Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

This really is a full service blog.

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

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

They are not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

In my day, never was longer.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Second rate reporter says what?

Republicans do not trust women.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

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

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

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

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

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

A tremendous foreign policy asset… to all of our adversaries.

Too little, too late, ftfnyt. fuck all the way off.

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Reader Interactions

145Comments

  2. 2.

    kindness

    I once took a friend of mine’s Pit Bull (Max) for a walk with my dogs. Max was a good guy so long as he liked you. We were walking up this riverbank and Max slipped off a rock and fell in. I laughed really hard until I saw he sunk like a stone to the bottom and wasn’t coming up. It wasn’t too deep. I jumped in and got him but I never took Max on another walk.

  6. 6.

    The Red Pen

    I just heard that the private equity douches who ran Hostess into the group are petitioning the bankruptcy court to allow them to take bonuses.

  7. 7.

    greennotGreen

    I’m off from work while completing chemo. When I’m not feeling well, I stay with my mother in her sterile, dogless home. But when I feel well enough, I come home to my personal zoo, and I can’t tell you how much more enjoyable it is to be surrounded by the life and humor and chaos that is my pack. Yay dogs, indeed!

  8. 8.

    Betty Cracker

    Sure, the bully can wade, but can she SWIM? My boxers, who are similarly muscular and squarish dogs, are awful swimmers. They always look like they’re trying to go straight up, poor things!

  9. 9.

    Schlemizel

    Daughter picked up a pup from the pound & it is mostly pitbull. The silly thing is afraid of water! I don’t think you could get him to voluntarily swim without a crane.

  10. 10.

    Punchy

    So much for yer retirement, Timmeh. Good to see you came to your senses. This blog just wouldn’t be the same without a lefty like you on board to counter Cole’s Dan Rhiel-inspired ramblings.

  11. 11.

    Schlemizel

    @The Red Pen:

    Please tell me this does not surprise you. The odds that they will be allowed are quite high, this is not an unusual practice. Often time courts will actually pay additional bonuses to the executive that have successfully sucked the asset dry because they did such an excellent job of disposing of the left over waste during bankruptcy.

  12. 12.

    Michael

    Yesterday, I got to drive around some FEMA guys a couple aides in the VPs office in Biden’s motorcade. Pretty sweet. After everybody was out in the cold for ~90 minutes, got a chance to say hi to the VP. He was nice to me, but he pseudo-flirted with my girlfriend. “You’ve got a smile that warms me up!” I believe was the exact thing he said to her before hugging her.

    It was awesome, to say the least.

  13. 13.

    Schlemizel

    @greennotGreen:

    Being a bit over a year past completing my cancer sentence I want to wish you well and to tell you that the pack does have some healing power. Mine could tell I was sick & seemed to react to that in surprising ways.

    Hang in there & let us know how you are doing

  16. 16.

    MattF

    Just in case you’ve all forgotten, the End of Everything is still scheduled for Dec. 21. A high-end restaurant in my neighborhood is hosting a ‘Final Feast’– with wine pairings, no less.

  20. 20.

    Culture of Truth

    via Paul Krugman:

    GQ: How old do you think the Earth is?

    Marco Rubio: I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States.

  23. 23.

    Culture of Truth

    Rubio:
    At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says.

    Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to answer that. It’s one of the great mysteries.

  26. 26.

    Linda Featheringill

    @greennotGreen: #7

    Take care of yourself, dear.

    It is comforting to be surrounded by the animales. I wish you lots of happy moments during your recovery.

  30. 30.

    Ash Can

    @Culture of Truth: And this guy is the GOP’s Great Brown Hope for 2016? Awesome. Just watch — they’ll nominate this ignoramus and then be all mystified when nobody votes for him in the general.

  31. 31.

    fleeting expletive

    One thing i wish President Obama would change in his standard speeches about tax rates, etc. is this: He often says something about tax rates paid by people “like me”, meaning wealthy. I wish he would point out that Congress consists of about 99% millionaires, although it’s true their salaries and speaking fees probably aren’t as high as their investment incomes.

    People should be more aware of how rich those dudes and dudettes are. Surely it’s their own incomes they don’t want to be taxed at a higher rate (>$250,000).

  33. 33.

