LiveBlog for Friday, July 3, 2009
Hey everyone! While Steph and the Mooks are on vacation this week, Hal Sparks will be filling in! And, here’s a fresh new LiveBlog sandbox for you to play in. Enjoy!
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 at 8:18 pm and is filed under liveblog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Goood morning all!
Day off today as I’m sure a lot of you have as well.
Hey, guess what the forecast is for MA today?
If you guessed rain, you’re a winner!
Well, I’m heading out to breakfast. Should be back long before the show starts. Even get to listen live today.
More Fixed Noise outrage. College Republicans BANNED!! Of course this is “Liberty” “University” and the College Democrats were banned long ago, but that doesn’t seem to bother Fixed News.
http://www.fark.com/cgi/comments.pl?IDLink=4486657
I’d rather give Fark the clickthrus than places like Fixed Noise or NewsMax. You decide.
and see if you can guess my Fark handle…
5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz2-ukrd2VQ
Good morning. Happy holiday weekend everyone.
hi geevie. – let the celebrations begin. without the amazing victory over the redcoats, today, we would all be speaking english, and seeing crazy people on the news fond of teabags.
Happy Fridee! tr, flom and Geevie and alls y’alls signing on.
In the spirit of giving the crappy New England weather the appropriate middle finger, I’m liveblogging outside anyway. At least as long as the laptop battery holds out.
Good morning, Paul, flombaye and the rest of the LB Crew.
Yep, I’ve got the day off from work. But, I’m busy cleaning the house in preparation for a cookout tonight. I’ll have the Live Stream pipped though our house stereo. It’s an unseasonably cool 64 degrees this morning with an overcast sky.
the COOL babysitter, hal bonaduce, is going to let us have new england cheesesteak sandwiches with monterey union jack, and manhattan project fireworks over at the central mass.
I’ve heard rumors they covered the Esplanade grass with plywood to keep the estimated 500,000 revelers they expect for the annual July 4th concert (this year with Neil Diamond as featured performer) from sinking into the mud.
20,000 pounds of fireworks to be set off.
“the chair is not my son”
I been laughing about that for days.
“20,000 pounds of fireworks to be set off.”
that’s quite a greeting. it’s a good thing that neil diamond, like jesus, is not nearly as scary as his fans.
i’m off on MOnday. yah this weather totally blows! i’m sad there will be no more Hal Sparks. I want a Hal-cast!
Have you read Matt Taibbi’s article in Rolling Stone about Goldman Sachs hand in all the great speculative bubbles since the Great Depression?:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/28816321/the_great_american_bubble_machine
Unfortunately, Scottzi will see the name ‘Goldman Sachs’ and start salivating like Pavlov’s dog. But, it’s not about Jewry, it’s about fleecing the un-savvy investor (which unfortunately, most of us are).
lol – 8, flombaye
of course, donny osmond fared much differently after a slew of pafurnity tests.
I almost hate to admit this but when I was 12, that’s what I thought he was singing too.
He was a legend, but he wasn’t very decipherable.
yah shaf, Rebekah didn’t warn Hal about Scott at all when he called. I bet Scott was surprised that he didn’t get all the airtime he gets with Steph and was just spoken to like a regular caller lol that was fun.
15
That display gets shown on CBS after part of the Boston Pops concert.
Only question is whether Neil chooses to do Sweet Caroline (Red Sox fans understand) when the show is on the local channel or the national broadcast.
I would love a Hal-cast myself. But his roster is quite full. What we need is a cloning machine.
sorry if 19 was unclear; referring to MJ “the chair is not my son”.
21. So Rebekah was having some fun with Hal? hehe
i enjoy frangela, but i think Hal does a smoother job with the 3 hours. i hope he’s the regular fill-in now.
25, Troj, I guess she figured that he would figure Scott out on his own
Wow, almost forgot to start up the player…. Sparks Time coming.
It’s Sparkin’ Time!
hal bonaduce really is an even cooler babysitter than frangela. one time, at spartan gladus camp, he let us trim the gladiolas with a riding mower.
i know!!! Does Hal see the LB? damn i’m gonna miss him.
gotta be a drive by today, I’m out the door for points North within
the hour. Happy Birthday America, hope you all have a great holiday
Hal has done an excellent job, I hope he sticks around as an
auxiliary mook in the weeks to come.
See what happens when the adult supervision [Chris] leaves?
yesterday we ran amok
it was fun
michael ian black too? sweet!!!
How cool is that? It’s a VH1 reunion!
i know, Mark! have a great weekend
I’m not sure if Hal sees the LB. Hal, if you’re reading this how bout a shout out?
yay!!! Hal’s coming back!
Hal, I have a request…
Do your Chewbacca growl. I love it when you did it on I’ve the 80’s!
Love the Fifth Element!
Yeah, on the last day he figures out the “box”
Hal, you’ve done great! Can’t wait for Labor Day.
#38 Meant I Love the 80’s.
geevie, are you the geevie on Hal’s twitter?
Fatter? Hey, I resemble that!
40, troj, no he did a bit about it early. someone said, “you’re right there in front of steph’s box” and he went with it playing a few sounds like rimshot etc. it was great.
The one and only. I’ve been wearing out my megaphone over there LOL
Good morning, live blogospherians! I’m a little late, but better late than never.
