Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Bark louder, little dog.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

The willow is too close to the house.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

This fight is for everything.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Consistently wrong since 2002

T R E 4 5 O N

“Squeaker” McCarthy

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

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

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

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

You cannot shame the shameless.

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

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

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Let there be snark.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

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Reader Interactions

303Comments

  4. 4.

    burnspbesq

    I don’t want any Mets pitchers throwing at Utley. I’d settle for an embarrassing three-pitch strikeout by Familia. 98 mph on the hands. Slider down and away. Bottom falls out of the splitter. Sit down, asshole.

  5. 5.

    piratedan

    well now that the MSM has faithfully reported that the Benghazi committee is simply a GOP front for slinging shit at Hilary Clinton, how long will we have to wait before the NYT comes out with another breathless indictment of HRC’s handling of her e-mails?

    What methodology is being used to determine the next Speaker of the House? We know that spin the bottle didn’t work for the esteemed Congressman from California, so what’s next, pin the tail on the elephant? Ouija Boards? Duck Duck Goose? blackmailing Paul Ryan into a pinky swear arrangement that they won’t go all mean gurrls on his patootie?

    Will the GOP representatives from flood ravaged South Carolina have a come to Jeebus moment with the realization that yeah, bad disastrous weather can happen even in their state and perhaps, this whole federal government thingy isn’t such a bad idea after all? Or do we expect them to remain the same unrepentant pack of asshats that they have shown themselves to be?

  7. 7.

    piratedan

    @Baud: probably to remind us of the heady days when the GOP weren’t reprehensible shits… oh wait a minute… maybe they have some Eisenhower footage….

  10. 10.

    piratedan

    @efgoldman: well that pretty much proves the case for boots on the ground in Syria then….. some one get a hold of Steve Kroft will ya?

  12. 12.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @efgoldman: If Nixon had won the presidency instead of JFK, the cuban missile crisis would have ended quite differently.

    I’m thinking he would have listened to the hawks and caused some real trouble in the world.

  16. 16.

    piratedan

    @efgoldman: well post Nixon we have…

    the demise of a supposedly impartial mainstream Media
    the introduction of “dark money” into politics
    the change in the GOP attitude towards governance, essentially if you’re not GOP, you’re perceived as being anti-American, anti-freedom, anti-troops… you’re not trustworthy enough to have a place in governing…

  17. 17.

    redshirt

    I’d love to see what the preserved head of Nixon could accomplish these days. He’d be in political heaven! Lie all you want! Cheat and steal and no one cares! It’s a paradise!

  18. 18.

    piratedan

    @Calouste: They’re probably waiting on the next major catastrophe to give them cover, be it a hurricane, flooding, plane crash, mass shooting or boob exposure to take away the spotlight on their machinations….

  19. 19.

    Right to Rise

    Jeb about to come out with his plan to “Repeal and Replace” the trainwreck that is ObamaCare.

    The money quotes:

    Key components of Bush’s plan would be a tax credit for the purchase of affordable, portable health plans that protect Americans from catastrophic medical events and an increase in contribution limits and uses for Health Savings Accounts to help with out-of-pocket costs.

    Bush would replace the controversial Cadillac tax in Obamacare with a cap on the “employer tax exclusion,” the tax-free status of health benefits provided by employers, as a way to lower insurance premiums.

    …

    He would allow employers to use financial incentives to encourage wellness programs, and enable small businesses to make tax-free contributions to their workers’ individual plans.

    Bush would overhaul the Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory system and set up a review of regulatory barriers to health innovation.

    While other GOP candidates engage in shallow, substance-free posturing, Jeb is proving himself to be quite the policy wonk, bringing market-based, federalist solutions to the forefront.

    Just wait until you see his education policy!

  20. 20.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    I’m suddenly by Toronto instead of spending my day peacefully by Detroit. I’ll be here for 3 days.
    Checking into the hotel here, the clerk saw my address and felt qualified to mock the Lions. Thanks, pal. As though I cared.

  22. 22.

    trollhattan

    Alaska’s governor (who has an “I” after his name, whatever that means in Alaskaspeak) believes the onliest way for Alaska to pay for relocating folks having their villages washed away by rising oceans caused by you-know-what, is to increase oil extraction. The irony gods are displeased.

    Expanding the search for oil is necessary to pay for the damage caused by climate change, the Governor of Alaska has told the BBC.

    The state is suffering significant climate impacts from rising seas forcing the relocation of remote villages. Governor Bill Walker says that coping with these changes is hugely expensive. He wants to “urgently” drill in the protected lands of the Arctic National Wilderness Refuge to fund them.

    Alaska has been severely hit by the dramatic drop in the price of oil over the past two years. The state is the only one in the US that doesn’t have an income or sales tax, getting 90% of its day-to-day expenditure from levies on the production of oil and gas.

    But the halving in the price of crude over the past year has seen Alaska’s financial health deteriorate.

    The recent decision by Shell to pull out of drilling in the Chukchi sea off the state’s north coast has compounded the problem. If Shell had found oil, it would have been a major boost for the the huge Trans Alaskan Pipeline that transports oil from the northern production fields to the tanker terminal in Valdez some 1,300km to the south.

    Built to carry 2 million barrels a day, it’s running at about 25% of its capacity as existing oil field production declines.

    While Alaska’s income from the oil continues to fall, expenditure on climate related activities is likely to go up. Coastal erosion is threatening a number of native communities in remote areas such as Kivalina. This isolated community of 400 sits on a narrow spit of land that is constantly under threat from the sea, despite huge expenditure on defences. Just last week a surging sea removed a 3m stretch of beach near the airport.

    Or, they could just start paying taxes and not living off Uncle Ice Cream, just like every other state.

  24. 24.

    Gimlet

    @Right to Rise:

    Bush’s health care plan, outlined Monday in a two-page document, is light on details of how he’d change a system that accounts for about 18 percent of the U.S. economy.

    To help individuals afford coverage, Bush wants to give people tax credits to help them buy insurance. That’s similar to Obamacare, where individuals with low incomes can get government aid to buy policies.

    Bush also plans to put forth a separate plan for Medicare, the U.S. program for the elderly and disabled, according to the document released Monday.

  26. 26.

    SFAW

    @Right to Rise:

    Do you mean Jeb! “7 Percent and Falling” Bush?

    And how is it possible for a sub-room-temp-IQ moron like Jeb! to come up with an education policy. Oh, right, he can’t. Because no matter what gets presented to him by the hired help, he won’t understand it. Maybe Prof. Irwin Corey can explain it to him.

  27. 27.

    redshirt

    @efgoldman:

    For people of a certain age, this is true. Actually the mid-60s thru the 70s was the anomaly. Traditionally, American newspapers were highly political (the Hearst family, for instance), but the Times has been living for forty years on publishing the Pentagon Papers. and the Post, ditto since Watergate.

