Another example as to why David Wong is one of my favorite writers today:

5 Easy Ways to Spot a B.S. News Story on the Internet

The Internet, while awesome, is also a mind-boggling marvel of bullshit production and dissemination. A misleading or outright fake news story can get forwarded on Facebook a million times before Snopes.com can even write up their rebuttal (no, oral sex does not prevent breast cancer). Since the rise of social media, we get more and more of our news from each other, and far, far too many of us aren’t asking ourselves the important question:

“Is the amazing news I’m about to share even fucking true?”

Because most of the time, we don’t need somebody else to debunk these stories for us — not if we know what to look for. For instance, it should always raise red flags if …

BLAZING PRATTLES #WoodwardsNewBook A western. twitter.com/Gus_802/status…

— Gus (@Gus_802) February 28, 2013

my hems are all hawed

DJWOODWARD UNCHAINED #WoodwardsNewBook The “DJ” is silent. twitter.com/Gus_802/status…

— Gus (@Gus_802) February 28, 2013

I’m surprised that Bob Woodward hasn’t filed the forms required to claim 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status already. Then the people who send him donations can claim it as a tax deduction. That’s how ALEC, Heritage Foundation, Heartland Institute, etc get their funding..

Who needs journalists when there are tax deductible donations for writing political tripe?

Good to see right wingers are on their fainting couch over Bob Woodward getting “picked on” then they are about Scalia calling voting rights an “entitlement.”

re: #6 Gus

Good to see right wingers are on their fainting couch over Bob Woodward getting “picked on” then they are about Scalia calling voting rights an “entitlement.”

But, but, Hannity might ask a hard question?

//

Radiohead - Karma Police: youtu.be/IBH97ma9YiI via @youtube

— Gus (@Gus_802) February 28, 2013

Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah: youtu.be/YrLk4vdY28Q #p2 #tlot #atheism

— Gus (@Gus_802) February 28, 2013

Can’t make this up:

Drudge buys house from Osama Hussein

Here Comes Your Man - Pixies: youtu.be/Hvi4iA3PnKE via @youtube

— Gus (@Gus_802) February 28, 2013

Mississippi Mayor Candidate Found Dead — First Openly Gay Candidate in State

re: #12 dragonath

Mississippi Mayor Candidate Found Dead — First Openly Gay Candidate in State

“There’s a lot of people upset about it. Why would somebody want to do something like that to somebody of that caliber? He was a highly respected person in town. He’s been in the community helping out a lot,” Thomas said.

Who would do such a thing in the deep south?
///

I’m so fucking fed up with people

George Jones - Corvette Song

The Church - Under The Milky Way: youtu.be/-Q6nKP10j4s

— Gus (@Gus_802) February 28, 2013

For tonight’s viewing pleasure…

TRACK OF THE MOON BEAST!

EchoThe Bunnymen Lips Like Sugar (Lyrics): youtu.be/uIQMTo6ryh8 via @youtube

— Gus (@Gus_802) February 28, 2013

re: #16 Kragar (Antichrist )

For tonight’s viewing pleasure…

TRACK OF THE MOON BEAST!

[Embedded content]

Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning: youtu.be/ejorQVy3m8E via @youtube

— Gus (@Gus_802) February 28, 2013

re: #13 Kragar (Antichrist )

Who would do such a thing in the deep south?

Leviticus 20:13

That’s why.

People jus’ livin’ the True Faith

re: #6 Gus

He definitely deserves some pushback for his CNN interview w/ his intentionally incendiary & misleading spinning of the Sperling e-mail:
[Link: cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com…]

BLITZER: What was said?

WOODWARD: It was said very clearly, you will regret doing this.

…

WOODWARD: … I think if Barack Obama knew that was part of the communication’s strategy - let’s hope it’s not a strategy, but it’s a tactic that somebody’s employed, and said, look, we don’t go around trying to say to reporters, if you, in an honest way, present something we don’t like, that, you know, you’re going to regret this.

Which was quite different from the part of the e-mail he quoted to politico:

“I apologize for raising my voice in our conversation today. You’re focusing on a few specific trees that give a very wrong impression of the forest. But perhaps we will just not see eye to eye here. … I think you will regret staking out that claim.”

re: #20 simoom

He definitely deserves some pushback for his CNN interview w/ his intentionally incendiary & misleading spinning of the Sperling e-mail:
[Link: cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com…]

Which was quite different from the part of the e-mail he quoted to politico:

oh the horror.
/

Great. It figures that the week after I get my tax refund is when my external HDD decides to crap out. *sigh*

Scary black man threatens white journalist for doing his job.

Fits the narrative, run with it.

/

R.I.P. V.C.:

re: #24 freetoken

R.I.P. V.C.:

He will be replaced by a Van Clyborg

Gus, you posted like four of my favorite songs.

The original shoegaze rockers:

Texas School Worker Shot During Handgun Training Class livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/texas-sc… via @tomkludt

— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) February 28, 2013

re: #29 Lidane

‘Blood Wings for the Janitors’ Act of 2013.

re: #30 Decatur Deb

Both my parents for teachers. If you armed my dad, he’d probably accidentally shoot someone at some point. If you armed my mom, she would probably be very capable of taking down any intruder, but she would get overexcited and probably shoot a few cops too or something. She’s very excitable. She once shoulder-checked a taxi-driver into a canal because she thought he was stealing our luggage.

re: #31 Glenn Beck’s Grand Unifying Theory of Obdicut

Both my parents for teachers. If you armed my dad, he’d probably accidentally shoot someone at some point. If you armed my mom, she would probably be very capable of taking down any intruder, but she would get overexcited and probably shoot a few cops too or something. She’s very excitable. She once shoulder-checked a taxi-driver into a canal because she thought he was stealing our luggage.

Is she out of that third-world hellhole jail yet?

re: #32 Decatur Deb

Is she out of that third-world hellhole jail yet?

Everyone thought it was hilarious, and it probably helped us not get cheated on the fare. She’s about five foot six and weighs 120 lbs or so.

She would make a great spy. She has a combination of unconscious verisimilitude and conscious cunning. When she’s pulled over for speeding, she’s quiet, respectful, fearful and pathetic, her lip trembling, putting herself at the mercy of this kind officer. The closer he gets to actually giving a ticket, the more the lip trembles and the eyes fill with tears, the more her voice breaks. The instant the cop walks away, her eyes harden, she jams the car into gear, and says “What a waste of time.”

We went to a restaurant once, and dad was late. The restaurant was nearly empty, but the hostess still refused to seat us before we were all there. Mom sat down at a table, and the hostess got her manager. The manager asked her what was up, and mom said “The waitress said we couldn’t get a table until my husband arrived so I sat down to wait.” The manager said “But you’re at a table.” and my mom said “But I’m sitting on a chair.”

Where she can’t appeal for sympathy, she just plain baffles.

I reapat my litany here: if you want to use a handgun to defend yourself and your own family in your own home, that is your right and your choice. You will need a degree of training and solid nerves if you want to do it right.

To defend others in a crowded public place, especially one where people are panicking over the sound of gunshots or the sight of dead/injured people lying bout, then you will need extensive training, experience, nerves of steel, high situaltional awareness and a sound sense of judgement to do it successfully.

That set of skills is not easily acquired and beyond the reach of many.

re: #34 Sol Berdinowitz

I reapat my litany here: if you want to use a handgun to defend yourself and your own family in your own home, that is your right and your choice. You will need a degree of training and solid nerves if you want to do it right.

To defend others in a crowded public place, especially one where people are panicking over the sound of gunshots or the sight of dead/injured people lying bout, then you will need extensive training, experience, nerves of steel, high situaltional awareness and a sound sense of judgement to do it successfully.

That set of skills is not easily acquired and beyond the reach of many.

Wingnuts believe that GUNZ are a one-size-fits-all guaranteed method of Rape Prevention^TM

”@blackirishi: When are you going to get it? twitter.com/BooyahSuckaFoo… #MorningJoe“got my wife 1 becuse #liberal bs is thatBS!#TGDN #TCOT#NRA

— MarineVet (@SteveHa_rris) February 28, 2013

They don’t address the fact that 67% of all rapists are a person who is known and trusted by the victim, or in a position of authority over the victim, or who uses the element of surprise to disarm her.

re: #35 Vicious Babushka

I, sadly, know many women who have been raped. I can’t think of any of the cases where a gun would have helped. Really, not a one. I have never known a woman that was approached by an assailant who gave sufficient warning of his intentions. I mean, maybe, if they’d had all the luck in the world.

I am sorry if this triggers for anyone or makes them sad, but my friend J was grabbed from behind by her hair and had her head smacked into the wall. That was the initial assault. How is a gun supposed to help her after that?

What annoys me about these smug gun-fetishists is that they’re preaching shit that will put women in more danger. Carrying around a gun and thinking that it protects you can give a sense of false confidence. And, of course, the real root of the prevalence of rape in our society is just our patriarchal values that social conservatives fight so hard to defend.

WHAT RIGHT-WING RACISM? (Tweet links to a white supremacist site)

New Yorkers lie through their teeth in online dating profiles, fibbing about physical stature, race, wealth — and even pregnancy, a new study found.

