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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

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

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Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

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You are here: Home / Politics / Politicans / Cruz-ifiction / Open Thread: Hightlighting Each Other’s… Qualities

Open Thread: Hightlighting Each Other’s… Qualities

by Anne Laurie|  April 27, 20166:23 pm| 262 Comments

This post is in: Cruz-ifiction, Election 2016, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity, Republicans in Disarray!, Assholes

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Living in ruins of the palace within my dreams
And you know we're on each other's team pic.twitter.com/CuS0BINkeH

— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) April 27, 2016

Every pot will find its lid, as the saying goes. According to the Washington Post:

INDIANAPOLIS — Ted Cruz, in an apparent act of desperation, announced Wednesday that Carly Fiorina will be his vice presidential running mate if he is the Republican nominee for president.

Announcing a running mate is an unusual step that comes as he trails GOP front-runner Donald Trump by a wide margin and faces an increasingly narrow path to the Republican nomination.

Cruz hopes to gain steam in what amounts to a must-win for him in Tuesday’s Indiana primary. A day before the announcement, Trump drubbed Cruz in five Eastern states and stretched his overall lead in delegates to the Republican convention to nearly 400…

Well, at least it’ll make the comedians happy. TBH, it already has…

“I would define that ticket to the American people in this way: mean and meaner,” @BarbaraBoxer on Cruz/Fiorina: https://t.co/sfkFKPtKYi

— Marin Cogan (@marincogan) April 27, 2016

Apart from snark (more below the fold), what’s on the agenda for the evening?

Real takeaway from last night was that the scale of Trumps victories made Cruz look ridiculous. So this definitely helps.

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 27, 2016


Having worked for an Indiana politician, I fail to see how picking a CEO who laid off a lot of workers as VP is a net plus in that state

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) April 27, 2016

Carly Fiorina is like when a reality show brings back a fan favorite who got eliminated early. She's the Omarosa of veep picks

— Wyeth Ruthven (@wyethwire) April 27, 2016

These people like Fiorina more than Cruz. That's pretty sad right there.

— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) April 27, 2016

At some point, an aide will interrupt this speech to tell Cruz that Trump is making his convention acceptance speech in Cleveland.

— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) April 27, 2016

Stick a fork in Cruz. It's over. DecimaTED. https://t.co/QuTdwE7ekH

— AlGiordano (@AlGiordano) April 27, 2016

Electric. pic.twitter.com/OruR5WhKCx

— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) April 27, 2016

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Reader Interactions

262Comments

  1. 1.

    lgerard

    April 27, 2016 at 6:27 pm

    Carly’s campaign clearly has all the details of TED’s sexcapades

  2. 2.

    pat

    April 27, 2016 at 6:28 pm

    Careful, a picture of the two of them together could stop clocks all over the country.

    What a pair.

  3. 3.

    gf120581

    April 27, 2016 at 6:28 pm

    Never a good sign for a candidate when the phrase “apparent act of desperation” is used in the first paragraph.

  4. 4.

    Baud

    April 27, 2016 at 6:29 pm

    Gog and Magog

  5. 5.

    Baud

    April 27, 2016 at 6:30 pm

    @gf120581:

    Don’t I know it!

  6. 6.

    Splitting Image

    April 27, 2016 at 6:30 pm

    I’m not sure what’s causing it, but Fiorina looks a lot nicer than usual in that picture. I wonder why.

    Oh wait, I know. It’s because it’s the first time she’s ever stood next to somebody more odious than she is.

  7. 7.

    Baud

    April 27, 2016 at 6:32 pm

    I kind of hope Cruz wins Indiana just to see the look on Fiorina’s face when he dumps her.

  8. 8.

    feebog

    April 27, 2016 at 6:32 pm

    That picture of the sad blonde girls with their American flags and dashed hopes of a Cruz victory is worth the price of admission to this joint.

  9. 9.

    Miss Bianca

    April 27, 2016 at 6:33 pm

    Dear God…I didn’t think there was a way that “Basketball Ring” Cruz could make himself bigger box-office poison. I wuz wrong.

    Tonight am continuing work on job applications.

  10. 10.

    WarMunchkin

    April 27, 2016 at 6:33 pm

    Peak/Wingnut ’16?

  11. 11.

    debbie

    April 27, 2016 at 6:34 pm

    I can’t decide who’s more coquettish in that top picture.

  12. 12.

    Mustang Bobby

    April 27, 2016 at 6:34 pm

    “Cruz Fiorina” sounds like a lightweight punch-drunk boxer who got knocked out in the first round.

  13. 13.

    Miss Bianca

    April 27, 2016 at 6:35 pm

    @Mustang Bobby: FTW!

  14. 14.

    singfoom

    April 27, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    So, anything on the upside for Cruz on this pick other than Fiorina having a vagina and therefore making Cruz more effective against HRC? (Or at least that’s how I’m understanding the Cruz campaign’s viewpoint on this)

    Cause the downsides…they are more numerous.

  15. 15.

    dedc79

    April 27, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    Imagine how bad Fiorina’s job prospects in the private sector must be for her to be willing to jump on Cruz’s sinking ship.

  16. 16.

    Baud

    April 27, 2016 at 6:37 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    Tonight am continuing work on job applications.

    Kasich might also be looking for a Veep.

  17. 17.

    Keith G

    April 27, 2016 at 6:37 pm

    So, Ted Carly announces that Fiorina will be his vice presidential running mate if he is the Republican nominee for president.

    This becomes the first time that I really am looking forward to hearing Donald Trump’s opinion.

  18. 18.

    chopper

    April 27, 2016 at 6:38 pm

    @Baud:

    perfect.

  19. 19.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 27, 2016 at 6:38 pm

    So I’m sitting here in one of those open-floor “collaborative space” rent-a-table ‘office’ things they have here, you know for us cool Millenials with our Gig Economies and Being our Own Brand and all, and a TechCrunch reporter just finished half of the dumbest-ass interview I’ve ever heard at the next table. It was about… machine learning in the sharing economy?… being ‘on the grid’, which is… something? And how Optimizely is disrupting… something?

    OK, I’m done complaining about San Francisco… for now.

  20. 20.

    Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA

    April 27, 2016 at 6:38 pm

    Well, I was voting for Hillary, but there could be a woman on a Republican ticket too, so now I like Republicans! Just as much as I like baking, babies, and nothing else!

  21. 21.

    Baud

    April 27, 2016 at 6:40 pm

    I guess this leaves Sarah Palin for Trump.

  22. 22.

    Baud

    April 27, 2016 at 6:42 pm

    @srv:

    The accolades are rolling in it:

    Fixed.

  23. 23.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 27, 2016 at 6:42 pm

    @Miss Bianca: Hang in there!

  24. 24.

    AkaDad

    April 27, 2016 at 6:42 pm

    @feebog: DeflaTED

    Damnit, I had a couple jokes in my head and then I read those tweets.

    `sigh`

  25. 25.

    dedc79

    April 27, 2016 at 6:43 pm

    @srv: Hahahahah!!!!
    Oh my god, you were serious….
    Hahahahaha!!!!!

  26. 26.

    Bostondreams

    April 27, 2016 at 6:43 pm

    @srv:

    My goodness that is so bad they make Reince Priebus tweets sound like a sane person.

  27. 27.

    Mustang Bobby

    April 27, 2016 at 6:44 pm

    @srv:

    GREATEST FOREIGN POLICY SPEECH SINCE WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL ADDRESS.

    So Washington was a racist isolationist incoherent naive peddler of steaming bullshit? Wow, good to know history got it all wrong, Ann.

  28. 28.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 27, 2016 at 6:44 pm

    @srv: Shit praising shit. How appropriate.

  29. 29.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 27, 2016 at 6:44 pm

    @srv: oh god.

  30. 30.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    April 27, 2016 at 6:44 pm

    this is hilarious. it would look somewhat desperate if what he were trying to win was the CPAC straw poll, but at least then he would have a chance.

    Remember hearing about his study group that only admitted alumni of “first tier Ivies”? Same guy.

  31. 31.

