Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

When we show up, we win.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

There is one struggling party in US right now, and it’s not the Democrats.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

People are weird.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

“Let’s not pretend [Trump] wants to engage in high-minded discourse.”

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

You are here: Home / Music / Open thread

Reader Interactions

45Comments

  2. 2.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    If only Obama wasn’t forcing all the fine Christian folks to pay for sluts access to reproductive healthcare we wouldn’t have a lot of these budgetary problems!

    The automatic spending cuts that will take effect under sequestration will already compromise programs that disproportionately impact women, including slashing $86 million from critical family planning and reproductive health services. But that’s not enough for Republican lawmakers, who want to use the upcoming budget negotiations as yet another opportunity to keep attacking women’s health …

  3. 3.

    Cassidy

    After the first openly gay MMA fighter was elevated to a prime time position, there is now an openly trans fighter. Unfortunately, it’s because she was outed.

  6. 6.

    dan

    You’ll eventually get enough of those guys. They have 2 or 3 great songs, 2 or 3 good songs, then a lot of songs that are neither.

  7. 7.

    Paul in KY

    @Cassidy: Too bad that fighter couldn’t come up with a way to stop the move she knew was a coming.

    She would probably need to do what Ms. Rousey had done to her by her mother (sneak up on her at anytime & arm bar her or attempt to).

  11. 11.

    Peter

    Is there any sequence in modern television better directed and edited than the lab destruction at the end of season four of Breaking Bad? I can’t think of one.

  12. 12.

    Cassidy

    @Paul in KY: I now find myself in the unfortunate position of trying to educate your average MMA fan on gender reassignment surgery and trans people.

    So far the rebuttal has been, and I quote:”It doesn’t take a genius to know that chopping your penis off doesn’t make you a woman”

    Yeah.

    Although if any of our trans members do show up, I do have some questions regarding the hormone therapy, etc. if they’re interested in answering.

  13. 13.

    Cassidy

    @Paul in KY: I now find myself in the unfortunate position of trying to educate your average MMA fan on gender reassignment surgery and trans people.

    So far the rebuttal has been, and I quote:”It doesn’t take a genius to know that chopping your pen1s off doesn’t make you a woman”

    Yeah.

    Although if any of our trans members do show up, I do have some questions regarding the hormone therapy, etc. if they’re interested in answering.

  14. 14.

    Steeplejack

    @Cassidy:

    Do MMA fighters wear head protection, or are they at risk of concussion like boxers and other “contact sports” athletes?

  15. 15.

    Bizono

    Not a huge fan of The Hold Steady, but ‘Separation Sunday’ was easily their finest work and is worth a listen.

    He said what about New Orleans.
    She said I don’t think you understand what that means.
    All those hangers on.
    The girls lifting up their shirts when the cameras come on.
    We were tryin to stay away from those kinds of scenes.

  16. 16.

    Paul in KY

    @Cassidy: If the fighter is transitioning from man to woman, I would have some apprehension about them fighting a born-from-the-womb woman.

    This is just in general, Think of some short very muscular & big boned man (excellent athletic body, very wide shoulders, narrow waist, etc. etc.) Now transition that person to a woman. There has probably only been a couple thousand woman in history who were born with those kinds of physical gifts (probably exaggerating, but not too many born like that). Those physical attributes will not go away when that person becomes a woman.

    Those physical attributes would really, really help in grappling & fighting. Thus, I’m not sure that it would be fair to put that person in against a ‘woman-from-birth’ (for lack of a better term.

    I had the same misgivings about Renee Richards. Turns out when she was a he, he wasn’t that good a tennis player, so turned out there was no problem with her playing pro woman’s tennis.

    What if she had been as good as Rafael Nadal (athletically & skillwise) & had become a woman (with that size & skill & strength)? If she had continued in tennis, she would have dominated the sport for awhile (IMO). To me, it would have been mainly because she had all the strength & stamina still left over from when she was a man (the hypothetical good-as-Rafael-Nadal-Renee).

    You probably won’t like my comments, but I’m just being truthful about my feelings on former males competing in woman’s events.

  17. 17.

    Cassidy

    @Steeplejack: Some promotions/ states on the regional circuit require headgear for amateurs.

    They are at risk, but not as much. It’s splitting hairs to some degree. For one, MMA fighters use 4 oz gloves so their hands aren’t as protected as boxers. They do hit hard, but broken hands in the 1st round are fairly common. Unlike boxers, they can’t always transfer all that force due tot he lack of hand protection. Also, most MMA KO’s are due to flash knockouts from compacting the vagus nerve vs. multiple strikes to the head. The latter does happen, though, so it’s not a rarity.

    And there are other factors, but the short answer is that yes, they do have a significant risk of head trauma, but it’s not nearly as much as boxing.

  19. 19.

