Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

This is dead girl, live boy, a goat, two wetsuits and a dildo territory.  oh, and pink furry handcuffs.

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

T R E 4 5 O N

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Fight them, without becoming them!

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

There are times when telling just part of the truth is effectively a lie.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

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

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Sunday Night Horrowshow Open Thread: As American As A Burning Cross

Sunday Night Horrowshow Open Thread: As American As A Burning Cross

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MSNBC finds a way to phrase the GOP problem… delicately:

… There are five counties in the state of Alabama where more than 30 percent of the 25-and-over population has a college degree, according to the U.S. Census. Strange won three of those counties and did so fairly convincingly, by about 8 points, 54.1 percent – 45.9 percent.

But the rest of state went against the sitting senator and the margins for him got worse as the percentage of those with a college education dropped.

There are two counties where the college education rates were between 25 percent and 30 percent. Moore won those counties by about 6 points, 53.2 percent – 46.8 percent. The rest of the counties have fewer than 25 percent of the population with a degree. Moore won them by more than 18 points, 59.2 percent – 40.8 percent.

Those education numbers have a special significance when you look at the Republican Senate seats that are up in 2018. In eight of them, all but Utah, the college-educated population numbers are below 30 percent, which is roughly the national average.

The Alabama results suggest the Republican voters in those states may be ready for a more populist, anti-establishment candidate — one that would challenge the incumbent and pull him or her toward the more populist end of the GOP.

To be clear, these college education figures aren’t solely about education, they are about people living in different economic and cultural worlds…

In other words: “We’re not gonna spell it out, but there’s a genuine fear among the people who make a living off the GOP that it’s turning into the house brand for ignorant rubes who’ve never had to meet anyone they weren’t related to.”

(And, of course, they’re heavily armed.)
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Reader Interactions

130Comments

  5. 5.

    efgoldman

    I have a feeling Senator Moore from Alabama is going to be amusing, and not in a comedic way.
    He will make Tailgunner Teddy Cruz seem like the voice of moderation, and make himself equally popular with the RWNJ caucus.

  6. 6.

    encephalopath

    Knowing what the word “revanchist” means and using it correctly indicates that you are an enemy of the people. Alabama has hear enough of that kind of talk.

  7. 7.

    Feebog

    The problem with Bannon’s theory is that Moore is probably the best known political figure in Alabama. Peckerwood j. Redneck from Asswipe Mississippi might not get the same support, even though his political world view.mirrors Moore’s.

  9. 9.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    I know the tides of history and demographics are on our side, but, shit, I wish to hell they’d hurry up and come in already. I’m so sick of this shit.

    I mean, I know that these assholes are getting as bad as they are because they, too, know that things are changing, and they’re scared and desperate. But it’s that desperation that makes them so dangerous. I don’t want to see violence break out any more than it already has here and there, though the real advantage as far as that goes is that most of these losers are too sad and scared and weak to do anything violent unless they have 500 other like minded idiots with them, and they’re too lazy and stupid to get out and organize any gathering of more than 15 at a time most of the time. I don’t know. Maybe we’ll get through this and come out all right. I have to keep hoping. But this last year and a half scares the shit out of me.

  10. 10.

    Mike G

    There are five counties in the state of Alabama where more than 30 percent of the 25-and-over population has a college degree

    You’re shitting me.
    Maybe if you include barber college, cosmetology school and “bible colleges” that teach nothing except how to be a parochial bigot.

    Moore’s political brand is primary whining about being a persecuted victim, which outstrips football as the real most popular sport in the bible belt.

  11. 11.

    Roger Moore

    @Feebog:

    The problem with Bannon’s theory is that Moore is probably the best known political figure in Alabama. Peckerwood j. Redneck from Asswipe Mississippi might not get the same support, even though his political world view.mirrors Moore’s.

    How do you think Moore got to be the most famous politician in Alabama, though? It wasn’t by being the voice of moderation and sanity; it was by being the craziest idiot in the state. That worked because there are a lot of people in Alabama who want crazy candidates. Our best hope is that Moore is now too crazy even for Alabama.

  12. 12.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.):

    I mean, I know that these assholes are getting as bad as they are because they, too, know that things are changing, and they’re scared and desperate.