    Schlemizel

    @Mark S.:

    LOCAL MARKETS – pfffft!

    These boys are eying national contracts! Michigan (WOLVERINES!) were paid $10 million for one figgin night game to start the season.

    For years NBC has stood for NorteDame Broadcasting Network, made the football factory a bundle and given the school credibility.

    Soon the big conferences will own all the competitive teams and get the big money TV contracts (don’t be surprised if ND gets squeezed it will be Big 10 too). I would expect they will then start dumping the ‘dogs’ from their conference (good-bye MN and Northwestern) so that the Big 10, SCC and a couple of others will form the core of a super D-I conference that will dominate bowl games & income. The lesser D-I’s will become D-Ib

  34. 34.

    catclub

    in that second picture the Bulldog must be wading. Anything with that much body out of the water ( and not standing) will swim like a cork — well.

  35. 35.

    Gin & Tonic

    @jeffreyw: I really hate when people confuse “palate” and “palette”. But when they write “pallet”, I just know they’re stupid.

  38. 38.

    MikeJ

    Speaking of pit bulls, my dad had an appointment with a surgeon last Friday. Six months after being attacked he’s still in pain, still can’t completely close his hand.

  40. 40.

    Gin & Tonic

    I haz confusion about this Hostess thing. Growing up in NY and environs, I was used to Drake’s Cakes, and they made (maybe still do) a confection called “Ring Dings.” Now I keep reading about Hostess “Ding Dongs”, which seem similar. Which came first? Is Drake regional and hostess national or something?

  43. 43.

    lamh35

    Today is my last day of peace before heading out to NOLA to spend time with my LOUD ASS FAMILY for Thanksgiving.

    I should pack for my trip to NOLA, but I can’t stop looking at this pic of Idris Elba… pic.twitter.com/36qOL6RY.

    The voice in my head keeps telling me, “Get Up, LAMH and get your azz to packing…but…well did you look at the picture…lol

    ok, ok, I’m packing now.

    If I don’t post again these next few days, Hope everyone has a good holiday week, whatever that entails.

  44. 44.

    Culture of Truth

    Now I keep reading about Hostess “Ding Dongs”, which seem similar. Which came first? Is Drake regional and hostess national or something?

    I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, but at the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on which came first, the ding dong or the ring ding, and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to answer that. It’s one of the great mysteries.

  45. 45.

    Schlemizel

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Not sure which was first. They could have come up with the idea independently or they both could have stolen the idea from some other shmuck who lost out. I think Hostess was also regional but became more national. Drake was always regional as far as I can tell

    I do believe however that Hostess now owns Drake so both ring-ding & ding-dong are going bye-bye

    EDIT: I delete my silly comment in favor of @Culture of Truth: who obviously has a deeper understanding! 8-{D (well done CoT!)

  46. 46.

    elmo

    @MikeJ:
    Damn. That’s awful.
    I picked up a stray terrier mix a couple of years ago, and told the story here about how he’d bitten the living shit out of my hands – down to the bone in places – and I ended up having to go to the ER. Two of the scars are still occasionally painful to this day. And that was a scared, traumatized 20lb juvenile terrier, not a big or particularly powerful dog.

    Still have the terrier, tho. As soon as I got him home he hopped into my arms and clung to me like a lifeline, with my hands bleeding all over him. He’s clingy and neurotic to this day.

  48. 48.

    The Red Pen

    @Schlemizel:

    Please tell me [executives getting bonuses during bankruptcy] does not surprise you. The odds that they will be allowed are quite high, this is not an unusual practice.

    It doesn’t.

    Often time courts will actually pay additional bonuses to the executive that have successfully sucked the asset dry because they did such an excellent job of disposing of the left over waste during bankruptcy.

    OK, that surprises me.

  49. 49.

    Jay C

    @Judas Escargot, Bringer of Loaves and Fish Sandwiches:

    Gee, ya think the Kelleys just might have a few reason to want to push their “influence”??

    An $80 million commission would have been helpful to the Kelleys. She and her husband have struggled with financial troubles, according to public records. Their Tampa-area home, which was purchased in 2004 for $1.5 million, has been the subject of foreclosure proceedings since April 2010. Records show a total of 11 lawsuits involving the Kelleys.

