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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Wednesday Night Open Thread

Wednesday Night Open Thread

by John Cole|  October 7, 200910:37 pm| 84 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Just got back from a charity benefit for breast cancer awareness that had the worst band since the Wedding Singer.

And I’m pretty sure Tammy will back me up on this.

*** Update ***

The ferocious lion, after chasing feathered prey seemingly attached to a stick and always somehow able to escape his grasp, feasts on the carcass of a dead tuna:

thelionsleepstonight

I may be watching too much of the Planet Earth series.

Also, Radio KAOS is on tonight right now.

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Reader Interactions

84Comments

  1. 1.

    Nicole

    October 7, 2009 at 10:42 pm

    Okay- video of elephant giving birth.

    Equal parts ick and awww.

  2. 2.

    Jorge

    October 7, 2009 at 10:44 pm

    Deep question of the day…

    How does Obama manage to lose the 24 hour news cycle 6 out of 7 days a week and still pwn everyone?

  3. 3.

    dmsilev

    October 7, 2009 at 10:47 pm

    @Jorge: I wonder if, after the election, someone was bored enough to go through Mark Halperin’s archives and see how many days/weeks McCain “won” compared to Obama.

    -dms

  4. 4.

    kommrade reproductive vigor

    October 7, 2009 at 10:47 pm

    It couldn’t have been worse than this.

  5. 5.

    Mark S.

    October 7, 2009 at 10:53 pm

    When I first read about that Conservapedia Bible translation thing, I didn’t realize they were taking entire passages out that they didn’t like. I also liked this:

    For example, Conservapedia says it would be more appropriate and culturally relevant to say Jesus “home schooled” his disciples; where the Ten Commandments warn against worshiping “false idols” we should substitute “media” because that is a better analogy between today’s Americans and the Israelites of yesteryear.

    Fucking insane (and waaaay beyond where most wingnuts would go). I noticed Conservapedia is down right now.

    And every time I think Lindsay Graham might not be too bad as far as Republicans go, he goes and votes in favor of rape.

  6. 6.

    thomas Levenson

    October 7, 2009 at 10:54 pm

    @kommrade reproductive vigor: You are beyond evil. It has been at least two years since I was hoodwinked into clicking onto that video and the nightmares have only faded in the last few weeks. And now…

    And to think that what I really feared was this me here…but I knew that even you couldn’t be that malicious.

  7. 7.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 7, 2009 at 10:57 pm

    Okay, that does it. I’m wearing bigger and prettier pink ribbons from now on. But the band at next year’s event had better be good.

  8. 8.

    The Other Steve

    October 7, 2009 at 10:57 pm

    Apparently the Twins did not win.

    I blame George Bush.

  9. 9.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 7, 2009 at 11:01 pm

    Tu-u-u-u-u-nch!

    (Well, someone had to say it, and I don’t see asiangrrlMN around.)

    What a treat. Thank you, John.

  10. 10.

    Violet

    October 7, 2009 at 11:03 pm

    Little Bitsy still needs your votes!

  11. 11.

    asiangrrlMN

    October 7, 2009 at 11:03 pm

    Tuuuuuuuuuuuuunchie! I looooooove you! This makes up (almost) for the Twins laying an egg in da Bronx.

    I am NOT clicking on any of your ebil links.

  12. 12.

    asiangrrlMN

    October 7, 2009 at 11:05 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Damn you for beating me to it! And why are you wearing pink ribbons?

  13. 13.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 7, 2009 at 11:06 pm

    @asiangrrlMN

    Oh, there you are :-)

  14. 14.

    General Winfield Stuck

    October 7, 2009 at 11:08 pm

    @Nicole:

    Fantastic! The only other time I saw video of a baby elephant being born was in the wild. The poor little feller’s hind legs where I guess our ankle would be, wouldn’t unfold so he could stand on his feet. The film makers followed him around a couple of days and he could barely get around by scooting on his knees. When the rest of the herd had to keep moving to find water he fell behind, but his momma would not abandon him. Then all of a sudden his legs straightened out and all was well. But it was a close call.

  15. 15.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 7, 2009 at 11:09 pm

    @asiangrrlMN

    Pink ribbons so John doesn’t have to suffer through any more terrible Wedding Singer-type bands at breast cancer charity balls.