<– technically obese
Great comparison! Right-wing, morbidly obese Christian extremists.
geevie, which was your call? how did you get a shoutout on Hal’s twitter, you lucky dog?
^More than technically obese.
But I just got a job in an old library without elevators and I’m climbing stairs all day long. The only men’s room in the building is in the basement and I work on the third floor. I work off a cheeseburger every time I take a leak.
Yep. It’s the infiltration of high-fructose corn syrup.
I was the one talking about the schizophrenia of the Christian Right. I actually know Hal, been cheering him on since about 2004 with blogs and such to drum up support for him. I see him about two, three times a year on the road, etc.
Excellent work, Ken!
#52 I was about to say the same thing.
The reason that the Christian Right has obesity issues is because you can’t do anything but eat. At least that’s the experience I had being raised Southern Baptist in the middle of Texas.
gonna miss this cat when stephanie crawls back in. if they’d told me you could be that good looking if you avoided alcohol and drugs, with a brain that operates at that speed, I might not have laughed at them in those “just say no” rallies in high school.
gluttony is a sin. work is prayer
One problem with obesity in the religious right….
Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins.
excellent, Geevie. he’s amazing. can you link me to how i can find his tour dates? when i click on “facebook” on his site, it just takes me to facebook, not his page.
LOL Gabby.
Hal doesn’t need drugs. He operates on an entirely different plane.
57, gabby lol i know. funny.
a master paragon of simplicity: “christian” fundamentalism and morbid obesity are linked by being co-symptomatic of maladroitness in understandings of cause and effect.
Good morning, bloggistas! Great week, Hal, come back and babysit the show anytime
Fantastic mash-up, Ken, on Connecticut’s Own Joe Lieberman– the only thing you forgot was a Dire Straits reference that popped in my head yesterday:
Doctor Parkinson declared I’m not surprised to see you here
You’ve got smoker’s cough from smoking, brewer’s droop from drinking beer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Disease_(song)
Well as you all know, the Christian Right has become quite adept at cherry picking parts of the Bible to justify just about anything they want to believe in.
i’ve loved the QAF soundtracks and was always hot to see the show but never did. gonna have to netflix it now!
Sure, let me go grab that info.
61: a great relief to a still-traumatized william shatner.
ok i just thought of a pro-choice argument that, forgive me if people have already put this forward, but i’m new to this side of the table:
even if it is a life, sfw? it isn’t ALWAYS wrong to take a life. it’s sad and it sucks, but it’s not always wrong. see: war, self-defense, etc.
July 9 -11
Comedy Off Broadway
Lexington, KY
*July 15
Carmens Comedy Club
Selah, WA
July 16 – 19
Parlor Live
Bellevue, WA
July 23 – 26
Laughing Skull Lounge
Atlanta, GA
July 28 – Aug 2
Houston Improv
Houston, TX
Aug 7 -8
Arlington Cinema & Draft House
Arlington, VA
Aug 21 – 23
Improv
Pittsburg, PA
via the Zero 1 Myspace Page:
http://www.myspace.com/zero1band
The Houston date is actually a correction, and I’ve added another date in there which is a special engagement, noted by the *.
His Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/hal.sparks
I tried having that argument in a Twitterbate with a so-called Pro-Lifer. I told her that you cannot be pro-life and be pro-war, pro-gun, pro-death penalty, anti-health care and anti-social services. So I resist that term. They’re anti-choicers and I usually let them know as much.
That Sally Kern is a complete whackadoodle. One of my favorite things ever was a photo a gay journalist grabbed of her smiling and posing with him at the RNC.
*Brilliant*.
#61 Geevie: “Hal doesn’t need drugs. He operates on an entirely different plane.”
That describes the midwestern branch of my family, maybe it’s something in the water. We don’t use drugs, we don’t need drugs, we ARE drugs 24/7
whack job woman all worried someone somewhere having fun
whup on her Hal
it’s like that Westboro Baptist Church who protest at
soldier’s funerals, saying they died cause God hates
gay people and America tolerates gay people… it’s
really all about trying to bait people into ‘violating’
their ‘free speech’ so the evil ‘pastor’ can sue you
71 you mean a forced-birther of course
Oh crap, they’re mowing the lawn today. Can hear the landscapers coming.
LOL Juliet. I think that’s Hal’s perception of it too. Can you imagine his brain on drugs??
71: franken’s radio show went into sordid detail on the worst case scenario that was playing out in massive numbers, and with unholy deliberate malice aforethott, with tom delay and company profiting from the anti-choice policies in the mariana islands, up to and including forced abortions. the one stable principle in place was profit. – credit where credit is due: at least in nazi germany, they had stylish dress.
My gay friend researched about the Westboro Church and according to him their bark is worse than their bite. They sound like this big force but actually it’s a skeleton crew.
As it should be.
thanks, Geevie!!
and forced-birther — lol i love it
76: those black helichoppers must be cruising lower than usual. – remember to check out the festive red white and blue tinfoil hats available on my website, with matching 10.2 megapixel corsages.
#79 Yes. Most of these so-called grassroots rightwing groups are a handful of nuts working out of someone’s basement.
