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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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No one could have predicted…

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Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

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Be a traveling stable for those who can’t find room at the inn.

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

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He imagines himself as The Big Bad, Who Is Universally Feared… instead of The Big Jagoff, Who Is Universally Mocked.

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The willow is too close to the house.

Come on, man.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

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

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Friday Evening Open Thread: Let’s Read the Comments, Shall We?

Friday Evening Open Thread: Let’s Read the Comments, Shall We?

by Anne Laurie|  April 4, 20145:06 pm| 101 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Clown Shoes

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From Kotaku, “A Reminder That Not Everyone Reads Before Commenting“:

On April Fool’s day, NPR had an extremely simple joke that turned out to be an incredibly effective demonstration of how much commenters on Facebook actually read of the articles they comment on…

How many comments here before we achieve the Perfect Interwebs (Un)Singularity?…

**************************
Ah, screw it. Apart from the universal human urge to engage mouth before putting brain in gear, what’s on the agenda this evening?

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Previous Post: « Dear Tea Party, Racism Is Not Dead
Next Post: Brace Yourselves- I Pulled The Trigger »

Reader Interactions

101Comments

  1. 1.

    kc

    April 4, 2014 at 5:08 pm

    FIRST!

    Kidding . . .

  2. 2.

    scav

    April 4, 2014 at 5:12 pm

    forgot to use the Long Read tag, no? :)

  3. 3.

    burnspbesq

    April 4, 2014 at 5:14 pm

    @scav:

    You want a long read? I got your long read right here (well, there’s a link to it here), on a much-misunderstood topic that needs to be better understood.

    http://danshaviro.blogspot.com/2014/04/nyu-tax-policy-colloquium-week-9-andrew.html

  4. 4.

    ranchandsyrup

    April 4, 2014 at 5:17 pm

    Manning the grill and the fryer tonight like i picked up a shift at In-N-Out for friends, houseguests and neighbors. then we’re making smores for all of the little peoples.

  5. 5.

    Mustang Bobby

    April 4, 2014 at 5:22 pm

    The usual Friday night dinner with friends is being augmented by a trip to Best Buy to find a new computer to donate to the Tropical Audubon Society of Miami. The one they have now is running on Windows XP and therefore is going to be useless soon…. ironically, it’s for the birds.

    PS: The “Morning Edition” April Fools joke was good, too: a report on a new book on how to make your cat a celebrity on the internet. (Ahem.)

  6. 6.

    scav

    April 4, 2014 at 5:24 pm

    There’s that whizzing noise again . . . .

  7. 7.

    Xecky Gilchrist

    April 4, 2014 at 5:25 pm

    Well, there are any number of threads on this site that show that, whether people read the post or not, they don’t read the comments beyond about the first ten before commenting.

  8. 8.

    The Dangerman

    April 4, 2014 at 5:25 pm

    TGIF; DR

  9. 9.

    BGinCHI

    April 4, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    @ranchandsyrup: Stop taunting us with your warm weather you sick bastard.

  10. 10.

    Mustang Bobby

    April 4, 2014 at 5:28 pm

    @BGinCHI: Sorry, can’t hear you over the air conditioner.

  11. 11.

    BGinCHI

    April 4, 2014 at 5:29 pm

    I am going to try this again. Conference next week in St Louis. No experience with that town.

    Any recommendations for eating, drinking, exploring, or anything else?

    And please don’t suggest a Cards game. I’d rather drink in my hotel room.

  12. 12.

    BGinCHI

    April 4, 2014 at 5:30 pm

    @Mustang Bobby: Don’t make me come down there and force you to take me to a good Cuban restaurant and then dancing but in a completely hetero way.

  13. 13.

    different-church-lady

    April 4, 2014 at 5:30 pm

    Can’t we just stab Facebook until it is dead?

  14. 14.

    imonlylurking

    April 4, 2014 at 5:33 pm

    @BGinCHI: The only thing I know about St Louis is that my new phone (first ever smartphone, yay?) thinks I live there. Oh, and try the Mango Peruvian and report back if it is worth a field trip.

  15. 15.

