Friday Night Music: Out In The Street
Tonight was my first Carnival parade this year as a spectator so I spent hours-you guessed it-out in the street: Continue reading Friday Night Music: Out In The Street
Month: February 2015
My “Wisconsin Idea” moment, 20 years later
When I attended UW-Madison, we didn’t talk about the “Wisconsin Idea.” It wasn’t part of our freshman orientation, which was spent more telling us not to drink at frat parties and how to deal with roommates who might be “different” from us. Professors didn’t include it in the boilerplate material in their syllabus, along with the information on office hours and how they would abide by university rules regarding students with special needs.The chancellor, the provost and the college deans didn’t pontificate on it during public speeches and graduations. Truth be told, I hadn’t read a single word about it … Continue reading My “Wisconsin Idea” moment, 20 years later
Friday Guest Catblogging: Capture The Flag
All Hail. Dennie. Continue reading Friday Guest Catblogging: Capture The Flag
Shorter Sun-Times: We Have No Idea What the Fuck to Do Now
God almighty, this is elementary being-alive-today stuff. Get your goddamn story straight: The Chicago Sun-Times, which laid off 28 photographers in 2013, has now dismantled its video team. I’m told the unit had two full-time staffers and two freelancers; executive producer Dustin Park, who led the team, was cut in early January and his former colleague, Peter Holderness, was let go today. When the photographers were laid off nearly two years ago, the newspaper said there was a need to shift to online video. Wrapports, the Sun-Times and Chicago Reader parent, says it plans to use freelancers and remaining newsroom staff for video work. … Continue reading Shorter Sun-Times: We Have No Idea What the Fuck to Do Now
Pulp Fiction Thursday: Dedicated To Rand Paul
Senator Aqua Buddha is making an ass out of himself this week with conflicting and confusing statements about vaccinations. Who knew that brogressives were pro-measles anti-vaxxers?That will depress those lefties who get a woody when Paul talks about drones. Don’t drone or vaccinate me, dude. Now that I’m done taking a shot at Aqua Buddha, here are two paperback covers featuring needles. The Man With The Golden Arm is actually a fine book that was made into a harrowing film by Otto Preminger starring Frank Sinatra. This song has nothing to do with Senator Aqua Buddha or needles, but it’s Sinatra … Continue reading Pulp Fiction Thursday: Dedicated To Rand Paul
The Jindal Portrait Flap
There was a huge internet driven controversy yesterday that was started by this tweet sent out by an old friend and blogger comrade in arms: I’m not going to deal with the Jindal camp’s weasely-n-whiny response or go into the details of the portrait. I’d rather discuss *why* I find it so disturbing that Gov PBJ likes this poorly done portrait that doesn’t resemble him at all. The twitter people are having a hard time understanding why this reveals something significant about PBJ. There was a lot of chatter about “the issues, not the man.” That’s nonsense, they’re inseparable. I rarely talk about … Continue reading The Jindal Portrait Flap
Album Cover Art Wednesday: All Or Nothing At All
Billie Holiday was in bad shape when Norman Granz signed her to Verve Records. He helped her career but nobody could curb her self-destructive tendencies. Her voice was a bit raspy by the Fifties but her phrasing remained world class. I’ve always thought the harsh edge to her later vocals gave them character. It was more like Lady Lives The Blues than Lady Sings The Blues. All Or Nothing At All was released in 1958 but was in the can long before that. The cover is by David Stone Martin and brilliantly captures Lady Day’s angst. Sadly enough, that angst … Continue reading Album Cover Art Wednesday: All Or Nothing At All
Attempt to Imagine
if Democrats had tried to shut down the government over the war: The department runs out of money on Feb. 27. Texas senator and potential presidential candidate Ted Cruz insists DHS not get any money unless Republicans get to undo the president’s immigration policies. That places McConnell in a dilemma — how does he placate Cruz and his allies while avoiding a shutdown of the agency? “We should use the power of confirmations and we should use the power of the purse.” – Sen. Ted Cruz Republican Cruz has vowed he will stop at nothing to block the president’s executive action on … Continue reading Attempt to Imagine
Jeb Bush: Unforgiven
