According to the Washington Post, RWNJ conspirary theorists were freaking out about Jade Helm 15 a full month ago…
The mission is vast both geographically and strategically: Elite service members from four branches of the U.S. military will launch an operation this summer in which they will operate covertly among the U.S. public and travel from state to state in military aircraft. Texas, Utah and a section of southern California are labeled as hostile territory, and New Mexico isn’t much friendlier.
That’s the scheme for Jade Helm 15, a new Special Operations exercise that runs from July 15 to Sept. 15. Army Special Operations Command announced it last week, saying the size and scope of the mission sets it apart from many other training exercises…
… but only now is the paranoia level high enough to demand that every right-wing Texas politician feels himself compelled to Take A Principled Stand, proclaiming their suspicion of… America’s elite military forces, one of Texas’s most reliable big employers. Who are you gonna believe — America Strong, or the geniuses at Infowars? There’s been some pushback, per TPM:
A former Republican state lawmaker wrote a scathing letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Thursday that slammed him for “pandering to idiots” who believe that a planned U.S. military exercise is cover for a forcible takeover of the state.
In a letter obtained by the Dallas Morning News, Todd Smith, who served in the state legislature for 16 years, wrote that he was “livid” about Abbott’s request for the State Guard to monitor the military’s upcoming training exercise, dubbed “Jade Helm 15.”
“I am horrified that I have to choose between the possibility that my Governor actually believes this stuff and the possibility that my Governor doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to those who do,” Smith wrote…
Longer explanation of the actual military exercise at Gawker‘s Foxtrot Alpha sub-blog, here:
… You can read the DoD’s brief on Jade Helm’s Texas operations here. It is fairly straight forward and nothing really that strange, aside from the fact that its map spans across the American southwest and into Texas. Within the narrative of this exercise, different states have different levels of affiliation. Just like in the real world, some of these states can be relatively neutral while still sympathizing with one of the major belligerents. This is a key part of irregular warfare, identifying which indigenous forces you can work with and assessing how hard it will be to make that happen…
The large and diverse geography that the exercise spans allows planners to create uniquely scripted fictional cultures and affiliations of each state within it, creating an overall very complex irregular warfare situation, with many nuances to account for. This large geographical area also allows for unique logistical challenges that crews tasked with transporting special operations forces around the theater cannot get when an exercise is contained in a few small military operating areas…
The DoD also came right out and said why they chose Texas for the core part of the exercise, as they have found the state’s populace is very understanding when it comes to the need to train US military units in realistic conditions and thus more forgiving of any peculiar occurrences or disruptions caused by an exercise…
Of course, if we’re talking wingnut Texans and high-power pandering… yup, Bloomberg Poltics has the video:
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said Saturday that he’d been hearing concerns about Jade Helm 15, a domestic military training exercise that has become a fount of conspiracy theories, and that he wanted questions about it to be answered.
“My office has reached out to the Pentagon to inquire about this exercise,” Cruz, a Texas senator, told Bloomberg at the South Carolina Republican Party’s annual convention. “We are assured it is a military training exercise. I have no reason to doubt those assurances, but I understand the reason for concern and uncertainty, because when the federal government has not demonstrated itself to be trustworthy in this administration, the natural consequence is that many citizens don’t trust what it is saying.”…
“I have a great deal of faith and confidence in Governor Abbott,” said the senator. “He is a long-time friend and mentor of mine. You know, I understand a lot of the concerns raised by a lot of citizens about Jade Helm. It’s a question I’m getting a lot. And I think part of the reason is we have seen, for six years, a federal government disrespecting the liberty of the citizens. That produces fear, when you see a government that is attacking our free speech rights, or Second Amendment rights, or religious liberty rights. That produces distrust.”…
Truly, a face crying out…
WereBear
When you have Fox on 12 hours a day, the paranoid seeps into your bones.
gogol's wife
To repeat what I just said in the dead thread, No more Ruth Rendell novels. I’ll have to go back and read all the old ones I haven’t gotten to yet.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/ruth-rendell-obituary-crime-writer
Rest in peace.
Baud
Operation Cliven Bundy.
That is all.
Germy Shoemangler
WASHINGTON — The leader of the Federal Election Commission, the agency charged with regulating the way political money is raised and spent, says she has largely given up hope of reining in abuses in the 2016 presidential campaign, which could generate a record $10 billion in spending.
“The likelihood of the laws being enforced is slim,” Ann M. Ravel, the chairwoman, said in an interview. “I never want to give up, but I’m not under any illusions. People think the F.E.C. is dysfunctional. It’s worse than dysfunctional.”
WereBear
@gogol’s wife: She was awesome, though, and left quite the literary legacy. Peace Profound to her.
Iowa Old Lady
@Germy Shoemangler: That’s pretty shocking. Candidates can ignore even our toothless election laws with impunity. Talk about lawless.
Villago Delenda Est
You know, I thought at one time there could be no more perfect picture to provide an example of a Backpfeifengesicht than Sean Hannity’s.
But Rafael really is coming on strong.
Brachiator
Even a conservative leaning talk radio station here in Los Angeles was blasting the nuttiness of the Jade Helm conspiracy.
There was also a story about a number of Walmart stores suddenly closing. The conspiracy nuts seized on this as evidence that the government intended to use these stores to warehouse citizens as part of Jade Helm.
Chalk all this up as another episode in Fear of a Black President.
NCSteve
Yes, Ted Cruz, United States Senator, has no ability to answer, obtain answers or otherwise respond to questions, oh the Very Troubling Questions about a military exercise EXACTLY LIKE A BAZILLION OTHER GODDAMNED SF EXERCISES THAT WENT BEFORE IT, GOING BACK DECADES. That’s right–Rangers, SF, Delta, Seals, all the spec ops outfits have been running around the Southwest (mostly) running these exercises. They play these little games, on a much smaller scale, in the Fatalburg vicinity all the time–though they have to be more careful. Most people don’t know it, and the rest won’t believe it, but towns that host military bases, especially, rapid deployment and special forces units like Fayetteville are frikkin lousy with spies for allies and enemies alike, tasked with keeping an eye on the place, keeping track of alerts and traffic and the like.
Poor Ted. If only he had people who worked for him who could research these things and prepare briefing memos for him. If only he had access to the right people in the Pentagon. But not Ted. Because he’s only United States goddamn Senator. Instead, he’ll have to trust good old wired in Gov. Abbot on this one.
RepubAnon
I think the most frightening thing is how the right-wingers such as Ted Cruz think nothing of fanning the anti-government paranoia. Do they really think they can turn the crazy back off if they win the Presidency? Have they given any thought of the consequences of their actions in encouraging people to take up arms any time they object to a government action?
Redshift
Translation: Do you know how many times we’ve screeched about Obama coming to take away our gunz? Even though it’s never happened, that must mean something, right? And when we tried to pass laws to give us new
special rightsfundamental religious liberty we’ve had for millennia to discriminate against LGBT people, public outcry stopped it, which is somehow Obama’s fault. Plus, people have lost the First Amendment right to say bigoted things without consequences and force people who disagree to shut up!Or, shorter Ted Cruz: Look at me!