    Iowa Old Lady

    April 27, 2016 at 6:45 pm

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: If Fiorina weren’t a woman, she’d never be able to get even 5% of the vote. Oh wait.

  32. 32.

    singfoom

    April 27, 2016 at 6:45 pm

    @srv:

    Ann Coulter Verified account
    ‏@AnnCoulter

    GREATEST FOREIGN POLICY SPEECH SINCE WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL ADDRESS.

    Um, yeah, that’s an accolade. I guess. Or the byline might be “Unhinged lady who hates everyone who doesn’t think like her thinks Trumps substance free foreign policy speech was the greatest.”

  33. 33.

    Baud

    April 27, 2016 at 6:46 pm

    I’d be scared if I saw Carly in the bathroom stall next to mine.

    OMG TED CRUZ IS A GENIUS!!!

  34. 34.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 27, 2016 at 6:47 pm

    @Baud: I’d be scared if I saw Carly, full stop.

  35. 35.

    Anne Laurie

    April 27, 2016 at 6:47 pm

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA:

    Just as much as I like baking, babies, and nothing else!

    Don’t forget Jeebus R Saav-yer. Us frail wimmens luvs us some Jeebus cuz we need so much redeeming…

  36. 36.

    Jeffro

    April 27, 2016 at 6:47 pm

    @Splitting Image: “like”

  37. 37.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    April 27, 2016 at 6:49 pm

    DonaId J. Trump ‏@realDenaldTrump

    FP preview: Nuclear is our biggest threat.It should be given to more countries.Statistically lowers chance of being attacked by any country!

    8 retweets 22 likes

    He’s got a point. There would be less war if everyone had nukes.

  38. 38.

    A Ghost To Most

    April 27, 2016 at 6:49 pm

    DefeaTed
    EliminaTed
    MasturbaTed (that was last month)

  39. 39.

    Baud

    April 27, 2016 at 6:50 pm

    @A Ghost To Most: EmasculaTed.

  40. 40.

    Miss Bianca

    April 27, 2016 at 6:51 pm

    @singfoom: Even for Ann Coulter, this has got to be a joke.

    @Baud: LOL! Well, Baud, since you’ve spurned me for your VP slot, a girl’s gotta do *something*, right

  41. 41.

    AkaDad

    April 27, 2016 at 6:51 pm

    Coulter convinced me by using all CAPS.

  42. 42.

    delk

    April 27, 2016 at 6:51 pm

    It will be all ‘noun, verb, Hillary’ until a heavily edited video shows up to distract Carley.

  43. 43.

    Baud

    April 27, 2016 at 6:52 pm

    @Miss Bianca: I don’t think even Ann Coulter knows the answer to that question.

  44. 44.

    debbie

    April 27, 2016 at 6:53 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:

    Kay posted yesterday that Kasich had cost Ohio taxpayers $2,500,000 to keep him safe during the campaign. Google tells me he’s got 153 delegates. This means Ohio’s had to spend $16,339.86 per delegate. God only knows what the food bills will come to.

    Edited: I could have sworn you posted about Trump’s tweet about Kasich’s eating. Weird.

  45. 45.

    debbie

    April 27, 2016 at 6:53 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    Coulter’s been in the tank for Trump since the beginning.

  46. 46.

    Betty Cracker

    April 27, 2016 at 6:54 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: Is that for real?

  47. 47.

    El Caganer

    April 27, 2016 at 6:54 pm

    @srv: Jesus Christ.

  48. 48.

    dmsilev

    April 27, 2016 at 6:55 pm

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: I believe according to the comprehensive manual of sexist cliches that you’re also allowed to like white wine and mixed drinks with overly cutesy names.

    Surely that helps some.

  49. 49.

    Kansi

    April 27, 2016 at 6:56 pm

    What knucklehead thought pairing the most unlikable candidate with the second most unlikable candidate was a winning formula?

  50. 50.

    Seanly

    April 27, 2016 at 6:56 pm

    Carly’s singing was nice in a Stephen King “It” sort of way. I was wondering if she was actually auditioning to be the singer for David Lynch & Angelo Badalamenti’s next torch song in the new Twin Peaks. Oi vey…

  51. 51.

    Miss Bianca

    April 27, 2016 at 6:57 pm

    @debbie: I’m thinking Coulter’s just in the tank, period.

  52. 52.

    scav

    April 27, 2016 at 6:58 pm

    @srv: When life gives you accs! make accolades.

  53. 53.

    debbie

    April 27, 2016 at 6:59 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    A valid point.

  54. 54.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    April 27, 2016 at 7:00 pm

    @Mustang Bobby: I thought it had to be a spoof account. So I checked. Zooks! It isn’t!

    She also says:

    Author – follow me on #Facebook! http://goo.gl/JvMjld Disregard my earlier claims that I’d never be on Facebook.

    hehe.

    Says it all, doesn’t it?

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  55. 55.

    lgerard

    April 27, 2016 at 7:01 pm

    The “basketball ring” thing makes me feel that TED and Carly should campaign dressed up as Beldar and Prymatt Conehead.

    VOTE MASS QUANTITIES!!!!!!

  56. 56.

    Kathleen

    April 27, 2016 at 7:01 pm

    @Mustang Bobby: Also, too, a “crafted”, “curated” cocktail served in a Brooklyn hipster bar.

  57. 57.

    WaterGirl

    April 27, 2016 at 7:01 pm

    @dmsilev: Wine coolers. Don’t forget wine coolers!

  58. 58.

    Peale

    April 27, 2016 at 7:01 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: except right now all of the wars, save Yemen, are civil in nature. What the proliferation would guarantee is that the us and other powers would have an interest in intervening in civil wars to make sure the nukes would be in safe hands. This above our currently abnormally high, pathological “interest” intereet the outcome of civil wars in places where our interest is made up to begin with.

  59. 59.

    Roger Moore

    April 27, 2016 at 7:03 pm

    @pat:

    Careful, a picture of the two of them together could stop clocks all over the country.

    And those clocks would still be right more often than Ted and Carly put together.

  60. 60.

    singfoom

    April 27, 2016 at 7:03 pm

    @Miss Bianca: @singfoom: Even for Ann Coulter, this has got to be a joke.

    Check out Coulters twitter feed, it appears to be genuine. I’m not surprised. That lady is nuts.

  61. 61.

    AkaDad

    April 27, 2016 at 7:03 pm

    @Kansi: HaTED/EliminaTED 2016!

  62. 62.

    Kathleen

    April 27, 2016 at 7:03 pm

    @Baud: He’d cut her salary and benefits and ask her to make coffee and sandwiches but other than that it wouldn’t be a bad gig.

  63. 63.

    scav

    April 27, 2016 at 7:03 pm

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: I thought in the south, real women would prefer their babies with bbq sauce.

    (and yes I am a sick sick person to actively not see those important commas.)

  64. 64.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 27, 2016 at 7:04 pm

    @WaterGirl: Zima.

  65. 65.

    Roger Moore

    April 27, 2016 at 7:04 pm

    @Mustang Bobby:

    “Cruz Fiorina” sounds like a lightweight punch-drunk boxer who got knocked out in the first round.

    I thought that was Glass Joe.

  66. 66.

    Baud

    April 27, 2016 at 7:05 pm

    @Kathleen:

    I don’t think I could handle giving him foot massages though.

  67. 67.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 27, 2016 at 7:05 pm

    @Peale: During the cold war, we (the US) actually allowed our nuclear release protocols to be leaked to the Soviets, in the hopes they would see the necessity to have some to keep the genie as much in the bottle as possible.

    Even then, we’ve still lost nukes, and lost track of nukes.

  68. 68.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 27, 2016 at 7:06 pm

    @AkaDad: FTW!

  69. 69.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    April 27, 2016 at 7:09 pm

    Ann Coulter
    ✔
    ‎@AnnCoulter

    How many f—ing Jews do these people think there are in the United States?

    8:05 PM – 16 Sep 2015

    2,193 Retweets
    2,319 Favorites

    Trump and Coulter – great minds think alike.

  70. 70.

    Bubblegum Tate

    April 27, 2016 at 7:09 pm

    As several funny folks have pointed out, Ted and Carly go together like HP and Compaq.

