Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Hot air and ill-informed banter

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

White supremacy is terrorism.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

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

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

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

When we show up, we win.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

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

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106Comments

  1. 1.

    ? Martin

    Clever!

    On a number of occasions, the funding of basic scientific research has become a punching bag for politicians that are hoping to score points by hyping government waste or stoking the culture wars. To be fair, it can often be difficult to understand what the practical use of some of the research we fund might be, whether it’s sending a rover to Mars or diving into the genetics of fruit flies. To make the case that this basic research is important, a number of Congressmen and a group of pro-science organizations have gotten together to hand out the Golden Goose awards, which focus on the economy-boosting output of basic research.

  3. 3.

    Linda Featheringill

    The Canadians might understand:

    I just recently found a source of Corner Gas online and am having a good time.

    Nothing quite like Canadian humor. :-)

  6. 6.

    Mike

    Major attack in Afghanistan… this shit isn’t good for us. Romney will eventually stop stumbling and manage to gain some footing on this issue at some point.

  8. 8.

    jl

    This is interesting. SPaT might get a few chuckles out of it.

    How Republicans Accidentally Voted To End Work-For-Welfare
    TPMDC
    Brian Beutler

    There’s little Republicans love more these days than falsely attacking President Obama for stripping work requirements out of welfare.

    But in their zeal to slash and de-federalize safety net programs, they’ve advanced legislation that would do exactly that.

    http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/how-a-bunch-of-republicans-accidentally-voted-to-end-welfare-to-work-requirements.php

  9. 9.

    Ben Franklin

    Since retirement, I’ve found Fridays to be less important than Mondays. In truth, it sometimes is difficult to know what day it is, because I live in the moment, thank god. I’ve looked forward to the day when ‘Be Here Now’ could actually be a lifestyle.

    I love my life with my wife. (end waxing emotional)

  10. 10.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @? Martin:

    From that article:

    specific grants that focus on public health issues related to drug use or sexually transmitted diseases have attracted the ire of culture warriors, upset that their tax money is going to track sexual behavior.

    No, tracking sexual behavior isn’t the issue.

    STD’s are their asshole invisible sky buddy’s way of punishing the wicked. Interfering with the asshole invisible sky buddy’s righteous wrath is heresy.

  15. 15.

    Linda Featheringill

    @Ben Franklin: #9

    “it sometimes is difficult to know what day it is”

    That’s true for me, too, since I started working from home and working at least one day on the weekend. Things get skewed.

    That’s why I had my daughter install a calendar on my desktop with today’s date emphasized. And since I have to have my computer on military time for work, I may have to have a virtual clock with hands installed on the desktop as well.

    When I die, can I take my computer with me?

  19. 19.

    jl

    @gnomedad:

    ” The NYT is now featuring Boomer obits. This should please some people around here. ”

    I clicked on it. I have never experienced such a combination of quirky sophisticated preciosity, tastelessness, and trashy gimmickry before. And it was an obituary. Clap clap.

  21. 21.

    Richard

    @Linda Featheringill:

    The Canadians might understand:

    I just recently found a source of Corner Gas online and am having a good time.

    I’ve actually been to Rouleau, Saskatchewan, where the exteriors of that show were shot.

    As a kid, I lived in Moose Jaw, which is about 40 miles from there.

  22. 22.

    ? Martin

    @Mike:

    Romney will eventually stop stumbling and manage to gain some footing on this issue at some point.

    Ok, now that’s some funny Canadian humor right there.

  23. 23.

    wvng

    I think it’s time for another John Cole post about crawling over glass to vote for Obama.

    I need that.

  24. 24.

    Brachiator

    The Space Shuttle is coming to LA

    After taking off from the former shuttle landing strip Monday morning, Endeavour and its carrier jet will fly low over Kennedy and the beaches of Cape Canaveral, then head west toward NASA points along the Gulf of Mexico. The pair will swoop over Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where the shuttle external fuel tanks were made.

    Next stop: Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

    Endeavour will remain at Ellington until Wednesday morning so space center employees can see the shuttle up close. Houston had bid for a shuttle; the loss still nags many there. NASA chose New York City as the winner for the shuttle prototype Enterprise, which was relinquished by the Smithsonian to make room for Discovery.

    NASA’s two other shuttles during the 30-year program, Challenger and Columbia, were destroyed during flight, with 14 astronauts altogether killed.

    Endeavour was built to replace Challenger and made its flying debut in 1992, six years after the launch accident. It performed the next-to-last shuttle mission in May and June 2011.