WereBear
@Villago Delenda Est: Yep. Hannity might have the corner on smug, but Cruz just has this extra clueless arrogance that makes me clamp down on my Fist of Death.
jl
Gee, looks like the corporate media are right, Sanders is the goofy extremist running for president.
Redshift
(Sorry about the missing close tag. Shoulda been after “LGBT people”, but FYWP won’t let me edit on the phone.)
eemom
Here in liberal NoVA, in the course of a single routine Saturday afternoon shopping excursion, eedad and I saw two vehicles adorned with, respectably (1) a whole array of hideous Obama-hating bumper stickers plus TED CRUZ FOR PRESIDENT; and (2) a single, vile, bumper sticker reading POS with the Obama logo for the O.
Admittedly, that level of filth is not common in these parts. So it occurred to me to say, as though it were a revelation, “What has this man ever done to make anyone hate him that much?”
Redshift
From a former GOP official, of course. Maybe there wasn’t anything like this to speak out against when he was actually in a position to do something about it, but it seems like the usual distinct lack of Profiles in Courage.
jon
The obvious Federal response should be to shut down all the military bases and military production in the State of Texas, because it’s obviously too frightening to have such things around their tender little selves. Also, because FREEDOM!
Redshift
@eemom: My favorite thing about those is the brilliance of the Obama logo — you recognize it from way further off than you can see the anti-Obama message, so to the majority of people who don’t get up close, they’re unwittingly putting out a pro-Obama message.
beer time somewhere
I would love for the Spec Ops to attach pink smoke bombs on all the State Guard vehicles in the middle of the night.
Set to go off during the day while cameras are running (give the press a heads up, of course).
Hungry Joe
Devastated and heartbroken here. We got home to find Zelda, our nine-year-old cat, dead on the back patio — apparently poisoned. We keep them in at night, and they mostly hang around the house and yard during the day, but they do get out.
She’s just … gone.
gogol's wife
@Hungry Joe:
I’m so sorry! That is horrible!
jon
Jade Helm. Tinfoil Helm. Whatever.
Iowa Old Lady
@Hungry Joe: Oh no! I’m so sorry.
srv
I remember long ago on the Austin public cable channel, any nut could get air time. Alex Jones was just getting started. Funny thing, he was one of the less crazy sounding folks.
Now, they’re all crazies.
WereBear
@Hungry Joe: How terrible!
And now I bet a lot of the neighbors aren’t looking too good right now.
Antifreeze is also a danger. This time of year people drain their radiators and don’t realize they are leaving poison around.
Just so sorry.
raven
Funny how stupid their paranoia is but when it come to “the pigs in Baltimore with their fingers on the triggers of their FULL AUTO M-16’s” well, it’s sooooooo scary.
satby
@gogol’s wife: Oh no! one of my favorites! She had a good run though, may she RIP!
opiejeanne
@WereBear: During the invasion of Iraq, whatever silly name W called it, we had to ask my mother-in-law’s caretaker to find a different channel than Fox. She became terribly agitated and when we visited her she was extremely agitated by what she’d seen, and was terrified of an invasion. She was suffering from dementia so everything she saw on tv became something that was right down the street in her mind.
These caretakers were people who seemed sane but they told us at one point that they had stocked up on duct tape and plastic sheeting because of the war. I thought they were joking, but they were serious.
They changed the channel to one of the nature channels and she was content.
Brachiator
Sigh. I remember when Jade Helm would be either the name of a character in anime or a Hong Kong action movie.
Meanwhile, The Avengers earned an estimated $84 million on Friday, and achieved a total worldwide gross of over $400 million. Marvel/Disney should buy Robert Downey Jr a jade helm for his Iron Man outfit.
satby
@Hungry Joe: Oh so sorry! How horrible if true.
Josie
I live in one of the areas in Texas affected by the plans, and I have spoken to absolutely no one who is concerned about this. It is just another way for radio talk nuts and loons like Ted Cruz to show more disrespect for our president. What else is new? All I can do is hope for karma to land on them at some point.
ETA: I have never wanted to smack someone as much as Ted Cruz – not even GWB.
BillinGlendaleCA
@raven: When you call out the National Guard(Army), who expects them to be armed?
MazeDancer
@Hungry Joe: Impossibly horrible! Heartfelt sympathies. What a hard, hard, terrible thing.
BillinGlendaleCA
Back in my days working for Satan, they had one of the training sessions in Downtown LA. One of our lawyers was working late and heard a loud noise. He looked out his window to see a military helicopter hovering outside the window close enough that he could see the pilot and the pilot him. He waved and the pilot waved back.
opiejeanne
@Hungry Joe: Oh no! That’s terrible. I’m so sorry.
WereBear
@opiejeanne: What a good idea! I’m so glad you could still help your mother.
I had to throw a hissy fit at some of Mr WereBear’s relatives when they would visit his elderly grandfather at the nursing home, and when he’d ask for his mother, they would tell him she’d died. EVERY FRICKIN’ TIME.
I got rather stern and told them “He can’t remember what he’s been told so just tell him she’ll be along in a bit” and he was much less agitated all the time. A lot of what they go through in such a situation can be dodged if you treat them as though they are, in fact, in such a situation.
BillinGlendaleCA
@eemom:
You’ve seen a picture of the President?
opiejeanne
@BillinGlendaleCA: I realized in the early 80s that the police helicopter seemed to hit our neighborhood about the same time each night, right when I was in the bathtub. The little window it lined up with was big enough, apparently. No one else could see in so we hadn’t worried about it.
After that I closed the shutters.
(I was still pretty hot for quite a few years after that.)
SiubhanDuinne
@gogol’s wife:
I notified some of my Facebook groups about Rendell earlier today, but for some reason didn’t think anyone here would be interested. Clearly, I was wrong. I love the Wexford series, and re-read them a year or so ago, but I really love the psychological thrillers and studies of people on the mental/emotional edge, under both her own name and the Barbara Vine pen name. I’ve been a fan since From Doon With Death, which was damned edgy and unexpected fifty years ago. Also, her short stories (some Wexfords, some stand-alones) are wonderful!
Ruckus
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I was going to say he got himself born but your answer works as well.
Gene108
You do realize these same folks and even the saner ones bought up all the ammo, we produce for civilian use, in the fall of 2008 because Obama was elected President. There was an ammo shortage in the USA because of the freak out over Obama’s election.
No one told these nut-jobs to calm the fuck down seven years ago and now they are like a bunch of spoiled brats, whose whims and fancies are taken as something serious and no amount of rational explanation is ever going yo convince these brats that their current temper tantrum is not the most important thing for government to address.
opiejeanne
@WereBear: That was my husband’s mother. Thankfully neither he nor his brother was so clueless, but my sister did that with our mom, told her that her parents were dead. It made me pretty mad, but she kept doing it.
