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The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

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Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

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

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

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

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The revolution will be supervised.

If you are in line to indict donald trump, stay in line.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

No one could have predicted…

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

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A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

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You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Friday Mid-Day Open Thread

Friday Mid-Day Open Thread

by Betty Cracker|  October 2, 201511:48 am| 125 Comments

This post is in: Domestic Politics, Open Threads, General Stupidity

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I bet you wish YOU owned these Gandalf, Gimli and Gollum Pez dispensers:

lord of the pez

But they are mine. All mine.

I’m waiting around for people to get off work early so I can go on my road trip already. Looks like we picked an absolutely stellar time to drive through the Southeast and visit the mountains, with record rainfall, flash flood warnings, etc. I know: Turn around, don’t drown.

Hurricane Joe Quinn’s projected track looks like it will take the storm out to sea to menace Bermuda instead of the Eastern Seaboard. But spare a thought for the poor Bahamas. A major hurricane has been spinning over them for two solid days. That’s gotta suck. Stay safe, everyone.

Open thread!

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Reader Interactions

125Comments

  1. 1.

    benw

    October 2, 2015 at 11:52 am

    They are your precious. Yours to rule them all and in the darkness dispense oblong, chalky candy.

  2. 2.

    Humboldtblue

    October 2, 2015 at 11:52 am

    Well if you’re gonna be stuck inside you might as well have a sing-song. You guys know this classic so sing along!

  3. 3.

    Pee Cee

    October 2, 2015 at 11:53 am

    You … shall … not … Pez!

  4. 4.

    MattF

    October 2, 2015 at 11:56 am

    Found this link yesterday, via MeFi… it seems that there was quite a bit of drug use (speed + alcohol) among Germans in WWII. Not going to claim that there’s a lesson there, but I’m currently reading Timothy Snyder’s new book, so ‘things you didn’t know about WWII’ is relevant for me right now.

  5. 5.

    srv

    October 2, 2015 at 11:59 am

    Be sure to have all the mess cleaned up by next weekend when I hit the AT in the Great Smoky.

  6. 6.

    Cervantes

    October 2, 2015 at 12:00 pm

    @Humboldtblue:

    In Vietnam in the ’60s, there were a number of — establishments, shall we say? — called “Hotel California.”

  7. 7.

    mainmata

    October 2, 2015 at 12:00 pm

    Lovehow your autocorrect turned Joaquin into Joe Quinn (unless that was you being your usual funny self). Stay safe.

  8. 8.

    SteveinSC

    October 2, 2015 at 12:01 pm

    They’re predicting 10+ inches here (over three days.) It’s the low country so not such a big deal. We don’t have LOTR statues here, we have the Alien from Rock Hill, Trey Gowdy. Also “You-Lie” Joe Wilson.

    If you are coming up I-95 and get stuck, call me. We all have webbed feet around here. I-26 will be a river.

    “Too small for a Republic, too large for an Insane Asylum.” Welcome to South Carolina.

  9. 9.

    ruemara

    October 2, 2015 at 12:03 pm

    Not gonna lie. Slightly jealous. Well, I’m as cast as I can be for what I’m going to shoot. Today, I smooth out access issues and then it’s all downhill except for the acting & filming. Very nerve wracking.

  10. 10.

    agorabum

    October 2, 2015 at 12:04 pm

    Sorry, but that is a Saruman dispenser, not Gandalf. Clearly Christopher Lee.

  11. 11.

    Pee Cee

    October 2, 2015 at 12:08 pm

    @SteveinSC:

    They’re predicting 10+ inches here (over three days.) It’s the low country so not such a big deal.

    They’re not playing high school football tonight in Charleston. THE WORLD IS ABOUT TO END!

  12. 12.

    catclub

    October 2, 2015 at 12:10 pm

    @MattF:

    there was quite a bit of drug use (speed + alcohol) among Germans in WWII.

    Apparently speed is ok according to the Koran and ISIS.

  13. 13.

    catclub

    October 2, 2015 at 12:12 pm

    @agorabum: That is a tough call. Gandalf the White, it looks to me.

    I think Saruman had a neater/smaller beard.

    Is agorabum an anagram of wormtongue?

  14. 14.

    Betty Cracker

    October 2, 2015 at 12:13 pm

    @mainmata: I’ve been calling it “Joe Quinn” since a cashier pronounced it that way earlier this week.

    @SteveinSC: Thanks, but it sounds like we’ll be considerably west of your position. However, if it turns into a refugee situation, we may arrive, bedraggled, on your doorstep, and you could regret your kind offer!

    @agorabum: Nope, sorry — it’s obviously Gandalf, and it said so right on the package!

  15. 15.

    Brachiator

    October 2, 2015 at 12:13 pm

    Hurricane Joe Quinn’s

    Why Hurricane Joe Quinn? Is this based on a gaffe somebody made somewhere?

