Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

A consequence of cucumbers

No one could have predicted…

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

White supremacy is terrorism.

“woke” is the new caravan.

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

DeSantis transforms Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

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

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Let’s finish the job.

Second rate reporter says what?

Accountability, motherfuckers.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

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

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

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

Republicans in disarray!

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

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Reader Interactions

106Comments

  7. 7.

    Martin

    So… what nostalgia-tinted holiday delights are on the agenda for the evening, or the weekend?

    Man, I don’t know. Just more work, I think. I may have hit a point where I literally have nothing to look forward to.

  9. 9.

    JGabriel

    @BGinCHI:

    That needs to come with a warning.

    What part of “This is terrifying” did you not understand? I’m not sure how much more clear I could have made the warning.

    .

  10. 10.

    Corner Stone

    I guess there’s always this guy:
    Why a millionaire wants autoworkers to take a pay cut
    “The former head of the Obama administration’s auto task force says he should have pushed the United Auto Workers for steeper sacrifices in the General Motors bailout, including wage cuts. The people earning $9 a hour in a suburban Detroit GM plant would disagree.”

  11. 11.

    kideni

    I’ll be gathering more recall petition signatures against my fascist governor. Today was the first day that new restrictions on first amendment rights of speech and assembly were supposed to be enforced at state buildings. Several hundred of us gathered at the Capitol at noon for the daily sing-along (“I’m dreaming of a new governor / unlike the one I’ve come to know”), and they didn’t bother us. The resident crank seemed disappointed.

  12. 12.

    Corner Stone

    @Martin: Sounds like you could use some help in the workplace. Maybe there’s a talented young lady out there who’s familiar with the workplace and setup that might have been useful?

  14. 14.

    dmsilev

    I did my minimal holiday shopping last weekend (thankfully, nobody in my family really cares very much about gifting), so this weekend I get to relax. Maybe watch a movie or something.

    Oh, and be available for crisis management as one of the grad students at work tries to attach one very temperamental piece of equipment to another equally temperamental object.

  16. 16.

    lamh35

    Saw on CNN, that McQueary took the stand today and stuck by his grand jury testimony. He said he told Coach Joe what he saw, but he did not use the words “anal sex” because he didn’t want to disrespect Coach Joe. But he did tell the 2 hire-up guys that something “extremely sexual” happened.

  17. 17.

    JGabriel

    @BGinCHI: On further reflection, maybe you’re right. I could have been more explicit about the nightmare inducing qualities and the eyeball & brain melting consequences of viewing it.

    .

  20. 20.

    lamh35

    Fla. governor tries relating to black students with public housing tale

    Confronted by a group of angry Florida A&M students outside his home on Thursday night, Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) attempted to generate some empathy by telling the mostly black crowd that he grew up in public housing. The students were protesting the governor’s call for James Ammons, president of Florida A&M, to be suspended following the hazing death of one of the school’s students.

    “The white guv bizarrely attempted to quell the mostly black crowd by beginning his speech with some version of: ‘Hey, I grew up in public housing,’” the Miami New Times explained. To which students protested, ‘We’re not poor!’”..

  21. 21.

    dmsilev

    @BGinCHI: Pretty good, for the most part. Bunch of random small-scale crises to deal with (note to self: next year, the instructions to the tour guides will include “do *not* abandon your group in the sub-basement”), but we had a good crowd and they seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a bit. Hopefully, they learned some stuff as well.

  22. 22.

    cathyx

    @Corner Stone: That’s a bad title because it doesn’t answer the question. I want to know the answer. And “because he thinks they make too much” isn’t an answer.

  24. 24.

    gogol's wife

    @JGabriel:

    I thought it was really cute.

    “Inspector Morse” tonight, like every Friday night. Nothing like Thaw and Whateley (or is it Whatley).

  25. 25.

    trollhattan

    @Phylllis:

    Apologies in advance for axin’ something obvious, but what’s a Brazilian steakhouse? I’ve heard of steakhouses; I’ve heard of Brazilians (but, uh, not in references to stakehouses); I’ve been to Argentine steakhouses, which are seven kinds of awesome, but…?

