Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

White supremacy is terrorism.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

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

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

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

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Reader Interactions

75Comments

  1. 1.

    Comrade Kevin

    Enjoy, everyone. I have a class on Thursday nights, and I live down on the Peninsula, so I can’t come.

  2. 2.

    amorphous

    Pink shirt and black leather blazer… If you can pull it off, then watch out ladies (or men, I don’t claim to know anything about DougJ).

  3. 3.

    Keith G

    The tide of sad or irritating news it taking it toll on me. Tired and bluesy. No cooking, per se. Think I’ll just make an easy “comfort” snack. Grilled cheese or pb&j on toast.

    Anyone have a suggestion for an audio book (*comedy*) that I could download from Amazon? Actually a non comedy would do if it were uplifting of created a cool world I could escape to. I want to stay away from the news for a couple of days and recharge my “happy” batteries.

  4. 4.

    General Winfield Stuck

    Pink shirt and black leather blazer… If you can pull it off, then watch out ladies.

    Disco died, didn’t it?

  7. 7.

    Turgidson

    Sounds like fun. Can’t make it tonight (not that I’m well-known around here anyway), but some Thirsty Bear brews do sound good.

  13. 13.

    Tax Analyst

    @ #5 Dreggas:

    we need to start having these by location, for example one here in So-Cal!

    Great idea! I work in Santa Fe Springs – Live in Culver City. My work hours are outrageous at present (until 9pm weeknights, 7pm Saturdays until around Mid-February), but if you get something together that I can make it to it sounds like fun.

  17. 17.

    The Raven

    I think I’m going to haul on up. So, General, you’re going to have a chance to tell me what you think of me in person. I’ll be wearing a brown leather jacket, brown corduroy slacks, probably a broad-brimmed brown hat. (No, I don’t always wear black.)

  18. 18.

    Max

    I love the Thirsty Bear, but it’s Project Runway and I’m already in yoga pants and on the couch in Oakland.

    Next time!

  19. 19.

    The Republic of Stupidity

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    Disco died, didn’t it?

    No one mentioned Hai Karate, polyester, or platform shoes, did they?

  21. 21.

    The Republic of Stupidity

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    They are having a circle jerk in Nashville…

    Now… to be fair… they DON’T hafta be in nashville… they can, will, are, and have been doing that anywhere and everywhere they are.

  23. 23.

    General Winfield Stuck

    @The Raven: Well, that would be cool, but you will need to come to bumfuck SW NM for a personal meetup, which is where I live. And I don’t care enough to meet you half way.

  24. 24.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @ellaesther and others in Chicagoland: set your calendars for Autumn 2010. I’m coming back for my (#*@”;#th cough cough) high school reunion in Oak Park. Would love to have a BJ meet-up sometime. Let’s discuss.

    @ all Atlanta-area BJers: Let’s get in on this action. I’m talking to SIA, Demo Woman, A Mom Anon, Michael (I think) and probably others. We should do this! And John’s in pain and all medicated, so he can’t tell us not to.

  27. 27.

    Warren Terra

    Anyone have a suggestion for an audio book (*comedy*) that I could download from Amazon?

    It’s not something you can legally download, but it is free: BBC Radio 7, which broadcasts spoken-word programs (almost entirely dramas and comedies) from the BBC radio archive, is going through its collection of Terry Pratchett adaptations at the moment, with a half-hour episode each weekday, available for free streaming for a week after broadcast. They just started a six-hour adaptation of “Guards! Guards!” yesterday, but if you act within the next 21 hours, you can start with the first episode of The Wyrd Sisters and listen to all four episodes.

    Some of their other stuff is quite good. You might enjoy their Dickens parody series “Bleak Expectations”, the first series of which started on Friday on Radio 7. I’d link, but I don’t want to get moderated for having three hyperlinks.

    [[Edit: I realize the first link is broken, but the comment editing function doesn’t seem to permit me to alter it – anything I put in gets deleted. Maybe it’s to stop sp@mmers from editing in bad links to approved comments, or something? Sorry.]]

  28. 28.

    Jason Bylinowski

    Thirsty Bear in San Fran…..yep, sounds like an experience to remember.

    Have a shot for me. Actually, don’t bother, I’ve already had a few myself.

    @SiubhanDuinne: (@ all Atlanta-area BJers)

    Augusta, GA here, formerly of ATL. I hear the Northside Tavern is real nice this time of year.