    A Gollum Pez dispenser makes sense, because Pez candies are precious.

  16. 16.

    Roger Moore

    October 2, 2015 at 12:14 pm

    @MattF:

    it seems that there was quite a bit of drug use (speed + alcohol) among Germans in WWII.

    As I understand it, many countries (including the US) still issue troops with stimulants to help maintain their alertness during battle. And it would be a shock if there were a military in an area where alcohol is available that didn’t consume it in mass quantities; that’s been going on as far back as we have records. IIRC, the Nazis were also experimenting with steroids.

  17. 17.

    Bobby Thomson

    October 2, 2015 at 12:16 pm

    @Humboldtblue: great cover. The one in TBL was also quite good.

  18. 18.

    Poopyman

    October 2, 2015 at 12:17 pm

    @agorabum: Well no, that is clearly a Sean Connery dispenser. And that looks more like a young Yoda than Gollum.

    Was there ever such a thing as a young-looking Yoda?

  19. 19.

    Poopyman

    October 2, 2015 at 12:19 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    IIRC, the Nazis were also experimenting with steroids.

    Well, that explains the East German Women’s Olympic Swim Teams of decades past.

  20. 20.

    Roger Moore

    October 2, 2015 at 12:20 pm

    @catclub:

    Is agorabum an anagram of wormtongue?

    It can’t be, because it doesn’t contain a “w”. I would assume that it’s a bum who hangs out in the agora.

  21. 21.

    Brachiator

    October 2, 2015 at 12:22 pm

    Did this story get any Balloon Juice coverage?

    Antigay Indiana Lawmaker Resigns After Sex Tape Text

    Indiana House Majority Leader Jud McMillin, a cosponsor of the state’s controversial “religious freedom” law resigned his seat abruptly Tuesday, after a sexually explicit video starring the representative was sent via text message from McMillin’s cell phone. The Indianapolis Star reported it is unclear who sent the text or how broadly it was distributed.

    This is the second time McMillin has resigned from a job over sexual misconduct allegations.

    McMillin was a rising star in Indiana Republican politics, a conservative who also spoke out against marriage equality, opposes nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people, and coauthored legislation to prevent an LGBT youth group from obtaining a specialty license plate. In a prepared statement released yesterday, McMillin said the “time is right for me to pass the torch and spend more time with my family.”

    McMillin sent a strange text to everyone in his phone contact list last week that read, “My phone was stolen in Canada and out of my control for about 24 hours. I have just been able to reactivate it under my control. Please disregard any messages you received recently. I am truly sorry for anything offensive you may have received.” Then, on Tuesday, he resigned without mentioning the alleged video showing McMillin having sex with a woman who is not his wife, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal.

    This stuff is almost too easy. You have these conservative wingnuts who are wrapped too tight, and who hide their need for sweet relief behind a facade of ultra stiff moral rectitude. You just know they are protesting too much.

  22. 22.

    dmsilev

    October 2, 2015 at 12:22 pm

    @Poopyman:

    Was there ever such a thing as a young-looking Yoda?

    Kermit.

  23. 23.

    ET

    October 2, 2015 at 12:22 pm

    I have one of Yoda and on the is Minion Stuart. So there.

  24. 24.

    Another Holocene Human

    October 2, 2015 at 12:25 pm

    @MattF: Didn’t the US military also issue methamphetamines? Prior to WWII, Germany was tops for chemistry and drug development. (Blue chip German firms IG Farben and Bayer used slave labor during the war. The US failed to strafe the Farben factory at Auschwitz because reasons.)

  25. 25.

    Another Holocene Human

    October 2, 2015 at 12:26 pm

    @mainmata: I just saw “Book of Life” so the storm name is weirding me out. o_0

  26. 26.

    Betty Cracker

    October 2, 2015 at 12:26 pm

    CNN says Education Secretary Arne Duncan is stepping down. Good riddance! He’s the biggest dud in PBO’s cabinet. Deputy Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. is supposedly the replacement. Anyone know anything about him?

  27. 27.

    schlemazel

    October 2, 2015 at 12:27 pm

    @MattF:
    US fighter pilots and at least some SF people I may know were given speed and probably still are. Drinking and the military have gone hand-in-hand for a long time, its those extended periods of boredom that have to be filled while waiting for ther next few seconds of shear terror. What is your point? You’re not suggesting this cost them the war are you?

  28. 28.

    Another Holocene Human

    October 2, 2015 at 12:28 pm

    Okay, I have a bag of very expensive Hatch green chili powder. I want to make chili with it. Ground beef base and I will open the chilies on the stovetop with lime juice and chicken broth. I feel like pork is proper but I’m incompetent at cooking pork.

    Any other suggestions? Hatch green chili powder ice cream?

