Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

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

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

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

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Everybody saw this coming.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This fight is for everything.

The revolution will be supervised.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

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

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Lyin’ Ted Gets Schooled (Open Thread)

Reader Interactions

191Comments

  2. 2.

    Dave

    Oh Ted…. Is he the only man in Congress that everyone enjoys watching suffer? Even his nominal allies?

  4. 4.

    lamh36

    Irony shouldn’t be lost on anyone that a woman’s testimony might actually help bring down Cheeto Prez!

    I don’t want to my cynicism, make me miss the forest for the trees, I get that it all can lead to nothing, but, IMHO, what she has said has been very important and can lead to other inquiries and questions…

    I’m not saying she gave some “smoking gun”…but she has def given some ammo for someone so inclined to takes some shots…

  6. 6.

    dedc79

    One thing about Ted — every time he walks into a room he assumes he’s the smartest person in there. Now when he’s meeting with some of his Republican colleagues (e.g. Grassley, Graham, Cornyn) that may well be true. But it sure wasn’t true here.

  7. 7.

    Cheryl Rofer

    I’m seeing reports that all the Republicans have left the hearing. Certainly the last three or four questioners have been Democrats.

  8. 8.

    Nick

    I just want to say that I’m getting very tired of the ‘gossipization’ of news. So-and-so ‘shutting down’ someone else, ‘schooling’ them, ‘destroying’ them, ‘killing it’, doing anything ‘powerfully’, etc., gets really old, no matter whose side they’re on. Just like applying violent rhetoric to politics, I’m not certain that this kind of dramatization of news helps the Left, even when it’s our people shutting down, schooling, destroying, or otherwise powerfully representing. This reduction of news to personal conflict reinforces social groupings at the expense of actually discussing what is happening.

  9. 9.

    germy

    My coverage has been spotty. Can someone tell me: Did Yates say Pence knowingly or unknowingly made false statements to the American public?

  11. 11.

    ??‍? Martin

    Stuck doing other than things but have they managed to avoid asking how the man that was responsible for vetting appointees managed to claim he knew nothing until Feb?

  14. 14.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    @Nick:

    May one assume, Nick, that you’re making the same argument over at Redstate and NRO?

  15. 15.

    Weaselone

    @Cheryl Rofer:
    Graham is still there as chair.

    This sounds like the most epic roast of Republican senators since the Clinton Benghazi testimony. Perhaps the Dems should create a boxed gift set with some bonus material and give them away as part of a fundraiser.

  16. 16.

    germy

    @TenguPhule: But Pence was deceived, so unknowingly?

    I seem to recall that Pence got a letter from Cummings back in November (?) warning him about Flynn.

  19. 19.

    TenguPhule

    @Nick:

    This reduction of news to personal conflict reinforces social groupings at the expense of actually discussing what is happening.

    And when it stop being effective at rallying the base while demoralizing the opposition, we can have a rational discussion about it.

    Until then, break out the popcorn.

  20. 20.

    TenguPhule

    @germy: I think the deceived was in quotation marks, or at least was heavily implied as such by Yates.

  21. 21.

    tobie

    @TenguPhule: But Pence’s false statements were made “unknowingly” according to Yates. Thus far only Sen Blumenthal has chipped away at that canard.

  26. 26.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Weaselone: It looks like Republicans had a set of questions that were supposed to set up Yates as a partisan. 1) Bug her about her refusal to defend the immigration EO. Cornyn, Cruz, and Kennedy all asked it and she demolished them. 2) Unmasking and how did information about it get to the Washington Post? This has been foggy, but Graham is asking about it right now. Yates is answering carefully, but not enough for Graham. A couple of others also asked. 3) There is at least one more point, but my brain is failing after almost two hours of this. It will come back.

  29. 29.

    TenguPhule

    @Nick: Yes, by playing according to your Marquis of Queensberry Rules and getting the stuffing kicked out of them by the other side.

    Sauce for the Goose, Sauce for the Gander.

  30. 30.

    ? ?? Goku ? ?

