Month: January 2016

Athenae, Economy, Fuck The Mommy Wars, Kids Today, So Called Liberal Media3 Comments

Mothers, Here is How You’re Screwing Up Your Baby Today: Cellphones!

Allison Hantschel

MOTHERS PUT DOWN YOUR CELLPHONES:  Mothers, put down your smartphones when caring for your babies! That’s the message from University of California, Irvine researchers, who have found that fragmented and chaotic maternal care can disrupt proper brain development, which can lead to emotional disorders later in life. HOLY SHIT. That sounds terrifying! I will never text in Kick’s presence again lest I warp her brain for life! Hey, maybe Mr. A can handle all my calls and work e-mails and everything else that happens, you know, on a 21st century basis in the world. This lead says nothing about fathers using … Continue reading Mothers, Here is How You’re Screwing Up Your Baby Today: Cellphones!

Athenae, Political Crack

Redoing the Damage

Allison Hantschel

All we’re hearing from the collection of fascists and fools running for office on the Republican side is how they’re going to walk back everything Barack Obama did as president. Back to unregulated health insurance! Back to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell! Back to blowin’ up anybody who looked at us funny. But back to the state of our relations with Iran prior to the past week? Like how even would they accomplish that? Reinstall a shah and then hire some people to depose him again? What’s the new guy gonna do, send Jason Rezaian, 10 sailors, and the centrifuges back … Continue reading Redoing the Damage

Free Republic, Stupid Republican Tricks, Tommy T, Uncategorized2 Comments

Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati -barely here edition

Tommy T

Morning everyone! This is going to be a short one, as your humble narrator is having issues sitting, and you can’t do Obsession posts on a phone.

So let’s get right to it with – Boo WHO?

Donald Trump Booed By Conservative Crowd After Attacks on Ted Cruz
NBC News ^ | 1/16/16 | Alex Jaffe

Posted on ‎1‎/‎16‎/‎2016‎ ‎7‎:‎56‎:‎45‎ ‎PM by TBBT

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.  Among conservatives, Donald Trump can typically do no wrong – until he attacks Ted Cruz.

On Saturday, Trump drew boos from a grassroots conservative crowd during remarks at the South Carolina Tea Party Coalition Convention for his attack on Cruz’s previously undisclosed loans.

“You give a campaign contribution to Ted Cruz, you get whatever the hell you want,” he said, before boos erupted from the crowd.

Trump went on as the boos grew louder: “Say whatever you want, it’s okay, he didn’t report his bank loans. He’s got bank loans from Goldman Sachs, he’s got bank loans from Citibank, folks, and then he acts like Robin Hood?”

****************

I don’t know… But I’ve been scanning truck loads of news articles today. Cruz has had a pretty good news day. The Donald not so much.I’ve seen the booing. Whether is was a major factor, or not, it really doesn’t matter. When all the headlines you see about the event are similar to the one posted here, it’s not a net positive – to say the least.

1 posted on ‎1‎/‎16‎/‎2016‎ ‎7‎:‎56‎:‎45‎ ‎PM by TBBT
And to say the worst –
To: TBBT

 

Should be fun if Trump tries his crap in Texas.

3 posted on ‎1‎/‎16‎/‎2016‎ ‎7‎:‎59‎:‎16‎ ‎PM by cripplecreek (Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.)

To: Rockitz

 

Trump’s a fine guy, I like him. Maybe they’ll let him have his television show back.

4 posted on ‎1‎/‎16‎/‎2016‎ ‎9‎:‎14‎:‎40‎ ‎PM by dead (“I’m up to my eyeball in virgin goats!” – Mullah Omar)

BanHimCruz
.
Trump-humpers – to the ramparts!
To: Insigne123

 

Trump got booed at the debate and his poll numbers went up.

He doesn’t pander to Goldman Sachs pawns.

