Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

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

The lights are all blinking red.

We will not go back.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

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

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

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

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

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

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

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Lot of rumors about General Stuck in the comments the past few days. I don’t want to engage in rumor mongering so I have contacted the funeral home and will have an update tomorrow.

I hope everyone of us is wrong and he is sitting at home with Charlie on his lap thinking how happy he is once he said fuck it all to the internet.

Reader Interactions

358Comments

  2. 2.

    NickT

    Wouldn’t it be wonderful if General Stuck popped up in the comment threads, denounced us all as a bunch of sentimental emoprog fools and returned to his armchair and Charlie with an evil grin on his face?

    Here’s hoping!

  4. 4.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Thank you, John. I also hope we are all wrong about him.

    Also, what NickT said.

  5. 5.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Do you think the funeral home will recognize him from Balloon Juice? Maybe he has a “general stuck” tattoo on his neck? Or maybe “I heart Cole” on his forearm?

  6. 6.

    Dolly Llama

    I never really got where that connection got made – the obit didn’t have “General Stuck” in it – but everybody (Anne Laurie included) sounded so confident, I figured they knew what they were talking about. I have no clue how well various people around here know one another in real life, so I was inclined to believe it.

    ETA: I know exactly zero people here. If anyone here dropped off the face of the earth, I’d have no way of knowing or determining it. I’m sure I’d be proud to know any number of people here in person, or at least know their backgrounds, but I just don’t.

  7. 7.

    Cacti

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    Do you think the funeral home will recognize him from Balloon Juice? Maybe he has a “general stuck” tattoo on his neck? Or maybe “I heart Cole” on his forearm?

    I was thinking more or less the same thing.

    What is the funeral home going to be confirming?

  9. 9.

    mai naem

    If the Funeral Home doesn’t work out, there is one person who’s commented in the Legacy book online who says he’s a long time friend who has a contact me on the legacy site and he is on LinkedIn with an email address. I personally don’t feel comfortable doing stuff like that but,hey, if somebody else is – here are the links:
    http://www.legacy.com/guestbooks/oxfordpress/guestbook.aspx?n=steve-martin&pid=165470892&cid=full

    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/richard-whitston/3a/798/4b4

    I hope we’re wrong but the age and area and other stuff match up.

  10. 10.

    Keith G

    @Dolly Llama: In the four years that I have been sparing with Stuck, a good deal of personal info came out along with the invective. They match up with the obit.

  12. 12.

    John Cole

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Try not to be a dickhead in this thread. Maybe one of them will have heard of Charlie, and that will end it right there. If not, I am sure there is a sympathetic relative who would love to know he had an online persona and that a lot of people liked him a great deal and that he didn’t die alone in some hospice.

    You fucking asshole.

  14. 14.

    Geeno

    Well, I, for one, am hoping the old soldier just faded away. The alternative is depressing.

  15. 15.

    Anne Laurie

    Thanks, John.

    I thought about writing something in the Legacy.com guest book, and then realized that anything I might come up with would seem extremely weird and stalker-ish to his not-at-all-blog-involved family.

    Hope Charlie has a good home, regardless.

  19. 19.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @John Cole: Fuck you. I haven’t said anything bad about him and it was a legitimate line of inquiry. He was a fucking online persona. He’s not going to have a bunch of pseudonous survivors in his obit.

  20. 20.

    Geeno

    @Steeplejack: Odd sentiment. Or at least odd phrasing.
    “Wake up, and smell the coffee” is usually reserved for people willfully ignoring the truth. Stuck may well be dead, but I’d like confirmation before I start mourning.

  22. 22.

    MomSense

    @NickT:

    I would love that!

    @Geeno:

    I saw the photo in the obit and he had such a lovely face and warm smile. Ugh. If it is true, I hope that we can at least do something for Charlie in honor of Stuck.

  24. 24.

    Corner Stone

    @John Cole:

    If not, I am sure there is a sympathetic relative who would love to know he had an online persona

    You think exposing his family to his online persona environment would be beneficial in some way?

  26. 26.

    mai naem

    So, John, just wondering what did you tell the funeral home? Did they treat like a whackjob or just a concerned human being? I’m just curious.

  27. 27.

    Anya

    I really liked General Stuck! I hope he’s still alive, relaxing in some beach with Charlie.

  30. 30.

    mai naem

    @Corner Stone: It’s not like he had some Just Some Fuckhead online persona. He had a normal persona and, hell, he contributed to the conversation. I know I used to see him on some other sites – I think TPM and DKos.

  31. 31.

    different-church-lady

    Why do I get the very sad feeling a lot of true colors will be on display tonight?

  34. 34.

    eemom

    Goddamn, I am SO sorry I suggested this.

    I did it because I really liked the guy and he was a good man, and I thought a decent and respectful RIP would be the right thing to do….totally overlooking the toxic mixture of dumbass and asshole that pervades this place.

    For all you “hey, how do we know it’s him”ers and anyone attacking Steep — guess what, we didn’t just pull the connection out of our asses. We don’t want him to be dead, either.

    Fuck.

  35. 35.

    Corner Stone

    @Corner Stone: “Yeah, that’s ok. I know, no biggie. Listen, I’m in WV and I was wondering if you knew a Charlie? No, probably not the bartender at the VFW. More like a little doggie who was really cute? Hello?….Hello?…Dammit.”

  37. 37.

    NickT

    @different-church-lady:

    There are some people in here making a better argument for the use of the banhammer than I would have thought possible. You’d think that an open thread devoted to the possible death of someone who commented here might have brought out just a little decency, but apparently that was too much to hope for.

  38. 38.

    eemom

    @Corner Stone:

    I know this, you despicable piece of shit: no one here’s gonna be “stalking” your miserable ass, should we ever have the good fortune to see it disappear.

  39. 39.

    Jebediah

    @Corner Stone:

    You think exposing his family to his online persona environment would be beneficial in some way?

    I don’t know about exposing them to this environment, but letting them know there are a bunch of people who care might be nice. That’s how it felt to me, anyway, with each family member I have lost.

  41. 41.

    eric

    I am at loss for some of the comments. There are ways to say you dont approve or think the idea inappropriate, but this is about a man with whom many of us conversed in friendship. So, just because the blog is “anonymous” in some sense, show some respect for Stuck’s memory (either way) and the true feelings of sadness and loss of others — even if by your way of thinking those feelings are off base.

    Fuck the fucking yankees.

  42. 42.

    S. Holland

    Thanks Cole….his was the first comment I would always scroll to…I liked the way he always spoke exactly what he thought…and I respected him. Been looking for him for months, along with others, and Anne was good enough to give his web address, but no postings…..may he always know he was well thought of…and his opinions valued.

  44. 44.

    MattR

    @Jebediah: Exactly. My friend’s parents really appreciated seeing the outpouring of love for their son on his facebook page after his death. It is not quite the same since my friend knew those people in real life at one point or another, but I still think Stuck’s family would be happy to know that how he touched the lives of others, even if they are complete strangers on the internet.

  45. 45.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    I looked forward to reading his comments and have missed him from the blog. Thank you all who are checking up on General Stuck and Charlie.

  46. 46.

    gogol's wife

    @John Cole:

    Thank you for that.

    I have been saddened all day. I’ve missed him a lot, and I hope this isn’t true. If it is, I share everyone’s concern for Charlie. He loved that dog so much.

  48. 48.

    Keith G

    @PhaseIV:

    Many times. I admired him for his restraint.

    I admire your sarcasm, and since we are on the topic…a favorite of mine:

    You stole that from corner stone, not very sporting of you june bug. Nor original. And it is Saturday Night, so treat yourself to some small animals to torture you crazy motherfucking sumbitch. It’ll make you feel better.

