Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Our messy unity will be our strength.

The words do not have to be perfect.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

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

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

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

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

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

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

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

This blog will pay for itself.

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Reader Interactions

71Comments

  2. 2.

    Allen

    Awesome interview with one of the great “belters”. We’ve seen her solo twice, and once with the New Pornographers. Great shows all.

  3. 3.

    Eric U.

    now I wish I hadn’t looked at her concert schedule. She’ll be in Minneapolis 2 days before I start my visit there.

  4. 4.

    Ash Can

    From the WaPo, with a LOL and a h/t to commenter darthstar at LGF:

    Headline:

    Wonkbook: The House’s debt-ceiling bill is…wow

    Second paragraph:

    The House GOP’s debt limit bill — obtained by the National Review — isn’t a serious governing document. It’s not even a plausible opening bid. It’s a cry for help.

  7. 7.

    Elizabelle

    I am getting so tired of the two buxom women that appear, in rotation, at the top right all the time.

    The one in pink and orange has Michelle Bachmann eyes, and wore out her welcome several days ago.

    The other is prettier and classier, and something conservative men apparently have to see.

    I am seeing too much of both women and all four breasts, but what do I do?

    Like that BJ gets the ad revenue. I am afraid that if I click the link these two with boobs will follow me all over my web surfing.

    Help!

    Although at least it is not t o e f u n g u s.

  11. 11.

    joes527

    @Ash Can:

    This looks like an Onion parody of what the House’s debt-ceiling demands might be. It’s a wonder it’s not written in comic sans.

    ouch.

  14. 14.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Elizabelle: Behind a proxy, so nothing. At home I recall seeing a healthy young woman, but other than that, I’m not sure. I don’t pay much attention to the ads.

  16. 16.

    gbear

    I can’t listen to that interview now, but I wanted to say that the title of Case’s new album is one of the absolute worst album titles of all time. What was she thinking?

  17. 17.

    Southern Beale

    As I stated in my post, what Obamacare exchanges do is unhook health insurance from employment. Employers lose a big part of their control over employees — no longer will people be afraid of quitting their job because they don’t want to lose health insurance. I have to wonder if that isn’t part of the resistance from employers?

  18. 18.

    Southern Beale

    As I stated in my post, what Obamacare exchanges do is unhook health insurance from employment. Employers lose a big part of their control over employees — no longer will people be afraid of quitting their job because they don’t want to lose health insurance. I have to wonder if that isn’t part of the resistance from employers?

  19. 19.

    eemom

    @Elizabelle:

    I’m seeing it too. Maybe it’s a local thing.

    I also just saw the comment from General Stuck’s sister on last night’s thread! Hope she will visit us again.

  21. 21.

    Elizabelle

    NYTimes today on fat pets and getting fit options: Roll Over? Fat Chance. —

    I wish these porky little dachshunds could follow me around on BJ. They are so cute!

    She has been in at least three fitness programs. She runs on the treadmill. She swims in a lap pool. Her trainers shout encouragement. And although her target weight still eludes her, Lolita remains optimistic, smiling gamely during her workout and snacking on carrots.

    If only her legs weren’t so short.

    Lolita is a 4-year-old dachshund, a breed that like the beagle and Labrador retriever is prone to putting on extra pounds. In her case, about eight pounds too many. …

  26. 26.

    gogol's wife

    @Violet:

    It’s John’s thread from last night, something about jump, how high. Go the end of the comments and you’ll find eemom’s reply to her.

  30. 30.

    ? Martin

    @The Red Pen:

    The San Jose Mercury News reported that under the exchanges, Californians will pay the 10th highest rates in the country.

    Considering we have the 3rd highest cost of living, that’s actually not bad.

    The highest costs are in the rural parts of the state. That’s going to take some work to fix. They have the worst health outcomes and the most expensive care to deliver. Kern Co. has terrible outcomes, and is not a small county (Bakersfield). Fresno Co. isn’t much better on outcomes. Lots of industry (oil)/agriculture. Poor air quality. Higher rates of smoking/alcoholism/obesity/drug use.

  31. 31.

    JPL

    @eemom: It’s amazing how much one can miss comments from a complete stranger. If she visits again, maybe she can google General Stuck and Balloon Juice and read some of his old comments. I hope Charlie is settled in his new home.

