Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I really should read my own blog.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

We will not go back.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

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

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

They don’t have outfits that big. nor codpieces that small.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

We can show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

When I was faster i was always behind.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

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

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

American history and black history cannot be separated.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

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69Comments

  8. 8.

    WaterGirl

    Sweet baby, is right. But I can’t believe you were able to leave your shoes down. With my pup, I have to practically suspend my shoes from the ceiling, out of reach, to keep them safe.

  10. 10.

    MacKenna

    I am not easily manipulated but a dog can pretty much persuade me to do anything.

    When I babysat my sister-in-law’s poodle (a big doe-eyed guilt tripper) I caved to every demand that dog had. I even gave it my Starbuck’s muffins and cakes (on our morning walks). I mixed home-made soup and stew in with his kibble. My SIL said the dog really really missed me when I left.

  13. 13.

    WaterGirl

    That bottom photo is adorable, and reminds me of JenJen’s photo of Strider as a puppy.

    JenJen, if you’re out there, it seems like it was nearly a year ago that you lost Strider. I’m sure it’s tough, even with the new pup, with christmas and the anniversary are coming up.

  14. 14.

    Paddy

    I’m having puppy fever over here. I know I’m getting a new one, but thought I wanted one older with more need for a home. Every damn time I see these type of pics I just get bowled over by that puppy smell, the charging thru the house after an invisible ball and the huge flop down pant at the end. I’m a goner.

  16. 16.

    Jewish Steel

    “We have determined that Michele Bachmann is Biblically qualified to be the president…”

    So says State Rep Danny Carroll. I know we’re all relieved that’s cleared up.

  19. 19.

    WaterGirl

    @Tim F.: My pup’s answer to what goes in the mouth? EVERYTHING that doesn’t move faster than he does.

    @Paddy: I got a new pup about 7 weeks ago, and it’s exhausting, but worth it.

    One of my kitties sits on the ottoman with very big eyes when Tucker races around the house like a crazyman. (Cole calls this the zooms, I think, I have always called it activation potential.) The other kitty eggs him on, by swiping with a paw as Tucker runs by, which just winds up the puppy up even further.

  20. 20.

    The Dangerman

    I see at least 3 pairs of shoes in the first photo, none of which look puppy-chewed (perhaps that explains his pensive look in that one; so many shoes, so little time).

  22. 22.

    CaseyL

    I’m finding it kinda strange that Tim’s latest Max photos show him at younger and younger stages…

    OMG! He’s aging backwards! It’s “The Curious Case of Max (Cute-as-a) Button”!

  24. 24.

    Jewish Steel

    @MikeJ: Booo! Bring back the Newt!

    Unless there’s some kind of path to the nomination for Paul. Once Bachmann and Santorum bail, their supporters gotta go somewhere. My hunch is it won’t be in Mitt’s direction.

    But Paul as the GOP nom? Nah. Now I’m really dreamin’.

  25. 25.

    Mister Papercut

    For me, there are fewer things in life better than a truly content, relaxed, happy sleeping dog.

    Of course, upon seeing said sleeping dog, my first inclination is to go snugglepounce it. (Good thing the dogs in my life have been considerably better-mannered than me, hehe.)

  26. 26.

    Violet

    @MikeJ:
    Can Ron Paul win in South Carolina? If he should win Iowa and then Romney wins NH, SC will be a real battleground. Isn’t Newt ahead there now?

    Max is adorable. That second picture — so cute my teeth ache!

  27. 27.

    MikeJ

    @Violet: At some point Republicans are going to have to start telling people why the guy leading in their polls isn’t really a Republican.

    I can’t imagine Ron Paul causing anything other than amusement for Dems, especially with as Roy points out, every rightblogger on the planet calling him racist.

  28. 28.

    Hill Dweller

    @Jewish Steel: I still can’t believe that crazy Christianist party is willing to destroy their own in order to ensure a pathologically lying Mormon, whose only time in public office was a disaster, gets the nomination.

  29. 29.

    The Dangerman

    @MikeJ:

    Gingrich drops to third…

    Early on, my gut feel was Gingrich didn’t have a chance…

    ….then I thought he actually had staying power.

    Always go with your gut, I guess ;-)

  31. 31.

    Hill Dweller

    @Jewish Steel: I have no doubt those hypocrites will fall in line and vote for a Mormon. But it won’t stop them from attacking Obama’s alleged lack of love for the baby Jesus.

  33. 33.

    Yutsano

    @Hill Dweller:

    I have no doubt those hypocrites will fall in line and vote for a Mormon.

