I was going to do a political post (something new and original), so I started scanning the headlines, saw a couple things and remembered immediately we are in the middle of the stupid season. A quick rundown of today’s idiocy:
1.) Ross Douthat thinks Obama and MSNBC are to blame should he be impeached because he is making the Republicans do it to save the Republic. We’ll file that in the “I only beat you because I love you” category.
2.) Meanwhile, on planet Earth (sort of), Steve King restated that he wants to impeach Obama still and Juan Williams chewed out the Heritage CEO for creating a group of white men who just want to impeach Obama. I’m sure Bishop Douthat will update his column.
3.) Republicans, after screaming about immigration for months managed to not do anything about immigration in Congress. Media silence.
4.) Liz Cheney is very upset that Obama noted that her daddy tortured people, notsomuch that, you know, her daddy tortured people.
5.) In other news, our “closest” ally in the Middle East allegedly spied on John Kerry during the peace talks, and then yesterday bombed another school shelter housing refugees, creating some more collateral damage in the form of dead Palestinians. The State Department condemned the act and stated they were “appalled,” so I am sure by tomorrow the usual suspects in the Democratic party will be condemning the admin for insufficient support. I’m looking at you Chuck Schumer.
On the upside, the IDF even offered a generous 7 hour ceasefire for humanitarian reasons so displaced Palestinians can return to their homes. Where they can presumably be bombed.
Really, this is just a crappy month and always is. So far the Palestinians and the immigrants are taking the blunt of the spasmodic rage from the wingnuts, giving the Blahs and the gays the summer off. So there is that.
Snarki, child of Loki
“1.) Ross Douthat thinks Obama and MSNBC are to blame should he be impeached because he is making the Republicans do it to save the Republic”
The Republicans should ABSOLUTELY impeach MSNBC. It will be EPIC.
GregB
It also looks like Sunni militants have routed Kurdish Peshmerga forces and have taken over three more Iraqi towns. There are reportedly 200,000 Yazidi who are now refugees fleeing the Sunni extremists.
Oh and the Sunni/Isis forces have launched an attack inside Lebanon.
Also, the Russian allied rebels in Ukraine are appealing to Putin for help.
If I was a religious dude I’d start getting Rapture ready.
C.J.
Douthat gonna Douthat. His piece reads as if Democrats/Obama made it all up in their heads. Unbearable.
Trentrunner
Whatsa matter, Ross, were they all out of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Reese Witherspoon at the grocer’s?
I fucking hope Obama goes whole hog on immigration relief via executive order.
ulee
August is the best month. No enforced holidays.
Ben
@efgoldman:
That was August 2009, i thought. August 2010 was all about the Burlington Coat Factory Mosque (speaking of which, what ever happened with that?)
Hal
Years ago I listened to David Brock on Fresh Air after he had seen the light and renounced his wingnutty ways. He told Terry Gross he had heard of talk of impeaching Bill Clinton before Clinton was even elected. Obama impeachment talk started in 2009. This is how Republicans have in part appealed to their base. Even if they don’t out right say they will impeach, they are not going to discourage said talk.
Just like when someone in a town hall would say he thought Obama was a Muslim, and some of these house asses would just sort of go with it, or outright support that sentiment, then conveniently say that’s not what they meant when asked by the media. Douthat is just doing the old birther dance. “Gosh, if Obama had just produced this document we’ve never questioned any other President about, we wouldn’t have gotten all nutso over it in the first place. Stop making me hit you!”
patrick II
@GregB:
I guess that there are some religious people who are getting Rapture ready, and are pretty pleased about it. If they can just impeach the anti-Christ we can start the countdown to the final days.
gbear
I saw that Douthat column and was sad to remember that DougJ had retired from BJ. I’ll have to be satisfied with reading the ‘reader’s picks’ comments. That should be fun…
Suffern ACE
@GregB: yep. I thought that the Kurds were supposed to be the barrier. I’m starting to be concerned.
ulee
@efgoldman: Oh well. Someone, somewhere had to fuck with August.
ulee
@GregB: Yea, these ISIS dudes are assholes. It is scary that the Peshmurga took off. I don’t blame them. Where is Saddam when you need him? He wouldn’t waste too much time.
Suffern ACE
@Ben: yep. 2010 was immigrant gangs, the cordoba center and bedbugs. Two of the three are back this year.
Roger Moore
@Hal:
Actually I suspect that what he’s trying to say is “don’t feed the trolls; it only makes them stronger”. He and the other members of the Republican elite who don’t like the teabaggers hope that it will be possible to tame them by ignoring their crazier ideas and giving them some shiny objects to distract them. Under this theory, the Democrats taking their rantings seriously prevents the Republican elite from bringing the Tea Party under control Of course this ignores the elite’s complete inability to do so in practice, even when the Democrats shut up.
