Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

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

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

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

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

The willow is too close to the house.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

… gradually, and then suddenly.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

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

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

I really should read my own blog.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Morning Bits (Open Thread)

Morning Bits (Open Thread)

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cheesehenge

I thought that “Fifty Shades of Glock”* gun-porn piece by Walter Kirn that Mistermix posted for our derision yesterday was the dumbest thing I’d read on the gun issue this week.

But then I saw this, which asserts that asking gun buyers to undergo a background check is akin to encouraging cops to pull random brown people over to check their immigration status. If stupid burns, that essay is a veritable supernova of stupid.

I haven’t had a cigarette in eight months as of today. Go me!

Any big plans for the upcoming weekend? What are you making for the Super Bowl, and who are you rooting for?

I might attempt Cheesehenge (as pictured above), and I can’t decide whom to root for as I don’t care for either team. I was going to root against the Ravens because I despise Ray Lewis, but then that homophobic jackass on the Niners had to open his pie hole…

PS: Missed the Wiley Cash event yesterday because CoveritLive sucks on an iPhone, but it looks like y’all asked my questions anyway. Well done!

* H/T: Baud

Reader Interactions

124Comments

  1. 1.

    Raven

    I decided to make tamales for the game. I’m going to do vegetarian in banana leaves and chicken mole in corn husks. I try to do theme stuff and, since I liked La Mission about San Fran, I decided on this. It didn’t dawn on me that I could have gone cajun/creole and dazzled the fans with my big ass redfish fillets blackened but what the hell!

  3. 3.

    Betty Cracker

    @Raven: I’ve never made tamales, but I do like them. I have a banana tree and have always thought I should put the leaves to good use. Hmmmm…

  4. 4.

    dr. bloor

    Pretty safe bet that both teams have homophobic jackasses, and both teams have Harbaughs.

    I’m rooting for the meteor strike, myself.

  5. 5.

    Cassidy

    Congrats on the cigarette. I haven’t had one since November.

    Go for the Niners. The homophobic jackass just strikes me as “uber male” and uneducated. Ray Lewis is a murderer.

    I might do my soul food black eye peas.

  6. 6.

    Betty Cracker

    @Cassidy: Well done on kicking the butts! Do you feel better? I didn’t think it would make much of a difference health-wise, but it really has. I still miss the cigs sometimes, but not in a compulsive way. The only reason I know how long it’s been is because I have an app that sends me congratulations on milestones.

  7. 7.

    Cermet

    Can root for the Ravens since they have a player who is very outspoken for gay rights; just ignore that other one on the Ravens who should remain nameless. Congrats on quiting – can’t make a bigger health change that will extend/improve your life.

  8. 8.

    gorillagogo

    I haven’t had a cigarette in eight months as of today.

    Congratulations. I’m somewhere around six months myself.

  12. 12.

    WereBear

    Congrats on quitting! Make it stick. It is supposed to be the toughest kick.

    We aren’t doing anything on SuperBowl day; aren’t that big on sports of any kind. But I’m trying to eliminate a storage unit today and tomorrow; that will be worth celebrating on Sunday!

  13. 13.

    Nina

    The Ravens have Ayenbadejo, and the rest of the team has stood behind him quite solidly. Ravens are an anti-homophobia team.

    And this is Ray Lewis’ last game, so you can root for him to go out with a career-ending injury.

  14. 14.

    Robin G.

    Dude, Cheesehenge looks AMAZING.

    I’m rooting Ravens (Maryland girl), but I’m half-tempted not to watch due to the musical performance by the Sandy Hook Elementary chorus. “You got to listen to your classmates being slaughtered, and we’re probably not going to do a damn thing about the circumstances that led to it, but at least you get to perform like monkeys on primetime so we can all feel like we’re doing something!”

    Or is it just me?

  15. 15.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Congrats on the quitting.

    Randy Moss plays for the 49ers. That is enough for me to pull for the Ravens.

  16. 16.

    Betty Cracker

    @raven: 44 years of awesomeness. Well done!

    @arguingwithsignposts: Quit Pro. It helps you track your craving patterns, etc., and provides milestones, keeps a running tab on money and years of life saved, etc. I’m not sure it was all that helpful for me, really. I was just finally ready to quit.

