11/07/2008 12:37:14 PM EST

Open Thread

posted by desertpear

No time for any deep thoughts this morning.

 

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Open Thread | 43 comments (43 topical, 0 hidden)
little nuggets gleaned from the series of tubes (none / 0)

Great blurb that answers the question--Why were all the Republican candidates such losers? (no attribution, sorry):

Any candidate with real intelligence, judgment, and expertise would not support the policies of the Republican party platform, plain and simple. As long as those basic policies remain unchanged, the candidates who will succeed must be able to practice deep denial while acting with full confidence in their righteousness. This means the qualifications to be the GOP nominee are mostly ones of psychological imbalance and theatrical skill. To change that situation, the entire policy agenda of the Republican party would have to change, and that simply isn’t going to happen.

And this from David Neiwert of Crooks & Liars:

I guess I'm confused. I keep hearing from a lot of conservatives that McCain lost because he wasn't conservative enough -- that is, he was essentially a center-right candidate. And I think that's the consensus about where he sat on the political spectrum.

So if America is a "center-right country," then why didn't they elect the center-right candidate?

by desertpear on 11/07/2008 01:16:17 PM EST

The attribution: (5.00 / 2)
conradg, in his/her very astute response to “Ignorance Is Strength?” (http://www.amconmag.com/lar ison/2008/11/05/ignorance-i s-strength/#comment-17326)

I also particularly liked something else that Neiwert said in that article:


"The breadth and depth of Democrats' victory was a loud shout from the American public: We have had enough of this crap."


by EveningStarNM on 11/07/2008 02:55:33 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Thanks! (none / 0)
I didn't have time to follow up on this in the morning, but I want to read the whole article. 

by desertpear on 11/07/2008 10:54:34 PM EST

[ Parent ]
because (none / 0)
he didn't stick to "conservative principles". There are two ways to think about it, Pear. 1) if you can teach yourself to think with circular logic, you will be much more comfortable listening to these idiots. 2) (cover the kiddies ears) if you could grow a penis and stick it in every underage male intern you find, you'ld find great comfort in "conservative principles".

by hazmat on 11/08/2008 03:20:29 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Take On Me: Literal Video Version (none / 1)
Ever wish songs just sang what was happening in the music video? Well now they do.

by Scandinavian Chef on 11/07/2008 01:18:04 PM EST

I found that a few days ago (none / 0)
one of my favorites now.

by richardshort2001 on 11/07/2008 01:29:38 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Have you seen the (none / 0)
Head Over Heels version?  The singer's face is incredibly distracting to me.  It's hilariously expressive, like George C. Scott in Stragelove or something.

by Spencer on 11/07/2008 05:05:48 PM EST

[ Parent ]
he recently did one (none / 0)
for Under the Bridge, pretty good also

by richardshort2001 on 11/07/2008 11:33:25 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Ana's Dog Is Way Cuter Than "Barney" (none / 0)
But I'm biased because I'm very much partial to short hair dogs. I'm especially anti small long haired dogs (the most foo-foo IMO).

by Tom Hanc on 11/07/2008 01:23:03 PM EST

Me too. (none / 0)
But that shih tzu my mom had from '83 to '92 was the coolest.

by LudwigVan on 11/07/2008 01:33:23 PM EST

[ Parent ]
What's with Mom's and Shih Tzu's? (none / 0)
My mom loved that dog, and I never did (no offense). I'm just very partial to short hair dogs.

by Tom Hanc on 11/07/2008 01:53:16 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Hey, me too! (none / 0)
They can be small, but they have to be short haired!  Am I sensing a liberal bias??

by desertpear on 11/07/2008 11:00:21 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Annoyingly, that video won't load (none / 0)
:(

by Tom Hanc on 11/08/2008 12:01:25 PM EST

[ Parent ]
If Obama doesn't positively affect Americans... (none / 0)
pocketbooks with jobs and a better economy....he will be out the door as fast as he came in....

by sfinneganus on 11/07/2008 01:56:00 PM EST

Bittersweet... (none / 0)
Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Tribal Leaders.

I'm having a hard time not laughing at this, although it's quite serious.

by Scandinavian Chef on 11/07/2008 02:01:59 PM EST

Iq test for gun ownership (none / 0)
More worried about the kid getting the recoil in his face than his doofus dad getting shot in his stomach.

by Scandinavian Chef on 11/07/2008 02:05:25 PM EST

[ Parent ]
IQ Test? (5.00 / 2)

It appears to be a self-graded test.