  71. 71.

    Kathleen

    April 27, 2016 at 7:09 pm

    @debbie: I’ve been wondering about that (did not see Kay’s comment). John will have to cut more teachers’ salaries to make up for the shortfall.

  72. 72.

    WaterGirl

    April 27, 2016 at 7:11 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’m proud to say that I had to google that:

    The google says this is a drink that fragile coeds swill while giving each other pedicures.

    For the sake of this conversation, yes, we cannot forget Zima!

  73. 73.

    Roger Moore

    April 27, 2016 at 7:11 pm

    @A Ghost To Most:
    ExtorTed! It would at least help to explain why he made the decision.

  74. 74.

    Trollhattan

    April 27, 2016 at 7:13 pm

    @srv:
    Knock it off, Doug!

  75. 75.

    WaterGirl

    April 27, 2016 at 7:13 pm

    :: shudder ::

    He is touching her shoulder and she has her arms around his waist. If you offered me a million dollars to touch Ted Cruz (my nostrils are flaring as I type that and I’m pretty sure my face looks like I just stepped in dog poop barefoot)… I would have to think about it, then I would do it, take the money, give it all away to charity as it would be dirty money, and then request one of those scalding showers you get after being exposed to something terrible.

  76. 76.

    LesBonnesFemmes

    April 27, 2016 at 7:14 pm

    Does this mean when Cruz concedes to Drumpf that iCarly becomes a Free Agent?

    And, who’s Kasich gonna pick? Or Bernie for that matter.

  77. 77.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    April 27, 2016 at 7:15 pm

    @debbie: I did, I changed it, cuz the thread was talking about his FP speech.

    But like a broken clock, Trump is right this time. Kasich holding press conferences while shoveling food in his mouth is disgusting. Imagine the media ridicule if Bernie or Hillary were eating and talking in such a gross way. But IOKIYAR

    DonaId J. Trump ‏@realDenaldTrump

    If I didn’t talk about how dopey Kasick eats pancakes, media wouldn’t be discussing this! This will be the central issue of my presidency!

    37 retweets 54 likes

  78. 78.

    burnspbesq

    April 27, 2016 at 7:15 pm

    After a brief respite, Berniac bile is once again knee-deep in the streets of my FB feed. May have to buy new waders; that shit is corrosive.

  79. 79.

    Trollhattan

    April 27, 2016 at 7:15 pm

    @singfoom:
    Heh-heh, you said “lady.”

    Ann Coulter and Carly Fiorina walk into the same room using different doors. The universe ceases.

  80. 80.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 27, 2016 at 7:15 pm

    @lgerard: Saying this in Indiana is WORSE than a bad cheesesteak order in Philly.

  81. 81.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 27, 2016 at 7:17 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: Obviously several million too many. I’ve often said that Ann Coulter’s greatest regret is she was born about 40 years too late to be the Bitch of Buchenwald.

  82. 82.

    Kathleen

    April 27, 2016 at 7:17 pm

    @Baud: Yes, especially when one considers how often he’s put those feet in his mouth.

  83. 83.

    seaboogie

    April 27, 2016 at 7:17 pm

    I enjoyed Borowitz’s take on the inspired choice of Fiorina as Cruz running mate….

  84. 84.

    mdblanche

    April 27, 2016 at 7:17 pm

    @debbie: Doesn’t Kasich still have fewer delegates than Rubio?

  85. 85.

    Kathleen

    April 27, 2016 at 7:19 pm

    @WaterGirl: Just reading what you posted makes me want to shower in bleach.

  86. 86.

    Davebo

    April 27, 2016 at 7:20 pm

    @debbie: Ayn Coulter is in the tank for whoever has the most gullible followers.

    Must have been a tough call this election cycle.

  87. 87.

    Kathleen

    April 27, 2016 at 7:20 pm

    @Roger Moore: More reason why Cruz should be thwarTED.

  88. 88.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    April 27, 2016 at 7:23 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: That’s what made me laugh so hard. In Indiana? Does no one on that staff have a clue? “Dude, in Indiana hoops are a BFD; do not fuck up any comments on them.” Makes any food order/eating/discussing seem trivial.

  89. 89.

    raven

    April 27, 2016 at 7:24 pm

    @srv: Yea asshole, you are in a position to say who “real Americans” are. Fuck you.

  90. 90.

    AkaDad

    April 27, 2016 at 7:24 pm

    @LesBonnesFemmes:

    What did Miranda Cosgrove ever do to you to desrve that?

  91. 91.

    mdblanche

    April 27, 2016 at 7:24 pm

    @lgerard: “Uh, where did you say you were from again?”

    “Canada! We come from Canada.”

  92. 92.

    raven

    April 27, 2016 at 7:25 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): guess what I got?

  93. 93.

    raven

    April 27, 2016 at 7:29 pm

    Just another day in the ATL

    In the county’s first fatal officer-involved shooting of 2016, DeKalb police shot and killed a man Wednesday morning who was wielding a machete-like weapon in one hand and a live chicken in the other.

  94. 94.

    debbie

    April 27, 2016 at 7:30 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:

    Good to know I wasn’t hallucinating!

    @mdblanche:

    Yeah, Marco’s got 172. Apparently, he doesn’t want to let them go.

  95. 95.

    Roger Moore

    April 27, 2016 at 7:31 pm

    @raven:
    Sorry, but your neighbors to the south still have you beat by a mile:

    Florida Man Flings Frozen Animal Carcasses Around Animal Control Office During Drunk Rampage With Fire Extinguisher https://t.co/8C49r5ISEl— Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) April 27, 2016

    Florida Man Attacks Apartment Complex Residents After They Told Him to Stop Having Sex in Their Pool https://t.co/SsQVJ20Oae— Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) April 26, 2016

  96. 96.

    Chip Daniels

    April 27, 2016 at 7:33 pm

    @Mustang Bobby:

    GREATEST FOREIGN POLICY SPEECH SINCE WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL ADDRESS.

    Who can forget that memorable opening from George Washington…
    “My fellow Americans, and I am delighted to address you as same…AMERICA FUCK YEAH!!! WOOOOT!”

  97. 97.

    MattF

    April 27, 2016 at 7:34 pm

    @lgerard: Yes to Ted and Carly as the Coneheads. Uh, wait… you meant that as a sarcastic remark.

  98. 98.

    Mike J

    April 27, 2016 at 7:35 pm

    Trump Clinton electoral map according to Benchmark politics:
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ChEOISWWgAEpEde.jpg:large

    Note that map has Hillary losing Mississippi, but she’s within 3 in the last poll.

  99. 99.

    Joyce H

    April 27, 2016 at 7:36 pm

    @singfoom:

    So, anything on the upside for Cruz on this pick other than Fiorina having a vagina and therefore making Cruz more effective against HRC?

    Oh, c’mon, it’s obvious. Cruz is going to lose – but this way, there’s a woman to blame.

  100. 100.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    April 27, 2016 at 7:37 pm

    @raven: Tickets for tomorrow night at the Georgia Theatre?!?

  101. 101.

    raven

    April 27, 2016 at 7:38 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): yup

  102. 102.

    raven

    April 27, 2016 at 7:40 pm

    @srv: One drooling moron playing another. You proly wrote the script.

  103. 103.

    WaterGirl

    April 27, 2016 at 7:40 pm

    @Kathleen: I know. Sorry. But I could do a lot of good with that million dollars, otherwise there’s not enough money in the world… Ick. The guys’ own daughters appear to be repulsed by him. I feel sorry for them.

  104. 104.

    MattF

    April 27, 2016 at 7:41 pm

    @srv: Were either of those comments meant to be sarcastic?

  105. 105.

    Roger Moore

    April 27, 2016 at 7:44 pm

    @Mike J:

    Note that map has Hillary losing Mississippi

    And winning Utah! That’s hard to imagine, but it’s going to be a very long election night for the Republicans if it does.

  106. 106.

    Mike J

    April 27, 2016 at 7:44 pm

    @Roger Moore: Georgia too.

  107. 107.

    Aimai

    April 27, 2016 at 7:47 pm

    @lgerard: perfect. sNL must revive this.

  108. 108.

