Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

This fight is for everything.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

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

“Squeaker” McCarthy

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

No Justins, No Peace

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Let’s finish the job.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

This blog will pay for itself.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

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

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

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

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64Comments

  2. 2.

    Michael Bersin

    Meanwhile, in Missouri, Representative Rick Brattin (r) prefiled a bill for the 2016 legislative session which would strip scholarships from college athletes if the refused to play for any reason other than an injury.

    HB 1743: the reviews are in

    “…Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any college athlete who calls, incites, supports, or participates in any strike or concerted refusal to play a scheduled game shall have his or her scholarship revoked…”

    There’s also a section that mandates punishment (a fine) for coaches who allow or encourage such.

    The reactions in Missouri are predictable, depending on one’s view of what constitutes sufficient deference.

  9. 9.

    Michael Bersin

    @efgoldman:

    He’s persistent in filing legislation (execution by firing squad appears to be an obsession). We long ago learned to never say never in Missouri. The republicans hold veto proof majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly. The teabaggers hold the power – there are only two types of republicans in Missouri now – right wingnuts and those who are afraid of getting primaried by one. Their party discipline is absolute. The only thing holding them back is the time constraints inherent in getting x number of bills through the session.

  10. 10.

    Punchy

    or concerted refusal to play a scheduled game

    So attending the funeral of a family member gets your scholly yanked? The birth of a child or family member’s child? What about if a game falls on a religious holiday, perhaps on a Saturday for Jewish players?

    And here I thought Republicans were all about local control for schools.

  13. 13.

    Roger Moore

    @Punchy:
    It does say “concerted” refusal, so that would only apply if they refused to play a game as a group. But it would apply if, for example, they were at an away game and they refused to take the field because the other school’s fans were making credible threats of physical violence- something that has happened.

  14. 14.

    Face

    that would only apply if they refused to play a game

    Let’s be really clear and honest. In this context, “they” means Black players. Only. Period. Full stop.

    This proposed bill is as dog-whistle racist as they get.

  15. 15.

    David Koch

    TOM BRADY: Donald, he’s a good friend of mine. I’ve known him for a long time. I support all my friends. That’s what I have to say. He’s a good friend of mine. He’s always been so supportive of me, for the last 15 years, since I judged a beauty pageant for him, which was one of the very first things that I did that thought was really cool. That came along with winning the Super Bowl. He’s always invited me to play golf. I’ve always enjoyed his company. I support all my friends in everything they do. I think it’s pretty remarkable what he’s achieved in his life. I mean, going from business, kind of an incredible businessman and then a TV star, and then getting into politics. It’s a pretty different career path. I think that is pretty remarkable.

    Brady would be friends with bin Laden if he only played golf and ran a beauty pageant.

  21. 21.

    OzarkHillbilly

    An e-mail from my wife: “Kim (our daughter) says there is an armed suspect in our area.” Be aware. My reply: “Honey, we live in Washington county. We’re all armed and we’re all suspected of something.”

  24. 24.

    Germy

    GOP debate tonight: will they yell “They’re attacking our schools on both coasts! Obama’s weak!”

  27. 27.

    PaulW

    part of me doesn’t want to tune in to the debate tonight because I dread the likelihood someone is gonna accuse Obama of (insert most graphically disgusting crime a human being can physically commit on X). And that will just be wrong and sad.

  33. 33.

    David Koch

    @goblue72: Trump was a registered Democrat and switched registration in 2009, going full blown HillaryIz44/PUMA/Firebagger when the Kenyan usurper spoiled the plans of his great buddy Bill.

    Some of the worse racism I saw in 2008 were from PUMA “liberals” on MYDD.com, once Obama won. They just lost their minds when Hillary lost to a unknown black guy with an african name.

    That said, I don’t see Hillary currently supporting a guy who wants to deport every latino and build a wall, like Brady who happens to be married to a latin american immigrant.

  34. 34.

    Brachiator

    @PaulW:

    part of me doesn’t want to tune in to the debate tonight because I dread the likelihood someone is gonna accuse Obama of (insert most graphically disgusting crime a human being can physically commit on X).

    Actually, I think tonight’s debate could be interesting, and might have some impact.

    The GOP hopefuls have an opportunity to respond to tangible stuff, recent events and policy issues. Climate change, gun control, response to ISIS. Events and rhetoric are lined up. And the candidates who are not Trump can make a case for sanity as opposed to the Donald’s fascist ravings.

    If any of these goofballs have a brain, they will see that they have an opportunity, closer to the actual primaries, to go beyond “why Obama is bad and weak and un-American and whatever,” and to make a case for why one of them should be the next president.

    Bernie and Hillary and Anonymous Democratic Guy get their chance soon as well.

    But I will still probably skip the debate itself and look at a summary later.

  37. 37.

    Betty Cracker

    @David Koch: From what I’ve seen, Trump’s opinion of Obama hasn’t been that linear; he once praised Obama to the skies! Here’s a pretty good run-down. The gist? His opinion fluctuates with polling combined with his (Trump’s) own bizarre sense of who’s winning and losing. He’s a human windsock…and about as empty-headed.

  39. 39.

    RaflW

    Let’s see what y’all make of this

    I can say I have never really thought much positive about tighty whitey underpants on men before today. :)

    Ok, beyond silliness I think the video is pretty good. I like that it plays with gender.

  40. 40.

    NotMax

    @efgoldman

    True story, related before.