  29. 29.

    schlemazel

    October 2, 2015 at 12:28 pm

    @Betty Cracker:
    YOU TOOK IT OUT OF THE PACKAGE?!?!? There goes the collector value :)

  30. 30.

    Betty Cracker

    October 2, 2015 at 12:29 pm

    @Another Holocene Human: Do you own a crockpot?

  31. 31.

    MattF

    October 2, 2015 at 12:29 pm

    @Brachiator: And it has to be just-almost done in public. ‘Hey, let’s record this on my phone!’

  32. 32.

    MattF

    October 2, 2015 at 12:32 pm

    @schlemazel: No– just, mainly, a ‘war is hell’ post. The linked article notes, btw, that Hitler had a ‘very special’ doctor.

  33. 33.

    Another Holocene Human

    October 2, 2015 at 12:32 pm

    @schlemazel: Drug usage and wars are very connected. Plenty has been said about the heroin/opium trade and the Vietnam War. Notably, in WWII, the US Army issued cigarette rations to troops. That choice had a profound effect on domestic life (and health) after the war.

  34. 34.

    trollhattan

    October 2, 2015 at 12:33 pm

    My kid’s middle school principal has festooned her office with Pez dispensers–dozens and dozens of the things. She’s pretty darn popular with the young’ns.

  35. 35.

    Another Holocene Human

    October 2, 2015 at 12:33 pm

    @Betty Cracker: No. I have a dutch oven, though.

  36. 36.

    schlemazel

    October 2, 2015 at 12:34 pm

    @Another Holocene Human:
    Stewed pork chunks. I’d need a recipe but there are probably several good ones online, a Mexican “pork in salsa verde might be one search I’d try.

    I see you have a dutch oven, for tender & juicy bake in the oven at a low temp, say 200 degrees for a long time (3-4 hours even. Collagen breaks down around 180-200 degrees so it really tenderizes the meat. No harm if the pork has bones in it, pick them out when done

  37. 37.

    Mandalay

    October 2, 2015 at 12:35 pm

    Nobody could have predicted….

    Chris Harper Mercer, the shooter in the attack at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, was obsessed with guns and religion and had white supremacy leanings, according to a federal law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.

  38. 38.

    MattF

    October 2, 2015 at 12:35 pm

    @Another Holocene Human: How tolerant are you wrt hot peppers?

  39. 39.

    Humboldtblue

    October 2, 2015 at 12:36 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    It’s Dr. King

  40. 40.

    Librarian

    October 2, 2015 at 12:36 pm

    @MattF: I wonder if the Downfall parody has been made yet. “Hitler is Informed that His Troops Have Been Taking Speed.”

  41. 41.

    Another Holocene Human

    October 2, 2015 at 12:37 pm

    @ET: I like the Death Star one.

    I had a tractor trailer PEZ dispenser but the fan wore off because PEZ is hella nasty. I can say hella because the company is or was based in New England. No, they are Austrian with a major factor and division hq in Southern New England.

    PETS candy, then.

  42. 42.

    Another Holocene Human

    October 2, 2015 at 12:37 pm

    @MattF: Very.

  43. 43.

    Humboldtblue

    October 2, 2015 at 12:38 pm

    @Cervantes:

    I fell down the youtube rabbit hole after watching that video and it appears that the song has some special meaning in Vietnam. There are thousands of versions of very talented Vietnamese performing their particular version. It was fascinating.

  44. 44.

    Betty Cracker

    October 2, 2015 at 12:39 pm

    @Another Holocene Human: I was going to suggest a pernil (Puerto Rican roast pork) recipe, but my particular foolproof one features a slow cooker. I’m sure it could be done in a Dutch oven as well, but I don’t have the step-by-step for that. It’s really good, though, and I bet the Hatch would work with it.

  45. 45.

    Another Holocene Human

    October 2, 2015 at 12:39 pm

    @Mandalay: Shades of the MRA shooter, yes?

  46. 46.

    Humboldtblue

    October 2, 2015 at 12:40 pm

    @Bobby Thomson: There were dozens of fantastic versions, I kept moving from one to the next and had the goddamn song in my head when I woke this morning.

  47. 47.

    Another Holocene Human

    October 2, 2015 at 12:41 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I had some pernil in Orlando last week that was to die for. There were leftovers and I should have grabbed more. It was made by Puerto Rican caterers. My hosts were Puerto Rican and they were talking trash about Cuban pernil.

  48. 48.

    Humboldtblue

    October 2, 2015 at 12:42 pm

    @Librarian:

    Well they certainly had the energy to stay up late and discuss the important philosophical issues of the day, that’s for sure.

  49. 49.

    Cervantes

    October 2, 2015 at 12:43 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    Deputy Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. is supposedly the replacement. Anyone know anything about him?

