Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

The revolution will be supervised.

Giving up is unforgivable.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

“woke” is the new caravan.

We will not go back.

They are not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

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Reader Interactions

98Comments

  1. 1.

    RossInDetroit

    No plans. Wife is out taking Doglius Maximus for the first walkies after weeks of cold. He was so thrilled I thought he was going to fly apart from sheer excitement. He’ll get a bath immediately after.

  4. 4.

    JWL

    I don’t get it. Is the dog climbing into the yard, or making a break? And how does the presence or absence of a dog cause a tea party to be ruined? Enquiring minds want to know.

  5. 5.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN: Put down the pitchfork hon. And the no cooking so therefore no cutlery plan looks eerily prescient now.

    My kitteh has been teh terror today. Not sure what’s up her gourd.

  7. 7.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Yutsano: Heh. I do have knives, but they are dull. I did get to see a bit of the All Blacks on my TV this afternoon, so that soothed the savage beast within. My boys are snoozing on my lap right now. That helps, too. Mebbe Lexie is in heat?

    @Angry Black Lady: Aw. Group hug!

  8. 8.

    Poopyman

    Evening? You’re jumping the gun a bit, but I’ll be finishing up replacing the two toilets that are Mrs. P’s Valentine’s present*. Of course, this follows the purchase of a washer and dryer just last night, but since I’ve had the wringer attached with drywall screws for a while, I figured we were due. So maybe I’ll kick back and fondly remember the money I so recently had.

    I’d better get this second one out of the way so I can crack open a bottle ….

    * How you can tell a couple has been married “long enough”.

  9. 9.

    Phyllis

    I’ve got an olive oil pound cake in the oven and fixin’ to start a pot of shrimp creole in a bit. We’re in for the night. I’m haven’t checked the HBO/TCM schedule yet, but I’m hoping there’s a decent movie on somewhere.

  10. 10.

    RossInDetroit

    I should be doing about 9 different things right now. So I think I’ll put an LP on the electrical phonograph and horse around for another hour or so instead.

  11. 11.

    debit

    @RossInDetroit: Ditto in the dog walking after weeks of cold. At 35 degrees, it felt spring. Chloe is now in her chair all tuckered out.

    I’ve been ill and working long days, so while I should go grocery shopping and do some chores, I think instead I’ll make do with what’s in the freezer and play some video games. Or nap. Again.

    ETA: Seriously, it’s sunny and warm and everyone we met was giddy with it.

  13. 13.

    Chris

    Dirty Harry on the tube..A big ham been roasting all day (a fresh picnic I will say..to differentiate it from pink cured ham) Gonna make some gravy and mashed potatoes. Order a pizza for the tween and early teen. All the while lurking here. And if all that doesnt tie me up, I may plunder around on the kindle for some really trashy Scifi.

  15. 15.

    licensed to kill time

    I’ve been having “computer issues” and haven’t been able to read Balloon Juice for a while. Been jonesing!

    A friend gave me a kindle 3 last week and the first book I downloaded? Nixonland! :) Now furiously reading to get caught up for tomorrow’s discussion, if my stupid computer will let me. Also, not sure how I feel about reading on a kindle yet. It’s like reading a paragraph at a time and I can’t easily flip back to a previous page to reread a passage, which I do a lot.

    Tell me I’ll fall in love with it soon.

  16. 16.

    metalgirl

    We’re going to a new (to us) “coal fired” pizza place that got 5 stars (the highest) from the local paper (although it’s not an expensive place, according to the menu). We’ll probably watch a few recorded shows when we get back (Bill Maher + others) while I continue to weave a pearl chain for a customer (delivery on 2/23). The sooner I get this chain finished, the sooner I might be able to get it to my photographer to get some pictures before delivery.

  18. 18.

    RossInDetroit

    We’re about to have a heat wave here. After the near-epic showfall, this will mean lots of flooding. Everyone seems to forget this. “It’s going to be 40 degrees! Great!” Well yeah, unless you’re surrounded by mounds of frozen water that’s going to be looking for a place to go as soon as it gets liquid.

