Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Joe Biden can go out like FDR, not by dying in office, but by crushing the fascists.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

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

Democrats are back in array!

A consequence of cucumbers

Peak wingnut was a lie.

When we show up, we win.

We still have time to mess this up!

The revolution will be supervised.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

Fight them, without becoming them!

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

It’s a new day. Light all those Biden polls of young people on fire and throw away the ashes.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

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

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2012 / Tuesday Evening Open Thread

Tuesday Evening Open Thread

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(Ben Sargent via GoComics.com)
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While we’re on the subject of vandals sacking and looting, do not miss Mr. Pierce at his Esquire blog reporting from Wisconsin:

… The more I watch things out here, from Madison to Milwaukee and the restaurants to the courtrooms, I realize that the money — as stupefying in its amounts as it undoubtedly is — is also a great distraction. The easy narrative is that this election has been about “the air war and the ground war.” (I swear, another week, and Ed Schultz was going to start sounding like Rommel.) That it was about “owning the airwaves” against “boots on the ground.” But what I’ve come to realize is that, from the first moment the first protester stepped onto the lawn of the capitol in Madison 16 months ago until the polls close tonight, the Great Wisconsin Recall has been an extended argument against narcotic centrism and anesthetic civility. This has been a brawl, from start to finish. The local papers are full of stories about families that have divided up over the recall, about divorces that have been sought because a Walker husband found that having a Barrett wife — or, to be fair, vice versa — amounted to an irreconcilable difference. The money and the boots on the ground are only the media through which the two campaigns have carried on an angry and divisive debate. And, for all Barrett’s talk about ending the “civil war” that he says Walker started, the anger and divisiveness were perfectly appropriate, and I thank god for them. For once, anyway, all the talk about how Americans don’t care about politics, how disengaged and removed from our obligations to the political commonwealth we’ve become, have been refuted for the moment by what’s gone on in Wisconsin.

What we have here is a fight, out in the open, without nuance or euphemism, between two ideas of what self-government should look like, who it should serve, and how, and how wide the parameters of participation will be. That is serious business. It ought to be contested fiercely and to the last and without cosmetic conciliation. Scott Walker made a firm stand against public-employee unions, and did so in a way that ran contrary to a proud tradition of progressive politics in a state that takes those politics very, very seriously…

Apart from waiting for the returns, what’s on the agenda this evening?

Reader Interactions

90Comments

  2. 2.

    Brachiator

    Get to vote this evening after work. Will probably try to avoid any analysis and predictions and look at the results in the morning.

  3. 3.

    cathyx

    I’ve been working all day, now I’m waiting for wine o’clock to arrive, then make dinner.

  4. 4.

    Anoniminous

    Drinking massive quantities of alcohol.

    I plan on starting with some cheap pink bubbly … to see if it’s worth buying more … and moving on to a TJ’s, Beringer’s, or Raven’s Wood Zin.

    ETA: Or if I bestir my lazy ass out of the house to grab some Coke it’ll be Rum and Coke until I fall over.

  5. 5.

    Yutsano

    I’m getting liberated by some friends later, although I’m kind of feeling blah because I’ve been pushing the walking business some. Oh well. It’s almost drug/nap time anyway.

  6. 6.

    BGinCHI

    I hope OO and the other cheeseheads here are voting early and often.

    I feel tense about the outcome of this (to state the obvious).

  11. 11.

    shortstop

    @BGinCHI: It is, indeed, darling, but I’m talking about the ack-shun at nasa.gov. Don’t look at the sun! Don’t look at the sun!

  12. 12.

    BGinCHI

    Heard on the radio that turnout in Dane County is over 80%. I know it’s a lefty county, but still that’s pretty damn good for the lazy American voter species.

  15. 15.

    The Dangerman

    Couldn’t edit my last post…

    I think some of the scientists at that NASA link are getting hammered. Oh, yeah, I recall those aerospace days….