    Know him quite well. He spent some time in Cambridge, then went off to New Haven, then New York, where he eventually became Commissioner of Education — big on Common Core standards. While in the Boston area, he founded a high-performing charter school (Roxbury Prep., non-union).

    Kay may have more to say, of course.

  50. 50.

    Another Holocene Human

    October 2, 2015 at 12:43 pm

    @Brachiator: I checked Wonkette when it broke and, yep, they had a post. What’s astonishing is how fast the Indiana Republican Party took out the trash. He’s from Ohio where he also caused a scandal so maybe it was one of those political things.

    The “my phone was stolen in Canada” line deserves immortality. Too much other news going on, I think.

  51. 51.

    Elizabelle

    October 2, 2015 at 12:44 pm

    @Betty Cracker: Heard about Duncan resignation in the car.

    Response: Nelson Muntz laugh, then immediately thought of Kay and rikyrah. Mental high five. And laughed again.

    Coulda done that earlier, though, Arne.

    Bonus for Friday: found this Simpsons youtube. Guillermo del Toro opening; all the references. Fun.

  52. 52.

    schlemazel

    October 2, 2015 at 12:44 pm

    @MattF:
    a hundred years ago I read a book written by the guy the OSS employed to create a profile of Herr Hitler. I don’t remember the name If I do I can post it. It was very lurid as it contained every rumor about him (that he had only one testicle, that he enjoyed being humiliated by women for sex and of course heavy drug use. They made some attempt to separate the wildest stories but it was obvious that they didn’t try really hard to verify many. There were some things that they had multiple first hand accounts on or actual evidence (I recall some drug use being one of them) but a lot of them were the same rumor stated by different people none of whom witness things themselves. To me the only real interesting part was seeing how the idea of profiling was handled in 1940 and how they gathered ‘data points’.

  53. 53.

    Betty Cracker

    October 2, 2015 at 12:47 pm

    @Another Holocene Human: If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard a Cuban trash some cherished Puerto Rican dish, custom, mannerism, pronunciation, etc., and vice-versa, I could buy Fisher Island and evict every Republican!

  54. 54.

    rikyrah

    October 2, 2015 at 12:47 pm

    The Pez Dispenser – Bless Capitalism’s heart.

  55. 55.

    Another Holocene Human

    October 2, 2015 at 12:48 pm

    @schlemazel: Rather, there’s more evidence he fancied beating women in a sexual context. He was so rough with the cousin he shacked up with that it was causing a scandal and the Party intervened to separate them.

  56. 56.

    rikyrah

    October 2, 2015 at 12:49 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    Response: Nelson Muntz laugh, then immediately thought of Kay and rikyrah. Mental high five. And laughed again.

    Coulda done that earlier, though, Arne.

    Worst appointment of this President, from Day One.

    Cannot stand his unqualified azz.

    Boy Bye.

  57. 57.

    schlemazel

    October 2, 2015 at 12:51 pm

    @Humboldtblue:
    pernil! of course, I didn’t think of that. You can probably replace the slow cooker with an oven & heavy dutch oven. Most ovens do not hold temps as well but the heavy pan would even that out. I’d go with a low temp though & a long cook time.

    @Another Holocene Human:
    Generally you can trust food network to not get awful results as long as you stay away from most of the ‘star’ cooks (Alton being the one bright exception, his stuff always works so I can overlook that he started getting pretentious as the series moved along)
    http://www.food.com/recipe/pernil-puerto-rican-pork-shoulder-115565

  58. 58.

    Keith G

    October 2, 2015 at 12:54 pm

    @Another Holocene Human: Use some of the chili powder as one of the ingredients in a meat rub that you’ll keep on hand for any chops or roasts etc. Sprinkling on eggs, potatoes, or soups would be great too.

  59. 59.

    schlemazel

    October 2, 2015 at 12:54 pm

    @Another Holocene Human:
    Yeah, it is funny but I don’t recall that from the 1940 report. There were 2 or 3 women who claimed he liked to grovel & be kicked though. Maybe some combination? Maybe they just did a lousy job of intel.

  60. 60.

    shell

    October 2, 2015 at 12:55 pm

    Your Pez dispensers can have their own riddles-in-the-dark contest if they get bored.

  61. 61.

    Elizabelle

    October 2, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    @Brachiator: Somebody put this 2011 blog post up about McMillin. Plenty already going on four years ago, before the cell phone ever “disappeared in Canada” (right). Mind you, it’s from a blog, and I have no personal knowledge whether any of this is true:

    Indiana’s Jud McMillin: A Tale of Glass Houses & Rocks

    As a teenager, McMillin was known as a risk taker with a mile-wide sense of entitlement and a bad attitude. One former classmate described the young McMillin as Harry Potter’s “Draco Malfoy but without the good looks and a worse personality.”