    @Nick: That’s starting to change Skippy. People are waking up and preparing to fight the American oligarchy and their Russian counterparts

  31. 31.

    tobie

    @TenguPhule: I recall hearing that someone wrote an opera called The Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld based on his statement about known knowns, known unknowns, unknown unknowns. I had successfully blotted all that from memory until today.

  32. 32.

    The Moar You Know

    don’t you hate when trolls troll so obviously…I mean jeez some can’t even be bothered to even try to troll harder…no respect for the job of trolling…smh

    @lamh36: It does show a lack of respect, not only for ones betters but for the art. People like this, well, they just can’t provide ME with any reason that they be allowed to live, really. No respect for their elders, tradition or culture. It’s really shameful.

  33. 33.

    Mike J

    Scott Dworkin‏ Verified account @funder
    Hill Sources: White House contacted multiple GOP Senators TODAY asking them to cancel Yates hearing

  35. 35.

    Teddys Person

    I am in awe of the patience women like Sally Yates and Hillary Rodam Clinton display in these Congressional hearing. They come in better prepared and informed than the (mostly) men asking the questions. The irrelevant and insulting questions are answered with the same serious thought and consideration as the relevant and probing questions. They can’t get angry or they’ll be called hysterical, emotional, or just plain bitch. They’ve got some super-strength poise, strength, and grace that needs to be bottled and sold.

  36. 36.

    MomSense

    Fuck, I missed Franken.

    Grassley is approaching Cruz levels of punchable.

  37. 37.

    germy

    @Mike J:

    Hill Sources: White House contacted multiple GOP Senators TODAY asking them to cancel Yates hearing

    why didn’t they listen to him?

    Why can’t he run gubmint like a bizness??

  39. 39.

    Schlemazel

    @? ?? Goku ? ?:
    it is particularly important for an influential blog like this that commands such sway over the public discourse to avoid the silly business that less influential sites, like politico, ABC, NBC,CBS, CNN, FAUX and the Washington Whore Post stoop to

  42. 42.

    hovercraft

    @Cheryl Rofer:
    Well the hearing isn’t going well for them so maybe they’ve gone out to regroup.
    They are having a bad day, it started with the media not reacting well to Twitlers attempt to preemptively discredit Yate’s testimony. Then Spicey laying the Flynn fiasco at Obama’s feet. And Yates slapping the shit out of these morans who are trying to “interrogate” her, when will these people learn that just because they seem smart in their caucus meetings, doesn’t mean that they are smart. Exhibits : Obama at Blair House, Hillary’s testimony, and today. They are not good at going toe to toe with people who have a clue, so basically they should stick to their party and the media.

  44. 44.

    tobie

    @Teddys Person: Please don’t forget Cecile Richards. She was incredible in her defense of Planned Parenthood in the House. Professional and unruffled throughout.

  46. 46.

    The Moar You Know

    Yes, by playing according to your Marquis of Queensberry Rules and getting the stuffing kicked out of them by the other side.

    @TenguPhule: “Hey, everybody, let’s all cut our balls off! You guys go first!”

    Sad thing is, they’ve had ample reason to believe Dems are that stupid. They still might. It will change, however. People are waking up not to an alarm, but a gunshot going off right beside their ear. Gets your attention, when an election gets stolen this publicly.

  47. 47.

    germy

    @Schlemazel: You kid, but balloon-juice was once mentioned in passing on A Prairie Home Companion.

    This is practically Mount Olympus.

  48. 48.

    rk

    @Dave:

    Is he the only man in Congress that everyone enjoys watching suffer?

    I enjoy watching all republican men suffer. They’re all insufferable jackasses. From the President on down I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more worthless collection of specimens.

  49. 49.

    ? ?? Goku ? ?

    @hovercraft:

    Yates slapping the shit out of these morans who are trying to “interrogate” her, when will these people learn that just because they seem smart in their caucus meetings, doesn’t mean that they are smart.

    Sunlight is the best disinfectant

  50. 50.

