The Watering Hole: Wednesday, 12-01-2010: Hump Day

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Someone aired our dirty little secrets. Quick! Arrest him! He’s a traitor! A Terrorist! A threat to National Security! He put people’s lives at risk!

His only true crime? He’s not part of the rich and powerful. The rich and powerful carry out their little intrigues, and get away with it, because…well, because they’re rich and powerful. Only leaders who fall from grace ever get tried and jailed, or hung.

The Bush Administration murdered hundreds of thousands of innocent people, people who’s only “crime” was to live in Iraq, or Afghanistan. But they walk free…sell books that re-write their history.

The Mask looks out over the North Sea. 70 years ago, the beach was studded with iron spikes to defend against a feared allied invasion into Hitler’s Europe. Behind the Mask, millions of people died for the “crime” of being born Jewish.

This is our Open Thread. A picture is worth a thousand words. All are invited to add yours below.

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166 thoughts on “The Watering Hole: Wednesday, 12-01-2010: Hump Day”

  6. I agree OIMF. I noticed the name as well. Did a look see on the WEB and did not experience any main stream hits.

    This has all of the earmarks of another urban legend. If not, I would like to learn what the guy is taking and where all of his piercings are.

  7. It is interesting to watch the outrage of the leaks themselves, while paying no notice to the deeds the leaks revealed.

  10. LOL, and Cummings partner was Sergio Armani. Seriously though, I wonder if/when something like that might happen….it’s within the realm of possibility which is why it’s funny.

    I second Zooey’s question. I like the sculpture and would like to know its history, if it is indeed real.

    • I find the names “Cummings” and “Sergio Armani” to be less believable than the multiple piercings…down there.

      Did anyone see the satire commercial Alan Cumming did for a men’s cologne called “Cumming.” God, it was hilarious!

      Found it! DEFINITELY NSFW!!

  12. Well then they’re going to file charges against all the media outlets and personalities that outed Valerie Plame, right?

  15. “Every time Inhofe opens his ignorant mouth, an angel’s wings burst into flame and it plunges to earth in a bloody and hideous death.”

    I’m glad to see your antibiotics are working and that you’re feeling better Zooey! This really did make me laugh out loud.

  16. My dear puppy just changed the setting on my keyboard and now it won’t go to the End or Home. He hit something that said do you want to change setting and hit it again before I could get him away from the desk. Anybody have any ideas?

    • Shayne,

      Reset the defaults?

      BTW, what is your dog doing on your keyboard? Replying to “Charlie Schumer” in a language it will understand?

    • “People who always put you on speakerphone, and won’t take you off even after you tell them you can’t understand a word they’re saying.”

      That’s my dad. In addition to the speakerphone, he usually has a football game or Fux Gnus on the teevee at top volume.

      I usually end up “hearing someone at the door,” and have to hang up.

  18. I tried that but it didn’t work. My puppy, about 50 lbs. I think, comes over here every now and then to remind me he’s here and jumps up to look around my desk for something to grab. He’s a big fan of Kleenex. Usually he doesn’t get his big paws all over my keyboard though and I have no idea how he got this windo to pop up asking about some kind of code or controls or something.

  19. No damage here, high winds, lost power, and a lot of rain. There were a couple of tornado warnings near DC.

    Maybe you should just give the dog the keyboard and ask him to fix it Shayne. That’s what I would have to do.

    • You know what just occurred to me?

      After being a student for four years, my savings are gone. I’m surviving on Pell Grants, student loans, and a token rent paid by my son. If I don’t have a job when I graduate, I will have absolutely no income. I won’t be eligible for unemployment.

      Oh jeebus. That’s scary.

  26. That is scary Zooey. It’s a good thing I send you those fat checks from TheZoo. Oh wait …

  29. Don’t be scared Zooey, employment security has been on the decline since the ’80s. You may as well pursue something you love, as there is no choice we can make today that will provide our families with economic security. When I’m afraid for the future I just remind myself that I could die tomorrow in a wreck on the way to Walmart. Oddly, I find this comforting.