    They’re neither scared nor desperate. At most, they’re excitable. They are hateful ignorant assholes who believe vile things and have always believed vile things and are proud of it. What’s different is that the people running for office are proudly hateful ignorant assholes too, rather than being a little bit more cagey about it like they used to be when their hateful ignorant asshole voters were making everyone in the world think the South was an embarrassment to civilized society. That’s what led to the “New South” and all of those pro-business, pro-corporate-headquarters, pro-civil-rights Democrats who changed the region’s reputation. But now they’ve lost their shame all over again and it’s Wallaces and Faubuses all the way down.

  14. 14.

    Corner Stone

    @Roger Moore:

    That worked because there are a lot of people in Alabama who want crazy candidates.

    It seems like there are a lot of people in AL that want to vote for the worst impulses among us mainly just because “fuck you that’s why”.

  19. 19.

    Roger Moore

    @Mike G:

    You’re shitting me.

    Bear in mind, that’s 5 out of 67 counties where >30% of the 25+ population has college degrees. 5 of 67.

  21. 21.

    catclub

    @magurakurin: My suggestion is drop the fucking national Anthem at sporting events. I love the national anthem.

    I think the NA at NBA games where a large fraction of the players are from other countries is absurd. I wonder which one they played when they had an NFL game in London?

  24. 24.

    catclub

    @Feebog:

    Peckerwood j. Redneck from Asswipe Mississippi might not get the same support, even though his political world view.mirrors Moore’s.

    In the case of the actual Mississippi his name is Chris Daniels and he came within a hair of unseating Thad Cochran the last time around. Wicker is almost certainly in his sights when he comes up.

  25. 25.

    Brachiator

    .The Alabama results suggest the Republican voters in those states may be ready for a more populist, anti-establishment candidate — one that would challenge the incumbent and pull him or her toward the more populist end of the GOP.

    So, “populist” now means “batshit crazy racist religious zealot.” The American Taliban is riding high.

  26. 26.

    catclub

    @Roger Moore:

    Bear in mind, that’s 5 out of 67 counties where >30% of the 25+ population has college degrees. 5 of 67.

    But since Moore did not blow him out with the other 60 counties, those were the 5 most populous counties. It looks to me like red and rural versus urban and educated – and growing.

  27. 27.

    dmsilev

    @Major Major Major Major: I played it for a while and then just sort of lost interest; never came close to finishing the main quest or anything like that. I think the last big RPG I actually (mostly) finished was Dragon Age: Inquisition.

  28. 28.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Brachiator: No one knows what “populist” means and “establishment” is blurring together all kinds of things from incumbency to experience to competence to wealth. The media analyzes politics stupidly and keeps getting worse.

  31. 31.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Roger Moore: All of those either include civilian universities, NASA, the Redstone Arsenal, and one of them includes Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, which includes Air War College, Air Command and Staff College, and the School of Advanced Aerospace Studies (The US Air Force strategist professional school).

  32. 32.

    Mnemosyne

    I’ll repeat something I said last night: knowing what we now know about ongoing Russian interference in places like Catalonia, Spain, it seems instructive to me that Democrats are winning less-publicized races by large margins but losing more-publicized ones. I know that Moore is a longtime AL politician, but I can’t help wondering if he got an extra boost from ‘bots and Facebook ads paid for by his pals in Moscow.

    ETA: I also know that this was a primary against another Republican, but I hope the Democrats are already scrambling to try and block as much Russian interference as they can.

  34. 34.

    jl

    I haven’t followed this part of the mess. Still trying to wrap my head around Trump’s insane war mongering tweets attacking his own State department’s diplomatic efforts on North Korea.

    Impeachment yet? Beyond malfeasance. Incompetence and madness.

  37. 37.

    Millard Filmore

    @magurakurin:

    NFL fans just booed a prayer for equality in Baltimore.

    A stadium full of football fans will boo anything that gets in the way of the game, except for the half time show.

  38. 38.

    Mike G

    @Adam L Silverman:

    All of those either include civilian universities, NASA, the Redstone Arsenal, and one of them includes Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, which includes Air War College, Air Command and Staff College, and the School of Advanced Aerospace Studies (The US Air Force strategist professional school).

    So basically all the decent economic infrastructure in the state comes courtesy of the feds, while the locals moan about the evils of taxes and “big government”.

  39. 39.

    Citizen Alan

    @Feebog:

    “Peckerwood j. Redneck” is better known in Mississippi as Chris McDaniel, the guy who very nearly defeated Thad Cochran in the GOP primary four years ago despite being as close to being openly a Klan supporter as you could get without actually showing up in public in the white hood. It is extremely unlikely I know, but it is not impossible for Chris McDaniel to beat Roger Wicker in the primary next year and then lose to a serious Democrat (Ray Mabus is supposedly considering it — former Dem governor and SecNavy under Obama).