    So they’re the usual Republican “power couple”? Beverly Hills up front, Hooverville out back….

  50. 50.

    Schlemizel

    @MattF:

    Sorry but that sounds like “science” and that just won’t do! The can only offer theories and not the truth that only faith can provide. Plus any time there is new evidence science changes its mind about truth whereas faith is the same answer yesterday, today and tomorrow despite any changing evidence; therefore it must be more true

  53. 53.

    beltane

    @Schlemizel: Where do the nearly forgotten Ho-Ho’s fit into the scheme of things? And does this mean that Americans are stuck with nothing but the truly gross and inedible Little Debbie products as a snack cake choice?

    Thank the FSM for the continued survival of Pop Tarts.

  56. 56.

    Schlemizel

    @The Red Pen:

    There was a case recently where the CEO who had gutted the company demanded, and got, a larger salary to handle the bankruptcy he had caused than he had earned running the company into the ground. Plus, his bonus was based on this new, higher, salary.

    Gutted pension fund, creditors left holding the bag, vendors left unpaid but the CEO did quite nicely form himself.

    How many guillotines working 8 hours a day would it take to straighten these busterts out once and for all?

  61. 61.

    Gin & Tonic

    From the almighty Wikipedia:

    By the late 1960s, the resulting Drake Bakeries was owned by the huge Borden food company, along with Cracker Jack and Wise Potato Chips. In 1987, Borden sold the company to Ralston Purina, which owned ITT Continental Baking Company, makers of rival Hostess Cakes and Wonder Bread. This created a virtual monopoly in some areas, soon overturned. While the union lasted, Hostess was able to use the name Ding Dong for its Ring Ding clone in formerly restricted areas; when dissolved, instead of restoring the product’s original Big Wheels moniker, Hostess compromised with a new “King Dons” trademark for the affected areas. During this period, Drake’s celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1988, and Steve Gratzel, head of Drake’s research and development department, produced the world’s largest Ring Ding cake. Drake’s was soon sold off to management.

  62. 62.

    Schlemizel

    @beltane:

    I assume once the creditors have been stiffed, pensions raped and unions busted someone will buy the assets (pennys on the dollar) and be shitting out ho-hos, ding-things, Mickey’s banana Flips and twinklings soon enough. The market may be off but it is not dead.

  63. 63.

    Cassidy

    Ugh. All that packaged, wierd filling filled, stale spongecake crap is awful. Except Star Crunch. I will cut you for stealing the last star crunch.

  67. 67.

    Mark S.

    @Jay C:

    An $80 million commission would have been helpful to the Kelleys.

    A horse would have been helpful to Richard III. Is there anyone for whom $80 million wouldn’t be helpful?

  69. 69.

    MikeJ

    @Schlemizel: What’s truly bizarre about late stage capitalism is that a company bringing in billions of dollars a year, year after year, can be considered a dog because it’s a steady cash cow and isn’t growing at the rate of a 1996 Silicon Valley garage company.

  73. 73.

    beltane

    @Gin & Tonic: I’ve been seeing Tastycake products in my area for the first time recently (northern New England). But I’m from NYC and grew up with the Drake’s stuff. Remember when the Yodels were wrapped in foil covered with blue stars? So beautiful.

  74. 74.

    22over7

    Diagnosed this morning with a sinus infection, with an asthma chaser. Can hardly breathe, head pounding, want to do nothing.

    But people are going to be here on Thursday. People expecting food, carpets that don’t look like they’re made of cat hair, and bathrooms that are at least usable. Luckily they’re all people who actually love me, so I’m hoping for a little slack.

  75. 75.

    gogol's wife

    @Cassidy:

    I guess I’m a snob, but although I come from a very humble background, I never ate any of that junk. Nor did I eat in a McDonald’s until I was 25 or so, and very seldom since then. I’ve always been blessed to live in places with good local bakeries and restaurants. Why would anyone prefer a Twinkie to an eclair from a local bakery?

