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You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2012 / Monday Evening Open Thread: Casting Lots

Monday Evening Open Thread: Casting Lots

by Anne Laurie|  February 20, 20125:41 pm| 146 Comments

This post is in: Election 2012, Open Threads, Republican Venality, I Read These Morons So You Don't Have To, Jump! You Fuckers!

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(Jeff Danziger’s website)
__
Still the single best political cartoonist working today. But just out of curiosity, how many of you post-public-school-prayers young atheists actually recognize the reference without googling?
__
Speaking of schadenfreude, the WaPo‘s Jennifer “Bomb There, Bomb Now” Rubin is not a fan of Rick Sanctorum, “the Sharron Angle of 2012“:

Two stories surfaced last week that amount to a loud vote of no confidence in Rick Santorum as the GOP nominee. ABC News reports that a top Republican senator wants a new choice if Santorum wins Michigan. Why? “ ‘He’d lose 35 states,’ the senator said, predicting the same fate for Newt Gingrich.”…
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You see, right-wing, socially conservative pundits don’t actually have to win elections, but experienced senators and party operatives who know how to win races outside Republican strongholds aren’t putting their heads in the sand. Santorum’s views and persona have limited appeal in a general election, and they know it…
__
Republicans should remember 2010. Republicans could well have had control of the Senate had they not nominated characters such as Christine O’Donnell, Sharron Angle and Ken Buck — fire-breathing Tea Partyers, who were unable to win in swing or blue states.

But (so?) Erick “Voice of the GOP Gated Community” Erickson has already voiced his opposition to Rubin’s continued membership in his GOP Home Owners Association:

… [T]here is a problem in Jennifer Rubin covering conservatives at the Washington Post. According to the Post’s ombudsman, Patrick Pexton, editorial page editor Fred Hiatt hired Rubin “to be an opinion blogger who would appeal to conservatives and people who want to follow conservative politics. She does.”…
__
Today, Jennifer Rubin discovers that Rick Santorum is a devout Catholic and, through leaps of logic that would defy Cirque Du Soleil, arrives at a laughable conclusion not in evidence that puts a big spotlight on her understanding of devout Catholics — a core constituency in the modern conservative movement, particularly inside the beltway no less.
__
In her latest escapade, Rubin discovers that Santorum, a pro-life Catholic, believes that doctors who commit abortion should be prosecuted for killing a child.
__
In discovering this and trying to overcome her shock, Rubin first ignores that Santorum and most ardent social conservatives have lllooooonnnnnnngggggggggg held this view — and then she does something that not just proves her ignorance on this issue, but also her pro-Romney agenda driven hostility to Santorum’s conservative convictions…
__
When a majority of conservatives have rejected Mitt Romney and the Post’s in-house conservative blogger not only routinely assails all the Republican candidates but Romney (with the caveat that she will praise non-Romney candidates whose actions benefit Romney) and does so while showing no understanding, no matter how nuanced, of basic conservative positions like abortion and life issues, the Washington Post needs to rethink its strategy.

Infighting among our enemies is Good News for John McCain. What other good news is on the agenda tonight?

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Reader Interactions

146Comments

  1. 1.

    Egg Berry

    February 20, 2012 at 5:46 pm

    Are you talking about casting lots for Jesus’ clothes, or something in the cartoon itself?

  2. 2.

    Egypt Steve

    February 20, 2012 at 5:48 pm

    Got to be the business about casting lots for Jesus’ clothes, from Matthew 27:35.

    “When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.”

    Great movie, “The Robe” …

  3. 3.

    khead

    February 20, 2012 at 5:49 pm

    No, really.

    She tried to roll over and got stuck.

    I’m not kidding. She’s a fat ass cat.

  4. 4.

    dollared

    February 20, 2012 at 5:49 pm

    I’ve always preferred to think of the Republicans as both the moneychangers in the Temple and the pharisees who collected rent from them. But when it comes to Republican hypocrisy, to each their own. There are sooooo many targets.

  5. 5.

    Ash Can

    February 20, 2012 at 5:51 pm

    ::munches popcorn::

    You tell ‘er, Erick! Atta boy!

    ::munches more popcorn::

    Hey, Jennifer, you gonna take that crap lying down? Go show that asshole a thing or three!

    ::munch munch munch::

  6. 6.

    Shinobi

    February 20, 2012 at 5:53 pm

    I went to catholic school so the fact that I recognize this doesn’t count. (It should be noted that I am now a recovering catholic, which means I am an atheist but very guilty about it.)

  7. 7.

    M31

    February 20, 2012 at 5:54 pm

    Actually, “how many of you post-public-school-prayers young atheists actually recognize the reference without googling?”

    is a classic intuitive-though-incorrect-statement.

    There have been studies of religious knowledge, and the atheists beat the religious every time.

  8. 8.

    Redshift

    February 20, 2012 at 5:56 pm

    Well, as one of them young-uns who was raised in an entirely areligious household (not atheist specifically, it was just that going to church was something other people did and we didn’t), I got the reference immediately. But I’ve dealt with Christianity on an intellectual level quite a bit over the years.

    I think it’s pretty hilarious that Infinite Ewricks manages not to be entirely incorrect, but still be wrong. It’s certainly true that Rubin is a shameless Romney shill, but as for this:

    In her latest escapade, Rubin discovers that Santorum, a pro-life Catholic, believes that doctors who commit abortion should be prosecuted for killing a child.
    __
    In discovering this and trying to overcome her shock, Rubin first ignores that Santorum and most ardent social conservatives have lllooooonnnnnnngggggggggg held this view — and then she does something that not just proves her ignorance on this issue, but also her pro-Romney agenda driven hostility to Santorum’s conservative convictions…

    It may well be true, but an awful lot of them, particularly the ones in politics, seem to go out of their way to avoid saying it, unlike Santorum. Or at least, they call it “murder” and then go out of their way to avoid saying it should be prosecuted the same way as murder.

  9. 9.

    FlipYrWhig

    February 20, 2012 at 5:57 pm

    I had no idea what the cartoon was about until the first few comments. But who’s the guy on the right? (No, not on the cross… I’m not THAT secularized…)

  10. 10.

    MikeTheZ

    February 20, 2012 at 5:59 pm

    So (via GOS) apparently VA is going to pass a personhood amendment. I am SO FUCKING GLAD I got out of that shithole.

  11. 11.

    khead

    February 20, 2012 at 6:00 pm

    @MikeTheZ:

    MD works just fine. Anne Arundel County is kinda nice actually.

  12. 12.