YW
Have you ever seen him live? I highly recommend it. This what you’re hearing is Hal Lite.
79: is stephy willing to lend the penalty box, so that we can watch them jello wrestle the catholic league?
OK, I’m out
just my pathetic fantasies to tide me over til next week
this has been a sordid outlet for my unhealthy obsessions
thanks
Geevie. I saw that he was in Columbus last year, but I was not hip to the Hal then.
And Pro-Life is actually an oxymoron. They don’t give a hoot about the woman’s life.
So a woman is a citizen until she gets pregnant, and then a theory of a person supersedes her rights? What a dangerous precedent *that* sets.
have a great Fourth, Mark
Gotta move back inside for a bit, will use the chance to top off the laptop charge.
#87 They don’t give a rat’s ass about the baby’s life either, once it’s been born.
86: massively popular chap. out here in reno, they have an entire “sparks chamber of commerce”.
You might check Amazon. He released a comedy DVD called “Escape from Halcatraz”. Might hold you over until he makes his way around to your neck of the woods.
Then when you see him live you can have him autograph it. Hal’s one of those rare individuals who stays after the show and says hello to everyone, takes pics and gives autographs.
When I saw him in Dallas, one of the club employees was stunned to see that he did that. But Hal sees his fans as his boss. As he says he earns every dime twice.
what are the chances that Hal and Steph have hooked up? they would create a beautiful, funny, and totally f*cked up kid together lol
89: “laptop charge”? – i believe the pyrotechs call that a “trojan candle”. – i wish you skill and luck, since you seem determined to light it indoors.
True that, Left Center.
That was my argument with that nitwit on Twitter. I asked her how many children she’d adopted or fostered to adulthood, or how willing is she to pay higher taxes to pay for their medical care?
She then decides every individual has to be responsible for their own choices.
Well, duh!
Good morning all. Happy BD America. We love ya. we want ya, and we think we’ll keep ya!
Hal has done a lovely job this week hasn’t he? Either he or Frangela is OK by me.
90: who really gives anything away anymore? have you priced rat’s ass lately?
Ha, the sun’s coming out. This won’t last long.
Morning TGIFFERS!
#82: Which basement are they working out of, the one at Faux News?
SP____
#86 Can’t believe I missed him (in Columbus). Was he at the FunnyBone?
Hal hung with Janeane Garofalo at SXSW in Austin and I promptly told him they owed it to the world to procreate.
93: that kid would turn himself gay.
94.
Usually when I surf outside, I bring out an extension cord to plug stuff into. With wet grass outside today, I’m not stupid enough to try that.
I don’t know how many of us listeners are on medicare, but trust me you still need supplemental insurance. The companies can do fine.
98: the sun wont last long? dude! what kind of metaphysical intergalactic gargleblastic bubbleplastic explosives are you launching? expect one whopping fire marshall bill.
Shaf, I saw on a facebook page. A pic and the caption that he was at Funnybone in C-bus.
Not having a public option for medical care is like not having a public option for personal safety. Can you imagine having to pay for security guards because there are no cops?
Would y’all buy these for your home? They are called Solatubes. I love them. I think they cost $600 each out here and that includes full installation.
http://www.solatube.com/homeowner/beforeafter.php
anyone else having livestream issues?
#97 flombaye: “have you priced rat’s ass lately?”
Excellent point, rat’s asses have undoubtedly become a major constituent of hot dogs, and perhaps created a whole new sector of the commodities market, edging out pork bellies.
spiffy, that is SWEET!!!! i’m a poor person though so i can’t afford that stuff but man it’s awesome
Ellen Degeneres takes on Oklahoma Representative Sally Kern:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBmCA4z8Yzc
AND! She got caught trying to carry a gun into the OK Capital not once… but twice.
This is a chick who is packing *heat*.
ok as a rattie-mom, rats’ asses are pricelessly adorable.
Oops!
111—-I don’t own a house but I have seen them in others’ homes. They are wonderful. Someday when I own a house I plan to Solatube it!
Who the heck is talking about government takeover of health care????
103: was ben franklin not stupid enuff to try inventing the skateboard? how stupid would tony hawk look just running around really fast in empty swimming pools? — was ben franklin not stupid enuff to try inventing the post office? where would disgruntled ammo hoarders show off their homicidal rage? — was ben franklin not stupid enuff to try flying a key on a kite in a storm? without that great experiment, how would we ever have perfected the electric key? — let the great american inside of you break free. turn your home into the home of the brave. TRY IT !!!
Those of you who live anyplace but L.A., are you being inundated with Michael Jackson coverage?
116—we are. The left is talking communist health care. Didn’t you get the RW talking points?
“You’re making weird hand gestures and I always do what you tell me” – bad plan.
110: at least until the market forces have mustered with relish.
117—Ben Franklin. A scatterbrained genius. Also the orginal Ladies’ Man.
I live in a smallish city in Texas, we see a certain amount of MJ coverage on our local media but it is just basically repeating the bigger news stories that are released via the national news.
#109 Occasionally, I’m getting a pause (in the Live Stream). But, my laptop is wi-fi to my DSL, so it occasionally catches its breath to buffer.