    BGinCHI

    April 4, 2014 at 5:35 pm

    @different-church-lady: Heard today Zuckerberg made 3.3 billion last year. I’m curious: how many employees does he have? Worst job creator ever.

  16. 16.

    BGinCHI

    April 4, 2014 at 5:35 pm

    @imonlylurking: If it’s a Peruvian place I’ll try it. I love that cuisine and there is nothing else like it.

  17. 17.

    RepubAnon

    April 4, 2014 at 5:37 pm

    In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Ford Prefect’s theory was that if humans stopped talking, their brains started working. Perhaps it applies to commenting as well?

  18. 18.

    ranchandsyrup

    April 4, 2014 at 5:39 pm

    @BGinCHI: argh sorry. y’allz in the midwest and northeast had it rough this year. I remember when I lived in colder climes that Spring was a season of false promises.

  19. 19.

    BGinCHI

    April 4, 2014 at 5:41 pm

    @ranchandsyrup: Even a false promise has promise for a while. Cold and windy today, though supposed to be a nice weekend.

    Carry on with your indulgences.

  20. 20.

    The Pale Scot

    April 4, 2014 at 5:43 pm

    Wait, Did An Oklahoma Hospital Try to Ban Birth Control Prescriptions For An Entire Town?

    Just WTF? In light of the hobbyboobs case, shouldn’t this be getting more coverage?

    Catholic takeovers of regional healthcare orgs. it’s insidious.

    They backed off on contraceptives, but no tubals or vasectomies, Really, WTF

  21. 21.

    ranchandsyrup

    April 4, 2014 at 5:44 pm

    @BGinCHI: Oh indulgences. I’ll open the scotch then.

    put in an inquiry with my sister in law re: St. Louis

  22. 22.

    elmo

    April 4, 2014 at 5:45 pm

    Finally going home after a week on the road. New York and Boston next week, Denver the week after that. I do love my job, but this is getting to be a bit much.

  23. 23.

    BGinCHI

    April 4, 2014 at 5:46 pm

    @The Pale Scot: But maybe less Oklahomans, so mixed feelings.

  24. 24.

    sharl

    April 4, 2014 at 5:48 pm

    @BGinCHI: I haven’t been in St. Louis for decades, but I do remember a couple recent restaurant references by my two current favorite STL tweeters, Sarah Kendzior and Rebecca Schulman:

    Sweetie Pies (soul food) {from SK}

    Nathalie’s “a spectacular new restaurant in the Central West End” {from RS}

    Can’t vouch for either myself, unfortunately.

  25. 25.

    RSR

    April 4, 2014 at 5:51 pm

    Both the 12 year old and the 9 year old are invited to a birthday party tonight, so mom and dad are headed off the the whiskey bar. (Neither the Last Whiskey Bar or Billmon’s Whiskey Bar, but Lloyd Whiskey in Fishtown, USA.)

    After this week in Philadelphia education, mom need’s that cocktail.

    (Regarding ‘under-performing’ public schools, Philadelphia Schools Partnership head goes full Wall Street and says, “keep dumping the losers.” http://co-opt-ed.org/2014/04/04/mark-gleason-dump-the-losers/ )

    Cheers!

  26. 26.

    Mnemosyne

    April 4, 2014 at 5:51 pm

    @BGinCHI:

    My mom thinks she’s going to be able to do next winter in Chicago after 25 years of winters in Arizona.

    Yeah, I don’t see that going well.

  27. 27.

    BGinCHI

    April 4, 2014 at 5:52 pm

    @sharl: Thanks! Will check them out.

  28. 28.

    Geeno

    April 4, 2014 at 5:53 pm

    @BGinCHI: Well, there’s always drinking in your hotel room.

  29. 29.

    BGinCHI

    April 4, 2014 at 5:53 pm

    @Mnemosyne: You are going to need a bigger boat and it is going to need to be full of vodka.

  30. 30.

    BGinCHI

    April 4, 2014 at 5:53 pm

    @Geeno: I don’t need to do research for that.

  31. 31.

    scav

    April 4, 2014 at 5:54 pm

    @BGinCHI: Ever seen Cahokia? Not in town, but if the weather provides an excuse to bolt outside . . . . Do we have grey covered today . . . I have seen snowdrops though and the leaves are making their early moves. EG, we’re still in for another good bout but find your seed packets.

