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“But what about the lurkers?”

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

The revolution will be supervised.

He really is that stupid.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

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Tick tock motherfuckers!

You are here: Home / Politics / Politicans / Cruz-ifiction / Open Thread: Cruz + Fiorina = There Is No Such Thing As Equality Within Today’s GOP

Open Thread: Cruz + Fiorina = There Is No Such Thing As Equality Within Today’s GOP

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cruz fiorina hastert luckovich

(Mike Luckovich via GoComics.com)
.

So the analysts have spoken, and boy are they not impressed. Ed Kilgore, at NYMag, “Cruz Names Fiorina As Veep Pick — Smooth Move or Last Gasp?”:

… The only other time a presidential candidate has announced a running mate before winning the nomination was famously in 1976, when Ronald Reagan announced Pennsylvania senator Richard Schweiker as his veep choice before the Republican Convention in Kansas City. That, however, was three weeks prior to the August convention, not in April…

…[I]t’s not clear that Fiorina (who endorsed Cruz some time ago) will help him much in her “home state” of California. In her one political race prior to 2016, she lost to Barbara Boxer by ten points in the wildly pro-Republican year of 2010, though she did win the GOP nomination handily over mispositioned centrist U.S. representative Tom Campbell and conservative firebrand Chuck DeVore (Campbell was the target of the famous “demon sheep” ad crafted for Fiorina by consultant Fred Davis, who is now on John Kasich’s team). She immediately moved away from the scene of the political accident, relocating to a gated community in a suburb of that well-known entrepreneur’s paradise, Washington, D.C…

Simon Maloy, at Salon, “The way Ted Cruz made the “solemn choice” of picking a running mate reveals how awful a president he would be”:

… “When you run for president,” Cruz told the crowd, “one of the most solemn choices you make is the choice of selecting a vice presidential candidate.” It requires trust, Cruz said, and “any responsible candidate for president would have spent much time assessing possible candidates, thinking through the pros and cons, studying who these people are.” Cruz’s campaign reportedly initiated its vice presidential search two weeks ago. We learned only on Tuesday that Fiorina had submitted tax returns to the campaign for scrutiny. By contrast, Mitt Romney spent three months putting a number of potential candidates through an exhaustive screening process before selecting Paul Ryan as his running mate. In 2008, Barack Obama launched his VP search in May and ended up selecting Joe Biden in late August after an intense two-month vetting process. It fractures credulity for Cruz to argue that he arrived at this decision after having considered all the options and conducted all the proper inquiries…

One of the chief knocks against Cruz is that he’s bloodless in his ambition and willing to do anything to secure his own political fortune. Picking a vice presidential nominee three months before the nominating convention and the day after he received a thorough drubbing that mathematically eliminated him from securing a delegate majority does a nice job of confirming that criticism.

Jim Newell, at Slate, with the most reasonable guess — “Carly Fiorina is Trump bait”:

… If the Cruz campaign is lucky, the Fiorina selection will provoke Trump into saying or doing something egregiously sexist before May 3. For Trump, the only thing standing between him and the nomination may be his ability to avoid that simple trap. Will he be able to do it?… Fiorina enjoys going after Trump, and she will try her hardest to get Trump to break through whatever paper-thin filter Paul Manafort has worked tirelessly to install.

Will it work? So far Trump has shown surprising restraint in responding to the announcement. “I think it’s really a waste of time, honestly,” he told Fox News on Wednesday night about the Cruz campaign’s rollout. Even Trump sees this move as too desperate to require the usual string of insults—for now. His mind could change. The bars are always set so low for Trump to prove his “presidential” qualities. Can he make it through next Tuesday without calling Carly Fiorina ugly? is this week’s painfully, embarrassingly low bar.

