Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

White supremacy is terrorism.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

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

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

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

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Come on, man.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

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Settling in for a night of tv. Looking forward to that new show Alphas on SyFy, even though it still pisses me off they renamed that network to the new ridiculous name. And why did they changed the damned theme song for White Collar? I’m still pissed they changed the Monk theme song.

Get off my grass, also too.

Reader Interactions

44Comments

  6. 6.

    plynch22

    Excuse for me asking a stupid question from the back, but if we had not agreed to the deal to extend the Bush tax cuts, would even need to be having this debt limit debate right now? Would the extra revenue be enough? Or would we still need to raise the debt ceiling now (meaning Republicans would still have the excuse to start the threats) but would simply have more and increasing revenue in the out years. ??? Just curious, for anyone that’s better versed than I am.

  7. 7.

    Lolis

    Hoyer is saying no Dem votes without revenues in the debt ceiling deal. I think Republicans are getting more fight than they were expecting from the Democrats.

  8. 8.

    piratedan

    In a bit of news that may have been overlooked thanks to our debt debacle…..

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/08/992750/-Pearce-Recalled!?via=sidebytagfeed

    So the guy that was the spearhead of the SB 1070 effort in AZ, now has to stand for a recall election, almost as if he was a Wisconsin Republican!

    Unsure what the real prospects are of giving him the boot are, but coupled with the crippling economy in AZ, the lack of anything done by the state lege (which has been gerrymandered RED), their inability to raise revenues that are fast tracking them in the direction of Mississippi when it comes to measuring things like schools, healthcare and life expectancy have hurt his chances. Also hurting Russell’s chances are that he ran the last session of the state lege like it was his own personal fiefdom which didn’t sit well when it became apparent he was getting payoffs and “gifts” while being tagged in the Fiesta Bowl scandal.

    He’s been so radically right, he’s starting to piss off the Mormons (supposedly).

  9. 9.

    JCT

    I think Republicans are getting more fight than they were expecting from the Democrats.

    The amazing (OK, stupid) thing about this is that the Republicans were ALWAYS going to need some votes from the Democratic side to get anything through. So instead of going halfway off the plank and getting something, they walked to the edge and gave the Democrats cover to say “oh no, we may be weak but we’re not fucking insane” . So now either they grovel or jump. Couldn’t happen to a bigger group of assholes.

    @piratedan — isn’t that just the way the Republicans “roll” these days? They are truly like naughty toddlers, no impulse control whatsoever.

    Sounds like “fun” out there in AZ, I’ll be joining you in January.

  11. 11.

    Martin

    You know it’s bad when even David Frum tells you you’re full of shit.

    The current GOP thinks Frum is a hippie.

  14. 14.

    Cat Lady

    I don’t know what’s going to happen with the debt ceiling and neither does anyone else, but I think with both the News Corps meltdown and the Republicans here, we’re witnessing the laws of physics taking care of overreaching. Is Fox reporting on Murdoch?

  15. 15.

    jl

    @8 Interesting article from Jeffrey Frankel, a Keynesian international monetary economist. Says if the debt limit is not raised by end of July, bond markets will start to freak out. The idea of paying some legally obligated payments, but not others will not fly with the fearsome bond vigilantes, even if payments to bond holders are not interrupted. And that will get corporate funders of the GOP to get them in line.

    The Federal Government Races to the Cliff
    Jul 11th, 2011 by jfrankel

    http://content.ksg.harvard.edu/blog/jeff_frankels_weblog/2011/07/11/advice-to-investors-as-the-federal-government-approaches-the-cliff/

    I was trying to think through the mechanics of exactly who will decide who gets paid when the money runs short in the previous thread. The House won’t be able to get any draconian spending cut legislation through Congress, even if Obama would sign it. And I think there is precedent from the last shutdown that the Executive decides. So… why would the GOP piss off Obama if Obama gets to decide who gets paid?

    Anyone know why Obama can’t wrap this up in a day or so, after he lets it be known who will get paid and who won’t?

    This makes no sense.

    Will booze be cheap in the post apocalyptic world?

    Bizarre that some in the national media can say that deficits will freak out the bond holders, but GOP congressmen can say it is OK to not pay all the legally obligated spending, and the bond markets will be just honky dory if they get their interest paid.

