Our Team is More Republican Than Your Team

I’m betting that the Chargers will blame the 2% that went to the Demrats was because of Ryan Leaf*.

*one of the worst 1st round draft picks of all time

Who are these “Los Angeles Rams” of which they speak in the chart? LA has a team?
/ducks as Dodger throws something at her

Glad to see the 49ers are at 84% Dem. Balances out the fucking Cowboys.

@SanFranLefty: Yes, in the alternate universe in which they didn’t move to Anaheim and then somewheres else. I now root for the Steelers because Big Ben is a big galoot like me. I used to root for the Fish because they had a Jewish quarterback. And I liked Warren Moon because he went to Hamilton High here in L.A.

I chuckled at the news that Payton Manning contributed to Foghorn Thomspon’s campaign. And they call him a smart QB.

I predict both NY NFL teams win today. A friend of mine flew down to Dallas to watch his beloved Cowboys play in their new temple, and I want to be able to mock him tomorrow. I grew up hating Tom Landry, his hat, his raincoat, and the whole fucking team.

TJ. Already?! Yes.

I would love to hear what any or all of you think of Frank Rich’s editorial today. I think it’s exactly right about the source of the circumambient, all-encompassing rage swirling and roiling through the media and the blogosphere and the streets. And what’s worse, it isn’t only ignoramuses, racists, and wingnuts who are feeling enraged and hard-done-by. There are plenty of well-informed liberals, progressives, and moderate conservatives who are furious, and sick at heart, as they watch Wall Street and corporations (especially multinationals and the health insurance and pharmaceutical companies) and the military-industrial complex have it all their own way. It’s clear to anyone who is paying attention that a very great many senators and congresspersons are controlled by an impressive panoply of carrots and sticks (backed up by blackmail when necessary). I hope the Blue Dogs understand how many of us regard them as traitors, which makes them even more appalling than outright enemies.

Since I won’t be able to watch the Broncos suck today, I’ll be viewing and hoping the Jets rip the Patriots an off-brand asshole.

(Not for any particular rooting reason other than I kinda like Rex Ryan’s attitude.)

@lynnlightfoot: I read it. I look at it this way – some days I think we’ll sort out the problems with Wall Street, corporations, the markets, the environment. But then its hits me. We have no ability to fundamentally change much of anything.

An example: every day I take my recyclables home and recycle them in my building because the office building where I work just throws the shit away – a few of us do this. But then I look around – half the computers in the place are on during the weekend. Chargers are plugged in. Lights remain on 24/7. It’s that way in practically every office building in the city, and probably in most cities in the world. If we can shut things off and install motion switches in offices, do you think we can give everyone health insurance or reform the financial system or stop climate change? I don’t think so. I think we’ve got a hundred or so years left as a species.

On a lighter note – best TFLN ever.

I have Packers/Bengals right now, in which Chad Johnson (d/b/a Chad Ochocinco) has promised to do a Lambeau Leap if he scores.

Which brings up a good question — is there a good reason for Chad Johnson?

(PS to SFL: You were worried about the Card against San Jose State. For shame.)

@chicago bureau: Much as there is no reason for Michael Bolton, Spencer Pratt, or the Broke Housewives of Anywhere, there is no reason for Chad Ocho.

The Nabisco Quiver are Go!: Well, besides the fact that there is some Tennessee connection with Peyton, obviously, there is a broader point to be made about the man — one cannot fully appreciate the world that Peyton Manning rolls in. It is literal hero-worship time. For example: they named a children’s hospital after him. He is revered in Indy.

blogenfreude: Nothing would make me happier in this world than watching Jerry Jones cry tears of bitter anguish. That dude just bothers me.

@chicago bureau: speaking of Jerruh, how many punts are gonna hit the video screen in his new ULTRA-mega-MULTIPLEX stadium tonight?

I got the over/under at 1 and I’m going over.

@chicago bureau: Mr Cyn waited on Peyton when he worked at a restaurant in Memphis, and said he was a total asshole–a rude, demanding diva who tips 15%. Eli, OTOH, came in with his parents and took Mr Cyn aside to give him his credit card credit card before the bill came so his dad wouldn’t pick up the check. He was a better tipper, too. To me, one’s behavior towards servers is one of the true tests of character.

@chicago bureau: Jones is the architect of his own destruction – you simply cannot micromanage something as complex as an NFL team.

Speaking of “more Republican than X”, this made me LOL:

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/09/romney_taunts_democrats_with_memories_of_carter.php?ref=fpa

Rick Perry’s assertion at the bottom that they were “returning to the principles of personal freedom and cautious spending that have made them successful in the past” was arguably the best part – personal freedom for WHO? Maybe for the WASPs in the audience, but not for women, minorities, gays or non-Christians.

