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The Christmas Spirit
Author: BobR Date: 12/10/2010 11:37:39

I know it seems that we (collectively, as a blog) have been doing a lot of these "open thread" blogs recently, but I personally have not, so I guess I am cashing in my Get Out Of Jail Free Card for this one. We were out yesterday from lunch time until nearly bedtime at the White House Tree Lighting ceremony, so I didn't have any time to prepare anything.

The tree lighting was an amazing experience. We got to see some amazing performances, including BB King, and both President Obama and Michelle in person (albeit at a distance). It was friggin' cold, though.

So that's my excuse. Photos are here.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs473.ash2/74665_1751758955774_1292899656_32028908_4565631_n.jpg

40 comments (Latest Comment: 12/10/2010 20:42:16 by TriSec)
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Comment by

TriSec on 12/10/2010 14:08:20

Good morning, comrades. Scott Brown is a tool.

I recall stating not very long ago that I had no reason to doubt his sincerity regarding veteran's issues. Well, now I do.

If he does this on DADT, I will now have to wonder if the legislation he sponsored to investigate and clean up Arlington will also fail, probably with him voting against it as well. (If it ever comes to a vote, that is.)

I will be calling his office about it sometime today.

Comment by

Raine on 12/10/2010 14:51:15

Good Morning.

How's everything today?

Comment by

Raine on 12/10/2010 14:52:03

Quote by TriSec:
Good morning, comrades. Scott Brown is a tool.

I recall stating not very long ago that I had no reason to doubt his sincerity regarding veteran's issues. Well, now I do.

If he does this on DADT, I will now have to wonder if the legislation he sponsored to investigate and clean up Arlington will also fail, probably with him voting against it as well. (If it ever comes to a vote, that is.)

I will be calling his office about it sometime today.

How many times has that man said he's do something only to do the opposite so far?

Comment by

TriSec on 12/10/2010 14:53:38

What a total DC thing to do yesterday, BTW.

I've done the Boston equivalent...in 2003, we won the lottery and got aboard the USS Constitution for the July 4th turnaround cruise. I still have the certificate.

Comment by

Scoopster on 12/10/2010 14:53:48

Both he and Susan Collins trotted out the excuse that "Oh the tax cuts aren't passed yet, and we promised we weren't letting anything pass until they did so we warned ya!"

Dickheads.. We should've also seen Joe Manchin's no vote coming..

Comment by

Scoopster on 12/10/2010 15:05:28

Oh right.. Good mornin' & Happy Fridee too!

Comment by

Raine on 12/10/2010 15:13:54

Quote by TriSec:
What a total DC thing to do yesterday, BTW.

I've done the Boston equivalent...in 2003, we won the lottery and got aboard the USS Constitution for the July 4th turnaround cruise. I still have the certificate.

the people in front of us in line came from Los Angeles and the couple behind us were from Wisconsin. So I g=figured when we got to our seats, I'd ask the kids were next to me where they were from.

They were from Alexandria. Go figure!

Comment by

TriSec on 12/10/2010 15:16:17

"Straight no Chaser" (jazz podcast) is doing an hour tribute to Mr. Lennon this week...his and Beatles' tunes as covered by jazz musicians. Very nice.

(And "Norwegian Wood" is used in jazz circles as an example of Mixolydian minor-scale harmony, but I digress.)

Comment by

Raine on 12/10/2010 15:19:10

BTW -- Shane -O posted the podcast yesterday! But DO NOT listen till after Momma!

Comment by

wickedpam on 12/10/2010 15:40:43

Morning

Finally in from the last dentist visit of the year

woohoo!

I love that you went the tree lighting

I wish they did it on a weekend I would love to go, heck I would like to go to the one in Manassas but they do that on a week night too.

Comment by

TriSec on 12/10/2010 15:42:49

Ours were on the weekend....locally we always do the Friday after Thanksgiving, then the City of Boston (our famed "Nova Scotia" tree, also serving as the de facto Massachusetts tree) is usually the first weekend in December.

Comment by

TriSec on 12/10/2010 15:43:56

BTW, Bob getting soft there?

We had 13 degrees in Waltham this morning, with scattered single-digits.

Come on, was it as cold as the inaugural? (which wasn't that bad, IMHO.)

Comment by

Raine on 12/10/2010 15:44:56

Why would a DADT Standalone bill have a better chance?

No seriously, I want to know how.

Comment by

TriSec on 12/10/2010 15:55:45

Quote by Raine:
Why would a DADT Standalone bill have a better chance?

No seriously, I want to know how.

I don't think it would, but if a standalone comes to the floor, we'd be able to "out" the homophobes in the Senate and target them for next time.