    I wonder if the openly partisan rags of the past sold themselves as being objective, like Fox “Fair and Balanced” does so today.

  29. 29.

    Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA

    @Right to Rise: Lovely. And for people who don’t have extra money to put in HSAs? Eh. Why should he worry his beautiful mind with that?

    How about allowing people to shop across state lines for insurance? I’ll bet money that’s in there. Off to check.

    (Fucking parasites, that entire family.)

  30. 30.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Gimlet:

    Bush also plans to put forth a separate plan for Medicare, the U.S. program for the elderly and disabled, according to the document released Monday.

    Let me guess, tax credits to buy private insurance? That’ll go over well with the Silent Generation. Just a guess, they might just prove to not be so silent after all.

  32. 32.

    SFAW

    @redshirt:

    Hmm, Betty’s back and so is RTR…..

    Interesting. I recall when there was a rumor that Paul McCartney and Spiro Agnew were the same person. For example, no one had ever seen them together. Is it irresponsible to speculate? etc.

    ETA: efg – I’d say that “great minds think alike,” but that wouldn’t explain me

  33. 33.

    piratedan

    @efgoldman: I would agree, that’s the time that I became politically aware… but just like TV, the age where the people who decided what was news and how to present it to inform the public have all changed as corporations believe that any air time has to be revenue generating and as such, the days of actually watching the news and being informed are just a part of the past, although, there was a time where it actually was a good thing to be a journalist, and it still is, just not in our current media machine. Lots of work being done in print and on the fringes these days.

  34. 34.

    redshirt

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    Let me guess, tax credits to buy private insurance? That’ll go over well with the Silent Generation. Just a guess, they might just prove to not be so silent after all.

    Yes, this is the election when old white people will vote against Republicans because of Medicare/Social Security…..

  39. 39.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @redshirt:

    Yes, this is the election when old white people will vote against Republicans because of Medicare/Social Security…..

    Yup, just around the corner.

  40. 40.

    SFAW

    @efgoldman:

    I think the Professor is approximately 97, I’m guessing he’s not still lecturing.

    Besides: if he were to try to come up with a routine today, he’d look at the Rethugs, realize they make less sense (by a factor of 3 gazillion, so to speak) than he did, and would say “Ah, fuck it.”

  41. 41.

    David Koch

    CNN Poll — South Carolina Oct 3-10

    Clinton…….70%
    Sanders…..20%
    O’Malley……3%

    it’s a near-even split among whites, 48% Clinton to 47% Sanders, while blacks break 84% to Clinton and just 7% would back Sanders.

  43. 43.

    trollhattan

    @efgoldman:
    Remember the Big Fake Crisis when Obama entered office that he would reinstate the Fairness Doctrine, despite never having uttered the words next to one another in that order?

    Some presidential “honeymoon.”

  44. 44.

    ksmiami

    RTR – you mean the ever so compassionate and linguistically able JEB “Shit Happens” Bush? Whatev.

    Anyone here going to see the Concussion movie when it comes out about the Nigerian doctor who discovered CTE? Sorry – I’m done with football. Just modern day gladiator games.

  45. 45.

    SFAW

    And, aprpopos of the baseball thing

    Go Mets!

    I can only hope that, the next time Utley plays, he gets tagged out with a straight right (or left, depending on the fielder, of course) to his jaw, nose, or both. While the fielder is holding the ball in that hand, of course.

    Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

  46. 46.

    raven

    So I have this giant ass Ikea shelving unit that goes in the new closet. I’ve put together plenty of this stuff before but the instructions (all graphic) show the bottom piece to be unfinished. It makes sense but there is no unfinished piece?

  49. 49.

    redshirt

    OK I don’t have TV so I haven’t seen the Utley slide though I listened to the game on the radio. So… would there be any outcry at all if Tejada weren’t injured?

  52. 52.

    burnspbesq

    @raven:

    If you have an extra finished piece that’s drilled in the right places, use it. Don’t deal with Ikea customer service unless absolutely necessary.

  54. 54.

    Schlemazel

    @burnspbesq:
    Thats not keeping with the very ancient and beatified unwritten rules of baseball. He simply must be hit with a pitch or the baseball gawds will not be appeased.

    I don’t understand but then I am not much of an American I guess.

  55. 55.

    David Koch

    @Baud:

    it’s a near-even split among whites, 48% Clinton to 47% Sanders, while the Baud vote breaks 100% to Baud and just 0% would back Sanders.

  57. 57.

    Gian

    @burnspbesq:

    I wonder if they’ll change the rules on a hard slide to break up a double play. Ruben Tejada isn’t the start that Buster Posey is, but an injury to Posey got the rules changed.

    But yeah, they’re gonna throw at Utley. If not now, they’ll do it next year.

  59. 59.

    redshirt

    @dedc79:

    Yes, but the outrage would’ve been much more focused on the umpires not calling interference, rather than on Utley.

    It was that bad?

    Second base is weird in baseball. The so called “neighborhood rule” is an absolute joke – it’s an admission that defensive players are not touching the base with the ball in their glove when turning double plays – something that should result in a safe base runner. And base runners have been sliding well out of the base path for-ever into second base to break up the double play. This is generations old, and we’re outraged now?

    I think it’s all about the broken leg – which does suck. I highly doubt Utley wanted to break his leg. He wanted to break up the double play, like everyone does sliding into the weird space nebula of second base.

  60. 60.

    Schlemazel

    @Baud:
    One of his minions stole a shit ton of classified documents when he left the WH. He gave them to Woodward so that he could clean them up and produce a new book. No idea if there is any useful info in them (not like Bobby would really tell us now) but they were pimping the hell out of it on Sunday Morning yesterday. Nixon was a liar and a phony . . . this is ‘news’ at the dawn of the new millennium I guess.

  63. 63.

    Gian

    @redshirt:
    slide was late and clearly aimed to take him out. Tejada really wanted to turn 2 and left himself vulnerable. The slide looked like something from the 60s or 70s

  65. 65.

    dedc79

    @redshirt: The rule may be a joke but it’s the rule tejada was operating under when he made the play (and if he missed the bag with his foot, it was by an inch or less). One reason people are angry at the umps is because they reversed the call after the fact, even though it’s not a reviewable decision. It was made even more absurd because Utley was ruled safe without ever actually touching second base (because of another bizarre rule).

    As for Utley – I do think you need to see this one. I’m not saying there’s never been another slide (Honestly, I hesitate to even call it that) that was as nasty and as wide of the bag, but this was a particularly dangerous play and Utley didn’t even pretend to be aimed at the bag.

  66. 66.

    redshirt

    @Gian:

    slide was late and clearly aimed to take him out. Tejada really wanted to turn 2 and left himself vulnerable. The slide looked like something from the 60s or 70s

    This happens all the time though, that’s why I don’t get the outrage. Except of course for the broken leg, which again, sucks, but is pretty much a freak accident and I seriously doubt was intentional.

