Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

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

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

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

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

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Is trump is trying to break black America over his knee? signs point to ‘yes’.

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Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

I would gladly pay you tuesday for a hamburger today.

How stupid are these people?

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

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

American history and black history cannot be separated.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

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Let there be snark.

You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / Meetups / Open Thread: Meet-Ups

Open Thread: Meet-Ups

by | 261 Comments

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seattle meetup 13 jul 12

From commentor CaseyL:

The Seattle BJ crew had a meetup Saturday. MikeJ, Yatsuno, Opie_jeanne, PsiFighter+17, and more whose names I cannot remember, were there. We drank many toasts to General Stuck and Tunch. I’ve put the pix on Photobucket, and here is a link.

***********

Thanks to commentor Lahke, Boston-area Juicers will get together this Wednesday, July 17, at the Watch City Brewing Co in Waltham, starting around 7pm. I’m looking forward to meeting y’all!

************

Any other gatherings should be front-paged here?

Other topics on the agenda?

ETA: Last-minute notice from commentor Summer:

Ever so late, having gone to Moral Monday, but North Carolina Balloon Juicers are having what I think is our first meetup tonight at 8 p.m. at Geer St. Garden in Durham. There are just two of us so far, but we plan to totally build a vibrant community and work together to schedule another meetup soon. Toasts to Tunch (and photographic evidence to follow).

Reader Interactions

261Comments

  1. 1.

    the Conster

    I’m planning to be at the Boston meet up. I have a job interview that morning, so I’ll be ready to party!

    ETA: Is it a sanctioned BJ meet up event without PsiFighter+17? What will be the signifiers so I don’t make a fool of myself asking for the BJers?

  2. 2.

    Scamp Dog

    I’ve tried before to get a Denver area meetup going, and hope I’m in early enough this time to succeed in generating interest. C’mon people, there were a lot of us talking about our efforts for last year’s melection!

  3. 3.

    Yatsuno

    Going round the table from left to right: Opie_jeanne, MikeJ, CaseyL, moi, Psi, and Opie’s husband. Occasional comnenter Petermac is taking the shot. Thalarctos, her hubby, and a lovely lurker whose name slips my mind came a bit later. I’m pretty sure that’s everyone.

  4. 4.

    Elizabelle

    Here’s an entertainment idea for any DC area Balloon Juicers.

    I am totally thinking of going to this, and the West End Cinema serves alcohol. (Just saying.) About 3 blocks above the Foggy Bottom/GWU Metro station.

    Monday, July 22: Movie director Ronald Maxwell will do a Q&A after the 7:00 p showing.

    COPPERHEAD is unlike any Civil War movie to date. It is a film of the war at home – of a family ripped apart by war, of fathers set against sons and daughters, of a community driven to an appalling act of vengeance against a man who insists on exercising his right to free speech during wartime. A story of the violent passions and burning feuds that set ablaze the home front during the Civil War, COPPERHEAD THE MOVIE is also a timeless and deeply moving examination of the price of dissent, the place of the individual amidst the hysteria of wartime, and the terrible price of war – a cost measured not in dollars but in fractured families, broken loves, and men dead before their time.

    Anybody else up for seeing this?

    I love supporting filmmakers, and the WEC gets some excellent flicks. Am thinking this is not an “Atlas Shrugged” type of movie.

    To make this even longer: a description of the West End Cinema:

    We rallied a team of dedicated film buffs around us, found a deserted theater just begging for a makeover, and brought West End Cinema to life. We show independent, foreign, and documentary films, especially ones that we feel offer new intellectual and cultural perspectives to our audience.

    The films themselves are obviously the point, here, but as we all know, great amenities can really be the cherry on top of your Sunday night at the cinema… or better yet, the olive in your martini. West End Cinema offers a full bar and a wide range of concessions, from popcorn to baklava to gourmet sandwiches. And yes, yes, we also have candy.

  7. 7.

    ThresherK

    I may be going to the meetup in Waltham, Mass, Wed nite, and I may be bringing baked goods.