Could be a shrewd move, if it comes to that.

Comment by

Raine on 12/10/2010 15:58:24

Quote by TriSec:
BTW, Bob getting soft there?

We had 13 degrees in Waltham this morning, with scattered single-digits.

Come on, was it as cold as the inaugural? (which wasn't that bad, IMHO.)

SEriously Tri -- "wasn't that bad" ???? HMM... I may have to have a conversation with Maria.

Comment by

Raine on 12/10/2010 16:02:28

Quote by TriSec:
Quote by Raine:
Why would a DADT Standalone bill have a better chance?

No seriously, I want to know how.

I don't think it would, but if a standalone comes to the floor, we'd be able to "out" the homophobes in the Senate and target them for next time.

Could be a shrewd move, if it comes to that.

Yes because losing a fight on principle in order to out people as homophobes has always helped in the long run. (SEE: Mike Rogers)

We already know who the homophobes are. McCain comes to mind. Do we need MORE proof of the homophobe? How much more proof do we need?

Comment by

Raine on 12/10/2010 16:04:49

Quote by TriSec:
Quote by Raine:
Why would a DADT Standalone bill have a better chance?

No seriously, I want to know how.

I don't think it would, but if a standalone comes to the floor, we'd be able to "out" the homophobes in the Senate and target them for next time.

Could be a shrewd move, if it comes to that.

Shrewd move by who, and for whom? This is where I am very curious.

Comment by

TriSec on 12/10/2010 16:08:06

If the Repugs can make "God, Gays, and Guns" a campaign slogan, then we should fight fire with fire.

Comment by

TriSec on 12/10/2010 16:11:46

It's like this; who's your favorite ballplayer?

ALCS, game 7, bottom of the ninth. Papelbon screws up and grooves a big meatball over the plate.

You want him to swing, or take the pitch?

I'm getting really tired of all this pussyfooting around; the GOP has given us REAMS of opportunity to out them for what they really are, and the party leadership does nothing.

It's that whole 'message' thing that Rude Pundit and Hightower have been harping about the past 2 weeks or so. (check their blogs.)

Why does the GOP excel at this and we suck? This, more than anything else, is why democrats lose elections.

Comment by

wickedpam on 12/10/2010 16:17:52

Quote by Raine:
Quote by TriSec:
BTW, Bob getting soft there?

We had 13 degrees in Waltham this morning, with scattered single-digits.

Come on, was it as cold as the inaugural? (which wasn't that bad, IMHO.)

SEriously Tri -- "wasn't that bad" ???? HMM... I may have to have a conversation with Maria.

I think the body heat of 1 million people helped that day

Comment by

wickedpam on 12/10/2010 16:41:00

ya know I heard someone say that hunting is a sport - so killing is a pasttime for this person. I've always thought of hunting as a means to put food on the table if that's what you choose to eat.

Comment by

TriSec on 12/10/2010 16:47:38

Well, I am dressed for the conditions today.

Actually comfortable in this freakin' icebox that passes for a cube farm.

I bet I could find a store down your way that has some workshops on dressing properly for the winter, getting out with your winter sports toys, and stuff like that.

Comment by

BobR on 12/10/2010 16:48:22

Quote by TriSec:
BTW, Bob getting soft there?

We had 13 degrees in Waltham this morning, with scattered single-digits.

Come on, was it as cold as the inaugural? (which wasn't that bad, IMHO.)

We were frizzin on that day too. In this case, we spent 2.5 hrs sitting in a plastic chair, 1.5 hrs of which was after the sun went down. That's way different than walking around in the cold and keeping the blood circulating. In fact - I started thawing out once it was over when we walked to the Metro station and was moving again.

Comment by

BobR on 12/10/2010 16:49:13

Quote by TriSec:
Well, I am dressed for the conditions today.

Actually comfortable in this freakin' icebox that passes for a cube farm.

I bet I could find a store down your way that has some workshops on dressing properly for the winter, getting out with your winter sports toys, and stuff like that.

You seem to forget I grew up in the snow belt of upper NY. *harumph*

Comment by

BobR on 12/10/2010 16:50:44

Quote by TriSec:
It's like this; who's your favorite ballplayer?

ALCS, game 7, bottom of the ninth. Papelbon screws up and grooves a big meatball over the plate.

You want him to swing, or take the pitch?

I'm getting really tired of all this pussyfooting around; the GOP has given us REAMS of opportunity to out them for what they really are, and the party leadership does nothing.

It's that whole 'message' thing that Rude Pundit and Hightower have been harping about the past 2 weeks or so. (check their blogs.)

Why does the GOP excel at this and we suck? This, more than anything else, is why democrats lose elections.

