Month: November 2010

Adrastos, Music2 Comments

The Promised Land Variations

Peter Adrastos Athas

YesterdayAthenae linkedto a fantastic post byJoe Posnanski about Bruce Springsteen andThe Promise. I saw the documentary of the same name, which is about the making ofDarkness On The Edge Of Town, ,a month or so ago on HBO. It embedded Bruce’s wonderful songThe Promised Land in my head. It also got me thinking about another classic song of the same title written by the great but sporadically psychotic Chuck Berry. Hence this edition of Friday Night Music. First, Springsteen and the E Street Band at their creative and performing peak in 1978. The same year I saw them for the … Continue reading The Promised Land Variations

Current Affairs, Doc10 Comments

Homeschooled

(Note: I’m filing early and then going dark, as The Missus and I will be going out looking for a new car. It will be the first time we’ve done this since we almost got divorced trying to buy a car with our wedding money, so pray for us. We seem to be on the same page, which means this has all the makings of an I Love Lucy skit. Onward…) When you teach an intro writing class like I do, you often find yourself muddling through some exceptionally tortured prose. You also find that kids can’t find a noun-verb-object … Continue reading Homeschooled

Athenae, War in Iraq5 Comments

Armistice Day

Remembering: Millions across the globe on Thursday paid their respects to those who sacrificed their lives during the First World War. In Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and several senior government and military officials gathered to remember the fallen. More than 1.3 million French troops died during the conflict, the largest losses for an individual country with the Allied forces. Andwe lost our fucking minds when they refused to sign on to our Great Iraqi Adventure, because they clearly were insufficiently brave. A. Continue reading Armistice Day

Adrastos, Current Affairs, Music, Political Crack1 Comment

Berlusconi Goes Bunga-Bunga

Peter Adrastos Athas

I have a confession: I love Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi because of his exuberant awfulness. He’s likely to say or do anything and quite literally steps on his dick at least once a month. Silvio’s run as the luckiest man in European politics seems to be running out. Why? It’s because of <drum roll> Bunga-Bunga. What the hell is that?I’ll let the vestigal Newsweek explain: A year ago, the ex-wife of Silvio Berlusconi publicly asked whether he was ill when she announced their divorce. Now Italian media and others are wondering the same thing, as the country is rocked by … Continue reading Berlusconi Goes Bunga-Bunga

Athenae, Stupid Republican Tricks13 Comments

All I’m Gonna Say About Bush’s Book: Kanye Was Wrong

Or rather, not wrong, but reductive. George Bush doesn’t care about ANYBODY. A. ps. Okay, one more thing: Fuck everyone for going along with this crap. The people having this cretin on TV and listening to him wax philosophical about his decision to quit drinking (yeah, I’m looking at you, Matt Lauer, letting him get away with saying he wasn’t an alcoholic, he was a “drinker”) and how he’s really sorry he looked like an asshole that one time are EXPLICITLY HELPING HIS CAUSE and I have no patience for it. Decent people should turn away from this man in … Continue reading All I’m Gonna Say About Bush’s Book: Kanye Was Wrong

Music, VirgoTex

WWTFUS: peer into the great unknown

Because we assume it’s about political transition, even though any assumption as to what an NP song is reallyabout is always entirely fruitless. Because I passed over Callie in my OMG post below, and Nicki Clyne is adorable in this vid. But MOST OF ALL because it’s Andy Gifford’s favorite song (or favorite NP song anyways) and as of yesterday, he’s been a dad forone whole year! Talk about the laws changing, hang on to yer hat Daddy! Weezy’s gonna be asking for the car keys before you know it. Continue reading WWTFUS: peer into the great unknown

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Political Crack16 Comments

Governor Meemaw On W’s Katrina Spin

Peter Adrastos Athas

Former President Beavis’ book has a chapter on Hurricane Katrina.According to Bush, the only mistakes he made were PR ones: he coulda shoulda spun it better. This is, of course, patent nonsense but that’s how the W in denial book tour is spinning it. According to Bush, the ones who made the big mistakes were mostly Louisiana Democrats. First, Senator Mary Landrieu was guilty of being emotional as her hometown drowned. Imagine that. Second, Governor Meemaw (aka Kathleen Babineaux Blanco) should have let him federalize the Louisiana National Guard to deal with the “insurrection” in New Orleans. As with so … Continue reading Governor Meemaw On W’s Katrina Spin

Television, VirgoTex18 Comments

OMG, they killed Fill in the Blank!