  32. 32.

    Roger Moore

    April 4, 2014 at 5:55 pm

    @The Pale Scot:
    One more piece of evidence showing that the Catholic Church (and any other organization that refuses to make legal medical procedures available for religious reasons) should not be allowed anywhere near health care. The Catholic Church should be forced to spin off its health care empire into an independent, secular, non-profit organization.

  33. 33.

    Mnemosyne

    April 4, 2014 at 6:01 pm

    @BGinCHI:

    I’m 1,800 miles away in California. It’s my brother you’ll need to pity, who’s the one she’ll be living with. Until there’s blood on the snow, that is.

  34. 34.

    BGinCHI

    April 4, 2014 at 6:02 pm

    @scav: That is a great idea. I might do that as I’m driving down. Thanks.

  35. 35.

    Belafon (Formerly anonevent)

    April 4, 2014 at 6:03 pm

    Honey maid graham crackers. And Captain America. And compiler design.

  36. 36.

    Trollhattan

    April 4, 2014 at 6:05 pm

    @Mustang Bobby: Now that’s teh funneh!

    Have used the car A/C this year already (it survived another year!) but we’ve not yet reached the threshold of house A/C. Supposed to hit 85 by Monday, though. That will be nice.

  37. 37.

    Violet

    April 4, 2014 at 6:05 pm

    I’ve been playing caregiver all week for my dad who had unexpected surgery on Monday. It wasn’t super serious, but did involve his foot so he can’t walk much or drive at all. Somehow the communications were bungled and we thought he was just getting a biopsy, so we didn’t plan appropriately. Consequently, I’ve had to upend my schedule to make sure he’s okay and got everything he needs. Plus do wound care. I’m exhausted.

  38. 38.

    Roger Moore

    April 4, 2014 at 6:07 pm

    My weekend plans involve Turbo Tax. It shouldn’t be too big a hassle, especially because I expect nice refunds from both Uncle Sam and Governor Moonbeam when I’m done.

  39. 39.

    Origuy

    April 4, 2014 at 6:07 pm

    @Mustang Bobby:

    The one they have now is running on Windows XP and therefore is going to be useless soon

    Why? MicroSoft isn’t going to be issuing updates, but the machine won’t stop working.

  40. 40.

    Trollhattan

    April 4, 2014 at 6:10 pm

    @BGinCHI:

    Zounds, that puts him in John Paulson territory and (checks IMF list) between Guyana and Eritria’s GDPs.

    “Honey, we qualify to field our own Olympics team!”

  41. 41.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 4, 2014 at 6:11 pm

    @ranchandsyrup:

    I hope you are using Honeymaid grahams!

  42. 42.

    BGinCHI

    April 4, 2014 at 6:14 pm

    @Violet: You are a saint. That’s really admirable and so tiring.

  43. 43.

    BGinCHI

    April 4, 2014 at 6:15 pm

    @Trollhattan: The FB Olympic team would just invade everyone’s privacy then buy all the other teams.

  44. 44.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 4, 2014 at 6:16 pm

    @Belafon (Formerly anonevent):

    Hahaha. Talk about not reading all the comments.

    /shamefaced

  45. 45.

    ranchandsyrup

    April 4, 2014 at 6:17 pm

    This piece on why to avoid sports bars (if you can) made me laugh and has some good args.

    @SiubhanDuinne: just checked. we are. :)

  46. 46.

    geg6

    April 4, 2014 at 6:18 pm

    Have’t read the thread and I hope it’s an open one, but anybody else heard the rumor that Colbert is replacing Letterman?

    Awesome, if true!

  47. 47.

    Mnemosyne

    April 4, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    Finally breaking down and calling an allergist that my doctor referred me to. VERY tired of my sinuses annoying me.

  48. 48.

    Violet

    April 4, 2014 at 6:22 pm

    @BGinCHI: Thanks. It has been tiring. Fortunately, things seem to be stabilizing a bit. He’s got what he needs and I found out the wound only has to be cleaned and re-bandaged every other day so I don’t have to go over there every day now. They gave him a medication for the pain that knocks him out at night so he’s sleeping better than he has for a long time and that helps too.