  76. 76.

    gogol's wife

    @Judas Escargot, Bringer of Loaves and Fish Sandwiches:

    You piqued my curiosity, because I couldn’t remember. Here’s Wikipedia:

    “Mayberry Machiavelli is a satirically pejorative phrase coined by John J. DiIulio Jr., Ph.D., a former George W. Bush administration staffer who ran the President’s Faith-Based Initiative. After DiIulio resigned from his White House post in late 2001, journalist Ron Suskind quoted him in an Esquire magazine article describing the administration of the Bush White House as follows: “What you’ve got is everything—and I mean everything—being run by the political arm. It’s the reign of the Mayberry Machiavellis.”[1] DiIulio elaborated on “Mayberry Machiavellis” in a subsequent letter to Esquire,[2] stating that in his experience Bush administration staffers almost always substituted political calculation in place of policy discussion.”

  77. 77.

    The Red Pen

    @Schlemizel:

    How many guillotines working 8 hours a day would it take to straighten these busterts out once and for all?

    We need some data. Let’s start with the Hostess execs.

  78. 78.

    Linda Featheringill

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I really hate when people confuse “palate” and “palette”. But when they write “pallet”, I just know they’re stupid.

    Unless you mean one of those wooden platforms for stacking stuff on so you can carry it with a forklift.

  79. 79.

    JPL

    @22over7: Whole Foods will prepare the Thanksgiving meal or so I’m told.
    Being the good mother, I’m doing brunch so one son and his S.O. don’t have to have two Thanksgiving. Then I’m doing a turkey later on for the other son and neighbors.

  81. 81.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Linda Featheringill: You know, you’re right. When he wrote “There’s a new wine being introduced to the American pallet and it’s almost out of this world” he could have been talking about forklifts.

  82. 82.

    Cassidy

    @gogol’s wife: When I was a kid, I loved sugar and sweets as much as the next one, but as I’ve gotten older, I don’t like insanely sweet food, except fot he occassional candy bar or star crunch, etc. I do get a craving for something sweet, but it’s not a regular part of my diet.

    But, I remember one day, I had a craving and saw twinkies and thought “man, I haven’t had once since I was a kid”. It was gross. I even tried the little chocolate, frosting filled cupcakes they make just to see if they were still good. Disgusting. I just avoid all of that stuff now.

  83. 83.

    Schlemizel

    @MikeJ:

    This was the case with Honeywell which was my ‘home’ for nearly 20 years. Marvin Rainwater decided that 4% a year return was not enough & blackmailed the BoD. The sold off valuable bits in Asia and the (then) under performing bombs-n-bullets divisions. Shoved into a dwindling market BnB (now known as AlliantTechsystems (they paid 250k for some firm to dream that spiffy moniker up) became a football, kicked from owner to owner, buying & selling bits & bobs. One group raped our pension fund, I’m sure they did OK for themselves.

    Honeywell continued to screw up tomorrow for today and was purchased by someone (Allied Signal? GE?). It went from a steady competent rock solid if unimpressive performer to junk. ATK has moved everything it can to the lowest cost places the government will allow war production to take place. Dispite adding several companies (including Thicol the rocket people) it is half the size it was in the peaceful doldrums of the 90s.

    Khrushchev used to say “when the last Capitalist is hung he will sell us the rope to do it.”. He was right, he just didn’t know who would be doing the hanging or how they got to the gallows!

  84. 84.

    bemused

    I feel badly for all the Hostess employees but did that company make anything that was actually food? I think I tasted a Twinkie when I was a kid and had no sense, Even then I thought it tasted like crap because I’ve avoided anything like that since. I had no idea junk like that was so popular that people are stocking up and buying everything they can find.

  86. 86.

    Violet

    Hi, Tim F.! Good to see you back and photos of Max are always a treat. Love the pics of Sammy too.

  87. 87.

    22over7

    @JPL:

    You are a good mom.

    No, I have to cook. Hell, I love cooking, and I love cooking turkey with all the trimmins. I’d just rather do it when I’m not sick. At least it’s not contagious.

    I may cheat and buy a pie.

  89. 89.

    Schlemizel

    @The Red Pen:

    I think we can start with anyone ever employed by any firm with the term “Capital” in its name. Also, anyone who worked for a ‘private equity’ firm followed by a list of certain ‘bankers’ who don’t actually accept deposits if you know what I mean. Finally, anyone who dodged taxes by earning ‘carried interest’

    I would think the initial numbers would be a few thousand maybe. I may have a margin of overkill (sorry for the pun) but you can’t break a few eggs without making some omlettes.

