• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This fight is for everything.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

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

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

In my day, never was longer.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

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

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

The willow is too close to the house.

T R E 4 5 O N

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Mobile Menu

  • Winnable House Races
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Balloon Juice 2023 Pet Calendar (coming soon)
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • War in Ukraine
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • 2021-22 Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Books / Open Thread

Open Thread

by John Cole|  April 14, 201210:05 pm| 51 Comments

This post is in: Books, Open Threads, Site Maintenance

FacebookTweetEmail

I was flipping through the channels and found Goodfellas on Encore, and just like that lost 2 hours +.

Some site news, my good friend Wiley Cash will have his book released this week- A Land More Kind Than Home:

It’s going to be a blockbuster. At any rate, Wiley has agreed to host a couple chats here, and we are tentatively looking at this Wednesday for the first one. We’ll also be giving away some autographed copies for some lucky commenters.

In the meantime, I am looking for some sort of live chat plugin for WordPress that we could use for chats like this. If you run a website and know of one that is reliable, please let me know.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Luck Favors The Prepared Mind (Open Thread)
Next Post: Open Thread »

Reader Interactions

51Comments

  1. 1.

    lamh35

    April 14, 2012 at 10:13 pm

    Just watched Horrible Bosses, and it must be a Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman kinda night, cause now I’m watching The Switch.

    In between watching Indian Jones that is and just wondering are there real archeologist like Indiana Jones out in the world right now. I’m also realizing that I hate dust and cobwebs and skeletons and mummified bodies so my dreams of becoming an archeologist like Indiana is done for.

  2. 2.

    Clime Acts

    April 14, 2012 at 10:14 pm

    Just read the synopsis and reviews of your friend’s book, John. I’m getting a “To Kill a Mockingbird” sort of vibe. Any validity to that feeling?

  3. 3.

    Clime Acts

    April 14, 2012 at 10:15 pm

    “A couple OF chats here…”

    godDAMmit!

    ;D

    Is that a WV thing?

  4. 4.

    TaMara (BHF)

    April 14, 2012 at 10:20 pm

    Loved chapter one, can’t wait to read the whole thing.

  5. 5.

    BH

    April 14, 2012 at 10:21 pm

    I recommend using Google+ hangouts for the chats. No new infrastructure required.

  6. 6.

    Jess

    April 14, 2012 at 10:25 pm

    Just read about this book in Oprah’s magazine (yes, I pick it up occasionally). It looks really interesting–I’ll have to check it out!

  7. 7.

    Ripley

    April 14, 2012 at 10:29 pm

    You could try php open chat. I’ve never used it with a huge audience but it’s fairly stable.

  8. 8.

    J. Michael Neal

    April 14, 2012 at 10:29 pm

    @lamh35:

    In between watching Indian Jones that is and just wondering are there real archeologist like Indiana Jones out in the world right now.

    The ex-wife has a masters in archeology. My impression of the people she went to school with is that there are a lot of archeologists who really want to be Indiana Jones, but none that come even close.

  9. 9.

    YellowJournalism

    April 14, 2012 at 10:35 pm

    The scene in Goodfellas where the wife gets invited by Deniro’s character to look at some dresses just kills me. It’s done beautifully, where, like her, you wonder for a second if she’s paranoid but know it’s in her best interests to get the fuck out of there as fast as she can. Sends shivers up my spine.

  10. 10.

    arguingwithsignposts

    April 14, 2012 at 10:40 pm

    Try CoverItLive.com. It’s not a plug-in, but it’s a live chat that you embed in a post. All the big media outlets use it. It’s free, too.

  11. 11.

    General Stuck

    April 14, 2012 at 10:42 pm

    Tales of the Undead

    (AP) CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Former Vice President Dick Cheney walked onstage without any assistance and spoke for an hour and 15 minutes without seeming to tire in his first public engagement since he underwent a heart transplant three weeks ago.

    The Duke of Darkness

    And still pimping torture

    t produced a wealth of information. Don’t let anybody tell you the enhanced interrogation program didn’t work. It did,” he said to the loudest applause of his visit.

    We hanged Japanese officers in part for waterboarding prisoners, but this American devil gets a new heart, to continue filling the national dialogue with patented rancid bullshit.

    “He has been an unmitigated disaster to the country,” Cheney said of President Barack Obama.

  12. 12.

    jwb

    April 14, 2012 at 10:45 pm

    @lamh35: Indiana Jones wouldn’t be accepted by modern professional archaeological organizations. He’s quite ethically challenged and is basically nothing more than a glorified grave robber. Belloq is actually a much better archaeologist, even if he is a jerk and works for the bad guys.

