The Watering Hole: July 19th – Pub Quiz

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Fruit Bat

Fruit Bat

I could have picked another picture, but really… Der Spiegel has a really funny and interesting pub quiz on it’s English page. Enjoy!

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219 thoughts on “The Watering Hole: July 19th – Pub Quiz”

  1. Is that REAL? Who would have thought that a bat was so well hung…. ;-)

    Gross actually… It reminds me of that Cuba Gooding Jr. commercial he did for Cialis that is on YouTube.

  2. Morning muse, I bet most men will be adamant that this is photoshopped. It isn’t. Your clip is really funny!

  6. Zooey, I’m proud of you. You really took the quiz and didn’t get distracted. Good girl.

    How’s your back doing?

  7. Btw. I liked the quiz a lot but I flunked almost all questions (yes the one related to the picture above, too.)

  10. Hey, they came up with the name, not me. I’ll get the mole verde recipe up when I finish typing it in.

    But it does sort of fit the theme of the weekend ;)

  12. While I have been known to use chicken feet in my chicken soup I wouldn’t want anyone asking the butcher for rooster beaks.

    Nah, I really wouldn’t. (Unless I was there to see the look on the butcher’s face)

  13. Ah, to have been an anglerfish in the counter to have watched that little exchange.

    “Ma’am, did you say rooster beaks?”
    “Yes I did and I want only the best for this recipe.”

    Mop boy needed at the meat counter…someone just peed themselves….

  16. My mother was right, I am doomed. She wanted me to become a priest but instead I studied hard and became the Right Irreverant BillyJoeRayJimBob.

    I think I’m going back to that bar on Titan.

  22. Jane – If that bat was 6 feet tall and everything was proportional, women would be mating with bats. :lol: Would this be the cross species that some GOPer was talking about? Forgot the person’s name. Shows how irrelevant he is.

  23. Cats,

    I believe it was Sen Tom Brownback who introduced the bill banning animal-human hybrids.

    I find it ironic because people like Brownback are true believers in God’s power, yet they fear mere mortal humans might be able to duplicate His feats.

    IMHO, Brownback’s bill is more about protecting God from Scientists than it is about protecting humans from them.

  26. nwmuse, I laughed so hard at the Cuba Gooding Cialis commercial I almost lost my erection.

  27. The powers-that-be want just enough health care to keep just enough Americans around to support their life style. Since other countries are picking up the whole insane consume-til-you-drop gig, America is becoming superfluous.

  28. I suspect if the government were to propose free cable TV and pork rinds for life in lieu of healthcare reform, the masses would agree.

    • Mom, it would be cheaper too, and people wouldn’t live as long. I’m sure this will be the next Republican health care reform plan. :D

  29. Zooey, anytime you find something over on Story Time you want to cross post, you have my permission. Consider that a blanket ok.

  30. Bread and circuses, mom. Sad to say but you are probably right. Toss in a monthly case of beer and one could be considered god.

  31. I can hear the slogan now: “A remote in every hand and a pork rind between every couch cushion!”

    PETA will be up in arms, the Pork Lobby will have it’s best year ever, and Murdoch can rule the airwaves.

    Until someone gets sick and remembers what could have been.

    • It says it’s a weed, Cats. I’ve never heard of it, but that’s not saying much. :)

      If anyone has, it would probably be db.

  36. Cats, I confess I’d never heard of purslane, but found this:

    What a “good” recipe is, is up for interpretation, but I like it dipped in beaten egg, then in cornmeal and salt and fried quickly.

    I eat it like spinach or greens, too. I wash and trim it, then chop it and cook it in a little water for just a few minutes – maybe 10. Eat it with a little salt and vinegar if you like, but taste it first to see if you want to eat it as-is. It has a slight tang that makes it good just like it is. It’s not really a “green,” because it’s succulent and doesn’t cook down as much as fresh greens do.

    Found on this forum: http://community.stretcher.com/forums/t/12204.aspx

  37. Thanks. I read that purslane is high in omega 3′s and that it is popular in Spain. Tonight, I am going to give it a try. I kept trying to kill this plant only to find out that I should be eating this plant. Who knew?

    I’ll let you know how it turned out.

