Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

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

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

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

A consequence of cucumbers

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

American History and Black History Cannot Be Separated

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

No one could have predicted…

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

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

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

After roe, women are no longer free.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

This really is a full service blog.

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

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

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

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Reader Interactions

64Comments

  1. 1.

    MattF

    Once read a ‘heard on a NYC street’ column, reporting an overheard snippet of conversation between two eight-year old city boys:

    Boy1: I saw a condom on the patio yesterday.
    Boy2: What’s a patio?

  3. 3.

    lamh36

    Powerful photo alert:

    “Clara Gantt, the 94-year-old widow of Army Sergeant 1st Class Joseph Gantt weeps as his casket arrived at Los Angeles International Airport early Friday morning. After a tour of duty during World War II, Gantt was captured in the Korean War and was missing for more than 63 years. His remains were only recently identified, providing closure for his family.”

    @latimesphotos30m
    Remains of missing soldier returns 63 years after he went missing in Korean War http://bit.ly/1i7KjRS pic.twitter.com/E4xVbF6Ins @latpix

  4. 4.

    Violet

    US Sailors claim cancer from helping at Fukishima.

    When the USS Ronald Reagan responded to the tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011, Navy sailors including Quartermaster Maurice Enis gladly pitched in with rescue efforts.

    But months later, while still serving aboard the aircraft carrier, he began to notice strange lumps all over his body. Testing revealed he’d been poisoned with radiation, and his illness would get worse. And his fiance and fellow Reagan quartermaster, Jamie Plym, who also spent several months helping near the Fukushima nuclear power plant, also began to develop frightening symptoms, including chronic bronchitis and hemorrhaging.

    They and 49 other U.S. Navy members who served aboard the Reagan and sister ship the USS Essex now trace illnesses including thyroid and testicular cancers, leukemia and brain tumors to the time spent aboard the massive ship, whose desalination system pulled in seawater that was used for drinking, cooking and bathing. In a lawsuit filed against Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the plaintiffs claim the power company delayed telling the U.S. Navy the tsunami had caused a nuclear meltdown, sending huge amounts of contaminated water into the sea and, ultimately, into the ship’s water system.

    “At our level, we weren’t told anything,” Plym told FoxNews.com. “We were told everything was OK.”

  5. 5.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @El Caganer:

    They can’t let the ni*CLANG* win. They’ll do anything to stop it…let’s hope they all self-immolate in protest, it would be the first useful thing they’ve done.

  10. 10.

    Violet

    @lamh36: Oh, God. That photo is heartwrenching. Good the family was able to get closure, but his widow..wow..just heartbreaking.

    War is so stupid.

  12. 12.

    WaterGIrl

    @Violet: That’s horrible. I never trusted TEPCO from day 1, and I was pretty sure they were lying, but this just makes me sick.

  13. 13.

    Poopyman

    Just got an email from Marty O:

    Poopyman –

    In Maryland, we’re focused on implementing the Affordable Care Act and expanding access to quality, affordable healthcare for as many Marylanders as possible.

    Before Thanksgiving, I set a mid-December deadline for fixing nine major issues with the Maryland Health Connection website that were causing people the most frustration. Our IT team achieved the short-term goal of fixing these major issues.

    The site is still far from perfect, but we know those fixes are making a difference — since they were put in place, we have been seeing record numbers of Marylanders using the site to enroll in private health plans, and to get eligibility determinations for Medicaid.

    Visit http://www.marylandhealthconnection.gov to look at plans and apply for coverage, or if you prefer to speak with a support specialist by phone, you can call 1-855-642-8572.

    Since I had mentioned problems I’d had with the website in one of Richard’s posts I thought I’d post a PSA.

  14. 14.

    rikyrah

    Tech Investor Proposes Splitting California, Giving Silicon Valley Its Own State

    Catherine Thompson – December 20, 2013, 12:13 PM EST1066

    Silicon Valley deserves its own state, according to one wealthy tech investor’s proposal to partition the state of California into six pieces.

    Venture capitalist Tim Draper shared his proposal with TechCrunch on Thursday and said he planned to submit a formal ballot proposition to California’s attorney general within 48 hours.

    Draper detailed the reasoning behind the “Six Californias” initiative in an email to TechCrunch:

    “1. It is about time California was properly represented with Senators in Washington. Now our number of Senators per person will be about average.

    2. Competition is good, monopolies are bad. This initiative encourages more competition and less monopolistic power. Like all competitive systems, costs will be lower and service will be better.

    3. Each new state can start fresh. From a new crowd sourced state flower to a more relevant constitution.

    4. Decisions can be more relevant to the population. The regulations in one new state are not appropriate for another.

    5. Individuals can move between states more freely.”

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/tech-investor-proposes-splitting-california-in-6-giving-silicon-valley-its-own-state

  15. 15.

    Another Holocene Human

    I’ve been updating this website every other day to see how ACA signups are doing:

    http://acasignups.net/

    Got the link off GOS. It’s run by motivated volunteers. (If I’m not mistaken a Black dude started it.)

