Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

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

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

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

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

After roe, women are no longer free.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Tick tock motherfuckers!

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

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

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

The willow is too close to the house.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

White supremacy is terrorism.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Sunday Morning Open Thread: Stupor Bowl?

Sunday Morning Open Thread: Stupor Bowl?

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I’m not a sports-minded person, but it seems to me that I’ve seen a lot less Superbowl hoopla than in previous years. (Leaving aside the local tv news channels, which are kind of obligated to whoop for the home team, even though Tom Brady’s Patriots represent the ugly Masshole underbelly that us proudly-blue-state Dems prefer not to discuss in public.)

The notoriously pricy advertising still draws the desired publicity, though. From the NYTimes, “Challenge for Super Bowl Commercials…”:

… 84 Lumber, a private supplier of building materials in Pennsylvania that is advertising during the game for the first time this year, said it was forced to alter its plans for a commercial after Fox deemed its depiction of a Spanish-speaking mother and daughter confronting a border wall between the United States and Mexico, which President Trump has pledged to build, as “too controversial.”

The ad, slated to run before halftime during the network’s broadcast of the game on Sunday, will now showcase the pair on a journey, but omit the wall. Instead, the address of a website will appear on the screen, giving viewers a chance to see how their story ends.

“I still can’t even understand why it was censored,” Maggie Hardy Magerko, 84 Lumber’s president and owner, said in an interview this week. “In fact, I’m flabbergasted by that in today’s day and age. It’s not pornographic, it’s not immoral, it’s not racist.”…

Well, there’s yer problem, lady — this is Donald Trump’s America! (/snark)

… “We review spots to ensure they do not violate our advertising policies,” a league spokesman, Brian McCarthy, said in an email. “The ad that will air does not violate our policies.” He did not say if the N.F.L. had asked for 84 Lumber’s original commercial to be altered…

But with political tension in the country running high since the election of Mr. Trump, keeping politics completely away from the broadcast is a difficult task.

Budweiser, for instance, has gained notice it wasn’t anticipating for its Super Bowl ad. The commercial, which was released online this week and has passed two million views on YouTube, recounts how the brewery’s co-founder immigrated to the United States from Germany in the 1800s and notes the discrimination he overcame. Budweiser has emphasized that it is not responding to Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown last weekend…

… It has become a marketing strategy of sorts over the years to intentionally create a Super Bowl ad that will never make it to air, then capitalize on online traffic. But Ms. Magerko said that was not 84 Lumber’s plan, noting that the company is still showing the edited 90-second spot that Fox has approved…

As for immigration and the wall, “We didn’t know this was going to be the hot topic six weeks ago,” Ms. Magerko said. “We knew it was a topic. We didn’t know it was the topic.”

Reader Interactions

167Comments

  7. 7.

    raven

    The Atlanta Falcons will be underdogs in Sunday’s Super Bowl LI against the New England Patriots, but one bettor is putting over $1 million worth of faith in the NFC champions.

    According to ESPN.com’s David Purdum, CG Technology took the bet Friday on the Falcons to cover the three-point spread.

    The anonymous bettor is risking $1.1 million to win $1 million.

    While the Falcons are tasked with facing a New England team that has won four Super Bowls, recent history suggests Atlanta may be the smart play.

    According to OddsShark, in the past 15 Super Bowls, 12 underdogs have covered, including last year.

  9. 9.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    time to throw the pinko Budweiser out and start buying a real American beer like Corona.

    #MAGA

  10. 10.

    amk

    out of curiosity stupidity, took a peek.

    MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN

    da dear leader of the free world. jeebus wept.

  11. 11.

    amk

    trump: You hang up first
    putin: No you hang up first
    t (smiling at picture of putin): No you
    p (smiling at picture of trump puppet): No you

    MakeAmericaMEHAgain (@TheAlexNevil) December 10, 2016

  12. 12.

    The Thin Black Duke

    Because Belichick, Kraft and Brady are big Trump supporters, I don’t want the Patriots to win the Super Bowl, because otherwise it’s guaranteed we’re going to see Trump in the locker room trying to take part in a celebration he doesn’t deserve and embarrassing the players, God help us.

  13. 13.

    OzarkHillbilly

    As for immigration and the wall, “We didn’t know this was going to be the hot topic six weeks ago,” Ms. Magerko said. “We knew it was a topic. We didn’t know it was the topic.”

    Do I detect a note of disingenuousness?

  16. 16.

    JAFD

    If I may make a request, could you frontpagers not put The Knowledge above the fold, this next week in BJ. Us Knowledge Runners – see http://www.lastman.us for info – would appreciate greatly.