  39. Last night we were having dinner at Maggianos in Oakbrook, a suburb of Chicago. While we were waiting to be seated some asshole comes back from the men’s room and says to the hostesses, “Why do you have a picture of Obama in the bar? Did you have a picture of Bush in the bar too?” But he said it really nasty. So I said Obama is from around here and Bush is from Texas dickhead. He was walking away so I couldn’t be sure he heard me. I should have followed him to the table.

  42. Move to Texas would also have been a good response. If people like the Shrub so much, that would be a small sacrifice.

    And the rational folk in Texas could move somewhere else.

    Then Texas could secede, we could build a fence and life would be better.

  44. I’m hoping he was from out of town. I’d hate to think we have people that ignorant around here. But really there is stupid everywhere.

  45. Back in the 70′s when I was in the Navy, I had a friend from the high ridges of Tennessee. We used to argue about food. He would sing the praises of grits, greens and red eye.

    Back then I laughed and said the things his folk considered food we fed to our livestock up north.

    Since then I came to realize that the South was forced to eat whatever kept them alive during the war. And a lot of it was not only edible, it was nutritious. They learned to eat and appreciate what they were forced to deal with.

    I’ve since learned that food isn’t a luxury.

  46. I love grits and greens. My husbands family is from Kentucky and they don’t eat grits at all. They do make corn bread every day which serves the same purpose I’m sure.

    Well they were also things they learned to eat before refrigeration. And the first available greens were important after the long winter.

  47. I love the South’s New Year’s tradition of Hoppin’ John and collard greens, the eating of which is supposed to bring health and prosperity in the year ahead.

    Of course, it’s all cooked with bacon, bacon fat and/or ham hocks so the “health” part is somewhat questionable.

    If much of the South still practices this tradition, it can reasonably be assumed that critical thinking and intellect do not come along with the touted health and prosperity. (with apologies to any Southern brethren here…)

  49. Okay, I made this salad, with modifications. I didn’t have yogurt or chervil so I substituted lemon juice and Asian basil. I am cooking some Quinoa which I will add to this salad. I tasted it and it is quite good. The purslane has a bit of a tang to it, a nice peppery kind of tang. No more compost for the purslane. Looks like I have a new food to add to my dinners.

    Cucumber-purslane-yogurt salad

    * 5 large Cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into quarter-round slices
    * 1/4 pound Purslane, large stems removed, washed and drained well
    * 2 tablespoons each, Fresh chopped mint, cilantro and chervil
    * 4 cups Whole milk yogurt
    * 1/4 cup Virgin olive oil
    * 3 cloves Garlic, puréed with the blade of a knife
    * 2 teaspoon ground Coriander
    * kosher Salt and ground Black Pepper

    Place the cucumber, purslane and herbs into a large bowl. In another bowl, stir together the yogurt, olive oil and garlic, coriander and season to taste with salt. Add the yogurt mixture to the vegetables and mix well. Add a pinch of ground black pepper. Taste the dressed cucumber-purslane salad for seasoning, adding a little more salt if needed. Serve chilled.

  50. For thousands of years fat was an essential component in the human diet. It didn’t become evil until about the last 50 years. And it only became evil when it became a staple in the modern diet from sources outside nature.

  53. Cats, does it taste something like watercress?

    Med, I’m not railing against fats, but there is something about an entire meal based on bacon fat that seems, well, excessive. But is sure it tasty!

  54. s-mom, no, it doesn’t take like watercress. It has a peppery taste. It’s very good. I didn’t put the stems in the salad although I think if I were to cook purslane, I would use the stems. Give it a try. The good news is that it isn’t toxic unless you spray your gardens with weed killer.

  55. Mom, a little fat goes a long ways. In days of yore, fat was hard to come by, hence it was more of a luxury. Today, fat is all around us.

  56. Actually, animal fat in moderation is not all that bad for you especially if the animal is raised eating grasses and other greens. Margarine and some of the oils are worse for your heart health. Our bodies know what to do with animal fat. The beans and the greens counter any ill side effects from animal fat.

  59. Med says: Today, fat is all around us.

    Tell me about it. I recently went to a county fair.

  61. Cats, you are so right. Using a little bacon fat for flavor is probably something good. Eating most American foods with their manufactured fat…very bad.