  50. 50.

    beltane

    @Jebediah: When I die, if I still have any family members who care, I think it would be comforting for them to know I had an online persona. There are some people (trolls, perverts, etc.) whose online lives are best forgotten, but General Stuck was not one of these people.

  51. 51.

    NickT

    @kc:

    That certainly sounds like a worthwhile science project for the children to investigate. Is there life after death? Do curses matter? Think of the potential!

  52. 52.

    YellowJournalism

    Stuck always seemed like one of those tough guys but a big softie underneath. If this is him, it would be nice to see something in his honor.

  54. 54.

    PhaseIV

    @Corner Stone:

    I’ve never seen anything like the persistent grudge of Hillary dead-enders in all my years following politics.

    This is coming from someone who started out drawing political cartoons in sixth grade.

    I just don’t get this obsessive hate and revenge ideation by supposed liberals.

  55. 55.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Keith G:

    You stole that from corner stone, not very sporting of you june bug. Nor original. And it is Saturday Night, so treat yourself to some small animals to torture you crazy motherfucking sumbitch. It’ll make you feel better.

    Maybe we could put that in a card for his surviving family members, so they know he had people he cared about.

  56. 56.

    Corner Stone

    @eric:

    So, just because the blog is “anonymous” in some sense

    But that’s just not it. This blog should be anonymous. It kind of has to be to keep any sort of edge to it. Cole has at different points pledged to go to jail before he would release people’s personal info. (not withstanding the times he publicly outed people when he was drunk)
    And I, personally, found it a very disturbing situation that so many wanted to put pieces together and “dox” Stuck, for lack of a better term.
    I personally disagreed with the guy on just about every utterance he made. But I never, ever, wanted to know where he lived or what his job was or who his family was or anything really real and personal. I was fine with giving it the back and forth here, because that’s what Cole et al created and keep thriving to this day.
    Some here choose to share their lives. Cole for example, and others like TZ/ppgaz/ghost to most will sometimes ask people to keep up with them on Facebook, etc. Others do things in the public sphere and want people to notice and support them. That is awesome. That a community as diverse as this can have meetups in different regions a few times a year speaks to what, I think, Cole really secretly wanted to develop over the years. Even though he grumped about it for a few years before giving in.
    But others value their voice. And they value it in ways that can’t be intimidated or threatened. And that too is a kind of beautiful thing Cole has created. (Cole and all else he has chosen, natch)
    I’m not a fan of the hunting down, just IMO.

  57. 57.

    Elie

    @Keith G:

    can you share with me what information we are speculating or theorizing from? I have been thinking about Stuck since folks noticed his absence a couple of months or so ago. When I first started commenting on BJ years ago, he welcomed me by being truly nice and very funny also. I just liked him a lot and have been very sad about his absence and hope the best ..

  58. 58.

    kc

    @PhaseIV:

    LOL!

    Every time I saw him here he was cursing someone out, but he was … passionate.

    If this turns out to be him, I will be sorry.

  59. 59.

    kc

    @PhaseIV:

    LOL!

    Every time I saw him here he was cursing someone out, but he was … passionate.

    If this turns out to be him, I will be sorry. Very sad.

  66. 66.

    JGabriel

    I’ve always enjoyed Gen. Stuck’s writing, so I hope that the rumors of his death are greatly exaggerated. If they are not, General Stuck will be greatly missed.

  70. 70.

    Dolly Llama

    @Corner Stone: Mr. Stone, I know many people here believe you to be an asshole – you may indeed be one, and I am agnostic as to your assholishness – but that was a fine post. Pretty well nailed what I was trying to say up above, except better

    ETA: Minor syntax fix.

  71. 71.

    ruemara

    I noticed he was absent a while back and I hope maybe he’s just taking an internet vacation. Stuck didn’t just attack without rhyme or reason and he seemed to be a very nice person over all. If he is gone, I can’t think of a better way to go than at home with your beloved family by your side and frankly, speaking as someone who has better “family” online than ever I shared blood or home with, it counts. If you care at all about someone, it does count. It’s a good thing to attempt to find out and pay some respects to an online community. It demonstrates a humanity that is all too rare irl. There are tons of times that I wished I had deep connections to those around me, but I’m thankful for all the people I’ve had who have been closer to me than anyone else, but over the internet. There is nothing wrong with demonstrating that in solidarity with those who knew Stuck in the flesh, if it is him that has passed.

  75. 75.

    kc

    @PhaseIV:

    Sorry, I don’t know you. I hoped it was sarcasm, but you could have been dead earnest for all I know.

    Which would have been even funnier.

  78. 78.

    Cacti

    @Corner Stone:

    I personally disagreed with the guy on just about every utterance he made. But I never, ever, wanted to know where he lived or what his job was or who his family was or anything really real and personal. I was fine with giving it the back and forth here, because that’s what Cole et al created and keep thriving to this day.

    Stuck was a fellow Obot, so I agreed with him more often than not. But I’m with you in that I never cared knowing any more about the guy than he felt like sharing. I knew he was a boomer, ex-army, lived in New Mexico, and had a dog. That was good enough for me. Same goes for anyone else around here. Some people like to go to meet ups, and that’s great. But others appreciate the relative anonymity of the interwebs, and don’t want our e-friends all up in our real world business.

    I say give the man’s family their privacy.

  79. 79.

    A Ghost To Most

    Stuck was one of the greatest voices on this blog, and I truly miss him and his truth.

    Too bad the usual assholes can’t rise above their normal stink for once.

  83. 83.

    Ted & Hellen

    Americans get very…unhinged…around the topic of death.

    This thread is an example.

  84. 84.

    gogol's wife

    I do (now that I’ve gotten my jaw back up off the floor) also want to acknowledge that Corner Stone made a serious and thoughtful comment that raises difficult issues.

  87. 87.

    kc

    @SFAW:

    I for one can’t think of any better way to honor Stuck’s memory than flaming a bunch of people on here.

    And then maybe, to atone for being assholes, we can all make donations to our favorite libtard causes in Stuck’s name.

  91. 91.

    Keith G

    @Elie: Since Stuck and I tended to go back and forth, we spent a lot of time interacting. Me asking clarifying questions and he being profound and/or hurling insults (hey, I was under-employed at the time). I have an excellent conversational memory (I suck at names), so I remember little details that folks type out here. Once I was able to deduce Stucks home town and used it in an example (something about a drone attack). He seemed a bit rattled and began hurling invectives. For me it’s all in fun. It might have been for him too. Maybe.

    Little details like that. And his service, and his Kentucky birth, and his ties to Ohio, and his work in the natural/environmental sciences, and, and.

  92. 92.

    Geeno

    @eemom: Now, now. To paraphrase an old saying, “When any is lost, we are all lessened — unless it was Dick Cheney”

  97. 97.

    aangus

    I’m just overwhelmed by the amount of replies that occur to me for someone named “Sparky”.

    *presses reset.*

  98. 98.

    Cacti

    Stuck, I don’t believe in any sort of afterlife, or souls, or that anything remains of us when we die besides our moldering corpses. So, it really makes no sense to give you a shout out, but if you were here, I’d tell you…

    The Reds suck.

    RIP

  101. 101.

    freelancer

    Goddamnit. I can’t read that obit and think it’s anyone other Stuck. Goddamnit. RIP if this is him.

  102. 102.

    Geeno

    @A Ghost To Most: I won’t grant Stuck the “truth” as I often disagreed with him, but you do have to respect someone who says what they mean. And, on occasion, takes it back if he was over the top.
    Stuck is/was a genuine article, he never pretended to be anything he wasn’t.

  104. 104.

    beltane

    This thread is like some bizarro version of an Irish wake. Perhaps that is how it should be.

  106. 106.

    kindness

    John….you are kind. Your blog has seen births and deaths. General Stuck is probably in a far better place especially if the obit was his. Seems checking out was right for him even if we felt there were a couple chapters left in that book.

