Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

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

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

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

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Mid Afternoon Open Thread

Mid Afternoon Open Thread

by | 83 Comments

This post is in: 

First, let me say “Thank You!” to all of you who wished me a happy birthday last night.  That was touching.  Even from mclaren, you silly little person, you!

The Olympics have already started, and among the tweets from western reporters about terrible hotels, poisonous water, and open man-holes and so on, we’ve learned that the Russians have apparently put surveillance gear into the showers and bathrooms.

James Carville is joining Fox “News” as a contributor.  I wonder how that will work out, and if he’ll commute with his wife.

82,000 tons of coal ash have spilled into a river in North Carolina.  [[MUST. NOT. ENGAGE. IN. SCHADENFREUDE. WHEN. THEY. INEVITABLY. PETITION. FOR. FEDERAL. DISASTER. RELIEF.]]

Three Native American tribes will soon begin prosecuting non-members for domestic violence that occurs on reservations or tribal land, a practice that was stopped 35 years ago.

Pakistan has entered peace talks with the Taliban.  Maybe if they just cut to the chase and make sure that the ISI actually pays their client, they wouldn’t need peace talks with them.

And the Russian feminist punk protest band Pussy Riot has “disowned” the two members who were recently released from prison (and were interviewed by Steven Colbert a couple of days ago).

Reader Interactions

83Comments

  1. 1.

    danielx

    James Carville is joining Fox “News” as a contributor.

    They’ve got about every other asshole on there, why not Lord Voldemort?

  3. 3.

    Cacti

    Meanwhile, on the heels of the Russian official accidentally spilling the existence of Sochi showercams…

    Wikileaks and Glenn Greenwald shill for their pal Eddie’s new home:

    Laughable to see US media complaining about Ru spying for Sochi Olympics when the NSA is mass intercepting entire continents, forever

    — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks)

    “Russia spies, too” is the new “Saddam also tortures”.

    — Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald)

    Because gathering telephone metadata is totes the same as video recording someone taking a shower.

  5. 5.

    different-church-lady

    They said that their group belonged to a “leftist anti-capitalist ideology” but that the pair had become “institutionalised advocates of prisoners’ rights”.

    The letter read: “Unfortunately for us, they are being so carried away with the problems in Russian prisons, that they completely forgot about the aspirations and ideals of our group – feminism, separatist resistance, fight against authoritarianism and personality cult, all of which, as a matter of fact, was the cause for their unjust punishment.”

    Ah, so it’s not just in the good old USA where the left eats the left.

  7. 7.

    Mnemosyne

    Three Native American tribes will soon begin prosecuting non-members for domestic violence that occurs on reservations or tribal land, a practice that was stopped 35 years ago.

    The original Supreme Court decision in 1978 seems like such a weird decision to begin with. I mean, if I had been abusing a boyfriend while I was going to college in California but had been able to prove I was a legal resident of Arizona, would California have been forced to get the feds to prosecute me because they don’t have jurisdiction over Arizona residents? Then why would reservation courts not be allowed to prosecute crimes that happened on their lands? Come on!

    (Yes, I realize that the decision was made due to racism and idiocy, but it really fails basic logic and fairness.)

  9. 9.

    MattR

    @different-church-lady: I don’t know that it was left eating the left so much as it was differentiating their goals and focus. Also from the letter:

    “Yes, we lost two friends, two ideological fellow member (sic), but the world has acquired two brave, interesting, controversial human rights defenders – fighters for the rights of the Russian prisoners.”

    (EDIT: There does appear to be some bitterness, jealousy and other issues that accumulated over the past couple years, but it didn’t seem like Pussy Riot was trying to “rip” the other two with this letter.)

  10. 10.

    MrSnrub

    Day 2 of unemployment. Day 1 was spent taking care of kid and house during a power outage from the ice storm. Power came back on at 5am. Day 2 involves me telling him to turn down the tv while I’m talking with recruiters.

