so that surprise is coming, but delayed.
in the meantime:
quote of the day
so i go back and read the archive of humorous political blogs when i'm bored. yes, yes.
brad at sadly, no, four years ago, mocking the infinitely mockable dennis prager:
i think all of us left-coast volvo-driving latte-drinking hippie elitists who took literary theory courses in our left-coast volvo-driving latte-drinking hippie elitists colleges can agree (yes, my college drove a volvo - it's since traded up for a prius).
brad at sadly, no, four years ago, mocking the infinitely mockable dennis prager:
Well, I’ve read Foucault and watched plenty of Queer Eye episodes, but I don’t feel sexually confused because of it (OK, so Foucault made me feel “confused,” but not in a sexual way).
i think all of us left-coast volvo-driving latte-drinking hippie elitists who took literary theory courses in our left-coast volvo-driving latte-drinking hippie elitists colleges can agree (yes, my college drove a volvo - it's since traded up for a prius).
catchy songs about complex political/intelligence scandals (sotd)
posting remains light, but for good reason - if all goes well, there will be a big fun surprise tomorrow!
in the meantime, enjoy one of the very few songs under the titular heading.
in the meantime, enjoy one of the very few songs under the titular heading.
light posting today (sotd)
still recovering from hangover. and about to see the orioles play the rays. but i'm gonna take this blog seriously, which means there is a SONG OF THE DAY EVERY DAY UNTIL THE END OF TIME.
for reals yo.
for reals yo.
pawn shops (sotd)
i always feel bad about going to pawn shops. traditionally, the economic function of middleman has been misunderstood and undervalued, and middlemen have been shamed or despised as a result. but pawn shops aren't merely retailers - to a significant extent they are exploiting people who are going through hard economic times.
these days, though, like many other services, pawnbrokers are being rendered irrelevant by the internet. between ebay and craigslist, individuals are able, through aucitoning or direct negotiation, to find suitable prices that leave them both better off.
for example, if i sell some dvds to a pawnbroker he might give me like $2 a pop for them. then he'll offload them for like $10-15 a pop. which is fine - he has to pay rent and utilities on his location, plus other business costs, plus some profit so he can buy things like food and clothing and a place to live. but if i use craigslist i might be able to sell them for like $6-7 a pop to someone directly, and both of us win: i get more for selling them, and the buyer pays less for the same product. the only loser is the now-unnecessary pawnbroker.
the big problem with this is not that it will put pawnbrokers out of business - if that happened they can find other jobs and those shops will become something economically more useful. the problem is that they won't, because internet usage hasn't fully penetrated the population. so the people left using pawnshops are overwhelmingly either people who are too poor to use the internet, and therefore in desperate straits and easy to exploit, or people trying to offload stolen goods. thus, even though one does nothing directly ethically wrong by buying from a pawnshop, one is buying into a system that really is exploitative and possibility criminal.
all i needed was an alarm clock, which is something that is frankly one of the harder things to get on ebay or craigslist - it's not unique, like a specific dvd, or expensive like a video-game console or other electronic equipment, or rare like memorabilia. it's just a cheap radio alarm clock. but assuming it wasn't stolen, that used to be someone else's alarm clock. and maybe they pawned it because they simply didn't need or want it. but maybe they pawned it because they felt they had no choice. and it although it was the best way for me to get an alarm clock, in terms of product quality relative to price, i still feel a little icky about it.
man this subject depresses me, perhaps irrationally, but nevertheless. great time to bring back the sotd. and what better:
these days, though, like many other services, pawnbrokers are being rendered irrelevant by the internet. between ebay and craigslist, individuals are able, through aucitoning or direct negotiation, to find suitable prices that leave them both better off.
for example, if i sell some dvds to a pawnbroker he might give me like $2 a pop for them. then he'll offload them for like $10-15 a pop. which is fine - he has to pay rent and utilities on his location, plus other business costs, plus some profit so he can buy things like food and clothing and a place to live. but if i use craigslist i might be able to sell them for like $6-7 a pop to someone directly, and both of us win: i get more for selling them, and the buyer pays less for the same product. the only loser is the now-unnecessary pawnbroker.