  90. 90.

    wasabi gasp

    I’m ok with one twinkie. So ok with it, that I’ll mistakenly go for a second. I won’t get to a third until after parole.

  91. 91.

    MikeJ

    @Schlemizel: Sounds like my dad. Worked for RCA, then sold to GE, sold to Lockheed, merged to LockMart. I seem to remember Grumman coming up somewhere, but I don’t know where or how.

  92. 92.

    bemused

    This is one of the saddest comments in a local paper from one of the woefully uninformed I have ever read.

    Commenter said “our Socialist president wants to take money from rich people and give to the poor people and that is 100 percent wrong. My only income is Social Security and I have no savings of any kind. I still would never take money away from rich people. It is theirs and not mine”.

  93. 93.

    Yutsano

    @MikeJ: Well duh. How else is Daddums supposed to earn a big enough dividend so Buffy can get her new yacht in pink? You’re just so insensitive sometimes!

  96. 96.

    Alison

    Okay, very very random question, but you all have lots of esoteric knowledge so…

    My mom recently discovered that when she drinks conventional veggie juice (V-8 style stuff) she gets heartburn, but when she drinks the organic version, she doesn’t. Any reason you\ gardener type folks might know of that organically grown tomatoes would be less likely to cause heartburn? Are they less acidic or something?

  105. 105.

    Schlemizel

    @Alison:

    You might also ask about salt content. Some organic stuff can have additional salt which might reduce the acidity.

  107. 107.

    dogwood

    Looks like the President had a good day in Burma. I’ve always had an interest in that place. Shooting an Elephant is my favorite Orwell essay.

  108. 108.

    Interrobang

    I’ll ship Vachon products (like Hostess things but much better) across the border clandestinely, but I’ll cut you if you try to lay claim to the Asterix premiums.

  109. 109.

    Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God

    @gogol’s wife:

    Mayberry Machiavelli is a satirically pejorative phrase coined by John J. DiIulio Jr., Ph.D., a former George W. Bush administration staffer who ran the President’s Faith-Based Initiative.

    Yes, that’s it! I seem to remember that guy being among the very first GOPers to ‘peel off’ and turn against the Bush administration.

    Seeing how he resigned in late 2001, he was clearly ahead of his time.

  111. 111.

    trollhattan

    Swimming (rapidly not-sinking?) doggie!

    Dogs&water, very hard to predict which will and which won’t take to it. Our first Dal was a very chesty big boy who was a strong swimmer and liked it, so long as fetching was involved. Dal #2 is a daintier girl and can’t seem to figure the stuff out, to the point we actually don’t know if she can swim. At the ocean, waves are for barking at and biting. (We think she’d a few sandwiches short of a picnic.)

    Biggest land/water transformation I’ve seen is Newfies–who are hairy galoots on land and the strongest damn swimmers I’ve ever seen–I swear you could waterski behind a Newfie. Funniest thing I’ve ever seen was friends’ Samoyed, which I always though of as a big girl but when she came out of a lake, was a dainty things with comedy stick legs. All the apparent bulk is from the fluff.

  113. 113.

    burnspbesq

    @Mark S.:

    What this is really about is Kevin Plank’s Phil Knight complex. Rutgers is a pawn. Maryland’s non-revenue sports are totally hosed.

    It’ll be UConn joining the ACC. Thank God Calhoun is gone.

    The only clear winners in this are the merchants along Route 1 in College Park and the Prince George’s County police. No more mouth-breathing Maryland students rioting after their infrequent wins over Duke. Who riots because they beat Iowa?

  114. 114.

    gelfling545

    @elmo: I will never have the complete use of my right index finger after being bitten by my own damn pug while trying to keep her from biting the hell out of another female pug. I will now spend my remaining years appearing to make a rude gesture at the world since much of the index finger’s work is being subbed out to the middle. On the day I went for surgery on the finger everybody kept asking what kind of dog bit me & then trying not to laugh when I told them.

  115. 115.

    Schlemizel

    @trollhattan:
    My folks friends had a terrier/American Samoyed mix (don’t ask) Terrier body with a curly tail. When they moved to Florida this dog would swim so far out the owners thought for sure it had drowned & then it would body surf back to shore. It started as a game of fetch but somehow the silly thing knew how to ride the waves and never really cared about the stick or ball.

