Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

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

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

We won’t go back.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

So many bastards, so little time.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

T R E 4 5 O N

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

In after Baud. Damn.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

I am pretty sure Katy Tur wasn’t always such a bootlicking sycophant.

Giving up is unforgivable. ~Joe Biden

An almost top 10,000 blog!

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

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open thread

Reader Interactions

56Comments

  4. 4.

    scav

    Fewer mayors standing up and announcing there are no gays in their towns despite the existence of gay bars. But utterly similar bands of roving PR Lawyers roving the streets looking for any unsanctioned or unpaid for use of the holy brandname. Oh, and didn’t East Rutherford somehow manage to end up with all the snow somehow?

  7. 7.

    Anoniminous

    According to the International Business Times.

    1. Watching the advertising “have become a critical part of the viewing experience” of the SuperBowl

    2. 30-second spot is reportedly going for $4 million

    3. One in five Super Bowl commercials leads to a sale, or intent to purchase

    4. A slick spot at the biggest TV advertising event of the year is [glamorous.] For some businesses, an appearance at the Super Bowl is a way of telling audiences – and the competition – that they are ready to play in the big leagues

    So even advertising has succumbed to the general tread of America being mindlessly self-referential.

  8. 8.

    lamh36

    On today, the first day of #BLACKHISTORYMONTH, I want to share this article from TaNehisi Coates titled: The Champion Barack Obama.

    No (real) politics discussed, just a beautifully written piece on the impact of Barack Obama as the First African American President to people of color and beyond. Read it for yourself, share it with friends and family and maybe even sit your kids down and have them read it and discuss! Hope everyone takes this Black History Month and uses it to reach and teach your kids, friends, siblings, family and acquaintances about the history, the struggle and the triumphs of Black folk in US.

    The Champion Barack Obama
    How Black America talks to the White House

  9. 9.

    Corner Stone

    Progress!
    DC celebrates itself for letting poor Americans go hungry
    “And for reasons they’ll have to explain and reckon with, Senate Democrats essentially opened negotiations with the Republican-led House by passing a bill to cut SNAP by $4 billion. In other words, they wanted to cut the program; had they not, they could have passed a bill with an increase or no change at all (which was strongly encouraged by the progressive House caucus).”

  10. 10.

    Elmo

    @lamh36:

    Really beautifully written, especially the piece about his religion not being his science. Just a jaw-dropping talent he has.

  11. 11.

    rikyrah

    Prestigious NYC Private School Apologizes for Showing Slavery Satire

    At a presentation of history projects, the Dalton School screened a satirical slavery movie for sophomores in which the South won the Civil War.

    By: Breanna Edwards
    Posted: Jan. 31 2014 11:51 AM

    One of New York City’s most exalted prep schools has formally apologized for screening a satirical slavery film to students in which the South won the Civil War, the New York Times reports.

    The Dalton School, located in the Upper East Side, showed C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America to sophomores during history-project presentations on Monday. The film, which was released in 2006, is a documentary-style satire that makes a mockery of slavery. The viewing led to complaints at the school, the Times notes. On Wednesday the school gathered students and parents to apologize.

    The controversial flick, set 150 years after Ulysses S. Grant “surrenders” to Robert E. Lee, uses analysis by fake historians and altered footage (like a Confederate flag on the moon). It also freely perpetuates racial stereotypes, while pointing out that attitudes toward black people in the real 21st century is not exactly a far stretch from the fake 21st-century Confederacy.

    According to the Times, the more provocative parts of the flick were the “advertisements,” including one for a tracking-device “shackle,” dubbed the “revolutionary new way of servant monitoring.”

    Students at the affluent school told reporters that some were concerned about the apparent insensitivity to the struggle of black people and the mockery made of slavery.

    The head of Dalton, Ellen C. Stein, pledged on Wednesday in a statement to increase efforts to talk with students and staff alike about race matters.

    http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/01/prestigious_nyc_private_school_apologizes_for_showing_slavery_satire.html?wpisrc=obinsite

  12. 12.

    Corner Stone

    @Baud: A man. A man and his truck. A man and his truck stuck on a bridge for four hours for whoknowswhy?
    And through that Christie Jam, the truck kept burning fossil fuel while idling. The All New Chevy Silverado.

  14. 14.

    rikyrah

    Richard Sherman’s Dad Refuses to Take Advantage of His Seahawk Son’s Wealth

    Kevin Sherman still gets up at 3:45 a.m. and works on holidays as a garbage-truck driver. He says he’s too close to retirement to let his football-playing son cater to him.

    By: Breanna Edwards
    Posted: Jan. 31 2014 1:52 PM

    Kevin Sherman, better known as star NFL player Richard Sherman’s dad, has been driving a garbage truck for 26 years, and he’s not about to stop just because his son is famous and makes a much bigger paycheck than he does.

    “It’s a job that I don’t too much like, but I’ve done it all my life,” he told NFL Films in an interview earlier this season. “The only goal for my son was education, so … he got more education than I got.”

    Sherman still gets up at 3:45 in the morning and even works on holidays because of overtime in the sanitation department, refusing to cave to the apparent pressure from his peers.