the big problem with this is not that it will put pawnbrokers out of business - if that happened they can find other jobs and those shops will become something economically more useful. the problem is that they won't, because internet usage hasn't fully penetrated the population. so the people left using pawnshops are overwhelmingly either people who are too poor to use the internet, and therefore in desperate straits and easy to exploit, or people trying to offload stolen goods. thus, even though one does nothing directly ethically wrong by buying from a pawnshop, one is buying into a system that really is exploitative and possibility criminal.
all i needed was an alarm clock, which is something that is frankly one of the harder things to get on ebay or craigslist - it's not unique, like a specific dvd, or expensive like a video-game console or other electronic equipment, or rare like memorabilia. it's just a cheap radio alarm clock. but assuming it wasn't stolen, that used to be someone else's alarm clock. and maybe they pawned it because they simply didn't need or want it. but maybe they pawned it because they felt they had no choice. and it although it was the best way for me to get an alarm clock, in terms of product quality relative to price, i still feel a little icky about it.
man this subject depresses me, perhaps irrationally, but nevertheless. great time to bring back the sotd. and what better:
progressive chic
yo check out atrios:
king of blogosphere decrees: from now on, all "what atrios said" posts must include this picture.
king of blogosphere decrees: from now on, all "what atrios said" posts must include this picture.
british spy fail
graylady:
Britain’s most powerful counterterrorism officer resigned on Thursday, a day after being photographed carrying a document that outlined details of a major antiterrorism operation in northwest England and was clearly marked “Secret.”
i mean, look at this guy:
what a clown.
Britain’s most powerful counterterrorism officer resigned on Thursday, a day after being photographed carrying a document that outlined details of a major antiterrorism operation in northwest England and was clearly marked “Secret.”
i mean, look at this guy:
what a clown.
my most beautiful dreams can be expressed in three panels
every night i sleep. and in my sleep i see the us senate.* and every night i imagine the senate as i wish it were, not merely as it is.
apparently, the immortal scribes of penny arcade see it similarly:
drool. it's like cheney v. leahy every minute of every day.
*yes i am a dork. but if you're reading this you know me. and if you know me you know i'm a dork. so stfu already.
apparently, the immortal scribes of penny arcade see it similarly:
drool. it's like cheney v. leahy every minute of every day.
*yes i am a dork. but if you're reading this you know me. and if you know me you know i'm a dork. so stfu already.
ericberto holdzalez?
assrocket:
response to sentence one: what are you smoking? how much? boy it sounds yummy.
response to sentence b: yes there is. in fact, there are many, many reasons.
notice the depth of conservative psychosis - the total denial regarding the gop justice dept was plagued with incompetence and corruption and the projection of those qualities onto political opponents even when it is literally impossible for that to be the case.
Since he became Attorney General, Eric Holder has moved to politicize the Department, putting it in service of a left-wing agenda. But there is no reason why the Democrats' misuse of Justice could not have begun when the Department was nominally under Republican control.
response to sentence one: what are you smoking? how much? boy it sounds yummy.
response to sentence b: yes there is. in fact, there are many, many reasons.
notice the depth of conservative psychosis - the total denial regarding the gop justice dept was plagued with incompetence and corruption and the projection of those qualities onto political opponents even when it is literally impossible for that to be the case.
everyone will die
that's what i've been trying to tell people!
read my blog and you start the morning right - with a slew of glenn beck-related videos. enjoy.
glenn himself, explaining how bernake = fascism.
fox news' last sane personality, shep smith, unable to contain his disdain for glenn.
a delightful cartoon about glenn! for the kids!
and, of course, if you haven't seen it, stephen colbert's miraculous evisceration of glenn beck.
bonus video!
a meeting of kindred souls - glenn beck and michele bachmann!
i just love my country. and, after watching all these videos, i fear for it.