    The bigger outrage should be over the bad call by the ump – Utley is out.

    EDIT: Yeah, I should watch the play.

  67. 67.

    dedc79

    So i’m a mets fan from NJ, but i’ve been living in DC for 13 years now. I was with my family walking over to the lincoln memorial on sunday and I was wearing my Mets hat. I passed a dodgers fan (he had his hat on too) sitting on a bench with his wife. He looked at me and I looked at him. He just started nodding his head dejectedly and completely unprompted by me he says “That was a horrible play and a terrible call.”

  68. 68.

    piratedan

    @redshirt: agreed, #1 he was out of the basepath, #2, his slide was late as such, he was interfering with the play (which you are allowed to do IF you’re in the basepath and not attempting to knock the ball out of the air intentionally).

    So not only did the Mets lose their starting SS, they got hosed on the call and the Dodgers don’t have to fear any retaliation because that will be handled as being more egregious than what Utley did anyways….

  69. 69.

    dedc79

    @redshirt: I agree with you that this is a problem of MLB’s own making. They tolerate this stuff until something truly awful happens and then they try to “fix” it after the fact. It’s like they’re the last ones (other than Goodell) to realize that the Goodell method of crisis-management is awful.

  70. 70.

    burnspbesq

    @Gian:

    The Arizona fall league is going to use the college rule about plays at second (the runner has to slide directly at the base). I can see that becoming the rule when the CBA is re-upped.

  71. 71.

    jibeaux

    Came home after nearly 12 hours at work, and hear “do you know where my phone is?” Bloody kids.

  72. 72.

    Right to Rise

    @SFAW:

    Jeb isn’t falling. Jeb is steady.

    He’s describing himself aptly as a “joyful tortoise”-slow and steady wins the race. A marathon, not a sprint!

  73. 73.

    burnspbesq

    Matt Reynolds, who split time at short in Las Vegas this year, is Tejada’s replacement on the roster. Wilfredo Tovar, the other triple-A shortstop, is on the 60-day DL due to a separated shoulder suffered in August.

  74. 74.

    Roger Moore

    @dedc79:
    I think the real problem is that the umpire blew the call. Part of the way any sport tries to deal with dangerous plays like that is with in-game penalties that remove the incentive to play dirty. In this case, the umpire should have ruled that Utley was trying to interfere with the play and ruled both him and the batter out. That wouldn’t have done anything about Tejada’s leg, but it would have made the point that you shouldn’t be trying that kind of play because it won’t help you. The blown call effectively rewards Utley for a dirty play, which is exactly what you don’t want.

  77. 77.

    Tenar Darell

    @efgoldman: I’m just old enough to remember Watergate as more than ancient history. Yeah, lying sack of shit is an accurate description. (And actually what most of my relatives thought at that time who were either Republicans or Democrats).

  79. 79.

    benw

    @piratedan:

    well now that the MSM has faithfully reported that the Benghazi committee is simply a GOP front for slinging shit at Hilary Clinton, how long will we have to wait before the NYT comes out with another breathless indictment of HRC’s handling of her e-mails?

    They already have! They basically allowed the Republicans on the committee to pivot directly to the emails without comment:

    The committee’s focus on Mrs. Clinton’s email, a Republican spokesman said, is a required part of the investigation into what happened in Libya. “Secretary Clinton’s unusual email arrangement with herself has only made it more difficult for the committee to ensure the public record with respect to Libya and Benghazi is complete,” the spokesman, Jamal Ware, said in a statement on Sunday.

    I’ve just thrown my hands up with regards to the NYT coverage of US politics anymore.

  81. 81.

    PurpleGirl

    @efgoldman: While the NY Post was known as the paper which published the closing stock market prices, it was also known for being a liberal/Democratic paper. Dorothy Schiff, the long-time owner, publisher and editor, had very definite liberal slant. Neither of her children wanted to take over the paper, so she sold it when she decided to retire. I like to think she’s spinning in her grave at what Murdoch has done to it.

  82. 82.

    some guy

    Breaking: Jeb falls to 5th place in Iowa, New Hampshire. remains in 4th place in Florida.

    developing….

  83. 83.

    piratedan

    @benw: nothing like being the wholly owned mouthpiece subsidiary that they are…. HRC could save a litter of puppies from a burning building and these fuckers would wonder if she set the place on fire for a possible photo OP or claim that the puppies should’ve been euthanized because they weren’t licensed.

  84. 84.

    Darkrose

    I like Tommy John’s suggestion: Harvey should tell everyone he’s going to throw at Utley…and then not. Let Utley go into every at bat wondering if this is going to be the one where he gets drilled.

    My wish for the Mets is that this turns out like Game 7 of the 2012 NLDS. Matt Cain drilled Matt Holliday in retaliation for the slide that took out Marco Scutaro in Game 2. He waited until the seventh, with no one on and (I think) two out in a two strike count, then he hit him on the bicep. Holliday kept his mouth shut and his head down and took his base. Message sent and message received.

  85. 85.

    Roger Moore

    The latest in Benghazi-ghazi is that the fired staffer is accusing Trey Gowdy of “making statements or releasing information that may violate the confidentiality rules for disputes with former congressional staff.” Wait, wait. Trey Gowdy may be guilty of leaking confidential information to make somebody look bad? When did he start doing that?

  87. 87.

    Darkrose

    @Gian: The injury to Posey did not get the rules changed. At the 2011 winter meetings when Bochy brought it up, Joe Torre said he didn’t see any need for a change. The change happened three years later after the NFL concussion issues had been in the news. The impetus for the change was more likely liability: MLB didn’t want to get targeted with lawsuits from concussed former catchers.

  92. 92.

    Shana

    @efgoldman: While I agree wholeheartedly with your points about the “glory days” of the NYT and WaPo, have you SEEN small town papers in the last decade? Sheesh, even the Chicago papers I’ve seen over the last few years are barely suitable for wrapping fish. They’ve all become the Springfield Shopper.

  97. 97.

    Right to Rise

    @some guy:

    The Ad Surge is working in New Hampshire. Slowly, but surely.

    The donors are staying on board and Jeb is “in it to win it”.

    Brinks. Trucks. Fuckers!

    Scrooge McDuck money.

  98. 98.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Right to Rise:

    He’s describing himself aptly as a “joyful tortoise”

    Behold the Joyful Tortoise:
    He can’t keep up with Trump!
    He garbles simple questions,
    And stands there like a lump.

    That poor old Joyful Tortoise:
    He can’t keep up with Ben!
    (Another president named Bush?
    No, no, please, not again!)

    The Joyful Tortoise can’t keep up
    With Marco, Ted, or Carly.
    Slow and steady wins the race?
    Not even on a Harley!

