Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

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

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

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

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Bark louder, little dog.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

This blog will pay for itself.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

“woke” is the new caravan.

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Reader Interactions

239Comments

  2. 2.

    srv

    More than 4 in 10 French people believe Charlie Hebdo shouldn’t publish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad, given that many Muslims find the images offensive, according to a recent poll by a French publication, published Sunday.

    Seems like not everybody is on board.

  6. 6.

    Tommy

    Is that your above pic? Are you stealing signs from a golf course :).

    Oh and as a guy that fries turkeys and has boiled maybe a ton or so of crawfish, I am pretty jealous. That is a really, really nice propane burning you got there. Looks like much nicer then what I have.

  7. 7.

    dedc79

    My first-ever batch of homebrew was finally ready to drink this weekend. I made what turned out to be a pretty decent brown ale, although the flavor was a bit front-loaded. I’ve been told that one way to make the flavor more complex and long-lasting is to mix in a couple of whole grains, steeped at about 150 degrees at the beginning of the boil for about 20 minutes Anyone else tried that?

  14. 14.

    JPL

    @Corner Stone: My feed from fox is awful. I’m on an antenna and there must be wind conditions in the area. Ahyhoo… I thought gb scored.. why did they kick the first field goal?

  22. 22.

    Corner Stone

    @JPL:

    why did they kick the first field goal?

    The FB couldn’t break the plane and they decided to take the points. It was initially called a TD, but review said not so much.
    IMO, this will not be a defensive battle of a game. So TD’s are going to be needed, shortly.

  23. 23.

    jharp

    You and I are the same page today Betty.

    I am a big Colts fan.

    Between the Colts and the Buckeyes it has been an amazing run for me.

  27. 27.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    I’m liking this game so far- but I was at the Snow Globe game in January of ’08, and I know how fleeting these leads can be.

  33. 33.

    JPL

    @raven: I switched tv’s. The smaller one in the kitchen has a better feed, not perfect but better.

    That yellow flags are sure getting a work out.

  35. 35.

    Tommy

    @JPL: I feel your pain. I did away with cable March of last year and have two Rokos and three Chromocast. But on my “main” TV in my home office I have a HD antenna. Trial and error. Trial and error to find the right place I could get every network channel and not have to get up and move it when I changed a channel. Took me extending the length of the cable by about 20 feet to be able to position it both higher (and drilling a shelf into the wall) and in another location. But finally got it working and I have to admit the picture is stunning for a freaking antenna.

  36. 36.

    JPL

    Different church lady, mentioned the need for a foot ball thread, so everyone would understand what context, motherfucker was used. I have to tread lightly because just the mention of the f..k word scares Finch. The son was over Friday and used the word. Finch went to hide and the son said what’s up with that.. I explained that the word is commonly used during football games, and it scares him.

  41. 41.

    Corner Stone

    Sheeeit. I don’t know how Wilson got up from that collision.

    ETA, somebody should ask Russell if he knows what day of the week it is.

  42. 42.

    JPL

    @Tommy: I have two antennas in my attic for three tv’s. Most of the time, it works perfectly but the wind tends to play tricks with the feed.

  43. 43.

    Tommy

    The Seahawks appear to have forgotten how to play football in the last week. I am no fan of the Seahawks (not the Packers for that matter) but I would like a good game and they are just getting their ass kicked in every aspect of the game in everyway possible.

    The Wilson just got crushed (BTW: I do like Wilson, seems like a class act guy).

  49. 49.

    FlyingToaster

    @Corner Stone: Wait until tonight’s game. It will be a sopping mess. Low 40s and steady rain, after a week of below-freezing temps.

    The field will be okay for about a quarter. By 4th quarter, only helmets will be recognizable for the mud spatter.

    Colts are gonna wish they were back in their dome. Heh.

    Note: I was an undergrad in Bloomington when the Colts did their Midnight Ride out of Baltimore. Couldn’t stand them then, can’t stand them now.