    I’m personally looking forward to it. All those Baptist preachers who rail about the evilness of the Mormon cult will suddenly find themselves backing a clergyman in said cult. It’s gonna get good real fast.

  34. 34.

    MikeJ

    @Hill Dweller:

    But it won’t stop them from attacking Obama’s alleged lack of love for the baby Jesus.

    Indeed, if it is perceived as a weakness for Romney, they’ll attack Obama with it that much more.

  35. 35.

    The Dangerman

    One one of the talk shows the other afternoon (I think it was Hardball, but I could be wrong), all the Talking Heads agreed that if, after so many weeks of attention, Iowa caucused for Ron Paul, that Iowa as first in the nation would go away. I wonder how that factors into the equation 1/3.

    I can understand the disgust; I mean, RON PAUL? Damn. As last non-Mitt standing, that’s damn sad.

  37. 37.

    Mark S.

    For anyone interested, here’s an entertaining story about a guy who played a chess tournament and beat a bunch of grandmasters he had no business beating. He had some other person relaying him moves from the computer program Fritz. What’s funny is how his play gave it away:

    If you switch on multiple-variation mode you will see that Fritz thinks 31.Qa7 is a tenth of a pawn better than the other alternatives. A computer program simply doesn’t understand the difference between cast-iron moves that cannot fail, and a tight-rope walk on the edge of the precipice. I venture no human would undertake the latter course in the given tournament situation.

  39. 39.

    The Dangerman

    @Mark S.:

    I don’t think voting for Paul is any worse than voting for Pat. They’re both racist and isolationist.

    I don’t recall 1996 well, but, if what recollection I do have serves, Buchanon was more of a “mainstream” candidate than is Paul (I’ll have to use quotes since I’m only comparing Pat to Paul, who is a whack).

  40. 40.

    Jewish Steel

    @Violet: Yes. The consensus seems to be that all the negative advertising took Newt down. He’s still kicking ass in SC and Florida though.

    And since Iowa picked Huckabee last time I can imagine the powers
    that be would want to rein in the crazy and not pick a loser two cycles running. Tricky.

    ETA: And like I said above, when Bachmann and Santorum get knocked out, crazy’s gotta go somewhere. Why not Newt?

  41. 41.

    Hill Dweller

    @Violet: Did you read the endorsement? It was a complete snow job. Romney’s lies became “subtly nuanced statements”. His disastrous term as governor became a positive.

    If it wasn’t apparent before, the water carriers in the media will be exposed during this election.

  43. 43.

    jl

    @Jewish Steel:

    Newt seems to be counting on rabid bashing of the federal courts to regain steam. At least that is my guess from Newt’s historical elucidations, hallucinations.

    Starting with the debate, and going through the news talkies today, Newt has been spinning that there is some kind of lost Executive Branch and Congressional nullification power against federal court decisions that are unpopular.

    He’s been stringing together Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, and I forget who else to make the case. Starting with Jefferson ‘getting rid of federal judges’ Uh, yeah, because Jefferson got his majority in Congress to change the law on organization of federal courts. Then Jefferson tried impeachment, and got rid of one insane crazy judge, and then tried to go after another who was spouting political smears from the bench, and Jefferson’s own party in the Senate would not go along. So, Jefferson after getting stymied by his own party not wanting to go that far in the Senate, backed off, kind of like FDR did when he went too far.

    Doesn’t sound all that different from today.

    If this is an example of Newt’s prowess at history, looks like he is crazy or a fraud.

    The only speck of truth that I see in Newt’s ravings is when he cites Jackson, who basically told the SCOTUS to go to hell when it said the removal of the Five Civilized Tribes was illegal (edit: unconstitutional). I learned that Jackson’s actions were a disgrace in HS, but then I was in HS after the 60s when everything was corrupted by PC and I guess I learned liberal propaganda.

    Guess Newt is trying to argue that we should think of Jackson’s approach to unpopular SCOTUS decisions as just part of long sensible and lost tradition of the founders.

    Goofie stuff. I notice the US press corps, particularly the gracious and courtly oaf Schieffer cannot call Newt on it, since apparently they know absolutely nothing and it is beyond their resources, or not good marketing to challenge Newt’s historical fantasies.

  44. 44.

    jl

    Also interesting that Newt is bashing federal courts on destroying our Christian national identity, supposedly contra the founders.

    Jefferson, who as I recall did not want to issue religious decrees of any kind, and Medison who definitely would not, and did want Congressional or military chaplains to be paid out of public funds, might not agree.

    But who can tell us more about the separation of church and state, those two losers, or Newt?

    TPM says Newt is raving about sending federal marshals DC capital police to haul in judges to make the ‘splain themselves in front of Congress.

  45. 45.