    What, you go straight to the Tunch picture without even reading the post first? Why would you do that?

  16. 16.

    burnspbesq

    October 7, 2009 at 11:11 pm

    Greetings from NYC. I have a happy tummy, having feasted on the best fast food in the known universe (the combo plate from the halal gyro cart on the southwest corner of 53rd and Sixth).

    I am currently listening to “Leonard Cohen Live in London,” which is … umm … interesting. “The Future” sounds like it should have been entitled “Dick Cheney’s Blues.”

  17. 17.

    Mark S.

    October 7, 2009 at 11:11 pm

    You let Tunch eat on the couch? He must be a less sloppy eater than my cats (though one of them is very bitchy if he can’t eat on his spot on the counter).

  18. 18.

    kommrade reproductive vigor

    October 7, 2009 at 11:14 pm

    Behold, a picture of the true master of House Cole!

    @thomas Levenson: Yeah, I’m not falling for that one. And it could have been worse. So much worse.

    [Warning: The Poster of the preceding link is in no way responsible for any self-inflicted eye gougings or eardrum stabbings that result from clicking on the link.]

  19. 19.

    Ash Can

    October 7, 2009 at 11:15 pm

    OK, just as I was starting to worry that Tunch was being neglected in the Cole household in favor of Lily, I see that he gets fed on the freakin’ couch, for crap’s sake. LOL! It makes me feel much better to see that.

  20. 20.

    John Cole

    October 7, 2009 at 11:17 pm

    I was just giving him a snack on the couch.

    Although Tunch usually does whatever he wants whenever he wants. You think I could fall out of love with the best looking cat EVAH?

  21. 21.

    John Cole

    October 7, 2009 at 11:18 pm

    You should be listening to Radio Kaos right now- he is having problems getting shit to play, and just of randomly babbling until something plays. Been there, done that.

  22. 22.

    General Winfield Stuck

    October 7, 2009 at 11:20 pm

    @John Cole:

    . You think I could fall out of love with the best looking cat EVAH?

    There is a lot of Tunch to love.

  23. 23.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    October 7, 2009 at 11:20 pm

    Picture the hungry lion growling warily as it approaches the helpless tuna can. This massive feline is at the top of the food chain and no tuna can is safe when he is on the prowl. Soon nothing will be left except disposable remnants of aluminum..

  24. 24.

    Morbo

    October 7, 2009 at 11:22 pm

    Wait, wait, you gave him tuna and expect him to sleep? Has he built up a tolerance or what?

  25. 25.

    Martin

    October 7, 2009 at 11:28 pm

    I was just giving him a snack on of the couch.

    Tunchified.

  26. 26.

    jl

    October 7, 2009 at 11:30 pm

    I agree that a cat eating tuna on any couch inside a human habitation is a high risk activity. But from the looks of the picture, not one single atom, not a quark, of that tuna will escape between the can and the Tunch-n-eater’s belly.

    Tunch is unique -and looking ample, perhaps one might even say Rubenesque. Or maybe he gets very tiny cans of catfood, as part of his healthful slimming diet.

    thanks for Tunch pic. This is the first time I remember a pic of Tunch at peace with the world, or at least one small part of it. Last one was Tunch guarding the tomato patch like some fearsome Buddhist protective demon.

  27. 27.

    Tattoosydney

    October 7, 2009 at 11:34 pm

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    baby elephant being born … in the wild

    I saw that footage (can’t remember where – but I am pretty sure David Attenborough was involved somehow). It was white knuckle viewing, and I was ready to bawl if the poor little thing got left behind, and then ended up bawling anyway as he trotted off happily.

  28. 28.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    October 7, 2009 at 11:34 pm

    The tuna can feels the lion’s growl before seeing him, a long low thunder, vibrating his very lid. He is far from his natural habitat, the cabinet beside the oven. There he would be able to huddle quietly, blending in with the other assorted canned meat products. Here on the couch, his only hope is to hide under something and hope his fragrant chicken-of-the-sea aroma does not give him away..

  29. 29.

    asiangrrlMN

    October 7, 2009 at 11:36 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Oh, I read the entry, but the pure delirium of seeing Tunch made me block out Cole’s words.

    Tuuuuuunch!

  30. 30.