  13. 13.

    Quincy

    April 14, 2012 at 10:46 pm

    If I find Goodfellas while flipping through my decision to keep watching depends on whether I’ve missed the post-Lufthansa Layla montage. Might be my all time favorite use of music in a film.

  14. 14.

    Jeffro

    April 14, 2012 at 10:47 pm

    Goodfellas is one of those pick-it-up-at-any-point movies …the original DieHard and New Jack City also too

  15. 15.

    lamh35

    April 14, 2012 at 10:50 pm

    @J. Michael Neal: That kinda doesn’t surprise me. Indiana Jones IS an icon. I’m 35 and I’d guess that the majority of peep my age range hear archaeology & think Indiana Jones… Or maybe I’m just a big fan-bot

  16. 16.

    Yutsano

    April 14, 2012 at 10:56 pm

    @lamh35: To be fair, he’s not the only hotshot archaeologist out there…

  17. 17.

    The prophet Nostradumbass

    April 14, 2012 at 10:56 pm

    I just wasted 2 1/2 hours watching the San Jose Sharks stink it up in Saint Louis, and now, the Oakland A’s are losing to the Mariners, too. Bleh.

  18. 18.

    JCT

    April 14, 2012 at 11:02 pm

    @General Stuck:

    “He has been an unmitigated disaster to the country,” Cheney said of President Barack Obama.

    Of course, just witness that enormous and successful terrorist attack on the US that wiped out 3,000 innocent people. And then he went off half-cocked and invaded Iraq leading to all of those Iraqi and American deaths and then he could even catch the perpetrator. Damn that Obama.

    Or that horrific financial meltdown that he aided and abetted. Impeach him!

    It never ends, this up is down and down is up stuff. Never.

    The odd part is the actual rhetoric, does this war criminal really think that most people think the country is ruined?

    And this asshole probably got some nice young accident victims’s heart. The horror if the family every finds out.

  19. 19.

    Suffern ACE

    April 14, 2012 at 11:03 pm

    @General Stuck: He keeps Talking about that information that we got but never says what it is. I certainly would like to know what it is. If only someone would put his dick in a vice until he squeals.

  20. 20.

    Amir Khalid

    April 14, 2012 at 11:09 pm

    @efgoldman:
    As I recall, Dick Cheney became toxic about halfway through George Walker Bush’s second term. By 2008 it was so bad that when he endorsed McCain for President, it was Obama’s campaign that gleefully trumpeted the endorsement to the world.

    I suspect Cheney’s name remains toxic; that his endorsement would be about as helpful to Mitt as an endorsement from Lord Voldemort. Mitt will no doubt be asking people to ask Cheney to refrain from publicly endorsing him.

  21. 21.

    Walker

    April 14, 2012 at 11:09 pm

    Just got back from Woodfire Grill, Kevin Gillespie’s restaurant in Atlanta. Damn, that place can make pork.

  22. 22.

    Martin

    April 14, 2012 at 11:10 pm

    Ok, this is fucked beyond all reason. Finally confirmed that my taxes are correct. On $100k in income (1/3 of which is cap gains), we’re paying an effective rate of 0.98%. Our regular income of ~$60k get eaten up enough with mortgage interest and property taxes, child credits, and so on that we land in the lowest tax bracket. That allows us to take the $30k odd capital gains at a 0% tax rate. We theoretically could have sold $5M in stock and paid 0% so long as we kept our AGI low enough to land in the lowest bracket.

    The tax code is simply insane. I’m not quite sure what to do here.

  23. 23.

    Martin

    April 14, 2012 at 11:12 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Cheney became toxic when he shot a dude in the face. That was the ‘hide the old codger in the closet’ moment.

  24. 24.

    Southern Beale

    April 14, 2012 at 11:14 pm

    We just watched Martha Marcy May Marlene … interesting film …

  25. 25.

    Citizen_X

    April 14, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    @efgoldman:

    I’m waiting for Darth to campaign with Mittster.

    Fuck, that’s practically campaigning for Obama. Every public appearance and utterence by that ghoul has got to get people thinking, “How could I have forgotten what maniacs we had before Obama? Go Barack!”

  26. 26.

    Martin

    April 14, 2012 at 11:19 pm

    Ok, correction. We couldn’t have taken much more in cap gains at the 0% rate after all. I think we just managed to hit he sweet spot. Much more and we’d be paying at least 15%, but still, it’s insane.

    We’re going to figure out where to put the money that we had planned on paying.

  27. 27.

    Suffern ACE

    April 14, 2012 at 11:21 pm

    @Martin: Give $3 to the presidential campaign fund.

