A lot of websites have chosen not to have comments, but here is why you should- often times the commenters are better than the posts. Case in point, this Culture 11 piece about Kathleen Parker, in which Ericka Andersen declares the Parker piece is “icky,” and the quotes Jonah Goldberg extensively. The very first commenter:
If the best rebuttal you can offer comes from Jonah Goldberg, then you’ve pretty much conceded that Parker is right.
And just like that, the thread is over.
Comrade Stuck
That’s pretty much true whenever Jonah is involved. I mean my parakeet could destroy his drivel with a single tweet.
horatius
Awesome!!!!!
Punchy
New wingnut meme (per nut talk radio) — Companies are in hiring freezes and/or layoffs IN ANTICIPATION of the Obama Admin. Not cuz of 8 yrs of Bush policies. Its all Obama’s fault from here on out….yup
Joshua Norton
So this must be the cut over from everything being Clinton’s fault.
ppcli
Punchy: Right you are. Everything was Clinton’s fault until 1996. Then it was the Congressional Democrats’ fault until Nov. 3 of this year. All Obama’s fault after that. Who else could it be? What other player has there been in all of this mess?
ppcli
Oh, I forgot to add: Except for the Katrina fiasco, of course. That was the fault of the Democratic governor of Louisiana and the Democratic mayor of New Orleans.
DougJ
Everything was Clinton’s fault until 1996. Then it was the Congressional Democrats’ fault until Nov. 3 of this year.
I assume you mean 2006.
I didn’t follow politics in the 1980s so closely but whose fault was everything back then? Carter or the Democrats in the House? Or was it close enough to the 60s that the hippies and black panthers could still be blamed?
Joshua Norton
They still do. I live in San Francisco and a mid-west tourist yahoo recently asked me how to get to the place where all the hippies hang out. I told him to set his way back machine for Haight/Ashbury 1967.
Geez Louise. It’s like going to Chicago and asking where all the flappers and bootleggers are.
Comrade Stuck
It was Paraquat. The goddamn government poisoned our weed. Things haven’t been the same since.
Notorious P.A.T.
Haha, so true )
A Different Matt
New wingnut meme (per nut talk radio)—Companies are in hiring freezes and/or layoffs IN ANTICIPATION of the Obama Admin. Not cuz of 8 yrs of Bush policies. Its all Obama’s fault from here on out….yup
What else would you expect from an omniscient market? You know that Clinton prosperity experienced throughout, but especially in the late 90’s? That was just our omniscient market responding to the forthcoming Bush admin.
RS
I had to do some driving several days after the election, and alone in the car I like to listen to talk radio, generally sports. Unfortunately I was out of range of the sports stations, so I figured, what the fuck, Limbaugh and Hannity have to be feeling some pain, that should shine some light in my world. They were already blaming Obama for the economic collapse. Somewhat conversely, they were attributing the socialist Obama’s election victory to his fooling the voters by adopting a conservative economic platform. These fuckers have so little respect for the thinking abilities of their (regular) listeners that they don’t even pretend at logic.
MarkusB
Beautiful.
Krista
I thought you had comments because you’re a complete masochist and like the abuse that we dish out.
Doug
Definitely true about the comments often being better than the post. Seems like the rightwing blogs are often afraid of that dynamic; preferring a top-down, one-to-many communication structure.
Oh, and from what I hear, dirty fucking hippies are the root of all evil.
demkat620
I thought you had comments so we could tell you what to have for dinner.
Zifnab
I thought you had comments so you could receive our praise for recommending Hola Fruita.
Barbar
Also from comments in that thread:
Hyperion
Originally I came for the posts.
But I stayed because of the comments.
Mojotron
wondering if "ron bailey" is Reason’s Ronald Bailey
Josh Hueco
I thought you had comments so we could bitch at you for not posting our pet photos.
Comrade Stuck
Sweet Jeebus, Holy Joe is schmoozing with Katie Couric with his patented whine about all the vicious partisanship. This coming from the knucklehead who said the dem candidate wasn’t all that American and the candidate of choice by Hamas. It will never stop.
Jeff
WTF! I am speechless. If the Jindal is Muslim becomes a new meme on the Sarah Palin bandwagon then they can…I cannot even think of anything except fuck themselves.
ppcli
Ooops – yes, 2006 of course. I remember the mid-1980’s quite well. I had just arrived in the good old U.S.A. for graduate school, fleeing the very week that a despicable, corrupt regime was installed in my home country. (That would be the Mulroney regime, but I digress.) So my introduction to U.S. politics was the high-water mark of the Reagan era. I remember vividly watching the Bush – Ferraro VP debate, and being struck by the way that whenever some bad thing about the last five (enormous deficit, for example) Bush would say they tried to do something about it "but that Tip O’Neill" wouldn’t let them.
.
