Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

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

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

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

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Evening Open Thread

Reader Interactions

128Comments

  1. 1.

    Steeplejack

    Is Burnspbesq on suicide watch? Someone should check.

    I went to Mizzou, but I’m not that invested, plus I’m self-medicating.

    Steep + 2

  2. 2.

    Corner Stone

    Yeah, like you had Lehigh and Norfolk State and Ohio U. winning

    Maybe on their 4th or 5th pool bracket.
    But otherwise, no freakin way.
    See ya Duke!

  5. 5.

    Tone In DC

    I hate Duke so much it hurts.

    In 2007, VCU got ’em. This time it’s Lehigh.
    I LIKE IT.

  9. 9.

    madmommy

    My brackets are blown all to hell and gone, but damn! Two #2’s go down to #15’s in one day?! Plus all the other upsets.

    Best.
    Tournament.
    Ever.

  11. 11.

    burnspbesq

    @Steeplejack:

    I’m good. We beat Carolina in lacrosse today, and our women get started on Sunday.

    Appreciate your concern.

    Full props to the Mountain Hawks. They were the better team today.

  12. 12.

    Chris from Arlington, VA

    My dad’s a Lehigh alum. 1977 NCAA D2 Football National Champion to boot. He’s freaking out.

  14. 14.

    Raven

    @Chris from Arlington, VA: Cool! It’s already in the wiki!

    “The Mountain Hawks men’s basketball team is best known for its run in the 2012 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, in particular its first-round game as a #15 seed on March 16, 2012 against the #2 seed Duke Blue Devils. Despite being a heavy underdog, thanks to C. J. McCollum’s 30-point heroics, the Mountain Hawks pulled off the stunning upset, defeating the Blue Devils 75-70 and making it only the sixth time that a 15th seed has defeated a 2nd seed.[5]”

  15. 15.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @burnspbesq: Somehow, your faux good mood is doubtful. Le-fucking-high dookster!

    ETA: I’d be the same if you were a Tar Heel.

  19. 19.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @khead: Kittehs!!

    On another forum, I got the following comment:

    Bella Q, I think William Safire has taken over your pen.

    It made me LOL.

    @Raven: It’s an open thread. Like I need an excuse to go OT. But the Bearcats won, so there’s that, after the previous embarrassing fiasco with Xavier that had nothing to do with actual ball playing.

  20. 20.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    I think next year I will be weary of teams from Virginia, first VCU now Norfolk St. I am happy for Ohio U beating Michigan, Go Bobcats! I wonder if they are crying at ESPN for Duke’s demise. (Dickie V wailing COACH K COACH K, you broke my heart, you broke my heart)

  21. 21.

    kideni

    We had a lovely Friday news dump here in Wisconsin. First, one of the Republican state senators who’s being recalled stepped down, effective immediately, because of a family health crisis. I think the medical crisis is for real, because if it were a political decision, the Repubs would have been better off if she’d waited a couple of weeks. Now, the state senate is split 16 to 16, so the Republicans have to share power, and they can’t just push through crap. Yes, the senate’s legislative session just ended, but Walker could have called the two houses back into session to take up his crappy mining legislation again, but now that’s dead. More importantly, the judges reviewing redistricting should be making a ruling soon, and since they may well tell the legislature to start over, this would mean the decisions would have to be in the open and the power shared (and probably ultimately, the redistricting would be done by a judicial panel, since the two sides would probably never agree).

    And then, a judicial ethics panel came down hard on state supreme court justice David Prosser for having choked a colleague and calling the chief justice a bitch. He faces charges of judicial misconduct, which is pretty serious (unfortunately, what to do about the charges probably will be in the hands of the other supreme court justices, which means the conservatives will vote to do nothing). But still.

  22. 22.

    Comrade Javamanphil

    I will root for Duke if they are playing UK…and that is it. My Catamounts got blown out by UNC but with Duke’s loss it is still a great day.

    As to Lax season, fear the turtle.

  24. 24.

    WyldPirate

    Raven:

    Hey Raven, y’all got junebugs down in Athens? I remember as a kid in TN it was big fun tying strings to their leg and flying them around.