Jeet Heer, at TNR, “Cruz and Fiorina’s Faux Feminism”:

… To some degree, Fiorina is playing the same game that Sarah Palin did as John McCain’s running mate in 2008: trying to be a gender pioneer while also assuaging the worries of social conservatives. But this curious mixture of feminism and anti-feminism takes on a sharper edge in the age of Trump and Clinton. Fiorina and Cruz are trying to separate themselves from both the toxic masculinity of Trump and the embrace of liberal feminism by Clinton. Part of the political problem they might face is that no such middle ground exists. With Trump and Clinton offering starkly competing gender politics, there’s no longer a constituency for the “she’s strong, but she’s a lady” compromise offered by Cruz and Fiorina. Indeed, it might be that there was never much of a market for such a clearly conflicted position to begin with.

Of course I’m sure Cruz will treat Fiorina with all the respect he shows the other women in his life, lest he damage his own image…

Reader Interactions

177Comments

  3. 3.

    Major Major Major Major

    1. I put up the last chapter for Part 2 of Die Geschichte Des Fisches:

    “Mordecai!”

    Kat was crawling through one of the many dark, quiet, and very possibly plot-relevant service corridors that crisscrossed the Razorfish. She pressed one hand against a bulkhead to steady herself. It was warm to the touch, and the ground was slick with condensation. She must be near the engine room. Here the corridor narrowed, and she got on her hands and knees, putting her flashlight between her teeth.

    “Heewuh, ki-eee ki-eee,” she muttered.

    Ahead she saw a flash of brown-and-white tail disappear around the bend.

    2. Kind of sad that the GOP didn’t get their act together soon enough to steal the nom from Trump.

  4. 4.

    burnspbesq

    Bunch of interesting new music streaming this week in the “First Listen” part of npr.org. Currently listening to the new Mary Chapin Carpenter album, and liking it a lot.

  5. 5.

    Corner Stone

    I’m still not sure why Bill O’Brien got the title of QB whisperer. And why do these idiots keep trying to sell the idea of a young QB sitting behind a starting QB and “learning”? You think Peyton ever taught anyone anything? Brady? Favre? Montana?
    Nope.

  6. 6.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I think the Trump bait theory is the most interesting and he doesn’t seem to be taking it

    i saw him today talking about how weird it was when the Cruzes just kept on waving when she fell

    also, Hayes had a really interesting segment (albeit too brief and he let his guests go spinning off into generalities about the campaign) about how Dems are starting to feel optimistic about the Senate. Obama is giving local TV interviews in Phoenix, Des Moines, Milwaukee and New Hampshire tonight, a couple other places too.
    God I would love to see McCain go down. If I were Fitzpatrick, I’d be trying to McCaskill/Aiken on him, run ads showing his flip-flopping on immigration, from “build the dang fence” to “pass the dang bill”

  7. 7.

    Corner Stone

    “You mean pay him back?” {laughter}
    No, privileged rich white girl. That’s not what the F I mean.

  9. 9.

    Anya

    Is anyone watching “We Got Him” on CNN? I am not big on the war stuff or all that patriotic rah-rah-rah stuff, but this special should make anyone who thinks Trump is a suitable commander in chief think twice.

  12. 12.

    burnspbesq

    In other news, Berniacs continue to think things that are demonstrably not true. And reject arithmetic as we know it. Euclid was just another corporatist whore.

  14. 14.

    Iowa Old Lady

    I heard Cruz on the car radio giving that “solemn decision” crap. I HATE the way he pauses as if he’s saying something deeply, deeply important and we’re all waiting, hanging on his every word.

  15. 15.

    msdc

    If it’s any consolation, I think Cruz’s rigorous two-week selection process beat John McCain’s by about twelve days.

  16. 16.

    Baud

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    When you run
    .
    .
    for president,
    .
    .
    .
    one of the most solemn choices you make
    .

    .
    .
    is the choice of selecting

    .
    .
    .
    a vice
    .
    .
    .
    .presidential candidate.

  21. 21.

    Mandarama

    @burnspbesq:

    Currently listening to the new Mary Chapin Carpenter album, and liking it a lot.

    Heading for this as fast as possible. Thanks!

  24. 24.

    Mnemosyne

    Will probably be reading a research book tonight: Mistress of the House: Great Ladies and Grand Houses 1670-1830 by Rosemary Baird. Still having trouble getting into the American history side, for some reason, though I have finally figured out that the narrowing term I’m looking for is “Federal Period,” which is very roughly 1789 to 1830.