!08 Spiffy, kewl. What would our world look like if all that innovation hadn’t been suppressed for half a century? Probably not like American Girl Doll Samantha’s World circa 1904:
http://www.amazon.com/Samanthas-World-Girls-eye-Century-American/dp/1593695543/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246629761&sr=8-1
Same train tracks, same fossil fuel based motor cars, same wire-based AC electrical grid….
Ah, they’re done, back outside.
MMMMMMM the smell of fresh mowed grass.
We’ve got to SPARTA today for Hal to give him the proper sendoff.
125—-yes, our futures have been held in check by the forces of megacorporations.
I still imagine L.A. covered with monorails to get to major centers, the way Disney imagnined it.
But instead they are going to build more carpool lanes so everyone will stay in their cars.
122: yes, a ladies’ man to the max, but we may never know the main reasons why… was it the skateboarding skills? was it the bifocals? was it the #1 serial number on the library card?…
#121 flombaye: “at least until the market forces have mustered with relish.”
Reminds me of the highest praise (or lowest) for verbal skill, posted on a cubicle:
“INCORRIGIBLE PUNSTER. Do Not Incorrige.”
I’m not on hold trying to get through this morning so with my big mouth we should be able to SPARTA no problem.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard these guys actually talk to *each other*.
#127 trojanrabbit, I’ve got my spear and shield ready. SPARTA for Hal!
#115: You plan to own a house? Lucky you. I’ve got my eye on a cardboard box…
(Python ref.)
AHA! Hal *was* Cobra Commander on I Love Toys. I knew it.
Public financing of elections will solve most of our funding problems by rendering lobbyists useless. Of course public financing of elections in Japan means government handing out Viagra …
#127 We’re on-track, so it’s do-able.
And, Michael Ian Black was the voice talent behind the Pets.com sock puppet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ian_Black
128: a bit like jack handey’s ambition: “instead of making more and more weapons, we should be getting more use out of the weapons we already have”.
good morning all
this may be a “Hi – bye” because everyone is home today.
#136 And what’s wrong with that?
The key to be a comic genius: Spend 4 years in Chicago.
TO HAL
You’ve done a GREAT job this week. I hope you sub for Steph and the mooks often . . . or even get your own show!
130: punky brewster is encourageable? – didnt know. never really kept abreast of that child’s development.
High School = formative years
Tru ‘dat!
wow so all the pot heads in high school are going to be pot heads as adults?
Hmmm. The sun is out. Mother Nature is recharging her thunderstorm batteries.
134—-I plan many things. Let’s see if God is listening and willing to work with me here! “Come on God, work with me on this!!”
That’s pretty much my daily prayer, lol.
Love Weird Al. He is a genius.
134: the freezing cold lump of dry poison should be no problem with these new smartphones that includes microwave ovens.
#140 I don’t recall saying anything was wrong … just different
146—I love thunderstorms. When I spent a summer back east that was one of the best parts—waiting for the wind to bring in those storms.
#148 I agree. He IS a genius.
I barely remember when Weird Al first got his songs played on Dr. Demento.
Oooo, I just made (SPARTA x .5)!!!
129—I think Franklin was just a terrific flirt and a romantic. The ladies always go for the romance.
137: “was” or IS? – it’s such an improvement.
#151 Until they turn into tornadoes. Been there, done that, don’t want to repeat it.
151
I love them too, especially at night when everything lights up.
The cats, however, can do without them, poor things are terrified of them.
What’s all this about Ben Franklin winning in Minnesota?
Loved this snarkilicious analysis of the Mark Sanford (”Lamont!”) scandal by Bill Maher writer Chris Kelley:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kelly/god-is-my-doorman-mark-sa_b_223472.html
Favorite quote: “American Evangelicals love Revelation, because it doesn’t make a lick of sense and then everything explodes.”
157—but back east they don’t often turn into tornadoes.
Cathy wears a wig?????
160—LOL, having once known many evangelicals I have to say that quote is dead on. Everything is confusing and then all the sinners die! Woo hoo!
M.I.B. on Reaper = Great!!
This was a very funny bit on The Daily Show yesterday:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/03/shut-up-sanford-stewart-b_n_225360.html
I saw that Stewart/Sanford clip this morning. One more reason why I love Jon Stewart.
Crush on Jeanine? There is hope, #101!
I actually crush on Hal’s crushing on Janeane. If they ever have a child that child will run the world. Just saying.
LOL, #167. I pray every night. Might change tactics and sacrifice chickens soon, I haven’t decided.
Stephanie’s “sleep Number” is 90 – She likes it firm … My, my! Howdee-doo!
Hey the Statue of Liberty’s crown is reopening tomorrow!
God I wish the whole nation, myself included, could just erase the evil memories of the past 8 years from our minds.
Do you know that home prices in many parts of the country have fallen to 2003 levels or lower? That means that all the gains in equity people have made over the past 6 years, IF they were able to stay in their homes, has simply vanished. Poof!
Hal and Jeanine will make babies funnier and cuter than that two year old that was yelling “I want my money!” at Will Ferrell on the you-tubes…
They would indeed.
We should start a campaign.
#171 I got to go into the crown (of the Statue of Libery) back in the mid-70’s. The walk up the spiral staircase was well worth it.
You gotta love a man who can use the word “pejorative” in casual conversation.
Did you always want to be a comedian?
