Via TPM, looks like Gov. Walker has at least temporarily backed down. Apparently court orders do mean something after all. Who knew?
In a major development in Wisconsin, Secretary of Administration Mike Huebsch (R) has announced that the Walker administration is suspending implementation of its new law curtailing public employee unions — after Dane County (Madison) Judge Maryann Sumi declared that the law was not validly published and thus had not taken effect, in the wake of Republican efforts to circumvent her previous orders against publication.
Apparently court orders do mean something after all. Who knew?
Color me surprised [I think that’s a robin’s egg blue if I remember my Crayola color wheel]. I really thought this was going someplace more decider-y/showdown-ish.
3.
Paul in KY
Wish Dave would bury the hatchet & get back with the other Heads. They made some good music together. Apart, not so much (that one Tom Tom Club album was the exception).
i liked Byrne’s self-titled solo album, back in the day (94). haven’t heard it in forever, so i don’t know if it holds up.
5.
Brachiator
The recent attempt by North Carolina to throttle Internet competition is another example of the GOP’s fundamental principle that government exists to serve business interests:
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Time Warner Cable is made up of some insanely shady folks. And frankly, it’s not just TWC to blame here — CenturyLink, Embarq and a smattering of other big telecom companies are banding together in order to push the ironically-named H129 “Level Playing Field” bill straight into law. Unfortunately, said bill sailed through the clearly oblivious (or “persuaded”) North Carolina House this week, with just 37 sane individuals voting against 81 delusional proponents.
__
For those outside of the loop, the bill effectively suggests that commercial entities — municipal ISPs like Wilson’s own Greenlight that provide greater levels of service with lower costs — are unfairly competing against for-profit monoliths. In short, that’s an absolute joke. Rep. Bill Faison nailed it with this quote:
__ “This bill will make it practically impossible for cities to provide a fundamental service. Where’s the bill to govern Time Warner? Let’s be clear about whose bill this is. This is Time Warner’s bill. You need to know who you’re doing this for.”
Look for more of this on the state and federal level, aided by former government officials who are now lobbyists working for the companies they formerly supposedly regulated.
6.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
Yes, it’s interesting that apparently the leaders of FitzWalkerstan don’t actually want to suffer consequences for undermining the rule of law. Go figure. Fascist fuckwads.
I watched “Zombieland” the other day and was surprised at how much I liked it. Nice mix of horror/comedy. Woody Harrelson is great in it.
Anyone read “World War Z”? It felt like Zombieland took a lot of style points from Brooks, author of WWZ.
8.
scav
Oh, so DougJ thinks everybody should get in line in a new thread? Are you trying to give us enough rope sir?
9.
Bethanyanne
So, is anyone else playing Minecraft? I started it let week and I’m having a blast. I don’t really know why, though. It seems like it would be totally boring, but it isn’t.
10.
Omnes Omnibus
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): I’ve been saying that a certain amount of what these guys have been doing is posturing. I am glad to see that I might be right.
@Omnes Omnibus:
Bullies are cowards. Seems like the Walker gang fits that description.
13.
scav
@pragmatism: The teaparty is not a monolith and there are strong pitchfork-to-the-banker components. I’m speaking of the non-astro-tea leaves, it should go without saying.
14.
Mike Goetz
Boy, Andrew Sullivan is in full pantywad mode today. The news of CIA intelligence gathering in Libya may have finally snapped the spring on his melodrama-containment device. Impeachment is mentioned with abandon.
And as you may have guessed, it’s all because of Hillary Clinton.
15.
Joe Beese
Given the track record of the US in these matters, you can bet that it is only a matter of time until our operatives are engaged not just in “directing the actions” of the the rebels but also actively engaged in the miraculous “training” that always is just on the verge of achieving success, but needs only another Friedman Unit or two to be completed. Of course, we probably also will need some drone strikes to “protect” the rebels and their trainers, too.
@scav: point taken. however, the money quote in the article is: “The Tea Party movement is as deeply skeptical of big business as it is of big government.”
a thousand times no to that.
17.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Omnes Omnibus: I’ve just assumed that you had the best perspective, being there and all. Do you have enough commas for the weekend? I ask, because I’ve been using mine quite freely, but I can be more careful.
@pragmatism: It is rather like trying to nail jelly to a coherent position to describe what’s going on with that lot. On the one hand, they’re so protoplasmic as to slide easily into any meme the media wants to push, on the other had, their ability to act is about what you’d expect from a shaking, transparent blob.
The teaparty is not a monolith and there are strong pitchfork-to-the-banker components.
The problem is that this component of the Tea Party People walk around in a libertarian induced fugue state in which they dream about the return of some fantasy good old days when there was just the local bank on the corner and the banker personally knew all the Real Americans(tm) in town. And you didn’t need no regulation or the federal gummint to insure your money.
Meanwhile the mainstream GOP do whatever deals are necessary to permanently protect megacorporate financial companies.
@pragmatism: I guess the sun must have been in their eyes when they signed over their collective souls to all of those Koch Brothers false front organizations.
23.
pragmatism
@scav: we could look at how they vote. its a fairly large tell.
24.
daveNYC
@Bethanyanne: It’s an entire world made out of legos. There’s no way that could be boring.
25.
pragmatism
@piratedan: lolz. also, too i have collective soul in my head now. wooooooooooooah heaven let your light shine down….awful.