    Violet

    October 7, 2009 at 11:38 pm

    @John Cole:

    I was just giving him a snack on the couch.

    His snack is an entire can of tuna? No wonder there is so much Tunch to love. And he gets to eat on the couch? Tunch rules the house!

  31. 31.

    asiangrrlMN

    October 7, 2009 at 11:38 pm

    @Tattoosydney: Fake-hubby! Good to see you. I love David Attenborough’s nature DVDs. How are ya?

    @Just Some Fuckhead: You are cracking me the fuck up and doing a great Attenborough impression yourself.

  32. 32.

    Blue Raven

    October 7, 2009 at 11:39 pm

    Is Tunch as soft to pet as he looks in that shot? He reminds me of my boyfriend’s cat somehow, and said kitteh has black velvet fur. Smaller than the Tunchinator by a fair bit, but a true joy to pet.

  33. 33.

    Fulcanelli

    October 7, 2009 at 11:40 pm

    @kommrade reproductive vigor: Oh yeah?!

    Take this!

    Not to be listened to while operating heavy machinery, if you’re pregnant or alone and in the care of children under the age of 12 years old.

  34. 34.

    General Winfield Stuck

    October 7, 2009 at 11:42 pm

    @Tattoosydney:

    . It was white knuckle viewing,

    Yes it was and with a happy ending.

  35. 35.

    CaseyL

    October 7, 2009 at 11:45 pm

    Just as the tuna can was exposed to greater danger when it left the safety and comfort of its home among the canned goods for the open futon plain, so you are exposed to greater danger every time you leave your house. Mutual of Omaha understands the need to leave the house every once in a while, and the need for protective coverage when that happens. Call Mutual of Omaha today, and protect yourself and your family.

  36. 36.

    Mnemosyne

    October 7, 2009 at 11:51 pm

    I’m signed up to do a 10-mile bike ride for breast cancer awareness on Saturday, and I’m at home with what I’m almost certain is the goddamned flu. I suspect the chances of my recovering from the flu within 48 hours so I can still do the ride are pretty slim. Feh.

  37. 37.

    Tattoosydney

    October 7, 2009 at 11:53 pm

    @asiangrrlMN:

    I’m well, fake-wife…. how are you?

    Spent a long weekend away with real-hubby and Pedro at a beach house (where it rained the whole time, so we spent the weekend playing scrabble in Portuguese (which makes for VERY long games) and marking medical students’ essays))…

    Just over six weeks until I am an (unofficially) married man, and just over seven weeks until I get six weeks holiday!!

  38. 38.

    asiangrrlMN

    October 7, 2009 at 11:55 pm

    @Tattoosydney: I’m doing all right. It sounds like you had a lovely weekend, despite the rain. The weather is cooling off rapidly here, which makes me VERY happy. Snow can only be around the corner, and then, I will be ecstatic.

    Have you and your real-hubby picked out your wedding colors yet?

  39. 39.

    Warren Terra

    October 7, 2009 at 11:55 pm

    Apparently Rep. Gohmert (R-TX) claimed today that repealing DADT would legalize bestiality, necrophilia, and pedophilia, and would lead to a Nazi takeover or something. There’s a link at Benen’s blog.

  40. 40.

    willf

    October 7, 2009 at 11:56 pm

    Ya gotta let him catch the feather thing some of the time, ya big meanie.

    I mean, don’t let him know that your letting him catch it, just do it.

    Trust me, it cuts down on grumpy cat moments.

  41. 41.

    Tattoosydney

    October 7, 2009 at 11:56 pm

    @Fulcanelli:

    My favourite! The complete lack of anything resembling rhythm, tune or musical talent is just wonderful…

  42. 42.

    jl

    October 7, 2009 at 11:57 pm

    @Violet: You mean ‘snack’ means ‘snack’? I assumed ‘snack’ meant ‘dinner’. I guess that explains why Tunch is still, um, ‘ample’.

    Also. Everyone knows Tunch rules the place and is grooming Lily to be second in command, or straw boss, or something. Don’t rub it in, or you might hurt Mr. Cole’s feelings. Nedd to maintain some appearances.

