A long, long, long day yesterday. I didn’t have a moment free until I got home, at the hour when Jon Stewart was on the TV box. (And not for his 6 p.m. rerun.) Another one will follow, after which things should calm down.
In the meantime, here’s a nice column about Elmore Leonard, polishing his acceptance speech for a lifetime achievement award, as he passes his 87th birthday. May we all be so productive in our golden years.
Apologies, but we’ll meet again tomorrow.
coozledad said on October 16, 2012 at 7:41 am
Good question, TBogg: Why aren’t these people being spat on in the street? And why isn’t George Bush painting his doggie portraits in a fucking jail?
http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2012/10/16/responsibility-is-for-suckers/
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brian stouder said on October 16, 2012 at 7:46 am
No apologies needed; hell, today is all just prelude for Big Debate 2.5, anyway.
Big Debate 1 got the R’s and the Romney-roadies to believe in opinion polls again; Big Debate 1.5 conferred upon them a sensitivity to ‘rudeness’ that they didn’t have in BD-1; and BD 2.5 will do….what?
My guess? Being as it will be a “townhall” format, and the president will wax Cayman-Island-man, it will show once again how the “sheeple” have accepted the false narrative from the “main stream media”.
Unless Romney somehow wins tonight’s debate, in which case the lesson will be that if you can man-handle Candy Crowley and Jim Lehrer, then you’re ready for the presidency of the United States (or something)
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beb said on October 16, 2012 at 8:01 am
Here’s some reading matter before going into the debates tonight:
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/10/david-stockman-explains-how-mitt-romney-got-rich
Kevin links to and discusses David Stockman’s article on what “private equity” firms are really about. Besides being the original Mr. Smoke and Mirrors for Pres. Reagan, he’s a PE man himself. The bottom line is that Bain or any private equity firm did not build up businesses, they extracted money from them then flipped them off to gullible investors.
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Judybusy said on October 16, 2012 at 8:10 am
I’ll be missing the debate tonight, as it’s my regular night to volunteer to defeat the marriage amendment. In other news, yesterday, I found a praying mantis on my windshield. She was extremely patient with me as I took lots of pictures. Extra bonus points: a neighbor drove by with her two young girls who joined in the marveling. I got a stick and gently moved her to a shrub. Highlight of my day. I had no idea they were found in Minnesota!
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alex said on October 16, 2012 at 8:21 am
I love this Republican terminology — “wealth creators.” Evidently it must refer to hedge fund managers and private equity people because they line their own pockets with the spoils of their conquests, taking down businesses that actually create something. At least the robber barons of old were creating actual jobs and infrastructure.
I watched the Hoosier senatorial debate last night between Donnelly, Mourdock and some lunatic Libertarian Party candidate whose presence served only to make Mourdock come across as the voice of moderation. Of course, Mourdock was busy chastising Donnelly for his “dishonest” and “unfair” campaign ads showing newsclips of Mourdock’s most outlandish rhetorical excesses during the primary.
I notice Mourdock’s running an ad directly targeted at women. It’s narrated by a woman in scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck talking about how Mourdock plans to deliver the best possible health care to women “with our values.” Hmmm. Women with Republican values don’t need health care, they can just go to the emergency room with their stage four breast cancer, so what’s the point?
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Connie said on October 16, 2012 at 8:43 am
So plans for tonight: debate or Tiger’s game. Hmmm.
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LAMary said on October 16, 2012 at 9:02 am
Judybusy, when my kids were younger we used to go the insect fair at the county arboretum every year. One year I bought a praying mantis egg thingy with plans to put it in the garden to fight off nasty bugs. The guy at the arboretum said I should wait a week before I put it outside. So I did. And I woke up to about a hundred teensy praying mantises in my dining room the next morning. Luckily they had not strayed far from the box they were in so I was able to get them out to the garden.
