Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

“woke” is the new caravan.

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

The words do not have to be perfect.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

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

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Everybody saw this coming.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

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

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Let’s finish the job.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

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Reader Interactions

225Comments

  3. 3.

    MikeJ

    Before I hit click to play I asked myself if the best non Big Star Big Star song would be Teenage Fanclub or Matthew Sweet.

  4. 4.

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

    Who’s been trying to follow every EPL game on NBC and its cable affiliates? Have all of the feeds been terrible, or has it been limited to the games on NBC?

  8. 8.

    Hal

    I’m not into sports at all so I readily admit I don’t know what I’m talking about; but is my impression that Tim Tebow is terrible at football accurate? If so, why the hell does he keep getting picked up?

  10. 10.

    PaulW

    @Hal:

    Tebow is only terrible at throwing the ball downfield, which for a QB is not a good thing. He’s not a Pro Style quarterback, which a lot of the league uses for their offensive schemes: there’s only certain schemes – Option, I believe – he fits in well. It doesn’t help him that teams are not patient enough to give him time to fix his throwing mechanics.

    He’d be better off selling himself as an RB/FB type player right now, and give it a few years before showing if he’s got his throwing and accuracy improved.

  12. 12.

    burnspbesq

    I imagine there will be no shortage of poutrage among the Neanderthals over Beth Mowins doing play-by-play on the Ohio State game.

  13. 13.

    Botsplainer

    @PaulW:

    He’d be better off selling himself as an RB/FB type player right now, and give it a few years before showing if he’s got his throwing and accuracy improved.

    But he’s a leader, a leader, goshdarnitall, and God will not be mocked!

  14. 14.

    Anoniminous

    @Hal:

    He’s a cheap date. Also picking him up gets your team a couple of million in free advertising and another couple of million when he is released.

  15. 15.

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

    @PaulW:

    Until then, he’s fodder for articles in The Onion about unemployed milennials moping around in their parents’ basements.

    I think Tebow would be best off following his cranky uncle’s advice and join the Navy.

  17. 17.

    Corner Stone

    College football, for example!

    Ahhh…like slipping into a nice hot tub, dirty martini pitcher ready. It’s sooo good.

  18. 18.

    virag

    ‘a catholic education’ is a brilliant album. i certainly dug the ‘bandwagonesque’ stuff, but not as much as the first sloppy noise. the post ’91 stuff didn’t wear as well.

  19. 19.

    Botsplainer

    @Anoniminous:

    He’s a cheap date. Also picking him up gets your team a couple of million in free advertising and another couple of million when he is released.

    ESPN may not give him press for his next hire, as his sell by date is long past.

  20. 20.

    Betty Cracker

    Go Gators!

    PS: I bet TBogg is sorry he didn’t delay his retirement a bit — a chance to trash Tebow goes by the boards.

    Re: Tebow — in my admittedly partisan Gator opinion, he was a fantastic college QB and a pretty good guy despite the excessive god-bothering.

    I agree with the comment above that he’s better suited to a FB role in the NFL. I could see him playing a John Riggins / Mike Alstott game. The kid is tough as nails and all heart.

  23. 23.

    PaulW

    The Tebow is out of the NFL and yet Mark “Buttfumble” Sanchez still has a starting job. There may be a God, but there is no Justice…

  24. 24.

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

    @PaulW:

    It’s not so much that he can’t throw downfield, but that he can’t zip the ball out into the flat (it’s the same reason Leinart can’t latch on anywhere). When he’s behind center, the corners can play soft man coverage and still effectively take away large swaths on the edges of the field.

  25. 25.

    Corner Stone

    @Hal:

    but is my impression that Tim Tebow is terrible at football accurate?

    As others have said, it’s not that he’s *bad* per se, but that he’s completely unsuited for the level of competition in the pro’s.
    He’s fast but not quick, way too big a target, and not even Jeebus Himself could repair that sundial clock style of a throwing motion.
    He has good arm strength but is inaccurate and takes way too long to setup, much less deliver the ball. That gives defensive players the split second they need to recover if a wide receiver has fooled them on a route.
    He can’t throw people open (meaning anticipating where a receiver will be in 2 seconds, and his inaccuracy is murder when throwing at people who are covered.
    Not to mention he’s not very bright, from what I’ve been told and I have not seen any sign that he can pick up an NFL style offensive scheme.
    For the people saying he should be a TE/RB, never happen. Running routes, timing, using body position, taking hits from full grown men every play. There are 100 people (easily) coming out of college with more skill and better risk value than trying to change Tebow now to sell tickets.

  29. 29.

    Botsplainer

    @Betty Cracker:

    excessive god-bothering

    That’s the part that makes me want to see him unhappy.

    When some tattooed kid off the rough part of the street does god-bothering, it’s tolerable, because you know that he’s seen some shit, and still has his rough patch days – plus, his parties are still all Hennessey and Hypnotiq. When Juicebox Jesus does his “gollygeewillikers, you guys” bit, normal men want to ram a fist through the TV set, because underneath all the Jello, Koolaid and church camp cookies, we’re convinced that he beats off into a sock over gay German Schiesse porn.

