8.

    JenJen

    @henqiguai:

    What’s a Habs or a Pens?

    A Pen is a Pittsburgh Penguin. Sidney Crosby is one of those Pens. A Hab is a Montreal Canadien, aka “Les Habitants,” loosely translated to “hometown boys.”

    Hockey!!

    GO HABS GO!

  10. 10.

    Punchy

    Habs are waaaaaaaaayyy underrated. Cammalleri is fucking GOOD. Their goalie is stones and the team doesnt get near enough props b/c they win 1-0 and 2-1 instead of putting 5 or 6 in the twine every nite.

    That said, everyone focuses on Crosby but Malkin and Staal are the pistons that drive that engine for the Pens.

  11. 11.

    NobodySpecial

    Speaking solely about the TV commentary again, I’d love not to hear a single word about Sidney Crosby three games into his return. The fellatio gets old.

  13. 13.

    JenJen

    @Punchy: Word. Carey Price is indeed stones and when Cammalleri is on, he’s unstoppable.

    Loved the story that Crosby told in last year’s HBO 24/7 about Malkin. Crosby was captain and almost universally recognized as the greatest player of his generation. Malkin was lingering behind him right before the first game of the 2009-2010 season. Crosby said, “I skate last, you know.” Malkin said, “You, three years NHL. Me, four years Super League. I skate last.”

    And that was that.

  15. 15.

    Violet

    Since it’s a sports thread, I heard on the radio that the NBA folks have come to some agreement. Season starts on Christmas day or something. How is this not a major front on the War on Christmas?

  16. 16.

    JenJen

    @Violet:

    Since it’s a sport thread, I heard on the radio that the NBA folks have come to some agreement. Season starts on Christmas day or something. How is this not a major front on the War on Christmas?

    NBA always plays on Christmas. It would be a major front on the War on Christmas if the NBA remained locked out and didn’t play on Christmas.

    Still, not sure how many fucks I give about the NBA ending the lockout, other than to see Lebron lose again.

  21. 21.

    JenJen

    @Mr Stagger Lee: It’s on NHL Network. First period intermission right now, Coach’s Corner has Don Cherry wearing a lemon yellow lame suitcoat, adorned with some sort of marijuana leaf-looking pattern. I shit you not.

  22. 22.

    Violet

    @JenJen:
    I don’t care about the NBA at all, but it’s about all I’ve got to contribute right now to a thread about sports.

    I secretly wish that all the professional sports teams would get bogged down in negotiations and there wouldn’t be a season of anything. What would people do?

  24. 24.

    Violet

    @Raven:
    Isn’t it a War on Christmas that professional basketball is played on Christmas Day? Have they no respect for the Baby Jebus? They should be sitting home in their best suits, reading the Christmas story from the Bible, not wearing skin-baring clothing and running around chasing a ball and getting paid for it. Blasphemy!

  26. 26.

    JenJen

    @Violet:

    I secretly wish that all the professional sports teams would get bogged down in negotiations and there wouldn’t be a season of anything. What would people do?

    I have no idea what we’d do, but it would suck, that’s for sure. I HEART SPORTS. They keep me sane.

  27. 27.

    Punchy

    @JenJen: It’s a complete no-win sitchy for Lebron. If he wins, it’s “nice 65-game abortion of a season….not valid”, and if he loses, its “look, Lebron lost again”.

    Pretty much anyone that wins aside from the Clips or SackTown will feel empty, and treated as such.

  30. 30.

    MikeJ

    Someone sedate Yutsy, Wazzu[1] is losing in the Apple Cup.

    [1] Wazzou or Wazzu? Missouri is Mizzou but everything in Washington is weird on the wrong side of the mountains.

  33. 33.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    I am watching him on CBN it looks gold but I will take your word. Unfortunately I am blessed Colorado-Edmondton

  34. 34.

    Violet

    @JenJen:
    I think the massive amount of money in professional sports leaves me a bit jaded about the whole thing. I resent that stadiums get built on the backs of residents of and visitors to (hotel, rental car taxes) cities, but sit largely unused most of the time. It seems like a bad use of money that could be better spent elsewhere. So many of the owners are greedy bastards and the players make insane amounts of money, mostly for very short periods of their lives as they’re chewed up and spit out. The whole system seems crazy and filled with money that could be used to do so much good.

    I sound like a complete curmudgeon about professional sports, but I do get caught up in various sports from time to time. I’m the very definition of a fair-weather fan, though. If my local team in any sport is doing well, I’m interested. If someone offers me a free ticket to a game, I’ll go and have a good time. Otherwise, I hardly pay attention.

  36. 36.

    JenJen

    @Violet: I can’t disagree with any of that, but none of it changes the fact that I HEART SPORTS.

    Do people in Cleveland still hate Lebron?