15 posted on ‎1‎/‎16‎/‎2016‎ ‎8‎:‎02‎:‎41‎ ‎PM by Helicondelta

Trump kills and eats live kittens on TV – poll numbers went up.
Trump rapes a nun in a campaign commercial – poll numbers went up.
The Darnold knows his base.
(for those who don’t remember the MAD magazine piece that inspired my Trump sobriquet)
DarnoldDuck
.
A little more after the jump –

Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati -barely here edition”

Athenae, Stupid Republican Tricks5 Comments

Marco Rubio is Functionally Insane

Allison Hantschel

What the CHRIST:  “I’m a strong supporter of the second amendment. I have a right to protect my family if someone were to come after us,” Rubio said. “In fact, if ISIS were to visit us, or our communities, at any moment, the last line of defense between ISIS and my family is the ability that I have to protect my family from them, or from a criminal, or anyone else who seeks to do us harm. Millions of Americans feel that way.” You know, Trump is one thing, okay? Trump has hit on a line that sells, and he’s … Continue reading Marco Rubio is Functionally Insane

Athenae, Big Damn Heroes, Film, Immoral Values, Jude, Propaganda

The Great Benghazi Martyrdom Movie

Allison Hantschel

Yeah, I’m becoming more and more okay with the Nazi comparisons:  Why did 13 Hours premiere in Arlington? On the red carpet, Bay said he had come because the city was “the heartland of America.” Tuesday’s premiere was, indeed, a very American event. The Dallas Cowboys, after all, bill themselves America’s Team, signifying perhaps that they are a deep well of mediocrity in thrall to a rich, old, spiritually corrupt creep, which is to say that the Cowboys are a PAC or two away from earning top-tier presidential contender status. But Arlington is more than just the home of a … Continue reading The Great Benghazi Martyrdom Movie

Adrastos, Music, Sunday Morning Video

Sunday Morning Video: Assorted Live Bowie

Peter Adrastos Athas

It’s time for the grand finale of David Bowie tribute week here at First Draft. I’m presenting some clips of the Thin White Duke in his natural habitat: onstage. We begin with Bowie’s electrifying 1985 Live Aid set: Here’s prog-rock Bowie live in Tokyo in 1978: Next up is a 1996 set from German teevee: Finally, a  charming and hilarious 2002 appearance on the A&E program Live By Request:   Continue reading Sunday Morning Video: Assorted Live Bowie

Uncategorized8 Comments

Weekend Question Thread

Allison Hantschel

What is your earliest memory? I don’t know exactly what age I was when it happened but I can recall, dimly, visiting my great-grandmother, my dad’s grandma, in her nursing home. I went with my father when he went to visit her, and I remember the thin blue light in the room, and holding her hand. She died before my brother was born so I must have been 2 or 3. I also visited a Lutheran church (I was raised Roman Catholic but my father’s family was Lutheran) when I was so small my mother was startled when I told … Continue reading Weekend Question Thread

Adrastos, Art, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Gret Stet Politics, Krewe du Vieux, Music, New Orleans, Odds & Sods, Political Crack, Stupid Republican Tricks

Saturday Odds & Sods: Black Tie White Noise

Peter Adrastos Athas
Bowie-Is-sign-MCA
Photograph via Metrolingua.

It’s been a busy week in New Orleans. I’ve been hard at work helping with the Krewe of Spank’s theme, float, and throws. This year we’re having fake royals on our float and I’ve been the royalty wrangler. Krewe du Vieux floats are small so they’re customarily  riderless. We had to get approval from the Mother Krewe to have riders. It should be fun. Here’s hoping they don’t fall off the float. All hail King Pratfall.

In other Gret Stet news, Governor John Bel Edwards kept his most important campaign promise and brought medicaid expansion to Louisiana on his second day in office. The Feds gave us the same terms they gave states who entered the system when it first came down the pipeline. Let’s call it the Jindal mulligan.

David Bowie tribute week continues here at First Draft with the theme song. It’s the second Bowie tune to make the grade/cut or whatever the hell it is. My only complaint about all the Bowie tributes is that they tend to recycle all the biggies so I have gone in the opposite direction. It’s what I do. Black Tie White Noise is the title track of a 1993 album. It features the vocal stylings of Al B. Sure. We’ll kick things off with the promo video, followed by a live appearance on The Tonight Show, which means we have to see Jay Leno-jaw but you have to take the bitter with the sweet.

This week’s edition will be mercifully brief because I’ve got a lot of shit to do. I do, however, have time to post a White Tie tune in rebuttal to Bowie’s cravat noir:

I posted that clip because I think of Bowie as the Astaire of rock: long, lean, elegant, and a snappy dresser. More oddball comparisons and strange analogies after the break.