    Cowbelle

    February 20, 2012 at 6:01 pm

    But just out of curiosity, how many of you post-public-school-prayers young atheists actually recognize the reference without googling?

    They’re playing D&D, right?

  13. 13.

    BGinCHI

    February 20, 2012 at 6:01 pm

    @FlipYrWhig: Is the guy on the right Nader?

    This is like that Seinfeld where they try to figure out the New Yorker cartoon…..

  14. 14.

    Anne Laurie

    February 20, 2012 at 6:02 pm

    @dollared:

    I’ve always preferred to think of the Republicans as both the moneychangers in the Temple and the pharisees who collected rent from them.

    Way the nuns at my parochial school explained it (but this was during the 1960s), the Roman soldiers — good little functionaries, merely taking advantage of the frugal perks associated with their minor bureaucratic jobs — were meant to be contrasted unfavorably with the doubleplusungood anti-social criminal. The Good Thief being crucified next to Jesus repented, because he was still capable of recognizing that Virtue was a quality separate from “we were just following orders”. It seems to me that the current frontrunning GOP candidates are very much the sort of people who would argue that a “anti-social terrorist” like That Guy They Claim To Worship was no better than any other property-threatening criminal deserving of the death penalty…

  15. 15.

    Villago Delenda Est

    February 20, 2012 at 6:04 pm

    Ewick really is a shithead. Rubin’s not totally stupid, which isn’t saying much, though.

  16. 16.

    jl

    February 20, 2012 at 6:04 pm

    @khead: I figure that, since you dubbed it Tunchette. You could have called it a normal sized Tunch, but you didn’t.

  17. 17.

    Violet

    February 20, 2012 at 6:05 pm

    leaps of logic that would defy Cirque Du Soleil,

    What the hell kind of writing is this? See, Erik, that’s the thing about Cirque Du Soleil. They don’t make leaps of logic. Their leaps depend on a little thing called physics.

    We aheistsoshulists know that you think cars magically go because they’re pushed by God fairies. Or they run on fuel made by dinosaurs that Jesus rode to work. And that airplanes fly because angels hold them up. But here in the Real World, those things are designed using the principles of a science called physics. Cirque du Soleil knows very well that if its performers depended on leaps of logic to design performances, they’d lose a lot of performers.

  18. 18.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 20, 2012 at 6:05 pm

    @FlipYrWhig:

    But who’s the guy on the right?

    Santorum, by elimination? I got the ref, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Robe, but I think this scene was played up in one of the TV biopics about Jeebus in the 70s. Am I remembering that right? there was a trend of Bible-based TeeVee movies in the mid-seventies? I distinctly remember the Gilda Radner/Larraine Newman skit about two tweens at a sleepover arguing over which Jeebus was cutest.

    CNN and The Kaplan Daily really should merge. A single source for all out-dated, center-right Conventional Wisdom, with special guest appearances from halfwit TeaBaggers, NeoCon Warmongers and James Carville.

  19. 19.

    Mouse Tolliver

    February 20, 2012 at 6:05 pm

    Politifact saw a little bit of its credibility floating in the toilet, so they gave it another flush by fact-checking Lawrence O’Donnell’s “lean forward” ad.

  20. 20.

    khead

    February 20, 2012 at 6:06 pm

    @jl:

    I still feel guilty for calling her Tunchette.

    Sorta. Maybe. LOL.

    She needs to learn to roll the fuck over. Heh.

  21. 21.

    Nutella

    February 20, 2012 at 6:06 pm

    devout Catholics — a core constituency in the modern conservative movement, particularly inside the beltway

    Out of the mouths of boobs…

  22. 22.

    MikeTheZ

    February 20, 2012 at 6:06 pm

    @khead: I’m actually up in Towson.

  23. 23.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 20, 2012 at 6:08 pm

    @Anne Laurie:

    It seems to me that the current frontrunning GOP candidates are very much the sort of people who would argue that a “anti-social terrorist” like That Guy They Claim To Worship was no better than any other property-threatening criminal deserving of the death penalty…

    Also, too, he was almost certainly a Brown.

  24. 24.

    khead

    February 20, 2012 at 6:08 pm

    @MikeTheZ:

    My sympathies. :D

    C’mon down!

  25. 25.

    jl

    February 20, 2012 at 6:08 pm

    @khead: As I advised in previous thread, try to control its mass as best you can until you determine its intentions.

  26. 26.

    Mark S.

    February 20, 2012 at 6:09 pm

    According to Erik:

    As Jennifer Rubin is clearly not aware, devout Catholics are opposed to both abortion and the death penalty. Yes, dear reader, you may be shocked to learn, but devout Catholics are the most pro-life of all pro-lifers. Where Presbyterians like me are quite comfortable opposing abortion and supporting the death penalty based on our reading of Romans 13, devout Catholics and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church are opposed to both abortion and the death penalty.

    Almost all the conservative Catholics I know are pro-death penalty.

  27. 27.

    The Dangerman

    February 20, 2012 at 6:09 pm

    Good News for John McCain

    That’s so 2008; needs updating badly.

    This is good news for (choose one):

    1) Mitt Romney
    2) Rick Santorum
    3) One of the other clowns

  28. 28.

    Jim C.

    February 20, 2012 at 6:09 pm

    A little off-topic, but related to the ESPN racist headline that ABL flagged a couple of days back:

    http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7591778/espn-statement-offensive-jeremy-lin-comments

    There’s the discipline that ESPN chose to give. Seems like a pretty reasonable resolution to me.

  29. 29.

    jl

    February 20, 2012 at 6:12 pm

    @Mouse Tolliver:

    That was a good one. They didn’t actually use the word ‘welfare’ when opposing the GI Bill, so on verbal hair splitting, Polifact calls the ad is ‘mostly false’? Hilarious.

    Some one needs to keep track of their calls to see evidence of whether they are straining to ‘balance’ their decisions.

  30. 30.

    middlewest

    February 20, 2012 at 6:12 pm

    @M31: Never gets old.

  31. 31.

    MikeTheZ

    February 20, 2012 at 6:12 pm

    @khead: Hey, I like it up here! :-P

  32. 32.

    Mouse Tolliver

    February 20, 2012 at 6:12 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I distinctly remember the Gilda Radner/Larraine Newman skit about two tweens at a sleepover arguing over which Jeebus was cutest.

    According to People magazine, Jeffrey Hunter‘s Jesus was the Sexiest Man Alive, Then Dead, Then Alive Again.

