Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

President Biden is doing good where he can, and getting it done.

The revolution will be supervised.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Democrats are back in array!

Not all heroes wear capes.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Early Morning Open Thread: Star Attraction

Early Morning Open Thread: Star Attraction

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(NSFW images, especially in the first 30 seconds)
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There are people who will plan for weeks and wait patiently for hours today, hoping for five seconds of precious TV time. At least in New Orleans, someone might throw you beads. Per Margaret Hartman at NYMag:

Having the president greet dozens of lawmakers as he enters and exits the House chamber for the State of the Union already seems like a huge waste of time, and the situation is even worse than it appears. To secure an aisle seat, members of Congress have to claim the spot 10 to 12 hours in advance. According to the Washington Post, there’s a devoted group of State of the Union squatters, and scoring five seconds of inane conversation with the president involves a surprising amount of preparation….

Some lawmakers are convinced that the move will impress their constituents. “I will be in my district somewhere in December and someone will say to me, ‘I saw you on TV,'” Engel says. “I’ll think it was one of the many interviews I’ve done, but they’ll say ‘No. You were shaking the President’s hand.’ People remember me shaking the President’s hand.” …

Assuming you’re not squatting on a streetcorner or in the House, how go the Fat Tuesday preparations in your neighborhood?

Reader Interactions

47Comments

  1. 1.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Remember when Michelle Bachmann made headlines by mugging the deserting coward at a SOTU?

    It was her opening splash in a long history of utter inanity that continues to this very day.

  4. 4.

    Schlemizel

    got about 3 hours sleep last night in 3 separate fits. Looking forward to a just friggin wonderful day at work.

    What are the odds of the motor city meathead doing something really stupid at the SOTU?

  5. 5.

    Schlemizel

    @raven:

    Actually it IS a first amendment right to make fun of someone. It is not one to defame someone & there are laws about that already.

    Was this guys sheet not white enough for admittance in the GOP? Are GA Dems like those in TX?

  6. 6.

    Baud

    @raven:

    Wait till that guy sees the photoshopped pics of the president the tea party types have been sending around. He’ll be livid.

  7. 7.

    raven

    @Schlemizel: Some are. When I bitched to the head of the party about John Barrow a couple of years ago she said, “He’s the only white southern House member in the south and he votes with us 90% of the time”.

  12. 12.

    Baud

    @raven:

    LOL. “Dubious.”

    ETA:

    After the Senate passed the bill with his support, he said he didn’t recall where he read the statistic about the use of implements other than guns in murders.

    “It might have even been twice as many,” he told a reporter. “I’ll try and come up with it.”

  13. 13.

    WereBear

    @Baud: After the Senate passed the bill with his support, he said he didn’t recall where he read the statistic about the use of implements other than guns in murders.

    Mmmm, another “gut fact” if you ask me. They don’t have to look things up, it just seems right!

  14. 14.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    I’ve just watched the first hour of Morning Ho, Joe really didn’t understand a word Professor Krugman said to him last week. Joe keeps saying that KThug thinks Medicare is OK, the good professor said that medical costs are the problem. Joe wants to give you an asprin for your headache when your problem is a brain tumor. ARRRGGGG.

    I’m going to go our tomorrow afternoon and have someone put some holes in me. Jesus on a cracker, JoeScar is a moron.

  15. 15.

    Baud

    @WereBear:

    I don’t know. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did read it somewhere given the Fox News and the Bretbarts and god knows what else out there these days.

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    Presumably Speaker Boehner spent a goodly portion of the weekend practicing keeping a p-o-k-e-r face.

    (Hyphens to bypass FYWP)

  21. 21.

    Ivan Ivanovich Renko

    I just got home from Cologne and then Amsterdam… it might as well ALREADY be Ash Wednesday for me.

  22. 22.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Well, I’m still in the hospital and haven’t a clue what’s going on. They keep coming in to do vitals and draw blood and all, but I have yet to see an actual doctor or hear any kind of theory as to what may have caused my symptoms. Bored.

  27. 27.

    Chyron HR

    @bemused:

    More than 10,000 murders a year with hammers or frying pans…who knew!

    To be fair, that Maxwell kid was a statistical outlier.