CarolDuhart2
Where did the hot weather go? Yes, I’ve used my air conditioner, but only a few minutes at a time for humidity.
Remember the two biggest wars in human history began around this time: 1914 and 1939. And I’m not wholly convinced someone isn’t going to miscalculate and start another one.
TaMara (BHF)
Step away from the crazies. Here’s my new puppeh. Now, don’t you feel better?
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
August basically has one good day. The rest of the month is crap. Too hot. Too humid.
Suffern ACE
All the crazy of August, plus Superman is lying about his powers. Or he holds the key to our renewable energy future.
Jane2
@TaMara (BHF): Adorable new puppy!! He looks like he’s going to weigh 5898 lbs when he’s fully grown.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@TaMara (BHF): That’s the Hound of the Baskervilles in puppy form.
TaMara (BHF)
@Jane2: Yes, I’m thinking he’s going to make my previous Danes look like minis when he’s done growing. Can’t wait to go get him.
gbear
Excellent! The ‘Reader’s Picks’ commentors at the NYT are ripping Douthat a new one. They’re not being polite about it.
amk
well …
SiubhanDuinne
@TaMara (BHF):
Too cute! Can’t wait to hear his story!
Suffern ACE
@amk: yeah. But that isn’t a cocktail weenie. That lawsuit in the picture is a full sized frank. And plump. And why do you libs keep picking on its small size.
Roger Moore
@Suffern ACE:
Or the people misunderstand where his powers come from. I always understood the thing about his powers coming from our yellow sun wasn’t saying that he was solar powered but that his body developed differently on Earth than it would have on Krypton, and the sunlight was the critical difference.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
Disturbingly, I found out that I am FB friends with someone who is friends with Nedra Pickler.
PhoenixRising
@TaMara (BHF): OMG cute! If that were my puppy, his name would be Steinway. Or Baldwin.
Our Dane is celebrating her 6th bday tomorrow, her 3rd with us. I swear we could totally cancel our cable subscription because this dog, true to her breed, is a clown at heart. Every day, at least, it’s something.
ulee
@efgoldman: The Man is just placating you Rhode Islanders so you don’t rise up and storm Washington. Take your 8 hrs and be good.
Mr Stagger Lee
So the So the House Intelligence Committee clears President Obama of any wrongdoing in Benghazi. And Glenn Beck is worried about a new civil war brewing in America because both sides no longer talks to each other. We need Mulder and Scully to see if aliens kidnapped those guys.
Amir Khalid
@Suffern ACE:
The best-known discussion of Superman’s powers is probably Larry Niven’s essay Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex.
askew
Obama hasn’t had 1 good August yet since being elected. He must just dread August.
TaMara (BHF)
@PhoenixRising: I have a library of stories about my other four. They really do steal your heart. It’s taken me 5 years after my last two died, two weeks apart, to take the plunge again. But in my view, a house without a Dane is an empty house indeed.
This is the first time I haven’t rescued – I’ve been trying for a year, but it just hasn’t worked out. So I decided a puppy from a breeder that I’ve followed for years. He’s half European and half American stock, so he is going to be big boned. My first puppy ever. I’m sure I’m in for a shock.
Ben
@askew:
His birthday is tomorrow though. Maybe it reminds him of the passage of time…
GregB
Here’s an interesting bit of analysis postulating that the Saudi’s are getting a little skittish.
That is the place that funds so many of the shittiest elements in the world.
Maybe they are finally getting some overdue blowback.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Ben: It is perfectly possible to have an August birthday and still generally loathe the month.
redshirt
I still love Barack. :)
scav
@Mr Stagger Lee: My otherwise sane sibling is nearly touting this as a sign that everyone is equally complicit in the current disfunction; that it’s all been a confusion of equivalently well-intentioned and reasonable people and to think things through any deeper is dangerous, bad, and not to be attempted. August.
Amir Khalid
@gbear:
Douthat gets a shellacking from the NYT commentors week in, week out, so I’ve read. You’d think someone like — oh, I don’t know, the op-ed page editor, maybe? — would be aware that the readers think he’s full of shit.
Anya
@gbear: WHAT? When did that happen? I love DougJ. Is he posting somewhere else?
As for our boss Israel, I wonder how many humiliations will our country take at Netanyahu’s hands before we say enough.
Roger Moore
@Amir Khalid:
Maybe the editors know that the readers think he’s full of shit but keep him around anyway. Readers who show up to see how he’s wrong this time are still readers, and that’s what pays the bills.
satby
The right wing nutbags are all in with Trump about immigrants bringing Ebola in to destroy the US. Just had to hide the posts of a distant relation on FB who is positively foaming at the mouth about it.
Roger Moore
@Anya:
All of them, Katie.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Hey, I found out this morning that it’s your birthday but I haven’t seen you until now.
Happy birthday, Omnes! I hope you have had a lovely day/week/month to celebrate.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@WaterGirl: Thanks.
