Open Threads

Been a long, long week and it is only Wednesday, so I went over to Brian and Tammy’s for dinner. Bruschetta and spaghetti with meatballs and some mojitos (a thematically challenged dinner and beverage combo, but good, nonetheless). All was well until Tammy bent over to give Lily kisses and she bit Tammy on the nose. Have to work on that, I suppose. At any rate, Sam and Lily got along:

As a bonus, here is Sammie walking around with a leaf latched on to her whiskers:

Hope all is well your way.

John +fuggetaboutit

Wednesday Night Open ThreadPost + Comments (124)

There’s been something depressing about the past few weeks, culturally. Not just the death of Ted Kennedy, but the mainstreamed craziness before and the certainty that this craziness will manifest itself in new and terrible ways, perhaps mimicking the whole right-wing Wellstone funeral myth.

So here’s a video that I’ve watched a hundred times since I finally found it on the internet last week. It always makes me feel better and it seems especially appropriate for me since a speaker at my university’s convocation earlier today confused Darth Vader with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Consider this an open thread.

Update. This is almost funnier. Apropos of the last thread, the drummer from Nickelback taking a six minute solo.

A pick me upPost + Comments (157)

From Sarah Palin’s facebook page:

FOX News’ Glenn Beck is doing an extraordinary job this week walking America behind the scenes of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and outlining who is actually running the White House.

Monday night he asked us to invite one friend to watch; tonight I invite all my friends to watch.

I’m beginning to think that she has a chance to be the Republican nominee in 2012. I’m also beginning to think that the 2012 Republican primary might be the most disturbing political event to happen in the western world since World War II. As an observer, I can hardly wait.

(h/t rumproast)

Update. This is a pretty good summary of the Republican 2012 primary:

I do think the most likely scenario, though, as said before, is that Romney will win because the Whackadoodle vote will be split. Romney will be the new McCain. And of course, nobody actually likes Romney and his vast hollow wasteland he calls a soul, just like people don’t like McCain, but he’ll win a plurality on the basis of being somehow less batshit insane than the other guys. Which is not to say that Republican primary voters are not batshit insane, it’s just that their votes are split on the precise form the insanity takes. If you could consolidate the batshit insane candidates and pool their votes, that monstrosity would win instead.

This was inevitablePost + Comments (193)

Megan McArdle will be putting her own smug, glibertarian spin on the perils of health care reform in 1 pm chat today.

It’s probably too early for a drinking game, so take a swig of whatever beverage you like every time you read “free market”, “innovation”, or “obesity”.

If you hear “Ayn Rand” or the name of any character in an Ayn Rand novel, finish the whole glass.

If you read “death panels” or “death books” (from McArdle herself, not a questioner), you have permission to euthanize yourself.

Update. Chopper has an interesting angle:

i’m sure she’ll say something about how under a government-run option ted kennedy would never have lived past the age of 50.

I doubt we’ll hear that, but be on the look out for inappropriate Ted Kennedy comments.

Update. Kill yourself twice — death books and death panels:

There’s a lot of confusion about the death panels. Most proponents of health care reform think of it as referring to the end of life counseling issue. Now, I will say that I recently read the VA’s end-of-life booklet, and I did find it rather creepily biased towards choosing to pull the plug. That may just be me, and I have no reason to think that this was intentional, but it does show that it really matters how you frame these issues.

But the core issue about “death panels” is something like the proposed IMAC board, which will assess Medicare treatments. If you look at Britain’s NICE, they use something called “quality adjusted life years” to decide whether treatment should be given or withheld. That means that the system is biased against treating old people and very sick people. That is good central allocation of resources, I suppose, but it legitimately worries people–and these are the kinds of worries I hear people expressing at Town Halls.

ChatPost + Comments (60)

I understand that only tourists and the hopelessly gauche wear shoes with more substance than the leather socks that Uma Thurman sported in Kill Bill. Honestly, it’s cool. The look beats suspenders and short broad ties on girls, photos of which I understand my wife will kill to suppress. Plus it gives people with collapsed arches (e.g., me) an entertainingly trivial reason to feel like an oppressed minority.

However. You can wear vulcanized shrink wrap, or you can cultivate winking retro cool with Converse All Stars. You cannot do both. Shrunk down designer form-fitting All-Stars do not look cool and they’re too expensive and obviously a la mode to pass for ironic anti-cool. Considering that the wide-sole form factor is a key part of the shoe’s image, shrinking an All-Star down makes you look like a victim of Chinese foot binding.

Also, restaurant toilets should have seats.

Also x2: The food is fantastic. If I do not gain weight on this trip my in-laws will be extremely disappointed.

Dear Everyone In FrancePost + Comments (45)

Why not?

Open ThreadPost + Comments (185)