    Cassidy

    @Paul in KY: I think context is important. That’s why I’m hoping some of our trans members will pop in and answer a couple of questions I have about hormone therapy. I would imagine that if the individual was currently transitioning and still had ample supply of testosterone to build mass and recover from workouts and then started fighting as a woman, that would be a problem.

    This particular fighter, Fallon Fox, started hormone therapy about 10 years ago, had her reassignment surgery in 06 (7 years ago) and started MMA approx. 5 years ago. She fights Bantam and Featherweight. My guess is she was a very sleight male beforehand as her body looks very feminine; I wouldn’t have ever guessed she was born male.

  20. 20.

    Trollhattan

    @piratedan:
    Aw man, I was a big TYA fan when a kid I was. Very sad to read this.

    Have been working thought the Woodstock film I recorded off Paladia last week–now I’m a little bittersweet anticipating seeing their famous set. Thanks, Alvin.

  21. 21.

    Mnemosyne

    @Paul in KY:

    I have some of the same reservations. There are some physical differences between genetic men and genetic women in things like muscle mass, limb length, etc. that could give transgender women an unfair advantage over biological women in an event like MMA that depends so much on strength and reach.

    It’s sort of like the conversation we all had a few months ago when a troll was demanding to know why Obama’s girls don’t play tackle football, and some of us were trying to explain that the muscle mass difference between women at the high end of the scale and men at the high end of the scale is large enough that women physically can’t compete in contact sports like football.

    Now here’s where I display my ignorance of MMA — do they split fighters into as many weight classes as boxing does? If they do, at least some of the advantage could be mitigated if there’s only a 10-pound difference between the fighters.

  22. 22.

    Cassidy

    @Mnemosyne:

    do they split fighters into as many weight classes as boxing does?

    No, but boxing weight classes can be seperated by just a few pounds also. That’s how PacMan won titles in so many weight classes. He only had to add a few more pounds. MMA fighters do cut more weight, though.

  23. 23.

    flukebucket

    This just in from Erik Erikson:

    The ten members of the Conservative Fight Club are:
    • Amash
    • Bridenstine
    • Broun
    • Gohmert
    • Huelskamp
    • Jones
    • Massie
    • Pearce
    • Salmon
    • Yoho
    These congressmen are now the gold standard for conservatives in the House.

    When Paul Broun and Louie Gohmert are a part of your gold standard you are well and truly fucked.

  25. 25.

    Jeffro

    So good. Although, a recent Jonahraydio podcast came close to ruining them for me when one of the guys pointed out that the lead singer sounds a bit like Millhouse’s dad.

  26. 26.

    piratedan

    just read on msn.com that the Aquabuddha acolyte has Filibustered Brennan now, due to dronzzz, i.e. not authorizing a domestic strike on the New Black Panther party (or the Rachel Maddow show), no doubt.

  27. 27.

    danah gaz

    I’m fvcking pissed. Yesterday, a former friend – a jail minister, 3 years younger than I – said some racist and ignorant crap about a child I am fostering. He couched it in “I’d never call him a wetback [redacted]. I’d never say that”

    I redacted a bit of that because I simply cannot repeat it. Wetback was actually the tame part.

    This guy ministers to Latino gang members, and the whole fvcking church he’s a part of is about helping migrant farm workers. “Migrant ministries” hangs above the front fvcking door, FFS.

    I had sent him a rather pointed email (to avoid screaming at him) calling him out on his privilege. I even told him “I’d never call you a self-absorbed trust fund baby. I’d never say that.” – yeah. I was angry.

    Anyway, he then left a voice mail on my s/o’s phone after reading that deigning to mansplain to her that it wasn’t “wise” to get me involved. I explained right back, that she didn’t get me involved. He did, when he made racist and ignorant statements about a child under my care.

    I’m so sad and angry I’m just… fucking hell. Crying and a mess and all that. People need to not suck.

  29. 29.

    Suffern ACE

    So Rand Paul is filibustering Brennan and has been talking for 3 hours. Is he really filibustering, or is this one of those non-filibuster floor speeches that is just going on and on.

  31. 31.

    Paul in KY

    @Mnemosyne: They do have several weight classes, although not as many as boxing (so I think).

    Not an MMA fan, male or female. Am interested in Ms. Rousey & can any woman beat her, even if they know & have extensively trained against what they know is coming: The arm bar.

  33. 33.

    Paul in KY

    @danah gaz: Is he going to have one of his Vatos Locos pop a cap in your ass?! Couch it as a form of penance? ‘Ramon, for your sins say 20 Hail Mary’s and ice the person in this picture, address on the back’.

    Sounds like a weenie talking big.

  34. 34.

    danah gaz

    @Paul in KY: He’d have a rough time with that. Ramon and I are friends =), as are most of the Sorenos around here – since my s/o taught at the high school here when their cheeks were still round. They love us. Her mostly, but still =)

    And nah – he’s not like that. My guess is he’s going to write a song about it. That’s more his style. He’s actually pretty good at that. Still, fvck him.

