Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

White supremacy is terrorism.

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

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Optimism opens the door to great things.

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

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Bark louder, little dog.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

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

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open thread

Reader Interactions

250Comments

  3. 3.

    jeffreyw

    @cleek: I have run some regressions and averaged the results from comments since the news broke the other day. I find it likely (95%) that there will be at least one more thread devoted to the Silver move before the month is out.

  5. 5.

    PaulW

    I can’t complain. My short story got published in the Strangely Funny humor-horror anthology now on sale as ebook at Amazon.com! I’m in there with Catriona McPherson, Suzanne Robb, Gwen Mayo, Sarah Glenn, and others! Big grins. BIG GRINS. :)

  6. 6.

    rikyrah

    North Carolina sharpens new restrictions on voting
    By Steve Benen
    Tue Jul 23, 2013 11:15 AM EDT

    Earlier this year, Republican state lawmakers in North Carolina had grand ambitions on new voting restrictions, which they never expected to approve. They knew the Voting Rights Act would send their plan to the Justice Department for approval, and their proposal was certain to be rejected.

    But with the U.S. Supreme Court having gutted the VRA, North Carolina Republicans are no longer holding back. We talked last week about a new voter-ID law — which would prohibit the use of student IDs for reasons proponents cannot explain — and The Nation’s Ari Berman reports today on the latest changes to the state’s “extreme voter-suppression measures.”

    This week, the North Carolina legislature will almost certainly pass a strict new voter ID law that could disenfranchise 318,000 registered voters who don’t have the narrow forms of accepted state-issued ID.

    As if that wasn’t bad enough, the bill has since been amended by Republicans to include a slew of appalling voter suppression measures. They include cutting a week of early voting, ending same-day registration during the early voting period and making it easier for vigilante poll-watchers to challenge eligible voters.

    Counties will be allowed to offer voting on the Sunday before the election, but only if those votes are cast before 1 p.m. Counties will not be allowed to extend polling hours by one hour in the event of long lies.

    Ari added, “The bill even eliminates Citizens Awareness Month to encourage voter registration.”

    http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/07/23/19638344-north-carolina-sharpens-new-restrictions-on-voting?lite

  9. 9.

    Tone in DC

    I think Nate Silver can do his own averaging on his appearances. I hear he’s good with numbers. And also and such as.

    Crooks and Liars just reiterated that this is the most do nothing Congress EVAH. And Orange Julius likes that just fine, with the 30 some odd attempts to appeal the ACA.

    The sound of futility must be music to Boner’s ears.

  11. 11.

    Amir Khalid

    Oy vey ist mir! I hate these open threads where the front-pager doesn’t even bother to suggest a topic. Grumble.

    @cleek:
    Only one or two more. Then it’ll be time to start grumbling about whoever replaces him.

  13. 13.

    rikyrah

    Those who Kill Blacks Benefit From Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law

    By: Keith Brekhus
    Jul. 22nd, 2013

    .

    The Tampa Bay Times analysis of 133 fatal cases where the accused attempted to use the “Stand Your Ground” as a justification for homicide shows that 20 cases are still pending. For the 113 cases that are no longer pending, in 73 cases the accused was considered justified under “Stand Your Ground”, and in 40 cases he or she was convicted for the killing. Justified cases include acquittals, not guilty verdicts, defendants who were not charged, cases that were dismissed and instances where the defendant was granted immunity. While it is true that 2/3rds of African-Americans who used the “Stand Your Ground” defense were considered justified compared to a slightly lower 63 percent for whites, that disparity is due to the fact that most African-Americans invoking “Stand Your Ground” killed other blacks, whereas whites who invoked the defense typically killed other whites. In these cases, it is the race of the victim and not the killer that is most significant in determining whether “Stand Your Ground” is considered a justification for the homicide.

    When the victim is white, the person who kills him or her is convicted 43 percent of the time. When the victim is black, the killer is only convicted 22 percent of the time. The killers of Hispanic victims are also convicted just 22 percent of the time. Although blacks who kill other blacks are found justified under “Stand Your Ground” 73 percent of the time, whites who kill blacks are deemed to be justified in killing the black person 86 percent of the time. When the victim is black and killed by a white or a Hispanic (like Zimmerman) the murder is considered justified 90 percent of the time in the state of Florida. By contrast, when the victim is white and killed by a non-white (black or Hispanic) person, the murder is considered justified just 60 percent of the time.

    http://www.politicususa.com/2013/07/22/kill-blacks-benefit-floridas-stand-ground-law.html

  16. 16.

    Tone in DC

    @rikyrah:

    We talked last week about a new voter-ID law — which would prohibit the use of student IDs for reasons proponents cannot explain…

    Somewhere, Nathan Bedford Forrest is smiling.
    These people make Texas and their ridiculous abortion laws look good.

  19. 19.

    Belafon

    @Amir Khalid: I’ve generally thought the opposite. I found it annoying when someone talks about something that really does look important and then ends it with “Talk about whatever”.

    @rikyrah: Until we can win back enough state governments, we’re just going to have to make sure people register early, acquire the proper paperwork, and find ways to get to voting as soon as they can. And support groups suing to stop these laws.

  20. 20.

    NickT

    @Redshirt:

    Slim to Nunn.. sorry, but it’s probably true. That said, I think Georgia is a better candidate for going blue in the near future than some of the more “exciting” states such as Arizona or Texas.

  23. 23.

    nemesis

    The bad guys stole the 200 election.

    Expect a replay in 2016. Will we stand for it once again?

    As Ive been saying for months, the so-called demographic-fueled demise of the gop has been greatly exagerated. They. Will. Not. Change.

    The gop will take what it wants. Dems will allow them to.

  26. 26.

    different-church-lady

    Oh, well now that you mention it… VERIZON IS THE WORST COMPANY IN THE WORLD.

    Seriously, day 12 of no internet. And I finally found out yesterday they have NO local offices anymore. In order to find out why your entire town has been without internet for close to two weeks you need to call Whereverthefuckistan on the other side of the planet, and if you scream at them with enough persistence they might… MIGHT… connect you to someone on your own continent, albeit 3500 miles away.

    Seriously, I think they’re tanking their own company to try to get a high pick in next year’s draft.

  27. 27.

    Violet

    Jesse Jackson suggests boycotting Florida:

    Rev. Jesse Jackson said Thursday that his Rainbow PUSH Coalition would consider boycotting Florida as “a kind of apartheid state” in the aftermath of the George Zimmerman not-guilty verdict last weekend.

    “No doubt, the inclination is to boycott Florida, to stop conventions, to isolate Florida as a kind of apartheid state given this whole ‘stand your ground’ law,” Jackson told CNN. “Homicides against blacks have tripled since this law has been in existence.”

  33. 33.