  25. 25.

    Corner Stone

    That clip of Cruz walking over to self-identified Trump supporters…mother of God, who told him that was a good idea? That one Trump heckler/bully fucking destroyed “Debate King” Cruz over and over and over again.

  26. 26.

    AkaDad

    Q: What inanimate object will Clint Eastwood speak to this year at the GOP convention?

    A: Ben Carson

  27. 27.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Corner Stone: Being able to debate well or argue well in an appellate court does not necessarily translate into handling hecklers well.

  38. 38.

    burnspbesq

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Euclid’s Elements also codified a lot of prior work in number theory. Hence efg’s question about whether the number of superdelegates is prime.

  40. 40.

    PsiFighter37

    Finally got around to watching Nerd Prom. Wilmore did a great job – not the best delivery, but he made everyone else squirm. PBO was laughing his ass off for a good portion of it.

    PBO, of course, did a great job. Going to miss him when he leaves in 8 months.

  42. 42.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @PsiFighter37: looking forward to the Wilmore show tonight, and Sam Bee

    eta: Im an Obot’s Obot but I’m a little surprised the internet seems to be quiet on the little old lady voice Obama seemed to want to use to talk about HRC using the internet. Made me cringe a little

  43. 43.

    Emma

    Guys, come on. Back off the Bernie contingent for a while? They’re idolaters and they found their idol. You have to reach our age and experience to arrive at the state of engaged cynicism.

  44. 44.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @PsiFighter37: I was not impressed by Wilmore’s performance. OTOH, I read the transcript and it was viciously funny. His delivery didn’t work for me. Obama’s performance was flawless.

  45. 45.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I really want McCain to go down especially since Obama is in his no fucks stage but her name is Ann Kirkpatrick not Fitzpatrick. I do think hes scared because he did a hearing in Phoenix about some Native American water issue and hes only doing it because Kirkpatrick,a Caucasian woman, speaks conversational Navajo and has kept her mostly rural seat partly because shes popular on the reservations.

  47. 47.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    @Corner Stone: Aaron Rodgers. Steve Young. Tony Romo. Joe Thiesmann. Philip Rivers. Steve McNair. Kenny Stabler. Randall Cunningham. Roger Staubach. Joe Montana.

    There are plenty of very good to great quarterbacks that started out spending a couple of years behind someone else on depth chart and learning. That number expands greatly if you lower the threshold to one year as a backup.

  48. 48.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Emma: The Bernie Bros on this blog who are still fighting have mostly self-identified as being older than me. I am 51.

  49. 49.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Omnes Omnibus: putting on my critic’s hat, he should have started with his ‘is he still black?’ bit, and tightened up the whole thing. But he didn’t ask me. Actually no one did.

    i wonder if there were meetings at CNN today. “Does everybody really hate us?”

    @Mai.naem.mobile: huh, I actually changed it from Fitzgerald. so I got closer. I’ll get it right when I send her my game changing $25

  52. 52.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Corner Stone: What Rodgers did by sitting was master the system. Also, he was willing to stay after practice and work with any receiver or back who want to get better at some element of the game. When he got to start, he had the trust and confidence of his players.

  57. 57.

    Aleta

    I’m worried now that a bitter fight for the nomination will not roil the Republican convention.

  59. 59.

    NotMax

    @Ryan

    Senator (and former Rep) from Pennsylvania. In the moderate Rockefeller wing of the party. Named Secretary of HHS by Reagan in the 80s.

  61. 61.

    Origuy

    @Mnemosyne: You were asking about Scotland in the early 1800s. Maybe a bio of Sir Walter Scott? He is largely responsible for what we think of as “Scottishness”, as a result of being the manager for George IV’s visit in 1822. He got everyone to dress in kilts and listen to bagpipes, even though most of them were Lowlanders.

  62. 62.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Major Major Major Major: The last one of those guys died about three years ago. Tough old Soldier.

    ETA: I’m referring to the last of the Japanese Soldiers and Marines that had hid out in caves to continue fighting because news the war had ended didn’t reach them and when it finally did they didn’t believe it. Not supporters of Senator Sanders. As far as I know they are all alive and well.