Mom had three types of dementia, just to make things fun. Part of the time she was with us, the rest of the time she was somewhere inside some jumbled memories. One time I remember her crying because her mother had spanked her for no good reason when she was little. It was heartbreaking, as if it had just happened. Another time Dad called me and said she’d locked herself in the bathroom and was threatening to call the cops and the health department on him. There was no phone in that bathroom, but he was a little frantic because that lock was not one of the easy ones to open from the outside. I asked what the problem was and he quoted her as saying to him, “I’m not coming out. You’re that snotty floorwalker and you just want to be rude to me!” They had been watching “Are You Being Served” just a little while before this. Dad was not amused when I realized she thought he was Captain Peacock.
BillinGlendaleCA
@opiejeanne: At our old place we had a hot tub and it was a textile free zone(except for when the kids were around). The police chopper would show up when we had parties, don’t know why; we were always quiet.
opiejeanne
@Gene108: I remember talking online to one of those idiots who was complaining bitterly that he couldn’t buy any ammo. He claimed it was because the government was stockpiling it, when in reality it was just sold out and hadn’t been restocked yet at his local WalMart.
Botsplainer
An Arab owned horse won the Derby, trained by Bob Baffert (a family friend).
As a guy with a couple of ties to Meydan Racing in Dubai and as someone who hates wingnuts, I can say that their tears are going to taste delicious.
Karen in GA
@Hungry Joe: What the hell?! I’m so sorry!
opiejeanne
@BillinGlendaleCA: Heh. We wore bathing suits in our hot tub because we were never sure one of the kids would join us, and the one time we did try to fool around in it we discovered the deflating properties of hot water. Also, there were animals that trotted through our backyard and the lighting wasn’t good enough to see if we were dealing with raccoons, ‘possums, or skunks.
I didn’t realize that such a small window would be just the right framing with the lights on when it was dark outside, not until that movie came out about the time Blue Thunder came out.
Josie
@Hungry Joe: So sorry for your loss.
Allan
Jade Helm is an anagram for El Hadj Me. Clearly those rounded up will be forcibly sent on a pilgrimage to Mecca. /wingnut
Tenar Darell
I really don’t get this one, it’s straight up Alex Jones level insanity. I knew guys who were in tanks on the German border, and later in desert training who talked about their training exercises. This is totally normal! Just reminds me that I hate people; people, in the aggregate, are nuts.
Tenar Darell
@Gene108:
QFT. Psychosocial contagion, spread deliberately.
debbie
@Botsplainer:
I was really hoping Frosted would catch up.
LWA (Liberal With Attitude)
@eemom:
He has deliberately, stubbornly continued to be both A) Black and B) Better than them in every possible way.
They will never forget, or forgive this.
TaMara (BHF)
@Hungry Joe: I am so sorry. That’s horrible and that feeling of them being just gone is the worst. Hugs to you.
Patrick
So these idiots who watch FoxNews/listen to right-wing AM radio all day long are now against the US military having training exercises. What the f***? If they are against our military, why the hell don’t they just leave?
It really boggles the mind. We spend more than any right country on the planet on military, yet these idiots don’t want our military personnel to be able to train anymore. And these are the mouth breathers that claim they are so concerned about government spending. I think I want to puke.
Patrick
@jon:
Amen. There are 49 other states that would love to have it in their own state. It really sounds like Texas doesn’t want nor deserve it.
SiubhanDuinne
@Hungry Joe:
Oh, no. What an awful thing, I am so very sorry. (Happened to one of my favorite cats, Peter, in 1954. I’ve never fully gotten over his death, and I’ve never quite forgiven the neighbor who put out poison, which Peter unwittingly ingested.)
RIP, Zelda. May the cream of the Milky Way be sweet and rich.
Tree With Water
OK, here’s my problem. I have contracted with Jade Helm forces to (1): seize and secure a California state armory, and (2): to arrange shipment of the confiscated weaponry to Crawford, Texas (don’t ask). Now what? I mean, is the deal on, or off? Because my Jade Helm liaison isn’t answering her phone..
fuckwit
This is by far the best troll Obama has managed to pull off yet. I can’t wait for the next one. Right wing heads exploding all over the place. Brilliant.
Woodrowfan
@eemom:
all they listen to all day on TV and the radio, plus what they read on the web is hate, hate, hate. It really is poison….
Amir Khalid
@Hungry Joe:
Wow. That’s horrible. My condolences.
Mike in NC
Ted Cruz would look so much better with a liberal application of tar and feathers.
Jay C
IIJM, or – despite the general idiocy being ginned up around Jade Helm 15 – the idea that “a planned U.S. military exercise is cover for a forcible takeover of the state [Texas].” doesn’t actually sound like TOO scary of a notion….??
@Hungry Joe:
Condolences – it’s always heartbreaking when they go – not being “natural” can only make it worse. So sorry.
skerry
So there is another night tonight under curfew in Baltimore. Why?
Woodrowfan
I am so sorry HJ….
Jay C
@eemom:
Presidenting While Black.
Really ticks off that segment of the electorate who are outraged that that isn’t a felony any more….
Villago Delenda Est
@Hungry Joe: The entire Jucitariat, pet lovers all, joins you in mourning Zelda’s untimely passing.
Sucks, blows, bites.
sacrablue
@Hungry Joe: Oh, how miserably sad. That is just awful. No matter how long they’ve been with you, it just hurts.
Tenar Darell
@Hungry Joe: That’s awful! I’m so sorry for your loss.
Haydnseek
@debbie: I knew he wouldn’t. Frosted always flakes.
Hungry Joe
I always sort of wondered why Juicers posted when they lost pets. Now I know: Condolences and understanding from this wonderful and wonderfully empathetic community really does make me feel (a little) better. Thanks all.
Mike in NC
@Hungry Joe: Sorry for your loss.
gogol's wife
@SiubhanDuinne:
My faves (although I’m sure I’ll forget some): A Dark-Adapted Eye, Anna’s Book, and The Face of Trespass. I really liked the recent one too, The Girl Next Door.
Cervantes
@Hungry Joe:
Really sorry to hear that, Arthur.
Hang in there.
gogol's wife
@Hungry Joe:
There is a limit to how much you can protect them, no matter how much you love them. I know how painful it is, and I am very sorry.
gogol's wife
@SiubhanDuinne:
My husband and I watch a lot of (too many?) British mysteries, and I always hold them to the “Rendell test” — does the story make sense if you work backward, knowing the outcome? She was brilliant at that.
Peale
Tony stark must die.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Hungry Joe: G*d damn;that sucks. I’m so very sorry for your loss. They leave such big paw prints on our hearts.
SiubhanDuinne
@gogol’s wife:
I have a particular affection for One Across, Two Down, and of course the brilliant A Judgement in Stone.
SiubhanDuinne
@gogol’s wife:
No such thing.
kindness
How many years in jail would one get for walking up to Senator Cruz & kicking him in the huevos really hard?
God knows it should be all of our civic duty.
Brendan in Charlotte
@WereBear:
FTFY
Southern Beale
Rand Paul is on it, too.
I love how they’re all like “Support the Troops” except when there’s a black man in the White House, and then it’s all like “Fuck the troops, can’t trust ’em!”
I wrote about this last week, too. And I mentioned that in 2006 and 2007, LWers were fearmongering about W declaring martial law, cancelling elections, and never leaving the White House. IIRC those Blackwater security forces who had patrolled New Orleans after Katrina were supposedly really doing “training exercises” for the coming apocalypse.