    The Joyful Tortoise might as well
    Be carried on a gurney:
    He never, ever will catch up
    With Hillary or Bernie.

    The Joyful Tortoise runs a race
    No candidate should copy.
    Take my advice, O Terrapin:
    Go home to Bar and Poppy.

  104. 104.

    beltane

    @Right to Rise: Sorry, but Brinks Trucks aren’t going to cut it. Jeb needs aircraft carriers full of money. Maybe if he buys a new car or truck for each primary voter who commits to vote for him he’ll have a shot at this, otherwise stick the feeding tube in him because he’s done.

  106. 106.

    danielx

    @piratedan:

    Slightly edited:

    [1.] Will the GOP representatives from flood ravaged South Carolina have a come to Jeebus moment with the realization that yeah, bad disastrous weather can happen even in their state and perhaps, this whole federal government thingy isn’t such a bad idea after all? [2.] Or do we expect them to remain the same unrepentant pack of asshats that they have shown themselves to be?

    1. No.

    2. Yes.

    This has been another edition of Simple Answers To Simple Questions.

    Also too, an exchange at Chez X this evening…

    Spousal unit: Cubbies fans are going crazy! I want them to go all the way!

    Moi: Well, you gotta understand that Cubs fans don’t have a chance to cheer very often; you don’t want to get all emotionally over invested in the Cubs. Plus Cubs fans have a masochistic streak about a yard wide. Cheering is like screaming for them.

  107. 107.

    Mike in NC

    @SiubhanDuinne: Joyful Tortoise has got to the gayest nickname anybody ever gave themself. He really isn’t very bright.

    JEBzzz Healthcare Plan: Stuff happens. Get sick and die if you’re not rich.

    JEBzzz Education Plan: Stuff happens. Forget about college if you’re not rich.

    JEBzzz Anti-Crime Plan: Stuff happens. Buy a gun and stand your ground.

    Etcetera ad nauseum.

  109. 109.

    JMG

    As a Phillies fan, Utley is one of my faves. All the same, that was a slide to make Ty Cobb blush. But the suspension is weak tea, clearly designed to be appealed so that the series can play out. Suppose the suspension is upheld just before the Series and the Dodgers get that far (both highly speculative propositions)? How would that give the Mets justice?

  112. 112.

    raven

    @efgoldman: I got it all together except the bottom. It’s really heavy so I’ll wait for the dudes to get here in the morning. I wouldn’t have tried to hoist it up off the floor anyway.

  113. 113.

    Roger Moore

    @Mike in NC:
    Isn’t that pretty much the Republican platform? Republican dogma is that government is not just useless, it’s actually counterproductive, so the best thing to do is to shut it down and let people fend for themselves. It’s exactly what Obama was saying when he said that “The Ownership Society” really meant that you’re on your own.

  115. 115.

    raven

    @danielx: I’ve been a Cubbie fan all my life but I paid no attention to baseball at all this year and I don’r know who any of them are.

  117. 117.

    Right to Rise

    @beltane:

    That’s what you idiots used to say about George W. Aren’t you “misunderestimating” a Bush Brother yet again?

  118. 118.

    Right to Rise

    @Mike in NC:

    Democrat Education Plan:

    You’re in a failing urban district controlled by Teacher’s Unions. Stuff happens. No vouchers or school choice or charters. If you don’t have money for private school (like Obama does for his daughters) go to Housin’ Projek Centroh Hi-Skoo.

  119. 119.

    Betty Cracker

    @redshirt, et al: I’m kinda insulted that y’all so underestimate my powers of imagination! If I ever turn to the Troll Side, I hope I’ll be more interesting in that role than a JebPAC automation script.

    @trollhattan: Now I wouldn’t put it past them…they lick their own butts all day, after all.

  120. 120.

    JPL

    @Right to Rise: haha One of the governor candidates running several years ago said the same thing. His plan would take funding out of public education and give vouchers to Buckhead families already enrolled in expensive but excellent private schools…. hahahahahahahahahha

    I think one of the things that is true is that many Americans on every side of every issue, they think that the worst thing they can say is the truest thing, you know?
     Must give credit to Marilynne Robinson

  121. 121.

    Shana

    @raven: Do you feel a sense of accomplishment? I always do after projects like that. Love putting stuff together, did our grill a few years ago, also IKEA-type furniture. I suppose it’s why I like sewing too.

  123. 123.

    beltane

    @Right to Rise: It’s the voters on your team that don’t like Jeb. I was driving around NH this weekend and I didn’t see a single sign for your guy. If you want to win these voters over, the cash had better start flowing from the Brinks trucks into their bank accounts. There is no other way.

  124. 124.

    trollhattan

    @Right to Rise:
    Who, Neil? Maybe. The others not so much.

    My NH bro OTOH is awaiting some kind, any kind of surge, truck-propelled or otherwise. Reports none as of tonight.

  125. 125.

    Right to Rise

    @JPL:

    A great plan for Georgia would be charters for all. Have every new suburban development come with its own charter school, sponsored by the local primary employer. Florida did this under Jeb–google “Ryder System Schools”. As in Ryder Trucks.

  128. 128.

    raven

    @Shana: Ha, this has all been really interesting. We are days away from a 2 1/2 year project being done. The actual work on the house has been going for 6 months and I’ve worked at home through it all. I’ve really done my level best to stay out of the work but we’re getting down to the point where I don’t want to pay labor for little stuff that I can do. This piece was one of the first things I’ve done during this project but it is just dummy work so I don’t feel all that great about it.

  129. 129.

    Mike in NC

    @Roger Moore: There’s an excellent reason why JEBzzz struggling to maintain a distant 4th place in Florida, where people have cause to despise him. After his dismal run as governor, he couldn’t get elected dog catcher today.

  131. 131.

    ThresherK

    @efgoldman: Springfield has a Republican (perhaps still), St. Louis the Globe-Democrat, and Rock Island its Independent. Can’t remember when they were named, but it was honest.

  132. 132.

    seaboogie

    @Right to Rise: Go upstairs, son – your Momma has the tuna casserole out of the oven, and it’s better when it’s warm….she even has crunchy potato chips on top – just like you like it.

    “Honey – I’m worried about you and your sugar-blood…just put those poll numbers down and eat something – you look kind of pasty, son….”

  133. 133.

    beltane

    @redshirt: We all need to go on a reconnaissance mission and search for that surge. It may be hidden under a pile of leaves on someone’s lawn. That would be a shame.

  134. 134.

    Mike in NC

    @redshirt: JEBzzz about to surge like an Olympic swimmer who has a couple of cinderblocks chained to his ankles. Any day now, any day.

  135. 135.

    JPL

    @Right to Rise: I think one of the things that is true is that many Americans on every side of every issue, they think that the worst thing they can say is the truest thing, you know?

  136. 136.

