Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

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

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

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

This blog will pay for itself.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

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

After roe, women are no longer free.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

This fight is for everything.

In my day, never was longer.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

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

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

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

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

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

Nothing worth doing is easy.

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Wednesday Evening Open Thread

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Thanks to commentor Boxer Beater for the news that Koch-mocking prankster Ian Murphy at Buffalo’s The Beast has finally published this year’s edition of The Fifty Most Loathsome Americans. An excerpt, special for DougJ:

48) Christopher Hitchens
Crimes: First dead atheist to inspire such hagiographic dreck since Mother Teresa. Born British, died unmistakably American, having been so wooed by the “War on Terror” that he was sworn in by then DHS head Michael Chertoff. He was a pompous misogynist and warmonger who, above all else, loved the sound of his own voice. He palled around with comb-licking goon Paul Wolfowitz, advocated for Bush’s reelection, and clung to his scotch-soaked end that Saddam Hussein possessed WMD. With his undoubtedly elegant prose, Hitch provided more support to Islamophobes than a Lowe’s 2×4.
Smoking Gun: “Prison conditions at Abu Ghraib have improved markedly and dramatically since the arrival of Coalition troops in Baghdad.”
Sentence: Remembered accurately.

Not everyone will agree with all Murphy’s choices, but an article which refers to Frank Miller(#21) as “the Stephenie Meyer of comic books” and suggests that Ayn Rand (#25) be “Dug up, bones put on eBay; bidding war between Ron Paul, Paul Ryan, and Penn Jillette; proceeds used to lift dozens out of poverty” might just be a mood-lifter on a February Wednesday…

Apart from that, what’s the mood in your neighborhood tonight?

Reader Interactions

42Comments

  1. 1.

    lamh35

    Damn guys this Don Cornelius death really saddens me. It’s like losing a fam member. Two thing you’ll find at any Black wedding…a preacher and Soul Train line.

    This might just be the best article I’ve read on the impact of Don Cornelius.
    ‘Soul Train’s’ Don Cornelius put one nation under groove

    ETA: If anyone else cares, HEADS UP GUYS! BET is showing the documentary Soul Train:The Hippest Trip in America. And Centric will be showing classic Soul Train shows starting tonight at midnight!

    http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2012/02/bet_to_run_soul_train_marathon.html

  2. 2.

    Mark S.

    Not everyone will agree with all Murphy’s choices

    I don’t think his choice for #6 will be too popular here.

  6. 6.

    Ruckus

    Store is closed so today is the first day of my “retirement”. Not too bad. Tomorrow I start figuring out what I have to do to eat for the rest of my meager life.

  8. 8.

    taylormattd

    Omfg, the first line of the Ed Schultz entry made me spit out my beer. This is just amazing.

  9. 9.

    freelancer

    Heh, from the list, I knew Ed Schultz is a blowhard and a jackass, but I didn’t know that he used to be a finger-in-the-wind, cause-switching, opportunistic, attention-whoring blowhard and jackass. Doesn’t surprise me, though. I can’t stand that guy.

  10. 10.

    Quaker in a Basement

    Hey, if they’re going to include dead people, Ty Cobb should be in the top ten.

  12. 12.

    gene108

    @lamh35:

    Bummed by Don Cornelius’ death as well. Greatest voice ever. So deep, so distinct.

    This is just a sad, sad day.

    Love, Peace and SOUL!!!

  16. 16.

    gene108

    @lamh35:

    Ellen was doing regular push-ups going all the way down. That’s impressive.

    Michel Obama was pretty good too.

    Guess those guns on Michelle, when she goes sleeveless are for real.

  17. 17.

    Svensker

    @lamh35:

    Damn guys this Don Cornelius death really saddens me. It’s like losing a fam member.

    I feel the same way and I’m whiter than snow. The hubster and I were talking about it. RIP, Mr. Cornelius. No idea what you were like as a person, but you sure did bring a lot of joy to our lives. And you talked so smooooooth.

  20. 20.

    WereBear (itouch)

    I was also saddened to hear about Don Cornelius. A few months back that Soul Train documentary was on VHI and he was such a charming person discussing what the show has meant to so many.

  21. 21.

    Steve

    I was hoping my local Susan G. Komen affiliate here in New Jersey would be among those expressing disagreement with the decision of the national organization. Sadly, the reverse proved to be the case. I sent them this email:

    It was with great disappointment that I read your affiliate intends to follow the directive of the national organization in denying Planned Parenthood the opportunity to receive future funding from Komen for the health and prevention services it provides. As I’m sure you know, Planned Parenthood fills a unique niche in the area of women’s health. Many women in poor and rural communities have no other organization they can turn to for women’s health issues than Planned Parenthood. Members of my own family know this to be true from personal experience. It is tremendously disappointing that Planned Parenthood, with all the indisputable good they do for so many, has become the focus of smears and pressure campaigns in the polarized realm of abortion politics. Women everywhere are the losers when this sort of thing happens.

    —
    I am familiar with your organization’s stated rationale for this decision. It is not credible, and I believe most people who are not avowed opponents of Planned Parenthood will come to the same conclusion. There is no way that any reputable charity, much less one as large and well-respected as Komen, would adopt in good faith a policy that denies funding any time a single partisan legislator, anywhere in the country, has purported to launch an “investigation.” This does not make any sense. The agenda that led to the adoption of this new Komen policy, which by purest “coincidence” just happens to deny hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding to Planned Parenthood, is sadly transparent.