    Percysowner

    @Nick: That’s because modern media has been bought up by a bunch of right wing oligarchs. They would shut down the liberal viewpoint no matter how politely it would be expressed. But you know that already.

  51. 51.

    TenguPhule

    Jesse Berney
    ✔ @jesseberney

    You don’t get to spend 8 years painting Obama as a lying, terrorist-sympathizing criminal and then say you relied on him vetting your NSA.

    Spicer getting ripped to shreds across the board.

  52. 52.

    Betty Cracker

    @Nick: I also find breathless titles about “so-and-so DESTROYS who-zee-wut-zit,” etc., irritating. But “schooled” is neither violent nor over-the-top if it’s an accurate description of the proceedings. When an unctuous, arrogant, Ivy League jackhole who continuously preens about his knowledge of the US Constitution gets his ass handed to him (oops — sorry!) by a Georgia Law grad who succinctly identifies the relevant issue, “schooled” is appropriate and not an exaggeration.

  58. 58.

    MomSense

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    I love him.. I volunteered at a fundraiser in 2006 where he was the guest. At this fancy party full of VIPs he hung out in the other room with all the teenagers (mine included). We followed the sound of laughter to find him. Teenagers are the best at sniffing out fakery and they all came away thinking he was the real deal. He’s a genuine person.

  59. 59.

    hovercraft

    @Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD):
    Worse because he is evil and incompetent. Hard as it is to imagine, he would have picked worse judges, and by now I’m sure with the Turtle’s help he would be well on his way to filling all of those judicial vacancies. Also to he would have staffed up the agencies so that they could undo everything Obama ever touched much faster.

  63. 63.

    debbie

    Are they treating Yates as shabbily as they treated Anita Hill or Brooksie Born?

  64. 64.

    Bailey

    Who is dumbfuck R-Senator that is inadvertently demonstrating exactly how appalling it was that Flynn had clearance?

  66. 66.

    Yutsano

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    There is at least one more point, but my brain is failing after almost two hours of this. It will come back.

    I’m all up for going into a coma until the next Presidential election.

  67. 67.

    Bailey

    @debbie:

    Are they treating Yates as shabbily as they treated Anita Hill or Brooksie Born?

    No. The Republicans are just ignoring the topic altogether.

  70. 70.

    Dave

    @rk: Agreed but even fellow Republicans seem to get a kick out if Cruz’s pain. He holds a special place in that my amydala just blazes everytime I see him talking. Pure fight or flight.

  71. 71.

    debbie

    @hovercraft:

    I think this is what is to be expected when a bunch of alleged “outsiders” are voted in to Congress. They missed the class that focused on the folksy wisdom not to ask questions you don’t know the answers to. Chumps.

  72. 72.

    zhena gogolia

    @Betty Cracker:

    Raw Story has burned me so many times with “[X] DESTROYS [Y],” and then you click the video to see a mild disagreement. But I agree that we should call things as we see them. Screw the Marquis of Q, he put Oscar Wilde in gaol.

  73. 73.

    patrick II

    @Schlemazel:

    I have seen your name in comments before, so I know this isn’t your first day — but this is the very blog that John Cole and DougJ post at. This blog is also the blog where “shorter” Rudy Giuliani stated he would

    “skull fuck a kitten to death in order to save a soldier.

    ”, or

    :I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane. Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax.

    Or the only disagreement when giving someone a bag of dicks is whether they should be salted or not.
    Reserved, polite talk has never been a requirement here.

  74. 74.

    zhena gogolia

    @germy:
    NEVER COMMENT ON BJ WITHOUT READING THE WHOLE THREAD FIRST (note to self)

    I always see the Marquis of Q as Tom Wilkinson, who played him in the Stephen Fry movie.

  75. 75.

    Millard Filmore

    @Nick:

    I just want to say that I’m getting very tired of the ‘gossipization’ of news.

    I gave up on addictinginfo.com because of their overuse of that technique.

  79. 79.

    debbie

    @Bailey:

    No. The Republicans are just ignoring the topic altogether.

    Does this mean they’re only asking why the Obama administration was spying on innocent, decent Americans?