    Hardly ever see one anymore; sorta like fireflys.

  26. 26.

    ThresherK

    @Raven: 30-point heroics?

    Thirty points, or a thirty-point shot?

    Seriously, though: That book about the Patriot League (“The Last Amateurs”?) is a great read. I can’t claim I took Lehigh, but I did notch Ohio U.

    On the sartorial front Spousal Unit ThresherK thought Ohio U won because their logo features a bobcat with appropriately angry, flattened ears. And did I mention I took a cat to the vet today?

  27. 27.

    burnspbesq

    And my actual alma mater, Union, is in the ECAC championship game in hockey tomorrow night against Hahvahd, against whom we went 1-0-1 in the regular season. Would be nice to get the automatic bid and not sweat out the selection process.

  28. 28.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @burnspbesq: It’s not just a game when you’re talking smack about the Dookies beating everybody else, burnsy. Else, there wouldn’t be so much concern for you upthread. It’s “only a game” when you lose. But LeHigh? C’mon, dude. That has to sting the vaunted blue devils.

  29. 29.

    Spaghetti Lee

    Outside of brackets, I actually root for Mizzou, so, you know, fuck the world.

    My bracket is in the 96th percentile on the ESPN challenge, which is honestly better than usual. I don’t think a single person has a perfect bracket left, at least not there.

    And if my Tigers had to lose, it helps that another 2 seed will share our pain. If the (cocksucking shiteating motherfucking) Kansas Jayhawks go down as well, I’ll still consider this a good weekend.

  31. 31.

    The Dangerman

    @madmommy:

    Best.
    Tournament.
    Ever.

    There was a tournament years ago (surely more than a decade) where there were 3 buzzer beaters in about 5 minutes of airtime (this was back when they were all on CBS or ESPN and they had to switch feeds). That one will be hard to beat.

  33. 33.

    Tone In DC

    one of the Republican state senators who’s being recalled stepped down, effective immediately, because of a family health crisis. I think the medical crisis is for real, because if it were a political decision, the Repubs would have been better off if she’d waited a couple of weeks. Now, the state senate is split 16 to 16, so the Republicans have to share power, and they can’t just push through crap.

    I like the sound of that. Hope that kind of thing is contagious.

  34. 34.

    Davis X. Machina

    I’m doing fine. I have a bracket where I picked the school in each round where the chances are highest that the players actually go to class and earn degrees.

  35. 35.

    Yevgraf

    I’m going to be guffawing for a month.

    I hate Duke. It’s an American thing – my wife doesn’t understand.

  39. 39.

    BDeevDad

    Is there nothing that Nate Silver cannot predict?

    Very few upsets so far. Someone’s going to have to take one for the good of the sport. I nominate Duke.

  41. 41.

    burnspbesq

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Nope. It was obvious all year that this was a flawed team with a low ceiling. And we may not be any better next year, unless we get Shabazz Muhammad and/or Tony Parker.

  42. 42.

    AA+ Bonds

    @kideni:

    First, one of the Republican state senators who’s being recalled stepped down, effective immediately, because of a family health crisis.

    probably a gay husband

  44. 44.

    The Dangerman

    LIU only down 5 at the half; there are some assholes that are puckering pretty tight in Michigan.

  46. 46.

    Sir Nose'D

    Yeah, I had Lehigh and Norfolk State. Not Ohio.

    PS – I know nothing about NCAA basketball.

  47. 47.

    gene108

    My Wolfpack’s still dancing and Duke’s out….hahahahahahaha….

    Don’t normally root against ACC schools except UNC-CHeat, but after the refs jobbed us in Cameron, by changing how the game was called in the 2nd half, I’m just laughing a bit now…

  48. 48.