  65. 65.

    Adam L Silverman

    @schrodinger’s cat: OT: Did you see my answer to your question from earlier today? I saw your question about 90 minutes or so after you asked it, but wanted to make sure you knew I answered it – even if it was belatedly.

  66. 66.

    Origuy

    @Adam L Silverman: My dad was in the Corps of Engineers during Korea. His first tour of duty was in Okinawa. They were always watching out for those guys. As far as I know, none were on Okinawa.

  67. 67.

    Mike J

    @Emma: Anna Marie Cox reported from a Bernie rally:

    Ana Marie Cox Verified account @anamariecox
    And now they’re cheering the promise to “end racism and bigotry”! I’ve really overestimated sophistication of both Sanders and fans.

  69. 69.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: Do you think the flat performance is that he expecting more responsiveness, even if it was negative responsiveness, than he got from the audience. It was clear he got to them, but it was like they went right into shell shock. There were groans and boos, but not too many.

  71. 71.

    chopper

    One of the chief knocks against Cruz is that he’s bloodless in his ambition

    that’s right. all smothering.

  72. 72.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Origuy: Doesn’t surprise me. The Okinawans, as I’m sure you’re aware, weren’t very fond of the rest of the Japanese then. They’ve still got issues with them today. My guess if they’d come across any they would have at least turned them in if not done worse.

  74. 74.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Adam L Silverman: Good question. I really don’t know the answer. OTOH, he should have seen the reaction to Colbert’s 2011 2006 (I think?) performance.

    Edit: Thank you, sdhays.

  78. 78.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: True regarding paying attention to how Colbert was received. When I’ve watched his show I’ve found him to be a good interviewer and that his presentation, especially of humor, is sort of a deadpan/I can’t believe I have to point any of this out combination. So this was, perhaps, not the best venue for it. That said I do think the real audience for his remarks weren’t the people in the room, but everyone watching it on TV and online.

  80. 80.

    Emma

    @Mike J: Ayiyiyi. Sometimes I envy them, getting high on their political ideals. Then I run a quick scan through history. Oops.

  81. 81.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman: I’m trying to remember the interview Wilmore did with Marc Maron, but I don’t think he did a lot of stand-up, he was more an actor/writer

  82. 82.

    NotMax

    Open Thread?

    End of a long, long era.

    Sadly, all good things must come to an end at some point. Last week, Frito-Lay announced it’s getting rid of the physical prize found inside every box of Cracker Jack and replacing it with a virtual “Prize Inside” that consumers can access on their smartphones.
    [snip]
    That’s not the only thing about Cracker Jack that’s changing this year. The company also announced it’s redesigning the logo and packaging. The new look will debut in stores this month to coincide with the first couple months of the baseball season. Source

  83. 83.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Adam L Silverman: I was following the WHCD on twitter while I was watching. Black Twitter was going nuts for it. I am a middle aged white dude. I concluded that that I missed things in the delivery that other people caught. I stand by that conclusion.

  84. 84.

    PurpleGirl

    Sort of OT:

    Mnemosyne: Watching Castle, Castle and Beckett are talking about their date night. Castle says something about buying tickets for… Hamilton. I didn’t get the whole line (sorry) but I caught the reference.

  87. 87.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus: Damn it. You are really, really making me wish I had cable. Almost.

    Also, too…when did the WHCD become such a litmus test for edgy speak-truth-to-power comedy? Has it always been that way? Before Colbert’s performance, I never noticed it before.

  89. 89.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: I watched it and while I’m pretty sure I got it, I’m also pretty sure there was some additional nuance I missed. But what I’m sure of is that he slid the knife in over and over and over and every time he hit a vital organ.

  90. 90.

    Keith P.