    Right to Rise

    @seaboogie:

    LOL, love the projection of liberals failures and jealously on to the lives of others. I make quite a good living, I’ve always been pretty good at ferreting out ways to make money. I take the initiative rather than whining about “the rich” and expecting Daddy Government to pay my way.

    Why don’t you try it for a change?

  137. 137.

    SFAW

    @Right to Rise:
    Moron. Nobody thought W was anything but the Anointed One for you assholes, as early as January, 1999.

    Meanwhile, regarding your latest lie-of-the-day: Jeb! is only “holding steady” if you don’t look at the numbers. Of course, if you look at the RCP charts – the same charts you referenced three weeks ago, to “show us” how well Jeb! was doing – your idol has dropped from 9.8 percent (National) on September 24, to 8.4 percent on October 9, to 7.1 percent on October 11. Yeah, that’s holding about as “steady” as the Economy did during W’s Reign of Error.

    So, the only question I have is: does Reince pay you per-lie, or per-head-up-the-ass-statement? Either way, you make a killing, I guess.

    Thanks for the comic relief, imbecile.

  139. 139.

    JPL

    @Right to Rise: I think one of the things that is true is that many Americans on every side of every issue, they think that the worst thing they can say is the truest thing, you know?

  143. 143.

    SFAW

    @Right to Rise:

    Better idea: why don’t you try something that doesn’t require you to grift money from people far more deserving than you.

    Ferreting is right, you’re a fucking weasel, alright. Except weasels don’t lie, unlike you.

    Nighty-night, moron.

  149. 149.

    beltane

    @Right to Rise:

    I’ve always been pretty good at ferreting out ways to make money.

    So you don’t have a real job. I’m sorry to hear that. You’re much nicer than that other troll who hangs out here and it would be nice if you found a career that suits you.

  150. 150.

    piratedan

    @PaulW: they work fine for folks that are inclined to get a paycheck and teach their own brand of psuedo-scientific crap wrapped with a side of theocratic bullshit. You can pump out little ideologues and never have to answer to damn near anyone and you can treat your staff like the indentured service plebes that they are and keep all of that glorious overhead for yourself.

  153. 153.

    Shana

    @raven: I’ve been following your home improvement when you give us updates since we went through our own hell on that front. Done now, thank god, and we may still end up in court with the original contractor. Glad to hear you’re almost done.

  154. 154.

    redshirt

    Trolling’s good work if you can find it these days (a lot of it has been outsourced to India). Trolling used to put dinners on Kitchen. Tables. Now you’re lucky to get a part time trolling ad job.

  155. 155.

    Darkrose

    @redshirt: Ah. As a die-hard Giants fan, my rooting interest going into this postseason was Anyone But The Dodgers. (And to a lesser extent, Anyone But The Cubs because they broke Pence and Aoki, plus my AL team is the White Sox.)

    After the last Mets-Dodgers game, though, I’m actively rooting for the Mets. I don’t want to see the Dodgers rewarded for the slide, or for their classless response after it happened.

  158. 158.

    seaboogie

    @Right to Rise: Well bless your heart….I know it’s late – and momma has the hot chocolate with those miniature marshmallows that you like so much….and you shouldn’t hold the kitty’s neck quite so hard son – it is a child of god just like you….

  161. 161.

    redshirt

    @Darkrose:

    I live in Sacramento and I don’t root for the Kings. I just shake my head and grumble about not wanting to pay for their damned stadium.

    I don’t really cheer for the Kings, of course. But if some circumstance arose and it was the Kings V. Rockets, and I was forced to root, well I’d root for the Kings, gladly. Because, Go California!

  162. 162.

    jl

    @Roger Moore: The whistle blower is accusing Gowdy and his team of violating federal law.
    Sounds like fun.

    I posted a comment late last week on how Gowdy and his Behghazimates were not responding at all to any questions about the whistle blower’s charges for fear of compromising the precious confidentiality required for resolution employee disputes.

    So, these latest charges would mean that they are liars who were saying that they couldn’t respond just as they shoved confidential dirt out the back door.

    Sounds plausible to me. Maybe too good to be true. It is almost Issa-worthy.

  166. 166.

    MomSense

    I’m fighting with my dog. I have a terrible cold and she is stalking me to steal my tissues. I woke up from a nap to her rooting in my fleece pocket for Kleenex.

    She is also making it impossible to do the laundry because she is stealing the clothes out of the basket faster than I can load them in the washer. She is living this game where i chase her around trying to get my clothes back.

  168. 168.

    trollhattan

    @Right to Rise:
    You have projection exactly backwards, but thanks for playing. Here’s your home game version of this show, which you’ll be free to master very, very soon.

  173. 173.

    MomSense

    @jl:

    Did I read today that the committee members (?) staffers (?) were spending their work time and our money drinking and designing custom guns?

  174. 174.

    SFAW

    @Right to Rise:

    That your best? Figures, since you got nothing else.

    Mad? No, it’s just that I need to do a better job to not respond to morons. Such as you.

    U clueless bro?

  176. 176.

    JPL

    @MomSense: Used tissues are a treat for dogs. I’m not sure why but they are. Finch did the laundry thing once but didn’t like my reaction. Now he just climbs into the basket to sleep.
    Hope you are feeling better soon.

  177. 177.

    raven

    @redshirt: Nope, they granted both a building and historic permit. They didn’t know that the sewer ran right through our yard(s) and under the house next door. They also did not have an easement that could be found. We kept our cool and pursued the situation calmly and with purpose. It cost us 2 years and a couple of grand but it could have been worse. Now we have to see what the bill is for the acl surgery on our cocker this morning. You know what Roseanne Roseanna Danna said. . .

  183. 183.

    MomSense

    @JPL:

    Thanks. Hope my pup switches to cute uses for laundry baskets. She is 11 months today and I’m pretty sure this is like age 15 for male humans.

    Testing. Testing. Testing.

  186. 186.

    redshirt

    @Betty Cracker:

    Maybe. But the Cubs have the best damn manager in baseball. That should count for something.

    Agreed. Best GM too. I’m just evilly wishing for maximum Cubs suffering, and losing a game 7 to a Canadian team has to be up there.

  187. 187.

    Mnemosyne

    @efgoldman:

    I don’t have trouble with Ikea. If you follow the pictograms, you can do it, but people try to outguess the designers.

    If you really want to see shit furniture with shit directions, buy something from Target. Their crap is FAR worse than Ikea’s, and their factories routinely forget to do stuff like drill holes where the screws are supposed to go.

  191. 191.

    Mnemosyne

    @redshirt:

    Nah — Chicagoans don’t have any problem with Canadians. They’re always nice when we go up there on hunting trips. Losing to New York would be much more heartbreaking.

    Not that it matters, because the Cubs are going to lose the pennant. There, I said it.