That and the nearly complete doublethink on the last 8 years; apparently, Democratic deficits are terrible, but over $4 trillion during Shrub’s tenure was 100% OK.

@al2o3cr: I think it’s Ana Marie Cox who said Mitt’s hair beat the rest of him in the straw poll.

@Mistress Cynica: Agreed.

@blogenfreude: Thanks for the reply and the TFLN link. I didn’t know about TFLN.

A schoolboy in our county some months back figured out that if all the county employees would turn off their computers when they left work, the county would save $25,000 a year (not certain about the time period, but I think it was a year) in electricity costs. This was reported in the local newspaper, complete with pictures of the whizkid and admirers, and I believe the county now asks all employees to turn the computers off at night. Christ, I hope so.

As to how long Homo sapiens is gonna last, I still have not read The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman (I think that’s his name) but plan to. I heard him discuss it on Book TV and was enthralled. A book I have read recently that is both thought-provoking and witty is Bozo Sapiens, by Michael Kaplan and Ellen Kaplan.

@chicago bureau: Friend of mine is an alum of SJSU and he had an elaborate theory about how they were going to beat LSJU.

@Mistress Cynica: Back in my waitressing days I waited on (not at the same time, but over my career): Shaquille O’Neal and his mother and step-father, David Robinson and his wife, Tim Duncan, Emmitt Smith and his family, Lance Armstrong and his (first) family, and from the music world Shawn Colvin. Guess which group was a bunch of assholes that by the end of the meal one of my fellow waitresses had to be restrained from physically attacking them? (This should be easy for the sports fans.)

My sports update: Futbol team lost 2-nil to a team playing three women down. Have unexplained bruises on knee and thigh that make it hard to walk. Got stuck in 49er game traffic on my way home.

@Mistress Cynica:
I have agree about treating servers.

I had a friend who treated waitresses like shit. More than a couple of times, I have had a waitress pull me aside and ask me what my friend’s damage was. The only reason I was given that courtesy was because I wasn’t an asshole customer or I’d be drinking the same spit filled beer he did. I ended up tipping extra because of him. For this and many other reasons I don’t hang around with him anymore.

@ManchuCandidate: There’s many a second date I never went on in my life because I saw how the dudes treated foodservers. That’s non-negotiable. I dated Republicans, but I’d never date someone who treats the waitress like shit.

/surfaces/ Reed wide left, not much of a cushion for the Stillers. /returns to cave/

@lynnlightfoot: I wish I didn’t react viscerally to Rich’s name and fat smug face from his days as ‘drama critic’ (rolls eyes) at the Newyawk Times, but I do. And I know it’s wrong of me because he writes better now. But I still abominate the bastard and only want to piss on him from a great height.

That having been said, one only needs to visit Long Island to know that there is no hope for us.

TJ: Bill Maher on the teabaggers and their apparent disregard for their own health when complaining about health care reform.

“Yes, it was fun this week to watch the teabaggers complain how the media underestimated the size of their march, “How can you say there were only 60,000 of us? We filled the entire mall!” Yes, because you’re fat. One whale fills the tank at Sea World, that doesn’t make it a crowd.”

yes, it’s mean. But it’s kind of funny too.

Fucking Eagles.

@SanFranLefty:
Same here. I lose interest pretty quick if they treat the staff like crap.

HUZZAH, GIANTS!

@JNOV sez hit Vick in the head witta battery: Holy crap, did you see the biceps on Jacobs?

Love that NBC got footage of Jerry Jones picking his nose. I’ve hated that man from the day he fired Tom Landry.

@SanFranLefty: Roids, man, and not the kind that hang out your ass.

Seriously, I’m still shell shocked after that Aints game. Here’s my recap:

It’s all part of The Big DVick Plan: Get the fans to hate on Kolb (check), pay off the ref to make a couple of bad calls (check), have the defense stay home (check), then mebbe the fans won’t hit Vick in the head with D-cell batteries when he suits up.

@SanFranLefty: Oh, do you recognize my avatar?

@lynnlightfoot: I haven’t read it, but if he thinks the pigfuckers are angry that we’re giving money to big corporations, Bullshit, they don’t know, care, or understand, except maybe some of the Paultards. Thats why Frank Rich is mad, and he’s projecting. If Obama’s big legislative reform push was for a full on major revampment and expansion of antitrust and securities regulation, the pigfuckers would be even more angry at big gubmint can’t run anything getting in the way of the bold, heroic Galts of big Business.