    Burnspbesq

    The U.S. District Court in Cincinnatti has gone there. It entered a TRO that requires Ohio to recognize the validity of a same-sex marriage performed in another state.

    http://sblog.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Judge-Black-ruling-on-marriage-7-22.pdf

    That didn’t take long. Nor should it have.

    Be interesting to see whether Ohio appeals the entry of the TRO (and, one assumes, the preliminary injunction that will soon follow), or simply moves forward to fight the case on the merits.

  35. 35.

    PaulW

    @different-church-lady:

    You should be able to go to a nearby Verizon Wireless store, explain calmly what is going wrong with your Internet, inform them of the 250 corporate lawyers who owe you a favor, bring along a group of sign-waving protesters (that you’ve borrowed from the McDonalds’ protest down the street), and see how quickly they’ll get your service done. Otherwise, take your complaint to the city’s utilities office. See if that helps.

  36. 36.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @Yatsuno: Where will you be heading? I hate moving also, but I missed the announcement of your destination.

  37. 37.

    johnny aquitard

    The bad guys stole the 200 election.

    So that’s how Caracalla got in.

    And I thought all along it was due to nepotism on Septimius Severus’s part.

  38. 38.

    piratedan

    @Violet: that’s just wrong, it was stupid when Grijalva suggested it for Arizona (post SB1070) and makes no sense here because who are you actually hurting? The people that are so insulated that they could give a fuck about you? or the folks that rely on the normal transaction of business in order to make their daily wage?

  40. 40.

    max

    http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/senate-intelligence-chairs-condemn-house-amendment-that-would:

    Senate Intelligence Committee leaders Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) released a joint statement Tuesday

    Bipartisanship! And this is totally awesome because I agree with Saxby Chambliss about so very many things!

    condemning an amendment to Rep. Justin Amash’s (R-MI) House appropriations bill that would gut National Security Agency surveillance programs.

    By ‘would gut’ they mean ‘would be forced to comply with the 4th Amendment’.

    “Since the public disclosure of the business records program, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has explored how the program can be modified to add extra privacy protections without sacrificing its effectiveness,” the statement read. “We believe this debate in the Congressional Intelligence and Judiciary committees should continue and that any amendments to defund the program on appropriations bills would be unwise.”

    Read: ‘Look, this totally violates the 4th Amendment, which is why it’s so totally awesome, so instead of trying to make us comply with the law of the land, let us come up with some kind of bullshit that allows us to pretend to comply with the law of the land, because we’re really important people and we’re scared shitless of Al-Qaeda, terrorists, Russians, Chinese, funny-looking people, blacks, poor people, people who don’t like us [which is approximately everyone], and kids who don’t pull up their pants. So, you know, it’s totally OK if we fuck you and protect ourselves. Harrumph.’

    Senate Intelligence Committee member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) spoke out against those programs in a speech Tuesday at the Center for American Progress in Washington, stressing the importance of reforming surveillance law to protect Americans’ privacy.

    Because it’s kind of awkward to point out that the government of the United States has been ass-raping it’s own Constitution and the law for going on 12 years… because a bunch of wealthy, old neurotic narcissists are totally stressed-out by guys in fucking turbans.

    max
    [‘Reform! Yeah! That’s the ticket!’]

  41. 41.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Oh my god. Harold Ford, close paraphrase– There are problems with leadership on both sides. A lot of Republicans think the President hasn’t asked enough from Democrats as far as entitlement reform goes, and there’s some truth to that.

    The president should be his (Boehner’s) partner.
    ETA: from eventheliberalMSNBC

  43. 43.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @different-church-lady:

    Seriously, I think they’re tanking their own company to try to get a high pick in next year’s draft.

    Close. MBA executives are planning on flying away on golden parachutes to the Cayman Islands, to be with their money.

  47. 47.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @max:

    Max, my friend, you’re missing the big picture here.

    There’s a shitload of money in the form of government contracts at stake in curbing these programs, whether they are actually effective or (more likely) not.

    Follow the money.

  50. 50.

    The Red Pen

    @nemesis:

    The bad guys stole the 200 election.

    Can you imagine if we’d had the Epistles of Origen Adamantius or Ignatius of Antioch instead of those by the self-hating closet-case Saul of Tsarsus? Night and day.

    Sigh.

  52. 52.

    Shakezula

    Lots of people leaving my place of employment – While I’m happy for them these departures always bum me out. Put 3 within a short time span and Waaah.

  55. 55.

    The Red Pen

    @PeakVT: When are they just going to start calling bills names like, “The White Voter Empowerment Act of 2013”?

  56. 56.

    NickT

    @PeakVT:

    We can only hope that it provokes a huge backlash among NC voters and sours them on the GOP for a generation.

  57. 57.

    Redshirt

    @PaulW:

    Governor Tarkin: The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I have just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away forever.

    General Tagge: But that’s impossible! How will the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy?

    Governor Tarkin: The regional governors now have direct control over their territories. Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station.

    We just need a battle station!

  58. 58.

    John O

    Journal entry from about a year ago:

    I just can’t seem to get it together.

    Strong pain for a few people if I decide to call it quits. But normal people get over it pretty soon. Still, that worries me, more than a little.. Frankly, I hate the idea of hurting people. (I used to be OK with it, oddly, but I’m now so conflict-averse I can’t handle it anymore.)

    I want out of the pain.

    And don’t kid yourself, ever, if you have a loved one who suffers from it: Depression fucking HURTS. And kills.

    I spent my first 30-40 years with reasonably high self-esteem; shit, my first 20 with absurdly HIGH self-esteem, but, in general, I thought I was an OK guy, at minimum, that whole time.

    I don’t think that anymore. It’s not close.

    Most of you have no idea what it’s like, or what it is, or how it feels. (Thanks maybe to your Invisible Sky Wizard, your imaginary savior. Hey, whatever works. I’m frankly jealous.) Consider your worst breakup, or your favorite pet dying, or your best friend or parent or the true horror of a child dying, times infinity/all-the-time, and you’ll have a hint at a clue. For all my flaws, I think most people who know me pretty well trust me, at least to be emotionally honest, and I beg you to trust me when I tell you how bad it sucks.

    Imagine waking up every day with your goal being, don’t kill yourself.

    It is death in life.

    While I am still uniquely unattractive and unnecessary, I feel a lot better. It (depression) and I are OLD friends, and so far I’ve been able to muscle my way through it, in some small measure thanks to this fucking blog.

    Count your blessings.

  60. 60.

    Botsplainer

    People suck.

    Today, I have to care about a child custody battle between a crack whore (literally – she has a conviction within the past two years) and a disabled, carless, licenseless, domestically violent guy with routinely high levels of THC running in his veins.

  68. 68.

    Xenos

    @Botsplainer: There are times that being unemployed is better than dealing with my old practice in family law. This sounds like one of the ‘Maalox in one hand, bottle of scotch in the other’ kind of cases. The worse is that you are not allowed to switch sides when you realize that your client is by far the bigger liar.

