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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Not all heroes wear capes.

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

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

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Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

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

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

No Justins, No Peace

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Let there be snark.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

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

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

As long as McCarthy is Speaker, the House will never be in order.

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

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread

Open Thread

by John Cole|  March 1, 201212:03 am| 62 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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I know nothing.

Just got off the phone with a friend (Jason) who I had not talked to in twenty years. Hate on facebook all you want, but it has helped me get reconnected with lots of people I loved and with whom I had lost touch.

*** Update ***

BTW- I keep forgetting to blog about it, but this Frontline piece on Fukushima was excellent. I’d actually recommend listening to this Fresh Air piece first before viewing.

There really is nothing that compares to the quality of Frontline pieces.

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Reader Interactions

62Comments

  1. 1.

    debit

    March 1, 2012 at 12:04 am

    Sgt Schultz?

  2. 2.

    Steeplejack

    March 1, 2012 at 12:07 am

    Ah, that is the beginning of true wisdom, grasshopper.

  3. 3.

    jharp

    March 1, 2012 at 12:10 am

    You’re young. I’m going on 30 years for some of my old friends.

  4. 4.

    MariedeGournay

    March 1, 2012 at 12:11 am

    I’m never on Facebook at all really. But recently I was on and discovered some college friends I haven’t scene in 18 years were getting together for drinks. I’ve been starting to feel old. It was so nice to feel old with people I remember getting sloppy drunk with and driving all the way to Vermont for no reason.

  5. 5.

    Comrade Mary

    March 1, 2012 at 12:13 am

    I don’t hate on it at all. I found an old friend from high school on FB, and was not only able to re-connect with her, I found out about our AWESOME high school reunion from her just a couple of weeks before it happened, which led to re-connecting with several other friends.

    I just can’t live in the place. I love my friends, BUT NO FUCKING APPS EVER, OK?

  6. 6.

    Redshift

    March 1, 2012 at 12:17 am

    The one thing Facebook is useful for is finding people and being found. Wading through all the other crap larded onto it just to get that is a pain, but it’s still worth it.

  7. 7.

    Sharoney

    March 1, 2012 at 12:17 am

    OTOH, especially in the case of high school reunion groups, it can serve to remind you of how little some individuals have matured–and how stuck in the past some others are.

    Feh, who needs it.

  8. 8.

    Quaker in a Basement

    March 1, 2012 at 12:18 am

    Wait, you people go out of your way to get BACK IN TOUCH with people who know all about stuff you did 20 years ago?

    That’s very different from my approach.

  9. 9.

    Jewish Steel

    March 1, 2012 at 12:19 am

    Facebook allows me to stay current on the day to day of friends on the coasts. I like that. I also spent the last couple of days tormenting a crypto-racist libertarian friend of a friend. I like that too.

  10. 10.

    sloan

    March 1, 2012 at 12:20 am

    It’s Rossini’s birthday today. Gioachino Antonio Rossini was born on Leap Day 1792 and died on Friday the 13th of November 1868.

    A blacksmith’s apprentice born into a family of musicians, Rossini began performing in his church at the age of 10. Long story short: He wrote his first opera at 18 and never looked back. And at only 24 years of age wrote The Barber of Seville.

    So here’s wishing Gioachino a happy 55th Leap Birthday! And here are two of his best:

    Largo al factotum (You know, from the Bugs Bunny cartoons)

    And Semiramide overture. Just a great piece of music imho.

    Enjoy!

  11. 11.

    PeakVT

    March 1, 2012 at 12:20 am

    Rarely is the question asked: Why is Ron Paul’s Superpac Headquartered in Mitt Romney’s Backyard?

  12. 12.

    dead existentialist

    March 1, 2012 at 12:21 am

    Am I missing something or has little been said about ALEC and the transvaginal-stop-abortion scheme that has popped up in Virginia, Alabama, and Georgia? And this hoo-haw about contraception and the attempts from Colorado to Mississippi to wherever the state legislatures controlled by the GOP are running with lately.

    How come I heard about ALEC a few months ago but haven’t had anybody make the connection with the current frenzy of misogyny in the various state legislatures? And what about the concerted attacks on labor in the Middle West? Are you people gonna make me use the google?