26.
jibeaux
I just want to know if ABL is working on her spite babies yet. Spite babies are still cute, and I will want pictures. Of the babies, getcher mind outta the gutter.
27.
scav
@pragmatism: Yeah. Still, I’m thinking that practically, there might be a lot of variance there, especially over the long-term because to no small degree, it’s sort of current umbrella description for a lot of shrieking single- or limited-issue voters. They’re certainly assiduously being courted by a party that, at the moment, is looking for a high-volume media-visible base but I think they’re a friable and unsteady foundation upon which to place hopes.
28.
Judas Escargot (aka "your liberal-interventionist pal, who's fun to be with")
Yeah, I noticed the same. So much for old-school conservative Realpolitik. Not even Christopher Hitchens can convince him, apparently.
As if Maggie Thatcher (or Cameron, for that matter) never made use of MI5/MI6.
29.
bemused
Speaking of Boehner, I saw the presser with Cantor spouting about his ridiculous prevent gov’t shutdown bill that would mysteriously allow the Gop House budget bill become law without Senate or Obama signature.
I was watching Boehner standing behind Cantor while Cantor was talking. Boehner was making the weirdest mouth gumming movements. Seriously, the alcohol must be taking a toll on him. He’s got that rummy look.
30.
tim serbo
Byrne’s solo work while the T. Heads were still a recording/touring unit was pretty great–My Life in The Bush of Ghosts, The Catherine Wheel (both with extra Eno goodness)–were way ahead of their time. What a Day That Was, a mainstay of the Heads’ sets post-Stop Making Sense and the best nonspecifically religious song ever, was first recorded for The Catherine Wheel. Chris ‘n’ Tina made two Tom Tom Club records with many of the same musicians. When was the last time you slapped either of them puppies on the turntable? Anyone for a rousing chorus of Wordy Rappinghood? didn’t think so.
Vapid lyrics about the weekend still beat vapid lyrics about Tea Bagging.
32.
cat48
Boy, Andrew Sullivan is in full pantywad mode today. The news of CIA intelligence gathering in Libya may have finally snapped the spring on his melodrama-containment device. Impeachment is mentioned with abandon.
Hysteria over this is ridiculous. That’s what the CIA does before any War, etc. They go to Every country on the Globe. The Gang of 8 in Congress has flatly denied approving an order to arm anyone in Libya, the WH flatly denied it last nite, & Gates denied it today in testimony to Congress. No decision made. The AP said today that the CIA helped rescue one of the pilots.
33.
FlipYrWhig
@Joe Beese: Oh noes! Firedoglake haz a sad about Obama! Is Glenn Greenwald fulminating with icy rage? Is Jonathan Turley concerned? Does Adam Green want to circulate an email petition about it? Don’t tell me… are there diaries on DailyKos declaring that this will not stand? Because if he’s lost them, he’s lost… the same people he already lost long, long ago.
34.
Fuck U6: A More Accurate Measure of the Total Amount of Duck-Fuckery in the Economy
Paul in KY: IIRC, Tina W. has said “never again” with Mr. Byrne.
35.
gex
@dmsilev: Looking at him, he reminds me of T-Paw. Is this turning into the effeminate weenie boy party? How many of the right are just closet cases posturing? Alternatively, how many of the right are weaklings who worship, and thus enjoy the protection of, the alpha dogs?
ETA: Maybe that’s too mean. I really dislike the pressure gender norms put on men, because that comes out sideways in horrible ways. But these are the guys who make it so. I’m torn.
36.
mr. whipple
Is Jonathan Turley concerned?
I would be concerned if Turley ever stopped being concerned about everything.
Now that you bring it up, I wonder what frame of mind Glennzilla works in.
He usually strikes me as more sardonic than raging. But his use of the phrase “the stench of Change” in his most recent post yesterday suggests that he may be joining me around the bend.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: With notably rare exceptions, George Bush kept us safe from terrorists.
41.
Under the Aurora Freeway
@Common Sense: Politik and Hi-Caliber better watch their backs.
42.
FlipYrWhig
@Joe Beese: That bend been crossed a long, long time ago.
43.
Martin
@Bethanyanne: My son and I play Dwarf Fortress for our sandbox entertainment. More game-like than Minecraft, but a lot of people that like one like the other.
44.
gex
@Brachiator: I concur. The Tea Party can be lead to any position on any issue. Provided that the solution to that issue is economic policies that favor the worthy and punish the unworthy. Phrased that way, you see the neocons, paleocons, and the libertarian types are all on the same page.
Boehner cries again, this time for private school vouchers.
Maybe the AssHat should send them to Headstart instead of cutting it, not cut FoodStamps, and feed them when they’re developing & after their Birth through the WIC Program he’s cutting. Bastard. I’m very Bitter about picking on preschoolers!
The clip above is not my favorite David Byrne by a long shot, but if there are any Balloon Juicers who have never seen the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense, you’re missing something special. Who is more wicked cool than Tina Weymouth?
And to echo tim serbo above, My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts is a wonderful (and occasionally creepy) piece of work.
49.
pragmatism
@gex: this is central to my goldberg i mean point. what the NYT suggests is that the baglings distrust the galtian overlords. does not compute.
Wish Dave would bury the hatchet & get back with the other Heads.
@Paul in KY: The “other Heads” have intimated that they’d pretty much like to bury the hatchet in Dave’s head, although they’d let bygones be bygones for a big-bucks reunion tour.