    Thanks muchly.

  17. 17.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Wow, it’s almost like everything everyone was saying is true:

    The courts in St. Louis County collectively took in $53 million in fines and fees in the year that ended June 2014, but just $29 million in the year ended June 2016, according to the newspaper’s analysis.
    …..
    There were 244,463 traffic cases filed in all municipalities in St. Louis County in the year that ended June 2016, a decrease of 42 percent from the same period two years ago, the time right before the fatal shooting of Michael Brown that led to intense scrutiny on police and court abuses.

    The decrease in traffic cases in the city of St. Louis was even more dramatic, with just 66,008 traffic cases filed last year, down 69 percent from two years ago.
    …..
    Ferguson saw just 1,736 traffic cases, a reduction of 85 percent from two years ago. The city’s nontraffic cases were down 86 percent over that time, to 1,605 cases.

    And while Ferguson city officials once traded emails discussing how they could use the court to help the city raise money, the city raised just $579,000 through its municipal court last year, down from more than $2 million two years ago.
    …..
    St. Ann, which wrote 25,669 tickets in the year that ended June 2014, pared back to 9,880 last year. The St. Ann court raised $3.3 million in fines and fees two years ago, but that was reduced to $1.4 million last year.

    Florissant, which wrote 29,893 tickets two years ago, cut that in half to 14,751 last year, also reducing its municipal court revenue to $1.7 million, from $2.6 million.

    Smaller cities also showed big declines, particularly in the inner suburbs. Maplewood’s traffic cases were down 35 percent from last year and 60 percent from two years ago. Richmond Heights traffic cases were down 59 percent from last year and 73 percent from two years ago.

    “The reality is, if this had ever been about public safety, they wouldn’t have stopped doing it when they could no longer make money off of it,” said Brendan Roediger, a law professor at St. Louis University,

    You’re not accounting for the alternative facts, sir.

    Not every department was on a downward trajectory, however. St. Louis County police made a dramatic decrease from 2014 to 2015, and then rebounded to close to the department’s former level of ticketing.

    Whoops….

  22. 22.

    Montanareddog

    The NFL acknowledging that historically-disadvantaged sports fans need their safe spaces

  23. 23.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    Melissa McCarthy was funnier than Alec Baldwin. I bet Sean Spicer is stewing like Lil Hands. Has Lil Hands twittered yet?

  27. 27.

    Kathleen

    Not Super Bowl related – Chuck Todd just said on the Today Show he’s seen the West Wing “get its act together this week”. PIVOT!!!! PRESIDENTIAL!!!! DRINK!!!!!

  30. 30.

    Kay

    So I met yesterday with a woman who went to the woman’s march. She wants to meet up w/others. We set it for March 4th at my house. I think I know (of) at least 25 or so I can invite. Hopefully they’ll bring new people.

  31. 31.

    ThresherK

    @The Thin Black Duke: That would be a warm up for Trump, practice for greeting the troops and hogging the camera, after the first miltary mission which he orders.that.succeeds despite him.

  32. 32.

    Soprano2

    OMG Melissa McCarthy nailed it perfectly. Instant classic SNL bit. It should become a regular bit a la Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin.

  33. 33.

    Kathleen

    I’ve now become undefined (#26). I just responded to Toad’s Tweet about “WW getting act together” with “I’m seeing NBC get its marching orders together”.

  35. 35.

    SenyorDave

    @Kathleen: Not Super Bowl related – Chuck Todd just said on the Today Show he’s seen the West Wing “get its act together this week”

    Is he devoting today’s show to uncovering the media blackout of the Bowling Green Massacre? After all, KellyAnne is a good person who would never lie to us.

  37. 37.

    Immanentize

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    As long as they buy the beer, Budweiser doesn’t care. Anyway you end up pissing it out almost immediately.

    To the True Trump wannabe, this is a definite positive aspect.

  39. 39.

    Betty Cracker

    @Kay: Excellent. I’ve seen so much local organizing happening on the heels of the women’s march and local pro-immigrant marches. It’s a great thing. Yesterday, a local GOP congressman’s town hall was swamped by pro-ACA constituents. Similar events are planned throughout the area.

  45. 45.

    debbie

    I don’t remember hearing about Fox having power to approve or disapprove Super Bowl ads, but if this is so, the NFL needs to break that contract.

  46. 46.

    Fair Economist

    A point about the Budweiser ad: it’s not a response to Trump, because it was made some time ago. It’s just talking about the reality of Budweiser’s founding.