    It’s just what you do you know? He’s my dad and I love him and I want to make sure he’s okay. I don’t know how he would have managed if I hand’t been there. We were both caught off guard by what they did on Monday and so you have to work the problem. Tomorrow will be the first day I’m not going over there, so it’ll be nice to have a break. I’m volunteering half the day for a garden thing though, so not really a day off.

  49. 49.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 4, 2014 at 6:22 pm

    WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT SPOILERS AGAIN?

  50. 50.

    Violet

    April 4, 2014 at 6:23 pm

    @geg6: I hope not. I love the Colbert Report and it wouldn’t work the same with him just being a straight host.

  51. 51.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 4, 2014 at 6:25 pm

    OT, sort of, Noisemax headline:

    Noonan: Obamacare a ‘Huge, Historic Mess’

    Only for values of “Obamacare = Noonan” is this a valid headline

  52. 52.

    Mnemosyne

    April 4, 2014 at 6:26 pm

    @geg6:

    Last I heard, Craig Ferguson has a “Prince of Wales” clause that means he gets the right of first refusal for Letterman’s timeslot. I love Ferguson, so it would be nice to have him in the sorta-late spot instead of the after midnight spot.

  53. 53.

    Elmo

    April 4, 2014 at 6:27 pm

    OMG.
    Remember the jackass excoriated by Tammy Duckworth for claiming a service disability for a college football injury?

    He’s been arrested for the brutal murder of his wife.

  54. 54.

    geg6

    April 4, 2014 at 6:27 pm

    @Violet:

    Nope, sorry, can’t agree. He deserves a larger audience and he’s a great satirist. And a genuinely nice guy. I heard he wants the job. Person who told me says TPM is reporting.

  55. 55.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 4, 2014 at 6:28 pm

    @Elmo:

    “The football injury, and Tammy Duckworth making me look like a complete and total jackass is what killed my wife”

  56. 56.

    geg6

    April 4, 2014 at 6:29 pm

    @Elmo:

    OMG! That’s crazy!

  57. 57.

    Violet

    April 4, 2014 at 6:29 pm

    @geg6: TPM isn’t the only one. It’s all over if you google it. But it’s very early to be talking about it, so who knows how it’ll go. He’s a nice guy and if that’s what he wants to do, then more power to him. I’ll miss the Colbert Report and his spot on political satire. I don’t think his late night network show would be the same kind of thing.

  58. 58.

    SatanicPanic

    April 4, 2014 at 6:32 pm

    @Mustang Bobby: Air conditioner? Who needs em? I’m personally a little bummed about the weather this week- been kind of cloudy. I expect at least two good months before the May gray or I get cranky.

  59. 59.

    Elmo

    April 4, 2014 at 6:33 pm

    @geg6:

    Yeah. I first heard about the murder from a friend of mine who was acquainted with the victim. They’re neighbors. Only today realized who her husband was.

  60. 60.

    opiejeanne

    April 4, 2014 at 6:38 pm

    Have you seen the story on Chad Curtis? Evil, smug, selfish asshole, clubhouse cancer using religion to coerce others in the clubhouse and the gym.
    He’s in prison now, doing 7 to 15 for molesting teenage girls, all in the name of Jesus.

    Deadspin has the story.

  61. 61.

    The Pale Scot

    April 4, 2014 at 6:40 pm

    @Mustang Bobby: Think about using Ubunti, I gave my mum a dell laptop with Ubunti, Firefox, Thunderbird, Open Office. I have received no tech support calls. If you know mac the GUI is intuitive.

  62. 62.

    JGabriel

    April 4, 2014 at 6:40 pm

    Anne Laurie @ Top:

    Apart from the universal human urge to engage mouth before putting brain in gear, what’s on the agenda this evening?

    How many of us would ever post a comment on the internet if we thought before we typed?

  63. 63.

    Baud

    April 4, 2014 at 6:48 pm

    I’m tired of all these Snowden threads. I’m just not that interested anymore.

  64. 64.

    Chyron HR

    April 4, 2014 at 6:49 pm

    @ranchandsyrup:

    Manning

    OH HERE WE GO CAN’T YOU TRUE PROGRESSIVES KEEP A LID ON IT FOR JUST ONE THREAD?!?!?!