    [involved in a game of chicken that killed a young family, including an unborn child; no charges filed against him]

    … After he graduated high school in 1995, McMillin left to attend Ball State University. You won’t find Ball State listed in his official biography though, because McMillin left the school in the spring of 1996 after members of the baseball team accused him of stealing from the parking lot fees. No charges were filed and McMillin was quietly allowed to leave the university.

    [on to UCincinnati for an Economics degree; U Mississippi for the J.D.], then

    He eventually became a deputy prosecutor in Dayton, Ohio – a mid-sized city not far from the Indiana border. Luckily for him, his family wasn’t too far away; he’d need their help again when he resigned after a sex scandal rocked the burg.

    And that’s before he ever became an Indiana legislator. There’s lots more. Man has no apparent judgement, but is plenty judgmental. How do the Republicans get so lucky all the time?

    Read more at http://www.bilerico.com/2011/03/indianas_jud_mcmillin_a_tale_of_glass_houses_rocks.php#IezhST6qAXwACORw.99

  62. 62.

    AdamK

    October 2, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    I’m confident that Pez collectors are harmless eccentrics, for the most part.

  63. 63.

    schlemazel

    October 2, 2015 at 12:58 pm

    @shell:
    Best Riddle game is in Bored of the Rings. & the best part is how the protagonist gets away with the ring

    He would have finished him off then and there, but pity stayed his hand. It’s a pity I’ve run out of bullets, he thought, as he went back up the tunnel…”

  64. 64.

    Elizabelle

    October 2, 2015 at 12:59 pm

    @rikyrah: Somebody here referred to Duncan and ed policy as Obama’s [actual] Katrina.

    To be seen. Good riddance to Arne, though.

  65. 65.

    benw

    October 2, 2015 at 1:01 pm

    For those of you who still harbor any good feelings for the subhuman, brain-damaging sport that is the NFL, this Grantland piece is a pretty funny time-waster if you happen to be, I don’t know, stuck inside during a rainstorm, or whatever.

  66. 66.

    Belafon

    October 2, 2015 at 1:03 pm

    So, in the chronicles of what we think of the pope, it seems he also met with a gay couple, in a private meeting, unlike what the Davis meeting is turning out to be:

    http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/02/us/pope-gay-washington/index.html

    The day before Pope Francis met anti-gay county clerk Kim Davis in Washington last week, he held a private meeting with a longtime friend from Argentina who has been in a same-sex relationship for 19 years.

  67. 67.

    Cervantes

    October 2, 2015 at 1:03 pm

    @rikyrah:

    Worst appointment of this President, from Day One.

    Is it your impression that John King, Duncan’s likely replacement, would be an improvement?

  68. 68.

    Another Holocene Human

    October 2, 2015 at 1:13 pm

    @Belafon: trollololololol

    Kim and Staver’s slick little press release just blew up in their smug faces.

  69. 69.

    shell

    October 2, 2015 at 1:19 pm

    @schlemazel: My nephew made off with my copy of Bored of the Rings and Ive never got it back

  70. 70.

    PurpleGirl

    October 2, 2015 at 1:19 pm

    @mainmata: IIRC, Betty said yesterday that a cashier at a Winn-Dixie called it Joe Quinn. So Betty’s been calling the storm that.

  71. 71.

    WereBear

    October 2, 2015 at 1:21 pm

    I DO own them, as well. And I’m happy about it.

    Anyone have one of those Bluetooth keyboard/case things for their iPad? I’m thinking about it.

  72. 72.

    burnspbesq

    October 2, 2015 at 1:24 pm

    Not to make light of what is obviously a terrible situation, but there is some irony in a hurricane whacking the two places where many of the world’s biggest reinsurance companies are based.

  73. 73.

    Poopyman

    October 2, 2015 at 1:24 pm

    @rikyrah:

    Worst appointment of this President, from Day One.

    Cannot stand his unqualified azz.

    If he were unqualified for the job he was hired for, I’m sure he would have been gone long ago. It might just be that he was very effective at the job the President wanted done. That’s not a happy thought, but that’s where the evidence leads.

    @Cervantes: Good question, and from your summary above, esp the Common Core part, it looks a lot like “Arne D, Part II”.

  74. 74.

    Cervantes

    October 2, 2015 at 1:25 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    It’s like dividing by zero.

  75. 75.

    tom

    October 2, 2015 at 1:31 pm

    Definitely Gandalf, the original package contained Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Gollum dispensers.

  76. 76.

    Corner Stone

    October 2, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    @WereBear:

    Anyone have one of those Bluetooth keyboard/case things for their iPad? I’m thinking about it.

    Yes, and it’s great. The fit is great but it’s easy to remove the iPad when you’re ready. The batteries last four-ever and the accuracy is near perfect. I do once in a very long while notice a slight lag here and there but for the most part there’s no distraction.
    I can’t remember the brand ATM but if I catch you on a later thread I’ll post it.