    It’s reality which is criticizing Trump.

  48. 48.

    Anya

    @RobertDSC-iPhone 6: I come from a long line of New Englanders so I grew up rooting for the Patriots but my intense hatred of their brainless bigotted quarterback prevents me from rooting for the Patriots.
    So I suggest to anyone feeling ambivilance over Tom Brady’s horrible politics to take Josh Gondelman’s brilliant idea to deal with any guilt over rooting for the Patriots: “Because of Tom Brady’s garbage politics, I’m donating $100 for every Patriots TD and $50 for every FG to the @NAACP_LDF. #AGoodGame”

    I'd like to be able to cheer for the team I grew up loving without cheerleading the Trump administration. Is this anyone else?— Josh Gondelman (@joshgondelman) February 3, 2017

  49. 49.

    Barbara

    I don’t think I am going to watch, at least not most of it. Going ice skating, maybe see the movie about James Baldwin, which has gotten rave reviews.

  50. 50.

    randy khan

    @debbie:

    The network always has the right to approve or disapprove ads. In the case of the Superbowl, it’s mostly been used to censor ads that the network thinks are too racy (Go Daddy having been the biggest offender), but networks say no to ads for lots of reasons all the time.

  51. 51.

    ? Martin

    So, I’m rooting for the Patriots because of my mom. Normally, I’d be rooting for not watching the Super Bowl, but you know, moms win.

    In a meeting on Friday a few people mentioned the Super Bowl as a distraction to the background horror in our lives. Being academics in SoCal, nobody actually had a vested interest in either team, but the consensus was to root for the Patriots because New England liberals needed something positive more than Georgian conservatives did. Seemed as good a rationale as any to me. Despite NE principals favorable attitude toward Trump, don’t be fooled into thinking that the rest of the NFL owners/moneyed interests feel any differently. After all, Trump aspired to be one of them.

  52. 52.

    JMG

    @? Martin: And he never tried, even when he had the opportunity in the late ’80s to buy the Patriots. He knew his finances could never stand the scrutiny the NFL gives prospective owners.

  53. 53.

    Dog Mom

    I woke up wishing there was a Taco Truck on my corner. I still have hope – Hmm – what can I do today to make that happen?

  54. 54.

    Betty Cracker

    @Anya: I get the impression Brady is just dumb as a lead-painted snail off the field, not actively malicious.

  55. 55.

    Brachiator

    But with political tension in the country running high since the election of Mr. Trump, keeping politics completely away from the broadcast is a difficult task.

    And yet, an executive from Fox Sports noted in a radio interview that they will inject a lot of America! patriotic stuff to surround what is just a freakin’ football game.

    However, the end of the Fox Pre Game show will close with a video montage over a cool Johnny Cash song, “Ragged Old Flag.” It can be taken as a straight up patriotic anthem, but it is worth noting that Cash wrote in at hot moment of inspiration in 1974 in part as a reaction to Watergate and Nixon’s pissing on the Constitution. There’s a lesson there for Trump, perhaps.

    Melissa McCarthy steals the show as Sean Spicer on Saturday Night Live

    Didn’t realize that SNL was a new episode. Loved the Spicer bit, even though it went on a little too long.

    The Daily Show clip on the Guardian site, featuring Trump as an African president was spot on. Amazing how African authoritarians and Trump use the same language.

    The Republican Congressional leadership apparently high tailed it to South Florida, to appear at a fund raiser for big donors. They can’t even pretend to care about the people. I would have loved an SNL skit showing this as a political beauty contest, with a Koch or a Mercer grabbing Paul Ryan’s pvssy.

  56. 56.

    Eric S.

    @geg6: seeing as today will be the first football game I “watch” this season I’m far from qualified to give you a reasonable football answer. However, I have heard it said multiple times that the football HoF is much more of a big tent than say the baseball HoF.

    P

  57. 57.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @geg6: Sure:

    In 50 years of Super Bowls, think of all the fantastic quarterbacks who have lined up under center in football’s biggest game.

    John Elway, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Terry Bradshaw, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Steve Young, Ben Roethlisberger, Dan Marino, Troy Aikman, even all the way back to Joe Namath and Bart Starr.

