Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

No one could have predicted…

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

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

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

This really is a full service blog.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

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

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

The revolution will be supervised.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Military / Open Thread: McConnell Can’t Tell Parody from Reality

Open Thread: McConnell Can’t Tell Parody from Reality

by | 124 Comments

This post is in: , ,

… Possibly because the entire Republican party has become a parody. From Spencer Ackerman at Wired:

Meet The Duffel Blog, if you haven’t already. A must-read for national-security nerds — and anyone who enjoys humor, really — it provides pitch-perfect military parody online, such as this piece about Syria hosting Iraq War reenactors (bylined by “G-Had”) or this one about a Google Street View Prius getting blown up in Kandahar. The Duffel Blog, as dutiful readers know, is America’s oldest online source for fake military news, founded in 1797 in a moment of farsightedness. It often gives more real talk than most legit journalistic institutions, but there is no way you can confuse it with the real news.

Unless you are a senior member of the United States Senate.

On November 14, 2012, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wrote to Elizabeth King, the Pentagon’s congressional liaison, with a an unusually credulous query. “I am writing on behalf of a constituent who has contacted me regarding Guantanamo Bay prisoners receiving Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits,” McConnell wrote in a letter acquired by Danger Room. “I would appreciate your review and response to my constituent’s concerns.”…

Of course Senator McConnell is just committing proactive constituent service here, for a particularly low-information constituent. Said level of proactivity may have been inspired by the rumors that Ashley Judd is getting closer to considering a run against him, and I’m guessing those low-information voters not firmly committed to Teahadism would probably rather look at Ms. Judd than Mr. McConnell on their teevees…

Reader Interactions

124Comments

  2. 2.

    PeakVT

    I’d love for Judd (or any Dem) to win, but I think it will require somebody taking out McConnell from the right – which could certainly happen, Rove and the Kochs not withstanding.

    OT: Is NASA obsessed with Mars?

  3. 3.

    Betty Cracker

    Hmmmm. I can think of worse subversive plots than contacting wingnut congresscritters and demanding that they investigate absurd non-incidents like this. Maybe the constituent is a brilliant Senatroll.

  4. 4.

    raven

    The Duffel Bag is awesome!!!!!!

    “I reviewed some of your statements about the Iraq war,” Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said. “It looks like you are opposed to thousands of American soldiers dying for no reason. Do you really think you can lead the military with that attitude? Our troops are going to look at you and say ‘He isn’t going to get us stuck in another endless, pointless occupation. Fuck that guy.

  5. 5.

    Ash Can

    LOL — low-information pol performs service for low-information constituent, and they both apparently have the typical conservative sense of humor, i.e. none at all. Oh, to be a fly on Elizabeth King’s office wall when she received that communication.

  7. 7.

    raven

    “Study: Infantry Battalions Commanded By Females More Likely To Stop For Directions, Arrive Late”

  8. 8.

    Breezeblock

    From my reading, it appeared that Turtle’s “constituent” set Turtle up.

    But the method is not important, the results are funny!

  10. 10.

    raven

    Wow Joe is on his “what a loser this president” rant and Rendell and Sharpton don’t have shit to say! Goddamn!

  11. 11.

    Linda Featheringill

    Duffel Blog is charming!

    I understand that Ms. Judd is intelligent and well educated and might have some interesting ideas to promote. We’ll have to wait and see.

    But I think that being an actor won’t hurt her political chances. Being lovely probably won’t hurt, either.

    I’d like the opportunity of follow a campaign of Judd vs McConnell.

  15. 15.

    Schlemizel

    @raven:
    3 REASONS not to watch!

    I’m not surprised Rendall sits by silently as a Dem gets trashed but I am surprised Al is not screaming (he never just speaks).

  16. 16.

    Schlemizel

    @Ben Cisco:

    Because Cole doesn’t like you & you smell funny.

    Sorry, I’m in full smart ass mood this morning. Should be a lovely day at work

  18. 18.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @raven: Joe was screaming about the President selling his ideas directly to the people, calling campaigning. Gee, Joe; I remember a President who used to talk about going over the head of Congress and talking to the people. I think his name was Reagan or something.

  19. 19.