  13. 13.

    ramalamadingdong

    March 1, 2012 at 12:35 am

    Reconnected with my HS crush on FB. Married him last year. Served its purpose I suppose.

  14. 14.

    FormerSwingVoter

    March 1, 2012 at 12:38 am

    @Quaker in a Basement: God, I thought I was the only one. People talk about reuniting with people they hung out with in high school as if it’s a plus instead of a minus.

  15. 15.

    Soo

    March 1, 2012 at 12:41 am

    Here’s one for you: I’ve been coming to this site for some time now, and not until your recent Rusted Root post did it occur to me that we went to WVU at the same time. Then I got to thinking… is this John Cole who was good friends with Katherine E? I checked her Facebook page and there you are. I would kick myself for just figuring this out now but I killed an extraordinary number of brain cells while at WVU so I make it a habit of being forgiving when remembering those days.

  16. 16.

    Comrade Mary

    March 1, 2012 at 12:43 am

    @FormerSwingVoter: There’s high schools and high schools, and reunions and reunions. I went to an alternative high school that had a maximum of 120 students at any given time. Our reunion covered about 5 years of graduating students, so fewer than 80 people, including teaching staff, kids and spice, showed up at the reunion, which was a day of picnicking and stealth drinking at High Park, followed by some truly great tiny after parties off-site.

  17. 17.

    cay

    March 1, 2012 at 12:59 am

    FB is a teacher’s dream. 15 years teaching; 800 “friends” who are mostly kids who friended me. Not only do I get to see what alums are doing, they end up making plans with me for coffee or lunch. So much for the idea that FB isolates people!

  18. 18.

    Mnemosyne

    March 1, 2012 at 1:03 am

    @dead existentialist:

    I think this graph holds the answer — the Republicans are terrified that their base (white evangelical) vote won’t turn out in November, and they’re having to tailor their entire message to them just so it won’t be a humiliating blowout.

    Of course, by doing that, they’re energizing every other group out there to vote against them, but IMO Republican polling is showing that they can’t even hold onto the 27% right now and they’re desperately trying to shore it up.

  19. 19.

    Citizen_X

    March 1, 2012 at 1:04 am

    including teaching staff, kids and spice

    Spice? You went to high school on Arrakis? Now that’s alternative.

  20. 20.

    Violet

    March 1, 2012 at 1:08 am

    @cay:

    So much for the idea that FB isolates people!

    I’ve never heard this theory. Can you explain?

    People who are kids now will never experience the joy of reconnecting with long lost friends. They’ll never have any long lost friends as everyone will be connected on Facebook forever.

    Things like Facebook are scary if you’ve been the victim of stalking, especially internet stalking.

  21. 21.

    Martin

    March 1, 2012 at 1:09 am

    @Quaker in a Basement:

    That’s very different from my approach.

    Mine too. I have fond memories of my old friends. Last thing I want to do is catch up with them now to find out they’re some asshole teatard who I can’t stand to talk to.

    Leave on a high note.

  22. 22.

    Mnemosyne

    March 1, 2012 at 1:11 am

    @Mnemosyne:

    Forgot to say, I pulled that graph from this post at The People’s View.

  23. 23.

    Geoduck

    March 1, 2012 at 1:11 am

    In the unlikely event that my high school class ever even holds a reunion, I would have to be dragged there kicking and screaming.

    I do have a Facebook page, mostly to keep track of various relatives.

  24. 24.

    John Cole

    March 1, 2012 at 1:14 am

    @Soo: Yep, that would be me. I still talk to Kat every couple of weeks. Check your email.

  25. 25.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    March 1, 2012 at 1:22 am

    @Geoduck:

    I do have a Facebook page, mostly to keep track of various relatives.

    That’s mostly why I use it as well, especially as most of them are in Ireland, and I’m in California.

  26. 26.

    Chris

    March 1, 2012 at 1:22 am

    @Violet:

    People who are kids now will never experience the joy of reconnecting with long lost friends. They’ll never have any long lost friends as everyone will be connected on Facebook forever.

