Since I've been slacking...

...go ahead and read Commander Sue's blog. She's still the wind beneath my wings...

Another edition of "Things I Wish I Had Written"...

There's a reason bloggers everywhere want to have Charles P. Pierce's babies:

--
I don't think it's too strident to demand at this point that David Brooks be hauled up before a jury consisting of everyone else in America and forced to defend himself against several million counts of being an insufferable twat in a public place.
--

Just go read the whole brilliant thing.

Just back from vacay and a little wiped...

...so let's just make this another edition of what John Cole said.

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And anyone who still calls themselves a Republican is just an asshole. Really, you’ve had ample time to figure out your party is run by maniacs. If you’re still sticking around because the “Democrats are worse” or you think the party can turn it around or because you fancy yourself a small “c” conservative or you are a glibertarian or because you hate taxes or you think Dennis Kucinich is weird (he is), you’re just an asshole. And incredibly stupid.
--

It is a little harsh but...no, wait, I take that back, it's fine.

Hey, Cole, you got some balls there talking about Palin that way...

You've got nerve to insinuate that she would just up and quit something once it was no longer the focus of media attention or remuneration of said activity wasn't immediately obvious.

Better watch yourself there, buddy...

In other news, better bloggers are better. (Libya edition)

There's already enough misinformed blog posts about Libya from both sides of the political spectrum (as well as misinformed congressmen). I'll just link to Juan Cole and leave it at that.

Today's news, in sonnet.

Repub Congress throwing tantrums
instead of doing actual work?
Used to be the inner sanctums
where they'd hold the circle jerk.

Auntie Joan says Fox is hatin'
'cause she gave Sarah a peltin'.
Ask me, I think they're just waitin'
until they're sure Joan stops her meltin'.

No more Globes for Ricky G.?
Will this doom his film career?
You're telling me we'll never see
That Ghost Town sequel? Well, oh dear.

Not a sonnet to the letter?
Brother always did it better.

Russia is safe from the threats of businessmen, Boris, and bloggers...

As someone who spent two of his formative years in Russia during a formative time in its history, like many I've grown increasingly concerned with the excesses of the Putin regime, especially with friends and now family living there. Count me in with everyone else who considers the Khodorkovsky sentencing to be utter bullshit. It is really amazing how unforgivably brazen this travesty was; having grown up with only the vaguest ideas of how dissidents and poets were treated in the seventies, I had thought that the days of the show trial were long gone, naive me.

Boris Nemtsov was often mentioned in the 1990s by my friends and peers as a man who could lead the country someday. Here's an old clip I remember watching with friends cheering on as he causes fascist asshole Vladimir Zhirinovsky to lose his shit and start throwing water and glasses. I believe the catalyst was when Mr. Nemtsov, then-mayor of Nizhii-Novgorod, invited Vlad to come to his city so he could be cured of his VD...


Mr. Nemtsov was just arrested and sentenced to 15 days in jail for protesting "illegally". My Russian mat' was never my strong suit, but I'm pretty sure the verb for "to rape someone in prison until the victim's asshole could conceivably fit the Caucasus mountain range" is och'kovat'. I hope it's a verb Mr. Nemtsov doesn't hear...

Mrs. Nevskaya introduced me to the blogger top_lap back when Russia was on fucking fire. He achieved some (perhaps unwanted) fame when Putin answered one of his critical blog posts with his special brand of petulant dickishness that he normally reserves for legendary Russian rock stars. So when Mr. Lap's blog had been down a week or so ago, my wife and I feared the worst. It's up and running now, so I recommend you all give it a read (via google translate if you're not a Russian reader). It's crude, childish, and hilarious. In short, it's the blogger I aspire to be.

S novym godom!

"And the lynchings weren't too bad, either. Oh, sure, sometimes I'd get blisters from holding the rope...

I'm glad Barbour is getting his deserved derision. Because sometimes, we, as a nation, need not to puff ourselves up with outrage, but simply take a deep breath and say, in unison...

I am a bit surprised that there are still things a candidate can say that can knock them out of the running for the Republican presidential nomination...

Today's news, in sonnet.