    Mary

    April 27, 2016 at 7:48 pm

    @Mustang Bobby: Well, he was pretty much a racist (slaveholder) and an isolationist, although he was more or less correct on the latter point.

  109. 109.

    Miss Bianca

    April 27, 2016 at 7:50 pm

    @singfoom: Yeah, “nuts” is one thing. But D-U-M dumb is another.

    @scav: I was trying to think of an appropriately inappropriate joke. As usual, you have beaten me to the punch (or the grill).

  110. 110.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    April 27, 2016 at 7:50 pm

    @raven: I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Enjoy.

  111. 111.

    MattF

    April 27, 2016 at 7:51 pm

    We’ve passed the Wingularity Event Horizon. The difference between reality and snark has vanished.

  112. 112.

    Gimlet

    April 27, 2016 at 7:52 pm

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/three-year-old-kills-sel-fathers-pistol

    DALLAS, Ga. (AP) — Officials say a 3-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed himself with his father’s pistol.

    Sgt. Ashley Henson of the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that forensic pathologists and detectives determined the gunshot wound to the chest was consistent with an accidental and self-inflicted wound.

    Henson said in a statement that Holston Cole used his father David’s semi-automatic pistol to shoot himself Tuesday.

    No charges have been filed.

    comment:
    Smart kid
    load pistol
    get a round into the chamber
    make sure the safety is off
    pull the trigger

    I am sure the gun was not chambered and the safety was on
    no charges?

  113. 113.

    Betty Cracker

    April 27, 2016 at 7:53 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: Upon further review, it appears you just pulled that outta your ass. Is that right?

  114. 114.

    JCT

    April 27, 2016 at 7:53 pm

    I think the choice of Carly is an airball – nice shot, Ted.

  115. 115.

    Miss Bianca

    April 27, 2016 at 7:54 pm

    @raven: Wait, WHAT??

  116. 116.

    Ken

    April 27, 2016 at 7:54 pm

    @gf120581:

    Never a good sign for a candidate when the phrase “apparent act of desperation” is used in the first paragraph.

    Or “Police made the arrest after her boyfriend signed for a package”.

  117. 117.

    nutella

    April 27, 2016 at 7:56 pm

    @srv:

    Actor Will Ferrell will play Ronald Reagan in a movie about the 40th president’s battle with dementia during his second term in office, according to Variety.

    Wait, what about the dementia during his first term? Are they going to skip right over that?

  118. 118.

    Gimlet

    April 27, 2016 at 7:57 pm

    @srv:

    Actor Will Ferrell will play Ronald Reagan in a movie about the 40th president’s battle with dementia during his second term in office, according to Variety.

    Election year, spoofin St Ronnie, — Blasphemy!!1!!

    “Reagan,” a political satire written by Mike Rosolio, the story begins at the start of the ex-president’s second term when he falls into dementia and an ambitious intern is tasked with convincing the commander in chief that he is an actor playing the president in a movie.

  119. 119.

    Ken

    April 27, 2016 at 7:58 pm

    @Kansi:

    What knucklehead thought pairing the most unlikable candidate with the second most unlikable candidate was a winning formula?

    Maybe they thought negative times negative is positive?

    Ew, that means the formula has multiplication. More brain bleach, please.

  120. 120.

    PurpleGirl

    April 27, 2016 at 7:58 pm

    @srv: A Hugo fight… I gotta go over to Making Light and see what they’re saying.

    ETA: http://www.nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/

  121. 121.

    raven

    April 27, 2016 at 8:00 pm

    @Miss Bianca: I report, you decide!

  122. 122.

    MattF

    April 27, 2016 at 8:03 pm

    @Ken:

    Minus times minus together make plus;
    The reasons for this we need not discuss.

  123. 123.

    elftx

    April 27, 2016 at 8:06 pm

    @Baud:

    I’d be scared if I saw Carly in the bathroom stall next to mine.

    OMG TED CRUZ IS A GENIUS!!!

    I am so stealing this..you deserve to win the election on this alone.

  124. 124.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 27, 2016 at 8:08 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    I’m also analyzing the photo, and (among many, many other things) wondering why in the world there’s a Florida state flag at a political events in Indianapolis.

  125. 125.

    raven

    April 27, 2016 at 8:08 pm

    One loud-mouth, bullying asshole endorses another.

  126. 126.

    Roger Moore

    April 27, 2016 at 8:10 pm

    @Mike J:
    Georgia would be much less stunning than Utah. It has a large African American population and has been getting a gradually purpler over time; it had the second smallest margin for Romney in 2012. Utah, OTOH, is solid, dark red. It had the largest margin for Romney in 2012 and, in case you think that was just a matter of them going for the Mormon, they’ve had one of the top 3 margins for the Republican every election going back at least to Reagan. Losing Utah would be a sign that something is profoundly wrong for the Republicans.

  127. 127.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    April 27, 2016 at 8:10 pm

    @Betty Cracker: no, that’s an actual tweet.

    but isn’t it true. would the US have invaded Iraq if they had nukes – no.

    no country that has a nuke has ever been invaded. if every country had nukes there would be no more war.

  128. 128.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 8:10 pm

    @Baud:

    Gog and Magog

    More like “Gag and MeGag” or “Gag and OhMyGod”

  129. 129.

    Amaranthine RBG

    April 27, 2016 at 8:11 pm

    Wow. I was joking this morning when I suggested that Cruz was going to name a running mate.

    I guess the hope is that Fiorina will bait Trump so much in the following week that he won’t be able to help himself and will call her a a very bad name and thus push female republican voters (ha!) towards Cruz. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess.

  130. 130.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 27, 2016 at 8:11 pm

    @raven:

    wielding a machete-like weapon in one hand and a live chicken in the other.

    What is a machete-like weapon if not a, you know, actual machete?

    (One question at a time. I’ll get to the chicken later.)

  131. 131.

    raven

    April 27, 2016 at 8:13 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: A cane knife is like a machete but smaller and has this hook on it.

  132. 132.

    dr. bloor

    April 27, 2016 at 8:13 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: A nuclear armed global society is a polite global society.

  133. 133.

    Amaranthine RBG

    April 27, 2016 at 8:13 pm

    @Gimlet:

    Smart kid
    get keys to gun safe
    get keys to ammo locker
    load pistol
    get a round into the chamber
    make sure the safety is off
    pull the trigger

  134. 134.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    April 27, 2016 at 8:13 pm

    Chris Hayes goes from Stuart Stevens (Romney 2012) to Rick Tyler (Cruz ’16), who is talking about Carly Fiorina’s history of competence and her strong voice on foreign policy.

  135. 135.

    AnotherBruce

    April 27, 2016 at 8:14 pm

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: Mmmm, delicious baking babies. I would add a sweet plum orange sauce.

  136. 136.

    MattF

    April 27, 2016 at 8:14 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Nelly Miles said a 2- to 3-foot piece of sheet metal fashioned into a machete-like weapon and two knives were found at the scene.

    If you must know.

  137. 137.

    John D.

    April 27, 2016 at 8:16 pm

    @srv:

    Why hasn’t this blog of supposed writers covered the #sadpuppies vs #rabidpuppies vs #dreadilk space war at the Hugos?

    Because it was just the finalists?

    Because we already know how this ends — we saw it last year?

    Because “E Pluribus Hugo” will pass at the business meeting, making this the last year that Vox Day can slate effectively?

    Because, honestly, who outside of a few fen and SMOF give an actual shit?

  138. 138.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 27, 2016 at 8:18 pm

    @raven:
    @MattF:

    Thanks. Ugh.

  139. 139.

    Roger Moore

    April 27, 2016 at 8:21 pm

    @Ken:

    Or “Police made the arrest after her boyfriend signed for a package”.

    I would say “during a drug bust at her home” is the phrase I would be most worried about. The second paragraph where they talk about the house containing a meth lab makes it clear that this wasn’t just a matter of her having poor taste in men. Also, too the:

    Two kids, one five and one 10 years old, “had easy access to all of (the) drugs and materials, even the bomb-making materials that were located in the back with the meth lab,” Mattheson said.