    Virtual connections are still connections.

  108. 108.

    gogol's wife

    For example, this thread could really benefit from having Stuck swoop in and flame a few people. Just that little bit that Keith G quoted makes me miss him so much!

  109. 109.

    Elie

    @Cacti:

    I don’t think that letting his family know that he was cared about violates their privacy in the least, though I generally agree with you and CS about preserving the rights of anonymity…

    My husband and I had a great friend many years ago in Atlanta. He was unique and special person who entered our lives and left without notice. We would occasionally check in with him when visiting his home town, New Orleans, but it was not unusual to not connect for many months at a time. We had one unfailing tradition of our sending him a Christmas/holiday card (usually perverse), and he would call and “check in” with many tales and laughter about what he was up to. One year, he did not reply and after a couple of months, I started calling HIM and trying to see what happened. Finally connected to a person that lived in his building an learned that our dear and unique friend committed suicide. Alan and I were devastated —
    After a time — I just wanted to let his family know how much we cared about him and missed him.. We were able to find his sister after a while — and let her know how much we cared, that we missed him. We cried together.. he was despondent over the loss of his father — a man with whom he had great love and great conflicts. I never regretted reaching out to her and I think that she felt our caring and that her brother did not pass from this life without love from us and others.

  110. 110.

    NickT

    @beltane:

    All we need now is for Cole to roll in drunk and naked, carrying a mop and looking for his lost mustard. I suspect Stuck would get a huge kick out of that.

  113. 113.

    SFAW

    @kc:
    I’m sorry, I truly can’t tell if you were being sincere, snarky, or wry.

    Be that as it may: even if I hated Stuck – which I don’t – I wouldn’t take the “opportunity” of his passing (which I/we hope is not the case) to be a dickhead toward his spirit (or whatever). I guess I was kinda hoping certain others would show similar restraint. Obviously, I was and am naive about some things.

  114. 114.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Anya: And I think now is not the time for your childlike ignorance. But it’s who you are. And you gotta be you. And I gotta be me.

    I could simply point out that if Stuck wanted his family to know about his online antics, he could have simply told them. And if he told them and they haven’t weighed in – and they haven’t – they either don’t care or don’t want anything to do with Stuck’s freaky online friends.

    And if he didn’t tell them, that’s good enough for me.

    RIP.

  119. 119.

    Ted & Hellen

    @PhaseIV:

    You seem obsessed.

    But yes, I am registered to drive and operate a vehicle in the state of Massachusetts.

    What else could you be talking about, fixated one?

  121. 121.

    Steeplejack

    @Geeno:

    The facts are circumstantial but convincing (and they have been hashed over in previous threads). When Stuck disappeared from Balloon Juice back in May, some of us did some research and pieced together a “profile” that fits the obituary posted by SIA yesterday very closely. Based on information provided by Anne Laurie and eemom, I even called the telephone number of the person thought to be General Stuck and got the message “This number is no longer in service.”

    And the idea that someone who was a daily commenter here for years would suddenly remove himself without a parting comment strikes me as highly unlikely—except in the case of some personal disaster like life-threatening illness, destitution or homelessness. Especially since he had previously done the “Goodbye, cruel world” thing and taken himself on hiatus for a while.

    I don’t know what Cole hopes to “confirm” with the funeral home. The only further “proofs” that Stuck is dead I can think of are that someone confirms that Steve Arnold Martin (a) owned a small dog named Charlie or (b) commented on the Internet under the nym “General Stuck” (and variants). Dunno why anyone at the funeral home would be likely to know that.

    “Absolute” confirmation would be nice, but for me it’s only the gap between 99% to 100%. YMMV, as they say.

  124. 124.

    sparky

    @beltane: The deceased were always saints ’til the booze started flowin’ and then they were feckin’ gobshites until the booze flowed a little more and then they were saints and . . . .

    The General was like that so this thread is an appropriate honorarium.

  128. 128.

    Keith G

    Speaking of a memory for details. I remembered comments on diabetes (something many in my family struggle against)
    Stuck in April 2011. Sorry if it’s TMI, but what the hell, he put it out there

    I”m also pre diabetic, with an A1C pretty much stuck on 6.0. Fasting sugar count around 125, give or take. Doc put me on vitamin d and c, and that has really helped my energy level. It’s a struggle keeping the pounds off and limiting my refined sugar intake, but easier when I think of daily needles as the alternative. Hang in there ABL, we do got your back front and sides

    .

  130. 130.

    MomSense

    @gogol’s wife:

    He was also very sweet. He welcomed me here with “MomSense is the most wonderful sense of all”. I saw him at some other blogs and he reminded me of a dear friend who was a little older and a WWII Veteran who had recently died. They could both be fierce when they felt strongly about something but once a friend–a loyal friend.

    I just hope Charlie is ok and that if his family need any help with pet expenses or care that we can find a way to help.

  131. 131.

    Anne Laurie

    @Corner Stone:

    And I, personally, found it a very disturbing situation that so many wanted to put pieces together and “dox” Stuck, for lack of a better term…. I’m not a fan of the hunting down, just IMO.

    Yeah, that’s why I tried to discourage people from using “real details” when this discussion first started some weeks/months ago. People who want their privacy are entitled to it, and Gen. Stuck made it pretty clear he considered his blog-life separate from the meat-universe.

    If he’s actually dead, on the other hand, I can understand why people might want to make a more public show of respect.

  132. 132.

    CaseyL

    I don’t know what to say, since I hope General Stuck is alive, and so want to avoid using the past tense.

    Many thanks to the folks trying to find out it the obit is his. I don’t think it’s stalking, or inappropriate, since I don’t remember him ever saying that he wanted or needed to keep his on-line persona a “secret.”

    Regular blog readership is a real friendship, even if it’s pseudonymous and virtual. You hang out somewhere long enough, are enough of a mensch, friendship happens.

    ETA: I just saw Annie Laurie’s comment that the General did want to keep his on-line life separate from his real life, so maybe the search is intrusive. So I hope the inquiries are being done very gently… in case he is alive, after all!

  133. 133.

    beltane

    @Redshirt: That really is too dramatic, unless Stuck died from too much eye rolling at other people’s dickishness. But if that was the case we’d all be dropping like flies right now.

  134. 134.

    kc

    @Ted & Hellen:

    It doesn’t make a lot of sense if you’re Christian either, because then you know the departed is either cavorting with angels or getting stabbed in the ass with pitchforks … not just “resting.”

  135. 135.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Ted & Hellen: Rest in Peace is about the most secular possible thing to say when someone dies. It’s not “Now he walks with God” or something. It means no one should disturb the guy now that he’s dead. I’m not sure a lot of people are going to extend the same wish to you.

  136. 136.

    Corner Stone

    @Redshirt: Since you’re literally the first to die in any mission, I wonder what would happen if I focused my intertron death ray on you?

  137. 137.

    Anne Laurie

    @Roger Moore: No, as I’m sure you’re aware, you’ve got one of those pre-anonymized Anglo-Saxon names — howmnayofme.com says there are 1,319 ‘Roger Moore”s just in the United States!

  138. 138.

    Corner Stone

    @Anne Laurie: On a side note, some here may not realize or remember that he made quite a few posts about his family, his childhood and his relationships related to all that.
    Some people can do that and some people can only do that knowing those people will never see any of the content.

  139. 139.

    Ted & Hellen

    @kc:

    UNLESS you’re a Jehovah’s Witness or member of several other Christian sects which hold that the dead really are “sleeping” as in have no consciousness whatsoever, until the Judgement Day.

    But yes, having been brainwashed as a Missouri Synod Lutheran from birth, and taught that we go straight to Heaven or Hell, I always kind of wondered about the “resting” bit.

    Mainly it just sounds really, really sad and boring.

  140. 140.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Corner Stone: In other words, he might not want his family to see some of the things he wrote about them.