    And further, heh.

  56. 56.

    different-church-lady

    So basically the goal of this football thing is to throw the ball to the guys wearing the other uniforms?

  57. 57.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    @FlyingToaster:

    Funny- I just found out that someone at work was the very young lawyer from Indy who flew to Baltimore and filed the TRO the day before the Colts made the getaway.

  58. 58.

    different-church-lady

    @FlyingToaster:

    Wait until tonight’s game. It will be a sopping mess. Low 40s and steady rain, after a week of below-freezing temps.

    Concerning at first for a Pats fan. But then I thought about it and realized NE absolutely killed Indy on the ground during the regular season, so that angle favors NE. But but, holding on to the ball could be the joker in this deck.

    The field will be okay for about a quarter. By 4th quarter, only helmets will be recognizable for the mud spatter.

    Field turf — no mud.

  62. 62.

    Tommy

    @efgoldman: How about it. I can totally understand if the offensive or defense has an “off” game. It happens. But not both sides of the ball at the same time. The Seahawks are very lucky they are not down by a lot more.

  65. 65.

    jayboat

    Just saw where CBS Sports is live streaming the Colts-Patriots game. Anyone know if fux is doing the same?

    eta- found it

  66. 66.

    Gravenstone

    Did not see this one coming. Green Bay’s defense definitely came to play. But the weakness in the red zone continues to be a concern.

  67. 67.

    Schlemazel

    @Tommy:
    Mine would have asked “Is that a run then?” All points other than basketball are ‘runs’ to her.

    At one point I gave up & explained you get 2 runs if you tackle the other guy in his own end zone, she knew a touchdown was worth 6 runs.

  68. 68.

    Bob In Portland

    ATTENTION CERVANTES: I read the article by Soros. Also, there’s another post back there near your link.

    First, Soros’ logic is underlined by the false presumption that what is happening in Ukraine is a result of Russian aggression. It isn’t. This started in with the coup. So his whole motivation for solving Ukraine is based on a lie.

    It is interesting because he recognizes some of the economic issues that are being discussed in the non-western press. I think he’s understating the economic problems that exist in Ukraine, especially since whatever aid does come its way seems to end up exploding in Lugansk. He never mentions the negative impact to Europe of the sanctions against Russia, but he does caution against forcing Russia into a default, which would probably push the world into a recession/depression. I’m not sure if western bankers can isolate the probable default of Ukraine’s three billion debt to Russia but it would be wise for them to do so.

    I think the marijuana must have been kicking in when Soros started talking about linking Ukraine’s gas lines to the EU. The EU doesn’t have enough natural gas to supply Ukraine. It relies on Russian gas, and unless the EU decides to buy Russia’s gas and give it back to Ukraine on a permanent basis, it’s unlikely to happen. It certainly doesn’t make much sense. If you understand the direction the gas is flowing you’d have to chaulk this up as another lie.

    Russia, for the last decade, has been having trouble with gas line security through Ukraine. Germany and northern Europe get Russian gas through other pipelines. It was Russia’s intention to bypass Ukraine through its South Stream that would have much diminished Russia’s need for a non-hostile Ukraine. The US, through changes in EU regulations, have effectively blocked that. Unfortunately, the eastern and southern EU, which was about to gain from South Stream, now is without dependable gas sources, but also without the thousands of jobs that would have helped during this economic slowdown.

    Running a pipeline through Turkey to Greece’s border is well-played by Putin/Russia. Russia is still willing to sell its oil to Europe, but the EU will have to supply the pipelines from there. There is a marginal benefit for the EU’s weakest link, Greece, and it also lets the EU deal with its own regulations.

    It also puts Europe’s sanctions against Russia into a clearer perspective. Germany isn’t suffering, but the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria et al will. Are the German bankers willing to shell out the money to supply energy to southern Europe?

    When people in the poorer areas of Europe fully realize that they are getting the shaft from the US-imposed economic aggression against Russia through Germany’s leadership it will be someone else’s problem, not Russia’s.