*tear*
read my blog and you start the morning right - with a slew of glenn beck-related videos. enjoy.
glenn himself, explaining how bernake = fascism.
fox news' last sane personality, shep smith, unable to contain his disdain for glenn.
a delightful cartoon about glenn! for the kids!
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| The 10.31 Project | ||||
| ||||
and, of course, if you haven't seen it, stephen colbert's miraculous evisceration of glenn beck.
bonus video!
a meeting of kindred souls - glenn beck and michele bachmann!
i just love my country. and, after watching all these videos, i fear for it.
*tear*
harold and kumar go to the white house
ok, so it's just kumar.
but seriously - kal penn is the new assoc. dir. in the White House office of public liason.
!!!!!!
but seriously - kal penn is the new assoc. dir. in the White House office of public liason.
!!!!!!
teh gay is coming!
in - oh noes - vermont.
and bizarrely foolish vt. gov. jim douglas is pwned in the process.
social justice +5.
enjoy some san fransisco values!
and bizarrely foolish vt. gov. jim douglas is pwned in the process.
social justice +5.
enjoy some san fransisco values!
modern america
isn't it amazing that, in 2009, this is still considered news:
of course, we are at war with quakers. we needed one war that couldn't possibly go wrong. sorry guys, you're pushovers. no quantity of oat squares and folksy pacifism can defeat the 500,000 predator drones on their way to pennsylvania as we speak.
of course, we are at war with quakers. we needed one war that couldn't possibly go wrong. sorry guys, you're pushovers. no quantity of oat squares and folksy pacifism can defeat the 500,000 predator drones on their way to pennsylvania as we speak.
shit happens
yes it does, chas, yes it does:
i've been blogging nada lately, but let me opine for the record that chas freeman really ought to be nic chair right now, that most of the criticism of him was disingenuous or small-minded, and that chuck schumer is just such a douchenozzle.
A few stops after I got on the 42 bus this morning, Charles Freeman plunked down across from me. He was reading an old paperback copy of Colleen McCullough's The Thorn Birds, and looking more like a high school English teacher than an existential threat to the state of Israel.
I introduced myself and told him I was sorry that he resigned. He recoiled only slightly when I mentioned I worked for the Atlantic, then smiled broadly. "Shit happens." He added a little wistfully: "I wasn't so eager to go back to the government, anyway."
I asked him what he thought of his critics. "I don't pay much attention to the blogosphere. But I did read Jim Fallows. Fallows actually seemed to have read what I said."
The woman next to me suddenly pieced it together. "Now I know who you are!" She hesitated for a second. "I still disagree with you." Others on the bus started to look confused, even a little worried.
Freeman smiled again, and laughed. "I guess now I'm a notorious personality." He went back to reading his novel. A few stops later, he got off the bus.
i've been blogging nada lately, but let me opine for the record that chas freeman really ought to be nic chair right now, that most of the criticism of him was disingenuous or small-minded, and that chuck schumer is just such a douchenozzle.
modesty
andy mccarthy:
ummm, you do know that mr. frum wrote for your publication until like, two months ago, right? andy? andy?
Congratulations David Frum [Andy McCarthy]
Well, well, well, David has arrived! From nowhere to Newsweek in a nanosecond...
ummm, you do know that mr. frum wrote for your publication until like, two months ago, right? andy? andy?
more cooler verbs!
rep. greg meeks chattering on msnbc just said (accidentally) "publicated" instead of "published."
i much prefer the former, and will start using it all the time.
i much prefer the former, and will start using it all the time.
ummm
have you ever actually read anything on dailykos?
i guess this is what to expect from the publication that named powerline the "2004 blog of the year." how's that working out, assrocket?
i guess this is what to expect from the publication that named powerline the "2004 blog of the year." how's that working out, assrocket?
time for...recheck your premises!
ross douthat, pissing me off more every day, lobs up an easy one:
hey, ross? maybe you should...recheck your premise!
i think ross' premise holds if you only count white people, but heck, doing that would be really stupid. as john mccain learned in november, everyone gets to vote!
