Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

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

Eh, that’s media spin. biden’s health is fine and he’s doing a good job.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Optimism opens the door to great things.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

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

This really is a full service blog.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

We still have time to mess this up!

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

The revolution will be supervised.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

No one could have predicted…

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

John Fetterman: Too Manly for Pennsylvania.  Paid for by the Oz for Senator campaign.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

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147Comments

  4. 4.

    Tickraw

    Saw The Great Gatsby trailer this morning, not impressed. Starting a trailer with an autotuned song is a deal killer, particuarly if the film takes place in the 1920s. I’ll stick with Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis, can’t wait for that one.

  6. 6.

    Comrade Mary

    It’s a gangbang! With tetanus! ARGHH!

    (Hey, Yuts! Still chowing down on hospital chow?)

  7. 7.

    TenguPhule

    Please be civil and nonpartisan.

    Death to the Republicans! Their skulls for cups and their blood for wine!

  8. 8.

    Yutsano

    @Comrade Mary: @Comrade Mary: On Mom chow now, which is an infinite improvement. Now trying to figure out who’s going to take me to my appointment tomorrow since Dad had blood drained from his fake knee and may have to have that cut open again here soon. It’s probably a good thing she’s not working, although I can tell taking care of her father is getting boring for her.

  15. 15.

    jibeaux

    Mackey’s Ferry Peanuts gourmet peanut butter is the best fucking peanut butter of all time and I really should not have bought some to keep in my damn office desk drawer. The crunchy is also good — both sides bring it!

  16. 16.

    Arrik

    @schrodinger’s cat: Haha, schrodinger’s cat beat me to it. Doug, I love your posts because you’re one of the few bipartisan centrists who realize that both sides do it. You’re like the juicy David Broder.

  17. 17.

    geg6

    I am currently mesmerized by the lovely bag in the Burberry ad here. I only wish that Burberry would put that one on Charlie Pierce’s site, too, instead of that little boy they have dressed up in big man’s clothes there.

    Sadly, I cannot afford Burberry anything, let alone a bag. Unless I can find one on eBay. That’s how I got my Coach collection after all. Hmmmm…

  18. 18.

    Brachiator

    @Tickraw:

    Saw The Great Gatsby trailer this morning, not impressed. Starting a trailer with an autotuned song is a deal killer, particuarly if the film takes place in the 1920s.

    I understand that the movie is going to be in 3D.

    I’ll just let that sink in.

    On the other hand, I’m crushed that the GI Joe sequel has been pulled from the summer and pushed to 2013. And again, they are going to re-process it for 3D.

    I blame Joss Whedon.

  22. 22.

    tjmn

    @Yutsano: Yutsano, did you just have surgery on your neck? I’m having c5-c6 and c6-c7 problems, which is pinching my radial nerve in left arm. Painful as business end of rusty pitchfork. Is this what you experienced?

  24. 24.

    The Dangerman

    A special fuck you should go out to George Tierney of Greenville, South Carolina.

    ETA: You think there’s a George Tierney that lives in Greenville, NORTH Carolina (if such a place exists?). Poor fucker if so.

  26. 26.

    slag

    @Brachiator: I’ve gone on record with my dislike of 3D. But after doing some rigorous experimenting with The Avengers as my control variable, I’ve now become a centrist on the issue.

  27. 27.

    Corner Stone

    While we’re being dedicatedly civil:
    Groups Concerned Over Arming Of Domestic Drones
    Welcome to Texas bitchez!

    “Chief Deputy Randy McDaniel of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in Texas told The Daily that his department is considering using rubber bullets and tear gas on its drone.”
    …
    “McDaniel says that his community should not be worried about the department using a drone.

    “We’ve never gone into surveillance for sake of surveillance unless there is criminal activity afoot,” McDaniel told The Daily. “Just to see what you’re doing in your backyard pool — we don’t care.”

  28. 28.