    (Sorry, I felt like I needed to translate for the children.)

  142. 142.

    SIA

    I posted what I believe may be Gen Stuck’s obituary late last night and emailed Anne Laurie and John with the information. I’m issuing a public apology if it was the wrong thing to do. Not trying to do a non-apology – but it’s uncharted territory and I’m just not sure what the right thing is. I did it because I and others here liked him and wanted to know what happened to him, so I continued to check his blog, flikr site etc. occasionally for news of him. Just because I didn’t know him “in person” doesn’t mean I didn’t care about him. I am sorry to have created a firestorm around it. Anyway, IF it was Stuck, I’ll miss him a lot. He is an original.

  143. 143.

    Ted & Hellen

    @FlipYrWhig:

    I’m not sure a lot of people are going to extend the same wish to you.

    Can you see me extending my middle finger to you?

  144. 144.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    @Elie: We had a similar situation when a family member who wrote a blog died suddenly. The family put up a post and the outpouring of condolences and grief from her anonymous commenters was very heartwarming. We found she had touched lives far beyond her circle of family, friends, and colleagues.

    So yes, I am in favor of letting the family know he had an internet presence and that we miss him.

  145. 145.

    Ted & Hellen

    @FlipYrWhig:

    It means no one should disturb the guy now that he’s dead.

    If the person is dead, as in completely nonexistent, how could anyone “disturb” him or her?

  147. 147.

    NickT

    @SIA:

    You did the right thing – and many people here appreciate it. Don’t regret being a good person just because some people on here are too pathetically self-absorbed to behave like decent human beings.

  149. 149.

    beltane

    @SIA: I don’t think you created a firestorm. It’s just a few people doing their version of the Fred Phelps thing, something they didn’t need much pretext for anyway. And the more I think about it, it’s just one person who is being mindlessly obnoxious yet true to form.

  150. 150.

    Keith G

    Bedtime, but first..Despite the polemical differences, I could agree with him about the beauty of hummingbirds.

    Enjoy the photographs in the Flicker account of SAM From NM

  151. 151.

    A Ghost To Most

    @Geeno:

    No offense taken, but Stuck spoke my thoughts far more than anyone else here. Perhaps because we are/were from the same time, both Vietnam era vets, both curmudgeons.

  153. 153.

    Corner Stone

    @Redshirt: Oh. Well I guess that’s a couple hours of sleep I’ll lose tonight worrying about not making sense of one your posts.
    They’re just so clever, you know?

  156. 156.

    FlipYrWhig

    Apparently Rest in Peace is more common among Catholics than others. I assumed it was a Roman thing and hence secular, and kind of liked it. I stand corrected. Still sounds secular to me, i.e., leave this poor dude’s bones alone, but I guess that’s not its history. Maybe Davis X. Machina would know something more. Source: Wikipedia

  157. 157.

    Steeplejack

    @Corner Stone, @Anne Laurie:

    The point was not to “dox” Stuck out of some idle voyeuristic curiosity. As I said in May:

    Given Stuck’s almost daily posting history and the unlikelihood (in my opinion) of his leaving Balloon Juice without some notice, I don’t think it would be amiss for one person to call him (if that is him). Cole and (I think) Anne Laurie have already sent him an e-mail at his (presumably) preferred address and heard nothing back. It would be the work of a moment to reply, “I’m okay; leave me alone.” My concern is that he has suffered some life upheaval that cut off his Internet access (hospitalization, financial catastrophe, etc.). Hell, it could be as simple as his computer dying and him not being able to afford a replacement.

    If something like that happened, it would be nice to know it and possibly do a whip-round at Balloon Juice to help out. If the answer is “Fuck all you idiots,” that would be nice to know too.

    (Emphasis added.)

  161. 161.

    SFAW

    @Keith G:

    Did he take those shots? Or just copy them from somewhere else? Because those photos are pretty great. Thanks for the link.

  163. 163.

    Anya

    @Just Some Fuckhead: “childlike ignorance” – how sweet. I’ve always appreciated your maturity and wisdom.

    I am not very fond of outing online commenters, even when they’re being assholes. But I am not sure what that has to do with your previous comments? I was objecting to you making light of someone’s death.

  164. 164.

    kc

    @SIA:

    Don’t apologize. He was such a big presence here; it’s natural for people to worry about him and want to know what happened.

    I do share others’ reservations about contacting the family, but that seems like a different issue to me.

  166. 166.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Redshirt: In fairness to Corner Stone, there are too many people here who were invested in Stuck The Political Ally and are using his untimely demise as an opportunity to bash on their perceived enemies.

    If you look through the thread, you’ll notice no one actually said anything bad about Stuck, but his pretend online allies are coming up just short of issuing death threats.

    And Stuck would fucking love it.

  168. 168.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    I watched the last 25 minutes of that Sharknado movie. I could not turn the channel and now I can’t unsee it. At the end, a guy who the people thought had been eaten by a tornado shark fought his way out of said shark with chainsaw. The dead shark had landed on a skyscraper after the tornado it was traveling in was blown up by bombs dropped from a helicopter. Sorry for lack of a spoiler alert. Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

  169. 169.

    NickT

    @Steeplejack:

    This was never about “doxing” Stuck – and all the decent people on here knew that. We shouldn’t worry about the views of one troll who is desperately afraid that the real, shrivelled human being behind his sneering, malicious persona might be exposed to public view and public contempt.

    Showing respect and concern for General Stuck by trying to establish whether he has died or not is an eminently decent and honorable thing to do – and those who are doing their best to achieve it deserve our respect and praise for taking on a difficult and painful task.

  170. 170.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Anya:

    I am not very fond of outing online commenters, even when they’re being assholes. But I am not sure what that has to do with your previous comments? I was objecting to you making light of someone’s death.

    I never made light of Stuck’s death, you illiterate fool. You may wanna stop digging now. Go get drunk or something.

  171. 171.

    Steeplejack

    @SIA:

    I feel you have nothing for which to apologize, and I thank you for posting that obituary. I, for one, am sure that is Stuck.

  172. 172.

    Ted & Hellen

    @A Ghost To Most:

    Not at all sure how our discussion of the meaning and origin of RIP could so inflame you, but glad to have provided a desperately needed excuse for you to vent some of your repressed bile. Watch out. That shit will eat right thru you.

  174. 174.

    MikeJ

    What would stuck have thought about a football thread? Canada v Mexico in Seattle concacaf on Fox.

  175. 175.

    Omnes Omnibus

    I’d leave his real life alone. Say what you want here. He used a pseudonym for a reason, I’d suggesting respecting that.

  176. 176.

    Keith G

    @SFAW: I always assumed they were his, since at times he had spoken about the camera used and one can notice a continuity among all the shots in that stream.

  177. 177.

    Ted & Hellen

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    I never made light of Stuck’s death,

    It’s rarely about what one actually writes here, but how the usual suspects feel about what they imagine one to have written that really matters.

  180. 180.

    ruemara

    @MomSense: Hello, MomSense! It was and is interesting. I haven’t truly hung work up in nearly 20 years. Rather odd to do so now, but I made a promise to myself last year to finally show some work and now I’ve kept it. It was satisfying to put things up on the wall and a little weird to walk in and see the work. I wound up having more work than could fit, which was nice and although the frames were CheapKea, I found great buys on rice paper and worked hard on mounting things. I’ll try to post a link for a virtual showing if anyone wants to see.

  181. 181.

    GregB

    It really is a strange thing, this internet blog thingie. Deaths make it all even weirder. That being said, apparently it is hats off to General Stuck. His name is one of the ones that stuck in my mind. Pun intended.

    One of the other funny names that stuck was someone over at Atrios who called themselves Dr. Barmpot Shouty Crackers. Gosh, I laughed at that name when I saw it first.