He doesn’t want to do it. It would cramp his “artistic vision”, although one must note that he’s willing to do old Heads numbers in his recent shows. Just not with the band. Lotta bad blood there.
He doesn’t need the money, he gets the vast majority of the royalties for the Heads’ music. The other guys do, but he doesn’t give a shit about them. Really.
@tim serbo: I have the Tom Tom Club’s Genius of Love on regular rotation.
58.
daveNYC
@Martin: One of the things that Notch and crew are working on is an adventure mode for minecraft.
59.
geg6
Just popping in to be my usual dickwad self and say impolite shit on the internet. Apparently, Robert’s Rules of Order and Emily Post are now in charge of all internet traditions. Who knew?
60.
shoestring potato
@Montysano: The clip above is not my favorite David Byrne by a long shot, but if there are any Balloon Juicers who have never seen the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense, you’re missing something special.
I had to start sewing bags for catnip out of tough denim. Our cats could chew through and destroy almost any material and there would be catnip everywhere.
62.
Omnes Omnibus
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): I think I have enough, but thanks for asking. In any case, I will be going to Costco over the weekend, so I can stock up.
63.
catclub
I thought the flippy floppy was Rand Paul (Rand PAUL!?)
going off on Newt Gingrich having more positions on war than wives.
Plus ribbing Fox News for wanting to bomb the middle east just as much as they want to complain about Obama, so not being able to decide which they want more.
64.
taylormattd
@FlipYrWhig: Ikr? In fact, it’s like he didn’t really “lose” them or something.
Actually, it’s almost like he never had them to begin with.
Or maybe it’s more like they are merely continuing their 4 year long campaign against literally everything he says and does.
65.
JPL
I so want to see this idiot portrayed on the Daily Show…
…Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas). Here’s what he said last night, connecting U.S. military policy with the Affordable Care Act………………………………………….
“[W]hen you find out we’re being sent to Libya to use our treasure and American lives there, maybe there’s intention to so deplete the military that we’re going to need that presidential reserve officer commissioned corps and non-commissioned corps that the president can call up on a moment’s notice involuntarily, according to the Obamacare bill.”
Ray Buursma is a Laketown Township resident. Contact him through The Sentinel at [email protected].
By RAY BUURSMA
Community columnist
Posted Mar 23, 2011 @ 04:40 AM
Holland, MI —
Are you an American employee? If so, today’s column will likely offend you. If you’d rather not be offended, read no further. If you continue and then complain, I’m sorry, but that simply proves you’re, well, stupid. But then again, stupidity plays a large role in today’s topic.
Still reading? OK. You’ve had fair warning.
So you’re an American employee. Maybe you make car parts. Maybe you’re an engineer or designer. Maybe you’re an accountant, store clerk or tradesman. Whatever you do, you’re probably stupid or lazy. Yes, I wrote it, and I mean it. You are either stupid or lazy. Maybe both.
Now, I’m not referring to your work ethic or job performance. No, most of you are competent and devoted to your profession or vocation. I’m addressing the way you view economics and employment. I’m challenging your gumption to advocate for yourself and your fellow Americans. Here’s what I mean.
Remember the Reagan standard? Are you better off today than you were a decade ago? Two decades? Three? Unless you make more than $380,000 a year, the answer is no. In fact, your standard of living over the last quarter century has actually decreased while millionaires have added 30 percent to their net wealth. Why? Two reasons.
First, hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs went overseas while the politicians you elected did nothing to stop them. Yet you continue to elect leaders who offer nothing but tax cuts, as if that would stem the flow of disappearing jobs.
Did you demand your leaders address America’s trade imbalance or continuous outsourcing of jobs? Did you demand your leaders require foreign countries to buy a dollar’s worth of American goods for every dollar of goods they sell here?
No and no. You didn’t bother. You simply crossed your fingers and prayed, “I hope my job’s not next.” You made concessions to your employer and hoped that would stem the exodus of jobs, or at least yours. How’d that work for you?
Second, you bought into the myth that unions are the cause of America’s demise. You didn’t bother to learn America became a world power when union membership was at its peak. You didn’t bother to learn America became the envy of the world while 1 of every 3 Americans was a union member.
So, how are things going for you? How do your benefits compare to a quarter century ago? Are you paying a higher or lower percentage of your income for health insurance? Does your company offer a pension plan, or do you now fund your own 401(k)?
Maybe you’re thinking, “I’m not a union worker, so this doesn’t affect me.”
Stop being stupid. Union benefits provide a standard other companies have to match, or at least come close to. When those benefits are cut, yours are, too. Or do you think you operate in your own little employment vacuum?
To make matters worse, you’re again being played for a chump. The same puppets who did nothing while your standard of living decreased are now using the oldest gimmick in the book — jealousy — to continue their assault on American workers. Rather than protect Americans’ jobs, they deflect your attention through jealousy.
“Cut the pay of government workers,” they cry. “Increase their health premiums. Decrease their pensions. Break their unions. After all, you’ve suffered so they should suffer too.” And in your misery, you buy their argument while more jobs head oversees. Pretty stupid, eh?
If their antics weren’t so pathetic, if the consequences weren’t so dire, if they didn’t prey on your stupidity, and if you didn’t buy into their convoluted reasoning, this whole situation would be laughable. But of course it’s not.
I warned you I’d likely offend you, and I suspect I did. But once you overcome your anger, consider my analysis. Then, either wise up and do something about it, or resign yourself to a lower standard of living for the next decade.