I know, I know. We have all been so distracted by the recent political bloodbath, some of you have totally missed this important breaking news on the cultural front:

11-4

We now know that they never really killed Kenny. Or rather, that he can’t be killed. Because he won’t stay dead.Or something like that. Bastards!

Yeah, so it’s totally jumped the shark, but one reason I loved Kenny’s constant dying and returning, then really dying and being gone for a while, then coming back and dying every once in a while, and now being a superhero who can’t stay dead is because it’s the greatest wank ever on one of my favorite television tropes:

ANYONE CAN DIE

Why is it so simultaneously delicious and awful when we get gobsmacked by a tragic and ruthless character death and the subsequent emotional onslaught? Well, if you ever sat through a class on Greek drama or Philosophy 101, and if you stayed awake, you might remember Nietzsche’s take on the essence of classical tragedy: by combining Apollonion and Dionysian extremes, tragedy allows us poor little humans with our tiny scared minds to experience the transendence of catharsis. The higher the body count, the more undeserved and/or random the loss, the more transcendent the payoff.

So, in light of last week, I thought it might help us to wallow in some shockingfictional bereavements. Hey, I’m a giver. Also I have a sick mind.

And please, this is BYOC (Bring Your Own Catharsis) so feel free to add your own favorites in the comments as what follows is a highly subjective short list and I know all you peeps who watchLost and24 andHeroes got plenty to add.

Finally, this is TV, so Wash buying it inSerenity doesn’t count. But damnnnnnnn, right?

Warning. This post contains spoilers (albeit some of them rather ancient) to various fictional narratives as well as imagery some may finddisturbing. If you don’t want to be spoiled or disturbed, don’t proceed. If like most of us, you are spoiled and disturbed beyond all telling, do carry on.

Continue reading “OMG, they killed Fill in the Blank!”

Adrastos, Political Crack, Stupid Republican Tricks8 Comments

Not usually a Sully fan…

Peter Adrastos Athas

…but he got this one right: If a black Republican president had come in, helped turn around the banking and auto industries (at a small profit!), insured millions through the private sector while cutting Medicare, overseen a sharp decline in illegal immigration, ramped up the war in Afghanistan, reinstituted pay-as-you go in the Congress, set up a debt commission to offer hard choices for future debt reduction, and seen private sector job growth outstrip the public sector’s in a slow but dogged recovery, somehow I don’t think that Republican would be regarded as a socialist. If you overlook the hippie … Continue reading Not usually a Sully fan…

Adrastos, Political Crack4 Comments

More fun with Mitt Haircut

Peter Adrastos Athas

Mitt Romney on the campaign trail in Iowa in 2007. No photoshopping was involved which makes this even sillier. Holy proctologist, Batman. The 2008 Presidential candidate I had the most fun mocking was Mitt Romney. I loved his weirdly named family and his exuberant pandering: all pols pander and flip flop but Mitt Haircut always seems convinced that his current position is based on principle instead of pandering. He’s so flexible that he should be a contortionist. It remains to be seen how the newly revived and allegedly ideologically pure GOTP will view the Mittster as a candidate in 2012. … Continue reading More fun with Mitt Haircut

Athenae, Stupid Republican Tricks14 Comments

Christie: Fuck Teachers, We’re Taking Them Out

Jersey, what the hell with this guy: “These teachers have all summer off. Can’t they have their convention during the summer?’ the governor said as he spoke to a clutch of high schoolers surrounding him. “They got to get two days off from school because, you know, they don’t get enough time off now, right? They get two weeks off at Christmas, they get all the different holidays, then they get all the summer off and now they need two more days. “Why do you think that is? Do you think If they cared about learning where would they be … Continue reading Christie: Fuck Teachers, We’re Taking Them Out

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media4 Comments

When The Paper Matters

Print is dead: It was hard to turn on the television on Wednesday morning without seeingimages of how newspapers from across the world had documented the results of Tuesday’s midterm elections in the United States. Despite all the knocks newspapers take these days — they’re full of old news; no one reads them anymore; print is dead — Americans apparently still have a nostalgia for thestatic, unrefreshablefront page. “There is an enormous public interest in front pages,” said Paul Sparrow, senior vice president for broadcasting at the Newseum in Washington, which publishes on its Web site every day close to … Continue reading When The Paper Matters

Adrastos, BP Oil Spill, Food and Drink5 Comments

How do ya like dem ersters?