    —
    Unless and until this politicized decision is reversed, my family will not be contributing any amounts whatsoever to your organization. We will be encouraging friends and others to do likewise. When people we know ask us to make pledges to Komen-sponsored events, we will politely decline and explain the reason for our decision. To the extent practicable, we will avoid doing business in the future with Komen’s corporate partners. Simply put, we no longer view the pink ribbon as a sign of a good corporate citizen. Instead, we will be directing our corporate dollars directly to Planned Parenthood, and to other organizations that fight breast cancer without choosing to adopt political agendas.

    —
    We will pay close attention to any change in the position of your affiliate or of the national organization. Thank you for your understanding of this decision.

    I also donated $100 to Planned Parenthood’s Breast Health Emergency Fund, which can be found at this link.

  22. 22.

    freelancer

    Mitt Romney:

    “The Schrödinger’s cat of American politics, Mittens is simultaneously on both sides of every issue, and no one truly knows his position until he opens his mouth.”

    This needs to be a thing. NOW.

  25. 25.

    Nutella

    I like the one about Tebow:

    Showered by idiots with feckless praise of leadership and morality because his game simply doesn’t warrant the same. As a spokesperson for the hate group Focus on the Family, abstinence advocate, and known teammate kisser, Tebow’s likely just another self-loathing homosexual. And he’s sanctimonious as hell for a guy who works exclusively on the Sabbath.

  27. 27.

    AA+ Bonds

    This is why I am just stunned that people on here “like” Tebow. You don’t “like” Tebow and turn around and get pissy about Komen for the Cure

  28. 28.

    AA+ Bonds

    The best thing Tim Tebow could do for women is to get injured and take pills and lose all his money

  31. 31.

    fuzed

    Aint it grand!!
    A nuclear reactor at a northern Illinois plant shut down Monday after losing power, and steam was being vented to reduce pressure, according to officials from Exelon Nuclear and federal regulators. Unit 2 at Byron Generating Station, about 95 miles northwest of Chicago, shut down at 10:18 a.m., after losing power, Exelon officials said. Diesel generators began supplying power to the plant, and operators began releasing steam to cool the reactor from the part of the plant where turbines are producing electricity, not from within the nuclear reactor itself, officials said. The steam contains low levels of tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, but federal and plant officials insisted the levels were safe for workers and the public. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission declared the incident an “unusual event,” the lowest of four levels of emergency. Commission officials also said the release of tritium was expected. Exelon Nuclear officials believe a failed piece of equipment at a switchyard caused the shutdown. The switchyard is similar to a large substation that delivers power to the plant from the electrical grid and that takes power from the plant to the electrical grid. Officials were still investigating the equipment failure.

    Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng said officials can’t yet calculate how much tritium is being released. They know the amounts of tritium are small because monitors around the plant aren’t showing increased levels of radiation, she said. Tritium molecules are so small that tiny amounts are able to pass from radioactive steam from the reactor into the water used to cool the turbines and other equipment outside the reactor. The steam that was being released was coming from the turbine side. The amount of releasing steam helps “take away some of that energy still being produced by nuclear reaction but that doesn’t have anywhere to go now.” Even though the turbine is not turning to produce

    http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=NC-20120131-33977-USA

  33. 33.

    Socraticsilence

    @AA+ Bonds:

    No, see its possible to root for an athlete and think some of his social positions are abhorrent (its helped by the fact that others are laudable)– its not like Tebow’s Big Rape or something.

  35. 35.

    Cacti

    My personal favorite loathsome person entry, because BJ has so many of his fanbois…

    20) Steve Jobs
    Crimes: Got rich lifting other people’s ideas; got richer by melding marketing with spirituality to sell environment-destroying status symbols made by Chinese children to oblivious, cultish prigs.

  36. 36.

    Canuckistani Tom

    I’m just really pissed, because my website provider was bought out, all my pages were automatically ported over to a new domain name without ever telling me, so I woke up this morning to find out my website is nonfunctional. Now I have to go through the 100+ pages of my website and correct every single URL. AUGH!

  37. 37.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @Cacti:

    Can I try to push back just a little on the notion that Apple is for smug assholes? I got an apple laptop because my college had a deal with the company (admittedly a problem on its own) and it was the cheapest option for me, not because I’m some brand-obsessed hipster idiot.

  38. 38.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @AA+ Bonds:

    Whether conservative or liberal, the public advocacy of pro athletes on issues doesn’t amount to a drop of piss. You think there’s people out there who are so blinded by Tebowmania that they’d drop previously held pro-choice convictions? I personally just keep sports and politics and separate, because they have so little to do with each other.

  39. 39.

    Waldo

    A little later and a little lamer this year, but still one of the best year-end lists. Check out the archived lists on the site — the ones from the Bush/Cheney years are transcendently scathing.

  40. 40.

    Mike G

    Andrew Breitbart
    Crimes: A true propagandist for the ultra-wealthy, the man’s mouth shares both proximity and substantive resemblance to the Koch brothers’ assholes.

  42. 42.

    Stentor

    Loved this one for Bill Adair

    Sentence: Next time he orders a hamburger, a ketchup-coated cow comes charging out of the kitchen and tramples him.

    Laughed my ass off! Great picture in my mind now.

    Mwoooooh!!!!!!!

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