  43. 43.

    jl

    October 8, 2009 at 12:01 am

    @willf: I’ve seen a clip of Mr. Tunch being allowed to capture a toy mouse on a string. Tunch just clamps down on the poor toy with the TunchJaws of Death, and sits there, clamping down, with an air of ferocious concentration, and complete peace and contentment.

    No wonder Cole is afraid to go to sleep at night.

  44. 44.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    October 8, 2009 at 12:01 am

    Join us next week..

    I’m Steve Irwin and we’ve caught a live tuna can. These things are delicious and hunted by nearly every species IN THE UNIVERSE! Some even call them the CHICKEN of the SEA! We’re going to have ourselves a bit of this little fella. First, I work open his shell with this utility knife. There, there. Now just look at all that meat! There’s even some on the shell we removed. I’m just going to lick that off with my tongue. Aaagh! I’m cut, bleeding badly! Krikie, it attacked me with it’s razor sharp defenses! Feeling faint..

  45. 45.

    Tattoosydney

    October 8, 2009 at 12:03 am

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Have you and your real-hubby picked out your wedding colors yet?

    No. I get to pick the flowers and the colour of my tie, and he gets to pick his tie. Does that count?

  46. 46.

    Comrade Mary

    October 8, 2009 at 12:05 am

    I’m Steve Irwin and we’ve caught a live tuna can. …

    OK, that actually made me laugh out loud.

  47. 47.

    Ash Can

    October 8, 2009 at 12:09 am

    @Warren Terra: Those southern Republicans are obsessed with some of the darnedest things. Either that, or Michele Bachmann is his debate coach.

  48. 48.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    October 8, 2009 at 12:20 am

    @Comrade Mary: It wasn’t too soon, was it?

  49. 49.

    asiangrrlMN

    October 8, 2009 at 12:23 am

    @Tattoosydney: No. You need colors. And a theme. Otherwise, it’s not a proper wedding.

    @Just Some Fuckhead: You are on fire! It wasn’t too soon for me, but I can’t comment as to the general public.

    @Ash Can: I read that as, “…or Michele Bachmann is his date coach”, which made sense to me, scarily enough.

  50. 50.

    General Winfield Stuck

    October 8, 2009 at 12:29 am

    here is a cool video that someone posted on BJ about a year ago. The little yellow robot dancing to a Spoon tune.

    Might have been Zuzu, I can’t remember.

  51. 51.

    freelancer

    October 8, 2009 at 12:31 am

    In keeping with the Jesus Painting hilarity, the Wahabhists get wingnut envy and host their own “Moral Beauty” Pageant.
    BWAAAAHAAAAAHAHAHA!

  52. 52.

    Ash Can

    October 8, 2009 at 12:31 am

    @asiangrrlMN: That would no doubt be the “Italian food/tire rims and anthrax” date immortalized by our charming host.

  53. 53.

    Steeplejack

    October 8, 2009 at 12:36 am

    Tonight I want to testify to the power of music.

    Just got in from the crappy part-time job (health insurance, fuck, yeah!), in a particularly foul mood after a maddening interaction with my boss-from-Dilbert manager. Walking home, after a stop at the supermarket, carrying nothing but a six-pack of beer and a roll of paper towels–that in itself just screams “Loser!” –I was listening to music in shuffle mode from the Steeplejack 2000 semi-smart phone. Nothing was really hitting me, but then as I got close to home two songs brought me out of my foul mood, sort of by rubbing my face in it.

    The first was “I Can’t Keep from Crying Sometimes,” an incredibly obscure song from about 1970 by a group called Deirdre Wilson Tabac. I have no clue who they were, so don’t even ask. It’s just a great song that encapsulates a certain genre of music from that period for me–bluesy-jazzy guitar, good beat, good vocalist, serious horn section. Somewhere in the region of the Guess Who (“Undun”) meets Ides of March (“Vehicle”) meets the Electric Flag meets Blood, Sweat and Tears. Gentlemen of a certain age–I’m looking at you, Stuck and Burnspbesq–will understand what I’m talking about. (Maybe JK, too, because he’s all about the music.)

    There are two YouTube links to the song. The first clip uses it as the audio for a snippet from the ’60s documentary I Am Cuba. I really like this juxtaposition, and I am posting it despite the fact that Laura W mocked me mercilessly when I posted it before. (Sometimes a woman just doesn’t understand a man at a certain level. B.O.B. knows this. But I digress.) The second clip is just the song, for those who are put off by the incredibly awesome mashup with I Am Cuba.