    Jewish Steel

    @jl: yeah, I saw that Newt was giving that a whirl. I don’t know if that’s a winner. On the one hand Activist Judges! On t’other you’ve got your TPer’s native authoritarian personality and love of the courts dipensing law and order. In theory.

    Fascinating about Jefferson & Jackson though.

  47. 47.

    Suffern ACE

    @jl: Yes. Because what the founders had in mind most clearly was having the executive compel the legislature to hold show trials of judges whenever he felt like it. A Simple Farmer in Federalist Paper 97 was so clear on that.

  48. 48.

    Anne Laurie

    @The Dangerman:

    Buchanon was more of a “mainstream” candidate than is Paul (I’ll have to use quotes since I’m only comparing Pat to Paul, who is a whack).

    Going back at least to his days as a Nixon speechwriter, Patrick Buchanan has been a certified member of the Media Village, and his fellow courtiers will never take him out of their rolodexes for any crime short of serial pedophilia. As Sally Quinn would say, the Villagers can count on Loveable Old Crazy Uncle Pat not to “trash the place“, since it is very much “his place“. Ron Paul, on the other hand, is just some obsessive lunatic from the far reaches of flyover country — those people come & go, and are not to be taken seriously unless they marry into Georgetown society or really important money.

    When Buchanan won the NH primary and went nowhere, it’s because American voters are wacky & unpredictable, like little children. If Paul were to win Iowa, it would be treated as evidence that Iowans have moved from ‘adorable children’ to ‘destructive savages’, and the Very Serious People would immediately start talking about the dangerous anomaly in the force that would allow such a bizarre, republic-threatening outcome. (Also, needless to say, they would blame That Man in the White House… )

  49. 49.

    Suffern ACE

    @MikeJ: Reading that Voice roundup, I’m changing my feelings for Paul. It’s like they are clueless as to how a candidate whose distinction from the field is “very few foreign wars, please” might be more popular right now with their fellow conservatives than in the past. “But exceptionalism! At all costs exceptionalism”.

  53. 53.

    harlana

    “brand new days” is right

    i was reading (and looking at) some of our atrocities in Iraq yesterday

    it reminded me that it’s just not all that simple as leaving (especially when we’re not really “gone” anyway)

  55. 55.

    Elizabelle

    Good morning.

    Wake up to learn that Kim Jong Il is dead.

    And to see some infant Max.

    Whoever upthread mentioned puppy smell. Am sensing that now. Happily.

    Waking up about 4:30 these mornings. Anxiety.

  56. 56.

    JPL

    What will the repub..candidates say about the despot’s death

    Paul..not our problem
    Newt..since I’m the all knowing historian, now is the time to take out the nukes
    Romney..I’m against the President’s actions because he doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism.

  59. 59.

    JPL

    @Raven: It’s a beautiful book. Amazon’s look inside feature is so easy to use and I could spend a lot of time just looking at the pictures. She’s a lucky lady.

  60. 60.

    Raven

    @Elizabelle: I am VERY aware of not combining gifts! Actually she found some jewelery at a holiday market at the beach and that is supposed to be the primary xmas thang. Our cell contract ends the 26th and the heartburn now is whether she gets a 4 or a 4s. It’s my fault for telling her there was a difference!

  64. 64.

    Elizabelle

    @Raven:

    I had not seen.

    Throwing leftover food overboard. Quite the extravagance in North Korea.

    Holidays in Hell. Step right up.

    PS: re the coat — had a coworker years ago who mourned always getting a coat for her “birthday present.” And then her brother and sister were sporting new ones for Christmas too.

    Have a BIL with Christmas birthday. We always try to make a big deal of him after dinner, with more presents, and have to say — he really hates it. Hates any fuss (except seeing kids tear through their presents and generally merrify) and we don’t do a birthday cake, since everyone’s on sugar overload by then.

    I always thought we should do a June 25 half birthday cookout for him.

  67. 67.

    wenchacha

    @MikeJ: I need some help on the Ron Paul front. I’ve just joined a theater group with some great people. One of the guys is in his early 20s, philosophy major, pretty bright, but thinks Ron Paul is THE ANSWER.

    I’m not gonna get into many political discussions with the group, but I want to be able to hold my own if the young philosopher starts in on Amazing Ron Paul. Shit, right off, I’m anti-Paul, or any other pol, who wants to eliminate a woman’s choices about her body. I have felt that way…forever, and I won’t change now. And I liked John Anderson, back in the day.

    Is there a reliable list of Ron Paul’s mis-truths and flawed assumptions? Top of the list should be spawning Rand Paul, although I don’t blame Mike Wallace for Chris.

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