Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

It’s not hopeless, and we’re not helpless.

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

Motown is Joe-Town!

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

Everyone is in a bubble, but some bubbles model reality far better than others!

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

So many bastards, so little time.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Giving up is unforgivable. ~Joe Biden

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

Elections aren’t won by handwringing, cowering, and/or bashing your own candidates.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

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

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

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

The lights are all blinking red.

Ron DeSantis, the grand wizard, oops, governor of FL.

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118Comments

  2. 2.

    greennotGreen

    College football: an undertaking attempting to see how many students of higher education can be irreparably harmed by brain damage.

    John, I first visited your blog many years ago (via LGF, I think) when I first discovered politically oriented blogs. It took me a few posts to realize that you and Charles Johnson did not share my liberal persuasion, so I left for the Satans Great Orange and Powder Blue.
    I guess a link brought me back after your catharsis, when you registered as a Democrat.

    Stimulated by the Greatest John Cole Posts project now underway, I just went to the archives and read the first page from January 2002. Somebody wrote these words:

    “Ann Coulter, goddesspundit…”

    Who was that person? Couldn’t have been you.

  3. 3.

    dp

    Watching (and pulling for) your Mountaineers now. Looking forward to UGA-Bama as an intellectual exercise — will Nick Chubb or Bama’s front seven carry the day? Later, heading out to witness in person just what Leonard Fournette can or will do to the lowest-ranked rushing defense in FBS.

  6. 6.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    There is also the Rugby World Cup for some of you heathens. The Springboks(South Africa) is smoking the Scots. England-Australia is the next game. flipping between that and Oklahoma-West Virginia

  7. 7.

    Keith P.

    I am so god damned stiff this morning. I completely and totally understand why the olds flock to the southwest.

    Legal prostitution? Wait, no, that’s the actual West.

  8. 8.

    NotMax

    Wait another 20 years. It doesn’t get better, but it does become familiar, accepted and accommodated.

    Moving into the undeniably old years is a constant carnival of revelations.

  9. 9.

    shell

    Drizzly, damp and incredibly chilly today. But not complaining; so very grateful that Joaquin is a going out to sea.

  11. 11.

    Shakezula

    Moving into the undeniably old years is a constant carnival of revelations.

    “Now what?

    “Oh wow you’ve gotta be kidding me!”

    “What the fuck?”

    “No seriously, what the compleat and entire fuck?”

    “Well shit.”

  12. 12.

    beltane

    Was speaking to an old friend from high school last night. We both came to the conclusion that we were wrong to make old people in Florida jokes all these years.

  15. 15.

    dr. luba

    @beltane: No, you weren’t. I am becoming old, and Florida is still my idea of purgatory. Some 20 years back, when they were newly retired, my mother suggested to my father that they move to Florida. Hell no, he replied, it’s full of old people……

  16. 16.

    ? Martin

    I’m fighting the aging as best as I can but it’s damn hard. I did manage to lose all the weight that I wanted to lose and am now holding at my target weight quite nicely, but it’s a solid hour+ of light (walking) to moderate (running, other fitness stuff) exercise per day. The body complains. Technology really makes it easier though, from fitness apps that let me set daily targets to things like podcasts to listen to. I go through my Mandarin flashcards on my phone during one of my daily walks.

  17. 17.

    NotMax

    @beltane

    With the exceptions of jokes involving the wearing of pastel trousers along with a white patent leather belt or ones about rushing to make the Early Bird specials.

    ;)

  18. 18.

    Suezboo

    This is a make-or-break game for SA. After our humiliation against Japan last week, we NEED this win. Scotland not taking it lying down. Come on, guys !

  19. 19.

    Pogonip

    @dr. luba: Also hurricanes, mold, and giant flying cockroaches. (They call them “palmetto bugs” in hopes a cute name will reassure horrified tourists, but a giant flying roach is a giant flying roach!)

  20. 20.

    Pogonip

    FOOTBALL!