  20. 20.

    shortstop

    If Barrett pulls this out, me and BG are buying lentil soup for the house. Should I have checked with you first, BG?

    @Valdivia: Young lady, ever since the Robert Johnson crossroads history discussion, you’ve been high on my girl-crush list.

  21. 21.

    Punchy

    Neil Diamond, 71, recently married his 42 y.o. manager. So she’ll be pushing menopause why changing his diaper. Hope the scratch was worth being mistaken for his daughter everywhere they travel.

  22. 22.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    But what I’ve come to realize is that, from the first moment the first protester stepped onto the lawn of the capitol in Madison 16 months ago until the polls close tonight, the Great Wisconsin Recall has been an extended argument against narcotic centrism and anesthetic civility. This has been a brawl, from start to finish.

    __
    US politics is the continuation of Civil War by other means. Anybody who doesn’t get this is only at best at an intermediate level of understanding our political culture.
    __
    You can take that as either a good thing or a bad thing. It means our politics, when you get right down to it, is semi-Hobbesian (in a 2 out 3 ain’t bad sort of way): nasty, brutish and short a never-ending struggle passed on from one generation to the next like some godforsaken Balkan conflict between two neighboring villages who don’t remember anything about their fight except that they’ve been killing each other for so long, why stop now? That’s the bad part. The good part is that for the most part we attack each other with words and fight our pitched battles over ballot boxes rather than using real guns and live ammo, when the bloodier way of doing it is a very real alternative which has happened in the past and could happen again in the future.

  25. 25.

    David Koch

    Obama blows away competition.

    al-Qaida’s 2nd in command, Abu Yah ya al-Libi bites the dust in Pakistan.

    Funny coincidence how al-Qaida’s leadership keeps turning up in Pakistan.

    Cue the outrage that Obama didn’t Mirandize Yah-ya and how unmanned aircraft are worse than manned aircraft.

  26. 26.

    David in NY

    So, I gotta wait a couple of hours to start getting excited/depressed? Maybe the wine bar up on Henry Street would do. But alone? Always a quandary …

  28. 28.

    cathyx

    @Punchy: He’s rich enough to hire a nurse to take care of him. She has great timing if she’s a gold digger.

  31. 31.

    BGinCHI

    @shortstop: That sounds good, unless my wife has eaten all of the lentil soup on Foster Avenue. I wouldn’t bet against her. She’s a strong soup eater.

  33. 33.

    David in NY

    I would actually buy a bottle of Moet if I thought Barrett was really going to win.

  36. 36.

    JGabriel

    https://balloon-juice.com/2012/06/05/tuesday-evening-open-thread-15/:

    Apart from waiting for the returns, what’s on the agenda this evening?

    Waiting for UPS to deliver a Blu-Ray burner, then installing it, and backing up shit. My 600GB, 1TB, and 1.5TB drives are all down to about 10GB free. I need to clear up some space.

    I could have bought a 2TB drive, but that would only get me another year or so, and then I’d just have more clean-up work to do on the drives.

    And awaiting the WI election returns.

    Re: Venus Transit. NYC too cloud to see it. Wahhh!

    .

  37. 37.

    BGinCHI

    @Valdivia: Agree. We drink the shit out of that stuff.

    All of you all should spend some hours in a cava bar in Barcelona before you shuffle off this mortal coil thingy.

  38. 38.

    CaseyL

    Are any of the Seattle BJers planning to go to Drinking Liberally? I keep meaning to go, then getting distracted. Tonight would be a good one to head on over and share the results/aftermath of the Wisconsin recount.

    It’d be good to see you over there.

  39. 39.

    David in NY

    I think the East Coast can only see the spot where the Sun (and Venus) should be, but aren’t.

  40. 40.

    Valdivia

    @shortstop:

    and you know how to make a girl blush, so see I was totally right that I would date you :D

    @BGinCHI:
    It was actually this which I highly rec. I used it for a wedding reception in which I officiated (looooooong story) and people loved it.