    What food allergies do planned attendees have for me to watch out for?

  9. 9.

    geg6

    This is where I would normally jump in and start browbeating Cole about owing me dinner and when will there be a Pittsburgh area meetup.

    But my heart isn’t in it today.

  11. 11.

    ranchandsyrup

    Cool pics! My daughter has the Green poster with Tunch’s picture on it from the SD meetup a while back in her room. She loves the “big kitty”.

  12. 12.

    Mustang Bobby

    I know I’m not the only South Florida Juicer, and if the others would like to get together, I can suggest some places like Flannigan’s in Pinecrest or anywhere in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/Keys area.

  13. 13.

    Jebediah

    @Yatsuno:

    Clearly you are mistaken or lying, because not one of these people matches what I assumed know they actually look like.

  15. 15.

    Gin & Tonic

    @geg6: Given the circumstances, maybe you should drive down and bring him dinner. Or a pie. Or something other than a beverage.

  16. 16.

    thalarctos

    “a lovely lurker whose name slips my mind”

    I think she’s quite ok with being under the radar, but yes, she’s lovely, and we had a great conversation down at that end of the table.

  18. 18.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Sorry I couldn’t make it but it was probably for the best. I like to fight and it looks like CaseyL likes to fight too, so there prolly woulda been a brawl.

  19. 19.

    lamh35

    “You can’t just talk about it, you’ve got to be about it.”—Stevie Wonder explaining why he won’t perform in Florida (or any other state with SYC laws) until SYG is gone.

    @jalylah
    Stevie Wonder will not perform in FL or any other state w/ Stand Your Ground laws @shugah

    @1:16
    youtube.com/watch?v…

    This is essentially the same thing he did over the National MLK holiday. He wrote “Happy Birthday” for that occasion.

    Now the real question is, will younger artist like Jay Z or Beyonce or Kanye West put their principles over their money?????

  20. 20.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @Baud:

    No, we’re all still just DougJ under different names. Those folks up there are, in fact, suprisingly realistic cardboard cutouts.

  22. 22.

    ThresherK

    @efgoldman: First, a full-fledged sense of denial, and a ceiling fan set to High. (Plus a pass to my town pool. And getting a “new-used” car with much better AC than the one I had last summer doesn’t hurt.)

    Second, I was thinking of providing “goodie bags” for take-home.

  23. 23.

    Violet

    @lamh35: That is awesome! This is exactly what I was talking about yesterday. A boycott of Florida tourism and other types of things, including celebrities, entertainers and professional athletes would really have an impact.

  24. 24.

    askew

    I am too far away in Minnesota for any of these meet-ups, but they look like fun.

    On more frustrating news, Reid is meeting with Senate Republicans on a compromise for the nuclear option. Looks like Reid will agree one more time to some weak sauce compromise that Republicans have no intention of honoring. It makes Dems look so weak, when we fold time after time. Plus, we actually had 51 votes this time.

  25. 25.

    Schlemizel

    Anyone interested in a twin cities meetup? Maybe Town Hall in Mpls or Great Waters in Sr. Paul?

  26. 26.

    lamh35

    Lord, if Harry Reid, even entertains this bullshit, then he needs to be removed as Majority Leader A-freakin’-SAP!


    McCain Suggests Letting GOP Pick Nominees

    Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said he and Republicans are trying to strike a deal with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to avoid his threat of triggering the “nuclear option” and would either allow up-or-down votes on seven contentious nominees or at least find “replacements” for those nominees, Politico reports.

  27. 27.

    Roger Moore

    @gogol’s wife:

    Psi Fighter looks remarkably sober, given his internet persona.

    Yeah. He showed up at the LA area get together wearing a “I’m not drunk, I’m awesome” T-shirt. That seems a lot closer to his on-line persona.

  28. 28.

    Yatsuno

    @gogol’s wife: I think he has Superman’s liver transplanted in him. He wears his booze quite well, though we insisted upon walking him back to the hotel. Even if it was just a short stumble away.

    @Jebediah: If I’m lyin’ I’m cryin’.