    Now that that’s out of the way, I got an e-mail wanting me to install Apple IOS 9 on my phone. Has anyone done this and if so how bad did it screw up your phone?

  22. 22.

    Goblue72

    @? Martin: congrats! I’m starting a similar goal – losing the middle aged fat acquired over the last several years. Tired of looking like a pear.

  23. 23.

    22over7

    You couldn’t pay me enough to live in Arizona, but my BIL’s arthritis doesn’t bother him there. Also no snow-shoveling.

  24. 24.

    J R in WV

    My android phone wants to update to Android V 5, I forget the dessert they used for that.

    Sickness … they have closed a grade school in the next county over because the little monsters were passing the flu around a lot. A whole lot – which is why I use the word monsters. I like kids, just not plague carriers!

    I’m staying up the holler until I get a chance to go get a flu shot. I believe in vaccinations, all you can get. I’ll never forget shot day in boot camp. A long line of medics with both guns and old fashioned needles, hitting everyone in both arms. And you did feel strange the next day. Of course, it does stimulate your immune system, which is a good thing.

    Cole, your exposure to so many people, frat brothers, students, etc, travel especially, is why you get sick, not because you aren’t a healthy person.

  26. 26.

    jibeaux

    I finally found a fitness group that I really like and seem to be able to stick to. Makes me sore the next day, but a good sore. Damn thing costs a lot, though, more than the cheapo gymns. But I won’t go to the gym, so I guess I have to suck it up.

  28. 28.

    ? Martin

    @Goblue72: Take your time. It took me three attempts over 2 years. I lost 45 lbs and I finally figured out that the rate at which I lost weight didn’t matter, just as long as I was. Progress is what matters.

    I found that walking was the most effective. It’s easy on the body which is important starting out – because I was both out of shape and carrying more weight than my frame wanted. During walks I listen to podcasts and such. Now I study my Mandarin flashcards on my phone. As I dropped weight I traded some of the walking out for more strenuous exercises, in part to get into shape and in part just to mix things up a bit.

  29. 29.

    montanareddog

    @Pogonip: We went to Guadeloupe for our honeymoon. Sitting on the veranda of our rented cabine the first evening, I saw a giant fucking cockroach walking up the wall behind my wife’s head. I calmly said “Don’t move”; to which her response was to run screaming down the road without even looking at what was behind her

  31. 31.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    I am so god damned stiff this morning.

    What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, you horny old fucker.

  32. 32.

    ? Martin

    @Mary G: I do occasionally. The flashcards are better because you just need to glance at them – just learning vocabulary. I do read while walking, but it’s a fair bit harder so I try to keep that to a minimum.

  33. 33.

    Frankly

    @J R in WV:
    Mrs. Works in an elementary school . . . all children in groups are an epidemic looking for clearance to land. The up side s my immune system is well exercised and strong.

  34. 34.

    Suezboo

    @Mr Stagger Lee:
    YES ! At last, a win! The guys brought their game to the game. Thank the fsm, they did it. YAY ! It’ll be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonite !

  35. 35.

    benw

    @Pogonip:

    I got an e-mail wanting me to install Apple IOS 9 on my phone. Has anyone done this and if so how bad did it screw up your phone?

    The update went fine to my 4S, but one word of warning: iOS9 won’t talk to older versions of iTunes. That happened to me, so after my update I had an iPhone that couldn’t load apps or music (or backups) from my old version of iTunes that had all my shit on it. But aside from that frustration, I haven’t had any problems with the actual phone since the update.

  36. 36.

    bemused

    Iris Apfel, 93, style icon, talked about aging. When she asked the quite old mother of a friend how she was doing, she said, “When I get up in the morning, everything I have two of, one hurts”.

    I want to see a documentary about Apfel, called “Iris” which came out last spring. Her life sounds pretty interesting and fun.

    Friends visited and stayed with a couple in their early 60’s who moved to that famous, huge senior living development in Florida that I can’t recall the name of. My friend said it was definitely not her cup of tea and she was rather disturbed by the whole place and atmosphere there.