There are days when I'm very grateful to Darwin.

by EveningStarNM on 11/07/2008 03:05:48 PM EST

[ Parent ]
bummer--they removed it (none / 0)
Was it a gun show?  

by desertpear on 11/07/2008 11:01:33 PM EST

[ Parent ]
The video (5.00 / 2)
A father and his maybe 4-year-old son were at some sort of festival, possibly in a country south of our border.  The father fired his gun up into the air (obviously not caring who got hit by the bullet when it came back down) and then set the loaded gun down within his little boy's reach.  While he was looking away, the little boy picked up the gun and, imitating his father, shot the gun upwards...

...into his father's gut.

I would be amazed if the guy lived.

by EveningStarNM on 11/08/2008 12:05:27 AM EST

[ Parent ]
ouch (none / 0)
Check this out--this happened on October 27th:

WESTFIELD, Mass. - An 8-year-old boy died after accidentally shooting himself in the head while firing an Uzi submachine gun under adult supervision at a gun fair.

The boy lost control of the weapon while firing it Sunday at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club, police Lt. Lawrence Vallierpratte said.

Police said the boy, Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn., was with a certified instructor and called the death a "self-inflicted accidental shooting."

As the boy fired the Uzi, "the front end of the weapon went up with the backfire and he ended up receiving a round in his head," police Lt. Hipolito Nunez said. The boy died at a hospital.

The boy's father and older brother were also there at the time... Francis Mitchell, a longtime member and trustee of the club, said he was told the boy's father was supporting his son from behind when the shooting happened.

Who lets their 8-year-old kid shoot a gun with that big of a kick???  Maybe the family didn't like the boy.

by desertpear on 11/08/2008 12:16:20 AM EST

[ Parent ]
''Accidental''??? (5.00 / 2)

Maybe, but the adults were negligent.  I want someone to go to prison.  Stuff like this just pisses me off.

by EveningStarNM on 11/08/2008 12:18:40 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Too gruesome for YouTube (none / 0)
It looks like the father empties the chamber before removing the clip, then lets his son hold the gun thinking it's safe. If so, he must have been sleeping in gun safety class.

I found it somewhere else:
http://www.evilchili.com/me diaview/19165/2_Year_Old_Sy rian_Kid_Shoot

by Scandinavian Chef on 11/08/2008 01:37:01 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Here's an interesting story. (none / 0)
Kinda, sorta, maybe.  <LINK

by Spencer on 11/07/2008 04:32:12 PM EST

and a completely horrible response (none / 0)
from some whack job that should be removed from the gene pool:
That is what happens when radical and hated candidate wins. I feel bad about destruction of personal property, but it is Obama's fault. People do not like him, and unfortunately not all of them can express themselves like civilized human beings should... Just for that reason, Obama should not have ran for a president. He puts his life, and life of his wife and children in danger, and for what.. He looks more like a Hollywood star then a president. He would be more liked if he were to have his own talk show or something... Imaging the show "Topics with Obama" or something like that...

What do we do with these maroons?

by desertpear on 11/07/2008 11:04:18 PM EST

[ Parent ]
"Imaging the show" (none / 0)

"Topics with Obama".  Inspired title...  ?

Oh morons...  You never ain't not unamusingless.

by Spencer on 11/08/2008 12:15:34 AM EST

[ Parent ]
didn't we cover this (none / 0)
Plastifica.

by richardshort2001 on 11/08/2008 12:16:07 AM EST

[ Parent ]
First Puppy (none / 0)
OK, I need to vent.  People of America should STOP TELLING THE OBAMAS WHAT DOG TO GET AND OFFERING THEM THEIR DOGS!!!  Every kid wants to choose their own puppy, give me a break.  It only happens once in your life when you choose a special companion like a dog while you are a kid.  People need to quit guilt-tripping the first family!!!

I loved Obama saying that shelter dogs were mostly "mutts like me" at his press conference.  Awesome job on the press conference too.  Finally an intelligent president who speaks in coherent sentences and tells the truth.

OK, now that I vented, I say, go with the Soft-coated Wheaten Terrier.  A little teeny bit foofie for my taste, but they are one of the few "hypoallergenic" breeds.  Not too small, not gigantic.  NO PRISSY POODLES, I don't care how smart they are.

When I get a dog, I want a smooth-coated collie, which is a short-haired collie.  Here's one playing with a ferret--cute.

by desertpear on 11/07/2008 11:35:16 PM EST

Hmmm... (5.00 / 2)

You were saying something about people telling the Obamas what kind of dog to get...?