    Gex

    So in the past week or so Republicans believed, based on a joke, that Chuck Hagel took money from Hamas. Now they also believe that Congress extended the GI Bill to cover prisoners at Gitmo. Hey Republicans, is it possible to advocate for your positions without electing mental midgets to such positions of power? Or do these things just go hand in hand? After watching the race for the Republican nomination, I’m going to go with “these things go hand in hand.”

  20. 20.

    "Fair and Balanced" Dave

    @Gex:

    Hey Republicans, is it possible to advocate for your positions without electing mental midgets to such positions of power?

    No.

  22. 22.

    Donut

    Those letters are never written nor seen by the Senator. Some low-level staffer is packing his/her bags for their old Kentucky home right about now. It’s hard to fathom that someone could make Yertle look even stupider than he is, but well done staffer, well done.

  24. 24.

    the lost puppy

    The funny thing about this also is the article came out 4 months ago!
    Aren’t staffers generally young, hence, somewhat hip to the interwebs? Wouldn’t you think they’d check this sort of thing out before passing it on to Yertle the Turtle?

    Watching republicans totally lose their sh*t, it’s a beautiful thing.

  25. 25.

    Just One More Canuck

    Not happy with trolling fishwraps and his own posts, DougJ has expanded his targets to senators. There’s certainly no shortage of targets there.

  28. 28.

    brantl

    I’m guessing those low-information voters not firmly committed to Teahadism would probably rather look at Ms. Judd than Mr. McConnell on their teevees…

    Jesus, wouldn’t you?

  29. 29.

    Linda Featheringill

    @Just One More Canuck:

    Not happy with trolling fishwraps and his own posts, DougJ has expanded his targets to senators. There’s certainly no shortage of targets there.

    Ooooh. Good idea!

  30. 30.

    Irving

    I’m not entirely sure I see the screwup here. A Senator’s staffer passed the letter on to the Pentagon with a note saying, in beuraucratese, “dafuq”? Not the worst thing to do when something this wierd crosses your desk.

  31. 31.

    Anya

    BJ members who live in irredeemable red districts should troll the hell out of their congress critters, by sending angry latters asking them to investigate every absurd conspiracy. Maybe DougJ should open a BJ school of trolling.

  32. 32.

    Gex

    @Irving: Personally, I think it reflects poorly on McConnell to not know whether or not the GI Bill was extended to cover Gitmo prisoners since he has been in the Senate the entire time Gitmo has been an issue. That would have been a better time to raise the issue in fact. Or it would have, if it had ever happened.

    I also do not really appreciate Republicans giving so much power to people who are dumb as stumps. That’s a lot of power to give to someone who doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground.

  33. 33.

    NotMax

    Lawrence O’Donnell (no matter what you may think of him, he does have first-hand familiarity with Senate staffing and procedures) did a pointed evisceration of this very occurrence on Thursday’s program.

    Video here.

  36. 36.

    danielx

    Since it’s an open thread…from the You Can’t Make This Shit Up department:

    The scum also rises…that new Republican favorite mandatory transvaginal ultrasound once again more bubbles to the top of the legislative agenda in my fair state. But it’s all about the health of mothers so it’s all good and besides these harlots had to have something up in their ladyparts to get pregnant in the first place so why should they object to unwilling intrustion by statute.

    Sue Swayze, the legislative director of Indiana Right to Life, told local radio station WBAA that that goal of the bill is to protect women’s safety and hold abortion clinics to higher health standards. She said she does not understand why it would be a problem to mandate transvaginal ultrasounds. “I got pregnant vaginally,” she said. “Something else could come in my vagina for a medical test that wouldn’t be that intrusive to me. So I find that argument a little ridiculous.”

    Well, okay then.

  37. 37.

    RSA

    I saw this a couple of days ago; pretty funny stuff.

    Second paragraph in the Duffel Blog piece:

    DoD Spokesman Wesley Manheim said that it was all a matter of fairness. “The DoD has been doing everything it can to prevent torture from being used against detainees at GTMO. By allowing the detainees to use the Department of Veterans Affairs, we hope to completely crush their souls with bureaucracy, which to be noted, is completely different from torture. I mean hell, the VA does that to our veterans on a daily basis.”

    It’s easy to understand how McConnell might take this for real news instead of parody (i.e., he’s an idiot).