    During its 25 missions, Endeavour logged 299 days in space and circled Earth 4,671 times. Total off-the-planet mileage: 122.8 million miles.

    After leaving Houston on Wednesday, Endeavour will stop for fuel at Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas, and then perform a low flyover of the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, which served for decades as an emergency shuttle landing site. Then it will head to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California, another old shuttle touchdown venue.

    On Thursday, Endeavour will fly to Northern California, home to Ames Research Center in Mountain View. NASA plans low-level flights over San Francisco, Sacramento and other major cities before heading to Los Angeles and a late-morning arrival at Los Angeles International Airport.

    NASA was mum Thursday regarding the exact times of all these flyovers for security reasons. Officials warned that the weather needed to cooperate to allow for such a full and busy schedule.

    The shuttle will make its final 12-mile journey from the airport to the California Science Center, via city streets, on Oct. 12-13. It will go on public display beginning Oct. 30.

    Atlantis’ road trip — from a Kennedy Space Center hangar to the visitor complex — is scheduled for Nov. 2.

    NASA retired the shuttle fleet last year under White House direction in order to focus more time and money on travel beyond Earth’s orbit, first an asteroid and then Mars in the coming decades.

    Private companies, meanwhile, are trying to pick up where NASA left off regarding the International Space Station. Until those businesses can provide spaceships for flying people, U.S. astronauts will need to rely on Russian rockets to get to the orbiting lab.

    ___

    Online:

    NASA: http://www.nasa.gov

    California Science Center: http://www.californiasciencecenter.org/

  28. 28.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    In one of the strangest things I have ever seen my 18 year old cat Lari has suddenly at this late stage in her life started using the toilet instead of the litter box. My DH mentioned the other day that he got home and there was a piece of cat poo on the seat and some in the bowl, however we did not know the owner of the poo. This morning as I was brushing my teeth Lari jumped up onto the toilet seat, carefully positioned her butt over the bowl and peed. She then turned around and looked at the water to make sure she did not need to cover it up or anything and happily returned to her cushion to sleep.
    I find it incredible that a cat as old as she is has suddenly learned this new trick.

  29. 29.

    PsiFighter37

    It’s been a long week. I just got myself a banh mi sandwich from the local Vietnamese shop on the block, and I just popped open a Sierra Nevada Torpedo (double IPA).

    Life is good, and the fact that it’s a Friday night is even better.

    PF37 getting started on +1

  32. 32.

    Ben Franklin

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    I don’t want to speculate, too much. But I remember a bit from the 80’s when monkeys of the same species separated by islands in the SP’ by some 30 KM, found one islands monkeys suddenly going to the water to wash their hands before eating. 30 days later the same species started washing their hands on a separate island. Synchronicity?

  34. 34.

    LanceThruster

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Hurricanes against teh gays = acts of Gawd

    Hurricanes against the GOP = acts of Gawd to show Goppers to be more brutal and intractable against those enabling the commies, socialists, and teh gays.

  41. 41.

    trollhattan

    @Gin & Tonic:
    I’ve yet to run into one I like, but I’ll consume a barrel of the stuff before I have another sour beer. Who thought that was a good idea?

  44. 44.

    PsiFighter37

    @BGinCHI: I’ll have to try it sometime. I love me Dogfishhead’s Punkin (yes, mispelled) Ale and Brooklyn Brewery’s Post Road Ale. Even though I stay away from the bigger names, you can’t go wrong with Sam Adams Oktoberfest.

    Fall ales, by far, are my favorite season for beers.

  49. 49.

    khead

    It’s been a while since I posted cat pics, but a few days ago my wife found Gracie chilling on the bed so she opened the blind for her. Then Gracie decided to pose like a passed out drunk.

    Check this kitty out.

  50. 50.

    LanceThruster

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    Wasn’t there a Shrek-type feature where one of the fairies got demoted because she hadn’t realized they can trace DNA in poo (deuced on the boss’s desk)?

  51. 51.

    BGinCHI

    @trollhattan: I don’t like sours either, mostly, but goddamn, the Belgians are usually right about stuff like that. I’m afraid it’s our fault.

    OMG, I’m on an Apology Tour!

  54. 54.

    Comrade Jake

    Just read Lewis’ Vanity Fair piece on Obama. It’s pretty good. I don’t know what Greenwald would have found in it to complain about, but I’m not going to bother to find out.