    Continuing on with the “How the hell to Republicans hate Cruz so much” topic I was on earlier, I watched him go face-to-face with some (typical-looking) Trump supporter. No matter how insulting or juvenile the Trump supporter was, Cruz was respectful, on-topic, and substantive (the guy agreed that Cruz is a liar because he called Mike Tyson a rapist). He was cool under the situation, and I was generally just very impressed with him.
    Don’t get me wrong, his policies are awful, I agree with almost nothing he believes in (maybe he still likes titty films) and would not vote for him under any circumstance, but at least he honors the damn office with his behavior. I look at him and think “At least he would *act* presidential and treat the role with dignity.” Just baffled how his own party hates him so much (at least the anti-establishment wing)

  92. 92.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @AkaDad:

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: “God I would love to see McCain go down”

    Like Carly at a campaign event.

    “Down, down to hell;
    And say I sent thee thither.”

    William Shakespeare, 3 Henry VI

  95. 95.

    Miss Bianca

    @efgoldman: How do *you* know? ; )

    ETA: Never mind, You’ve answered the question to your own satisfaction, evidently.

  98. 98.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman: hear, Maron does a podcast that mostly focuses on comedians, but he also talked to Obama. And Keith Richards.

    @Miss Bianca: when did the WHCD become such a litmus test for edgy speak-truth-to-power comedy?
    I think Colbert, and then Obama, changed the game. I don’t remember any of them getting much press before then, except for Dubya’s oh-so-funny “I can’t find them WMDs” skit/video. Bubba always did a fair job at those things, as I recall, but the comedy pre-Colbert was pretty safe, middle of the road type stuff, Ray Romano and Jeff Foxworthy

  100. 100.

    NotMax

    @efgoldman

    Plus one could cut the box of Screaming Yellow Zonkers and tape it, flat, to the same wall where the psychedelic posters were.

    It looked really cool under a black light.

    @Miss Bianca

    Rumor mill sez Baud will choose a running mate by lottery, using the proceeds from ticket sales to retire campaign debt,

    Or to retire. I forget which.

    ;)

  102. 102.

    Miss Bianca

    @PsiFighter37: I maintain and protest, that PBO has the chops to be a killer stand-up comedian. Is there anything the man *can’t* do? Apparently, according to someone in this august forum, he’s not a good bowler. But that’s about it, from what I can tell.

    @Mike J: Snort/laugh. Cynical? Moi?

  104. 104.

    Corner Stone

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym: This is stupid. Yeah, they didn’t start right away. So what? There is zero evidence they actually “learned” a fucking thing from any of the QBs starting ahead of them on the depth chart.
    Peyton was infamous for giving zero fucking reps to anyone else on the QB chain.
    Anyone think Bledsoe helped Tom Brady? Steve Young had a fucking blood feud with Joe Montana. What did Favre teach Rodgers?
    Nope. There’s a difference from a QB maturing by being a smart talent and somehow having the #1 QB teach them anything.

  105. 105.

    Redshift

    I seem to be unable to quit Billmon, much like DougJ with Bobo. (In fairness, Billmon can still be good on any subject other than the Clintons or Bernie.)

    Even the Huffpost — about as in the tank for HRC as you can get…

    I’m guessing he hasn’t actually read HuffPo in the last few months.

  107. 107.

    Corner Stone

    @Omnes Omnibus: Rodgers worked his ass off but he didn’t get a GD thing from Favre. That’s my point. Favre didn’t teach him anything, Rodgers matured outside any mentor relationship.

  109. 109.

    Corner Stone

    @Redshift:

    In fairness, Billmon can still be good on any subject other than the Clintons or Bernie

    He’s still fairly good on economics or modern media.
    But he is completely off his fucking rocker when it comes to this D primary election zone.

  111. 111.

    Anya

    @Keith P.: I agree with you. I watched a bit of CNN and they seem to be making it seem as though Cruz lost a debate. I don’t know why I expected CNN to act responsibily but I was shocked at how they treated the confrontation. The Trump fan was rude, obnoxious and juvenile. Cruz was telling the truth about Trump while being respectful but he miss calculated. The GOP made that asshole. They created him with their disrespect for the office and their boorish behavior towards the president. They deserve what happened to their party. I just wish they weren’t taking the whole country down with them.

  113. 113.