  62. db, I don’t think any of the female comments about the bat’s ‘package’ even came close to repulsive. I think drool rag was closer.

  64. Before refrigeration, canned vegetables and pickles provided green veggies during the winter. The process of canning was developed by Nicolas Appert who received an award of 12,000 francs from Napoleon Bonaparte in 1810. This process used sealing wax and a tin lid on a glass vessel to contain the product and shield it from micro-organisms. It was not until about 50 years later that Pasteur discovered micro-organisms. Until then, why the process worked was a mystery. In 1858, John Mason patented the Mason or Bell jar which eliminated the sealing wax by using a zinc lid silvered with lead ( a softer metal) under a screw-on retaining ring to hold everything in place (A layer of wax prevented the acids in the canned item from attacking the lead.)
    The use of pickling is so ancient that there is no firm record of when it arose.

  65. Is it just me or does that bat junk get bigger every time I return to this thread?

    Tonight, at dusk, as I look up into the sky and see the bats flying around the trees, I’m going to see if I can see smiles on the faces of the bat girls.

  67. Looks like the Crocs company is about to go belly up. Who would have ever thought that butt-ugly neon colored plastic shoes that sold for $30+ would wind up as a short-lived fad?

    I guess the good news for the American economy is that they, like so many other businesses, shipped all their manufacturing jobs to China and Mexico, and their distribution centers to Japan and the Netherlands so at least their demise won’t mean more massive layoffs here.

  68. And no, we never bought a pair of Crocs. Even Spencer thought they were ugly and he ain’t picky. At all.

  69. WAS,
    Proportionally, speaking, you have a larger brain. I am making the rash assumption that you are not a Republican which would, if you were, make you all dick.

  70. Zooey, that article makes me sick. And I agree, it sounds like some protesters are set to be executed, which I suspect they knew was a possible outcome when they started their protests, and makes me admire them all the more.

  71. Okay, I confess, I love my Mets Crocs. Plus I have a bunch of imitation ones. They’re comfortable, the imitation ones are only about $10 (the Mets ones I got on sale about 1/2 price), I can wear them gardening and just wash them off.

    My cats seem to like them, too – there’s little tooth marks in several of them. ;)

    • From Politico:

      Congressional Republicans opposed to the public insurance option want House and Senate members who vote for it to take a dose of their own medicine — and enroll in the plan.

      Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), a family physician, kicked off the quixotic bid last week, urging House members to give up their right to participate in the much-revered Federal Employees Health Benefits Program if they support a government-run program as part of the health care reform package.

      Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma are pushing the same concept in the Senate, preparing separate amendments that would require members — and maybe even their staffs — to sign up for the public option.

      In the face of such a cynical attempt to drive health care reform into the ditch, Democrats should take the GNOP up on this challenge. Poke ‘em righ tin the eye with it!

  72. Zooey, I read somewhere (nope, can’t remember) that when they pushed this challenge like it was some form of punishment for passing the legislature, some of the Dems (I think Kennedy was one of them) agreed that they would take the public plan offering.

    I think it would be great if Pelosi, Reid, Obama, Biden and other prominent Dems made a public commitment that they would opt for the public plan, and invite their GNOP colleagues to join them. Then let’s talk about elitists.

  73. Page 1
    Blythe Masters [One of the originators of CDS's] Senate Testimony
    Testimony of Blythe Masters, Managing Director, JP Morgan Chase before the
    Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife
    Protection of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
    “Economic and International Issues in Global Warming Policy.”
    TUESDAY, JULY 24, 2007
    2:30 p.m.
    Hearing Room (SD-406)
    Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be here today on behalf of JP Morgan Chase.
    My name is Blythe Masters and I am the Managing Director in charge of the Global
    Commodities Group. Of particular relevance to today’s hearing, I manage the trading and
    marketing of JP Morgan’s energy and emission credit trading businesses.
    In early 2007, JPMorgan’s Global Currencies and Commodities Group (GCCG) established
    an Environmental Products group dedicated to helping clients reduce emissions and manage
    associated risks.
    We have a team focused on the origination, marketing and trading of carbon emissions,
    covering the EU ETS (European Emissions Trading Scheme), essential elements of the Clean
    Development Mechanism (CDM), emerging regional compliance / pre-compliance markets
    in the US, and voluntary emissions markets. We have dedicated teams of Sales and Trading
    experts in London (covering EU Allowances (EUAs) and Certified Emissions Reductions
    (CERs)), New York (covering Verified Emissions Reductions (VERs)), and Tokyo (covering
    CERs), and are actively expanding to meet growing client demands for environmental-related
    products and advisory services.
    We are also leaders in the US acid rain or SO2 and NOX emissions markets and in 2006
    were recognized by Environmental Finance for Best Trading Company in SO2 Emissions
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Next: Oxygen.