Copyright 2011 The Holland Sentinel. Some rights reserved
67.
catclub
@Mike Goetz: “snapped the spring on his melodrama-containment device.”
i’ve been a Heads fan forever, but never saw that movie till this winter. t’was awesome.
there’s also a video out now that was taken from a TV broadcast of a Heads concert in Rome, from the Remain In Light tour (80ish), that I really like. it’s nothing like Stop Making Sense, but the performances are wicked – plus, it’s when Adrian Belew was playing with them. and i loves me some Belew. YouTube has most of the songs from that show.
Demme’s movie for Robyn Hitchcock is pretty great, too.
74.
4jkb4ia
a) It is officially the real Opening Day. We’re born again, there’s new grass on the field. This appears to have gotten no notice. First pitch at 3:15.
b) Twitter Fight Club has responded to complaints and Spencer Ackerman and Jeremy Scahill will have a real twitter fight at a time to be determined. Glenn Greenwald and Abu Muqawama will then decide whether to follow suit. This will provide an opportunity for GG to be actually trying.
c) NYT did not deign to cover Connick vs. Thompson. This truly sucks.
@catclub: Speaking of that, here are the videos from the Congressional Correspondent’s dinner of the great speeches by Larry Wilmore and Anthony Weiner.
77.
Paul in KY
@tim serbo: I like the Tom Tom Club album with ‘Wordy Rappinghood’. Has several other good somngs on it. Good album to dance to.
I must admit I have not listened to hardly any of Mr. Byrne’s solo output.
@Montysano: Cornell Cinema in Ithaca, NY, used to play Stop Making Sense at the beginning of the fall semester every year. You were encouraged to dance during the screening, and by the end of the third song, pretty much everyone would be. Lots of fun.
81.
4jkb4ia
Much more energy than the version on “Speaking In Tongues”, as far as I remember not having heard it for 10 years at least.
The extent of this trying extended to one tweet during the last match. Maybe two. I thought about posting when Greenwald RTd Abuaardvark, “I draw frickin’ Glenn Greenwald? Time to write a 17,000 word post begging for votes”. Even Greenwald can laugh that his posts are too long.
@Failure, Inc.: It all sounds really juvenile & most of that juvenility seems to be coming from Mr. Byrne.
I was just musing, guess the Palestinians & Israelis will solve their probs before the Talking Heads reunite.
85.
New Yorker
Opening day of the baseball season is my favorite day of the year. I don’t care how cold and raw and nasty it is in New York right now, I’m giddy.
I’m also dealing with the ultimate fantasy player vs. fan dilemma. Jason Heyward is going to be a beast of a player for the Atlanta Braves for the next decade. Do I cheer his presence on my keeper fantasy team, or dread the Mets having to face him 18 times a year for the next decade?
86.
4jkb4ia
Pretend that I wrote “The extent of this trying amounted to” . That would be English.
@4jkb4ia: ‘sOK. I was making a lame joke about the other sense of the word “trying,” as in “trying times.”
89.
Derek
I was listening to a favorite podcast of mine, The Tobolowsky Files, in which character actor Stephen Tobolowsky tells stories about acting, life, and more. A recent one had a lot of stories about some time he spent working with David Byrnne.
Funny that just a couple hours after listening to that, this post and clip shows up on a favorite blog of mine.
Why does the Universe want me to listen to David Byrnne? Maybe I should look into that.
Someone’s going to get their countertops inspected.
94.
Brachiator
The GOP has officially lost its mind, has entered into a suicide pact, or truly feel that they are invulnerable. They are about to screw with seniors.
House Republicans seek IRS probe of AARP
__
AARP lobbied for the new health care law and now it stands to profit, House Republican lawmakers charged Wednesday as they called for the IRS to investigate whether the powerful interest group representing older Americans should be stripped of its federal tax exemption.
The Republicans are not just going Galt, they’re going Scorched Earth.
95.
Dan
David Byrne, what a strange and exoticly wonderful creative talent. Gotta go pull some Talking Heads out and listen.
@Brachiator: If they want to apply the standard that any organization that advocates for a policy it stands to benefit from should have the IRS investigate them, I’m for it. I suspect AARP would come out looking better than CitiCorp, for instance.
If they want to apply the standard that any organization that advocates for a policy it stands to benefit from should have the IRS investigate them, I’m for it. I suspect AARP would come out looking better than CitiCorp, for instance.
Oh, I don’t doubt that at all. And the GOP’s rationale for their action is just amazing:
Three veteran GOP representatives released a report that estimates the seniors lobby could make an additional $1 billion over 10 years on health insurance plans whose sales are expected to pick up under the new law. They also questioned seven-figure compensation for some AARP executives.
__
The dual nature of AARP has raised questions before. The business side of the organization runs money-making enterprises. The most lucrative involves “branding” a series of health insurance plans for seniors and older adults with the AARP name, akin to the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.
It’s astounding that the GOP is willing to anger this group, especially since older Americans made up a large portion of those who voted Republican in the 2008 election.
100.
Paul in KY
@Redshirt: Thanks! Didn’t know she was in that band. Will check them out for sure.
Comments are closed.
Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!
dmsilev
Via TPM, looks like Gov. Walker has at least temporarily backed down. Apparently court orders do mean something after all. Who knew?
dms
cyntax
@dmsilev:
Color me surprised [I think that’s a robin’s egg blue if I remember my Crayola color wheel]. I really thought this was going someplace more decider-y/showdown-ish.