  69. 69.

    BGK

    Could anyone here translate something into Latin for me? I figure if there’s any forum where someone could, it would be this one.

  71. 71.

    PeakVT

    @BGK: There’s a Latin option on Gtranslate if nobody volunteers. I don’t know if it works well, though.

  76. 76.

    John O

    @Michele C.:

    Yeah, when I read it again I sorta had the same feeling, but that’s unusual for a stoner, and I’ve known a couple people with crack problems over the years, and that’s a bad, nasty-making substance, that might require what the “law” refers to as “domestic violence,” like if what really went down was the stoner protecting the kid from the violent crack head.

    Not a big fan of the State as ward, but in this case…like I said, not enough info to go on, really.

  77. 77.

    Botsplainer

    @Xenos:

    Every time I take on a higher than market rate custody bid from out of town, I regret it. The work is miserable.

  78. 78.

    Phil P.

    Anybody else still having problems with the RSS on Feedly? I’ve deleted and re-added BJ multiple times, but can’t get any posts more recent than Jul 16.

  79. 79.

    Suffern ACE

    @Redshirt: It was never a good idea to link the bureaucracy to the senate in the first place in a confederation. The idea that each planet would get two votes was an archaic remant of the big planet small / planet controversy and led to a great deal of inefficiency.

  81. 81.

    PaulW

    @Yatsuno:

    Sheesh. What’s a girl gotta do to get some love around here?

    Dress up like Wonder Woman, tie us up with a lasso and force us to tell the truth.

  83. 83.

    Betty Cracker

    @different-church-lady:

    VERIZON IS THE WORST COMPANY IN THE WORLD.

    Fuckin’ A. My problem isn’t as bad as yours, but it still sucks big green gators: My router croaked on Sunday. With Verizon, you can’t just buy a replacement at Radio Shack or a doohickey to wire your PC straight to the wall because with Verizon, the internets are dispensed via coaxial cable.

    Anyhoo, when I called, some well-meaning schmuck in customer service told me a replacement would be delivered to my door on Tuesday. I told her I really needed it sooner since I work at home, blah-blah-blah. She told me I could exchange my fried router at a Verizon store. After driving 30 miles outta the boonies for this purpose, I found out that’s not true.

    They have fucking routers aplenty, but the Verizon stores are operated independently and under no obligation to fix your problem, and since the well-meaning schmuck had issued an apparently irrevocable order to send me a router via UPS, I was SOL.

    So I’ve had to use my iPhone as a hotspot, and now I’m getting slammed with data charges. I called up to bitch about that, but Verizon Wireless said that’s on Verizon, not them, so fuck off.

    I looked up a list of regional executives and sent an email to the one in charge of my area. A very polite woman just called and listened to my tale of woe. She says she’ll make my data overages go away.

    I’ve found it’s more effective to contact local execs rather than the national ones up in Connecticut or wherever. Best of luck to you, fellow Verizon abusee.

  84. 84.

    Suffern ACE

    I hate the idea of moving, but the move is coming. Ft. Lee ACE, Bergenfield ACE, Long Island City ACE. None of that fits very confortably. I’m kind of attached to this nym.

  86. 86.

    BGK

    @NickT:
    The phrase, “sobriety is the devil’s work.” It would be TL;DR to explain, so I’ll just go with that. The Google machine translation seems to be right going English > Latin > English, but what do I know?

  89. 89.

    Redshirt

    @Betty Cracker: I can only use Hotspot for Internet access, and for the first time in my life I understand the pain of data limits and overages. Egad – you should see how much data just looking at a web page takes! Heaven forfend I go near YouTube.

  91. 91.

    Mnemosyne

    My friend with the new kitten reported this morning that trained has successfully commenced: the kitten taught my friend to do “kisses.” Whether the human will have as much success in training the kitten as the kitten did in training the human remains to be seen.

  92. 92.

    Betty Cracker

    @John O: It’s a hellish thing, but you’re hanging in there, which is more heroic than people know. To quote a John Irving novel, keep passing the open windows.

  93. 93.

    NickT

    @BGK:

    “sobrietas opus diaboli” would be a literal way of doing it . “sobrietas opus laboriosum” would work for “sobriety is an exhausting task” if that’s what you mean by “devil’s work”.

  97. 97.

    Betty Cracker

    @Redshirt: I can imagine. I’ve only looked at email, this site and pages I need to access for research for three days now, and between my daughter and myself, we blew through countless GBs lickity-split. The worst is hearing the kid whine about her exile from Netflix. As if we all weren’t suffering, what with the wall-to-wall royal spawn coverage. Some people have ZERO perspective.

  98. 98.

    Phil P.

    @Phil P.: Anybody else still having problems with the RSS on Feedly? I’ve deleted and re-added BJ multiple times, but can’t get any posts more recent than Jul 16.

    …aaaaand, as soon as I complain here, the problem goes away (for me, at least). Awesome.

  99. 99.

    Burnspbesq

    @Suffern ACE:

    Bergenfield? You must have been very bad in a prior life to have earned that punishment.

    /haughty Ridgewood guy

    ETA: srsly, dude, two words: Glen Rock.

  100. 100.

    Violet

    Ha ha! Liz Cheney can’t even poll at the crazification percentage.

    The election is still more than a year away, but a poll released Tuesday could give Liz Cheney reason to fret.

    According to the latest survey from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling, 54 percent of Wyoming Republicans prefer Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) over Cheney in next year’s Senate primary. Only 26 percent said they will vote for Cheney, making it the second poll in a week to show the incumbent with a wide lead among Cowboy State primary voters.

  101. 101.

    Higgs Boson's Mate

    @PaulW:

    Congratulations! I think that e-books are one the best things that has ever happened. They are a particular boon to writers.
    I still buy hardcovers and I still have shelves full of them. My e-book collection is steadily growing just because the Kindle Fire makes it so easy to have several books at hand wherever I might be.

  102. 102.

    beltane

    @Violet: How can that be? Liz was promised that Wyoming voters would greet her with flowers and candy for being the great liberator she is.

  103. 103.

    Violet

    @Betty Cracker: Make sure you phone is set so it does updates through Wifi ONLY. I couldn’t figure out why I was using so much data until I dug around and found it was updating via the data connection. I clicked “wifi only” and I don’t use nearly as much data.

  106. 106.

    The Red Pen

    I just read a USA Today headline: “Is the Pope Safe?”

    My first thought was, “With proper supervision, I’m sure he would be relatively harmless.”

  107. 107.

    BGK

    @NickT:

    Hmmm…you’ve given me something to consider. I was opting for the more literal meaning, as in, to have to be sober is proof that supreme evil exists. However, I like your other suggestion as well.

  108. 108.

    Violet

    @beltane: If there’s a statue of Enzi, I’m sure she’ll pay some Wyoming residents to topple it and get the whole thing on film.