Here I'm starting from the premise that American politics has been fitfully sorting itself into a meritocracy-versus-populism dynamic, with one party (the Democrats) dominated by the mass upper class and the other party (the GOP) representing the middle and working-class voters who resent this newish elite, for good reasons and for bad.
hey, ross? maybe you should...recheck your premise!
Family Income Size Obama McCain Other
Less than $15,000 6% 73% 25% 2%
$15,000–$29,999 12% 60% 37% 3%
$30,000-$49,999 19% 55% 43% 2%
$50,000-$74,999 21% 48% 49% 3%
$75,000-$99,999 15% 51% 48% 1%
$100,000-$149,999 14% 48% 51% 1%
$150,000-$199,999 6% 48% 50% 2%
Greater than $200,000 6% 52% 46% 2%
i think ross' premise holds if you only count white people, but heck, doing that would be really stupid. as john mccain learned in november, everyone gets to vote!
do as i say
david brooks:
The nation had essentially bet its future on economic models with primitive views of human behavior.
isn't this what david brooks has been doing since forever?
The nation had essentially bet its future on economic models with primitive views of human behavior.
isn't this what david brooks has been doing since forever?
j-gregg
will not be
a) commerce secretary
b) running for re-election
c) all of the above
if you said "c," congratulations! you're an informed citizen (the "c" is for citizen).
is it just me, or is this not the best-case scenario?
a) commerce secretary
b) running for re-election
c) all of the above
if you said "c," congratulations! you're an informed citizen (the "c" is for citizen).
is it just me, or is this not the best-case scenario?
come again barney?
did rep. frank really just say that john thain was on the top of john mccain's list of potential treasury secretaries?
fail.
fail.
sanity
it's contagious. and it's spreading. now israel's caught it.
update: in retrospect, this is the opposite of true.
update: in retrospect, this is the opposite of true.
fucking shut the fuck up you fucking douchebag asshole moron just fucking stop fuck you fuck you stop
the national review attempts to claim terry gilliam's brazil as the 22nd greatest conservative movie of all time.
mr. gilliam:
this is such bullshit. such monumental bullshit that anyone who believes it should seek counseling immediately. i just...ok. stop. breathe. relax. think happy thoughts.
for reals yo.
mr. gilliam:
Have people forgotten I made Brazil? George W. [Bush], [Dick] Cheney, and company haven't. I'm thinking of suing them for the illegal and unauthorized remake of Brazil.
this is such bullshit. such monumental bullshit that anyone who believes it should seek counseling immediately. i just...ok. stop. breathe. relax. think happy thoughts.
for reals yo.
ben nelson
is on maddow.
and he's not making a lick of sense. he's alternating between arguing that the bill is good, his cuts were justified, and that it was politically necessary to make the cuts to get the votes. now, the latter argument carries some weight, but he was still trying to argue, quite incoherently, about his cuts, even at one point implying that federal money for school construction was really a trojan horse for increasing federal control over the schools themselves.
weird.
and he's not making a lick of sense. he's alternating between arguing that the bill is good, his cuts were justified, and that it was politically necessary to make the cuts to get the votes. now, the latter argument carries some weight, but he was still trying to argue, quite incoherently, about his cuts, even at one point implying that federal money for school construction was really a trojan horse for increasing federal control over the schools themselves.
weird.
the grammys
i have a long, storied history of complaining about the oscars.
but at least those bear some vague, quite tenuous connection to reality.
has anything that any actual people listen to ever actual won an actual grammy? what the hell is this crazy bizarre ceremony? some sort of occult pagan ritual? code being sent to sleeper agents?
but at least those bear some vague, quite tenuous connection to reality.
has anything that any actual people listen to ever actual won an actual grammy? what the hell is this crazy bizarre ceremony? some sort of occult pagan ritual? code being sent to sleeper agents?