    “People say, ‘Let your son take care of you.’ Yeah, but I’ve got a few years left until I retire. Why would I mess up my own retirement? Why should my son have to foot everything? I have a medical plan that will cover me. Why should my son have to pay my medical bills? It doesn’t make sense to me,” the pragmatic dad told a Los Angeles Times reporter.

    According to Business Insider, Richard Sherman said that his dad takes his job so seriously that he even left his son’s home early on Christmas in 2012 so that he could travel back to L.A. and get back to work the next day. “That kind of hard work, that kind of blue-collar mentality, is what got me where I am,” the proud Seattle Seahawks cornerback said.

    http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/01/richard_sherman_s_dad_refuses_to_take_advantage_of_his_son_s_wealth.html?wpisrc=mostpopular

  15. 15.

    Litlebritdiftrnt

    I was watching MJ the other morning (I know I know) and I discovered that Donny Deutsche’s (sp)firm was responsible for the Darth Vader VW ad. I did not know that and I knew I had a reason to like the guy. So far my fav ads that have been leaked are the Budweiser Puppy ad (he has a twitter account by the way) and the new bi-racial parent Cheerios ad.

  16. 16.

    Suffern ACE

    So, if you needed tape to hold a tail light in place until Monday when the body shop opens and didn’t want to risk paint damage on part that currently isn’t scratched, would you use duct tape? Painters tape (lots of it)? Clear packing tape? Just asking for a friend as I would never back into a telephone pole. Nope. Never.

  18. 18.

    Roger Moore

    @Suffern ACE:

    would you use duct tape?

    No. Duct tape is great for temporary fixes if, and only if, you can throw away everything it touches. Otherwise, it will leave a nasty residue that’s very difficult to get off. Electrical tape is probably a better choice.

  19. 19.

    rikyrah

    12 O’Clock Boys: Freedom Riding With Baltimore’s Biker Boys

    Lofty Nathan’s new documentary captures life with Baltimore’s daring young bikers.

    By: Stephen A. Crockett Jr.
    Posted: Jan. 31 2014 1:00 AM

    The black screen breaks, and Pug’s brown face appears, slim and unfazed, his cornrows hidden behind a black baseball hat cocked backward, his black T-shirt drunk around the neck. His eyes say: “I have seen more than my decade of life.”

    A nameless radio voice comes in offscreen like a low rumble. “I want to know what we are doing about these little scumbags on dirt bikes in our downtown … I mean these kids are just little bastards … and the problem is—and I’m going to throw it out there—they’re African-American … I don’t care if they get hurt,” the man’s voice says, now revved up high. He pops the clutch:

    “Frankly, I don’t care if one of them dies.”

    This is how 12 O’Clock Boys—an unflinching, hard-hitting look at a loose-knit family of illegal dirt bike riders on the streets of Baltimore—begins with a brown face and an omnipotent voice that has little tolerance for these loud bikes or this life or this lawless culture of expression. The voice doesn’t seek to understand or attempt to figure out. The voice just wants them gone.

    Fade to black.

    http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/01/_12_o_clock_boys_new_film_rides_along_with_baltimore_s_fearless_bikers.html?wpisrc=obinsite

  20. 20.

    Jewish Steel

    I’ve been reconnecting with one of the first albums I ever bought. I liked the title track, but at the age of 9 or 10 the rest of it went over my head. Such a strange guitar tone. Very bright and dry. “It almost sounds like Tom Scholz’s Rockman,” thought I. Sure enough from the Pete Townsend Gear page: “MESA/Boogie preamps direct into compression into recording console.”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Are_You

  21. 21.

    p

    COMPLETLY O/T

    i just received a notification that i’ve been “personally selected” as a balloon juice. com visitor to participate in an “annual anonymous survey”.
    anyone else get one?
    do i complete the survey and get “an exclusive reward”?
    i adore john and steve
    but wtf?

  23. 23.

    trollhattan

    @Roger Moore:

    Seconded. Good quality electrical tape and a clean, dry surface might hold, presuming it’s not corralling a lot of weight. Packing tape will hold more strongly, but the adhesive might be tough to get off. Duct tape is crappy for most things.

    Any way to cable-tie it in place?

  24. 24.

    Keith G

    @Corner Stone: It was the wise, thoughtful, thing to do. Better a compromise that hurts the voiceless than more stalemate.

    Wasn’t there a big policy speech recently that barely mentioned economic inequality? Who would give such a speech? Certainly not a Democrat.

  25. 25.

    Keith G

    @Corner Stone: It was the wise, thoughtful, thing to do. Better a compromise that hurts the voiceless than more stalemate.

    Wasn’t there a big policy speech recently that barely mentioned economic inequality? Who would give such a speech? Certainly not a Democrat.

  26. 26.

    MikeJ

    @rikyrah: It’s a pity that people were upset about that movie. It’s pretty powerful, and in no way a pro-slavery thing. Everyone should see it.

  30. 30.

    Mike in NC

    @MikeJ:

    I hate Slate as much as anybody, but they got their story on the Super Bowl, reported as if it were American media reporting on something in another country, dead on.