    Eh, I may not have pre-Facebook world experiences to compare it to, but I gotta differ. Just a month ago I reconnected with a friend I hadn’t seen in seven years, since the summer we both finished high school. I assure you it was an enormous joy, and having been linked on Facebook for all that time didn’t detract from it in the least.

    (What does being “connected” on Facebook really mean, after all? You drop “happy birthdays” on each other’s walls, you like each other’s comments, and every now and then you have an exchange on something interesting, but that’s not even close to being “connected” in the sense I understand it. For all intents and purposes, if the only connection you have to an old friend is Facebook, that friend is lost. Hence when the actual re-connection finally comes – something Facebook makes more likely and easy – there’s still plenty of joy to go around).

    Just my $0.02.

  27. 27.

    Violet

    March 1, 2012 at 1:30 am

    @Chris:
    What I meant was, take for example the old high school friend you used to do all kind of crazy stuff with back in the day, but you went your separate ways after graduation. Before Facebook you might stay in touch at Christmas or not even that, and then maybe see each other 20 years later at a high school reunion.

    For the Facebook generation, they’ll always stay connected. If they live in different places, they’ll still be able to see photos of each others lives and keep up easily. They won’t ever be “lost” the way I described above. They may not be connected in a meaningful way –just happy birthdays and such, like you said–but they’ll be connected and should they want to talk on the phone or see each other in person they won’t go through that “I wonder what happened to so and so” thing that other generations have done.

  28. 28.

    eemom

    March 1, 2012 at 1:35 am

    Hate on facebook all you want, but it has helped me get reconnected with lots of people I loved and with whom I had lost touch.

    You are SO right about this, John Cole.

    I could go on about it for a while, but it’s late and I’m tired. Suffice it to say again that I wholeheartedly agree with you — there are so many people I loved and shared with and who would have been lost to me forever without FB…..and now I know where they are and what they’re doing and what they look like after all these years, etc…..and we get to communicate in a way that none of us would ever have dreamed possible.

    Here’s a cosmic LIKE to all that.

  29. 29.

    joel hanes

    March 1, 2012 at 1:37 am

    Avoid class reunions before the 30th.

    If you have a great time at the 30th, consider going to subsequent ones.

    My own FB experience :

    Most of the people I’d most love to talk to aren’t on FB.

    The more boring the former classmate was and is, the more active they seem to be on FB

    Found an old flame, exchanged email, went to visit: discovered that we don’t even like each other any more (she turned Republican in her 40s. I didn’t.)

    I need a certain distance from my family to maintain emotional equilibrium; FB demolished that.

    Final straw: FB unilaterally changed my privacy settings without notifying me, much less asking. (They changed everyone’s settings.)

    I asked FB to delete my account and never looked back.

  30. 30.

    Violet

    March 1, 2012 at 1:41 am

    @joel hanes:

    Final straw: FB unilaterally changed my privacy settings without notifying me, much less asking. (They changed everyone’s settings.)

    This kind of thing seems really evil to me. For people who have been stalked, or who are worried about a crazy ex or something, but maybe want to take advantage of some of the connection opportunities on Facebook, changing privacy settings without notification can actually put them in danger. I don’t see how Facebook can get away with doing that. Seems like it should be breaking some law.

  31. 31.

    Kevin

    March 1, 2012 at 1:51 am

    Jon Snow? (Cole)? Re-reading too much George R.R.Martin lately.

  32. 32.

    asiangrrlMN

    March 1, 2012 at 2:01 am

    @Soo: You know stories about Cole! Spill!

    When I first got on FB, many people from my high school friended me. 99% of them were RWNJ, and I think one of them got my account suspended for a short time. I kicked them all off, and I’m much happier keeping my friends’ list selective and mostly recent.

  33. 33.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    March 1, 2012 at 2:01 am

    I was worried for a sec, until this thread got the eemom seal of approval.

  34. 34.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    March 1, 2012 at 2:06 am

    @asiangrrlMN: I’ve been lucky with the old friends, not so much with the relatives. I have a few who like to push right wing (US) crap occasionally, and they’re not even Americans. I get lots of crap that would be prevented with a cursory look at snopes, too.