  20. 20.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Mebbe Lexie is in heat?

    It would explain her constant attempts to go outside. I didn’t see any physiological changes in her naughty bits though. That does make sense. And sucks at the same time cause now I have to wait until it fades to get her fixed.

  22. 22.

    FlipYrWhig

    I don’t get the cartoon at all. Is it imitating the New Yorker mode of animal-plus-non-sequitur-equals-cerebral?

  23. 23.

    licensed to kill time

    @MikeJ: I have to set the font size sort of large to read w/o glasses so that’s probably why I get what feels like a paragraph at a time. It’s definitely a different way to read. I’m still getting used to it.

  24. 24.

    MikeJ

    The cartoon seems obvious to me. Big slobbering carnivore is out of control and is going to destroy delicate little tea table.

    The people who don’t get this cartoon are like the people who insist that their little darlings don’t need a leash and it’s perfectly acceptable for a 100 lb rottweiler to bound up and down every trail in the park completely out of control. Every time I’ve been bitten the asshole owner always says, “oh, he’s always so niiiiice.”

  25. 25.

    RossInDetroit

    I’m reading a Lindsey Davis novel, Alexandria. This is the 19th Davis book I’ve read, which makes her my #1 in terms of volumes but possibly not in pages (Stephenson).
    It’s a Marcus Didius Falco crime novel. He’s the Sam Spade of the 1st C AD, or was until he married a Senator’s daughter, had kids and went to work for Vespasian. They’re still good books but I liked the rougher Falco better. When he had a little more Continental Op in him and less Thin Man.

  27. 27.

    The Dangerman

    OK, I’m just glad I’m not the only one that didn’t get the cartoon; perhaps I’m still capable of driving.

    However, we now have “tea party”, “prominent asses”, and “tools” in the thread. I see a theme.

  28. 28.

    morzer

    @RossInDetroit:

    Alexandria and Nemesis both look a bit tired to me. I suspect it’s just the inevitable fatigue of a long series setting in. The same thing seems to be happening to the Harry Dresden series, which I enjoyed more in its early days.

  31. 31.

    gbear

    Doggy in the cartoon is on to Jenny’s plan to make the doggy sit properly and make polite conversation at the table. Doggy thinks this is a totally fucked up plan and is trying to escape over the fence. It loses some of it’s humor when it has to be explained…

  32. 32.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN: I think she knows I’m planning on getting her fixed, so she’s being pre-emptively moody. That and she may be sensing there’s a car trip coming up and that means the Crate of Doom. She survived just fine last time though.

  35. 35.

    Jebediah

    @MikeJ:
    Well, my Otto is super sweet, and loves virtually everyone he meets, but still I never take him anywhere without he is on his leash. It’s just a bad idea.
    I think any dog owner who thinks they can predict with certainty that their dog won’t encounter someone or something he doesn’t like is deluded. Exercising that delusion with a big, strong dog is just silly and asking for trouble.

  36. 36.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Yutsano:

    Good idea my Lari got fixed while she was in heat and she has been the perpetual queen bitch of the universe to anyone other than me ever since.

  37. 37.

    Amir_Khalid

    @Yutsano: When my Bianca was in heat, her milkshake brought all the boys to the yard, so to speak. Damn, I never knew there were so many tomcats in the neighborhood. They were even invading the house in search of, um, pussy. (I had her spayed right away.) Are you getting any visits from the lad cats in your vicinity?

  38. 38.

    morzer

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Yeah, I am developing a theory of fiction that states that a series has died when the author has to resort to exotic locations and more and bigger monsters to make it interesting. I call it the Robert Jordan Theorem.

    I didn’t know you were a Dresden girl, so to speak.

  39. 39.

    Amir_Khalid

    Why does my comment await moderation? I have not used any of the trigger words, and I was only talking about my cat. Help!