So both sides do it. But there’s a huge difference. When left wing nutjobs fearmonger, nobody pays any fucking attention. When RWers do it it’s in the damn Washington Post and everywhere else (I got the story from CBS This Morning). It was brought up in the White House daily press briefing, fer crissakes. And when LWNJs do it, you certainly don’t have Democratic governors and Democratic presidential candidates addressing it.
Which tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about the modern Republican party. It’s completely, batshit insane.
Southern Beale
@Hungry Joe:
I’m so sorry, how awful. Are you sure it was poison? Do you think it was accidental? I hope it wasn’t anything nefarious.
Amir Khalid
Seriously, what sort of resources would the US military need to deploy to capture Texas in a civil-war scenario?
Hungry Joe
@Southern Beale: All the signs of poison, but no reason to think it was nefarious. Probably a neighbor got careless with some toxic whatever. If only we’d been home, maybe we could have gotten her to the vet in time. We’ve been trying not to beat ourselves up over this.
realbtl
@Hungry Joe:
Very sorry to hear about your cat. It’s bad enough when it is natural causes but this is truly the shits.
The Pale Scot
@Hungry Joe: So sorry for you, I hope it was unintentional or natural causes.
Howard Beale IV
@Hungry Joe: This ‘sounds’ like the usual case of anti-freeze.poisoning, but you really never know.
Many years ago I came home and my distraught room mate told me my Himalayan just died-she was only 2. Took the body to the vet a day later for necropsy, and it appears the cat had hypertropic cardiomyopaphy-which in this breed usually is genetic. Thankfully, the breeder honored her genetic defect warranty and I had Minuet for the next 16 years.
ETA: it seems rather anodyne that when it comes to pure-breed pets we’re all bound by contracts for those that we do not intend to breed. Both my mother and I have been fortunate to run across purebreed pets that for whatever reason their owners surrendered. In the case with my persian, he seems to have had a more rough time as he was also declwaed. Declawed cats develop behaviors that are best be described as sideways, and as a result they usually don’t get along with other cats.
Gex
And what kind of voters did he pander to and rely upon to get into office? I’m sick and tired of these guys disavowing themselves of the paranoia and anti-government attitudes they stoke 99.99% of the time. This guy’s a former Rep. Meaning he was part of the evolution of the GOP to these pants-wetting, America hating, idiots.
jharp
Got it Ted.
Clearly Obama’s fault.
Dark days for our country that anyone takes that fucking lunatic seriously. And shame on you for pandering to them, Senator Cruz.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@Hungry Joe: My condolences. Fortunately, all of mine are healthy, but one of them is 21 years old, so it’s only a matter of time.
MomSense
Damn. How did they find out my super secret UN code name is Jade Helm??
MomSense
@Hungry Joe:
I’m so sorry. You’ve just been through a terrible shock and my heart goes out to you.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
I am so very tired of dealing with people who are pants-wettingly suspicious of the government, unless it involves the government oppressing or killing those with darker skin tones, in which case they trust it implicitly.
Some days I just want to feed humanity through a woodchipper.
PurpleGirl
@Hungry Joe: That is terrible. {{{Hugs}}} (Is there a neighborhood bully who doesn’t like cats?)
Howard Beale IV
@Brachiator:
And since Paul the lessor is still still feigning his run for the Presidency and also remember the old adage that acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree, Pando does a PSA reminding us of Paul the Senior’s advice on ‘animal killing’.
Frankensteinbeck
@Howard Beale IV:
Rand Paul tried to get a law past banning the Amero, so he’s neck deep in these fruitcakes.
Baud
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
But enough about Reddit.
Aleta
@Hungry Joe:
I’m very sorry to hear of your hard loss.
Johannes
@Hungry Joe: How terrible! Sincere sympathies.
gf120581
Personally, I hope this nutball conspiracy nonsense gets big enough in the GOP so that all of the 2016 hopefulls have to answer it. I would love to watch Jeb squirm and try to dodge it, as he’s too much of a coward to openly refute this. Can’t upset the base.
scav
TX is so strategic a territory that it must be acquired. At this late date in his presidency. ah, cuties.
Southern Beale
@Hungry Joe:
Don’t beat yourself up. There was nothing you could do. Your angel had just run out of lives. I’m so sorry, when it’s sudden you just can’t prepare.
Howard Beale IV
@Frankensteinbeck: Since there never was an ‘Amero’ to begin with, he was just pandering to the nanocephalic slackjawed imbeciles who inhabit god-knows-where.
PurpleGirl
@Howard Beale IV: You remind of the time that we thought Rowdy Cat might have drunk some antifreeze. We called the Vet night cover and he told us to keep Rowdy awake and keep him drinking water. We’d know by the morning if he had indeed had antifreeze and if we had sufficiently diluted it and saved Rowdy. Well, we stayed up all night to keep Rowdy awake and in the morning he seemed none the worse. But he scared us.
gf120581
@scav: My response to anyone who’d think anyone would want Texas is this old line:
“If I owned Texas and Hell, I’d rent out Texas and live in Hell.”
Viva BrisVegas
@Amir Khalid:
Capture? Nuke it from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
Woodrow/Asim
Actually, they think they are supporting the troops with this, that’s the truly scary thought.
This is about how Obama has abused his role as Commander in Chief to turn the military against the citizens. He “clearly” hates America, so of course he’ll do anything to destroy it, and only a Few Brave People are stopping him, and speaking out; everyone else is a sheep to Obama’s (inept) wolf.
And since they believe it, they too are among the Brave, the Special, the ones who see the world for how it truly is.
It’s of a piece with the recent freak-out that Obama ordered a military strike (It hink nukes, in fact), and only the actions of a Few Brave Soldiers stopped him. And even people in the actual military, in some key depressing cases, buy into this.
And as a African-American in the same generation as Obama? Some of it — more than I like, to say the least — is about our skin color. But don’t fool yourself; Bill Clinton had similar rumors, and so will any Democrat who makes it to the White House. And my true fear is that it’ll be easier and easier for GOP folks to pander to these fools, and make these corrupt rumors the “news”.
TaMara (BHF)
@Hungry Joe: Please don’t be too hard on yourself.Sometimes there is just nothing you can do. I just lost Missy to a blood clot after a simple surgery and it has been very tempting to blame myself. You gave her a good home and lots of love, all cats should be so lucky.
p.s. and yes, you’ve now experienced the Balloon-Juice effect, where cyber sympathy, hugs and love do help ease the pain of loss.
Tommy
I watched this story play out over the last two days or so and I have to say the Republicans have done it again. Surprised me. I shouldn’t be surprised I know, but guess I might just be a “good natured guy” and I just can’t wrap my mind around the thinking of people that believe we are about to put people on trains and take them to closed Wal-marts.
That is past their normal loon and out there so far there is no other phrase then they are bat shit crazy!
WereBear
@kindness: I have this … Hunch? Fear? Conviction? That should I ever encounter Rush Limbaugh I would projectile vomit upon him.