    We come here and there looking for friends and seeking others with similar minds or different minds in order to debate or harangue.

    Some leave on their own, some stay, others get taken by time and life.

  183. 183.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Ted & Hellen: “Too bad he’s dead. May he rest in peace, by which I mean undisturbed: I hope no one messes with the body” would be a very sane, rationalist, non-supernaturally-focused thing to say about someone who dies. As opposed to, “Say, when that guy dies, I hope he doesn’t just lie there in peace, I hope I get the chance to dig him up and create some havoc, just to show off and be insulting.” You don’t have to be a theist to believe in respect.

  184. 184.

    HRA

    If true, I am saddened as well. When I was on more often than I am now, I would search for his comments. He did have a unique way of expressing himself and quite well, too.

  185. 185.

    Redshirt

    @Ted & Hellen: You’re still an asshole to the core, and I look forward to not just your next persona, but actually, the one after that, because it’s going to be that one that sends you – FINALLY – to your much deserved End. :)

  187. 187.

    Ted & Hellen

    @A Ghost To Most:

    you would know, you fucking asshole.

    Oh dear.

    Should I presume you won’t be writing respectful BJ odes to my passing when it is discovered I have kicked the bucket?

  191. 191.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    @kc: Yes, our family knew about her blog. I’m not sure how much of a difference that makes, other than the fact that none of her commenters got into flame wars in the memorial post we set up.

  192. 192.

    Keith G

    I was objecting to you making light of someone’s death

    Having just withstood a family funeral, making light of death is always the best choice. I’m sorry the ol blowhard popped his clogs earlier than necessary, but many of us will do likewise soon enough.

    Seems like he had a full and interesting life and luckily only spent small bit of it yelling at strangers on the interwebs. Smells like….victory.

    Cheers Dude.

  196. 196.

    kc

    @Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason:

    Well, I think it means that she clearly didn’t mind her family knowing about her blog. In Stuck’s case, we don’t know ( I think) whether his family knows or he would want them to know about his BJ commenting history.

  198. 198.

    Dead Ernest

    @kc: Whoa. Just wonderful. Most delightful, most enjoyed comment I’ve seen for days & days.

    Seriously.

  203. 203.

    2liberal

    @Keith G: re: stuck and diabetes . I am a type 2 , diagnosed 12 years ago. an A1C of 6 two years ago is not something that would contribute to Stuck’s death now , not at all.

  204. 204.

    Steeplejack

    @ruemara:

    I’ll try to post a link for a virtual showing if anyone wants to see.

    Definitely. Let’s see your stuff.

  206. 206.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Omnes Omnibus: OK, check this out. I actually have a selected Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary right behind me. (That’s just how I roll. Sigh.). So I opened it to a random page and saw the word “maudlin.” Johnson says it means “drunk” or “fuddled.” Maybe this was a suitably maudlin tribute thread after all. Cheers, Stuck, you old ninnyhammer.

  207. 207.

    Ted & Hellen

    @Anya:

    Have a nice time with T&H, you’ve got quite the mutual admiration society going on.

    Whoaaaaa now…let me make it clear that JSF loathes and despises me and never in a million years would wish to be associated with my malodorous self.

    I addressed him, not him me. Are you blind as well as illiterate?

    Also too: GREAT example of imagining things that were never written! Thank you!

  210. 210.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    As for the rest of you cockroaches that thought you could hide behind Big Bad John’s skirts and hurl insults and obscenities, that was probably the best way you coulda honored Stuck, the commenter.

  211. 211.

    Corner Stone

    @NickT: Well there, “NickT” you seem to be a very big proponent of the mixing between IRL and online. So, since you’re a valued and long time commenter here, it may help ease the minds of a lot of people if they could share their grief and wonder with your family if a bus hit you tomorrow.
    So, “NickT”, how about you give the BJ community some room to determine who you really are in real life.

  214. 214.

    Roger Moore

    @Anne Laurie:

    howmnayofme.com says there are 1,319 ‘Roger Moore”s just in the United States!

    Sure, but that’s still a lot fewer than the ~300 million Americans you’d have to sort through if I were pseudonymous. You can put my name together with some of the other information I’ve given, e.g. I live in Pasadena, to figure out which of those 1319 Roger Moores I am.

  215. 215.

    NickT

    @Corner Stone:

    The difference is that decent people are sharing their appreciation of General Stuck with his family, whereas no decent person will waste five seconds on your twisted little corpse, unless they remark that the air is somewhat cleaner after your departure from the world.

  219. 219.

    Ted & Hellen

    @NickT:

    whereas no decent person will waste five seconds on your twisted little corpse, unless they remark that the air is somewhat cleaner after your departure from the world.

    Now Nicky, is that REALLY something a thoroughly “decent” person such as yourself should be saying?

  220. 220.

    Donald G

    Damn. I liked Stuck. If the deceased is in fact him, and it’s increasingly looking like it is, the comment section here is poorer for his loss. Sixty is much too young.

  221. 221.

    kc

    @Dead Ernest:

    Years ago, on a political message board, I encountered a poster who would create multiple personae, liberal and conservative, and then have them engage in outrageous, absurdist, rapid fire arguments with each other. He was a mad genius. To this day I get the giggles thinking of his performances.

    He would be perfectly capable of constructing every persona on this comment thread . . .

  222. 222.

    Comrade Luke

    There are many nice people who, cloaked in the anonymity of the internet, become more obnoxious than they are in real life.

    My impression of Stuck was that, while he was a pain in the ass a lot of the time, and I disagreed with him most of the time, if he ever showed up at a BJ meet up he’d be a totally normal, nice guy with a dog who I’d have no trouble hanging out with.

    Which is why I usually either ignored him or gave him a break, and I hope this is wrong.

  223. 223.

    Corner Stone

    @NickT: No, my friend, that is not the difference. It’s not even close you fucking weasel.
    You’re more than happy here to share and propagate someone else’s life online and chastise people for questioning that decision, but you are way too shy and pure to put your own self there.
    It’s pretty telling. Preevacy for thee but not for me? Eh?

  226. 226.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Corner Stone: I guess it’s time I came clean. I’m actually a script running on an NSA server in Ogden, Utah, storing everything you all say just for future reference. Then when some algorithms match, zap, drone, dust. It’s called Project Requiescat.

  229. 229.

    NickT

    @Corner Stone:

    You’ve been trolling this thread in a despicable way. Stuck deserved better than to have trolls like you stinking up the place. He was a good man who gave a lot to this community.

  231. 231.

    Corner Stone

    @aangus: I agree. NickT’s righteousness is very fucking ridiculous and deserves to be laughed at.
    Thank you

  236. 236.

    Ted & Hellen

    @NickT:

    You don’t and didn’t know him.

    People who believe they know other people thru the Internet are delusional.

    You don’t know anyone unless you have spent time with them in meatspace, and then only a little.

    All else is projection.

  237. 237.

    Corner Stone

    @NickT: What would you know about Stuck or this community? Which I note you post like you have partial ownership of.
    Are you going to now tell us all how you went to the mountaintop with John Cole?

  240. 240.

    mclaren

    @eemom:

    I did it because I really liked the guy and he was a good man

    One sociopath praising another. The guy was an ignorant pathological liar whose only contribution to this forum involved screaming insults at other people.

  242. 242.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Corner Stone:

    Are you going to now tell us all how you went to the mountaintop with John Cole?

    He wasn’t there and I don’t know who the fuck he is. Is he another one of The Real Nick’s sockpuppets?

  243. 243.

    NickT

    Good night all. Stuck, wherever you are, I hope you’ve enjoyed this thread and seen that the decent people on here had a lot of goodwill and love towards you. I’ve sent a couple of little trolls down to attend your couch in the underworld. Kick ’em, if they offend you. You certainly did in real life on here.