  17. 17.

    Higgs Boson's Mate

    One season of H.S. football back in the day when we still did helmet drills cured me of football. Sunday is the sailor’s day of rest so I’ll spend most of it re-reading Ian McDonald’s The Dervish House. It’s an astonishingly good read.

  18. 18.

    jibeaux

    I have conflicted feelings about Super Bowl Sunday. Love fatty foods and beer, can’t stand football.

    Oh, if ol’ Burnsie comes around, I need to try to get a tax answer out of his dookie ass. Or maybe Yutsano?

  22. 22.

    Persia

    I’m traveling so I can safely ignore this game. Congrats on eight months, that’s fantastic!

  23. 23.

    Cassidy

    @Betty Cracker: I do feel better. I’m stll using the e-cigs, so I’m not off nicotine, yet, but being tobacco free is a big step for me. The last time I tried to quit in the middle of last year, I reached a point where I wasn’t craving nicotine and I stopped having the e-cig around. Then stuff happenned, I was weak, and started smoking again. So this time, I’m drawing out the weaning off period and making sure I have one charged and ready even if I don’t crave the nicotine. It’s a process. Forunately, regular exercise has been a good way to fight through it. I still don’t have my tastebuds back, that I can notice, but I can now smell smoke on people and starting to get that back.

  24. 24.

    Cassidy

    @arguingwithsignposts: I can’t suggest the e-cigs enough. I got one called vapor nine which has a long battery and a detachable chamber for the fluid. The fluid runs $8 for a bottle which will last me 2 months, easily, and the chamber is $4 which needs to be changed about every 6-8 weeks. I’m not a “cold turkey” kind of person, so this has been immensly helpful.

  28. 28.

    WereBear

    @gene108: I find the Sandyhook chorus a bit creepy too.

    True… but in terms of letting people know what is at stake with the “gun safety issue,” it’s pure gold.

  29. 29.

    Schlemizel

    @Betty Cracker:

    I kick myself for never having done that while I lived in FLA. We had a banana tree in the yard so I had the opportunity.

    The juice from the leaves always reminded me of jucy fruit gum; sweet, oddly fruity and inviting. I assume it imparts some of that flavor into the food. A nice piece of blue fish or dolphin fish wrapped in it should be pretty tasty.

  31. 31.

    Woodrowfan

    our little dachshund (who is on the BJ calendar BTW) woke up this am and couldn’t use hi back legs. My wife rushed him to the vet hospital and I had to come to school to teach this am. I think I am going to find it very hard to concentrate on my lecture this am….

  33. 33.

    Schlemizel

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I’d agree but then I remember Ray Lewis plays for the Ravens.
    The big problem for me (aside from the NFL treating players as disposable) is that every team has crooks, abusers, ego problems and rapists in some number – I can’t root for any of them.

    Given that I can see all the commercials on line Monday I’ll be splitting my time between helping my sister who broke her ankle and having beers with a friend on vacation from Afghanistan.

  34. 34.

    Aimai

    @gene108: Sewing plates from leaves with tiny bamboo splits is actually one of my (many) talents. We used to do it in Nepal for weddings and other big parties in the hills.

  35. 35.

    Elizabelle

    @Woodrowfan:

    Had that happen with a beagle a few years ago, and she underwent successful surgery and regained the use of her back legs (albeit she wobbled a bit). It was a herniated disk that had ruptured.

    My beagle lived another happy ten years. Vets can do a lot more these days.

    Link re disk ruptures in small breeds: http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/diseasesandconditions/a/Treating-Herniated-Spinal-Disks.htm

    WIshing you the best for your little doxy. Love those wiener dogs.

  36. 36.

    Betty Cracker

    @Woodrowfan: I hope he’s okay.

    @Aimai: Wow. We have tons of bamboo in addition to the banana tree. No more paper plates for me! (It’s hard to find one that isn’t manufactured by Koch Industries anyway…)

  38. 38.

    TriassicSands

    I haven’t had a cigarette in eight months as of today. Go me!