  82. 82.

    A Ghost to Most

    Nick, I for one am fucking done being nice to these racist, fascist assholes, and everyone that voted for them.

    :: Flips off brother ::

    But that’s just me.

  85. 85.

    TenguPhule

    @Bailey:

    Who is dumbfuck R-Senator that is inadvertently demonstrating exactly how appalling it was that Flynn had clearance?

    Once again, you need to be more specific here.

  86. 86.

    MCA1

    @Schlemazel: Raising hand. 43 here. But I grew up in God’s Country up dere, doncha know, so have loved me some Ole and Lena jokes since I was a kid.

  87. 87.

    Cheryl Rofer

    Hearing is finishing up. Sally Yates was exquisitely careful in her choice of words. I want to read the transcript to check on what I may have missed. Now I have to go pay attention to the kittehs, who have the adorable habit of patting at me to remind me that there are other things in the house besides that silly talking screen. And maybe get a drink.

  89. 89.

    rk

    @Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD):

    So would Ted Cruz be a better or worse president than Trump, and if so by how much?

    Much worse. He’s ruthless, evil and competent.

    Sometimes I think Trump is evil, but Trump is the closest a human can get to an animal. No self awareness, just a bunch of swirling base instincts and pure ego. If Trump was surrounded by good people he’d probably sign onto good things, but his greed and stupidity gets in the way, so good and decent people will not go near him. The only thing that has somewhat saved us so far is Trump’s incompetence.
    Both these men are hateful. Even their own families seem to dislike them.

  91. 91.

    Bailey

    @debbie:

    Does this mean they’re only asking why the Obama administration was spying on innocent, decent Americans?

    Might just as well have.

    It means that Ted Cruz asked about Hillary’s emails; Grassley asked about how the Washington Post could have learned about Mike Flynn (WaPo whose reporting probably led to Flynn being fired); Some other R-Douchebag asked about Yates’ role not defending the Muslim ban.

    They talked about anything but Russians influencing the election, Flynn being compromised, and the Trump administration hiring him.

  93. 93.

    Irony Abounds

    Idiot Republicans should have known Yates would leave them choking on their own bullshit. It’s as if they didn’t know she had served 4 different administrations prior to the Trump Administration, starting with a Republican administration, and that she was about as straight a shooter as you can find. Yates didn’t “school” them, they simply dug their own holes and requested that Ms. Yates dig it even deeper. Being a gracious person, she acceded to their requests. Just buffoons.

  94. 94.

    TenguPhule

    @debbie:

    Does this mean they’re only asking why the Obama administration was spying on innocent, decent Americans?

    Considering that it was Congress, only one out of those three applies.

  95. 95.

    lamh36

    Wow…the NY Times is actually asking folks to send in suggestions of things Cheeto has done that are praiseworthy… because he flaws are “well known to readers of many mainstream media outlets”…but they are doing a weekly Sunday feature on things he’s done that are praiseworthy…

    https://twitter.com/rmc031/status/861641706638368772

  97. 97.

    TenguPhule

    @Irony Abounds:

    Yates didn’t “school” them, they simply dug their own holes and requested that Ms. Yates dig it even deeper.

    And then requested the concrete be poured in.

  98. 98.

    TenguPhule

    @lamh36:

    Wow…the NY Times is actually asking folks to send in suggestions of things Cheeto has done that are praiseworthy

    This promises to be just as epic as the calls to VOICE.

  101. 101.

    Schlemazel

    @debbie:
    I do not think it is possible to hate him “beyond all reason” as he provides more than enough reasons !

  104. 104.

    Schlemazel

    @MCA1:
    We should have a thread where we can discuss the show & particularly this new kid that took GKs place.

  110. 110.

    Ridnik Chrome

    @Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): If Cruz had been elected instead of Trump, Gorsuch (or someone like him) would still be on the Supreme Court, some sort of ACA repeal would still be wending its way through Congress, and people like Pruit, De Vos et al would still be in various cabinet posts. There would be slightly less overt racism, but way more sexism and homophobia. And it wouldn’t be nearly as unintentionally hilarious as the Trump admin has been so far. So all things considered, I say Cruz would be worse…

  111. 111.