  31. 31.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    Well Ohio State is stomping Buffalo, but somebody should be checking up on John, William & Mary is ahead of West Virginia.
    As for Tebow, what will Skip Bayless do now?

  32. 32.

    shelly

    Round these parts looks like it’s gonna be a rainy Labor Day weekend. Chance of thunderstorms every day.

  33. 33.

    p.a.

    I’ve heard people say Tebow should go to the CFL, but there’s even more passing there- 3 downs per series. This is his 4th year in the league and his mechanics are still bad. I’m sure as hell no qb coach, but just compare any decent qb’s footwork and release to his. Don’t know about him as a rb. Quarterbacks just are not used to getting hit as much as a halfback does. And fullbacks aren’t used much, but have to be good blockers.

  34. 34.

    Botsplainer

    @mellowjohn:

    where is tbogg when you want a nice big helping of schadenfreude?

    He has been tweeting, but 140 characters is inadequate. He did get a dig in at Dennis Miller and Tebow at he same time, though, so there’s that.

  39. 39.

    jon

    Tebow has destroyed any chance of a career because he held on to the dream of playing a position that he just can’t play at this level. He could be a decent-enough small Tight End or a Fullback or something, as he does have decent hands and can run and understands offense even if he can’t actually control one.. But he has by all appearances been unwilling to learn anything new. Don’t know if it’s believing in all the hype or believing in the Magic Sky Fairy, but he needs to face reality if he doesn’t want to sell cars or motor homes.

  42. 42.

    Corner Stone

    @Mr Stagger Lee:

    what will Skip Bayless do now?

    It’s just a wild ass guess, but I bet he’ll find someone new to obsess on. Either obsessional hatred/vilification or obsessional giddy delusion.

  44. 44.

    PurpleGirl

    Further in the story about the two kittens saved from the subway tracks: Joe Llota — former MTA chairman and Republican currently seeking to be mayor — says he wouldn’t have stopped trains to try to rescue the kittens.

    Sorry Joe, even though there was little chance I’d vote for you, you definitely lost my vote over this.

    In the wake of Llota’s comment, Democrats have come out saying they’d have stopped the trains. Someone commented that the mayor doesn’t decide these things, the MTA does. And the MTA decided to try to save the kittens.

    Kittens are safe in a shelter getting medical checkups and food, etc. and will be with other kittens their age for socialization.

  45. 45.

    Keith G

    @burnspbesq: I have always been fascinated by the stylistic method of choosing as one’s premise an imagined upcoming negative event.

    In a related note, I bet you will be shown to be wrong in your “imaginings”. Yeah, one can always round up someone who opposes change. Are they all neanderthals?

    I am an OSU alum, but I haven’t had time to get to a place that shows this game (it’s only Buffalo…who?). So, I haven’t heard Beth Mowins do her thing. I will say this, I do find play-by-players with voices in a higher pitch to be distracting, male or female. I could listen to Mary Carillo do play-by-play for any sport all day (assuming adequate knowledge and technique of course). If I had to listen to Terry Bradshaw do play-by-play…::shutters::

  46. 46.

    burnspbesq

    This match may be meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but Crystal Palace and Sunderland are putting on a highly entertaining display.

  47. 47.

    Corner Stone

    @Corner Stone: And with all that said, I do have to agree with Skip on one thing – Tebow would absolutely win more games in J-ville than Gaebbert will.
    In fact, when Denver was looking to move him my contention was, and still is, that Jacksonville was the only team that made any sense for him to go to.

  50. 50.

    Betty Cracker

    @Botsplainer: Considering his parents’ floridly crazy fundamentalism, I consider Tebow’s devotion to Christmas Baby Jeebus a sign of being heroically well adjusted.

  51. 51.

    different-church-lady

    @Botsplainer: Am I the only one who didn’t find his act all that annoying? I mean, it’s not his potential fapping that bugged me, it was the people who fapped to him that made me all stabby.

  54. 54.

    Botsplainer

    Exhibit A on why I despise him:

    http://www.christianpost.com/news/tim-tebow-released-by-patriots-but-testifies-faith-provides-him-peace-in-whatever-circumstance-103477/

    After the game, Tebow told reporters his faith helped the anxiety he may have otherwise felt about his football future.

    “I’m blessed, because of my faith, that I don’t have to worry about the future because I know who holds my future,” Tebow told reporters. “It’s something I try to live by. It really gives you a lot of peace in whatever circumstance I’m in.”

    Other people don’t need that crutch, you stupid fuck. They deal with disappointment and failure with discretion, discernment, reflection and character that isn’t dependent on celebrity or status within the deliberately pig ignorant confines of American evangelicalism.

  57. 57.

    max

    Statement on Syria by the President supposedly starting now. Video here.

    On a Saturday afternoon. Must be bad.

    max
    [‘Now I get to watch flags blow around.’]

  58. 58.

    Corner Stone

    @NotMax: Actually, if he doesn’t do something affiliated purely with religion, I could very easily see him becoming a very successful politician in FL.