    /Mater

  29. 29.

    askew

    @lamh35:

    Now the real question is, will younger artist like Jay Z or Beyonce or Kanye West put their principles over their money?????

    I could see Beyonce doing it. But, it needs to be more than just AA artists. When Latin artists boycotted Arizona over their immigration bill, no one joined them and it fizzled quickly.

  32. 32.

    askew

    @lamh35:

    Lord, if Harry Reid, even entertains this bullshit, then he needs to be removed as Majority Leader A-freakin’-SAP!

    I am so steamed about this compromise already. It is so offensive. So a bunch of Republican Senators think they can tell Obama who should serve in his admin, go fuck yourself Senators. I am so sick of the lack of respect Obama is given by just about everyone that I could scream.

  38. 38.

    TCG

    theonion.com/articles/nation-throws-hands-up-tells-black-teenagers-to-do,33125/?utm_source=Twitter…

    WASHINGTON—Following Sunday’s not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial, an exasperated and speechless nation could reportedly do nothing other than wish black teenagers good luck out there, saying that they’re definitely going to need it.

    “Yeah, I don’t know what to tell you other than keep your wits about you and hope for the best,” Alexandria, VA resident Michael Klein advised the nation’s 10 million African-American youths. “Honestly, I’d recommend just staying inside after sundown if you can.”

  39. 39.

    Spaghetti Lee

    I’m sad that I missed the big disco sucks thread. I love threads where everyone talks about how their taste in music is objectively superior (and I mean that sincerely-why else would to talk about music?)

    It occurred to me that not only is my taste in music fairly “conservative” as far as those things go (Classic rock, indie rock, prog rock, AOR, and country rock. Some electronic stuff. Can’t stand punk or rap for the most part, and I think most folk, jazz, and blues songs are kind of dull), but I have similar tastes in lots of other things: I like summer blockbusters, fantasy and sci-fi, old-fashioned 2D animation, chain restaurants, and so forth. Somehow, this hasn’t prevented me from being liberal. I think it’s kind of weird how some pop cultural things get hit with claims of political motivations that are barely there, if at all. On alicublog and similar sites there’s always some talk about conservatives pledging themselves to crappy writers or artists because those artists are ‘conservative’ (or else attempting to take indisputably great stuff and ex post facto explain why it’s conservative). Seems kind of pointless, and joyless for that matter.

  40. 40.

    geg6

    @askew:

    Based on what I read about that, I don’t think Reid will go along. McCain said that maybe they would come up with a list of acceptable replacements if these nominees can’t get past the GOPers. Love how these guys position themselves as strict constitutionalists. But maybe with McCain, he forgot he lost in 2008.

  41. 41.

    JPL

    @askew: This was on the Maddow blog but this attribute has a link to kos

    McCain said he and Republicans are trying to strike a deal with Reid would either allow up-or-down votes on seven contentious nominees or at least find “replacements” for those nominees. So if they can name replacements they won’t filibuster. Democracy in action..

    link

  42. 42.

    sacrablue

    @Darkrose: I’d love to meet the locals. That is if I can talk my son into driving me (elbow injury, can’t drive til I do rehab).

  43. 43.

    askew

    @Yatsuno:

    @askew: Didn’t a suggestion like this come up under Clinton or am I meschugnah about that?

    With Clinton, he gave them a list of people and then worked with them to make a nomination. Here is sounds like the Republicans want to name Obama’s nominees. I wouldn’t be in favor of either options. Clinton let the GOP have too much control during his 2 terms and Obama is more than entitled to name his own nominees. We need to stop caving into these threats.

  44. 44.

    JCT

    @askew: No, but this silly state lost big bucks in conventions and travel. Some of the dialing back of the crazy is because business leaders made it clear to drunken Cactus Barbie that they had had enough.

    And I am jealous, not enough of us in Tucson for a meet up.

  45. 45.

    raven

    @efgoldman: Our nephew is 6’4″ 225 and he played the flute in his HS marching band! Drove the coaches nuts that he wouldn’t play football or hoops.