  26. 26.

    dmsilev

    @BGinCHI: We have a shoot-on-sight order out on Keanu Reeves, so we’re safe from accidental cold fusion outbreaks. Plenty of people here will happily talk your ear off about the Higgs, though.

  30. 30.

    Svensker

    @lamh35:

    “The white guv bizarrely attempted to quell the mostly black crowd by beginning his speech with some version of: ‘Hey, I grew up in public housing,’” the Miami New Times explained. To which students protested, ‘We’re not poor!’”..

    That can’t be right. From what I hear, all blacks, except for a few good ones and the affirmative action kind, are poor. The governor was just trying to be empathetic.

  31. 31.

    Corner Stone

    @cathyx: Essentially he wants to close the gap between US workers and foreign workers.
    “Speaking at the Detroit Economic Club luncheon, Rattner said he wished the task force had done more to close the gap in wages between American automakers and foreign competitors, as labor in the U.S. costs substantially more than overseas.”
    It seems the middle class is too comfortable for his liking.

  32. 32.

    Phylllis

    @trollhattan: The gauchos (waiters) come around with the meat on spits and carve it for you at the table. Most serve several cuts of beef, chicken, lamb, and sausage. They also have massive salad bars. Usually a set price for all you can eat.The one we’re going to is $30 per person; the ultra-fancy one I ate at in DC, Fogo De Chao, was $60. Worth every penny.

  33. 33.

    Svensker

    @trollhattan:

    Apologies in advance for axin’ something obvious, but what’s a Brazilian steakhouse?

    Meat coma restaurants. See rodizio on wikiped.

    They just keep bringing the grilled meats and slicing off chunks until you faint or tell them to stop, whichever comes first.

    No vegans need apply.

    They are awesome.

  34. 34.

    JGabriel

    gogol’s wife:

    I thought it was really cute.

    Svensker:

    That’s not terrifying. That’s family.

    You were both clearly abused and traumatized as children. My sympathies.

    When that large man stepped out in long red underwear and a night cap, and started dancing against a green-screened background of snow and short pines, my eyeballs popped out of my head, wrapped themselves by the optic nerves around my neck, and tried to strangle me.

    And I didn’t blame them.

    .

  36. 36.

    jl

    star anise. bought a few jars when saw it on supersale in local supermarket. Star anise goes with everything. I put it my mush early this morning, long before the morning sun.

    Except, for mushy stews and beans, take it out before the stew/beans/peas/lentils get too mushy, otherwise you have chewy fragments of licorice tasting wood to pick out.

  39. 39.

    jl

    @trollhattan: Brazilian and Argentinian meat restaurants. F yeah, once in awhile.

    They ought to build those places out of meat, with meat paintings, and meat flower arrangements and meat floors, to complete the all meat meat meaty experience of meat.

    Is there a ‘Big Meat’ category for restaurants? There should be.

  40. 40.

    JGabriel

    Raw Story via lamh35:

    “The white guv bizarrely attempted to quell the mostly black crowd by beginning his speech with some version of: ‘Hey, I grew up in public housing,’” the Miami New Times explained. To which students protested, ‘We’re not poor!’”…

    … Then Scott offered them jobs cleaning his bathroom. If they passed a drug test.

    .

  43. 43.

    burnspbesq

    Fall semester school recitals, night two.

    Then I have to teach myself OmniGraffle Pro, so I can whip up org charts for a client’s reorganization of its international structure.

  44. 44.

    Suffern ACE

    @trollhattan: Yeah, Churrascaria. Think of waiters bringing lots of different types of meat to your table until you make them stop. It’s like the all you can eat buffet of meat, only you don’t have to go get it yourself.

  46. 46.

