Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
by Tim F| 140 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
This is one of those songs that sounds better with a hundred piece string orchestra, but watching a concert video I could not stop seeing Ted Levine playing Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs. So you get the album version instead. The seventies were weird.
Then again, twerking. Chat about whatever.
***Update***
FYI, if you use Gmail then change your password.
by Tim F| 155 Comments
This post is in: Republican Stupidity
The Georgia state senator who ranted about excessive black voting and vowed to fight a move to expand early voting in DeKalb County defended his remarks on Facebook.
[…] Fran Millar (pictured), wrote that in a comment responding to others on his post where he vowed to end Sunday balloting in DeKalb County because that area is “dominated by African American shoppers” and has “large African American mega churches.”“I do agree with Galloway and I never claimed to be nonpartisan,” Millar wrote. “I would prefer more educated voters than a greater increase in the number of voters. […]”
Twenty first century, folks.
by Tim F| 96 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
Dr. Mrs. Dr. F. has a stalwart iPhone 4 that served her for years, but lately she has had to accept that her loyal digital buddy could be approaching its rainbow bridge. In the last year it picked up the habit of butt-calling random acquaintances while sitting untouched on a desk, snapping photos of the floor and the inside of pockets, greying out random portions of the screen and interrupting calls with fragments of other people’s conversation.
Well, last night it said goodbye. Mostly. Her car’s bluetooth still picks it up but otherwise the poor thing is an inert mini-monolith, unable even to cry for help.
On the plus side her plan includes a free replacement when you have had the phone for a while. So no problem! She can just zip through the local Apple store and get a new one. In and out in five minutes. No way her trusty little handset could have picked the worst day of the last five years to brick itself. Right?
This post is in: Election 2014, Local Races 2018 and earlier, Open Threads
Okay, more self-indulgence. Martha Coakley will be the Democratic nominee for Massachusetts in November, and — surprise! — the Republican candidate will not be the Tea Party’s rep. EventheLiberal Boston Globe is rather more than halfway into the tank for Baker — there’s video at this link of a couple incredibly smug young media Villagers literally giggling over the rich prospects for two months of mud-slinging (and advertising dollars). Props to Donald Berwick, who took 21% of the vote, or a good 8% more than I or the professionals I’ve been reading predicted. Now, fellow Massholes, go out and GOTV for the Democrat, even if you have to keep one hand firmly holding your nose, because Governor Deval Patrick and President Barack Obama need all the support we can scramble (see video, above).
Lower on the card, Seth Moulton will be running for Congress. Per Mr. Charles P. Pierce:
… Moulton is a veteran, a very sharp guy, as this interview with WGBH’s Adam Reilly demonstrates, and his family has never been linked to a corrupt international gaming enterprise. However, while Tierney’s political career is unremarkable, Moulton’s doesn’t exist in any real sense. He thinks we need “true leadership” in Washington. Wonderful. Enjoy being the ninth-senior member of the Post Office Committee. On the other hand, like Senator Bernie Sanders, Moulton says he’s in favor of eliminating the payroll cap for Social Security — not raising it, eliminating it — which is out in front of, among other people, the president. The latest polls show Moulton doing better against Republican Richard Tisei in the general election than Tierney would. (Tisei is popular, and he is also openly gay. What can I say? We have interesting Republicans.)…
To nobody’s surprise, Scott “Carpetbagger Centerfold” Brown will be running against Jeanne Shaheen:
… Even before Brown declared victory, Shaheen told supporters in Manchester on Tuesday she was ready for the match-up with a rival who moved to New Hampshire, where he grew up, late last year after decades of living in neighboring Massachusetts.
“I didn’t just move here. I’ve been here, working to make a difference for New Hampshire,” she said. “New Hampshire is not a consolation prize.”
Brown won a three-way primary, easily beating former state Senator Jim Rubens, whose campaign had won the backing of a new Super-PAC aimed at reducing the role of money in U.S. politics, and former U.S. Senator Bob Smith…
That would be Larry Lessig’s ghost-of-the-GooGoos ‘Mayday PAC‘ supporting Rubens, and Bob ‘eccentric political career’ Smith, supporting Murphy-the-trickster-god only knows. If you can’t run unopposed, these are absolutely the kind of flop artists you want running against you.