  33. 33.

    harlana

    February 20, 2012 at 6:12 pm

    PERFECT

  34. 34.

    Egg Berry

    February 20, 2012 at 6:13 pm

    Ewick X Infinity just wants Rubin’s job.

  35. 35.

    khead

    February 20, 2012 at 6:14 pm

    @MikeTheZ:

    We have actually looked at houses up your way…. wife would love to get closer to her peeps in Philly.

    I say looked….

    Heh. Need a price break tho….

  36. 36.

    KG

    February 20, 2012 at 6:16 pm

    I went to Catholic school through the 6th grade and didn’t get the reference.

  37. 37.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 20, 2012 at 6:17 pm

    @Mouse Tolliver: Good Lord. “They never used the word welfare”. Whatadoosh.

    RELATED: PolitiFact Responds To Rachel Maddow’s Criticism: ‘We Don’t Expect Our Readers To Agree With Every Ruling’

    Ruling? Is this guy the Judge Judy of The VIllage? Shouldn’t he call himself “Politipinion”?

  38. 38.

    Schlemizel

    February 20, 2012 at 6:18 pm

    @Mark S.:
    Don’t know if you ever heard of the Shimeleskies – They had a polka band that John Candy impersonated dead on. The one brother was a state rep from the Iron Range. He always ran as a liberal in the days before party affiliation because the Range was 100% pro union and probably majority real communists. But the dinglenut only proposed 2 bills every session, the same 2. One was to outlaw abortion – cuz hes pro-life – and one to reintroduce the death penalty. He had to quite when party affiliation came along because he could not get the DFL nod.

  39. 39.

    psychobroad

    February 20, 2012 at 6:18 pm

    “they did something for something, and for my garments they cast lots”–still got it, sort of!

  40. 40.

    geg6

    February 20, 2012 at 6:18 pm

    Can’t see the comic on the iPhone, but even though I was an atheist at birth, I was forced to go through the whole Catholic charade until my teens. I’m sure I’d get the reference if I could see it.

    Quiet night at home tonight. John’s making one of his favorite summer meals, kosher hotdogs, pasta salad and homemade baked beans. Gonna catch tonight’s Antiques Roadshow, filmed here in Pittsburgh, and DVR The Voice. I have a busy week coming up and plan to start it slowly while I can. We have our first accepted student dinner Wednesday evening, dinner with one of John’s best friends and his wife Friday night, a FAFSA completion workshop Saturday morning, and all on top of the regular work week. And next week, John has his double knee replacement surgery on Wednesday. Stress all around. The good news is that the hormone shots he’s been getting for the prostate cancer seem to have shrunk the tumor so much that it’s possible he may be able to avoid the radiation treatment. He has one more shot next month and they will evaluate at that time. Life and work may be crazy, but that development keeps the spirits high, I must say.

  41. 41.

    Violet

    February 20, 2012 at 6:18 pm

    @jl:

    Polifact calls the ad is ‘mostly false’?

    I hope they go to the trouble of fact checking other ads. Does the dieting dog in the Superbowl commercial really work out by running up and down the stairs, swimming in the pool and pulling heavy stuff on a towel? Will you really be swarmed by hot chicks if you drink Bud Light? Did the little dog really beat the greyhounds because he was wearing running shoooz? No? Oh noes! Don’t tell me TV commercials can deliberately tell untruths or half truths to try to sway opinion? Say it isn’t so!

  42. 42.

    Mark S.

    February 20, 2012 at 6:21 pm

    Who’s Erik supporting this week? I can’t keep track.

  43. 43.

    General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero)

    February 20, 2012 at 6:21 pm

    Another commenter, I don’t remember who, said that it was Santorum’s turn to catch the wingnut bouquet, and I told them he was too crazy even for rank and file republicans. Looks like I was way wrong, though happily wrong, as it looks like Ricky timed it about right to maybe win the thing. Go You crazy fucker, we’ll be here waiting.

  44. 44.

    Schlemizel

    February 20, 2012 at 6:22 pm

    @MikeTheZ:
    “excuse me, we’re short a nail, mind crossing your feet.”
    “JOHN – COME QUICKLY”
    After fighting through the crowd & Roman Guards. “What is it Master?”
    “I can see your house from up here!”

    These (and worse) I learned from my brother the Easter he came home from seminary – its the jokes the future ministers told each other!

  45. 45.

    Violet

    February 20, 2012 at 6:22 pm

    @geg6:
    Didn’t realize your John had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Sorry to hear that. Glad the shots are working. Double knee replacement? Wow. How long is he going to be out of commission?

  46. 46.

    Chris

    February 20, 2012 at 6:26 pm

    @Mark S.:

    Almost all the conservative Catholics I know are pro-death penalty.

    Almost all the conservative Catholics I know are Republicans first, Catholics second. That’s but one of the many ways they show it.

  47. 47.

    khead

    February 20, 2012 at 6:27 pm

    @geg6:

    Prostate cancer? That sucks.

    Feel free to keep us updated. If my Dad is any indication, it’s only a matter of time for me…. I can use all the news (good/bad) I can get.

  48. 48.

    dmsilev

    February 20, 2012 at 6:30 pm

    @Mark S.: Last I heard, he was a charter member of Team Slit Our Wrists In Despair Due To The Crappy Candidates We Have Running.

    So sad…

  49. 49.

    harlana

    February 20, 2012 at 6:30 pm

    the whole Santorum thing is funny because Ricky always makes me think of someone who desperately needs an enema

  50. 50.

    MikeJ

    February 20, 2012 at 6:31 pm

    @Schlemizel: Don’t forget the expansion of the initialism hung atop the cross: Iron Nails Run In.

  51. 51.

    FlipYrWhig

    February 20, 2012 at 6:31 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: But it doesn’t look like Rick Santorum at all… Well, whatever, I’m not sure I’d recognize a caricature of Rick Santorum, because he’s just nondescript by nature.

  52. 52.

    Silver

    February 20, 2012 at 6:31 pm

    I got it right away. Casting lots over the clothes while the savior of Mankind hangs on the cross.

    I was raised Calvinist and went to a Christian school, so I should know. I wonder how many of my classmates who still go to church would get it right away without prodding. Probably not many, I’d guess.

  53. 53.

    freelancer

    February 20, 2012 at 6:31 pm

    Santorum shitting on the Founders by saying the Constitution is too “me” centered. What a backwards-ass, fascist monster.

    via Maddowblog

  54. 54.

    jl

    February 20, 2012 at 6:32 pm

    @Violet:

    I think your examples give Politifact too much credit.