    Now, take a look at the Super Bowl record book, under most passing yards in a game, and what do we find? Seventeen seasons removed from his first Super Bowl, and eight years removed from his last, it’s Kurt Warner, Kurt Warner and … Kurt Warner.
    ……
    Warner threw for 414 yards in Super Bowl XXXIV against Tennessee, which remains the Super Bowl record. He had 377 yards nine years later in Super Bowl XLIII against Pittsburgh. In between were 365 yards in Super Bowl XXXVI against New England.
    …..
    After Matt Ryan’s outstanding performance for Atlanta against Green Bay in last Sunday’s NFC championship game, it was pointed out that Ryan’s passer rating of 139.4 was second-best in league history in a conference title contest. Second to Warner’s 145.7 rating against Philadelphia in the 2008 season’s NFC title game for Arizona.
    …..
    He got a lot of help from his teammates and coaches, of course. But that postseason focus helped Warner account for three of the only 20 instances of 300-yard passing games in Super Bowl history. There were zero such games until Pittsburgh’s Bradshaw threw for 318 yards in Super Bowl XIII in the 1978 season.

    Warner is the only quarterback in Super Bowl history with three 300-yard games. Bradshaw (318, 309), Denver’s Elway (336, 304), San Francisco’s Montana (357, 331), and New England’s Brady (354, 328) each have two 300-yard Super Bowl games.

    Nine other QBs have had one 300-yard passing game in a Super Bowl: Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb (357), Washington’s Doug Williams (340), Indianapolis’ Manning (333), San Francisco’s Young (325), Carolina’s Jake Delhomme (323), Miami’s Marino (318), Green Bay’s Rodgers (304), San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick (302), and Cincinnati’s Ken Anderson (300).
    ……

  59. 59.

    Aleta

    @Fair Economist: Trump supporters’ boycott of reality will outlive the Bud one.

    Unrelated: I see T’s twitter photo is now Melanie smiling next to him. Never occurred to them to put her there before.

  61. 61.

    JPL

    Arthur Blank, the owner of the Falcons, supported Trump. I suggest that sports fans just watch the game.

  62. 62.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Dog Mom: There’s a lot of taco trucks right off Exit 46 of I-95 in New Haven. Right by the water, too, so you can sit and enjoy the view. Great spot, but I don’t know if it’s close enough for you. Maybe you can go there and convince one of them to move and park on your corner.

  63. 63.

    Kathleen

    @SenyorDave: We should have started betting pool on BJ on how long it would take Quisling Todd to revert to his normal caping for Rethugs habitat.

  67. 67.

    Gin & Tonic

    @scav: I once watched the Superbowl while in a bar in Eastern Europe. A) it was really fucking late and B) it was on Sky, I think, so no US commercials. Kind of oddly unsatisfying.

  71. 71.

    Betty Cracker

    @JPL: My guess is a millionaire-stuffed organization like the NFL is lousy w/ Republicans. But the Patriots are unique in that their owner, coach and QB are all fawning Trump fanboys. It’s not outrageous to associate their team w/ Trump.

  72. 72.

    Kropadope

    @Anya:

    I come from a long line of New Englanders so I grew up rooting for the Patriots but my intense hatred of their brainless bigotted quarterback prevents me from rooting for the Patriots.

    I don’t like that he (or anyone else) is supporting Trump either; but I just looked at it as a product of not thinking about politics too deeply and a long career of blows to the head, not bigotry. Unless you have some heinous quote of his that I have not encountered, please share if so.

    ETA: @Betty Cracker:

    But the Patriots are unique in that their owner, coach and QB are all fawning Trump fanboys

    I don’t follow the sports too closely, but the last thing I heard out of Brady is that he doesn’t really want to talk about it.

  74. 74.

    debbie

    I’m still hoping the visit to England will be canceled. I seem to be in good company:

    Prince Harry’s not so wild about President Donald Trump.

    Queen Elizabeth’s grandchild “is not a fan” of Trump and fears America’s 45th president could set back human rights, according to a published report.

    Harry, the 32-year-old prince and fifth in line to the throne, has quietly articulated concerns about Trump to his inner circle.

    “Harry thinks the president is a serious threat to human rights,” a royal source told Us Weekly.

  75. 75.

    JMG

    In my past career as a sportswriter, I covered a number of Super Bowls. Here’s the weird thing. The one way to not see any Super Bowl commercials is to actually be at the Super Bowl. The stadium video board show highlights and stats and Super Bowl history items during the breaks and the press area monitors show just game stats.

  76. 76.

    scav

    @Gin & Tonic: NFL et al are suing the Canadian government to overturn an independent regulators decision that Canadian viewers should see the American ads. How’s that for a little unexpected twist?

  78. 78.

    Anya

    @Kropadope: Anyone who supports Trump is a bigot, specially if they’re not financially disadvantaged and easily manipulated with protectionist talking points. No decent human being befriends Trump and rejects Obama. Brady even refused to go to the WH and then lied about the reason when it became a thing. And let’s not forget him making deliberate political point by showing Trump’s hat in his locker. He’s a scumbag.