    Just to chime in, I hate Lebron as an Ohioan, just on principle. Can’t speak for the city of Cleveland.

  40. 40.

    JenJen

    Not wild about the Gionta line for the Habs. But Max Pacioretty and Erik Cole are having a damned good hockey game.

    @Raven: I certainly don’t. But he didn’t need to kick his home state on the way out the door, either. It stung. It would be easier not to care anymore, but…

  42. 42.

    RossInDetroit

    Not watching sporting matches today. Doing homework (AKA fooling around) and listening to Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto. Damn I love this so much. I can forgive Europe for just about anything, just because of this 40 minute piece of music.

  43. 43.

    Yutsano

    @MikeJ: I stopped watching. They’re unfocused and unprepared. Hopefully the end result here is a new head coach. I’m taking Mom out to dinner instead.

  44. 44.

    henqiguai

    @JenJen (#8):

    Hockey!!

    Ah. Thanks. The delay – just got back from watching the premier episode of FX’s American Horror Story. Why did I have to wait ’til my daughter came home from school for Turkey Day to find out about this show?

  45. 45.

    Violet

    @JenJen: @Raven:
    He kind of acted like a dick. If he’d just left and moved to Miami it would be one thing. But dragging it out to the point where he even had a TV special announcing his decision was ridiculous. Especially since he teased everyone in Cleveland that he might stay and talked about how much he loved his hometown. The whole thing was stupid and he acted like a selfish child. I’d hate him too if I were a Cleveland fan.

  46. 46.

    Violet

    Completely OT – has anyone seem the new Muppet movie? I kind of want to see it, but not if it’s dumb and only worth seeing if you’re trying to keep a kid entertained for a few hours.

  47. 47.

    Evolving Deep Southerner (tense changed for accuracy)

    @Raven: He sure has. Brantley has gotten all “wild thing” with his passing, and the reffing in this thing has been grievously one-sided in this thing. I was just WAITING for those fuckers to say something about the pass interference call in Florida’s favor after watching egregious examples of interference FSU’s been doing all night. And then Burton goes nuts and runs backwards to lose HOW many yards on a fourth-down play?

    And now I see Brantley sandwiched as I typed this. Penalty? Needs to be.

  49. 49.

    Evolving Deep Southerner (tense changed for accuracy)

    Brantley’s fucked for this season and, effectively, for good. He got his bell rung there, brother.

  51. 51.

    Hewer of Wood, Drawer of Water

    GO HABS GO! The only version of O Canada that should be played is by Roger Doucet

  53. 53.

    Evolving Deep Southerner (tense changed for accuracy)

    Mrs. Deep Southerner is a Gator, and I’d cheer for the SEC in something like this anyway. Just as I’m cheering for USCe over Clemson, my paycheck.

    That and a story my Pop shares often, any time FSU comes up in the news or conversation. Back in ’56, Pop was a student there, and they had one player who was worth a damn, this running back. And in a game against FSU, he broke his leg, and the FSU fans cheered. He’s never gotten over it. And I guess I’ve internalized that old grievance.

  54. 54.

    gogol's wife

    OT — (although it’s an open thread but I don’t know from Habs or Pens) — James Wolcott’s oldest ocicat Jasper passed away. He writes very movingly about it. And he also writes the following, which is one of the things I love him for: “The mere mention of ‘dog bludgeoning’ in Tom’s review guarantees that I won’t see Tyrannosaur, a film that begins in grim despair and goes downhill from there, according to one commentator I heard on BBC Radio 4. Cruelty to animals as arthouse frisson fodder is where I get off the bus.” He’s always very strong on this point, which I completely agree with.

  55. 55.

    Evolving Deep Southerner (tense changed for accuracy)

    Raven, you really owe it to yourself to go over to the Tech fan [sic] blog here and check that out. I didn’t realize how many of the Tech fans want to just drop the damn game from the schedule completely! They just say it’s a farce of unequals. And that’s before you get into the staunch Paul Johnson attackers and defenders. It is a damn hoot.

    And GO WILDCATS! while we’re at it.

  58. 58.

    schrodinger's cat

    @khead: You has pretteh kittehs!
    I got a lot of cooking done this evening, even the mushroom risotto I made for the very first time came out quite well. I also made mango chutney with mint, chicken curry, quick chicken and cheese tamales, black beans with peppers, roasted potatoes in garlic and some broccoli.

  59. 59.

    JenJen

    @gogol’s wife: Poor Jasper. Gorgeous eulogy. Just buried my 18 year-old Joey Jo-Jo Junior Shabadoo a few weeks ago, and I miss my little lion in every possible way.

    Walking through the apartment I still feel the absence of his presence, or perhaps I should say the presence of his absence

    Exactly.

  61. 61.

    Evolving Deep Southerner (tense changed for accuracy)

    This Florida-FSU game is poorly, poorly officiated. As in just fucked up poor.