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nancy said on October 16, 2012 at 9:05 am
Alan had a similar experience with some mosquito larvae he collected, thinking it would make great food for his angel fish. It did, but alas, they didn’t clean their plates…
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Dorothy said on October 16, 2012 at 9:12 am
A hundred teeny praying mantises in your dining room?! I’d have freaked big time! But I’m smiling thinking of the fun our Lucy would have had with them. She played with a moth the other night for about a half hour before it finally gave up it’s last breath. I got pictures of one on my front porch a couple of years ago and that was thrilling for me, too, Judybusy.
I just filled out my absentee ballot and feel so proud. I’m running over to the post office to buy $1.10 in postage and putting it in their safe hands to deliver it 5 miles down the road, from Gambier to Mount Vernon. I took a picture of my presidential choice so I can look at it over and over and say a few little prayers that Mr. Obama triumphs in 2012. I’m getting nervous about this election.
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basset said on October 16, 2012 at 9:31 am
No debate for me, just sick of it all. Early voting starts tomorrow in Nashville and the election commission is in the same building as my cubicle, how convenient.
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brian stouder said on October 16, 2012 at 10:04 am
I still like to vote on election day at the precinct polling place, and take the young folks with me – the better to make them feel invested in the results that we watch stream in, later that evening. Looking back on it, this is what my mom did for me, and seems to have worked out. But I will say – Allen County offers early, in-person voting downtown, and that looks pretty cool to me, too. And Dorothy, I won’t jinx things by being all “Oh – Obama cannot lose!”, etc, but let just quietly whisper – I just don’t see how Romney can win, short of people like you and I failing to cast our votes. And if lightning strikes and inadequate Mitt prevails, then we’ll have Speaker Boehner holding the real power, right up ‘til the House hooligans sack his ass (I’m think by Valentine’s Day, 2013)…….well, there went lunch, eh?
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Deborah said on October 16, 2012 at 10:08 am
Judy Busy, global warming might have something to do with their being in Minnesota? It won’t be long before you’ll have palmetto bugs too. Shudder.
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LAMary said on October 16, 2012 at 10:17 am
I grew up in NJ and there were praying mantises there. I don’t think they’re strictly warm climate bugs.
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Sue said on October 16, 2012 at 10:37 am
Since Nancy’s short of goodies for us today, why don’t we play a game?
If you were able to ask a question at tonight’s town-hall-style debate, what would it be? No Pizza Hut questions.
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brian stouder said on October 16, 2012 at 10:47 am
If I were asking Mitt a question, it would be:
Do you think the President of the United States was responsible for the attack against our people in Libya, or somehow wanted it to happen?
More to the point, how would you have handled atrocity, if you were president? Would you have rushed before the cameras and tried to affix blame somewhere, while the attacks themselves were still unfolding?
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Prospero said on October 16, 2012 at 10:50 am
We used to find Palmetto bugs in the house, fairly regularly. Palmetto bug=1-1/2 in. long roach. Now we have a couple of green anoles resident that eat them and the spiders too. The lizards are close to domesticated, and we call them Rikki and Tavi. Coop rules do not allow for dogs or cats, so we have saurians.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY7Rxae4pjU
hundred teeny praying mantises in your dining room
Reminds me of Rachel’s memory of the baby spiders in Blade Runner.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BYSYE1zXUw
And if mantises are praying, that’s the females saying grace before eating the males heads after sex.
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Prospero said on October 16, 2012 at 10:56 am
Let us resolve that never again will we send the precious young blood of this country to die trying to prop up a corrupt military dictatorship abroad.
–George McGovern
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/15/politics/south-dakota-mcgovern-hospice/index.html
Too bad Milhous, Raygun and Bushco didn’t pay attention.
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LAMary said on October 16, 2012 at 10:57 am
I have a lizard in my kitchen. He got in through the window and he does a good job of catching ants and any other little buggy thing that might wander in. We named him Lord Kitchener. I suspect he’s not the original lizard. Albert and Anna, the cat A team, have been seen with dead or near dead lizards on several occasions. It’s the circle of life.