[Link: www.nypost.com…]

In New York, 33 percent of men and 34 percent of women lie on their profile — far more than the national average of 19 percent of men and 27 percent of women.

Good Morning Lizards!

Drizzly and gray in Philadelphia this morning - mid-40s temp. In other words, just about the same as any other late winter day in the Northeast US. ;)

Ingesting first cup of coffee and checking the morning set of emails and status reports that need to be perused. Then the daily conference call. At that point I should be fully informed and ready to actually do some work.

Feline Overlord with the ocular problem seems to be feeling fully up to snuff. He came bounding out of the bathroom to ambush the other cat at full speed while I was fixing breakfast.

For your amusement:

It has been 288 days since the House first passed a bill to replace the #sequester. It’s time for the Senate to do the same.

— Eric Cantor (@GOPLeader) February 22, 2013

@gopleader keeps claiming he has bill to avoid sequestered. Only prob is that no such bill has passed House in current Congress

— lawhawk (@lawhawk) February 28, 2013

@gopleader Moreover, the GOP bills passed by House in prior session defunded #PPACA to offset cuts and no chance of Senate or Obama signing

— lawhawk (@lawhawk) February 28, 2013

Top 20 jobs with bad bosses

Hate your boss? It may be your profession, says PayScale, which ranked jobs by percent of workers who wanted a new boss

[Link: www.timesunion.com…]

re: #35 Vicious Babushka

Wingnuts believe that GUNZ are a one-size-fits-all guaranteed method of Rape Prevention^TM

They don’t address the fact that 67% of all rapists are a person who is known and trusted by the victim, or in a position of authority over the victim, or who uses the element of surprise to disarm her.

There are matters of faith: all guns will stop bad guys, all tax cuts will create jobs, and all aborted kids will grow up to cure leukeimia.

re: #41 Flounder

Top 20 jobs with bad bosses

[Link: www.timesunion.com…]

Are you surprised to see chemists at the top of the list? If you were working for Walter White you might feel a bit stressed and think about wanting a different boss.
;)

I do note from that list that a lot of the jobs listed are those that can carry a lot of responsibility and “grind” without necessarily being rewarding. Plus some, like DBA, can land a person under a lot of pressure to fix things that are beyond their control. (Picked that since I am familiar with IT-related issues.)

Contrasting law enforcers in Milwaukee:

Police Chief Ed Flynn:

Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke:

Sheriff David Clarke accuses county executive of ‘penis envy’

Fresh off his interview on a national radio show whose host has peddled the idea that the 9-11 terrorist attacks were an inside job (Alex Jones), Clarke is now accusing Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele of “penis envy” and is playing the race card in their ongoing dispute.

Clarke made these comments in a note (subscription required) to radio talker Charlie Sykes, his frequent sounding board. The sheriff was responding to an email from Abele aide Brendan Conway to No Quarter for a column that ran Monday about Clarke’s flip-flop on cutting the County Board.

“Sounds like a bit of penis envy by Abele in responding to Bice (Conway’s the straw man here, you know that),” Clarke wrote. “Abele is not used to taking a back seat to anyone, especially some black conservative sheriff.”

re: #44 Amory Blaine

Sounds like he’d like a gig on Fox.

Sheriff Clarke is an embarrassment. But hey what do I know, the whole state is run by wingnuts. :/

re: #45 Glenn Beck’s Grand Unifying Theory of Obdicut

Sounds like he’d like a gig on Fox.

One point of difference to note between a Sheriff and a Chief of Police is that one is generally elected whereas the other is appointed. That can obviously lead to them exhibiting different behavior patterns.

Texas needs to goose sales of guns even more? Apparently so. A Texas state legislator is proposing a sales tax holiday coinciding with Texas Independence Day to make firearms and ammo sales tax free.

House Bill 1533 would create a new tax-free holiday — one day in Texas set aside to let people buy guns and ammunition without paying a penny in sales tax.

It’s called the “Texas Gun Ownership Reinforcement Act,” and it would go into effect every March 2 — Texas Independence Day.

Good Morning!

Too many drivers in my neighborhood (South Boston) ignore the stop signs and speed between the intersections in a densely populated area (read: LOTS OF KIDS PLAYING).

I’ve written letters/spoke with city councilors about it and they assured me police were enforcing the laws.

Well, tragedy struck last night.

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) — Massachusetts State Police are investigating an accident in which a 66-year-old pedestrian was struck by a vehicle and killed.

…

The victim has been identified as Rep. Stephen Lynch’s personal friend and longtime attorney, Bill McDermott. Lynch’s office confirmed the news with FOX 25 Thursday morning, but had no further statement.

Read more: [Link: www.myfoxboston.com…]

Rep Stephen Lynch is in the race for the US Senate seat vacated by John Kerry.

Hopefully this tragedy will change the enforcement for the better.

re: #47 Feline Fearless Leader

That’s a dynamic (elected versus appointed) that’s preventing the consolidation of law enforcement operations in my neck of the woods. Bergen County has a police department (1 of 2 counties that have its own independent county police department) plus a county sheriff’s department.

Efforts to consolidate have broken down because the sheriff is elected (and is in charge of the county jails). There’s quite a bit of duplication of service as a result, and the cost savings could be substantial.

Yeah Clarke gets elected no prob. He’s basically a fake democrat, taking advantage of Milwaukee’s natural wingnutty tendencies (especially the right wing radio charged up south side). Easily beating more moderate democrats that choose to run. Maybe the dems should run a fake republican in the primary.

Moar puzzlement from the wingnut who can’t understand why Mitt Romney didn’t win when he got so many MORE RED SPACES.

Can a real black person out there please tell me why black folks love Obama despite what he has done to them? I don’t understand. #TGDN

— KB2 (@KBB_TGDN) February 28, 2013

re: #52 Vicious Babushka

Can a real black person out there please tell me why black folks love Obama despite what he has done to them? I don’t understand.

He bribed them with free government stuff, remember?

/

re: #52 Vicious Babushka

Moar puzzlement from the wingnut who can’t understand why Mitt Romney didn’t win when he got so many MORE RED SPACES.

@kbb_tgdn Have a bullet list of things he has done to the black community? I’ll pass it along to my black friends, see what they think.

— Geoff Manning (@geoffm33) February 28, 2013

re: #52 Vicious Babushka

Moar puzzlement from the wingnut who didn’t understand why Mitt Romney didn’t win when he got so many MORE RED SPACES.

KB2 should also pay attention to what Romney promised to do, both himself and in agreement with the GOP National platform.

Wingnut doesn’t know how to respond to this, so claims that it’s a LIE with no contradicting evidence.

This is so misleading as everything the Democrats and msm does. #tgdn #tcot twitter.com/kevintobey/sta…

— Kevin Tobey#TGDN(@kevintobey) February 28, 2013

re: #55 kirkspencer

KB2 should also pay attention to what Romney promised to do, both himself and in agreement with the GOP National platform.

All Obama did was give them hope, a useless commercial commodity…

re: #48 lawhawk

Texas needs to goose sales of guns even more? Apparently so. A Texas state legislator is proposing a sales tax holiday coinciding with Texas Independence Day to make firearms and ammo sales tax free.

In a way, this is a perfect conservative two-fer. Spur gun sales while simultaneously denying government much-needed income.

To all the conservatives out there: God help us if you guys get back in power. You guys will be the death of this country.

re: #55 kirkspencer

KB2 should also pay attention to what Romney promised to do, both himself and in agreement with the GOP National platform.

I had a long conversation with KBB a while ago. He is really sincere in his wingnut faith, it’s kind of touching actually.

BTW, Jennifer Rubin is in a dustup with Jeffrey Goldberg and Greg Sargent over Hagel and sequester. She’s touting the GOP line that I deconstruct in my page here although she offers no proof to support her position.

re: #49 geoffm33

Maybe this would be bad in winter with the snow plows, but around here residential streets with that problem get speed bumps on each block.

re: #50 lawhawk

That’s a dynamic (elected versus appointed) that’s preventing the consolidation of law enforcement operations in my neck of the woods. Bergen County has a police department (1 of 2 counties that have its own independent county police department) plus a county sheriff’s department.

Efforts to consolidate have broken down because the sheriff is elected (and is in charge of the county jails). There’s quite a bit of duplication of service as a result, and the cost savings could be substantial.

My one friend in NJ has railed on his blog about the duplication of services in the state at the county and local level. He thinks there should be a lot of consolidation of services; mainly township giving way to county level.

I’ll be seeing him on Saturday. Should be interesting to see how he views local services now since he and his family moved in November from up on the coast near Raritan Bay down into the central part of the state and right on the Delaware River. And he’s from the southern coast of the state originally.

re: #51 Amory Blaine

Yeah Clarke gets elected no prob. He’s basically a fake democrat, taking advantage of Milwaukee’s natural wingnutty tendencies (especially the right wing radio charged up south side). Easily beating more moderate democrats that choose to run. Maybe the dems should run a fake republican in the primary.