    AA+ Bonds

    If you had Duke winning you’re an enemy of the people and should set up a reeducation camp for yourself with couch cushions and sheets

  50. 50.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Because it’s an open thread (please note this has fuckall to do with basketball), I am going to be driving in a leisurely way from Atlanta to Phoenix in May. I have some family commitments around the middle of the month but otherwise I can pretty much create my own itinerary. Will probably be driving through central Texas, Santa Fe and maybe Albuquerque, and Tucson, in addition to a few days in Phx. Could I interest any Juicers in a small-scale meet-up? We can use BJ as an organizing tool, or if it’s easier to communicate offline, let me know if you’re interested at SiubhanDuinne (at) gmail (dot) com. Would love to meet some of the SWUS posters!

  51. 51.

    Bondo

    I did have Ohio U winning this game but I had Missouri winning the whole thing so…crap. I’m actually winning the first round in my pool.

  55. 55.

    Hill Dweller

    Bill Maher’s show is f’n awful. The topics are predetermined, but he is still completely ignorant when discussing said topics.

    Dylan Ratigan might be the biggest douche on TV.

  57. 57.

    madmommy

    @The Dangerman:

    I remember that, though I’d be switched to tell you who played the games. The tournament itself, in terms of exciting games, buzzer beaters, upsets and great moments, cannot be beat. How can the NCAA get this so very right and completely screw the pooch when it comes to D-1 football?

  58. 58.

    magurakurin

    The soldier was injured twice in Iraq, Browne said. A battle-related injury required surgery to remove part of one foot, the lawyer said.But Browne and government officials differ in their portrayal of a second injury, to the soldier’s head, in a vehicle accident.A government official said this week that the accident was not related to combat. But Browne said the man suffered a concussion in an accident caused by an improvised explosive device.

    Does anyone have any idea why Staff Sgt. Bales was still in combat? He was missing part of his foot, isn’t that enough to get one removed from combat and active service? Seriously, what the fuck is going on with the military now? Is it truly this broken?

  60. 60.

    Scott Alloway

    She who must be obeyed (my better half), had to be called to the TV to watch the last two minutes of the Lehigh-Duke game. She is a Lehigh alumnae and didn’t understand why I was jumping up and down and screaming. Greatest upset I recall since Texas Western-Kentucky in 1985 (been following BB a long time. Called my terminally-ill friend in NC to celebrate – he’s a long-time NC fan. Sad joy but still good.

  61. 61.

    The Dangerman

    @madmommy:

    I remember that, though I’d be switched to tell you who played the games.

    It might have been the Valpo year (the Bryce Drew shot).

    You’re right; a Final Four in NCAA Football would be huge (though there has to be some Cinderellas to make it work and, in football, that could be a problem).

  62. 62.

    gene108

    Flirting with the idea of buying a new car.

    Anybody have any suggestions for something under 20-25k?

    So far nothing I’ve driven really impresses me.

    Drove VW GTI, Jetta, Volvo C30, Dodge Avenger, Dodge Caliber and Audi A3.

    The Volvo and Audi aren’t really in my price range, but I figured, I was curious how the “other half” live.

  65. 65.

    Raven

    @madmommy: There was a time when they didn’t stagger games times so they’d all be finishing at the same time. Actually you should check out The Last Dance:Behind the Scenes at the Final Four by John Feinstein. It’s about the North Carolina-Illinois Championship but is also a wonderful history of the tournament and how it has evolved from the day when you could go in the Tourney HQ hotel and sit down and talk to John Wooden.

  66. 66.

    JCJ

    Boiler Up! I am so relieved Purdue didn’t blow it at the end. Now I get to watch them (probably) get squished by Kansas on Sunday. I hope the Badgers keep it up, but I am an eternal pessimist about my teams.

    After Purdue was done I switched to hockey – the game was North Dakota vs Minnesota in the WCHA Final Five. UND went nuts in the third period to go from 3-1 down to 6-3! I know there is a Gopher fan here. I feel for ya. That was painful.

  68. 68.

    ThresherK

    @gene108: For that reason alone I figured NCState was going to be the easiest 11-seed to pick in ages. They didn’t disappoint; congrats.

  70. 70.