    +3

  29. 29.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Indy Lib. Second that. Sarah Vowell grew on me. (Gack, that sounds disgusting!) I always loved her writing and loved the *words* and *content* of her This American Life segments, but it took me a while to get used to her voice. But now I think she’s the bomb.

  31. 31.

    mr. whipple

    “Anyone have a suggestion for an audio book (*comedy*) that I could download from Amazon?”

    A while back I downloaded a bunch of Red Skelton radio shows from the 40’s.

    They have a bunch of good stuff of this type, free.

  32. 32.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @ellaesther. OMG you’re in OP?? That is so cool. Do you live there? Whereabouts? I grew up in a house on North Euclid between Erie and Superior.

    BTW it’s not *August* it’s *autumn.* Not sure yet whether late September or early October.

  33. 33.

    gbear

    I live two blocks from Thirsty Bear. And have other engagements. Dammit.

    Reading this thread is starting to remind me of my rock band days when I’d be playing a gig and trying to get people I worked with at my day job to come out and see us play.

    DougJ, if you were in the Twin Cities, I’d be there.

  34. 34.

    Anne Laurie

    @Keith G:

    Anyone have a suggestion for an audio book (*comedy*) that I could download from Amazon? Actually a non comedy would do if it were uplifting of created a cool world I could escape to. I want to stay away from the news for a couple of days and recharge my “happy” batteries.

    Not a big audio person, but I’ve enjoyed listening to Bill Bryson read his travel books as much as reading them myself. His tone is about halfway between Garrison Keillor and our esteemed host John G. Cole, and the advantage to a travel narrative is that it’s easier to pause without losing the thread.

  35. 35.

    Nylund

    Having dinner with my parents down on the Peninsula. I’d be tempted to drive back up afterward if I haven’t hit the wine too hard.

    What time will things be going til? I don’t have work tomorrow.

  36. 36.

    ellaesther

    @SiubhanDuinne: Oops sorry! I have another internet meetup planned for Aug ’10 and I projected!

    I’m over in the northeast end of things — and actually, as long as we’re at it, I’m kinda Oak Park nobility, as it turns out. I didn’t know it when I moved here, but Frank Lloyd Wright and the Hemingways play a part in my family history (I even wrote something about it recently! )

    I’ve come to the conclusion that Oak Park is the Rome of the Midwest — all roads appear to lead here, eventually.

  37. 37.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Jason Bylinowski: Well, Augusta is a bit of a drive, and that stretch of I-20 has to be one of the Most. Boring. Interstates. EVER. But there’s no rush and it would be a kick to meet in person. (Is that lovely old Southern restaurant in Social Circle, what’s it called, the Blue Willow or something, still operational? ‘Cause that is mighty fine food, and it’s just about midway btw Atlanta and Augusta.)

  38. 38.

    mandarama

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    They are having a circle jerk in Nashville.

    And I’m at ground zero! Great.

    I feel like since Tennessee has been providing SO much entertainment lately, as Harold takes his show on the road and many many wingnuts descend on Opryland, that the least y’all could do is set up a BJ gathering here in Nashvegas! And buy me a drink. Heh.

    I think we actually have several Nashvillains here. rey?

  41. 41.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @ellaesther: I am speechless. Although not really — as you say, sooner or later all roads lead to Oak Park.

    I grew up in a FLW home (one of his earliest remodeling commissions — the exterior, as the guidebooks say, is “disfigured Queen Anne” but the interior is purest, unmistakeable Wright). And my best friend lived in the Hemingway birthplace on Oak Park Avenue, just a block from my house. Both my parents were born in OP, and my grandmother, grandfather, great-aunt, mother, father, aunt, and I all graduated from Oak Park-River Forest High School. Another great-aunt was the first Latin and Greek teacher at OPRFHS.

    If you’re listing well known Oak Parkers, don’t forget Edgar Rice Burroughs, Carol Shields, Bob Newhart, and Betty White.

    See you in the fall!

  42. 42.

    KDP

    Hope you all had a brilliant meet-up. I’d love to join in, but I’ve got homework and BART from Hayward is just too long a trek.

  43. 43.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Ash Can: Excellent! Details to follow.

    @mandarama: I don’t live in Nashville but it’s in the territory I cover so I’m there a few times a year. Next time I have a trip to Vandy or the TN legislature planned, I’ll post details on BJ.

  46. 46.

    mcc

    Are people there? I wandered by but couldn’t find anyone, possibly because I had no idea what I was looking for clearer than “a guy in a pink shirt”.

  47. 47.

