2011

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Thursday February 10, 2011 · 5:12 PM PST

2011/02/10 · 17:12

With the impending launch of Daily Kos 4.0 right around the corner, and having committed myself to turn over a new leaf as a member of this community, the time seems right to do something that I've been mulling over for a while now: euthanize Big Tex.

Big Tex

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Monday January 31, 2011 · 5:58 PM PST

2011/01/31 · 17:58

(Author's note: "HACW" stands for "Hello Again, Cruel World." I figured that if we didn't already have an acronym for attention whores like me who post GBCW/TTFN diaries and then try to sneak back as if nothing happened, we probably should.)

* * * * * * * * * *

A few weeks ago, I decided to take a break from the smorgasbord of fun that is Daily Kos, and posted a diary to the effect that I wouldn’t be back until I had “reached some sort of personal understanding about how I intend to participate in this community going forward,” and until I was “relatively certain that I'm here for the right reasons, and that my participation here won't be a complete waste of time.” In that vein, I’ve been giving some thought during my absence to laying some ground rules down for myself –- not to pull out and refer to every time I post something, or to beat myself over the head with every time I transgress, but to lay a foundation for making my participation here more productive and positive. This is what I've come up with:

Poll

28 votes Show Results

So what do you think of Big Tex's rules?

28 votes Vote Now!

So what do you think of Big Tex's rules?

Big Who?

4 votes

LOL, GTFO

5 votes

They're okay, I guess

1 vote

I give it two days before he's back to meta-whoring

3 votes

What's all this about animals fucking?

9 votes

Rule #11: There will be pie

6 votes

TTFN: It's Not You, It's Me

Big Tex

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Tuesday December 28, 2010 · 7:34 PM PST

2010/12/28 · 19:34

First off, let me begin by saying that I'm not a huge fan of diaries like the one I'm posting here, because they generally consist of some combination of attention-whoring and poutrage (a word that I'm also not a huge fan of) about the site, or the community, or some narrow aspect of either, or god-knows-what-else. Now, this doesn't mean that I'm above either attention-whoring or poutrage. Or both at the same time. Nor does that mean that this diary will be free of either. Let's face it, I'm as capable of being hypocritical and inconsistent as anyone here, to an extent probably greater than I'm willing to admit to myself most of the time.

Poll

178 votes Show Results

Will you miss Big Tex while he's gone?

178 votes Vote Now!

Will you miss Big Tex while he's gone?

Big Who?

55 votes

LOL, GTFO

17 votes

Eh, I never liked the fucker

14 votes

Big Tex my ass. He was actually (fill in the name of banned ex-Kossack here)

16 votes

Where there are piefights, there must be pie. Sweet, delicious pie

76 votes

GBCW: A Plea for Understanding

Big Tex

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday November 15, 2010 · 1:55 PM PST

2010/11/15 · 13:55

As founder and president of the Greater Boston Club for Wanking, I've fielded more than a few complaints about current and former members of our organization posting diaries here at Daily Kos that discredit the good name of wanking by associating it with the far less honorable pastime of attention-whoring. I'd like to first of all state for the record that a majority of the GBCW membership believe that wanking should always be done in private, or at the very least in the company of consenting partners who enjoy watching others wank. Wanking in public is strictly prohibited by the bylaws of our organization, and members of GBCW who violate this policy are subject to disciplinary actions including, but not necessarily limited to, suspension, dismissal, and/or being forced to watch every episode of Jersey Shore.

Poll

55 votes Show Results

Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the GBCW?

55 votes Vote Now!

Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the GBCW?

I'd like to answer your question, but my hands are full at the moment

14 votes

At long last, sir, have you no sense of decency?

19 votes

Funny, I thought Mitt Romney founded the GBCW

8 votes

This diary feels like warm apple pie

14 votes

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Elena Kagan?

Big Tex

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday May 12, 2010 · 9:03 PM PDT

2010/05/12 · 21:03

With apologies to both Rodgers and Hammerstein:

Poll

47 votes Show Results

What is your favorite law-related musical?

47 votes Vote Now!

What is your favorite law-related musical?

Kiss Me, Kagan

5 votes

John Roberts and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

6 votes

Annie Get Your Gavel

7 votes

The Phantom of the Omnibus Hearing

7 votes

Oliver! (Wendell Holmes)

9 votes

The King and Pie

13 votes

The return of Jim Crow in Bob McDonnell's Virginia

Big Tex

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday April 15, 2010 · 7:47 AM PDT

2010/04/15 · 07:47

Not content with his recent proclamation declaring April to be Confederate History Month, Virginia governor has taken another, more disturbing step in his campaign to bring back the good ol' days of Jim Crow, announcing plans to force nonviolent felons petitioning to have their voting rights restored to submit an essay outlining their contributions to society and listing the "reasons why you believe the restoration of your civil rights is justified," along with supporting documentation. The essay and supporting documentation provided by petitioners will be subjected to an arbitrary and undefined evaluation process that harkens back to the literacy tests once used to block African-Americans from exercising their voting rights.

Big Tex

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday March 31, 2010 · 9:56 PM PDT

2010/03/31 · 21:56

NOTE: Please see the update at the end of this diary.

Last night, in the context of a diary about Rachel Maddow's righteous smackdown on Scott Brown for the repeated lies he's told about her, I made an arguably intemperate, but certainly heartfelt, comment in which I suggested that Maddow should sue Brown for libel.

The comment got hiderated into near oblivion. For the sake of reference, here's the full text of what I said:

She should sue the cocksucker for libel.