If Obama declared a christian crusade against muslims, with a new government agency, to be called the Inquisition, empowered to use the rack, thumbscrews, the iron maiden, and burning at the stake, to further the Inquisition, the pigfuckers would come out against torture and hold rallies protesting his racist war against the peace-loving muslims. True fact.

@SanFranLefty: Seeing Jerry there schmoozing with the Bushes makes me hate Dallas more than even I believed possible.

@SanFranLefty: So who was the asshole, vis a vis waiting on them? I don’t know enough about sports figures to know who is an asshole, I just figured they all are.

But ya know, I also feel some sympathy, you know, if you are above average even in high school you are a star and everyone treats you like a diva, these high level superstars have had people jocksniffing and starffucking them for 10 years by the time they get out of college. Their crimes are covered up, their rails are greased, they are surrounded by a cocoon of people who tell them they are great and their shit both smells, and tastes, good, and then they get millions thrown at them.

I figure it takes way above average character to live that life and retain any vestige of humanity.

@Promnight:
“I also feel some sympathy, you know, if you are above average even in high school you are a star and everyone treats you like a diva, these high level superstars have had people jocksniffing and starffucking them for 10 years by the time they get out of college. Their crimes are covered up, their rails are greased, they are surrounded by a cocoon of people who tell them they are great and their shit both smells, and tastes, good, and then they get millions thrown at them.”

I say bullshit. That doesn’t excuse the verbal and physical abuse that I and a coworker experienced while serving steaks to a sports figure and his family and their posse of 15. And that entitled sense of behavior is why I think Kobe Bryant raped the ski instructor in Colorado, and every other story of alleged bad behavior is true.

And then there were others who were total class acts. So go figure.

@Mistress Cynica: The Bush family has made its living for 2 generations schmoozing the rich, for the money they demand in exchange for selling their political power, and it is a self-sustaining feedback loop, the Bushes are not really of the rich, they have businesses that sustain them only because of the old boy network, whereby the rich grant contracts to Bushes, again, in exchange for Bushes using political power to enrich their patrons.

Their entire living and reason for being is corruption, but there is an elaborate charade, in which the rich pretend to be honored by the friendship and interest of the Bushes, and the Bushes pretend to be the “nobility,” the ones having the higher status, when in fact, this elaborate dance is the way in which the rich own and control the Bushes.

The greatest crime of GW Bush is diverting the blame and the retribution for the 9-11 attacks away from their long time family patrons, the Saudis.

What are the stats, 19 of 21 hijackers on 9-11 were saudis, the attacks were orchestrated by a saudi, funded by saudi radical clerics. Bush first made sure to fly the Bin Laden family to safety, then literally kissed the hand of the Saudi royals, then attacked Afghanistan, and what was the crime of Afghanistan? Harboring a Saudi.

The Saudis own the Bushes. Bush did their bidding all along, stifling any public discussion, any official recognition, of the Saudi involvement in 9-11, and instead diverting the retaliation to anyone and everyone but the Saudis.

Cheney too, his company, Halliburton, before it got into the even more lucrative business of war profiteering, made all its money extracting oil for the Saudis. Between Bandar Bush, the Saudi investments in Shrubs businesses, the unholy texan-saudi oil alliance, W Bush represents nothing less than the first Saudi-controlled US president.

@SanFranLefty: Well, I do still feel that assholish behavior is completely beneath contempt, do not get me wrong, who was it? I am really curious because I have no idea, based on my awareness of public reputation, who it would have been.

When I say I have sympathy, well, I am sorry, but I tend to have some tendency to feel some sympathy towards every human. They are all like me, all gonna die, and all gonna be sad most of the time till then, despite whatever grand trappings they have in their lives.

Tony Romo and the Cowboys can’t blame that interception on Jessica Simpson, that’s for sure. “But for his mistakes, the Cowboys would have dominated,” said the announcer.

The wit according to Joan (Mad Men):
“One minute you’re on top of the world and the next a secretary’s run you over with a lawn mower.”

Sums up the complications of life.

@JNOV sez hit Vick in the head witta battery: I don’t buy the conspiracy, but rather the reality that this is the way of Sport in Philly. There always has to be Drama.

@ManchuCandidate: He’ll never golf again.

@nojo:
Also, never bring a riding lawn mower to the office and let the office klutz drive it.

@The Nabisco Quiver are Go!: I rather just tend to think that Andy Reid is a fucking moron.

@ManchuCandidate: If you put a riding mower on the mantle in Act One, you’d better use it by Act Three.

@nojo:
Ah Chekov… Anton not Pavel.