    And then the next song provided the knockout punch–Gil Scott-Heron’s “Winter in America.” It brought back my days as an embittered young black man walking the mean streets of the harsh American cityscape. That was long before I became a pasty middle-aged white guy cruising the slightly less mean suburban streets in his leased Ford Taurus, after which I became a certified cranky slightly older middle-aged man walking the still mean streets of the still harsh American cityscape. But I digress.

    Anyway, the image of me walking along feeling sorry for myself with “Winter in America” playing on the soundtrack of my life was so over the top that I found myself almost smiling as I reached the sanctuary of the man-cave. Before I turned off the music on the Steep 2000 I looked to see what the next song would have been to come up. Awesome! Bob Seger’s “2 + 2 = ?”! I listened to that just to hit the trifecta. I forgot about the part where I did two tours in ’Nam and came home to do a small but crucial supporting role in Dead Presidents.

    Have no idea what the moral of this is supposed to be. I love music, I love this blog, I love this “delightful rabble,” as RedKitten once called it.

    That is all.

    (I know this will go into moderation because of all the links, but so be it.)

  54. 54.

    Tattoosydney

    October 8, 2009 at 12:37 am

    @asiangrrlMN:

    No. You need colors. And a theme. Otherwise, it’s not a proper wedding.

    Some would say it’s not a proper wedding anyway…

    Does “getting drunk with your friends” count as a theme?

  55. 55.

    linda

    October 8, 2009 at 12:39 am

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    oh, i saw that … it was heartbreaking to watch; and amazing to see how the mother patiently stayed with him until he could walk. i’m sure i cried… lol.

  56. 56.

    Wile E. Quixote

    October 8, 2009 at 12:40 am

    Now here’s some good readin’

    Special releases from Baen Books!
    Taxpayer’s Tea Party and Take Back Your Government Bundle

    Taxpayer’s Tea Party by Sharon Cooper and Chuck Asay
    Take Back Your Government by Robert A. Heinlein

    Who Dares Defend Our Rights? We the People!

    A Message from Your Alleged Betters: Hand Over the Cash!