    Miss Bianca

    @Omnes Omnibus: No more am I. However, in other world headlines, I just found out from checking my email that I apparently meet the “minimum requirements” for the prison library job, and am being bumped upstairs. (“Can string two sentences together, is the heroine of her own life, and apparently, by her own confession, not a desperate drug addict.”) Yay?-ish?

    @Emma: ooh, sick bern! ; )

  114. 114.

    Corner Stone

    @Omnes Omnibus: Sorry, Martin kept telling me that Cruz was a master debater. And that was going to be the difference maker for him in this primary.

  115. 115.

    JMG

    @efgoldman: There’s an old joke about the Senate where a veteran tells a rookie that for six months he’ll wonder how he ever got there and after that he’d wonder how the other 99 ever got there. Cruz skipped the first step. On day one, he started telling the others they sucked. He’d be President Dean Wormer.

  117. 117.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: Was this application through USAJOBS? If so, having your app clear the Office of Professional Management scorers is a major accomplishment. They only refer a small number of the applicants to the hiring authority for further action.

  120. 120.

    Keith P.

    @efgoldman: But that many people hate Cruz because he took on Mitch Freakin’ McConnell and Boehner?!??? The entire House Freedom Caucus should be endorsing Cruz! The establishment hate I definitely get, but when I run into people who LOVE Trump but HATE Cruz, I’m just at a loss. One of my conversations was “How do not like Cruz? He checks all your boxes!” “I was drinking last night with the so-and-so’s husband, who was an advisor to Rubio, and he said he’d vote Hillary over Cruz.” That was as far as I got. Baffling.

  121. 121.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Miss Bianca: I was curious about who the previous comics at the WHCD were, and now I remember Al Franken got pretty sharp, and somewhat controversial back in the nineties.. And the year after Colbert they chose to recover with…. Rich Little, who wowed the audience by still being alive.

  122. 122.

    Adam L Silverman

    @efgoldman: There’s a Garrett’s adjacent to Madison Square Garden/Penn Station. When I’m in town for seminars at the dojo – on West 29th about three and 1/2 blocks from Penn Station, I have to be extra vigilant not to go in there.

  124. 124.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman: errr….Colorado State Government Jobs Post. I can haz biscuit, still? I promise, I followed your and Elie’s advice…

    @NotMax: LOL! Except he’s not saying that, it’s everyone around him.

  126. 126.

    Corner Stone

    “I’ll take you up to the front of the school.” Oh, and I will not really give a shit about your safety if it means I have a chance to embarrass you in front of your friends. Because I am an awesome dad.

  128. 128.

    eclare

    @Adam L Silverman: I thought he was very good in the original, British, The Office, but it was not a laugh out loud comedy. More of a cringe-worthy show because you recognize the imbecile, offensive boss, and the point the show is making. Sort of like Wilmore’s routine, I guess. Middle age white lady, sure there are parts I didn’t get either, and agree reading the transcript was better than watching.

  129. 129.

    NotMax

    @Adam L. Silverman

    Useless trivia:

    In the entirety of the underground Penn station complex there is one – count it, one – public drinking fountain.

    Hidden behind a column inside a waiting area.

  130. 130.

    Miss Bianca

    @Origuy: Heresy! Tartans? Spoken as a Lowlander/Border Reiver descendant.(altho’ my family does have one, which my father was ridiculously attached to. ; )

  132. 132.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman: : )

    thankee, sir. and I *will* take you up on that offer of the…GUN training, I believe you called it?

    @LAO: Do love Trader Joe’s. Not many of them in CO, because of our liquor laws (they have to have a separate building for the booze, and booze is where they make their money).

  133. 133.

    LAO

    @efgoldman: I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I would starve to death if I didn’t live 7 blocks from one. I get all my proteins, vegetables and junk there. I’m an uninspired cook, at best.

  134. 134.

    Adam L Silverman

    @NotMax: I think I’ve seen that water fountain. When I lived on LI for one year, I was in Penn Station three to four times a week going to and from the dojo.

  135. 135.

    PurpleGirl

    @NotMax: Boo-Hiss. There’s a scene in Breakfast at Tiffany’s where Holly and Paul go into Tiffany’s and end up having a Cracker Jack’s prize ring engraved. The counter man makes comments about the idea of Cracker Jack’s still having prizes is so nice.