GregB
@GregB:
Here’s that link I promised.
Saudi Arabia girds for ISIS.
Amir Khalid
@Anya:
Not long ago, DougJ announced his retirement from political blogging at Balloon Juice. But he promises he’ll still blog about music.
WaterGirl
@satby: I ran into Linda yesterday. She said you had contacted her and you were very nice and very thorough. I guess there are plans for you and Linda and Audrey to talk together when Audrey returns?
I mentioned your cute little pillow boxes tied with string (for the shower) and she asked if you were on Etsy (or maybe she knew you were but she brought it up) and I told her how professional your Etsy site is and suggested she check it out.
I hope something pans out!
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Hey, you made me laugh the other morning with your reply to my kale comment from the night before, but I’m sure it was too late for you to see my morning reply on the dead thread.
Did you get any presents for your birthday?
WaterGirl
@Amir Khalid: Only for 3-6 years, so there’s always 2017! (or 2020) Gezz, it feels like Y2K was just yesterday, it seems crazy to write those dates.
satby
@WaterGirl: Thanks! Me too!I’m thinking road trip and a Balloon Juice meet up somewhere near Urbana if it does!
srv
Well, we can’t have DougJ, but we can have DougJ trolling John on torture back in the day.
askew
@Ben:
That’s true. I am not sure that helps offset all the crap he has to deal with in August. The least Scalia or Alito could do is retire to give him a happy August for once.
TaMara (BHF)
@Anya: His new job seems to make it not a good idea to be a snarky political blogger, for a while at least. Speculation is he was named a department head at an institution of higher learning.
I expect when his term is up, he’ll be back.
I also expect he will still troll us with various pseudonyms.
ruemara
It’s been a month of sheer wickedness in high places and proof positive that religion is another tool for abusers. I said religion, not spirituality, so those of you who are believers in whatevs, chill, I’m not boxing with your personal deity.
In the interest of spreading happiness, meet Sherbert Kitteh. Also, him and his foster sister, Logan, because she’s a runner. All things considered, not all bad this month, since those two got adopted.
TaMara (BHF)
@ruemara: A cuddle of kittehs!
srv
When will you people have the courage to retract those things you said about Bush?
Villago Delenda Est
In a just universe, the Cheney bitch would have long ago been put to death for defending her war criminal father post mortem.
Violet
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Happy birthday! I hope you had a good one.
ruemara
@TaMara (BHF): They are cuddley. But the pair I was being seduced into wanting to adopt had to go back to the shelter. They had hit their goal weight. Which is good, those two were working on me. The interns did a real nice job socializing these two. If you’d believe it, Sherbert would hiss at anyone who stared at him and Logan was a yowler and scratcher. Very good job at counterconditioning these two. I had doubts, but they’re very lovely and loving now.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@WaterGirl: Sure, I did. Nothing of note though. I have never been huge into birthday parties. I usually just do something nice for myself; for a number of years, I would buy a bottle of really good wine (’89 Chateau Palmer or the like) and enjoy it. That habit died out while I was married and I never really restarted it. Today, I took myself out for a fifty mile ride on my bike. Basically, I kicked my own ass – but I deserved it.
Mary G
Missed your earlier thread, John. So glad to see someone finally let you into detox and that you have 9 days!
The wingers do seem to have moved on from Obamacare and gay marriage, so there is that.
Villago Delenda Est
So, Douchehat thinks Obama should be impeached because he’s been trolling the incredibly stupid motherfuckers of the GOP.
Will someone please take mercy on us all and change this guy’s diapers.
Violet
Can someone please impeach Douthat? That would be awesome.
Anya
@Amir Khalid: Thanks, Amir!
@TaMara (BHF): Well, I hope he’s putting his effort to influencing a lot of young minds. We need all the help we can get since it looks like the crazies are winning.
dp
@Violet: How in the world did that guy’s career path lead to writing crappy op-eds at the New York Times?
Karen in GA
@TaMara (BHF): He’s adorable! Wrinkly little beastie!
Suffern ACE
@dp: he went to an Ivy. Funny how that works.
eemom
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
Happy birthday, and welcome to Teh Five Ohs!
It’s not so bad. Hell, look how semi-functional I still am.
Matt McIrvin
@Roger Moore: If you try to apply real physics to basically any superhero story, you will soon find that it doesn’t remotely work. Superman especially, though. Superman’s power basically has to come out of nowhere.
Suzanne
So Spawn the Elder starts middle school tomorrow. She cried and cried last night due to anxiety. I am really hoping that tomorrow goes well. Middle school was one step above torture for me, so I really hope she has a better experience.
In related news, I am eight hundred years old.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Suzanne: Tomorrow is August fucking 4th. How can school be starting? Isn’t the standard school year late August/early September through late May/early June? That was my experience from kindergarten through law school.
