Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

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

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

This fight is for everything.

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

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

If marriage is the equivalent of selling yourself into slavery, women with self respect should reject the offer.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Democrats are back in array!

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

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

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: This and That

Open Thread: This and That

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So Bright They Had To Wear Shades

This is from Thursday night’s fundraiser that sounded like it was Oscar/Grammy/WHCD level star quality in attendance.

 

 

I have my issues with Kyle Clark  – mostly having to do with some ill-advised remarks after the 2016 election (and no, not quite over that yet) – but for the most part, between his reporting, charity work and love of sharing good news stories, I do respect his work.  This was right on the mark.

Cleaning out some bookmarks:

A life-sized killer whale was crafted using snow and sand at Jericho Beach. On Friday afternoon, the rain was no match for the beached whale, and it still stood.

Onlookers and beach walkers stopped to take in the work of art with some questioning if it was real from a distance.

More on the Vancouver snow sculptures here.

This guy made me laugh – and yes, when you read my obituary it will probably say, “cause of death, she tried to pet… (something large and unpettable for sure).”

This is an open thread

Reader Interactions

38Comments

  1. 1.

    FDRLincoln

    • In the movie Elmer Gantry, corrupt demagogue Gantry was a Bible salesman.

      In the book The Dead Zone, demagogue and future president who destroys the world, Greg Stillson, was a Bible salesman.

      Just sayin.

  3. 3.

    stinger

    “There are gun rights groups that don’t [mock the parents of murdered children].”

    Name one.

  4. 4.

    Mike in NC

    This Bible also features a copy of:

    • Handwritten chorus to “God Bless The USA” by Lee Greenwood
    • The US Constitution
    • The Bill of Rights
    • The Declaration of Independence
    • The Pledge of Allegiance

    Be advised that Fat Bastard has never read any of the above. A loathsome racist career criminal who once cashed a check for 14 cents.

  9. 9.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Mike in NC:

    And has a U.S. flag imprinted on the cover.

    If his supposedly Christian followers don’t grok what the problem is here, they’re hopeless.

  12. 12.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @lowtechcyclist: And has a U.S. flag imprinted on the cover.

    If his supposedly Christian followers don’t grok what the problem is here, they’re hopeless.

    The problem is, in fact, that they don’t see the problem. They see the Bible and flag as inextricably bound, 1st amendment and 2nd commandment be damned.

  14. 14.

    Melancholy Jaques

    I watched the Kyle Clark video and he mostly spot on. But he seems not to realize that there is an audience for what Rocky Mountain Gun Owners is doing. A rather large audience and they are all Republicans. These are not good people.

    But the political media will continue to pretend that they are.

  15. 15.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @stinger: “There are gun rights groups that don’t [mock the parents of murdered children].”

    Name one.

    John Brown Gun Club.

  17. 17.

    cain

    Big Dawg bringing the cool with that slouchy sitting on the chair. :-) Hell, they all look cool, confident, and bad ass. That’s the Democratic presidential bench right there, yo!

  18. 18.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Copy/pasting my comment from earlier thread:

    Beyonce dropped her country album Cowboy Carter this morning and it is truly superb.  Amazing tunes, killer covers and some legendary cameos from Dolly, Willie, Miley and others.  This shit is so much better than the garbage, pop-country I used to have to play four sets of, about a decade ago.  And like everything Beyonce does it is just bursting with unapologetic celebration of Blackness.  I hope it wins “Best Country” and “Best Album” awards.

  19. 19.

    indycat32

    I may have mentioned the recent appearance of 3 homeless cats to my neighborhood, two males and a tortie who was, of course, pregnant,.  Got the males fixed, tried to find a rescue group to take the tortie with no success.  I had given up and didn’t know what I was going to do, with none of my options good, (Indy “Humane” said spay and abort) when, JUST IN TIME!! a rescue group said they would take her.  I’m sure the large  donation I promised had nothing to do with their decision.  The two males, Wesley (gray and white) and Rocky (tan and cream), are adorable and friendly, if anyone is searching for a new kitty.

  22. 22.

    catclub

    @twbrandt: in ‘Paper Moon’  Moses pray was a bible salesman… among other things.  He was a  harmless grifter and did a little good.

  24. 24.

    Scout211

    @LiminalOwl: I saw that and then I saw this:

    CNN   Social Security recipients will now have to pay back much less if they were inadvertently overpaid.

    The Social Security Administration announced Friday that it will no longer automatically withhold 100% of the overpayment amount from recipients’ monthly benefits. Instead, it will collect 10% – or $10, whichever is greater – to recover the overpayment.