Tommy
@Woodrow/Asim: I think it is more than that. These “Keyboard Commanders” seem to like to think they know so much about the DoD. Well as a military brat I can say our DoD war games just about everything. At some level that is their darn job, to be ready for anything.
Take something like Benghazi. Maybe were caught a little flat-footed. Maybe (I clearly have no inside info) we didn’t war game it and were not ready. So what does the right do, they freak the heck out.
Heaven forbid they find a location in say Texas and war gamed out one of our Embassies in the Middle East getting over-run. If we did these yahoos would say we were maybe planned a raid on the Governors mansion in Austin.
Tommy
Am I the only person that can’t wait for the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight? I love boxing, but it is pretty much dead at this point. This fight can’t “save” the sport no matter how much the people on my TV/ESPN say it can/will. But I would like to see Pacquiao KO Mayweather. Not going to happen I don’t think, but you can hope :).
Mobile Grumpy Code Monkey
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym:
Black man commits suicide in a police van by repeatedly slamming his head into the wall? Perfectly reasonable story. Government not trying to take over? Unpossible!
Cognitive dissonance is for pussies.
Howard Beale IV
I’m going to meta on everyone here for a bit.
(1) What did The United States learn in their decades-long debacle in Vietnam?
(2) What did the Soviets learn from their invasion of Afghanistan? And just as important, what did the US learn from supplying the Muhajdeen?
(3) What did the US and their allies lean form Desert Storm?
(4) What did the US and the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ learn from the overthrow of the Iraqi government in 2003?
(5) what have we learned – but just as, it not more important, what have our costs have been to date from our (lack of) participation of the overthrow of the Egyptian and Libyan governments?
(6) What damages have had the US suffered through their participation in the overthrow of the Syrian government? Remember back during Desert Storm, Syria was part of the Allied forces taking on Iraq.
The more and more that I look at the costs of our involvement in these affairs it begs the question: If you want the ISIS bloodshed to continue, do nothing. OTOH, as the US did in WW II, we used nuclear ordinance against Hiroshima and Nagaskai in anger in order to stop the ongoing carnage.
Is that is what it will take? Quite frankly, I see no other options.
Howard Beale IV
@Tommy: The amazing thing in this instance is that both fighters have shown incredible respect for each other.
Suzanne
I am laying on the couch vomiting.
I forgot how much this sucks.
Corner Stone
@Suzanne:
Another spawn?
Suzanne
@Corner Stone: Shut your mouth. Who are you, my mother-in-law?!
NO.
Corner Stone
@Suzanne: Why are you chunking?
Corner Stone
This is a game 7 for the ages. What a fucking disgrace no one is talking about it here.
Heliopause
Seems kind of ricidulous for this to be a right wing conspiracy theory. Anybody with brains would first formulate a left wing conspiracy theory out of this, a military coup to topple the Socialist-in-Chief from power.
Welcome to America: We’re so fucking stupid we can’t even get our conspiracy theories straight.
Corner Stone
Wow. That was some homey shit, right there.
Corner Stone
Thank goodness. I’d much rather face LAC in the second round than the Spurs.
Tommy
@Corner Stone: Is this era of the Spurs being good if not great every year over? I was never a fan (Wizards guy), but I had to respect they put together one hell of a team/system where they just kept reloading around their 2-3 stars. Oh and winning most of the time.
Little Boots
@Howard Beale IV:
(1) nothing, maybe some PR shit
(2) a) to fall apart and die b) nothing
(3) nothing
(4) fuck all
(5) very little, the costs are very slightly borne outside of those countries
(6) very little, the costs of our debacles are borne by locals and the very small percentage of our population that actually is dragged into our wars.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Corner Stone:
Was busy watching it.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@Corner Stone: That would mean that we had to talk to you.
Corner Stone
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Why would you think that?
And, kind of obvious, but here you are talking at me now. So.
Suzanne
@Corner Stone: I don’t know, but it sucks.
Corner Stone
@Suzanne: Kind of sounds like it blows.
Bah-zing!
Tommy
@Howard Beale IV:
Sort of, but their managers filled that void.
g
@Redshift: we have seen, for six years, a federal government disrespecting the liberty of the citizens.
Just once I wish someone would say, “So can you give me an example of this?”
Little Boots
@g:
or the good ole internet, pics or it didn’t happen.
BAtFFP
@Hungry Joe:
Oh God, Joe. So sorry to hear this. We lost a beautiful, sweet-tempered, much beloved Sheltie when he was only 2 years old because the retired minister next door put out rat poison and didn’t tell us. It never even occurred to him that it could be a problem. Please know that there was probably nothing you could do — we took Scottie to the vet at the first sign of trouble but it was already too late.
The neighbor felt terrible, and me? That was 21 years ago and I’m tearing up over it right now. Pets do that to you. Hugs from Seattle tonight.
Tommy
@g: Obama is coming to take your guns. WTF. This is the meme I dislike the most from the right. Under Obama gun owners have more rights. Take your gun to a National Park for just one example.
Oh and my state, we were the last to have/offer a conceal carry permit. We were like even with background checks, requirements for training, permits we were like “dude we still don’t want to offer one.”
State sued, went all the way to the SCOTUS last year and they TOLD US WE HAD to offer one. So I guess if Obama took any rights, he took the rights of people like me, from his home state, to elected leaders that believe as I do, under no terms do we want citizens to have a conceal carry permit!
Little Boots
I wonder what percentage of the country is full on gun nuts. 30 percent? it seems high, but there is a really large, really solid group of americans that are not just gun owners, not just gun rights advocates, but full on fucked in the head gun nuts. it might be 30 percent.
Brachiator
@Howard Beale IV: Use of nukes against ISIS would be pointless. Who, exactly would you bomb? Where would you drop the bombs?
In WW II, Japan had been exhausted militarily, and the territories they had controlled had been retaken. Dropping the bombs eliminated any further possibility of resistance in Japan itself. None of this seems remotely similar to the situation in the Middle East, or the problems in Yemen, Libya, or Nigeria.
On top of all this, the GOP has certainly learned nothing from Vietnam or Iraq, and continues to entertain fantasies of American military supremacy.
And as a wild card, we can only wonder about Putin’s possible desire to resurrect the Russian (not the same as Soviet) empire.
Little Boots
we learn from our mistakes when there is absolutely no other alternative, which takes a lot. til then, nope, not a thing.
Tommy
@Little Boots: I’d say closer to 18-22%. I don’t have the links but for years liked to look at polls that attempt to define the far right with polling numbers. What would now be called the “Tea Party.” Many polls going back 20+ years seem to peg the numbers I mentioned above. That would be the range I’d look at, mainly at the 22%. High-end.
Little Boots
and gun nuts, even more than white supremacists, even more than old bigots, even more than worshipers of the rich, are the true, loyal base of the Republican Party.
Little Boots
@Tommy:
that may be more accurate, but that’s a lot of cranks.
Peale
@Tommy: I’m waiting. This fight is probably 4 years to late, but…I want Manny to do this, even though my money is on Mayweather.
Corner Stone
Man, Tommy v Little Boots.
