From Gawker:
On the day of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, two new petitions were added to the Obama administration’s home-brewed “We the People” petitioning system.
One called on the White House to “immediately address the issue of gun control” through legislation; the other demanded the Westboro Baptist Church be “legally recognize[d]” as a hate group.
The former has nearly 200,000 signatures. The latter is well on its way to 300,000.
Spurred by WBC threats to picket funerals of deceased Sandy Hook victims, the petition is now officially the most popular “We the People” petition ever posted on the site since its launch in September of last year…
Apart from denigrating IRL trolls, what’s on the agenda for the evening?
redshirt
Don’t forget to add in the phrase “Left-Wing” whenever mentioning Westboro Baptist Church. Fox sure won’t.
Raven
Go Hokies!
Raven
Obama up at 5:45.
Raven
@redshirt: What the fuck is that supposed to mean?
redshirt
@Raven: Fox labels WBC as “Left-Wing” whenever they reference them. Cuz as we all know, all evil people are “Left-wing”.
Ted & Hellen
What practical/legal effects does being “legally recognized” as a hate group have?
Raven
@redshirt: Aha, didn’t know that.
jeffreyw
Totebagging
Raven
About the same as being a dork or a troll.
Litlebritdifrnt
I got a steal of a deal on a leg of lamb at Food Lion after Christmas (original price $34.00 my price $17.00) so I de-boned it, de-fatted it and right now I have a Lancashire Hot Pot in the oven filling the house with delicious smells. I bagged two more portions of the lamb for the freezer for future Hot Pots. I shall eat the Hot Pot for dinner with pickled red cabbage (the traditional way of eating it where I come from).
MikeJ
@jeffreyw: Looks like an admirer of David Brooks.
Suzanne
I will be mopping my bathroom floor. Awwww yeah.
On Saturday nights, I stay hope and clean the cat box.
j
How about a petition to have the Justice Dep’t investigate how Rupert Murdoch got a “hurry up” hardship citizenship, just so he could buy 20th Century FOX? Strip him of his citizenship and send his ass packing back to Oz. He will have to sell FOX if that happens.
Bruce Heerssen
The Southern Poverty Law Center designates certain groups as “hate groups” and that’s fine and useful. The government, on the other hand, should not get into that business.
Forum Transmitted Disease
@redshirt: Back in the day, I suspect before ol’ Fred had a major stroke, he was:
A Democrat.
And not any old kind of Democrat either. He was a civil rights lawyer, and apparently a pretty good one.
So Fox will continue to associate this fag-bashing maniac and his foul brood with liberals until the end of time. Plus, oh boy is that convenient, because then it kinda lifts the burden of guilt for queer-hatin’ and race-hatin’ off the Klan Republicans that are their core audience (not that their audience feels guilt about these things anyway, but they look bad in polite company).
Forum Transmitted Disease
huh, in moderation? FOR WHAT? FYWP
PeakVT
@Litlebritdifrnt: Recipe or it didn’t happen.
redshirt
I’m questioning my idea of the “snow-shoveling workout”. Three hours of it and I am beat! My back! My shoulder! My face! So cold, so windy, so very much snow….
I blame W.
Mandalay
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/englishman-wakes-up-speaking-welsh-after-stroke-8431970.html
Incredible. For all our progress we still don’t have much understanding of how our brains work.
Forum Transmitted Disease
@Ted & Hellen:I think the misguided idiots who are signing this petition mean “recognized by the SPLC” when they say “legally”, so far as I know the government does not keep a formal listing of “hate groups”, and there are certainly no consequences to being one.
Other than going to hell, which every member of the WBC certainly will.
TenguPhule
Makes it easier to sue them and get them banned from certain areas.
Tone in DC
The WBC is so foul (picketing Newtown funerals places the picketers about three or four miles below Dante’s 9th circle of hell), even hackers hate their sorry asses.
The lamb sounds good.
Me, I’ll head to the butcher’s counter and have her grind up some sirloin. It’s burger time. And no, I do not care that it’s Friday.
bemused
I have been watching clips from Kennedy Center Honors 2012. Beth Hart’s voice is amazing. Good to see Buddy Guy honored. The tribute to Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven at the end was great. Barack and Michelle looked like they thoroughly enjoyed being there.
eclare
@bemused: Isn’t it great to see our President sing along to Whole Lotta Love? And Lenny Kravitz and Slash must record a CD now!
bemused
@eclare:
I’ve been waiting all my voting life to get a president and first lady that would do that!
Oltrol
@Suzanne:
Naked mopping?
Link please.
TheMightyTrowel
yet another road trip with my parents. this time to Sydney for new years!
Hal
I’ve been trying hard to ignore the gun lovers on Facebook but it’s getting extremely difficult. Apparently the current narrative is to promote every story regarding someone defending themselves and/or family Dirty Harry style, and how the media never reports those stories. The they provide a link to some mainstream newspaper, so…
I really don’t want to argue with folks on Facebook, but yeesh, complaining that the mass murder of children shouldn’t get the same attention as the occasional home invader shot dead story is just braindead.
Oltrol
@TheMightyTrowel:
Kings Cross.
Oh, man, New Years, you lucky sod.
Take the “Red Rattler” up the Coast to Melbourne.
Imbibe.
The “Reef” is dead.
Carry on.