This really was one of the absolute worst uses of government in American history: John K. Stargel, a Republican in the Florida legislature, filed a brief allowing Bush to issue a “one-time stay.” Bush quickly signed the bill, “Terri’s Law” less than 24 hours after it was introduced to the Florida legislature. Bush also issued an executive order to put the feeding tube back in Schiavo. Legal battles ensued, and a circuit court judge ruled “Terri’s Law” unconstitutional. Bush asked the United States Supreme Court to review the case but the High Court refused. The governor attempted to keep Schiavo on life … Continue reading Jeb Bush: Unforgiven
The Search for ‘Balance’
The NYT asks, on the vaccine question: How did we get to a point where personal beliefs can triumph over science? Well goddamn, New York Times, I don’t know. Maybe something about a decade and a half of “it would be irresponsible not to speculate” and “both sides do it” and “if everybody’s mad at us we’re doing something right” and “hey, we don’t tell you the truth, we tell you what six competing people each say is the truth, individually, despite that one of those people is having paranoid delusions, and one of them can’t find a sentence with … Continue reading The Search for ‘Balance’
Spank Squad
I’m still wiped out from the 45 city block long Krewe du Vieux parade last Saturday. The inevitable soreness has been exacerbated by a pratfall I took at the Friday preview party, which left me bruised pre-parade. The good news is that I was in an altered state so I was limber when I tripped and fell on the concrete floor. It could have been much worse. It’s true what they say about booze, y’all. If you don’t know, I’m not talking. I may be a spiller, but I’m not spilling this. We have a confidentiality agreement. Why? I’ll never know. … Continue reading Spank Squad
Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Idiotarod winner edition
Oh Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. You are truly the grift that keeps on giving.
If you didn’t exist, some wag would have to make you up.
From that infamous DemoCommie rag, the National Review:
Sarah Palin Slips into Self-Parody
National Review ^ | January 26, 2015 | Charles C. W. CookePosted on 1/26/2015 8:22:08 PM by MinnesotaLibertarian
Skipping to the end:
…
Consider, if you will, what happens to a person who suggests that Sarah Palin is anything other than saintly. Right off the bat, they are accused of disliking America or Alaska or conservatives or mothers or the working class — or even women in general — and then they are informed that their “hatred” is showing. Next, their motives are questioned and their supposedly secret “agenda” is exposed for the world to see, for no right-thinking person could dislike Palin on the merits, natch. “I hope you enjoy your elite cocktail parties,” the apologists will say, and then they will huffily tell you that they “hope signaling that you are ‘one of them’ was worth it.” And finally — as is the case when one expresses disapproval of other cult figures, such as President Obama, Ron Paul, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and Paul Krugman — it is presumed that all animadversion must be motivated by envy or by snobbery or by secret admiration, and that it can therefore be safely ignored. “What have you done,” they will ask, “that compares to my paragon of virtue?” All told, it’s really quite pathetic.
…
Having been mercilessly and unjustly pilloried by the media throughout the 2008 campaign, Sarah Palin had a clear choice in its aftermath: She could sober up and prove the buggers wrong, or she could collapse into ignominious pasquinade. Sadly, she chose the latter. The rest of us should choose to move on.
**************************************
I expect to get flamed by the Palin fan club,
but this is one of the best summaries I’ve seen of why she should not be taken seriously as a candidate. It has nothing to do with her policies – it has do with how she conducts herself. I agree entirely that she was not treated fairly by the media in 2008, but she has done nothing but play into the image they’ve created for her ever since. Furthermore, quitting her term as Governor halfway through is a major red flag, and eliminates the credibility of the “executive experience” argument.
All I can say is:
Palin Rangers – Automorph!
To: Cringing Negativism NetworkWhat people are failing to realize that at an event where no one particularly stood out, Palin is the one getting the press. At this point in the 2016 election cycle, there is no such thing as bad press.
5 posted on 1/26/2015 8:27:30 PM by gov_bean_ counter (Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools)
Spiffy. I guess she should cop a squat in the middle of the Palmer Highway during rush hour? That would get her a LOT of not-bad press. AND be less embarrassing than that speech.
.
And probably smell better.
Well, I’ve already stumbled onto the post of the thread!
Bear in mind that this is a statement that gets posted on Free Republic about 10 times per hour, usually when some RWNJ makes the news for embarrassing themselves…..
