Opera Glasses and Popcorn
Roman Senate at Roman Forum, by sunsrise.
SPQR is an initialism for the Latin phrase Senatus Popvlvs Qve Romvs. The translation is “The Roman Senate and People.” [by Calovi on Flickr]
BTW, Obama has touched down in Denver…anything hitting the windshields is manna from heaven.
Other than that I am tapped out and we are on Day 1 of a big heat wave…………..gah.
An Opera Glasses and Popcorn view of Politics and the Assembled Multitude...
Marisacat -
- Real independent observations on current events with a particular fondness for the follies of the Big Box Blahgers.
Deflates bloated egos like a champion fencer in a balloon warehouse.
- Alan Smithee
Marisacat -
"...polish on a mud wallow"
- Meteor Blades [May 24 at Mcat]
Marisacat -
"... doyenne of donkle deconstruction"
- Who is IOZ [January 2 2007]
Marisacat -
"... hardened professionals and their primary strength lies in their being completely unconflicted."
"... the primary difference is that on the level of criticizing other blogs and bloggers, they can actually do some damage."
"... Not what I look for in a liberal blog product."
- peeder - MLW, Daily Rant [3.24.07]
Democracy NOW! / Amy Goodman Electronic Intifada / General Content Press TV / Middle East News Press TV McClatchy Headlines The Real News Reuters / Politics
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on one stage reading their poetry"
"I think Allen Ginsberg standing up there reading - putting himself on the line - was one of the two bravest things I've ever seen. Remember, it was '55. People had crew cuts, and they looked at you like you were misplaced cannon fodder. The country was being run by Luce publications. It was a dangerous, cold, ugly time, and it was scary. . .
In all our memories no one had been so outspoken in poetry before. We had gone beyond a point of no return. None of us wanted to go back to the grey, chill, militaristic silence, to the intellectual void - to the land without poetry - to the spiritual drabness. We wanted to make it new and we wanted to invent it and the process of it as we went into it. We wanted voice and we wanted vision."
-Michael McClure
Over and over, in election year after election year, GE and MidTerms both… the Dems start to purr and preen, they stretch luxuriously - at just being TOLD they are going to win [...]
It never fails.
... in February of 2002, looking over the already joyless congressional stragglers willing to be drafted for duty… they barely dreamed, yet, it was even possible (Howard, a different person then, had not arrived to say it could be done)… but one thing was clear, we could not rely on the party to swing it. Could not. You could smell it, they would screw the deal. And I am not talking about Howard and primary issues here. By the end, that was a passing political story. Chuck it on the heap.
[...]
Upshot? The Republicans make it thru. They hold on.
If you click on La Louche the picture or the words, it leads to the Amazon PayPage, a way to ... oh let's say help with the cat can deliveries.
Thanks to all who made the very kind suggestion.
Stupiddy in top form.
(How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Donklephant)
LOL, HIllary joins the “Love Train” and just nominated Obama at the roll call.
LOL. Just watched the end of the vote. Pelosi gave no one a chance to yell “No!” What a spectacle! I did notice the slightly exasperated look on Hillary’s face when that happened. Light-hearted exasperation.
Like I said before… it’s not just whistling past the graveyard, it’s an entire dancing chorus of “Thriller” past the graveyard.
Very best of luck to our nominee… God help him, God help us… unfortunately the Dems are beyond help.
PS, I was wrong, this has been the most entertaining Democratic convention there ever was or will be. I am in for Bill and Biden tonight.
Well, I’ll all sweaty after doing the LUV train dance with Obamacat. haha
(kidding)
Actually, when I told Obamacat about the Greek monstrosity planned for Thursday nite, he said, “WTF?”
Okay. Maybe it was, “Meow meow meow?”, but still…
OTOH, he could have been asking for treats. You’re just never really sure about these things.