  47. 47.

    Roger Moore

    @askew:

    On more frustrating news, Reid is meeting with Senate Republicans on a compromise for the nuclear option.

    I suspect this was the goal all along. He was never really planning on eliminating the filibuster, just using the threat of doing so to force the Republicans to allow a vote on some of the President’s nominees.

  50. 50.

    askew

    @JPL:

    @askew: This was on the Maddow blog but has a link to kos

    McCain said he and Republicans are trying to strike a deal with Reid would either allow up-or-down votes on seven contentious nominees or at least find “replacements” for those nominees. So if they can name replacements they won’t filibuster. Democracy in action..

    They will never agree on a replacement. It’s just one more way for McCain to stick it to Obama.

    Reid has the 51 votes. There is no need to compromise but apparently Levin who is a no vote wanted this meeting.

  52. 52.

    Violet

    @ranchandsyrup: Yep. From one of the videos of it:

    Not long after Band Aid and We Are The World focused musical attention on poverty and famine, a collection of artists took a similar approach in the struggle against apartheid. The initiator was Steven van Zandt – erstwhile guitarist in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band – who whipped up dozens of musicians to work on the project. They included Peter Gabriel, members of U2, Springsteen himself, Hall and Oates, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Run DMC, Lou Reed, Jackson Browne and Keith Richards. Van Zandt wrote and produced the song and it reached the top 40 in several European nations, though not in the US.

    I Ain’t Gonna Play Miami! I think that has a ring to it.

  53. 53.

    JPL

    If there is any hope of getting judicial nominees passed, he needs to end the filibuster on judges also.

  54. 54.

    askew

    @Violet:

    @askew: I wonder if there’s some kind of organizing going on behind the scenes to get people to join in.

    I hope so. With all due respect to Stevie, we need someone a little more relevant to start talking boycott. It would be nice to see some Latin artists agree to a boycott since FL is a huge market for them and Stand Your Ground isn’t making life safer for Latin youth either.

  55. 55.

    beltane

    @elisabeth: Vermont is a small state but unless you live in Chittenden County, it’s a long, long drive to get to just about anywhere.

  56. 56.

    kc

    @Violet:

    I love that! The whole album kicks ass. I had it on cassette years ago, but lost it. It’s not on iTunes and I’ve looked for it online to no avail. Damn it.

  57. 57.

    Violet

    @askew: Agreed. It needs to be wider than just the African American entertainers. We were discussing an ad campaign targeted at Europeans showing how Florida Isn’t Safe. There’s a big European tourism business, especially in Orlando.

  58. 58.

    askew

    @JPL:

    If there is any hope of getting judicial nominees passed, he needs to end the filibuster on judges also.

    That is going to be a harder hurdle for 51 votes. Boxer and Feinstein have said they would vote against it for judges because they are worried what would happen on women’s rights if a Republican president didn’t have to worry about the filibuster for their judicial nominations.

    Personally, I think the GOP nukes the filibuster completely if they gain control of the Senate.

  60. 60.

    BD of MN

    @Schlemizel:

    Anyone interested in a twin cities meetup? Maybe Town Hall in Mpls or Great Waters in Sr. Paul?

    Yes, definitely. (That said, I work too damn much so it may be tough for me…) As a east side of the river kinda guy, I’d vote for Great Waters or The Happy Gnome…

  63. 63.

    Elizabelle

    @Violet:

    Do you remember if European tourism dropped off in the wake of that German tourist getting shot after he got lost driving around in his rental car?

    I remember that being a big issue maybe 10-12 years ago.

    I am all in favor of an enthusiastic boycott of Florida tourism and spending on Florida-produced goods.

    Hit them in their pocket, right next to their concealed weapons.

  64. 64.

    elisabeth

    @beltane:

    True. Although I live in Franklin County I currently work in Chittenden. I don’t drink, though, so make a great designated driver.

  65. 65.

    kc

    @Violet:

    Thanks! I just Googled it to see if anything had come available recently (I actually looked for it about five months ago) and saw that again. I don’t have a turntable, or other any other vinyl records, alas.