    Yes, go you! It must be the hardest habit in the world to kick — unless you’re a Republican and then the habit of being a vile, selfish, gun-loving, truth-hating, racist, misogynistic, etc. lunatic is even more difficult — in most cases only death can end the habit.

    Here’s hoping you can keep it up for the rest of your days.

    Best known secret in the world — never starting is the way to go.

  39. 39.

    handsmile

    Latest jobs report just released by BLS: US economy added 157,000 new jobs in january; unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9%, attributed to increased “labor force participation,” i.e., people encouraged to re-enter the job market.

    Another very positive measure: November and December jobs numbers were revised upwards by more than 100,000 combined (161K to 247K, 155K to 196K).

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-01/payrolls-in-u-s-rose-in-january-after-jumping-at-end-of-2012.html

    Soledad and the gang on CNN seemed rather sad to report this good result, and hurried back to breathless speculation (because there’s virtually no actual information) on the Ankara embassy bombing.

  44. 44.

    Suffern ACE

    Re: the no name San Francisco player and his homophobic comments-what the hell kind of press conference was he having? I’m trying to figure out what question would be asked that would get a response of “I don’t do the gay guys.”

  46. 46.

    Anya

    So, do you guys think Hagel will be confirmed as Israel’s Secretary of DOD? It’s not clear from the video clips I saw. The republicans were batshit insane, and he was a disappointment. WTF happened to the man who told his colleagues: “If you want a safe job, go sell shoes”?

    Also, too, it’s a miracle that John McCain didn’t die from the heavy load of bitterness and anger he carries around all the time. Everything he does is related to some grudge he holds.

  47. 47.

    japa21

    There is a part of me that wants to see SF win, mainly because then I can say my team lost to the Super Bowl winner in the playoffs each of the last two years. But then SF has Randy Moss and Jim Harbaugh. Can’t stand either of them.

    So I will root for the Ravens because I do like Flacco.

  48. 48.

    chopper

    which asserts that asking gun buyers to undergo a background check is akin to encouraging cops to pull random brown people over to check their immigration status.

    clearly, requiring people purchasing firearms to undergo a background check regardless of skin color, religion, gender, ethnicity or anything else is totes just like pulling people over for driving while brown.

  49. 49.

    Schlemizel

    @Woodrowfan:

    Hope the little guy pulls through for you.

    After two weeks of daily seizures our old cat has been just fine now. I did add a bit more fat to her diet but I don’t think that was really the cure.

  50. 50.

    Randy P

    Any big plans for the upcoming weekend?

    Double feature at the art-movie house. This is the weekend the Oscar-Nominated Shorts come out. They get released every year after the nominations as a package distributed to theaters. Great way to see some fresh international film-making talent. We watch the animated shorts and the live-action shorts as a double feature.

    I’d love to see the documentaries, which I understand are packaged the same way. But I’ve never seen anyone showing them.

  51. 51.

    chopper

    @Anya:

    ol’ walnuts is physically held together by grudges and spite. if he stopped waving his fist at the clouds for even a minute or, god forbid, actually cracked a smile he’d turn to dust.

  53. 53.

    Cassidy

    @Suffern ACE: He was on a (local?) radio show and asked about how he felt about openly gay players in the locker room. I’m assuming the context was that they were discussing the pro-gay rights Raven’s LB.

  54. 54.

    GregB

    So a little beef with the reporting on the suicide bombing in Turkey.

    We are seeing the reports, two killed! One of the two is the suicide bomber.

    So it really should be suicide bomber kills one as the bombers death is a given when described as a suicide bomber.

    Now to read my unhinged wingnut pals on Face Book declaring this attack is worse than 9/11.

  55. 55.

    Scott S.

    I reckon I’ll skip the Super Bowl. Don’t have any strong feelings for either team. Stopped being interested in the commercials, which kinda stopped being fun or innovative and jumped straight on to being douchey.

  56. 56.

    Fester Addams

    Wil Wheaton blogged that he’s going to be in one of the commercials. They shot it at Vasquez Rocks so that’ll be fun to look for…

  57. 57.

    Anya

    @chopper: It looks that way. I don’t understand why Hagel was not ready for his bitterness? Did he think they will be polite and accommodating? What did he has to lose, why wasn’t he more assertive?