  30. Zooey, we demand, DEMAND photos of the fashion you were sporting on the Pence thread over at TP!

    ———-

    Comforting (not) but the way the repugnant party is steering us – you’ll have lots of company on the hunt for employment.
    Not too worry, as OIMF points out – go for it… love it…do it! (well that was paraphrasing Outstanding).

  31. So the Far Right wants to drag the country back to “constitutional values”, which I have yet to see them define. This is allegedly because federal courts over the last two hundred years have allowed the creation of unconstitutional laws, apparently. Now some of the Far Right want to “fix” the Constitution (which they claim to revere) and get rid of the annoying bits.

    Eric Cantor apparently considers this worthy of study:

    For several weeks now, conservative legal circles have been buzzing with Virginia House Speaker Bill Howell’s plan to amend the Constitution so that a 2/3 vote by the state governments could overturn any federal law passed by the Congress and signed by the President. [...]

    This is an idea as brilliant as having governors choose Senators. Frickin’ geniuses.

    • What the hell is up with that, gummitch? It’s unbelievable to me that the repiggies would want to give up any sort of power, so what are they doing? Smokescreen?

  32. Zooey, thanks for the E to A.

    I had to come home to cry for a while, its sad at the pigpen.

  33. The GOP tends to be deeply confused about States’ Rights. They want to be able to handle everything on the state level where it’s easy for rural states to ban abortion, ban homos, ban dark people and make jesus worship mandatory. They’re big on states’ rights up to the point where the state in question is a Blue state, which must bend to the will of the Nation (e.g. right to die, right to smoke weed, right to marry…)

    The country may be increasingly urban, dark and liberal, but if you give each state a vote, effectively, the Red States still have a combined clout. Right wingers in Oregon have a similar belief, that they should have more control and more votes because geographically most of the state is GOP territory. It’s just that no one lives there, and the urban regions are full of DFHs.

  34. Zooey, you can get deferments and forebearances on Pell’s and other Federal loans whenever you are unemployed or even employed below something like 30 hrs a week. That last number I’m unsure of, because I’ve been so far below THAT index that I don’t even bother to notice it.

    The Government site for managing your student loan accounts has never impressed me as well designed or less than intimidating. But it is ultimately navigable with patience and a leather strap to grit your teeth on.

  36. I hope Virginia Speaker Howell understands that it takes three-fourths of the states to pass an amendment. More importantly, Phylis Schlafly proved you only need to get thirteen states to reject an amendment to make its passage impossible. (This is how she stopped the Equal Rights Amendment from passing.)

    Apparently the right wing in this country does not understand that the Constitution’s framers put in a mechanism for changing the Constitution. I hear so many of them speak of the framer’s “original intent” while ignoring that their intent was for us to be able to modify the Constitution as times changed. (They were very forward-thinking people.) I can’t believe there is serious talk of repealing the 17th Amendment, thus taking away the right of the people to vote for their US Senators. They even have the Tea Party people thinking this is a good idea. Of course, they think a lot of stupid things are good ideas, which is why I make fun of them in so many of my song parodies.

  37. No doubt the interest in repealing the 17th is due to the well-monied enthusiasm following the “Citizens” United debacle. 17 was put into place because the railroads found it so easy to buy state senators, but tougher to buy federal senators directly. So by purchasing a few cheap state senators, they could guarantee the federal senator of their choice. By their standards of such things, this is not a stupid idea at all; it is just good business.

  38. Gary,

    I agree that the interest in repealing the 17th is coming from the corporate backers of the Tea Party movement. But there’s no reason to believe that your average Tea Party person would knowingly support corporations being able to choose US Senators. They are being used by Dick Armey’s corporate buddies. And they are too stupid to realize it. None of these Tea Party people seem to be able to explain why they believe the things they believe. But they insist that what they believe is right, and we’re unpatriotic for not believing those things, too.

  39. If anyone is still curious, the photo is of a bronze statue in Scheveningen (a district of The Hague) by Igor Mitora.

  40. I can’t think of anyone who thinks repealing the 17th is a good idea except those wealthy enough to buy their own Senator. In retrospect, though, it’s probably less expensive to bribe a governor than to win an election (see California, and not just in 2010).