  35. 35.

    asiangrrlMN

    March 1, 2012 at 2:08 am

    @The prophet Nostradumbass: I don’t friend my relatives, not even my mother. More for their protection, really.

    ETA: I should say, I haven’t friended most my relatives.

  36. 36.

    4jkb4ia

    March 1, 2012 at 2:11 am

    Another late night with drones. This particular thread seems to have gotten upgraded to FDL Central quite early. (It was about FAA headaches approving drones for domestic use)

    Not on Facebook.

  37. 37.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    March 1, 2012 at 2:16 am

    @asiangrrlMN: Well, the relatives found me first, probably through my brother.

  38. 38.

    4jkb4ia

    March 1, 2012 at 2:17 am

    @ramalamadingdong:

    I would say so, yes.

  39. 39.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    March 1, 2012 at 2:21 am

    I must say, my mom is not on Facebook, and I have advised her to stay as far away from it as possible. She is starting to have some memory problems, and Facebook looks like a minefield in that regard.

  40. 40.

    Yutsano

    March 1, 2012 at 2:28 am

    @asiangrrlMN: My rules: no family or co-workers. And privacy settings jacked as high as I can. Got stalked once (you know by who) and not keen to re-live the experience.

    Hi hon. Lexie is limiting my typing ability. Little shit. :)

  41. 41.

    Michael Demmons

    March 1, 2012 at 2:50 am

    Re: Facebook. I love seeing how well I’ve done compared to the fucktards who used to call me a faggot and make my life miserable when I was in high school.

    I’d like to do an “It Gets Better” video about that, but I’m afraid it would seem like I was taking too much pleasure in it.

  42. 42.

    Michael Demmons

    March 1, 2012 at 2:52 am

    @The prophet Nostradumbass: My mom is not having memory problems, but she uses Facebook a good bit and I would say she quite enjoys it. Something else to occupy her day in addition to all the usual stuff.

  43. 43.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    March 1, 2012 at 2:58 am

    @Michael Demmons: I think rubbing their noses in it sounds pretty good to me :-).

  44. 44.

    4jkb4ia

    March 1, 2012 at 3:06 am

    Well, when the history of FDL is written, that will be one of the archetypal threads.

    I was basically out of anything relating to the Internet when John’s dad had his heart attack, and I had to find out about it on twitter, but I hope Cole, Sr. is doing better.

  45. 45.

    TaosJohn

    March 1, 2012 at 3:11 am

    I can’t believe all the pro-Facebook comments. Everything about it is anathema to me. Doesn’t the obvious manipulation and data mining bother you guys? Jesus, if there’s an old friend I didn’t stay in touch with, THERE WAS A REASON. :-)

    I joined a few years back, hung around for 18 months, then quit and ran like hell. Best thing I ever did.

  46. 46.

    FlipYrWhig

    March 1, 2012 at 3:19 am

    I had a Facebook encounter with a guy who used to pick on me — in 5th grade. He friended me and I had misgivings. He started a conversation… to apologize. 30 damn years later. I give him credit for making the effort at closure.

    But it’s not always like that. My wife avoids FB because she’s trying to remain off the radar of a crazy stalker boss. He used to call her cell phone in the middle of the night — after she had left the job years ago. Brrr.

  47. 47.

    FlipYrWhig

    March 1, 2012 at 3:23 am

    @4jkb4ia: I heard Facebook and The Government are teaming up and if you criticize them they put it in a database and if you get too many hits they sic a drone on you. It’s all connected, man.

  48. 48.

    4jkb4ia

    March 1, 2012 at 3:30 am

    @FlipYrWhig:

    The government online privacy initiative was all a smokescreen, see.

    I probably regretted most not being on Facebook when Turntable.fm or whatever that thing is where Amanda Marcotte is hanging out required that you belong to it.

  49. 49.

    Marcellus Shale, Public Dick

    March 1, 2012 at 3:32 am

    doesn’t looking up people you used to know like 20 years ago, feel stalkerish to anyone?

    i started down that road when someone pointed me at a profile they thought was mine.

    stalker? maybe, but whomever’s profile real or fake, they seem more interesting than me, so i may as well let it stand.

  50. 50.