In other words, since the Republicans controlled the Presidency and Senate, everything was the Democratic House Speaker’s fault.
.
[Digressing again: now that I think of it, I was watching that debate with some of my neighbors in the grad living quarters, on Michael O’Hanlon’s T.V… So I should take a moment to say that whatever his opinions of the Iraq war, let no one ever say that as a young man he wasn’t generous with his fridge full of beer.]
Libby Spencer
A little off topic since it’s not about wingnuts, but I did just pick up this piece of information from a comment thread and thought I would share because it’s such an incredible bargain.
Restaurant.com is having a special today. 80% off their gift certificates if you use the secret code word "surprise" (without the quote marks) when you order I guess. That translates to $10 gift certificates for $0.60 and $25 for $2.
Lots of restaurants all over the country but I assume you need to order before midnight so if you get this in time and have a dining partner, you might want to check it out. There are some restrictions like most don’t include booze and you need to order two entrees or whatnot.
Anyway, it’s such a huge bargain, I thought I would pass it on.
Tzal
But for comments, there would be no "I am aware of all internet traditions" meme.
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@ A Different Matt:
Oh, that’s just ten pounds of win in a five pound sack!
Nylund
Plus, comments make it easier to waste even more time on the internet while at work.
All that work I don’t do makes my company have to hire someone else, giving one more person a job.
This is my small contribution to ending the recession.
Larime the Gimp
Uh… if anything, Jindal would have been Hindu, most likely. Or Sikh.
But brown people all look alike to these fucknuckles.
jake 4 that 1
Hey, hey, hey now! What about Jimmy "Monster" Carter?
That One - Cain
@demkat620:
Perry Como
Blame for anything that has gone wrong in the last 20 years:
1) Clinton
2) ????
3) Obama
4) Wingnut welfare profit!
Easy, right?
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Actually, the Sikhs are very prejudiced against "darkies" (their word, not mine) like Jindal.
That One - Cain
Boy, accusing a hindu of being a muslim would be like accusing a KKK guy of being black! (well, those ultra conservative hindus..not me though.. I love everyone *slobber* *slobber*)
cain
ppcli
I’ve seen the "Jindal is a secret Muslim" line cropping up, and I predict it will have a robust life for the next few years. No doubt, from time to time someone might try to point out that Jindal was a hindu before he converted to Falwellist Christianity, but the response will surely be "I don’t care what kind of Muslim he is…"
Jeff
@Larime the Gimp: He was Hindu and converted to Catholicism in high school. The idiot would probably think they are similar.
Larime the Gimp
Odd.I know a few darker skinned Sikhs. Not Jindal dark, but still…
No shit. Way to offend two religions at once, huh?
You Hindu?
Objective Scrutator
Balloon Juice is one of the few comment threads where ass kissing does not commence. That’s why I come here. And blog posters are often influenced by their commenters; hence, why I think that John Cole actually considers every possible reasonable perspective before coming to a conclusion (however wrong it may be). John’s also not very egoistical; I stopped reading MarKos because he has an ego that he needs to deal with. (Incidentally, MarKos’s knee jerk reactions towards Left wing ideology leads to numerous ass kissing in the comment threads. Democratic Underground is even worse, though.)
My comment threads are far better than the posts, as well. Or at least they are before the stupid trolls come to do nothing other than scream, "Bush = Hitler" to every response.
However, John, you’re still a Leftist on just about every issue; and, thus, an enemy of the state.
Calouste
@ppcli:
Apparently Jindal is a Catholic these days. How that lines up with his support of teaching creationism in schools, which isn’t exactly mainstream in the Catholic Church, is unclear.
But in general the problem for Jindal is that he has better chances of becoming President than winning the Republican primaries.
Barbar
Jindal is a seekrit Muslim, and Palin is… "pure." Wonder what that means.
Comrade Stuck
Well, Obey Won Scrutator, that’s because your posts are utterly insane. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Trollhattan
Hopefully he converted so he could drink and eat meat. Meeeeat. And étouffée.
Note: he didn’t convert to Southern Baptist.
MikeL
Probably OT but – restate.com is already calling Obama "Dear Leader".
I’m not an expert on this, but it’s saving this kind of snark for after he’s sworn in like the no white after Labor Day rule?
AkaDad
I thought you had comments so I could make people groan at my lame jokes.
Mike
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. (Though Jonah’s more like one page of your Stars Wars desk calendar, which will be right the next time it’s June 18, 1997.)
Anyway IMHO Parker’s column was wildly overstated, and for corroboration, instead of Goldberg, I can point to larison.
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If I were going to call Jindal a "terrorist," I’d be thinking Tamil Tigers, but then I’m handicapped by a little knowledge.
And you know what they say about "A Little Knowledge."