    Rosalita

    @geg6: I cannot afford Burberry anything, let alone a bag. Unless I can find one on eBay. That’s how I got my Coach collection after all. Hmmmm…

    me too…the retail prices were always bad but seem to have spiked over the last couple of years. best to find the wealthy woman who is cleaning out her closet. I scored some original Kate Spade’s that way.

  29. 29.

    flukebucket

    I’m beginning to wonder if, in the case of healthcare, the only way to advance fiscal conservatism is through a much more socialized medical system. When I first entered this debate, single-payer seemed the worst option to me. But the more I have understood, the saner it appears. If the free market cannot work in healthcare – and it has failed spectacularly in this country to provide even a semblance of value-for-money – then it may be time to grasp the nettle.

    Linky

  30. 30.

    Brachiator

    In light of the recent furor over the Larry Flynt Hustler jibe at a conservative pundit, I found this song lyric from singer Amanda Palmer to be very interesting.

    h/t to Mnemosyne

    Don’t make Amanda Palmer angry. Just ask her current label, Warner Music subsidiary and heavy metal haven Roadrunner Records. The Dresden Dolls frontwoman recently eviscerated Roadrunner in a recent “Moon River”-type live ballad called “Please Drop Me”.
    __
    (Sample lyric: “Please drop me, what do I have to do?/ I’m tired of sucking corporate dick.”)
    __
    This comes after the label tried to edit out some bare-stomach shots in her video for “Leeds United” from her 2008 solo album Who Killed Amanda Palmer; “They thought I looked fat,” wrote Palmer on her blog, “I thought they were on crack.”

  32. 32.

    yopd1

    Obama’s support of Gay Marriage really matters:

    Public Policy Polling surveys the people of Maryland and finds a 57-37 lead for approval of the new gay marriage law. Guess why?
    The movement over the last two months can be explained almost entirely by a major shift in opinion about same-sex marriage among black voters. Previously 56 percent said they would vote against the new law with only 39 percent planning to uphold it. Those numbers have now almost completely flipped, with 55 percent of African Americans planning to vote for the law and only 36 percent now opposed.

  33. 33.

    scav

    @Corner Stone:

    Groups Concerned Over Arming Of Domestic Drones

    Christ, I read that and I thought someone might actually be objecting to housewives owning guns.

    ETA: although, technically, I supposed the drones are the ones in the Laz-E-boys, not the ones in the kitchens. I don’t explain my mind, I only live here.

  34. 34.

    Yutsano

    @tjmn: Mine was in the lumbar region, although the pain radiated down through my legs and caused horrible night twitches. The twitches have almost completely gone away now even just one week after. You definitely sound like a good candidate for a laminectomy, which is where they make the hole for the nerve larger. I had a microdiscectomy, where they took the bulges out and pushed the rest back into place. I can feel huge improvements already, although the maximum benefit comes after 6 weeks when the nerve irritation calms down. But start with a physical therapy regimen first, the surgery is the last resort.

  35. 35.

    The Red Pen

    Republicans have proven that evolution is bunk.

    According to “science,” humans enjoy an advantage due to our opposable thumbs and ability to think abstractly. Republicans are thriving using only their middle fingers and without thinking at all.

    Romney 1812!

  36. 36.

    Comrade Dread

    I’ve been kicking around the idea of getting more involved with politics with a goal of running for office in the future.

    Any of my fellow political junkies who are more connected have any advice or ideas for how one would go about doing that?

  40. 40.

    Libby's person

    I was doing non-partisan voter registration last week. In response to my cheery “Are you registered to vote, sir?”, a decrepit old coot smilingly replied “I can’t wait to vote that ni##r out of office!” I politely declined to continue the conversation; he responded “I bet you’re a LIBERAL, aren’t you?!” I said “I’m a non-partisan voter register” and turned away from him. It took a while for the icky feeling to go away.

    I got satisfaction in the end – the three voters I registered that hour were Black.

  41. 41.

    jibeaux

    @The Dangerman: It exists. It ain’t the Southern part of Heaven, but it’s a long way spiritually from Greenville, South Carolina. Where George Tierney, Jr., lives.