    Standing in line at the checkout of a small retail establishment was a youngish couple, one toting a tiny toddler. Next to the register, among other impulse buy items, a box of A Nightmare on Elm Street trading cards.

    Toddler points at the picture on the wrapper of the card packs and excitedly says “Fred-die Krue-ger!”

  41. 41.

    ? Martin

    @Brachiator:

    And the candidates who are not Trump can make a case for sanity as opposed to the Donald’s fascist ravings.

    Have you considered that the fascist ravings are what are energizing the GOP base? Maybe the solution to winning the GOP nomination is to go full Hitler.

  43. 43.

    Betty Cracker

    @NotMax: Good lord! One time in the mid-80s, my little brother embarrassed my mom and me in a toy store when he spied a He-Man-Skeletor action figure set and started screaming about “Bastards of the Universe.” Don’t know where the little shit learned THAT word!

  44. 44.

    scav

    @efgoldman: A) Algorithm is just working with the data given, and B) it wasn’t reflecting your exact purpose (gift for 28-month old). It did what it was told to do (throw out stuff that was in a basket with the product you were holding) — which is theoretically a step up from randomly suggesting random shit in the store. My sister could tell when the AMZN site stopped seggregating things one purchased as gifts from things you purchased (theoretically) for yourself — at one point it was trying to suggest things you might enjoy. If you purchase odd combinations of things, you can catch them making suggestions to you based upon combinations of things you yourself purchased in the past.

  45. 45.

    Gin & Tonic

    @? Martin: Did you see video from the Trump rally in Vegas yesterday, with some Trumpoid yelling “Sieg heil!” as a protester was getting the bum’s rush?

  47. 47.

    WereBear

    Waiting for my take home dinner, deeply marinating in heretofore unknown depths of RWNJ locally. The tall blonde waitress in her late 20s has a sad that Ben Carson is slipping in the polls. We are not a diverse area. Now three people are proclaiming how proud they are that they are not PC.

    Just keep my face in place….

  49. 49.

    NotMax

    Speaking of algorithms –

    Idly scoping out what Netflix is trying to push.

    In the category “Cerebral TV Shows” is included “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” Oy vey.

  51. 51.

    WereBear

    I have read enough Dortmunder novels to know I should never get into long-bar conversations, and enough Goldman to know I should never start a land war in Asia.

    I am outnumbered here.

  52. 52.

    Anoniminous

    @efgoldman:

    In general a way for morons with lots of money to have less money by making highly leveraged bets against indexes, commodities, or currencies. More specifically, E-minis are electronically traded futures contracts that represent a percentage of a corresponding standard futures contract. Example, the E-mini S&P is “The notional value of one contract is 50 times the value of the S&P 500 stock index. On September, 15, 2015, the S&P 500 cash index closed at 1,978.09, making each E-mini contract a $98,900 bet.”

  53. 53.

    scav

    @efgoldman: That was just an observed instance of the “suggest from similar basket” algorithm. Anyone buying certain Japanese gardening tools was assumed to be a Doctor Who fan for at least a while until more baskets accumulated. You’re just wrestling with some other body simultaneously shopping for a homicidal maniac with a toddler. People don’t necessarily program the algorithms with a lot of common sense to weed out weird combos — it slows things down.

  55. 55.

    trollhattan

    @WereBear:
    Ted Cruz has settled on the economic future of the struggling waitress as why he can’t believe in no climate change (a.k.a. “liberal power grab”) so perhaps for yours it’s a gentle jump from the good ship Carson to the Hindencruz. You might suggest this.

  56. 56.

    goblue72

    @David Koch: Sure. But lets not pretend that Clinton is far too cozy with the corporate/Wall Street crowd. Any projecting some kind of economic progressivism on her is sort of just that – projection.

    As for Gisele, she’s German-Brazilian, so she’d get some kind of special wall exemption, no?

  57. 57.

    henqiguai

    @Alain the site fixer (#23):

    Mobile’s back folks

    Okay, the eyes filmy over, briefly, and I thought sure that line read “Mobile (AL) black folks”, and I thought “well, what about ‘um?”. Been at this computer entirely too long, today.

  58. 58.

    Brachiator

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    I’ll bet you could work out an algorithm that shows the closer the candidate is to the center of the stage, the fewer substantive policy comments they make.

    I think this is called the Trump Proximity Insanity Factor. TPIF

  59. 59.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    My coworker freaked me out today by saying that her sister is liking Donald Trump for president, as are all of her in-laws. All of her in-laws are black.

    I mean, I know Mississippi is a whole other world, but I didn’t realize it was an actual alternate universe where black people want Trump to be president.

  60. 60.

    Brachiator

    @? Martin:

    Have you considered that the fascist ravings are what are energizing the GOP base?

    Sadly, Trump’s appeal here may jump beyond the GOP base. But even though some conventional wisdom wants to paint all the Republicans as Baby Adolfs, we will see whether any of the NotTrumps have the guts to reject him on this, no matter what the appeal might be.

    Maybe the solution to winning the GOP nomination is to go full Hitler.

    Which Republican president forced Japanese Americans into relocation camps? Trump is playing to bigotry and fear, and like a California wildfire, these flames can jump over ideology and engulf even those who claim to be calm and tolerant. Let’s see if there are moral cowards at this debate who will sell their souls and give in to the craven impulse of the worst of the GOP base.

  61. 61.

    Felanius Kootea

    @scav: That one makes me cry. Stromae’s father was killed in the Rwandan genocide and the absent father hurt just comes through in that one.

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