PurpleGirl
@Tone in DC: The no-meat-on-Friday thing pertains to Catholics during Lent. Enjoy your hamburger. Is there anything special you make them with?
Suzanne
@Oltrol: LMMFAO. None of that for me. I wear the finest in casual wear and ALWAYS wear clean underwear so I’ll look dignified and proper should I pass out and the first responders have to come save my ass.
Oltrol
@Suzanne:
I was a Paramedic, seen it…….more than I wished.
Litlebritdifrnt
@PeakVT:
About one pound of lean lamb cubed
Two Carrots sliced
One Onion sliced
Enough potatoes sliced to cover meat and veg
2 beef stock cubes and hot water (enough to cover)
Place cubed beef in 9″ square baking dish.
Add sliced carrots and sliced onions.
Layer potatoes on top of veg and meat mix.
Mix stock cubes with hot water and pour over top.
Heat at about 375 for three hours or until lamb is fork tender. Broil for a few minutes to brown the potatoes.
Enjoy (BTW eating mine right now and it is awesome).
Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn
@Forum Transmitted Disease: That happened to me yesterday for no apparent reason. I copied the text of the post and reposted, and by golly it worked.
PurpleGirl
To my knowledge the government does not have a mechanism to declare any entity a hate group and such designation (if there is one) does not carry a penalty. The Westboro Baptist Church has been recognized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for years.
Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn
@Forum Transmitted Disease: I had a comment get thrown in the moderation clink yesterday for no good reason. So I tried coping the post (that only I could see) and re-posting. Result: Success!
PeakVT
@Litlebritdifrnt: Thanks!
Mike in NC
Just saw “Django Unchained” and it was awesome.
Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn
@Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn: Ah, but having one post apparently get eaten and so as a result issuing an unintended double post — that I don’t seem to have an answer for.
Are we sure Word Press isn’t just another one of DougJ’s trolling methods?
Rosie Outlook
I missed the naked mopping incident. Can anyone fill me in?
I will be spending an exciting evening making out the grocery list. Whee!
mainmati
@Litlebritdifrnt: This is what I would call the minimalist’s approach to Lancashire hot pot. For extra taste w/o much additional work a) use actual stock not bouillon cubes; b) brown the meat first in butter, drippings or olive oil (as well as the veggies); c) add a few choice herbs such as thyme as well as minced garlic, salt and pepper. Add a bay leaf for additional flavor. When browning the potato topping at the end slather the top with butter or drippings first for better browning and flavor. Finally, when browning the meat, the lamb cubes ideally should be tossed in flour first so that the resultant stew is a bit thickened. Otherwise always a good, hearty dish.
Suzanne
@Oltrol: Gross.
HinTN
@PeakVT: Indeed, YUM!
j
@PeakVT: Not too many weeks ago I cooked a massive Leg O’ Lamb in 2 crock pots (it was too big for he big one, so I hacked some off and put it in another smaller one). Kept the bone intact, too, for the big pot.
No liquid, no nothing, except for a rack on the bottoms of the big crock pots (balled up foil does the trick too) so the juices steam the meat, and the meat doesn’t stew in its own juices.
I used Lipton onion soup mix (half a bag per crock pot) as a rub and garlic powder to season them.
Dee-lish!
Cooked on medium/high forever. (slow cooking is the best).
Use a meat thermometer to get to 165, and enjoy!
YUMMMMMmmmmmmm!
The meat from the small crock pot was used for lamb burgers. Just get some small buns (< 3" dia.) and put the meat on 'em with some horsey sauce.
debbie
@ eclare:
Are you sure that was Slash? I was Googling around to see who the guitarist was (I had thought maybe Joe Perry had he been using again), and most people seem to think it was Shane Fontayne, whoever he is.
Rosie Outlook
This remark is for those who remember the Weekly Reader in grade school. I am beginning to learn Spanish. Is there any print or Internet Spanish equivalent of the Weekly Reader, where a beginner can read simply worded articles?
Rosie Outlook
I sure am glad the U.S. wasn’t flooded with Japanese-speaking immigrants. I learned the 2 Japanese alphabets a while back without too much trouble, but I could NEVER memorize kanji.
eclare
@debbie: I haven’t seen anything for sure but I did see where the two of them have been recording lately. Somewhere, the intertubes know.
ruviana
@Rosie Outlook: I found this site, http://hispanyeros.com/spanishreadingpractice/
if that could help. There was something I got for awhile that I can’t remember the name of. If I track it down I’ll post it.
eclare
@debbie: looked around, some guy named Craig Ross. My bad!
Rosie Outlook
@ruviana: Muchas gracias!
JIm
A couple of weeks ago I noted that a couple of tea bagger blogs were all excited that their favored
hobby horsespetitions had signature totals in excess to that required for a WH response, a fraction of what the Westboro, guns petitions have achieved..Jebediah
@Rosie Outlook:
Don’t most newspapers print their articles at a fairly low (like 4th or 5th-grade) reading level? I don’t know if that applies to Spanish-language newspapers but if so maybe that would work for you. As a bonus you would be reading news with maybe a slightly different perspective.
Rosie Outlook
@Jebediah: I did plan to work my way up to the newspapers, if the ones in Spanish are dumbed down, but right now I’m strictly primary school level.
When I get that far, I will report on how dumbed down Spanish papers are, if they are. Fred Reed, who lives there, reports the Mexican population to be considerably better informed than the American, and that Mexico has a 98% literacy rate.