to continue
i linked this a couple days ago:
the president, today:
and again
he opens with hugs, but responds to attacks with laser-guided heat-seaking nuclear missiles. he never opens with an offensive, but when attacked, baits his opponent into overreaching and then just wails on them.
i love it.
the president, today:
Now, I read the other day that critics of this plan ridiculed our notion that we should use part of the money to modernize the entire fleet of federal vehicles to take advantage of state of the art fuel efficiency. This is what they call pork. You know the truth. It will not only save the government significant money over time, it will not only create manufacturing jobs for folks who are making these cars, it will set a standard for private industry to match. And so when you hear these attacks deriding something of such obvious importance as this, you have to ask yourself -- are these folks serious? Is it any wonder that we haven't had a real energy policy in this country?
and again
"What do you think a stimulus is?" Obama asked incredulously. "It’s spending — that's the whole point! Seriously.”
he opens with hugs, but responds to attacks with laser-guided heat-seaking nuclear missiles. he never opens with an offensive, but when attacked, baits his opponent into overreaching and then just wails on them.
i love it.
conservatives don't belive in public policy
rich lowry, concern trolling like his life depended on it:
maybe he actually thinks that the proposal that came out of the house is actually a better idea than yours.
of course, the idea that there are better or worse ideas, rather than ideologies, is something that never seems to strike ideologues.
If the economy starts growing fairly robustly again in the next year, Obama will probably win the stimulus debate politically in the long run, no matter what happens here in coming days and weeks. But Obama has missed a huge opportunity to triangulate against the liberal Congress and position himself firmly to the center. When the House produced its monstrosity, he could have said, as the reaction against it built, that the American people hadn’t elected him to shepherd that kind of partisan, old-style bill to passage. Yes, he could have said, it might seem strange for me to come out against a bill my own party crafted, but it's a new day in Washington and the responsibility era extends to Capitol Hill too. He could have taken out the longer-term spending, thrown in some more tax cuts, and probably co-opted a slice of Republicans without reducing the overall price tag that drastically. Nancy Pelosi wouldn't have liked it, but doesn't Obama have more sway than she does, given that he is (or was) at the height of his popularity and power? Of course, it would have been a risky and gutsy move. It's easier simply to talk non-partisanship, while rolling along with liberalism's Old Bulls.
maybe he actually thinks that the proposal that came out of the house is actually a better idea than yours.
of course, the idea that there are better or worse ideas, rather than ideologies, is something that never seems to strike ideologues.
your value
to us is useless. your value to the american people is worthless. your contribution to this proceeding is zero.
an all-time classic berating. only in ny.
an all-time classic berating. only in ny.
let history show
that dick cheney is a disgusting, depraved, pathetic, vicious, sadistic, death-loving monster.
welcome to planet wtf?
msnbc talking about how michael phelps' endorsements and "wholesome image" are in danger because he hit a bong.
a) that's ridiculous on its face.
b) the guy got hit with a dui when he was 19.
driving while drunk is way, way, way worse than hitting a bong. way way way way way worse.
a) that's ridiculous on its face.
b) the guy got hit with a dui when he was 19.
driving while drunk is way, way, way worse than hitting a bong. way way way way way worse.
the giggles
man msnbc has got the giggles today. first they can't stop laughing at sarah palin (though, in fairness, who can?), and then they show this (just the last part):
and poor contessa brewer can't control herself. and she has one of those laughs where she inhales sharply...you know, "ha ha ha WHEEZE ha ha WHEEEEZE ha ha ha ha WHEEZE."
maybe they need to start drug testing their anchors...or at least installing smoke detectors in the dressing rooms.
and poor contessa brewer can't control herself. and she has one of those laughs where she inhales sharply...you know, "ha ha ha WHEEZE ha ha WHEEEEZE ha ha ha ha WHEEZE."
maybe they need to start drug testing their anchors...or at least installing smoke detectors in the dressing rooms.
in defense of blago
i got nothing. but he's apparently got plenty to say. apparently we're going to have to can john mccain and ted kennedy and rahm emmanuel because...well, nobody seems clear on why but blago. but he seems very clear on that point.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder
seriously.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder
seriously.
say it again
not even linking:
"But, with the Arabs, a phasm of care is much more meaningful than a realistic evaluation of forces and practical possibilities."
hey, marty? fuck you.
