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Hot air and ill-informed banter

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Giving up is unforgivable.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

Let there be snark.

Human rights are not a matter of opinion!

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Find someone who loves you the way trump and maga love traitors.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

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Open Thread

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On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.

From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.

Submit Your Photos

getsmartin, GG Bridge.

gg-bridge1

G.M., Toronto Skyline.

toronto-skyline-color

Email me a link to your one or two favorite pics on a photo site like Flickr (do not send the image itself please) and I will put up favorites in open threads. Send a short caption if you want one.

Click on the photos for a link to the photographer’s website. To see all photo threads, click on ‘photo blogging’ at the bottom of the post.

If your computer cannot read our email links at top right, my email is (remove the zeroes): portus0jackson0ii at yahoo dot com.

Reader Interactions

28Comments

  2. 2.

    mantis

    Some of you may have seen the latest news in birther-land, the <a href=”http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct2=us%2F0_0_s_1_0_t&usg=AFQjCNFUUQNqbtPylOx0MwZqdL-9ULIpnA&cid=1475556396&ei=Fc4KS4j3D4iwNvv4zoIB&rt=SEARCH&vm=STANDARD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Fworld%2F2009%2Fnov%2F22%2Fbarack-obama-british-conspiracistprofiling of Orly Taitz’s super former Scotland Yard investigator, Neil Sankey!

    Unable to resist, I have sent Mr. Sankey an email, hoping to retain his services as an investigator. I do hope he responds:

    Dear Mr. Sankey,

    I would like to inquire about retaining your services as an
    investigator. I have reason to believe that a man in my city is not
    who he claims to be. While he tends to shy away from public
    statements, this man has led the people of my city to believe that he
    is a public servant, possibly a part of, or in cooperation with, law
    enforcement. However, his use of multiple identities and his habit of
    avoiding the press leads me to believe he is not who he says he is.

    I have reason to believe this man, who goes by the name Batman, is
    actually millionaire tycoon Bruce Wayne, and is not a bat, or
    bat-human hybrid, at all. If I am correct and he is Bruce Wayne, he
    is just another human being, and does not have the required
    bat-related super powers necessary for vigilante superhero justice.
    We cannot allow this deception to continue, for it threatens the very
    foundation of our fine city of Gotham. I can provide evidence to
    support my claim.

    I have read of your excellent efforts in revealing the evil
    Muslim/Communist/Kenyan/Fascist/Hitler usurper person Barack Obama,
    who claims to be President of the United States, and I would like for
    you to direct your talents toward revealing the fraud currently being
    perpetrated on the good people of Gotham.

    Please advise me as to what steps I may take to retain your services.

    Sincerely,

    Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot
    Gotham, USA

  3. 3.

    mantis

    Oops.

    Some of you may have seen the latest news in birther-land, the profiling of Orly Taitz’s super former Scotland Yard investigator, Neil Sankey!

    Unable to resist, I have sent Mr. Sankey an email, hoping to retain his services as an investigator. I do hope he responds:

    Dear Mr. Sankey,

    I would like to inquire about retaining your services as an
    investigator. I have reason to believe that a man in my city is not
    who he claims to be. While he tends to shy away from public
    statements, this man has led the people of my city to believe that he
    is a public servant, possibly a part of, or in cooperation with, law
    enforcement. However, his use of multiple identities and his habit of
    avoiding the press leads me to believe he is not who he says he is.

    I have reason to believe this man, who goes by the name Batman, is
    actually millionaire tycoon Bruce Wayne, and is not a bat, or
    bat-human hybrid, at all. If I am correct and he is Bruce Wayne, he
    is just another human being, and does not have the required
    bat-related super powers necessary for vigilante superhero justice.
    We cannot allow this deception to continue, for it threatens the very
    foundation of our fine city of Gotham. I can provide evidence to
    support my claim.

    I have read of your excellent efforts in revealing the evil
    Muslim/Communist/Kenyan/Fascist/Hitler usurper person Barack Obama,
    who claims to be President of the United States, and I would like for
    you to direct your talents toward revealing the fraud currently being
    perpetrated on the good people of Gotham.

    Please advise me as to what steps I may take to retain your services.

    Sincerely,

    Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot
    Gotham, USA

  4. 4.

    toujoursdan

    My sister lives in Toronto. Fun to visit but I find it a big bland to live in. Give me Montréal or Vancouver any day.