    @Villago Delenda Est: I hope Enzi is watching his back. If he doesn’t have a food taster, he might want to invest in one. Nice life you got thee, Mike. Shame if something happened to it.

  109. 109.

    Betty Cracker

    @Violet: I have it set up to be on WiFi when available, but I didn’t know there was a way to make sure it only did updates when on WiFi. I will check that out. Thanks!

  110. 110.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @BGK:

    proof that supreme evil exists

    Two sets of two words:

    Dick Cheney

    Antonin Scalia

  111. 111.

    Belafon

    @Michele C.: Probably. I’m very allergic to cats, and yet I’ll go right up to any that will stay still and pet them. I’ve just had to learn to go wash my hands right after.

  113. 113.

    Amir Khalid

    Help! I went to YouTube and tried to watch a video, but all I’m getting is audio and a solid green rectangle where the picture should be. I’m running Firefox on Windows 7 Pro, and everything was fine yesterday. I’m having the same problem with video at the BBC site. Any ideas?

  115. 115.

    Violet

    @Betty Cracker: Don’t know what kind of phone you have. I think I ended up googling how to do that for my phone to find out where to click. Can’t seem to find where it is now, so I know it wasn’t super easy.

  117. 117.

    Emma

    @John O: NOBODY IS UNNECESSARY. Nobody! I know it’s the depression speaking (hi, buddy!) but you must remember that. Nobody is unnecessary.

  119. 119.

    Redshirt

    @Betty Cracker: First World Problems, to be sure, but I cannot sign up for Netflix though it would be perfect for me. I’d be limited to a movie a month, if that, and then bang! OVERAGES at 15$ a GB.

    Although, this is really a Rural First World problem. The best data connection I can get in the Boonies is DSL. I once thought, no way. But now…

  120. 120.

    Redshirt

    @Emma: Even that dude who died 1132 years ago in a field somewhere in the Ukraine? Or the woman who stumbled into a group of Mammoth’s back in 32000BCE? Everyone?

  121. 121.

    Suffern ACE

    @Burnspbesq: Look. I’m not Mr. Moneybags, and I’m trying to convince a Filipino to move out of the city and Bergenfield is close to the Red Ribbon. He wants me to become Innwood ACE or Riverdale ACE and that is not happening.

  122. 122.

    Violet

    @Betty Cracker: Just looked it up. I’ve got an Android, so for my phone I go to the Play Store and then click Settings and there’s a section for Auto-updating apps or not or just over Wifi. If you’ve got and iPhone, it might be something similar via their app store.

  123. 123.

    Amir Khalid

    @Villago Delenda Est:
    It seems like the audio is loading faster than the video and starts playing first. Then, about 20 seconds in, the video starts, in sync with the audio. It’s annoying, and I’ve never seen it until just now.

  124. 124.

    Redshirt

    @Violet: In order to avoid the data hit, I turned off Auto Updates on all my devices. And then, like some 21st century cyber beggar, I bring them to me when visiting a place with unlimited internet, and then I update. It’s pathetic.

    Seriously though, a Mac security update with the new version of iTunes is easily over a GB of data. 15$!

  125. 125.

    Violet

    @Amir Khalid: Assume you’ve done the obvious of rebooting your computer just in case something got hung up on boot or something behind the scenes crashed?

  126. 126.

    Betty Cracker

    @Redshirt: There should be a rural unlimited data-fication project like the electrification efforts back in the 30s. Really.

  129. 129.

    Violet

    @Redshirt: My Android only updates the OS via wifi. An alert comes up and tells me I need to turn on the wifi to do the update. That was before I discovered the issue with the apps.

    I don’t blame you for doing it that way. Why pay when you don’t have to?

  131. 131.

    The Red Pen

    @John O:

    While I am still uniquely unattractive

    Unless you look like the Elephant Man, you’re probably unattractive in the same ways a lot of us are. You are also probably waaaay overestimating your unattractiveness the way most of us do.

    That’s why I like Cole bitching about his looks. Reminds me that I am not alone.

  132. 132.

    fuckwit

    I would like to know. How. A nihilist party that is actively out to destroy the federal government of the United States of America, is widely viewed as incompetent, is demographically on the way out, and fails at everything, IS STILL ON TARGET TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE SENATE IN 2014 AND EXPAND THEIR HOUSE MAJORITY!!!????

    I mean, what the actual fuck.

    How is it possible that a party that is basically imploding is managing to INCREASE its power?

    This fucking depresses the shit out of me.

  133. 133.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    30% of Republicans thinks you should be able to carry your gun on a commercial flight.Can we begin a national dialogue on forced sterilization of wingnuts?

  135. 135.

    Violet

    @Amir Khalid: Oh, I figured you’d already done it. Well, yeah, I’ve had that kind of thing happen to me in FF. Usually Flash related. Sometimes I’ll get a notification that it crashed. Other times it just hangs up. Sometimes it’s certain YouTube videos and not others. When I reboot, everything seems to clear up.

    If you have several tabs open and don’t want to lose them or have to remember them, when you reboot and open FF again, you can go to the Menu–History–Restore Previous Session to pull up the session you had before. I do that if I have to reboot and need to see the previous session’s tabs. Sometimes if it crashes on its own I get the “Restore Session” screen. If I don’t get it, I’ll do the above to pull up what I was looking at before.

    You probably know all that too, but thought I’d mention it in case losing your session was what was holding you back from wanting to reboot.

  136. 136.

    kindness

    You know you hit paydirt when a FPer puts up a thread telling people to go ahead and bitch.

  137. 137.

    raven

    @Mr Stagger Lee: In the High and Mighty with John Wayne a jealous lover pulls out a 38 in a rage, fire a round and gets subdued. They take his gun and say “We’ll give it back to you when we land”!

  138. 138.

    rda909

    @fuckwit: It’s because the news business lies for them and promotes their market-tested talking points as “facts.” If we had an actual 4th Estate, the modern Republican party wouldn’t exist.

  139. 139.

    John O

    @Emma: @The Red Pen:

    I’m not a bad looking guy. Average, I’d say, age adjusted.

    It’s a long story, but I’ve made myself unnecessary, perhaps took Any Rand a bit too seriously in my formative years, and even my closest loved ones won’t argue about it. I’m necessary to Mom, but only because all basically good boys are.

    And when I say I’m uniquely unattractive, I mean that every woman I’ve ever been crazy about, physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually has not reciprocated. That’s all. There have been maybe 4.

  140. 140.

    burnspbesq

    @fuckwit:

    This fucking depresses the shit out of me.

    You are not required to sit idly by and watch this happen. You have the option of taking action to ensure that it doesn’t happen.

  141. 141.

    catclub

    @Redshirt: “The best data connection I can get in the Boonies is DSL. I once thought, no way. But now… ”

    I read a howto for finding the hidden file that video stream use, so you can save the file and watch later. [It was for linux, though I bet there is another howto for other systems.]