    If you were running for office and made an add that said the commercial showing that hot chicks will swarm you if you drink Bud Light was true,

    (Let’s assume you are representing a district with a big Budweiser plant)

    Politifact would call your ad “mostly false” because the women were, in fact, lovely nubile lasses, not hot chicks.

    A nameless expert with vague credentials would be quoted as supporting evidence.

  55. 55.

    forked tongue

    February 20, 2012 at 6:33 pm

    @Schlemizel:

    Why didn’t Jesus get into law school?

    He got nailed on his boards.

  56. 56.

    Violet

    February 20, 2012 at 6:33 pm

    @General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero):
    I dunno. The polling gap between Romney and Santorum in Michigan seems to be closing a bit. Isn’t it another week until the primary? Mittens could easily spend a lot of money and win the lead back, just like he did in Florida.

  57. 57.

    geg6

    February 20, 2012 at 6:34 pm

    Violet @45:

    Yeah, he got the prostate diagnosis in October. It freaked us both out at the time, but we have talked to and seen a bunch of specialists and are much reassured that he will be fine.

    As for the knees, he’ll be in the hospital for three days and then an in-patient rehab for another five to seven days. He should, we’re told, be 100% by the end of April and that he will find his life to be immeasurably improved. He’s kinda young and thin to be having a double knee, but playing football in high school, college, and as a semi-pro plus years running dating back to high school cross country until about five or six years ago will, apparently, do a real number on the knees.

  58. 58.

    FlipYrWhig

    February 20, 2012 at 6:35 pm

    @freelancer: No, he’s right. It’s like that from the start, opening with “Me, the People.” Then again, the calligraphy throws we off.

  59. 59.

    scav

    February 20, 2012 at 6:35 pm

    @freelancer: wheewww

    All the rights in the Constitution, which are individually based rights, according to our founders were not there for the individual’s gain, but the reason we established those rights was for the common good. The right to privacy is not the right to a common good. It’s a me-centered right, that obviously started in the sexual revolution with contraception and obviously quickly evolved to abortion, and now has found its way into the marriage debate. And all those acts that were self-giving acts, self-sacrificing acts, have been polluted by this right to privacy.

    Apply that to guns and bring up that it’s only the common good of the militias that should have weaponry and not individuals . . .

  60. 60.

    MikeJ

    February 20, 2012 at 6:35 pm

    @freelancer: I would be interested in hearing how he squares this hatred of rights for individuals with the second amendment.

  61. 61.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 20, 2012 at 6:37 pm

    As the crowd prepares to stone the fallen woman, Jesus steps up and says, “Let he among you who is without sin, cast the first stone.”
    As the men drop their stones and turn away in shame, a rock whizzes past Jesus’ ear, beans the adulteress between the eyes.
    Jesus turns to see a little old lady, clapping and giggling and hopping up and down with glee.
    “Dammit, Ma, sometimes you can be a real pain in the ass.”

  62. 62.

    mzrad

    February 20, 2012 at 6:38 pm

    Dang: I kind of whistled under my breath when I saw this image. SUPER harsh: I’m sure these clowns don’t see themselves this way. I hope Obama has enough fight in him to bring up Santorum’s support of abortions for Mariana Island sweatshop workers rather than be too polite to bring it up in the campaign. Hypocrisy is relevant in a presidential campaign, as Mittens is discovering.

    In addition to spitting on the Big J’s message of helping the poor, here are some other sections of the bible these guys don’t seem to get: it’s harder for the rich man to get into heaven than a camel to get through the eye of a needle, don’t try to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye before you take the plank out of your own, and do unto others yada yada as you would have them do unto you. From my atheist perspective (raised Catholic, 12 yrs of uniforms and nuns in Catholic school), these clowns have much to learn from the Big J, who seems like a cool dude when you shake his church free of pedophiles and selfish rich people.

  63. 63.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 20, 2012 at 6:39 pm

    @Violet: That’s what I think will happen, but with Willard you gotta figure there’s a good chance he’ll say something really stupid between now and then, and maybe a 50/50 chance that it’ll be stupid enough to tip the scales to Li’l Ricky.

  64. 64.

    Violet

    February 20, 2012 at 6:40 pm

    @jl:
    You’re probably right, although Politifact would probably call it “mostly true” because they’d point out that hot chicks have been seen at some establishments where Bud Light is served, even if they never go to the one you go to, or they ignore you completely if they are there.

  65. 65.

    jl

    February 20, 2012 at 6:41 pm

    @freelancer:

    Fer Gawd’s sakes. Santorum is a bigoted ignorant, and dangerous ass.

    Santorum says all the named rights in Bill of Rights was for the social good? Hope he applies that logic to the Second Amendment.

    Can you name a Founder (or a Framer, whatever…) who thought that the Bill of Rights was an exhaustive list of rights? I don’t think so. Anyone can produce a quote that indicates that?

    Jefferson and Madison did not discuss privacy in the context of a natural right? They did.

    Wiki says legal arguments over explicit right to privacy in modern sense goes back to 1890s. But Santorum says the DFHs did it?

    Man, those DHFs and the 60s, root of all evil.

  66. 66.

    M31

    February 20, 2012 at 6:41 pm

    harlana – February 20, 2012 | 6:30 pm · Link
    the whole Santorum thing is funny because Ricky always makes me think of someone who desperately needs an enema

    Christopher Hitchens on Jerry Falwell: “If you gave him an enema you could bury him in a matchbox”

  67. 67.

    geg6

    February 20, 2012 at 6:42 pm

    HALP! I’m being moderated and I can’t get out!

    FYWP.

  68. 68.

    Violet

    February 20, 2012 at 6:45 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    Or, Rick could continue to say things that completely alienate women and lose votes that way. Although in the Republican primary I would think that sort of thing would be an advantage. But the long knives in the GOP are out for Rick. They’re afraid of what he’d do to their chances in November.

    Also, it’s an open primary so Dems and Independents can cross over and mess with the process if they choose.

  69. 69.

    Eric S.

    February 20, 2012 at 6:48 pm

    At 41 years of age – not sure where that puts me on the spectrum – having also been raised in an areligious household, and having read the “casting lots” comments I still I have no fucking clue what that cartoon is about.

  70. 70.

    Linda Featheringill

    February 20, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    @mzrad:

    Dang: I kind of whistled under my breath when I saw this image. SUPER harsh: I’m sure these clowns don’t see themselves this way.

    That was my take. Along with “Ouch!”

    Not that they don’t deserve it . . . .