    The #s for southern states are pathetic. We are going to be pushing this Medicaid issue through legislative session and through the election next year. I hope my state and others can get new governors as a result. Btw, Scott can’t decide if he’s for or against Medicaid expansion (his wallet wants it, but his tea party political backers hate it), but the senate leader, Gaetz, who’s a lying SOB anyway and a crooked operator, is dead set against it.

    For years the Dems had nothing concrete to run with for poor and working class people. Now D’s and liberal R’s (there are still liberal R’s in Florida, not sure for how long given the party switching going on and Latvala, the ringleader of liberal R’s, backing actual D’s, not flippers) have something real to offer Florida’s much abused underclass and its working families–Medicaid. I love that they gave us this issue b/c it is so easy to organize around.

  16. 16.

    Violet

    @raven: Guess it depends what you mean by closure. This family has wondered what happened to their husband and father for over sixty years. Now they know. What do you call that?

  18. 18.

    lamh36

    Welp, you know you are on the right side of history when this happens…

    @docrocktex26 9m
    Westboro Baptists Support ‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Phil Robertson Following A&E Suspension: Church Plans Picket
    http://huff.to/1fLChuO

  20. 20.

    lamh36

    @Violet: 94 years is a long time for anyone. hopefully she has many more years, but this has got to make her remaining years much better for knowing.

    I think of it like parents of children who have gone missing for years. Some never knowing if their child is truly missing or dead. Even if their child is dead, the knowing has got to be way better than the constant uncertainty.

  21. 21.

    Violet

    @Poopyman: Was just about to post the same thing. Gotta be Liberatrians. White males, also too.

    @lamh36: That made me laugh out loud. For reals. When the Westboro Baptists support you, you know you’re doing the right thing. Bwahahaha! Gawd, what a bunch of famewhore assholes. They all deserve each other.

  28. 28.

    jl

    @lamh36: Jesus, the reason for the season! I mean, nothing important at all has happened with ACA or Senate BS on Iran negotiations. Such a slow news day, right?

    Edit: but if some idiot press hack asks Obama if the Duck Dynasty dude is the Promised One, the White Santa, or are we to wait for another. I’m down with that. That would be cool.

  29. 29.

    Another Holocene Human

    @lamh36: And they wonder why POTUS doesn’t want to shmooze with the likes of them.

    Srsly, stop treating the president of the United fucking States like he’s the one black kid in class you pitch all the race questions to. Also, nobody gives a shit about the race of Santa except racists.

  30. 30.

    Another Holocene Human

    If John Henry brought children toys and candy on Labor Day, white people would depict him as white.

  32. 32.

    Another Holocene Human

    If mad hogger Casey Jones really had had cocaine in his blood like the Dead said when he smashed into those stalled cars on the IC line in 19-oh-forever ago, Railway Stories would have played up his non-existant Negroid features, actual history of discriminatory hiring policies be damned.

  33. 33.

    Another Holocene Human

    “A black man did it” is the American version of “the butler did it”, because we all know that blue bloods and white people don’t murder or steal.

  34. 34.

    Another Holocene Human

    Why isn’t anyone hounding Megyn Kelly asking her why it bothered her soooooo much that a Black blogger was talking about Black Santa? Has she lived in a bubble her entire life? Do they only let her out before the cameras turn on?

  36. 36.

    jl

    @Another Holocene Human:

    Maybe Obama could hire Chris Rock to be a WH spokesperson for holiday gig. I would watch the pressers regularly then. If that got too racially tense for the press hacks, maybe could get Robin Williams too, for some race neutral ridicule.

  37. 37.

    jl

    @Baud: “Mr. President, do you have a gag reflex, or want to laugh, at having to take a room full of moronic corporate hacks seriously at press conferences? And as a follow-up, could it be it that being completely dumbfounded at our idiocy explains how you keep a straight face?”

  43. 43.

    Morzer

    Dana Rohrabacher is apparently auditioning to live with the Duck Dynasty hatehicks:

    http://www.ocweekly.com/2013-12-19/news/moxley-confidential-dana-rohrabacher-robert-polyniak/

    When Congressman Dana Tyrone Rohrabacher moved into a four-bedroom, four-bathroom, million-dollar Costa Mesa rental home on April Fool’s Day 2010, the immaculate, 6,300-square-foot property could have been featured in a glossy real-estate magazine. Built in 1948, the two-story, Orange Avenue home had been updated in recent years for comfort and style. The carpeting was new, appliances worked and walls were spotless. Thriving flowers, plants and grass adorned the idyllic back yard less than 4 miles from the Pacific Ocean.
    But it’s now understandable why Orange County’s senior, career politician secretly changed the locks and refused to allow homeowner Robert Polyniak inside for annual inspections. When he moved out in August 2012, Rohrabacher left behind a shockingly horrific pigsty, a dump worse than a college fraternity house of unhygienic slobs unfamiliar with the most basic tools of cleaning.

  44. 44.

    Trollhattan

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    Have the t-shirt from the last Clash show I attended, but it’s REALLY tight for some reason. Probably gift it to my kid when she’s old enough to appreciate it.

    Know your rights.

  47. 47.

