Author Archives: Brendan

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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.] Tropical Storm Karen has formed in the Gulf of Mexico, and is expected to hit somewhere along the northern Gulf coast this weekend. Hurricane Watches are up from Louisiana to Florida. The computer models are split on Karen’s likely landfall location, as you can see above: those are the Canadian… Read more »

GOP lunacy is mortgaging the party’s future (which might have been me)

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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.] I have, for a long time, flirted with the idea of switching my major-party affiliation (and have been repeatedly told by conservative friends that, based on my opinions about various issues, I should switch, or even that I inevitably will switch someday). Truth is, I have a significant streak of… Read more »

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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.] Yay, a debate between an indefensible position and a defensible one! #journalism #balance #CNNfail

Amendment XXVIII

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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.] I propose the following amendment to the U.S. Constitution: In the event of a government shutdown due to a lapse in funding, all members of Congress immediately and automatically lose their jobs. They may remain in office on an interim basis, at the federal minimum wage, until such time as… Read more »

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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.] I’ve been trying really hard not to argue with People Who Are Wrong On The Internet about this shutdown nonsense – that’s part of the reason for my indefinite Twitter hiatus* – but I just need to get this out of my system. (And since I rarely get into arguments… Read more »

Sovereignty, sir. Ours!

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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.] This morning, upon seeing David Cameron’s huffy tweet in response to Vladimir Putin’s “small island” insult, I was reminded – as I often am, whenever British people get adorably piqued about something – of my favorite line from a terrible 1990s made-for-TV movie: “Sovereignty, sir. Ours!” The line is from… Read more »

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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.] Hilarious conversation among the Loy ladies, sitting around the dining-room table this morning: Loyacita, 4: Mom! Look at my map. It’s the sun, Mars, Jupiter and Earth. But there’s an asteroid coming! Oh no!Loyette, 5: Quick! Hop on the magical boat!Becky: The magical boat?Loyette: Like the magic school bus, but… Read more »

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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.] Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) tweeted this image earlier today, with a one-word caption: “Unacceptable.” I may not be a Cruz supporter, but hey, when he’s right, he’s right. Unacceptable, and unconstitutional. As I wrote on Facebook last night: I said this under Clinton, I said it under Bush, and I’ll… Read more »

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[This post was originally published on The Living Room Tumblr.] Loyacita, age 4: [during an evening thunderstorm] “Daddy, where does rain comes from?” Me: “Well, you see…” Loyette, age 5½: [interrupting] “It comes from clouds, [Loyacita]. Clouds are made of tiny water droplets, and when the water droplets get close to each other, they come together—sort of like magnets—and turn… Read more »