  71. 71.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    February 20, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    @mzrad:

    In addition to spitting on the Big J’s message of helping the poor, here are some other sections of the bible these guys don’t seem to get

    They don’t seem too keen on the idea that the man who prays in the marketplace has his reward here on earth bit, either.

    Also, I’ve always wanted to know, if we are intended to take everything in scripture literally, why did Jesus teach using parables so frequently? At least in my copy of the New Testament, He seems to be a little bit less than fully on-board with this whole literalism concept. Almost like He didn’t get the memo or something.

  72. 72.

    Rita R.

    February 20, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    @scav:

    Wait a minute, Mr. “I wrote ‘It Takes a Family’ in response to ‘It Takes a Village'” is saying that the Constitution was about the common good?? That the good of the community is pre-eminent to individual rights? Never mind the hypocrisy, he’s going to get his ass thrown out of the Republican Party but good with talk like that, no matter how much slut-shaming he does or Obama’s a dangerous European soshulist religion-basher who’s like Hitler comparisons he makes.

  73. 73.

    FlipYrWhig

    February 20, 2012 at 6:54 pm

    @MikeJ: Or the one about quartering soldiers, or the one about self-incrimination, or the one about searches and seizures. He’s a bonehead.

  74. 74.

    kindness

    February 20, 2012 at 6:54 pm

    I only wish Jennifer Rubin’s job was in jeopardy. Nope, I can’t be that lucky. In the coming days Jennifer will double down on bombing Iran and the conservatives will all love her to death again.

    For me, I’m pleased to finally see Republicans speaking the obvious. Even republicans don’t like what the party is offering right now. Most the time republicans put up the good face and just deny the disagreements behind the scenes. Democrats? They fight in public.

  75. 75.

    bemused

    February 20, 2012 at 6:54 pm

    @Schlemizel:

    Florian Chmielewski was the senator. He was involved in some phonegate scandal but I didn’t remember his bills. The family band is The Chmielewski Funtime Band.

    I remember seeing John Candy and polka band on Sesame Street when our kids were little. They were all in lederhosen (not exactly Iron Range polka band style) and hilarious. I thought Eugene Levy was in that Sesame Street skit too but I may be remembering that wrong.

  76. 76.

    Jager

    February 20, 2012 at 6:55 pm

    @Egypt Steve: Charles Pierce wrote about the Patriots pounding of Tebow and the Broncos during the play offs “that during the 4th quarter, I swear I saw some Patriots casting lots for Tim Tebow’s jersey”

  77. 77.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 20, 2012 at 6:58 pm

    @Eric S.: I take it as they’re all bidding to cloak themselves in Christianity– the Robe– but they’ve turned they’re back to Jesus.

  78. 78.

    Anoniminous

    February 20, 2012 at 6:58 pm

    @General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero):

    The cream of the jest is Frothy-Rickie Boy was nowhere until Romney spent a couple of million of ad money attacking Gingrich in Iowa. He drove voters away from Newt and to the arms of Santorum who ended up winning.

    Then Romney’s win in New Hampshire caused the Evangelicals to get together to decide on a Stop Romney candidate and Rickie got the nod. In part, I think, because of his win in Iowa.

  79. 79.

    THE

    February 20, 2012 at 7:00 pm

    Yeah I recognize the reference.

    Wasn’t it a Mel Gibson movie?

  80. 80.

    arguingwithsignposts

    February 20, 2012 at 7:01 pm

    Jesus and Satan were competing in a coding contest. For lo many hours did they bang away at their computers, coding, bug squashing and coding some more. Then, as the deadline approached, both computers suffered a Blue Screen Of Death.

    Who won the contest?

    The Son of God, of course, because Jesus Saves.

  81. 81.

    divF

    February 20, 2012 at 7:08 pm

    “They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots” . That is the way I remember it from my youth as a Catholic (membership has lapsed), but I can’t find that exact wording in any of the standard NT translations.

    Still, an extraordinarily powerful cartoon. Danziger ranks with Paul Conrad as someone who can depict evil in a single panel.

  82. 82.

    WereBear

    February 20, 2012 at 7:09 pm

    @Mouse Tolliver: Jeffrey Hunter was the cutest Jesus!

    And he’s a case of Pete “Don’t Know” Best: his wife talked him out of continuing with Star Trek. Dang.

  83. 83.

    Rita R.

    February 20, 2012 at 7:11 pm

    @Jager:

    Pierce always uses great Christian imagery/metaphors. He definitely paid attention in Catholic school.

  84. 84.

    Aaron Baker

    February 20, 2012 at 7:12 pm

    Sure: the Roman soldiers casting lots at the foot of the Cross.

    One shouldn’t assume ignorance of religion among atheists. I, and a bunch of other unbelievers, have read the entire Bible (some of us even like parts of it). Sometimes it’s because of our upbringing, or because of a religious phase in our lives–or just because, like it or not, religion is endlessly fascinating–and, anyway, you should know your enemy.

  85. 85.

    zoot

    February 20, 2012 at 7:12 pm

    a top Republican senator wants a new choice if Santorum wins Michigan. Why? “ ‘He’d lose 35 states,’ the senator said, predicting the same fate for Newt Gingrich.”

    what the jerk doesn’t realize is that what he (and the republicans) needs is a new base. republicans have courted, cultivated, and encouraged the maggots that have taken over the republican party. And now the power brokers no-likey the monster they created. Its a little late for buyers remorse.

  86. 86.

    harlana

    February 20, 2012 at 7:13 pm

    @khead: ooh, beautiful white kitty girl but she does look like Tunch which is fabulous :)

  87. 87.

    harlana

    February 20, 2012 at 7:16 pm

    @M31: i snorted outloud! ;)

  88. 88.

    Mary G

    February 20, 2012 at 7:17 pm

    I need advice on web hosting. I volunteer at a thrift shop my mother and six other ladies started in 1964 and we need an online presence. It is really simple – five or six pages at most, probably, and no selling or anything. I took one semester of Dreamweaver at night at the local community college back in 2001 or so, which was enough to learn that I didn’t want to be a web designer. I just need a service that has some nice looking templates and charges a few bucks a month. Yahoo Hosting and Web Monster have been recommended to me, does anyone have any experience with either of them, or can advise me of other hosting services around?

  89. 89.

    muddy

    February 20, 2012 at 7:18 pm

    @khead:

    I’m not kidding. She’s a fat ass cat.

    That’s a fine figure of a cat. You should feel ashamed of providing a catnip pillow and then taking scandalous photos, though. I have a fatass cat too, he is a Russian Blue tuxedo type. He’s afraid of the sky.