  59. 59.

    Corner Stone

    @Raven: I’m scandalized to admit I had actually forgotten the SB was this weekend.
    Just a real blah for me that someone named Harbaugh is going to win.

  60. 60.

    Corner Stone

    I love it when an R Senator says the president should have worked harder to do something about jobs.

  61. 61.

    handsmile

    Well-done, Madam Secretary!

    In her final interview before stepping down today as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton delivered this sweet slapdown to the hacks and half-wits for whom Benghazi is the “worst tragedy since 9/11”:

    “There are some people in politics and in the press who can’t be confused by the facts…. They just will not live in an evidence-based world. And that’s regrettable. It’s regrettable for our political system and for the people who serve our government in very dangerous, difficult circumstances.”

    http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/clinton-benghazi-critics-dont-live-in-evidence-based?ref=fpa

    Now who doesn’t dream of saying something like that during an exit interview!?

  62. 62.

    Suffern ACE

    I have 0-0 in the pool, so I don’t care who wins as long as no one puts much effort into scoring. Or if they do score, do so by alternating touchdowns and field goals.

  63. 63.

    HinTN

    Making King Cake and Emril’s asian wings (from Parade magazine) to go with bbq chicken and coleslaw. Been a niners fan forever, Go Niners!!!

    Stopped smoking for six years once and then went back for six. Quit now since ’88. You can do out, Betty. Be vigilant!

  64. 64.

    Kristin

    My friend is making stromboli for Superbowl. It will be excellent.

    I’m a lifelong 49er fan, so duh. And, while Culliver is an ignorant, bigoted jackass and an embarrassment, the team’s response to his nonsense was fantastic. That includes Randy Moss. Here’s the official team statement:

    “The San Francisco 49ers reject the comments that were made yesterday, and have addressed the matter with Chris. There is no place for discrimination within our organization at any level. We have and always will proudly support the LGBT community.”

    I would hope that one asshole wouldn’t color the whole team. LOL me, I guess.

  65. 65.

    quannlace

    CheeseHenge is awesome. But which guest will have the temerity to take the first piece and spoil the tableau?
    *****
    Gonna get all John McCain curmudgeon-ly here. Was really saddened to hear about Ed Koch dying; tuned into all the morning news shows to get more but everything was Super Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl!!!!

  66. 66.

    gelfling545

    @Woodrowfan: I hope all goes well for the canine companion. It’s so hard to concentrate when those we love are ill but if anything can take your mind off your worries, teaching is it. I always found that, whatever might be going on in my life, once the students were in the room they took over all the attention & thought I had available.

    Hope you will get good news at the vet.

  67. 67.

    Suffern ACE

    @GregB: questions will be raised as to how a lone man was able to get as far as the X-ray machine at the security desk with a hidden bomb.

  69. 69.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Weird how folks have to decide which team is morally more deserving of three and a half hours of meaningless advocacy.

  70. 70.

    Mark S.

    Going by my unscientific method of what people are talking about at work, it’s like nobody gives a shit about this Super Bowl. There was a lot more interest in the Alabama-Notre Dame game. I guess Harbaugh mania hasn’t caught fire among the masses.

  72. 72.

    Suffern ACE

    @Just Some Fuckhead: well its a problem that comes up every year that the packers don’t make the big game. A lot of conundrums would be solved by putting Green Bay in the big game every year.

  74. 74.

    jake the snake

    I am ambivalent myself. I have no interest in professional sports,even baseball.
    However, my alma mater has strong ties to the Harbaugh family. Jack, the father, coached there for 15 years and led them to the 2002 D1-AA (now FCS) championship. Jim
    was a volunteer assistant and recruiter several of those years. So, I have more positive feelings toward the Harbaughs than many people seem to. You just have to accept
    that a Harbaugh is going to be a high tempered smart ass.

  75. 75.

    Cacti

    @handsmile:

    In her final interview before stepping down today as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton delivered this sweet slapdown to the hacks and half-wits for whom Benghazi is the “worst tragedy since 9/11″:

    Preposterously early polling from PPP says that Hillary could put Texas into play in 2016.