    I heard some goofball ‘analyst’ on the radio speaking in admiring terms about how firm the GOPper are, then discussed goofy plans to ‘strategically default’ and then talked about bond vigilantes will come for us if deficit not settled, because…well, how can we keep paying the bills?

    I do not know if you could pay me enough money to humiliate myself in front a national audience that way, and say, for example, 2 plus 2 equals minus pi. Yet, I hear and see grown ups talking nonsense nonstop these days.

    Edit: Yeah, probably could pay me enough, if I only had to do it once or twice, I guess. But not all the time.

  16. 16.

    MikeJ

    @jl:

    Will booze be cheap in the post apocalyptic world?

    I’ve got grandpa’s recipe for making it 60 gallons at a time.

  17. 17.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Obviously, Frum is a wild eyed bolshie out to turn our daughters into comfort women for the hordes of Eurasia.

  18. 18.

    bobbyp

    Hey! I just checked in to see ABL’s latest Obama worship after the presser this morning. Sheer fucking genius that….$4trillion in cuts (mostly) to satisfy Wall Street and the GOP…wow…more 14th dimensional political chess?

    But happy birthday anyway, ABL.

  19. 19.

    jl

    @16: Actually, that part was a joke. I learned how to make Swiss peasant souzer when I was a kid. It is a continuous process approach to getting rot gut wine, and after a few weeks, you bowels adjust to it and you can leave the house for hours at a time.

  20. 20.

    Sherean

    I chuckled at your grumpiness and read your post to my husband, an engineer, who asked: “who’s on his lawn? Is someone on his lawn?” Those darn linear thinkers!

    Also, what’s with the cucumber chick ad? Make it stop, please.

  21. 21.

    Bostondreams

    I could use some of that expensive Ryan wine. Trying to relocate to Raleigh NC and the job market at the secondary and post secondary level for educators is brutal. Ugh.

    This Alpha show seems good though. So that is something.

  22. 22.

    TooManyJens

    even though it still pisses me off they renamed that network to the new ridiculous name

    That’s not grumpiness; that’s just good taste.

  23. 23.

    eastriver

    JC, not to get all Dickensian on your ass, but you might want to think about respelling your name, to reflect your dark, cynical soul: John Coal.

    (It would also fit the whole West Virginny thing.)

    ((And bitching so much about teevee in general isn’t healthy. Or manly. But definitely ‘Merican.))

  24. 24.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Amanda In The South Bay #1:

    I think they changed the theme after the first season. But they occasionally brought in the original theme as background music in later seasons.

  25. 25.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Am I too partisan if I have as little use for David Frum now as I did when he was shilling “The Right Man”? Smug, smarmy, patronizing, little prick.

  26. 26.

    Mark S.

    Gooper Congressional leaders say they’ve already compromised: by agreeing to negotiate at all.

    At his weekly press availability House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) said the key Republican concession is “the fact that we are voting — the fact that we are even discussing voting for a debt ceiling increase.” He claimed this was a significant move. “What I don’t think the White House understands is how difficult it is for fiscal conservatives to say they’re going to vote to pay for a debt ceiling increase.”

    Sweet Jesus, I am almost in awe of what gigantic assholes these guys are. And our idiotic media never calls them on it.

  27. 27.

    JR

    Here, I think I’ve written the only show description you’ll ever need for any episode of any one of NBC Universal’s cable programs:

    “Someone learns that someone close is not who they appear to be, tonight on [Burn Notice/In Plain Sight/Covert Affairs/SG-U/Eureka/Warehouse 13/White Collar/Royal Pains/etc.].”

  28. 28.

    burnspbesq

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Am I too partisan if I have as little use for David Frum now as I did when he was shilling “The Right Man”?

    Yes. You can pick your friends, but you take your allies as you find them.

    A memory hole is sometimes a good thing to cultivate.

  29. 29.

    burnspbesq

    Watching a replay of yesterday’s epic.

    Note to Bill Murray: you were right. Word from the US camp is that Sauerbrunn starts on Wednesday.

  30. 30.

    JCT

    @Mark S.

    Sweet Jesus, I am almost in awe of what gigantic assholes these guys are. And our idiotic media never calls them on it.