  77. 77.

    Corner Stone

    October 2, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    Fuck Arne Duncan. Fuck him up his stupid ass.

  78. 78.

    Corner Stone

    October 2, 2015 at 1:33 pm

    @Poopyman:

    It might just be that he was very effective at the job the President wanted done.

    Yes.

    @Cervantes: Good question, and from your summary above, esp the Common Core part, it looks a lot like “Arne D, Part II”.

    Yes.

  79. 79.

    lamh36

    October 2, 2015 at 1:34 pm

    Zoë says hello. she’s 2 months old today!

    https://twitter.com/psddluva4evah/status/650000118335213568

  80. 80.

    ? Martin

    October 2, 2015 at 1:35 pm

    @schlemazel: Provigil is the approved drug now: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modafinil

    The declared use is for B2 pilots that are on extended missions (particularly those Whiteman to Iraq and back runs).

    Apparently its less addictive than other stimulants and there’s little to no need to ‘catch up’ from use of it.

  81. 81.

    Betty Cracker

    October 2, 2015 at 1:36 pm

    @WereBear:

    Anyone have one of those Bluetooth keyboard/case things for their iPad? I’m thinking about it.

    I do, I do! I got it at Brookstone a couple of years back — a leather case for the iPad with detachable, magnetic keyboard insert. I love it. It’s bigger than some of the BT keyboards on the market and has decent key action, so I don’t have to adjust when moving between laptop and iPad.

  82. 82.

    ? Martin

    October 2, 2015 at 1:36 pm

    @WereBear: I have a Logitech Ultrathin for the iPad Air 2. I like it quite a lot. I’d buy it again.

  83. 83.

    Betty Cracker

    October 2, 2015 at 1:37 pm

    @lamh36: D’awww! Such a cutie-pie!

  84. 84.

    PurpleGirl

    October 2, 2015 at 1:39 pm

    Re the Hitler comments: I watched a number of the WWII/Hitler shows on Discovery channels or the Smithsonian Channel. Hitler’s doctor was Dr. Morell and he kept Hitler quite supplied with up to 70-odd doses of drugs a day (both pills and injections). Everything from speed to medication for constipation. The German troops were kept supplied with speed so they could fight longer and harder. Hitler did have his niece living with him. The party probably would have liked to separate them; ultimately she killed herself, supposedly after having a fight with Hitler over her wanting to see someone else and wanting to move to Vienna for singing lessons.

  85. 85.

    Brachiator

    October 2, 2015 at 1:41 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    Deputy Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. is supposedly the replacement. Anyone know anything about him?

    Does he play the blues like his brother BB King?

  86. 86.

    schlemazel

    October 2, 2015 at 1:45 pm

    @shell:
    Thats a scalping! I have lost several dearly loved books like that to the point I don’t loan books I love. Sad.

  87. 87.

    Cacti

    October 2, 2015 at 1:46 pm

    After yesterday’s mass shooting in lily-white Oregon, is Bernie’s position on gun legislation still: guns are different in Vermont than they are in Chicago?

  88. 88.

    Mike E

    October 2, 2015 at 1:47 pm

    It’s raining here like a cow AND a race horse pissing on, well, everywhere.

  89. 89.

    schlemazel

    October 2, 2015 at 1:47 pm

    @? Martin:
    Yeah, I assumed it was not meth & the one guy I might know jokingly called them “white crosses”. That may be a bit obscure. He also might have said he saw fighter pilots and chopper jockeys take them too.

  90. 90.

    Mike E

    October 2, 2015 at 1:49 pm

    @PurpleGirl: Thank gawd I never had an Uncle Hitler.

  91. 91.

    schlemazel

    October 2, 2015 at 1:50 pm

    @Cacti:
    HAVE YOU SEEN A PICTURE OF THE SHOOTER? He seems to be suffering from surplus melanin so the analogy holds, though I am not familiar with Sanders comments on the topic, is yours a fair assessment? (I really don’t know)

  92. 92.

    Brachiator

    October 2, 2015 at 1:50 pm

    @Mandalay:

    Nobody could have predicted….

    Harper was, I think, mixed race. I would not have predicted white supremacy leanings.

    I listened to a radio host talk about 300 million guns in the US, and the futility of doing anything via gun laws. Mental treatment and armed guards at schools are the only hope, according to this guy. Some people are just dug in that we are, have been, and always will be an armed nation, no matter how many people get shot up.

  93. 93.

    WaterGirl

    October 2, 2015 at 1:50 pm

    @agorabum: I thought it was a terrible replica of Gandolph. But of course you are right, it makes a pretty good Saruman.