  38. 38.

    the lost puppy

    @Anya:

    BJ members who live in irredeemable red districts should troll the hell out of their congress critters, by sending angry latters asking them to investigate every absurd conspiracy. Maybe DougJ should open a BJ school of trolling.

    Actually, this is a beautiful and perfect idea and it’s giving me ideas. My senators are Graham and DeMint.

  39. 39.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Donut:
    I wish McConnell was stupid. He’s a mean, cunning old bastard. He was the one who decided (and even made it public) to obstruct every last thing Obama did because in fucking over the nation he’d ensure a bad economy to sink Obama’s reelection. It didn’t work, but for a long time people thought it would. Notice he’s smart enough to not act crazy while ensuring just enough of his minions do to keep sand in the Senatorial gears.

    I hope Judd can kick him out. It just might actually work. I live in Kentucky, and there can be no more tribal place on the planet. Judd will push a lot of the ‘I’m one of you’ buttons culturally, and actually give a damn about stuff like the drug problem in Eastern Kentucky (slightly worse than the drug problem in Kentucky Kentucky). She’ll be fighting against the belief that anyone siding with the blacks can’t be ‘one of us’ and against McConnell’s ability to put a pretty polish on the hate and cruelty this state seethes with.

  40. 40.

    Rex Everything

    It was reasonable to expect that, if they kept flouting reality, the Republicans were bound to start fucking up sooner or later. It’s happening now, pretty hilariously. The Ben Shapiro “Friends of Hamas” thing was awesome and so is this, but I suspect the best is still to come.

  42. 42.

    scav

    @danielx: Well, by that impecable logic, once someone has been voluntarily under the knife for surgery, they can be freely stabbed, no?

  46. 46.

    Higgs Boson's Mate

    @the lost puppy:

    Aren’t staffers generally young, hence, somewhat hip to the interwebs?

    If they are they don’t admit it. These are Republican staffers and the internet represents two things that Republicans can’t stand; information and practically applied science.

  47. 47.

    MomSense

    This is a perfect demonstration of why we can’t have nice things. These crazy Republicans represent even crazier constituents. Republican Senators and Representatives have to prove to these paranoid, delusional people that they are defending them against non-existent threats.

    How completely divorced from reality do you have to be to think that Guantanamo Bay detainees are getting GI Bill benefits. And here we are on the left debating how to responsibly close the darn place. This also explains the 96-0 Senate vote to deny funding for transport and trial of detainees.

  48. 48.

    MomSense

    @danielx:

    NO WAY–did she really say that?!?! So if we let one thing in our vaginas we are ok with all the things???

    Really? Run on that platform, B%tch! Please proceed.

  50. 50.

    Schlemizel

    @scav:

    Or, once a woman has had sex she can no longer be raped. I mean someone has already been in there, right? same/same

  52. 52.

    General Stuck

    And then you remind yourself why. Because Mr. Obama thrives in chaos. He flourishes in unsettled circumstances and grooves on his own calm. He spins an air of calamity, points fingers and garners support. His only opponent is a hapless, hydra-headed House. America has a weakness for winners, and Republicans just now do not look like winners.

    I think The Nooner is starting to get it. There is sexual excitement somewhere in this cockamamy nonsense.

    “Grooves on his own calm”/ I am so stealing that.

  53. 53.

    the lost puppy

    You CAN blame the staffer for being an idiot, but the ultimate responsibility resides with the person who signed/approved the final letter going out.

    It was McConnell’s responsibility to at least ask the staffer to do some minimal investigative work if McConnell himself was too damned busy still trying to destroy the Obama presidency (since he was unable to deny the President a second term) to be bothered with such trivial details as Guantanomo prisoners receiving 911 veterans benefits.

    Had the staffer even scratched the surface, gone to the blog link (which was in the letter McConnell used as an EXHIBIT) and been nominally literate, he/she might have come to a better understanding.

    ((grin))

  55. 55.

    Schlemizel

    @imonlylurking:

    I have the same 3 . . . I’m not convinced about Amy but YMMV. I had some really rotten responses from her DC staff.

    Me: “It was on the front page of the Washington Post this morning”
    Staffer: “You don’t expect us to read ALL the papers do you?”

  56. 56.