Well, not in the womb, but right after that, yeah.
You go, Hal, standing up for Comedian-Americans everywhere! I prefer “Boss Limbaugh” too– never underestimate the power of humor to take down the powerful and corrupt:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Nast#Campaign_against_the_Tweed_Ring
Beck and Limbaugh, sitting in a tree….
Okay, he’s a simpleton!
God I hope the idiot I had this debate with earlier in the week is listening.
See… I knew if I called in yesterday he’d talk about stuff I wanted to call in about today.
Men!
#177 As the Daily Show and others has proven, comedians wield a tremendous amount of power thru their truth-telling.
Good morning, excellent MookenBloggsters!
Late, as usual.. Sorry.
Hal has done a very good job, IMO. I still think they should have given him a box, but he does well without one.
#181 Yeah! Men! Sheesh!
#174 Shaf: “I got to go into the crown (of the Statue of Libery) back in the mid-70’s. The walk up the spiral staircase was well worth it.”
Speak for yourself, fella, I visited the crown via the endless spiral staircase back in the “60’s, but riding up on my dad’s shoulders (I was five, it was the “60’s, cars didn’t even HAVE seatbelts in the back seat).
Actually, it was really cool and the view unforgettable. Back then it was a big deal that they’d closed off the torch
#183 – Just type HAL in the box …
182—I sometimes wonder if comedians and children are the only two groups of people who can get away with truth telling. And possibly the very old.
Bye Hal!! Great job!
We’ll miss you Hal!!
uh-oh. Dead air. Hal must be in the restroom. Fill in producer!
It particularly galls many Republicans that somehow their “speech” about homosexuals, blacks, Mexicans, non-Conspicuous Christians, etc. is being constrained. Remember, this is the same bunch who is delighted to constrain political speech at every opportunity!
Hi Hal & livebloggers!!
#183 Ivan, Good morning! Hal brought his own box, chock full of Black Adder and the Big Lebowski
Positive thinking can make things worse
Positive thinking may lower self-esteem
REPEATING positive statements such as “I am a lovable person” or “I will succeed” makes some people feel worse about themselves instead of raising their self-esteem, a study says.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25727809-401,00.html
Hello Murph. Do you have an excuse for not live blogging?
Dangerous speech should be curbed. If the Holocaust Museum murderer had been targeted for his hate speech, Stephen Johns might be alive today and his 11 year old son wouldn’t have to grow up without a father.
But see they instead make it like you can’t say “homosexuality is a sin” in a church so they can get their “values voting army” on board to gum up the works.
193: yeh, I heard some of that.. guess I’m missing the fart sounds.
“hate” crimes are mislabeled… They’re really about driving away “those people” — & “hate crime laws” are SENTENCING GUIDELINES
It astounds me that people don’t get this.
Spiffy, I blame work… in fact I’m here because I’m on vacation!
Great analysis of hate crime, Hal– the other problem, besides a large class of future victims, is that it calls to others in your group (race, religion, etc.) to join you and avenge your death/imprisonment and/or feel the I-belong-to-a-group goodness of joining your hate crime cause.
How to Win Friends and Influence People, the Hal Sparks version.
I got to go on the White House & Capitol tours the last 2 days ( & almost got to see Franken’s office)!
Limbaugh, O’Reilly, Beck, Savage, Hannity – As they sow, so shall they reap.
I’d define hate speech with the example of Bill O’Reilly, openly egging right wing idiots on to kill an abortion doctor. How that bastard sleeps at night, I don’t know..
This same rabid right wing crowd was insisting that I was being treasonous by criticizing George W. Bush and his goddam illegal Iraq War, that I was “not supporting the troops” by my supporting the troops and not wanting their blood and limbs pissed away in an oil war.
Every time I am reminded of the death and maiming associated with Bush’s Iraq War, I want to retch. Surely Bush and his compadres have a special corner reserved in Hell for their earthly deeds.
That’s because Rush and Beck benefit off of the mob mentality. They need to keep people gunning on those knee jerk reactions of fear and hatred because it keeps people easier to control. Take away that hate speech and then all their arguments fall apart.
#195 spiffy: “Hello Murph. Do you have an excuse for not live blogging?”
Yeah, Murph, where’s your hall pass?
204—don’t be so sure. Money can buy people a lot of comfort and freedom.
#205 At this point, I’d settle for a special corner (in the docket) in The Hague.
Ivan, it’s how they work, of course. All they have to remember is: repubs good, us bad. WE have to actually get the facts. Then they don’t listen to them.
Look at this. A 3,000 mile pipeline is to be built in the Sahara.
Gosh, wouldn’t Africa be a great place for solar power? But we are so slow on getting it there aren’t we? So Big Oil has stepped in to enslave a new continent to its product with a pipeline to top it off.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8132823.stm
#208 – Natural selection and ‘divine’ or cosmic retribution have a way of cirmcumventing money and power.
Exactly. I wrote my Representative (or should I say the Representative of my district, he certainly doesn’t represent *me*) about his co-sponsoring a “Birther Bill” to further cast doubt on Obama’s citizenship.
This has been proven many times over, but they keep doing this boneheaded stuff that aggravates people who are already freaked out that there’s someone “different” in the White House.