  57. 57.

    lamh35

    OMG, ya gotta read the linked story about the Romney’s on LIVE With. First thing is to shudder at what Romney says he wears to bed (ugh) and then laugh your azz off at the Romney’s trying to be IDK normal, or as affectionate and normal on camera as the Obamas or something.

    “Romney Does Daytime TV”
    http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/09/14/romney_does_daytime_tv.html

    “Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, were interviewed on LIVE! with Kelly and Michael for a show airing next Tuesday, Reuters reports.

    One of Romney’s revelations: “I’m kind of a Snooki fan. Look how tiny she’s gotten — her spark-plug personality.”

    He was also asked what he wore to bed at night and replied, “I think the best answer is as little as possible.”

    Meanwhile, Ann Romney confessed what she found while exploring the White House: “It was George Bush having a massage. He was covered up. I was so embarrassed that the next time I saw him I didn’t know what to say. He looked at me and winked and said, ‘I look pretty good, don’t I?'”

    The Washington Post reports the interview “brought shudders from some Republicans, who fear the Romney campaign is running aground in its final stretch.”

  58. 58.

    PsiFighter37

    @Comrade Jake: Sometimes I wonder what went wrong with bloggers who used to be very prominent in the liberal blogosphere – Glenn Greenwald, Matt Stoller (who, if my Facebook feed is any indication, has just become a bitter ‘both sides do it’ type), Jerome Armstrong, etc. etc.

  59. 59.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    Oh by the way I am completely and utterly obsessed with The Dead Files right now. In my normal Saturday morning reality tv fest I had run out of shows to watch and was surfing and discovered the new season on some such channel. I have since been watching the previous seasons on Youtube. I LOVE that show! (Says she who normally says that reality tv is the death of humanity).

  60. 60.

    Jay C

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    You should be thankful it was the toilet – rather than, say, the kitchen sink or your pillow that Lari picked to display proficiency at her “new trick”….

  62. 62.

    khead

    Also, we discovered this week that we have mice.

    Yes, mice in the basement. With 3 fucking cats in the house.

    So far….

    Mouse hotel = 3 live catches

    Cats = 1 dead mouse under the couch

  63. 63.

    quannlace

    Romney will eventually stop stumbling and manage to gain some footing on this issue at some point.

    November 7th ?

  65. 65.

    ? Martin

    @lamh35:

    I’m kind of a Snooki fan. Look how tiny she’s gotten—her spark-plug personality.

    Ok. That’s creepy. That sounds like how you’d describe a stripper.

  66. 66.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @LanceThruster:

    Yeah, but which Constitution is it? The one written in Philly in 1787 with that nasty no religious test clause, or the one brought down from Mount Sinai by Jeebus himself?

  68. 68.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @lamh35:

    The Washington Post reports the interview “brought shudders from some Republicans, who fear the Romney campaign is running aground in its final stretch.”

    Yes, but the important thing is, it beached while running to starboard.

  69. 69.

    Comrade Jake

    Bibi will be on Press The Meat this weekend, trying to see just how much he can get away with walking around with his zipper down.

  70. 70.

    ? Martin

    @lamh35:

    Romney also offered that Gene Hackman is his favorite actor, especially for his performance in the movie “The Birdcage.”

    Really? La Cage Aux Folles? How gay and french. Does Bill Kristol and Tony Perkins know of this infatuation?

  71. 71.

    BD of MN

    @PsiFighter37: Southern Tier’s PumpKing is the best of the pumpkin beers. it’s big and boozy and tastes like pumpkin pie, crust and all. most of the rest of these are just ambers with some pie spices. (not that that’s a bad thing…) I have a bottle of it sitting in the fridge, perhaps it’s time to switch over from the Angry Orchard cider I’m about to finish…

    Sour Beers are like Scotch in that they’re an acquired taste. I love, love, love stuff like Duchesse de Bourgogne and Rodenbach Crand Cru, but some of the lambics go waaaay over the sour edge….

  72. 72.

    scav

    @khead: I managed a dead mouse under the chair and I don’t even have a cat. I’ve also had two live ones in the sink and for one memorable month, would have one or more every other day in my mailbox. (Meaning, stand in lobby, well back, open door carefully, mouse explodes out at eye level, open door to exterior so mouse can careen out. Check mail daily, USPS delivery day or not).

  73. 73.

    PsiFighter37

    @BD of MN: I have seen Southern Tier in my area of the woods (NYC)…next time I am at Whole Foods, I’ll be sure to scout around for it. Sounds good!

  74. 74.