  44. 44.

    Yutsano

    @Libby’s person: You should have asked him if he enjoys his Medicare and Social Security. Since both of those are liberal ideas. Also casually mention the fact that if he chose he could get everything done privately but he’d pay through the nose for private insurance and be eating nothing but cat food. Then pass him over to me: I know a tax scofflaw when I see one. And yes the IRS CAN levy retirement accounts. And SS.

  46. 46.

    jibeaux

    @Libby’s person: yeesh. Thanks for fighting the good fight, the right way, anyway. If it were me, I’d take comfort in thinking “even odds he’ll be dead before November”, but you sound like a better person than me.

  48. 48.

    LanceThruster

    Please be civil and nonpartisan.

    By that, I assume you mean don’t depict anyone going down on the hairy root.

    Done, and done, sir!

  50. 50.

    Mark S.

    @Brachiator:

    I understand that the movie is going to be in 3D.

    And it’s directed by Baz Luhrmann of Moulin Rouge and Romeo+Juliet fame, two movies I’ve never been able to get through.

    I remember trying to watch Moulin Rouge on a plane. I lasted about ten minutes before I had a splitting headache.

  52. 52.

    Nina

    I recently introduced my 11-year-old daughter to youtube George Carlin routines. I am either the Greatest Mom Evar or a horrible parent who will cause of her descent into emo adolescent hell. Or both. I’m middle-of-the-road that way.

  53. 53.

    Corner Stone

    @Comrade Dread:

    we’re bringing it home to you!

    This was so easily predictable that only Zandar, or possibly a Frenchman, could not have known it was a certainty.

  54. 54.

    Yutsano

    @tjmn: Heh. PT is fun. I have two of them: The Amazon and The Fratboy Sadist. They’re just dying to get their paws on me after I’ve healed up.

  55. 55.

    JGabriel

    @Comrade Mary:

    It’s a gangbang! With tetanus!

    -.-. .- -. – … .–. . .- -.- .. …- . –. — – .-.. — -.-. -.- .— .- .–

    __
    __
    (Translation: “Can’t speak. I’ve got lockjaw”)

    .

  58. 58.

    lacp

    @flukebucket: “Grasping the nettle?” That’s what Sullivan’s calling it these days? Whatever happened to “spanking his monkey” or “slapping his rat” or “whipping his lizard” or any of those other animal-hating euphemisms?

  60. 60.

    Brachiator

    @Mark S.:

    And it’s directed by Baz Luhrmann of Moulin Rouge and Romeo+Juliet fame, two movies I’ve never been able to get through.

    Couldn’t get into Moulin Rouge, but loved Romeo+Juliet.

  61. 61.

    Basilisc

    I posted this at the end of the last open thread, so naturally someone opened a new one a second later. So I’ll post it again, because I’m still angry, frightened, depressed, and physically ill:

    The Daily Caller is giving away one gun a week between now and the election.

    We’re giving high-powered weapons to people, and linking it explicitly to a presidential election, in a country with astronomical rates of gun violence, where four presidents have been assassinated and where a Congresswoman was shot just last year.

    This makes me angry, frightened, depressed, and physically ill. Does that mean I’m un-American?

  62. 62.

    The Red Pen

    @Libby’s person:

    a decrepit old coot smilingly replied “I can’t wait to vote that ni##r out of office!”

    I would have said, “George W Bush isn’t in office anymore, sir.”

    If he says, “George Bush is not a ni##er,” act confused, “Are you sure?” Keep acting as if he’s using the n-word in an entire novel and incomprehensible manner. Offer helpful tidbits like, “I’m pretty sure that George W. Bush is right-handed, so how is he not a ni##er?” I’ve done this. It’s really fun.

    If he says, “I’m not talking about George W. Bush,” just keep acting like he doesn’t know what year it is and that Bush is still president. Ask him things like, “Is the lady or man who takes care of you nearby?” Act every bit the concerned Samaritan who has encountered a demented, feeble old man who is in dire need of assistance and should not be out in public unescorted. Not as fun as the scenario above, but it can be satisfying.