  40. 40.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @MikeJ:

    Get thee to a Thrift Shop! You can pick up a bread machine for pennies (all of my local TS have at least three in on any given day) and then get to bread making. There is nothing better than slathering butter on a doorstep of freshly baked bread. My husband says my Cinnamon Rolls are the best ever. There is no end of wonderful things you can make once you are released from the chore of making dough. Pizza dough, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, donuts, home made hot pockets (french bread dough with ham, mushrooms and swiss cheese rolled up like a jelly roll then baked and sliced)the world is your oyster once you have the machine, and if it breaks you can replace it for $5.00. I have two spares in the garage right now :)

  42. 42.

    asiangrrlMN

    @morzer: I like your theory. And, yes, I am. The first few books in that series were wonderful. Seven, to be precise.

    ETA: I like mysteries, and I like magick, so it’s a perfect fit for me.

    @Amir_Khalid: ‘coz FYWP, that’s why. Anything with c i a lis or am bi en or pen is will get moderated. As will sockulism.

  44. 44.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN: Ah she’ll be fine. She survived just fine last time we hopped the mountains. Plus this time it’s not quite as new or scary, so she might be a bit more cooperative.

    Total side note: the New York Dawg just told me he hates Sarah Palin. I think he’s trying to get me to fall for him or something.

  45. 45.

    asiangrrlMN

    @morzer: Well, pu s s y is also moderated as is po ker. So…let us speculate!

    @Yutsano: Bwahahahahahahahaha on the first and awwwwwww on the second. Be sure to give me plenty of advance notice so I can get my Morticia dress ready in time.

  46. 46.

    licensed to kill time

    @Amir_Khalid: Did you say pu.ssy?

    FWIW, everybody, I think the period method for dealing with forbidden words is the least intrusive, to wit:

    social.ist
    spec.ialist
    po.ker
    ca.sino
    black.jack
    book.er
    pharm.acy

    Discuss.

  47. 47.

    Amir_Khalid

    Could mentioning a pu ssy — as in cat — really set FYWP off?

    ETA: Well, well. You learn something new every day.

  48. 48.

    quaint irene

    “It’s going to be 40 degrees! Great!” Well yeah, unless you’re surrounded by mounds of frozen water

    Well, the ice dam in one of the gutters has finally cleared/melted, so the drip-drip-drip from my studio’s back window finally stopped a few days ago.
    So I am psyched that not only did we not have a major storm lst week, but next week is filled with clear skies and temps going into the 50’s!!

    Beyond that, just gonna see what’s on TCM tonight.

  49. 49.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    DH and I are going out for dinner tonight for Valentines Day, probably Outback (seeing as our regular haunt the Lonestar closed down, and we have gone to my favorite Olive Garden the last two times we went out for dinner) we have avoided Outback seeing as they are huge culprits of over salting their food (to make you drink more), they will be given strict instructions not to over salt DHs food this evening (sodium and heart condition do not mix) if they fail to comply they will again be placed on the boycott list.

  52. 52.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN:

    So…let us speculate!

    It would be decidedly irresponsible not to.

    And the NY Dawg is flat out too young. Thirteen years my junior doesn’t sit too well with me. At least on the brain side of things.

  53. 53.

    morzer

    @Yutsano:

    He might just be trying to demonstrate a capacity for rational thought and observation of the world. Not all conversation revolves around his lust for your booty, surely?

  54. 54.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    Oh and BTW the Teflon fingured Scottish rugby team played like school boys against Wales today, totally pissed me off. They had so many chances to score a try and they just threw it away, they couldn’t even take the opportunity when Wales had two players in the damn sin bin. What a debacle.

  56. 56.

    asiangrrlMN

    @morzer: Damn. I think you got it. But, surely, Amir is too much the gentleman to write such a thing. SURELY!

    @Yutsano: Oops. Didn’t see the NY in front of Dawg. Any time I see Dawg, I automatically think of Your Dawg.

    ::cancels order for Morticia dress::

    @licensed to kill time: Yes, it does involve explaining. But, it’s more fun. Your way is more clear, I do agree, but, again, where is the fun in that?