    That way you store overnight and then stream, without pauses, the next day. Requires planning.

  142. 142.

    burnspbesq

    @rda909:

    It’s because the news business lies for them and promotes their market-tested talking points as “facts.”

    Cop-out. If it happens, it’s because people like you sat on their asses and allowed it to happen.

  143. 143.

    Violet

    @John O:

    While I am still uniquely unattractive and unnecessary,

    Is that really true? Based on what you said here @John O:

    I’m necessary to Mom

    it’s not true.

    If you didn’t believe that it was true that you are unattractive and unnecessary, how would you feel?

  144. 144.

    John O

    @Violet:

    Selective editing! :-)

    Look, I appreciate the kind words. It’s hard to explain. But I’m objectively unnecessary, on purpose, and don’t want to bore anyone more than I already am explaining it.

  145. 145.

    raven

    @John O:

    Tell em this”

    They call me backward
    they say my hair is not in style
    well the pants may be baggy
    but it could be worth your while

    Runnin after fools
    Asleep at the Wheel

  146. 146.

    Sibling Nonspecific Firearm of Random Adjective Followed by a Noun That Describes a Mental State (fka AWS)

    @Redshirt: I have DSL, 6 mbps download. watch netflix all the time, no problem.

  147. 147.

    catclub

    @Higgs Boson’s Mate: I recently upgraded my flash plugin
    (It was probably ancient.) I suspected that the 100% CPU #2 usage, which went away on upgrade, was a symptom of non-perfection of software.

  149. 149.

    Violet

    @John O: It’s not selective editing. It’s your own words. So I ask again, if you didn’t believe that you were unattractive and unnecessary, how would you feel?

  150. 150.

    Betty Cracker

    @Violet: I finally found it on my iPhone. I have auto updates turned off, but perhaps the spawn doesn’t — I’ll check. Thanks!

  152. 152.

    John O

    @Violet:

    Actually, Violet, I feel pretty good these days, I wouldn’t comment if I didn’t except on tragedies like Tunch or hot buttons like the WoD or the tax code, which rarely come up, and feel almost infinitely better than I did a year ago.

    It’s possible to be unnecessary, uniquely unattractive, and happy at the same time. :-)

    Again, I’m telling you, I am just reaping what I sowed on purpose.

    And it WAS some serious editing. I am necessary to my mother because she’s my mother, not in any way practical. And she’s it.

  154. 154.

    Paul in KY

    @nemesis: I know! Quintus Flavius should have won, but Gaius Assholius stole it by murdering all of the Flavius voters.

    Sorry. I could not resist :-)

  156. 156.

    Violet

    Aww, the royal parents and baby just made an appearance. So cute. They look so happy.

  157. 157.

    Yatsuno

    @Violet: you know who just had a shit ton of pressure taken off him? Harry. Now he’s the last resort spare tire and he can just be him now. I bet he goes back to Afghanistan too.

    BTW don’t call the IRS right now. Big system failure.

  158. 158.

    John O

    @Yatsuno:

    Yep, I was just thinking the same thing.

    Such a strange institution…I do not get the infatuation, though most of the Royals have seemed perfectly decent and normal to me from afar.

  159. 159.

    Violet

    @Yatsuno: Yeah, he’s probably relieved. I think he’s in love with that woman he’s dated on and off for years–Chelsie or something?–but she doesn’t want to deal with the crap that comes with being a royal so she won’t marry him. That must suck.

  160. 160.

    David in NY

    This invitation to complain gets five times the number of comments as Tim F.’s invitations to call your GOP reps and find out if they’ll give you information about how Obamacare works and report back.

  161. 161.

    Paul in KY

    @Violet: If Sen. Enzi & his campaign consultants can’t make her into Satan’s favourite spawn, who bathes daily in kitten blood & patriot tears, then they just didn’t try or the fix was in.

  164. 164.

    Yatsuno

    @John O: A lot of the British royals witnessed the revolutions in Europe and figured out they needed to be more than just a haughty symbol of excess for their people. Having a Magna Carta for a few centuries helped as well.

    @Violet: Yeah I think so too, but I think part of it is he isn’t quite ready to settle down yet either. Having a royal heir jump in front of you when you’re still in your wild oats phase is a gift from the FSM for Harry. I have a feeling there may be a few more wild Vegas parties to happen yet.

  166. 166.

    Suffern ACE

    @fuckwit: Democratic party voters are a very a very weak group. They just are. So they’ll show up in histroically average numbers for this mid-term election and the Republicans will wipe the floors again, because our historically average numbers aren’t good enough. The models are going to reflect this fact until enough of our voters become concerned with off-year elections. But I’m not going to hold my breath until 2030. By which time, I’ll be ready to collect my social security vouchers from the nice catalog that Morgan Stanley will send me each year (I’ll take the yellow vouchers!) and will be enough of an old white guy to start getting pissed off by liberals who say that my vouchers make me greedy.

  167. 167.

    John O

    @Yatsuno:

    Yeah, it’s a bit contradictory, but they are after all trained to be decent. And quite well, I think.

    At the very least, they’re not willfully nor pridefully ignorant, like about half this country.

  168. 168.

    Emma

    @John O: Welcome to the almost-invisible club. Did you really think you were the only one in it? So what? You aren’t valuable for how you look. You are valuable for what you bring. Even if all you contribute is taking care of your mom, doing some charity work, helping your friends when you can, you have made a positive change in the world.

  170. 170.

    John O

    @Emma: @Redshirt:

    Kinda with Redshirt on this one. Which is not to say I wouldn’t enjoy taking this off-line, Emma. I can make my case. :-)

    And when did I suggest I was the only one in the club? I’m not invisible at all. I’m unnecessary. Big difference.

  171. 171.

    Violet

    @Paul in KY: Only he can answer that question. If he’s saying things that aren’t true–and we know they aren’t true because he says they aren’t true either in the same comment or a subsequent comment–and he would feel better if he didn’t believe the untrue things, then believing the untrue things doesn’t seem to be in his best interests.

  172. 172.

    Emma

    @Redshirt: Maybe as a bad example, if nothing else! Maybe that woman you mentioned saved the life of the child that figured out how to domesticate the first wolf?

    How many former republicans/conservatives have seen the light because some asshole did something that just felt so wrong, so terrible, that they said “to hell with them and their party, and their philosophy”?

    (added) I never wish anyone dead. Only revealed as they truly are.

  173. 173.

    Central Planning

    My bitch for today is stupid fcking customers that can’t follow instructions. Furthermore, said customers think they know everything which really shows their ignorance/lack of knowledge. GRRRAHH

  174. 174.

    Jockey Full of Malbec

    @max:
    Which ‘persons, houses, papers or effects’ are violated by metadata collection?