    Patricia Kayden

    “I am writing on behalf of a constituent who has contacted me regarding Guantanamo Bay prisoners receiving Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits,”

    So are Guantanamo Bay prisoners recieving post-911 GI bill benefits? Inquiring minds want to know. If such an important person as the minority Senate Leader believes such a thing could be happening, then perhaps the Kenyan, Communist, Muslim Usurper could be giving benefits to non-citizen terrorists in Cuba. Who knows?

  57. 57.

    Suffern ACE

    @General Stuck: so while they’ve thought that they were fighting metrosexual Abe Lincoln, they failed to notice that the were really fighting funky Heracles?

  58. 58.

    General Stuck

    And then comes David to opine in Applebee speak, that Obama is drinking everyone’s milkshake and no body can do anything about it.

    He does have a vague and politically convenient concept. (Tax increases on the rich!) He does have a chance to lead the country into a budget showdown with furloughed workers and general mayhem, for which people will primarily blame Republicans. And he does have the chance to achieve the same thing he has achieved so frequently over the past two years, political success and legislative mediocrity.

    No Dave, political success and republican obstruction times ten. Your guys tried to shut down the governance of a duly elected president of the u s of a, and now you’ve pissed him off, and it is amateur hour at the republican oasis.

    I am almost embarrassed for the party of Lincoln, but not.

  60. 60.

    imonlylurking

    @Schlemizel: I consider Amy to be un-insane, at least. That’s an appalling response, though-isn’t there somebody whose job is to read (at least) the headlines of the major papers?

  63. 63.

    General Stuck

    Then comes a Bush keyboard commando, Michele Gerson, with yet another letter of republican demise. Though with a proposed solution attached, and not just a hissy fit on bad man Obama.

    Second, Republican primary voters, party activists and party leaders have a choice to make, ruthlessly clarified by recent events. They can take the path of Democrats in 1988, doubling down on a faltering ideology. Or they can follow the model of Democrats in 1992 and their own party in 2000, giving their nominee the leeway needed to oppose outworn or extreme ideas and to produce an agenda relevant to our time.

    What goes around, comes around. Smells like teen spirit, and democrat light. The Lead Balloon Plan.

    This is fun.

  64. 64.

    YellowJournalism

    @danielx:

    “I got pregnant vaginally,” she said. “Something else could come in my vagina for a medical test that wouldn’t be that intrusive to me. So I find that argument a little ridiculous.”

    Whoa. I wouldn’t want to see the huge collection of devices in her bedside night table.

  66. 66.

    Eric U.

    if the blog post had said that they were getting GI bill payments for going to a republican distance learning college, maybe this wouldn’t have happend

  67. 67.

    ricky

    This misunderstanding might never had occurred if the Duffel
    family had better copyright protection for their famous bag.

    That said I enjoyed L. O’Donnell using this case last night
    to prove why he should once again be supervising low level Senate staffers. Perhaps after designing a “system” to rapid respond to constituent e-mail, he would have sacked someone for thoughtlessly following it.

  68. 68.

    Forum Transmitted Disease

    The Duffel Bag may well be funnier than the Onion, with the proviso that you’d have to be military/ex-military/contractor/military family to get most of it. Damn, that is some good shit there, thank you for the link, and thank you Yertle for having the most clueless staff that taxpayer money can buy. We salute you for employing the willfully stupid; they need six-figure jobs with lifetime pensions too, after all.

  69. 69.

    Elizabelle

    Today’s a good day to stay out of Starbucks.

    In [those 38 states that allow some form of open carry], Starbucks has rebuffed attempts by gun control activists to keep guns out of the national coffee shop chain.

    So on Friday, 2-22 (for the Second Amendment), gun rights supporters are holding “Gun Owners Support Starbucks Day,” and will be drinking their joe while openly packing their heat.

  77. 77.

    Elizabelle

    @the lost puppy:

    No, you lucky Palmetto State puppy.

    Your senators are Graham and Tim Scott (R-Tea Party).

    South Carolina’s got its first black U.S. senator ever, and he’s from the Tea Party.

    Feel the history.

    Both Benghazi Graham and Nikki Haley appointee Scott are up for election in 2014.

  82. 82.

    Forum Transmitted Disease

    Today’s a good day to stay out of Starbucks.

    @Elizabelle: Fuck that. I’ll go in Starbucks if I fucking feel like it, and if some douche is in there with a gun I’m calling the cops and telling them that a robbery is in process.