They did a poll in my newspaper, 73% of respondents actually *doubt* Obama’s citizenship, and it’s because of these hate mongers on the Right.
I told the Representative that he’s just stoking the fires in a very dangerous way. What he needed to do was work *with* the president instead of being so divisive.
I stopped short of telling him that if blood was spilled it’d be his fault, because you know we on the left aren’t allowed to say stuff like that without getting a knock at the door.
205—I see no reason why we have to expect God to clean up their messes after death. Let’s try them right now. No hell, just prison time here and now.
As I said, I blame work. I HAVE a desk, but I don’t spend much time there.
213—where the heck do you live?
Many of the Conspicuous Christians on the right are convinced that Obama’s presidency is part of biblical history – he’s the Anti-Christ so many of them think they know about..
And, of course, the Rapture can’t be too far away!
I was just thinking about the gang thing with spray painting. Should there be a difference between spray painting one’s name on a wall and spray painting gang symbols on that wall?
Abilene, Texas. Representative Randy Neugerbauer (Bush crony who only one this district because Bush had redistricted the area to include more rural areas and effective unseated a 20+ year Democrat Representative), has co-sponsored the “Birther Bill”.
I’ve been told that we are or were in the Guiness Book of Records for most churches in a town, which might explain the shocking absence logical thought.
I actually left a church who tried to persuade the vote in 2004 as being less about war and more about homosexual marriage.
Caller can bite my ass.
What’s really hilarious about that end-time stuff is that that brand of “Christianity” has been saying they were living in the end times since the 1830s or thereabouts when that belief system started.
#217 The ‘End Timers’ were convinced the new millennium was to be the time of the Rapture. My guess is, they are going to latch on to the 2012 Mayan calendar B.S. as their next available rapture date.
This caller is wrong. Motive is a factor on murder. Murder 1 is preconceived murder. Murder 2 is not. Murder 2 is said to be a crime of passion with no preplanning and may carry a lighter sentence.
#218 – The ‘crime’ itself is defacing property (public or private). What is painted holds no real inherent danger.
217—they said that about Pope John Paul and about Gorbachev too.
#223 And in order to try a case, don’t at least the police look for both motive and opportunity…and doesn’t the prosecution try to prove both?
#225 There was one televangelist maybe 15-20 years ago who had King Juan Carlos of Spain pegged as the Antichrist.
219—-I’m sorry. There are a fair amount of Texas transplants in L.A. When I meet them they always say they are glad to have gotten away.
I think of “hate crime” legislation as simply adding aggravating or mitigating factors to a crime. For example, in New York, first degree murder is reserved for killing a cop. All other intentional murders are second degree, so the importance of protecting cops is an aggravating factor.
Likewise, in burglary or robbery charges, carrying a weapon, whether the premises is a residence or at night are all aggravating factors that scale up your charges. So it’s no big deal to toss in a longstanding seething hatred of a particular group as something that intensifies the seriousness of criminal behavior.
My biggest gripe is where DA’s complain they can’t charge someone because there isn’t a custom written law. The defendant has conked someone over the head with a cappuccino machine. The DA shrugs because there is no law specifically criminializing this act. What’s wrong with just using a general assault and battery charge?
Shocking rape statistics:
1 in 6 women will be raped in her lifetime, yet less than 6% of rapists will ever step foot in a jail.
Worse than this, nearly half (46%) who are released from jail are rearrested within three years for committing another offense, not necessarily rape. They tend to be serial criminals.
So we crack down on pot smokers but let these more dangerous criminals walk free AND punish the victim (in places like Texas and Alaska) by making her pay for the things that will ensure a conviction (i.e. a rape kit).
I’d say hitting someone over the head with a cappuccino machine is assault with a deadly weapon.
The stream stopped all of a sudden. Then I realized I can actually use a radio to listen. How ’bout that?
#223 spiffy, “This caller is wrong. Motive is a factor on murder. Murder 1 is preconceived murder. Murder 2 is not. Murder 2 is said to be a crime of passion with no preplanning and may carry a lighter sentence.”
Technically that is correct about many murder statutes, motive is not always one of the elements of the crime that must be proved. But as a practical matter it is very, very difficult to get a murder conviction if you do not show motive.
#231 – It would have to be a crime of passion – Do you know how much those things cost!?
#228, I actually did live in Los Angeles and other parts of California for many years.
I love Texas… her citizens though can (and regularly do) drive me up a tree.
It’s not easy being a little blue in a big red ocean.
227—-Ironically, when we finally did have a world leader who was the closest thing to the antichrist—Hitler—I have heard only one evangelical pastor on the radio say that Hitler is pretty much what an antichrist would be like if he came around.
But I used to listen to Christian radion a great deal back in the 80s and after all that listening, only one pointed out that Hitler was a good model for what an antichrist would be like.
Isn’t that tragic? They can’t see the obvious comparison.
Now I hardly ever listen to the Christian stations. They are all RW and they don’t have more than one preacher on there who agrees with my lifeview.
235—I think it would make me crazy(er). I would have to find a Democrat club and cling to them for safety. And I doubt I’d ever be able to find a liberal-leaning church in such a place.
#237 Well, truth be told I haven’t really looked for a liberal leaning church after that last experience. Thank God for Sojourners. They are like a life raft.