  77. 77.

    geg6

    Personally, I’m hoping that a drone strike hits the stadium so neither team can win.

    I’d been going back and forth for two weeks as to who to cheer for. Should have been an open and shut case, but as happens often, it wasn’t. No way can I root for the Ravens, the team I hate the most in all the world and one which is currently placing a murderer or, at the very least, accessory to murder up for sainthood. And the 9ers cannot be allowed to get six Lombardi trophies because no one must be allowed to match or surpass my Steelers in the bling department. But better that than Ray Lewis winning his last game in the NFL. And then that asshole opened his big fat mouth about gay people and that was the end of any inklings I’d had about reluctantly rooting for them.

    So fuck it. I’m cheering for Beyonce and the commercials. We aren’t doing anything major for the event either. I’m too pissed off to even think about it. At least I’ll have the Pens game in the afternoon, although the way they’ve been playing, I’m not sure that will be any comfort (and yes, I know they kicked ass last night, but I’d really be happier if they could actually get a win at home).

  79. 79.

    handsmile

    @Randy P:

    Several years ago the Film Society of Lincoln Center presented a series of then-current Oscar-nominated documentary films. I don’t know whether that practice has continued. Also, given the running times of each film, perhaps assembling a financially attractive distribution package would be difficult.

    I believe the “art-movie house” you’re referring to is the IFC Center; checking its website, I see that it is at least screening documentary short films this weekend (which I expect you already knew).

    (and hey, btw, ‘coz I think you’re that guy, is there ever again going to be a real football post on this blog? oh, and if you’re not…never mind)

  80. 80.

    Shalimar

    @Suffern ACE: He was on ex-Stern sidekick Artie Lange’s show. As far as how it came up, I haven’t heard the clip. An ex-49ers tackle was recently arrested for assault on an ex-boyfriend, but I doubt the homophobic player was on the team at the same time Kwame Harris was.

  81. 81.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @geg6:

    And the 9ers cannot be allowed to get six Lombardi trophies because no one must be allowed to match or surpass my Steelers in the bling department.

    Call me when the Steelers have more than 13 NFL Championships.

  83. 83.

    Bostondreams

    Football ended a couple Sundays ago when the Pats choked it up against that freaking Ravens team. So I’m done. I hope San Fran wins, because I am sick of the Ray Lewis show, but ultimately do not care. :/

    I’ll be trying to get back into Lord of the Rings Online, after a Tony Bennett concert tonight. Thank you, wife!

  85. 85.

    handsmile

    @Cacti:

    Yes, and you’ve aptly described the key word there. But I guess its employees have to do something. And the Village media must transcribe. The horse track is its favorite beat, after all.

  86. 86.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Chuck Todd strikes me as a kind of reverse alchemist, forever trying to turn gold into lead. He can’t stand good news. For Chuckie, it seems, every silver lining is attached to a big black storm cloud.

  87. 87.

    Randy P

    @handsmile: I love the IFC center and have seen some great movies there but alas I don’t live in New York. Here in Philly it is the “Ritz” theaters (now owned by Landmark) which show IFC-type stuff. Sorry no, I’m not that guy. No clue what you’re hinting at.

  88. 88.

    geg6

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    But not 13 Lombardi trophies. And, AFAIC, no championships really count until the NFL and AFL merger. That’s why Cleveland has always had a losing team. And football was not very much fun, really, until Broadway Joe came along.

  89. 89.

    Cassidy

    Football ended a couple Sundays ago when the Pats choked it up against that freaking Ravens team January 7th.

    Now I await March Madness and am rooting for an upset defeat for Overreem this weekend and an upset win for Frankie Edgar. Sunday is more of a “meh” day.

  90. 90.

    Elizabelle

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I wonder how long Chuck Todd’s contract runs.

    Because he is just not that talented. Got to give him props for Republican sources, though.

    However, have you noticed how rightwing NBC’s news has become? (Was surprised to find a wingnut relative tell me NBC was the only broadcast evening news he could watch.) Perhaps Todd has hitched himself to that wagon.

    Last week, cut out watching NBC at all. And NBC used to be my go to network.

    Time better spent on the internet, reading national and local newspapers for their take, unfiltered. Also C-Span.