  63. 63.

    redshirt

    @Comrade Dread: I think you misunderstand what US Politics is about then! Surely, you’re not so naive to think it’s about the “public good” or “serving your community” or “making the world a better place for our children”, do you?

    It’s about the Benajamins, dog!

  66. 66.

    Suffern ACE

    @flukebucket: O.K. that sound I hear may not be rain, it may actually be bits of the sky falling. Pigs might be flying. Snowballs may not be melting in hell. 2012 may be real. If you pointed in the direction of up, I would not have any reason to believe you.

  67. 67.

    Hill Dweller

    Willard’s handlers thought it would be a good idea to put him in a class room full of African-American kids…in Philly. He got an earful for supporting cuts in education, but the best part is the pictures. Willard’s awkwardness is palpable, even in still shots, and the kids look downright annoyed to have him there.

    I wish someone would have asked him why was he riding around France selling a religion that didn’t allow black people.

  69. 69.

    Libby's person

    @Yutsano: I would have loved to have seen you take him down. I’m not very good at dealing with jerks, I’m afraid, and the local GOTV organizer advised us not to get engaged in such discussions. And he looked disappointed when I didn’t rise to the bait, so at least I didn’t give him the dog-cookie of showing that he’d gotten to me.

    @jibeaux: I have to confess to having that particular uncivil thought…

    (Durham is a heavily Democratic town, by the way, so it’s not too difficult to guess what side a ‘non-partisan’ voter registration effort is supporting. Guessing I was a liberal didn’t take too many functional brain cells.)

  70. 70.

    The Red Pen

    @Basilisc:

    The Daily Caller is giving away one gun a week between now and the election.

    Does Tucker Carlson present it to you fully loaded? If so, I might… nah, not worth it.

  71. 71.

    geg6

    @Rosalita:

    best to find the wealthy woman who is cleaning out her closet. I scored some original Kate Spade’s that way.

    Exactly. I hug and stroke my Coach bags every night before bedtime. And laugh when I realize that I’ve never paid more than $75 for one.

  73. 73.

    Comrade Dread

    @redshirt: I have an Inner Idealist who everyday struggles under the constant beatings from my Inner Cynic who reads the papers.

    So yes, I would like to get involved to try and make things better. I just have no clue as to how to do so. How to network myself into the political party apparatus and start building contacts and good will.

  75. 75.

    Davis X. Machina

    @Nina: Firesign Theater, and a 12-year old son. It’s a parent’s duty.

    Now hand me those pliers.

  77. 77.

    danielx

    @Corner Stone:

    Shorter Chief Deputy Randy McDaniel:

    If you’re doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear.

    As you say…Texas, bitches! Rubber bullets and tear gas are considered girly-men weaponry down there. Real men use hollowpoints and so will armed drones, you betcha.

  79. 79.

    Linda Featheringill

    @Comrade Dread:

    Get involved with your local Democratic Party and Be A Good Scout this year.

    After this election, you can again address your own ambitions but with a set of politically involved friends.

    It used to be standard practice for someone running for national office to be a work horse for the party before announcing plans.

  81. 81.

    Andrey

    @Basilisc: I was disappointed to see the “high-powered weapon” is just a 9mm pistol. On the other hand, it’s engraved with a Bill of Rights!

  84. 84.

    Davis X. Machina

    @slag: My daughter’s doing voter registration canvassing this summer for a local-state progressive organization, having had zero success in the traditional college-kid-summer-job market.

    I’m kvelling…

  85. 85.

    Mark S.

    Jonathan Cohn analyzes Romney’s health care proposals:

    The ugly: Tens of millions of people would likely end up without health insurance, relative to what will happen if current law stays in place; in fact, the number could reach 58 million, according to one credible estimate drawn from the (admittedly vague) things he’s said so far.