    That’s not what you want to hear about somebody connected with your campaign.

  140. 140.

    joel hanes

    April 27, 2016 at 8:21 pm

    @PurpleGirl:

    Making Light

    Went there.
    (Used to read it regularly, but it’s now updated so seldom that I check maybe twice a month).

    I love Stephenson enough that I’m one of the few people you’ll ever know who read and enjoyed every word of the Baroque Cycle. IMHO Seveneves is not his best work, and should not get the Hugo unless everything else is weak.

    I have the first Ancilliary queued up to read next, and have high hopes.

    Have you read the Bujold novella?

  141. 141.

    MattF

    April 27, 2016 at 8:24 pm

    @joel hanes: The Presger ‘translator’ in the last Ancillary novel is the funniest character I’ve ever found in an SF novel.

  142. 142.

    Kropadope

    April 27, 2016 at 8:24 pm

    @Betty Cracker: It’s the natural extension of right wing gun logic.

  143. 143.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    April 27, 2016 at 8:24 pm

    @dr. bloor: it’s like open carry.

    but jokes aside, Europe was constantly at war for centuries, including triggering 2 World Wars within 21 years. But since FDR ordered construction of the Bomb, there have been no more wars. The Bomb is a horrible weapon. But I think we take for granted the long held peace in europe, ending centuries of intractable warring nations.

  144. 144.

    Chyron HR

    April 27, 2016 at 8:27 pm

    @nutella:

    Wait, what about the dementia during his first term? Are they going to skip right over that?

    That’s for the prequel. You obviously don’t understand how to set up a cinematic universe.

  145. 145.

    Amaranthine RBG

    April 27, 2016 at 8:27 pm

    @John D.: I guess if there are awards for pornos, there might as well be awards for science fiction writers.

  146. 146.

    Kropadope

    April 27, 2016 at 8:31 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    my nostrils are flaring as I type that and I’m pretty sure my face looks like I just stepped in dog poop barefoot

    Much easier to clean than a shoe.

  147. 147.

    laura

    April 27, 2016 at 8:33 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: how’d you keep from calling bullshit or vomiting?

  148. 148.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    April 27, 2016 at 8:37 pm

    @raven: Also because Cruz doesn’t know jackshit about hoops. “Ring” really? In Indiana? Hahahaha.

  149. 149.

    3am

    April 27, 2016 at 8:39 pm

    Not sure if anyone’s posted it yet, but this: http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/4/26/1520509/-Clinton-hasn-t-won-Sanders-hasn-t-lost-This-is-bigger-than-any-single-primary#read-more

    Seriously, should be frontpaged on every progressive blog/outlet. Especially this part:

    “If you are a Sanders supporter, you haven’t lost yet. I don’t mean the presidential contest, that was always an uphill fight. Yet you guys fought despite an indifferent media, despite a hostile establishment, and despite people like me harping on the “math”, and you proved lots of people wrong along the way (including me). I’m not embarrassed or angry or annoyed. I’m excited and in awe of what you were able to accomplish, and I fervently hope that 1) you stay engaged inside the Democratic Party, because that’s how we improve it, and 2) that you maintain that energy for the November elections (and looking ahead at what will be a brutally tough 2018 cycle). See? That’s how much I don’t hate Sanders, despite some suggestions to the contrary. I want his influence to continue inside my Democratic Party, where it can make a difference.

    I don’t care if you are excited about Clinton or not, she’ll be fine. I care that you get excited about Democrats down the ballot, about giving Clinton a Congress that will push her to the left even when she might not want to. Clinton doesn’t get to pass a $15 minimum wage. Congress does. You want strong climate change legislation? We don’t have a dictatorship. Congress has to pass it.

    But don’t make the mistake, either, of thinking that Clinton is the evil harpy of so many caricatures. She’ll do good things, she’ll do great things, and she’ll do shitty things. Our job will be to apply the same kind of pressure we’ve applied all these years of the Obama presidency. And no matter what she might do with the executive branch, all of that will pale to that single Supreme Court pick Republicans are hell-bent on giving her.

    For all the mistakes that President Bill Clinton made during his tenure, his Supreme Court picks weren’t any of them—Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. If anything, expect even better. The next pick will flip the court and the race will be on to relitigate all the shit the conservative court did to rig the electoral system in the GOP’s favor—from reversing Citizens United to stomping congressional gerrymandering to removing barriers to voting. This is not a country that easily enables political revolutions, but flipping the court will be a seismic shift in our nation’s course. And odds are, Clinton will get to make more than one pick for the High Court before her eight years are up. “

  150. 150.

    Betty Cracker

    April 27, 2016 at 8:39 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: I scrolled through Trump’s idiotic tweets and did not see that one. Got a link?

  151. 151.

    Roger Moore

    April 27, 2016 at 8:39 pm

    @joel hanes:

    I love Stephenson enough that I’m one of the few people you’ll ever know who read and enjoyed every word of the Baroque Cycle.

    Is it really that rare among Stephenson fans? I’ve read my way through them several times, and while I won’t say I enjoy every word, they’re worth rereading to see if you can find stuff you missed the first time.

    I have the first Ancilliary queued up to read next, and have high hopes.

    I thought Ancillary Justice was the best of the series, though the story was good enough that the others were worth reading to get to the conclusion. The first book is more interesting from a story-telling standpoint because it alternates between two parts of the story that are considerable time apart and it gradually reveals how the two parts are connected. The subsequent books lack that interesting storytelling approach, but they’re still fun.

    Have you read the Bujold novella?

    It’s good but not within miles (or Miles) of The Mountains of Mourning or The Borders of Infinity.

  152. 152.

    Anne Laurie

    April 27, 2016 at 8:40 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    Losing Utah would be a sign that something is profoundly wrong for the Republicans.

    According to McKay Coppins (who is one, as well as being a reporter) Mormons really really really loathe Donald Trump. He not only makes a mockery of “good Christian virtues”, he does so in a way that spotlights how the GOP in general treats “good Christians” as cannon-fodder — dumb rubes who’ll flock wherever the shepherd points them to be fleeced by travelling shearers.

    Of course us non-Xtian sophists have been saying that since forever, but it’s like the crude old joke: Trump won’t even buy them dinner and whisper sweet nothings before assaulting them.

  153. 153.

    Mike J

    April 27, 2016 at 8:44 pm

    @joel hanes:

    I love Stephenson enough that I’m one of the few people you’ll ever know who read and enjoyed every word of the Baroque Cycle. IMHO Seveneves is not his best work, and should not get the Hugo unless everything else is weak.

    I liked seveneves far more than Baroque Cycle, and seveneves was meh. I’m actually a fan, but he’d be better if there was somebody with a red pen he couldn’t say no to. One of his books had the longest chase scene in the history of print that was just the dullest thing I’ve ever read.

  154. 154.

    John D.

    April 27, 2016 at 8:46 pm

    @Amaranthine RBG: Congratulations. You’re a complete dick in TWO disciplines.

  155. 155.

    catclub

    April 27, 2016 at 8:47 pm

    @Baud: “Write if you get work”
    “Hang by your thumbs”

    as Bob and Ray usually said farewell. I pick Fiorina to give the “Write if you get work,” line.

  156. 156.

    PsiFighter37

    April 27, 2016 at 8:51 pm

    This is dumb on so many levels, and it does reek of desperation – it’s so blatant that the MSM is a-okay with stating so in the first paragraph of every article written about it. Cruz is getting desperate as the ring slips further and further from his grasp.

    As for Carly, no one is going to come near her after this little stunt. She’ll be as radioactive as Chris Christie is now.

  157. 157.

    NonyNony

    April 27, 2016 at 8:52 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: Real tweet, but from a parody account. Note the misspelling of the name Donald.

  158. 158.

    BR

    April 27, 2016 at 8:56 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:

    no country that has a nuke has ever been invaded. if every country had nukes there would be no more war.

    So failed states and non-state militias and religious zealots and messianic racist tribal leaders don’t exist, I guess. Almost sounded like a smart idea for a second there, though.

    Seriously, this is like the NRA’s dream but with the weaponry amplified by a factor of a few million.

  159. 159.