Wikipedia page indicated that the city government is very solidly Democratic party and that their primary for the various positions is viewed as the “true” election. Also a few lines there that city council seats there were considered more “valuable” than state legislature seats.

re: #50 lawhawk

That’s a dynamic (elected versus appointed) that’s preventing the consolidation of law enforcement operations in my neck of the woods. Bergen County has a police department (1 of 2 counties that have its own independent county police department) plus a county sheriff’s department.

Efforts to consolidate have broken down because the sheriff is elected (and is in charge of the county jails). There’s quite a bit of duplication of service as a result, and the cost savings could be substantial.

Just got a letter the other day about how the new Camden County police force is being launched. From what I’ve read, the focus seems to be on getting actual police into Camden, given how that force has been decimated by budget cuts.

I’m still on the fence about this. I don’t think anyone is having their police forces disbanded in favor of the county one, and I’m pretty sure my township force is staying put. My big worry would be about response times if the county force takes over.

David Clarke is no democrat. He runs under the banner but he has not one progressive bone in his body.

WTF is this?

@viciousbabushka wonder why the party of violence known as the Democratic party not included? #unitblue #tgdn #tcot twitter.com/kevintobey/sta…

— Kevin Tobey#TGDN(@kevintobey) February 28, 2013

Politifact:

Peter Barca says visitors can bring a gun but not pencil and paper to the Wisconsin Capitol Assembly gallery

Mostly True

Of course Kevin Tobey blocked me so HTF does he expect to receive a reply? (Oh yeah, he totally does not want or expect a reply)

Good morning lizards!

WHY SHOULD THEIR BE A MINIMUM WAGE? PEOPLE SHOULD WORK FOR FREE!!!!!!111111

No, really.
I would Tweet this, but wingnuts might make a meme out of it.

Wisconsin schools suffering as a result of Scott Walkers cuts to education. The largest in state history.

Elmbrook School District braces for new state budget, potential $2.3 million deficit

Sheboygan Area School District faces $5 million shortfall

Nicolet cutting costs after governor’s budget comes in at zero

It’s still early since Walker unveiled his budget. More “good” news is sure to come.

But hey, we’re getting a $1.60 a week tax cut.

Mornin’ gang…just waking up in wine country…the missus arranged via her distributors for a tour of a few wineries for us while her sister visits. They put us up for the night in a guest ‘cottage’ on the grounds of Korbel (and by cottage I mean three beds, two baths, a large well stocked kitchen - champagnes, wines, brandy - a full sized pool table…you know…a shack…and yes, of course it has wifi…this is California).

re: #68 Vicious Babushka

Of course Kevin Tobey blocked me so HTF does he expect to receive a reply? (Oh yeah, he totally does not want or expect a reply)

Considering his very next tweet is

#WeDemandAVote one of the best things about Twitter is being able to block Liberal Democrats. They stand for 2 things which is hate&violence

Yeah, he doesn’t want a reply.

re: #73 kirkspencer

Considering his very next tweet is

Yeah, he doesn’t want a reply.

Where is the hate & violence in any of my Tweets? Srsly. I read #UniteBlue and while you do see a silly moonbat once in a while they generally do not wave THERE GUNZ if they have any.

GUESS AGAIN BRYAN.

Liberals are the Pharisees of our day - those who want Jesus removed entirely from the public square.

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) February 28, 2013

All the spambots that I see are Tweeting wingnut shit. BTW this is the same guy who Tweets Obama SSN conspiracy every 30 seconds.

Are the lefties that have identical messages real people or computers and whose Union due pay for this? #tgdn #tcot #Benghazi #enghaziGate

— Greg Anderson (@sparkygreg) February 28, 2013

re: #66 Vicious Babushka

WTF is this?

The usual. Yes, Jefferson Davis was a Democrat. Essentially all of the Confederacy was once dominated by Democrats. Eventually they morphed into Dixiecrats and then left the party either becoming Republicans, independents, retiring, or kicking the bucket.

These same people are always bringing up WELFARE when they think about “blah people.” In fact that was a theme in the 2012 presidential campaign. Welfare, the dog whistle of bigots. It evolved from Lee Atwater’s “ni-CLANG, ni-CLANG, ni-CLANG” to States’ Rights, to WELFARE. Obamaphone!…

Next week they’ll be extolling the virtues of Jefferson Davis and talk of secession while reading a Ron Paul newsletter and waving their Confederate flag.

So, I won’t be around to enjoy it, but do watch for the faux-outrage over Bob Woodward’s bullshit about the administration threatening him. Should be boring…I mean fun.

re: #78 darthstar

So, I won’t be around to enjoy it, but do watch for the faux-outrage over Bob Woodward’s bullshit about the administration threatening him. Should be boring…I mean fun.

It was right up until the actual emails got released. Now it’s like watching children scream “He said a naughty word!!”

re: #77 Gus

Where’s my Sons of the Confederacy membership card? Does Obama hand them out or do I have to go directly to my democratic headquarters to get it?

.@aviary77 Last time I checked Waltons & Kochs hold more wealth than 1/2 of Americans so when did confiscation occur? #tgdn #tcot #UniteBlue

— Vicious Babushka (@viciousbabushka) February 28, 2013

re: #77 Gus

The usual. Yes, Jefferson Davis was a Democrat. Essentially all of the Confederacy was once dominated by Democrats. Eventually they morphed into Dixiecrats and then left the party either becoming Republicans, independents, retiring, or kicking the bucket.

These same people are always bringing up WELFARE when they think about “blah people.” In fact that was a theme in the 2012 presidential campaign. Welfare, the dog whistle of bigots. It evolved from Lee Atwater’s “ni-CLANG, ni-CLANG, ni-CLANG” to States’ Rights, to WELFARE. Obamaphone!…

Next week they’ll be extolling the virtues of Jefferson Davis and talk of secession while reading a Ron Paul newsletter and waving their Confederate flag.

GOP and Dems essentially changed places about the time of FDR.

Woodward apparently now has his own little fanclub as a result of the “threat,” #StandWithWoodward

Ok wow. Finally read the email to Woodward. I must now move to the “not a threat” camp.

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) February 28, 2013

Good for @mattklewis for acknowledging conservatives got “played” by Woodward threat tale dailycaller.com/2013/02/28/bob…

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) February 28, 2013

DERP.

Also let’s not forget under #barackobama voter fraud at a all time high. Blames others for his failed policies. Deficit 16.6 trillion #tgdn

— Kevin Tobey#TGDN(@kevintobey) February 28, 2013

Stand with Woodward in the gulag!!! Man these wingers just grab onto anybody if they feel it pushes their nonsense. In 2 weeks they’ll be calling him a communist.

Exclusive: The Woodward, Sperling emails revealed

So, to recap…

DEEP DERP #WoodwardsNewBook twitter.com/Gus_802/status…

— Gus (@Gus_802) February 28, 2013

That email from Sperling is almost slobbering with apologies.

Must not hurt the sensitive man’s feelings. Lest he be butthurt.

re: #76 Vicious Babushka

All the spambots that I see are Tweeting wingnut shit. BTW this is the same guy who Tweets Obama SSN conspiracy every 30 seconds.

Does that man ever sleep?

re: #91 Sionainn

Does that man ever sleep?

Maybe it’s not a real person, just a spambot.

re: #87 Gus

Exclusive: The Woodward, Sperling emails revealed

When the initial fainting spell was posted on Politico last night, the comments were full of wingnuts screaming that Woodward was the subject of a direct threat by the White House and comparing it to Nixon. Now that the emails have actually been posted, hours later, the comments are primarily “Where’s the threat?”

re: #36 Glenn Beck’s Grand Unifying Theory of Obdicut

I am sorry if this triggers for anyone or makes them sad, but my friend J was grabbed from behind by her hair and had her head smacked into the wall. That was the initial assault. How is a gun supposed to help her after that?

Amanda Marcotte got wingnut-piled after arguing against guns as a (no pun intended) magic bullet to stop rape. The response was almost uniformly:

ermahgerd you don’t want wimminz to defend themselves!!1!! they should just lie back and get raped!!1!*

One female wingnut linked to this story:

Woman Killed Would-Be Rapist in Self-Defense

The woman in that incident shot the fucker dead before he could rape her. Sounds like wingnut vindication, right? Oh wait:

“After going to sleep, I was in the dead of sleep, I woke up with a man on top of me,” Mira said on GMA. I immediately just had the reaction to get him off of me at that point he told me he had a gun and I felt it against my left chest. He was restraining me with both of his hands and the gun was across my chest and I just took my left hand and I started just pushing it away from me.”

Mira started trying to push him off with her hands and feet, using some martial arts and self-defense techniques that she had learned years before.

“Do you want to die?” he asked.

At that point, something snapped and she sprung into action, Mira said. In what she described as something like “a dream state,” she wrestled the .38-caliber revolver away from her 170-pound attacker and and rolled him onto the floor. She fired three shots at the man, striking him twice in the upper torso.

She never used her own gun - she used martial arts training to disarm the attacker and kill him with his own weapon.

_{*Never mind the one prominent individual who actually said something like that was a gibbering Texas wingnut}

re: #93 Targetpractice

When the initial fainting spell was posted on Politico last night, the comments were full of wingnuts screaming that Woodward was the subject of a direct threat by the White House and comparing it to Nixon. Now that the emails have actually been posted, hours later, the comments are primarily “Where’s the threat?”