(I’ll probably stop crocheting that little toga for him now though.)
brrrreaking
Breaking News from ABCNEWS.com:
SEN. BARACK OBAMA RECEIVES THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S NOMINATION, BECOMING THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN TO REPRESENT A MAJOR PARTY AS A CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT
6
I am pretty sure Obamacat would accept catnip (the green stuff) and renounce Obama. Funny how that works…
CA
262 delegates overall, 161 for Hillary.
Supposedly the delay and the pass over was a scramble to find alternates, so many electeds who serve in Sacto held back, unable to travel to Denver (we have no budget and Arnold woould not let them leave, tho some snuck out)…. CA had to find alternates to vote as the delegates wanted.
whew. Are we done yet?
Rep. Wexler of Boca Raton is the worst of the Dem Party and a terrible orator to boot. Oy vey indeed.
via Ambinder
“The Obama campaign wanted Clinton to put Obama over the top. The Clinton campaign said yes immediately. A necessary benediction and passing of the torch.”
My guess, Bill, in a petty fugue state, will twist a knife in his speech for that.
I’m all for trouble… LOL
10
He goes thru the motions for impeachment. About the only one other than Kucinich. (not that it matters)
Thanks for that info Marisa. i thought the only “I” word Wexler knew was Israel, nice to know he knows another one.
8. I am pretty sure Obamacat would accept catnip (the green stuff) and renounce Obama.
I could turn him Green. He’d especially appreciate the “no flossing” part.
Baby used to love the little pots of long grass that the pet stores sell here… she would lie down next to them (I’d put two in a big low soup bowl by her food and water) and just breathe in the “greenery”….
Speaking of felines:
Our rescue cat is staying overnight at the vet after getting “the works.” We’ll be picking him up and returning him to our neighbors’ “halfway house” for strays tomorrow morning.
It’s a good thing the FIL loves cats and lent us the cash, because no way could we have shouldered the charges in this shithole of an economy.
15. and just breathe in the “greenery”….
That’s cute.
The Big Guy here just eats the greenery outside. Maybe he thinks he’s a cow. He really is big.
some of the Republican jokes
The other thing I read is no ceiling so no confetti. Speculation on fireworks.
I feel winded by it all.
16. Sounds like an underground railroad for cats.
I spotted a DK diary earlier today asserting that the Greek temple is actually just a structural skeleton that (when finished) will sport the usual giant video screens, etc., between the columns. In other words, some of the columns will just serve as framework for the set. The diary included a couple of videos that supposedly gave a better glimpse of the thing in progress, but I didn’t have time to click ‘em.
Reckon we’ll see tomorrow. Anybody know why Springsteen fell out of the musical lineup?
I feel winded by it all.
I feel quite nauseated.
#19: catnip, there’s a handful of suspect Euros in it for you if you’ll welcome our four-footed friend to your glorious country. Given your locale, you could always rechristen him “Black Gold” or something. I don’t think he’d mind.
I seriously do wish we could keep him, but no money/no space. The neighbors have temporary space, but they’re also already full up with cats.
OMG, a real live out gay person on the stage! Go Etheridge.
The convention so far has been distressingly heterosexual.
16
ms xeno
can I ask what Steve 2 needed done? Any pics? (so I can paw the screen)…
Bruce isn’t playing?
23
”Gay Rights” only mentioned twice from the stage… one was Hillary and the first mention was……………………..ugh I forget who now…
BTW, Del Martin of Phyllis [Lyon] and Del, who got married first here in SF, together for 55 years, died this am…
Oh I forgot Kerry was on tonight! Well, that should be inspiring.
I mean, WTF?!? Kerry should have been speaking at 5:30 on the first day, not in fucking prime time.
25
apparently not. not too much info abou tit.. except “he is a great supporter of Ob” type stuff…
#27 Oh no! Thanks for letting me know that Marisa, I hadn’t read that anywhere. What a loss, Del Martin was a pioneer.
the line up tonight is really bad imo. gasbags and dullards. I mean, DASCHLE? REID? KERRY?
