Paul Wesley

I apologize to J-Lo and Shakira.

So very fucking tired of seeing the word "shaman" in headlines and in news stories. I need an app that automatically replaces that word with "treason clown."

I hate to bitch about announcers and/or refs on every game thread, but I don't think I've ever watched a first half where the announcers talked nonstop while saying almost nothing about the game in progress.

Rush has always been more about promoting Rush than about being a Republican. And he’s always been a lying liar who lies. But he used to at least ostensibly espouse conservative principles- small government, personal responsibility, “family values,” etc. (ignoring here his decades of voracious narcotic abuse, procured at least in part by his undocumented domestic worker. Also ignoring Mr Family Values carrying viagra not prescribed to him on a vacation with a woman who is not his wife. I could go on). I mentioned this on the Rush thread: I keep an a.m. radio in my laundry room tuned to those stations, so I catch snippets of his show pretty regularly (I like to know what my right-wing uncle and those like him are consuming). And I can tell you that his show has long been full-on treasonous propaganda. Rush has spent years mocking and attacking Mueller, and later mocking anyone who suggested that Trump’s Ukrainian collusion was improper. And he’s spent the last few months openly strategizing about what maneuvers Trump and McConnell could pull to overturn an election and stay in power.

Yeah, it's crazy, isn't it? The thing that strikes me about the last 5 years of Ted Cruz is this: It's pretty obvious that he's just constantly trying to gauge which direction the political winds are blowing. And his opinions are 100% based on his analysis of what policy/position will result in giving himself the most power - both within and outside of Texas. During years where the wind is constantly in one direction (red-state Texas gonna red state), it's easy to mistakenly conclude that Cruz's positions *might* be based on principles. For example: four years of vigorously defending Trump, including his "not guilty" impeachment vote after Trump brazenly solicited Ukraine's help in smearing a political opponent. But when Cruz can't tell which way the wind is blowing, we see what a complete and total lapdog he is. Like in 2016 where he calls out Trump and then a week later, he starts phone-banking for his conqueror. Or in 2021 where he goes all-in on a "stolen election" lie, tries to be *the* senator to overturn democracy in other states, followed days later by his "God Bless America!" tweets in support of Biden. He's really an amoral piece of shit whose only concerns are gathering more power for himself, enjoying a life of privilege, and having a fucking great parking spot at Dulles. My wife recently reminded me of this clip during the 2016 primary, where his position is anti-Trump (just before becoming decidedly pro-Trump). In retrospect, it's an incredibly revealing and remarkable four minutes of video.

You're welcome. Glad you found it. Some of my favorite movies are low-budget documentaries that just happen to capture a lot of brilliant moments, and "New York Doll" definitely does that.

Willie Horton Obama is a foreign-born Kenyan muslim W's terror-o-meter (*daily* banner headlines in the weeks leading up to 2004 election) "total muslim ban" black lives matter protests ("Corey Booker!!!") migrant caravans covered daily until 2016 election (then COMPLETELY dissipated literally overnight) to this latest pre-inauguration "caravan" The message from the R's to their base, unfailingly amplified in the days before elections: "Be afraid. Brown people are coming to kill you" (or at the very least, to be lazy and get free shit).

top of the hour, banner headline on Fox right now: "Thousands of migrants headed to US border" And endless shots of migrant riots as they clash with Central American police. buzzwords: "fraudulent documents" "caravan" "Remember Obama put children in captivity in 2014" So... "both sides" icing on the giant cake of fear getting served up to the olds.

I don't know if we're talking about the same documentary, but the one that follows Arthur from Salt Lake City to London for the reunion organized by Morissey (I think it's "New York Doll").... that's one of my all-time favorite music documentaries. He has that I-fried-my-brain-when-I-was-young thing happening... like Ozzy Osbourne, but somehow more childlike and endearing. A transvestite rock star drug addict -- now trying to live the Mormon "word of wisdom" while playing a reunion concert. Pretty entertaining.

Good topic. My nominee... Gimme Shelter Sonically, it isn't especially well recorded or mixed (even when compared to its same-year peers). It has a pretty dramatic tempo change... which seems accidental and not planned. You can hear the band cheer "Whooo!" in the seconds after the Merry Clayton voice crack... which I'd argue was the high water mark for rock music. I can think of a lot of songs that represent better writing, better lyrics, better melodies, and grander themes, but I can't think of a better rock song.