  90. 90.

    brettvk

    February 20, 2012 at 7:20 pm

    in my limited experience, atheists seem to be better acquainted with the Bible than [way too many] believers because they tend to be naturally curious, appreciative of literature and other cultural goods, and have retentive and synthesis-forming habits of thought. IOW, the qualities of mind that lead them to atheism allow them to absorb and critique religious tropes. The KJV is unfortunately used mostly as a cudgel in the political realm, but its language permeates and enriches our culture. James was a lout but he hired scholars who allowed the poets in their souls to speak.

  91. 91.

    pseudonymous in nc

    February 20, 2012 at 7:20 pm

    Erick the Gated:

    Today, Jennifer Rubin discovers that Rick Santorum is a devout Catholic and, through leaps of logic that would defy Cirque Du Soleil, arrives at a laughable conclusion not in evidence that puts a big spotlight on her understanding of devout Catholics

    Extrapolating Santorum’s personal beliefs to American Catholicism (and actually defining them as ‘devout Catholic’) is, I think, a pretty fucking big category error.

  92. 92.

    arguingwithsignposts

    February 20, 2012 at 7:21 pm

    @Mary G: Google has a basic web site creation tool that’s free, IIRC. there are others too. I’ll look for links. Here it is Google Sites

  93. 93.

    Mike in NC

    February 20, 2012 at 7:23 pm

    Fred Hiatt hired Rubin “to be an opinion blogger who would appeal to conservatives and people who want to follow conservative politics. She does.”

    As if anybody needed a reminder about what a useless hack old Fred is.

  94. 94.

    harlana

    February 20, 2012 at 7:24 pm

    is Erickson in love with Santorum now? i can’t keep up

  95. 95.

    arguingwithsignposts

    February 20, 2012 at 7:26 pm

    @harlana:

    is Erickson in love with Santorum now? i can’t keep up

    Thank you for the unwanted imagery there.

  96. 96.

    KG

    February 20, 2012 at 7:27 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Jesus saves, Gretzky rebounds and scores.

  97. 97.

    Mary G

    February 20, 2012 at 7:33 pm

    @arguingwithsignposts: Free is good, thank you!

  98. 98.

    khead

    February 20, 2012 at 7:34 pm

    @muddy:

    Catching her on a catnip high is the only way I can get a decent photo. Especially of her – I wasn’t kidding when I said she would cut a dude. Heh.

    Every afternoon here it’s sun + kitties = crashed for pics. It’s pretty awesome.

    Love her dearly tho. And I also love posting the pics to show it.

    People love kittehs.

  99. 99.

    Ron Beasley

    February 20, 2012 at 7:37 pm

    Well I’m an atheist but not a young one, 65. I had to google it. I was familiar with the term but clueless as to it’s meaning. I don’t recall any prayers in school when I was growing up here Oregon and Oregon was a red state way back then.

  100. 100.

    DanielX

    February 20, 2012 at 7:38 pm

    Religion Enters The Republican Primaries

    Right, like a maggot enters a rotting corpse. It was there all along.

  101. 101.

    priscianusjr

    February 20, 2012 at 7:41 pm

    @Ash Can:

    ::munches popcorn::
    You tell ‘er, Erick! Atta boy!
    ::munches more popcorn::
    Hey, Jennifer, you gonna take that crap lying down? Go show that asshole a thing or three!
    ::munch munch munch::

    Hey this is great popcorn.

  102. 102.

    Julie

    February 20, 2012 at 7:45 pm

    I got it, but I was a) raised by religious conservatives and b) my religious, conservative mother actually bucks the trend and really knows her stuff when it comes to the scripture and religious history… which has (ironically? perhaps not) led to a recent and serious crisis of faith.

    My initial reaction to the cartoon, btw, without even reading the post was, “Oh, that’s going to leave a mark.”

  103. 103.

    arguingwithsignposts

    February 20, 2012 at 7:45 pm

    @Mary G: No problem. Another one is Wix.com, but I don’t know who owns them.

  104. 104.

    FlipYrWhig

    February 20, 2012 at 7:47 pm

    @brettvk: Well, it’s like any book. If you read it because you’ve heard it’s interesting, that leads a different set of experiences than reading it all chopped up to suit a narrow prescriptive agenda.

    Read that Prometheus tricked the gods and had his liver pecked out for eternity and you think, “Wow, that’s gross, what a weird moral lesson, it mostly makes me think the gods are dicks.” Read that Yahweh messes with Job just because he can and… well, you’d have pretty much the same reaction. But not if you’ve been conked over the head your whole life with the notion that your reaction is supposed to be something entirely different from that.

  105. 105.

    Ken

    February 20, 2012 at 7:49 pm

    @Mark S.: Who’s Erik supporting this week? I can’t keep track.

    He is supporting Eastasia. He has always supported Eastasia.

  106. 106.

    Ken

    February 20, 2012 at 7:51 pm

    @Rita R.: Mr. “I wrote ‘It Takes a Family’ in response to ‘It Takes a Village’” is saying that the Constitution was about the common good?

    Yeah, that was kind of my reaction. Just imagine if Obama had said this; you wouldn’t be able hear for the screaming Republicans.

    @jl: Can you name a Founder (or a Framer, whatever…) who thought that the Bill of Rights was an exhaustive list of rights?

    Tricky, since the Bill of Rights has the Ninth and Tenth, which say they aren’t an exhaustive list. Has he heard of those amendments? Again, they’re really popular with the Republicans (sometimes), so he’s going to get in big trouble if he keeps this up.

  107. 107.

    Riilism

    February 20, 2012 at 7:51 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    As the crowd prepares to stone the fallen woman, Jesus steps up and says, “Let he among you who is without sin, cast the first stone.”

    The niggling, well-informed, know-it-all atheist in me would like to point out that Jeebus (if he existed) probably never spoke those words since it appears that they were added to the Gospel of John at a much, much later date.

    But I will not, I must not, in deference to a good joke…

  108. 108.

    pragmatism

    February 20, 2012 at 7:54 pm

    Casting lots. ’cause the fishin ain’t no good.

  109. 109.

    Capri

    February 20, 2012 at 7:56 pm

    Jesus was traveling across the country. He stopped into a small hotel. Going to the front desk, he introduced himself to the guy behind the counter and threw a pile of nails on the table.

    “what do you want?” asked the clerk.

    “Can you put me up for the night?” responded Jesus.

  110. 110.