30
If SF gate.com does a decent obit will post it…
25 – Apparently not.
Just a big fat rumor all along, unless the source is spoofing.
die-hard donk fans are such fucking crybabies: Right wing TV Pundits destroy every segment on Democratic Convention
If the so-called “left”/”liberal”/”pwogwessive” talking heads, party spokesfolks and others weren’t so worried about how they looked, how they sounded … if they fucking STOOD FOR SOMETHING, then the wingers wouldn’t beat them like redheaded stepchildren. I notice Rachel Maddow doesn’t have any trouble shouting down Scarborough or Buchanan.
Quit fucking whining and support people who fight, which of course means you have to quit supporting that pathetic excuse for a party.
Not gonna happen.
They’re only giving Bubba 10 minutes. Good luck with that.
18. How about… O-Henge
Ugh, Harry Reid. Maybe I’ll flip the channel to Greatest American Dog, for a while. (Speaking of pawing at screens, it’s the latest offering in Reality Way Over the Top.)
Krauthammer on Temple of Ob. he is deliciously vicious. And kind.
Cuz someone is going to be calling Ob “Cleopatra” soon. [let me be first]
#31 Tonight’s line-up may be gasbags and dullards but what they are is old white guys. Funny how that is the group when the theme is “National Security”. The subtext is only old white men can keep us safe, what an illusion when they are the ones who most put us at risk. Sadly the media and the public at large agree.
well I caught Artur Davis at the pdium earlier. he might as well have been an old white guy. Talked about watching the Dem conventions from a tiny hotel room as a child with his mother and grandmother after their house was FORECLOSED (I am with you in Stockton! as they foreclose you!) and yada yada American exceptionalism, bootstrappism and whatever else.
A real strumpet for corporatism that one. And lifted out of Alabama early, he went ot the same prep school as Gore.
I am so tired of the bootstrap lecture. “Only in America” lecture.
last thread (catching up):
Not to mention bankrolling much, MUCH better music than the effin’ multinationals produce.
If the so-called “left”/”liberal”/”pwogwessive” talking heads, party spokesfolks and others weren’t so worried about how they looked, how they sounded … if they fucking STOOD FOR SOMETHING, then the wingers wouldn’t beat them
Kinda hard to stand when your own carpet’s lumpy to the ankles with all the waste and warfare sweepings.
They’re using some sort of flying apparatus in a semi-final contest on the Great American Dog. Fortunately, some of the most psychotic owner-canine pairs have already been eliminated.
Mcat, I’ll dig around webshots later and find you a pic. Poor little guy needed to be neutered, have an abcess tended to, shots, the whole deal. In another three weeks he’ll need worming and more shots. Just a sweet little shorthair with black fur, yellow eyes and a kinked tail. Probably hates us right now, but he had turned into a bone sack. Even as mild as Portland’s winters are, I don’t think he would have lasted another year outdoors.
Madman, you’ll be happy to know that we’ve chopped and channeled the convention theme and come up with an overdue replacement theme/sloganThem Hippies Was Right, which rings, sings and irritates the fuck out of P*ps*, so you know it’s good for you.
Enjoy.
ugh they are saying Gustav is still on track for NO – based on computer models, tho it can track W to Houston and E to FL… . Last I heard it was Cat 3, 120 mile/hour winds.
Heading out to the warm waters of the Carib and the Gulf…
NBC evening news.
#44 They said this morning that the track that had it going to NO/Mobile was the one most likely to get to the dreaded Category 5.
Anybody know why Springsteen fell out of the musical lineup?
I don’t know if it has anything to do with it, but Bruce is headlining a lakefront concert here in Milwaukee for the Harley Davidson 105th b-day celebration on Saturday night (and yes, I’m sick of overly-loud bikes roaring past my apt at 2 am, and the nightmare continues until Labor Day).