    I’m with you — my g_d, it’s a simple question. If this is such a massive sacrifice, why did you vote to raise it so many times when Bush was President? What exactly is different now? Speak up! What, the current President is blackity black? You don’t say, well then, that’s very different. Never mind.

    SIgh.

  31. 31.

    Michael Bersin

    Sweet Jesus, I am almost in awe of what gigantic assholes these guys are. And our idiotic media never calls them on it.

    It gets even better. Eric Cantor’s existential angst didn’t prevent him from voting to increase the statutory limit on the public debt in the past:

    Eh, what a maroon…

  32. 32.

    Steeplejack

    @Cole:

    Perhaps during one of the commercial breaks you could take a moment to address what is going on with the goddamn Reply button?! Since you brought it up yourself yesterday and then let the issue drop. I can’t tell that you even read that thread after you made the initial post.

    MonkeyBoy (a great American) has demonstrated that it’s a one-line code fix to cure the problem. Your Web jockey, you yourself or a nutless monkey (h/t Tropic Thunder) could make the change and test it in 10 minutes, given access to the site’s source files on your server. So what is the holdup?

    Even I, among the most mild-mannered of your commenters, am starting to reach Matoko/Hermione/Gonorrhea Atreides/Murbella levels of rage at your failure not only to fix the goddamn problem but to discuss the apparent delay involved, while you have time daily to crank out Mayor Tommy Shanks posts about workin’ in the yard, pickin’ tomatoes and tut-tuttin’ over what stupid thing some fish-in-a-barrel Republican idiot did or said today.

    Don’t get me wrong, I love the bucolic side of Balloon Juice, but, like it or not, you run a big-time blog now–1.4 million visits last month, supposedly–and allowing a trivial but crippling glitch to a vital (for many) component of the blog to fester for weeks is bush league. Please get your Web drone to fix it or at least let us know why it’s taking so long.

  35. 35.

    Admiral_Komack

    “Settling in for a night of tv. Looking forward to that new show Alphas on SyFy, even though it still pisses me off they renamed that network to the new ridiculous name.”

    -I like SyFy better than Fox.

  38. 38.

    Suffern ACE

    After running around for months screaming that the debt ceiling is a crisis, I wish they would take a vote and die if it pains them so much to do the country’s business.

  39. 39.

    JGabriel

    @TooManyJens:

    Fuck you! I’m among the most mild-mannered of his commenters, you asswipe!

    No, goddamn it, I am the most mild-mannered motherfucker out there, and if any cocksucker wants to fuck with me about it, I’ll bitch their shit up!

    .

  40. 40.

    Uncle Clarence Thomas

    .
    .
    Fortunately, raising the Social Security qualification age to 67 is not a benefits cut. You get exactly the same benefit. You just have to wait a couple more years to begin receiving it. IIRC, President Obama promised exactly that during his campaign, so CTFD. Without question, you will be able to purchase the exact same brand of cat food, after only two years of waiting, so consider the future won, and remember to vote for President Obama’s re-election with gratitude and good cheer.
    .
    .

  41. 41.

    Bnad

    What’s supposed to happen (and what the bond markets anticipate even today, from the looks of the 10 year T bill rate) is that the Democrats cave and gut Medicare. Social Security is an unanticipated side benefit now that Obama has put it on the table. Whatever happens, I’m just wondering: are the reporters fluffing the cutters, obscuring the facts, and horse racing the story really that secure in their finances that they are on the Galtian Overlord side even on this one? Don’t any of them have parents/grandparents in nursing homes paid for by Medicaid? Or have we thoroughly enough screened out the working class from our national reporting jobs that the reporters pretty much are themselves Galtian overlords?

  42. 42.

    Walker

    Syfy is an actual word in Polish. It is the plural form of “crap”.

    I think the channel is aptly named.

  43. 43.

    Tracy

    SyFy = Failure to realize that sci-fi is a niche market and is NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ‘trendy and relevant’. It friggin Science Fiction. The ‘cool kids’ are never gonna get it and you only piss off the rest of us who actually understand the genre.
    As far as SyFy being Polish for ‘crap’… I can’t argue with that for the majority of the programming. Especially anything produced by said network.

  44. 44.

    tonnes

    correct -they had to make sure none of the wrestling network fans thought it had any relation to Science Fiction.
    Next up – truck pulls…

    60 gallons of Old Rocket bourbon does sound good about now…

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