    Zagloba

    February 20, 2012 at 7:59 pm

    I got it once you pointed out there was something to get. Also, too, didn’t they make a sword-and-sandal epic about that robe?

  111. 111.

    Zagloba

    February 20, 2012 at 7:59 pm

    I got it once you pointed out there was something to get. Also, too, didn’t they make a sword-and-sandal epic about that robe?

  112. 112.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 20, 2012 at 7:59 pm

    @Capri: Why can’t Jesus eat M&Ms? They keep falling through the holes in his hands.

    My high school IB Biology teacher told both of those jokes in class on Good Friday one year.

  113. 113.

    Eric U.

    February 20, 2012 at 8:06 pm

    does Rih, as in Rick Santorum stand for “Rick Institute of Health” or something else? I missed out on the genesis of that one.

  114. 114.

    pragmatism

    February 20, 2012 at 8:08 pm

    @FlipYrWhig: Liked this. Thanks

  115. 115.

    BethanyAnne

    February 20, 2012 at 8:09 pm

    @Schlemizel: “Mary, Mary, get me some flats, these spikes are killing me.”

    I thought it was Gawd playing dice with the Universe.

  116. 116.

    jl

    February 20, 2012 at 8:12 pm

    In honor of Open Thread: Happy Presidents’ Day.

    Interesting article on history of presidential pets. Highlights follow.

    I think the color and variety of presidential pets has declined recently. Dog and cat, dog and cat, dog and cat, over and over again. Back when this country was great, presidentin’ meant some damn good pets. Yessir.

    Washington: dogs and mules
    John Adams had a mutt named Satan (Note: Adams was a Unitarian who scoffed at the idea of the Trinity, or divinity of Jesus. So, coincidental dog name? I think not.)
    Thomas Jefferson had a myna bird named Dick
    Madison: Dolley had a green parrot
    John Q Adams kept a gift alligator
    John Tyler named his pet canary after himself
    Lincoln: two goats that were allowed to sleep with his son, and a dog named Jip
    Andrew Johnson: white mice
    Grant: horses and dogs
    Hayes: 7 breeds of dog, 3 cats, goat, mockingbird
    McKinley had Mexican Parrots who could whistle Yankee Doodle
    Theodore Roosevelt had a zoo, including a one legged rooster and pig named Maude
    Taft: cows
    Coolidge: all sorta critters including “raccoons, canaries, and a bobcat; a pygmy hippo; a wallaby; a black bear; and lion cubs named Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau
    Hoover’s included an alligator
    FDR apparently started the tradition of celebrity Presidential Dog with the Scottie
    JFK: included Kennedy’s “ Pushinka, a mutt given to Caroline Kennedy by Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev. Pushinka, an offspring of Soviet space dog Strelka”
    LBJ: hamsters and myna birds, in addition to beagles
    One of Clinton’s dogs done died getting run over by a car (or, that is the official story, who knows what really happened, eh, Hillary?)
    Dub apparently has had a pet cow for years, but not in DC

    Presidential pet stories
    By Sarah D. Bunting | Pets – Fri, Feb 17, 2012 4:51 PM EST

    http://shine.yahoo.com/pets/presidential-pet-stories.html

  117. 117.

    FlipYrWhig

    February 20, 2012 at 8:13 pm

    @Eric U.: It’s from when he appeared to say that (um, yeah) he didn’t want the government to spend other people’s money on black people — and his defense was that he didn’t say “black,” he just got tongue-tied and said “blah.” By extension, “Rick” becomes “Rih.”

  118. 118.

    chrome agnomen

    February 20, 2012 at 8:14 pm

    @middlewest:

    for the a/a group (me) it comes under the heading of ‘know your enemy’.

  119. 119.

    MikeJ

    February 20, 2012 at 8:26 pm

    @FlipYrWhig: It still sounds a lot like when wingnuts say “Dred Scott” but they’re actually talking about abortion.

  120. 120.

    Rome Again

    February 20, 2012 at 8:29 pm

    Another resident ex-Christian reporting in. I got the reference immediately. My loss of faith in the religion was from actually reading and studying the book.

  121. 121.

    jl

    February 20, 2012 at 8:41 pm

    @Eric U.:

    @FlipYrWhig:

    Looks like the signification of ‘Rih’ is manifold.

    I will add ‘Rih Institute of Health’ to the list.

    But thet blah day and blah history of the vicious blah dweeb is recorded. Rih said ‘black’ plain as day, and then said he was going to say something, then changed his mind to say something else, then said something that came out ‘blah’ for no rhyme or reason , but he knows he did not mean to say ‘black’, in respect to whatever he was talking about, which was helpless shiftless people of some type or other, who had been made helplessly dependent on government welfare checks by evil liberal people.

    Dude, the event and his asinine lie is recorded for history, that people, and unknown ages of future people, to look at and listen too. Think about it.

    I am not aware anyone in our crack corporate national affairs news media ever asked him what he intended to say, or whether he forgot what that was too.

  122. 122.

    Damned at Random

    February 20, 2012 at 8:45 pm

    Fallen away Catholic – I got it immediately. I don’t miss much of the faith I left behind, but I did enjoy the Stations of the Cross during lent – we called it “deep knee bends” – because it laid out the story without editorial comment. Also, the Catholic graveside service is lovely

  123. 123.

    Steeplejack

    February 20, 2012 at 8:49 pm

    @bemused:

    Yosh Schmenge on Sesame Street.

  124. 124.

    priscianusjr

    February 20, 2012 at 8:49 pm

    @bemused:

    I remember seeing John Candy and polka band on Sesame Street when our kids were little. They were all in lederhosen (not exactly Iron Range polka band style) and hilarious. I thought Eugene Levy was in that Sesame Street skit too but I may be remembering that wrong.

    On Sesame street that was John Candy playing the clarinet (really) as Yash Shmenge. Eugene Levy was not on that time, but on SCTV they always appeared together as the Shmenge Brothers, Yash and Stan. Their masterpiece was the mockumentary “The Last Polka”. It’s on Youtube … see it while you can.

  125. 125.

    khead

    February 20, 2012 at 8:52 pm

    Uh….. I just joined the evil empire this weekend. I hooked the wife up with an IPad.

    Pretty f’n cool. Using it right now……

  126. 126.

    priscianusjr

    February 20, 2012 at 8:53 pm

    @Steeplejack: Hey. you beat me by about a second on that one.

  127. 127.

    Steeplejack

    February 20, 2012 at 8:53 pm

    @Mary G:

    Check out Weebly.com. Good templates, cheap rates. My friend who is a Web ninja uses this for a lot of small clients who need a no-frills Web presence.