    SatanicPanic

    @lamh36: So WaPo is like “Democracy Dies in Darkness”, the NYT is like “Bring on the Fascism!” Or the Brawndo, whichever.

  112. 112.

    ? ?? Goku ? ?

    @Schlemazel: Hey, the WaPo is pretty good these days. They mostly woke up and discovered that there’s a market for actual journalism

  113. 113.

    rk

    @lamh36:

    Wow…the NY Times is actually asking folks to send in suggestions of things Cheeto has done that are praiseworthy…

    I know:
    He didn’t grab some pussies
    Did not shoot someone on 5th Ave
    Did not pee on the carpet
    Did not talk dirty about Ivanka (maybe) and on and on and on.

    I hope they’re prepared for the onslaught.

  115. 115.

    Mart

    @Schlemazel: My dad turned me on to PHC when I was a kid in the 70’s. I also had a soft spot for the movie – from Wiki – “The radio program inspired a 2006 film of the same name, written by Keillor, directed by Robert Altman, and featuring Keillor, Kevin Kline, Lily Tomlin, Meryl Streep, and Lindsay Lohan. Have not listened to the show since Keller retired. Definitely makes me an old.

  117. 117.

    Betty Cracker

    @schrodingers_cat: I’d have said that last year, but I don’t think thinning hair is disqualifying anymore; recall that a hideous orange pustule with a ridiculous eleventy-dimensional comb-over is currently occupying the Oval Office! It could be that the single benefit that accrues to the U.S. from the Trump debacle is that shallow standards like “must have good hair” are out the window. Of course, women will continue to be judged by much stricter standards in wardrobe, grooming, weight, etc. But maybe a bald dude could actually aspire to the presidency now!

  119. 119.

    TenguPhule

    @? ?? Goku ? ?: But they still have a ways to go with shit like this still being allowed on Ed Rogers, Trump’s Dick Whisperer

    I can’t help but question whether Democrats really think people are buying the argument that Republicans don’t just want take away your health care, but want you dead, too. Does the left really believe people are so gullible, so naive? Maybe they just don’t have anything affirmative to say.

    /Can anyone blame me for having him up against the wall when the revolution comes?

  122. 122.

    TenguPhule

    @SatanicPanic:

    So WaPo is like “Democracy Dies in Darkness”, the NYT is like “Bring on the Fascism!” Or the Brawndo, whichever.

    The FYNYT Slogan: “Turn off the lights!”

  124. 124.

    tobie

    @lamh36: Who comes up with these absurd ideas? (I should say, ideas that would be inane if they did not kow-tow to power and represent a real threat to democracy.) The publisher? The executive editor? The public editor? All three?

  125. 125.

    Immanentize

    @lamh36: Isn’t there some way to send them totally plausible but false leads so that they expend energy and money on fake news?

  127. 127.

    Ridnik Chrome

    @TenguPhule: A firing squad would be too dignified for such people. I want to see them in stocks on the village green, being pelted with rotten vegetables.

  128. 128.

    ? ?? Goku ? ?

    @TenguPhule: Oh, no problems with that at all.

    Fuck you Ed. It’s doesn’t have to be a case of Repubes wanting people dead; they just don’t give a shit if people die. Not a dime’s worth of difference, in either case

  129. 129.

    cain

    @Nick:

    What you are doing is called ‘concern trolling’, because your comment doesn’t really contribute to the issue at hand but instead raises an issue that none of us here can fix or resolve or do anything Just in case you’re wondering at the reception your comment has received here. While Im sure most of us agree with what you’re saying but that’s not our world right now, and we aren’t making the rules, but we have to live in them.. and well, when in Rome..

  134. 134.

    gene108

    @Schlemazel:

    I am really old, I listen to PHC but doubt anyone under 55 does

    I did a Master’s degree about 5-6 years ago. Was hanging out with some classmates, at one of their houses and we’d started playing a trivia game. Myself and one other person, were the only two above 30 at the time, and I’m a few years older than the other gentleman.