BillinGlendaleCA
@eemom: How’s the walker working out for ya.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Primary through high school always started after admission day(Sept 9); college and grad school were on the quarter system, late September to mid June.
askew
@Suzanne:
There is not enough money in the world to make me re-live the horror of middle school. High school was a breeze compared to that hellhole.
I am dreading work tomorrow. I have a new boss who is just a jackass. He’s over his head and I end up having to re-do all of my work for him because he doesn’t know what to ask for or what he wants. And he keeps having urgent requests that have to be done by end of day that he tells me about an hour before I am supposed to be done working. It’s amazing how a change in bosses can turn your dream job into one of the worst you’ve ever had.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@BillinGlendaleCA: My college was trimesters with no summer sessions. It was late September to mid June as well. I always saw that as an anomaly so I didn’t bring it up.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): We had 2 summer sessions between June and September, I only attended the second summer session after my freshman year. I needed to get a lab in and take the survey course for the major I was thinking of changing to(and eventually did change to). The survey course, Econ 1, was at the north side of campus, the lab(Bio) was at the south side of the campus with 10 minutes to transit.
Suzanne
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): In AZ, school starts in August and is finished before Memorial Day. They also get Fall Break in addition to Spring. One district nearby does two-week Fall and Spring Breaks and starts in July. It is kind of nutty.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Suzanne:
I concur.
Suzanne
@askew: Middle school sucked so much ass. My kid is also a year younger than most of her peers, is physically small, and is of gifted-level intelligence and is a total nerd. She was really upset at the end of last year because she was being teased because she was the last girl in her class to wear a training bra. She also got a mouth full of metal this summer. AND her best friend will not be attending the same school this year. So there is plenty of potential for heartache, and she is fairly high-strung as it is. So I dropped a bunch of $$$ getting her some cute new clothes yesterday. God, if You exist, if this could be a positive experience, I’d sure be grateful.
askew
@Suzanne:
Oh, man. That is a lot for a kid to handle. I hope she makes some new friends shortly and the bullies leave her alone.
At my middle school, the gifted kids were the bullies. The “popular” crowd never really bothered anyone.
Mike E
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): We here in NC have a “traditional” school calendar and year-round “tracks” that stagger a couple of parallel student bodies in order to accommodate full attendance at a single school site but somehow avoid critical mass. My daughter’s b’day is the 9th and we’ve seen her off to trad school as early as the 10th before our state assembly finally moved back the 1st day to the last week in August. I never attended school in PA before Labor Day, so, fucked up shit is bullshit, too.
Also, Happy 50th…my half century year so far has been umm, inneresting. Also.
Ruckus
@askew:
Once had a boss change that turned out very badly. Not a different boss, the same one progressed from a heavy but fun drinker to the alcoholic from hell. Watching someone do this is not fun, being in the middle of the ring with him sparing ten rounds a day is far worse.
Valdivia
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): happy birthday! /sorry if you read this when it’s not your birthday anymore!
BobS
@GregB:As a US citizen it makes me proud that every one of those shitstorms (not to mention the biennial IDF massacre of Palestinians) can be laid at the doorstep of my country.
Another Holocene Human (now with new computer)
@askew:
Truth.
Svensker
@Suzanne:
Awww, hope it goes well for her. MS was a living hell for much of my tenure there. Ugh.
And you don’t look a day over 678.
Woodrowfan
the only countries that spy on the US more than Israel are China and Russia. And it’s a close race for #1 among the three.
Woodrowfan
@Mike E: the Year-Round schedule is better for learning, students retain more with shorter, more frequent breaks. I did it back in the day. The only thing I did not like about it was that the school bully was it the same small group as me.
Paul in KY
@TaMara (BHF): That’s a lot of puppeh. Think he will be good at eating leftovers.
mzinformation
Good to see you back John. Keep on keepin’ on!!!!
dmbeaster
@srv:
Six years later and you are still pissy about that? Plus what needs retraction? Probably was not said harshly enough even then.
PW
The Repubs were in shards and threads by the end of the Nixon hearings. The horror is still with them. They won’t be whole again until they tear at least one liberal/progressive president into shards and threads. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I seem to remember that the evening following Obama’s first inauguration, they held a meeting in Virginia to plot his trip through the shredder.
kindness
Shit. Just back from a 2 week + road trip to Whistler BC and I didn’t watch tv or read a newspaper/web stuff the whole time. And I come back to Jon Stewart fodder on every front. What is the step beyond disgusted? Is there one? Shit.
Anyway, thanks John C for your continuing road trip and you, I and we all know that we’re all Bozos on this bus.
drkrick
@dp:
He isn’t capable of writing good ones.
Feebog
We are having a blast celebrating my parents 70th anniversary party in Oyster Bay, WA. Had about 60 people attend the big party yesterday, just hanging with family.