  59. 59.

    Botsplainer

    @different-church-lady:

    Am I the only one who didn’t find his act all that annoying? I mean, it’s not his potential fapping that bugged me, it was the people who fapped to him that made me all stabby.

    Nah, his whole shtick that leads to people fapping to him is part of the grand package that makes me long to be the war crime committing commandant of one of Obama’s FEMA re-education camps.

  62. 62.

    Betty Cracker

    @different-church-lady: Agree that it was the hallelujah chorus that is/was the major irritant rather than Tebow himself. I find all god-bothering annoying, but Tebow’s wasn’t any worse than, say, Kurt Warner, Deon Sanders or any other deluded bible-humper.

  63. 63.

    NotMax

    @Mnemosyne

    Not meant to be a put-down or a dig, but what did cat people do before the internet?

    Were there samizdat-like (cattusdat?) portfolios of photos passed hand to hand or distributed via a network of faxes?

  65. 65.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @different-church-lady: it was the people who fapped to him that made me all stabby.

    I agree the way his worhsippers talk about him is worse than anything he says. He seems to have toned it down some since leaving college, or at least since that (admittedly pretty neutral) PSA he did with his mom. I wonder if someone in Broncos organization had a word with him, or when they gave him that monk’s tonsure (blessed be whoever thought of that, and his descendants for many generations) tipped him off that he was overdoing it.

  71. 71.

    NotMax

    @Mnemosyne

    Thank you for not blowing it off and responding with a measure of candor.

    It’s a phenomenon totally alien to my experience, and was honestly curious.

  79. 79.

    Botsplainer

    @NotMax:

    He had to stop to pray in the secret mosque in the White House basement.

    And is too weak to order a strike which is necessary and which Reagan would do, but will be the reason why he should be impeached.

  89. 89.

    Botsplainer

    Oops. He dumped it on Congress.

    Rand Paul is shitting his pants. So is my Teatard, as are those of the progressive caucus.

  91. 91.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @burnspbesq: Yup. I’m not given to optimism, but if this turns around a thirty year trend, some could has come of this mess.

  95. 95.

    J.D. Rhoades

    I’m relieved that the President is seeking authorization from Congress for a strike on Syria. After Libya, I was worried. Guess he went back and re- read Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution.

  96. 96.

    Keith G

    @raven: I am more interested in those who were crying that we should do nothing in the face of this “atrocity”. And I am glad that Obama is not listening to them.

  97. 97.

    Person of Choler

    I, for one, am glad that Our President has forgotten that Lightworker and Peace Prize crap and is now hot for sending drones and lobbing cruise missiles to kill Brown People.

    Congratulations to Obama and his neo-neocon followers.

  101. 101.

    Corner Stone

    I hope Congress stays out its full recess and they all get a good fucking earful from their constituents.
    I doubt they will hold any townhalls but that would be such fun to see.

  102. 102.

    shelly

    Love how even thought they were probably told he wouldn’t be taking questions, the reporters still shout out after him as he walks away.

  103. 103.

    NotMax

    @Mnemosyne

    I’ll be fascinated to see how it goes in the House.

    Certain elements will almost certainly call for all costs of any action to be offset by cuts in ACA funding.

    Bank on it.

  104. 104.

    gene108

    Minor scheduling dilemma. On 9/12/2013 for whatever reason several things I want to do have events scheduled all at the same time. I went to the local OfA group and they have an Obamacare planning event on 9/12/2013.

    There’s an on-line social group I’ve gone to a few events at that’s having something going on Thursday night. I’m half thinking the lady organizing it might be interested in me.

    There’s a Toastmasters club meeting, but they meet regularly, so I’m going to blow that off.

    There’s a PKD Foundation webinar about clinical trials for PKD. I can watch it later once they get it up on their website, but I won’t be able to get any questions in if I’m not on the live webinar event.

    What to do?

  105. 105.

    Davis X. Machina

    Every congresscritter secretly dreams of being able to vote for and against the same piece of legislation…without being called for waffling or flip-flopping.

    This should be interesting.

  107. 107.

    Linnaeus

    Glad Congress is being brought into this, but I’m still not convinced it’s a good idea. Even if Congress gives approval.

  108. 108.

    Corner Stone

    @NotMax: Ted Cruz has already specifically said that very thing.
    “Sen. Ted Cruz on Wednesday tied Obamacare and Syria together, saying the two issues are linked “by an arrogance of this administration.”

  109. 109.

    gogiggs

    A Catholic Education and Bandwagonesque are great, but I like the later stuff just as well. I probably listen to Songs From Northern Britain the most of any of their stuff.

  111. 111.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Linnaeus: I wonder if slowing it all down, discussing the facts of it, amplifying the debate won’t make it harder for Russia to defend it. That said, does anyone have any leverage with Russia? Seems to me Russia has a pretty strong hand.

  112. 112.

    Keith G

    @Mnemosyne: It will pass. I imagine his earlier conversations with leadership was part “testing the climate”. I doubt he would have given this exact speech without the notion that a vote to confront a war crimes atrocity would be successful – at least I hope not.