    Another Halocene Human

    March 1, 2012 at 4:53 am

    @Violet: Maybe a law in the EU. Not in the US. G-d forbid we have a law restricting what a direct advertising company can do with consumer (not citizen, consumer) information.

  51. 51.

    Arclite

    March 1, 2012 at 6:13 am

    Um, so, why listen to Fresh Air first? I have in-laws in Tokyo, so I’ll listen to both, but curious as to why you suggested this order.

  52. 52.

    harlana

    March 1, 2012 at 6:46 am

    I just reconnected with my best friend through middle and most of high school and i probably haven’t seen her in almost 20 years! so anyways, we swapped phone numbers and i’m gonna call her, so yeh, there’s that.

  53. 53.

    harlana

    March 1, 2012 at 6:54 am

    i have 2 FB’s, an “alias” one for political/news purposes and one with my real name (only b/c i want to connect with former classmates)

    i don’t want my political views on my personal FB because you know how that can get. so anyways, i have a nice little “newsource” FB with progressive posters i have “friended” (some local) and can swap comments and posts with those of like mind.

    as with many of us, a lot of our friends do not share our views and there is no point in getting into all that if you want to have a relationship with someone. i sure don’t want to stir up some ridiculous right-wing rants on a FB b/c you said something nice about Obama. well, anyway, that’s the way it is here in Redsville.

  54. 54.

    R-Jud

    March 1, 2012 at 6:55 am

    @Quaker in a Basement:

    Wait, you people go out of your way to get BACK IN TOUCH with people who know all about stuff you did 20 years ago? That’s very different from my approach.

    Srsly. I started using my confirmation name as my first name not long after I left college, and then changed the last name when I got married. People from high school who want to get in touch can ask my mom how to contact me.

  55. 55.

    bob h

    March 1, 2012 at 7:03 am

    I don’t know where you would put 30 million people from Tokyo; there is nowhere to go in Japan.

  56. 56.

    sphouch

    March 1, 2012 at 7:06 am

    Seriously, what are they putting in the cheese up there?

  57. 57.

    noodler

    March 1, 2012 at 7:36 am

    @ramalamadingdong: good for you!
    I use linked instead of fb. Has allowed me to connect with old friend and is generally devoid of drivel.

  58. 58.

    Maude

    March 1, 2012 at 7:42 am

    FB is putting ads on their pages.
    Also, when you delete the account, it doesn’t go away for about two weeks. You need to check it.

  59. 59.

    The Other Bob

    March 1, 2012 at 8:32 am

    Frontline is awesome.

    They have done great pieces on the 1992ish Bush I era plan to invade and “democratize” middle eastern countries. Thye also did a great piece on Japanese protectionism and its impact on other nation’s industries.

  60. 60.

    Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937

    March 1, 2012 at 8:35 am

    I saw the Frontline piece and then heard the Fresh Air interview the next morning via satellite radio. The interview made me want to go back and watch the Frontline show again. Both were incredible. Every nuke supporter should have to watch as the leadership contemplated a worst case scenario that they were dangerously close to.

  61. 61.

    sally

    March 1, 2012 at 10:22 am

    I’m with you on the value of Facebook. As an adult, I’ve lived in five different states and have had two marriages and countless jobs. Not to mention buddies from childhood and high school. On Facebook, and only Facebook, I can connect with people from all of these different places and times. To me, that’s huge.

    Obviously not everyone I add on Facebook becomes a long-lost BFF. Some people are only on Facebook to play games and I end up having to block their updates, because I do not give a shit about Farmville. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed resuming some of these connections.

    I do, though, struggle to make sure I only post things on there that I am okay with becoming public. If I wouldn’t be okay with standing in the middle of my office and saying it out loud to anyone who walks by, I won’t post it on Facebook. Even though I rachet my privacy settings quite high, I don’t really trust either the company or the software.

  62. 62.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    March 1, 2012 at 4:25 pm

    @FormerSwingVoter:

    People talk about reuniting with people they hung out with in high school as if it’s a plus instead of a minus.

    Really. I’m still trying to figure that one out. Most people I know reconnect with fellow high school alums and then remember why they never tried to reconnect with them before.

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