  29. 29.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Gun nuts are still having trouble with the difference between their house and…everywhere else.
    We’ve pretty much given up on limiting the blood spilled in family shoot outs or negligent discharges or suicides. All we’re trying to do at this point is protect innocent bystanders who are out in public, minding their own business. Attending second grade, standing line at a restaurant, appearing in court, sitting in their car at a convenience store, walking thru an apartment complex. Public versus their house.
    Gun nuts themselves are on their own.
    I don’t know why they can’t get this crucial distinction.

  30. 30.

    jibeaux

    Well, I read that there are more murders every year committed by bunnies than human beings. It might have even been twice as many. I read it somewhere. I’ll get back to you on that.

  32. 32.

    DelbertNiblet

    @Suffern ACE: Medical insurance. The more money there is in a system to accumulate, the higher the prices go for the goods contained within the system because those providing the goods or services want to cash in.
    A good example is my former doctor. He used to charge X amount for a visit but once the insurance companies started to cover his services, he charge X + the insurance pay out to all his patients who had insurance. Those without insurance still paid X. He said it was to cover the paperwork but when I offered to file it myself he declined. Greedy fucker lost two clients that day and I told everyone I knew what he had done.
    It’s the same reason college tuition is so much more expensive than it used to be. The more scholarships and federal money that is available, the more the colleges will try and cash in on it.

  34. 34.

    PurpleGirl

    @SiubhanDuinne: Get the phone number of the hospital’s patient advocate. You can complain to that person about not having spoken to a doctor yet and possibly even get the information from the patient advocate.

    (When I had the hemi-laminectomy, it seemed everyone but me knew I was being released and I hadn’t seen a doctor about after care. The patient advocate helped a lot.)

    The advocate is also someone to talk to regarding the foot incident.

    Thinking good thoughts for you.

  35. 35.

    handsmile

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Just now learning about your recent illness. So sorry, and I certainly hope that a satisfactory diagnosis and treatment plan will be forthcoming soon. I wish there was some way for you to be listening to The Magic Flute or Tannhauser while you wait. :)

  36. 36.

    RobertDSC

    Not super motivated to watch this SOTU. The domestic terrorists in the GOP have turned me off to any goings on. Bleh.

  37. 37.

    peach flavored shampoo

    I think there’s no way the Nooge can keep his bong hole shut during the speech. Likely Obama will glance at him a few times, hopefully while advocating for gun safety measures, and that will likely set off Mr. Shit-My-Pants in either an obscene gesture or a verbal outburst.

    If I’m the RNC I’m freakin the hell out.

  39. 39.

    Tongaroo

    Well…as the representative of one of the few liberals in Louisiana, allow me to wish everyone a Happy Mardi Gras! I’m about to leave for a friend’s house where I have 3 kegs of homebrew (Fiscal Cliffhanger IPA, Parade Route Porter, and Honey Badger Kolsch) and a case of bottles (Running Dog Imperial Stout) waiting for me.

    Laissez les bons temps rouler!

  42. 42.

    Gin & Tonic

    So the IOC has voted to eliminate wrestling from the Olympics in 2020, yet keeps modern pentathlon. I’m sure the fact that Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. is a modern pentathlon bigwig and on the IOC board is purely coincidence.

    Wrestling, one of the oldest and “purest” of sports, IMO, eliminated in favor of something that was invented in 1912 and that costs a fortune to compete in. That tells you everything about the IOC.

  43. 43.

    jibeaux

    @SiubhanDuinne: Apparently there is a new story out from Atul Gawande in which the organizational structure of how a hospital operates is compared unfavorably to how the kitchen of a Cheesecake Factory operates.

  45. 45.

    CatHairEverywhere

    For Shrove Tuesday dinner, we are having pancakes (gluten-free for me, but the husband and daughter like them a lot, too) accompanied by scrambled eggs with spinach. Yay! Pancakes for dinner!

  46. 46.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Kay:

    I don’t know why they can’t get this crucial distinction.

    Their rights trump yours and mine. Every single time.

  47. 47.

    Mnemosyne

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    No fun! Have they ruled out acid reflux? I have several friends and family members who had to go to the ER for that because the pain was so severe. People don’t realize how much that hurts until they actually experience it.

    ETA: Also, too, am I misremembering if I recall that you are a lady? If so, make sure you get a follow-up if you do get an acid reflux diagnosis, because it can be an early warning sign of heart troubles in women.

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