    Pepe Escobar has written extensively for years about what he calls “Pipelineistan”, a fairly clear explanation of world (especially US) intentions in the region.

    As for how false flag operations and propaganda have gotten us to our current state, it’s pointing them out that seems to be the thing that most infuriates/baffles BJers, and I don’t think I have the ability to catch up everyone here on the last fifty years of US history. Just like the CIA/military tortured peasants in Vietnam with Operation Phoenix, and lied America into Vietnam through the Gulf of Tonkin, it continues to do the same in the Middle East. And just like it’s used false flags and psyops within the US over the last fifty years, it will continue to do so as long as they can get away with it. These are the hardest things for BJers and typical Americans to understand but they work.

  70. 70.

    Schlemazel

    @different-church-lady:

    My inner Cliff Claven: Because you used to have to actually touch the ball down to the round to get the points, which may still be the rule in rugby because they always seem to make a point of it, unlike AMerican football when upon scoring you have to imitate a St Vitus Dance sufferer.

  71. 71.

    FlyingToaster

    @different-church-lady: I just read up on it.

    Field Turf Revolution™. with VersaTileDrainage. Well, no mud then. Just cold, cold rain.

    I’m not a Pats fan either; We’ll be watching either kids tv or Columbo this evening.

  74. 74.

    Schlemazel

    YOW! 6 turnovers combined & Seattle with a grand total of 8 passing yards! Nobody could have predicted this one.

  75. 75.

    raven

    To watch the Packers-Seahawks game live online, download the free FOX Sports Go app and watch the entire game on your computer, iPad, Android tablet, Kindle Fire, Fire TV Stick, and select Microsoft Windows product. According to Multichannel, NFL games are not available on mobile phones due to league restrictions. Fans who want to use the FOX Sports Go app must have a pay-TV subscription with AT&T U-Verse, Comcast XFinity, Cox, Century Link, Time Warner Cable, or one 25 other cable providers.

  77. 77.

    Goblue72

    @dedc79: yes that’s how I make all my extract brews.

    You’ll need to grind your grains first. Your local homebrew shop should be able to help and will have a grain mill.

  78. 78.

    Corner Stone

    No, Erin Andrews. The fact that Seahawks team medical people only spent 2 seconds talking to RW does *not* mean he isn’t under a concussion protocol.
    It more likely means they don’t want to remove him from the game because they are fucking scared to death to do so.

  80. 80.

    PaulW

    I spent the afternoon getting a Procrastination Poster signed by “Girls With Slingshots” artist Danielle Corsetto and finding out in the meantime that Seattle can’t win in wet weather after all. My God, shutout the first half?!?

  86. 86.

    JPL

    I’m a NE fan even though I know, Brady is only Brady cuz of the tuck rule. If NE makes it to the Super Bowl, they could beat either of the teams that showed up today. just sayin

  89. 89.

    Mike J

    @JPL:

    if NE makes it to the Super Bowl, they could beat either of the teams that showed up today. just sayin

    A girl scout troop could. The first half was not the usual Seahawks.

  92. 92.

    Corner Stone

    Oh, Steeplejack. Come with me to enjoy the true art that is a Kate Upton video game commercial.

  96. 96.

    PlanetPundit (used to be Sir Laffs-a-Lot)

    @ Betty; you MUST do a “Mad as a Wet Hen” brew for the NFL season next fall with a wonderful Bavarian/Art Deco rendering of your hens on the label.

  98. 98.

    BruceFromOhio

    @dedc79:

    ….one way to make the flavor more complex and long-lasting is to mix in a couple of whole grains, steeped at about 150 degrees at the beginning of the boil for about 20 minutes Anyone else tried that?

    Yes, repeatedly. It is the only way to brew with which I am familiar, and cannot think of a recipe that does not start with this. Get your water up to 153, throw in the bags, slosh around a little very gently once in awhile, then pull up and let drain – do not squeeze! Then re-start your heat, add your malts and hops or whatever as your regular recipe goes. Cheers!