  41. 41.

    Steeplejack

    Nosferatu (1922) starting on TCM. First Dracula movie, very influential horror movie. Worth checking out if you haven’t seen it.

  42. 42.

    Corner Stone

    @Steeplejack: Sir, please disavow me now, pray for atonement for your sins and vow to never, ever, comment again about….that thing.
    For your own sake, and safety. You must. I beg of you!

  43. 43.

    Steeplejack

    @Steeplejack:

    Followed by Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Cercle Rouge (1970) at 2:15 a.m. EDT. Yves Montand, Alain Delon, Gian Maria Volonte. “A detective pursues a thief who robbed a jewelry store with an ex-convict and a sharpshooter.” Trailer here.

  45. 45.

    Corner Stone

    @Steeplejack: I’m not sure about that comment. But you’ve been designated as an enemy of the “BECAUSE FUCK YOU THAT’S WHY” contingent here at BJ. And now lumped in with me and NFL players disrespecting the flag through their protests and daddy issues and feelings that 100 term nyms are all coming, or beards or two ice cream scoops or something about promotions or, fuck I don’t know anymore. All I do know is that whatever happens it is your fault, BECAUSE FUCK YOU THAT’S WHY.

  48. 48.

    JGabriel

    andrew kaczynski via Anne Laurie @ Top:

    On TV today we played footage I found of Roy Moore saying the Newtown, CT. shooting happened because we forgot God’s law.

    So … the GOP stance is now that Obama faked the Newton shooting because we forgot God’s Law, and not because Hillary wanted an excuse to ban guns?

  54. 54.

    Gretchen

    My wingnut brother just friended a random guy named Jim Bates who says he lives in Puerto Rico and that they’re getting plenty of help. Brother has a Masters degree and knows about primary sources. Mayor of San Juan is a primary source. Random internet dude is not. Yet he chooses to believe random internet dude over primary source. Why?

  56. 56.

    patrick II

    I have mentioned this before, but I still don’t know the answer. Why haven’t we sent helicopters, especially load lifting copters like the Chinook to Puerto Rico? We have all of those cut-off towns, cargo sitting on docks and blocked roads. Emergency logistics is always more difficult than it appears, but I have yet to see news of a single helicopter in Puerto Rico. Why is that?

  59. 59.

    Shalimar

    @Feebog: Moore is an indiscriminate bomb-thrower who doesn’t work with fellow members of his party. Yes, he has the highest name recognition of any politician in Alabama, but the downside of that is that a lot of Republican voters know him and hate him. He has lost 2 primaries for governor. A no-name tea party member in another state won’t have that negative history to fight against.

  60. 60.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Gretchen: Wingnuts have always been friends with Master Bates.

    (My friend-of-a-friend wingnut who’s always circulating wingnutty memes on Facebook while bragging about his capacity for independent thinking was citing randos with alleged Puerto Rican insider insights tonight too. I think the call went out from and to the hive mind that they needed some material for rebutting the obvious incompetence and lack of interest of their clown prince.)

  61. 61.

    Shalimar

    @Mike G: One of George Wallace’s methods of rewarding political allies was to appoint them to run a junior college. As a result, there were 56 junior colleges at one time in Alabama’s 67 counties, the most per capita in the nation. College degree in Alabama frequently means Associate’s, not Bachelor’s.

  62. 62.

    NotMax

    @patrick II

    Laymen’s speculation is that with uncertain regularity of fuel supplies for now, using helicopters for reconnaissance and search and rescue and using trucks for transport and delivery is the more fuel efficient path.

  64. 64.

    Gretchen

    @patrick II: good question. I think it’s just incometence. There are lots of roads that are blocked by debris or mudslides and they have to get around that so it seems to me that’s the only way.

  72. 72.

    NotMax

    Irrelevant aside.

    Experimented with making a (non-alcoholic) Piña Colada dessert loaf – studded with raisins – in the super duper bread machine. Looks and smells fine. Acid test will be that first slice after it cools for an hour or so on the wire rack.

  74. 74.

    Darkrose

    @dmsilev: I’m at over 1500 hours and counting on Skyrim. I’ll typically take a break for a few months, then go back, trash all my saves and start with a new character. It works because I’m on the PC version and I can use my 230 mods, including the “No Spiders” mod that allows me to play the game in the first place, and the Alternate Start mod.