Continue reading “Saturday Odds & Sods: Black Tie White Noise”

Doc, Economy, Education, Kids Today, On Wisconsin, Uncategorized1 Comment

Let Them Eat Cake: Student-Loan Edition

docphd

Yeah, this is totally what students need to save them from debt: Gov. Scott Walker announced a legislative package on college affordability Monday that would eliminate the cap on student loan interest that borrowers can deduct from their state income tax, putting an average $165 extra in taxpayers’ pockets. The package of bills drawn up by Republican lawmakers also provides students with additional information about their student loans so they can make smart financial decisions, emergency assistance so they can stay in school and internship opportunities to connect students with Wisconsin employers.   First, this is pretty much like trying … Continue reading Let Them Eat Cake: Student-Loan Edition

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media, Stupid Everything Tricks1 Comment

Joe Klein was Thrilled by George Wallace, Who He Thinks is the Same as Al Sharpton

Allison Hantschel

Even for Joke, this is really gross:  He does not finish stories he starts—he starts his riff about forcing Ford, which has built a plant in Mexico, to pay 35% tariffs, but something else grabs his attention…not once, not twice, maybe three or four times before he sees it to the end, and the end, when it comes, is clumsily delivered, he steps on his punchline, darting off in some other direction. It occurs to me that the Tweet is the extent of this man’s attention span. He is the ADHD candidate. It occurs to me that being a “low-energy” … Continue reading Joe Klein was Thrilled by George Wallace, Who He Thinks is the Same as Al Sharpton

Free Republic, Stupid Republican Tricks, Tommy T

Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Something old, something new edition

Tommy T

Good morning, constant readers! I’m afraid it’s time to dip into the aging pile of Freepitude, but first – one Freeper makes a declaration:

Trump is starting to smell like a Clinton decoy to me!
Posted on ‎1‎/‎7‎/‎2016‎ ‎12‎:‎27‎:‎25‎ ‎PM by Cats Pajamas

Just seems more and more to me that he is running interference for Bill and Hill. I am getting closer and closer to crossing Trump of my list.

1 posted on ‎1‎/‎7‎/‎2016‎ ‎12‎:‎27‎:‎25‎ ‎PM by Cats Pajamas
As the late great John Bednarz used to say: “Boy, that’s just your upper lip.”
One Freeper tries to warn him:
To: Cats Pajamas

 

Don’t worry. the Trump supporters will help you cross him off now.

5 posted on ‎1‎/‎7‎/‎2016‎ ‎12‎:‎29‎:‎24‎ ‎PM by Berlin_Freeper

AaandHereTheyCome
.
To: Cats Pajamas

 

Put down that crack pipe.

2 posted on ‎1‎/‎7‎/‎2016‎ ‎12‎:‎28‎:‎33‎ ‎PM by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget (God punishes Conservatives by making them argue with fools: Go Trump!)

To: Cats Pajamas

 

Meds running low?

11 posted on ‎1‎/‎7‎/‎2016‎ ‎12‎:‎31‎:‎17‎ ‎PM by LS (“Castles Made of Sand, Fall in the Sea . . . Eventually” (Hendrix))

To: Cats Pajamas

 

Did you spit out your pills again today and decide to go on a little adventure on the re-hab clinic’s computer??

14 posted on ‎1‎/‎7‎/‎2016‎ ‎12‎:‎31‎:‎36‎ ‎PM by MNJohnnie ( Tyranny, like Hell, is not easily conquered)

A whole string of the highly original “meds” posts follows.
And only half of them say “lol” at the end.
One Freeper tries to qualify the idea :
To: Cats Pajamas

 

Trump’s ego is way too big for that. He’s in it to win it for himself.

17 posted on ‎1‎/‎7‎/‎2016‎ ‎12‎:‎31‎:‎50‎ ‎PM by euram

And then it’s back to the playground :
To: Cats Pajamas

 

Change your pajamas, that’s what you smell.

20 posted on ‎1‎/‎7‎/‎2016‎ ‎12‎:‎32‎:‎42‎ ‎PM by COUNTrecount (Race Baiting…… “It’s What’s For Breakfast”)

IknowYouAre
.
A non Trump-humping dissenter weighs in :

To: Cats Pajamas

 

I think Trump is just being himself: a conman. He’s feels like he’s done everything but become president, and he’ll say whatever it takes to get people to vote for him. We’re told everyday on FR that he does whatever it takes to get what he wants. For some, that all ended when he started running for president and now he’s sincere. For the rest of us, we’ve been had too many times, finally have a conservative alternative, and are ridiculed by so-called conservatives because we’re staying out of their Trumpgasm.