  13. 13.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @different-church-lady: We are the People’s Front of Judea! Not the Judean People’s Front!

    I was in France a few years ago during a presidential election, and the Communist candidate was doing better than they had in years (what that meant, I don’t remember, three percent, thirteen or thirty), but the party was weakened by internal divisions, including three distinct Trotskyite groups within the party.

  14. 14.

    different-church-lady

    @MattR: I probably should have kept reading.

    On the one hand it’s like they don’t understand multitasking. On the other, it’s refreshing to see progressives who know how to focus.

  15. 15.

    MattR

    @MattR: FYWP!!! Edited my comment and added a mention of the name of the band. Appears that one of those words triggers moderation. Hopefully it will get freed eventually.

  16. 16.

    Hal

    I was wondering how exactly Carville was going to go about attacking Obama while promoting Hillary. At least this means if Hillary is the nominee she won’t have Carville on her team.

  17. 17.

    Sherparick

    I think this is one of the more sensible perspectives on PSH’s death to appear in the media.

    “There’s more than one way to view Hoffman’s end. Sadness seems required, but let’s pay some respect as well. Hoffman had an illness. He fought it for more than two decades. While fighting it, he did a lot of outstanding work. He improved the culture. He made a lot of friends, from famous fellow movie stars to anonymous fellow junkies. Then he fell off the wagon. I feel awful for his family, especially his kids. Let’s remember, though, that he tried. Then he ran out of fight and gave up. There are worse sins. R.I.P.” http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-06/philip-seymour-hoffman-heroin-and-addiction-four-blunt-points#r=rss

  18. 18.

    slippytoad

    @Cacti:

    Russia spies, too” is the new “Saddam also tortures”.

    Wow, he’s such an ass. “Russia executes dissidents with polonium, too.” What is he trying to establish here other than his complete lack of integrity?

  19. 19.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    James Carville is joining Fox “News” as a contributor.

    I wonder if the Clinton camp thinks this is a great coup. Carville comes up with a good line now and then, but I find him highly ineffective as a media presence. Begala, OTOH, is underrated. He’s one of the few old Clinton hands I think is really good on TV, and more of a Democrat than a Clintonista.

  21. 21.

    MattR

    @different-church-lady: Completely agree with your comment. My edit said that it does sound like there are jealousy, bitterness and other issues between the band and the two who spoke out. I think the band was annoyed that their name was getting associated with the actions of the other two and wanted to make it clear that the duo were acting as themselves, not the collective. But the band does still respect the duo and was not trying to savagely attack them or anything like that.

  22. 22.

    different-church-lady

    @MattR: Things might be getting lost in translation too. The meta-ironic angle of my comment was my making fun of a American-centric view of the politics of a very different country.

  23. 23.

    gogol's wife

    @MattR:

    It’s still a little annoying. I think the people who spent two years in a labor camp have some credibility.

  24. 24.

    Cacti

    @slippytoad:

    “Russia executes dissidents with polonium, too.” What is he trying to establish here other than his complete lack of integrity?

    Russia also murders journalists and jails Putin critics.

    But GG’s meal ticket lives there now, so he has to dance to Vlad’s organ grinder.

  26. 26.

    Gene108

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Boehner said in a presser that the GOP House cannot do immigration reform because they do not feel Obama enforces the laws passed by Congress.

    It is not Boehner’s fault immigration reform is DOA. It is Obama’s fault for not doing his job, thus Borhner has no choice but to kill it.

  29. 29.

    srv

    “There’s widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws, and it’s going to be difficult to move any immigration legislation until that changes,” Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters Thursday.
    …
    Boehner said the president is “running around the country telling everyone that he’s going to keep acting on his own. … And he’s feeding more distrust about whether he’s committed to the rule of law.”

  31. 31.