The wingnuts won’t listen. Maybe they’ll surprise me.

re: #61 Political Atheist

Maybe this would be bad in winter with the snow plows, but around here residential streets with that problem get speed bumps on each block.

Yep, we got that done on the street I lived on in Madison. It was a popular shortcut between to heavy traffic streets. It was funny to watch expensive low riding hot rods hit one at 50+ mph and trash the underside of their car, one left bits of muffler, exhaust manifold and the bottom cover of his transmission behind… It only took a couple before they weren’t going up our street anymore :LOL:

I didn’t pay any attention to the Woodward story claiming the White House threatened him…figured that if I just waited a bit, the truth would come out. It did and Woodward is a frickin’ liar. Why do people fall for this crap over and over and over?

re: #93 Targetpractice

When the initial fainting spell was posted on Politico last night, the comments were full of wingnuts screaming that Woodward was the subject of a direct threat by the White House and comparing it to Nixon. Now that the emails have actually been posted, hours later, the comments are primarily “Where’s the threat?”

So are the fainting couches all sold out now? Crap. Better make some more.

Man, does Woodward look like an over-reacting idiot or what?

re: #98 Bulworth

So are the fainting couches all sold out now? Crap. Better make some more.

I say let them fall on the ground. Maybe hitting their heads will knock some sense into them.

re: #85 Vicious Babushka

DERP.

Also let’s not forget under #barackobama voter fraud at a all time high. Blames others for his failed policies. Deficit 16.6 trillion #tgdn
— Kevin Tobey#TGDN(@kevintobey) February 28, 2013

Strange. No link or data or numbers or any such thing about how “voter fraud at all-time high.” /

re: #89 Gus

That email from Sperling is almost slobbering with apologies.

Bob Woodward:
“Gene: You do not ever have to apologize to me.”

OMG!!! He sounds so scared!!

re: #99 makeitstop

Man, does Woodward look like an over-reacting idiot or what?

And this had such a grand chance to usurp the fever-pitch wailing of Benghazi-gate. /

re: #101 Bulworth

Strange. No link or data or numbers or any such thing about how “voter fraud at all-time high.” /

He will probably get around to linking someecard graphic with a pithy wingnut slogan.

re: #97 Sionainn

I didn’t pay any attention to the Woodward story claiming the White House threatened him…figured that if I just waited a bit, the truth would come out. It did and Woodward is a frickin’ liar. Why do people fall for this crap over and over and over?

I boldly predict the next wingnutty complaint will be about how PBO is destroying the media or making the media destroy itself. Because PBO has magical powers and stuff. /

re: #105 Bulworth

I boldly predict the next wingnutty complaint will be about how PBO is destroying the media or making the media destroy itself. Because PBO has magical powers and stuff. /

Check over at Breitbart, where they’re (once again) accusing the media of being Obama’s hit squad for coming down on poor Bob’s head for his (latest) moment of derp. Whining that, as fellow journalists, they should be taking his side against this effort to “stifle the freedom of the press.”

DERP. FAIL.

Democrats Then and Now: STILL ENSLAVING AMERICANS #tcot #teaparty #ocra #opslam #lnyhbt #tgdn twitter.com/ChristiChat/st…

— Conservative (@ChristiChat) February 28, 2013

re: #104 Vicious Babushka

He will probably get around to linking someecard graphic with a pithy wingnut slogan.

The claim that the deficit is $16 trillion gazillion dollars is also a bit off. Maybe that’s the truthiness fuzzy math National Debt figure. But I’m pretty sure the actual budget deficit for this year is a bit smaller than that. But I know they don’t care about the debt or deficit or any of that. Just pointing that out.

re: #107 Vicious Babushka

What the heck is the opslam hashtag supposed to mean? Seen it in heaps of these derp-tweets, but never knew what it signified…

re: #109 Interesting Times

yeah I’ve been meaning to ask about that….

re: #109 Interesting Times

What the heck is the opslam hashtag supposed to mean? Seen it in heaps of these derp-tweets, but never knew what it signified…

I never even cared enough to look at that hashtag. #rednationrising and #resist44 are the secessionist hashtags.

re: #87 Gus 802

Exclusive: The Woodward, Sperling emails revealed

Politico…still trying to decide if they should be another wingnut blog or take the hard road and strive for journalistic integrity (psst…it’s not that hard).

re: #107 Vicious Babushka

DERP. FAIL.

GOP. The party of Lincoln.

re: #107 Vicious Babushka

DERP. FAIL.

Democrats Then and Now: STILL ENSLAVING AMERICANS #tcot #teaparty #ocra #opslam #lnyhbt #tgdn twitter.com/ChristiChat/st…
— Conservative (@ChristiChat) February 28, 2013

Um, so Republicans have been turned into slaves? Did this happen before or after millions of teabaggers voted for the Republican Congress in 2010 or after the Republican presidential primary and general election in November? ///

re: #97 Sionainn

I didn’t pay any attention to the Woodward story claiming the White House threatened him…figured that if I just waited a bit, the truth would come out. It did and Woodward is a frickin’ liar. Why do people fall for this crap over and over and over?

Because they want to.

re: #112 darthstar

Politico…still trying to decide if they should be another wingnut blog or take the hard road and strive for journalistic integrity (psst…it’s not that hard).

Politico is still butthurt about being excluded from golfing with Tiger.

re: #113 Sol Berdinowitz

GOP. The party of Lincoln.

I am sure wingnuts do not even know there were 2 flavors of Democrats in 1860, the Southern Democrats and the Northern Democrats, as well as a Constitutional Union party and the GOP.

Twitter is a black hole of stupid. Not even Steven Hawking can understand it.

BREAKING: #BradleyManning has pleaded guilty to being the #WikiLeaks source - 10 lesser charges carrying a max sentence of 20 years

— Ed Pilkington (@Edpilkington) February 28, 2013

LOL

#tcotStupidPetTricks Claiming Democrats are “the real racists” even though 95%+ African Americans vote Democratic #tcot #tgdn #rubes

— Cranston Snord (@BostonSnob) February 28, 2013

re: #119 Gus

Is that 10 charges of 20 years apiece or 10 charges adding up to 20 years?

re: #117 Vicious Babushka

I am sure wingnuts do not even know there were 2 flavors of Democrats in 1860, the Southern Democrats and the Northern Democrats, as well as a Constitutional Union party and the GOP.

Those that do aren’t about to mention it. I first encountered the “Democrats are the racist party” talking point on Pyjamas Media some years ago and was amazed at the sheer cynicism of it as a talking point.

re: #121 Targetpractice

Is that 10 charges of 20 years apiece or 10 charges adding up to 10 years?

Don’t know. Just read that.

re: #109 Interesting Times

What the heck is the opslam hashtag supposed to mean? Seen it in heaps of these derp-tweets, but never knew what it signified…

http://tagdef.com/opslam

In contrast to…

A man who beheaded a retired Norfolk grandmother in Tenerife is sentenced to 20 years in a secure unit bbc.in/Z2FSej

— BBC News England (@BBCEngland) February 28, 2013

Kind of a funny story about the Woodward white house thing
A True Gene Sperling Story

One day, when we couldn’t get the column on the page at his preferred length, he put up a big fight, and he said, “You’ll rue the day you cut this column.”

I recognize that this happened decades ago, and you’re probably wondering why I remember it at all. The reason is, it was the first time I had ever heard anyone ever use the expression “rue the day” in speech and it stayed with me.

I tell this story only to make the point that I did not feel threatened by Gene’s statement, which was arguably stronger than the one he made to Woodward. Of course, he didn’t have the White House behind him when he was a columnist at The Daily Pennsylvanian. On the other hand, we needed him as a columnist fairly desperately, so he did have us over a barrel.

And no, I don’t rue the day I cut 700 words out of Gene Sperling’s column.

BREAKING: #BradleyManning WILL read out his 35 page statement on what he did and why he did it. That’s huge #WikiLeaks

— Ed Pilkington (@Edpilkington) February 28, 2013

re: #127 Gus

Manifesto!

The pen is mightier than the sword.

So really, Manning lucked out you can say. 20 years. He’s already done 2 years thus making it possible for him getting time served making that 18 years. It’s gonna suck for him but he won’t die in prison. With 18 years he’ll get out when he’s 43.

Wingnuts really believe the sequester will only affect people who get Food Stamps and Obamaphones but not them.

re: #131 Vicious Babushka

What I see is a great many working class/ lower middle class thrashing around looking for easy targets for their misery.

re: #131 Vicious Babushka

Wingnuts really believe the sequester will only affect people who get Food Stamps and Obamaphones but not them.

They are already miffed that the benefits were illegal aliens released on rocoznizance. I think they assumed they would remain in custody and have their meals cut to one per day.

Nutriloaf.

re: #130 Gus

So really, Manning lucked out you can say. 20 years. He’s already done 2 years thus making it possible for him getting time served making that 18 years. It’s gonna suck for him but he won’t die in prison. With 18 years he’ll get out when he’s 43.