    It seems to me Mitt has adopted all the worst proposals from Paul Ryan and the McCain campaign. So yeah, the press will describe it as centrist.

  87. 87.

    the fugitive uterus

    after what Rep. Jim Clyburn said, i’m just going to sit here clutching my pearls with hanky and smelling salts nearby.

    why does everybody want to hurt Bain’s fee fees? why??

  88. 88.

    thalarctos

    @Yutsano:

    “The Amazon and The Fratboy Sadist”

    Are those the 2 who were in your room when I visited briefly? Because that description certainly fits, from the look of it.

  91. 91.

    Daulnay

    In the interest of civility and non-partisanship, take a look at both-sides-are-blind by Jonathan Haidt.

    I heard him on Nice Polite Republican radio (KQED) this morning, and he actually said something informative and thought-provoking.

    —
    This has been a drive-by shooting post by Daulnay
    (sorry, have to take my kid out to pick up the gun she had made, but I’ll be back later)

  92. 92.

    Rafer Janders

    @Corner Stone:

    “Chief Deputy Randy McDaniel of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in Texas told The Daily that his department is considering using rubber bullets and tear gas on its drone.”

    The fools! Rubber bullets will just bounce off the drone’s hard metal exterior, and since the drone doesn’t breathe, tear gas will have no effect!

  93. 93.

    slag

    @Davis X. Machina:

    My daughter’s doing voter registration canvassing this summer for a local-state progressive organization, having had zero success in the traditional college-kid-summer-job market.

    That’s an unhappy tradeoff–getting poor for doing something useful for the community. But we, as a society, have apparently deemed that tradeoff an essential one. So, good for her! Better that than partying in Palm Beach all summer.

  94. 94.

    Another Halocene Human

    @Parrotlover77: As far as hogging resources goes, Objectivist-C seems to accomplish the holy goal of restoring the functionality lost by migrating from C to C++.

    Much like the Ryan Plan will take us to the good old days of Calvin Coolidge.

  95. 95.

    Davis X. Machina

    @slag: She’s meeting all sorts of other over-qualified, bright young people. The canvassing will cure her shyness, and it’s waaaay cheaper than hanging out all summer in a Dennisport tiki bar.

  96. 96.

    AA+ Bonds

    How’s this for nonpartisan: “austerity later” is a bunch of classist bullshit and shame on Krugman and Obama alike for promoting it

    We all know what “austerity” tastes like: nothing, as in no bread, no butter, fend for yourself while we exploit you

  97. 97.

    RalfW

    @yopd1:

    I’ve been wondering if Maryland and Minnesota have been more of a motivator for Obama than Biden’s gay marriage fast-draw.

    Obama will win MN, but a strong NO vote here would help turnout and give a small nudge to Obama’s popular vote tally. And we need some serious coat-tails here to get rid of our awful GOP legislature…

    It would be awesome to see MD ratify same-sex civil marriage. At that point, the winger’s got nuttin. After the “activist judges” b.s. got eliminated with legislative wins, the Repubes went wobbly with legislatures not being somehow representative of popular opinion (elections, how do they work?).

    A legislative win paired with a plebiscite is unassailable (though the wingers will invent a reason to discount this. They’re determined not to just loose over time, but to tar themselves as homophobes for generations).

  99. 99.

    jibeaux

    @Libby’s person: Hail, fellow North Carolinian, and best of luck to your efforts. I understand that in NC it’s all about the turnout, not so much the persuasion, so turn ’em out in Durham!

  100. 100.

    AA+ Bonds

    @Libby’s person:

    At least you can rest assured that he knew what he was doing was taboo and he was doing it to piss you off

    Even in rural NC white men know not to say stuff like that if they are not among other white men exclusively

    I would also like to say thank you for your efforts, which are the sort of thing that might make people actually still want to move to NC, open branch offices there, etc.

  101. 101.

    geg6

    @Nina:

    I recently introduced my 11-year-old daughter to youtube George Carlin routines.