  102. 102.

    Tree With Water

    Mark my words: Larry Fitzgerald will be a Seattle Seahawk next season. Seattle will be prepared to outbid everyone after today.

  103. 103.

    BruceFromOhio

    @Violet: Ooooh! John said pups fit in his hand! Gently, oh dear Gaia, gently! Maybe just some little scritches and tummy rubs instead?

    As for the grain bags, squeezing makes the wort bitter, so no squeezing at all, please.

  105. 105.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    Man, Seattle was favored by 7½ and the over-under was 46. That is not the game I have been watching.

  107. 107.

    Tree With Water

    That the last we’ll see of Seattle’s punter today. The Seahawks have entered 4 down territory (cue Twilight Zone guitar)..

  108. 108.

    jayboat

    @raven:

    No way I am downloading any fux software.
    Found it without the hassle at vipbox.biz – wondering how they get away with that shit.
    Offshore servers?

  110. 110.

    BruceFromOhio

    … and with that punt, I hear the oven timer going off on this dish of Sea Hawk cordon bleu. Time for a martini and to fire up the grill for tasty barbecued Colt a bit later.

  114. 114.

    jayboat

    @raven:
    Don’t ask me how I misread that so badly.
    My brain is trained to automatically disconnect at the very mention of that 3-letter word.

  115. 115.

    raven

    My bride hopes for the Pats cuz she made whoopie pies for the last Superbowl Party they were in. That being said we probably won’t have the party this year cuz of the construction.

  120. 120.

    JPL

    @Betty Cracker: Please put up a new blog for the pats/colts game… when time.

    This game is not over. Just almost over. The Packers still need one more Wilson turnover.

  122. 122.

    Corner Stone

    Never gave GB a chance at Hawks with their defense.
    And, honestly, they didn’t do anything to win this game. RW gave this game away, again and again.
    No telling what he’s going to have to say when he regains consciousness in a couple days.

  124. 124.

    Tree With Water

    Onside kicks are tricky things.. you can never tell. If the Seahawks score- my money is on yes, first play.

    Update- nope. Give it to Lynch again. Again, nope, but Wilson just scored.

  125. 125.

    Corner Stone

    Even with all the turnovers and all that, this has been one of the more boring Championship games I have seen in recent years.

  136. 136.

    BruceFromOhio

    @raven: Uncertain. Those making book favor the Pats over the Colts, only slightly. Either would give the Pack a good contest on good days, though the same was said of the Seahawks, and look where that has landed. That said, I think the weather at Gillette is a big factor tonight, and the Colts got a tough row to hoe if Luck can’t throw effectively.

    Personally, I like all these teams. Any SB that excludes the wretched Cowboys and the Gaia-damned Steelers is fine by me.

    … and ‘Hawks showing life on special teams! Holy shit!

  138. 138.

    Gravenstone

    GB is gonna fuck around and lose this yet. That red zone softness, having to settle for field goals rather than TDs is gonna kill them.

  156. 156.

    Corner Stone

    @Corner Stone:

    Even with all the turnovers and all that, this has been one of the more boring Championship games I have seen in recent years.

    Ok, all you GB fans need to hate on someone…feel free to hate on me.

  158. 158.

    p.a.

    Wooo-eeeee-wooo-wooo. Lots of time & 3 T O’s left for pack. If this holds up allow me to quote Clint Eastwood: “deserve’s got nothing to do with it”.

  172. 172.

    BruceFromOhio

    Holy shit. If somebody had said at the beginning of the fourth, oh yeah, it will go OT, it would’ve sounded rather uninformed. Paper bags and smelling salts for Sea Hawks fans, and put that casserole back in the oven – it ain’t done yet.

    @efgoldman: Oh hell no. All of us here will hit the head, crack a fresh one, and then click over there. The advertisers lurve them a contest that keeps people tuned in.

  175. 175.