  79. 79.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @geg6: I can’t find the article now, but he also is on all the lists for a # of other playoff stats, usually top 10, more than a few top 5.

    Tom Brady is without a doubt one of the best, if not the best, quarterbacks in NFL history, But his best post-season passer rating came in 2004 at 109.4. Warner was better than that twice: 2008- 112.2, 2009- 129.1.**

    I can understand people saying his total stats don’t quite measure up, but when it comes to the post season, his are the standards by which others hope to measure up.

    That is why he is in.

    **all stats via ESPN

  80. 80.

    lol chikinburd

    So we know the White House is out Reichstag-fire-shopping. So it’s Super Bowl Sunday.

  81. 81.

    Kay

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’ve done it before- I ran a women’s political group from 2002 to 2006 which is why they asked me, but I want to step back on this one and see what they do with it. I’m happy to host- I have a house “in town”- central location- and I enjoy hosting but I feel like Trump is a chance for us to look at new approaches. Listening to them my sense was their number one priority is connecting with like-minded others not just locally but other groups. I get that, I really do. They were really encouraged by how BIG the women’s march was, how widespread.

  82. 82.

    lamh36

    I don’t care for either team in the Super Bowl today, i just want someone to crush Tom Brady’s dreams.

    i was gonna at least make the effort to watch Gaga and the half time show, but after seeing her pre-game press conference about it i’m inclined to think it’s gonna be boring as hell.

    I wanted Gaga to make the usual jackasses outraged. i like Gaga but if she ain’t planning on doing up a big show with a bunch of drag kings and queens singing and wailing to Born This Way…then i’ll find something better to do with my time…read a book maybe?

  83. 83.

    ? Martin

    @debbie: Yeah, you’re going to see a lot of that out here. When I saw his name on the schedule of town hall meetings that I’m monitoring, I suspected that’s how it would go. If my GOP rep ever shows up for one, we’ve got a fucking army waiting for her. She’s got a large Persian community in her district and a lot of other muslims, not to mention a sizable Russian/Ukrainian community who have seen this play once before.

  85. 85.

    Brachiator

    @Barbara:

    Going ice skating, maybe see the movie about James Baldwin, which has gotten rave reviews.

    I didn’t realize this had opened yet. I see it is playing in 3 theaters in the Los Angeles area, including the ArcLight Hollywood and the Baldwin in the Crenshaw area. Hmmm. Might check it out.

    So far, the best films I’ve seen this year (in order) are:

    Moonlight

    Hidden Figures

    Manchester By the Sea

    Deadpool

    Zootopia

    Moana

    In a just universe, Moonlight would win Best Picture, but it’s modest box office probably makes that impossible. Failing that, I would love for Hidden Figures to pull an upset over favored movie La La Land. And it’ s not that I hate the musical. I’m not a big musical person, but was won over by it, but I think it is at best charming.

    On upcoming movies, I think that the live action version of Beauty and the Beast will make a gazillion bucks. The final trailer is charming, and Emma Watson is cute as a button. Why buttons are considered cute, I have no idea.

    I’d throw in something about the Super Bowl, but I may actually skip the game. Don’t have a favorite team, am tired of the bloated Super Bowl commercials, and am not that interested in the half time show.

  87. 87.

    lamh36

    @Brachiator: my sis is excited about Beauty and the Beast, i’m more meh i guess.

    but i am excited by John Wick 2 coming out. i normally hate going to screenings but i’ve got passes to JW2 and i’m gonna def be there. if i like it enough i may actually pay to give it some box office money too

  89. 89.

    Brachiator

    @debbie:

    Queen Elizabeth’s grandchild “is not a fan” of Trump and fears America’s 45th president could set back human rights, according to a published report.

    Harry, the 32-year-old prince and fifth in line to the throne, has quietly articulated concerns about Trump to his inner circle.

    Must be cool to have an inner circle. I think this must be several steps up from having a mere entourage, or “a bunch of mooks which hang out with ya.”

    Love the pushback on Trump. Good on ya, Prince Harry.

  90. 90.

    Iowa Old Lady

    I’m supposed to go to a demonstration against the Muslim Ban this afternoon outside the office of my House member, Rod Blum (Freedom Caucus). I see there’s a counter-demonstration planned by the Patriots for Christ. That should be fun.