    In my book, that makes you the greatest parent in the history of parenting.

  103. 103.

    Forum Transmitted Disease

    If he says, “George Bush is not a ni##er,” act confused, “Are you sure?” Keep acting as if he’s using the n-word in an entire novel and incomprehensible manner.

    @The Red Pen: I pull the same stunt, with the Forrest Gump twist…”Err, sir, I’m not from around here…what’s a ni**er?” They ask where you’re from. I say “I was raised in Iceland”. MAKE THEM EXPLAIN IT IN RAW DETAIL. I’ve never met anyone yet who could finish the process and actually explain what a “ni**er” is. They get too embarrassed.

  104. 104.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Rafer Janders:

    The Journamalist who wrote that should be subjected to both rubber bullets and tear gas.

    Repeatedly.

    The journamalist’s editor, on the other hand, should be subjected to lead bullets and phosgene.

  105. 105.

    AA+ Bonds

    I honestly want to extend my gratitude to anyone doing any left-wing organizing in NC because my inside source on the decrepit Democratic Party there reports that they are completely unable to muster popular organization, since their one-party center-right rule for decades has depended on three things:

    1) low voter turnout in the primaries so incumbents don’t lose their seats
    2) low voter turnout in the election so incumbents don’t lose their seats
    3) money from house parties held by a handful of nepotistic donor families

    They are apparently a total wreck right now and even those willing to mobilize against this amendment were completely unable to do so because there is simply no “party” there in the sense of an organized group of voters

  106. 106.

    Amir Khalid

    @Rafer Janders:
    In all seriousness, why would a police/sheriff’s department need a drone for anything but eye-in-the-sky applications? I could see using one for search-and-rescue or surveillance operations, the latter subject to a warrant where appropriate. But loading up drones with rubber bullets and tear gas must mean they’re looking at fighting hella big riots — for which you’d need riot cops on the ground in any case, and when you’ve got those guys you might as well have them fire the rubber bullets and tear gas.

  107. 107.

    AA+ Bonds

    @Amir Khalid:

    They need one because then they can demand more money for upkeep and training, which in turn benefits police-friendly contractors with influence over politics, etc.

    They need one to say they need another one or that they need to pay their friends money to teach new people how to use it or etc.

    It’s the gravy train, sort of, but much more like a gravy matrix

    Expenditures like this are rarely questioned in towns and cities in America unless there is, say, a campus that makes up a significant and loud portion of the population

    And of course, when there is no oversight for those who exercise force as a proxy for the state, and they are poorly paid as is, corruption and embezzlement reign

  108. 108.

    RalfW

    @Hill Dweller: Wow.

    What a patronizing imbecile our easily befuddled Willard is. “I come to learn, obviously, from people who are having experiences that are unique and instructive.”

    So Willard thinks 1) being poor and black is particular to inner city Philly, and 2) there’s a whiff of ‘oh the noble poor and their suffering’ going on here. Ugh.

    Thankfully, it sounds like some West Philly folks instructed Willard how his policies would suck ass for black folk.

  109. 109.

    scav

    @Corner Stone:

    @scav: I don’t explain my mind, I only live here.

    Are you sure?

    Admittedly, I am out of it fairly often but the mail is delivered and the refrigerator is stocked with non-moldy items.

  110. 110.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Amir Khalid:

    AA+ Bonds gave you a good portion of the picture.

    The other thing is that advocates of air power have never, ever ceased to try to expand air power beyond its primary mission: reconnaissance on behalf of the dumb grunts. It’s why the USAF loves multi-billion dollar multi-mission aircraft and hate, hate, HATE the A-10, which does one thing…support ground troops…and does it superbly. It does not zoom. Therefore the zoomies do not like it, no they do not.

    So, this recon drone needs to be armed. As if it’s going to compromise its primary mission by calling attention to itself by strafing the pot growers or something.

  112. 112.

    Anoniminous

    @Comrade Dread:

    I’ve been kicking around the idea of getting more involved with politics with a goal of running for office in the future.