    These pieces by Joshua Keating are really good, including the ones on the federal government shutdown led by Ted Cruz and the State of the Union address.

  31. 31.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @rikyrah:

    “Those people”…so typically lazy and shiftless, aren’t they? Always looking for the easy way out, at the expense of hard working tax paying white folk.

    (Good grief, the projection is killing me…)

  32. 32.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @rikyrah: “Those people”…so typically lazy and shiftless, aren’t they? Always looking for the easy way out, at the expense of hard working tax paying white folk.

    (Good grief, the projection is killing me…)

    @efgoldman: Well, DUH!

  33. 33.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Sorry about the semi-duplicate there. Some FP type feel free to nuke from space 34.

  34. 34.

    max

    @trollhattan: Seconded. Good quality electrical tape and a clean, dry surface might hold, presuming it’s not corralling a lot of weight.

    Yeah, that *might* work. If you scrub the surface very clean.

    Packing tape will hold more strongly, but the adhesive might be tough to get off. Duct tape is crappy for most things.

    Clear plastic wrapping tape won’t cling to the surface properly. Duct tape will work, it’s just hard to clean off.

    Any way to cable-tie it in place?

    Now we’re talkin’! A cable tie, or if the taillight shell is really dinged badly, just pull it and leave the lamps dangling. (Old cars have the screws placed externally, new cars have the screws placed with the lightbulb base locker in the truck, behind the carpet. Just pull the carpet away starting at the top, twist the bulb bases so the bulbs come out, and there should be some visible screws in there somewhere. Unscrew those and the plastic shell will come off. No tape needed. If the screws are torx head and you don’t have torx, just put it back together the way you took it apart and use the tape.)

    max
    [‘Taillight assemblies get dinged all the time, and the bulbs have to be replaced, so the connectors for those are easy to get to.’]

  36. 36.

    Keith G

    Duct tape will work, it’s just hard to clean off

    Bug Off or Goo Be Gone can be purchased at Autozone or the like. It is a solvent that is formulated not to harm the top coat on autos. As always, read the directions.

  37. 37.

    Corner Stone

    @Keith G:

    It was the wise, thoughtful, thing to do. Better a compromise that hurts the voiceless than more stalemate.

    I’m just disgusted with this recent cowardice. Absolutely no reason for this deal, nor any reason to agree to the recent “bipartisan” budget deal. And anyone who suggests otherwise can choke to death on their stupid fucking apologia.
    We’re hurting people.

  38. 38.

    Tripod

    I can’t believe they managed to not put a roof on that fucking stadium. Hey, let’s spend a billion dollars and not maximize potential revenue from the facility.

  39. 39.

    Gex

    @Tripod: Trust me, you can build them a stadium with a roof. They just start screaming for one without a roof. That’s what I learned from the Twins and the Vikings.

  40. 40.

    Pogonip

    @MikeJ: I like those. I don’t know why, I was born in the U. S. and have never lived in another country, but a lot of American customs made no sense to me. A Korean aunt once asked me indignantly “Why girls have to shave under arms? That is weird! Is like men all want little girls!”. I couldn’t argue.

  41. 41.

    Pogonip

    @Suffern ACE: You can get red tape to go over the broken part or you can get auto body tape that will not damage the paint. Go to the auto parts store or the automotive section of a big box store.

  42. 42.

    Howard Beale IV

    Speaking of Voldermont, looks like his minnions fucked up big time:

    Florida’s state police agency on Saturday announced a massive evidence review in thousands of drug cases handled by one crime-laboratory chemist, saying its findings could lead to some criminal cases being quashed and drug dealers set free.

  45. 45.

    Roger Moore

    @Gex:
    You can’t build them any new stadium, because in a few years they’ll start demanding a newer one. Roof vs. no roof is a distraction. The real difference is that the newer stadium has more potential revenue sources and a chance to negotiate a lease that’s even more favorable to the team.

  46. 46.

    Gex

    @Howard Beale IV: Well of course they are. The argument for outdoor football was just the best way of getting the rubes to buy into their stadium demands. Once you get the people and the politicians swayed, then you switch to demanding whatever will extract max funds from the taxpayers.

    @Roger Moore: That’s exactly it. They’ve been in Minnesota since the mid-60’s. This is their third stadium. At what point do Minnesotans figure out that they are getting screwed? It’s not like the Vikings accomplish much other than to be one of the more embarrassing franchises in the league.

  47. 47.

    WaterGirl

    @Suffern ACE: I still have duct tape reside on my window after the fellow who sanded and refinished my hardwood floors used it to tape some electrical cord to the window while he worked.

    I would say painters tape, but what do I know.

  52. 52.

    sparrow

    @rikyrah: I don’t at all want them to die, and many are just young and stupid as we all were, but as a resident of Baltimore, these guys are really annoying. As are the crazy regular bikers that jump in front of cars and then proceed to pop wheelies at 2 miles per hour. I’m not going to glorify that stupidness.

  53. 53.

    Darkrose

    @rikyrah: Wow, someone missed the point there. It’s not “making a mockery” of slavery at all; it’s showing up the horror of it in ways that a 21-st century audience can relate to.

Comments are closed.