  128. 128.

    Downpuppy

    February 20, 2012 at 8:54 pm

    @Rome Again: Sure. Bible is Wack. Some of the better believers* understand that you have to pretty much throw out the whole Old Testament to get anything coherent, but the fundamentalists don’t.

    *Mostly, one big intense black guy that gave me a ride in 1977. “Your burnt offerings are a stench in my nostrils!” Obviously, quite memorable.

  129. 129.

    khead

    February 20, 2012 at 9:00 pm

    Weird. Moderation due to IPad post?

    Just checking….

  130. 130.

    Schlemizel

    February 20, 2012 at 9:02 pm

    @bemused:
    Yeah, I’m surprised you figured out who I meant from my bad spelling. I was thinking more of the style Candy had in Second City and the first Home Alone movie.

    My dad was very active in state politics & Florian was a bad word around our house. He blocked pro-union stuff & it drove folks nuts that he kept getting re-elected.

  131. 131.

    Jimbo316

    February 20, 2012 at 9:09 pm

    @Egg Berry: Casting lots…you would have had to have a passing acquaintance with the New Testament to get that one. Excellent and pithy ed cartoon.

  132. 132.

    magurakurin

    February 20, 2012 at 9:10 pm

    @Mary G: I use Yola. I can’t really compare it to anything else, because I don’t have experience with others, but it has been great for me. I used there free service for a year and a half and finally paid for a domain name and hosting. It’s 4 or 5 dollars a month. The little page builder they provide is good enough for me. In fact I built an entire business with it here in Japan. My little English school now has over 70 students and I made enough money last year that I actually have to pay taxes again.

    The free service was just fine and the transition from the sub domain to my own domain was totally seamless and super easy. They did everything for me. I recommend it. But like I said I really don’t have anything to compare it with.

    yola’s site

    My site if you want to see what I was able to do with their page builder. Nothing special, but enough for my small, family business.

  133. 133.

    Jimbo316

    February 20, 2012 at 9:11 pm

    @Shinobi: Me too but I’m not guilty about it.

  134. 134.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 20, 2012 at 9:12 pm

    Watching TRMS, a thousand people came to a silent protest at the Virginia capitol building. I don’t know how you gauge the importance or influence of that turn-out, but the state senate apparently tabled their ‘personhood’ law.

  135. 135.

    MikeJ

    February 20, 2012 at 9:25 pm

    @Downpuppy:

    Some of the better believers* understand that you have to pretty much throw out the whole Old Testament to get anything coherent, but the fundamentalists don’t.

    Actually there’s quite a few people with a pretty coherent religion based entirely on the “old” testament. Which isn’t to say that you can’t get some wacky stuff out of it if you want to, but it’s not really a problem getting something coherent.

  136. 136.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 20, 2012 at 9:31 pm

    CNN is advertising on MSNBC. I’ve seen commercials for other channels’ shows, but I always assume that means they’re owned by the same company. That does not strike me as a confident network. Until they said it was CNN, I thought it was a commercial for Americans Elect or one of those lo-info front groups for Evan Bahy and Bloomberg. Did you know we need solutions to our problems? Why hasn’t Obama thought of that?

  137. 137.

    taoforall

    February 20, 2012 at 9:48 pm

    So, Moses and Jebus are in heaven trading miracle stories, and J says can you still do that thing with the water? Moses holds up his staff, and the waters part. I guess so, can you walk on it? Jesus steps out and sinks up to neck. Fcking holes!

  138. 138.

    Cap'n Swag

    February 20, 2012 at 9:52 pm

    How did Erick Son of Erick come to be such a heavy-hitter in the conservative blogosphere?

    And as always, I love the high comedy of someone who called a SC justice a “goat-fucking child molester” lecturing everyone else on morality.

  139. 139.

    Arm The Homeless

    February 20, 2012 at 10:10 pm

    A shitstorm is a brewin’.

    “The broader tragedy is that his decision to go to such extremes in his fight with Heartland has greatly set back any prospects of the country having the “rational public debate” that he wrote — correctly — is so desperately needed.”

    I hope this guy and the IPCC have some serious Ju-Jitsu to combat the crocodile tears from the denialists. Mark this moment, because in 20 years you’re still going to be fending off attack ads about lying sekular scientists and their machinations on perpetrating the greatest fraud evah! At least in the portion of the nation not inundated by water or wildfires.

  140. 140.

    mikefromArlington

    February 20, 2012 at 10:55 pm

    THIS IS ….

    Ah…good old Idiotic

  141. 141.

    Ruckus

    February 20, 2012 at 11:54 pm

    @harlana:

    Well he is full of shit.
    It must be nice not having to hear him speak to know that.

  142. 142.

    joel hanes

    February 21, 2012 at 12:01 am

    @Schlemizel: The Shimeleski Polka Hour enlivened many a winter Sunday evening when I was a lad in North Iowa, sometime after professional bowling and before The Lawrence Welk Show.

    Nothing in the show would have made me think of any of the family members as community leaders, or as thoughtful persons.

  143. 143.

    FlipYrWhig

    February 21, 2012 at 12:43 am

    @Cap’n Swag: He created a third-rate Daily Kos knockoff which, due to the multiplicative effect of anything conservative becoming instantly appealing to desperate-to-avoid-charges-of-liberal-bias media outlets, put him on the fast track to media starlet status. Pretty much the same way Douthat got his job.

  144. 144.

    Another Halocene Human

    February 21, 2012 at 5:09 am

    @divF: That’s because it’s from a psalm, not the NT.

  145. 145.

    Another Halocene Human

    February 21, 2012 at 5:17 am

    @Another Halocene Human: Psalm 22, in fact. Here’s some blah-de-blah on why Christians consider it prophetic.

    In fact, it’s likely that the synoptic gospel bit in John about casting lots was put in there to conform to the psalm.

    ETA: former Catholic, now atheist

  146. 146.

    Marmot

    February 21, 2012 at 10:41 am

    Anne, I really like your posts.

    But for the life of me, I haven’t laughed at a single one of
    the cartoons. Either I’m missing the reference (like here), or the reference just isn’t very funny (also like here, but how can you tell when you have to read comments to get the ref?), or it’s some strange ’70s definition of “funny” that I don’t employ.

    Not to discourage — obviously the ‘toons are well-liked by others. I’m just more of a This Modern World and Bill Hicks person than a Doonesbury/Gilda Radner person. I think I’m not alone in this, either.

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