    Trollhattan

    @different-church-lady:

    The Colbert appearance was quite odd. One of course wonders how much they can possibly understand the pretend-rightwing-pundit-mocks-actual-rightwing-pundit-4x/week” setting, but they seemed game. As for me, I fell in love with the translator–holy cow did she have a tough task.

  32. 32.

    KG

    @Gene108: Obama doesn’t enforce the laws? Which ones? Like the immigration ones where he has deported more people than any other president?

  34. 34.

    different-church-lady

    @srv: What I hope I’m seeing here is that Republicans are going to spend 2014 running against Obama, and Democrats are going to spend 2014 running against their Republican opponents.

  38. 38.

    Roger Moore

    @Cacti:
    I guess they’re nothing if not predictable. I expected somebody to come out with a “Russia is just worried about terrorism during the Olympics” as an excuse.

  39. 39.

    Amir Khalid

    @KG:
    Böhner can’t come out and state his caucus’ real reason: “We’re against it because the Democrats (especially that blah man, curse him) are for it.” So they make up shit like this.

  40. 40.

    Mike E

    Who has 2 thumbs and is getting calls in to NC officials, hammering them over the coal ash spill?

  41. 41.

    Mandalay

    @Hal:

    At least this means if Hillary is the nominee she won’t have Carville on her team.

    One hopes, and if she does she deserves to lose. Carville is a clear rival to Harold Ford for the title of Most-Odious-DINO.

  42. 42.

    Ben Cisco

    James Carville is joining Fox “News” as a contributor.

    So Yertle Jr. finally made it official, huh? Now it’ll be all Carvilles all the way down.

    ETA: Missed the birthday festivities, so hope you had a good one, SG.

  44. 44.

    jl

    @Mandalay: And the post says Carville might ‘commute’ with his wife. On the show!? Different strokes for different folks. Maybe the Fox News audience will like it, but if that happens, I’ll be very careful about watching Fox News, even little clips on the internet.

  45. 45.

    Mandalay

    Trigger happy Keystone Cops get off with a slap on the wrist:

    Eight Los Angeles police officers who mistakenly riddled a pickup truck with bullets during a manhunt for cop-turned-killer Christopher Dorner last year will be allowed to return to the field after they get additional training, Police Chief Charlie Beck said…

    Attorney Glen Jonas, who represented the two women who won a $4.2 million settlement from the city, said he was concerned by the chief’s decision not to terminate any of the eight officers…

    The mistaken shooting occurred Feb. 7, 2013, as officers protected a Dorner target’s Torrance home. When one of the newspaper delivery women threw a paper onto the pavement in the early morning hours, an officer believing the sound was a gunshot opened fire. Officers unable to see clearly into the vehicle riddled the pickup truck with 103 rounds and hit seven nearby homes and nine other vehicles with gunshots and shotgun pellets.

  48. 48.

    different-church-lady

    @IowaOldLady: Actually, it’s like they think they can ride bad poll numbers to victory. I’m not sure Boehner believes this, but he seems to be at a loss as to how else to approach things. The rest of them live in a bubble made of tea, and so they just assume everyone’s going to vote based on ODS.

  51. 51.

    Shakezula

    The ShowerCam statment could be a cunning ploy to keep people from using the showers. “Everything is working fine! Except for outsiders trying to wreck things! By the way, we’ve got cameras in the showers, the toilets, the beds…”

  52. 52.

    different-church-lady

    @jl:

    And the post says Carville might ‘commute’ with his wife. On the show!?

    She’ll probably wear pasties, at least.

  53. 53.

    Cassidy

    @Cacti: I’m waiting for our progressive betters to come tell us how that’s all good and why the US is the real police state.

  54. 54.

    Skipjack

    I’m actually relieved to hear that the two women I saw on Colbert aren’t likely going to be back in prison for a similar provocation. I expected some kind of brave but futile gesture. A younger me would feel like they would be righteous to do just that, but I hope they will let the women still under balaclavas carry that particular flag. I do wonder if Pussy Riot That Remains realizes it is in danger of marginalizing itself though by noisily disassociating itself from these two young women right now.