  91. 91.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @geg6: You just run along with your crabbed and truncated view of sports history. I am sure it gives you great comfort.

  92. 92.

    Cassidy

    @geg6: Penn State and Ben Roethlisberger? Who are you rooting for next, the Rome Inquisitors?

    I’m kidding, seriously kidding. Just thought it was funny.

  93. 93.

    Corner Stone

    @Mark S.:

    and I’m sure the local sports guys are back to obsessing over whether Tony Romo sucks or not.

    Tony Romo is just not that good. I’m not sure where a debate on that would even start.

  95. 95.

    handsmile

    @Randy P:

    My apologies for the mistaken identity; that assumption also led me to think you lived here in NYC. (Your “nym” is very close to the RL name of a current front-pager here who used to post soccer threads for those of us slavishly devoted to that sport.) Hope you’ll see some terrific films this weekend.

  99. 99.

    Ben Franklin

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    On the West Coast it’s known as red snapper, but you can do it with any firm fleshed fish like catfish, halibut (fillet), swai etc.

    Prudhommes spice combinations are more task oriented from his books, but the bottled stuff is quite good.

  101. 101.

    schrodinger's cat

    @Ben Franklin: I have had red snapper, I haven’t seen it often in the grocery stores in the north-east. I have had blackened swordfish and catfish, I will try to get the recipe from the intertoobz.

    When I pan fry fish, I dredge it in a mix of rice flour and semolina, and add a bit of cayenne, turmeric and kosher salt.

  102. 102.

    Ben Franklin

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    I like red snapper ok, but those pesky little bones…….your recipe sounds similar to PP’s combination, but he is an amazing kind of spice alchemist and worth a try.

  103. 103.

    Ash Can

    Not making anything for the Super Bowl, and will probably be too busy to watch it anyway. Neither team is the Bears, so BFD.

  104. 104.

    Betty Cracker

    @schrodinger’s cat: Second the plug for Prudhomme blackened fish seasoning. When I make blackened fish, I put a cast iron skillet on my charcoal grill and get it wicked hot, dredge the fillets in melted butter, season them, throw some butter in the skillet and sear the fillets on both sides quickly — just a couple of minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fillet.

  106. 106.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @geg6:

    the team I hate the most in all the world and one which is currently placing a murderer or, at the very least, accessory to murder up for sainthood

    This is untrue for a couple of reasons. First, “murder” and “accessory to murder” are legal terms. For one to be a murderer, one has to be convicted of “murder”. In fact, that charges thusly were withdrawn indicates Ray Lewis is not, in fact, a murderer. Ray Lewis can still be a killer in the fantastical minds of Steelers fan.

    I can see the argument that Ray Lewis got away with “accessory to murder”. One could, for instance, imagine that Ray Lewis, faced with this charge privately by prosecutors, cut a deal and testified against his cohorts in exchange for the lesser charge of obstruction of justice. Where this becomes problematic, however, is that his cohorts themselves were not convicted of murder, and so how can Ray Lewis be guilty of accessory to murder?

    So, Ray Lewis did in fact get charged with a crime in which he was clearly guilty and he did “pay the price”. There is very likely more to the situation that simply isn’t provable based on the “melee” nature of the crime. Some bad guys with criminal records started a brawl and they wound up dead. Confusion ensues.

    I think where it becomes an issue for me (and society) is why people of color have to bear the continued stigma of a guilty charge when there was no guilt established. Like, despite the full investigatory power of the state with no murder conviction forthcoming, we white people know *wink wink* this black guy was really guilty 13 years later.

    Contrast that with the complete Super Bowl non-story of a white Roethlisberger embroiled in an ONGOING rape civil suit that he eventually settled privately.

    Secondly, no one is putting Ray Lewis up for sainthood. He gets accolades for being one of the greatest middle linebackers in football history. All the other stuff is tolerated because of that.

  108. 108.

    Mnemosyne

    @Betty Cracker:

    I forwarded a link with that app to my older brother. I also sent him some e-cigs (I had a Groupon). I really, really want him to quit, especially since we got the death certificate back from my dad.