  115. 115.

    Keith G

    @Corner Stone: I love our junior Senator. I think that as history plays out, he will shorten the time it takes Texas to turn purple by at least half a decade. It’s like seeing a team you hate trade for Tim Tebow.

  118. 118.

    Yatsuno

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: The only real leverage anyone has on Russia right now is Sochi. That is Putin’s showpiece and thanks to the anti-gay laws is already a bit bruised. I’m not suggesting a boycott over Syria, but there are other ways to bring pressure to bear.

  119. 119.

    Baud

    So I guess there will now be bipartisan support in Congress for shutting down the government ASAP.

  121. 121.

    The Dangerman

    I will have to amend my prediction from yesterday a little bit:

    (1) Nothing will happen (because Congress won’t authorize it).

    (2) The Republicans will bitch up a storm about a weak President (after not authorizing the action; yes, it’ll be completely contradictory positions, but when has that ever stopped them previously).

    Yes, (2) is still like shooting really big fish in a really, really tiny barrel.

  123. 123.

    gene108

    In the It Is a Small World file, I got my eyes checked Tuesday in my neck of the woods in Southern New Jersey.

    The optometrist, who worked that evening is relatively new to the practice.

    She started with the usual small talk, “are you from New Jersey”

    Me: “No, I moved here after college”

    Her: What college did you go to?

    Me: NC…North Carolina State University…in Raleigh…(after giving me a strange look, I figure she’s never heard of it and figures I went to Chapell Hell)…

    Her: Nooooo Waaaaay, I’m from Raleigh and I went to NCSU

    Me: Your from Raleigh, I finished elementary school to high school in Raleigh, what high school did you go to?

    Her: Enloe

    Me: Wow, same here, though I probably graduated a few years before you (so we couldn’t do a I know ‘x’, do you know ‘x’)

    Turns out she went to eye-doctor school in Philly and her and her hubby settled in Philly for now. She works at a couple of practices in NJ.

    I did not expect that from my optometrist, when I went to get my eyes checked.

  124. 124.

    Keith G

    @Baud: No the Authorization vote will be first. A chance for a bit of bipartisan bridge building. Asad has done Barak a favor.

    Edit:
    @The Dangerman: You need to amend your prediction from yesterday a bit more than that.

  126. 126.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Yatsuno: In a perfect world they would cancel the G20, but I guess that’s a bridge too far for many reasons. And Sochi, too

  129. 129.

    Felonius Monk

    @Botsplainer:

    we’re convinced that he beats off into a sock over gay German Schiesse porn.

    That statement will be indelibly etched into the Commenter’s Hall of Fame!

  132. 132.

    The Dangerman

    @Keith G:

    @The Dangerman: You need to amend your prediction from yesterday a bit more than that.

    Was that the one where I said Buffalo would scare Ohio State? I plead drunkenness.

    ETA: Just peaked at the score – 30 to 20 is far closer than I ever expected (and haven’t started drinking yet).

  134. 134.

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

    @raven:

    Curling?

    @Steeplejack:

    I’m talking about the satellite feeds, either from the stadium or from the production center in the UK. These last two weeks, the featured (NBC) games have been glitchy as all fucking hell. Last week, the booth production/direction was pretty bad, too.

    I’m not very happy with NBC’s coverage. To be clear, I mean the OTA entity. No pre-game show- directly from kids programming to kickoff…And they missed the kickoff last week. Spotty direction and production. They’re blowing a golden opportunity.

  136. 136.

    Dee Loralei

    @raven: LOL or an apology. But perhaps he’s trying to figure out how to enjoy the football without the beers. Or maybe he’s cooking and playing with Steve and the girls. Who knows what goes on in our esteemed hosts mind.

  142. 142.

    raven

    @Dee Loralei: It took me a season or 2 to get back into football and music without alcohol. You find out really quickly if you are serious about quitting when you are in a tailgate situation or seeing Tom Petty sober. After a while you understand that it’s better but no one wants to hear that, I didn’t.

  143. 143.

    The Dangerman

    @Keith G:

    @The Dangerman: That one too, though I never saw it.

    Shit, don’t tell me I was THAT hammered and imagined it…

    …in the immortal words of whoever said it first, “hair of the dog”.

  144. 144.

    raven

    Go Illini! You won’t hear that much this year but a 100 run back is nice even against the Saluki’s!

  145. 145.

    Keith G

    I said this yesterday, but I shall repeat. the Chromecast is the best $35 tech expenditure going. I am reviewing game highlights flawlessly.

  146. 146.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    EvenTheLiberalMSNBC anchor Cavuto-asks if a congressional vote on military action sets a “dangerous precedent”.

    What the fucking fuck.

  149. 149.

    Dee Loralei

    @raven: Yea. I get that it’s hard, especially in social situations. I have faith in the old stubborn bastahd, ya know?

  153. 153.