    (Yes I realize that I am talking to a brick wall here. But the fact that it’s so damned hard to get a simple answer to such a direct question is interesting to me).

  176. 176.

    Betty Cracker

    @Violet: Kate and Wills must have an HMO to get kicked out of the hospital so quick! Didn’t she just poop that moose out yesterday?

  177. 177.

    Violet

    @Emma: If John O. wants to believe that he is unattractive and unnecessary, then we cannot talk him out of it. It is what he believes.

    That being siad, it is not true, and he knows it is not true because he has said that he is necessary to his mother and that up to four women that he has found attractive have also found him attractive. So his being unattractive and unnecessary is not true. But he believes it and is firm in that belief, even to the point of suggesting taking it offline to make his case.

    Him believing it does not seem to be of benefit to him, but he claims he is happy even while discussing being depressed. That’s why I asked him how he would feel if he didn’t believe those things. He has not answered that question, although Paul in KY suggested that perhaps he would feel better.

  179. 179.

    nemerinys

    @John O: I went through manic-depression for 4 years before finally recognizing the signs and going to a psychiatrist for treatment. I understand the dark side of depression, and the abyss of despair. That sounds somewhat literary, but that’s how I’ve described it from the beginning. And it’s difficult to explain to people that contemplating suicide is the inverse of the survival instinct; that it is, in fact, our whacked brain chemistry that compels us to see death as the best answer for everyone concerned.

    I hope you’ve sought treatment; if not, if at all possible, try to do so. There should be resources available from the city and/or state. The primary medications that are prescribed are cheap. Obviously, meds are not a cure-all; they’re not happy pills. It’s just that the ‘volume’ of the depression is tremendously lowered, and it’s much easier to be ‘normal’ when you’re around other people, rather than merely act ‘normal.’

  180. 180.

    Paul in KY

    @Redshirt: Maybe Emma is saying that a particular person (like your examples) might not have been ‘necessary’ to any 1 person or human.

    Maybe they were helpful to non-human life in some manner. Thus, in the big sweep of things, those people were ‘necessary’ and ‘needed’.

  182. 182.

    Violet

    @Betty Cracker: Yep, it was yesterday At 4:24 p.m. London time, So it’s been a bit over 24 hours, but not much. They really looked so happy and excited. It’s hard not to be happy for a young couple who just had their first baby and are so excited and happy themselves. They looked so thrilled. Kate’s still poofy in the belly–no surprise. William talked to the press a bit. Said the baby has a good set of lungs. The baby moved his hand a bit–so cute, little babies and their tiny fingers and toes. Awww….

  183. 183.

    Paul in KY

    @Violet: I know only he can ‘answer’ the question.

    In the great tradition of Balloon Juice, I was giving my 2 cents.

  185. 185.

    catclub

    @Suffern ACE: The real outlier, then, is 2006, which the Democrats swept by a margin more unexpected than the 2010 GOP win. Nobody seems to explain how that happened with a predominantly GOP-favoring mid-terms electorate. Or I missed it.
    overreach by the GOP? I have heard that term used for the reaction in 2010.
    Is Bush incompetence sui generis?

  186. 186.

    Violet

    @catclub: Wasn’t the 2006 election after the Terri Schaivo stuff? Isn’t that when John Cole finally woke up? A lot of people may have woken up with that crap and either sat out the election or voted for the Dems. That overreach by the Congressional GOP and the Bush idiocy is probably what propelled the Dem win.

  188. 188.

    I am not a kook

    @John O: Man, I know what you’re talking about. Just keep on keeping on. I’m trying to get myself to do journaling to keep tabs on teh black. Do you find it helps?

    Unnecessary? Hell no. You’ve just nudged me into a better direction. So there.

  189. 189.

    The Red Pen

    @John O:

    I mean that every woman I’ve ever been crazy about, physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually has not reciprocated.

    An unpleasant experience, but I think everyone’s been there a few times. I certainly have.

    In retrospect, I’ve realized that the people I felt were so perfect were probably not the people I thought they were. I only really know this after I finally met the person who was who I thought she was.

    As least you have some standards, so count your blessings, as they say. The worst times I’ve had were the relationships that were reciprocated by people I shouldn’t have been pursuing in the first place, but I figured would “work out.”

    Also, romantic partners are like jobs and bank loans: they’re easiest to get when you don’t need them.

    Bottom line, you’re probably not doing anything wrong with respect to finding someone special, but it’s hard to really believe that until you succeed.

  191. 191.

    John O

    @Violet:

    *sigh* Well played.

    That being siad, it is not true, and he knows it is not true because he has said that he is necessary to his mother and that up to four women that he has found attractive have also found him attractive. So his being unattractive and unnecessary is not true. But he believes it and is firm in that belief, even to the point of suggesting taking it offline to make his case.

    No, I said every woman I’ve ever been crazy about, and 4 was just an estimation, were NOT attracted back. And I’m not necessary to my mother except in emotional terms, and we are all wired to get over that shit, like getting a new cat.

    Him believing it does not seem to be of benefit to him, but he claims he is happy even while discussing being depressed. That’s why I asked him how he would feel if he didn’t believe those things. He has not answered that question, although Paul in KY suggested that perhaps he would feel better.

    I was severely depressed a year or two ago. I am not depressed, especially in relative terms, currently. There is no benefit, nor detriment, to believing what I do. There are advantages to being unnecessary, and I’ve taken them as they’ve come.

    At this stage of my life I would enjoy being necessary to someone(s), and I’m working on it.

    One of my favorite internet phenomena is people thinking deep thoughts and that they understand someone else from a few words on line. This thread was about kvetching, and in a very short time frame between reading the post here and wandering through the journal, I thought I would provide an example of some severe kvetching. That’s all.

  193. 193.

    John O

    @The Red Pen:

    Oh, yeah, totally agree. In retrospect all but maybe one would’ve been a disaster. :-)

    But still, you’d like to get a little somethin-somethin for your efforts. And not everyone can say they’re batting 1.000.

  195. 195.

    ? Martin

    @Violet:

    Wasn’t the 2006 election after the Terri Schaivo stuff?

    And Katrina. Conservatives across the country could speak out often enough about how black people deserved to drown.

    Today’s mystery: Why was Piolin, the most popular spanish language radio host cancelled by Univision with no explanation?

  196. 196.

    David Koch

    Anthony Weiner acknowledged Tuesday the existence of inappropriate texts between him and a woman not his wife that occurred a full year after he resigned from Congress

    Putz. He’s worst than Clinton. How could he think this wouldn’t come out.

  198. 198.

    PaulW

    @David Koch:

    that tears it. I’m putting my name in for the office even though I don’t even live there. I can do a better and more honorable job than this clown.

  200. 200.

    mclaren

    Construction on world’s tallest skyscraper in China halted. Turns out there’s a correlation twixt the erection of the world’s tallest building and economic bubbles imploding: Empire State Building 1930, World Trade Center 1973, Petronas Tower in Kuala Lumpur 1997.