    If anyone needs some extra incentive, let me tell you a little something from my dad’s death certificate: every single one of the causes of his death were smoking-related. The COPD/emphysema is the most obvious one, but also the two tumors (liver and kidney) and the kidney failure (which happened because of uncontrolled high blood pressure that was exacerbated by — you guessed it — the fact that he smoked for 40 years).

    Given his family history, he probably would have lived well into his late 80s or early 90s if he hadn’t smoked. As it was, his doctors were surprised he made it to 74 considering how many health problems he had.

  110. 110.

    ruemara

    I’ll be working on interview questions for a couple of ocean biologists on sustainable fishing, drawing characters for animation, working on a station ID animation and gear/rep grinding. Another fine, relaxing weekend.

  112. 112.

    Woodrowfan

    My little buddy will be operated on tonight to stop calcified discs from pressing on his spine. Please think good thoughts and prayers for him. He’s a smart, loyal, loving little guy…

  113. 113.

    Yutsano

    I have…an MRI on Sunday at 5 pm. So I will most likely miss the game entirely. It’s okay though, I’m meeting co-workers for a Vietnamese feast afterwards though. Should be quite tasty.

  117. 117.

    Howlin Wolfe

    Okay, I’ll weigh in while I still top 200 lbs (a propos of nothing).
    The cornerback who made the homophobic comments apologized, sincerely I’m told. He is young, shot off his mouth without thinking. The 49ers owners and I think Jim Harbaugh repudiated Chris Culver’s(the cornerback) statements and affirmed the club’s support of LGBT rights.
    Ray Lewis, to my knowledge, never apologized for his dickish behavior. And his shtick of going all weepy emotional with his face to the ground on his knees after the Ravens’ victories is wearing MIGHTY thin. Also plus too, he is under scrutiny for using a banned substance (deer antler derivative of some sort, he says he used to help his shoulder heal). I think I’ll root for the Niners, thankyamuchly. I do like Ayenbadejo, the Ravens player who spoke up, and Chris Kluwe, the Vikings punter (GO VIKES!! maybe next year) who defended him with an absolutely righteous blogpost after a knucklehead Maryland legislator said the NFL should muzzle Ayenbadejo.

    AFA quitting smoking goes, I last smoked tobacco in 1984, after several attempts during which I quit for more that a year. I went back to smoking before that because I didn’t convince myself that I wanted to quit. Once I realized that still wanting to smoke, even after a year of quitting, was the reason I always went back to it, I was convinced that I didn’t like smoking! June 1st, 1984, was my first day of being tobacco free, and every day since then has also been tobacco free of, at least, first hand smoke.
    So congratulations Betty, and I love the Cheesehenge, much more than the cold cut stadium.

  118. 118.

    Uncle Cosmo

    Poe’s Crows all da way, hon!

    A lot of Ravens fans are uncomfortable with Ray Lewis’ somewhat theatrical religiosity. That doesn’t alter the fact that he’s arguably the greatest middle linebacker in history & elevates the play of everyone around him. Meanwhile the rest of the team has fought its way this year through injuries & personal tragedies & losing streaks to get here, & we couldn’t be prouder of them no matter what happens Sunday night.

    IMHO any self-styled “football fans” out there who boycott what we in Baltimore call Festivus Maximus are probably going to miss one hell of a game. Your loss.

  122. 122.

    Tommy D

    Do not think that probably you can have just one cigarette. I thought after some months that surely just the one, at a party…. you know… not a problem. Next think I knew I was waking up in a gutter in Las Vegas or something.

    You can’t have even one. Wish it were otherwise. I’m thirty years clean now. Hang in. Go Niners.

  123. 123.

    Betty Cracker

    @PopeRatzo: I took Chantix for about a month. I also chewed dozens of cinnamon sticks and played a lot of Temple Run and Draw Something to keep my paws busy.

  124. 124.

    Yutsano

    @Betty Cracker: I meant to get to you earlier about the banana leaves: there’s a Hawai’ian dish called lau lau that involves wrapping the fish in banana leaves. Well they’re called ti leaves but I have no idea where you would get those and banana leaves will work in a pinch. The other part is that the traditional fish is butterfish and I don’t know how you would get a hold of that. Otherwise it’s yummy.

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