Peter Adrastos Athas

Thus spake (according to legend at least)Longite NOLA Mayor Robert Maestri to FDR when the two were dining on oysters at Antoine’s. The quote varies-sometimes it ends with Mr. President or Chief-which is why I’m not 100% sure it’s true. But if it isn’t, it should be. This post, however, isn’t about malaprops or politics, it’s about dem ersters.The Sunday Picayune ran a fine front pager by Brett Anderson on the ongoing problems faced by a family owned and operated oyster processing and distribution company in NOLA, P&J Oyster Co. The BP oil spill and the response to it continue … Continue reading How do ya like dem ersters?

Stupid Republican Tricks, Tommy T10 Comments

Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – “Trouble in Paradise” edition

Well, folks, the only way this week could be worse for your humble narrator would be if I started shitting blood, but life staggers on.

At Free Republic this week, there was the expected celebration and ritual singing of theHorst-Wessel-Lied, but there was also this:

RINOs behind defeat of Tea Party candidates (Vanity)

Posted on Thursday, November 04, 2010 11:18:47 AM byJimWayne

Don’t blame the Democrats for the defeat of Christine O’Doneell and Sharon Angle. The RINOs have worked hard and worked WITH the Dims to make sure that the Tea Party candidates would not win.

In Delaware, it was Karl Rove who opposed O’Donnell. In Nevada, it was a state level RINO who supported the Democrat. In Alaska, RINOs have done everything to prevent Joe Miller from winning. You can be sure that Ken Buck must have been done in by RINOs like Karl Rove.

A suggestion to hit back at them – deny RINOs the right to post on FR. If anyone brings up the claim that it is better to support a “winnable” anti-life and pro-spending candidate instead of a Tea Party candidate, how about showing zero tolerance and kicking them out instantly even if they have been around for 10 years.Surely, GOP officials use FR to their benefit. Why not pay back in their own coin? If they don’t support us, why should we support them?

1 posted on Thursday, November 04, 2010 11:18:53 AM byJimWayne
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Let the purges begin!!!
To: JimWayne

I seriously doubt many “RINO’s” who voted for Dems over good conservative candidates are frequenters of FR. FR is a popular site but by and large we aren’t the political powerhouse some would think we are.

3 posted on Thursday, November 04, 2010 11:21:45 AM byArtemis Webb
A powerhouse of whining and kvetching, perhaps…
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To: ImJustAnotherOkie
Or over the Hannity’s site.
5 posted on Thursday, November 04, 2010 11:23:22 AM byLightningStriker2010
Freeperville – for whenSean Hannity just isn’t bugfuck crazy enough for ya.
To: JimWayne
I say we need their support.

If they can sit quietly in the back of the bus and let other more sensible folks drive, they don’t need to go under the bus.

8 posted on Thursday, November 04, 2010 11:25:19 AM byPaladin2
ThatsRacist
To: JimWayne

I may or may not be a rino, but bring it on anyway!

10 posted on Thursday, November 04, 2010 11:26:03 AM byGSWarrior (I voted Yes on No.)
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To: JimWayne
So, no one can post here unless they meet Jim Wayne’s definition of acceptable.

Yeah, that’ll work. THAT’LL SHOW ‘EM !!!

13 posted on Thursday, November 04, 2010 11:27:07 AM byIzzy Dunne (Hello, I’m a TAGLINE virus. Please help me spread by copying me into YOUR tag line.)
Now, boys – play nice.
To: JimWayne

For a while, there was a gaggle of Repub-bots (all long-time FReepers) that swarmed virtually every politics-related thread to call us “Trolls”, “Communists”, and “DU operatives”, and, when the Mods let ‘em get away with it, more unprintable names…

Then, about 3 weeks ago, I noticed that they’d all disappeared…

Perhaps the ‘purge’ you’re calling for has already been quietly taken care of…

18 posted on Thursday, November 04, 2010 11:28:50 AM byUncle Ike (Rope is cheap, and there are lots of trees…)
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First they came for the RINOS…
To: Izzy Dunne
So, no one can post here unless they meet Jim Wayne’s definition of acceptable.

Those are your words. I clearly suggested that the supporters of anti-life pro-spending candidates be thrown out. Why would you oppose that suggestion?

19 posted on Thursday, November 04, 2010 11:29:45 AM byJimWayne
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…then they came for the Libertarians…
To: JimWayne

Riiiiiight, Jim. That’ll work. Will you be the arbiter of such swift and subjective justice?

