Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

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

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

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

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Late Night Cheap Laffs Open Thread

Late Night Cheap Laffs Open Thread

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From the “timing is everything” department: io9 reports that “Saturday’s Doctor Who Has Had Its “Beheading Scene” Edited Out“.

And because I am always in favor of a good point&mock job, here’s Dave Weigel laughing at the Media Village Idiots — “Can’t Sleep! Caliphate Will Eat Me!“:

… Today, Beck is a well-paid advocate for whatever FreedomWorks is doing, and a part-time apologizer for his (far more popular) persona of the early Obama years, but in 2011 Beck scared the bejesus out of his viewers by speculating that a caliphate could grow like cancer to cover much of Africa, central Asia, and Europe.

“You have Somalia and Iran already in green,” said Beck. “Now, let’s add Tunisia. Former Tunisian government was considered one of the most secular and corrupt governments in the Arab world. The poor and the angry demanded changes. Most dangerous scenario is that radical Muslims seize power and put Sharia law into place.”…

Seriously, just read Beck’s monologue. The host speculated that the weak economies of Spain and Portugal and the Muslim populations of France and Great Britain left them exposed to some kind of Shariah revolution. This was what “caliphate” meant—not a gang of killers terrorizing parts of Iraq, but a green wave spreading across the world that the early Muslims almost conquered.

This is a pretty silly dispute—it started on Twitter, after all—but the overrating of ISIS is one of the driving trends in politics right now. As Michael Calderone points out, the New York tabloids are leading with ISIS news, with photographs taken from the propaganda videos the group shot while beheading journalists. There’s an election in two months, just as there was an election 12 years ago, in the run-up to the Iraq war. The dividends of convincing voters that their country is under attack, and the barbarians who killed James Foley could be on your lawn if President Obama doesn’t come up with a strategy, are bountiful and obvious…

Reader Interactions

49Comments

  1. 1.

    John Revolta

    These are the times when I’m really glad my loverly wife convinced me to stop paying for cable………………..

  3. 3.

    Violet

    The media is freaking out about ISIS because its journalists that are being killed in the videos. It’s one of their own. That’s why it’s such a big deal to them.

  4. 4.

    fuster

    anytime that Dave is laughing is a good time. he see’s so much folly that saddens and depresses him that it’s good to see him get a rise

  5. 5.

    NotMax

    Feel good story for the weekend.

    Not warm and fuzzy, certainly, but always a pleasure to learn of (or be reminded of) someone with the fortitude and conscience to do as much right as he could.

  6. 6.

    jl

    We need to establish a Kristol Award.

    Beck would probably be a repeat winner. After a few, need to give him a Life Achievement Kristol Award and retire him from competition.
    Too tired to think of other worthy nominees right now, but plenty of them in the reactionary wing.

    The snotty Brit historian whose name escapes me right now, but for economics. There would be so many for economic predictions, we would need a special category for that.

  7. 7.

    Hal

    Rev. Franklin Graham Fears End Times Are Near

    Years ago I saw the last couple of minutes of the 700 club in which Pat Robertson used his vast psychic abilities to say “something” was at work and could unleash who knows what on the earth over the weekend. He ended his show by saying; “See you on Monday. If we’re still here.” I’m sure Pat got some extra donations over the weekend he could then funnel to his hilltop mega mansion. People like Graham aren’t any better than the Palins of the world.

  8. 8.

    John Revolta

    The snotty Brit historian

    Oh man, you gonna have to narrow that down just a little…………………..

  10. 10.

    jl

    @John Revolta:

    Niall Ferguson

    I am economist, so the episode where this historian said Maynard Keynes was gay (when he was well known to be very bi) and accused Keynes of being a silly liberal spendthrift because being gay he did not care about any offspring (not seeming to know that Keynes’ and his wife’s plan to have kids were ruined by miscarriages). But, after all, Ferguson IS an historian (Edit: and a nattering VSP conservative so he can do no wrong no matter how often he is wrong) so its all good.

    But he should get a Kristol Award (Economics Category) for his awful predictions.

  13. 13.

    Anya

    @jl: I was confused about that too, until I googled it. It’s still confusing, tho. But I agree with Elon James, it would be immensely more entertaining if Cornel West was his dance partner.

  15. 15.

    Mike J

    Oy. Had to demonstrate capsize drill for the n00bs tonight. Forgot how tired you get from just five minutes of righting a boat. And then having to do it twice, once as skip, once as crew to show duties each way.

  16. 16.

    Anya

    @jl: Are you kidding me! I am in a permanent state of confusion over our political system, the popularity of ‘reality shows,’ why are the Kardashians a thing and the existance of Sarah Palin, among other things.

  17. 17.

    Arclite

    I’m no wilting flower, but I’m always shocked when shows aimed at kids have beheadings in them. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Clash of the Titans, Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Twilight, the list goes on and on. IMO, any movie with a beheading on screen should get an automatic R. I’m constantly seeing 7, 8, 9 year olds in PG 13 movies, and beheadings are perhaps the most traumatic way to portray death.

  18. 18.

    Arclite

    @Violet:

    The media is freaking out about ISIS because its journalists that are being killed in the videos. It’s one of their own. That’s why it’s such a big deal to them.

    Not that any of them would have the balls to go to a war zone.

  19. 19.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Arclite:

    Not that any of them would have the balls to go to a war zone.

    This is true for the villagers, they media folk who have been to the war zone usually have a different perspective.

  21. 21.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @raven: My two teams’ games are on the PAC-12 “Network”. My provider does not carry the PAC-12 “Network”. I guess I’ll try to find the UCLA game on the AM radio. Well, my 3rd favorite team(whoever’s playing U$C, Stanford) is on ABC.

  23. 23.