I’m going to be gone the next two weekends so I won’t be around to help, but perhaps a Mad Men liveblog in the future?

@ManchuCandidate: I’d love to, but I think we’re the only two who care. But ex-Defamer Lisanti has been running some great roundups on Monday, although tomorrow he may be preoccupied by some awards show.

@nojo: @ManchuCandidate: I finally started watching Season One last week on Netflix. I’ll catch up in a few months. I think MellBell watches too.

Cowboys 31, Gnats 30

@SanFranLefty:
I jumped in at the start of S2 because I didn’t get AMC till last year when I changed “entertainment” providers.

As to the score, I think I can hear some screams in NYC (well NJ.)

@ManchuCandidate: tee hee

Bwahahahahahaha! Suck it, Dallas.

@ManchuCandidate: @nojo: I *love* Mad Men–the now-horrifying parental behavior that was “normal” when I was a child is one of my favorite parts. However, I have an iTunes subscription rather than cable, so I couldn’t live blog.

Listen up, ya’ll, anyone on the amtrack line between DC and Boston, I am very serious here, I would like to have a party, a stinque party, and the fall is the best time of year in these parts, the jersey shore, and I have 4 bedrooms that are available, and I am not just willing, I am chomping at the bit, to cook up a major feast, and host a major league eating and drinking and talking and arguing and just having a major league good time party. Some time between now and November, when it gets cold and all. I’ll make good food, you have no idea, is anyone any interested in a meetup? I should take this to the clubhouse.

@ManchuCandidate: I watch, but not at home.

@ManchuCandidate: No screams from me, I loathe the Gints.

@Prommie: This is how I was raised and how I will be until I die:

Iggles vs Anybody = root for Iggles

Cowboys vs Anybody = root for Anybody

Giants vs Anybody that’s not the Cowboys = root for Anybody

[FUCK]skins = pretend they don’t exist

Superbowl = root for NFC unless it’s the Cowboys

Stillers are in the SB = Major cog dis cured only by beer

@Promnight: But you’re on a barrier island far far away from the train. That’s the only problem with getting to you as my car is a piece of shite and probs won’t make it. Does NJ Transit run nearby? And would you cook something that isn’t seafood? (Yes, I’m feeling rude about asking these questions, but I gotta know before I schlep out there.) It’s easy to go N-S in NJ, but E-W is a fucked up mess.

@The Nabisco Quiver are Go!: HARUMPH! Look, the gig is up. Vick is going to be putting his life on the line in this city, and he’d better not take his helmet off on the sidelines.

BUT (and it’s a big but), we like to win more than almost, almost anything. We absofuckinglutely HATED T.O., and seriously, this Vick thing is *not* going over well with the locals. BUT (again) if Donovan keeps getting injured, as is his wont, and Kolb continues to suck ass (yesterday was his first start, so we’ll give him a tiny break), and if Vick comes in and does marvelous things, if he reminds us of Cunningham during his Jheri Curl days, if he stays healthier than Glass Joe, we’re going to start to accept him. Maybe. If he wins games…

Which brings up an issue I’ve always felt ambivalent about: Megan’s Law and variations thereof. How long do we continue to punish people after they’ve served their time? How much contrition is enough? I have a long memory, too (Chappaquiddick, John Edwards), and we hold fast to grudges here in Philly.

So, Megan’s Law — Good? Bad? Another layer of punishment?

The distinction I draw (which is most likely a false distinction) is that the only cure to pedophilia seems to be old age, and these folks seem to be threats long after they’ve been released from prison. BUT the criminal justice system is set up so that once you served your time, you kind of get a do over (except in states where convicted felons can’t vote and in employment applications where people are often asked whether they’ve ever been convicted of a crime more serious than a misdemeanor).

So, what do you think? When do we forgive/ignore/accept/move on?

RZ, if you’re around, I’d really like to hear your thoughts. I’m conflicted, and I’m a damned good progressive, but I often find myself still wanting that pound of flesh after the sentence (literal and figurative) has been served.

@JNOV sez hit Vick in the head witta battery: There was a good article in the local fishwrap that the four QB represent different horses of the apocalypse for Philly. But most interestingly, that Vick is being primed for the Great Redemption; by the time Kolb is finished fucking up, the Dog Killer will be loved.

Except, he really wont’ be that good, in which case he will be hated.

@JNOV sez hit Vick in the head witta battery: Funny, I’m pretty much the exact same except with Stillers instead of Iggles, and Patriots/Ravens/Bungles as the major hatees. I root for Philly out of sympathy these days since they don’t seem at risk of actually doing anything, but give them a realistic shot and I’ll be all over Anybody. Oh, and AFC rules.

