Month: December 2016

Diary, Doc, Of Interest, Uncategorized3 Comments

Sometimes, My Kid Just Wrecks Me

docphd

Of all the gut-wrenching, out-of-the-blue, kick-in-the-balls moments that happened this year (and I admit there have been a lot of them), it took my kid’s school project to break me into a thousand pieces. She came home from school with a piece of cardboard, wrapped in festive Christmas wrap, a gift she had been working on for my mother-in-law. In years past, my wife and I have been the gracious recipients of cellophane ornaments, macaroni artwork and various wads of hardened clay that required long and detailed explanations. In each case, the thought was what counted, and the items went … Continue reading Sometimes, My Kid Just Wrecks Me

Michael F1 Comment

Wingnut Beer Goggles

mmferry1965

Athenae wrote about this Tuesday; The Atlantic also brought it up, others reflected on the tendency towards tribal loyalty and how it shapes perception… Fake news/propaganda/spin has always been around. I could go back further, but there were the five o’clock follies in Saigon, Ron Zieglar’s ever more dadaist dismissals and denials re: Watergate (and the subsequent effort to label it a “third rate burglary”)…WMD, last throes, and the outward scorn that (probably Rove) evinced towards “the reality based community” back in the days of Mission Accomplished…so it’s not real surprising that we now have The Cult of the Donald. particularly in an … Continue reading Wingnut Beer Goggles

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media4 Comments

They’re Shooting the Wounded & You Say ‘Taking Aim’

Allison Hantschel

This was completely predictable, plenty of people predicted it, and now you want sympathy:  Some supporters of President-elect Donald J. Trump have also taken up the call. As reporters were walking out of a Trump rally this month in Orlando, Fla., a man heckled them with shouts of “Fake news!” Until now, that term had been widely understood to refer to fabricated news accounts that are meant to spread virally online. But conservative cable and radio personalities, top Republicans and even Mr. Trump himself, incredulous about suggestions that fake stories may have helped swing the election, have appropriated the term … Continue reading They’re Shooting the Wounded & You Say ‘Taking Aim’

Uncategorized

Hope is Not Passive

Allison Hantschel

Alfonso Cuarón on Children of Men, Trump, and climate change:  Sure, he says, climate change could decimate humanity, but that’s no excuse to give in to fatalism. “There would be, still, pockets of populations that will scatter around the world,” he says. “What’s at stake is the culture as we know it.” Humans will continue to exist — and we have a responsibility to build a culture of respect and mutual assistance. It seems so dreadfully unlikely, but we are obligated to hope. Cuarón is very specific about what he means by that word. For him, it is not a … Continue reading Hope is Not Passive

Free Republic, Stupid Republican Tricks, Tommy T1 Comment

Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – grate expectations edition

Tommy T

Hi, good people – hope your holidays are happy ones!

This is a quickie, since our house is about to be visited for the weekend by daughters-in-law, their husbands, and FIVE grandchildren, and this morning I expect to be sound asleep.

First up – get a room, you two!

Trump shares letter from Putin: ‘His thoughts are so correct’
thehill.com ^ | 12/23/16 | Harper Neidig

Posted on 12/23/2016, 1:04:51 PM by ColdOne

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday praised Vladimir Putin and shared a Christmas letter the Russian president sent him.

“A very nice letter from Vladimir Putin; his thoughts are so correct,” Trump said in a statement. “I hope both sides are able to live up to these thoughts, and we do not have to travel an alternate path.”

In the attached letter, Putin emphasized the importance of cooperation between the two countries.

“I hope that after you assume the position of the President of the United States of America we will be able – by acting in a constructive and pragmatic manner – to take real steps to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation in different areas as well as bring our level of collaboration on the international scene to a qualitatively new level,” the Russian leader wrote.

1 posted on 12/23/2016, 1:04:51 PM by ColdOne

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So – has the cognitive dissonance dissipated yet?

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To: ColdOne

 

Sounds to me like Putin won’t take the obama/NeoCon bait to start WW3.