    AA+ Bonds

    @Hill Dweller:

    I think Ratigan is fine but Rachel Maddow is pretty terrible

    Honestly, I don’t have the stomach for MSNBC, it’s one of the worst channels in the history of television

    Ratigan only gets a pass with me really because he puts Mark Ames on TV which should happen every morning

    Every morning they should go find him and shine a big flashlight on him and poke him with a stick until he starts talking and they should crush up a line of speed for him

  75. 75.

    AA+ Bonds

    @Raven:

    Non-liberal stuff, I know, it’s alien talk to this crew

    Bed is probably around 3-4 am, have a good night

  78. 78.

    Steeplejack

    @gene108:

    Check out Hyundai. Can’t think of the name of their sporty sedan (Genesis?), but it has gotten good reviews.

  80. 80.

    S. cerevisiae

    My Bulldogs lost in double overtime to Denver after shelling their goalie with 70 shots. No matter, they are assured a place in the NCAA’s next weekend. The Gophers were suddenly losing 5-3 to the Sue after jumping out to a 3-0 lead, then FSN decides to cut off my coverage for the fucking T-Wolves (which I cant get here anyway).

  81. 81.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @madmommy:

    Well, the two are different sports, which doesn’t seem to come up much in these topics. You can’t have a football team play 4 games in 10 days or whatever it is to get to the final four.

    I’m one of the 5% of college football fans or so who are relatively OK with the system the way it is. At least to the extent that a playoff wouldn’t be some magical panacea, it wouldn’t keep the interests big wealthy schools from dominating. What you would get is a flabbier and more meaningless regular season. Think of any great top-5 regular season football matchup of the sort that determined who would be crowned champion in a few months, and imagine it being completely meaningless because they’re both going to a playoff.

    One general sports trend I don’t like is making playoffs more and more bloated. I opposed the NCAA expansion to 68 and I opposed MLB moving up to 10 playoff teams. If big money requests that those numbers become 96 and 16 in a couple years and people start complaining that the playoffs are watered-down and full of teams that don’t deserve to be there, I’ll just play them a song on my tiny violin.

  83. 83.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @Steeplejack:

    I will not bemoan my team’s loss by going out and getting hammered. Rather, I’ll deal with it maturely and distract myself by looking at porn all night.

  86. 86.

    The Dangerman

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    I will not bemoan my team’s loss by going out and getting hammered. Rather, I’ll deal with it maturely and distract myself by looking at porn all night.

    There’s a Rick S. on Line 2 for you.

  87. 87.

    madmommy

    @Raven:
    Thanks, I’ll check it out. Not going to make it to the end of these games, gotta get up and go to work in the morning.

  91. 91.

    Hill Dweller

    @AA+ Bonds: Ratigan was on Maher’s show ranting about the banks. I actually agreed with the substance, but it rang a bit hollow coming from a guy that spent years on CNBC(Wall Street’s propaganda wing).

    The panel started talking about gas prices, yet no one, including Maher, knew anything about domestic supply nor demand.

    Viewers were dumber after watching that show.

  97. 97.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Raven: He sure ain’t funny, but damn can he write. One of my favorte weeks as an undergrad was when we had him read (from Going after Cacciatio)at our fiction festival, along with Don Delillo.

    My friend is an amazing photographer, and not as good a novelist. Though his books are quite funny – the one with the Lt, is called Too High.

  101. 101.

    burnspbesq

    I have a big stack of new vinyl to listen to and rip to the server. See y’all tomorrow.

  103. 103.

    MikeJ

    I’ll repeat the crossword news I posted earlier:
    For the crossword fans among us, there’s a puzzle on cruciverb today that’s a tribute to Gail Collins. Puzzle requires across lite (or your own home brew program like I use). Anything that will read the standard NYT puzzles.

    For those of you who don’t want to do the puzzle, you still might enjoy the theme answers. Screenshot of spoilers here. Theme questions will be enjoyed by all here, except maybe Veritas.

  109. 109.

    handy

    @Raven:

    I heard AA+ Bonds loud and clear: Rachel Maddow is seriously overrated as a TeeVee Librul. Not to get all Somerby but in between some decent interviews her whole thing is little more than playing the rubes for the “LOLDUMBGOOPERZ”

    Also, didn’t Alex P. Keaton end up going to Lehigh?