  192. 192.

    raven

    @Mnemosyne: My only problem was with that last piece, the bottom. I couldn’t get the 8 dowells to match up, tried tapping it WITH a thick piece of cardboard between the piece and the hammer and put a hole in it anyway. It won’t really matter but it pissed me off.

  193. 193.

    raven

    @MomSense:

    One of the most frequent questions we’re asked is, “What are bully sticks made from?” Bully Sticks are 100% Beef Sticks Dog Treats and dog chews that are made from the pizzle or penis of the bull. Pizzles have historically been used for different purposes from walking canes to medicinal powders, and even eaten in their raw or cooked form by humans in parts of the world today.

    In the United States, pizzles are most commonly used as dog chews. These bully sticks or Beef Stick Dog Treats and chews originate from primarily US or South American cattle. In recent years there have been new products introduced to the US market from India (these are water buffalo pizzles) and from Australia and New Zealand. Most people prefer bully sticks that are from either the US or South America because of the safety and cooking standards employed. It is our belief that bully sticks from India and China are of inferior quality and not cooked or prepared properly.

  195. 195.

    burnspbesq

    Jordan. Mia Hamm. Matt Harvey. The only three Tarholes that any right-thinking person can root for.

  197. 197.

    Schlemazel

    @raven:
    There used to be a place that sent me catalogs & one of the items was dried and shellacked bull peckers made into walking sticks and gavels. Thats some real classy merch right there.

  199. 199.

    seaboogie

    @MomSense: I saw that intelligence and young energy in her in your recent pics, and you just have to respect all that they bring, dog-wise. Great dogs require a meeting of energy and engagement. Hold onnnnn…….

  201. 201.

    Darkrose

    @redshirt: I’ll grant that Maddon is one of the best managers, but as much as he drives me nuts sometimes, I’d still take Bochy. As far as GM’s go, Sabean wins. It’s not just the three championships in six years, but the way he did it: taking fliers on little-regarded veterans and quietly building one of the best bullpens in the game.

  203. 203.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    @Shana: Really? Sorry. Never an Independent?

    At least tell me that the Rock Island Line is still a mighty fine road.

  206. 206.

    Darkrose

    @efgoldman: Yet when the Cardinals retaliated after Dan Haren hit Matt Holliday in the head, Maddon accused Matheny of being like Tony Soprano. The Cubs have been pretty cavalier about hitting people this year, but Maddon gets all pissy if someone has the nerve to retaliate.

  210. 210.

    BobS

    @Gian: Utley’s ‘slide’ was from the 60’s or 70’s, however the sport was football, not baseball — it was called a cross body block and not too surprisingly it was a major cause of knee injuries.

  211. 211.

    dedc79

    @burnspbesq: I think it’s a New York thing, more than a Mets thing.

    NY Rangers fans have a “Potvin sucks” chant that you’ll hear at every single home game at Madison Square Garden. Potvin played for the Islanders in the 70s and 80s. He hurt a Rangers player in the playoffs and the fans never forgot.

  214. 214.

    Darkrose

    @redshirt: I am still amused that Matt Williams won Manager of the Year last year instead of Bochy. Williams was essentially given the keys to daddy’s Porsche and didn’t crash it; Bochy was desperate enough at one point that he started Dan Uggla in a real game.

    I wonder if the BBWAA members who voted for him are now saying, “D’oh! What was I thinking?!”

  215. 215.

    redshirt

    @dedc79:

    I think it’s a New York thing, more than a Mets thing.

    NY Rangers fan have a “Potvin sucks” chant that you’ll hear at every single home game at Madison Square Garden. Potvin played for the Islanders in the 70s and 80s. He hurt a Rangers player in the playoffs and the fans never forgot.

    Back in the day (2003-2009) you’d hear a “Yankees Suck” chant at any large gathering in New England, regardless if any New York team was involved.

  217. 217.

    redshirt

    @Darkrose:

    I wonder if the BBWAA members who voted for him are now saying, “D’oh! What was I thinking?!”

    I doubt it. People who vote for baseball awards seem to be the sports version of Republicans.

  218. 218.

    dedc79

    @redshirt: I was once at an Orioles-Phillies game at Camden Yards in Baltimore. There must’ve been 15,000-20,000 Philly fans there. They broke out a “Let’s Go Eagles” chant in the middle of the game. And they booed one of their own players. I’ve never seen anything like it.

  219. 219.

    Mnemosyne

    @ThresherK (GPad):

    One of my co-workers goes to seminars where Rock Island is the closest “big” city — and you still have to drive 90 minutes to get to where the seminars are held.

    Or, as we called it when I lived in Chicagoland, “Bumblefuck.”

  220. 220.

    redshirt

    @dedc79:

    I was once at an Orioles-Phillies game at Camden Yards in Baltimore. There must’ve been 15,000-20,000 Philly fans there. They broke out a “Let’s Go Eagles” chant in the middle of the game. And they booed one of their own players. I’ve never seen anything like it.

    LOL. That’s really funny.

    Are Eagles fans the worst fans in America?

  225. 225.

    Betty Cracker

    @efgoldman: If we’re talking about the same series, Puke-lis got beaned because he stomped on Kotchman. No mystery there.

    PS: Mets take a he-yoodge lead!

  227. 227.

    Jay C

    I don;t think the Mets are going to have to wait for Chase Utley to come back on the field to get their own back, they seem to be taking it out well enough on his teammates : 10-3 in the bottom of the fourth on ten hits. If Harvey keeps it together for another inning or two (cross fingers: he’s been less-than-stellar tonight), it’s all up for LA.

  228. 228.

    oldgold

    The smart brother strikes again.

    “It just doesn’t work,” Bush said about Congress. “There was a big argument about the Washington Redskins, the Redskins being a pejorative term. I think Washington is a pejorative term, not the Redskins, so they’ll get through it, they’ll figure it out.”

  229. 229.

    Jeffro

    @benw: Because ITS THE RAIDERS, THATS WHY

    (omg I hate the Raiders, but not as much as I hate the Cowgirls and the Cheatriots)

  230. 230.

    BobS

    @dedc79: Denis Potvin pretty much ended Ulf Nilssons career in the 1979 playoffs. It wasn’t the last time Potvin laid someone out — he was one of the best body checkers in NHL history.

  232. 232.

    dedc79

    @redshirt: My college roommate is an Eagles season ticket holder. Freshman year of college (1997) he let me join him for an Eagles-Giants game at Veteran Stadium. I was told not to wear any giants gear and to keep quiet. They had a mini court house set up at the stadium to hand out citations to fans for fighting and stuff. The Giants crushed the eagles, and I sat their in silence the whole game so as not to draw any attention to myself. We get to the parking lot after it’s over, and a drunk eagles fans is standing on the door of an open convertible with a Giants license plate on it, and he’s pissing into the front seat of the car. Does that answer the question?