Litlebritdifrnt
OT – but recycling at its finest, a buddhist temple built out of heineken bottles….. apols if this has already been linked.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/temple-built-from-beer-bottles.php
Doctor Science
Like Doug @15, I’ve noticed that Right Blogistan is more likely to have no comments (or a restricted commentariat, as at AmConMag) than Left Blogistan. My gut reaction is that this reflects their respective authoritarian versus communitarian politics, in a medium-is-the-political-message kind of way. However, note that MarKos Hisself thinks that dailyKos grew so big because Left Blogistan was growing anyway, not because dkos’ many-to-many structure was particularly lefty by nature.
Litlebritdifrnt
MikeL – Rush is now referring to him as "Barack the merciful" because you know Rush is well, you know Rush. Oh and the entire recession thing is Obama’s fault, cause the markets started tanking the day Obama was elected so it MUST be Obama’s fault, cause IT IS SO THERE.
gbear
The analogy is backwards, but this complaint always reminds me of Spinal Tap putting down their opening act by saying that the crowd was still booing the opening band when Tap stepped onto the onstage. The wingnuts seem to have a slight problem with perception, cause and effect.
Yes, that’s definitely the message that I try to send subliminally every time I post a comment. …josie and halley…josie and halley…
gbear
@Comrade Stuck:
How the fuck can he walk straight from being the benefactor of one of the most stupidly generous non-partisan acts of kindness in modern history to the tv studio to bitch about how we all can’t get along (meaning we all can’t agree to do it the republican way)? What the hell is he on? Total fucking jerk.
If he keeps on like this he’s going to have to start watching out for pianos and safes being moved out of tall buidings by cut-rate block and tackle crews. Kind of like these guys.
gbear
The question is, could this thread be any deader, and the answer is ‘none’. It could be none deader.
Comrade Stuck
@gbear:
Joe is a legend in his own mind. Just ask him.
Eric U.
I’m fairly fluent in Hindi curse words, and I know a few Bengali curse words too. Apparently on a recent episode of House, he said "your mama" in Hindi. In comparison to most of the Indians I know, Jindal is fairly light skinned, but he does have a fairly scary expression most of the time. The Catholic Church has a number of schools in India. Most students don’t convert from what I can tell, but they do have some religious indoctrination.
Abe Fucking Lincoln
I feel nauseous saying this, but I agree with JG’s first quoted paragraph – Parker is a whiny bitch about all the nasty emails she’s gotten. And really, what is she getting credit for, acknowledging that the sky is blue and Palin is a moron? She probably is just running toward positive reinforcement and looking for new career opportunities in the process. It’s a pivot to the center, as they say.
Charity
I kept hearing all these Repubs after the election saying how Jindal was their best hope in 2012. And I thought, "You all just spent the last year talking about scary brown people, what makes you think anyone will ever vote for Jindal just because you say they should?"
They don’t realize the Joe the Sixpackenstein Monster they created is on the loose and throwing little girls in the river.
Left Coast Tom
@DougJ…if you’re the same DougJ commenting in Ericka’s thread, you’re having way too much fun.
Indylib
@ppcli:
He converted to Catholicism while in high school acording to Wiki.
Well hell, should have read 1 comment further.
Delia
You have to remember you’re talking about someone who’s been living in Wingerville for years. Acknowledging simple reality is a big step for her. It’s not the same as for you and me who do these things routinely. She’s just finding out that, yes, indeed, the sky is blue, Palin is a moron, and when you say these things in print all your former fans call you nasty names. Now she’s just seeing how far she can go. It’s her first real encounter with the reality-based community in years.
Comrade Stuck
The Pups are awake and ready for mayhem.
gbear
@Comrade Stuck:
Oh thanks. Five minutes and I’m totally addicted even though the pups are mostly asleep right now.
Here’s a weird video. Bush goes thru a reception line at the G-20 get-together, and NOT ONE of the other participants will shake his hand. I wonder if he’s coming to the realization that he’s going to go out looking like a fool.
crshedd
and yet, it isn’t.
Jess
I thought you had comments to keep me from finishing my grading…
By the way, do any of you know why Andrew Sullivan doesn’t have comments? He occasionally raises really interesting issues for discussion–but then there’s no discussion. So I have to make do with you lot of snarky wankers instead…
Delia
Lots of late night puppy cuddling going on NOW.
Brick Oven Bill
Comments are the great equalizer.
ppcli
In reply to some of the comments above, I should say that I meant "Falwellist Christianity" not to mean any specific denomination – I knew his conversion was to Catholicism – but rather as a style of Christian: public, aggressively politically involved, ostentatious, etc.
bago
The excorcismo kind.
Siryn
Jindal will drive Appalachia nuts. Palin is going to exploit that as much as she can, the same way she started rumors that her predecessor as Mayor of Wasilla was not really married and therefore living in sin with his wife, and questioning his Christianity.
Tim Fuller
Sullivan sucks for not having comments. Just my opinion.
Enjoy.