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

    @different-church-lady:

    I was concerned they’d go the route Fox went with the NHL- glowing pucks and robots. NBC’s graphics haven’t been intrusive, though.

  155. 155.

    Dee Loralei

    @raven: he meant the “Cavuto mark”, stating something kinda outrageous and adding a question mark at the end. So you can say,” I didn’t say that, I was just asking a question.” Something like ” African Americans, the real racists?

  156. 156.

    The Dangerman

    In the interest of making predictions prior to drinking and games, the vote will be close, but it will go down; the Right won’t vote to authorize Obama to take a piss (“the President should just man up and hold it and can we impeach him if he takes the wizz?”) and the Left is having none of this thing.

    /pops the top on the first one

  157. 157.

    askew

    So, Obama is asking for Congressional approval? He really played the media and Congress for fools here. The left and right pundits have been calling Obama a dictator, etc. because he is jumping into war without approval. Then he turns around and asks for approval. I won’t hold my breath waiting for the pundits and bloggers to admit they were wrong.

    And Reid looks like he is going to make a smart move and call back Senate from recess so they can vote while the do-nothing House is still on recess. Smart move. Shows a contrast between Democratic leadership and Republican leadership.

    I also wonder if the wait until 9/9 or so will allow more diplomatic measures to happen before we strike.

  158. 158.

    bemused

    Speaking of excessiveness in religious believers, earlier this month I read some interesting comments in the Telegraph I think from the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. He said religious believers who say they are a persecuted minority should grow up, that “not being taking seriously” or “being made fun of” shouldn’t be confused with systematic brutality, real persecution.

    “Persecution is not being made to feel mildly uncomfortable”.

    This could also be said of whities who are up in arms for being called on their racism.

  160. 160.

    gene108

    Saw Kick Ass 2. It was O.K. I really had to check my brain out though. The suspension of disbelief required to enjoy it was really hard. I’m not talking about Mindy on the roof of the van. That’s par for the course in Hollywood.

    It’s the roving street gangs in lower Manhattan making walking around dressed oddly dangerous that’s hard to digest, plus the cookie cutter – relatively new construction looking – houses in what could only be some sort of West Coast interpretation of what Queens or Brooklyn look like.

    I mean it’s one thing to have the Friends cast or Seinfeld cast living in housing that seems well beyond their means in NYC, because that seems relatively common device for T.V. going back a good many years but they really wanted to treat NYC like it was in the 1970’s, with crime soaring and subways painted with graffiti.

    The subplot of growing up with a secret identity and what it meant to be a super hero should’ve been more the focus of the film.

    All in all not bad for a movie that requires you to check out and just giggle at the absurdity.

    The let down was that Kick Ass had such a “holy shit, they did that!” factor from the opening of father-daughter bonding till the very end, with the rocket launcher, it’s just so hard to top it. I’m glad they didn’t try too hard in that regard, but they had a really good opportunity to go the other way, with regards to friendship, normalcy, and other dramatic type of issues that they could’ve done something very different with the superhero / comic book movie.

  161. 161.

    Botsplainer

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    EvenTheLiberalMSNBC anchor Cavuto-asks if a congressional vote on military action sets a “dangerous precedent”.

    A strong president would have demonstrated leadership by going it alone without Congress arglebargle.

  162. 162.

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

    @raven:

    …the Saluki’s…

    “Saluki” is tied for my favorite Chicagoese-pronounced word. The other is “Belcher”, as in former MLB- and Saluki- pitcher, Tim Belcher. If there is nothing else I remember from time spent in Union Station, there is always that one overheard conversation.

  163. 163.

    different-church-lady

    @bemused:

    This could also be said of whities who are up in arms for being called on their racism.

    ‘Course, I’m all in favor of them being made to feel something more than “mildly uncomfortable”.

  166. 166.

    Corner Stone

    @Felonius Monk:

    Didn’t they all go AWOL a few years back?

    They’re still around, just all queuing up in the green rooms of Morning Joe or Fox and Friends all the time.
    No time for a vote or oversight, ya see, we’re too busy doing constituent service by Congressplainin’ it all to the little people!

  167. 167.

    Corner Stone

    @Dee Loralei:

    ‘Eers just tied it up, all is well in the Cole household.

    I’m sorry, but when they “tie it up” against W&M and it’s halfway through the 4th Q, then I can categorically tell you with no doubt that “all is *not* well” wherever Cole is.

  168. 168.

    Corner Stone

    @Keith G: He’s like a bright, shining star. Leaving a trail of fading light and detritus wherever he goes.
    He’ll make his run at the WH, fail spectacularly, and then keep trying to feed red meat to a shrinking base in TX.

  169. 169.

    Keith G

    @askew: Sorry dude, stop the revisionism. If Cameron had won, the missiles would be being armed as we speak. This needs to be done sooner rather than later and the President knows it. He is making applesauce out of squishy apples.

    @The Dangerman:Just remember the second level selling point.: A vote against the use of very limited force is a vote for Vlad Putin.

  172. 172.

    Corner Stone

    @raven: I’ll repeat for the eleventy-eth time, Jacksonville should pick Tebow up.
    It’s a win-win. He’d win them games and put butts in the seats.