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Catherine said on October 16, 2012 at 11:21 am
Sue @14, in honor of Deborah, how about: Red or green?
Seriously, I think I’d ask something open-ended about their plans for early childhood education — how do you intend to prioritize funding for ECE?
Or possibly, for Obama: Given the success of the Mars Science Laboratory, why does your proposed NASA budget cut planetary science? And for both of them: Where is space exploration in your list of priorities?
LAMary, “It’s the circle of life” is my go-to answer for so many things, like “Why is that lizard dead?” “Why did that baby bird fall out of its nest onto our driveway?” “I don’t want to eat mammals anymore” etc.
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Jolene said on October 16, 2012 at 11:29 am
Short video about one job definitely created by Obama: http://www.nytimes.com/video/2012/10/15/opinion/100000001846077/bronx-obama.html
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Dexter said on October 16, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Obama sounds off. Not really, but we know how a nice Black Keys tune cheers us up.
http://youtu.be/jBuIkLyjtRs
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coozledad said on October 16, 2012 at 12:18 pm
Some interstin readin for you:
http://www.romneytaxplan.com/
Just sayin’.
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Prospero said on October 16, 2012 at 12:22 pm
Ducks.
Ducks on the Wall.
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Judybusy said on October 16, 2012 at 12:24 pm
LAMary, I would be pretty unsettled to have 100 mantises in my house! There was a brief moment as I was taking pictures from inside the car–it was on the windshield–when it occured to me that I could be misperceiving and it was actually INSIDE the car. But, no, it was safely outside. A cursory search of Ms. Google makes me think someone released eggs for pest control, and that global warming has not gotten to the point where I can look forward to them. And I don’t even wanna look up those palmetto bugs.
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Kaye said on October 16, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Thanks for the Bronx Obama link, Jolene; I enjoyed the piece.
My question for the debate: How will you change campaign financing?
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Prospero said on October 16, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Ryan, the lyin’ liar:
http://grist.org/politics/in-vp-debate-ryan-complains-of-green-pork-and-fact-checkers-swat-him-down/
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Connie said on October 16, 2012 at 12:46 pm
Praying Mantis are good guy bugs, there is no reason to be afraid of them. Of course that is true of most spiders too and that doesn’t stop people from screaming at them.
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Judybusy said on October 16, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Oh, Connie, I know that, but the thought of one landing on me: too much communing with nature!
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LAMary said on October 16, 2012 at 12:52 pm
I don’t kill spiders. I find them remarkable. If they’re in a place where I know they are killing critters I don’t want around I leave them be. If they’re in a place where they might be a problem I gently escort them elsewhere.
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Heather said on October 16, 2012 at 12:54 pm
This summer my cat “played with” a cicada on my balcony before eating it, then promptly threw up. I felt bad for the bug, but cicadas freak me out, so I couldn’t bring myself to rescue it.
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Heather said on October 16, 2012 at 12:59 pm
A video on one young man’s stop-and-frisk experiences in NYC. Can you imagine having to put up with that on a regular basis? I’d be in jail for sure.
http://www.upworthy.com/meet-the-17-year-old-who-blew-the-lid-off-racial-profiling-with-his-ipod?c=la2
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annie said on October 16, 2012 at 1:04 pm
praying mantis eats hummingbird
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep6vmpcUQR8&feature=related
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Sherri said on October 16, 2012 at 1:18 pm
If they were stop and frisking white people, the NRA would be screaming that they’re taking our guns away. But since they’re taking “their” guns away….
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Bitter Scribe said on October 16, 2012 at 1:49 pm
I know spiders are supposed to be benign but I can’t help squishing them. I agree with the second person in this exchange:
“Spiders are useful! They kill bugs!”
“Spiders are bugs!”