  136. 136.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Miss Bianca: Just sent you an email with a link to a video someone did showing the basics for grab, undue, neutralize (GUN).

  137. 137.

    Corner Stone

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym: Peyton Manning. Tom Brady. Drew Brees. Kerry Collins. Jeff George. Brett Favre. Joe Montana.

    And any other number of starting QB’s who were notorious for doing anything they could to keep any QB on the roster behind them from ever seeing the light of day, or getting any useful reps/insight/info.

  139. 139.

    NotMax

    @Adam L. Silverman

    Am old enough to remember when the LIRR had double decker passenger cars and also grade crossings where the gates had to be lowered and raised manually.

  144. 144.

    NotMax

    @Mnemosyne

    Bowling was (maybe still is) offered as part of the gym program in at least one high school on Maui. Class would trek from the campus to the alley.

  147. 147.

    NotMax

    @Mnemosyne

    Speaking to the Federal period, there’s a beautiful antique breakfront in one of the public rooms at the State Department.

    The glass in the doors is long gone. No doubt whatever design was originally used for the glass had 13 segments (that was the tradition for similar furniture of the time). But as there is no documentation of what the specific design for this piece was, the glass has never been replaced. Instead, there is chicken wire where the glass would be.

  149. 149.

    Mnemosyne

    @NotMax:
    @eclare:

    Well, yeah, anybody can take bowling in high school, but when you take it at the University of Illinois, you use the university’s bowling alley. You know, the one the varsity bowling squad uses.

  152. 152.

    eclare

    @Mnemosyne: Honestly just asking, not snark, and that means? Varsity bowling usually doesn’t let others bowl? I went to UT (Tenn), and when I was there, as long as the varsity track or swim team wasn’t using facilities, we could go for a jog on their track (nice track!) or swim in their pool…

  155. 155.

    NotMax

    @efgoldman

    Not a train nut, more of a casual train fancier.

    Used to be trains (primarily to haul sugar cane and cane field labor) all over Maui, most long, long gone. The last surviving still running train and section of track (which was a privately run tourist attraction) shut down just a few years ago.

    Used to live not all that far from Honesdale, PA, home of the Stourbridge Lion, the first steam train in the U.S.

  156. 156.

    Redshift

    @Keith P.: Yeah, I think it’s pretty strange too. I understand why the Senate hates him. I understand why most of the House hates him, with his meddling in their affairs just to raise his own profile. But why people who hate all of those people would hate him, I don’t understand. He’s obnoxious and self-aggrandizing, but they generally like that, which seems to leave only that he’s annoying and has an eminently punchable face.

  158. 158.

    Mike J

    Who was it that was looking for a version of the troll filter that worked on the mobile site? I promised to take a look at it. I was just testing on desktop with the useragent set to mobile, and Chuck’s troll-b-gone worked for me.

  159. 159.

    burnspbesq

    I’m old enough to remember when there was a locally produced bowling show in pretty much every TV market in America. The one in Albany was sponsored by Utica Club beer, so I am scarred by memories of the brand’s ambassadors, a pair of talking flip-top steins named Schultz and Dooley.

    http://youtu.be/cEok7S8NZE4

  162. 162.

    NotMax

    @burnspbesq

    “It’s tough to argue over a Utica Club, ’cause they put too much love into it!”

    Same brewery used to market Maximus Super, which had double the alcohol by volume of regular American beer.

  163. 163.

    NotMax

    @efgoldman

    Stroudsburg (or East Stroudsburg – forget which, specifically) was also where renowned fantasy artist Frank Frazetta lived. Seem to remember plans to set up a small Frazetta museum there.

  164. 164.

    Mnemosyne

    @eclare:

    I’m mostly taunting Omnes for his lack of Midwestern skills. But I’m also still amused that I know Midwesterners who took bowling for college credit.

  166. 166.

    Tripod

    The idea of QB mentoring (or any quality player learning the ropes on the depth chart) is a relic of a bygone era. The NFL math of free agency, more teams, a shallow talent pool, and big money deals add up to getting ballers on the field now.