  75. BTW – the purslane and cucumber salad was good. I do need to make some modifications to the seasonings which has nothing to do with the purlane.

  76. Congress has private insurance, it’s just paid for with public dollars. The administration of the government employees’ plan is private, the networks they utilize are for-profit, their drug benefits are outsourced to for-profit companies, the customer service for their plans are private.

    The only thing “socialist” about government employee benefits is that it’s paid for in a socialist fashion. Oh, and they are eligible for full retirement benefits (including a private Medicare supplement which, surprise, is managed by for-profits) while in their 50′s as opposed to the rest of us schlubs who may never be able to retire.

  77. Hi Zooey,

    I’m pitifully inept in the wonders of our water world. Only scored two out of ten. Will let my young 16 yo son take it…

  78. Congressional Republicans opposed to the public insurance option want House and Senate members who vote for it to take a dose of their own medicine — and enroll in the plan.

    This isn’t such a terrible idea, except I demand they ALL enroll in whatever plan they pass. That way, perhaps they will come up with a good plan.

    When I was a kid, my dad applied a similar strategy when my sister and I were given a dessert to split. One of us did the cutting and the other got to choose which piece to eat. We practically broke out the micrometers and calipers to get a fair shake.

    • I agree, gummitch.

      The Rs are being nasty and vindictive about this idea, but I think Congress will come up with a much better plan if they have to enroll in it.

      I used that strategy for splitting things, too! It’s amazing how well it works.

  80. Since this has pub in the title, how does gummitch feel about beer?

    • I’m sure the “beer” reference will lure gummitch back, Theresa. ;)

      Just so you know, “The Watering Hole” is our name for the open thread. Talk about whatever you want!

  81. It’s almost impossible to believe, but that troll “stickaforkinme” is still over at the DeMint thread crying for attention!

  83. I kind of got that, Zooey. I’m just wiped out these days. Working my butt off at the brewery (which is beyond my physical abilities at 52, but it’s work I can’t decline.) Then there’s taking care of the house, entertaining, and feeding, a 16 YO son. I’m whooped.

    Doing what I can to augment my NJUIC. In my past life when I actually dressed for work, I made good money. Actively looking for another job that comes close to that $50 hour salary, but getting up at 5AM and applying, making phone calls, leaving cold calls, stuffing envelopes is a bust….

    In the mean time, I can bottle and package beer and sell it…

  84. Beer? How did someone connect me and beer?

    And which brewery?

    Had lunch with a beergeek friend today at the Hopworks Urban Brewery here in Portland. Food in the joint is decent but overpriced, but the brewer is one of my favorites.

  85. Since it’s quiz time, here’s a quick 7-question what breed of liberal are you? quiz.

    Me? I’m a Reality-Based Intellectualist, also known as the liberal elite. You are a proud member of what’s known as the reality-based community, where science, reason, and non-Jesus-based thought reign supreme.

    Trust me, I don’t know of a single person who’s been to my house or seen my car or clothes who would peg me as “elite”.

  86. gummitch,

    I heard you were into beer and all it’s beauty.

    I have been working for Weyerbacher (part time) since 1999.

    Did you say hops?

    Mmmm hops.

    • I knew gummitch would be lured by the word “beer.” If we’d used the word “hops” maybe it would have been quicker!

      Theresa, in today’s economy, I guess any job is a good job. I tried to get a job for this summer, and I’m either over-qualified or they just hired one of the other 100 people applying for the job.