On the other hand, I have a soft spot for ladybugs. Even those phony ladybugs that are really Chinese beetles or something. I always try to capture them (they’re surprisingly docile) and flick them outdoors.
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brian stouder said on October 16, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Cooz – I’m saving your link to Romney’s elusive tax plan, and shall immediately respond with it whenever the opportunity arises between now and election day.
Thanks!
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Prospero said on October 16, 2012 at 1:57 pm
I find spiders fascinating and they are profuse in this neck of the subtropics. It is not unusual to wake up in the am with a new spider bite. Our lizards are playful and beautiful, and if they prevent an itchy spider bite, all the better. We’ve currently got a massive banana spider web on our balcony railing, so houseflies are a thing of the past.
I lived in Boston when Chuck Stewart murdered his wife and claimed a “black guy” did it. BPD performed 1000s of stop and frisks of teenaged black males in a matter of days. Unproductive, racist stupid police tactic. Just ask Christy Todd Whitman:
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/11/nyregion/frisking-photo-puts-whitman-on-defensive.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
http://www.johnmonty.com/cotw/cw000715.htm
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Chris from Iowa said on October 16, 2012 at 2:06 pm
I’m not a Romney fan, but I had two thoughts after clicking on Cooze’s link at 22:
1. It’s funny and a creative use of social media.
2. It’s too bad Obama and the people around him can’t govern and lead as well as they can campaign and use social media.
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brian stouder said on October 16, 2012 at 2:18 pm
It’s too bad Obama and the people around him can’t govern and lead as well as they can campaign and use social media.
With all due respect, I must say, if the Obama campaign effort operated the way the US government does, then there’d be an inalterably opposed segment within it (think McConnel/Boehner), along with the executive brain-trust (Plouff and Axlerod, et al)…
and then the Obama campaign would be like the Romney campaign, with resets and more resets, and puncutated by a nice Etch-a-Sketch shakeup or two
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Bitter Scribe said on October 16, 2012 at 2:26 pm
Propsero: Yeah, doesn’t take much to set those good ol’ Boston cops off.
OTOH, remember Susan Smith, who drowned her two little boys and claimed, yes, a black guy did it? I remember getting suspicious when I heard that the cops in N.C. weren’t rousting every black guy they could get their hands on. That could mean only one thing: They suspected her right from the get-go. (This later turned out to be correct.)
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Prospero said on October 16, 2012 at 3:19 pm
Yup, It’s too bad the President can’t send the Praetorian Guard to the House to make an example of Boehner.
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Sue said on October 16, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Prospero, I think that possibility was mentioned in the last NRA robocall I got.
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brian stouder said on October 16, 2012 at 3:29 pm
You know — it never occurred to me until just now that if Romney is elected, the United States government will be run by a couple of ‘bainers’ (or ‘Boehners’).
That can’t be good
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Chris in Iowa said on October 16, 2012 at 6:51 pm
With all due respect, Brian, while you very well may be correct, it seems to me as if Obama and his minions would be better off to stop whining about gridlock. Real leaders would find away to overcome it.
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MaryRC said on October 16, 2012 at 6:57 pm
I don’t know if you’re familiar with Dinesh d’Souza, a conservative pundit and seat-warmer at National Review. He recently produced a documentary attacking President Obama. He’s the president of a Christian college and a critic of feminism, same-sex marriage and what he likes to refer to as the “sexual immodesty of liberal America”.
So obviously it comes as no surprise that he’s cheating on his wife with a much younger woman.
http://wonkette.com/486940/why-wont-feminists-stop-destroying-marriage-asks-dinesh-dsouzas-extra-fiancee#more-486940
What strikes me about this tale is the nosiness of his colleagues. Not one but two of the organizers of the event where he appeared with his girlfriend snooped into where they stayed (the same hotel room, tsk) and asked him what happened (nothing, he claims, heh heh). The board of his college apparently has regular meetings to discuss this affair. In fact everyone seems to be chiming in except, so far, Mrs. D`Souza. Poor conservatives, can’t get away with anything nowadays.