"But, with the Arabs, a phasm of care is much more meaningful than a realistic evaluation of forces and practical possibilities."
hey, marty? fuck you.
quote:
"had i known anyone was listening i wouldn't have used language like that."
did he really not have any clue that he might be wired? really?
did he really not have any clue that he might be wired? really?
deep thought
george washington.
thomas jefferson.
abraham lincoln.
franklin roosevelt.
barack obama.
that is all.
thomas jefferson.
abraham lincoln.
franklin roosevelt.
barack obama.
that is all.
dissassociation
paul mirengoff, embarrassing my alma mater:
flawed premise much?
Because I view the Hamas-Israel clash as a zero-sum game, I believe that any "major setback" for Hamas is a "win" for Israel.
flawed premise much?
shiver up my leg
what miss laura said:
I know that many people feel an incredible rush every time they hear the words "President Obama." That's nice, but it's not the one that does it for me. What gives me the chills is when someone says "the president" and I remember that they mean Obama, not Bush. It's not just that Obama is president, it's that Bush is not. That when the president is called upon to act, it will be Obama acting. And that we take it for granted -- we don't have to specify President Obama, we can say "the president" and everyone will know.
larry summers hates infrastructure!
that's a direct quote, rep. pete defazio, on maddow tonight.
wow.
wow.
self-call
atrios says what i said over a year ago. you know, back when i still used capital letters.
sweet kirsten?
kos' logic here is a bit thin:
so, instead of the aristocratic scion of america's greatest progressive family, we get...the semi-aristocratic scion of a moderate dem family from upstate new york. rather than someone with no experience (oh noes!) we get someone with a whole two years in congress and a bit of time in hud; and instead of what would probably be a reliably progressive vote we have a potential new york blue dog! who will either have to flip flop on key positions or face a massively expensive primary in two years.
this is not to attack sen.-des. gillibrand, who i believe will probably do a pretty good job; i'm just not sure how this is superior to the kennedy option. especially in the senate, names and connections matter.
There's a lot of hyperventilating today about how the mean bloggers destroyed Caroline Kennedy, as though I had a direct line to Paterson's office and called the shots. No, I'm not a Kennedy. My family wasn't rich and powerful and famous, so I don't get direct lines to anyone.
But, goes this theory, thanks to our efforts to "destroy" Kennedy (by fighting their desire for monarchy), we're now stuck with a Blue Dog in the Senate.
To me, this is a win-win situation. There are two alternatives:
1. Gillibrand was voting her districts, and will now tack hard to the left as she represents a much more liberal New York, or
2. She gets primaried and a more progressive Democrats -- one chosen by the voters! -- gets in. Heck, it could even be Caroline Kennedy, assuming she isn't afraid to face real voters!
Gillibrand is an accomplished politician who won in a brutally difficult House seat. But what made her successful in that district won't make her successful statewide. So she either adapts, or she dies. And in the end, it'll be the voters making that call.
As it should be.
so, instead of the aristocratic scion of america's greatest progressive family, we get...the semi-aristocratic scion of a moderate dem family from upstate new york. rather than someone with no experience (oh noes!) we get someone with a whole two years in congress and a bit of time in hud; and instead of what would probably be a reliably progressive vote we have a potential new york blue dog! who will either have to flip flop on key positions or face a massively expensive primary in two years.
this is not to attack sen.-des. gillibrand, who i believe will probably do a pretty good job; i'm just not sure how this is superior to the kennedy option. especially in the senate, names and connections matter.
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