    ETA: I mean, sure, if your aim is clarity, the period thing works.

    Lilbrit: ALL BLACKS REPRESENT!

  58. 58.

    Amir_Khalid

    Anyway, I was saying to Yutsano:

    When my Bianca was in heat, her milkshake brought all the bnoys to the yard, so to speak. Damn, I never knew there were so many tomcats in the neighborhood. They were even invading the house in search of, um, pu ssy. (I had her spayed right away.) Are you getting any visits from the lad cats in your vicinity?

    BTW, Bianca has never had a pen is. As far as I know.

  62. 62.

    RossInDetroit

    @morzer:

    Alexandria and Nemesis both look a bit tired to me.

    I like my private eye to be a rogue. It’s more interesting. Falco’s been civilized. He’s a man of position and stature now. When someone will notice if he doesn’t come home on time from a night of skulking in alleys it takes the edge off.
    Still, 19 books is a good run for a detective series and I’ve enjoyed them so far.

    Schubert on vinyl, played through restored 1960 Altec speakers and 1963 Fisher tube amp. Marvelous. Why did this digital stuff come about? Oh, convenience. Bah.

  66. 66.

    morzer

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Not going there. I know the festering feverswamp of heathen erotic perversity that is your mind.

    Actually, I’ve just argued myself into going there.

    Damn.

  69. 69.

    hilts

    More bullshit emanating from South Carolina

    It’s time for Mississippi to take back the batshit crazy title from SC

    Sen. Lee Bright: SC should coin own money
    http://www.goupstate.com/article/20110212/ARTICLES/102121020/1001/sports02?Title=Sen-Lee-Bright-SC-should-coin-own-money

    “Continuing a pattern of attempts to assert South Carolina’s independence from the federal government, State Sen. Lee Bright, R-Roebuck, has introduced legislation that backs the creation of a new state currency that could protect the financial stability of the Palmetto State in the event of a breakdown of the Federal Reserve System.”

    During the 2010 session, Bright sponsored legislation passed by the state Senate that in addition to affirming South Carolina’s Second-, Ninth- and 10th-amendment rights, also targeted federal health care legislation by saying state residents are not subject to any law that interferes with patients’ rights to choose their own health care provider or pay for medical services directly.

    “If at first you don’t secede, try again,” Bright said with a laugh after the legislation passed last year.

  70. 70.

    Amir_Khalid

    I can’t help but wonder what strange manner of prude came up with FYWP’s naughty-word filter. Anyway, this weekend I have finally cracked open my Teach Yourself Arabic self-instruction kit. (Damn good value, too, at only 120 ringgit i.e. about US$40.) Soon I shall be able to eavesdrop on all those Arab tourists at my local mall. Heh heh heh …

  72. 72.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN: I’m not even much of one for sweet pastry, and ME. WANT.

    And FWIW, the NY Dawg volunteered to be my New Year’s kiss, even if he is in the wrong Washington for that.

    @morzer:

    Not all conversation revolves around his lust for your booty, surely?

    Maybe.

    :: whistles innocently ::

    Truth be told he’s just fun to talk with. The fact that we share a mutual sexual attraction is just gravy.

  73. 73.

    morzer

    @Amir_Khalid:

    You might try Al-Kitaab (three book series with DVDs IIRC), which is quite good for MSA. They are a bit pricy, but if you look around you might be able to find them online for free at certain dubious sites. Any chance of your local library having them?

  75. 75.

    Parallel 5ths (Jewish Steel)

    I wish I had a video camera so I could show y’all the great all-in basenji wrestling match that is currently being held all over my living room floor/couches/chairs. What a spectacle.

  76. 76.

    asiangrrlMN

    @morzer: Shhhh. I’m just making shit up. But, yes, I do, actually. Sigh. Mumble mumble stupid Mandarin lessons.

    @Yutsano: Wait. We are talking about the Dawg who frequents these pages, are we not? Or, am I mistaken?

