Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

Bark louder, little dog.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Republicans in disarray!

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

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

After roe, women are no longer free.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

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35Comments

  3. 3.

    Major Major Major Major

    Sad. Not unexpected, but sad.

    Previously-announced shameless plug: part 10 of that novel I’m serializing is up, about when all the fish disappear.

    Otherwise I dunno, just catching up on the JEB fiasco. (Can I ask why people put a bang after his name btw? Always wondered.)

  5. 5.

    Mustang Bobby

    @Major Major Major Major:

    (Can I ask why people put a bang after his name btw? Always wondered.)

    When he was running for governor of Florida, his bumper sticker was JEB!. That’s all it said.

    My mom introduced me to B.B. King fifty years ago via an 8-track tape and I loved his music. Peace.

  6. 6.

    Mary G

    @Major Major Major Major: I think it is because when he ran for governor of Florida, he issued Spanish language ads with the upside down bang in front and the regular one in back. The upside down one is probably possible on the internet, but I don’t know how to do it either.

    ETA: I guess I am wrong, that’s what I get for guessing.

  7. 7.

    Major Major Major Major

    I didn’t realize his name was John Ellis Bush until George Oscar Bluth came on the scene, and I was like, why’s his name Gob Bluth? So I asked somebody and they were like, well, it’s a joke about Jeb.

  9. 9.

    David Koch

    Fascinating article on Ivy Ziedrich

    Growing up in Northern California, she considered herself a conservative like her mother and father, who is a loyal Fox News viewer.

    Then she identified as a libertarian and, ultimately, as Democratic, influenced by her time spent debating and by books like Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States.”

    “A Bush was trying to blame ISIS on Obama’s foreign policy — it was hilarious,” said Ms. Ziedrich, who attends the University of Nevada. “It was like somebody crashing their car and blaming the passenger.”

  11. 11.

    Gene108

    My psychiatrist I have been seeing for the past twelve years told me has stomach cancer. I had not seen him for several months and I had an appointment today.

    He looked like he got really old and frail (I think he is in his late-60’s, early 70’s, but looked much younger) all of a sudden.

    He’s keeping a part-time work load, which is all he can manage.

    Feel really sorry for him.

  13. 13.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Betty Cracker: My ex had pretty bad insomnia. I presume you’ve tried Benadryl; it certainly worked for him with a glass of wine.

    I know that isn’t healthy but then again, what is?

    Looking at screens isn’t super great either, your brain treats it as daylight (or so they say); books are supposed to be much better. My insomnia went away a while ago so I’ve not cared to look into all of this in much depth, but just in case any of those would help point you down the right path :)

  14. 14.

    Fred

    Saw BB King open for the Stones in ’69? (Let It Bleed, tour). He was great. And funny. The Spectrum had lousy acoustics but it was still a great show. I remember his singing that “You gotta get DOWN on your knees for your woman.”
    And then there was Jagger struttin’ Little Red Rooster like a ball of fire.
    Rode to that show from Rehoboth Beach Delaware to Philly in the back of a pick up bed sheltered by a home made ply wood cap. It was cold but friends, cheap wine and weed kept us warm. Worth it 100%.
    Gawd, that was nearly half a century ago. Good long run for BB. Me too.

  18. 18.

    Donut

    I had myself a nice little run playing in bands and making a living as musician, in part thanks to BB. At age 15, after years of playing brass instruments, I started to teach myself to play guitar, and around that time and not-so-coincidentally, I also stumbled upon a nice little cache of BB King records at my local rekkid store. I took that stack of vinyl home and practically wore out the turntable while BB helped teach me how to play. I remember trying so hard to emulate that singing vibrato that seemed to be so effortless to him, as well as those beautiful glissando high notes that were the real signature of his sound. Few people really know how to make a guitar sing, but BB could do it. He never overplayed and he never played over the heads of his audience, but he was so far from dumbed down. Always so tasty and tasteful. Kinda choked up about this. RIP

  19. 19.

    David Koch

    Ben Carson leaps to the top spot of GOP presidential candidates in the latest Fox News poll tied with presumed GOP front-runner Jeb Bush.

    Carson, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee all entered the race for the Republican nomination early last week, but none has seen as dramatic a bump as the retired neurosurgeon.

    Both Bush and Carson sit atop the Fox poll at 13 percent each among Republican primary voters. That’s a seven-point bounce for Carson who was at just 6 percent in the same poll in April.

    BWHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAH

    Toothless Ben is the new Non Romney Jeb!

  20. 20.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @David Koch: The toothless part might also apply to the Mittster after his event tonight.

    ETA: Not sure it’s overly normal for 2 of a person’s teeth to pop out in a short period of time. Did Dr. Ben have a bridge or has he been tweaking.

  21. 21.