Sometimes not razzing someone can be physically painful.

by EveningStarNM on 11/08/2008 12:16:39 AM EST

[ Parent ]
you know I did that on purpose, right? (none / 0)

by desertpear on 11/08/2008 02:50:28 AM EST

[ Parent ]
AARRrrgghh!.....Can't.......resist......another..! (5.00 / 2)

Interesting approach: "I was a hypocrit on purpose."

Whew!  Thank you, desertpear.  I feel much better now! Tee-hee!

by EveningStarNM on 11/08/2008 04:17:29 AM EST

[ Parent ]
I'm kind of a smart ass (none / 0)
I did find about 5 links to Soft-coated Wheaten Terrier rescue organizations and sent them via the www.change.gov website.  Every breed of dog (as well as almost any type of pet) has rescue organizations associated with it.  You can also apply for jobs with the administration through that site.  Get busy!

by desertpear on 11/08/2008 05:57:47 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Like we didn't know that <snark!> (5.00 / 2)

But since you've broken the ice, I'll go ahead and tell Mr. Obama exactly how the economy should be fixed.  I mean, someone has to, right?

--------------------------- -------------------------

Look, I just don't think that "Mister" sounds right. I agree that "President-Elect" has too many syllables, and "Senator" doesn't really work anymore.  But "Mister"?  We need another new word.  How about "Prezelect", or "Preztobe", or just "Prez"?

Yeah, no.  This is kind of like the search for new non-sexist pronouns. "He or she" is too much work, but neither ''heeshee'' or ''sheehee'' works either.  The teenyboppers don't seem to be doing their job of inventing enough good new words for us.

by EveningStarNM on 11/08/2008 10:42:42 AM EST

[ Parent ]
also and I'm a maverick! (none / 0)
I thought those of us who were among the first million donators got to call him by the first name!

by desertpear on 11/08/2008 12:09:23 PM EST

[ Parent ]
I suggest the ferret (none / 0)
I also suggested a hamster metropolis worthy of a mansion.

by richardshort2001 on 11/07/2008 11:47:29 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Wow, that's a bigass dog. (none / 0)
We could use a little extra security.  Mastiff all the way.

Need any help with that crossword? 

by Spencer on 11/08/2008 12:42:07 AM EST

[ Parent ]
damn (none / 0)
But that mastiff looks like he needs to lose about 50 lbs.  I love mastiffs, but I would never want to have to feed one.

by desertpear on 11/08/2008 02:51:32 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Being around English Mastiffs, (none / 0)
Make you feel you've been shrunk. They tend to slobber a lot. It's fun when they shake their heads and you take a small shower :-P

by Scandinavian Chef on 11/08/2008 03:40:36 AM EST

[ Parent ]
I would like a small herd of them! (none / 0)
Newfoundlands are cool too, and you could probably fill a swimming pool with their slobber.

by desertpear on 11/08/2008 05:59:46 AM EST

[ Parent ]
He's about to teleport her to Attilan (none / 0)

by ProfRich on 11/09/2008 01:40:04 AM EST

[ Parent ]
If Tim Russert were still with us (none / 0)

When Indiana went blue he would have taken out his dry erase board and written.

Letterman
Letterman
Letterman

by richardshort2001 on 11/08/2008 12:25:16 AM EST

Okay, enough time has passed. (5.00 / 2)

Now I have to ask:  Was Russert just an ass-kisser for those in power, or was he actually persuing a Republican agenda?

I wasn't a fan.  "Meet the Press" has been firmly in the Republican grip for many years, even though reality has a well-know liberal bias.

by EveningStarNM on 11/08/2008 11:16:46 AM EST

[ Parent ]
russerts (none / 0)
I actually didn't watch the show when Tim was around, just saw the odd clips here and there on the internet.  But at least Luke is a leebrul.  They are trying to teach him to hide his bias though.  When I saw clips of Tim, I assumed he was more of a conservative, but don't really know.

By the way, has anyone noticed how fucking obnoxious Pat Buchanan has been?  He still thinks Sarah is the bomb.  These evangelicals are really stupid.

by desertpear on 11/08/2008 12:12:54 PM EST

[ Parent ]
At least his son is with us (none / 0)
and pretty much growing up to be like his dad.

by desertpear on 11/08/2008 06:00:58 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Open Thread | 43 comments (43 topical, 0 hidden)
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