  77. 77.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN: Bnut is a New York Dawg, but not the New York Dawg I’m talking about. I suppose for clarity I could call him the DC Dawg (since that’s where he is) but it kinda sounds like a character from a bad Western.

  80. 80.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Yutsano: Ah. Gotcha. I was confuzzled because I knew the Bnut Dawg likes the lay-deeeeees.

    @morzer: Is that what the kids are calling it these days? And, by the way, you are incorrigible. You know that, right? Baiting poor E.D. like that.

  81. 81.

    morzer

    @asiangrrlMN:

    I am really serious about him asking you to give it a go at the LOOG. I am not baiting him at all. It would be good for all sides, and I really hope he asks and you accept.

    PS. You can continue the spankings. I never went to a public school in England, so I need to make up for lost time.

  82. 82.

    Parallel 5ths (Jewish Steel)

    @morzer:

    Basij-e Mostaz’afin, literally “Mobilization of the Oppressed”

    That is exactly what my hounds would like you to believe. Bickie please?

  83. 83.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN: Not that Bnut isn’t a handsome gent in his own right, but I’m still working on getting him and ABL hitched. It’ll happen. You just watch me.

  85. 85.

    Amir_Khalid

    @morzer: Three books plus DVDs? That does sound pricey. Since I live near the National Library, I just might see if they have that Al-Kitaab course. Self-instruction kits don’t work for everyone, but I have had some success learning French and German with them. It helps me that I can already read classical Arabic, being brought up Muslim, and that Malay already has many loan words from Arabic.

  89. 89.

    BruceFromOhio

    The grill is heating up for kebobs (outside it’s a relatively balmy 30) and a fresh 750ml of cheap vodka awaits the three episodes of Southland on the dvr.

    ETA: Regrettably, no black fishnets tonight. That was last night.

  91. 91.

    Phoebe

    My plans include trivia night for Tenth Life Cat Rescue. Then there’s a dj playing at a bar who plays fantastic old soul music but I’m a-scared to go by myself and will try to drag trivia people with me but I am not optimistic.

    But here’s what I want to know:
    IS IT ONE CHAPTER OR TWO FOR NIXONLAND?
    Sorry for the bf allcaps, but I only just started the “Long Hot Summer” chapter, so this is very relevant to my near future.

  93. 93.

    JWL

    @MikeJ: Let me get this straight. I don’t understand the cartoon, so I’m like an asshole dog owner that rationalizes after his canine bit somebody.

    You’re a tea bagger, aren’t you Mike?

  95. 95.

    gelfling545

    @RossInDetroit: I read the first one of these years ago and I recall it being really good. Now I have to go and buy some of the others. I don’t know why I didn’t do this before. So many books, so little time, I guess.

  97. 97.

    RossInDetroit

    @efgoldman:

    Tubes VS solid state and CD versus vinyl. Those are debated for other people and other places.
    I design solid state stuff but the money’s in restoring tube gear. As for differences in sound, I couldn’t care less. We both know the real distortions all happen long before it gets to us.
    I have Altec Valencias here but at the moment I’m using Boleros – little things about the size of AR3s. Marvelous mids.
    My turntable is less of a bother than most. I modded a 1970s full-auto B&O linear tracker and added RF remote control. Now I can skip Stairway to Heaven from anywhere within a 1,000 yard radius.

  98. 98.

    RossInDetroit

    @efgoldman:

    I usually listen to CD. Vinyl is a hassle and most of what I want to hear is on digital media now. I fired up the remote control B&O ttbl today to test out a tube Fisher unit that I just finished restoring. I mostly use solid state electronics although I have dozens of tube amps here. The tube stuff is mostly for restoration and resale. Big market in the Far East for midcentury US audio equipment, especially tube amps.

    I am working on a scratch-built tube preamp for myself, though. Can’t find anything these days with satisfactory tone controls and it seems like a waste to run the signal through a digital mastering processor just to tweak up the bass or treble a bit. So I’m making my own just for grins.

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