    PsiFighter37

    @lamh35: I also don’t think I want to watch any clips, because it will creep the hell out of me of how abnormal the Romneys try to act in normal situations.

  75. 75.

    Jim

    Times sure have changed. In 1940, Wendell Willkie, the Republican nominee for U.S. President, loudly denounced fellow Republicans who criticized the foreign policy decisions of the incumbent president, during a time of international crisis. In 2012, Republican nominee Mitt Romney feels free to not only verbally attack the incumbent president during a time of international crisis, but to actually say things that serve no purpose except to further enflame the situation, both at home and abroad.

  76. 76.

    Violet

    @lamh35: Wait, why was Ann Romney “exploring the White House”? She was turned loose to just open doors and look into rooms as she pleased? WTF? Where were her handlers? Did Bush’s WH just let visitors wander as they pleased?

  77. 77.

    beltane

    @PsiFighter37: I don’t know. Even back in the day those three came across as highly pompous and self-important (GG and MyDD were/are notorious for using 500 words to say what could better be said with 50). There is a certain type of person who will use a cause as a platform for their own ego. The cause is always a secondary concern to people like this.

    During the darkest days of the Bush administration, when I was much less selective as to which blogs I read, I still couldn’t stomach Greenwald, Armstrong, Stoller, or Hamsher.

  78. 78.

    ? Martin

    @Violet:

    Did Bush’s WH just let visitors wander as they pleased?

    “Oh, dear! You’ve caught me naked having a massage! I find it’s best to wear as little as possible.

    Oh, look how tiny you’ve gotten—quite the spark-plug you are.”

    [queue porn groove]

  80. 80.

    PsiFighter37

    @beltane: I never read Greenwald much, but he used to seem reasonable. And even though there were times that called for pie fights with Stoller and/or Armstrong, at least they seemed like people who cared about the cause (and at least you had Chris Bowers get his start there – he’s a sharp guy). As for FDL…don’t get me started. That’s partially because Jane Hamsher personally threatened to sue me once during the 2006 CT-Sen primary (Lieberman v. Lamont), which was way over the top and completely out of line. I despise her just about as much as I do Republicans.

  95. 95.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Linda Featheringill:

    I own the entire run of Corner Gas on DVD and just adore it. I can’t quite identify exactly what makes it so Canadian — it’s not like the characters all walk around saying “oot and aboot the hoose eh?” — but honestly, the dialogue and characters and situations couldn’t be from any country BUT Canada.

  96. 96.

    burnspbesq

    @PsiFighter37:

    Sometimes I wonder what went wrong with bloggers who used to be very prominent in the liberal blogosphere

    They somehow convinced themselves that Obama would give them a unicorn that pisses Belgian beer and shits chocolate ice cream. When he turned out to be nothing more than a better-than-average President, much bitterness ensued.

  98. 98.

    burnspbesq

    @beltane:

    My theory is that the daily comparison with Marty Lederman’s blogging at Balkinization forced Greenwald to bring his A game. When Marty went to OLC at the beginning of the Obama Administration, there was no constraint on Greenwald’s descent into self-parody.

  101. 101.

    Rex Everything

    It’s kind of astonishing: there’s an open thread, there’s been an open thread for over 3 hours, and as the second item in the open thread, somebody mentions this—and aside from like 2 people, the response is pure crickets. Balloon Juice in Fall 2012 is quite a place.

    But hey, at least no one’s getting taken in by pseudo-progressives like GG…

  102. 102.

    gbear

    @Rex Everything: Yes, that was great news. I’ve read the details about it on a bunch of other blogs this evening.

    Heck, I posted a kitty video and only got ONE response. & this place lives for pets.

    It’s a tough crowd tonight…

  103. 103.

    dance around in your bones

    @amk: You may have set a new FYWP record tonight.

    @SiubhanDuinne: I traveled across Canada (5 girls in a VW bug) back in the day, and we couldn’t stop sniggering every time we said ‘Regina, Saskatchewan’.

    We were very young.

  105. 105.

    Steeplejack

    @PsiFighter37:

    The Sam Adams Octoberfest is surprisingly good. I bought a six-pack on a whim, thinking I would be disappointed, but it turned out all right. Got some more next time at the store.

    My usual store doesn’t carry a lot of the Sam Adams flavors, and they seem to stop carrying the ones that I get hooked on, e.g., Black Lager, Irish Red. Maybe those are quasi-seasonal or something. Although I seem to see them occasionally at other stores.

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