    J R in WV

    I graduated from HS in 1968, and enrolled in summer school at college just to get away from the little mining town I grew up in. Of course I was one of the only freshmen in the dorm, so I hung with upper class men, mostly people who needed a class to graduate on schedule that wasn’t going to be easy to squeeze in.

    So one day a guy asked me if I would be interested in going to a folk festival, chip in on gas, buy tickets, sleep on a class mate’s floor at his folks. Sure I was up for anything exciting over a long weekend!

    Turned out to be The Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, and the specialty that summer was the blues, which I had never heard any of but the scant bit that was on Top 40. What an eye opener!!

    Janis Joplin, Muddy Waters, BB King, Buddy Guy, elderly acoustic guys, guys you would have thought were from deep in the jungle in Africa! Well, I was sold.

    Saturday afternoon there were tents with little stages, and we got to see elderly guys playing hand carved whistles and drums, with hand made leather heads, just amazing, haunting sounds.

    I saw BB King in the Convention Center in Philly, along with Janis, Joe Cocker and Santana, that was one hell of a night. And we saw so many great acts of the BB King House of Blues in NYC.

    What a sad night for blues fans all over the world. He was such a nice guy, too. So glad the rock stars pulled him up with them, he gave so much to the world. It was great that he wound up wealthy, for a Southern Blues Man.

    I’m glad I knew it was coming, less of a shock. When you have known someone’s music for nearly 50 years, you feel like you know them a little. I’ve heard so many interviews with him – he was always willing to talk to someone, even on the phone, about the music, Lucille, any thing.

    So long, BB, we will miss you!

    Betty, thanks for passing this news on, it was the best way for me to hear this, from a friend…

  23. 23.

    SFAW

    @David Koch:

    “A Bush was trying to blame ISIS on Obama’s foreign policy — it was hilarious,” said Ms. Ziedrich, who attends the University of Nevada. “It was like somebody crashing their car and blaming the passenger.”

    Excellent line, but wouldn’t it be more like “blaming the passenger what was trying to get the drunk driver to hand him/her the keys”?

    Plus also too, “drunk driver” would be especially apt for that evil fucking moron.

  25. 25.

    SixStringFanatic

    @Betty Cracker: Yes, Betty, he called his guitars Lucille. The oft-repeated story is that, early in his career, BB was playing in a club when two men got into a fight over a woman.They fought so vigorously that they knocked over the club’s kerosene furnace, starting a fire and forcing everyone to flee the building. Once he got outside, BB realized that he had left his guitar and ran back inside the flaming building to successfully rescue it. The name of the woman the two men were fighting over was Lucille and BB King gave his guitars that name to remind himself to never again do such a stupid thing.

  28. 28.

    Another Holocene Human

    @David Koch: It’s always nice when somebody sees the light.

    I think our choices are driven more by psychology. The more uncertain and afraid we are, the shittier we become as political actors. So the GOP smashing the economy, deregulating, and basically fucking people actually enhances their chances of winning an election over the long term. These rich people flipping are outliers. They’ve never been in peril of more month than food and the lights getting shut off and the landlord didn’t pay the oil company so there’s no heat this winter, etc. That shit is how our brains get trained to vote Republican. And yes, the poorest people, when they do vote, vote D. Because they are the ones getting pissed on and they know whose urethra it was. But it’s the ones a little bit above the bottom, great in numbers, who get under pressure and vote R. “The GOP didn’t mean me.” My own grandmother thought Reagan didn’t mean her right until the day her benefits were cut and then she thought it was some sort of mistake at first.

  29. 29.

    Another Holocene Human

    I was always both admiring and horrified that BB King kept performing even when he was old and sick and disabled. (He is not the only musician to do this, btw.) Of course, music can be an end in itself. I know he had family to support. I hope he got paid well for those ads he did, especially the diabetes ones, instead of taking part of it in goodwill because those companies will do this pitch that you’re doing a great thing for other people with diabetes, yadda yadda. I hope he took their money dammit.

  30. 30.

    Another Holocene Human

    @J R in WV: That sounds awesome. I’m sorry I missed it. I tried to go to a Blues concert on the Esplanade in Boston in college but it was really terrible. I think I’d even convinced a classical music friend to come. That was a long walk back to the subway.

  32. 32.

    MomSense

    His music is such a regular part of our daily life and brings us such joy. What an incredible life he has led.

  34. 34.

    Parfigliano

    Saw him at University of South Dakota in early 1984….then in Cincinnatti around 2000 with Buddy Guy….then last year at Casino outside Albuquerque

  35. 35.

    JustRuss

    @Mustang Bobby: RE Jeb(!), I always figured it was because Republican money loves the Bushes but nobody else has any enthusiasm for them, and he’s a messiah figure, the smart one waiting in the wings; and Jeb is such a gosh darn cool nick name. The bang in parentheses neatly encapsulates all of that. I don’t care if I’m wrong, it’s my theory and I like it.

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