    Ah fvck it – he wants to be famous anyway. This is him http://www.myspace.com/chrishokemusic

    plz don’t post there though – i have to live near the guy.

  36. 36.

    Amir Khalid

    Columnist William Esposo of the Philippine Star raises an intriguing question: the pretender sultan of Sulu, the one behind the invasion of Sabah, can’t afford his own medical care: the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, a public agency, is providing financial support for his twice-a-week dialysis. So who is paying for the guns, ammo, ship transport, and other expenses for the Royal Army of Sulu’s 200-man (if that) expeditionary force?

  38. 38.

    Mnemosyne

    @danah gaz:

    Just out of nosiness, what was the context? And I mean context as in, “What the hell was the ongoing conversation that would make someone blurt shit out like that?”

  39. 39.

    danah gaz

    @Mnemosyne: My s/o and he were having a disagreement about someone they both know – a former shot caller for a local gang here that is serving time in prison. As it turns out, all the prisoners that were still associating with known gang members were (as I understand it) either given extra time or required to serve out their full terms (I’m not sure which). So, Neeners, the guy in question, has to serve another year.

    Chris is all upset about that, and is basically laying the responsibility for this extra time at the feet of anyone other than Neeners (the prison, society, god knows)

    My s/o disagrees with that (as do I) – it was Neeners’ continued association with gang members inside the prison that resulted in his extra time. It’s not that she’s happy about it, but it is what it is, and taking responsibility is a thing. A rather important thing.

    Anyway, when Emily (my s/o) pointed that out, they got into a disagreement over that, which escalated until Chris dragged our minor kid into this (based on some things he did, which he has paid for, things for which, even as a kid, he has *never* denied responsibility for) – but he wasn’t just trying to call out our foster kid – he was using some extremely nasty and racist language to do so, as if to make a point.

    He’s free to disagree with us, but dragging a minor child into a dispute, and particularly using racism and other even more horrible language to do so is simply not okay. I expect better of him, and if that makes me a mean jerkface, I’m okay with that too.

  40. 40.

    danah gaz

    @Mnemosyne: I should add that Chris’ defense of Neeners isn’t unprompted, as Neeners has expressed a desire to be a part of our faith community, even taking on some leadership roles (which when he’s ready, is cool, as a lot of our church is staffed by former gang members)

    However, it’s a bit early to be saying Neeners is some sort spiritual leader. Yes, it’s too bad that he’s apparently got some tough choices to make, and that he’s maybe not making the right ones. But it’s not his responsibility for having to serve that extra time? Please.

    It is Emily’s opinion (as well as mine) that rationalizing and avoiding someone’s responsibility for their own mess is no way to groom someone for a position of leadership. Chris is sometimes a bit idealistic.

    None of this really matters I guess, as disagreements happen. What matters is the crap he said about our kid. You just don’t do that. And there’s no excuse for racism.

  41. 41.

    Mnemosyne

    @danah gaz:

    And not only that, but there’s a big difference between the actions of an adult and the actions of a minor kid. Insisting that a kid is equally as responsible for his actions as an adult is really assholish, especially when you start throwing racial slurs at the kid in the process.

    I didn’t mean to drag it all up again, I was just being nosy about how the jerkface got from Point A to Point R (Racist).

  42. 42.

    Mnemosyne

    @danah gaz:

    If you really want to be a little jerky in return, you can sweetly say that maybe this is God’s way of saying that Neeners should continue ministering to people in jail where they really need his wisdom. And then smile.

  43. 43.

    danah gaz

    @Mnemosyne: It’s fine. And yes, I would sweetly say Neeners should serve that extra time, except that I don’t really agree with the extra time myself – it’s complicated. My position is nuanced and not really about whether or not he “deserved” what he got – as I think the prison system is fvcked and he was probably over prosecuted as it was compared to a white guy, *but* – it’s still his responsibility that he got it, and not someone else’s. He knew what was expected of him, and he made a choice. Denying his choice in the situation denies him agency in his own life and makes him out as weak and unable to stand on his own. I don’t see him as weak, or in need of coddling. He’s a grown man, and even locked up, he has choices. He made a choice. That choice has consequences (even though I don’t agree with those consequences necessarily). That’s really it.

    FTR I’m not even sure Neeners is denying his responsibility. I just know that Chris is on his behalf.

  44. 44.

    Gus

    Separation Sunday is a great album. I haven’t been all that into any of their albums since. They’re a lot of fun live, though.

  45. 45.

    nemesis

    I cant believe all the things she stick into her skin,
    broken pens and steel guitar strings,
    she says it hurts but its worth it.

    Tiny little text,
    etched into her back says
    jesus lived and died for all your sins,
    Shes got blue/black ink and
    its scratched into her lower back,
    says damn right he’ll rise again,
    yeah damn right he’ll rise again…

Comments are closed.