… Prominent U.S. Republicans, including Arizona Senator John McCain, the former Massachusetts governor and failed 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush had all thrown their weight beyond Brown…
If the New Hampsters can’t resist the clammy, crushing weight of all that Extremely White Aged Permanent Party blandishment, shame on them. It’s not like us Massholes haven’t demonstrated what Brown won’t do for them…
Don’t want to muscle in on MisterMix’s territory, but I’ll share NYMag‘s opinion on the big-ticket race there:
Governor Andrew Cuomo won New York’s Democratic primary, as expected, but the success of his Mean Girls-esque strategy of ignoring rival Zephyr Teachout is still up for debate. With 90 percent of precincts reporting, Cuomo had 61 percent of the vote to Teachout’s 35 percent (with comedian Randy Credico at 4 percent). That’s not exactly the landslide Cuomo was looking for, and the governor embarrassed himself through his ridiculous efforts to avoid acknowledging the Fordham Law School professor, even when she was standing two feet away from him. Apparently, Cuomo kept up the act straight through primary night. He did not hold a victory party (which would have suggested he participated in a primary), and Teachout was reportedly unable to concede to the governor with a phone call, as he wouldn’t give her his number…
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Apart from cleaning up the torn campaign signs and bunting, what’s on the agenda for the day?
Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Northeastern Race ResultsPost + Comments (75)
This post is in: Open Threads, Sports, Our Awesome Meritocracy
Love this piece and particularly love the "quote text exchange w/ my friend" power move http://t.co/O0YVMchJzD
— Christopher Hayes (@chrislhayes) September 9, 2014
Rembert Browne, Atlantan native & person of color, reports:
… First, the sentence from his email that clarifies Levenson’s observational logic:
i never felt uncomfortable, but i think southern whites simply were not comfortable being in an arena or at a bar where they were in the minority
Translation:
Blacks and whites don’t mix. But it’s mainly the whites that are having issue being around so many blacks. And the whites have the money. But the blacks are everywhere. And not spending money. But I need the money. And the money is white. So we need fewer blacks. And if that happens, the whites will come. With their money. Disclaimer: I love black people.…
This isn’t racism. This is simply the elementary thought process of a powerful 62-year-old rich white man with a crippling debilitation: being a powerful 62-year-old rich white man.
Is that a generalization? Absolutely. But Levenson’s email turned generalizations into a sport, so why not play his game for a bit? He’s making leaps about race and class that are irresponsible — they’re only understandable if you live a life truly concerned with one demographic. And if you’re a living representation of your primary concern — white money — then it’s not such a surprise that you believe that is the only concern…
But again, none of this makes Bruce Levenson a racist. An interesting byproduct — perhaps a trick — of labeling someone a racist is making them an exception. Racists, once outed, are banished to Racism Island, and then it’s business as usual for everyone else. That’s the Sterling example. But Bruce Levenson isn’t an anomaly. Who doesn’t know a Bruce Levenson? Who hasn’t overheard someone at work or a friend’s dad talk like this before? They’re everywhere. And the worst thing that could come out of this melee is to make his case a special one. Because it’s not. It’s lazy, it feeds the cycle of misguided outrage, and ultimately it’s giving this generation a pass by making Levenson seem like an outlier.
What’s true is that he’s not good at his job. Because as much as I love the Hawks in success and in mediocrity, the team is still a joke to the rest of the NBA. And it’s a cop-out for Levenson to get in front the story, create his own narrative, and leave on the grounds of “Bruce Levenson, embarrassed by Bruce Levenson’s comments.” Because a powerful 62-year-old rich white guy can bounce back from a racial brain fart. But being a bad businessman, running an organization terribly? Not so much…
Late Night Sports Open Thread: Rich Aging White Guy ProblemsPost + Comments (47)
This post is in: Open Threads, Our Failed Media Experiment, Riveted By The Sociological Significance Of It All
Golden age of public broadcasting: "New CEO of NPR..made his name at VH1 and MTV, & then went on run the E! channel."
http://t.co/mp8Kh3TFOz
— Billmon (@billmon1) September 9, 2014
"The audience is..not just affluent, it's smart & engaged. What more could a brand want than this type of audience?"
http://t.co/mp8Kh3TFOz
— Billmon (@billmon1) September 9, 2014
… his totebagger enemies are just… taunting… him, now!
Open Thread: Somewhere, DougJ Grinds His Teeth…Post + Comments (58)
This post is in: Open Threads
I can't believe there's a politician named Zephyr Teachout and she's not the Green Party nominee for Oregon Secretary of Grooviness.
— Michael Schaub (@michaelschaub) September 9, 2014
Other than the election results, I’ve got Sons of Anarchy on my schedule. You?