    Miss Bianca

    April 27, 2016 at 8:57 pm

    @Roger Moore: Just finished The Mountains of Mourning this evening. Got the first volume of the Baroque Cycle on audio book and loved it even tho’ they abridged it – wankers! But the way they abridged – announcing a summary of what they had abridged – almost made me think that Stephenson had written it that way. So mad when I found out otherwise! The other two volumes are on Mt. To-Be-Read.

  160. 160.

    dr. bloor

    April 27, 2016 at 9:00 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: I’d politely suggest that replacing slightly rabid, wildly inbred, grudge-carrying monarchs with variations on democracies who entered stable alliances had something to do with it as well.

  161. 161.

    Jeffro

    April 27, 2016 at 9:00 pm

    @JCT: Airball…that’s when the shot misses the ring, right?

  162. 162.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    April 27, 2016 at 9:01 pm

    Nobody remarked on the reversed Great Seal on the Florida flag yet?

    I am disappoint.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  163. 163.

    Matt McIrvin

    April 27, 2016 at 9:02 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:

    if every country had nukes there would be no more war.

    There would be at most one war.

  164. 164.

    joel hanes

    April 27, 2016 at 9:03 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    Mileage varies.

    There are four other people in my immediate family who loved Cryptonomicon and Snowcrash, and liked Anathem, Diamond Age, and Reamde.

    None of them finished Quicksilver

    I ate it up.
    Steel metallurgy (wootz!). Liebniz, Newton, Hooke, Wren. The foundation of the Royal Society. The English Civil War. Paris. India. The silver mines of the Harz Mountains. Peter the Great. Bolingbroke. Marlborough.

  165. 165.

    Mike J

    April 27, 2016 at 9:06 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    Got the first volume of the Baroque Cycle on audio book and loved it even tho’ they abridged it – wankers!

    Perhaps that what I should have done. Far, far, far too often he goes on and on and on and moves characters around the board without developing them. In the competitive chess world he’d be called a woodpusher. It annoys me that I like his story ideas enough to wade through his books. Of course I also think Philip K. Dick was a pretty crap writer with really good story ideas, so you can weigh my opinion of NS with that.

  166. 166.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 9:07 pm

    Thank you Republicans, for allowing us to briefly bury the Bernie v Hillary “discussion”.

    BOO REPUBLICANS!!!

  167. 167.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 9:08 pm

    @Mike J: What did you think of Anathem? I loved it, so much I immediately re-read it as soon as I finished it.

  168. 168.

    Grumpy Code Monkey

    April 27, 2016 at 9:09 pm

    @lgerard: God damn you for putting that image in my head.

  169. 169.

    Roger Moore

    April 27, 2016 at 9:10 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
    I’m not sure you can call what happened in Europe after WWII peace. The Cold War may not have involved a lot of shooting, but having massive armies sitting there preparing to kill each other is not peace. Plus, there have been wars in Europe since the Cold War ended: the very nasty civil war in Yugoslavia and the recent war in Ukraine being the obvious ones.

  170. 170.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 9:10 pm

    @Mike J: Dick is the greatest idea writer in science fiction history. Execution? Meh.

  171. 171.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 9:11 pm

    I’ll take any bet that Clinton does not win Utah.

  172. 172.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    April 27, 2016 at 9:12 pm

    watching the Maddow show… I still can’t quite believe that Ted Cruz thought Carly Fiorina would be a winning story. I’d like to see Condi Rice’s call logs at Hoover. I’d be willing to bet there were a lot of unreturned calls from whoever is running Cruz’s single-wagon (with three wheels) circus. And just so there’s no confusion: I utterly despise Rice, but I suspect she’s far more popular with R’s than florin

    eta: so the Jeb! troll is back?

    ETA,A: I just saw the singing everyone’s been talking about… they deserve each other

  173. 173.

    Matt Rogers

    April 27, 2016 at 9:12 pm

    Jump on board and strike up the band!

    It ain’t over yet!

  174. 174.

    schrodinger's cat

    April 27, 2016 at 9:13 pm

    @Roger Moore: Plus the Cold War was a hot war in places other than Europe.

  175. 175.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 9:15 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:

    but jokes aside, Europe was constantly at war for centuries, including triggering 2 World Wars within 21 years. But since FDR ordered construction of the Bomb, there have been no more wars. The Bomb is a horrible weapon. But I think we take for granted the long held peace in europe, ending centuries of intractable warring nations.

    While I agree with your overall point, it’s only because of the bi(maybe tri)- power nature of the Cold War. If every nation had nukes, they’re going to launch. I’ll be surprised if someone doesn’t launch/detonate one in the next 25 years.

    It’s a scary future. Especially when you can look back fondly on the Cold War.

  176. 176.

    Mike J

    April 27, 2016 at 9:16 pm

    @redshirt: I liked it a lot, more than many Stephenson fans I know did.

  177. 177.

    Roger Moore

    April 27, 2016 at 9:16 pm

    @joel hanes:
    What I like best about The Baroque Cycle is that it has the quality I like best in historical fiction: it’s hard to know where the history leaves off and where the fiction picks up. For example, both Caroline of Ansbach and Nicolas Fatio de Duillier are historical but seem more like something the author made up. Reading the books encouraged me to learn a lot more about the actual history behind them.

  178. 178.

    Matt Rogers

    April 27, 2016 at 9:18 pm

    Such a bold choice and it should get the establishment off the sidelines.

    All the stops have been pulled out.

    Shovel in a lil’ more coal! Stoke the fires in the boiler! Full steam ahead! To Cleveland!

  179. 179.

    Kropadope

    April 27, 2016 at 9:20 pm

    @Roger Moore:I enjoyed the “Discovery of Witches” series a lot for the same reasons.

  180. 180.

    phein39

    April 27, 2016 at 9:23 pm

    @Baud:

    First principles, Clarice.

    What is the nature of the thing? It is a woman.
    Who is Donald Trump going to be insulting until the Convention? A woman.
    Whose votes can Cruz get during the primaries to make it to the Convention? Republican women. No voting bloc turns out more reliably than Republican women.
    And now, for every stupid thing Trump says about women — can you count to a gazillion? — Cruz gets to use it against He, Trump, with Republican women in the primary.

    I’d say Cruz is making the most of his opportunities, such as they are.

  181. 181.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 27, 2016 at 9:34 pm

    @Matt Rogers: Oh darn, for a while, I thought we had a new troll. Not a good one,but at least a new one. But no, it’s just you.

  182. 182.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 27, 2016 at 9:38 pm

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    Well, I remarked on the weirdness of having a Florida flag at a political event in Indianapolis at all.

    Edit: at #128

  183. 183.

    Matt Rogers

    April 27, 2016 at 9:39 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Don’t know what you’re talking about, but the biggest reason I’m happy Cruz has new momentum is because he’s the only candidate left in the race talking seriously about the 800 pound gorilla in the room: entitlement reform.

  184. 184.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 9:41 pm

    @Matt Rogers: LOL.

    Something to think about, I suppose.

  185. 185.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 9:43 pm

    @Mike J: It was one my favorite novel reading experiences because I was on vacation and at first, I was just WTF with the book, but about 100 pages in and then I couldn’t stop reading.

    Heck, talking about it right now makes me want to read it again. Fraa Jad would be happy.

  186. 186.

    LeonS

    April 27, 2016 at 9:43 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: Eventually…

  187. 187.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 9:45 pm

    @Matt Rogers: Hmm. Here’s an idea: If we kick all the Republicans out of government, I bet we can all have great pensions. And healthcare. And infrastructure.

    Something to think about.

  188. 188.

    Matt Rogers

    April 27, 2016 at 9:49 pm

    @redshirt:

    Wishful thinking on your part–even taxing “the one percent” at 100 percent wouldn’t even begin to make a dent in the national debt.

  189. 189.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 9:50 pm

    @Matt Rogers: OH NO! The debt!

    Can we get a new thread?

  190. 190.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 9:54 pm

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    Nobody remarked on the reversed Great Seal on the Florida flag yet?

    I think SiubhanDuinne, (former) Mob Enforcer made mention of it.

  191. 191.