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coozledad said on October 16, 2012 at 7:19 pm
Chris: I suppose Obama could have found some way to go full Lincoln, but that is based on a scenario where the north, midwest and west are unburdened by separatist filth. The intent of the Republican party is national dissolution.
I counterpropose we put people like David Gregory into forced labor camps making toys for gumball machines in an “each according to his abilities, even though they be lacking” scheme.
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Prospero said on October 16, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Chris. Since Boehner said it was all about Jobs, jobs, jobs. the House has voted to rescind ACA 50+ times while Rep. Oompa Loompa has not brought a single jobs bill to the floor for a vote, including two bills intended to benefit veterans of Shrubcos two illegal invasions and occupations. What do you suggest the President might be able to do about that sort of treasonous intransigence? When ACA got passed, all the whining came from the GOPers that claimed it had been forced down their throats. Aholes also claimed it was unConstitutional. They couldn’t even convince Roberts of that.
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David C. said on October 16, 2012 at 7:48 pm
I mailed our absentee ballots two weeks ago. No debate for this ex-Michigan boy. I’m watching the Tigers.
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Prospero said on October 16, 2012 at 7:54 pm
Somebody must ask RMoney about this tonight.
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Jolene said on October 16, 2012 at 8:24 pm
You seem to have the wrong link in the preceding post, Pros.
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coozledad said on October 16, 2012 at 8:51 pm
Pre debate talk through for the shitheads on the side:
http://www.thesadbastardbar.com/2012/10/have-you-all-lost-your-goddamn-minds.html?m=1
HT/ baloon juice.
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coozledad said on October 16, 2012 at 9:17 pm
“rebundant energy” Romney is losing his shit. Hahhaha.
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Little Bird said on October 16, 2012 at 9:50 pm
What is “champoning”?
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coozledad said on October 16, 2012 at 10:06 pm
This is a fucking drubbing. Romneys circuits are melting down.
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coozledad said on October 16, 2012 at 10:40 pm
Goombye lying motherfucker.
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Connie said on October 16, 2012 at 11:07 pm
Go Obama. Go Tigers. Go Obama. Go Tigers. Go Obama. Go Tigers….
OK, I know one of tonight’s games isn’t finished yet, but not sure I can stay awake for one more inning.
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alex said on October 16, 2012 at 11:22 pm
Obama landed a left hook with Romney’s “sketchy” tax plan, and Romney returned it with some quip about Obama’s “foreign” take on it.
I think Obama held his own and rather redeemed himself. To the low-info voter, a lot of it probably came across as “he said, she said,” no doubt, but Romney will doubtless suffer some fallout in the coming days from his whoppers. And I thought Obama did particularly well in highlighting his differences on immigration/(xenophobia) and women’s issues. The gun control question caught them both at a disadvantage, and Obama was at his most disingenuous but still came across as the more thoughtful of the two.
Today had a brief after-work roundtable with people all over the map, from someone who’s indifferent to politics and wants to bury her head in the sand like an ostrich when the subject comes up to a self-described moderate who voted for Obama the last time but buys into the rhetoric about his regulatory schemes strangling business to a haggard slacker dude who’s Republican for God only knows what reason to flaming liberal me. It was quite spirited. The self-described moderate told me that he thinks John Stewart’s humor is reminiscent of Adolf Hitler’s tactics (he’s a Jewish stockbroker) and I was quite taken aback and question his alleged liberal bona fides. He considers Stewart and Limbaugh equals, both unfunny and dangerous. That’s a new one for me.
Well, I’m glad. I was worried that maybe Obama really didn’t want to keep the job. I have no doubts now that he’s exactly the right man for it.
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Connie said on October 16, 2012 at 11:40 pm
Made it. Great game, Go Tigers.
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coozledad said on October 16, 2012 at 11:40 pm
Alex: Obama kept it.
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