    Traitor! You know who you are, you heartless, uncaring cur! You. The one struggling to keep a roof over your head that doesn’t leak, to give your kids a decent education, to stave off your family’s suffering through any honorable means available and tend to your loved ones when they inevitably do become sick or need help. You’re the stingy one, the unpatriotic one, who isn’t slicing out and mailing in his or her proper pound of flesh to feed Uncle Sam’s bottomless maw of expenditure. Big government wants you—or, more specifically, all your money and most of your liberty. After all, you do have a job and you are making a living, so you must have crushed entire stratums of society underfoot to get where you are, right? Come on, admit it—you’ve probably even got a savings account! Hand it over. Hand over all of it, for the good of. . .well, just hand it over.
    Are you sick of the nonsense? The feel-good illogic? The morass of corruption and favoritism? The upside-down, inside-out economics that only make sense to someone who never had to balance a real budget?
    Sure you are. What thinking person wouldn’t be?
    But what can one person do? You possess no aircraft carriers to enforce your will, and you do not want any. Putting one in your backyard wouldn’t leave room for the grill. You wield no power of general taxation with which to vex your enemies and reward your cronies. You don’t even have any cronies—just a few good friends. Even if you did decide to raise your one lonely voice, how could you be heard over the on-going, ever-rising uproar of the professional whiners?
    Take Back Your Government!
    Take some advice from two who have been there and done that. One you already know—we’ll save him for a moment—and one you’ll delight in meeting. Sharon Cooper was a housewife in the early 1990s when “Hillary-care,” the first attempt at stuffing a nationalized healthcare siphon into the pocket of the middle class, was attempted. Cooper decided enough was enough, got involved, and fought on the front lines against the forces of economic idiocy. The lessons she learned in that contest led her to write The Taxpayer’s Tea Party: a Manual on How to Take Back Your Government.
    Boy do we ever need it now! Well, brace yourself. She’s back with a revised edition with a new introduction from former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich—one who is no stranger to grassroots organizing (and who knows sound political technique when he sees it).
    Also included is Cooper’s original introduction by rabble-rouser-in-chief Rush Limbaugh—and his trenchant analysis of our times rings true as always. But this is not a tract designed to fire up the troops. Cooper assumes you are fired up enough, or you wouldn’t be reading in the first place. This is a how-to manual on how to take back your government. Says so right there in the title.
    Cooper gives advice on how to write an effective letter to your Congressman, the newspaper—even the President himself (the latter in order to get it out of your system and allow you to move on to more promising endeavors). Should you mail, fax or e-mail? Cooper lets you know when each is most effective. Are you a bit shy and not sure what “networking” means other than hooking up your computer to the internet? Cooper gives examples from her own experience on how to go about it and retain your dignity in the process.
    Next, Cooper lays out the influence-peddling power structure of the current political scene in plain daylight. Who are the vulnerable politicos? What’s a “Blue Dog Democrat” and how do you go up against the Grand Poobah of a gerrymandered safe district? Finally, Cooper puts you in touch with organizations of like-minded individuals who will fight the good fight by your side.
    But no Taxpayer’s Tea Party would be complete without a little comic relief—come on, everybody dressed in feathers for the first one! Well, the beautifully-crafted cartoons of Chuck Asay spaced throughout the book will prove to be just the ticket for laughter. Asay gets in some excellent digs at the opposition, but his on-the-money, slice-of-life scenes from the life of those of us who will have to write the checks to pay for the madness are priceless gems indeed! Talk about your taxed-to the-limit moments! Sometimes you just have to laugh to keep from crying.
    All in all, The Taxpayer’s Tea Party is a gritty, glorious account of how to get things done in a democracy. Did it work for Cooper? In the past decade-and-a-half, she’s gone from politically-uninvolved housewife to four-term state legislature—and ignited a fire of rebellion under thousands of taxed-to-the-limit taxpayers that hasn’t gone out yet.
    Practical Advice from a Visionary with a Plan!
    Okay, and who is the guide and counselor that you already know? The incomparable Robert A. Heinlein. We’ve bundled Cooper’s modern masterpiece of method with Heinlein’s classic work of non-fiction Take Back Your Government! A Practical Handbook for the Private Citizen Who Wants Democracy to Work. It has an introduction and notes from Heinlein’s famous protégé, best-selling author Jerry Pournelle from its first publication in 1992.
    Like Sharon Cooper, Heinlein speaks from experience. After the Second World War, Heinlein joined the Democratic Party of California (a wholly different beast than it is today) and ended up a state committeeman and a behind-the-scenes representative of rationality on the national level. Heinlein writes the book in an entirely non-partisan manner, however. He doesn’t care what you believe, only that you cease being either a mouse or an ineffective windbag and make yourself heard in the democratic process:
    “Democracy is not an automatic condition resulting from laws and constitutions. It is a living, dynamic process which must be worked at by you yourself—or it ceases to be democracy, even if the shell and form remain.”
    Heinlein gives you the skinny. What works (buttressed by example after example from his own experience). What to avoid. Pitfalls and opportunities. His basic message: you don’t need money or friends in high places to successfully take part in democratic politics. What you need is basic judgment, the ability to get over your own iconoclastic nature and band with others who have similar aims. . .and, last but not least, a great deal of shoe leather. Heinlein provides the low-down on how to drum up support for a local candidate or a national cause, how to canvass for votes and who to canvass. Though originally written decades ago, his practical advice provides a huge boost up and over the inevitable learning curve we all must face when getting off our duffs and doing something about the situation.
    Together for the First Time—And Not a Moment Too Soon!
    Now in one ground-breaking volume: two roadmaps to a better, saner future, by two pioneers who have paved the way to modern, healthy democratic rebellion against an out-of-control system. There’s no time to wait for the dead tree edition. The times are a’changin’, and you need these now! And, in the spirit of putting a stop to unnecessary income redistribution, we’re offering the e-book combined edition for a discounted $8. For the next three months this offer will stand pat no matter the winds of fickle destiny. Then at year’s end, the e-book will be available for the regular (and still excellent) rate of $10.
    You can play the same game as Big Government. They are playing to win—and playing you for a sucker so far. Don’t let them keep it up. You have a right and duty to fight back as a citizen. These books will show you how. As Heinlein puts it:
    “Democracy is the most efficient form of government ever invented by the human race. On the record, it has worked better in peace and in war than fascism, communism, or any other form of dictatorship. As for the mythical yardstick of ‘benevolent’ monarchy or dictatorship—there ain’t no such animal!”