      • My quiz results:

        Peace Patroller
        You are a Peace Patroller, also known as an anti-war liberal or neo-hippie. You believe in putting an end to American imperial conquest, stopping wars that have already been lost, and supporting our troops by bringing them home.

        • I love the bumper sticker: Nice Hummer—Sorry About Your Penis

          My eldest son calls muscle cars and big gas-guzzlers “PNS cars.”

          I asked him if he needed to buy a vowel, and he said “Two, please.”

          That guy cracks me up.

  87. Oh, I think we’ve had this discussion over on TP(?) in the distant past. I have never heard anything but good word on Weyerbacher and I believe I’ve been sent a few bottles over the years, but can’t find my tasting notes. A good buddy of mine is arguably Pennsylvania’s premier beer writer (and whiskey). If I can get him out here again, I’ll insist he bring me a good sampling.

  88. gummitch

    Over on TP I’m known and Theres’Ant these days and I recall some conversation about beer…

    Have your buddy bring some samples about our beers; I have a stone cellar full of our beer; perhaps 100 cases or so…. Decadence, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, four years of Heresy, Insanity, Prohpecy, Raspberry Imperial Stouts, Blithering Idiots, Quads, etc…

  90. I’ll take it! I think it fits!

    “You are a Working Class Warrior, also known as a blue-collar Democrat. You believe that the little guy is getting screwed by conservative greed-mongers and corporate criminals, and you’re not going to take it anymore.”

  92. I wondered where the Alabama weather went. Be my guest Gummitch! We’re in the 80s all week with lows in the 50s and 60s. I’ve been trying to move the Gulf Stream east for years, to get the weather out of the North instead of up from Louisiana.

  94. Zooey,

    In my search for a job in my realm, I find that I’m over qualified for most jobs, but will settle for a “coordinator” type position. I’m a technical writer but will settle for coordinating the documentation for a project (including the training materials, as well as user guides, installation manuals, etc.) Also have experience in process engineering where I can look at how things are done and refine and condence the business process into a repeatable process.

    Also have skills in editing, my first love. Can edit to most manuals of style by have the Chicago Manual of Style embedded in my brain. Not to mention the various methods of multi media publications….

  95. “I don’t want to scroll the troll crap looking.”

    You don’t have to. Most of ‘stickaforkinme’s comments have already been shut down, so, if you click on ‘top rated’, then hit end, it shows all of the closed comments.

    BTW, if any of you haven’t thumbsdowned his comments at 292 and 296, go ahead and ‘stickaforkinhim’, they’re at -9.

  97. I wonder why I landed in the “intellectual/liberal elite” category? Could it have been my Kermit the Frog song answer?

    Geez, maybe instead of signing my posts with PEACE I should just sign them FROG.

  98. Oooh salad (many posts ago). I make a very unconventional cole slaw. Very little cabbage. Here’s what I use:

    Organic baby carrots; chopped in food processor
    Organic red cabbage; chopped in food processor
    Fresh chopped parsely
    Garlic
    Dill
    Carroway Seed
    Red Wine Vinegar
    Safflower Mayonaisse

    Chop two parts carrots to one part red cabbage.

    Add chopped parsley to make the mixture more orange and green than red.

    Add safflower mayonassie to make a consistency of cole slaw

    Add garlic, dill, carroway seed and rewine vinegar to taste.

    Chill for a few hours and serve.

    T

  99. I took the quiz and here are the results:
    Your Liberal Breed: Peace Patroller

    You are a Peace Patroller, also known as an anti-war liberal or neo-hippie. You believe in putting an end to American imperial conquest, stopping wars that have already been lost, and supporting our troops by bringing them home.

  100. Zooey,

    Neither am I, but I love this recipe since it’s light on the cabbage. Mostly carrots, parsley and the flavors. Cabbage is chopped so much that it’s edible. We call it “Unabomber Salad” (long story).

  101. I love the bumper sticker: Nice Hummer—Sorry About Your Penis

    I so wanted to choose this one except that I thought that some redneck would smash my windows in after he read it.

  102. But but but… I wanna be a peacenik, too! Damn, even when I hang with the Cool Kids, I’m still a geek!

    • Chuck Todd makes me sick.