  167. 167.

    Miss Bianca

    @Mnemosyne: Methinks the creature has wandered away to watch “Casablanca”…apparently ’tis on cable tonight…how is research/writing going for you?

  168. 168.

    eclare

    @Mnemosyne: Ah, I was being too literal. I do that sometimes.

    ETA: I’m an accountant. Insert your own no humor radar insult right here.

  169. 169.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym

    @Corner Stone: What I’m trying to figure out is the way your point jumped onto a different set of tracks. You started out by claiming that Bill O’Brien wouldn’t teach a backup quarterback anything, and the last time I checked, O’Brien not only isn’t the Texans’ starting QB, he never has been one. So, I’m unclear as to the exact relevance of what Peyton Manning or Brett Favre did with backup QBs.

    If your point is that it’s impossible for anyone to teach a freshly drafted QB anything while they serve as a backup for a year or two, all I can say is that you have done nothing to defend that point. What I can see is that there are quite a large number of successful NFL QBs that started out on that path. Unless you are claiming that there is no learning curve to the job at all, or that the only way to learn anything at all about the job is to take first team reps, I can’t see what you are arguing. If either of those is your claim, you’re being an idiot, though I guess I’m not surprised. They may not learn as quickly, and that probably depends upon exactly which parts of the QB job they need the most help with, but there are certainly parts of it that they can learn just fine.

  170. 170.

    Anne Laurie

    @Redshift: Terry Pratchett said that, just as some people have charisma, some have charisn’tma. Ted Cruz would seem to be the living embodiment of that neologism.

  173. 173.

    SFAW

    @Baud:

    When you run
    .
    .
    for president,
    .
    .
    .
    one of the most solemn choices you make
    .

    .
    .
    is the choice of selecting

    .
    .
    .
    a vice
    .
    .
    .
    .presidential candidate.

    Cruz:

    “Oh, Janet Carly

    I love the

    (Crowd: “Starts with an ‘S,’ asshole!”)

    skillful way you

    caught the bouquet.”

  174. 174.

    SFAW

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym:

    If your point is that it’s impossible for anyone to teach a freshly drafted QB anything while they serve as a backup for a year or two, all I can say is that you have done nothing to defend that point.

    Oh, pish and tush. Obviously, Brady learned nothing while backing up Bledsoe. Had he learned anything, he would have been able to lead the Pats to the playoffs in his rookie year, or at least his second year. How’d that work out for him?

  175. 175.

    Corner Stone

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym: If you weren’t such a blithering idiot it’s pretty obvious what my point is. Firstly, Bill O’Brien keeps receiving acclaim for his QB work at the Patriots and then as head coach at Penn St.

    You started out by claiming that Bill O’Brien wouldn’t teach a backup quarterback anything, and the last time I checked, O’Brien not only isn’t the Texans’ starting QB, he never has been one.

    I never made any such claims nor even came close to the pile of garbage you are stating as fact there. Further, my statement at #5 was clearly that I believe the idea that in modern football a starting QB is teaching or mentoring a young QB (his potential replacement) to be ridiculous. I then gave several examples of established QBs who were notorious for stuffing any other QB on the roster, sometimes going out of their way to sabotage their development. I clearly did not state a QB could not learn anything by being on the bench, and went further to state that Aaron Rodgers was an example of someone who worked his butt off, without any help from Favre, and was ready to take his shot when the time came. Your insistence on sidetracking the very simple argument I made at #5 is not foreign for you, especially when you are losing so badly.

  177. 177.

    J R in WV

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    But you guys think that watching and being around a superior QB while being a superior QB prospect on the bench doesn’t give a prospect a big leg up compared to a) being thrown into meaningful games immediately following the pre-season games; or b) watching a crummy, never was top quality QB while on the bench?

    Seems to me that having a great QBs coach and offensive coordinator, watching these two guys working with a QB like Farve, or Peyton, etc and being mostly on the bench for a year or two would be the best way to learn NFL style quarterback skills. Obviously it would help if the starter QB was also capable and willing to be a mentor, but I’m willing to allow that that won’t always happen.

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