Just because he's a politician and she's a pundit doesn't give him carte blanche to knowingly and repeatedly lie about her in a deliberate attempt to undermine her credibility--because that's what this is really about--and use her as a prop for his fundraising efforts.

Stuff like this will continue until people like Rachel begin asserting their rights under the law.

Big Tex

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday January 25, 2010 · 8:43 PM PST

2010/01/25 · 20:43

NOTE: The following diary is adapted from a series of articles that were posted last week on my blog. Links to these articles are provided at the end of this diary.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Recently, I discussed the need for two fundamental electoral reforms that I believe are needed in order to lay the groundwork for a more open and truly representative multi-party system: ballot access reform, to make it easier and fairer for minor parties and independent candidates to both get on the ballot and stay on the ballot in successive elections; and electoral fusion, to make it easier for voters who have grown accustomed to having to choose between two monolithic parties to transition over to a multiparty system by giving them the option of supporting minor parties that cross-endorse major-party candidates.

Poll

14 votes Show Results

Which voting method do you prefer?

14 votes Vote Now!

Which voting method do you prefer?

Condorcet method

1 vote

Borda count

0 votes

Bucklin voting

0 votes

Coombs rule voting

0 votes

Instant-runoff voting

4 votes

Contingent voting

0 votes

Range voting

3 votes

Approval voting

1 vote

Keep first-past-the-post but require runoff in races where top vote-getter has less than a majority

0 votes

I like things the way they are now

3 votes

Screw elections, just let the reptilian humanoids pick our leaders at the next Trilat meeting

1 vote

Pie method - the candidate with the biggest piece of pie wins

1 vote

Connecticut for Lieberman Party nominates anti-Lieberman activist for 2010 Senate race

Big Tex

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday January 15, 2010 · 12:46 PM PST

2010/01/15 · 12:46

(crossposted at Attack of the Machine Elves)

Joe Lieberman may not have suffered any real consequences as a result of his decision to abandon the Democratic Party, but it seems that he might at least suffer a little public humiliation as a result of his decision to abandon the party that he created in order to stay on the ballot in 2006. In a rich bit of irony, Independent Political Report and Ballot Access News are reporting that anti-Lieberman activist John Mertens was nominated by the Connecticut For Lieberman Party to serve as its nominee for the upcoming Senate race this November to fill the seat of retiring Senator Chris Dodd. Mertens won the nomination as the result of a party caucus held on Wednesday.

Poll

137 votes Show Results

Do you think John Mertens will get enough votes to keep the CFL Party on the ballot in Connecticut?

137 votes Vote Now!

Do you think John Mertens will get enough votes to keep the CFL Party on the ballot in Connecticut?

Yes

14 votes

God, I hope so

57 votes

Sorry, I was busy laughing at Joe Lieberman. What did you say?

46 votes

Don't know about that, but this crow pie is delicious

20 votes

Fusion balloting: creating more and better choices for American voters

Big Tex

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday January 14, 2010 · 3:25 AM PST

2010/01/14 · 03:25

(crossposted at Attack of the Machine Elves)

A few days ago, I discussed the need for ballot access reform as a crucial first step in opening up the American political system and removing the shackles placed upon it by the Republican and Democratic parties. Today, I'd like to discuss another equally important element of political reform which I believe is a necessary co-requisite to ballot access liberalization: electoral fusion.

Big Tex

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday January 11, 2010 · 2:51 AM PST

2010/01/11 · 02:51

(Crossposted at Attack of the Machine Elves)

Over the last few decades or so, America has gradually trended toward the kind of stagnation that has laid low great empires throughout history. This is reflected in the gradual erosion of the American middle class and the increasing stratification of wealth within our country over the last few decades, as our elected leaders have prioritized the interests of concentrated wealth and the handful of individuals who control it over the interests of the people. The stagnation in which we are currently mired is a function of the death grip on political power maintained by the Republican and Democratic parties, who have been allowed to game the political system to their advantage to an extent not seen in any other democracy.

Big Tex

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday January 05, 2010 · 5:33 PM PST

2010/01/05 · 17:33

(Crossposted at Attack of the Machine Elves)

The 2010 Census is looming on the horizon, which means that redistricting, and the nasty political battles that come with it, is not far behind. Politics magazine has a couple of interesting articles posted about the impending redistricting process, and how it's likely to play out differently than it has in the past few decades.

Poll

44 votes Show Results

What do you think the outcome of redistricting will be?

44 votes Vote Now!

What do you think the outcome of redistricting will be?

More Dems in Congress, more Dems in the Texas Legislature

8 votes

Fewer Dems in Congress, more Dems in the Texas Legislature

1 vote

More Dems in Congress, fewer Dems in the Texas Legislature

2 votes

Fewer Dems in Congress, fewer Dems in the Texas Legislature

8 votes

Not much of a net effect one way or the other

1 vote

Lots of lawsuits

10 votes

I have a room ready for any Texas Dems who need a place to hide out

4 votes

This will be good news for John McCain

2 votes

There will be pie charts, and pie

8 votes

Newer
Older

RSS

RIP "Big Tex" 6/14/2005 - 2/10/2011

HACW: Big Tex's Rules of Engagement

TTFN: It's Not You, It's Me

GBCW: A Plea for Understanding

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Elena Kagan?

The return of Jim Crow in Bob McDonnell's Virginia

(UPDATE) GBCSW, or, Has everyone here lost their minds?

Electoral reform: getting past first-past-the-post

Connecticut for Lieberman Party nominates anti-Lieberman activist for 2010 Senate race

Fusion balloting: creating more and better choices for American voters

Ballot access reform: the first step in fixing America's broken political system

Getting Ready for Redistricting