Paul in KY
Wish Dave would bury the hatchet & get back with the other Heads. They made some good music together. Apart, not so much (that one Tom Tom Club album was the exception).
cleek
i liked Byrne’s self-titled solo album, back in the day (94). haven’t heard it in forever, so i don’t know if it holds up.
Brachiator
The recent attempt by North Carolina to throttle Internet competition is another example of the GOP’s fundamental principle that government exists to serve business interests:
Look for more of this on the state and federal level, aided by former government officials who are now lobbyists working for the companies they formerly supposedly regulated.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
Yes, it’s interesting that apparently the leaders of FitzWalkerstan don’t actually want to suffer consequences for undermining the rule of law. Go figure. Fascist fuckwads.
Redshirt
I watched “Zombieland” the other day and was surprised at how much I liked it. Nice mix of horror/comedy. Woody Harrelson is great in it.
Anyone read “World War Z”? It felt like Zombieland took a lot of style points from Brooks, author of WWZ.
scav
Oh, so DougJ thinks everybody should get in line in a new thread? Are you trying to give us enough rope sir?
Bethanyanne
So, is anyone else playing Minecraft? I started it let week and I’m having a blast. I don’t really know why, though. It seems like it would be totally boring, but it isn’t.
Omnes Omnibus
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): I’ve been saying that a certain amount of what these guys have been doing is posturing. I am glad to see that I might be right.
pragmatism
apparently the NYT wants us to believe that the teatards hate “big business”. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/us/politics/31liberty.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
today must be opposite day.
Maude
@Omnes Omnibus:
Bullies are cowards. Seems like the Walker gang fits that description.
scav
@pragmatism: The teaparty is not a monolith and there are strong pitchfork-to-the-banker components. I’m speaking of the non-astro-tea leaves, it should go without saying.
Mike Goetz
Boy, Andrew Sullivan is in full pantywad mode today. The news of CIA intelligence gathering in Libya may have finally snapped the spring on his melodrama-containment device. Impeachment is mentioned with abandon.
And as you may have guessed, it’s all because of Hillary Clinton.
Joe Beese
http://my.firedoglake.com/jimwhite/2011/03/31/quagmires-r-us-now-adding-libya-to-afghanistan-pakistan-and-iraq/
pragmatism
@scav: point taken. however, the money quote in the article is: “The Tea Party movement is as deeply skeptical of big business as it is of big government.”
a thousand times no to that.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Omnes Omnibus: I’ve just assumed that you had the best perspective, being there and all. Do you have enough commas for the weekend? I ask, because I’ve been using mine quite freely, but I can be more careful.
Mark S.
Boehner cries again, this time for private school vouchers.
scav
@pragmatism: It is rather like trying to nail jelly to a coherent position to describe what’s going on with that lot. On the one hand, they’re so protoplasmic as to slide easily into any meme the media wants to push, on the other had, their ability to act is about what you’d expect from a shaking, transparent blob.
The Ancient Randonneur (formerly known as The Grand Panjandrum)
Aaaaahhhh David Byrne always reminds me of CBGB’s circa 1975.
Brachiator
@scav:
The problem is that this component of the Tea Party People walk around in a libertarian induced fugue state in which they dream about the return of some fantasy good old days when there was just the local bank on the corner and the banker personally knew all the Real Americans(tm) in town. And you didn’t need no regulation or the federal gummint to insure your money.
Meanwhile the mainstream GOP do whatever deals are necessary to permanently protect megacorporate financial companies.
piratedan
@pragmatism: I guess the sun must have been in their eyes when they signed over their collective souls to all of those Koch Brothers false front organizations.
pragmatism
@scav: we could look at how they vote. its a fairly large tell.
daveNYC
@Bethanyanne: It’s an entire world made out of legos. There’s no way that could be boring.
pragmatism
@piratedan: lolz. also, too i have collective soul in my head now. wooooooooooooah heaven let your light shine down….awful.
jibeaux
I just want to know if ABL is working on her spite babies yet. Spite babies are still cute, and I will want pictures. Of the babies, getcher mind outta the gutter.
scav
@pragmatism: Yeah. Still, I’m thinking that practically, there might be a lot of variance there, especially over the long-term because to no small degree, it’s sort of current umbrella description for a lot of shrieking single- or limited-issue voters. They’re certainly assiduously being courted by a party that, at the moment, is looking for a high-volume media-visible base but I think they’re a friable and unsteady foundation upon which to place hopes.
Judas Escargot (aka "your liberal-interventionist pal, who's fun to be with")
@Mike Goetz:
Yeah, I noticed the same. So much for old-school conservative Realpolitik. Not even Christopher Hitchens can convince him, apparently.
As if Maggie Thatcher (or Cameron, for that matter) never made use of MI5/MI6.
bemused
Speaking of Boehner, I saw the presser with Cantor spouting about his ridiculous prevent gov’t shutdown bill that would mysteriously allow the Gop House budget bill become law without Senate or Obama signature.