    None of the Tea Party members I’ve seen have any grasp of detail in their proclamations. Everything is very broad brush: “Get back to the Constitution! Give us back our freedoms!” and asking for specifics is just like asking a Fundamentalist how their behavior toward gay people is in line with the Gospels. And just like the Far Right has clearly never read the Constitution or any of the documents and correspondence leading up the the final version, none of the Talibaptists appears to have actually read their Holy Bible — just the bits someone has told them about as justification for their bigotry.

    • gummitch, the teabaggers totally trust AFP et al to do right by them, and expect that the government will automatically protect their rights. You know, the government currently being bought up by Citizen’s United money.

  41. None of the Tea Party members I’ve seen have any grasp of detail in their proclamations. Everything is very broad brush: “Get back to the Constitution! Give us back our freedoms!”

    gummitch, you are so ‘right on’ – there is no ‘forward’ thinking with these folks.- only in the moment. Reminds me of kids running for ‘class president’ in grammar school: ‘no more homework’ if you vote for me.

  42. Definitely agree with Shayne and others above: the TeaBaggers seldom show evidence of being anything other than willfully gulled dolts. No evident knowledge of history, nor grasp of basic principles of critical thinking much less logic; labels are treated as absolutes while facts are disregarded wholesale.

    Psychologically speaking, I suppose I “get” the willingness to say these things and agitate for these ideas. Failure to do so would come at (for these people) the shockingly high price of honestly confronting how completely they have been duped by the people who spoon feed them their ideology.

    • I think you’re on the mark, Gary. The cognitive dissonance would pop off the tops of their little heads.

      What gets me is that they deal with being spoon fed their ideology by frickin’ doubling down on the spoon feeding!

  44. I checked out my blog today and I noticed that it was snowing :) So I changed the template and now the snow is more visible. I must have left this option on last year and forgot to change it.

  45. We had snow here at TheZoo a few times and it screwed some people’s browsers up. I will also note that it is hypocritical in the extreme for Zooey to proclaim “Ohhh, pretty!” when she was recently turning the air blue because she got a few flakes in Moscow.

    • It’s fake snow. I love fake snow. :D

      Maybe gummitch would like to come over and help me shovel the 8 inches of flakes on the ground?

  46. “Maybe gummitch would like to come over and help me shovel the 8 inches of flakes on the ground?”

    Teabagger convention?

    Oh, no; you said “inches” not “feet.”

  49. Come to think of it, now that my son has moved back in I even have a 2 cycle snow thrower available. I wonder what shipping costs would be?

  50. hoodathunk “8″ inches of flakes in Idaho equals one teabagger lying on the ground?”

    I seriously doubt there’s a teabagging flake anywhere that can legitimately claim 8″. Of anything.

  55. Chris Hayes is in tonight for Keith.

    I was mistaken in my prediction last night. Rachel’s ratings were not quite as good as Keith’s. He drew 1.184 million and she drew 1.115 million, with O’Donnell at 1.057 million. Those numbers are about right for any night but Monday or Friday.

  58. A very handsome specimen. P. erythrorhynchos just doesn’t roll off the tongue like Raven!

    It’s quite entertaining watching white pelicans synchronize fishing – very Aquamaid-ish.

  59. Sorry Zooey, I shouldn’t get too snarky on my first night out….
    It’s me.
    Really.
    Happily ensconced in front of a quartz heater.
    With a bed, a toilet, and well, EVERYTHING!

    Well, maybe not everything…

  60. Maybe I could change my screen name to Pelican.
    Noble birds actually. Masterful flyers.
    Your observation of the grace of white pelicans in their synchronized feeding ballet is notable, ebby. (hope I’m not getting too familiar there….)
    Such a beautiful exhibition of co-operation.

  71. Who does that kind of stuff!?

    That’s such a ‘wide open’ statement, Zooey.

    To what kind of stuff are you referring?