    Linda Featheringill

    Went to a dinner at a local church and was treated with carols sung by a group of grade school kids. Cute. They hit some of the notes. Timing was pretty good. They looked like a box of puppies: Even though they were very well behaved, they were never still.

    Not all of the adults were well behaved but there you are.

    [Good food, by the way, and lots of it.]

  47. 47.

    Roger Moore

    @trollhattan:

    Apologies in advance for axin’ something obvious, but what’s a Brazilian steakhouse?

    It’s a palace of meat. There’s usually a salad bar and maybe a few kinds of starch as a kind of side issue, but the main thing is waiters walking around with about a dozen different kinds of meat on giant skewers that look like swords. They come by your table and carve some off for you if it’s a kind you want. There’s usually a little sign that’s green on one side and red on the other to tell them whether or not to come to your table, but it stays green most of the time. The meat is usually really good, and it’s all you can eat, so you can imagine people eating themselves into a meat coma.

  50. 50.

    lamh35

    Like I’ve said, the fix is in. MSNBC expects Romney to be the nominee, so they dont’ wanna lose “access” to the Romney campaign. I saw this apology and even I was wondering what the hell they were apologizing for.

    Why Did MSNBC Apologize to Mitt Romney?

    You may have said to yourself when you got up this morning, “You know what I could use? A mini-scandal that I’ll forget about in a day or two!” No? Well anyway, this one is actually kind of interesting. You see, Mitt Romney has periodically used the slogan “Keep America American,”…

    The slogan would be pretty repugnant on its face, but it turns out, as John Aravosis of AmericaBlog discovered, it’s been used by other people before Romney, including the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. As Rick Perry might say, “Oops.”

    So MSNBC picked up Aravosis’s post and did a brief story on it. Among other things, the story included a chyron that perhaps went a bit far, reading, “Romney’s KKK slogan?” What happened next is what’s interesting. The Romney campaign complained, and MSNBC began to grovel profusely. Chris Matthews read an apology on the air (even though he wasn’t the one who did the initial report), saying the network “reported on a blog item that compared a phrase used by the Romney campaign to one used by the KKK way back in the 1920s. It was irresponsible and incendiary of us to do this, and it showed an appalling lack of judgment. We apologize, we really do, to the Romney campaign.”

    What’s odd about this is that MSNBC didn’t say anything that was false, and the fact that Mitt Romney’s xenophobic slogan was previously used by not only the KKK but also other groups like the Know-Nothings is obviously interesting and newsworthy. So it’s unclear exactly what MSNBC was apologizing for, although their statement seems to suggest that they now believe that when they heard that Mitt Romney was using an old KKK slogan, they should have just not said anything about it. That’s some courageous media for you right there…

  52. 52.

    lamh35

    One last Michelle O story for tonight…lol.

    Marine asks Michelle Obama to ball

    During a Toys-for-Tots event Friday, a marine asked First Lady Michelle Obama to accompany him to the ball next November. The music drowns out the invitation but you can still see the exchange and hug. (CBS News)

  53. 53.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    Christmas memories. Sigh. I ALWAYS got a russet apple and a tangerine (or satsuma) in my stocking, all the way down there in the bottom. I grew up a poor kid (not a poor black kid you understand, that was my sister) so we basically got one present from Mum and then a bunch of stuff from the local Rotary Club type people. My best present ever? A single loop of track and a hot wheels car. I was happy for months playing with that thing.

    BTW I went looking for the brilliant Dr. Who Satsuma speech and couldn’t find it.

  55. 55.

    Svensker

    @Anoniminous:

    Lefse? Are you a Norsker? Us svenskers don’t eat that lefse stuff. At least we didn’t in our house.

    We alvays had potatis korv (potato sausage, my favorite thing in the whole world), sylta (head cheese, blech) and rullepulsa (peppery veal breast rolled up — my other favorite thing in the whole world). For some reason, but maybe because we were in the Pac NW where we only ate fresh caught trout and salmon, none of that preserved herring stuff. And lots of spritz cookies, no almonds, because my parents both disliked almonds (heretics!).