It seems the possibility of the Bin Laden email may have motivated him to take the plea deal.

re: #72 darthstar

Mornin’ gang…just waking up in wine country…the missus arranged via her distributors for a tour of a few wineries for us while her sister visits. They put us up for the night in a guest ‘cottage’ on the grounds of Korbel (and by cottage I mean three beds, two baths, a large well stocked kitchen - champagnes, wines, brandy - a full sized pool table…you know…a shack…and yes, of course it has wifi…this is California).

Wow. Sweet deal. Sonoma County’s got some fabulous spots and the Korbel winery (just don’t call it champagne [méthode champenoise is acceptable]) is quite nice. I’m a big fan of Gloria Ferrer though and if you swing over to Napa Valley, V. Sattui has a great tasting room and food options.

re: #133 Sol Berdinowitz

They are already miffed that the benefits were illegal aliens released on rocoznizance. I think they assumed they would remain in custody and have their meals cut to one per day.

1 bowl of gruel & rice. (Oh wait, that’s what people with JRRBZ should WORK FOR)

Lost 20# since Christmas. 30 more to go. Oh great FSM give me strength!!

Wingnuts still DERPTY DERPIN obviously never even bothered reading the Woodward emails GOTTA HAVE AN OBAMA HATE MEME.

“WOODWARD EMAILS BACK CLAIM OF WHITE HOUSE INTIMIDATION’ breitbart.com/Big-Journalism…#PjNET #TGDN

— FreedomFighterReport (@FreedomFighte21) February 28, 2013

DERP.

We don’t need another “Violence Against Women Act.” VIOLENCE AGAINST ANYBODY IS ALREADY AGAINST THE LAW.

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) February 28, 2013

re manning, not really breaking about the plea. breaking is if the government is agreeing.

In simple, he was admitting to a number of lesser charges and was willing to do that “naked”. That is, without any give or take. His attorney got him to also offer up a couple of others if the government agreed to use a lesser category.

Simplifying a LOT - scratch anythng that was “willfully engaging with declared enemies of the US.”

fwiw, I have long thought that was a stretch in the gov’t case. And a lot of the questionable stuff done to him seemed to be trying to persuade him to plea guilty to treason instead of violation of secrecy oath. But it looked to me like the gov’t had too much time and ego involved to accept this deal. So yes, if they are then it is breakworthy news.

re: #131 Vicious Babushka

Wingnuts really believe the sequester will only affect people who get Food Stamps and Obamaphones but not them.

It’s what they have to believe, it’s the only way the GOP might possibly regain some sort of control over all the talk over the deficit. They have to hope that the effects of the sequester are so minor that people actually get irate with Obama for predicting gloom and doom.

re: #138 Amory Blaine

Lost 20# since Christmas. 30 more to go. Oh great FSM give me strength!!

Seems like the wrong deity for that imprecation. Maybe you need a diety.

re: #140 Vicious Babushka

DERP.

@BryanJFischer We don’t need another “Violence Against Women Act.” VIOLENCE AGAINST ANYBODY IS ALREADY AGAINST THE LAW.

So… women are just as physically able as men, then, if they need no special protection. Able to fight on absolutely equal footing.

Sounds like they’re ready for the battlefield!

New Religious Right project will fight the atheist-humanist-Muslim-homosexual anti-American cabal bit.ly/ZDPTiV

— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) February 28, 2013

re: #144 erik_t

So… women are just as physically able as men, then, if they need no special protection. Able to fight on absolutely equal footing.

Sounds like they’re ready for the battlefield!

DAMN YOU WITH YOUR TRICKS

re: #124 CuriousLurker

http://tagdef.com/opslam

…and it turns out to be just as dumb and disconnected from reality as I thought. Thanks :)

_{p.s. not sure if it’s too late to edit (I fixed it where I quoted you), but there’s an extra space between your href=” and the link itself - I’ve made this mistake before, and it always breaks the link :( Charles, we can haz regular expression to catch and correct this? :D}

re: #135 Killgore Trout

See my #141. I see I forgot to mention there that the Manning offer came almost six weeks ago - long before the bin Laden email.

re: #135 Killgore Trout

It seems the possibility of the Bin Laden email may have motivated him to take the plea deal.

Of course. Some people think he shouldn’t do any time. I would have just sent him to a supermax for 8 years. He opted a non-jury trial with a military judge.

DERP

Imagine living in #Obama’s America! #tcot #tgdn #P2 #pjnet #RedNationRising #jobsnow #unitedblue twitter.com/idreamquest/st…

— FYI (@idreamquest) February 28, 2013

re: #124 CuriousLurker

http://tagdef.com/opslam

I have no idea, but Greg Derp Howard always uses it so I’m sure it has something to do with fake outrage.

re: #145 Gus

I get so sick and tired of these asshats claiming that I’m trying to destroy America.

re: #145 Gus

Isn’t that cabal also known as the “United States”?
;)

Ah, nothing like the sweet, sweet taste of schadenfreude in the morning:

Conservatives Regret Taking Woodward’s ‘Threat’ Story Seriously

Well it’ll take the wind out of that sail for Hannity’s interview. What’s the backup outrage?

re: #149 Gus

Of course. Some people think he shouldn’t do any time. I would have just sent him to a supermax for 8 years. He opted a non-jury trial with a military judge.

I’d be curious to see a non-jury trial just to see if the lawyers there skip all the crap in their presentations that annoyed me a lot when sitting on a jury.

re: #147 Interesting Times

…and it turns out to be just as dumb and disconnected from reality as I thought. Thanks :)

_{p.s. not sure if it’s too late to edit (I fixed it where I quoted you), but there’s an extra space between your href=” and the link itself - I’ve made this mistake before, and it always breaks the link :( Charles, we can haz regular expression to catch and correct this? :D}

Gah, I hate it when that happens! Thanks. Ditto on the regex to remove spaces, Charles.

Bradley Manning pleads guilty to leaking secret government docs on lesser charges; court martial will still occur latimes.com/news/nation/na…

— lawhawk (@lawhawk) February 28, 2013

Each of the counts is accompanied by a 2 years sentence (apparently served consecutively). That still leaves the remaining serious counts to be addressed in the Court Martial that is scheduled for June. Not out of the woods by any stretch. He’s still facing life in prison on the remaining counts.

re: #155 Amory Blaine

Well it’ll take the wind out of that sail for Hannity’s interview. What’s the backup outrage?

“Well, I thought it sounded threatening.”
“And your cordial reply?”
“…I brought down Nixon!!!”

re: #155 Amory Blaine

Well it’ll take the wind out of that sail for Hannity’s interview. What’s the backup outrage?

Obama made him do it, of course. With a large dollop of Benghazi as well.

Drudge Derp:

Will Washington Stand Up for Woodward? goo.gl/fb/S7cq5

— Drudge Report Feed (@drudgefeed) February 28, 2013

Umm… there’s no there there…

Must sleep. Gahh I hate 3rd shift.

re: #155 Amory Blaine

Well it’ll take the wind out of that sail for Hannity’s interview. What’s the backup outrage?

Lanny Davis!

WMAL EXCLUSIVE: Woodward’s Not Alone - Fmr. Clinton Aide Davis Says He Received White House Threat

They’re having a potluck at work tomorrow. Everybody has been asked to bring something. Some co-workers are going all out with their “special recipes.” I don’t want to do anything, but bringing in a bag of potato chips is just tacky. Any suggestions?

re: #161 lawhawk

Drudge Derp:

Umm… there’s no there there…

The story’s already undergoing a mutation. Now it’s no longer about the threat, but about “over-eager staffers” that Obama has to “rein in,” because they Sperling made Woodward feel bad about his editorial.

They have nothing to the BS accusations of “threats,” so they’re going with “the White House is angry over the editorial, it must be true!”

Another day, another gun accident. Oh, did I mention that this was a school employee shot during a school-sponsored gun safety class:

The Tyler Morning Telegraph has learned that a Van Independent School District employee accidentally was shot during a district-sponsored concealed handgun license class on Wednesday.

The class was part of an effort to permit teachers to carry firearms on VISD campuses.

Leslie Goode, a Van ISD school board member, confirmed that “there was an accident involving one of the employees today.”

Goode would not disclose the identity of the employee or the nature of the injury, but did say the accident would not change his mind about a recent decision by the board to arm some teachers.

The person shot had been dealing with a gun malfunction and the instructor attempted to clear the weapon when it misfired, hitting the employee in the leg.

re: #164 Vicious Babushka

They’re having a potluck at work tomorrow. Everybody has been asked to bring something.

That’zzzz iszz SOCZIALISM!!!

But, on a serious note for a suggestion: Everyone loves 7-layer bean *dip*. You’ll be the star of the day. And may grocery stores have good quality pre-prepared dips.

re: #164 Vicious Babushka

They’re having a potluck at work tomorrow. Everybody has been asked to bring something. Some co-workers are going all out with their “special recipes.” I don’t want to do anything, but bringing in a bag of potato chips is just tacky. Any suggestions?

Something fairly simple like cornbread or another baked product that will travel well and not otherwise necessarily require reheating?

re: #167 Dr. Matt

But, on a serious note for a suggestion: Everyone loves 7-layer bean. You’ll be the star of the day.