    Introductions by Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh? Be still my beating wingnut heart. OMFG, do you know what would make this even better? If they combined it in one book with Atlas Shrugged and The Five-Thousand Year Leap. Would it even be possible to have that much awesomeness between two covers?

    It’s not surprising that Baen is doing everything they can to cash in the wingnut SF fan demographic. They’re the biggest pushers of authoritarian war pornography thinly disguised as SF out there. It’s kind of depressing that the Heinlein estate is run by assholes who are cashing in on that demopgraphic though, Heinlein was a waaaaaay more liberal than the conservatives and libertarians who idolize him realize.

  57. 57.

    gwangung

    October 8, 2009 at 12:47 am

    It’s not surprising that Baen is doing everything they can to cash in the wingnut SF fan demographic.

    Kinda surprising Bujold’s still selling for them; definitely NOT a wingnut writer.

  58. 58.

    parksideq

    October 8, 2009 at 12:49 am

    @burnspbesq: Best halal cart in NYC; great choice!

    Speaking of NYC, Yanks won! Only 10 more games between us and the World Series trophy! ::ducks::

  59. 59.

    freelancer (itouch)

    October 8, 2009 at 12:50 am

    @Wile E. Quixote: @Wile E. Quixote:

    wile. WTF?!

    TLDR

  60. 60.

    Steeplejack

    October 8, 2009 at 12:50 am

    My comment at 12:36 cries out from moderation.

  61. 61.

    Emma Anne

    October 8, 2009 at 12:53 am

    @Jorge:

    How does Obama manage to lose the 24 hour news cycle 6 out of 7 days a week and still pwn everyone?

    He is playing chess and they are playing checkers. It doesn’t even need to be multi-dimensional chess when your opponents can’t think past three or four moves.

  62. 62.

    Wile E. Quixote

    October 8, 2009 at 12:54 am

    If this game isn’t coming out on the XBox 360 I will be crushed, and may even consider buying a PS/3.

  63. 63.

    Anne Laurie

    October 8, 2009 at 12:58 am

    @Tattoosydney:

    Does “getting drunk with your friends” count as a theme?

    Hey, I grew up Irish, where it’s more like a lifestyle! A joke from my butch baby sister: What’s the difference between an Irish pub and a gay bar?

    The folk wisdom among Amurkin married folk is that it’s not a “real” marriage unless you’ve got some horrible piece of kitsch left over from the wedding, like the plastic cake topper or a glitter-bedecked ‘memory candle’. Since the Spousal Unit and I got hitched by an old friend who is an Arch-Priest in the Church of the Goddess, ours is either the grapevine pentacle wrapped with satin ribbons and our handfasting that’s hanging in the bedroom, or the hand-signed official state letter from then-Governor William Weld congratulating us (and authorizing an individual from an ‘irregular’ religion to perform the ceremony, which was the actual purpose of said letter). So if you, or your relatives, haven’t already picked out something slightly embarrassing to feature at the ceremony, time to go shopping!

  64. 64.

    Martin

    October 8, 2009 at 12:59 am

    Speaking of NYC, Yanks won! Only 10 more games between us and the World Series trophy! ::ducks::

    Fuck the Yankees.

    And I’m free to say that as a former NY resident.

  65. 65.

    freelancer (itouch)

    October 8, 2009 at 1:02 am

    @Wile E. Quixote:
    I had to ups mine to Microsoft. If I don’t get it back before nov 11th, I’ll riot.

    —-
    KOs final segment made me cry. Primal stuff.

  66. 66.

    Comrade Luke

    October 8, 2009 at 1:03 am

    @Wile E. Quixote:

    It looks like a Wii exclusive.

  67. 67.

    Steeplejack

    October 8, 2009 at 1:07 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    What is the difference between an Irish pub and a gay bar?

    P.S. If you have the power, unmoderate me.

  68. 68.

    Anne Laurie

    October 8, 2009 at 1:15 am

    @Steeplejack:

    What is the difference between an Irish pub and a gay bar?