    I think you’d appreciate this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI1ylg4GKv8

    Ave atque vale.

  244. 244.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @NickT:

    Heehee…Gotta disagree here. I always liked the dynamic between Stuck and Corner Stone. I’ll be upset if the video of the epic grudge fuck doesn’t come out once Corner Stone is gone.

  245. 245.

    Ted & Hellen

    @mclaren:

    One sociopath praising another. The guy was an ignorant pathological liar whose only contribution to this forum involved screaming insults at other people.

    Why, in the name of all that is holy and un, do you dare defile this pristine chapel of remembrance?!!!!!

  249. 249.

    Corner Stone

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Nah, NickT doesn’t have that repetitive flair that the Real Nick has.
    He’s just some joke-come-lately who thinks by posting idiotic one-liners he can ingratiate himself with the mainstream of commenters here.
    He’ll burn out sooner or later as he has nothing to say beyond a “Ay yup!” to the things others comment.
    I would say it’s beyond pathetic for him to claim the mantle of Stuck’s defender in chief but, actually, I could see those two really getting along.
    They had a lot in common. It’s too bad they never had a chance to comment here at the same time.

  250. 250.

    Ted & Hellen

    @Soonergrunt:

    pots, kettles, etc.

    You see, it’s THIS kind of cutting edge writing and deep thought that makes you an indispensable front pager!

  251. 251.

    Liquid

    Could be worse. You could talk to him on a friday night. Then not hear from him for two days. Then read the monday morning paper and see “Lynnwood man, 22, dies in crash.”

    At least I was sitting down for that one.

  252. 252.

    Corner Stone

    @aangus: No, that’s ok. We all knew you meant NickT. Wasn’t hard to figure out.
    Appreciate your consideration though on such a sensitive thread.

  253. 253.

    Dead Ernest

    @kc:

    After some years of inhaling the Balloon Juice I came to the conclusion that most (if not all ((except me))) the Front Pagers & commenters were all created by Tom Levenson. Including Cole.

    Some days I still enjoy thinking so.

    Hi Tom!

  254. 254.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    I remember the first time Stuck said I was gay and that I was having a homosexual relationship with another commenter that involved intercourse in our respective colons.

    I was outraged at first but then I thought, “What’s wrong with being gay?” and “Why is that an insult?” and after turning it over and over in my brain, I finally realized there was nothing wrong with being gay. That was the simple genius of Stuck. We all learned a lot from him.

  256. 256.

    Ruckus

    @Mnemosyne:
    There are 33 people with my name. Still not that many.

    Hoping this is not true about Stuck, but expecting it to be. Always sad to hear that another soul is gone from the world. Especially one whose presence was appreciated.

    Fuckhead, you must be tired of trying so hard, and succeeding, at being a full time douchebag. May I suggest giving it a rest?

  259. 259.

    Ted & Hellen

    @Ruckus:

    Fuckhead, you must be tired of trying so hard, and succeeding, at being a full time douchebag. May I suggest giving it a rest?

    Please.

    If his politics aligned more perfectly with your own, you’d be ululating his testicles.

  260. 260.

    Corner Stone

    @Ruckus: Man, shouldn’t you be in bed by now? You seem to have lived a hard fucking life the last few years. And yet, here you are spilling bile onto others?
    I hope whoever’s couch you’re sleeping on tonight is a more forgiving soul than you appear to be.

  262. 262.

    trollhattan

    @Ted & Hellen:

    Certainly not remotely like the deep abiding relationship you have with George Zimmerman. Who could possible emulate that? [pro tip: rhetorical question.]

  263. 263.

    Maus

    @Ted & Hellen: Because it makes us feel better to think of those we care about one last time. Are you a lizard person, or do you not understand emotion?

  264. 264.

    amk

    Aaand with the arrival of ultimate firebagga mclaren, peak bj douchebaggery has been achieved. Congrats cole.

  265. 265.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @amk: You should write John a letter. He never tires of hearing how he should be running his blog and what has truly upset his latest pseudonymous commenter.

  267. 267.

    Corner Stone

    @amk: I, for one, am glad you’re here now on this thread to share and bond with us all. I always thought of you as Stuck’s foreign doppleganger. His ESL twin, if I may take the liberty of that.
    If anyone is poised to take on the mantle moving forward, I have deep conviction that it’s you. I can only hope you propagate forward his message of peace, tolerance and inclusion.
    I have faith that you will.

  268. 268.

    Suffern ACE

    I wish my mother had better prepared me for threads like this. But no. We had to play hi-ho cherry-o instead. And gnip gnop. Which isn’t much of a social skill.

    So how ’bout them Pirates?

  269. 269.

    some guy

    our Al Qaeda allies seem to be doing the work of Allah over there in Syria. keep up the good work, Al Qaeda, the CIA wouldn’t know what to do without you!
    from today’s Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/10/syria-al-nusra-front-jihadi

    A few weeks before our visit, after a feud with a local tribe over oil, al-Nusra fighters had surrounded the village of Albu Saray and taken the whole male population of the village prisoner. A few of them were accused of killing an al-Nusra commander, and were executed, and many of the houses in the village were flattened.” “Hitting Albu Saray was a pre-emptive strike,” he said. “They were weak. They had a bad reputation. Kill them, and you teach more powerful tribes a lesson. They will start fearing.”

  270. 270.

    Soonergrunt

    @eemom: Actually, I was pointing out the irony of her being down on somebody who would say the following about another commenter:
    “The guy was an ignorant pathological liar whose only contribution to this forum involved screaming insults at other people.”

    I would never equate you with that anthropomorphised logical fallacy.

  271. 271.

    eemom

    @SIA:

    I wish I had another way to communicate with you than on this sickening thread, but since I don’t: please don’t feel bad, you totally did the right thing. I, and at least a few others that I know of, really wanted to know what happened to him, and it helps a lot that you shared that.

  272. 272.

    Davis X. Machina

    @FlipYrWhig: It’s from the usual English translation of the old Latin Requiem:

    Eternal rest grant unto him. o Lord,
    and may perpetual light shine upon him.
    May his soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed,
    Through the mercy of God rest in peace,
    amen,

  273. 273.

    trollhattan

    Anybody else watch “The Bridge” pilot? Seems pretty good, based on a whopping one episode. The…Asperger? detective is a great lead character. “Do you want a glass of water?”

  274. 274.

    Ted & Hellen

    @Maus:

    No, you fool. The actual three words used. There meaning in that order. What does that mean to someone who thinks there is nothing after death?

    Calm yourself, hysteric.

  275. 275.

    Suffern ACE

    @some guy: it is so hard to organize a resistance these days. I wonder if al-quaeda will be sending out a press releases claiming that the commander it killed was the number 2 leader of the FSA.

  276. 276.

    Emerald

    Oh no. I’m so sorry to hear this. Yes, I’m sure it’s him.

    He was my favorite commenter on all the whole wide internet. I always looked for his comments here.

    Rest in peace General, and may you meet Charlie again at the Rainbow Bridge and have hummingbirds around you everywhere you go.

    He was a good, decent man.

  278. 278.

    cbear

    @trollhattan:

    “….the deep abiding relationship you have with George Zimmerman.”

    Congratulations, you may have dipshittedly stumbled onto a corollary to Godwin’s Law of the interons.

  279. 279.

    Corner Stone

    @trollhattan: Man, I tried. It was awful. Just absolutely freakin awful. The casting, the dialogue, the pacing, the direction. Every single thing about it I could not stand. I tried for all 90 minutes of the pilot because I really wanted it to be decent.
    But it just was not. It was awful.
    Diane Kruger took her character wayyyy beyond what the female character in Bones was like and just blew the whole fucking thing apart.
    The Mexican detective seemed like he could have been a sympathetic character but he went around chastising all his own people all the fucking time. That just doesn’t happen. And he left his bed at 4:00am because the American detective wanted some info that could have been the exact same at 9am the next morning? Bullshit.
    This is an awful, awful show and will die a quick death.