  38. 38.

    Shlemazel

    Thought I might have seen raven – saw a car with 2 Georgia flags flying.

    Was thinking of making a couple of old jokes: it didn’t run well and couldn’t pass at all.

  41. 41.

    qwerty42

    @Pogonip:

    … (They call them “palmetto bugs” in hopes a cute name will reassure horrified tourists, but a giant flying roach is a giant flying roach!)

    But they don’t fly that much! Mostly happy to scurry around the ground (floor). We had them in Savannah too.

  42. 42.

    trollhattan

    @J R in WV:
    Android 6 is Marshmallow, which they just rolled out with the new Nexus phones. 5 is Lollipop, and pretty old. 6 is supposed to be a YOUUUGE GUI advance and is what I’ve been awaiting to trigger replacing my now 3YO phone. The question now is which. I only know I don’t want to hold a clipboard next to my face; it has to be decently compact. Also, too, prefer a microSD slot, something they’re ditching to sell you expensive internal storage. Thanks, Apple.

  44. 44.

    Arm The Homeless

    @trollhattan:

    I am still loving my HTC One m8. As soon as you disable the bloatware it’s fantastic. Sony’s Z3/5 are awesome but are limited, thus expensive. I avoid Samsung, so I am considering a Moto X in a year.

  45. 45.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @trollhattan: I’m still on a Nexus 4. I occasionally think about a new phone, but nothing seems compelling yet. I’ll probably keep looking and thinking, but wait until the Snapdragon 820 is in phones. ArsTechnica make it sound like a compelling bit of silicon.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  47. 47.

    Germy Shoemangler

    Just got back from our local farmers’ market. Stocked up on potatoes, squash, lettuce. A woman was distributing Bernie Sanders brochures. The League of Women Voters had a booth to answer questions and register voters. As we were leaving, a man was also distributing Bernie brochures. Weather was cool, windy, but we enjoyed a good walk.

    And I’ve got these cool brochures that will be historical documents someday. No matter who wins the election.

  48. 48.

    pamelabrown53

    @jibeaux:

    I’m an “oldie” (62), live in Florida but would totally trade it in for New Mexico. To me, it truly is the land of enchantment. Plus dry heat is easier to take than humidity. The only drawback is snow: after the first snowfall I’d ooh and ahh, a bit after… I’d prefer to get in my car in a light weight sweater when I need a dozen of eggs.

  49. 49.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @pamelabrown53: Can a person get by without a car in New Mexico? I’ve never been there, but I imagine it as being wide open spaces, not walkable.

  50. 50.

    pamelabrown53

    @22over7:

    If you don’t mind me asking, what part of New Mexico do you reside. I lived for 12 years in El Paso so I’ve traveled extensively in New Mexico. Always thought that El Paso should secede to New Mexico!

  52. 52.

    trollhattan

    @Germy Shoemangler:
    In my scant travels there NM seemed pretty darn spread out. Albuquerque might be doable carless to some extent, but doesn’t seem terribly downtown-centric, more of a concentrated suburb. Santa Fe is fantastic(al) but super-expensive, in that La Jolla/Carmel/Cape Cod/Vail fashion.

  53. 53.

    Gator90

    I want to believe UF has a real shot against the Rebels, but then, I want to believe a lot of things.

  55. 55.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @trollhattan: That’s sort of what I envisioned. Taos New Mexico, a giant desert with some settlements here and there separated by a single long road.

    Clovis Man… didn’t they find some really old bones in Clovis?

  56. 56.

    beltane

    New Mexico is the only not-cold state I think I could tolerate. Many parts of this country just scare me.

  57. 57.

    lamh36

    At ur age John, no telling if the body aches are from old age or actually weather related…lol.

    It’s 66 degrees here in NOLA, and this means it’s time or long sleeves..but the humidity keeps it so moist, eventually long sleeves become to hot.