  33. 33.

    Higgs Boson's Mate

    @Ash Can:

    Followed your link at #5. That isn’t a debt limit bill, it’s a teahadi Christmas tree. I’m only surprised that they didn’t demand that Obama and Biden resign on the spot so that Boehner could be sworn in as POTUS.

    With Rafael (Robespierre) Cruz doing his best to purge the last shreds of common sense from the Republican party the outcomes of the 2014 midterms promise to be interesting. We’ll either see the Repubs begin lurching back toward sanity or we’ll see what it’s like to have the lunatics run the asylum.

    To hell with popcorn. I’m stocking up on LRP rations – just in case.

  34. 34.

    Suffern ACE

    Hmmmm. I’m stuck at home today on kind of a forced pto to burn personal days before the end of the month when I need them. Three days off and nowhere to go. Has anyone been to Newark? I here it’s nice at this time of year.

  38. 38.

    Ash Can

    @Higgs Boson’s Mate: I read somewhere that they threw something about abortion in that mess too. And apparently Obama responded by basically telling them all to go fuck themselves (as he damned well should). While I expect the real GOP PTB (viz. the money guys) to once again lean on these dumb schmucks hard enough to avert a default, I’m sure that there will be plenty of public lunacy and tantrums in the meantime.

    The “cry for help” bit in that Wonkblog article cracked me up, but I’m not so sure that the writer was being entirely flippant about it. It does indeed seem like Boehner has simply given up all pretext of doing his job as Speaker, but he just can’t break his addiction to the gavel, and so he clings to his Speaker’s chair for dear life even though he knows his caucus has made him and his position a joke.

  41. 41.

    ericblair

    @Elizabelle:

    I am getting so tired of the two buxom women that appear, in rotation, at the top right all the time.

    Well, the boobs are certainly convincing, but if it doesn’t have a Shocking Trick that angers Some Educated Professionals then I’m not interested.

    I’m surprised this crap still works. How stupid do you have to be to…
    …(Conservative Men)…
    …oh.

  42. 42.

    Elizabelle

    @raven:

    Hello there.

    Not really an email addy. But you could stick a comment at the end of the thread, and maybe G Martin will check back and see it.

    How fares the Bohdi today?

    Is he Bohdi Uncrated yet?

  43. 43.

    mdblanche

    @Elizabelle: Prone to putting on extra pounds is putting it mildly. Dachshunds are opinionated little chow hounds. Cute, but with the same attitude, tenacity, and mission in life as Napoleon. If you don’t give them what they want, they’ll try and take it the second you turn your back. Those cuties really do need to lose the pork for the sake of their health. Their backs just can not support those extra pounds.

    @Loneoak: That’s 27% for tea party opponents, 22% for tea party supporters. The tea party’s support rating has gone negative!

  45. 45.

    PurpleGirl

    @Elizabelle: Those ads are a bait and switch; I did click over once and it’s a RWNJ web site with weird claims about the government and President Obama scheming to take all the guns, etc.

  48. 48.

    Comrade Dread

    Well, the boobs are certainly convincing

    They’d be more so if there weren’t literally 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 porn websites where you could see boobs without having to be exposed to a sales pitch for a scam product (and probably some malware to boot.)

  52. 52.

    Elizabelle

    @mdblanche:

    My aunt had this doxie, Hans, that looked like a linebacker and would just kind of lay in front of the stairs and moan when he wanted to go up or down.

    I was amazed that doggie lasted as long as he did.

    You’re not kidding about their fragile backs. Beagles can have bad backs too.

  53. 53.

    flukebucket

    Jim DeMint actually said something I agree with..“Instead of making fun of him for community organizing, we need to realize that that’s how they’re winning on the left: empowering people on the grass-roots level and getting them organized and informed,”

    The problem with his side is not in the organizing. It is with the informing. Nothing will turn a thinking person away from the Republican Party faster than factual information.

  54. 54.

    Trollhattan

    @joes527:
    Dayumn.

    In return for a one-year suspension of the debt ceiling, House Republicans are demanding a yearlong delay of Obamacare, Rep. Paul Ryan’s tax reform plan, the Keystone XL pipeline, more offshore oil drilling, more drilling on federally protected lands, rewriting of ash coal regulations, a suspension of the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to regulate carbon emissions, more power over the regulatory process in general, reform of the federal employee retirement program, an overhaul of the Dodd-Frank financial regulations, more power over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s budget, repeal of the Social Services Block Grant, more means-testing in Medicare, repeal of the Public Health trust fund, and more.