  83. 83.

    General Stuck

    If Obama causes a 9% cut in defense spending, FDL sees an opportunity, and calls it egads! An Obama caused Austerity Program. If progressives say that defense needs cutting, it is is progress, or the Obots are finally listening to General Hamsher. Another day in paradise.

    Austerity Program Set To Begin Next Week

  84. 84.

    geg6

    @Just One More Canuck:

    FTW.

    Meanwhile, I have to go and speak to the Faculty Senate. I hate dealing with faculty. They do not care about financial aid nor do they understand the role they play in it in any way, shape or form. No matter how many times I discuss it with them. How damn hard is it to take attendance and refer students who are failing or dropping classes to my office? Seriously.

  86. 86.

    gene108

    @Southern Beale:

    Jefferson Davis Park to Mississippi River Park.

    From your links.

    Why does Jeff Davis get so much shit named after him? He was a total disaster as President of the CSA and a mediocre Senator prior to the Civil War.

    We might as well name streets and parks after Benedict Arnold, because he at least kicked some ass as a general before turning traitor.

  88. 88.

    the lost puppy

    @Elizabelle: woops, that’s right – hard to forget DeMint is no longer my senator — being replaced by an African-American DeMint Tool, it’s easy to forget/just a black version of same, complete with a pining for a monument to aborted fetuses.

    I’m like Colbert (whose sister is running for Dem nom in SC!) — I don’t see race! ;)

    I just see stupid.

  89. 89.

    RareSanity

    _
    @General Stuck:

    Reading the rest of Nooner’s article, shows that paragraph to have sarcastic intentions. She isn’t learning anything, as she shows later on in the article:

    Republicans on the Hill, of course, are being cast as the nihilists in the drama, as the ones who want to blow things up. But is that even remotely fair? They just lost a battle on taxes—they fought, got their heads handed to them and accepted an increase in rates. What they are saying now to the president is: “OK, we gave you tax increases. Don’t demand more right now, work with us on spending cuts and a broad and coherent tax-reform plan. Don’t do the kind of small, targeted loophole-closing that’s just meant to torment the dread rich, do something more solid and comprehensive. And yes, let’s move to do what we can on entitlement spending.”
    __
    That’s not very radical.
    __
    If they wanted to be nihilists—and they must sometimes feel tempted—they could be. They could let the president have everything he wants—more spending,higher taxes—while making a great rhetorical show of resistance, and then caving in. They could give him everything he asks for and let the economy suffer for it, which would help resistance to Obamanomics spread and grow. The debt and the deficit would grow. Economic malaise would continue and deepen. You could call this the H.L. Mencken approach: “Democracy,” he observed, “is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”

    The projecting is strong with this one…

  91. 91.

    patrick II

    As soon 93 She finds out Which tea bagger is most likely to challenge McConnell, Ashley should run a few ads against him.. That worked out for McCaskill in MO．

  93. 93.

    "Fair and Balanced" Dave

    @Elizabelle:

    So on Friday, 2-22 (for the Second Amendment), gun rights supporters are holding “Gun Owners Support Starbucks Day,” and will be drinking their joe while openly packing their heat.

    Firearms combined with lots of caffeine. What could possibly go wrong?

  95. 95.

    Tone in DC

    @Gex:

    I also do not really appreciate Republicans giving so much power to people who are dumb as stumps. That’s a lot of power to give to someone who doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground.

    Oh AYUH.

  97. 97.

    Cassidy

    Another reminder, tomorrow night is the first female fight in the UFC and includes the first openly gay MMA fighter (to my knowledge). I found out earlier this week their is apparently one openly gay boxer, so I don’t know if she’s the first to be upfront about it. Either way, it’s a great oppurtunity to support women in sports and openly gay participants.

    The PPV is $45/50 so I don’t suggest that. That’s a decent chunk of money to throw down. If you happen to find your way into a sports bar showing the fight and buy a beer or two, those numbers get included in viewing numbers.

  98. 98.

    shortstop

    @NotMax:

    Lawrence O’Donnell (no matter what you may think of him, he does have first-hand familiarity with Senate staffing and procedures)

    And he never misses — nay, constantly creates — opportunities to say so.