  281. 281.

    Jeff Spender

    I haven’t commented in ages, but I always enjoyed reading General Stuck’s commentary.

    If this is indeed true, I am saddened by the news. Since I am an atheist, I guess the only reasonable thing to do is leave Aaron Freeman’s “Eulogy from a Physicist.”

    You want a physicist to speak at your funeral. You want the physicist to talk to your grieving family about the conservation of energy, so they will understand that your energy has not died. You want the physicist to remind your sobbing mother about the first law of thermodynamics; that no energy gets created in the universe, and none is destroyed. You want your mother to know that all your energy, every vibration, every Btu of heat, every wave of every particle that was her beloved child remains with her in this world. You want the physicist to tell your weeping father that amid energies of the cosmos, you gave as good as you got.

    And at one point you’d hope that the physicist would step down from the pulpit and walk to your brokenhearted spouse there in the pew and tell him that all the photons that ever bounced off your face, all the particles whose paths were interrupted by your smile, by the touch of your hair, hundreds of trillions of particles, have raced off like children, their ways forever changed by you. And as your widow rocks in the arms of a loving family, may the physicist let her know that all the photons that bounced from you were gathered in the particle detectors that are her eyes, that those photons created within her constellations of electromagnetically charged neurons whose energy will go on forever.

    And the physicist will remind the congregation of how much of all our energy is given off as heat. There may be a few fanning themselves with their programs as he says it. And he will tell them that the warmth that flowed through you in life is still here, still part of all that we are, even as we who mourn continue the heat of our own lives.

    And you’ll want the physicist to explain to those who loved you that they need not have faith; indeed, they should not have faith. Let them know that they can measure, that scientists have measured precisely the conservation of energy and found it accurate, verifiable and consistent across space and time. You can hope your family will examine the evidence and satisfy themselves that the science is sound and that they’ll be comforted to know your energy’s still around. According to the law of the conservation of energy, not a bit of you is gone; you’re just less orderly. Amen.

  284. 284.

    Corner Stone

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Martin, forget that. No one really cares.
    More importantly, I’ve been trying to recreate the whole train running right to left program on my TRS-80. I’m missing a few commands because it just jitterbugs. Any thoughts on what specifically I can do to fix that?

  285. 285.

    Valdivia

    I have been lurking a lot lately–life has gotten in the way!–but I had to comment on this even if I am doing it from my phone in a barely there internet connection: Stuck will be missed. And I am incredibly saddened to hear the news. I guess the rest is silence, as Shakespeare said.

  286. 286.

    Emerald

    BTW, General Stuck had a blog that he started in 2007. Here’s the link.

    Those of us who were on his side might want to go back and read it sometime.

    And it has a nice pic of Charlie, the Wonder Dog.

  288. 288.

    mai naem

    What’s really sad/pathetic is this thread. Seriously, the trolls can’t even stay away from this. It’s not like some fucking polarizing politician died. Jeezus.

  290. 290.

    Anne Laurie

    @Keith G:

    Seems like he had a full and interesting life and luckily only spent small bit of it yelling at strangers on the interwebs. Smells like….victory.

    Cheers Dude.

    LOL. I can see Gen. Stuck writing that!

  292. 292.

    The Dangerman

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    Maybe he has a “general stuck” tattoo on his neck? Or maybe “I heart Cole” on his forearm?

    Maybe it’ll be his request to be buried in his Tunch shirt.

  293. 293.

    Corner Stone

    @mai naem: I thought NickT went to bed already? But I agree, it was truly shameful of him to try that BS on this thread.

  295. 295.

    ? Martin

    @Corner Stone: Sorry, haven’t done TRS-80 programming since I was about 13. Wasn’t very good at it. Only got time on it at the library. Took me another 2 years or so to get my own computer (TI-99) and really learn programming.

    But kudos on the self improvement. Soon you’ll be a productive member of society. I’m proud of you.

  297. 297.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Corner Stone: Hopefully, the blog proprietors will put up a private memorial thread where Team O can prostrate and grieve without all the terrible name calling, insults and abuse.

  298. 298.

    rda909

    Aw, dammit. General Stuck was one of my favorite commentators in all the innerwebs. That dude could bring it, and suffered NO fools! I had been thinking recently how I was missing his voice in responding to the Koch Brothers “Release of the Snowdenwald.” The General’s writing during the “Stand with Rand” and DROOOONNNNNZZZ!1! circus act was exquisite. RIP, my friend, and us fellow Obots will take it from here. Ya dun good, buddy!

  302. 302.

    rda909

    @Ted & Hellen: It’s okay. I understand that when you see so many people concerned for someone else’s well being, even through an anonymous online forum, that it makes you incredibly sad since no one in the offline or online worlds would care whatsoever if you became Ded & Smellin this very second.

    Deep down, you’re longing for anyone, dear god, anyone to show some interest in your existence. Really, it’s okay. There’s always time for redemption, and there will always be people who have the capacity to forgive, so you can choose right now to lead a more productive and positive life which might involve never leaving a comment on a blog ever again, or you can continue spending hours upon hours every single day of your life antagonizing people anonymously though the Internet. I have faith in you. You can do this. Be free!

  303. 303.

    Uriel

    @Just Some Fuckhead:
    @Corner Stone:

    It’s so heartening to see the two of you- who we all know were so very close to Stuck- bravely and oh, so very sincerely standing against the vile tide of the feckless poseurs that have infested this thread to proudly state, for one and all to see, that you are so very, very concerned.

    It warms the cockles and all. Truly inspiring.

  305. 305.

    Jewish Steel

    Hmm. From where I’m sitting 60 seems kinda young.

    Make hay while the sun shines, y’all.

  306. 306.

    NobodySpecial

    Actually, this is pretty much the correct way to honor Stuck’s online persona: Everyone acting like an asshole and wearing it proudly when challenged. I’m sure he’s laughing at these pixels now.

    He was an ass, and he had no value in my eyes, but he loved his dog. RIP Stuck. I’ll hoist one for ya on Saturday.

    (And if you’re still alive and read this later, I take it all back.)

  307. 307.

    Elizabelle

    @Emerald:

    Thank you for the link. Hadn’t seen.

    Seeing the flickr photostream of hummingbirds from “SAM in NM” was definitive to me.

    Godspeed, General Stuck.

    Good wake here.

  308. 308.

    Betty Cracker

    Well, damn, it sounds like the details match up. I will miss General Stuck’s voice. Since he loved hummingbirds, here’s a poem about them in his honor. It seems to fit.

    Humming-bird by D.H.Lawrence

    I can imagine, in some otherworld
    Primeval-dumb, far back
    In that most awful stillness, that gasped and hummed,
    Humming-birds raced down the avenues.

    Before anything had a soul,
    While life was a heave of matter, half inanimate,
    This little bit chirped off in brilliance
    And went whizzing through the slow, vast, succulent stems.

    I believe there were no flowers then,
    In the world where humming-birds flashed ahead of creation
    I believe he pierced the slow vegetable veins with his long beak.

    Probably he was big
    As mosses, and little lizards, they say, were once big.
    Probably he was a jabbing, terrifying monster.

    We look at him through the wrong end of the telescope of time,
    Luckily for us.

    Rest in peace.

  311. 311.

    gelfling545

    @Elie: When my Dad dies a number of people we had never seen or heard or came to the wake. People like the wait staff at the restaurant where he had coffee with his buddies who certainly knew him only in passing. We were happy to hear about how these small encounters with him had enriched the lives of those who met him. If I really thought about it, I guess it could be made to seem “stalker-ish” but we found it charming and comforting.