  174. 174.

    The Dangerman

    @Keith G:

    This needs to be done sooner rather than later and the President knows it. He is making applesauce out of squishy apples.

    Pretty much this; the President punted without punting and got some CongressCreeps to shit their pants this morning. Wins all around.

  175. 175.

    raven

    @Corner Stone: Who cares? I sold my tix for the Ga-Fla game, they are in the upper deck sections that they tarp for NFL games. I was stunned how much someone in Delaware paid. Fucking Corso picked the dogs and we’re 0-3 when he does.

  177. 177.

    Linnaeus

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I think slowing it down helps far more than it hurts. Gives Assad time to think (which may not amount to much) and allows for more time to deal with Russia & China. May not matter, but it’s worth trying.

  178. 178.

    The Dangerman

    @Yatsuno:

    Jeter’s sexuality is the worst-kept secret in NYC.

    He always has some hot Chick on his arm; damn, what a few dollars can do for a guy.

  179. 179.

    the Conster

    @Yatsuno:

    My friend says it’s a mother thing with him, so maybe after she’s gone. I like to imagine Tebow and Jeter coming out together, like, as a couple. Do you think ESPN could survive the direct hit?

  180. 180.

    Corner Stone

    @The Dangerman:

    the vote will be close, but it will go down; the Right won’t vote to authorize Obama to take a piss

    IMO, I actually don’t think this is a hard call for the right wing crowd. Their Tea Party bloc is against it (largely), and this way they can say NO! to Obama and still get to call him weak, ineffectual, feckless, timid, arrogant, clueless, adrift, and so on and so forth. Their MIC and neocon component will be unhappy but not too unhappy since Obama is doing his best to say he wants a very, extremely constrained action. Not even bllod and guts or profit there for the MIC crowd to get too up about.
    And if Congress says NO! and he authorizes something anyway?
    SHITBALLS!! To the Impeachment Walls citizens!

  182. 182.

    Corner Stone

    @raven: I actually like watching him play, even though I think he’s about as far from an NFL QB as you can get and still be able to walk on two feet for longer than a few yards at a time.
    He’s entertaining, at the very least.

  183. 183.

    gene108

    @Yatsuno:

    Maybe Jeter’s the baseball George Clooney?

    Being a single, nearly middle-aged man, without a significant other, I find the speculation that people my age, like Jeter, are somehow gay to be unnerving.

    When did the folks get to decide all single men over 35 are gay? Is this part of the homosexual agenda, I’ve been warned about?

    The gays can’t turn us all gay, so they just spread rumors that so-so is gay or something. I don’t know.

    Anyway, when’s Clooney coming out of the closet? Or does he get a pass from the rumor mongering?

  185. 185.

    Corner Stone

    @Linnaeus:

    Gives Assad time to think

    Do you think the prospect of being hung from a rampart will become somehow more appealing over the next two weeks?

  186. 186.

    Redshift

    I went to our local McAuliffe rally & canvass this morning, and I have to say, I was pretty pleased with McAuliffe’s speech (more than I expected to be.) He came out firmly against the SOLs (our version of state standardized tests) and any state money going to private schools, among other things. Tom Periello was there, and his speech was fun, too.

    I also took a couple of photos in my ongoing series of “things you won’t see at a Republican rally.” In this case, it was the collection of speakers and candidates up front — Charnielle Herring, our female African-American state party chair, Cesar del Aguila, our Latino county party chair, and a collection of other candidates, local officials, and party officials, male and female. An Asian state delegate and another Asian delegate candidate were supposed to be there, but didn’t make it. You’d be forgiven for thinking that it was deliberate, but in fact, if you just invite all the Democrats in my local area, that’s who you get.

  189. 189.

    Botsplainer

    @The Dangerman:

    Pretty much this; the President punted without punting and got some CongressCreeps to shit their pants this morning. Wins all around.

    The country will get to see their Teatards in action. Every stupid utterance, every bit of reflexive contrarianism, every bit of them not giving a shit about the victims just to score points with the Teatard base. Most of the manic progressives will fold early, leaving that shitbag Grayson to twist in the wind with the Teatards.

    This could become the biggest factor in swinging the House. Cruz and Paul are going to destroy their own upward mobility on the Senate side, the rest of those GOPers being smart enough to remain pretty quiet.

  190. 190.

    Keith G

    @gene108: I blame the National Enquirer. They’re saying Boehner is gay-dating Mitch McConnell – Which makes sense since once McConnell is on his back, he doesn’t get back up.

  191. 191.

    MaryJane

    @askew:

    And Reid looks like he is going to make a smart move and call back Senate from recess so they can vote while the do-nothing House is still on recess. Smart move. Shows a contrast between Democratic leadership and Republican leadership.

    Which will be lost on 99% of Repubs and 50% of Dems.

  193. 193.

    Botsplainer

    @raven:

    Fucking Corso picked the dogs and we’re 0-3 when he does.

    Corso is never right. It is always best to assume that from the start.