    There will be limited exceptions, such as when an overpayment resulted from fraud.

    “Social Security is taking a critically important step towards our goal of ensuring our overpayment policies are fair, equitable, and do not unduly harm anyone,” Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley said in a statement. “It’s unconscionable that someone would find themselves facing homelessness or unable to pay bills, because Social Security withheld their entire payment for recovery of an overpayment.”

  25. 25.

    Another Scott

    @Chetan Murthy: +1

    Kurt Andersen
    @KBAndersen

    30 years ago, Spy magazine sent “refund” checks for $1.11 to 58 rich people. The 26 who cashed those got a another check, for $.64. The 13 who cashed those each got a check for $.13. Two people cashed the $.13 checks—Donald Trump and Jamal Khashoggi’s arms-dealer uncle Annan.

    5:12 PM · Oct 19, 2018

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  26. 26.

    E.

    Let’s not leave out Flannery O’Connor’s bible salesman who seduces a girl with a prosthetic leg so he can take it from her and leave her helpless in the barn loft.

  28. 28.

    David 🏈 Mahomes! 🏈 Koch

    In “The Flim-Flam Man” doesn’t Mordeci Jones (George C. Scott) pose as a preacher in one on his grifts

  30. 30.

    Citizen Alan

    @lowtechcyclist: They don’t. I once tried to explain to a bible-thumping moron who complained about “The ACLU” suing to get the mandatory Pledge of Allegiance out of the school that the case (Burnette) was not brought by the ACLU but by the Watchtower Society on behalf of several Jehovah’s Witness families who considered pledging allegiance to the flag to be idolatry forbidden by Scripture. And also that under the law in question, when their children refused to salute the flag, they would be taken away from their Jehovah’s Witness families and fostered out to other families who would teach them to be “proper” Christians, presumably with the aid of beatings.

    It was like talking to a brick wall.

  31. 31.

    NotMax

    Ramifications will ripple through already troubled waters (WaPo link).

    A veto by Russia on Thursday ended the United Nations’ monitoring of sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, dissolving a U.N. body that for 14 years was responsible for keeping a close eye on Pyongyang’s illicit activities.

    This was Russia’s first time vetoing what has previously been a routine annual vote to extend the panel’s mandate, which had signified a unified global opposition to North Korea’s expansion of its nuclear weapons program and violations of international sanctions.
    [snip]
    “With this veto, Russia has transitioned from an international spoiler to an outlaw state, when it comes to nuclear nonproliferation and ballistic missile enforcement norms,” Hugh Griffiths, former coordinator of the panel, told The Washington Post. “It’s told the world that U.N.-prohibited North Korean nuclear weapons programs are now, somehow, okay.”
    [snip]
    Griffiths noted that one of the important functions of the panel was providing an independent assessment of the companies and individuals that were violating financial sanctions on North Korea or supporting its proliferation networks. That information was used by banks and insurance companies to freeze and close assets of those people and companies verified to be helping North Korea violate international sanctions, he said. Source

  34. 34.

    lowtechcyclist

    @🐾BillinGlendaleCA:

    TIL that you can adjust the hot water temperature on a single handle faucet, no more cold showers!

    TIL what ‘TIL’ means in this context.

    I’ve known about the single handle faucets forever, but there’s a wide difference in how easy or challenging it is to get the volume and temperature you want.  If Consumer Reports has found a way to measure and rate this, I’d subscribe just for that.

  35. 35.

    lowtechcyclist

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation:

    The problem is, in fact, that they don’t see the problem. They see the Bible and flag as inextricably bound, 1st amendment and 2nd commandment be damned.

    I’ve been to ‘patriotic’ church services where the congregation said the Pledge of Allegiance.  (I had to walk out.)  Afterwards, I was told that it was OK because they also said the pledge of allegiance to the ‘Christian flag’ which doesn’t really exist, at least not in the sense of being generally recognized by Christians as being the Christian flag. (We don’t need a flag – we’ve got a cross. Seems like an appropriate day to mention that. But the notion that one makes the other OK makes no sense at all.  And the notion that we, as Christians, should pledge our allegiance to any earthly power, when we worship what we believe is the God who made the Universe and everything in it, seems equally absurd.

  36. 36.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    The lady dealing with the moose sounds experienced, referencing its laid back ears as a bad sign. I guess if yoh live in moose country, you learn or you get hurt. And I didn’t know moose liked sweet potatoes!

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