    Heliopause

    The Seahawks’ biggest weakness is WR, by far. Wilson deserves the blame for a couple of those INTs, the other two were on Kearse, who simply wouldn’t be a starting WR on any other NFL team, including the worst ones. In fact, the other starting WR, Baldwin, probably wouldn’t start for more than a half dozen NFL teams.

    Overtime. Sheesh.

  185. 185.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    @Corner Stone:

    Yep. But Seattle can’t cover the spread. So there’s that.

    This game has been a titanic struggle to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

  186. 186.

    Corner Stone

    @Heliopause: There’s nothing wrong with Kearse or Baldwin for that matter. They would each be starting or 3rd WR on 24 teams in the NFL.

  198. 198.

    Tree With Water

    Packer fans will never quite get over this one. I’m talking many decades worth of a scarring, living memory being taken to individual graves. Beyond then, Packer fans yet unborn will wince when the story of today’s game is re-told.

  207. 207.

    Heliopause

    Rest of the NFL, I’ve got some good news and some bad news.

    Good news: The Seahawks are capable of playing a really terrible game.
    Bad news: The Seahawks played, by a mile, their worst game of the Russell Wilson era today. And still won.

  208. 208.

    Corner Stone

    @BruceFromOhio: That dude had one hand wrapped around Kearse’s throat.
    I’m just sayin’, Baldwin or Kearse could easily compete and/or start for 24 NFL teams right now. They aren’t schlubs.
    I’d take either or both on the Texans…if we actually had a QB, I mean.

  209. 209.

    Corner Stone

    Don’t the Seahawks basically start the Superbowl as the favorites, no matter who they play? This game has to actually give them titanium plated codpieces for the next game.

  211. 211.

    Davebo

    Go GreenHawks! If only the Colts can pull it off tonight I’ll be torn on Superbowl Sunday!

    In a happy way..

  212. 212.

    BruceFromOhio

    @Corner Stone: That movie is like a big bag of Barbeque Lays potato chips: so bad for you, and you feel like shit afterward, but damn so good while you are crunching your way through the bag.

    “Let’s drop some lead on this motherf- !!!”

  215. 215.

    Corner Stone

    @Davebo: He’s one of the rookie class that got hosed by the CB agreement. Wonder what he’s going to get paid in his second contract?

  216. 216.

    Corner Stone

    @BruceFromOhio: It’s hilarious. This alien intelligence can provide a huge bubble shield the whole world can’t penetrate. BUT, some douches can fire high caliber shoulder fired rifles and smash through their tinted windshield.
    And, Lawd, let the SUNSHINE in!

  217. 217.

    Davebo

    @Corner Stone:

    Brazilains I would imagine.

    Worth every penny.

    But in a time when QB is everything, and it really is (JJ Watt can only take you so far) to have a chance to win back to back SuperBowls with a guy who costs you less than your kicker is pretty amazing.

  220. 220.

    Heliopause

    @Corner Stone:

    Let’s be clear about this.

    Both Baldwin and Kearse are “possession” type receivers. The vast majority of teams would use either of them primarily as “third down” receivers. Neither of them consistently create downfield opportunities.

    Kearse was simply bad most of today. And nobody’s happier that he got sweet redemption than I am. But the fact remains, if the Seahawks had anything like Dez Bryant or Megatron — not saying those guys, but somebody just in the ballpark — this game would never have gone to OT, they would have wrapped it up easily in regulation.

    But enough of this gay banter.

  221. 221.

    Tree With Water

    @raven: With me it was a divisional playoff game between the Niners & Cowboys (circa 1971). A friend and I listened to the radio broadcast– although Candlestick was sold out, NFL blackout rules back then meant no local TV broadcast, if you can believe that. A sold out playoff game, blacked out. Times change. Anyway, we lost the plot with the Niners enjoying a big cushion, and were only snapped to when the Niners play-by-play guy’s tone grew ominous. Then the same scenario unfolded. A muffled onside kick was all Roger Staubach needed, and that game was over. Forever. It’s why I know whereof I originally spoke..