I was watching Boehner standing behind Cantor while Cantor was talking. Boehner was making the weirdest mouth gumming movements. Seriously, the alcohol must be taking a toll on him. He’s got that rummy look.
tim serbo
Byrne’s solo work while the T. Heads were still a recording/touring unit was pretty great–My Life in The Bush of Ghosts, The Catherine Wheel (both with extra Eno goodness)–were way ahead of their time. What a Day That Was, a mainstay of the Heads’ sets post-Stop Making Sense and the best nonspecifically religious song ever, was first recorded for The Catherine Wheel. Chris ‘n’ Tina made two Tom Tom Club records with many of the same musicians. When was the last time you slapped either of them puppies on the turntable? Anyone for a rousing chorus of Wordy Rappinghood? didn’t think so.
Common Sense
To all the Rebecca Black haters:
It could be worse.
Much, much worse.
Vapid lyrics about the weekend still beat vapid lyrics about Tea Bagging.
cat48
FlipYrWhig
@Joe Beese: Oh noes! Firedoglake haz a sad about Obama! Is Glenn Greenwald fulminating with icy rage? Is Jonathan Turley concerned? Does Adam Green want to circulate an email petition about it? Don’t tell me… are there diaries on DailyKos declaring that this will not stand? Because if he’s lost them, he’s lost… the same people he already lost long, long ago.
Fuck U6: A More Accurate Measure of the Total Amount of Duck-Fuckery in the Economy
Paul in KY: IIRC, Tina W. has said “never again” with Mr. Byrne.
gex
@dmsilev: Looking at him, he reminds me of T-Paw. Is this turning into the effeminate weenie boy party? How many of the right are just closet cases posturing? Alternatively, how many of the right are weaklings who worship, and thus enjoy the protection of, the alpha dogs?
ETA: Maybe that’s too mean. I really dislike the pressure gender norms put on men, because that comes out sideways in horrible ways. But these are the guys who make it so. I’m torn.
mr. whipple
I would be concerned if Turley ever stopped being concerned about everything.
Joe Beese
@FlipYrWhig:
Now that you bring it up, I wonder what frame of mind Glennzilla works in.
He usually strikes me as more sardonic than raging. But his use of the phrase “the stench of Change” in his most recent post yesterday suggests that he may be joining me around the bend.
Dave
@Common Sense: Damn your eyes for that.
Also..”golden rules”? I thought there was only one…
cyntax
@Mike Goetz:
Fucking warfare, how does it work?
gnomedad
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: With notably rare exceptions, George Bush kept us safe from terrorists.
Under the Aurora Freeway
@Common Sense: Politik and Hi-Caliber better watch their backs.
FlipYrWhig
@Joe Beese: That bend been crossed a long, long time ago.
Martin
@Bethanyanne: My son and I play Dwarf Fortress for our sandbox entertainment. More game-like than Minecraft, but a lot of people that like one like the other.
gex
@Brachiator: I concur. The Tea Party can be lead to any position on any issue. Provided that the solution to that issue is economic policies that favor the worthy and punish the unworthy. Phrased that way, you see the neocons, paleocons, and the libertarian types are all on the same page.
Mark S.
@Common Sense:
What did we do to deserve that?
cat48
FlipYrWhig
@mr. whipple: With notably rare exceptions, Jonathan Turley is unperturbed by the exercise of presidential power.
Montysano
The clip above is not my favorite David Byrne by a long shot, but if there are any Balloon Juicers who have never seen the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense, you’re missing something special. Who is more wicked cool than Tina Weymouth?
And to echo tim serbo above, My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts is a wonderful (and occasionally creepy) piece of work.
pragmatism
@gex: this is central to my goldberg i mean point. what the NYT suggests is that the baglings distrust the galtian overlords. does not compute.
mr. whipple
Try this bass player, for one.
shoestring potato
me loves me some david byrne
WereBear
If you like funny cat videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap48yK3DhMA
This one features our Herbal Cat Toys.
I am thrilled beyond measure.
LIKE it! Like it UP!
Carnacki
@bemused: If you had to work with Cantor you’d have a drinking problem too.
So would Rutherford B. Hayes.
bemused
@Common Sense:
That is just sad. Another indoctrinated kid who probably never sees any of the world outside church, family and Real Amerika.
Failure, Inc.
@Paul in KY: The “other Heads” have intimated that they’d pretty much like to bury the hatchet in Dave’s head, although they’d let bygones be bygones for a big-bucks reunion tour.
He doesn’t want to do it. It would cramp his “artistic vision”, although one must note that he’s willing to do old Heads numbers in his recent shows. Just not with the band. Lotta bad blood there.
He doesn’t need the money, he gets the vast majority of the royalties for the Heads’ music. The other guys do, but he doesn’t give a shit about them. Really.
Not gonna happen.
Linda Featheringill
Regarding Fukushima:
I went to The Oil Drum to see what the latest analysis was of the situation at Fukushima-Diaichi and I’m sorry I did.
Damn.
Jesus.
Carnacki
@tim serbo: I have the Tom Tom Club’s Genius of Love on regular rotation.
daveNYC
@Martin: One of the things that Notch and crew are working on is an adventure mode for minecraft.
geg6
Just popping in to be my usual dickwad self and say impolite shit on the internet. Apparently, Robert’s Rules of Order and Emily Post are now in charge of all internet traditions. Who knew?
shoestring potato
@Montysano: The clip above is not my favorite David Byrne by a long shot, but if there are any Balloon Juicers who have never seen the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense, you’re missing something special.
saw it a couple of months ago for the first time
i was blown away by byrne’s energy
been looking for more ever since
bemused
@WereBear:
I had to start sewing bags for catnip out of tough denim. Our cats could chew through and destroy almost any material and there would be catnip everywhere.