    One day I guess it came back to the beach with a jelly fish attached. It was sick for a bit but back out surfing as soon as it was allowed.

  116. 116.

    Violet

    @Alison: V-8 is a combination of various vegetables. The organic version might have different veggies in it. Compare the ingredients list to see if there is any different type of veg and/or they’re in a different order (meaning higher or lower percentage of them in the mix).

    It’s probably the citric acid or other preservative. But other things can cause problems too. Have her check other brands if cost is an issue that puts the organic out of reach. A house brand might be put together by a different manufacturer and work better. That kind of thing.

  117. 117.

    gelfling545

    @Alison: It may be the varieties of tomatoes used. Various varieties have wildly differing acid content. Some are so low you need to add lemon juice when you can them while others are very acidic.

  118. 118.

    Mnemosyne

    @22over7:

    This is when you call a maid service and have them do the cleaning while you lay on the couch moaning softly. If you don’t know one off the top of your head, see if there’s a Merry Maids franchise in your area.

  120. 120.

    Mark S.

    @burnspbesq:

    And Maryland’s supposed to fork over $50 million to the ACC for leaving. That’s a pretty big chunk of change. Are they going to get rid of their science departments?

  121. 121.

    asiangrrlMN

    Gorgeous dogs, Tim F.!

    @Culture of Truth: In a just world, anyone who gave that response would be barred from becoming a civil servant/existing on this planet.

    @greennotGreen: Good luck to you. I hope you get to be surrounded by your pack more often than not. My boys help me feel better, for sure.

  122. 122.

    Violet

    @22over7: I second the maid service. The larger chain maid services aren’t cheap, but taking care of yourself so that you don’t have to make yourself even sicker by cleaning is priceless. Call them up. They can probably fit you in.

  123. 123.

    elmo

    @gelfling545:
    It’s my left index and right middle fingers, so I definitely feel your pain. Pretty sure the bite went into the joint in both cases.

    The most stitches I’ve ever had came from one of my own German Shepherds, trying to eat an intruder Yorkshire Terrier. I got hold of the little dog and lifted, just as my GSD missed the terrier and latched onto my forearm instead. RIIIIIIP!

    First time I’d ever seen a wound “blossom” adipose tissue. Looked like a mushroom.

  124. 124.

    Ed in NJ

    @Mark S.:

    Of course the TV markets are the key here, but many commenting on the lack of interest in Rutgers in NYC are missing two points:

    1) Rutgers is by far and away the most popular team in NYC. Nate Silver’s study estimates there are almost 700,000 fans in the city who root for Rutgers. And that’s as a member of the Big East playing perennial opponents like USF and Cincinnati. And that’s just Rutgers. Do you realize how many fans of Penn State, Michigan, Ohio St., Wisconsin, etc. are in the area? Now they have annual or semiannual games against the local team.

    2) The NJ market is huge, and Rutgers has a huge following. Ask ESPN. The highest rated games on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU all time in the NYC market (which includes northern and central NJ) are games involving Rutgers, and weekly games on those channels routinely outdraw locally other games featuring national powers. The potential with a B1G schedule is enormous.

    The bottom line is that Rutgers is a sleeping giant. They routinely outrecruit the lower tier of B1G teams like Indiana, Northwestern, Illinois, Minnesota, etc., and that will improve in the new conference. They are natural rivals for Maryland and Penn State, and fit the profile of a large, land grant research university, with excellent academics. They have AAU membership. Rutgers is annually one of the top schools in the country in APR and graduation rates for football, which helps our recruiting tremendously, by bringing in good citizens whose parents know they will graduate if they don’t make the NFL. And with players like Ray Rice, Devin McCourty, Jason McCourty, and Anthony Davis (we don’t talk about Kenny Britt), not to mention Eric LeGrand, that character is well-represented in the NFL.

  125. 125.

    Alison

    @Violet: Actually, the organic version she’s been buying is the store brand, so it’s fairly cheap, surprisingly :)

    @gelfling545: I thought about this too – just different types of tomatoes. Probably no way to know that level of ingredient detail, I guess.