  62. 62.

    JenJen

    How can you be a hockey fan and not wish you were in Montreal on a Saturday night?? Just sayin’ is all. Wow. Best crowd in the league (unless you’re a Bruins fan)

    Also, Digiorno frozen pizza is called Deliscio in Canada. It’s not delivery, it’s Deliscio! Fun.

  63. 63.

    General Stuck

    The Mustache of Moronic provides a dispatch from the Ivory Tower

    Time to Embrace Simpson-Bowles

    “My gut says that if the president lays out such a plan — one that begins with him taking all the political risks on himself and then demanding the G.O.P. and his own party follow — he will be both defining himself and the future in a way that would earn him so much centrist support and respect that it would leave every possible Republican opponent in the dust, no matter how obstructionist they are or want to be.”

    No doubt the dumbest fucking thing I’ve read today, if not the new century.

  64. 64.

    MikeJ

    @henqiguai: I suffered through the first ep and thought it pretty lame, but had decided I’d give it another chance. Every time it came on I was doing something more important like counting ceiling tiles.

    I wanted to like it, but the shock seemed to be thrown in just to shock and didn’t come naturally from the situation. Contrived, gratuitous, and not really enough fun to make up for it. FX seems to wish it were HBO so they could have the swear density of Deadwood or The Sopranos, and always telegraph their naughtiness (linguistic or boobies) which rarely has anything to do with any plot line or character development.

    D minus.

  66. 66.

    cathyx

    My dad always got season tickets to the penguin games. That was back in the day when they were blue and white and terrible. We still loved them anyway.

  68. 68.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Mr Stagger Lee: Vasiliy Alexeev was a man who had things figured out. He knew, of course, precisely how much he could lift, but he would nudge his world records up bit by bit, always the lowest increment that weightlifting standards of the time allowed over his previous record, because the Soviet sports federation paid him cash bonuses for every world record. He set something like 80 world records — it helped, of course, that he was so much better than anyone else, but his control was remarkable.

  72. 72.

    JenJen

    @Old Dan and Little Ann: Right on. And I must say, I admired Paul Gaustad dropping gloves against Milan Lucic in Ryan Miller’s honor the other night, no matter the outcome.

    Sigh. Pens beat my beloved Habs in overtime. Letang!! Grrrr. BLOW THE F’N WHISTLE, REFS!!

  76. 76.

    Hill Dweller

    I’m tired of the media referring to Simpson-Bowles as if there was a plan. Nothing garnered enough votes for passage, so Simpson and Bowles released their own ridiculous version of a plan.

    Just let the Bush tax cuts expire, pull the troops out of Afghanistan, cut defense spending, and work to reduce health care spending.

  78. 78.

    techno

    @CB:
    There is no doubt that Crosby is a good player. But let’s not get carried away. He is not the greatest player of his generation—he is merely the greatest CANADIAN player of his generation—HUGE difference.

    For example, a couple of years back in the Stanley Cup Finals, Crosby was taken to school by Henrik Zetterberg. Z made him look like he still hadn’t learned the game. Proving once again that an 11th-round draft pick from Sweden is objectively more skilled than a first overall pick from Canada.

    Oh, some would argue, look who won the last Olympic Gold. Ah yes, the asterisk Olympics—played on narrow NHL ice. In Torino, Canada didn’t even make it to the medal round—they even lost to freaking Switzerland. I expect a similar outcome in Sochi—because face it, Crosby is the best Canadian player of his generation and he isn’t even the best player on the Pens. (Malkin in a walk).

    Oh yes, and because Crosby is such a cheap-shot artist as a hockey player, some nobody put him out of action for 11 months. The next guy (and Crosby has a LONG list of guys who think they owe him one) will knock him out of hockey. It’s pretty unlikely that Crosby even makes it to Sochi.

  79. 79.

    fubar

    techno
    You have a stunningly superficial understanding of hockey and hockey players. And it sounds like you have a hangup with Canucks.
    Also, ‘eat it Habs’.

  80. 80.

    Gotwolfy

    Please stop Calling The Canadian the “Habs”. You may not know but “Habs” is a diminutive of habitant. it is a insult given to french Canadian who were considered to be stupid and only good for manual labour. Since the Montreal team was full of French Canadian, some people resented that the team who was named after they’re country was full of french people. So they started calling the team habitant. The name was shortened to habs but we still remember the name and why it was given to the team.

    Imagine if a sport team was mostly made up of African-American and people started to call the team the “Nigs”
    I’m sure you would not be calling them that.

    I know habitant is not as bad has the “N” word but it is still bad.

  81. 81.

    Jamie

    I’m almost always just a lurker, but I had to post just to say that Gotwolfy and techno are spectacularly wrong.

    And yes, I know this thread is dead.

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