Tommy
Sorry, totally META. They really, really need to change the copyright date on this blog (very bottom of the page, left aligned). This site is running on WordPress. I do high-end WordPress sites for a living.
That this date is wrong, trust me, shows that the most basic programming of this site, is missing some PHP code, less than 20 characters, that would automate the Copyright info.
There are many others things I bet are off in the code, but I can’t see it. Just irks me I know John paid a ton of money and spent ages working on this site’s current version.
And the programming appears to be FUBAR.
Howard Beale IV
@Brachiator:
The Saudis.The House of Saud has been playing both sides against the middle for so long it’s time for them to literally clean house internally or we’ll do it for them.
Tommy
@Little Boots: Yes that is a lot of crazy on many different levels. Enough to take over one of our two political parties. Easily take it over.
Little Boots
@Corner Stone:
Gun Range: Battle of the Percentages
Little Boots
@Tommy:
yup
Tommy
@Little Boots: Oh I should note I follow these numbers for a second reason. I wonder, in our party, far left liberals like myself, what numbers do we need to get to. To have more control?
On the gun thing I bet the number is closer to what you noted. Around 30%. I used that 18-22% band, which I think correct for the far right loon.
But I know more than a few people, not far right, but will go all NRA crazy from time-to-time. So the numbers have to be higher. A sub category of the group if you will.
Ruckus
@WereBear:
Why would you fear that? I’ve had food poison bad enough to do this before and would gladly go through that again if I thought I’d have limpballs for a target.
Peale
Ok. Cinco de Mayo aside, it’s really kind of weird to lead off with the Mexican National Anthem at a fight in the U.S. When neither fighter is from there.
Little Boots
@Tommy:
it’s this thing. we could actually win some elections in this country, but it’s a big hurdle to get over, first.
Brachiator
@Howard Beale IV: I know a couple of “pro-environment” freaks who believe that if you nuked Saudi Arabia, it would lead to a quick development of “clean, alternative” fuels since we would probably end up destroying or rendering unusable a big chunk of the world’s oil industry and reserves. You might also damage or make access to Mecca and Medina impossible, and incite rage among Muslims around the world.
In short, nuking Saudi Arabia would be insane.
Sadly, although there is evidence that the Saudis are funding Islamic extremists in Nigeria, I am not sure that they are behind ISIS. And in the long run, it will take something other than force to transform the dream of restoring the caliphate by persuasion or force into a different vision of the future of Islam.
Little Boots
@Brachiator:
or we could just say, okay, hands off, we will let you fight it out, all of you, and buy oil from whoever we need to and not give a shit who wins in the end.
that might actually be smarter.
Tommy
@Little Boots: Yes we could win some elections. Many more I bet.
In my really Blue district, we just elected a “Tea Party” Republican to my House seat. That might not seem totally odd, but first time a Republican has held this seat in 70+ years.
We ran, a middle of the road Dem. He won the seat that was open (long story) two years ago. Then lost by almost 5 points to a Tea Party whack job this time around.
Little Boots
@Tommy:
I mean I don’t mean to be in despair about this whole thing. there are swings, and we may take back the senate next time, along with the white house. but there is this big hurdle, and it is about stupid shit like guns. and it’s depressing.
Howard Beale IV
@Brachiator:
Do you honestly think that all the Islamic states have enough delivery systems and nuclear warheads to cause significant damage should the US decide to launch a first strike-especially if we gave China and Russia the all clear for them to go after their own ‘problem children’?
Not only is an ounce of image is worth a pound of performance, but the inverse is also very true-an ounce of image kills.
Little Boots
@Howard Beale IV:
no I think he’s saying the constant blowback for the next hundred years might be really, really unpleasant after nuking mecca. but I don’t want to speak for anyone else.
Petorado
Total PR failure by the Pentagon. If they had just printed up a ton of yellow ribbon car magnets that said “Support Our Troops: Operation Jade Helm 15”, this wing nut ragegasm could have been completely avoided.
Tommy
@Little Boots: Guns should be easy for us to manage.
Here is a story I’d use as a PSA if I was a liberal running for office. This is my experience:
Dad, not remotely a liberal, made me get, a state license saying that I could own a gun and permits for the state of Illinois. He has a lot of guns. Dozens. I think all but two, historical. Flint guns …..
Dad told me he could get hit by a train, needed to know he had guns and I could legally posses them. A road I went down. This is not a hard thing for us to talk about on the far left! Dad a voting Republican, but basic gun things, well opening there.
Little Boots
@Petorado:
in fact, is it too late for a benghazi ribbon?
maybe.
Little Boots
@Tommy:
I dunno, that’s rational, and this whole thing is so past rational.
democrat equals gun grabber is a thing now. I don’t know. maybe. it would take a lot.
Howard Beale IV
@Little Boots: Who said anything about wiping Mecca off the map?
Little Boots
@Howard Beale IV:
you are right. that was sloppy reading.
but nuking anything is … really? you think that’s an idea?
Petorado
@Little Boots: “Support out Diplomatic Outposts” just doesn’t roll off the tongue.
But “Support a well-regulated militia: Operation Jade Helm 15” you’d think would be a right wing winner. Why isn’t the NRA championing this?
Cacti
Experts live blogging the super fight have it 3-2 Mayweather through 5 rounds, but given the penchant of boxing judges for creative scoring, who knows what the official score is.
Howard Beale IV
@Little Boots: We did it before, we can do it again. Or do you like the idea of the carnage to keep continuing? When we unleashed the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagaskai, in days V-J was signed.
Little Boots
@Howard Beale IV:
it was horrible. it was a horrible decision. we don’t ever need to do that again. ever. the other idea is always the best idea if the alternative is nuking.
Little Boots
@Petorado:
heh, yes.
Little Boots
here’s an idea. let’s try NOT to be mass murderers.
Mnemosyne
@Howard Beale IV:
Uh, do you not understand how nuclear fallout works? Chernobyl was relatively contained, and yet it caused effects all over Europe.
sharl
@Hungry Joe: Oh no, I’m so sorry to read the news about Zelda. My condolences.
As others have already said, please don’t beat yourself up over this; sometimes awful sh*t just jumps out from the dark, despite the best of efforts.
Take care.
Howard Beale IV
@Little Boots: 4 million Vietnamese died during the Vietnam War. If 2-3 nukes killed half a million but short-circuited stopped the war, would have that been worth it?
Little Boots
@Howard Beale IV:
okay, first of all, how do you measure the deaths? immediate, years later? how?
second, if we want to talk about deaths, we have to talk about the war itself. worth it? stupid?
NotMax
@Howard Beale IV
Russia finally declaring war on Japan that same week had quite a bit to do with accelerating Hirohito into announcing surrender.
Popped back in expecting a still fairly shiny late night front page post to be up, but – nuthin’.
Tommy
@Little Boots: I live now, for the last ten years after 15+ years away, where I went to high school, back in 1987. Rural area, but deep Blue.
You want to win an election here, follow these basic steps.
1. Education. Education. In my town of 8,600 people we might have the best school in the district. Maybe the state. Public schools. We are proud of that. Offer education. Or you can learn a skill, plumbing. Just trying to equip people.
