Open Thread

19 Comments

1. 

   S2 on February 16, 2009 at 7:41 pm

   . . . there would be no further need to torture them.

   There was never a need to torture them, except in the sadistic minds of those who ordered and carried out the torture.

   • 

     wilderness wench on February 17, 2009 at 10:44 am

     Additionally: what terrorists?

2. 

   boran2 on February 16, 2009 at 7:58 pm

   No, make them watch Access Hollywood instead.

   • 

     Velocity on February 16, 2009 at 8:18 pm

     There are so many TV shows today that would fit the bill, especially all the reality shows.  IMHO

   • 

     BooMan on February 16, 2009 at 8:20 pm

     Is Access Hollywood the worst of the lot?

     • 

       boran2 on February 16, 2009 at 8:29 pm

       Access Hollywood is especially annoying because the hosts believe themselves to be of some importance, celebs-in-training, if you will.  Madame boran just had it on for a bit.

   • 

     Second Nature on February 16, 2009 at 8:53 pm

     I vote for The Bachelor.

   • 

     The Voice In The Wilderness on February 17, 2009 at 9:32 am

     Uh! Uh! 700 Club.

3. 

   dada on February 16, 2009 at 7:59 pm

   this one?

   yeah…that’d work.

   /snark

4. 

   anarchronarchist on February 16, 2009 at 8:03 pm

   I couldn’t agree more, but only for the older ones. There is some generational difference which allows folks younger than us to see smurphs and not vomit out of hatred.

   I hear the original stories (‘Strumphen’ or something like that) actually have some interest, but I can’t see how it would be worth checking into that..

   Although you gotta admit that Poppa was the Mac.

5. 

   on February 16, 2009 at 8:28 pm

   Soften them up with a marathon of Barney and Friends. Maybe some Teletubbies.

6. 

   RandyH on February 16, 2009 at 9:27 pm

   Hey! I liked the Smurfs when I was like 8 years old. It was enjoyable Saturday morning entertainment for me. I even had some of those little plastic Smurf action figures to play with.

7. 

   MNPundit on February 16, 2009 at 9:36 pm

   I’d just like to thank BooMan for taking time to respond to many of my snarky and whining comments over the last few months.

   Kudos.

8. 

   anarchronarchist on February 16, 2009 at 9:49 pm

   Russia is taking over the f’in world right now in a ‘soft war’, featuring assassination, an anti-American diplomatic surge and cyber attacks.

   We and our European allies are pretty much bare bellied to them if we don’t start playing antagonist in their games again and winning. We are spread too thinly to be a credible threat or even a contender in 1000 new places and Russia is show a will to prospect every last one of them. That’s not the way to deminish our foreign entanglements, just dropping the damn reigns. Unforgiveable Mess #367. I fucking hate George Bush and the Idiot Rice who’s outdated expertise amounted to a hill of beans.

   We better send a million ‘mosquitos’ to buzz their ears and keep them in a fit of swatting or we’ll just be outspent, very, very ironically by the successor to the Soviet Union and with Western money.

9. 

   Salunga on February 16, 2009 at 11:00 pm

      I was broken by my wife’s soap operas. I will say anything and incriminate anyone to get out of the room.

10. 

    arcadesproject on February 16, 2009 at 11:04 pm

    And speaking of torture, I read in the MSM that the Obama Justice Department has taken a position identical to that of the Bush Administration with respect to the State Secrets Privilege and its impact on litigation brought by people alleging that they have been tortured.  Namely, that litigation may not go forward if the government claims that state secrets would be revealed or compromised- or even hinted at- in the course of the law suit.  Which leaves people who may have suffered exceedingly serious harm entirely up the creek.

    I was shocked when I read about this development and surprised at the eerie quiet in the blogosphere on the subject.  (Not silence, but quiet.)  Has the looming economic catastrophe pushed everything else into the background?  Or what?  I, for one, can’t stand up and cheer for my guy at this point.  Or send money.  I fear we’re headed down the wrong track again.  Can someone please tell me, hopefully with some facts to back it up, that I am a deluded idiot?

11. 

    robertdsc on February 17, 2009 at 7:28 am

    Though it wasn’t strictly because of the holiday, I did pick up biographies/works of/about the following Presidents:

    Jimmy Carter
    Richard Nixon
    Harry Truman
    Franklin D Roosevelt

    and David Gergen’s book about his times advising five Presidents.

    Not bad for a day’s shopping.

    • 

      on February 17, 2009 at 9:34 am

      I despise David Gergen. He, Cokie Roberts and Juan Williams should be left on a desert island somewhere.

      • 

        robertdsc on February 17, 2009 at 10:03 am

        I had no idea he stretched back into the Nixon administration. I’d seen him around the talk shows in this last election, but the dude has serious Washington roots.