    Tak sa mycket for the link and the gut vishes! Ya, sure.

  57. 57.

    PurpleGirl

    @kideni: I’d bet that a fair number of the guards would have liked to be part of the group protesting and singing that ditty.

  58. 58.

    Short Bus Bully

    I grew up in the Yakima Valley and it is as advertised in the cartoon. Headed back there in 10 days to celebrate the Baby Jeebus with wingnut in-laws.

    Would rather sit home and hit myself in the nuts with a hammer but hopefully the booze will get me through it.

  61. 61.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    Normally I’d be up for a meatfest, but my dear spouse just came home from the store with a big package of pork chops. Shabbat FAIL. So, I’m just going to sit here and reminisce about the good old days, before “gift” was a verb. Also, lawn, kids, gettoffa.

  63. 63.

    JCT

    I am literally crashed on my couch — goodbye party at work with all my former students, now the sad part of my upcoming move is starting to hit.

    Came home to a phone call from my oldest, she’s down in DC where her first major job interview (she’s a college senior) went very well — basically her dream job.

    AND, best of all, youngest was just accepted to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign today. It’s not his absolute first choice (he’s finds out about that tomorrow AM), but at least he knows he has a fantastic option “in the bag”.

    So I am beat, but smiling.

  64. 64.

    PurpleGirl

    @Phylllis: One such place that I liked to go to had these wooded shapes — one side painted green, the other side red. You placed a green side up if you wanted more meat, the red side up if you weren’t ready for more meat yet. And they got great cuts of meat. And the cold veggies were great too. The place is still there I believe. It may be time to go back.

  66. 66.

    Phylllis

    @PurpleGirl: Fogo De Chao has these cool red and green paper coasters that make for nice souvenirs. I’ll be interested to see what this place uses.

  69. 69.

    JCT

    @Omnes Omnibus: Thanks! Husband and I are lying around like gaffed fish — hadn’t realized how freaked we were about the job and college thing. Whew.

    @PurpleGirl — that one is our favorite as well.

  70. 70.

    burnspbesq

    @JCT:

    “AND, best of all, youngest was just accepted to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign today.”

    Woo-Hoo! Congrats to the kid.

  73. 73.

    Mike in NC

    After that scene in “Bridesmaids” I don’t think I’ll be able to talk anybody into ever setting foot in a Brazilian steakhouse again.

  79. 79.

    gogol's wife

    @gaz:

    It’s just gentle and cute, but if you’re not into that, then maybe you don’t want to watch it. It’s kind of a Swedish Captain Kangaroo.

  80. 80.

    gaz

    @gogol’s wife: I’ll check it out.

    I’ve seen too much stuff on the net that I wish I could unsee.

    “Old Man”+”Underwear”+”Internet” just screamed to me that watching this would not end well (for me)

    But now I’m curious.

    UPDATE:

    ARRGGHHH!!!!

    You and dougj.

    You people are evil.

    Evil, I say.

    (At least it wasn’t pr0n)

  81. 81.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @gaz:

    But now I’m curious.

    Good god, that’s how they suck you in. Save yourself while there is still time!

    ETA: I tried to warn you.

  82. 82.

    Hill Dweller

    @lamh35:

    Hmmm…what is it that makes this FLOTUS soooo different from the other???? What could it be?

    The comments for that real clear politics article are appalling. I’ve notice wingers calling The First Lady ‘Moochelle” in the comment section all over the interwebs. Is that a nickname one of the talk radio dolts excreted out of their face?

  85. 85.

    Hill Dweller

    Great news. Senate Dems cave on including the Keystone pipeline, and only get an extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance until Feb.

  87. 87.

    Yutsano

    I’ve never even BEEN to Wisconsin. The Midwest isn’t really a place a Navy brat finds themselves, Great Lakes notwithstanding.

    I’m okay with work on Monday. I just want to know if an actual budget means we can lift the hiring freeze. Half my office has positions waiting for them somewhere else. And I’m looking at a TSP loan for the CPA cert.