Also bear in mind that about 20 times per hour, someone in Freeperville posts something about the uppity negro in the White Hut.
To: MinnesotaLibertarianShe’s living in their heads rent-free 24/7.
8 posted on 1/26/2015 8:29:04 PM by Jack Hydrazine (Pubbies = national collectivists; Dems = international collectivists; We need a second party!)
To: Jack Hydrazine“She’s living in their heads rent-free 24/7.”
______________Repeating this over and over doesn’t change reality. Her speech this weekend was horrible. It looked like she hadn’t given it much thought and believed that all she had to do was show up and she would be fawned over. If she wants to be a contender (and I don’t think she does), she owes it to us to contend.
To: RegalThank you. Palinistas screeching over and over that rent-free meme has gotten beyond tiresome.
216 posted on 1/27/2015 9:29:32 AM by Responsibility2nd (See Ya On The Road; Al Baby’s Mom!)
.To: Cringing Negativism NetworkYeah, me too. They become apoplectically hysterical whenever she speaks. Sarah separates the wheat from the
chaffgaffe, every time.15 posted on 1/26/2015 8:33:34 PM by Louis Foxwell (This is a wake up call. Join the Sultan Knish ping list.)
FIFY.
To: SasparillaThere’s been a lot of anti-Palin articles written after her speech. Ask yourself why that is?
Palin is THE single politican that is a threat to the ruling class in D.C.26 posted on 1/26/2015 8:41:41 PM by Extremely Extreme Extremist
There’s been a lot of anti-Pinto articles written after it was discovered that the fucking things blew up if you sneezed near them.
Ask yourself why that is?
Pintos are THE single car that is a threat to the non-exploding class in Detroit.
.
But – a lot of the Freeperati are sick and tired of Lucy pulling the football away:
To: gov_bean_ counterNo such thing as bad press? Would you call Gerald Ford continuously falling down the stairs of Air Force One good press? Unfortunately, Palin is following in those footsteps.
12 posted on 1/26/2015 8:31:36 PM by Sasparilla (If you want peace, prepare for war.)
Rebuttal?
To: SasparillaPound sand.
13 posted on 1/26/2015 8:32:02 PM by gov_bean_ counter (Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools)
Oh – this is gonna be EPIC !!!!
(extra exclamation marks inserted to irritate my bud Adrastos)
More after the
Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Idiotarod winner edition”
Your Own Self-Interest
Charlie: There is no question that the Democratic party has done a god-awful job of explaining to white working people who’s screwing them and why. Most of the people who have tried that have found themselves marginalized, and not always by Republicans, either. Senator Professor Warren is one of the few of them who has managed to explain these matters in such a way that they are both easily understood, and in such a way that she doesn’t sound like she’s talking down to anyone. And she still has a long push up a dirt road before she moves the … Continue reading Your Own Self-Interest
In Which a Badger Mauls Walker
Sharplessssss: John Sharpless, a former Republican candidate for Congress and who teaches history at UW, voiced his frustration on Friday over the belief that professors aren’t working hard enough. He said he arrives no later than 9 a.m. and leaves no earlier than 5 p.m. During that time, he said he’s either teaching, preparing lectures, doing research, attending required committee meetings, advising students and managing teaching assistants. Sharpless added that he often spends his evenings reading and grading papers. “None of this seems like work to a guy like Walker because he lives a different life,” he said. “And I’m not going … Continue reading In Which a Badger Mauls Walker
It’s Almost Like Your Customers’ Opinions Matter
“We’re sorry we killed off this thing that you like, even though we knew as we were doing it that it was a thing you like and that killing it off would likely made you rage-bomb our phone lines. Here the thing is back again, and the only difference is that now you know about the bottomless contempt we feel for you, and how little conviction we put into any of our decisions.” Is there anybody with half a brain at a newspaper that doesn’t know not to fuck with the TV listings? God almighty, my old editor damn near … Continue reading It’s Almost Like Your Customers’ Opinions Matter
Sunday Morning Video: Elvis The 1968 Comeback Special
I *was* going to post this last Sunday but could not. It’s a super special for Stupor Sunday. Me, I’m at the Krewe du Vieux ball right now. I love that whole post timer thing. Continue reading Sunday Morning Video: Elvis The 1968 Comeback Special