    I see they have CD’s for sale starting at $125.00.

    I wish they’d put it on iTunes.

  66. 66.

    Violet

    @Elizabelle: I don’t remember that at all. I do think there’s an opportunity to hurt Florida businesses, especially tourism, by boycotting. Free market, bitchez!

  67. 67.

    Violet

    @kc: Get the vinyl and find someone to rip it for you. Can’t be very expensive or hard to do. You just need the equipment. I bet within B-J there are some people who could help you out with that.

  68. 68.

    aimai

    @efgoldman: Wow, thats the nicest thing anyone will ever say to me about my posting at OW which was brief and for which I was always getting banned. I will try to come. Do we have a secret sign? I kind of imagine we will all look like unmade beds, but maybe thats just me.

  69. 69.

    sacrablue

    I’m not sure what I am doing wrong but I’m in moderation hell for the second time in 48 hours. Please explain what I’m doing to get into trouble.

  75. 75.

    Roger Moore

    @geg6:

    McCain said that maybe they would come up with a list of acceptable replacements if these nominees can’t get past the GOPers. Love how these guys position themselves as strict constitutionalists.

    Well, the Constitution does talk about “advice and consent”; the Republicans are just saying they’ll deny consent unless Obama takes their advice. See, all strict constructiony and everything!

  76. 76.

    aimai

    @lamh35: The real question is will the grandchildren boycott Florida? I wouldn’t be caught dead in Florida, or even in my declining years, if it weren’t for the fact that my spouse’s parents moved there full time and are very frail. They already vote straight progressive ticket, though, so it seems cruel to refuse to go see them in order to boycott Florida’s craptacular legislation/legislators.

  78. 78.

    Violet

    @kc: Reminds me of his “Biko.” Bringing back a lot of memories of that time. Hard to believe Mandela was still in prison during all that, given all the changes that have happened since his release. Time moves slowly and yet so fast.

  79. 79.

    Gex

    @lamh35: So once again heads they win, tails Dems lose.

    Let’s just go to a one party system. That’s what all the patriotest patriots want.

  80. 80.

    Valdivia

    @Elizabelle:

    I was ailing but I have been pretty healthy this summer and this movie sounds great. and this is really near my house too :)
    hopefully we can make it happen!

  82. 82.

    Violet

    @aimai: If it became a movement, your progressive in-laws might want you to boycott Florida. But outside of people who have family there, who will no doubt still want to visit their family members, there are plenty of people around the country who visit Florida for Disneyworld and other Orlando attractions, who go to Miami for the club scene, etc. Those are the people who would be the best to target, not family members visiting grandparents.

  83. 83.

    gogol's wife

    I’m probably not going with the flow, but has anyone been watching Endeavour, the Inspector Morse prequel? Last night’s episode was fantastic. The plots are ridiculous, in the Morse tradition, but Shaun Evans and Roger Allam are tearing up the place with their acting.

  85. 85.

    JPL

    @askew: Once there is a Republican President, they certainly will end the filibuster if they are in control. The news will report that it was Harry Reid’s fault.

  87. 87.

    Roger Moore

    @Gex:

    Let’s just go to a one party system. That’s what all the patriotest patriots want.

    They don’t want a one party system. They just want to go back to the days of only white male property owners over the age of 21 voting. They’ll be fine with any political parties that exist under those voting rules.

  88. 88.

    Gex

    @Roger Moore: Fair point. They only look like they want one party because they’ve pushed the undesirables onto what they consider the B ark. Economic fairness between the richest white guys and the poorest white guys will be back on the table for consideration after they jettison the B ark.

  91. 91.

    JPL

    @Roger Moore: Scalia will vote for that and Thomas and Alito will happily follow. When Mrs. Alito cried upon releasing she lost her right to vote, her husband made a funny face and said “you lie”

  96. 96.

    Roger Moore

    @Gex:

    Economic fairness between the richest white guys and the poorest white guys will be back on the table for consideration after they jettison the B ark.