      From C&L:

      Glenn Greenwald: So what do you think happens – I think what has destroyed our reputation is announcing to the world that we tolerate torture, and telling the world we don’t –

      Chuck Todd: We have elections, we also had an election where this was an issue. A new president, who came in there, and has said, we’re not going to torture, we’re going to do this, and we’re going to do this–

      GG: What do you think should happen when presidents–

      CT: Is that not enough? Isn’t that enough?

      There’s more at the link.

  108. [T]he elegant blond courtesan, whom we’ll continue to call “Annie,” is talking about three “dates” she allegedly had with another state’s chief executive, who we’ll call Gov. X.

    My money’s on Palin. She can’t commit to anything, why would we suspect she’d commit to heterosexuality? That the story mentions “prominent wife” is just subterfuge.

  109. Zooey, I remember Chuck Todd recently saying that he thought it would be bad for the country if there were investigations. This ‘election’ excuse is absolutely pathetic.

    I’m aghast that someone whose job title is POLITICAL DIRECTOR is so politically ignorant.

    • Jane, I guess the MSM must be worried about covering their hineys, because it certainly seems like they could make just as much money from reporting on war crimes investigations as they did reporting on Clinton’s BJ.

  111. Also remember that Chuckie T was part of the “oops, mic’s still on” with Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy when they were slamming the Palin pick – CT sure sounded like an insider and GNOP sympathizer in that candid moment.

  112. Too bad Bush was never caught in a sex scandal, but I suspect the reason is because he’s such an alcholic, his prick is pickled.

    Face it, Laura never had the glow of a satisfied woman. Heavily medicated, yes, but post-orgasm, never.

  113. Cats,

    We might be neighbors and the slaw is really good. Unusual, but quite tastey. Perhaps you live close to the Lehigh Valley (Easton, PA and Phillipburg, NJ)

    • Gov Sanford writes an apology:

      I’ve been humbled and broken as never before in my life, and as a consequence have given up areas of control in a way that I never have before. And it is my belief that this will make me a better father, husband, friend and advocate.

      It’s in the spirit of making good from bad that I am committing to you and the larger family of South Carolinians to use this experience both to trust God in his larger work of changing me and, from my end, to work to becoming a better and more effective leader.

      Sanford couldn’t control his own wiener, what does he think God will do with it? And it appears the missus has him on a very short leash now…

  116. spencersmom said: Geez, maybe instead of signing my posts with PEACE I should just sign them FROG.

    Spencersmom, how about PEACE FROG. In addition to being tastefully esoteric, it was also a really bitchin’ song by The Doors…

  117. Sorry, Zooey. Well, unless snarfing is a good thing…

    Cats, I suspect Palin/Sappho would fit into Raptureville as well as Abstinence/Knocked-up Teen or keeping the RNC clothes or double dipping perdiems or You Say Sports Arena, I Say Lakefront Home.

  118. Cats,

    Close enough (Scheaffer’s bologna yeah). Stop by on Saturdays; I’m always there.

    On to read the silly Sanford, Palin news….

  119. prim8, I like it! I’m not aware of The Doors song, but it’s fair to say that I don’t remember too much from my Doors days. Or Pink Floyd days. Or Grateful Dead days…

  120. As the old saying goes, spencersmom, anyone who claims to remember the ’60s wasn’t really there. Actually, being born in ’61 I do remember them, because I didn’t get into shrooms until I was at least 11…

  121. I’m amazed Mrs Sanford will have anything to do with the jerk, especially after all that “soulmate” malarkey.

    After looking through the list of current governors, there really is only one whose wife is “prominent” — part of the Kennedy clan. I snickered at the “elegant” description of the bleached blonde trailer park ho.

    • gummitch says:
      I’m amazed Mrs Sanford will have anything to do with the jerk, especially after all that “soulmate” malarkey.

      That amazes me as well, gummitch. It’s one thing to go out and have sex with someone else, but it’s quite another to fall in love.

      Both would be hurtful, but to me, the second would be devastating.

  122. Yeah, I know Zooey. Someone had posted on TP about the 38-year-old racist that just got elected head of the Young Repugnantcans “Since when is 38 young?” And I thought, it’s been young to me ever since I turned 39…

  123. The Republicans who won’t vote for the public option should be forced to pay for their own insurance which probably costs us about $20K a year.