  55. 55.

    lol

    @KG:

    One key distinction is that it’s *criminal* deportations that have skyrocketed under Obama while non-criminal deportations have actually declined since the Bush years.

  61. 61.

    gogol's wife

    @Trollhattan:

    The translator was fantastic. I didn’t have a feeling it was terribly scripted ahead of time, and if not, she was pitch-perfect.

    ETA: And it was fun that they let us hear the Russian and didn’t cover it up with English the way it’s usually done.

  62. 62.

    different-church-lady

    That’s interesting: according to the banner ads that probably only I see right now, Michael Jackson is touring with Cirque du Soleil

  67. 67.

    Ash Can

    I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if those cameras were placed in the bathrooms and showers in Sochi to monitor for gay behavior.

  69. 69.

    Keith G

    @Mandalay:

    One hopes, and if she does she deserves to lose. Carville is a clear rival to Harold Ford for the title of Most-Odious-DINO.

    Nope.

  70. 70.

    scav

    @Trollhattan:

    One of course wonders how much they can possibly understand the pretend-rightwing-pundit-mocks-actual-rightwing-pundit-4x/week” setting, but they seemed game.

    .

    I was left with the impression that the multiple levels of meaning veering in opposite directions was practically their native mode, or at least one of them. I somehow especially expect that of Slavs and peoples with practice of living under oppressive regimes. I mean, a nation that organizes protests involving stuffed animals carrying posters?

    V. Good translator indeed, both in speed, manner and tone. I’ll have to trust all the words were correct bien sûr but it looked like a superb three-way ping-pong game.

  73. 73.

    WaterGirl

    @Ash Can: Putin is giving Russia a bad name. There’s no way in hell I would be setting foot in Russia, especially to go to the olympics.

  75. 75.

    Anne Laurie

    @Trollhattan:

    The Colbert appearance was quite odd. One of course wonders how much they can possibly understand the pretend-rightwing-pundit-mocks-actual-rightwing-pundit-4x/week” setting, but they seemed game. As for me, I fell in love with the translator–holy cow did she have a tough task.

    I think a couple of smart, well-educated women who grew up in Russia are probably far better equipped to understand Colbert’s double-think schtick than many of the RW Americans who believe he’s on their side!

  76. 76.

    gogol's wife

    @scav:

    As far as I could tell, the only important thing the translator didn’t translate (or didn’t get a chance to translate, because they were all talking at once) was when he asked them if they were afraid of being arrested again, Alyokhina said, “Do we look like people who are afraid?” I loved that moment.

  78. 78.

    Roger Moore

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    Actually, it’s not Bonehead’s Fucking Job to worry about whether the law is being enforced.

    Yes, it is. Congress has an oversight role, up to and including impeaching the President. If the President isn’t enforcing the laws, it’s precisely Congress’s job to do something about it.

  79. 79.

    Swellsman

    About that leak of coal ash into the Dan River in NC . . . according to the news story at the link, the plant was located in Eden, NC.

    From the Eden, NC wikipedia page: “Several small historic downtown areas have opened up, such as the “Olde Leaksville” shopping district, in an effort to bring tourists to the city.”

    (emphasis added).

  80. 80.

    stepped pyramids

    @Trollhattan: My impression was that they know a little English. There were a number of remarks from Colbert they responded to at least with facial expressions before the translation even started.

    In cases like this I always wish there was an alternate subtitled, literal translation of all the Russian speech (both the interviewees and the translator). Not because I don’t trust the accuracy of the translation, but because I’m interested in the subtleties of translating in a comedic context.

  81. 81.

    carolinadave

    @Swellsman:

    Lucky for us who live south of Eden in NC, the Dan river flows NORTH to Danville VA. NC officials won’t have to involve the Feds. But Virginia might have to. I hope this gets national attention. 100%+ preventable. It makes the Freedom Corp. look responsible.

Comments are closed.