    Welp…I’m flat broke…but my rent is paid and I’ve got gas in the car and food in the house…so at least there is that

    So sitting here on my sofa, watching Hallmark channel and it’s parade of movies…and that’s about it.

    How’s ya’ll Saturday shaping up?

  58. 58.

    22over7

    @pamelabrown53: I live in Albuquerque. It’s kind of a rough town, crime-wise, but the weather is great and it hardly ever snows. Today was the first day of the annual balloon fiesta. Hot-air balloons all over the skies. Had huevos rancheros for breakfast. Yeah, I like it here just fine.

  60. 60.

    trollhattan

    @lamh36:

    Welp…I’m flat broke…but my rent is paid and I’ve got gas in the car and food in the house…so at least there is that

    You’ve penned the first verse of a promising blues song, don’t stop now!

    Putting off mowing the lawn/weed collection. Successfully so far.

  61. 61.

    trollhattan

    @22over7:
    To append my earlier NM observations, I’ve had food so good in Santa Fe it practically brought tears. Have gone to numerous “New Mexican” restaurants in California and at best only get glimmers of the flavors of the real thing. The food alone could convince me to move. And that’s ignoring Los Pollos Hermanos.

  63. 63.

    22over7

    @trollhattan: Yes to all of this. NM’s Hatch green chile is utterly addicting. My daughter moved to Vermont recently, and I had to send her some before she went crazy.

    I can imagine living somewhere else, but I can’t imagine living without NM food. Tomatillo sauce sucks.

  64. 64.

    lamh36

    Ugh…fuqn Hallmark…I wish I could quit them and their original movies. Ugh…there’s not much diversity to them…I loved it if once, they had the starring role be a woman of color, rather than having them side character (sassy best friend of course), but damn it I can seem to shake them….bastards.

    Oh and, is liking Train as bad as liking Nickelback? I feel like when I tell folk I like Train…folk are like…whut?

    I may lose my “black card” over it, but I do, I like Train. I like there schmaltzy ass songs.

    Hell, I had the “Hey Soul Sister” song as my ringtone, and my friend who be like “lamh…what the hell is that”…lol

  65. 65.

    Goblue72

    @? Martin: thanks. It’s amazing how quickly age catches up at a certain point. 5 years ago I was 30+ pounds lighter and doing Crossfit 3 times a week. (I’m short so 30 pounds is like 60 pounds for talker people) Now climbing a flight of stairs leaves me winded.

  66. 66.

    pamelabrown53

    @22over7:

    I’ve attended the hot air balloon festival and it’s a wonder! Huevos rancheros, a big super plus. I’d rather live in Santa Fe but real estate is mucho grande.

  67. 67.

    SWMBO

    @karen marie: All our dogs have tried them. They all were enthusiastic about going after them until they actually bit into them. They must taste like eleventy kinds of horrifying shit because they usually spit them out and just swat them with their feet after that. “We’ll squash ’em but we won’t eat ’em.” seems to be the end result.

  68. 68.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @trollhattan: As you get older “clipboards” become much more desirable, unless you love getting out your reading glasses every time you want to read the screen. This year sucked for new phones, Sammy tried to be Apple and other phones had problems with processors.

  69. 69.

    22over7

    @pamelabrown53: It’s funny, lots of people say they’d rather live in Santa Fe, but the charm is lost on me. Crowded, hard to get around, expensive as hell, pretentious, and the Cowgirl Bar and Grill stopped serving Pabst on tap. YMMV.

  70. 70.

    John Revolta

    @lamh36: I’m flat broke…but my rent is paid and I’ve got gas in the car and food in the house…so at least there is that

    AND…………you’re in New Orleans!!

    Also; Sassy Best Friends= great band name

  71. 71.

    John Revolta

    @22over7: Cowgirl Bar and Grill stopped serving Pabst on tap.

    Now I’m trying to figure out if this makes the place MORE pretentious or LESS.