2. Unions. There are often still very active Picket Lines where I live. Most people I know are a part of a Union. Stand with and never mess with a Union.
3. Sanity. You got 20 guns, I could care less. Most people I know don’t get they “out” themselves to get a hunting permit for deer. Ever get a fishing or hunting permit? Nobody is coming for your guns.
Little Boots
@Tommy:
you know your district better than I, obviously. but the hatred of unions, the hatred of education, the hatred of sanity I might say in a bad mood, is a thing. especially the first two. I wish everyone would vote union and vote education, but I don’t see that happening. I don’t. I see most people voting stupid pretty much always. it sucks. and I don’t know what to do about it. hope people like you can turn it around. soon.
Belafon
I thought you all might be interested in the “press area” being imposed by the Baltimore police: https://twitter.com/justin_fenton/status/594708410878316544.
cckids
@Brachiator:
Oh, hey, there are also secret tunnels under the WalMart stores, connecting them for whatever nefarious purpose can be thought of.
Jim Wright at Stonekettle Station has a great take on this.
Just amazing, the whole thing.
Tommy
@cckids:
That line is going to keep a smile on my face until at least mid-day Monday!
Ninedragonspot
@Howard Beale IV: Proposing the use of nukes isn’t “meta”, it’s monstrous.
Little Boots
I dunno, maybe I’m just too cynical. I don’t know. hope tommy’s right about this country.
Villago Delenda Est
@Howard Beale IV: For the Saudis to REALLY clean house internally, they’ll have to wipe out the Wahhabists.
Not going to happen.
Tree With Water
Can’t provide a link, but posted over at Deadspin.com is one of the funniest sports bloopers I’ve ever seen.. A runner on second takes off with the pitch; the catcher spots him running, and readies to throw to third as soon as the ball hits his glove; he catches the ball and rises to throw… but he steps toward the third base dugout instead of down the third base line as he does, and unleashes the ball square into the stomach of the hitter from a distance of about a foot away, who immediately collapses in a pile in front of home plate, appearing as if the wind had been knocked out of him… But that’s not the funniest part. The funniest part is the sales job the catchers runs by the umpire. Instead of scrambling for the ball or otherwise appearing flustered, his body language shows him explaining to the umpire that he was interfered with by the batter writhing at his feet. He even glances down at his victim as he explains, as if looking at a gopher out of its hole. He then turns and trots back his dugout, as if that’s that, end of story… and the ump let’s him go while he stands there like a potted plant, because he has absolutely no clue what the rule book says..
cckids
@Tommy: I know! Try the whole thing. Another taste:
Little Boots
@Villago Delenda Est:
that would be great, but it would take a revolution
PurpleGirl
@efgoldman: Yes, they have been falling down on the job of providing us content of late.
Gravenstone
@Howard Beale IV: Curtis LeMay would’ve been damned proud of ya, boy! Keep up that fighting spirit.
Fucking moron…
Brachiator
@Little Boots: I suppose that in dome ways we are already an amoral people, dealing with whoever we have to in order to maintain our comforts, no matter how much misery we inflict elsewhere. Perhaps we should rip off the mask entirely and say that we don’t care how many atrocities ISIS commits, as long as we are reasonably OK.
Little Boots
@Brachiator:
and we are pissed, and I get that, and that’s a thing, but can we calm down just enough not to be crazy?
BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman:
They were either raptured or put into FEMA camps in the closed Walmarts.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
yes, we are awake.
Brachiator
@Howard Beale IV: I think that consigning regions of the world as little more than “problem children” to be sanitized by the major powers is arrogant, condescending and racist. It is an invitation to blowback and decades of terrorism that might make what we experience now as almost a pleasant diversion.
Also, I presume that you would cease all attempts to resolve the situation in the Ukraine peacefully and let Russia have its problem child. Which other former Soviet countries would you write off?
Tommy
@BillinGlendaleCA: That comment made me laugh. Long week, happy you made me smile.
Little Boots
yes, most amusing, the billinglendale. yes.
BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman: Excellent point, so closed Walmarts are heaven? I’m interested in your theology, do you have a newsletter?
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
uh huh.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Tommy: The key is to avoid any coverage of the troubles in Baltamore by reading “The invisible Bridge” by Perlstein(excellent read, BTW) and attempting to install Windows 10 on my budget Win8.1 tablet.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
uh huh
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
wow, annoying.
Little Boots
there is no reason for billin to disappear.
Little Boots
what is the deal, buddy?
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: I’m reading about the 1976 election, don’t spoil the ending if you know how it ended.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
well that’s okay then.
as long as you don’t put the carter before the horse.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: You mean carter before the ford(or reagan, it’s still June’76).
fuckwit
@efgoldman: Basically, the rant is a “kill ’em all, let god sort ’em out” kind of thing. It’s dumb, evil, and not gonna happen unless one of the R clown car denizens gets into the WH and keeps the house and senate too.
Tommy
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Good luck with that.
In our conversations, we’ve talked about automating our homes. Trying all this or that, and none of it is working for me. For lack of a better phrase, the concept makes so much sense, but the application, not working for me.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
don’t wanna spoil the ending.
Little Boots
by the way, billin, pissed at you, now.
fuckwit
@BillinGlendaleCA: That was when you could see a Carter sticker on a Ford, a Ford sticker on a Chevy, and a Dole sticker on a banana.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Tommy: I’ve got the tablet working, except for the Windows capacitive button. Thought that just seems to be a bug and should be fixed. I’m quite happy with it overall, I’ve installed previous Win10 builds on virtual machines.
Except for the fiasco of 2 weeks ago, I’ve been really happy with Wink. It does involve quite a bit of work.
@Little Boots: Ah, bless you.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
don’t you start.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: Does this help?
Why can’t we be Friends?
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
NO IT DOES NOT
maybe a little.
Tommy
@Little Boots: My first political memory is of Carter winning the Democratic nomination. Leavenworth Kansas. Dad teaching at the Army War College. I think I might have been nine. Thinking this whole thing is pretty cool.
Bill D.
As in we get nuked ourselves, repeatedly and unpredictably, by terrorists with substantial international support from outraged nation-states. And this goes on for decades. Fun times… all we need to do to experience this glorious future is to start the ball rolling with our own nuking of “problem” areas, and human nature will take care of the rest.
Little Boots
@Tommy:
Carter was a good man. then, well, things happened.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: No need to yell.
Just gimme some Truth!
Tommy
@BillinGlendaleCA: I listen to you. Bought some Wink stuff. Other products and I just don’t see the benefit. It all makes total sense in my head but not day to day.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I never yell.
Little Boots
yoko? okay fine, yoko.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Tommy: I use Wink with Tasker(an Android automation app) and control everything. What isn’t actually automated, I use voice control. If you’d like I can dig up a couple of links.
Tommy
@BillinGlendaleCA: I got your links, no need to repost.
Little Boots
or, maybe we could not fall for billin and his whole thing.
Little Boots
and we need new thread. dammit, john. you are such a goob sometimes.