    I did just compare the salt contents and the organic version does indeed have more…so maybe that is it, or maybe it is the slightly different mix of veggies. I’m just glad she found one that she can drink because she doesn’t eat a lot of produce and her doctor was tsk tsking her :)

  126. 126.

    Mnemosyne

    @22over7:

    And if you can’t afford cleaning people, guilt a few of the people coming over on Thursday into either coming by the day before or coming by early to help you clean. Make sure you call when you’re as stuffed-up as possible and sound really pitiful so they worry that you’re going to cancel dinner altogether if they don’t.

  127. 127.

    Mark S.

    News of the weird:

    John McAfee, the 67-year-old retired founder of McAfee, Inc., a leading computer security company now owned by Intel, is blogging about his life on the run from police in Belize, where McAfee is wanted in connection with the November 11 shooting death of a man described as his neighbor.

    I also learned that there is a hallucinogenic drug called bath salts, that Mr McAfee may or may not be on.

  128. 128.

    ? Martin

    @Schlemizel:

    You might also ask about salt content. Some organic stuff can have additional salt which might reduce the acidity.

    Hmm. Regular V8 is a combination of carrot, salt, celery, salt, salt, and salt. So the organic stuff might have some additional salt? Interesting.

  129. 129.

    Michael

    @MikeJ: They said it could take up to 2 weeks before they email me the photos. I have some other photos I took, but I prob won’t upload until I have them all in one bunch

  130. 130.

    JPL

    So since this is an open thread, I want to take the time to thank Beth for doing the BJ calendar again. My son’s sent me their pics and I sent in one of Miss Moxie with Aoshi, my brother’s dog. Aoshi is a large german shepherd mix and moxie is an 18 pound whatever. Thank you Beth.

  133. 133.

    burnspbesq

    @Mark S.:

    And Maryland’s supposed to fork over $50 million to the ACC for leaving. That’s a pretty big chunk of change.

    Most, if not all, of which will come out of Kevin Plank’s pockets.

    For those of you who don’t recognize the name, Kevin Plank is the founder, controlling shareholder, and CEO of Under Armour.

  134. 134.

    burnspbesq

    @Mark S.:

    What Ed is conveniently neglecting to tell you is that Rutgers desperately wanted into the ACC, and were rejected in favor of Syracuse and Pitt.

  135. 135.

    ranchandsyrup

    Just got back from the F1 race In Austin. The track and the race were great. Had too many beers and too much scotch with good friends. Was nice not to look at the intertrons for a few days.

  136. 136.

    Maude

    The union and Hostess are going to negotiate.
    I am happy.
    I eat Twinkies once in a while. I like them and I am not a food snob.
    If something is healthy, I don’t want anything to do with it. That’s my running joke.
    I was talking to the Drake’s guy at the store and I said I remembered when Ring Dings came out. He did too.
    I like American food.

  137. 137.

    PurpleGirl

    @MikeJ: I think LockMart (for Lockheed-Martin?) ate Grumman somewhere in the early 90s. I think they also closed the big Grumman plant out Long Island.

  138. 138.

    feebog

    @ Sch;emizel:

    I think we can start with anyone ever employed by any firm with the term “Capital” in its name. Also, anyone who worked for a ‘private equity’ firm followed by a list of certain ‘bankers’ who don’t actually accept deposits if you know what I mean. Finally, anyone who dodged taxes by earning ‘carried interest’

    Can I have the pike franchise?

  141. 141.

    Anne Laurie

    @Gin & Tonic: Wikipedia reinforces my hazy childhood NYC snack-jingoism — Drake’s Cakes came first, even if they were eventually subsumed to the Evil Hostess Empire!

    Also, Drake’s Cakes were kosher — no animal fats — an important advertising point in the NYC market even for non-Jews. So I guess Drakes were (are?) also vegan… although I don’t suppose most vegans would touch a massmarket snakfud like a Ring Ding…

  142. 142.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    Maxpuppeh! Thanks much for that, especially including the (polka dotted) aquatic mammal playmate.

  144. 144.

    Ed in NJ

    @burnspbesq:

    That could not be further from the truth. Keep spouting your ill-informed lies.

    The B1G was always the goal, and has been in the works for awhile now. Only Nebraska’s decision to abandon the Big 12 delayed what was inevitable.

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