  124. The wives of the FundieChristoFacists are passive-aggressive Stepfords. Oh, she may say she forgives, but that poor bastard will be paying for this for the rest of his life.

    In Casa de Sanford, it stands at 5 against 1, and his odds of shifting that are nil.

  125. BTW, it appears Timmeh V doesn’t like the vote down on the kidnapped PFC thread. Do join me, won’t you?

  126. Shayne, those sick old farts wouldn’t be able to find a plan willing to cover them! Half of them have had cancer, the other half are brain dead and I’d bet all of them are on hard-on scripts.

    Those pre-existings get ya every time!

    (Zoo Crits, ya gotta stop posting HUGE genitals… all I’m throwing are gutter balls!)

    • Can you imagine how much Arlen Specter’s insurance policy would cost?

      When I left the lawyers, they were paying $550 a month for my individual policy — and I’m healthy!

      Well, except for this back thing. I feel about 128 today. :(

  127. I was reading an article that someone posted over at C&L about DeMint and C Street and The Family. This except really irritated me.

    Berns: Every year since 1954 we’ve had something called the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event in D.C. It’s bipartisan, drawing members of Congress, lobbyists, political leaders past and present. What’s not known to a great degree is it was The Family and their founder who was behind the adoption of this by Dwight Eisenhower.

    Sharlet: Much to Eisenhower’s credit, he didn’t want to do it. Eisenhower knew it was a violation of the separation of church and state, just like Truman, who had refused before him, and FDR.

    But Eisenhower is the first modern Republican who benefited from a conservative evangelical vote. Billy Graham, who had been a Democrat up to that point, organized an evangelical vote for him, and The Family went to work for him.

    Eisenhower said he was afraid the breakfast would become a tradition, and this is exactly what The Family wanted.

    The Family says it will invite anyone to this event. The real action isn’t at the breakfast. It’s the weeklong lobbying session organized around it.

    Here’s a link to the complete article:
    http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/19/behind-closed-doors-c-street/

  128. Cats, thanks for the link. I’m still reading, but this stuck out already:

    Wives involved with The Family have said, “In my husband’s life, his brothers come first, I come second.”

    Sadly, the wives appear to be mistaken. Should be brothers first, mistress(es) second, wife third.

    Now, back to my reading…

  129. So in The Family (wow, just like the Mafia and Charles Manson), it’s “bros before hos?” I thought that was just a stupid frat-boy credo, but apparently it’s a stupid “Christian” frat-boy credo. Their moms gotta be proud…

    • Tim Vacuous is proudly posting comment after comment proclaiming that he doesn’t post comments on TP, he just lurks and laughs.

      Whattadoofus.

      • From the Wiki about The Family:

        A large number of members of the United States Senate and Congress, mostly Republicans, are resident or non-resident members of the Family or are associated with it. Boarders at the Family’s house on C Street currently include Senators Tom Coburn, R-Okla., John Ensign, R-Nev., Don Nickles, R-OK, Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and Sam Brownback, R-Kan. and Representatives Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., Bart Stupak, D-Mich., Joseph Pitts, R-Pa, Heath Shuler, D-N.C., and Mike Doyle, D-Pa.[6][7][8]

        Other members include Senators Charles Grassley, R.-Iowa, Pete Domenici, R.-N.Mex., James Inhofe, R.-Okla., and Bill Nelson, D.-Fla.; Representatives Frank Wolf, R.-Va., and Todd Tiahrt, R-KS, as well as former Senators Don Nickles, R.-Okla., George Allen, R-Va., Conrad Burns, R.-Mont, and Mark O. Hatfield, R.-Or., and former Representatives Steve Largent, R-Okla., Mark Sanford, R-S.C., Chip Pickering, R.-Miss., Ed Bryant, R-TN, John E. Baldacci, R.-Me., and J.C. Watts, R-OK.[9] Senator Susan Collins, R-ME, regularly attends Wednesday morning meetings at the C Street Center.