  65. 65.

    gogol's wife

    April 4, 2014 at 6:55 pm

    I was very busy today so didn’t read the Letterman thread in time to comment on it, but I just read it and I have to say, I love the fact that this is a blog on which people know who Brother Theodore is.

    And that once front-paged James Mason’s Thunderbird commercial.

  66. 66.

    ranchandsyrup

    April 4, 2014 at 6:55 pm

    @Chyron HR: Ha!

  67. 67.

    gogol's wife

    April 4, 2014 at 6:57 pm

    @BGinCHI:

    They used to have great deep-dish pizza downtown 40 years ago. Beyond that, I can’t help you. Haven’t been there lately. I don’t know whether their riverfront is still hopping.

  68. 68.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 4, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    @Elmo: Link?

  69. 69.

    JGabriel

    April 4, 2014 at 7:04 pm

    @gogol’s wife:

    … I love the fact that this is a blog on which people know who Brother Theodore is.

    Really? I haven’t read the thread. Did Brother Theodore appear on Letterman?

    Anyway, I saw him perform once down at the 13th Street Theatre, between 5th & 6th, about two decades ago, I’m guessing. It’s a small place.

    Had no idea who he was, but the reviews pasted out front looked interesting, and, since it was relatively cheap, I bought a ticket and went in. No plan, just happened to be walking past the theater at the right time and with time to kill.

  70. 70.

    gogol's wife

    April 4, 2014 at 7:07 pm

    @JGabriel:

    Yes, he did — someone in DougJ’s thread about Letterman mentions it. I remember him from the Merv Griffin show, where after he did his routine and came to the couch he said, “I’m sweating like a chunk of rancid pork!”

    He also appeared in some B movies with Gale Sondergaard as the Spider Woman.

    It must have been amazing to see him.

  71. 71.

    JGabriel

    April 4, 2014 at 7:08 pm

    @Elmo:

    Remember the jackass excoriated by Tammy Duckworth for claiming a service disability for a college football injury?

    He’s been arrested for the brutal murder of his wife.

    So … typical Republican then?

  72. 72.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 4, 2014 at 7:09 pm

    @Elmo:
    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Never mind, I googled and found the story. The sick evil fuck strangled her and then hanged her to make it look like a suicide.

  73. 73.

    different-church-lady

    April 4, 2014 at 7:09 pm

    @Origuy: So they’ve patched all of the possible security holes at this point?

  74. 74.

    Elmo

    April 4, 2014 at 7:11 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Sorry was posting in a rush. Here you go.

  75. 75.

    Elmo

    April 4, 2014 at 7:12 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Right. My friend who knew her was saying it was murder before he was even arrested.

  76. 76.

    Alison

    April 4, 2014 at 7:12 pm

    Hey, various FPers – will there be another Balloon Jobs thread sometime soon? We haven’t had one for a while, AFAIR, and I have an interesting one to tell folks about in the SF area.

  77. 77.

    JGabriel

    April 4, 2014 at 7:15 pm

    @gogol’s wife:

    It must have been amazing to see him.

    It was … interesting. Brother Theodore blew up at a couple of people in the audience. At the time I thought maybe it was part of the act, but I overheard friends of his in the lobby, during intermission, saying that he was having an off night and worrying about him. I saw them talking with him after the show and commiserating. He complained about the people he berated, but otherwise seemed much more relaxed and nicer than he was onstage.

    That’s all I really remember. Like I said, this was about 20 years ago.

  78. 78.

    tofubo

    April 4, 2014 at 7:23 pm

    Casey Austin Sheehan died 10 years ago today

    “those weapons of mass destruction should be here somewhere” – G.UU.B.

  79. 79.

    BGinCHI

    April 4, 2014 at 7:30 pm

    BridgeGate going to the Grand Jury according to TPM.

    I hope they throw the book at that smug bully asshole.

  80. 80.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 4, 2014 at 7:32 pm

    @Elmo:

    Apparently there was a nasty history of abuse. If your friend was aware of that, I’m not surprised he would reach that conclusion before the arrest.