    PHC came up as an answer. None of them had heard of it. I know about it because my mom listens to it.

    I was surprised no one else knew about it. I know it’s very popular, but I guess you are right about it being ignored by the younger generation.

  135. 135.

    TenguPhule

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    the White House is asking for suggestions on how the government can help the people. Seems like an opportunity.

    Impeach, convict and execute Trump for Treason?

    /Hey, it follows the legal process so no harm, no foul.

  137. 137.

    Brachiator

    It’s got busy at work, so I can’t follow the coverage.

    But it sounds like fun, especially when Ted Cruz gets slapped around.

  138. 138.

    ? ?? Goku ? ?

    @TenguPhule:

    /Can anyone blame me for having him up against the wall when the revolution comes?

    Also, too: Sandinista!

  139. 139.

    A Ghost to Most

    “We’re gonna give you a fair trial, followed by a first class hangin”

  141. 141.

    chris

    @Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): Hard question. Trump thinks he’s the God Emperor and can do whatever he wants, which seems to be lining his own pockets.
    Cruz KNOWS because his Daddy told him that he has been anointed by God His Ownself to lead the Merkin people out of the wilderness. He’s a dominionist and a theocrat so there’d be less grifting (maybe) and a lot more prayin’ and bible-thumpin’. And probably public stonings if he could get away with it.
    And Russia would still be a problem.
    Hell of a choice…

    ETA: What Ridnik Chrome said, too.

  142. 142.

    MCA1

    @Schlemazel: This thread’s already dying, no need for a new one! Thile’s a musical polymath and genius instrumentalist, so he’s been wise to focus his version of the show to his strengths. As a Gen X’er, I love having a cohort of guests a little more “hip” to folks my age. I think if you forced me to list out my 20 favorite living musicians/bands right now, he’s probably already had half of them on in 6 months. And some of the non-musicians, like John Hodgeman, Kevin Nealon, and Trevor Noah, would probably never have been on with GK.

    The non-musical stuff will never be quite the same, with the News from Lake Wobegon acting as the centerpiece and the gravity to balance the frivolousness of some of the other segments. A lot of those were sort of goofy and not that funny all along, but it didn’t matter because if you just waited long enough you’d get your 8-12 minutes of sublime storytelling and some harmonious music and that’s what you’d carry away with you.

    Overall impression:

    1. I miss Keillor like everyone else, but he’d done it so long he didn’t owe anyone anything and I’m glad for him that he’s passed the reins.

    2. I think the show under Keillor was so singularly “his” that to try to replicate it, by installing some other folklorist, writer-y type would have been folly, so while there was no way to retool the show in a fashion that would please every fan, it made sense.

    3. The way they chose to retool at least has a chance to gain a younger, wider audience, and since it happens that that choice has led to a show that feels like it’s been curated by someone who’s been spying on me and my iTunes and Netflix accounts for the past 10 years and specifically trying to aim for me and me alone, I love it.

  145. 145.

    Kay (not the front-pager)

    Sally Yates never used the phrase “Bless your heart” but she “bless your heart”ed those Republican Senators to DEATH this afternoon!

  147. 147.

    patrick II

    @Schlemazel:

    Sorry, Schlemazel, I have one of the older, analog snark meters. I should have been replying to @Nick:

    But, please, no one award me a bag of salty dicks because of my mistake.

  148. 148.

    Tom Q

    The fact that Republican Senators (with one exception) spent all their time trying to kick up dust on barely-even-peripheral issues tells us how bad they know all this is for their party. When your only play is distraction, you’re going to lose at some point; the only question is, how badly.

    The exception, by the way, is Ben Sasse. This isn’t the first time he’s shown signs that being a conservative GOPer doesn’t automatically mean one has to be a complete hack. He might be the guy Republicans end up looking to at some point as a way of rebuilding their party. (Because, yes: I do believe this current incarnation is going to collapse in disgrace at some not-too-far-off point.)