    Now the record-breaking Sky Tower in Changsha, China has been put on hold after its budget exploded from 625 million to 855 million and its completion date kept getting pushed back (at last call, late 2014).

    Bodes ill for the Chinese economy, which, of course, hugely impacts the rest of the world. Another 2009 financial global meltdown, anyone?

  201. 201.

    pat

    @fuckwit:

    Simple, really. Make sure the people that won’t vote for you don’t get to vote. See North Carolina for some tips on how to make it happen.

  202. 202.

    Redshirt

    @Paul in KY:

    Maybe Emma is saying that a particular person (like your examples) might not have been ‘necessary’ to any 1 person or human.

    Maybe they were helpful to non-human life in some manner. Thus, in the big sweep of things, those people were ‘necessary’ and ‘needed’.

    While this might be a comforting thought, and good words to give someone in dark times, I think it reflects either a religious impulse (God cares about us!) or a human-centric view of things. Is all life important and necessary? Bacteria? Mold spores? Squirrels? Where is the line drawn?

    It’s the same thing when it comes to “meaning”. How often have we heard “everything happens for a reason” and while ostensibly true, it’s not true in the sense that it means something to us. Shit happens. The Universe is a vast place, and in the scheme of things, we, too – all of humanity – is little more than bacteria. We’re born, we live, we die, just like everything else, just like everyone else that’s ever lived and died.

    Life is what you make it. Meaning is what you take from it. There’s no objective force outside of ourselves defining any of this.

    This is a hard truth, but it’s the truth.

  203. 203.

    David Koch

    “Thedirty.com” says Weiner used an anonymous handle — “Carlos Danger” — and exchanged sexually explicit photos and had XXX sex chats with a 22 year old woman for SIX months just a year ago

    I guess the anonymous handle “Dick Head” was already taken.

  205. 205.

    Jebediah

    @John O:

    My depression is probably orders of magnitude less severe than yours, but still sucks ass, so I’m really glad you’re feeling better.

  208. 208.

    Suffern ACE

    @David Koch: Would regularly occuring online sex chats count as an affair? A virtual affair? Is that a mistress? Would his underwear shot exchange three years ago be cheating on his virtual mistress and his wife?

  209. 209.

    Violet

    @John O: Sorry for misreading what you wrote about the women you find attractive. I read it another way.

    You do seem set on believing that you are unattractive and unnecessary. I disagree with you that there is no detriment to believing those things. From a neurological, biochemical and endocrinological standpoint, there are significant costs to your health. But that’s up to you. Again, if you didn’t believe that you are unattractive and unnecessary, how would you feel?

    Glad you are feeling better and are less depressed. Depression takes a significant toll on you.

  210. 210.

    Comrade Dread

    @John O:

    At this stage of my life I would enjoy being necessary to someone(s), and I’m working on it.

    None of us are necessary in the sense that our deaths will not stop the world from spinning or the universe from continuing on as it has for billions of years before us and will continue on for billions of years after us.

    But we are all connected to each other. We are all part of the grand, frustrating, wonderful human project. And whether you believe that we were created or arrived as the course of billions of years of improbable events, the fact that you and I exist at all is pretty special and our lives will impact those closest to us and alter and change them for better or worse. So I would argue that in that sense, you and I and everyone are necessary and we have a responsibility to try our best to make our impact on this world a beneficial one.

    Congrats on getting through what sounds like a pretty dark depression. Been there myself. It’s not pretty.

  213. 213.

    Ted & Hellen

    @John O:

    It (depression) and I are OLD friends, and so far I’ve been able to muscle my way through it,

    John, I have and do wrestle with depression too, though it’s been a while since it’s been severe. Given the cycle though, and the fact that the clouds are always gathering on the periphery, I know that day is coming.

    Seeing as you have dealt with the Big D for a very long time, I’m wondering if you and/or your shrink(s) have considered ECT as a possibility? I continue to read up on it with the idea that it might be an option for me. A LOT of people with long term depression have been helped a great deal by ECT, which has come a long way: Anesthesia, muscle relaxers, and lower zap voltage combine to keep the procedure civilized; nothing at all like the horror show we’ve seen in movies.

    You might check into it. I’ts given a lot of people new life.

  214. 214.

    David Koch

    Anthony Weiner like a true sex predator promised the young woman many things like a job at Politico and a condo in Chicago (a place they could meet up and have sex). The best part was Anthony used an alias this time thinking this would protect him.”

    Politico? Is that what Politico is, a washington whore house where powerful people can stash their mistresses and rent-boys? No wonder they suck (no pun intended).

    (NSFW) Weiner’s filthy sexting screen shots http://thedirty.com/2013/07/exclusive-anthony-weiner-sex-messages-post-scandal-with-another-woman-not-huma-abedin/

  215. 215.

    The Red Pen

    @John O:

    And not everyone can say they’re batting 1.000.

    Not everybody, but I did have a friend who got business cards printed up that said “Eric P_____, Special Friend.” Every time a woman would say, “I don’t think of you like that, I just want you to be my ‘special friend,'” he’d pull one out of his wallet and give it to her.

    I think he gave out 4-6 of them.

  216. 216.

    Paul in KY

    @Redshirt: I think my comment you quoted was certainly not ‘human-centric’. I personally believe that some people are completely unnecessay (in the human-centric viewpoint). Was looking at it a bit from what I perceived might be Emma’s viewpoint.

    As far as being fodder for plant growth or food for scavengers, probably everyone is important.

    IMO, those ‘multipule universe’ theories (and convenient plots for lazy authors) are very human-centric. Why would some twiddly thing that happened on this planet cause a whole universe to be created? How about all the goings-on in the Zalkor 7 galaxy 347.3 million light years away?! That should be creating beaucoup new universes (which would presumably include our planet as well).

  217. 217.

    Jebediah

    @? Martin:

    Today’s mystery: Why was Piolin, the most popular spanish language radio host cancelled by Univision with no explanation?

    For reals? That is a puzzler.

  220. 220.

    ? Martin

    @mclaren: Wow, that’s a stunningly bad interpretation of the event.

    This is a building that is estimated to cost 1/4 of any other building it’s size (even after the ‘exploded’ budget) be constructed at least 6 times faster (a mere 6 months), and employ a construction technique never before attempted in a skyscraper by a firm that’s never built a skyscraper.

    More likely these guys just don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.

    And with 1.2 million usable square meters, the construction cost is still $733/m2, which is about what a standard office building or detached home in China costs, and is less than half of what a 20 story building would cost per m2. If they can manage to pull it off, it would be absolutely revolutionary. But the cost increase is almost immaterial – it’s still a goddamn cheap building.