    IndyLib

    @SiubhanDuinne: I love her to death. I didn’t realize that she did the daughter’s voice on The Incredibles until I read it on Amazon.

    I’m up for a meet up somewhere in the greater Chicagoland area.

  49. 49.

    NobodySpecial

    If I’ve got plenty of warning, Sep/Oct 2010 sounds real good, since I’m 1.5 hours west of Chicago.

  51. 51.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @IndyLib #47: I didn’t know that either, about The Incredibles.

    Will be fun to meet you in Chi area. I haven’t lived there since (covers mouth, mumbles) 1962 so I don’t really know good places to meet. But as I said to ellaesther, we have until Sept or Oct to sort out a date/time/place so no rush.

  52. 52.

    Ailuridae

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I’m in for a meeting in the Chicagoland area preferably in the city proper (although I have some affection for that stretch of bars along Washington or Madison in Oak Park’s western neighbor).

  54. 54.

    Graeme

    Sorry I’m missing it. I ride my bike to & from work. If I’d known about it, I woulda planned to cab it home…

    I am lame. Getting drunk @ home with the wife, instead.

  56. 56.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Ailuridae: Great! You’re on the list! (Those bars made more sense when I lived there and Oak Park was dry. You could always tell the village limits — Austin, Roosevelt, North — by the bars, saloons, taverns and package stores lining the boundaries. Neon City!

    @cousinellaesther: I think you may be right.

  57. 57.

    Ash Can

    @SiubhanDuinne: If people are coming from a variety of directions, the O’Hare/Rosemont area (90/294 junction) or Oak Brook (294/88 junction) might make the most sense.

  58. 58.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Ash Can. True and good suggestion. But again, we have eight or nine months to plan this meetup (well, those of you who live there don’t *have* to wait for me, I’ll understand, really, it’s OKAY) so plenty of time.

    Must. Go. To. Sleep. I have an intense and early meeting tomorrow morning and want to do a tolerable imitation of being well-rested. I’m bookmarking this thread to keep track of the various BJ get-togethers. See y’all on the other side.

  59. 59.

    IndyLib

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Oak Park was dry

    They had dry cities in Illinois?
    I can’t imagine that floating far in Wisconsin, there are bars and taverns out in the middle of the boonies all over the place here.

  60. 60.

    eemom

    anyone for a deecee area meetup? This IS where it all happens, ya know.

    Or the VA ‘burbs, which is where I am.

  61. 61.

    Ash Can

    @IndyLib: Evanston (just north of Chicago) was dry for a good long time too. And I happen to live in a Chicago neighborhood that was dry up until only a few years ago. Ain’t that a crime?

    But believe it or not, there is at least one dry town in Wisconsin, speaking of crimes! My jaw fell clear to the Mason-Dixon Line when I found out that Ephraim (Door Co.) was dry. A dry town in Wisconsin! There oughta be a law…

  67. 67.

    reality-based

    @nodakfarmboy:

    I’m in Walsh county (Park River, to be exact) – I came back after 20 years in CA, due to aging parent issues –

    Hey, you suppose we could round up a minyan of NoDak Juicers, maybe do Whitey’s in EGF?

    THAT would be cool.

  69. 69.

    nodakfarmboy

    @reality-based: I’m in GF. I haven’t been to Whitey’s in quite awhile- the Moose is my usual east side hangout. But, if we could get a group together, that could be cool. We’d certainly win the award for smallest town with a Balloon Juice get-together!

    Park River is a nice little town. Used to go fishing at Homme Dam, and then hit up the Dairy Queen to check out the local girls when I was in HS. Good times.

  70. 70.

    Yutsano

    @Chuck Butcher: Hey I know where that is! There was a really good breakfast place not far off the highway I ate at with my parents once on my way to being a Bronco. Really good biscuits and gravy. Wish I could recall the name.

  71. 71.

    electricgrendel

    Huh. The combination of the words “BJ” “Get together” and “Thirsty Bear” have set off far too many puerile associations in my gay mind.

  75. 75.

    Ash Can

    @Ailuridae: Norwood Park. Up until recently — the 2006 primary, I think — NP was dry except for three liquor licenses that were grandfathered in (a roadhouse joint off Devon and a couple of saloons on Northwest Highway). The change in the law hasn’t made any real difference so far, though. One or two new sandwich joints have opened up, and that’s about it. Edison Park is still the go-to place for eats and drinks around these parts. I don’t mind, though. EP is close, and we don’t get all the traffic that goes along with a jumping entertainment area.

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