Siding blindly with the Russkies
used to get the traitor's noose.
With the Repubs, no big whoop-ski
if it cooks the black guy's goose.

Amazing epic Iggles comeback
leaves all Giants fans to say
"Biggest punch straight to our nutsacks
'cept for all the games they've played."

Pundits all pontificate
on what Sarah's words could mean.
With Google English I can translate
"Duh duh duh duh durr durr deen."

Clean or stinky, large or small,
Happy holidays to all!

Even when better bloggers aren't better, their commentors rock.

Yes, it's a Balloon Juice link, but it's a link to this comment:

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The GOP is achieving their goals, because their goal is to attack anything that Obama wants. That’s it. The south could literally be on fire and if Obama wanted to put it out, the GOP would oppose that. The GOP and the Dems are playing entirely different games here – the Dems playing the one they were elected to do.

But what do people want the Dems to do? They want good policy, except when they don’t ‘fight hard enough’ for that policy, and then they want good policy + 1. So when the Dems are beating the GOP, the policy is never good enough and when the policy is good enough, the Dems aren’t humiliating the GOP enough. And when the Dems aren’t beating the GOP, then any victories they had over the last 22 months are null and void and only the toughest, most loyal Democrats can point out that the party sucks shit all the time, and if they would just believe more, they would be able to bend the spoon and be victorious.
--

I'll just save this on cut n' paste next time I hear the word "caving"...

Today's news, in sonnet.

Prez Obama freezing wages?
For the budget, that's no spanner.
Next time just tell Boehner's pages
not to spend so much on tanner.

Leslie had us all in stitches
from ages eight to eighty-five.
RIP, and the world bitches
"Damn it, Dane Cook's still alive."

Gift for Christie from the feds,
a multi-million dollar bill.
Guv's not worried, 'cause he spends
more for lunch at Slop N' Swill.

Sorry bro, I meant a tribute.
This post takes it up the dirt chute.

Greetings, Juicers!

Doug J of Balloon Juice was kind (and crazy) enough to post an open thread asking for his readers' blogs. Checking my stats, odds are 3 to 1 that you're reading this because of that.

Hope you pop in from time to time! Sure, BJ's got great stuff, but if you want commentary about a 2D-fighter featuring scantily-clad raccoon-women, I'm yer guy!

Another edition of "What John Cole said"...

This comment about recalcitrant liberals is so awesome I'm going to copy as much as I can without breaking copyright law...

"Good god, you insufferable firebaggers never stop, do you? You’re trying to push me into putting a straw into a Laphroiag bottle, aren’t you?

IT ISN’T ABOUT YOU. IT ISN’T ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS. It isn’t about your pet issues. The grand total of the membership for people who care about all your specific pet issues is one. It’s you.

This is about the direction of the country. Every single one of us can list multiple ways in which Obama, the Democrats, and the media have let us down, but still, until you progressives with all the answers start changing the minds of the electorate at large and Dennis Kucinich wins precisely ONE goddamned primary, you are stuck with what you have with the Democrats..."

Fortunately, I'm in a district with a great congressman and will happily vote for him, but for those that would actually think for one second about letting Boehner and No-Chin control things, really...

So, so true...

...what Mr. Jaquith wrote about Perriello's meeting with The Tea Party yesterday.

When I told bro about this his response was "So, did he give them a bill for his brother's cut gas line?"

Why such a hardon for teachers, Repubs?

You can't even vote for a fucking jobs bill? And then you'll have the balls to turn around and complain Obama's not doing enough for jobs? What the fuck's the matter with you, really? How can this be even controversial? I realize I'm not contributing anything but ranting, but we may as well argue about the sun being hot...

If you're looking for something substantial, read Digby...

Commander Sue's latest endeavor...

Hey, I know I'm a bit behind on the hottest new blogs, but you can understand. You take a hiatus from blogging to go away for eight months on a secret time-travel experiment, witnessing horrors not meant to be seen by even the most damned of souls, you're going to miss some things. So imagine my delight when I found out my bestest blogging buddy, CmdrSue, has a funky fresh blog devoted to upcoming authors!

So go check out Writing Insight now. Xrdatasqyrk demands it.