  233. 233.

    Jay C

    @Darkrose:

    CESPEDES!!!

    I was about to use his nickname, but then I realized WP wouldn’t like that.

    Can you spell it out, or use the usual FYWP circumlocutions?

  237. 237.

    Jeffro

    Way OT (or not) but give me a break:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/10/12/paul-ryans-big-speaker-hangup-is-reportedly-his-family-for-a-male-lawmaker-thats-unusual/

    Yes, I’m POSITIVE that Paul Ryan’s hesitancy to take on the Speakership has EVERYTHING to do with his (atypically, for a male) concern for his family. FER SURE.

    Is this Jen Rubin writing under a pen name or something?

    If this is the kind of fawning coverage Speaker-Elect Ryan can expect, heck, GRAB THE BRASS RING, PAUL!!! They can’t do any worse than get excessive drool going and use it to shine your shoes…

  238. 238.

    redshirt

    @dedc79: Yeah but you see crazy shit at every team’s games. People are getting shanked at 49ers games. The Bills tailgate sounds like a Mad Max wasteland. I know from spending many hours at Patriot tailgates, there’s little mercy for foreigners. I saw loud mouth Jets fans get literally devoured. Like they ate the marrow from his bones.

  239. 239.

    redshirt

    @efgoldman:

    I don’t know which is worse: fans like the Iggles’ who boo Santa Claus, or the “fans” in Southern California (of all the baseball teams) who come late and leave in the 7th, no matter what’s actually happening in the game.
    Then, of course, there are the “baseball fans” in Atlanta, who go to post-season games disguised as thousands of empty seats.

    Crazy fans are better than lazy or blase fans 99 times out of a hundred.

    So, by definition, Philly fans can’t be the worst. It’s probably Miami fans – all sports.

  240. 240.

    Mnemosyne

    @efgoldman:

    It’s not just baseball, or sports. When we went to see “2001: A Space Odyssey” at the Hollywood Bowl with live orchestral accompaniment, the same goddamn thing happened.

  242. 242.

    burnspbesq

    As a Mets and Rangers fan, I tend to think of Yankees and Islanders fans as sub-human, but the worst fans in the NY area, beyond dispute, are Rutgers football fans.

  245. 245.

    redshirt

    @efgoldman:

    There is no back story. They just show up and rag on the show, Statler & Waldorf. It’s what they did on every one of the old shows, and the writers and producers just brought them along to the new one.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statler_and_Waldorf
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14njUwJUg1I

    Oh, I know all about S&W. I just want to know more – like seriously I hope the new show goes into some back story about them. Why not? Are they married? Divorced? Widowed? Gay? What’s their favorite restaurant?

    Also, thanks to your Wiki link, I now know S&W fought the Silver Samurai, which is cool.

  248. 248.

    redshirt

    @burnspbesq:

    As a Mets and Rangers fan, I tend to think of Yankees and Islanders fans as sub-human, but the worst fans in the NY area, beyond dispute, are Rutgers football fans.

    Bill Belichick is apparently the number one fan of Rutgers football.

  249. 249.

    SFAW

    @efgoldman:

    Then, of course, there are the “baseball fans” in Atlanta, who go to post-season games disguised as thousands of empty seats.

    I’m glad I had already swallowed my coffee before I read that.

  250. 250.

    burnspbesq

    @redshirt:

    Belichick is a huge fan of Johns Hopkins lacrosse. He and Dave Pietramala are best buds.

    Belichick’s daughter is the new head coach of women’s lax at Holy Cross.

  253. 253.

    SFAW

    @burnspbesq:

    Belichick is a huge fan of Johns Hopkins lacrosse.

    As well he should be. His only problem re: LAX is that he grew up in the Triple-A lax area for the country, instead of the Bigs.

  254. 254.

    redshirt

    @efgoldman:

    But it didn’t stop with the one series or the one game.
    Aha, Found it. The other guy that Madon went after, repeatedly, was Brian Daubach, a 4-A first baseman who played in the majors for a few years in the aughts. I still don’t know what he is supposed to have done.

    I don’t know if this is the reason, but Daubach was a scab who played during the player’s strike long ago.

    Also, I literally bumped into Daubach as he was moving his car which was not parked in the players lot but just outside it on the street – the public street I was walking on as he came out to move his truck. I said “Hey”.

  256. 256.

    Mike J

    @redshirt:

    I really like the new characters too, like the giant bear and the weaselly small guy. Is he a weasel? Is he a he?

    The bear isn’t really new, just a minor character. Is what you’re calling a weasel a shrimp? He’s also been around.

  260. 260.

    redshirt

    @Mike J:

    The bear isn;t really new, just a minor character. Is whatyou’re calling a weasel a shrimp? He’s also been around.

    I don’t recall the bear, and yes, the prawn. He’s pretty funny. Everyone’s funny, actually.

  261. 261.

    burnspbesq

    @SFAW:

    Tell it to John Danowski, who has won three championships with teams made up almost entirely of players from LI, NJ, and Philly (with occasional reinforcements from New England). There wasn’t a single Baltimore-area player on the 2010 roster, and only one (Deemer Class) who contributed to the 2013 and 2014 championship teams.

    I don’t think Bill Tierney even knows where Baltimore is.

    Hop:lax::UCLA:basketball

  264. 264.

    SFAW

    @efgoldman:

    My brother has been a Raiders fan since the 1960s. He recently told me that he did so as a kind of Cleek’s Law variant (I was a Jets and Giants fan). I don’t think he had a lot of love for Jack Tatum, however.

    Mets update: Terry “I’m as Clueless a Manager as They Come” Collins pinch-hits Cuddyer for Harvey. The last time Cuddyer had a clutch hit, Luis Aparicio was still playing shortstop. Now, I realize that Harvey is allegedly innings-limited (thanks Scott, you evil prick!), and they should PH for him, even with a 10-3 (YAY!) lead, but where’s Conforto? So what if Wood is a lefty? I hope Alderson tells Collins that he and Matt Williams will have a lot of time on their hands next season.

  267. 267.

    Keith P.

    I discovered the magic of the HOSTS file last night, and for the first time in MONTHS, browsing the web is tolerable (I’m using Edge, which lacks extensions so no adblocker). I’ve even added Wonkette and TPM back to my favorites. Glory glory!
    And if JMM is reading this, I feel not one iota of guilt over bypassing ads; they were overdone several times over.

  270. 270.

    SFAW

    @burnspbesq:

    Hey, I’m an LI boy, you’re preaching to the choir. Grew up near Manhasset. They once had a half-decent player, guy went to Syracuse in the early 1950s, I think he was a middie. His name was something like Braun or Brown.

  271. 271.

    Jeffro

    @efgoldman:

    But they’ve been so laughably terrible for so long that I can’t hate them any more, I just pity them.