9 posted on 12/23/2016, 1:21:17 PM by Paulie (America without Christ is like a Chemistry book without the periodic table.)

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Apparently not.
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To: detective 

Putin is a Christian. That is a huge improvement over what we presently have.

SpitTake

I do believe that Putin and Trump will have a respectful relationship and put an end to world-wide Islamic terrorism.

10 posted on 12/23/2016, 2:14:56 PM by sodpoodle (Life is prickly – carry tweezers.)

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Put an END to it?
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trumpaleppo
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One more below the fold – read on..
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Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – grate expectations edition”

Athenae2 Comments

‘All your life you wait, and then it finally comes, and are you ready?’

Allison Hantschel

All our stories this time of year are about light and that’s on purpose, because it gets dark at 3 p.m., because it’s cold and getting colder. My eyelashes froze together walking to the train the other morning, and I’ve already lost a pair of gloves. We’re burning every candle we have, we burn the fire morning noon and night, but the cold burns too. So we tell stories. A baby born in poverty, his parents very nearly at the end of their wits, desperate enough to lay him down in a stable. Burning an hour’s fuel for a week, while defeat … Continue reading ‘All your life you wait, and then it finally comes, and are you ready?’

Current Affairs, Doc, Education, On Wisconsin, Uncategorized4 Comments

The Problem of Whiteness meets the Problem with the Witless

docphd

It seems that Rep. David Murphy, who chairs the state’s committee on colleges and universities despite never having graduated from one, came out swinging against a course titled “The Problem of Whiteness.” This class is taught at UW-Madison, is an elective and is taught by professor Damon Sajnani, who has a Ph.D. in African-American studies from Northwestern. Murphy found the class – an elective, mind you – to be so disturbing he called for the entire UW System’s funding request to be yanked unless the class was cancelled:  Murphy, who is chairman of the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, … Continue reading The Problem of Whiteness meets the Problem with the Witless

Michael F1 Comment

Gary Busey Wasn’t Available?

mmferry1965

Roy Moore is on the short list to replace Jeff Sessions. Yeah, that Roy Moore. Christ, seems like every day it’s something else piling on. I won’t lie: since the election, I’ve been letting myself get distracted by all sorts of things (including some sort of small animal that invaded my attic this week…anyone know how to get rid of a squirrel, or maybe a bat? Am open to suggestions). Anyway, beats the hell out of having to actually consider the next four — or, lord forbid, eight — years of wingnut kleptocracy and Banana Republicanism … voted in by a constituency that must … Continue reading Gary Busey Wasn’t Available?

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media2 Comments

Donald Trump Caged Your Reporters

Allison Hantschel

I am not a fan of Mike Allen. Ever since he and his partner in hackery called for a “do-over” for George W. Bush for Katrina, he’s occupied a special place on my shit list. I say that up front so that we know where we’re starting when we talk about Allen. We’re starting with somebody who thinks hundreds of dead people are just some, like, signifier or rhetorical device or something. That’s where we started, Mike Allen and me. Here’s where we’re at right now: Christmas @ Mar-a-Lago: @realDonaldTrump, relaxed and chatty, hosts press for drinks — off-record but pics OK … Continue reading Donald Trump Caged Your Reporters

Free Republic, Stupid Republican Tricks, Tommy T3 Comments

Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – I got nothin’ edition

Tommy T

People – this feature is getting harder and harder to write.  Not asking for sympathy, just stating a fact. Cognitive dissonance, always a strong feature in Freeperville, has now completely taken over, and how do you parody something once it has entered Poeville?

An example:

Michelle Obama says Americans will miss having a ‘grown-up’ in the White House
CBC ^

Posted on 12/16/2016, 9:28:28 PM by Sub-Driver

Michelle Obama says Americans will miss having a ‘grown-up’ in the White House

In interview with Oprah Winfrey, Obama says ‘people will come to appreciate’ her husband’s presidency

Michelle Obama said the White House needs a “grown-up” and the U.S. will come to appreciate President Barack Obama.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey set to air Monday night, Obama said the election has reinforced her view that her husband’s administration was able to inspire hope “because we feel the difference now.”