  222. 222.

    JPL

    @raven: She’s gotta know that there is a sporting event occurring not far from her.

    There’s some early jitters, going on.

  223. 223.

    Villago Delenda Est

    As was the case last year, the real Super Bowl has been played. Now all we have to do is wait two weeks for the Seahawks to annihilate whichever hapless team shows up from the AFC.

  224. 224.

    Corner Stone

    @Heliopause:

    But the fact remains, if the Seahawks had anything like Dez Bryant or Megatron — not saying those guys, but somebody just in the ballpark

    Keep going. How many of those “ballpark” guys can you name?

  225. 225.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    @Corner Stone:

    I know, I know. I’ve been trying to think which actresses make me forget how awful the movie is. One is that Asian girl in the first(?) Transporter movie. Although that was nowhere near as bad as Battleship.

  228. 228.

    BruceFromOhio

    @Heliopause: Kearse was simply bad most of today.

    Bantering gaily, on the last int Wilson threw that ball so fucking hard I don’t think any receiver could have caught it. Kearse error? Sure, he’s a receiver in the NFL and he’s paid to catch those. And Wilson has an arm that can injure people trying catch his passes.

    He may have been simply bad, and was good enough when it really, really mattered. It would be interesting to see how the receiver squad works out with Wilson over these next two weeks so that shit does not repeat.

  230. 230.

    Heliopause

    @Corner Stone:

    Seahawks had two, named Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin. Rice got a lot of concussions and crapped out, Harvin I’m sure you know about. Point being, if either of those guys had worked out as planned — and they’re just Lite versions of the top WRs — we wouldn’t be having this conversation. The Seahawks would have gone 14-2 in the regular season and then wrapped up today’s game by the end of the third quarter.

  233. 233.

    Corner Stone

    @Heliopause: Percy Harvin, when healthy, approaches that tier you mention. There are like 8 of them in the entire league. Most teams make due with possession receivers and the announcers try their damndest to promote them to All-World players. But they just aren’t. They are largely interchangeable.
    Andre Johnson, peace be upon him, is a great receiver. But he hasn’t been more than a great possession receiver for 5 years. He lost his top gear years ago.
    Antonio Brown, Calvin Johnson formerly known as Megatron, Dez, B-Marsh. Maybe TY Hilton. A very few others. L-Fitz is done.

  235. 235.

    Corner Stone

    @Tree With Water: L-Fitz lost it in the last two years. He’s a great receiver, but he can’t break away or separate anymore. Solid athlete, amazing catcher of the ball. But.
    His quick step is long gone.

  237. 237.

    keestadoll

    Betty, oh if only. We even grow our own Cascadian hops….not enough, and not that they’re great, and not that we do much in the way of maintaining them beyond providing vine-climbing ropes…which don’t stay secure in wind…oh well. Bravo!

  239. 239.

    mainmati

    @Bob In Portland: This is a tendentious and rather bizarre interpretation of Putin Era near-abroad and other foreign policies. Putin has steadily attempted to recreate a kind of Russian “Co-Prosperity Zone” (a la Japan’s in WW II) to replace the Soviet Union but primarily avoiding open warfare except through proxies (Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine backed by actual Russian troops). In addition, it has continually tried to use economic extortion (i.e. the whole gas pipeline business going back at least 20 years) and political proxies through Russian minorities in the Baltics, etc in typically crude attempts to expand political influence. In other cases, notably the Middle East, especially Syria, Putin has sought to aggressively create a poisonous, non-constructive negotiating environment (excepting only the poison gas agreement). Yes, Middle East actions in the Bush Administration were catastrophic but to compare them to the Putin Era means going back to the the CIA in 1950s-’80s in Central America and even then nothing as overtly political and economically aggressive as Putin’s Russia. In any event, Chechnya and the rest of the restive Russian periphery as well as his classic mafia style corruption will spell demise for his vision of Russia.

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