    Both, perhaps? Until they inevitably get better/good/great again, and then you can ‘just’ hate them.

  272. 272.

    SFAW

    @redshirt:

    Who?

    TBogg.

    I went over to read one of his pieces the other day, saw he was using his real name. Don’t know if that was a one-off, the way Digby sometimes writes for >mumble< (as in, I can't remember for whom she sometimes writes), or if he's made it permanent, now that he's hit 60.

  273. 273.

    dedc79

    Bartolo Colon – who just struck out the side for the Mets – drafted in 1993.
    Joc Pederson – outfielder for the Dodgers – born in 1992.

  274. 274.

    MomSense

    @efgoldman:

    Of course! I just always liked the names. They remind me of some of the characters who lived in the old hotels when that was still done.

  275. 275.

    Jeffro

    @MomSense:

    Wish he would care more about our families (atypical for a Republican).

    Yes…or perhaps be more sympathetic to understanding that sometimes people need a hand up (like the SSI he & his family received when his dad died, his college loans/grants, his lifelong government jobs/paycheck).

    Ben Carson seems to have the same problem.

    Everyone’s good at pulling up the ladder after they get ahead, it seems. Everyone on the GOP side, anyway.

  276. 276.

    Betty Cracker

    @efgoldman: The animosity took on a life of its own and definitely went both ways. If you can’t see that, I’ll say no more because it would be pointless, but such behavior is not unique to Maddon — surely you can’t disagree with that?

    @redshirt: Went to a Dolphins game in Miami once with a drunk, mouthy Jets fan. He was obnoxious throughout the game (which the Jets won), but no one got in his face about it because he is an exceptionally large dude.

    Until he visited a Port-o-Let after the game, that is. At that point, a group surrounded the Port-o-Let and started rocking it. My friend later said he was bracing himself upright with his feet and hands against the walls, praying the fans wouldn’t knock the toilet over. He escaped with nothing more than a good splashing that left permanent blue stains on his “J-E-T-S Jets!” shirt…

  278. 278.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    I like how The Muppets are giving us Kermit as the Only Sane Man, and with this iteration, not sparing the pandemonium around him. The humor is reminding me more of the better movie bits than the old Show, more adult and sly.

  280. 280.

    SFAW

    @redshirt:
    His name was not-that-hard-to-find before now. I knew it five years ago, and I’m neither a stalker – well, not of him, at least – nor an especially-good-finder-of-info-like-that.

  282. 282.

    redshirt

    @Betty Cracker:

    Went to a Dolphins game in Miami once with a drunk, mouthy Jets fan. He was obnoxious throughout the game (which the Jets won), but no one got in his face about it because he is an exceptionally large dude.

    Until he visited a Port-o-Let after the game, that is. At that point, a group surrounded the Port-o-Let and started rocking it. My friend later said he was bracing himself upright with his feet and hands against the walls, praying the fans wouldn’t knock the toilet over. He escaped with nothing more than a good splashing that left permanent blue stains on his “J-E-T-S Jets!” shirt…

    LOL. Great story. Tailgates are hell and even sometimes fun!

    I saw a Jets fan run from the cops, climbing a giant snow bank and throwing down chunks of snow for a few minutes like Donkey Kong before he relented and slumped down into custody.

  284. 284.

    magurakurin

    @efgoldman:

    “you’ve been away a long time. I dunno, maybe you haven’t heard, I don’t boo Santa Claus nomore.”

    “What, I’m just busting you’re balls a little here…..now go home and get your snowballs!”

  286. 286.

    J R in WV

    @benw:

    But this:

    “Secretary Clinton’s unusual email arrangement with herself has only made it more difficult for the committee to ensure the public record with respect to Libya and Benghazi is complete,” the spokesman, Jamal Ware, said in a statement on Sunday.

    is just a lie. It wasn’t unusual, Powell and Rice both used private email servers, didn’t they?

    In my book that makes it standard operating procedures.

    But they’re Republicans, so of course they lie. SOP.

    Grrrr.

  288. 288.

    AnotherBruce

    @redshirt:If you’re wishing for suffering, you’re doing a terrible job. If the Cubs were to play Toronto, it would mean that they would be in the World Series for the first time since 1945. Given that this team starts 4 excellent rookies, that would be a great outcome. I don’t think too many fans would be broken hearted. Maybe a tad disappointed but not despairing by a long shot.

  291. 291.

    SFAW

    @AnotherBruce:

    Yeah, my brother says they’re going to be pretty damn good for the next few years – Maddon plus the rookies (and I think he said they have a couple of strong Triple-A prospects.

    All this pisses off my brother, because he hates the Cubs. But he knows quality when he sees it.

  292. 292.

    benw

    @J R in WV: Yes, they used their own servers. If I remember correctly, they just deleted the servers and we all shrugged and moved on. Let’s not look back.

  295. 295.

    Betty Cracker

    Well, damn. Gotta give the Dog Murderer credit; he orchestrated an impressive comeback. If I were Date McRapeyberger, I’d be worried about reclaiming my gig.

  296. 296.

    Gian

    @redshirt:
    the spanos family (owners of the chargers) were Bush Pioneers.
    in their stadium deal with the city, where the city had to buy tickets for anon-sellout and the city wanted to donate said tickets to something like the boys and girls club, they refused.
    the team may be in cali, but the owners are living in Wyoming and texas

  298. 298.

    randy khan

    @efgoldman: It’s much stranger than that. There is no “neighborhood rule” – you won’t find it in the rule book because the rule requires the base to be tagged. Instead, they’ve codified an exception to the replay rule, which is that if the umpires conclude that the neighborhood play might have been used to avoid getting hit by a baserunner, then the question of whether the fielder tagged the base is not subject to replay. On Saturday, the umpires concluded that it wasn’t a neighborhood play because the question was whether Murphy’s throw had pulled Tejada off the bag, so a replay challenge was allowed.

    I warned you it was strange.

  299. 299.

    catclub

    @benw:

    they just deleted the servers and we all shrugged and moved on

    There were servers hosted at RNC for lots of WhiteHouse officials. Rove and the Mayberry Machiavellis.
    Designed to avoid FOIA requests.

    Also, Governor Romney somehow ‘bought’ his email servers and then wiped them.

  302. 302.

    pseudonymous in nc

    I think we can say that today was a good baseball day, in that all the teams that ought to have won won, even if you support the teams that didn’t win. You get two game 5s on the AL side — and frankly, if you want an all Texas ALCS, you are wrong and all of your beliefs are wrong — and you get two perennial gangs of losers leading the way on the NL side.

    Chiefs-Jays and Cubs-Mets is so much better a prospect than Astros-Texans and Cards-Dodgers. It just is.

  303. 303.

    jackmac

    Greeting from Wrigley Field where baseball is being played on a sunny afternoon — the way God intended!

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