Omnes Omnibus
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): I think I have enough, but thanks for asking. In any case, I will be going to Costco over the weekend, so I can stock up.
catclub
I thought the flippy floppy was Rand Paul (Rand PAUL!?)
going off on Newt Gingrich having more positions on war than wives.
Plus ribbing Fox News for wanting to bomb the middle east just as much as they want to complain about Obama, so not being able to decide which they want more.
taylormattd
@FlipYrWhig: Ikr? In fact, it’s like he didn’t really “lose” them or something.
Actually, it’s almost like he never had them to begin with.
Or maybe it’s more like they are merely continuing their 4 year long campaign against literally everything he says and does.
JPL
I so want to see this idiot portrayed on the Daily Show…
link..Steve Benen
The Populist
Amen to this small town newspaper editorial:
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/opinions/x13292164/COLUMN-American-workers-got-what-they-deserved
COLUMN — American workers got what they deserved
Ray Buursma is a Laketown Township resident. Contact him through The Sentinel at [email protected].
By RAY BUURSMA
Community columnist
Posted Mar 23, 2011 @ 04:40 AM
Holland, MI —
Are you an American employee? If so, today’s column will likely offend you. If you’d rather not be offended, read no further. If you continue and then complain, I’m sorry, but that simply proves you’re, well, stupid. But then again, stupidity plays a large role in today’s topic.
Still reading? OK. You’ve had fair warning.
So you’re an American employee. Maybe you make car parts. Maybe you’re an engineer or designer. Maybe you’re an accountant, store clerk or tradesman. Whatever you do, you’re probably stupid or lazy. Yes, I wrote it, and I mean it. You are either stupid or lazy. Maybe both.
Now, I’m not referring to your work ethic or job performance. No, most of you are competent and devoted to your profession or vocation. I’m addressing the way you view economics and employment. I’m challenging your gumption to advocate for yourself and your fellow Americans. Here’s what I mean.
Remember the Reagan standard? Are you better off today than you were a decade ago? Two decades? Three? Unless you make more than $380,000 a year, the answer is no. In fact, your standard of living over the last quarter century has actually decreased while millionaires have added 30 percent to their net wealth. Why? Two reasons.
First, hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs went overseas while the politicians you elected did nothing to stop them. Yet you continue to elect leaders who offer nothing but tax cuts, as if that would stem the flow of disappearing jobs.
Did you demand your leaders address America’s trade imbalance or continuous outsourcing of jobs? Did you demand your leaders require foreign countries to buy a dollar’s worth of American goods for every dollar of goods they sell here?
No and no. You didn’t bother. You simply crossed your fingers and prayed, “I hope my job’s not next.” You made concessions to your employer and hoped that would stem the exodus of jobs, or at least yours. How’d that work for you?
Second, you bought into the myth that unions are the cause of America’s demise. You didn’t bother to learn America became a world power when union membership was at its peak. You didn’t bother to learn America became the envy of the world while 1 of every 3 Americans was a union member.
So, how are things going for you? How do your benefits compare to a quarter century ago? Are you paying a higher or lower percentage of your income for health insurance? Does your company offer a pension plan, or do you now fund your own 401(k)?
Maybe you’re thinking, “I’m not a union worker, so this doesn’t affect me.”
Stop being stupid. Union benefits provide a standard other companies have to match, or at least come close to. When those benefits are cut, yours are, too. Or do you think you operate in your own little employment vacuum?
To make matters worse, you’re again being played for a chump. The same puppets who did nothing while your standard of living decreased are now using the oldest gimmick in the book — jealousy — to continue their assault on American workers. Rather than protect Americans’ jobs, they deflect your attention through jealousy.
“Cut the pay of government workers,” they cry. “Increase their health premiums. Decrease their pensions. Break their unions. After all, you’ve suffered so they should suffer too.” And in your misery, you buy their argument while more jobs head oversees. Pretty stupid, eh?
If their antics weren’t so pathetic, if the consequences weren’t so dire, if they didn’t prey on your stupidity, and if you didn’t buy into their convoluted reasoning, this whole situation would be laughable. But of course it’s not.
I warned you I’d likely offend you, and I suspect I did. But once you overcome your anger, consider my analysis. Then, either wise up and do something about it, or resign yourself to a lower standard of living for the next decade.
Copyright 2011 The Holland Sentinel. Some rights reserved
catclub
@Mike Goetz: “snapped the spring on his melodrama-containment device.”
Open or shut? When has it ever been contained?
Montysano
@mr. whipple:
Very nice indeed!
FlipYrWhig
@catclub: Sullivan’s runaway melodrama reactor is going to have to be entombed in concrete like Chernobyl.
Failure, Inc.
@mr. whipple: I have been aware of Tal. That was all kinds of awesome, though – Tal with Vinnie, with some Beck on top. GODDAMN!
catclub
@Failure, Inc.: Mikhail Tal? Russian GM known for great attacking play? …oh, never mind.
WereBear
@bemused: Our Stinky Sox wound up being stuffed into an actual (infant-sized) cotton sock, the contents being sooooooooooo enjoyable.
cleek
@shoestring potato:
ditto.
i’ve been a Heads fan forever, but never saw that movie till this winter. t’was awesome.
there’s also a video out now that was taken from a TV broadcast of a Heads concert in Rome, from the Remain In Light tour (80ish), that I really like. it’s nothing like Stop Making Sense, but the performances are wicked – plus, it’s when Adrian Belew was playing with them. and i loves me some Belew. YouTube has most of the songs from that show.