Little Boots
much as we love billin, which we do.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: Fine, I’ll go back to reading my book. (Sniff).
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I think you might be evil.
I think I might love you.
opiejeanne
@Bill D.: Well, after that I’m going to have trouble sleeping tonight.
NotMax
B-J apparently not on Ms. Laurie’s agenda tonight.
Little Boots
is it wrong to love a particular song.
BillinGlendaleCA
@NotMax: She usually has some posts automated.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
ya know, I tried to give, I tried to help, but you, dammit, with your, you nevermind. you wouldn’t understand.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: Maybe it’s an illusion or a Fantasy.
NotMax
@Little Boots
Hmm, could be.
@BillinGlendaleCA
Yuppers. I blame FYWP.
Bill D.
@opiejeanne: One of my worries is that a future Republican president does just this, whether to Mecca or to major Muslim population centers, and then all future American generations would pay the price until there is no significant nation left here any more.
The problems with Muslim extremism cannot be solved by being “tough” and “taking direct action”. The road to potential success on this issue is one of those long, grinding efforts that takes foresight and incredible patience. We need to play the long game here like the Chinese do.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
why are you this person?
BillinGlendaleCA
OMG, it’s May and they’re talking about the “R word”.
Little Boots
you are such a damn goob.
Little Boots
you used to be so sweet. and now you are this.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: Goob? Not me, I’m a freaky geek.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
yeah, okay, but damn, miss the old you.
Villago Delenda Est
@Bill D.: Unfortunately, the ultra-idiotic short term mentality of the Harvard trained MBA is dominating our culture.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: What? You want more Beatles? Here Ya Go.
NotMax
Well, whaddaya know? The puppies were right.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I do actually, want more beatles.
but you, mr. billin, were incredibly sweet once upon a time. and that is what I was saying.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: Oh no! Mr. Bill.
Little Boots
@Little Boots:
and more beatles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt5fv-89Maw
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
oh fine, you son of a bitch.
you are still wondefully sweet. dammit.
Villago Delenda Est
@cckids: I highly recommend to everyone to read the whole thing.
It is flat out brilliant. Calls these twits what they are.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: That’s a Beatle. Here’s some later George: Brainwashed.
Tommy
I know you have to be careful, saying this is the best of the Beatles. Or your favorite. But this is my favorite song they did:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5E_zXbmrlM
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: Hehe, I just probably need to get some new piercings.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
you are not going to address this at all, are you.
that may be okay.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Tommy: I’ve been on that crosswalk.
Little Boots
@Tommy:
and you may be right.
Little Boots
god, you’re straight.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Tommy: Interesting trivia, “Something” and “Layla” were written about the same woman.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
now you’re being omnes, the annoying omnes.
Tommy
@Little Boots: Good to know I am not crazy :).
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: I can never approach the annoyingness of the annoying Omnes, he’s an attorney.
Little Boots
@Tommy:
not at all. a little earnest. but not crazy.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
and no. nothing wrong with omnes. other than the occasional crazy, but no. he’s fine.
Little Boots
billin, you will get me in trouble.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: Hehe. More Beatles: For No One.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
wow, that was awful.
fine.
SWMBO
@Hungry Joe: So sorry to hear this. Heartfelt condolences to your family. We had our own scare Thursday night. Our three pupdogs found and played tug o war with a bufo toad. They all started acting disoriented so I threw them in the van and headed out to the emergency vet. All three had impressive amounts of vomiting and diarrhea but no seizures or other neurological symptoms. They are all doing fine today and we’re still watching their every move.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: Damn it, forgot my drugs. That’s awful? You obviously have no taste.
OK, how about this: Tomorrow Never Knows(speaking of drugs).
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
fine. it’s fine.
you are so annoying.
why do I like you?
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: I guess it’s not my charming personality. Can’t be my looks, since I look like a freak, hehe.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
really? I picture, well never mind what I picture. I do like your music.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: There have been pictures of me on this blog, though Baud thought I might be a young Korean woman.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I don’t care. that’s what I love about the internet. I think you are hot, because you post hot. and I bet you are hot.
Gravenstone
The floor show here needs work during these forgotten late nights.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: It was a pic of me and my step-daughter, she’s the young Korean woman. I was the old, fat white guy. More Beatles: Dear Prudence.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
and again, love you, although you annoy the hell out of me sometimes, but love you, and that’s how the internet works somedays.
Little Boots
billin, you okay?
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: How about some Paul? Band on the Run.
Little Boots
@BillinGlendaleCA:
yup. love that.
I do.
and I love billin. I do.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Little Boots: How about this, same album: Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five.
Ebola Nights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMXkWEo7wSo
Cervantes
@Petorado:
Rarely has contempt been so richly deserved.
J
@gogol’s wife: Terrific writer, She will be missed.
PaulW
@eemom:
He won. Twice. And with clean, clear majorities.
He won with a party that THEY routinely view as socialist and un-American, so how could he?
He won with a message of reforming health care, stabilizing the economy so it could grow again, cutting back on reckless foreign wars. Whether or not he succeeded on any of those objectives is still up for debate (and even his own backers are disillusioned on some points), but he convinced enough Americans to believe him.
He won on a tax platform that didn’t revolve around cutting taxes for the uber-rich, and somehow has enough Americans supporting his proposals to increase taxes on the uber-rich that it makes him a clear and present danger to the TRUE greedheads, uh captains of industry running our glorious economic model of unregulated capitalism into the ground (again).
He won wearing that skin color. There are, yes, enough a-holes out there who judge entirely on that. Still.
opiejeanne
@BillinGlendaleCA: So was Wonderful Tonight. Patti nee Boyd Harrison Clapton and now Weston looks not too bad for 71.
Doug R
Does anyone else see the hilarity that Calgary Cruz’s home province of Alberta is probably going to “fall” to the SOCIALISTS? (Well, maybe a social democrat minority government). Yes’ that’s right, after 40 YEARS of (Progressive) CONSERVATIVE rule, the polling indicates Alberta may get an NDP minority government thanks to voters in (R)Edmonton. That’s red as in godless commies, BTW.
Doug R
http://www.threehundredeight.com/p/alberta.html
Bill D.
@Villago Delenda Est: But also the anti-intellectual, anti-knowledge, anti-competence viewpoint of the Republican base is now the norm for Republican politicians.
Gex
@Hungry Joe: I can’t imagine how hard it was to find you beloved pet like that. I’m so sorry. It is so hard to lose those little fellas.
rk
@eemom:
,
I asked the same question a while back when I saw a minivan covered with anti Obama stickers. Just the most vile stuff: Obama with a bone through his nose, a missing sign with Obama’s picture-a village is “missing an idiot” pictures of Michelle Obama and lots more which I forget. She and I both stopped at the Target so I got a look at her. Surprisingly it was an ordinary looking woman with “intellectual” glasses and two kids in tow. I think I was expecting a redneck type. Political disagreements I get, but this is hatred at a personal level. I was extremely anti Bush, but I never would have even considered buying such awful decals let alone putting them on my car.
brantl
Is there a picture of Ted Cruz, anywhere, that doesn’t look like he just crapped his pants? Honestly, I’d like to know.