I hate 7 layer bean.

re: #158 lawhawk

Each of the counts is accompanied by a 2 years sentence (apparently served consecutively). That still leaves the remaining serious counts to be addressed in the Court Martial that is scheduled for June. Not out of the woods by any stretch. He’s still facing life in prison on the remaining counts.

He plead guilty. Which means he’s officially admitting to wrong doing. I doubt his cult followers will admit to that and continue to cry out his innocence. Pleading guilty will have a strong impact on the outcome. Facing one judge also allows him to develop a relationship with said person over a period of time. Military judges aren’t monsters as some might suggest.

re: #145 Gus

New Religious Right project will fight the atheist-humanist-Muslim-homosexual anti-American cabal [Link: bit.ly…]

Still waiting for peak wingnut… I’m beginning to think it doesn’t exist… that it’s actually something more like a wingnut black hole that sucks greater quantities of rationality out of people the closer they get to it, eventually leaving behind nothing but a drooling, nonsense-gibbering shell.

The story’s already undergoing a mutation. Now it’s no longer about the threat, but about “over-eager staffers” that Obama has to “rein in,” because they Sperling made Woodward feel bad about his editorial.

Moving the goalposts, volume 846…

re: #169 Vicious Babushka

I hate 7 layer bean.

Oops! I retract my statement that “everyone loves it”. Haha Another possible winner then is twice baked mac-and-cheese

re: #168 Feline Fearless Leader

Something fairly simple like cornbread or another baked product that will travel well and not otherwise necessarily require reheating?

I have some cake mix in the pantry, I can bake a bunch of cupcakes.

Cupcakes need frosting. I think I have a can of crisco and powdered sugar somewhere. Gotta use up that stuff.

Food coloring?

I stopped using all that shit years ago but it’s shoved in the back of the pantry somewhere.

re: #164 Vicious Babushka

They’re having a potluck at work tomorrow. Everybody has been asked to bring something. Some co-workers are going all out with their “special recipes.” I don’t want to do anything, but bringing in a bag of potato chips is just tacky. Any suggestions?

Last night I tasted the Chicken and Waffles potato chips, which I thought was a photoshop when I saw them on the internet. My response was ‘It’s like a Photoshop in your mouth!’

That’s a suggestion of what not to do.

Getting potato salad from a deli is more acceptable than potato chips, even though it’s still potatoes.

re: #161 lawhawk

Drudge Derp:

Umm… there’s no there there…

That’s a whole lot of victimhood in that there article.

American Family Association spokesman Bryan Fischer spoke yesterday with fellow AFA radio host Alex McFarland about Project 2026, which McFarland explained is a long-term initiative to save America from annihilation at the hands of “the four groups that are actively working to secularize and destroy America: humanists; atheists; militant homosexuals; and Muslims.”

So Muslims wanting to build mosques are trying to secularize Amercia?

Dog Shoots Owner While Riding Shotgun

Who let this dog out? Florida native Gregory Dale Lanier was injured last Friday (Feb. 22) when his dog reportedly shot him in the leg.

The dog was riding in the passenger seat of Lanier’s truck when it kicked a loaded 9-millimeter pistol. The gun accidentally went off — straight at its owner.

re: #169 Vicious Babushka

I hate 7 layer bean.

I don’t even know what 7-layer bean is, but it doesn’t sound very good. Buy or bake some brownies. Can’t go wrong with that!

I hope the fact that wingnuts now admit they were played in threat-gate won’t take the winds out of the sail of Bob Woodward for President!

//

re: #178 NJDhockeyfan

Dog Shoots Owner While Riding Shotgun

The only thing that can stop a bad dog with a gun is a good dog with a gun. I arf you not.

re: #163 NJDhockeyfan

But Woodward didn’t receive a threat.

re: #170 Gus

He plead guilty. Which means he’s officially admitting to wrong doing. I doubt his cult followers will admit to that and continue to cry out his innocence. Pleading guilty will have a strong impact on the outcome. Facing one judge also allows him to develop a relationship with said person over a period of time. Military judges aren’t monsters as some might suggest.

Kind of offended at being called a cult follower, Gus.

I’ve been saying for a long time that he appears guilty of some of the charges but others are way over the mark. Not even the recently revealed bin Laden email shows Manning released the info knowing and intending it go to al Qaeda, for example.

re: #179 Sionainn

I don’t even know what 7-layer bean is, but it doesn’t sound very good. Buy or bake some brownies. Can’t go wrong with that!

Seconded. Fast, easy, cheap, and everyone loves ‘em.

re: #179 Sionainn

I don’t even know what 7-layer bean is, but it doesn’t sound very good. Buy or bake some brownies. Can’t go wrong with that!

I left out “dip”: 7-layer bean dip It’s quite orgasmic.

re: #184 CuriousLurker

Seconded. Fast, easy, cheap, and everyone loves ‘em.

I think I am going to use up the cake mix and the crisco & powdered sugar and make a bunch of CUPCAKES.

Drat, client calling. BBL…

re: #163 NJDhockeyfan

Lanny Davis!

WMAL EXCLUSIVE: Woodward’s Not Alone - Fmr. Clinton Aide Davis Says He Received White House Threat

I was just looking at that. It’s not a secret that each white house wants to get its message out and there are strategies to manipulate media coverage. Remember the infamous Bush era “talking points memos”? Of course if a reporter annoys them enough their access might be limited but saying it openly is a little over the line. Even with the Woodward situation which was a bit overblown it’s clear that they were trying to manipulate him into giving favorable coverage, there’s nothing wrong with that, in fact I think it’s somewhat expected. However, yelling at him isn’t wise and the followup apology email was another attempt to manipulate him with self doubt. Kind of a douchey thing to do.Of course Woodward’s response was polite because the hot head he was talking to could be a potentially good source of inside info, especially if he’s prone to losing his temper. It’s just good journalism.

re: #184 CuriousLurker

Seconded. Fast, easy, cheap, and everyone loves ‘em.

I’m serving brownies for the shop’s anniversary tomorrow. Getting them from the bakery around the corner, which is faster and easier, but not as cheap. The bakery is in its first year of business, having taken the place of one that didn’t last a year, so I’m trying to help them through the difficult winter months.

re: #188 Killgore Trout

I was just looking at that. It’s not a secret that each white house wants to get its message out and there are strategies to manipulate media coverage. Remember the infamous Bush era “talking points memos”? Of course if a reporter annoys them enough their access might be limited but saying it openly is a little over the line. Even with the Woodward situation which was a bit overblown it’s clear that they were trying to manipulate him into giving favorable coverage, there’s nothing wrong with that, in fact I think it’s somewhat expected. However, yelling at him isn’t wise and the followup apology email was another attempt to manipulate him with self doubt. Kind of a douchey thing to do.Of course Woodward’s response was polite because the hot head he was talking to could be a potentially good source of inside info, especially if he’s prone to losing his temper. It’s just good journalism.

So now the “threat” was just of losing access to the White House? Let me grab some pearls to clutch.

re: #164 Vicious Babushka

They’re having a potluck at work tomorrow. Everybody has been asked to bring something. Some co-workers are going all out with their “special recipes.” I don’t want to do anything, but bringing in a bag of potato chips is just tacky. Any suggestions?

Buy a store brand potato salad and put it in your own tupperware. Nobody will be the wiser.

re: #180 Bulworth

I’ve been a bit busy just catching up on the Woodward thing. How much of this is just ratings hype anyway? What I have read so far is a big Meh. I don’t get the intensity of this stuff.

Is any of this incorrect?

Woodward — first in “The Price of Politics,” his best-seller on the failed quest for a grand budget bargain, and later with his opinion piece in the Post — makes plain that sequestration was an idea crafted by the White House. Obama personally approved the plan and later signed it into law. Woodward was right, several congressional officials involved in the talks told us.

And that contention has made Woodward, once Public Enemy No. 1 to a generation of Republicans, the unlikely darling of the right wing. Conservatives suddenly swoon over him, with his stepped-up appearances on Fox News and starring role in GOP press releases. And while White House officials are certainly within their rights to yell at any journalist, including Bob Woodward, this very public battle with a Washington legend has become a major distraction at a pivotal moment for the president.

Read more: [Link: www.politico.com…]

re: #109 Interesting Times

What the heck is the opslam hashtag supposed to mean? Seen it in heaps of these derp-tweets, but never knew what it signified…

Operation: Stop the Lying Ass Media.

re: #188 Killgore Trout

The media manipulation is being done by the media guy who is now all over media and getting media to cover his non-story.

The question is, why are you falling for it? Are you actually this gullible when something lines up with your preconceptions, or is this more performance art?

re: #164 Vicious Babushka

They’re having a potluck at work tomorrow. Everybody has been asked to bring something. Some co-workers are going all out with their “special recipes.” I don’t want to do anything, but bringing in a bag of potato chips is just tacky. Any suggestions?

You can never go wrong with Guacamole…

Ingredients

3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, jalapeno, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.