  110. 110.

    freelancer

    @gene108:

    In 2005, I got a 2003 Pontiac Vibe GT. I love this car. I got an upgraded engine with the GT and it’s everything I want. It’s small, but can seat 4-5 comfortably. It has a lot of pickup, but gets awesome mileage. Obviously Pontiac is gone, but it’s the same car as the Toyota Matrix.

  111. 111.

    handy

    People with their hatred of teams. So just a quick question to all the folks, not just the haters who exist to hate, but the people who cheer other on other teams: people who hate Coach K, your principled objections would compel you to continue to hate even if say, he miraculously ended up at your program?

  113. 113.

    caring and sensitive

    @Mr Stagger Lee:
    I have a diesel Jetta which is great. 45 mpg in mixed city/hwy driving. Previous car was an A6 Liked the Audi marginally more, but the Jetta is a really nice car.

  114. 114.

    MikeJ

    @handy: Maybe he should switch to football and go to Penn St. Asshole is several steps up from kiddie raping criminal.

  115. 115.

    handy

    @MikeJ:

    If something like that ever came out at Duke I’d be right in line wanted the guy’s ass. (OKay in the context of rape that probably wasn’t the best choice of words but you know what I’m saying)

  116. 116.

    freelancer

    @Anton Sirius:

    Jesus Christ. That motherfucker needs to face a Grand Jury for Murder One. Unbelievable. Buying Tea and Skittles while black and some fucking psycho decides you’re suspicious ‘cos you got your hood over your head and it’s raining. This has had me seething since the day I’ve heard about it. He was just a boy and now this pale fuck who’s been winding his own spring just gets to walk away unmolested by police?

    Fuck a society that abides that.

  119. 119.

    WaterGirl

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): I keep thinking that our response should be to say that anyone who is on a tour of duty greater than 3 will immediately return to the states because anything greater than that carries too much risk for the soldiers.

    Shit, they changed the college rules for volleyball after they figured out most of the injuries occurred in the 5th game of a best-of-five match, you’d think they could figure that out in the military.

    I’m sure Raven or someone else can explain why that wouldn’t be a good idea, and they would probably be right, because I have absolutely no standing on this, but it seems like the risks are so high that we’re taking advantage of the soldiers who were willing to join the military in the first place..

  120. 120.

    WaterGirl

    @AA+ Bonds: Check out Up with Chris Hayes on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I can’t even bear to watch Rachel anymore, she has gotten too much like the rest of them, but Chris Hayes is great.

  121. 121.

    Yutsano

    @Cliff in NH: Rented a Subaru Impreza once. Came really close to actually buying one, but ended up with a 2011 Chevy Malibu instead. Great on the gas and doesn’t have a thing wrong after 33000 miles and counting.

  122. 122.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @handy:

    people who hate Coach K, your principled objections would compel you to continue to hate even if say, he miraculously ended up at your program?

    I hate on all big-time college athletics because the coaches and schools make off at the expense of the athletes and students. So, yes. Unless he was taking a $100,000/year salary.

  124. 124.

    WaterGirl

    @gene108: I love my Honda CRV. Best thing I did before buying was having to rent a car a few weeks before. There were all sorts of things that annoyed me about the rental, and that helped me know what features I cared about when I went looking to buy.

    I do have a soft spot for Subaru, though. I had a beautiful, sporty black Subaru years ago, and it saved my life in an accident with a semi. Thankfully, that was back when the body was made of steel instead of something that feels as light as plastic. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here now. I will always be grateful for my Subaru saving my life.

  125. 125.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @gene108: $20k would get you a Mini Cooper S, well-specced, if you wanted to go pretty left-field and didn’t mind the size.

    If you haven’t had a drive of the 2012 Focus, might be worth a look. (The tuned 2L Focus ST is probably not going to show up in the USA until the back half of the year.)

  126. 126.

    Legalize

    How bout them Ohio schools today. I attended (but did not graduate) from one of them. Go, schools relevant to my geographic location!

Comments are closed.