I've come to the conclusion that no one listens to the Democrats' message, regardless of how good it is. Perhaps they just like snide mean-spirited messages, and we're just too decent to pull it off convincingly.

Comment by

TriSec on 12/10/2010 16:53:48

Quote by BobR:

We were frizzin on that day too. In this case, we spent 2.5 hrs sitting in a plastic chair, 1.5 hrs of which was after the sun went down. That's way different than walking around in the cold and keeping the blood circulating. In fact - I started thawing out once it was over when we walked to the Metro station and was moving again.

Oooh, right. Point taken.

I overdressed last weekend to go out to see the "Zoolights" in Stoneham, precisely because it was going to be after sundown. We were moving around, though.

Comment by

livingonli on 12/10/2010 16:54:46

Good morning folks. Working late is really screwing my life.

Instead of going after the homophobes, how about going after certain GOP closet cases who may not want to be outed (like a certain SC senator who's sexual orientation's been questioned).

Comment by

livingonli on 12/10/2010 17:00:48

I think the other problem is that the owners of the corporate media are largely GOP supporters who seem in the deregulation era to have no problem with unadorned right-wing propaganda. I don't know how many times I have posted examples of how the left-wing media description is bullshit.

Comment by

TriSec on 12/10/2010 17:01:38

Quote by BobR:

I've come to the conclusion that no one listens to the Democrats' message, regardless of how good it is. Perhaps they just like snide mean-spirited messages, and we're just too decent to pull it off convincingly.

As sad as that sounds, that actually seems plausible.

Americans on the whole are rude, selfish bastards. (at least the rest of the world tells us this.)

Sometimes I feel like a minority in my own country. I wonder what it is that makes a Republican (and some "christians") look at a family in need and say "fuck them, I've got mine"...where I'd wonder if there's anything we could do to help.

Comment by

wickedpam on 12/10/2010 17:02:53

Quote by TriSec:
Quote by BobR:

I've come to the conclusion that no one listens to the Democrats' message, regardless of how good it is. Perhaps they just like snide mean-spirited messages, and we're just too decent to pull it off convincingly.

As sad as that sounds, that actually seems plausible.

Americans on the whole are rude, selfish bastards. (at least the rest of the world tells us this.)

Sometimes I feel like a minority in my own country. I wonder what it is that makes a Republican (and some "christians") look at a family in need and say "fuck them", I've got mine...where I'd wonder if there's anything we could do to help.

come to my next HOA meeting you can see 3 of them in action

Comment by

wickedpam on 12/10/2010 17:12:52

Is Bernie doing an actual filabuster or is he just making a speech?

Comment by

livingonli on 12/10/2010 17:32:56

Quote by wickedpam:
Is Bernie doing an actual filabuster or is he just making a speech?

From what I hear, he is filibustering. Some GOP thugs need to be shamed about their service to the ruling class.

Comment by

wickedpam on 12/10/2010 17:36:00

Quote by livingonli:
Quote by wickedpam:
Is Bernie doing an actual filabuster or is he just making a speech?

From what I hear, he is filibustering. Some GOP thugs need to be shamed about their service to the ruling class.

I was just about to say that now that Thom has said he's been doing this for 2hours now

Comment by

TriSec on 12/10/2010 18:18:00

War on Christmas alert -

Some of us have started putting up little things around the office.

Word just came down from HR that all "holiday" decorations are banned fortwith and to remove them at once.

I'm tempted to put the Grinch up as monitor wallpaper for the duration.

Comment by

TriSec on 12/10/2010 18:19:02

*chortle*

Maybe an anonymous email is due to Mr. O'Reilly.

Comment by

wickedpam on 12/10/2010 18:27:00

Quote by TriSec:
War on Christmas alert -

Some of us have started putting up little things around the office.

Word just came down from HR that all "holiday" decorations are banned fortwith and to remove them at once.

I'm tempted to put the Grinch up as monitor wallpaper for the duration.

ye - ouch - that's just cold

Comment by

TriSec on 12/10/2010 19:20:14

OK, Senator Tool's office has been contacted.

I chose to write instead of call...but I may still follow-up with a phone call anyway.

He's still an asshat.

Comment by

livingonli on 12/10/2010 19:51:15

Quote by TriSec:
OK, Senator Tool's office has been contacted.

I chose to write instead of call...but I may still follow-up with a phone call anyway.

He's still an asshat.

With the teabaggers challenging him and hopefully a pissed-off liberal constituency will make him a 1/3-term Senator.

Comment by

BobR on 12/10/2010 20:09:23

IT'S FRIDAY, YA BASTAHDS!