LOL

Wld somebody tell RWNJ @christichat that even conservative media agrees Woodward wasn’t threatened. talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2013/… #opslam #tgdn

— CityCountryMe (@_ccm) February 28, 2013

re: #188 Killgore Trout

It’s all bullshit. Bob Woodward was an idiot. Politico wasn’t helping. Fox News Lite, CNN, were being idiots. In the end, I’ve had enough of this bullshit.

re: #194 Glenn Beck’s Grand Unifying Theory of Obdicut

The media manipulation is being done by the media guy who is now all over media and getting media to cover his non-story.

The question is, why are you falling for it? Are you actually this gullible when something lines up with your preconceptions, or is this more performance art?

To be fair, even Greg Sargent’s of the opinion that Woodward’s whole bit isn’t exactly clear, and that the whole story about “threats” might be more Politico’s fault:

What did Bob Woodward actually claim about the White House?

To be clear, I don’t know exactly what Woodward meant. Perhaps he did mean to imply that he felt the threat of retribution. But this just isn’t conclusively clear. It seems equally plausible that Woodward could have intended the more innocuous interpretation, but made word hash of it.

What really may have happened here is that Politico created the idea (perhaps understandably, given what a mess Woodward’s claims were) that he had accused the White House of threatening retribution — and then debunked its own story the next day.

re: #192 Political Atheist

For the sequestration to go into effect was not the Obama plan. It was supposed to be something that would be significant enough to force the GOP to see reason. it isn’t. They won’t see reason. Their extremism is not Obama’s fault. When it was passed, they all agreed that it should be avoided.

In addition, he’s then absolutely bizarrely said that Obama should ignore the sequester in using the US military— which is, well, not legal, a violation of separation of powers, or, at best, just plain dumb— and claimed to have been ‘threatened’ by the white house when what he was being was ‘criticized’, which apparently he can’t handle, or will pretend not to be able to handle so he can promote his book and get on all the talk shows.

The Pope has left the building.

— Alicia A. Caldwell (@acaldwellap) February 28, 2013

re: #199 Glenn Beck’s Grand Unifying Theory of Obdicut

For the sequestration to go into effect was not the Obama plan. It was supposed to be something that would be significant enough to force the GOP to see reason. it isn’t. They won’t see reason. Their extremism is not Obama’s fault. When it was passed, they all agreed that it should be avoided.

In addition, he’s then absolutely bizarrely said that Obama should ignore the sequester in using the US military— which is, well, not legal, a violation of separation of powers, or, at best, just plain dumb— and claimed to have been ‘threatened’ by the white house when what he was being was ‘criticized’, which apparently he can’t handle, or will pretend not to be able to handle so he can promote his book and get on all the talk shows.

Not just illegal, but unconstitutional.

re: #195 NJDhockeyfan

You can never go wrong with Guacamole…

One more trick: reserve the avocado pits and put them back into the bowl while it is sitting: they give off chemicals that keep the avocado from oxidizing as quickly.

re: #198 Targetpractice

I’d be more likely to believe that if he wasn’t diving for Hannity. He’s going to one of the scummiest shows for support.

re: #203 Glenn Beck’s Grand Unifying Theory of Obdicut

I’d be more likely to believe that if he wasn’t diving for Hannity. He’s going to one of the scummiest shows for support.

Guess we’ll have to see how he handles it tonight. Think we can be pretty sure that Hannity’s gonna do whatever he can to turn this nothing burger into the next big “scandal.”

re: #192 Political Atheist

The sequester came about AFTER the newly elected GOP House refused to raise the debt ceiling in 2011 unless deep and long term budget cuts were enacted. The consequences of not raising the debt ceiling included forcing the government to default on its debt. So the WH wanted the debt ceiling raised, Congress wanted deficit reduction (spending cuts). The eventual agreement was that (1) Congress would vote to raise the debt ceiling (albeit in a series of steps that allowed Republicans to say they didn’t want to raise the debt ceiling but would anyway); (2) in exchange the WH agreed to a process leading to long term deficit reduction that would proceed in two steps. The first (a) established a so-called Congressional Super Committee that was to agree on some package of cuts or tax increases/spending cuts; and if the Super Committee failed to agree on such a package that (b) a so-called sequester would reduce federal spending by an annual amount designed to reach the deficit reduction targets.

So, in short, sequestration came about after a rather tangled process of debt ceiling hostage taking. If the GOP had just raised the debt ceiling, as past Congresses have routinely done, there would be no sequester.

re: #204 Targetpractice

True, maybe I’m wronging him and he’ll apologize for suggesting that Obama break the Constitution, say that of course he didn’t feel threatened by someone criticizing his position, etc.

I just doubt it.

re: #205 Bulworth

And that’s a very good point. Whether or not the sequester was a good solution, the problem was 100% a GOP creation. 100%.

re: #203 Glenn Beck’s Grand Unifying Theory of Obdicut

I’d be more likely to believe that if he wasn’t diving for Hannity. He’s going to one of the scummiest shows for support.

ALL OF HANNITY’S MEN#WoodwardsNewBook twitter.com/Gus_802/status…

— Gus (@Gus_802) February 28, 2013

re: #194 Glenn Beck’s Grand Unifying Theory of Obdicut

The media manipulation is being done by the media guy who is now all over media and getting media to cover his non-story.

The question is, why are you falling for it? Are you actually this gullible when something lines up with your preconceptions, or is this more performance art?

I think the problem is that once you’ve planted your flag in the “They’re All the Same, I’m Above It All” swamp, you’ve really got to work at finding “balance” at every opportunity.

re: #203 Glenn Beck’s Grand Unifying Theory of Obdicut

I’d be more likely to believe that if he wasn’t diving for Hannity. He’s going to one of the scummiest shows for support.

“Diving for Hannity” should be a tag.

re: #206 Glenn Beck’s Grand Unifying Theory of Obdicut

True, maybe I’m wronging him and he’ll apologize for suggesting that Obama break the Constitution, say that of course he didn’t feel threatened by someone criticizing his position, etc.

I just doubt it.

Favorite wingnut meme is OBAMA IZ TRASHING TEH CONSTITUTION!!!!11!!!TY If you ask for example they show you a graphic of OBAMA BURNING TEH CONSTITUTION WITH HIS OWN HANDZ!!!111!!!!!

re: #202 Sol Berdinowitz

One more trick: reserve the avocado pits and put them back into the bowl while it is sitting: they give off chemicals that keep the avocado from oxidizing as quickly.

Good to know. That’s what the lime (or lemon) juice is for but adding the pits wont hurt.

re: #206 Glenn Beck’s Grand Unifying Theory of Obdicut

True, maybe I’m wronging him and he’ll apologize for suggesting that Obama break the Constitution, say that of course he didn’t feel threatened by someone criticizing his position, etc.

I just doubt it.

Yeah, I’m exactly expecting him to come out and do one massive mea culpa. But I do think he might clear up that no, he was threatened with retribution, but instead adopt the new line that the White House was “pressuring him” to drop the story with “threats” of cutting off his access to inside info.

For the past decade Woodward has been a pretty consistent GOP-shill (BTW, he’s appearing on InSean Vannity’s show tonight), but it goes unnoticed because he doesn’t sounds like Charles Krauthammer or Bill Kristol.

re: #214 Dr. Matt

Well, when he went into the tank for Bush’s WMD case, that did make a bit of a splash, but most people seem to have forgotten it and think of him as GOP Nixon-destroyer.

re: #214 Dr. Matt

For the past decade Woodward has been a pretty consistent GOP-shill, but it goes unnoticed because he doesn’t sounds like Charles Krauthammer or Bill Kristol.

How the hell does a guy go from bringing down Nixon to running to Hannity because the White House was being a big meanie to him?

Sounds like the Norks had a party for Rodman.

Kim Jong Un meets Dennis Rodman before booze session with US TV crew

BASKETBALL legend Dennis Rodman has had a bizarre meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un reportedly telling the despot: “You have a friend for life”.

The Communist state leader met the US star - who says he is on a peace mission – before plying an American TV crew with drink leaving them “wasted”.

The meeting came after the reclusive state allowed the former Celebrity Big Brother star and three members of the Harlem Globetrotters to visit the country.

Rodman and Kim sat side by side at an exhibition game in Pyongyang, chatting as they watched players from North Korea and the US played on mixed teams.

…After the game, Duffy revealed how Jong Un then got the TV crew DRUNK.

He tweeted: “Um … so Kim Jong Un just got the – VICE on HBO crew wasted … no really, that happened”.

re: #205 Bulworth

And this was after Obama had spent weeks negotiating a “Grand Bargain,” only for Boehner to walk out because his Grand Vizier (Cantor) was back at the House, declaring that the deal being hashed out was DOA. John of Orange maintains to this day that they were close to a deal, but the White House killed it by asking for more revenue, even though the deal as leaked included something between 4:1 and 10:1 of cuts to new revenue.

re: #215 Glenn Beck’s Grand Unifying Theory of Obdicut

Well, when he went into the tank for Bush’s WMD case, that did make a bit of a splash, but most people seem to have forgotten it and think of him as GOP Nixon-destroyer.

It’s a sign of our limited historical recall that people consider him a “liberal crusader” because that accusation started with…you guessed it…the Nixon White House and its water carriers in the press.

re: #185 Dr. Matt

I left out “dip”: 7-layer bean dip It’s quite orgasmic.