  91. 91.

    hedgehog the occasional commenter

    On non-football-note: mr. h and I did go to the Jeffco reorg meeting yesterday. He’s a PCP (precinct committee person), so he got a vote and I got to spectate. He ended up being elected to the state Central Committee. Overall, a very positive experience; quite a few nonvoting people attended. Ed Perlmutter, representative from CD-7 attended, gave a good speech and got a rousing chorus of “Run, Ed, Run!” (I think he may be considering running for Gov. Hick’s seat in 2018). Lots more talk about making sure we challenge in every single seat from county commissioner, school board on up, and planning now for 2018. I want to get involved in that work. I was pleased to see a lot of younger folks and first-timers.

    The protect our Muslim neighbors march was very well attended (a friend went). Over 10,000 people, much bigger than expected.

    Next Saturday is a Colorado Stands with Planned Parenthood rally, which I will be at. mr. h is already making plans to attend the Science March in April (I’ll be out of town).

    So that was my Saturday. Today I plan to watch the Kitten Bowl, eat junk food and cheer for not-the-Patriots.

  93. 93.

    Anya

    @debbie: I think the visit will go as planned. May doesn’t seem to be politically savvy but in this case she’s between a rock and a hard place. After the Brixit vote, U.K. needs the US to maintain some semblance of political influence in the world. Also, how can you rescind an invitation to the president of the United States? It’s just not done. I am guessing they won’t accept all of Trump’s demands but there’s going to be a state visit.

  95. 95.

    randy khan

    @debbie:

    They all have their own rules. They’re pretty close to each other on stuff related to sex; other things vary from network to network. The networks standards and practices people all are pretty squeamish about anything they think might offend a significant chunk of their viewers, though, and they have a pretty broad idea of what such things might be.

  97. 97.

    Brachiator

    @lamh36:

    my sis is excited about Beauty and the Beast, i’m more meh i guess.

    I am not a big fan, but I watched the trailer and a few reaction trailers. People who were fans of the original animated film, and who like Disney movies, etc. were just knocked out. And there are a lot of folk who just love them some Emma Watson. Just love her. Advance ticket sales have been tremendous.

    I admit that I was hugely amused by a bit of humor, Lee Evans as Gaston saying “You are the most gorgeous creature I have ever seen as Belle walks nearby.” He is looking into a mirror and referring to himself.

    but i am excited by John Wick 2 coming out. i normally hate going to screenings but i’ve got passes to JW2 and i’m gonna def be there. if i like it enough i may actually pay to give it some box office money too

    John Wick is on my must see list as well, but I fear that they have revealed too much in the trailers.

    I highly recommend the original for anyone who has not seen it, who might like an offbeat action movie. John Wick is a man on a mission. I loved the absurdity of it. And yeah, Keanu Reeves is good in it. Does quite a bit of his own stunts, and pulls it off well (I’m told he studies martial arts).

  98. 98.

    NotMax

    Never cared about (or watched) the steroid bowl, never shall. Didn’t even know when it was scheduled until this post.

    The only thing super about it is that it marks the end of football, at least for half a year.

    Has Dolt 45 barfed up a tweet about the “so-called prince” yet?

  101. 101.

    raven

    Getting the roux going for the gumbo (one poultry one vegetarian), then I have to grind all the raw turkey meat and stuff it back in the skin to make my turkey football. I’m going to lay parchment paper in the shape of laces and hope they show when it comes out of the oven.

  104. 104.

    Brachiator

    @Baud:

    I consider all of you my inner circle.

    Ha! Excellent.

    I’m looking forward to seeing the Queen’s face when she is forced to stand next to Trump.

    Especially with Trump grabbing the Queen’s purse.

  108. 108.

    Hal

    I was just thinking about the woman who came to the hospital I work at months ago and for some reason decided she had to complain about Obama costing tax payers 40 MILLION DOLLARS! over the course of almost 8 years in office for secret service protection on vacations. I wonder how she feels about Melania at Trump Tower? My guess is she suddenly doesn’t care.

  109. 109.

    Baud

    @OzarkHillbilly: If Juicers were my apostles, you would be my Judas.

    @Hal: She may not know due to where she gets her news from. But even if she did know, you are correct that she wouldn’t care.

  111. 111.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Anya:

    Also, how can you rescind an invitation to the president of the United States? It’s just not done. I am guessing they won’t accept all of Trump’s demands but there’s going to be a state visit.

    Pretty sure they’d rescind an invite to Hitler.

  112. 112.

    trnc

    Senator Richard Burr statement on who should be making decisions on education policy:

    Every North Carolinian should graduate high school ready for college or a career. I believe decisions about our children’s education are best made by those who are closest to the classroom – parents, teachers, and local representatives.