    At some point, I want to play DA: Inquisition, but I need to figure out a spider workaround, and pick a time between Final Fantasy XIV patches.

  77. 77.

    NotMax

    Watching Cleverman on Netflix. Lotta problems with the concept per se, however now that am into season 2 it appears season 1 was all introductory build-up so it’s truckin’ right along thus far.

  80. 80.

    NotMax

    @BillinGlendaleCA

    “The List was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas-eves ago. We have labored on it since. It is a ponderous List!”
      – Balloon Juice Marley

  88. 88.

    Gretchen

    @Amir Khalid: I know, but why is he so motivated to believe lies? He’s a smart guy and a good person. What motivates someone like that who used to be able to evaluate information to believe nonsense?

  91. 91.

    CaseyL

    Following the Las Vegas story on MSNBC, and they’re not giving any numbers of wounded/dead or status of the search for the shooters. Twitter has more info, but I can’t guess where it’s coming from, or how accurate. Still an active shooting scene, so the cops have more important things to do right now than talk to reporters.

  92. 92.

    patrick II

    @NotMax:

    A couple of days ago 40% of Puerto Ricans did not have clean water. Waiting until they clear the roads and trucks get to those mountain towns will be too late.

    As for fuel, the navy has tankers and ships with helipads.

  93. 93.

    Luthe

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: You know the racism /xenophobia in the country is bad when you are hoping the shooter is a deranged white guy because otherwise the Racist-in-Chief and his mouth-breather followers will be blaming every [insert racist term here] for the shooting.

    (White guys always act alone, you know)

  98. 98.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @toschek:

    Why? Blood gargling conservative fuckers of the GOP and NRA were more than happy to do nothing about a bunch of dead 6 year olds, offered lots of thoughts and prayers, talked about the hallowed 2nd. I’m simply returning the favor to their demographic.

  103. 103.

    Darkrose

    @opiejeanne: Oh yeah. I blame Tolkein; every fantasy game has to have giant spiders, and their horribly creepy webs. I played parts of Dragon Age 2 with my glasses off; it was the only way I could deal with some of the dungeons. It’s also why I play games like Dragon Age and Skyrim on the PC, because usually there’s at least one mod that removes the8-legged fiends.

  106. 106.

    Amir Khalid

    @Gretchen:
    All I can think of is that the dark parts of his id, perhaps stimulated by his choice of social peers and/or news sources, may have come to dominate his political thinking.

  107. 107.

    toschek

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:

    Painting every fan of a certain kind of music with a really broad brush there though aren’t you? Basically saying you don’t care if these people are dead? You know, you don’t have to stoop to the NRA/GOP level of dialog to resist them — we’re supposed to be better than that. Again, you should be ashamed of yourself. Fine, think those things if you want but what makes you think it’s a good idea to say them out loud.

    By the way, there were supposedly up to 30,000 people at that concert according to what some attendees have been told — and news is sketchy at the moment — but even if there were only 30 people there it wouldn’t matter. A lot of the people there probably got comped free tickets by the casino or just heard there was a concert down the street and went to have some fun — you know, the reason people go to Vegas in the first place. Do you honestly think every single one of those people is a white supremacist 2nd amendment rifle humper? Does it matter? Even if every single one of them is a Trump supporter or a GOP supporter or a 2nd amendment fan they’re still goddamned human beings, someone’s brother/sister/son/daughter/mother/father/etc. Can you still see yourself in the mirror when you shave?

  108. 108.

    patrick II

    @opiejeanne:

    The hospital ship has from Norfolk on Friday. It’s due in Puerto Rico on Tuesday. If Hillary hadn’t pushed for it who knows if and when it would have gone there.

  109. 109.

    NotMax

    @opiejeanne

    You can try World of Warcraft free for 30 days. Any spiders you may encounter (as opposed to them seeking you out) no different than wolves, bats, etc.

    Fair warning: It’s a time sink; you may find yourself looking out the window and wondering how it all of a sudden got to be sunrise.

  112. 112.

    NotMax

    @opiejeanne

    No fondness for spiders here. But would take them any day of the week over some of the oogy bugs one encounters while leveling up.

    Difference with WoW and what was mentioned above is that they won’t come up on you unbidden unless you are specifically going to their areas to off them.

  114. 114.

    patrick II

    @sukabi:

    Thanks sukabi, it seems they will (finally?) get some airlift capability there.
    Now, about the Virgin Islands.