Demme’s movie for Robyn Hitchcock is pretty great, too.
4jkb4ia
a) It is officially the real Opening Day. We’re born again, there’s new grass on the field. This appears to have gotten no notice. First pitch at 3:15.
b) Twitter Fight Club has responded to complaints and Spencer Ackerman and Jeremy Scahill will have a real twitter fight at a time to be determined. Glenn Greenwald and Abu Muqawama will then decide whether to follow suit. This will provide an opportunity for GG to be actually trying.
c) NYT did not deign to cover Connick vs. Thompson. This truly sucks.
FlipYrWhig
@4jkb4ia: Oh, he’s trying all right.
MattR
@catclub: Speaking of that, here are the videos from the Congressional Correspondent’s dinner of the great speeches by Larry Wilmore and Anthony Weiner.
Paul in KY
@tim serbo: I like the Tom Tom Club album with ‘Wordy Rappinghood’. Has several other good somngs on it. Good album to dance to.
I must admit I have not listened to hardly any of Mr. Byrne’s solo output.
Paul in KY
@Fuck U6: A More Accurate Measure of the Total Amount of Duck-Fuckery in the Economy: I have heard that. He & Tina & Chris do not get along. Just thinking that if Cream & Pink Floyd can reunite (temporarily), then Talking Heads could.
Paul in KY
@Montysano: Tina is wicked cool. I also like the girl who plays in The Pixies. She’s also got it going on.
R-Jud
@Montysano: Cornell Cinema in Ithaca, NY, used to play Stop Making Sense at the beginning of the fall semester every year. You were encouraged to dance during the screening, and by the end of the third song, pretty much everyone would be. Lots of fun.
4jkb4ia
Much more energy than the version on “Speaking In Tongues”, as far as I remember not having heard it for 10 years at least.
4jkb4ia
@FlipYrWhig:
The extent of this trying extended to one tweet during the last match. Maybe two. I thought about posting when Greenwald RTd Abuaardvark, “I draw frickin’ Glenn Greenwald? Time to write a 17,000 word post begging for votes”. Even Greenwald can laugh that his posts are too long.
Omnes Omnibus
@Paul in KY: Kim Deal.
Paul in KY
@Failure, Inc.: It all sounds really juvenile & most of that juvenility seems to be coming from Mr. Byrne.
I was just musing, guess the Palestinians & Israelis will solve their probs before the Talking Heads reunite.
New Yorker
Opening day of the baseball season is my favorite day of the year. I don’t care how cold and raw and nasty it is in New York right now, I’m giddy.
I’m also dealing with the ultimate fantasy player vs. fan dilemma. Jason Heyward is going to be a beast of a player for the Atlanta Braves for the next decade. Do I cheer his presence on my keeper fantasy team, or dread the Mets having to face him 18 times a year for the next decade?
4jkb4ia
Pretend that I wrote “The extent of this trying amounted to” . That would be English.
Paul in KY
@Omnes Omnibus: Thank you!
FlipYrWhig
@4jkb4ia: ‘sOK. I was making a lame joke about the other sense of the word “trying,” as in “trying times.”
Derek
I was listening to a favorite podcast of mine, The Tobolowsky Files, in which character actor Stephen Tobolowsky tells stories about acting, life, and more. A recent one had a lot of stories about some time he spent working with David Byrnne.
Funny that just a couple hours after listening to that, this post and clip shows up on a favorite blog of mine.
Why does the Universe want me to listen to David Byrnne? Maybe I should look into that.
Redshirt
If you like Kim Deal, check out her band “The Breeders”. Their first album has been a long time fave of mine. Pixie-like, yet more straightforward.
Mark
This is absolute crap:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/technology/personaltech/31basics.html?src=me&ref=homepage
Brutal scientific explanations. I demand an educated science writer for $34/month.
quickly
don’t know if this has been mentioned already but here is a great set of videos from their 1980 Rome show with Adrian Belew and the rest of the band:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KQjy02eqOk
at five minutes in, my hair caught on fire.
Cat Lady
@The Populist:
Someone’s going to get their countertops inspected.
Brachiator
The GOP has officially lost its mind, has entered into a suicide pact, or truly feel that they are invulnerable. They are about to screw with seniors.
The Republicans are not just going Galt, they’re going Scorched Earth.
Dan
David Byrne, what a strange and exoticly wonderful creative talent. Gotta go pull some Talking Heads out and listen.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Failure, Inc.: Indeed. Isn’t it wonderful?
gex
@Brachiator: If they want to apply the standard that any organization that advocates for a policy it stands to benefit from should have the IRS investigate them, I’m for it. I suspect AARP would come out looking better than CitiCorp, for instance.
WereBear
@Brachiator: That’s pulling down the city and sowing the earth with salt and yanking the distributor cap outa the Hoverrounds.
I hope… this means war.
Brachiator
@gex:
Oh, I don’t doubt that at all. And the GOP’s rationale for their action is just amazing:
It’s astounding that the GOP is willing to anger this group, especially since older Americans made up a large portion of those who voted Republican in the 2008 election.
Paul in KY
@Redshirt: Thanks! Didn’t know she was in that band. Will check them out for sure.