    Toronto does have a great skyline though.

  5. 5.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Lovely photos. Fog is beautiful (as long as I don’t have to drive in it). Very picturesque to see the bridge emerging from the mists.

    And I love both Toronto and city skylines in general, so the combination — complete with reflection — gives me a big happy.

  6. 6.

    Kevin

    How can anyone say Toronto is bland to live in? All kinds of night life to suit any taste. Can’t speak for the “high culture” (ballet, art, etc), but the city is quite vibrant with lots to do.

  7. 7.

    Levom Jevub

    The Balloon Juice Open Threads have quickly become my favorite posts on any blog I read because of photos like these. These are phenomenal.

  11. 11.

    Comrade Mary

    (Gah! Note to self: don’t capitalize links here because they don’t look like links. Also, upgrade to FF 3.5 or just switch to Safari. Not having an edit button really sucks.)

  14. 14.

    Paul (Jvstin)

    Toronto is a great city. Awesome science museum, and a mixture of historical and modern architecture that makes it feel like a modern European city on the wrong continent.

    (I am particularly thinking of Casa Loma)

    And, after all, isn’t it one of the Ur-inspirations for Superman’s home, Metropolis?

  15. 15.

    Sly

    Looks like the GOP is having its first Purity Ball.

    The gift bag will include a stack of rescinded health insurance policies, leftover parts from an F-22’s avionics system, one cockring made in a non-union shop in Bangalore, one dead polar bear cub, and zero votes from Hispanics in 2010 and 2012.

  17. 17.

    Comrade Mary

    @toujoursdan: It deserves a higher ranking than 8th. SRSLY.

    My ex and I were members of the ROM when that design was chosen, and I remember receiving mailings showing the design and thinking it looked really quite cool.

    Well, it turned out that the final product looked more like a broken frat house window someone patched up with duct tape. Lesson: nothing ever looks as good as it did on a paper napkin.

  18. 18.

    schooner

    As a resident of Toronto for my first 36 years (Ottawa now),I may be biased, but I think it’s more vibrant than Montreal, a city I visit at least a couple of times a year.

    The old part of Montreal is beautiful and the bar and restaurant strip is great but it’s a city badly in need of redevelopment. A good chunk of it is an utter dump with crappy infrastructure.

  19. 19.

    Tom Hilton

    Is the bridge pic from Battery Spencer? Looks like it to me, anyway. Very nice.

    Toronto skyline is also lovely–great colors.

    And since this is a (photo-related) open thread, I’ll indulge in a bit of shameless blogwhoring: Pixels at an Exhibition, the photoblog I post on, had its one year blogiversary on Saturday. Lots of amazing stuff there from Ahab and Generik, who are much better photographers than I am.

  20. 20.

    Kevin

    I’m still shocked at how much better the CN Tower looks at night with the new lights. It was so dull in the past. Great job whoever decided to change it.

  21. 21.

    Brian J

    Check this out. Something tells me that today’s Republican party won’t feel so open minded when it comes to tax increases. They aren’t the solution to everything, of course, but there’s only so much spending that can be cut. And while I am certainly not on board with most of the arguments coming from the right, we do need to be mindful of the incentives when it comes to taxation. Fortunately for us, it looks like rates are low enough and the system is messed up enough that some small increases and some reform can raise a lot of dough. Or so that’s the impression I get from reading people like Joseph Stiglitz.

  22. 22.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Alright, I’m officially tired of beautiful photos. How about some commenter photos? Isn’t it time we found out who we’re having late-night thread sex with and otherwise loathing?

  24. 24.

    getsmartin

    @Tom Hilton:
    re: the GG pic – That shot was taken from a pull out on Conzelman Road in the Marin Headlands. I was actually done shooting and driving out when that image appeared, so I grabbed the gear, snapped on the big lens and shot a few frames. The bridge was fully obscured moments later.

  25. 25.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @toujoursdan

    My assistant was born and grew up in Aylmer Gatineau and goes back a couple of times a year to visit her mum. I love Ottawa, get up there every few months. I think it’s among the loveliest capital cities anywhere.

  28. 28.

    schooner

    @toujoursdan

    The Gatineau hills are beautiful in the fall

    Still miss TO though. It will always be my hometown.

Comments are closed.