  115. 115.

    GregB

    From the brief clips I saw on the Twitter, the shooter in Vegas was using a fully automatic weapon and has injured many people.

    Also there are monsters Tweeting false information.

  116. 116.

    opiejeanne

    @GregB: Saw the work of the monsters; other people are working to stop their nonsense.

    County sheriff just confirmed more than 100 shot, 20 dead. 2 of the dead are off-cuty cops who were at the concert.

  117. 117.

    hovercraft

    @GregB:
    According to the Vegas police chief, 20+ dead and over 100 injured.
    Sadly the tittle of this post applies to this as well.
    Remember now is not the time to talk about guns!

  120. 120.

    Cermet

    This tragic shooting – in final death toll – will be small compared to the deaths in Puerto Rico; but now, the shooting will be all we hear 24/7. Now if this might lead to better gun control then ok, makes sense. But it won’t.

  121. 121.

    opiejeanne

    @sukabi: Both numbers came from the sheriff, the larger one is the updated one. It may get a lot worse as the night wears on.

  122. 122.

    Anne Laurie

    @sukabi: From what little I’ve seen so far, a number of those “100 injured” will be people hurt in the panic rush when the shooting started.

    This seems like an excellent story to wait for updates before we get too caught up…

  123. 123.

    barb 2

    @NotMax:

    And a-hole Kelly is not Navy.

    Navy carrier has lots of resources. Navy subs have (are) power plants for smaller outlying towns.

    Call in the Navy and Admiral from the area. OK, I’m a biased Navy brat — but I know my dad helped in civilian rescues — floods, hurricanes, the aftermath of tsunamis etc. An aircraft carrier was there to help in Japan (an island) a few years ago.

    I’m now living in an area with active duty and retired Navy — question frequently heard: why hasn’t the Navy been called on in greater numbers? That’s what folks around here want to know. The Navy understands islands.

    Seems like someone wants people in PR to die. No drinking water, no food, and FEMA who are inadequate jerks.

    WaPo has an article by a journalist living in PR, she witnessed a caravan escorting a truck with pallets of bottled water going to a small town, armed guards and a helicopter for added “security”. Just water, not “food” or what FEMA considers food.

    https://twitter.com/AJVicens

    Vicens is a reporter with Mother Jones — he has family on the island and is also sending an eyewitness account. Two reporters with no need to kiss the shitgibbon’s ass.

  124. 124.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    @GregB: sheriff specifically said it was a local resident, not terror. Twitter is pointing to 50ish white guy.

  125. 125.

    bendal

    The Navy had three LPH’s (assault carrier type ships with helicopters and landing craft) in the affected area around Puerto Rico last week, but they had to spread their efforts among all the islands hit by Irma and Maria. One of them had some logistics teams from Fort Bragg on board and they were involved in clearing San Juan’s port and getting the airport operational again. FEMA however appears to have approached the relief on Puerto Rico like any typical hurricane event; get supplies to the affected area, let the locals handle everything else. Except, there is no help on the island; the roads are gone, so is the power, water purification plants, etc. After General Buchanan was put in charge of the relief effort (late last Thursday, btw), his first request was for more helicopters, more men and more construction teams to get the roads operational again. That was last Friday before the first organized effort to begin repairing the roads and bridges was mentioned. Someone remind me how long ago that Maria hit Puerto Rico???

  127. 127.

    Shalimar

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: It was a 3 day country music festival on it’s final act, but the musician playing at the time was Jason Isbell, who is politically a very activist liberal. I’m guessing the fans were politically mixed to hear Isbell, leaning liberal. Not your stereotypical country audience.

  128. 128.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Shalimar: We liberal country/folk music loving folks are out here (don’t know Isbell, my tastes lean to the old timers and such). That said, I can take no offense to Le Comte’s sentiments as they are a fairly accurate representation of the typical country music fan’s response to such shootings.

  129. 129.

    Shalimar

    @Shalimar: Correction: The Isbell identification came from the radio news that woke me up. According to CNN, it was actually Jason Aldean who I know nothing about because I don’t follow country music.

  130. 130.

    NorthLeft12

    I am a little tired of the media’s use of the word “populist”. More and more it is being used to provide cover for out and out racists. Here is a newsflash for the media; racism and racists are not popular with the majority of people. They are a minority, unfortunately not an insignificant one, but still a minority.
    I really resent how this casual misuse seems to imply that being a bigot is somehow a natural and expected condition. Enough already.

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