        Leader Doug Coe has been a spiritual mentor for Hillary Clinton.[10][11]

        The Fellowship also has ties to “The Falls Church,” whose members include Fred Barnes, executive editor of the Weekly Standard magazine, and Michael Gerson, former chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush and a Washington Post columnist. Falls Church Anglican split from the Episcopal Church in December 2006. The Prime Minister of Australia was hosted at the C Street Center in 2009.

    • Sharlet says this amazing thing at the end of the article:

      What was interesting about The Family is that I’m still one of the chosen from their perspective. I’m a bad brother, but I’m still a brother. That allowed me access to things I might not have gotten otherwise.

      So when I was spending time with Brownback, he knew what I had written, but he was certain that somehow I had been selected by God, and if I saw his work close up, I would be persuaded to come back and stay quiet about what was going on.

      Wow.

  133. Cats, I just read the whole article and it’s the most obscene thing I’ve read in a very long time. I’m still trying to fathom how anyone could really believe such evil things and still think they are not only moral, but that they’re the MOST moral.

    I need drink…

  134. Well, shit, I was posting snark before I took the time to read that whole article, and that is some scary stuff!

    Here’s how it all started:

    The group began during the Great Depression because the founder thought that God came to him and revealed a vision that the New Deal was satanically inspired and that Christianity was getting it wrong for 2000 years by focusing on the poor, the weak, the suffering.

    He said God came one night in April 1935 and said, “I want you to be a minister to not the down and out, but the up and out,” he called them, the powerful. And God’s going to choose a few powerful people, he’ll work through those people, and those people will distribute the blessings to the rest of us.

    It sort of becomes this trickle-down fundamentalism that’s all about the fetishization of strength.

    It’s like the Skull and Bones for bible reinterpreters. I’ve no doubt that Boy George was a secret member of this cult, with God talking to him, telling him he would be president.

    I sincerely hope this becomes the scandal of the week. People need to hear the details, and the Fundies need to truly understand just how much they’ve been used to help elect these power brokers.

    I’m sending this article to everyone in my address book. Thanks for finding and posting this one, Cats.

    • Cats, it appears that you and I were working on the same Ralph Peters video post. Would you mind if I add my text to your post?

  136. OMG Zooey – we are too alike today. I just noticed that you posted the same video that I did both within minutes of each other. I’ll put mine back in draft. You can post yours and I’ll remove mine. Great minds think alike :)

    • I thought the name Ralph Peters was familiar. He advocated that we should just kill all the prisoner in Gitmo, and be done with them.

      Whattaguy.

      • The circle jerk continues on the DeMint thread.

        Yeah, they worked hard for everything they have — as if no one else does — and will fight anyone who wants to take away their freedoms. Except George W. Bush.

        *sigh*

  140. I wonder if TP or TPM or Kos will do a full investigation on this “Family”? Of note is the fact that the current boarders consist of 6 ‘pubs and 3 Dems, but the other members are almost all ‘pubs. That is by design, I’m sure.

    I’ve no doubt that that house is swept for bugs on a daily basis, that the calls they want the keep secret are scrambled and that highest level of technology keeps their correspondence secret. I sure as hell hope that someone in the government is keeping close watch on this terrorist cell operating within our nation, and within our government!

    Cats, I won’t sleep well tonight…

  141. DeMint’s discourse: Government is fascist, says he will ‘break’ Obama and cause the Senate ‘pain.’

    This coming from a “Family” member should be perceived as a threat to our national security, and a possible threat on the President himself.

  142. I love this song. Thought I would check out on a more positive note :)

    Sweet dreams. It’s been a fun day. Must have been the balls and hard-on that got all this attention. :lol:

  143. Going off to bed now, too, probably to dream of bat junk and secret societies. Thanks all, it’s been real!

    PEACE FROG

  144. Ralph Peters’ rank seems to be his “cred” at Fox – but I was in the Army and I know that if your career stalls at Lt. Colonel, it is because you are widely considered unreliable or incompetent. Lt. Col. is where they stop you if they have no plans for grooming you for general, and usually they let you know it – my guess is that is why this jerk is retired at a relatively young age for a career officer.

    I’d like to see him in the Taliban’s clutches and see how quickly he knuckles under and reads their script for camera. We used to call this type of soldier a “dick-swinger,” ironically of course since there’s so little to swing. Like so many other areas of life, the big talkers are bigger wimps…

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