    Gays go to the bar to get drunk; drunks go to the pub to get gay.

    Of course, between your last epic posting and Wile’s, nobody’s going to read down as far as this punchline anyway!

  69. 69.

    Steeplejack

    October 8, 2009 at 1:15 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    Thank you, fellow night owl, for unmoderating me (if it was you).

  70. 70.

    auntieeminaz

    October 8, 2009 at 1:22 am

    @kommrade reproductive vigor: I couldn’t resist. Pure schlock.

  71. 71.

    Steeplejack

    October 8, 2009 at 1:23 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    Thank you. I needed closure on that joke.

    I just needed to vent. Perhaps, centuries from now, cyber-archaeologists sifting through the detritus of the Balloon Juice site will read my rant and think WTF?! (Well, they’ll probably be thinking WTF?! about the whole blog, but that’s beside the point.)

  72. 72.

    freelancer (itouch)

    October 8, 2009 at 1:25 am

    @Anne Laurie:
    I saw your punchline. We just ordered another pitcher but this is about my maximum gay:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8fSW4dfCzQ

    P.S. This is what the alphabet would look like if q and r were eliminated.

    P.P.S. I’m half Irish.

  73. 73.

    Jay in Oregon

    October 8, 2009 at 1:26 am

    Hey ho all.

    Turning in for the night.

  74. 74.

    freelancer (itouch)

    October 8, 2009 at 1:33 am

    @Steeplejack:

    (ok I had edit 20 minutes ago in Safari via itouch, but it’s gone now.

    Sjack, that wasn’t a rant, that was art, brother. I’d prolly relate more to the music but I’m only 27, so it’s not really in my wheelhouse.

    Srsly watch KO, I don’t think I’m gonna shut up about it.

  75. 75.

    Yutsano

    October 8, 2009 at 1:38 am

    @Tattoosydney: It worked at my brother’s wedding, but my mom took over planning pretty much the whole affair. The funny part is we were wondering what she was going to do with herself after it was all over. That matter fortunately has settled.

    @asiangrrlMN: We’re getting cooler temps here also and I for one am thrilled. I also wrote you a great answer the other night that WordPress promptly ate. I’ll catch you up on shtuff if you’re still awake.

  76. 76.

    Steeplejack

    October 8, 2009 at 1:49 am

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    You’re en fuego, bro’. Now I’m going to be reading everything in an Aussie accent.

  77. 77.

    D-Chance.

    October 8, 2009 at 2:03 am

    Just got back from a charity benefit for breast cancer awareness…

    Breast cancer? What is that? Never heard of it…

  78. 78.

    Yutsano

    October 8, 2009 at 2:29 am

    @D-Chance.: That is why you fail.

  79. 79.

    Linkmeister

    October 8, 2009 at 2:30 am

    Woot! The Dodgers beat the Cardinals and reputed super-pitcher Carpenter tonight. Two wins in the next four games to advance to the next round!

    Listening to Alison Krauss’s A Hundred Miles or More for the first time. Not bluegrass, no Union Station involved with this one; just other cuts from other musical experiments she’s done, including duets.

  80. 80.

    Luthe

    October 8, 2009 at 3:01 am

    Has anyone checked the Conservapedia Bible to see if Stephen Colbert is included yet? The segment of his show where he loosed the Colbert Nation horde on the project had me LOLing for a good five minutes.

  81. 81.

    mclaren

    October 8, 2009 at 6:38 am

    We go from Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning to the cat’s butt.

    Is there a message here?

  82. 82.

    Aaron

    October 8, 2009 at 10:46 am

    I was surprised to see nothing here on Olbermann. Did anyone else catch his show last night? It was a long, narrativized, moral argument for healthcare that I thought was really interesting.

    Anyway, just throwing this out there as food for thought

  83. 83.

    asiangrrlMN

    October 8, 2009 at 11:34 am

    @Jay in Oregon: How you doing?

    @Tattoosydney: Best theme evah!

    @Yutsano: Hi, fake-hubby #2! I crashed early last night. Hope to catch you tonight so I can get caught up on your life.

  84. 84.

    Jay in Oregon

    October 8, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Personally? I’m doing well. Sleeping fairly regularly and my appetite is back.

    Relationship? Still very hard. One step forward, one step back.

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