It actually keeps me pretty fired up and I do better work that way. Have blog, will travel.
And believe it or not you do find more liberals than you would think. I have many. My best friend is a gay man in Amarillo, Texas – we do our time in the trenches that’s for sure.
So I kid myself into think I’m doing something positive.
Henry was awesome in Arrested Development.
230—Those are actually better statistics than I heard in college. In the late 70s in college we were told in a sociology class that 1 of 4 women would be sexually assaulted in her lifetime.
But you’re right. Male judges don’t seem to think a rape is worth a long sentence, but smoking crack? Oh that’ll get you 20 years.
Rape a woman = 6 years. Buy cocaine = 15.
Gee I wish a woman were worth as much to the justice system as a crack users’ body!
#238—-you are. You are the voice in the wilderness.
#241 – Thank God that isn’t a bear!
Keepin’ the Faith!
hey. had to step out. who is he talking to?
240 – Me too. If we were, there wouldn’t even be a question about the legality of abortion.
Our rights are circumvented (raped, if you will) in more than one way. Which is probably why 60 some odd percent of rape survivors never report the crime. Being violated by the body is only the beginning. You have to get past the law enforcement and the legal system, which is made to discredit you.
He’s talking to the Fonz. Henry Winkler.
#241 – I hope it works out better for me than John the Baptist.
#237: I’m not sure I like these leaning churches – I like them to keep standing straight while I’m in there.
I’m proud to be a bleeding-heart liberal.
oh wow thanks, Geevie! I’m lovin the conversation!
Tangled Together
The roots of all living things are tied together. Deep in the ground of being, they tangle and embrace. This understanding is expressed in the term nonduality. If we look deeply, we find that we do not have a separate self-identity, a self that does not include sun and wind, earth and water, creatures and plants, and one another.
Joan Halifax Roshi
That’s the one thing Hal needs to do: repeat the person’s name through out conversation. that’s my one critique!
The good news is that my two kids, 19 and 16, have been raised with a very specific moral barometer that can often contrast with their peers – but they are both very strong personalities and can (and do) make impact where I can’t.
Like I said, I have a gay friend who I’ve known for 29 years, so they’ve grown up with “Uncle Jeff”… and my 19 year old took on his entire class, including the teacher, to defend gay marriage.
I wish I had a 10th of their courage when I was their age.
#252 I think that’s a result of his inexperience. Most talk-show hosts will insert the person’s name about 5 times in the amount of time the Henry Winkler interview has gone on.
Does Hal sh*t in the woods?
Said 19 year old still wears his “Yes We Can” bracelet. His first vote cast was for Barack Obama. It brought tears to my eyes.
Thanks, Henry! You are wonderful.
#247 – Now don’t lose your head!
#248 LOL. Yeah it helps if they’re standing straight up.
My favorite story…
A grungy hippie type dude goes into a church. He sits in the back out of the way. Eventually though, the Deacons come to him and inform him that his presence is scaring the other congregants, and ask him to leave.
As he leaves the church, he runs into Jesus who falls into step beside him. “Lord,” he says, “I only wanted to go in there and hear your word, but they told me to leave.”
Jesus responds, “That’s okay. That don’t let me in either.”
#255 – You mean does he evacuate his bowels in sylvan environments?
#258 – I’m hanging on with all I’ve got
#255: and if he did, would it get a laugh?
Gotta fly for the weekend– looks like you’ll have to storm the Hot Gates of Thermopylae without me– remember SPARTA !!
Thanks for a great week, Hal, come back and visit!
Light stuff. Mark Sanford?
#262 – If anyone was around to hear it …
YES!
That Sanford & Sons theme song makes me giggle. It does sound slightly pornographic in a very 70s wah wah kind of way, doesn’t it?
256—My son also voted for Obama as his first presidential choice. He was very excited. I called all 3 of my kids that day to make sure they voted!!
268 – Looks like we’re doing something right!
Fellow Mookies, I must hang.
It’s been a pleasure, don’t you ever change a thing!
Have a great 4th weekend, I insist. No, I *demand* that you do!
Next Monday. Meet me here.
L.
Half hour left and we are bearing down quite slowly on SPARTA people! (clap, clap) Let’s get a move on!! No slackers!
Those aren’t spirit fingers! THESE are spirit fingers!!!
253—that’s wonderful.
BUT SERIOUSLY PEOPLE: What’s up with this new trend of reading car commercials during the show? I’m hearing it all the time on KTLK; Hal’s doing it, even Mike Molloy’s doing it. Do they really need the cash that badly?
#270 Don’t let the noose get too tight.
Live reads tend to sell more of the product because it sounds like an endorsement by the audience’s favorite radio host(s).
#272 – Sure do! It’s Progressive talk!
Oops…#275 was a reply to #273.
Final half hour. Tear.
253—my problem is, I hate arguing with people. I’ll argue in print and on blogs because then I don’t have to deal with an angry face in my face staring me down, but in person, I’m not one who craves the argument.
I’m in a bit of a debate now with a political group I have joined that is bipartisan and I don’t know if I will be able to stay. I can’t see getting together with people twice a month just to wrangle over power and get nothing of value done.
That must be what congress is like.