  151. 151.

    Schlemazel

    @gene108:
    The world GK wrote about in his “letters” didn’t exist when those people were growing up. Much of the humor bite (which had gotten weaker) were almost more inside jokes by the end. But it is disapointing because of the range of performers he could bring on was amazing and deserves attention.

  152. 152.

    Adam L Silverman

    @germy: Whitehouse admitted the Cummings letter into the record with no objections at the beginning of the hearing during his opening remarks. There are several items of documentation that have been reported since January that the Vice President has been lying about what he knew and when he knew it.

  155. 155.

    rk

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I really can’t think of a single good thing to say about Trump. Literally nothing comes to mind. Even with some of the most worthless people you can say something like “he loves his family, or his family loves him or he/she likes animals”. But with Trump, nothing! The wife hates him, daughter love is twisted, he seems to be indifferent to his young son and Tiffany, and he has no pets. Just a bag of barely sentient human flesh. I’ve seen animals with more loving instincts than Trump.

  156. 156.

    Schlemazel

    @MCA1:
    I agree with just about everything you said. Back in the late 80s early 90s the letter from Lake Wobegone was some of the best American writing since Twain. Much better than most of GKs books really. But he peaked & was going downhill for a long time. I find the stand up that now fills that time to be nit or miss with even people I like missing. But the show can’t be the new kid does Keillor either so its a good thing he changed it.

  158. 158.

    TenguPhule

    @MomSense: I still remember the original dubs and how the networks would tend not only to play them out of order, but repeat the episodes when some idiot got the tapes confused.

  159. 159.

    David Spikes

    @lamh36: I was going to say fuck the NYT with red hot dildos, but that’s not enough-fuck them with dildos hotter than the heart of the sun.

  161. 161.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    @MCA1

    I discovered PHC in the early mid eighties and very much enjoyed it! YMMV, but I grew tired of it by around ’07. Got sooo tired of GK insisting on singing along with everybody. A Norah Jones does not need your harmonizing, GK!

    His homely little sermons became (again, for me) very wearisome and repetitive.

    “Krueger Offerson was lonely. He was so lonely. Never met the right woman, never met her. Never had the time. But now he was lonely. He was lonely and thought maybe it was time to try again, time to try to meet a woman….”

  162. 162.

    MomSense

    @TenguPhule:

    I dozed through parts of many of those episodes so the repeats were good for me. That show saved me. I could turn it on, sit on the couch with the kids, and sort of half sleep and rest while they were transfixed.

    There were also lots of reenactments with action figures.

  163. 163.

    TenguPhule

    @Baud:

    Ted probably wouldn’t sell us out to a foreign power or launch a thermonuclear war.

    One of those assumptions is wrong.

  164. 164.

    TenguPhule

    @MomSense: The original series was so bad about the fillers (long charge ups, endless running) that they rebooted the series in Japan to remove most of it.

  165. 165.

    germy

    @Adam L Silverman:

    There are several items of documentation that have been reported since January that the Vice President has been lying about what he knew and when he knew it.

    This is important, and something that was unclear to me.

    I got the impression from the Yates testimony (what little I’ve heard and read) that Pence was deceived. But he seems to have gotten plenty of warning, just chose to ignore it.

  166. 166.

    SFAW

    @Nick:

    Actually, I sort of agree. “Sort of,” because it doesn’t bother me at all when a Dem verbally beats the crap out of a Rethug; what bothers me is when some Dem/liberal/leftie says that Mr./Ms. X “DESTROYED” Rethuglican Y — and then when I read the transcript or watch the vid, all I see is the mildest of snark, if that. If you tell me that Dem X put a hurtin’ on a Rethug, I expect to see one.

    I find DKos mailings do that a shitload more than is reasonable. Unlike many here, I don’t have a problem with DKos, but those breathless e-mails drive me crazy when it turns out to be mostly bullshit.

    ETA: Looks like I’m in good company w/Betty @ 52

  167. 167.