  28. 28.

    nellcote

    April 14, 2012 at 11:22 pm

    @Martin:

    The tax code is simply insane. I’m not quite sure what to do here.

    send the difference between what you pay and what you think you should pay to the charity(s) of your choice?

  29. 29.

    nellcote

    April 14, 2012 at 11:25 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Did you ever think you’d see a Republican candidate that would make GWB look like an honest candidate with integrity?

    You mean Mr. I-wish-they-wouldn’t-call-it-the-Bush-tax-cuts?

  30. 30.

    freelancer

    April 14, 2012 at 11:28 pm

    @efgoldman:

    We have a couple. At least Martin makes up for it by being on our side and hilarious.

  31. 31.

    jwb

    April 14, 2012 at 11:28 pm

    @Martin: On the other hand, my wife’s income is up considerably this year so we lost a whole mess of deductions we usually get (seems that a lot of things are phased out between $90K and $110K AGI). It looks like our effective tax rate will almost quadruple over last year, though our income is only up by about a third.

  32. 32.

    Amir Khalid

    April 14, 2012 at 11:31 pm

    @efgoldman:
    I think that if Dick Cheney realized just how toxic his name was, and if he wanted to see a Republican win the White House, he might decide that the best move for him would be to turn around and endorse Barack Obama.

  33. 33.

    muddy

    April 14, 2012 at 11:33 pm

    On Friday Rachel Maddow was talking to Bill Maher about Iran-Contra, he said he thought it was worse than Watergate and she agreed. She was saying about the idea that if the president does something it is automatically legal, and how the peeps in Congress said not, all except one guy, the one from Wyoming, Darth Cheney. They agreed this was spooky foreshadowing.

    I probably didn’t get that word for word, but here’s the link:
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/#47047603

  34. 34.

    Martin

    April 14, 2012 at 11:34 pm

    @nellcote: We thought of that, but that doesn’t feel right. I think we’re leaning toward giving most to the schools – at least being govt services, with some to the Dems to help get this shit fixed. After all, the GOP seems to think that I’m still paying too much.

  35. 35.

    jwb

    April 14, 2012 at 11:35 pm

    @efgoldman: WIth $100K income, Martin’s not even close to 1%. It’s somewhere around of $380K, I think, maybe a bit higher this year since the market has been up.

  36. 36.

    NickM

    April 14, 2012 at 11:36 pm

    I have to go to Las Vegas for a week in early May, and I hate Vegas. I get the weekend off there. I was thinking about backpacking on night in the Grand Canyon, which is about 4.5 hours away, but then I read about Zion National Park, about 3. It seems like someplace I’d have a hard time getting to before I retire, whereas I can see visiting the Grand C with the family at some point. Anyone know the area and have any thoughts?

  37. 37.

    dead existentialist

    April 14, 2012 at 11:40 pm

    @Martin:

    I’m not quite sure what to do here.

    Be happy that you live in a tax bracket in a country that allows for this? If you’re suffering from some sort of societal guilt, you can always “tax” yourself with some donations to your favorite charities or causes.

    Your friend at the dead-existentialist-needs-a-new-car-fund.

  38. 38.

    Martin

    April 14, 2012 at 11:42 pm

    @efgoldman: Well, we’re a ways from 1%. The cap gains are half college fund for the kids. We’re about 15% above the median for the state thanks to my wife’s PT jobs coming in a bit stronger than usual. We’re about 1/2 the median income for our city. My 6 yr old Honda is no match for the guy across the street with the new Lamborghini.

    So yeah, we’re not suffering, and we’re getting ahead some, but we’re not quite 1% ers.

    I’d bank on there being a few proper millionaires here, though.

  39. 39.

    eemom

    April 14, 2012 at 11:45 pm

    @General Stuck:

    Don’t worry mon General. I have a new theory about this. The more — ugh — cocky he gets about his new heart….the more his sycophants slather about how great he’s doing…..eventually he will end up overextending himself and then…..pfffffft. Even the devil can’t beat the actuarial tables.

    And the more unexpected, unanticipated, and gleefully defied the pffffft is……the sweeeeeter it will be when it comes.

    I have a DREAM, mon General…..

  40. 40.

    Martin

    April 14, 2012 at 11:47 pm

    @jwb: Yeah, it looks like we came in right under a bunch of thresholds. Just got lucky I guess. I’ll be sure to tell my boss to not give me the same raise he didn’t give me each of the last 5 years.