    “And, we demand a MILLYUN DOLLARS!”
    [whisper, whisper, whisper]
    “A BILLYUN DOLLARS!. And, a pony, and ALL THE LEGOS IN THE WORLD!”

    I’ve surrendered my sliver of hope the nation will wake up and realize it’s all tire rims and anthrax, all the time for Teh Republic Party. We’ll continue playing along because…I don’t know, we invent a second rational party in our heads and they’re the only thing around available to play the role? Couldn’t we substitute the Oakland Raiders, or someone? How could they possibly be any worse?

  55. 55.

    Roger Moore

    @Comrade Dread:

    They’d be more so if there weren’t literally 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 porn websites where you could see boobs without having to be exposed to a sales pitch for a scam product (and probably some malware to boot.)

    Or unnecessary clothes blocking the view, for that matter.

  56. 56.

    Roger Moore

    @Trollhattan:

    “And, we demand a MILLYUN DOLLARS!”
    [whisper, whisper, whisper]
    “A BILLYUN DOLLARS!. And, a pony, and ALL THE LEGOS IN THE WORLD!”

    Sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads!

  57. 57.

    Belafon

    While Obama was make an awesome “We will not negotiate over the debt ceiling”, Joe Manchin was stating his support for delaying Obamacare for a year.

  59. 59.

    Punchy

    I am getting so tired of the two buxom women that appear, in rotation, at the top right all the time.

    I’ve had this same complaint at strip clubs before.

  60. 60.

    NotMax

    Have not the foggiest idea who or what Neko Case is, nor why it might be worth spending a second of my time listening to whatever he/she/it has to spout.

    BTW, get off my lawn.

  61. 61.

    mdblanche

    This GOP infighting is great. Let’s chum the waters even more.

    @Elizabelle: That’s also the name of my mother’s dachshund. He’s lean since he gets so much exercise like jumping down a bunch of stairs all at once but we’re always worried he’ll hurt his back some other way, like jumping down a bunch of stairs stairs all at once.

  62. 62.

    ? Martin

    I should add, we’ve clearly reached the point that serious adult conversations regarding the GOP proposals are not only useless, but inappropriate because the GOP proposals are neither serious nor adult. I think Obama needs to jump straight to mocking them openly. It’s the proportionate response to this joke of a proposal.

  65. 65.

    john b

    @NotMax: she’s just one of the best contemporary musicians and songwriters we’ve got going right now. also she’s pretty funny and endearing.

  66. 66.

    NotMax

    @john b

    I’ll take your word for it.

    My familiarity with contemporary music/film/TV names is woeful.

    Truthfully, at first I thought Neko Case was a brand of luggage.

  68. 68.

    raven

    @Elizabelle: He’s ok but still an occasional yelp. I put him in the crate but must not have fastened the door because he broke out during the night. He is such a baby, I’m not sure the crate is that vital (after I dropped 50 on a craiglister) since he’s just laying around anyway. We took the footstool away from the bed thinking it would keep him from jumping up there but nooooooooooooooooooo, as soon as you turn your back there he goes. Knuckle head!

  69. 69.

    Original Lee

    @mdblanche: Dachshunds are amazing. My grandmother had a series of them the last 30 years of her life (all named Oscar). The second-to-last one, I think Oscar V, was wicked smart and figured out how to get at the bag of dog food no matter where Grandma stashed it (even in the top cupboard). She would come home periodically to find Oscar on his back in the middle of the kitchen floor, blown up like a little doggie balloon on a combination of dry kibble and water, his little stubby legs feebly wiggling in the air. Despite what I would presume to be the unpleasant experience of having his stomach pumped 3-4 times a year, Oscar V had firmly decided that he was destined to be in charge of his food.

  71. 71.

    ? Martin

    Looks like the WH is on the same page as me:

    White House press secretary Jay Carney said Thursday that he was surprised House Republicans didn’t throw birthers a bone in their list of demands on the debt limit.

    “The only thing I didn’t see was a birther bill attached to it,” Carney quipped during the White House press briefing.

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