    TenguPhule

    @germy: Only self-deception, if that. Yates appeared to be quietly chipping away at Pence’s ignorance defense. It might have been too subtle for most people to catch it. The Republicans certainly didn’t.

  168. 168.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    @lamh36: this is so fucking ridiculous. These morons really think they’re on a reality show where there a bunch of Kabuki theater going on.

  169. 169.

    MCA1

    @Schlemazel: “in the late 80s early 90s the letter from Lake Wobegone was some of the best American writing since Twain.” Certainly, within the form and genre, it was. I don’t know that I want to put him up with Faulkner or Steinbeck or Hemingway, but as an essayist and chronicler of American life and raconteur he had no equal in the second half of the 20th century, I think.

    One of the saddest things to me in the fallout of the election has been to realize that a lot of those lovable, seemingly good, kindhearted people of Lake Wobegon had over time probably turned into Drumpf voters. Or had never been all that good and kindhearted in the first place. I mean, shit, wouldn’t Michelle Bachmann’s district have covered it?

  171. 171.

    ? ?? Goku ? ?

    @TenguPhule: So do I slightly. I was very young when they first aired. Tried listening to original. Japanese Goku’s voice is too childlike. Also as much as I like the Falconer soundtrack, the funi dub had stuff that wasn’t even in the actual show. Like Goku’s “Hope of the Universe” speech

  172. 172.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @zhena gogolia:

    Raw Story eventually dropped their “Russell Brand DESTROYS X” schtick, and mostly abandoned the Noam Chomsky obsession (I can’t post over there for about 4 years now due to me hating on Chomsky).

  174. 174.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    Hmmm … he probably managed to make poop in the potty at least once this week?

    That’s about it.

  177. 177.

    Bishop Bag

    @lamh36: Just sent in a nice note about how he did not brag about raping girls this morning. Is that nice enough???

  182. 182.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @TenguPhule:

    Can anyone blame me for having him up against the wall when the revolution comes?

    I can. Waste of ammo. Have him beaten to death with a tire iron; they’re reusable.

    @TenguPhule: I vote for potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7). Just about the nastiest shit in the universe this side of hydrofluoric acid. Used it in HS advanced science class (50 yrs ago) as the penultimate step in cleaning lab glassware (followed by distilled HOH). A drop on your skin & you’re burned to the bone before you can do anything about it.

    @schrodingers_cat: Shorter Crooze: I’m not only President of the Harebrain Club for Men, I’m a satisfied customer!

  186. 186.

    ? ?? Goku ? ?

    @TenguPhule: DBZ Kai. Filler was removed and Japanese soundtrack left in place.

    Some filler (like Goku and Piccolo learning how to drive; funny as HFIL!) is okay

  187. 187.

    A Ghost to Most

    @Adam L Silverman:

    There are several items of documentation that have been reported since January that the Vice President has been lying about what he knew and when he knew it.

    Thanks. I’ve been waiting for this.

  188. 188.

    Jacel

    @gene108: I’m so old I remember that there was about a year when I tried hard to not mix up the names of a good New Yorker casual writer and the obviously unrelated host of an old-timey radio show with a similar sounding name. Amazed to finally realize they were the same person.

  189. 189.

    Jacel

    @Tom Q: I agree on being surprised pleasantly by Ben Sasse. He didn’t pursue anything that would directly harm Trump, but his questions were very germane to preventing the Russians continuing to impact our elections. I’ll take that from a Republican senator as a plus.

  190. 190.

    Jacel

    @Schlemazel: In the early years of installments of “News From Lake Wobegon” the way the storytelling built a world was phenomenal. The initial book “Lake Wobegon Days” was astonishing for the way GK treated it as a hard-worked book that informed the oral stories at a whole new level. When he came out with another volume of Lake Wobegon stories, they were simply transcripts of more recent stories on the show, and felt like much thinner stuff as a book.

  191. 191.

    Jacel

    @MCA1: If I remember right, the fictional Lake Wobegon was modeled on Anoka, Minnesota, where GK had lived. And Anoka is within Bachmann’s former district and was where she grew up.

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