  100. 100.

    the lost puppy

    I’m not seeing the whole Judd “Hollywood Librul” thing coming off in KY/I wish they had someone else – you can smack me if I end up being wrong

    She’d be easy on the eyes, of course, but compared to McConnell, so would Ruth Buzzi

  103. 103.

    Jay C

    @RareSanity:

    They could give him everything he asks for and let the economy suffer for it, which would help resistance to Obamanomics spread and grow. The debt and the deficit would grow. Economic malaise would continue and deepen

    Of course, they could “give him everything he asks for” and the economy might grow, without shredding what little social safety-net we have, which would, of course validate “Obamanomics” even more, and help deal with some of that “malaise” (I thought the demonization of Jimmy Carter made that word a no-no in Republican discourse?) – but then Peggy Noonan would have to invent some new whiny gripe to write about, and that, apparently, is too much work….

  104. 104.

    bemused

    Earlier this week the Friends of Hamas thing and now this McConnell staff idiot. Many, many Republicans just can’t recognize sarcastic or ironic humor, no matter how obvious. Hmm. This is an untapped opportunity for some enterprising and clever people to entrap humor impaired conservatives into more incredibly dopey but hilarious gaffes. There is a lot of potential here. One or more widely public bloops a week would speed up the Republicans’ downfall considerably. The down side is that with constant exposure, they may start to detect and understand sarcasm and irony and end the fun.

  105. 105.

    Slim Shady

    Some of those Duffle Bag articles are very hard to distinguish from reality. PETA protesting outside a Marine Camp over the term ‘leatherneck’? That was probably on their real to-do list, they just hadn’t finished up their work in Fishkill NY yet.

    And yes, I clicked on that particular article because of the picture.

  106. 106.

    ricky

    @yopd1: I anxiously await the Blu-Ray release of this fine addition to the filmography
    catalogue of Artest Media Group. I smell Oscar on those Cookie Monster jammies. Unless, of course, Oscar was arrested along with Metta World’s relative for not having an ID.

  107. 107.

    Violet

    It can’t be that hard to troll aging Senators and Representatives. They’re less familiar with all internet traditions and thus less likely to pick up on trolling. Not sure how their staffing works, but if they’re hired yes-men, then it’s easy to see how the trolling gets through.

  108. 108.

    Grumpy Code Monkey

    @Belafon (formerly anonevent):

    And McCaul is my Rep.

    But why limit ourselves to Congress? Surely the Lege and the Governor’s Mansion are target-rich environments for similar lulz, but it would not likely make national news.

    I mean, after the whole “oops” thingy, it’s not like goading Perry into saying something colossally stupid is really newsworthy anymore.

  109. 109.

    RareSanity

    @Jay C:

    Her whole column is an attempt to present an alternative reality.

    A reality in which it is really the Republicans that are using the strategy, and Obama is just using his charm. It is the Republicans that are keeping Obama and the Democrats from completely destroying the economy, not the other way around. It is the Republicans that are being completely reasonable regarding policy, and Obama is about to crash down because of overreach.

    If it weren’t for the fact that Noonan, at least hopes, that people are going to buy what’s she’s selling, her column could be posted on The Onion, as is, and garner praises for its’ satiric genius.

  111. 111.

    Jay C

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Re Ashley Judd’s potential Senate campaign:

    She’ll be fighting against the belief that anyone siding with the blacks can’t be ‘one of us’ and against McConnell’s ability to put a pretty polish on the hate and cruelty this state seethes with.

    That’s the core of the problem right there: Mitch McConnell (hack as he is) didn’t gin up the “hate and cruelty” on his own; it was already there for him to exploit.

    Much as I’d love to see the phrase “Sen. Ashley Judd (D-KY)” in the news in a couple of years, I think she would have a HUGELY hard time crafting a viable campaign. Especially as the Republicans will probably be desperate to retain their Senate advantage after the midterms.*

    *And yes, I’ve seen the glum assessments about Senate prospects for 2014: as usual, all of the Democrats and none of the Republicans seem to up in “difficult” states….

  114. 114.

    SatanicPanic

    @shortstop: This is probably true, although I’ve managed to live almost my whole life in blue districts so I can’t say I know any different. I’ll look around for a nearby red one, but in CA that’s not easy to find anymore.

  115. 115.

    shortstop

    @SatanicPanic: I’m happily immersed in blue land myself. The “nearby” part isn’t that important for sticking your nose into other districts, and I shouldn’t have used that adjective.