    Betty Cracker

    @raven: What games will you be watching? The SEC games appear to be mostly a snooze-fest this weekend. I need to find a new outdoor TV on Craigslist so I can watch games at the tiki bar.

  24. 24.

    Comrade Nimrod Humperdink

    @Betty Cracker: As a Pac 12 fan and alum I would recommend Michigan State/Oregon if you can get it in your region, that’s a good matchup of contrasting styles. Stanford/USC should also be fun. Not sure Va Tech/tOSU will be all that but it’s the late game, and the last Michigan/Notre Dame game for a while will be on too. Two weeks in and I have already given up on my team for the season, it’s gonna all be downhill from here. So I may as well take in what everyone else is fielding.

  26. 26.

    Comrade Nimrod Humperdink

    @BillinGlendaleCA: There are ways around that, but you’d best have AdBlock to pursue them. I don’t have a lot of choice since I live overseas now. If ESPN gave out streaming content on a subscription basis from their website I’d use that, but the providers would have a shitfit, so I’m stuck.

  27. 27.

    Comrade Nimrod Humperdink

    @Betty Cracker: That’s right, THE Ohio State University. I had no idea there was such concerns about imposters until my Cougs travelled to Columbus in ’03 and hung with the Buckeyes for a half. Interesting season that was, Buckeyes went on to win the National Title, while we climbed to #3 in the polls and proceeded to lose to our rival in double overtime on a controversial call and down our starting QB. A week later we were also down a head coach, and we got spanked in the Rose Bowl. Haven’t had a lot to cheer about since then, really.

  29. 29.

    Comrade Nimrod Humperdink

    No, but I think enough of the old school Bama booster crowd wanted any excuse to get rid of him from the jump, and he gave it to them in remarkably efficient fashion.

  31. 31.

    Comrade Nimrod Humperdink

    I’m actually a bit bored and watching a developer Q&A on the next wowcrack xpac. I can’t say I’m that thrilled about the Abrams-Star Trek-style reboot with the storyline, but this garrison stuff might be fun. I just hope that someday my crazy little gnome engineer has her own drydock where she can build submarines, and I can be a Crazy Cat Lady AND and Admiral at the same time.

  32. 32.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: Thanx, it helps if from time to time one is able to reaffirm a little faith in humanity. Allows one to hope that all is not lost after all. ;-)

  34. 34.

    jibeaux

    @Arclite: very much agreed. And Doctor Who, my 9 and. 13 y.o. watch that. The ratings system is completely broken as well ash opaque, although it doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to figure out that breasts=bad, graphic violence=A-ok

  35. 35.

    Cervantes

    @NotMax:

    Thanks. That brings back memories.

    Anyhow, East Germany was in many ways an awful place but there were bright spots and Klemke was responsible for one of them: the cover of an “entertainment monthly” called Das Magasin. (I can’t think of an American equivalent or I’d mention it.) Anyway, I have old copies somewhere. If you can’t find Klemke’s covers on line, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

  36. 36.

    raven

    @Betty Cracker: I always watch the Illini no matter how bad they are. BTW Zook is the special teams coach for the Packers. USC and Stanford should be a barn burner at 3:30. There are tons of good games from 6pm on including South Carolina-ECU, Notre Dame-Mich, MSU- Oregon and my other family favorite Hokies against the Bucks. There are other good games but that will do.

  39. 39.

    Lee

    I’m getting an ‘OMG ISIS is in Starbucks image’ in my FB feed.

    From top to bottom the Republican party is completely made of of pants wetters.

  43. 43.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Hal: The End Times have been just around the corner for ~ 2000 years…

    The Jesus-movement was soon to be in trouble. The problem was not that the disciples frequently met resistance from the religious establishment: That, in fact, was grist for their mill. The threat of excommunication from the synagogue, the martyrdom of some believers and the forced emigration of others, even the start of the Zealot uprising in 66 C.E. that would end in the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem four years later–all such problems fit the apocalyptic program. They were the eschatological woes that signaled the imminent end of the world that the disciples so earnestly awaited. Jesus had predicted:

    When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of Man comes. (Matthew 10:23)

    The serious problem, rather, was the lengthening of the supposedly brief interval between Jesus’ hidden vindication at his death and his public reappearance in glory. Not only was the parousia being progressively delayed, but within thirty years of Jesus’ death the founders of this eschatological movement within Judaism would begin dying off, with no return of Jesus yet insight. This state of affairs occasioned major adjustments in the way the movement looked at history and how it evaluated Jesus himself. The clue to understanding the progressive enhancement of Jesus’ status from failed prophet to divine savior lies in the early believers’ response to this “problem of the interval.”

    His discussion of the Book of Daniel (earlier in the book) is very interesting as well.

    FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  45. 45.

    Mnemosyne

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    The first year I moved out here, there was snow in the San Fernando Valley (for about an hour until the sun melted it). It was a huge, huge news story for people in Burbank to wake up and see snow on their lawns.

  46. 46.

    Mnemosyne

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    There’s a reason why Bart Ehrman was a devout Christian before he became a scholar and started studying the history of the Bible in the original languages — now he’s an agnostic. His recent book How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee is supposed to be very good and looks at the same issue — how a cult sprang up around an itinerant rabbi that eventually turned him into the “Son of God” after his death.

  47. 47.

    Mike G

    @GregB:

    Hide yer wife, hide yer kids….ISIS is coming.

    Soon to be followed by Shazam!
    Yes, I watched a lot of Saturday morning TV in the 70s

  49. 49.

    NotMax

    @Mike G

    Shall refrain from commenting on the old wizard’s penchant of luring young boys into abandoned subway tunnels.

    Even as a devoted fan of the Golden Age Big Red Cheese, that always bothered me.

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