    Step the Zero: Understand most people involved in party politics are stupid, ignorant, venial, selfish, dumb, conceited, egotistic, and/or incompetent. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy outside of Mos Eisley spaceport.

    Step the First: Get a copy of Take Back Your Government. Read it. Follow it. Ignore everything Pournelle writes.

    Step the Second: STUDY the career of Bernie Sanders. Become an expert. Learn what he did, how he did it, and why he did it.

    Step the Third: Get involved in a state organization. Get involved at the county or precinct level IFF you have to in order to move to a state organization.

    Step the Fourth: Build a Team (a pol is the Public Face of a Team.) To do this, work your ass off, make connections, kiss ass, build a power base, and construct and maintain a Farley File.

  113. 113.

    Patricia Kayden

    Has Romneybot ever explained how he will lower the unemployment rate to 6%? He keeps making these announcements on Righty media.

  114. 114.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    @Basilisc: We should all sign up for it. They’ll stop it quickly if liberals keep getting them.

  115. 115.

    The Red Pen

    @Forum Transmitted Disease:

    I pull the same stunt, with the Forrest Gump twist…”Err, sir, I’m not from around here…what’s a ni**er?” They ask where you’re from. I say “I was raised in Iceland”. MAKE THEM EXPLAIN IT IN RAW DETAIL. I’ve never met anyone yet who could finish the process and actually explain what a “ni**er” is. They get too embarrassed.

    That’s even better.

  116. 116.

    The Red Pen

    I noticed that no one has brought up Ron Paul yet. I’m changing that.

    Ron Paul.

  120. 120.

    Jennifer

    That Bain/Sopranos/Goodfellas video gave me a really great idea for an ad. Needs some good oppo research to ferret out the numbers, but the general idea is, track down and add up all of the pension obligations that were offloaded onto taxpayers when Bain drove companies into bankruptcy under Rmoney’s watch. Show the amounts Bain made, the amounts taxpayers had to pick up, then some clip of Rmoney talking about how those companies needed to be killed and have their carcasses picked over. Wrap with the observation that it’s not surprising Rmoney would defend this rapacious bust-out of companies given that it made him a quarter-billionaire.

    Also, too: it would be nice to have data showing exactly how much of Bain’s profits can be attributed to looting pension funds that the rest of us paid to make whole or partially whole again.

  122. 122.

    Beauzeaux

    @tjmn:

    Sick people! Do yourself a big favor and read Your Medical Mind by Groopman and Hartzberg.

    Well people should read it too. Its subtitle is “How to Decide What’s Best for You.”

    I read a lot of medical books, I’m a hospice volunteer, and I’m old. You’d think I would have a grasp of medical decision making but this book is an eye-opener.It’s not just end-of-life decisions, though that’s of more interest to me, but decisions about taking prescription drugs, minor and major surgeries, involve risk/benefit calculation.

    A great part of the book addresses somthing that drives me crazy in health reporting. The press reports that this new drug reduces your heart-attack risk by 30 percent. They don’t say what the absolute risk is. So if the absolute risk is 3 percent, reducing it by a third is fairly trivial — especially if the drug has serious side-effects of its own.

    Great book.

  125. 125.

    the fugitive uterus

    @Tickraw:

    Starting a trailer with an autotuned song

    is there any other kind, these days? i wasn’t aware

  127. 127.

    geg6

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    I’m a huge Coach junkie. I probably have about 10 of them. But I do have a Celine, a Gucci, and a Kate Spade in the purse shrine in my closet. ;-)

    I love, love, love bags and shoes. It’s a real sickness.

  128. 128.

    Randy P

    @Comrade Dread: Get involved with your local party. Get to know the volunteers who really make things happen. Perhaps run for local office first.

  129. 129.

    BruceFromOhio

    DougJBalloon

    Gaia save me, not a day on the Twatter and you’re already in a pissing match with McMegan. WTF is this ‘civil and nonpartisan’ bilge …

  130. 130.

    burnspbesq

    @danielx:

    I’m pretty sure David Brooks blows goats.