Will you suggest I be banned for breaking the news to you that Christine O’Donnell was an awful, awful candidate? (Note: This is not to say that Castle or Coons was a good candidate.) Just because COD said a few platitudes that we agreed with doesn’t mean there was more than half a brain in her head.

While I think we share the same cynicism with our Federal government and just what will change now, I think your idea of purging FR is a tad bit ridiculous.

22 posted on Thursday, November 04, 2010 11:32:36 AM bywhattajoke (Let’s keep Conservatism real.)
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…then they came for the nutcases…
To: JimWayne
kicking them out instantly

Do you have a list of folks you would like to see purged?

Maybe if they’re just semi-questionable we could just have a yellow star sewn on their jackets or something.

21 posted on Thursday, November 04, 2010 11:32:16 AM byhumblegunner (Pablo is very wily)
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Ban_him
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To: Izzy Dunne

that attitude is seen on this site more and more…and it’ll just prove what the democrats say, if you don’t agree 100% with the right wingers, get out.The rude and pure nasty comments on this site and the my way is the only way is why people are leaving.

31 posted on Thursday, November 04, 2010 11:36:49 AM byJewels1091
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It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
To: JimWayne

It seems there may be a hitch in your hypothesis. Who is the one to determine what defines a RINO? Given there is really no concrete list of what the Republican platform is other then the ambiguous list of smaller government, increased security, and less intrusion, very few can agree on what that actually entails. The tighter that list is defined the fewer there will be that can be included under the Republican banner.

Why, as a matter of fact, he does have a list. You’ll see it below the jump.

That, in essence is the struggle that the Republican Party has today. Even organized religions cannot come to a strict common ground on homosexuals, gays, or abortion that all within those religions can agree on let alone act in a cohesive manner on.

We could end up with such a small number of who we believe should be included in the Party that we are totally nullified as a group.

33 posted on Thursday, November 04, 2010 11:38:49 AM byCynicalBear
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List, you say? Here it is:

Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – “Trouble in Paradise” edition”

Faith, Music, VirgoTex2 Comments

DSTWTFUS: Wade! Wade! Wade!

Going out of turn because forward or backwards, the daylight savings transition is tough and we need some WTFU up in here. Hence, Mavis. Mighty. Mighty. The lady said “Wade!” Y’all get to it. There’s a seven-minute version of this on the very wonderfulLive: Hope at the Hideout. I listen to it nearly every day on my commute and I swear that track is as essential to my wellbeing as any of the meds I take. Take heed y’all, this woman is stillvery much with us and performing regularly. If you haven’t seen her live, you got no damn excuse. … Continue reading DSTWTFUS: Wade! Wade! Wade!

Athenae, Do Something5 Comments

Still Mad? Still Scared? Still Worried? GOOD. Do Something With It.

COATS, people. I always say when people ask if I prefer winter or summer that winter’s much easier to take. In summer, it gets hot, you can only take off so many layers in public before you get arrested. Winter, you can always put on another sweater. Assuming you have one, that is: Evergreen Park’s annual coat drive typically provides outerwear for hundreds of needy people, but this year’s collection is lagging far behind previous years. “I only have 20 coats,” Jim Feltz, director of the village’s youth commission, said. “We usually have 100 or so.” This story wound up … Continue reading Still Mad? Still Scared? Still Worried? GOOD. Do Something With It.

Adrastos, Malakatude, Political Crack, Television7 Comments

Malaka Of The Week: MSNBC

Peter Adrastos Athas

We have visitors from the land of ham biscuits aka Virginia so I was offline most of Friday. I hadn’t even planned to discuss the week in malakatude until I heard thatKeith Olbermann was suspended by MSNBC for giving money to candidates he agrees with. Apparently, the suits at MSNBC were shocked, shocked to learn that Keith is a liberal so some suit named Phil Griffin “temporarily suspended” Keith from Countdown, which is the highest rated show on the cable network. The timing of the suspension seems fishy: it comes after the GOP retook control of the House amidst winger … Continue reading Malaka Of The Week: MSNBC

Doc, Political Crack18 Comments

Meat-counter politics

If you want to know why we lost, ask the lady at the Wal-Mart deli counter. I was picking up a pound of salami on Tuesday when she asked, “Have you voted yet?” No, I told her. I was shopping for some groceries and then heading home. The polling place was on the way and since it was about 2 p.m., I’d be fine. “I wish they’d tell me who to vote for,” she said with a sigh. They are, I explained. The ads, the news, hell, everyone is telling you to do something. She kind of lowered her head … Continue reading Meat-counter politics