We’re passing the 10th anniversary this year of a big derecho that cut a swath of destruction through upstate NY, on Labor Day ’98. They say the winds got up to Category 1 hurricane force, very briefly – or more likely, something just short of Category 1. All I can say is, anyone who tries to ride out a REAL hurricane needs their head examined. Our storm was nothing, and it was pretty terrifying.
Cuz someone is going to be calling Ob “Cleopatra” soon. [let me be first]
Not so fast there, catwoman. During one of the million or so debates, I said Obamalama had Cleopatra eyes here.
Jindal is declaring an emergency and activating National Guard, according to AP. 3,000 to be deployed the day before landfall, with an additional 2K on standby if needed.
43 – awesome!
now if only they’d bathe, shave and quit with the Dead …
Daschle and Kerry. What is this, Loser Night?
My prediction for Bubba’s speech: “I feel your economic pain”. (bites lip)
No more felines for me, ms x. I have my 2 beasties and my roomie has 2 as well – one who’s decided he’s adopted me.
Even if it didn’t get that severe, I doubt the levies of NO could sustain another hit from a cat 2 or 3. I really hope this thing dissipates, or takes a different course.
#52 My prediction for Bubba’s speech is “Obama can save you from the Bogeyman”.
Bill follows Hill & they play “Chain of Fools?”
we’re leaving the country -seroiusly
talk atcha later – sometime in Oct
(not that more than a handful of people give a fuck, but has anyone pulled out any of Biden’s quotes about finishing up that nuclear deal w/ India before the Democrats get in office?
but has anyone pulled out any of Biden’s quotes about finishing up that nuclear deal w/ India before the Democrats get in office?
I’ve not seen it… anything posted at your blog?
I am sure in the long game, we will give India anything. And everythng.
Where are you headed, Arcturus?
I’d missed the Idnia thing too, but I’m having a harder and harder time paying attention.
isn’t this the same Bubba that’s been hanging out w/ the Bushes and giving Bush 2 cover on Katrina and other things? Who the fuck is he to stand up there now and bitch about how bad things are.
Stick a cigar in it, you fucking hillbilly.
Bill looks healthier than I’ve seen him look in ages, maybe he’s finally recovered fully from the surgery.
via BAR, Cynthia McKinney: Power to the People! Stop the War!
The Hill on the tight leash Obamamites kept on speakers.
Honestly, this convention feels like a baby, strangling for air, needing to be spanked alive.
BAR’s Glen Ford: The Age of Katrina – Not Obama
Harry Shearer Talks Post-Katrina Recovery at the DNC
64. That pic of the woman wrapped in the flag (at BAR) is really something.
66 – IIRC, that pic was taken at the stadium after the storm.
…the Democrats now patch Dr. King’s speech into the prologue to the Book of Obama for the purpose of consigning real mass agitation strategies to the past, for all time.
This thing so begs for a big pin in the balloon
66/7
yeah that is right, when they finally let them out and limited help showed up, I think someone was there with stacks of blankets from Target and Wallmart… etc.
An ABC News “investigative unit” producer got thrown in the clink for snapping photos of Dems convening for a private meeting at a hotel in Denver. Hat tip to Neo-con Crusher at pff.
Asa Eslocker was gathering fodder for a series on the role of corporate lobbyists and wealthy donors at the convention for a series of Money Trail reports.
Naomi Klein on Obama
She slams MoveOn and much of the rest of the supposed “progressive” movement.
ugh just having bad Katrina flashbacks and I wasn’t even IN the damn thing. Having vivid memories of watching the unfolding horror every evening at my mom’s, and the both of us just literally screaming at the television in a way we’ve never done before or since. Just pure disgust, shame and rage. Not believing we were seeing this in our country. And the coverage of the “looting.” oh puke.
Will never forget that little boy: Shame, shame, pitiful and shame.
Kerry is just a nut, “Barack will end swiftboating”.