  94. 94.

    schlemazel

    October 2, 2015 at 1:52 pm

    @PurpleGirl:
    Yeah, those have been well documented after the war. That makes reading the war time stuff more interesting because they got some things and missed others.

  95. 95.

    theturtlemoves

    October 2, 2015 at 1:53 pm

    Ah, but I do own those Pez dispensers. And mine are still mint in box along with the rest of the Lord of the Rings collection. I also have the collection from the first Hobbit movie and Star Trek: TNG 25th anniversary. And they are on a shelf with giant headed Fry (Futurama), Leeloo (Fifth Element), and Kaylee (Firefly) dolls. I’m a geek and my wife and daughter know it and reward me accordingly for birthdays and other such occasions.

  96. 96.

    Poopyman

    October 2, 2015 at 1:58 pm

    @WaterGirl: I still think it’s Sean Connery.

  97. 97.

    Cacti

    October 2, 2015 at 2:00 pm

    @schlemazel:

    Quoth the Bern:

    I come from a state where there is virtually no gun control. But the people of my state understand, pretty clearly, that guns in Vermont are not the same thing as guns in Chicago or Los Angeles. In our state, guns are used for hunting. In Chicago they are used for kids killing other kids or gang members shooting at police officers, shooting down innocent people.

    July 7, 2015

    Also voted nay on the Brady Bill, and aye on insulating gun manufacturers from liability for their products being used for the purpose of homicide.

  98. 98.

    Cervantes

    October 2, 2015 at 2:01 pm

    @Cacti:

    After yesterday’s mass shooting in lily-white Oregon, is Bernie’s position on gun legislation still: guns are different in Vermont than they are in Chicago?

    When he suggested (again) in June that different kinds of gun control may be needed in different locations (“I think the people of Vermont understand that guns in Vermont are different than guns in Chicago or guns in Los Angeles”), he also said:

    I think we need to have a serious conversation about that.

    It seems unlikely that he can have that serious conversation with people who either don’t understand, or can’t help misrepresenting, his positions.

  99. 99.

    schlemazel

    October 2, 2015 at 2:03 pm

    @Cacti:
    How depressing. I might see something of a point but he is so painfully wrong both in his expression of the point and in the meaning of the evidence.

    Those votes are very bad, maybe he felt he had to in order to save his seat but I’m not excited about that excuse either.

    Thanks

    EDIT: @Cervantes:
    Good point, thanks to you too. More data is good.

  100. 100.

    Corner Stone

    October 2, 2015 at 2:06 pm

    Anybody taking bets on which school reform pusher Arne Duncan will take a job with?

  101. 101.

    Brachiator

    October 2, 2015 at 2:07 pm

    @WereBear:

    Anyone have one of those Bluetooth keyboard/case things for their iPad? I’m thinking about it.

    I have a couple of bluetooth keyboards (a bit of a gadget nut), but not a combo keyboard and case.

    I got the AmazonBasics Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad, New iPad Mini, iPhone. And later I got a Microsoft Universal Mobile Keyboard for iPad, iPhone, Android devices, and Windows tablets.

    I have both an iPad and a Nexus 7 tablet.

  102. 102.

    Cacti

    October 2, 2015 at 2:07 pm

    @Cervantes:

    It seems unlikely that he can have that serious conversation with people who either don’t understand, or can’t help misrepresenting, his positions.

    Conversations are all that ever happens in the aftermath.

    Legislative inaction, not a lack of conversation, is the primary problem. And when you vote against minimal measures like the Brady Bill, you can hardly call yourself part of the solution.

  103. 103.

    Cervantes

    October 2, 2015 at 2:07 pm

    @Cacti:

    Also voted nay on the Brady Bill […]

    And the very next year voted for a ban on the sale of assault weapons; and in 2012 supported the President’s call for an updated ban on assault weapons as well as a better system for background checks.

    I don’t agree with every one of his votes on gun questions, but trying to portray him as a tool of the gun lobby would be silly, especially given that the NRA rates him an F.

  104. 104.

    WaterGirl

    October 2, 2015 at 2:13 pm

    @Poopyman: That could work!

  105. 105.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    October 2, 2015 at 2:15 pm

    @ruemara:

    I forgot to say the other day, if you’re low on extras, ask your cast and crew to bring friends on those days. As long as you feed them, most people will be happy to be in the background for free.

  106. 106.

    WereBear

    October 2, 2015 at 2:18 pm

    Thanks to all about the iPad keyboards. You bunch of enablers!

  107. 107.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    October 2, 2015 at 2:21 pm

    @ruemara:

    Also, too, just keep in mind that the fun part is coming up — editing! You just have to get through the boring shooting part first. ;-)

  108. 108.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    October 2, 2015 at 2:26 pm

    @Brachiator:

    As Fred Clark says, it’s easy to point at the “sin” that you yourself aren’t tempted to commit and insist that sin is WAY worse than any of the sins you’re interested in. Gives you a quick and easy righteousness injection and excuse for your shortcomings.