    It’s not a perfect analogy, but this week and next, I’m spending several evenings phonebanking for Illinois marriage equality in several downstate districts that have conservadems representing them — something that happens a lot in CA as well as in IL! In national elections, I canvass in nearby swing states (because I really hate phonebanking and will always do door-to-door if given a choice). I don’t meant to go all serious and pious-ass on what was a lighthearted subject, but having great representatives prods me to help out in districts that aren’t so lucky.

  116. 116.

    handsmile

    @Jay C:

    Yup, the Senate is where the action must be for Democratic activists and voters in 2014. There’s no likely Democratic pick-up in any seat now held by a Republican, though fingers crossed that Maine’s Susan Collins will be Tea-primaried.

    There are a host of vulnerable Democrats, on the other hand, and the resignations of Harkin and Rockefeller have only exacerbated the situation. (South Dakota’s Tim Johnson has yet to declare his intention as well).

    While in February 2013, I don’t foresee the Confederate Party obtaining an outright majority in the Senate (would need at least 7 more seats), it’s difficult not to predict a shrinking of the Democrats’ margin there.

    Also, at this point it’s hard to assess to which party would accrue the advantage of all the media white-hot attention on a McConnell-Judd contest.

  117. 117.

    Argo

    Where’s the Charles Pierce crowd?

    “This is why the argument many liberals are making – that the drone program is acceptable both morally and as a matter of practical politics because of the faith you have in the guy who happens to be presiding over it at the moment — is criminally naive, intellectually empty, and as false as blue money to the future. The powers we have allowed to leach away from their constitutional points of origin into that office have created in the presidency a foul strain of outlawry that (worse) is now seen as the proper order of things.

    “If that is the case, and I believe it is, then the very nature of the presidency of the United States at its core has become the vehicle for permanently unlawful behavior. Every four years, we elect a new criminal because that’s become the precise job description.”

  119. 119.

    Tonal Crow

    Republicans have been spewing outrageous propaganda for so long that they’ve lost the ability to distinguish it from fact. Kool-Aide: it isn’t just for breakfast anymore.

  120. 120.

    cosima

    Okay, since this is an open thread, throwing this very un-BJ thing out there:

    Selling our 2008 Pathfinder prior to our move overseas. Just took it to the mechanic of a potential buyer. No problem, I trust the guy, he has a small place and is highly recommended. Well, the only thing he found that bugs me is that the air conditioner is not working. This was just a very prelim check on his part, so he didn’t delve into the whys/wherefores of the A/C.

    But I’m shocked! We used the A/C up until it dipped below 85-90 here in Denver, so probably back in September, and it worked fine. Is there a possibility that a fancy Pathfinder like ours would have some sort of built-in that would prevent the a/c from working when it’s well below freezing (as it is now & has been for a while)? Anyone heard of anything like that?

  121. 121.

    Trollhattan

    @cosima:

    Do you have automatic climate control? If you do, it’s running the A/C year ’round because it’s used to dehumidify the cabin in winter. If not, and you’ve simply left it off for months, you may have a seized compressor or simply have lost your coolant via a leak. One of these is not like the other.

  122. 122.

    geg6

    @cosima:

    No, never heard of such a thing. I have, however, known a car’s AC to crap out whenever it feels like it, just like any other mechanical/electric/electronic piece of equipment on any car. The car is five years old, after all, so I wouldn’t be so surprised by something like this. Did the mechanic say it was the compressor? That will cost about $3-400, based on the last one I had to get.

  123. 123.

    cosima

    It’s got climate control, and I can get it to blow out cool air if i set the temp at 60, and hot air if I set the temp at 90. But I don’t know enough about car engines to say if it’s doing that range thru intake of cool air from outside (60 deg). And given that we are moving I don’t have time to get this checked out before selling.

    Thanks for the tips.

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. […] And finally — happy, happy in the discovery of a way-most-cool Website: The Duffel Blog. A tongue-way-in-cheek site in the fond tradition of The Onion, only with military themes, and with such stories as  Navy To Apologize to Junior Officer For Shitty First Tour, and Afghanistan Declared Gun-Free Zone, well, you get the crazy picture. (Great h/t via Balloon Juice). […]