  73. Hey man, wanna score some good sheet?
    It’s guano lobo, man….
    It’s really hairy stuff man….

  74. I suppose I could be ashamed, my first night in from the cold and already I’ve descended into crass commentary upon the offal of an endangered specie.
    Or I could throw out the excuse that the keyboard has been drinking.
    If I was completely honest I could say that I have spent the day attempting to communicate with incompetent co-workers, government employees and realtors.
    Or I could step outside, grab another cold one, and be totally grateful that life is good.
    Which it is.

  75. If anyone is still curious, the photo is of a bronze statue in Scheveningen (a district of The Hague) by Igor Mitora.

    Thanks! I didn’t know anything more about it other than it was intriguing. I took the photo in the summer of ’04. Do you know any of the story behind the sculpture?

  76. Raven/Pelican

    You need no excuse – “let it all hang out”.

    We miss your presence when the great outdoors commands all your attention!

    Please continue to regale us… (I’ll confess to sheer enjoyment listening/reading you around the campfire).

  78. In time, Zooey… ;)
    Thank you, ebb.
    If you could all know how happy I am to be back among friends you’d feel as warm as I do right now.

  86. You ‘gentlemen’ are in fine form this evening – and for that I’m grateful ~!~

  90. 2ebbandflow is as the tops of the firs swaying in the evening breezes,
    Zooey is as the brush of pine against the cheek.

  91. “Conifers are very sensual trees.”

    Hey, I love living up here in the pines, Pinyons and Ponderosas mainly.

    That doesn’t mean that was the sensation you were looking for at that particular moment…

  93. Sensual is such a wonderful word.
    It includes all the senses!
    Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch…
    Sense…
    Sensation…
    Sensative…

    Sensible.
    Well, sometimes not too sensible…
    Don’t want to spoil all the fun.

  96. Tripping over a root is a fantastic sensation.

    First you feel the tug on your boot.
    Then you see it.
    Then you hear the sound of all the gear in your pack shifting as you go down.
    Then you smell the dirt in front of you,
    then you taste it. :)
    Then you have this sixth sense that you should have been paying more attention.

    • Jeebus, guys. No fair.

      I’m all melted in a puddle now — except for the tripping on the root thing. In no way is that fantastic. :|

    • Goodnight, Gary!

      Oy, that reminds me. Seventeen years and two days ago, I officially divorced a husband named Gary. :D

  98. Be still my beating heart.

    I have a greater affinity for the conifer.

    –

    You do paint vivid pictures with your words – I was actually ‘tripping’ with you over that root!

    —

    Goodnight Sir Gnarly Dude ~!~

    (actually gnarly is gnarly!)

  99. “…except for the tripping on the root thing. In no way is that fantastic.”

    No, not fantastic, but still real. It happened last week, I did a total face-plant at 9,550 feet, all alone, on a cold windy day, 60 miles from anywhere, and probably 12 hours from anyone being able to get to me to help if I had gotten hurt.

    I got up, assessed, gave thanks, and trekked on.
    What else is there to do?
    Other than pay more attention, that is… ;)

  101. And, Gary, with great fondness I consider the strength and purpose of your rootness.

    Er, well, ummm……..

    Oh dear.

    That came out kind of weird….

  102. There’s a lot to be said for the great out of doors.

    Glad you’re ok there, Raven/Pelican.
    I thought you were with a ‘team’ or at least other folk.
    If you’re going to trip over gnary roots – you best be giving us co-ordinates, before trekking out, so we can send help!

  103. Hang on ebb, I gotta go out to the truck and get the GPS.
    I’ll be right back.
    Don’t go away, ‘K?

  104. Zooey, the antibiotics must be kicking in – your health seems to be improving! That’s a good thing!
    How’s your Dad doing? Still in TX with your sister?

    • Ebb, the face ache is gone and the upper respiratory yuckiness is clearing up. Amazing how fast it works! I can see why people fail to continue taking the full course of antibiotics.

      My dad is here, but he’s not returning my calls right now. Not sure why. He may have to wait until after the first of the year to go down to Texas, since he’s currently under a doctor’s care for a couple issues.

  106. In honor of his return, all-be-it as a Pelican, we’ll always recall the personae of

  113. I’ll give you the lat and long on that in an e-mail Zooey.
    Time for this bird to go to roost.
    Good night dear hearts.

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