    Chyron HR

    April 27, 2016 at 9:55 pm

    @Matt Rogers:

    You forgot “the hedge fund boys” and “los hermanos cubanos”.

  192. 192.

    Dr.McCoy

    April 27, 2016 at 9:56 pm

    @redshirt: –Bet Not!
    Bourdain is right, “Stooges- Funhouse” is awesome, one of the best evah.

  193. 193.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 9:57 pm

    @Matt Rogers:

    Such a bold choice and it should get the establishment off the sidelines.
    All the stops have been pulled out.

    Well, if it ain’t our old “pal,” RacistToRant. Or perhaps it’s just someone pretending to be RacistToRant.

    Still a clueless SOB, good to know some things never change.

    ETA: Just something to think about.

  194. 194.

    John D.

    April 27, 2016 at 9:58 pm

    @joel hanes: Wow, you are a better reader than I.

    I *loved* Cryptonomicon and was so excited for The Baroque Cycle, but good God, did I ever bounce hard off of Quicksilver. I wanted to love it. I tried to love it. I gave up at 80%. Just couldn’t finish.

    I’ve at least liked pretty much everything else he’s written — but in general his books have the same problem. Amazing 90% to start, awful 10% to finish. Seveneves at least changed it up by moving the suckage to 66%.

  195. 195.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 9:59 pm

    @SFAW: Not the same troll.

  196. 196.

    The Lodger

    April 27, 2016 at 9:59 pm

    @Matt Rogers: Actually, if you’re using 2007 figures, the numbers do lie. Bush took a lot of Iraq-related expenses off the books, and the numbers looked hellacious for a couple of years as Obama straightened out the accounting.

  197. 197.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 10:00 pm

    @redshirt:

    If we kick all the Republicans out of government

    Excellent idea, but a question re: implementation: do we get to charge them all with treason? I hope so.

  198. 198.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    April 27, 2016 at 10:02 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Whoops. :-)

    Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Scott.
    (Who also needs to read the replies before posting.)

  199. 199.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 10:02 pm

    @SFAW: I’m sure once Bernie’s Revolution unfolds they’ll all get voted out of office.

    That, or a meteor.

  200. 200.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 27, 2016 at 10:03 pm

    @redshirt: I disagree. It’s RtR.

  201. 201.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 10:03 pm

    @redshirt:

    Not the same troll

    Not necessarily disagreeing, but on what do you base that? Because the writing style is pretty close. Maybe he’s just riffing on RTR, but …

    His NOT being RTR — if true — does not decrease his moronitude, of course

  202. 202.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 10:05 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Nope. Totally different style. I also recall someone yesterday saying the same user name used to post at LGF.

    I’m not even sure he’s a troll. He might be sincere.

  203. 203.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 10:07 pm

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    (Who also needs to read the replies before posting.)

    Don’t be silly. Listen, if Cole can bigfoot any of the FPers because he hasn’t read his own FP, then you are certainly given dispensation to miss a single comment in a 200-comment thread.

    Once.

  204. 204.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 10:07 pm

    @SFAW: RtR was all about supporting a candidate bombastically. He never talked any issues that weren’t related to the candidate he was pimping.

    VICTORY! BRINKS TRUCKS! ETC.

    Totally different fingerprint. Trust me, I’m an expert.

  205. 205.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 27, 2016 at 10:07 pm

    @redshirt:

    Such a bold choice and it should get the establishment off the sidelines.

    All the stops have been pulled out.

    Shovel in a lil’ more coal! Stoke the fires in the boiler! Full steam ahead! To Cleveland!

    That’s RtR. Dude tried faking it for a while, but…

  206. 206.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 10:09 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Good point here. Still don’t think you’re right, but I’m tracking.

  207. 207.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 10:12 pm

    @redshirt:

    Totally different style.

    Different content, maybe, but the style is not that different. (For example, the cut-and-paste I did at #200.) Once he gets off his debt hobby horse, he’ll revert to form. He’d like the Salieri (or was it Vivaldi? IDFK) of blogging.

  208. 208.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 27, 2016 at 10:14 pm

    @SFAW: Step the fuck off with the Vivaldi hate.

  209. 209.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 10:14 pm

    @SFAW: LOL.

    VICTORY!

    Did RtR ever jump on the Trump train after his Jeb! washed out? Or did he move on the Cruz?

  210. 210.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 10:15 pm

    @redshirt:

    Trust me, I’m an expert.

    Yeah, yeah, right, whatever. Who are we going to believe — you, or our lying eyes?

  211. 211.

    Jean

    April 27, 2016 at 10:15 pm

    If Cruz can pick a VEEP, I guess we all can. Will there be any left for the actual winners to choose?

  212. 212.

    CaseyL

    April 27, 2016 at 10:19 pm

    I’m trying, with no success whatsoever, to imagine what constituency Cruz thought naming Fiorina would attract. Near as I can tell, she’s as roundly despised in the corporate world as he is in the political world.

    Is that what he’s after? Finding someone even more hated than he is?…They used to call that “assassination insurance,” but you need to get elected first.

    I just can’t imagine anyone who is more inclined to vote for Cruz now. Nor do I see how this helps him in the event of a multi-ballot convention.

    It’s a complete LOLWUT.

  213. 213.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 27, 2016 at 10:21 pm

    @CaseyL: He got RtR’s heart.

  214. 214.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 27, 2016 at 10:23 pm

    @Matt Rogers: The derp is still strong with UNLIMITED CORPORATE CASH!

  215. 215.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 10:23 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    As I said, I don’t know if it was Vivaldi or Salieri about whom the comment was made that “He wrote 500 compositions” “No, he wrote the same piece 500 times.”

    I have no hate for Vivaldi, I can take him or leave him.

  216. 216.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 10:27 pm

    But perhaps the most important news of tonight: Mets win, Nats lose. And the Mets only got one of their runs on a homer — things are looking up. (Of course, it was the Reds, so it’s not as if they smoked the Cubbies.)

  217. 217.

    Miss Bianca

    April 27, 2016 at 10:29 pm

    @SFAW:’Tis Salieri you’re thinking of. Vivaldi is an awesome composer in his own right.

  218. 218.

    dexwood

    April 27, 2016 at 10:32 pm

    Mr . Haney and Cruella.

  219. 219.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 27, 2016 at 10:33 pm

    @SFAW: Alright then. ::side eye::

  220. 220.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 10:33 pm

    @SFAW: Meh. National League.

  221. 221.

    Miss Bianca

    April 27, 2016 at 10:38 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Are you planning to watch Pandora’s Box? I hear it is on TCM tonight.

  222. 222.

    debbie

    April 27, 2016 at 10:39 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    Isn’t he? I love all the joy in his music!

  223. 223.

    debbie

    April 27, 2016 at 10:41 pm

    @redshirt:

    I’m no expert, but I think so many exclamation points are the giveaway.

  224. 224.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 10:43 pm

    @Miss Bianca:

    Tis Salieri you’re thinking of. Vivaldi is an awesome composer in his own right.

    Thanks. I wonder if I should let Omnes know.

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    ::side eye::

    DON’T give me that look, young man! Or it’ll be NO Packers for you for a year!

  225. 225.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 27, 2016 at 10:43 pm

    @Miss Bianca: It is over. I watched it. “Diary of a Lost Girl” just started. It is also a Pabst movie starring Brooks.

  226. 226.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 10:43 pm

    @redshirt:

    Meh. National League.

    Figures

  227. 227.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 10:46 pm

    @SFAW: If Boston had an NL team that wasn’t the Braves, maybe I’d care more.

  228. 228.

    Amir Khalid

    April 27, 2016 at 10:46 pm

    I was very wrong. I thought Ted’s big announcement would be about the end of his failed arrangement with Kasich. In other words, I made the mistake of assuming Ted Cruz would do something sensible.

    As it is, he has picked a running mate at a time when it looks less and less likely that he will be the Republican presidential nominee. His running mate, if she ever gets to be that, was a spectacularly bad CEO and got fired for it. Then she became a spectacularly bad politician, who lost a Senate race and then a presidential primary. Ted Cruz’s political judgement doesn’t look very good to me.