  73. 73.

    pamelabrown53

    @22over7:

    You’re absolutely right about the pretentiousness of Santa Fe. It’s limousine liberal for the Sundance crowd. Still, my partner and I have an artist friend of over 40 years who lives in the El Dorado development and I’d love to be her neighbor.

  74. 74.

    lamh36

    @efgoldman: Gawd…yes…I silently protest Hallmark during that time… I mean…bad enough ABC Family does it’s 25 days until Christmas…at least they wait until December.

    But Hallmark and their endless Christmas movie campaign…is just too much, even for me and my addiction to the original movies

  76. 76.

    benw

    I’m trying to watch Ga vs ALA and Gamecast the GaTech game, but both CBS and ESPN seem to be flailing badly in my area right now.

  78. 78.

    DesertFriar

    @jibeaux:

    Here in Southern NM, it’s sunny 360 days a year. However, today is one of the “other” days. Currently rain and hail outside. But defrosting some roasted Hatch chiles for later. NM State had a fund raiser a couple of weeks ago; 40 lbs. of chiles for $30. All safely bagged up in the freezer for the coming year.

  80. 80.

    catclub

    There was a long section of a PBS show on Edward O Wilson, that was about wanting to belong as an inherent/inherited trait in people.

    It did not necessarily praise college football, but it made it seem a little more understandable. Tailgating and all.

  82. 82.

    Linnaeus

    @? Martin:

    During walks I listen to podcasts and such.

    You know, that’s a really good idea. I have a ton of history podcasts sitting in my iTunes that I haven’t even started. Just sync those with my iPod and that’s a walk right there.

  85. 85.

    Linnaeus

    @Goblue72:

    Coming around to the Harbaugh hire.

    Even taking into account the opposition that Michigan’s had so far (1-1 against quality opponents), the difference between this team and Hoke-coached teams is quite obvious to me. They’ve still got a long way to go, especially on offense, and I don’t think they’ll beat either Michigan State or Ohio State (Northwestern will also be a big challenge), but they are on the upswing.

  87. 87.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    I’ve been stuck in the State College airport for 8 1/2 hours now, waiting for my flight to leave. There is now zero possibility of me getting to Minneapolis tonight. My choices are to wait here for another flight, but that almost certainly can’t be tomorrow because there are no available seats since there was a PSU home football game today. The other choice is to make it as far as Chicago and catch a flight from there tomorrow, but since it’s a weather delay, US Airways says they aren’t responsible and won’t cover a hotel room. It is, apparently, not their responsibility that they don’t use whatever planes or procedures that allow United and Delta to operate pretty much on time.

    So, I’m flying to Chicago and then either sleeping in O’Hare or paying for a hotel room out of my own pocket. I’m never flying US Airways again.

  90. 90.

    pamelabrown53

    @Linnaeus:

    The only time I listen to audio books is on car trips. I check them out from the library and try to calibrate them to driving time. Delightful. Probably “heard” some books that I’d never read.

  91. 91.

    J R in WV

    Well, because we live way up the holler, we listened to the WVU-OK game on the radio, just like years ago when we listened to the ‘Eers playing Va Tech, Pitt and Penn State, with static.

    It felt like they had adjusted at half time and were going to make a charge, but then OK readjusted on the fly and ate them for lunch. Ouch!! Darn it!!

    A little bit sad from that. But not too bad. If you’re going to get overwhelmed when WVU loses to a top ranked team, you’re going to either quit paying attention or otherwise eliminate WVU college ball from your life, somehow. I guess if you were weak minded you could decide to root for OSU.

  93. 93.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    @J R in WV: @J R in WV: It even has three gates. Unfortunately, the only food choices are a vending machine with candy and chips, and a really crappy cafe that’s outside the security checkpoint, so if your flight is delayed and you want to eat at it, you have to go through security again. And security only opens 90 minutes before a flight is scheduled, so if you leave the secured area, you can’t just come back in.

    Calling this operation a clown show is an insult to clowns, and I didn’t think it was possible to insult clowns.

  95. 95.