@JNOV sez hit Vick in the head witta battery: I think Megan’s Law is a good thing in that pedophilia and pederasty seem to be incurable except, as you said, by old age. Someone from the AG’s office showed me where to find the list by zip code, and there are some seriously creepy looking folks on there. Fortunately none in our immediate area.

Where I feel sympathy is for the poor schmuck high schooler who gets involved with a just-a-bit-too-young hs’er or middle schooler and then ends up with a scarlet A on his/her chest for something that was as close to love as adolescents are capable of feeling.

@The Nabisco Quiver are Go!: Hmmmm. Here’s the thing: Megan’s Law is a form of punishment. I think it would be more, I dunno, logically consistent or ethical or safer to just keep them locked up until they’re in their dotage and not have these weird punitive laws that ostensibly keep kids safe but most likely only give parents some fake peace of mind and give folks someone to harass (remember how some ex-cons were run out of towns by folks brandishing fliers and pitchforks?).

And w/r/t to HSers seckshual shenanigans: in most states, the law provides an age range (at least the Model Penal Code does) for what constitutes statutory rape, but the laws are not consistent across states. Let’s just say that when Jr turned 18, I was like, Lookit — DONOTDONOTDONOT hook up with anyone under 18 now. Please. Not on the interwebz and not in real life. Just to be safe, no cybersex with *anyone* pleasepleaseplease, because I do not want to see you on Dateline.

That said, I do not know what I think about the ethics of someone in college dating someone in high school. When I was about to turn 17, I started dating a dude who was 21, but seriously, he might as well have been 17 emotionally and mentally, although academically, he was already two years in grad school. My parents flipped, I mean, flipped (they threatened him with that whole “corrupting the morals of a minor” business and threatened to call his school). Funny thing was, we didn’t start dating until after they flipped: They made assumptions without asking me what was going on, and I probably dated him more out of defiance than anything else.

Looking back now, and having a son almost the age he was at the time, I don’t see the old BF as a creep or as a criminal.

@JNOV sez hit Vick in the head witta battery: Looking back now, and having a son almost the age he was at the time, I don’t see the old BF as a creep or as a criminal.

And that’s the problem. I think there was a case here locally where they did manage to hang the Megan’s Law enrollment on kid caught in precisely the kind of relationship you had.

OT/ I’m listening to Sport Radio, and a frequent advert is for a local adult vid store. Out of a corner of my ear I heard them offering a free can of “Deep Throat Energy Drink” with the purchase of one yada yada yada.

I think if Cafe Prom had featured Deep Throat Energy Drink, it may have stayed open through at least freshman hazing week.

@nojo: Oh, I care. I care deeply. What will become of Joan?

@Just Jamie: I thought she was going to ask for her job back before cutting the cake.

Oh, and Lisanti’s epic follow-up is out. I miss Classic Defamer.

@Just Jamie: Prediction: Joan ends up a shopgirl at some ritzy Midtown boutique and is outed when Jane (or someone with equal schadenfreude potential) drops in for a pair of gloves.

@ManchuCandidate:
@Just Jamie:
@nojo:

I’m into Mad Men, too, but I’m not sure I finished the first season, and I’d been watching streaming video out of Asia. I’ll catch up if this is something y’all wanna do. I think the last episodes I saw involved !!*S*P*O*I*L*E*R*S* below!!!

The main dude working through issues with his his artsy mistress, the douchey dude being annoyed that the smart-yet-mousy secretary he fucked and tossed aside was on some sort of creative team, the main dude’s wife having a bit of a breakdown, uh, the main dude sleeping with a client and pining for her, um, one of the head dudes having some sort of heart attack or something and they took on a shady partner, maybe.

How far behind am I?

@The Nabisco Quiver are Go!: Ugh. But back to the real creeps — does sex-offender registration really make us safer?

ADD: Or is it purely punitive?

@mellbell:
I’m hoping that Joan and Don don’t have sexy time together after that moment they shared in the hospital waiting room.

@JNOV sez hit Vick in the head witta battery:
That’s season one.

@ManchuCandidate: Ok, and we’re on season what? Three?

Is Weeds back on yet?

ADD: And apparently I need to watch the whole Battlestar thing, too. (Yeah, I know it’s over.) And may I also complain about The Sarah Connor Chronicles being canceled? Fucking Fox! First Firefly (cowboys in space, y’all!) and now this. I couldn’t even bring myself to see the Terminator movie.

@JNOV sez hit Vick in the head witta battery:
Yup. About 1/3 of the way through (only 13-15 eps a season.)

@ManchuCandidate: I’ll start catching up this week.