  42. 42.

    Valdivia

    I hate that too many links got me into moderation.

    @shortstop my answer is caught in mod hell, so for now it will have to be right back at you and thanks!

  44. 44.

    Anoniminous

    (FYWP has decided to hate me, so …)

    BGinCHI:

    Thanks for the tip. I’ll look for it.

    Valdivia:

    If its not too much trouble, sure.

  45. 45.

    shortstop

    @cathyx: Venus is crossing the sun right now. Check it out at any of the links provided above. Whole thing will take app. six hours.

  48. 48.

    Surreal American

    Apart from waiting for the returns, what’s on the agenda this evening?

    Going to vote in the NM primary.

  51. 51.

    bemused senior

    cathyx: Venus is crossing between us and the sun. So you can see its disk move across the sun. Watch the nasa feed…multiple telescope views in different wavelengths and occasional space telescope views. And excited NASA personnel narrating and answering questions. ETA: I was shortstopped. :-)

  54. 54.

    The Dangerman

    For the Californians on this thread, raise a glass to no more Prop 29 ads (for you non-Californians, raise a glass that you weren’t subjected to them). Back to the CA types here, this Central Coaster recommends Adelaida wines; well worth the trip to the backcountry of Paso Robles on your next tasting trip.

  55. 55.

    Josie

    @Punchy: I beg your pardon. I will be 69 this year, just 2 years shy of his age, and I am nowhere near diapers. I am in my third career, working every day, in addition to doing cardio and lifting weights. I may have grey hair, but there is a vital person still under that hood. You need to recalibrate your age monitor.

  57. 57.

    BGinCHI

    @The Dangerman: Friend of a friend owns Epoch outside Paso. Did a barrel tasting there last year. OH MY. So good. Love central coast stuff generally.

  59. 59.

    BGinCHI

    @Valdivia: We don’t get that one here. Damn. As long as a rose sparkler is dry, it’s worth a try.

    Esp if it’s under 15 bucks.

  61. 61.

    burnspbesq

    “Narcotic centrism and anasthetic civility?”

    Boy done lost his marbles.

  62. 62.

    The Dangerman

    @BGinCHI:

    Friend of a friend owns Epoch outside Paso.

    Name rings a bell; does your friend of a friend work for a solar company as well?

    Love central coast stuff generally.

    There are some exceptional wineries around here. I read someplace we’re one of the best pinot areas around.

  64. 64.

    Anoniminous

    @Valdivia:

    Thanks I’ll look for it.

    Apparently FYWP is a wine snob and won’t let me post the name of the wine I’m about to taste.

  65. 65.

    Valdivia

    @BGinCHI:

    I found it to be really worth it for the price. I have had a really good Pink Prosecco that I am dying to buy in a store but they don’t carry it.

    @Anoniminous: ah the joys of the temperamental blog platform!

  67. 67.

    joel hanes

    If Barret wins, it’s Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin for me, and a half-day off the next morning.

  71. 71.

    Steve in DC

    @burnspbesq

    Or you could do RAID5 which is more failure proof than doing RAID0 backing it up to another RAID0. Any quality controller actually wroth trusting is going to offer RAID5 is well. As a bonus, he get’s more space!

    RAID0 should only be used for speed in gaming computers, it’s too much of a risk outside of it. That said RAID0 here on four CORSAIR ssds on the main gaming box does fly!

  72. 72.

    Roger Moore

    @cathyx:

    What is Venus transit?

    No, it’s Venus passing on a direct path between the Earth and the Sun; it’s like an eclipse except that Venus is obviously much too small to obscure much of the Sun. Venus’s orbit is inclined relative to the Earth’s, so it usually appears to pass directly above or below the Sun, rather than moving across (i.e. transiting) its face.

  73. 73.