On a recent 538 podcast, they speculated on a theoretical Republican primary held tomorrow... Mitt Romney vs Trump. Someone guessed 85-15 for Trump, which sounds about right. To state the obvious: the current pro-Trump polling among the GOP *even after the murderous riots* shines a light on how thoroughly the party has lost its fucking mind. Anderson Cooper summed it up really well when he observed that GOP congressmen refuse to do the right thing lest they risk giving up the fantastic parking spot they currently enjoy at Dulles.

I was expecting the mass pardonings this afternoon.

fuck these refs we should be up 15

GTFO

So many traitors.

It sure doesn't look like he had to work super hard to find simple-minded fascists seeking to commit violent treason.

Good friend of mine was a huge fan of the "boom goes the dynamite" guy, and it was his (my buddy's) 40th b-day. So I looked up the dynamite guy, and he was working as a news reporter somewhere. He sent me an autographed head shot that said, "Happy 40th, (my friend). Boom Goes the Dynamite!" It was a pretty cool thing for Brian to own his infamous moment of disaster. For those too young to even remember: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/boom-goes-the-dynamite

Yeah, you don't realize how slick the production is at Fox or CNN (or "The Apprentice") until you click over to OAN. Everything looks and sounds incredibly amateurish, doesn't it? I've seen speculation about how/when/where Trump wants to endlessly be on TV after he leaves office... and speculation that he might not be on OAN or Newsmax just because he realizes their production is pretty shitty. And btw, the chyron on Fox right now: "CRITICS ACCUSE DEMOCRATS OF DIVISIVE RHETORIC" (caps theirs)

I don't have the stomach to brave those today, but I did watch 20 minutes of Fox this morning. Over and over, they returned to the theme, "Big Tech Censoring Conservatives!" I mean, they are VICTIMS of an unfair system. It's just so obvious, everyone. We got a couple of very angry Tomi Lahren spots where she screamed at liberals for "dividing us" (never mind that we really need the GOP to individually identify themselves as a party respectful of laws and elections OR lawless right-wing terrorists). We got Newt Gingrich mocking an impeachment. There is zero -- and I mean fucking ZERO -- self analysis, acceptance that the people who support Trump tried to overthrow the government, or that this occurred with the real-time endorsement of many, many Republicans. So anybody who thought this could be a major turning point in big right-wing media pumping out a firehose of lies and treasonous disinformation... sorry to disappoint. And I'm too fucking disgusted and heartbroken to listen to it, but you can be 100% sure that right-wing AM radio, and the prime time Fox lineup of Carlson, Ingraham, and Hannity -- those guys are going to be FAR more seditious than the "news" people.

As much as I think that he's really fucking stupid (e.g. "boarder," "smocking gun," "council," etc.), I have to say that after reading the transcript of the Ukraine call, and hearing the actual audio of the Georgie SOS call, Trump is really good at mob-style language where his intent - bribery, intimidation, coercion - is crystal clear, but he uses language that gives himself plausible deniability in a court of law. So yeah, he'll keep right on with the "very special people," and "a lot of people are saying" and agitate these fucking cretins right to the bitter end.

Quoting myself here from last week. I'm telling you this: If you haven't listened to Rush lately, it is full-on treason pretty much nonstop. I am totally not surprised that he's still calling for violence even *after* the deeply shameful events of this week. To borrow from Bill Burr... Rush is a first-ballot Treason Hall of Famer.

They can lead a revolution against the United States, but by God, they are VICTIMS!

OK. I will grudgingly accept this point and apologize to you for the call-out. I will also pour myself a cocktail and consider the idea that you might be correct that we live in the kind of country where we have to be nice to the traitors who tried to overthrow the government so we don't upset 50 million idiots.

I read the quoted text at the top of the tweet, and when I clicked on it, I was expecting to see a video of Georgia Democrats harassing him after they found out he tried to invalidate their votes to steal an election. But no. It's Trumpkins harassing him because he *didn't* cheat hard enough. Weird world.

One of the absolutely fucking stupidest takes I've ever seen on these boards. Congrats.