    If the goats don’t object, what business is it of yours?

  131. 131.

    A Humble Lurker

    @eemom: Yo. I’m tired of these speech police motherfuckers telling me what I can and can’t say. Like that 50 is too old to work and that any asshole dementia-riddled oldster should step down first chance he gets. Would be the responsible thing to do, I say.

  132. 132.

    Libby's person

    @jibeaux: Hail, right back atcha. We in the Bull City will certainly do our part. We are a lively, unruly, progressive bunch! (Come to the Beaver Queen Pageant on June 2 and see us at our wooliest best! I’d be happy to serve as your ‘native’ guide.)

    @AA+ Bonds: Thanks. The Triangle still rocks, even if much of the rest of the state has, shall we say, issues.

  133. 133.

    piratedan

    in honor of the passing of Ron Shock, one of the last Texas Outlaw Comics….. these words of wisdom

    Have a Drink
    Get Stoned
    Fuck a Stranger
    Eat a Twinkie

    You’re gonna die anyway…….

  135. 135.

    Another Halocene Human

    @AA+ Bonds: Austerity for fatass defense contractors sounds pretty darn good to me.

    Even if my dad did lose his job the last time that happened.

    It’s pretty ridiculous that he has found an awesome job doing original climate research within a defense contractor.

  137. 137.

    Another Halocene Human

    What if we took 1/10 of the money we spend on fighter jets and spy jets that can’t fly and spent that on education and basic science research, and then took the other 9/10 to fill the deficit? AND raised taxes on richy-riches and used THAT to shore up medical care for everyone, but in a careful and well regulated way, a la Medicare, VA, or Britain’s National Health or Canada’s Medicare, and UNLIKE Rick Scott’s Medicaid privatization taxpayer money scamming bingo?

    Wouldn’t that be nice?

  138. 138.

    Another Halocene Human

    @AA+ Bonds:

    1) low voter turnout in the primaries so incumbents don’t lose their seats
    2) low voter turnout in the election so incumbents don’t lose their seats
    3) money from house parties held by a handful of nepotistic donor families

    OMG, sounds like the “Southern” (ie Northern) part of Florida!

  139. 139.

    Another Halocene Human

    @Randy P: Eh, you can run for state office first. It’s not unheard of. I think either a really, really sharp grasp or politics, lawmaking, or a law degree would help, though. An earnest person who doesn’t know the ropes risks being a very ineffective legislator.

  140. 140.

    gene108

    On another forum I frequent one commenter pointed out that government should be run like a business, because when things get tough businesses go lean and lay off people.

    I agree.

    We need to run this country like a business.

    It’s time for the President and Congress act and to start firing Americans from America!

  141. 141.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    You people who drive GMs and Mopars are dumb fucks.

    Ford RULES!

    ;p

  142. 142.

    Ben Cisco

    @gene108:

    It’s time for the President and Congress act and to start firing Americans from America!

    Out of a cannon.

    Into the SUN!*

    *Not intended to be a factual statement.

  146. 146.

    nastybrutishntall

    @tjmn: Acupuncture by someone decent should take care of that in 2-3 sessions if it’s not a disc herniation or too severe stenosis. I know this because I not only play an acupuncturist on the interwebs, but am one in the Real World. Necks are my favorite to treat because they’re so easy. Go to someone who practices the Dr. Tan “Balance Method” style (actually the most ancient style). Totally indirect needling, mostly on the wrist or ankle opposite the affected side. Should be painless or nearly so with pretty shallow needling.

  147. 147.

    YellowJournalism

    @gene108: No, see, they’re doing it even better by going the Office Space route. They let Americans work hard and put up with all types of crap, and when Americans try to speak up for themselves, they’re blown off and shuffled around from hellhole to hellhole. The entire time, Americans are waiting for the payoff, but he dickheads in charge know there’s no payoff in the end.

    And they totally steal Americans’ stapler.

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