  81. 81.

    cckids

    April 4, 2014 at 7:35 pm

    I’m sure everyone here can do the math on this, no surprises:

    Deer Trail, Colorado residents shot down their infamous drone hunting ordinance on Tuesday, showing that at least 73% of the small town’s residents have common sense. The matter fell to the voters after the town’s board came to a 3-3 draw on enacting the legislation, which had strong support from the mayor.

    Because of course. The humor value of these morons attempting to shoot down “dronze” is lessened by the inevitable damage they’d cause.

  82. 82.

    dmsilev

    April 4, 2014 at 7:52 pm

    @BGinCHI: I hope the thrown-under-the-bus aides have finished their immunity-deal negotiations with the prosecutors.

  83. 83.

    Roger Moore

    April 4, 2014 at 7:54 pm

    @cckids:

    at least 73% of the small town’s residents have common sense.

    That seems like damning with faint praise. Shouldn’t the vast majority of people have common sense? If 27% of people don’t have it, is it really common?

  84. 84.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 4, 2014 at 8:01 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    If 27% of people don’t have it, is it really common?

    There’s that number, AGAIN!

  85. 85.

    The Pale Scot

    April 4, 2014 at 8:03 pm

    @SatanicPanic: Air conditioner? Who needs em?

    Yea. that’s coming from a guy with “satan” in his moniker.

  86. 86.

    gogol's wife

    April 4, 2014 at 8:22 pm

    @JGabriel:

    Twenty years ago he must have been at the end of his career. He was strange!

  87. 87.

    gogol's wife

    April 4, 2014 at 8:25 pm

    @JGabriel:

    He was born in 1906, so 20 years ago he was pretty old! Wikipedia:

    Brother Theodore (November 11, 1906 – April 5, 2001), born Theodore Gottlieb, was a German-American monologuist and comedian known for rambling, stream-of-consciousness dialogues which he called “stand-up tragedy”. He was a man described as “Boris Karloff, surrealist Salvador Dalí, Nijinsky and Red Skelton . . . simultaneously”.

  88. 88.

    danielx

    April 4, 2014 at 8:46 pm

    Must…control…feeling…stabby….

    Deep breath…okay.

    From the Department of the Absolutely Predictable:

    From the NY Times Opinion section, the description of today’s latest encomium from David Brooks, entitled Party All The Time – his first since the Supremes’ latest flight of imagination and blow against the imaginary dictatorship of the proletariat:

    The Supreme Court’s McCutcheon decision strengthens democracy by enabling the parties to take back power from major donors.

    No, really, that’s what the description says. I confess to an episode of brain lock after reading this, since even the most luxurious Republican tongue baths of the McCutcheon* decision have couched it as a victory for First Amendment rights, as opposed to…whatever it is that my man Dave perceives. I admit that my inferior understanding prevents my grasp of the unquestionable soundness of Brooksian thought (such as is is), but then I’m not David Brooks. For which I am grateful; I suspect the sums he must go through in over-the-counter headache medication must be appalling. I mean, justifying the unjustifiable and defending the indefensible hurts, y’know?

    As far as I can tell, Brooks’ view of the latest of a series of decisions permitting plutocrats to buy pols wholesale is that – somehow – this strengthens the national level party organizations and that again – somehow – this strengthens democracy, in some fashion that my less-than-Olympian perception does not allow me to discern. I’m starting to think that when you become a Villager of the first rank you get issued to you (in a suitably decorative gift box) a set of Village vision goggles (kind of like night vision goggles) which permit one to see piles of gold bars, which the peasantry see as piles of horseshit. Observe, then, the power which allows Brooks to see what others do not:

    The McCutcheon decision is a rare win for the parties. It enables party establishments to claw back some of the power that has flowed to donors and “super PACs.” It effectively raises the limits on what party establishments can solicit. It gives party leaders the chance to form joint fund-raising committees they can use to marshal large pools of cash and influence. McCutcheon is a small step back toward a party-centric system.

    I tell you, I was feeling new little shoots of democracy springing up beneath my feet this morning out in my front yard. Let a thousand flowers bloom, as some Chinese sage once remarked – with the power of Brooksian fertilizer to aid them, these flowers will be knee high by next weekend.