Did Kerry realize the full favor he did for Obama by serving as Exhibit A to his (Kerry’s) own prediction that America would “reject” the “old and outworn”? WHy didn’t he just bust out and say, “Look at me!”
Kerry is just a nut, “Barack will end swiftboating”.
Yeah, I know that’s MY personal Issue #1 that keeps me up nights.
Here comes Chet Edwards, the last-minute long-shot veepessa also-ran, on CSPAN.
It appears Mr. Edwards only aspires to Bidenesque levels of smarm.
seems Richardson was cut for time, running a half hour behind (can’t blame BIll! Not this time!)…
oh the Speilberg thing is just not working for me. All it tells me is years more fake mourning over the wars. That will go on. And now whatshisname. that actor… Bathos.
speaking of NOLA, for those of you who have Sundance Channel, Architecture School (2nd ep tonight) offers interesting insights into building housing in NOLA and how architects are taught to think.
hey Lucid (and other philosophy geeks): Neal Stephenson Does Some Hardcore Phenomenology Geeking
#79 I agree about the Speilberg video, didn’t work for me, he can do much better.
Love Biden’s mom!
God this speech is almost as bad as Fred Thompson.
MitM – will check out… not a big fan of phenomenology though – most of the strains that came out of Husserl ended up in neo-platonism [particularly Heidegger, but I would include Derrida in that as well].
man, it’s hard to type when your stabbing yourself in the eye w/ a fork.
Jeebus, THIS is their “attack dog”, A dog that makes a point of talking about his “friend” before he repeats a bunch of bad, warmed over “Nation” headlines as a speech?
they really are fucking pathetic.
Barack Obama will make your lunch and eat it for you too! Yay!!
84 – I’m not either (you know me … full-gone Nietzchean and all), but it’s fun to see people TALKING about this stuff.
I guess Biden wants to resurrect the cold war…
More war! Yay!
Biden’s ready for his closeup, Mr. DeMille!
Whatever we think of these folk, this is going to go down as a very good night for Obama.
“Remember when the world used to trust us?”
Ummm…no.
Obamalama is going to make a surprise appearance w/ Joebama after his speech. About flipping time he showed up there, afaic.
Biden: Lets kill somebody, because we’ll be smarter about who to kill!
This whole spectacle is making me feel a sick, and very depressed.
Cindy Sheehan explains Democrats, endorses Cynthia McKinney
Ok think we peaked. Ob said the Bidens are leading us to take our nation back.
pretty damned far gone when the takers fake taking it back.
Okay. I’ve changed my mind again. I’m voting for Gumby.
Really stupid of Obama to show up tonight, feels anti-climactic.
When they said there was a surprise, I was hoping it was Gore.
I am guessing Gore did not want to be bothered twice. Tonight and tomorrow night. LOL
99 – who cares, fuck him. Corporate trojan horse to finish off the safety net and keep the wars and profits going. I can’t believe I stood in a field house in Chicago in late October 2004 and fell for this con. Shame on me.
I’m so damned sick of it all, beyond done with them. The donks disgust me. Obama disgusts me. The media disgusts me. Olbermann, who seemed so damned refreshing only a year ago … fuck his gushing.
More war, more corporate rapine and pillage (a whore for the CREDIT CARD COMPANIES as a working class hero?!?!), more spying and retroactive protection of monied fascists. More pandering to superstitious nutballs. More …
fuck, I’m repeating myself. I know that I write that we deserve what we have coming, that a collapse is what is needed, but it’s so depressing to see it HELPED ALONG …
I don’t think this was a winning nite for Obama. I think it showed that he needs to be propped up.
57. not much – w/ Biden’s mouth, there’s likely more – but here, from last Feb, quick! before a Democrat’s in the White House . . .
so far it’s not going over well w/ the supplier’s group, who also need to sign off on it – JB can play savior
as millions take to the street in Kashmir – Arundhati Roy: Azadi
58. MM: Andalusia
73. just remember, fantaisies are FREEEE!
nu thred……………
LINK
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