  89. 89.

    Baud

    @Hill Dweller: Keystone Pipeline is not a big deal. All the deal does is require a decision; it doesn’t require an approval.

    At first I was upset at the two-month extension, but it may work out better in the long run to raise the issue again during the election year when people will be paying more attention.

  90. 90.

    Hill Dweller

    @Baud: Boehner didn’t want the two month extension initially, because he knew they would lose leverage with the President in full campaign mode. And if State recommends killing the deal, as they warned Congress they would if forced to decide now, the President could lay the blame at the Republicans’ feet.

    That said, another Presidential veto threat goes by the waist-side. The Republicans only goal seems to be embarrassing the President.

  93. 93.

    gaz

    Meh.

    I wanted to add MOAR KITTEH! to the thread.

    But after attempting to wrestle with both my webcam, and a 20lb agitated maine coon who REFUSES TO BE HELD, I figure photographing him will take a team of 3 people and a decent supply of local anesthetic (for teh huuumonz)

  95. 95.

    Suffern ACE

    Ah, its Locked Up Abroad night. Tonight, we’re buying steroids in Mexico with home made counterfeit dollars. What could go wrong?

  96. 96.

    cckids

    I’m taking my 17-year old daughter & her Venturing crew rock climbing (them climbing, not me–no way am I getting into a climbing harness in front of a group of teens). Then all 15 or so of them are back to my house for pizza, gifts & ???. I need a flask, or a special bottle of “smart water”.

  98. 98.

    gaz

    @MikeJ: I’m really starting to wonder how much of the BJ commentariat lives in my state. (or at least spent significant time living here)

    It’s sorta creepy. We’re kinda backwater even. It’s surprising.

  99. 99.

    cckids

    @Roger Moore: No, I’m tagging along as the female leader; the daughter will drive; most of the kids are old enough. Though the drinking will wait until we’re home, gotta be a decent example. Walk where I walk, not where I point, ya know.

  100. 100.

    catclub

    @lamh35: Usually a gaffe is something said by a politician that is true, but not real for VSP’s.

    This time the gaffe is reporting by a news organization that is accurate.

  101. 101.

    Gus diZerega

    @trollhattan: I taught four years in Walla Walla (which I actually came to be very fond of). There was no exaggeration in that cartoon, none at all…

    But they never mentioned the dust storms. Maybe that’s how Walla walla differed from Yakima. Dust storms.

  103. 103.

    RalfW

    Fascinating state-level disaster unfolding in GOP land:

    The MN GOP had it’s chair resign two weeks ago over financial mismanagement and $500,000 in debts, then the Senate Majority leader resigned yesterday over an affair with a staffer.

    Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch resigned from her leadership post the day after fellow Republicans confronted her about allegations that she had an “inappropriate relationship” with a staff member. (Star Tribune. Sub required)

    Now her former staffer, and the top aide to the GOP in the state Senate, Michael Brodkorb abruptly today “no longer works for the MN GOP.”

    Hmmmmmm.

    The thing that infuriates me is that the rather married Majority Leader Koch was probably banging her staffer while presiding over the vote to put a same-sex marriage ban on the MN ballot. (Not literally while presiding, but you know what I mean).

    Hypocrisy is hardly a news flash. But these jerkwads who can’t control their own zippers and have the gall to sanctimoniously inveigh that teh gey is gonna ruin marriage???

  104. 104.

    burnspbesq

    Never been to Yakima, but I’ve been in Greeley. Hard to imagine there could be anyplace worse.

  106. 106.

    Anoniminous

    @Svensker:

    Ya, sure – you bet.

    I know lefse isn’t technically Swedish … but it’s too good with butter, honey, and ligonberries to leave to the Norwegians. (Tunnbröd just isn’t the same, somehow.)

    Do you know about the Scandinavia and the World site? This one cracks me up every time, 1,000 years of Scandinavian history in one cartoon.

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