  194. 194.

    Mnemosyne

    @gene108:

    I think the question you need to answer for yourself is, are you interested in the lady who might be interested in you? If so, I would go to her social function. If not, go to the OFA event since it’s a good excuse.

  195. 195.

    Mnemosyne

    Also, one day I will be rich enough to buy my furniture pre-assembled and won’t have to deal with the giant pain in the ass that is unpacking a box only to discover that one vital part is broken and the entire 50-pound package has to be packed back up and returned to the store. Fuck.

    (In this particular case, it’s from World Market, which usually has better quality control than this.)

  196. 196.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @raven: For me, it’ll be 3 years in a couple of weeks. I’ve not been back to a game and tailgating yet, though the wife wants to go to a game this year(probably UW). However, I’ve been in social situations where lots of drinkin’ was going on, so I’ll be alright.

  198. 198.

    Yatsuno

    @gene108: Clooney has been married twice. He has publicly stated he is not suited for the institution, and I say more power to him. The speculation on Jeter is based on more than his stubborn bachelorhood.]

    EDIT: It’s also their damn business and none of mine. Though I’ve confessed before I’d do Tebow. I lurves me some innocent boys. They tend to…not be.

  199. 199.

    Hal

    @gene108:

    When did the folks get to decide all single men over 35 are gay?

    I’m in that mid to late 30’s group and have noticed a very large portion of people I know either back from high school or that I have met over time are not only not married, but they have never been married. No kids.

    I wonder if this is just part of those falling marriage statistics and greater independence for Women who might also feel far less pressure to be married by a certain age? Also, I’m sure a certain number are gay. People my age who are gay grew up at a time when things like gay marriage were a dream, and things have changed so fast, I think for some of us being closeted at work, or at home, was not uncommon, and probably to some extent still is not. I actually like the speculation because in some weird way it’s indicative a greater acceptance and awareness, and that can’t be a bad thing…unless someone tries to blackmail you.

  200. 200.

    Keith G

    @Corner Stone: Even hating the Prez will not counter (for most) the evidence and the story (with horrible visuals no less) describing what happened and happened again and again. Then there is the Putin angle, and then there is the Iran angle and even the North Korea complication.

    I think the speech was an hour late as the Obama team and others were finding out what they needed to know (down to the wire) to be as certain as they could be that this speech was not going to cause a later problem – as some of his earlier comments have done. Part of it is/was working out who are the sure votes so that others can have their chance to loudly vote “no” to please the yokels.

  202. 202.

    Amir Khalid

    @gene108:
    I didn’t find it all that hard to suspend my disbelief for Kick-Ass 2. No harder than for the original Kick-Ass. How much plausibility were you expecting from a comic-book movie, anyway?

    This movie was indeed all about trying to find the balance between superhero and normal life, living with the cost that one thing exacts from the other, especially for Dave and Mindy. The novelty of the situation couldn’t be there the second time around; but what we did get seemed to me a pretty satisfying continuation of the story and not just a rehash.

  204. 204.

    PaulW

    @mellowjohn:

    and where is tbogg when you want a nice big helping of schadenfreude?

    (somewhere in the Antarctic wilderness)

    (shouted as from a long distance) damn you bastards, I just want to LIVE!

  206. 206.

    Corner Stone

    @Keith G: While I’m willing to be persuaded by the argument that Obama would never have said these things unless he felt solid about the outcome, I believe the rest of your contention falls flat.
    The right does not give one shit about gassed babies in Syria. Or babies anywhere else outside the womb, not even three blocks away from them. You could show them war pr0n and ask them to stand up so you could check for their tiny little boners poking into their zippers.
    Putin will always be Putin and they love a good Russky to hate on. The belief that we would give Obama the Go sign to somehow humiliate or infuriate Putin just doesn’t register far enough up the scale for me.
    IMO, I feel you are drastically overweighting actions you hope might be taken and conflating them with a rationale to support them.
    I’ll just say that, IMO, the right wants nothing more than to humiliate Obama. There will be every underhanded damn dirty political trick in the book attached to any vote. It will give the R’s cover to vote however they need to to not get primaried while at the same time give them plenty of soundbites.
    We’re about to see the mother of all lame-duck arguments coming to peak. He’s a lame-duck on the economy and national concerns and now he’ll be a lame-duck on foreign policy issues as well.
    That will be the effort they want to get stamped into the MSM’s brain.

  207. 207.

    PaulW

    @The Dangerman:

    It’s part of Obama’s long-game, although it gets frustrating. He plays it out while his critics go overboard, then he sets up a position where those critics either have to eat their words or pull a 180 to stay relevant. It’s why Andrew Sullivan’s hagiography of Obama is going to be titled “Meep-Meep”.

  208. 208.

    Linnaeus

    @Corner Stone:

    Do you think the prospect of being hung from a rampart will become somehow more appealing over the next two weeks?

    No, I don’t. But that need not be the outcome, either.

  209. 209.

    Hal

    All I know is many people really need to turn in their psychic cards, especially from the media who were all but assuring us we would be in full out war with Syria by labor day.