    *Re McCutcheon – have you seen a picture of that triple chinned troll? Guy looks like Jabba the Hut’s Mini-Me.

  89. 89.

    Ian

    April 4, 2014 at 9:11 pm

    @danielx:
    That is more Brooks than anyone should read. Suggest you seek medical attention immediately.

  90. 90.

    Roger Moore

    April 4, 2014 at 9:16 pm

    @danielx:
    I think I can kind of see where Brooks is coming from. McCutcheon removes aggregate limits on donations but leaves in place limits on the size of contributions to any individual or group. It increases the amount big donors can donate, but only by spreading their money wider. That may wind up boosting the parties relative to big donors because the parties will be the recipients of much of that cash while still maintaining their independence from any single big money donor.

    I don’t really buy it, though. The Citizens United spending will still be there, so billionaires will still be able to spend enough that individual candidates will be beholden to them. Even if the parties see a big increase in money, they still won’t be able to keep up with the billionaire donors. And the parties may not be overly indebted to any individual rich donor, but they’ll be more indebted to the rich as a class, which is almost as bad.

  91. 91.

    Bubblegum Tate

    April 4, 2014 at 9:20 pm

    Seen posted by a wingnut on the Twitter machine:
    “If you participate in #NoH8, you have participated in bigoted hate speech”
    and
    “#NoH8 = fascist hate speech. Use it against me and you are dehumanizing me. That is what fascists do to their enemies.”

    Up is down, people! Get with the program!

  92. 92.

    John Revolta

    April 4, 2014 at 9:20 pm

    @JGabriel: I saw him there too! Only I think it was more like the mid- eighties (time flies, man). I’m pretty sure I first saw him on Letterman and had to go see him live. Is he still around?

  93. 93.

    Roger Moore

    April 4, 2014 at 9:31 pm

    @Bubblegum Tate:
    It’s just a repetition of a basic wingnut meme: the only real bigotry is calling somebody a bigot. It’s the contemporary version of “I’m rubber and you’re glue”.

  94. 94.

    John Revolta

    April 4, 2014 at 9:32 pm

    Never mind. Just caught up on the thread.

    I remember he had a great way of dealing with hecklers. “Mommy………..”
    (in a snivelly little brat voice)…………”I said to Brother Theodore (repeats the heckle)………………”

    You know who else was great? Prof. Irwin Corey. Whatever happened to him?

  95. 95.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 4, 2014 at 9:39 pm

    This is good news, Cole.

    Now we can move on to newer, fresher angst moments.

  96. 96.

    danielx

    April 4, 2014 at 9:42 pm

    @Ian:

    I know, it’s a sin. I hate myself every time I do it but justify it as a public service. Must keep up with what passes for thought in Villager circles, you understand, just so I know what locomotive is headed for me at full throttle.

  97. 97.

    ranchandsyrup

    April 4, 2014 at 10:29 pm

    @BGinCHI: from my sister in law re St Lou:
    Tony’s is a fine dining/reservations/white table cloth Italian. Charlie Gitto’s on The Hill. Mafia style fine dining Italian. The town of Clayton has lots of cafes as does the town of Webster Groves. Milagro Mexican fine dining. Trattoria Marsella for modern Italian.

  98. 98.

    Origuy

    April 4, 2014 at 11:09 pm

    @different-church-lady:

    So they’ve patched all of the possible security holes at this point?

    No, but they won’t be adding any new ones.

  99. 99.

    PaulW

    April 4, 2014 at 11:59 pm

    twenty years ago, we lost Kurt Cobain to despair.

    Us Gen Xers are twenty years older. Are any of us where we thought we’d be back in 1994 before all this changed?

  100. 100.

    Mnemosyne

    April 5, 2014 at 12:10 am

    @PaulW:

    Nope. But “different” isn’t always worse.

    It turns out that one of my same-age co-workers (mid-40s) has never heard of Calvin & Hobbes. WTF is up with that?

  101. 101.

    cckids

    April 5, 2014 at 1:04 am

    @Mnemosyne:

    It turns out that one of my same-age co-workers (mid-40s) has never heard of Calvin & Hobbes. WTF is up with that?

    That’s just sad.

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