    SoupCatcher

    Elsewhere in California, Washington State defense holds and takes over on downs. You don’t see that every decade!

  96. 96.

    Goblue72

    @Linnaeus: Certainly. Going into this season, I expected the start of a rebuild. So far so good. If they keep this up on defense, the scoring will come around.

  98. 98.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    @Goblue72: All the reports were that Hoke’s recruiting was fine; they just didn’t do anything once they were in Ann Arbor. I suspect that Harbaugh has more talent to work with than a lot of people assumed.

    The Harbaugh/Dantonio and Harbaugh/Meyer wars could be epic.

  99. 99.

    J R in WV

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym:

    So really they just pretend they have an airport, then.

    I’ll confess CRW used to not have a cafe inside security, but security is open all the time, and there is rarely a line to get through in my experience. Very nice folks too, which seems rare.

  100. 100.

    Wally Ballou

    Not concussionball related, but the Angels won a wild one in Arlington, 11-10.

    The final out came when the tying run for Texas slid off the bag while stealing second and was picked off.

    The WP, JoJo Reyes, threw exactly one pitch in the game… his first in four years.

  101. 101.

    Lee Rudolph

    I guess this is the wrong shape of sportsball for this thread. But don’t tell me that the exact same kind of “recruitment” never happens in college football.

  102. 102.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Pogonip:

    I’m afraid to do it on my phone. Two weeks ago, the IOS9 download fucked up my iPad good and hard.

    Does that help?

  107. 107.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    Ohio State may be in trouble,losing to Indiana and they will conduct a Kangaroo Court in Columbus.

  108. 108.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @pamelabrown53:

    Several years ago, I had to drive from Atlanta to Orlando and back again. Listened to The Iliad on the way down and The Odyssey on the way back. They both timed out perfectly. (The plus factor was that Derek Jacobi was the reader.)

  109. 109.

    Origuy

    I was running in a little map competition this morning around Mountain View. One guy had marked a bunch of places on the map of the downtown area where there was a sculpture, mural, etc. We had to go to those places and answer a question. I found the first two, was running to the third when I tripped. I stumbled a few steps, couldn’t regain my balance, and slammed my shoulder into a metal post, hitting the side of the head on the post while I was at it.
    I walked for a little while, decided I should get checked out, and walked back to the beer hall where we had assembled. No sign of a concussion; the guy running the event offered my money back, but I refused. I did accept a beer on his tab. After a while, I decided I was ok to drive and went to urgent care. The doctor didn’t see anything wrong other than a bump on my head and strained muscles.

  110. 110.

    JPL

    It’s a rainy day in GA. Unfortunately, the GA teams didn’t prepare for the muck. Tech has no excuse, though cuz it was just drizzle.

    My Clemson friend mentioned she wanted Tech to win because then they wouldn’t be hungry next week. I mentioned that you have to actually have a decent team, in order to be hungry.

  115. 115.

    shomi

    Only Cole could go to Vegas for a few days, spending a lot of the time in his hotel room soaking in a hottub when he isn’t out eating in buffets or watching shows or whatever, and make is sound like he just spent a year on a deserted island with no supplies.

  116. 116.

    SoupCatcher

    @Origuy: Well, the first part sounds fun.* The second part, not so much. Good to hear that the doctor gave you a pass.

    * I’m sure Mountain View has changed a lot since I moved from there in ’02. Now I’m always going through the town but never stopping.

  117. 117.

    SoupCatcher

    West coast football just getting into the swing of things.

    Will UCLA actually come back? Down six with nine minutes left after shitting the bed for the first three quarters.

    How angry at the Ducks is ABC’s scheduling department? I’m guessing an un-ranked Oregon team on during prime-time was not what they were expecting at the start of the year.

    eta: Hopefully Stanford will handle the depleted Wildcats.

  118. 118.

    FridayNext

    @efgoldman:

    Maybe their heads weren’t in their asses. Maybe they tried their very hardest and that was the best they could do. Just supposing.

    GO GATORS!

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