“Now we’re feeling what not having hope feels like,” she said. “You know? Hope is necessary. It’s a necessary concept. And Barack didn’t just talk about hope because he thought it was just a nice slogan to get votes.

“What do you give your kids if you can’t give them hope?” she added.

1 posted on 12/16/2016, 9:28:28 PM by Sub-Driver
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To: Sub-Driver 

Liberals live in their own alternate reality.

 

Projection’s a bitch, innit?

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These two sociopaths can take a hike.

2 posted on 12/16/2016, 9:29:52 PM by headstamp 2 (Fear is the mind killer.)

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This moron voted for The Darnold, who is the textbook example of a sociopath – ergo, President Obama is a sociopath.
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How exactly am I supposed to parody that? It would be like mocking a disabled person.
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trumpreporter
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Oh, fuck you.
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To: Sub-Driver

 

Who, even among his diehard syncophants, thinks of Barack as an adult?

Seriously, who sees him as anything than a petulant child?

16 posted on 12/16/2016, 9:33:17 PM by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)

If by “him” you mean The Darnold :
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trumpchildishface
Donald Trump admitted Monday that his rhetoric on the campaign trail may not always sound entirely presidential.”Probably is a little childish,” Trump said in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett at Trump Tower in New York. “But you know what? This is a campaign.”
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Maybe a Freeper will make some kind of funny reply I can feature as “post of the thread”?
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To: Sub-Driver

 

GTFO of our house Ape.

19 posted on 12/16/2016, 9:33:33 PM by boknows

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Nah.
I’ll take one more swing at it below the fold – follow, if you dare.

Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – I got nothin’ edition”

Uncategorized

UW Alums to Scott Walker: Stop Fucking Up Our School

Allison Hantschel

We the undersigned beseech thee sincerely to sucketh it if you please:  As employers and community leaders, we recognize the importance of higher education as an economic driver. In order for us to be successful, we need well-rounded, educated graduates in the workforce and in our communities. We write today to encourage you to make higher education a priority in your budget for the 2017–19 biennium. The University of Wisconsin–Madison ranks among the nation’s top public universities, providing an outstanding education to students. It has also been a hub for research, innovation, and technology, and it has a total economic impact … Continue reading UW Alums to Scott Walker: Stop Fucking Up Our School

Athenae, So Called Liberal Media

‘Fix the Mess’

Allison Hantschel

This is an example of what I talk about when I talk about the bias toward passivity and the status quo:  President-elect Donald Trump is stocking the upper echelons of his administration with more than the usual share of business titans like himself, betting the success of his presidency on the idea that a clash of cultures is needed to fix the mess in Washington and bring order to international affairs. First of all, there is no “mess” in Washington. Nobody knocked a paint pot over. No one upended a giant tub of Legos all over everything and then stepped … Continue reading ‘Fix the Mess’

Adrastos, Art, Bigotry, Comedy, Diary, Film, Fog Of History, Law/Justice, Music, New Orleans, Odds & Sods, Television2 Comments

Saturday Odds & Sods: End Of The World

Peter Adrastos Athas

 

wyatt-6
Sideshow banner by Snap Wyatt.

We’re riding a weather roller coaster here in New Orleans. I hate roller coasters and prefer consistent weather as long as it’s vaguely wintery be it Johnny or Edgar…

I’m still fighting a cold so this will be on the short side. I know, famous last words and all that shit.

I’m not feeling apocalyptic but many people are. I cannot blame them. It’s hard to be a glass half-full person right now and this week’s theme song reflects that. End Of The World was written by John Wetton and Geoff Downes for Asia’s 2010 Omega album. The melody is a bit too gorgeous for a truly apocalyptic feel but that’s what they do.

While we’re ending the world, we might as well give a certain REM tune with a very long title a spin:

If you’re feeling apocalyptic now, you might want to be patient. It’s bound to take longer than expected. Everything does.

Don’t worry. We’ll still be waiting after the break. The world isn’t going anywhere for the time being.

Continue reading “Saturday Odds & Sods: End Of The World”