    But you went right for the economic angle, which might be better suited toward Saudi Arabia that just broke ground on the Kingdom Tower which is supposed to be a kilometer high, have less than half of the usable square footage, and cost $2,300/m2 – in spite of Saudi Arabia having cheaper construction labor.

  221. 221.

    burnspbesq

    @Betty Cracker:

    Kate and Wills must have an HMO to get kicked out of the hospital so quick!

    That’s been the new normal for 20 years. I won’t bore you with stories of the fight I had with Blue Cross to get spouse a second night post-delivery. That was in 1993.

  222. 222.

    Paul in KY

    @John O: You need to watch ‘Cloud Atlas’. Excellent movie on the interconnections of various souls over a span of several hundred years.

    Some damn good acting too.

  223. 223.

    The Red Pen

    @David Koch:

    Is that what Politico is, a washington whore house where powerful people can stash their mistresses and rent-boys?

    I’m confused. What else is Politico supposed to be?

  224. 224.

    John O

    None of us are necessary in the sense that our deaths will not stop the world from spinning or the universe from continuing on as it has for billions of years before us and will continue on for billions of years after us.

    That’s mostly what I mean, but with me it goes a little beyond. 54.5, no spouse, no ex-spouse, no kids, no job, no social life, no dates, no sex, no hobbies beyond golf (a hilarious non-grata topic here at BJ!)…I could go on. I’m just a boy and his dog and cat.

    Which most of the time was just how I wanted it!

  225. 225.

    ? Martin

    @Violet: Yeah, it came down this morning. No explanation given. I don’t know if there’s some scandal there or what, but he’s still hugely popular. There’s no replacement for his show either – they’re just putting music in until they come up with another morning show.

  227. 227.

    rda909

    @burnspbesq: Uhhhhh, what? That’s a rather strange comment to make to someone such as myself, who has been a local activist for years, and is now especially active with my local OFA group. In fact, we’re gearing up for the Action August OFA just launched. I’m sure you’ll be out there too trying to stop the Republican/media steamroller, rather than wasting time online and watching sporting events.

  230. 230.

    Amir Khalid

    @mclaren:
    Correlation =/= causation. It’s a hell of a stretch to claim that the construction cost of an office building, in the mere hundreds of millions of dollars, could bring a multi-trillion dollar global economy to its knees. Project management problems with Sky Tower don’t, by themselves, say much about the state of China’s economy. The 1997 Asian currency crisis was not precipitated by Petronas building the Twin Towers; had it been so, the crisis would have affected only Malaysia. And the Empire State Building couldn’t have set off the Great Depression. Per Wikipedia, site excavation only began in January 1930, three months after the October 1929 market crash.

  231. 231.

    ? Martin

    @burnspbesq: Ms Martin spent days in maternity leading up to the birth of our kids (both difficult pregnancies). She wanted out of there as fast as possible. With our first, he was born at noon and she checked out at 5PM, desperately wanting to go out to dinner and having at least an hour of relaxation before all the parenting began. Second took a bit more toll on her, but she was born at 3AM and wife checked out just before dinner again. Both kids were going to be in the NICU for some time anyway. At least she could get a nice steak and a margarita.

  232. 232.

    Violet

    @John O: I don’t understand how you living a relatively independent life means you are unnecessary. If you have a dog and a cat, aren’t you necessary to them?

  233. 233.

    burnspbesq

    @? Martin:

    It could be nothing more interesting than bad ratings. El Mandril passed him in the last Arbitrons.

    Still, a guy with a cumulative audience of 3.5 million won’t be off the air for long.

  234. 234.

    ? Martin

    @Amir Khalid: The theory is that the same mentality that goes into market bubbles goes into making these huge buildings that are mostly vanity projects to begin with, and almost all of which tend to open to limited occupancy. Few places (even Manhattan) are so strapped for space that they need to build so tall, but they have this ‘we’ll grow without limit’ mindset.

    Anyway, Sky City is a unique undertaking in many regards. If it works, it’ll revolutionize construction of buildings over 5 stories. Conceptually, it’s a very clever idea, but I’m very skeptical they can execute on it. We’ll see. I’d be happy to be wrong on it. Though it looks like a goddamn hideous building…

  236. 236.

    John O

    @Violet:

    Pretty sure they’d both be well taken care of, in my absence. And happy once they adjusted. :-)

    But that’s why I have a dog and cat.

  237. 237.

    ? Martin

    @burnspbesq:

    It could be nothing more interesting than bad ratings. El Mandril passed him in the last Arbitrons.

    But if that’s the case, you line up a replacement show. They apparently haven’t done that, and with no morning show, they’re going to lose damn near all of their morning audience to KLAX. So, I’m skeptical that’s the explanation. If Piolin had dropped way below, then maybe, but his ratings weren’t low by any means.

  239. 239.

    Ted & Hellen

    @GregB:

    Anthony Wiener, living up to his name by persistently being a dick.

    Maybe you could wait until this is proven true or false.

  243. 243.

    Mnemosyne

    @? Martin:

    My guess would be scandal of some kind, but I don’t really know. Usually if they’re firing someone for a reason (like low ratings), they have a back-up plan ready to go.

  244. 244.

    Betty Cracker

    @burnspbesq: I had a kid 15 years ago, and two days was definitely the standard around here then, longer if it was a particularly difficult delivery.

  245. 245.

    Tim F.

    @David in NY: I only find it amazing that an open invitation to complain did not crash the server.

    @John O: No doubt that you felt much worse a year ago, but your presentation right now is pretty textbook. The only thing wrong with you is a garden-variety case of clinical depression. Every other problem you name comes from that depression layering unnecessary psychological pain onto things that half the commenters here go through every day. I can recognize the signs well enough; I went through some rounds of that shitty illness myself. Just be aware that barring a serial killing habit that you did not mention yet, there is not a thing wrong with you beside this unnecessary feedback loop keeping you down.

    Different treatments work for different people. Drugs really helped someone close to me when she hit a rough patch. Years and years ago an intense karate program pulled me out of a real black hole; the confidence and discipline helped to augment what I was missing at the time. Some people respond very well to relaxation therapies. Others just need to get their focus on other people, for example volunteer activities. It might take some trial and error but I am sure you can shed this weight on your psyche.

  247. 247.

    Mnemosyne

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’m guessing that their security team was happy to get them out of that unsecured hospital and back to their nice, safe, mostly secure home. Plus, let’s face it, the longer Duchess Kate was in that hospital, the more likely it was that some nervy paparazzi would manage to get pictures, and the royals would be having none of that.

    I showed the video to my two co-workers who’ve had children and they were both wincing in sympathy with Kate.

  249. 249.

    burnspbesq

    @? Martin:

    Not necessarily. Not hard to imagine a meeting in which station management says “ratings are down, we’d like you to make the following changes to your show, which have been thoroughly researched,” and Piolin says “fuck that, I’m done here.”

Comments are closed.