  41. 41.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    April 14, 2012 at 11:53 pm

    @Martin:
    __
    Not quite sure what to do? Take the money and run. If that income had been in wages you’d have owed ~$12,000. And after you take the money and run, see if you can vote in somebody who’s interested in fixing this mess.

  42. 42.

    elmo

    April 15, 2012 at 12:17 am

    @Martin:

    Cheney became toxic when he shot a dude in the face and then accepted the dude’s apology.

    Don’t forget that part – it adds just the right touch of horror and disbelief to the story.

  43. 43.

    Mnemosyne

    April 15, 2012 at 12:37 am

    @Martin:

    I just finished my taxes and discovered that because my employer didn’t withhold any taxes from a $600 legal settlement they paid me (and several thousand other employees) on a 1099-MISC, I had to PAY federal tax rather than getting an $800 refund.

    Fucked up system, indeed.

    ETA: Plus now G is pissed off at me because I forgot about this 1099 until after he filed his taxes (married filing separately) and he’s convinced that he’s going to get audited over my frickin’ $600 extra.

    If that happens, I am holding Yutsano personally responsible.

  44. 44.

    Chris

    April 15, 2012 at 12:40 am

    @J. Michael Neal:

    The ex-wife has a masters in archeology. My impression of the people she went to school with is that there are a lot of archeologists who really want to be Indiana Jones, but none that come even close.

    Not as easy as it looks? Being Harrison Ford ain’t like dusting crops, boy…

  45. 45.

    suzanne

    April 15, 2012 at 12:41 am

    Did anyone else see this unbelievable horseshit today? GOD.

    Actually, it’s an insult to horses to insinuate that their shit is as gross as what sprays forth from Virginia Foxx’s mouth. My sincerest apologies to my equine brethren.

  46. 46.

    freelancer

    April 15, 2012 at 12:44 am

    @suzanne:

    She should gag on graduation tassels.

  47. 47.

    Martin

    April 15, 2012 at 1:10 am

    @Mnemosyne:

    If that happens, I am holding Yutsano personally responsible

    I think that’s the only reasonable thing to do.

  48. 48.

    Martin

    April 15, 2012 at 1:13 am

    @suzanne: 7 years? Shit, financial aid now cuts you off no later than 5, and college was fuckall cheaper in 1940 Germany when she attended.

  49. 49.

    Cromagnon

    April 15, 2012 at 1:18 am

    Damn, you ‘just’ saw Goodfellas when channel surfing? Are you kidding? When can’t your find Goodfellas? Hell you can find that movie on cable at least 4 times a week. When ISN’T Goodfellas on is the question LOL

    That said, it is a good movie. And based on a true story at that

  50. 50.

    Yutsano

    April 15, 2012 at 2:07 am

    @Mnemosyne:

    Plus now G is pissed off at me because I forgot about this 1099 until after he filed his taxes (married filing separately) and he’s convinced that he’s going to get audited over my frickin’ $600 extra.

    A chill pill is in order here. Even in a community property state married filing separate means just that. It should only be listed under your income and should have no impact on his return at all.

    And legal settlements distributed as self-employment income are especially evil. It messes a lot of folks up.

    @Martin: I suppose now is the time to mention I got a positive response from the IRS watchdog organization for a new gig? It’s just the initial qualification round but still, it’s a start.

  51. 51.

    Jebediah

    April 15, 2012 at 1:57 pm

    @eemom:

    …..pfffffft. Even the devil can’t beat the actuarial tables.

    I will be a bit happier when he is no longer on our planet, but the only thing that will really make me happy is if someone renders him unto the Hague.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8

Recent Comments

  • Gvg on Open Thread: Inherit the Wind (Mar 23, 2023 @ 6:24am)
  • satby on Late Night Open Thread: ‘Leader’ McConnell’s Troops Are Restless (Mar 23, 2023 @ 6:18am)
  • NeenerNeener on Late Night Open Thread: ‘Leader’ McConnell’s Troops Are Restless (Mar 23, 2023 @ 6:16am)
  • Frankensteinbeck on Late Night Open Thread: ‘Leader’ McConnell’s Troops Are Restless (Mar 23, 2023 @ 6:03am)
  • eclare on On The Road – BigJimSlade – Hiking in the Alps, Chamonix and Grindelwald 2022, Männlichen – Wengen, part 2 (Mar 23, 2023 @ 5:40am)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
We All Need A Little Kindness
Classified Documents: A Primer
State & Local Elections Discussion

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
TaMara
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Join the Fight!

Join the Fight Signup Form
All Join the Fight Posts

Balloon Juice Events

5/14  The Apocalypse
5/20  Home Away from Home
5/29  We’re Back, Baby
7/21  Merging!

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!