  317. 317.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Uriel:

    It’s so heartening to see the two of you- who we all know were so very close to Stuck- bravely and oh, so very sincerely standing against the vile tide of the feckless poseurs that have infested this thread to proudly state, for one and all to see, that you are so very, very concerned.

    There were only a couple of commenters that knew Stuck better than CS and myself over these many years but we warmly share his memory with his new “friends”.

  321. 321.

    maya

    Again, late to this, this, very strange thread. I do remember General Stuck as a regular commentator here and always thought he posted intelligent and, many times, witty observations. From those comments I have read in these 300+ (most civil) SAM from NM must surely be one and the same GS. Perhaps the Hospice that he was in in Albuquerque would be the better place to check than the funeral home for a more definitive answer? (If no one has suggested that already)

    This has been a hard year losing friends and zeroing in on the big 7 0H makes it even more difficult to accept, but thus is reality. Enjoy life while you can and now it’s time to go down to the garden and see if the marauding bear has broken in again and bothered my mater plants.

    Goodbye, General Stuck. May those Roufie hordes follow you where ever you may be.

  322. 322.

    Jebediah

    @eemom:

    I, and at least a few others that I know of, really wanted to know what happened to him, and it helps a lot that you shared that.

    Yes. I have had an uneasy feeling since I noticed his absence, and was really hoping for some indication that he was just done with the blog or something. I was also kind of hoping that this sort-of-shiva thread would be free of so much sniping. I don’t always get what I want.

  324. 324.

    liberal

    @mclaren:

    One sociopath praising another.

    I’m not sure eemom is a sociopath, but I do love her for making the claim that we Americans ought to pause before criticizing Israel, given what we did to the American Indians.

    As for GS, I thought he was a douchebag who was one of the busier Obama fellaters around here, but the world is still worse off without him, given that he was opposed to right-wing zealots like the rest of us, a bigger consideration than the infighting issue.

  326. 326.

    eemom

    @Betty Cracker:

    Thank you for that. Wish I’d thought to ask you in the first place when I had the idea that a decent and respectful RIP post might be a nice way to honor the man’s memory.

    Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to the DSM-V Code to see if there’s a category for spontaneous hallucination syndrome.

  328. 328.

    MJ

    If the details do match up (and I hope they do not), I just want to say that General Stuck is/was one of my favorite commentators on these “goshdarned internets”. I really loved his acerbic wit, wry sense of humor, sharp analysis and completely unapologetic Obotness. There were many times that I thought about doing a GBCW post here and his comments talked me down, or brought me back after a cooling off period.

    A blog friendship is a strange and amorphous thing–so difficult to describe and so embarrassing to claim. But I hereby go on record proudly claiming an online friendship/kinship with General Stuck, nevertheless.

    I am mostly a lurker here, largely because I have found it difficult (and a bit dispiriting at times) to coherently articulate my political feelings online. But no matter how discouraged I became after reading stuff on my favorite blogs that really pissed me off, it always comforted me to come to BJ and see General Stuck slaying fools on my virtual behalf.

    Love ya dude and Godspeed to my online friend!

    MJ

    P.S. If it turns out that we are all wrong and General Stuck is still with us, I hope he reads this thread anyway so he and Charlie can know how much of an impression he has left online.

  329. 329.

    dance around in your bones

    I read this whole thread last night but couldn’t bring myself to comment (was in an ‘everything is death and decay’ mode).

    Poor ol Stuck. He had a unique voice on this site and I think he would have been surprised/impressed/kinda happy to see a 300+ comment thread dedicated to him. Even the assholey comments. He would have expected those.

    (P.S. Count me in as another person who really liked Jeff Spender’s link to ‘Eulogy from a Physicist’. I found it comforting).

    Adios General!

  330. 330.

    EthylEster

    @PhaseIV: Why would you need a reminder given that his handle is JustSomeFuckhead? He does a great job of living up to it.

  331. 331.

    kindness

    I know it isn’t the case but I wonder if General Stuck was also Gen. JC Christian over at Jesus’ General. He’s been missing in action since March 5th.

  334. 334.

    srv

    Am not sure where/if the last name was confirmed, my own research led me to another obit at another site which I cannot find now with limited internets (a small town near Gila, but not Silver City, death in late March). I know that Stuck was airborne, but I thought it was an older unit (40th something, but not 42nd) that may not exist anymore.

  336. 336.

    dance around in your bones

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Well, you are welcome Fuckhead!

    I wonder if anyone will sign your guestbook when you shuffle off this mortal coil. BTW, you always make me laugh in a weird way, so I guess I’d sign it.

  337. 337.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @dance around in your bones: I wouldn’t get too caught up in what the webweirdos are saying in this thread. They know Stuck’s antagonistic nature with many of the folks here and they were desperately waiting for anything that didn’t appear worshipful or reverential enough so they could fall on the fainting couch. Old habits die hard, but honestly, it’s probably the best way to honor Stuck.

    ETA: I include John in the “webweirdos” category.

  340. 340.

    dance around in your bones

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Do you include yourself in the webweirdo category?

    I think we are all weird on this bus o_O

    (Not that there’s anything wrong with that).

  343. 343.

    Anne Laurie

    @kindness:

    I know it isn’t the case but I wonder if General Stuck was also Gen. JC Christian over at Jesus’ General. He’s been missing in action since March 5th.

    NO, Gen. JC Christian is still on the Twitter-nets.

  346. 346.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @dance around in your bones: I understand the sentiment. :)

    I just say shit; sometimes stupid, sometimes funny, sometimes insightful, oftentimes unremarkable. I am under no illusions that I am part of a community or cheerleading squad or book review club or whatever passes as “we” around here on a given day. I don’t have an agenda, allegiances, allies, enemies or frenemies. On the whole, I’m not interested in knowing the intimate details of pseudonymous commenters, Rarely, a commenting dialogue will turn into an IRL friendship, here and on other blogs or forums.

    Were you around for the CB craze? How many truckers did you hang out with? How many do you still hang out with?

    People say shit, other people say shit. It isn’t more complicated than that.

  347. 347.

    dance around in your bones

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    You often say pretty funny shit, but then I have a rather (was gonna say black but woops!) cynical sense of humor. And I always felt that you are pretty tongue in cheek with the wacky stuff.

    Here I go making assumptions about someone I have never met. The ‘tubes will do that to you, which I think was kinda your point. We really don’t know each other except through what we write on this here blog and it could all be bullshit as far as any of us know. Heck, Cole could be a skinny hot babe who just likes to post scary-looking drunken webcam pics to startle us and Tunch is simply a figment of her imagination.

    ETA: Hey good buddy, I have a great trucker story to tell y’all some night when I am good and wino’d and have lost all my inhibitions…..

  350. 350.

    the Conster

    I’m sure that the obit is Stuck’s, because all of his comments about his Kentucky roots, his military service, his residence in southern NM near where the only private spaceport is – in Sierra County, NM. He’s gone, and I’m sorry he’s gone. His comments made me laugh out loud on more than a few occasions, and if I could choose between him being gone and some of the commenters here, well, let’s just leave it there. RIP Stuck.

  352. 352.

    eemom

    @MJ:

    “A blog friendship is a strange and amorphous thing–so difficult to describe and so embarrassing to claim. But I hereby go on record proudly claiming an online friendship/kinship with General Stuck, nevertheless.”

    Very nicely said, as is all of your comment. Appreciated and seconded.

  354. 354.

    thymezone

    Very very sorry to hear that Stuck may be gone. Enjoyed him immensely even when we disagreed and exchanged flames. I can’t read the whole thread, is It confirmed?

  357. 357.

    Joey Giraud

    Didn’t always agree, but generally found the General a decent guy online. He didn’t play games.

  358. 358.

    WaterGIrl

    @Jeff Spender: Thanks so much for sharing that.

    Stuck, I am sad that you are gone. Really hoping we get confirmation that Charlie is okay.

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