    Senator Richard Burr on Education Secretary nominee with zero education experience in eduacation Betsy DeVos :

    I support her nomination and will work with her to ensure that every child in America receives a world-class education.

  113. 113.

    Brachiator

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’m hoping Gaga was trying to lull the network into a false sense of security.

    Since Janet Jackson, the NFL has taken control over the half time show. There is a separate truck and a separate production unit not associated with the network, which hands over control for half time.

  115. 115.

    raven

    @JPL: Will do! Cool site.I went an unmentionable store at 6am and they had NOTHING Falcon related left. Kroger had the balloons so I got a couple.

  119. 119.

    Anya

    @Baud: I am looking forward to it too. I am sure he’ll say or do something inappropriate and she’ll scold him on the spot as she did to Berlusconi.

    He’s such an embarrassment. During the campaign, he kept talking about how the world was laughing at us because of Obama’s supposed lack of leadership. Well, the whole world is really laughing at us now.

  123. 123.

    rikyrah

    @satby:
    Yes, them hiding out seems to be a tactic. Tweet your local press people and ask them if they can get an answer as to why the Congressman is hiding from their constituents .
    If you are lucky, the local media will do a story on it

  130. 130.

    Another Scott

    @Betty Cracker: Meh. I’ll be that guy.

    Just so you know where I stand, I live in the DC area (home of the noxious DC NFL franchise, their noxious owner, and their really obnoxious fans).

    I haven’t cared for football of any sort since the days of Jim McMahon, Refrigerator Perry, and Sweetness. And even then, I cringed.

    It’s clear where Kraft stands. Like you say, he’s a really rich old white guy and it’s not surprising that he supported Trump.

    I’ve seen almost nothing about Belechick’s political views and haven’t cared enough to look. I don’t trust any of the reporting about him because too much of the press (and the NFL) has wanted to make him into some cheating, evil soap opera character. I don’t know the man, of course, but there never seems to be any real substance there (look at Deflategate).

    Brady might not have liked Obama (not showing up at the Superbowl party at the Whitehouse) – maybe. But he’s seemed to me to answer the barest minimum about his interactions with Trump (if any). He’s seemed to me to genuinely want to stay out of it.

    Of course, people pick their teams for lot and lots of reasons. Michael Che said last night that the game today was (roughly) “between the blackest city and the most racist city in America”. Maybe that’s true, I dunno.

    Belechick is a great coach. Brady is a great quarterback, and the Patriots seem to find ways to win when they’re injured via the whole team pulling together (as opposed to teams that take joy in crushing the bodies and brains of their opponents).

    It should be a “good game”. It would be good for Atlanta to have a winner again. It would be good for Boston to see Brady win again – he’s an amazing talent. It might be a good game, but the SB usually seems to be a disappointment.

    I almost never watch American football anymore. It’s too dependent on whether the refs see a foul and too often turns on a bad call. It’s too dangerous. It glorifies violence for the sake of violence. It destroys players brains (look at McMahon now). It caters to drunks and gamblers and fools. It rips off the taxpayer and the local economy in too many cases (spending billions on a stadium that might be used a dozen times a year) for the benefit of a monopoly.

    It’s not for me.

    Enjoy!! ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  133. 133.

    scav

    Oh dear about Harry and co — apparently being with the flash elements of pomp and glory is allreally little Donny wants out of a UK visit. Drag the Queen around Balmoral golfing, trot out the Horse Guard, that sort of thing. Charles is looking iffy because of the climate change, so things really not looking good for Kate. Wonder if he assumes he now gets back of stage privileges as these events too?

    US president ‘doesn’t care about making a speech’ on UK state visit

  137. 137.

    lollipopguild

    @Aleta: Gee the difference between someone who does not care about other people and someone who does care about other people.

  142. 142.

    NotMax

    Thought to look up Dolt 45’s nominee for ambassador to the U.K., Jets owner and gazillionaire Woody Johnson.

    Johnson is the chairman and chief executive of the Johnson Company, Inc., a private investment firm founded in 1978. In August 2006, Johnson was asked to testify before a Senate panel about his participation in a sham tax shelter. A Senate report said that Johnson, along with others, were able to buy, for relatively small fees, roughly $2 billion in capital losses that they used to erase taxable gains they garnered from stock sales. The U.S. Treasury lost an estimated $300 million in revenue as a result. In a statement, Johnson said he had been advised by his lawyers in 2000 that the transaction “was consistent with the Tax Code.” But after the Internal Revenue Service challenged that view in 2003, Johnson in 2006 “settled with the IRS and agreed to pay 100 percent of the tax due plus interest.” Source

  143. 143.