You did do great work this week. You do great work every week. But I’m biased.
273
um….yes? That is why it’s called COMMERCIAL radio, for better or worse.
You know comedians everywhere are praying every day for Sanford to keep talking.
You know what? I think the Sanfords are both going so public with their problems because they want the public to give them permission to divorce.
Sanfords, go ahead. No one cares! Get a divorce and marry your soulmate. We really don’t care!
Hmmm…in that whole “ine” segment of the song, no “tan line”? Missed opportunity.
Hal has been great this week!
Show them how spunky strong is your fight
It doesn’t matter if you’re wrong or right
Just SPARTA!!!
But I do miss me some Frangela …
#282 Between Sanford and Tappy McWidestance, it’s Comedy Gold.
273—yes.
Just wanted to say that i listened to the music-tip that Henri Winkler gave. And this is pretty great! See Edward Sharpe and de Magnetic Zeros at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buQpcpQqdKo
Thanks for 15 hrs of pretty cool radio, Hal!
#283 I think they’re exploring the possibility of the public actually buying it if they stay together.
236
Wanna really be scared, just tune the shortwave bands. If it’s in English it’s nothing but religious nuts.
LOL, Hal needs a fan in his room at night to drown out the cat jumping on the roof.
SPARTA!
Dang.
I did like that “Walk the Line” parody.
Go see Hal if you can. He really is crazy talented. Very physical, very smart. I can’t recommend it enough.
293
Having a fan on in the bedroom usually keeps my cats away.
Sparta
Independence Day Sparta!
Happy Independence Day Sparta!
SPARTA
SPARTA!!
Dang!
Bows to spiffy!
Congrats!
I hope he posts that Walk the Line somewhere, I’ll let y’all know if he does.
spiffy! you did it! Congrats!
Spiffy, for the win! *bows*
spiffyhussein you rock
Sweat him out, Jenny Sanford!
296
Now see, you did that on purpose, I had to respond to that and it interfered with my quest for Sparta. Nice work.
#281: um … yes, and commercials belong in the COMMERCIAL BREAK.
Bye y’all. it’s been a slice. Don’t drink and drive.
291—oh is that it? It’s all political calculations? Geez, just what the world needs—more lawyers married and plotting together.
Go marry the Argentine lady! We don’t care!
#313 Can we drink and walk?
These are not my hours so I will likely be absent unless Hal’s on – but you guys have made this a fun week and I thank you for that. Thanks also for your warm reception of Hal, I’m sure he appreciates your feedback. He’s just that kind of guy.
Thank you, thank you. Here are the only lame fireworks I know how to make. ****
* ***
**** *
** ****
* ***
**** *
They are very horizontal.
#314 Everything a politician does is based on political calculation.
Glad you could join us, Geevie! Come back any ‘ol time.
311—I have missed many a sparta writing a reply to a post.
#316 Hal has done a great job for a first effort. Or for any effort for that matter.
Take care Geevie!
Thanks, caller.
Thank you so much. Until we meet again
If you like you can follow on twitter or read my blogs as well… I’m pretty easy to find. 
Keep the fires burning!
321—yes he has. I think it would be hard for any of us to stay interesting for 2.5 hours of talking.
#298: I keep cats in my bedroom to keep the fans away.
326—I can’t sleep with my cats. The one is a blurting meower. She’ll wander around the room and meow for no reason. The other is a good cuddler but she’s kind of a bed hog.
Great cartoon on the Michael Jackson newshype: http://picturesforsadchildren.com/blog/famous.png
#327 If you think a cat is a bed hog, try sleeping with a beagle.
OK, I have to go be productive today. Yesterday I was not feeling up to 100% so I didn’t get much done, but today I’m OK so I must make up for time lost!
Have a great 4th everyone!
328—-oh wow, that is awesome. I love the news and all reporters but the MJ coverage has encroached into the land of the absurd lately.
okay, back from breakfast. 155: so, pretty much the chess club AND the skateboard then?
Hal, in Illinois the Democrats control both houses and the Governor’s mansion, and they can’t pass a budget.
159: that’s another thing. the man invented a hole in the ice, which really improved ice-fishing.
Bernie Sanders votes with the Dems pretty consistently.
Good Morning Board. Just jutting in to say Happy 4th to everybody.
And a big Happy 47th to Tom Cruise. Hope that’s not obsessive and glib!
See you all on Monday when Momma’s back!
Does Rebekah get to go on vacation now?
Hope so….
Thanks, Tony and Becks! You two are awesome!
what’s with the bidenesque paranoia about firecrackers in the teeth?
Thank you Rebekah!
Hal, you found your voice. You’ve been awesome!
Yay
Enjoy your vacation Rebekah!
Great job Hal! Come again!
Have an wonderful and safe Independence Day!
218: my friend, no parking, calaims that there is a difference.
an = a (grrrr!)
Happy Fourth of July to you all. See you Monday.
Bye all, greets from Holland
221: goes back further than that; the book of revelation was expected to fulfill in a matter of weeks. check out the cliffs notes on paul.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk4dewtmczU&feature=related
Happy 4th all! See you Mondee.
Happy Birthday, America!
Enjoy the Fourth, Mama!
Oh, how I look forward to Mama’s being back on the air.
Mama!