  229. 229.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 10:47 pm

    @debbie: Omnes quote is fairly convincing. I never saw it before. I’ve only been reading his serious posts about that looming 800 pound ape in the room, Entitlement Reform.

  230. 230.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 27, 2016 at 10:51 pm

    @Amir Khalid: I feel rather strongly that you are understating the fuck out of things here, old bean.

  231. 231.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 10:56 pm

    @Amir Khalid: See, you’re using logic and common sense. That doesn’t work for Republicans. Follow the “up=down” model and you can see how this was a genius move by Cruz.

  232. 232.

    debbie

    April 27, 2016 at 11:00 pm

    @Amir Khalid:

    There’s been a split in RWNJ Land between Trump supporters and Cruz supporters. Trump fans say the country needs the expertise of a businessman. When I heard the announcement, I figured Cruz was trying to shore up this perceived weakness.

  233. 233.

    J R in WV

    April 27, 2016 at 11:02 pm

    I didn’t much care for seveneves, although the title is kinda cute. I have liked most of the rest of Stephenson’s work.

    Bujold’s Miles cycle is great, I didn’t care for her fantasy much. The Ancillary series was pretty good, not Hugo unless nothing else good is out there.

    I don’t play the Hugo/Con games, never cared about prizes except as a guide to what to read next, and conventions about fiction seem pointless, it is after all, fiction. That’s just me. I’m not dissing anyone who likes to work on the Hugo award program, or attend the cons – enjoy, have a good time. I go to local parties with old time mountain music and home-made beer, to each his own.

  234. 234.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 11:04 pm

    @redshirt:

    Omnes quote is fairly convincing. I never saw it before.

    Yeah, it completely slipped by me, too.

    Good thing I trust you, ’cause you’re an expert.

    Who apparently ignores the fucking comment to which you’re replying.

  235. 235.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 27, 2016 at 11:09 pm

    @SFAW: People miss things. Let’s all be cool to one another and, if feeling vitriolic, pour scorn on the troll.

  236. 236.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 11:11 pm

    @SFAW: I stand by my poorly sourced statements.

    Something to think about.

    Also, is this thread behaving wonky for anyone else? Like your links don’t actually go to the post you’re intending, but go there briefly and then roll up like 15 posts?

  237. 237.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 11:13 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Thanks friend!

  238. 238.

    Ninedragonspot

    April 27, 2016 at 11:15 pm

    @SFAW: It was Stravinsky, I believe, who said that Vivaldi wrote the same concerto 500 times. Stravinsky’s amanuensis, Robert Craft, later opined that Vivaldi wrote 500 different concertos and failed at all of them.

    That was a different time, though, when LPs were new and the market for “easy listening” classical music was flooded with Vivaldi. The approach to manufacture and consumption was pretty “cookie-cutter”. Nowadays, it’s easier for musicians and audiences to appreciate the quirks and ingenuity of each individual work. Vivaldi’s operas are becoming part of the standard repertoire. His reputation, for now, is pretty secure.

  239. 239.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 27, 2016 at 11:19 pm

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    Some things are worth multiple comments by multitudinous commenters.

  240. 240.

    Ninedragonspot

    April 27, 2016 at 11:23 pm

    @Miss Bianca: I’m not sure that Salieri wrote even 200 works. His fame rested principally on his operas, large-scale works largely along the lines of Gassmann and Glück, which would have been more labor-intensive than a single concerto.

  241. 241.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 11:23 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I understand about people missing things. I just get slightly peeved when I provide the “evidence” in my original comment, get told I’m wrong, then the same quote shows up 10 minutes later from someone else, and suddenly it’s all “Gee, that never occurred to me!”

    Especially after the “Trust me, I’m an expert.” thing.

    OK, so apparently I’m a little more than “slightly peeved.” I’ll try to grow up (fat chance!) in the next 30 seconds, and get back to my project, etc.

  242. 242.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 11:25 pm

    @redshirt:

    Also, is this thread behaving wonky for anyone else? Like your links don’t actually go to the post you’re intending, but go there briefly and then roll up like 15 posts?

    It’s been doing that for me for a while. I try to kill the refresh activity when I get the first jump — sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

  243. 243.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 27, 2016 at 11:27 pm

    @SFAW: A fair point. I think the thing between you and redshirt is probably based on weird AFC stuff. Jets vs Pats and shit… So I’ll just step aside.

  244. 244.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 11:30 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: The Jets suck.

  245. 245.

    joel hanes

    April 27, 2016 at 11:32 pm

    @John D.:

    Wow, you are a better different reader than I.

    FTFY HAND

    I myself am incapable of enjoying PK Dick’s prose. I have always regarded that as a defect in my own character, and thus seldom mention it.

  246. 246.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 11:32 pm

    @SFAW: I apologize for any insult.

    I still don’t think it’s RtR, and if it is, then I give him full props for changing up his game. That’s hard for a troll who hitherto has recycled the exact same character since at least 2012.

  247. 247.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 11:35 pm

    @redshirt:

    The Jets suck.

    Not totally. Getting rid of Idzik helped (I hope). I also don’t have a lot of love for Ryan Fitzpatrick or Geno Smith. But they’re not the Pats, that’s for sure.

    Yeah, I realize you probably weren’t talking about their W-L.

  248. 248.

    SFAW

    April 27, 2016 at 11:36 pm

    @redshirt:

    I apologize for any insult.

    Likewise for my excessive response.

  249. 249.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 11:39 pm

    @SFAW: Yeah, they’re already way, way better under Bowles then that clown Ryan. Great offense too. They’ll be contending this year if the QB position can hold.

  250. 250.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 11:40 pm

    @SFAW: I thought you were joking. I’m pretty much always joking. We cool.

  251. 251.

    joel hanes

    April 27, 2016 at 11:44 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    Reading the books encouraged me to learn a lot more about the actual history behind them.

    Exactly.

    Like Dorothy Dunnett’s books in that way,
    though lacking Dunnett’s depth of characterization
    and indirection and irony.

    I did laugh out loud on page 123 of Anathem.

  252. 252.

    redshirt

    April 27, 2016 at 11:47 pm

    @joel hanes:

    I did laugh out loud on page 123 of Anathem.

    What was it?

  253. 253.

    Joe Miller

    April 28, 2016 at 12:28 am

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA: Whew! Glad I saw that comma between baking and babies.

  254. 254.

    Miss Bianca

    April 28, 2016 at 12:55 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: Have seen both, but not since college.

  255. 255.

    Miss Bianca

    April 28, 2016 at 1:00 am

    @Ninedragonspot: I wouldn’t know. Don’t know anything about the guy except that someone wrote a play about him.

  256. 256.

    sukabi

    April 28, 2016 at 1:34 am

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: right, just like there are less shootings with more guns…..

  257. 257.

    joel hanes

    April 28, 2016 at 2:57 am

    @redshirt:

    A surprise I did not see coming. At all.
    After 122 pages of world-building and exposition.

  258. 258.

    redshirt

    April 28, 2016 at 3:09 am

    @joel hanes: I don’t have the book with me; what was it?

  259. 259.

    Bjacques

    April 28, 2016 at 3:40 am

    Just thinking ahead to California, there must be a lot of Republican ex-HP employees still working in Silicon Valley. They would have a great opportunity to take revenge in the primary by turning up to “fire” Carly in the ballot box, thus crushing her dreams of national office once and for all.

    That Borowitz Report linked to upthread was OK, but the picture with it is priceless.

  260. 260.

    JosieJ (not Josie)

    April 28, 2016 at 6:00 am

    Great. Two smarmy liars for the price of one. Just what we needed.

  261. 261.

    Uncle Cosmo

    April 28, 2016 at 7:30 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: @redshirt:

    I think the thing between you and redshirt is probably based on weird AFC stuff. Jets vs Pats and shit…

    Make that “weird AFC East stuff.” In the AFC North, aka Black & Blue Division, we have our own weird shit–much more smashmouth & earthy. Don’t lump us in with those Eastern cheats & deadbeats!

  262. 262.

    joel hanes

    April 28, 2016 at 10:48 am

    @redshirt:

    Not willing to post important spoiler. Sorry.

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