Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

Books are my comfort food!

T R E 4 5 O N

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

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

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

People are weird.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

I really should read my own blog.

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

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

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

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

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Early Morning Open Thread: Say Cheese, Cat

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From commentor Jayboat:

In the spring and fall I always keep my windows open here in south Florida. About 4 years ago, I was banging dishes in the kitchen as I made coffee when I heard a squeaking from outside the window. I looked out and saw a pathetic little black and white furball standing in the parking lot, looking at me. He looked to be about 8-10 weeks old but it was hard to tell because he was so skinny — his ribs were showing and he was covered in grease and oil from hanging out under cars — really filthy, and it showed on the white areas of his fur. He didn’t meow — he squeaked — a high pitched, sad little sound that is the only sound I’ve ever heard him make.
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It had been years since I’d had a cat — I kept telling myself I wasn’t ready, that I was still grieving over the loss of my buddy, Rocket, which felt like only last week, and still does. Anyway, having no cat food in the house, I ripped up a couple pieces of sandwich meat and threw it in his general direction after he made it clear he wouldn’t let me get anywhere near him.
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This dance continued for a week — every morning he would come running across the parking lot when he heard me in the kitchen and squeak at me, and I would respond with shredded ham. Finally, on a trip to the grocery store, I decided to get a bag of dry food. I knew I was crossing a line here, that this was a point of no return in this relationship. I began to set out a bowl of food and water each morning, then I started leaving the door open and gradually moved the bowls until they were inside. This took weeks — he was so skittish and scared of people and noises — anything that moved that he would totally freak out. When we finally made friends I discovered his tail was broken at the end — it has a little hook in it and is missing the tip. He is skittish to this day — will run and hide if anyone even walks through the yard. It took three years before he would let me hold him without tensing up. I can only imagine what he went through as a kitten. Not any more — he runs the house, mostly from a sleeping position. Because he was so greasy when we met, I named him Cheeseburger, but he answers to Mister Cheese.

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Early Morning Open Thread: Good Dog (Yes!)

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From John’s sister Devon:

This is Roxy. She spent the first few months of her life wandering the streets, severely malnourished until she was trapped by a cat rescue and then turned over to Furkid Rescue in Bethel Park, PA. (http://www.furkidrescue.org/main/Welcome.html). It was there that I found her on the petfinder website. We are guessing that she was abandoned by dog fighters because she was so small and has an underbite, and because the area she was roaming as a pup is known for just that.
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She was so tiny and vitamin deficient that her toe nails all had bright white tips so that it looked like she had a French manicure. Since being adopted by my friends, she has flourished. She is a year old now and has tripled her weight. She is still small, but a thick little ball of healthy muscle. Initially skittish and fearful of men, she has proven to be an amazing, loving, sweet-tempered, friendly dog. She is still judged unfairly by others because she is a pit bull, but she is doing an excellent job as an ambassador of the breed. I was petsitting her for my friends and while on a walk another dog went after her aggressively and instead of fighting back, Roxy retreated- leaving the other dog owner apologizing profusely and I am sure amazed that this tough looking little girl, who obviously could have injured his dog, was really a docile sweetheart. I hope that those who judge pit bulls unfairly will at least give them a chance before making assumptions. Unfortunately, we recently discovered she has a problem with her knees so that her kneecaps slip and cause her pain and a limp if she runs too much, but my friends are saving up to get the surgery to correct the problem. And she is worth it. This little girl has proven to be a bright little spot in not only my friend’s lives, but mine.

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Welcome to the Boomtown

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One of my brothers has been dj-ing all weekend (btw- how awesome is modern technology- plug the laptop in to the stereo and go!), and this song came up and I hadn’ heard it in years, but the whole album rocked:

Also learned this weekend that one of my brothers, Matt Mastrangelo, is now the publisher of Rolling Stone, which is kind of cool. He ran the radio station when I was there, and always was a genius when it came to finding new music, and he was also a great guy, so this is unsurprising that he is where he is. I remember him playing Julian Cope back before you heard it anywhere else- guy just had an ear for talent and a smooth manner when dealing with people. Good on him.

BTW- I’m an Alpha Sig (Alpha Sigma Phi), I’m very, very proud of it, yet I see a bunch of you acting weird in the comments as if joining a fraternity is some kind of bad thing. For fucks sake, get over it, you independent minded mother fuckers. I have friends I’ve known for twenty years sitting my couch, and I would do anything for them, and they would do anything for me. In what fucked up world is a little brotherhood a bad thing?

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Open Thread

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Hosting an alumni BBQ and fraternity reunion, but thought I would check in on you dears.

Funny story- it’s been at least fifteen years or more since I bought a keg. Went to buy a keg, and asked the lady if I need a two prong or ball tap, and she looked at me like I was on glue and speaking Russian.

BTW- when four 40-45 year old men drink a bottle of Tuaca and a bottle of jager at 2 am, there are awful repercussions the next morning.

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“One Nation Working Together”

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From the Washington Post, “‘One Nation’ rally draws unions, progressives to Mall to counter tea party“:

Tens of thousands of people gathered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, part of the “One Nation Working Together” rally – an effort by progressive activists hoping to serve as a counter to the conservative tea party movement and energize the electorate amid fears that the Democrats could lose control of Congress.
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The four-hour event was the culmination of months of planning by civil rights organizations and labor unions. More than 400 supporting groups signed on for the four-hour rally that kicked off around noon and featured speeches, poetry and musical entertainment. The rally drew participants from the Washington area, but also from New York and Detroit.
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The groups behind the march – including the National Council of La Raza, the NAACP, the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union, USAction and the U.S. Student Association – hope to make a political statement in response to conservative commentator Glenn Beck’s rally in August. That gathering partly filled the Mall with tens of thousands of his supporters, and tea party groups across the country have held anti-tax rallies. But fewer people than in August gathered at this march.
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Many of the groups involved in Saturday’s event stepped outside their usual parameters. Socially conservative African American church groups joined with marchers that supported equality for gays and lesbians. A miners union endorsed the rally along with several environmental groups.
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In putting together the rally, the “One Nation Working Together” groups focused on three issues: jobs, justice and education. They define those in a set of principles that also laid out a list of causes largely supported by liberals, such as ending discrimination in the criminal justice system, protecting Social Security, spending federal money to create jobs and improving public education.

Right now this story is at the top of the “Most Read” box. There’s also a photo gallery. (And 1,170+ comments, which I have no intention of looking at, because I’m not gonna spoil my good mood.)

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