    Suffern ACE

    @Morzer: And that is in a house they had for two years? And lived in only part time? How do you break every toilet seat in a four bathroom house?

  49. 49.

    Morzer

    @Suffern ACE:

    Beats me. I guess that’s why I shall never be a Republican.

    Of course, there is that little issue of believing in decency, compassion and justice.

  50. 50.

    Ash Can

    @Morzer: Not only is he a complete slob, he’s harassing the landlord for not refunding his security deposit — after he trashed the damn house. What an absolute schmuck. Hopefully this will get the people in his district so pissed off at him that they’ll dump his sorry ass out of Congress. Then he can go live somewhere out in the middle of nowhere where nobody cares if he’s living in a filthy falling-down shack.

  51. 51.

    Morzer

    @Ash Can:

    I have a suspicion that Rohrabacher’s behavior is considered the quintessence of manly, authentic Americanism among the teabagger crowd. Nothing says rugged independence like a broken toilet seat.

  52. 52.

    Ash Can

    @Morzer: It does seem to have people pissed off, though. If enough of his constituents can shift from “he’s a good conservative” to “he trashed our neighborhood,” something could give.

  53. 53.

    Morzer

    On a slightly more gratifying note, all is not well with the latest Senate campaign of Scott Brown:

    At least 200 gun rights activists, some with semi-automatic rifles slung over their shoulders, last night stood in the snow in near-freezing temperatures wearing bright orange hunting clothes to protest as Brown headlined a Republican party fundraiser in Nashua, New Hampshire.
    “Down with Brown. Down with Brown. Down with Brown,” they chanted, at times so loudly their words echoed across the street.

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-20/armed-protesters-aim-to-curb-scott-brown-s-ambitions.html

    It’s going to be deeply enjoyable watching the Barncoat of the People get his ass handed to him by another liberal woman.

  54. 54.

    Trollhattan

    @Morzer:
    Esquire’s LTC Bateman got a lot of love for his “let’s get rid of most of these GD guns” column [shock].

    “You, whatever you are, may now go to hell. I shall defend my rights (to the death of you, or anyone else who tries to take away my right [or anyone else’s] to defend themselves from mortal attacks on this planet). In closing, I shall witness your destruction, as I live on.
Those of your ilk shall be terminated with extreme prejudice from this earth, by THE power that you describe as ‘fabled gods’, and your memory will be forgotten for all eternity.
While you still draw breath, you are able to gain salvation. I pray that you take this matter seriously, as you are getting weak and old, and obviously not fit to continue living on this Earth; and your mortality stares you in the face every day in the bathroom mirror. In the meantime, fat fuck with liver spots, come over and try to take my weapons. SERIOUSLY. Lead the charge. Try it, you might like it, you brave-talking pussified motherfucker. You are a sick and twisted individual, and no sentient human owes you any attention; nonetheless, I forewarn you now, in the name of God. Your MORTALITY awaits you. Do the bidding of your master Lucifer, you SLAVE! Your reward surely awaits you! FOOL! You talk smack. C’mon, boi, let’s see you, here and now, and take my weapons, you dickweeded proletariat charlatan traitor to your nation and its’ people! FUCK YOU. Seriously, FUCK YOU!
I AM
MONTGOMERY SCOTT”
    Pretty sure that last name is Burns.

    http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/responses-to-post-on-guns-bateman-122013#comments

  55. 55.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Ben Cisco:

    Well, then Tapper should keep his fucking twitter feed turned off and not type in stupid shit like that.

    What an imbezel. What a maroon.

  57. 57.

    Morzer

    @Trollhattan:

    I wonder how many of those emails were written by morbidly obese draft-dodgers perched on Medicare scooters. My intuition suggests rather strongly that 95% might be the ballpark figure.

  61. 61.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    @Another Holocene Human:

    There was an infamous case here in the Los Angeles area where a man hired a hit man to kill his older boyfriend and inherit everything.

    My wingnut brother tried to make a sneering comment about it, but had to shut up when I said, “Yeah, because no wife has ever killed her husband for the insurance money.”

  62. 62.

    Keith G

    @jl: Yup…Doesn’t seem many here want to be of good cheer, not when there is so much to fume about.

    I do think the vid at top is cute. It looks like the kids enjoyed themselves – as one should at Christmas time.

    Hope y’all can do the same.

  64. 64.

    Morzer

    Slightly more joyous tidings:

    THERE’S a political axiom that says if nobody is upset with what you’re doing, you’re not doing your job. We’ve seen this proved time and again in the liberal attacks on conservatives like Sarah Palin and Dr. Benjamin Carson, who provide principled examples to women and minorities and are savaged by the left for doing that job so well.
    .
    But cheap-shot politics isn’t relegated to Democrats. Last week the House speaker, John A. Boehner of Ohio, attacked conservative groups who criticized the budget deal, hashed out by Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, and Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, for failing to reduce spending and for raising taxes.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/opinion/john-boehners-betrayal.html?ref=opinion&_r=0

    Let that first paragraph percolate gently through your soul as you realize that “conservatives” really do believe this gibbering nonsense. Also too:the teabaggers are preparing for another purge of the infidels/RINOs.

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