    Roger Moore

    @mainmati:

    Sorry to be a dumbass but what does ETA mean (besides estimated time of arrival)?

    Edited To Add. You might want to add a bookmark for Acronym Finder or add them to your list of search providers. They’re very handy.

  79. 79.

    Lojasmo

    Waiting for the tachycardia from my single track run to wash out, then a pint of surly furious, then walk the dog. Wifey gets home from lacrosse (door knocking to GOTV today) hope to be +4 by the time she gets home, then bedtime (up at five to get to the slog. Pools close at 8 CT IIRC.

  80. 80.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Punchy:

    a strong soup eater

    Would that be a strong eater of soup, or an eater of strong soup?

    The English language is occasionally confuzzling.

  81. 81.

    Anoniminous

    FYWP really doesn’t like me today. Won’t even let me link to the name.

    I wouldn’t buy it as a stand alone doesn’t have the quality. Way too sweet for me. Reminds me of those horrible California Chenin Blancs infesting supermarkets here in NM. It did go OK with the Chicken Curry and hot and fresh-off-the-griddle na’an (yum) and I’ll bet it would be nice with a roasted turkey with all the trimmings dinner or Eggs Benedict.

    Upshot: cheap ($6) party wine, serve with food.

  82. 82.

    JGabriel

    __
    __
    @David Koch:

    man, that’s alotta porn clogging up your hard drives.

    Ha! Video, yes, but not porn. Well, maybe a tiny amount.

    @burnspbesq:

    Get two 4TB arrays, set them both to RAID 0, and use one to back up the other.

    Not an option, financially. It was either the Blu-ray drive or a 2TB hard drive.

    The Blu-ray burner has arrived and is now installed, by the way. Yes, it was quick. I have mad skillZ — and a really easy to work in PC case.

    @The Fat Kate Middleton:

    Yes! Beautiful, clear sky until 5 pm CDT – no transit watching tonight. Damn.

    Right? The last Venus transit until next century, and it’s fucking cloudy out.

    .

  83. 83.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @shortstop:

    this is our last chance to see this until 2117.

    By which time I’ll be 175. Over/under on my seeing it? At least, from here :-)

  84. 84.

    Maude

    @JGabriel:
    I used to manage a computer that had a case that a family of four could live in. It’s still running and will end up with me at some point. It’s resting for now.
    Cloudy here.

  85. 85.

    burnspbesq

    @Steve in DC:

    You need a four-disk array to run RAID 5 (which I’ve done in the past). In a bizarre case of market failure (not as bizarre as airline pricing, but still pretty strange), two 4TB two-disk arrays are likely to be less expensive than one 8TB four-disk array.

  87. 87.

    burnspbesq

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Ah, you’re around.

    The Adams was, umm, interesting. A two-hour, 15-minute retelling of the Passion, told from the perspective of Mary Magdalene. Libretto of found texts compiled by Peter Sellars. If you’re thinking it’s a bookend to “El Nino” (complete with “narrator” made up of three counter-tenors),you’re on the right track.

    Obviously, I haven’t seen the score, but from a first listen it’s a piece that makes insane demands on the singers, both the soloists and the chorus. All of the parts sit high, and they’re full of difficult intervals.

    There are moments of breathtaking beauty (the tenor solo at the end of Act 1 is just ridiculous), and moments that just don’t work.

    Superbly sung by all of the soloists and the LA Master Chorale. Well played.

    I suspect that by the time it is staged for the first time next March, there will have been some cuts.

    Definitely worth the time.

    I liked it more than the NYT critic, but he’s not all that far off in his assessment.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/arts/music/the-gospel-according-to-the-other-mary-by-john-adams.html

  89. 89.

    Ben Cisco

    Watching Maddow and waiting for Colbert.

    I’m about ready to wish that Colbert and Stewart would change slots; Stewart wasted Mann and Orenstein’s appearance with more of that “both sides” crap. I’m about done with him.

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