38 posted on ‎1‎/‎7‎/‎2016‎ ‎12‎:‎37‎:‎33‎ ‎PM by demshateGod (The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God)

“Trumpgasm”??
Oh, I am SO stealing that!
Due to new EPA regs, all drums of Freeper toxic waste over 30 days old must be opened below the fold, so follow if you dare!

Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Something old, something new edition”

Athenae, Elections, Fuck The Mommy Wars, Immoral Values, Kids Today, Stupid Blue Dog Tricks, Stupid Everything Tricks3 Comments

The Generational Feminism Olympics, Yay!

Allison Hantschel

I am so not looking forward to the next 10 months of this bullshit:  Do you notice a difference between young women and women our age in their excitement about Hillary Clinton? Is there a generational divide? Here’s what I see: a complacency among the generation of young women whose entire lives have been lived after Roe v. Wade was decided. Guys? Which one of you forgot to send Debbie Wasserman Schultz the list of stuff ladies younger than 40 care about? Because she seems to be under the impression that young women aren’t working as clinic escorts, or donating to … Continue reading The Generational Feminism Olympics, Yay!

Adrastos, Books, Carnival, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Food and Drink, Gret Stet Politics, Krewe du Vieux, New Orleans, Television3 Comments

Saturday Odds & Sods: From The Cradle To The Grave

Peter Adrastos Athas
1916ComusArtFloat
Krewe of Comus float, 1916.

I had an epiphany on Wednesday and realized that it was Twelfth Night. Mardi Gras day comes ridiculously early this year, which means that Krewe du Vieux rolls on January 23rd. We’re shitting bricks trying to get ready for that early parade date. I’ve spent a lot of time inhaling paint fumes, swallowing sawdust, and, most importantly, drinking beer in anticipation of the big day. The Krewe of Spank specializes in hyper-local satire and this year’s theme is sufficiently obscure. Only New Orleanians will get this one. I don’t mind: I’ve got a forum for national satire right here.

We just put 2015 in the grave and now it’s time to slap the 2016 baby and see if it’s alive. Metaphorically, not literally as the Veep would surely say. Speaking of babies, we’re knee-deep in King Cake season and whoever gets the little plastic baby Jesus has to buy the next King Cake. Fuck that shit. I am a seasoned King Cake baby liar. I blame my disorder on this creepy mascot our NBA team unleashes on its unsuspecting fans every Carnival season:

King Cake baby
Seeing double with King Cake Baby and Pierre the Pelican.

Have I ever mentioned how much I loathe and despise mascots? I hate them almost as much as I hate Vodka, which is only suitable for drunken Mensheviks. No wonder Lenin had them all liquidated. Speaking of horrendous, there’s actually a vile-tasting King Cake Vodka on the market:

Untitled-1.jpg.pagespeed.ce.IJDGpsD4Ri

I *almost* wrote about this week’s theme song earlier but wound up riffing on King Cake babies  and Vodka instead. From The Cradle To The Grave is the title track of the brand spanking new Squeeze album. The video below features age-morphing, which is much better than the lame and insipid  Krewe of Morpheus, which is best known for its EMPTY FLOAT.

Now that I’ve thoroughly confused you with that hyper-local Carnival joke, let’s play another Squeeze song before the break:

A totally ridiculous video for a great song. More ridiculous nonsense after the break.

Continue reading “Saturday Odds & Sods: From The Cradle To The Grave”

Current Affairs, Doc, Education, Film, Fog Of History, Law/Justice, On Wisconsin, Uncategorized2 Comments

The More We See, The Less We Know

docphd

Digital technology was supposed to make life easier for us and in many ways it has. Letters used to take days to arrive. Now, emails and texts bounce back and forth in seconds. Phones used to be anchored to walls. Now, we carry them everywhere. Typing used to require multiple carefully reworked drafts, as white-out and typos looked ugly. I rewrote that sentence three times in the time it would have taken for me to reinsert a piece of paper into my old IBM Selectric. And yet, when it comes to video, it’s almost made our lives worse, especially when … Continue reading The More We See, The Less We Know