Avocados and sour cream. Blech.

@teapartycat FTFY Pope Benedict XVI twitter.com/Gus_802/status…

— Gus (@Gus_802) February 28, 2013

re: #169 Vicious Babushka

I hate 7 layer bean.

Contrarian! :)

Image: 522740_618046828224774_156776045_n.jpg

Oh Mickey you’re so fine…you’re so fine you blow my…whoooo!

Of course, in hindsight, getting on Obama for “killing” the so-called “Grand Bargain” makes one major assumption: Boehner ever had or could put together the votes to pass it in the House. You had Cantor and Ryan openly opposing it, while the rank-and-file were muttering darkly amongst themselves and suggestions being made that it could cost Boehner his Speakership if he tried to push such a deal and it didn’t go through.

It becomes doubly doubtful when you consider that Boehner couldn’t even pull together the votes of a lameduck House GOP a year later to pass his infamous “Plan B,” which was a far fairer bill to the GOP than anything suggested to be in the “Grand Bargain.”

re: #223 darthstar

Image: 522740_618046828224774_156776045_n.jpg

Oh Mickey you’re so fine…you’re so fine you blow my…whoooo!

If you think that’s disturbing, wait until you see the pic from in front of her.

Insinuating that every negative story about Bush was part of the moonbat agenda, whilst grasping for every negative angle on Obama:

Hypocrisy, thy name is Killgore.

Senate VAWA has passed the House, 286-138.

Let us take a moment to mourn the passing of the “Hastert Rule.”

re: #227 Targetpractice

Senate VAWA has passed the House, 286-138.

Let us take a moment to mourn the passing of the “Hastert Rule.”

See Boehner? Upperdown votes are good! Shit gets passed! Now, about repealing that sequester…

re: #207 Glenn Beck’s Grand Unifying Theory of Obdicut

And it wasn’t even the first solution.

Framed version.

DERP.

The Voting Rights Act is now used to segregate voters by skin color. Bad, bad idea. It’s time for it to go.

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) February 28, 2013

re: #227 Targetpractice

Senate VAWA has passed the House, 286-138.

Let us take a moment to mourn the passing of the “Hastert Rule.”

Yay!

DERPTY DERP. Bryan is such an assbag.

Winnable war: Unborn human beings now safer in AR after legislature overrides Democratic gov’s veto. foxnews.com/politics/2013/…

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) February 28, 2013

Chicago teaching kids how to make babies starting in kindergarten, but they won’t be able to read the birth certificate.

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) February 28, 2013

re: #231 Vicious Babushka

DERP.

It takes incredible talent to be wrong about literally everything.

Heckuva job, Bryan.

re: #227 Targetpractice

Senate VAWA has passed the House, 286-138.

Let us take a moment to mourn the passing of the “Hastert Rule.”

House Passes #LGBT-Inclusive Violence Against Women Act! bit.ly/Y2ufC5 #VAWA

— HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) February 28, 2013

Bet that took a lot of teeth grinding.

Autopsy report: No evidence Jaradat was victim of violence

The intermediate autopsy report on Arafat Jaradat, the Palestinian inmate who was found dead in his Megiddo Prison cell last week, said there was “no evidence” of poisoning or any evidence of physical violence against the 30-year-old gas station employee.

The Health Ministry said that the examination was performed by senior L. Greenberg Forensic Institute pathologist Prof. Yehuda Hiss, while Prof. Arnon Afek, head of the ministry’s medical branch, Palestinian pathologist Dr. Sabar Alul and Prof. Iris Barshack, head of the pathology institute at Sheba Medical Center.

According to the report, the fractures in the ribs and hemorrhages on the skin were typical of the condition in people who undergo intensive resuscitation in an attempt to save their lives. The resuscitation was performed for 50 minutes by prison physicians and Magen David Adom paramedics.

The ministry concluded that the forensic institute will continue to conduct tests to identify the cause of Jaradat’s death.

More outrage and violent protests are expected.

re: #231 Vicious Babushka

DERP.

The Voting Rights Act is now used to segregate voters by skin color. Bad, bad idea. It’s time for it to go.
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) February 28, 2013

I believe the issue at stake with the VRA involves only a provision of the Act that requires preapproval by Justice of any significant voting procedure changes in certain Southern states based on past racial discrimation. That is, I don’t think it’s about overturning the whole act, as Bryan seems to think/wish for. But our new defer-to-the-legislature super originalist non-activist-justices majority might vote to throw the entire VRA out. Because “Congress can’t be trusted to legislate correctly, etc”.//

re: #234 Vicious Babushka

Chicago teaching kids how to make babies starting in kindergarten, but they won’t be able to read the birth certificate.
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) February 28, 2013

Sounds like Bryan had a rough night.

re: #236 Gus

Bet that took a lot of teeth grinding.

Apparently Heritage and Erick, Son of Erick, are spitting mad and threatening retribution on any Republican who voted for the Senate bill.

re: #240 Targetpractice

Apparently Heritage and Erick, Son of Erick, are spitting mad and threatening retribution on any Republican who voted for the Senate bill.

At least Justice Scalia should be happy with the non-unanimous vote on the bill. //

re: #241 Bulworth

At least Justice Scalia should be happy with the non-unanimous vote on the bill. //

Yeah after all it has an appealing name so it must be stopped.//

THE QUEEN OF DERP.

I think the Obama admin underestimated Woodward’s resiliency in the face of bully tactics. Cue “It Gets Better” shooting star PSA.

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 28, 2013

Gene Sperling was nice, so that must mean he didn’t mean coming media hellfire if Woodward continued to talk, AMIRITE?

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 28, 2013

It’s truly shocking that members of the press truly believe it’s acceptable to be threatened by members of the government.

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 28, 2013

re: #238 Bulworth

I believe the issue at stake with the VRA involves only a provision of the Act that requires preapproval by Justice of any significant voting procedure changes in certain Southern states based on past racial discrimation. That is, I don’t think it’s about overturning the whole act, as Bryan seems to think/wish for. But our new defer-to-the-legislature super originalist non-activist-justices majority might vote to throw the entire VRA out. Because “Congress can’t be trusted to legislate correctly, etc”.//

Close. It requires preclearance by DOJ in any of the jurisdictions that have had historical problems with discrimination in access to the ballot box. That includes everything from literacy tests to gerrymandered districts. It wasn’t just states in the South. Three NYC boroughs (NY, Bronx, and Bronx) are covered too. Parts of VA, NH, and CA are included.

Section 5 covers the preclearance. Section 4 provides a method of bailing out - in other words getting off the Section 5 list. Jurisdictions around the country have been successful in the past of doing this, and while you can argue that the process could be streamlined - like say amending the requirement that a state not have any lawsuits pending, eliminating it altogether ignores that the overwhelming number of voting rights cases come from those Section 5 jurisdictions.

Preclearance protects the rights of the voters in the jurisdiction and reduces the need for lawsuits that occur after the discriminatory act (and vote) has occurred.

re: #243 Vicious Babushka

It’s truly shocking that members of the press truly believe it’s acceptable to be threatened by members of the government.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 28, 2013

THE QUEEN OF DERP.

It’s truly shocking that members of the right-wing media believe it’s acceptable to threaten members of the government.

re: #243 Vicious Babushka

She must not realize she’s still being played. Oh well…

re: #243 Vicious Babushka

THE QUEEN OF DERP.

Drinking a little early in the day, Dana?

re: #243 Vicious Babushka

THE QUEEN OF DERP.

Forget the derp-stratosphere. When you’re doubling down on accusations that even Erick, son of Erick thinks are bullshit, you’re all the way up in, like, the derp-mesosphere.

re: #243 Vicious Babushka

THE QUEEN OF DERP.

I think the Obama admin underestimated Woodward’s resiliency in the face of bully tactics. Cue “It Gets Better” shooting star PSA.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 28, 2013

Gene Sperling was nice, so that must mean he didn’t mean coming media hellfire if Woodward continued to talk, AMIRITE?
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 28, 2013

It’s truly shocking that members of the press truly believe it’s acceptable to be threatened by members of the government.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 28, 2013

Show us on the doll where Gene Sperling threated you….

re: #248 erik_t

Forget the derp-stratosphere. When you’re doubling down on accusations that even Erick, son of Erick thinks are bullshit, you’re all the way up in, like, the derp-mesosphere.

Yep but has that stopped her or those like her before. They really want their White House thugs meme to be true.

re: #248 erik_t

Forget the derp-stratosphere. When you’re doubling down on accusations that even Erick, son of Erick thinks are bullshit, you’re all the way up in, like, the derp-mesosphere.

From the sounds of it, she’s slowly buying into the new line, which is that when the White House “threatened” Bob, it was to sic the press on his ass for looking like an idiot.

re: #251 Targetpractice

From the sounds of it, she’s slowly buying into the new line, which is that when the White House “threatened” Bob, it was to sic the press on his ass for looking like an idiot.

STOP HITTING YOURSELF, BOB! STOP HITTING YOURSELF, BOB!

These people really do live in their own little world. It’s a special sort of weird to use the incredible information-sharing power of the internet to insulate yourself from actual facts.