  109. 109.

    Billy K.

    October 2, 2015 at 2:31 pm

    I see God, Worf and Yoda. Prove me wrong.

  110. 110.

    Iowa Old Lady

    October 2, 2015 at 2:38 pm

    I bet you wish YOU owned these Gandalf, Gimli and Gollum Pez dispensers

    I kinda do.

  111. 111.

    catclub

    October 2, 2015 at 2:49 pm

    @Cervantes:

    especially given that the NRA rates him an F.

    There are probably Republicans with the same votes who get a B+ from NRA.

  112. 112.

    Cervantes

    October 2, 2015 at 2:50 pm

    @catclub:

    Interesting proposition; you could check it out.

  113. 113.

    Cacti

    October 2, 2015 at 3:42 pm

    @catclub:

    There are probably Republicans with the same votes who get a B+ from NRA.

    Wayne LaPierre previously endorsed Sanders against the Democratic candidate in an election for Vermont’s lone House seat.

  114. 114.

    Cervantes

    October 2, 2015 at 3:49 pm

    @Cacti:

    If you’re talking about the 1990 campaign by which Sanders entered the House, what the NRA did was to endorse Sanders against the Republican incumbent to punish him (the Republican) for changing a position on gun control.

    The Democrat in that campaign wanted to legalize heroin. She wasn’t going anywhere.

    PS: Quoth Sanders, recently:

    “In every single race that I have run, with the exception of one, the NRA and the gun lobbies and the people who are most interested in guns supported my opponent.”

  115. 115.

    catclub

    October 2, 2015 at 3:56 pm

    @Cervantes:

    you could check it out.

    I went and looked. It might be possible if I were an NRA member to look at the ratings archive.

    I have not gone the route of finding the list of rated votes and then going to the rollcalls.

  116. 116.

    Cervantes

    October 2, 2015 at 4:01 pm

    @catclub:

    Sounds reasonable — who has the time? — but does that leave the following “probably” somewhat high and dry?

    There are probably Republicans with the same votes who get a B+ from NRA.

  117. 117.

    MomSense

    October 2, 2015 at 4:09 pm

    @ruemara:

    I wish we were closer because I could definitely provide you with some actors and extras. Hoping it goes much better than you expect.

    ETA Next time you do this, perhaps consider filming in an out of the way place. Here in Maine we have tons of actors, dancers, musicians–all dressed up and nowhere to perform.

  118. 118.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    October 2, 2015 at 4:21 pm

    @catclub:

    My suspicion is that Bernie’s low rating has a lot more to do with the fact that he caucuses with Democrats than that he’s somehow “anti-gun.” I would be curious to know if there are any current Democrats who voted for the PPACA and also have an “A” rating from the NRA, but I’m not sure where to look. In a rational world (stop laughing!), Bernie would probably have a C or B-.

  119. 119.

    Cervantes

    October 2, 2015 at 4:27 pm

    @Mnemosyne (tablet):

    There’s that “probably” again, with zero visible justification. (“Suspicion” hardly counts!)

  120. 120.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    October 2, 2015 at 4:52 pm

    I notice that JEB? is down to 4% in the latest Pew Research poll. Think of all that money those rich guys threw away on that loser. Haha.

  121. 121.

    Cervantes

    October 2, 2015 at 5:03 pm

    @What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    I notice that JEB? is down to 4% in the latest Pew Research poll.

    What you may not have noticed is that the sampling error in that poll is ± 4.7%.

  122. 122.

    Felonius Monk

    October 2, 2015 at 5:32 pm

    @Betty Cracker: John King was NYS Commissioner of Education here in Albany until he was replaced last year by Maryellen Elia after you guys down in Tampa ran her out of town.

    ETA: I saw a few interviews of King last year when he was trying unsuccessfully to convince some local parents about the wonders of Common Core.

  123. 123.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    October 2, 2015 at 6:26 pm

    @Cervantes:

    Here’s their database. Have at it. I have better things to do, but since you want to give the NRA the benefit of the doubt and assume they’re honest players despite the past 20+ years of history, go for it:

    https://www.nrapvf.org

    It’s sweet that you can keep your naïveté about what the trade group for gun manufacturers is up to. It really is.

  124. 124.

    agorabum

    October 2, 2015 at 6:42 pm

    @Roger Moore: You are correct, sir!

  125. 125.

    Cervantes

    October 2, 2015 at 7:09 pm

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone):

    Here’s their database. Have at it.

    I don’t think you understand how these things work: you make a claim; and when you’re asked about it, you justify it.

    It’s sweet that you can keep your naïveté about what the trade group for gun manufacturers is up to. It really is.

    Sound and not-even-fury.

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