    Martha

    @hedgehog the occasional commenter: thank you for the local update! I was going to attend but had to go visit my dad (just kill me, a Trumpster). As of this instant, we haven’t killed each other. I’m counting down the minutes until Tuesday at 10 am…I’ll be at both the PP march and the Science March.

  144. 144.

    Brachiator

    @Anya:

    He’s such an embarrassment. During the campaign, he kept talking about how the world was laughing at us because of Obama’s supposed lack of leadership. Well, the whole world is really laughing at us now.

    Yes, but it’s nervous laughter to hide the terror.

  147. 147.

    Brachiator

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    I know that doing PR stuff is part of the deal for the royals, but if I were Kate, I’d have trouble making myself go near Trump.

    Fortunately, she’s got bodyguards.

    And William would kick Trump’s ass if he tried anything.

  151. 151.

    Brachiator

    @Another Scott:

    I almost never watch American football anymore. It’s too dependent on whether the refs see a foul and too often turns on a bad call. It’s too dangerous. It glorifies violence for the sake of violence. It destroys players brains (look at McMahon now). It caters to drunks and gamblers and fools. It rips off the taxpayer and the local economy in too many cases (spending billions on a stadium that might be used a dozen times a year) for the benefit of a monopoly.

    I know. That’s why I prefer the Olympic games. The absolute model of honesty, fiscal responsibility, and good sportsmanship.

  152. 152.

    Another Scott

    @Brachiator: You’re a better man than me. I don’t watch those anymore either. ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.
    (Don’t get me started on gymnastic, skating, diving, etc., scoring…)

  154. 154.

    Brachiator

    @Another Scott:

    You’re a better man than me. I don’t watch those anymore either. ;-)

    I have a soft spot for the Olympics. I got to attend a good chunk of the 1984 games with family and friends.

  157. 157.

    Another Scott

    @Brachiator: I like the principle of the games, but (as you indicated) it’s run by a bunch of corrupt grifters. It bankrupts countries that can’t afford the investment. They should pick a permanent site or two (maybe Greece for the summer, and Switzerland or some Noridic country for the winter) and be done with it. These “competitions to host the next Olympic games” are a dangerous scam.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  160. 160.

    socraticsilence

    So its more than a bit fucked up that something which seems to be essentially an updated retelling of the myth of America’s origins is “too controversial”.

  161. 161.

    Barbara

    @scav: It seems like asking not to see Charles in favor of Will and Kate is just unspeakably rude. They ought to just send the Queen or Will alone, giving Trump no photo ops with Kate and no chance to size her up.

  162. 162.

    RobertDSC-iPhone 6

    Belichick sent Shitbag a letter during the campaign. Shitbag promptly boasted about it on the campaign trail.

    As to the contents of the letter, Belichick wouldn’t say. I don’t believe a word of what Shitbag said about the contents of the letter.

    Bleh.

    Go Pats. Fuck Shitbag 45.

  163. 163.

    Fester Addams

    @Brachiator:

    That’s why I prefer the Olympic games. The absolute model of honesty, fiscal responsibility, and good sportsmanship.

    And then there’s the Tour de France — a hard-fought contest between competing teams of pharmacists.

  164. 164.

    laura

    Just mixed up some labne, vinegar and blue cheese. Spouse pre-cooked the wings and Franks’ them up. Guacamole is up next for some nachos and hoping for a good game with teams we care nothing about and know Gaga will rock the house!
    But fisrt, I’ve got a date to see the Art Street installation at 2:00. It’s a follow on from last year when an old SRO hotel was set for demolition to make way for the new sportsball palace. The City opened up the hotel to local artists with each room uniquely done up with some really challenging contemporary art.
    The place was a mob scene and undeniable opportunity for public social Intercourse.
    Fingers crossed for a swell day.

  166. 166.

    J R in WV

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:

    If that middle stripe is blue, and it looks it to me, that is the flag of the Russian Federation! So who IS the President of the Russian Federation? Donald J Trump or Vladimir Vladimirovitch Putinski???

    Is this guy confused as to the flag of the nation he swore to defend? Oh, wait, Trump, of course he’s confused, he’s confused about everything!

  167. 167.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Barbara:

    It seems like asking not to see Charles in favor of Will and Kate is just unspeakably rude.

    It is especially rude of SCROTUS and his people to have made the “no Charles” request public. Should have been handled very quietly in the early schedule planning. They are all just so ham-handed about everything.

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