  211. 211.

    gene108

    @Amir Khalid:

    Have you ever left a movie and felt satisfied with the ending, while others you left feeling like you wanted more? I think the latter category can be good movies, but Kick Ass 2 left me feeling like the could’ve done more with the real-life / costume life balance. EDIT: I thought it was a good movie and generally enjoyed it.

    Also, my brother has been living in NYC for close to 20 years. I’ve been there quite often, so I have a hard time thinking about NYC as a crime ridden town, in need of superheroes. NYC had problems with crime in the 1970’s and 1980’s, but now it’s one of the safest big cities in the U.S. A family friend of ours lived in Queens in the 1980’s.

    The FBI, U.S. attorneys* and police really cracked down hard on the mafia in the late 1980’s and 1990’s, across the U.S. I’m sure the mob still exists, but I don’t think they have the sort of clout they once had.

    If the movie was set in a fake city, instead of trying to integrate a fictional premise in a real city, I’d be more willing to let go of my disbelief that the city this movie was set in needs super heroes. It’s just hard to let it go, when I was there last weekend and will be going there on Monday for a co-worker’s son’s wedding.

    *Rudy Gulliani made his name as the lead U.S. Attorney prosecuting mobsters in the late 1980’s and 1990’s, as well as looking at potential malfeasance on Wall Street.

    @Hal:

    I wonder if this is just part of those falling marriage statistics and greater independence for Women who might also feel far less pressure to be married by a certain age? Also, I’m sure a certain number are gay.

    What gets me is the assumption that everyone is equipped with a functioning gaydar, because I think the average gaydar people have installed tends to register too many false positives.

    Why do I care?

    Because I don’t want to be judged for being something I’m not and the what seems to be the conventional wisdom that single men beyond a certain age are by default gay gets me lumped into a group I do not belong to.

    @Yatsuno:

    Clooney has been married twice. He has publicly stated he is not suited for the institution

    Marcus Bachmann’s married with kids and people assume he’s gay, when his wife was running for President.

    I’m not sure how gaydar works, but I think fewer people actually have it than is evident by the level of speculation about who is and who is not gay.

    I’ve had serious problems with depression, which has made getting into relationships impossible for me.

  212. 212.

    Hal

    @Yatsuno:

    Clooney has been married twice. He has publicly stated he is not suited for the institution, and I say more power to him.

    Why would Clooney want to get married? He’s loaded, never short on female attention, and hangs out in Villa in Italy when he isn’t acting. He also has one of those acting careers where he gets big bucks, and acclaim and awards. Why ruin it by getting married?

  213. 213.

    Corner Stone

    @Hal:

    especially from the media who were all but assuring us we would be in full out war with Syria by labor day.

    They were hopeful.

  214. 214.

    Corner Stone

    @Linnaeus: He’s either dead or he’s winners. In a world of shades, this is a black and white outcome for him. He’s not going anywhere voluntarily. Either he’s dead or taking pics of his enemies heads on pikes.

  216. 216.

    Corner Stone

    @Linnaeus: I would agree that the potential for better outcomes is served by slowing things down.
    So I don’t think we disagree on your point, just stating IMO Assad has no choice but to continue. Will he do it more wisely? I’m not sure he can.

  217. 217.

    rikyrah

    @gene108:

    Maybe Jeter’s the baseball George Clooney?

    Jeter is good looking, rich, lives in NYC, and has access to not only the usual bevvy of good looking women that a rich man can have, but also actual models.

    why would he get married?

    seriously?

    while he’s still playing?

    he can have a Ho in every city..

    why would any professional athlete get married until their careers were over?

  218. 218.

    Jamey

    @virag: bka, “I was into them before they went mainstream.” IMO, “13” is among the greatest rock-and-roll albums ever made.

  220. 220.

    sneezy

    @PaulW:

    … teams are not patient enough to give [Tebow] time to fix his throwing mechanics

    He’s been out of college for nearly four years. How much time does he need?

    [He should] give it a few years before showing if he’s got his throwing and accuracy improved.

    He’s 26 years old. He hasn’t got “a few years.”

  221. 221.

    Tom

    @MikeJ: Late to the party but appreciate the TFC / Matthew Sweet linkage — was ripping Altered Beast earlier tonight for a post first date CD burn where I’m kicking well beyond my coverage so I’m looking for all the help I can get. Love the jangly guitars from all these guys (and hope she does too !)

  223. 223.

    gogiggs

    I dunno, Jamey. You can’t really call “before they went mainstream” on this one because a) they never really went mainstream and b) Bandwagonesque was SPIN’s album of the year (over Nirvana. historically indefensible, artistically entirely defensible) THAT was as mainstream as TFC ever got.

    But I’m totally with you that later TFC albums are just as good as the ones people know.

  225. 225.

    virag

    @Jamey: ’13’ was a great album the first couple of times it came out under the big star label. ‘ace’ is just my kinda fun. i bought it on vinyl, so i really was into them before they got famous. except they never got all that famous, so, nice try.

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