    No, it won’t. Fairness between the richest white guys and the moderately well off white guys may be an acceptable issue, but property ownership requirements will make sure that poor whites will be ignored.

  100. 100.

    muddy

    @efgoldman: No, no, silly, it’s the moose who have the worms in the brains. That’s why they are always coming to town and getting tangled in swing sets. I rarely see a human Vermonter do that.

  102. 102.

    Quinerly

    Been a lurker for years but Tunch’s death and this little community’s reaction has made me want to post more often. Anyone ever interested in a St. Louis, Mo area meet up? I’m a 30 year “Soulardian.” Great neighborhood to party in.

  104. 104.

    Hill Dweller

    @gogol’s wife: I caught last night’s episode, and enjoyed it, but didn’t realize there had been a pilot and previous episode in this series. So, I went back and watched those on the PBS website, which were also good.

    Morse(Evans) and Thursday(Allam) really make the show.

    ITV has decided to do another series of four episodes.

  108. 108.

    Gex

    @Roger Moore: Correct again. The poor whites get the consolation prize of feeling superior to the others. Something for everyone! (Everyone that matters that is.)

  109. 109.

    muddy

    @gogol’s wife: I like the show, but there is no way in hell that young man aged into Morse. I might not have remembered except for watching old Morse episodes recently. Old Morse was an asshole!

  110. 110.

    BIBLE_DUDE1

    @ranchandsyrup: Not really, people are generally kinder in person than on the net.

    Also, I f they could not read my handwriting they could easly ask what I had written whereas online people might just skip over the word or sentence in question.

  111. 111.

    lamh35

    @Violet: I’m trying to do my lil part (without going to twitter jail for spamming…lol)

    ‏@psddluva4evah4m

    @VibeMagazine “You can’t just talk about it, you’ve got to be about it.–Stevie W explaining why he won’t perform in FL until SYG is gone.

    @psddluva4evah5m
    @VibeMagazine maybe Black Twitter should aske Black celebs, entrepaneuer and visionaries if they #StandWithStevie

    @psddluva4evah 3m
    @goldietaylor shoot, any celeb who really means what they say i.e. “I am Trayvon Martin” needs to #StandWithStevie

  113. 113.

    ranchandsyrup

    @BIBLE_DUDE1: I kinda doubt that people would want to devote their time at a meetup with a bunch of others to delving into your writings so I was trying to suggest a better way but you seem reluctant. That’s life.
    I’d submit that your documents would be in danger at a bar of being spilled on (food and drink) and other mishaps.

  114. 114.

    Valdivia

    @Elizabelle:

    if none of the other dc’ers pipes up maybe we can just make it a meet up of two :)
    I will check on the thread again later see if anyone else wants to meet us and/or if we are set for the 7 showing at west end.

  118. 118.

    Violet

    @MikeJ:

    Ain’t gonna play Sun City

    See upthread.

    @lamh35: Awesome! Good for you! Maybe include the “Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City” video link. This could be a modern day version.

  119. 119.

    MaryRC

    @muddy: Wasn’t Morse just the surliest snot in Oxford? Hated that guy. I missed this weekend’s episode of Endeavour but last weekend it ended in typical Morse fashion with young Morse mooning unrequitedly over a woman who barely noticed him, so no wonder he turned into such a pill.

    This is why I like Inspector Lewis so much (apart from Hathaway, of course). After years of being treated like a dolt by Morse, Lewis finally gets to shine.

  121. 121.

    schrodinger's cat

    Anne Laurie @ top

    Other topics on the agenda?

    I wrote up a post this morning unrelated to the whole sad Martin affair, about a pet peeve of mine. How percentages are misused/misunderstood in the MSM, even an economist who should know better does it.
    *Bonus, it has a lol kitteh!

  123. 123.

    rdldot

    @efgoldman: There are a few OBWI commenters here. I remember you too even though I rarely commented (and rarely comment here either). Russell does my talking for me, so what’s the point. Can’t really add any more after him. OBWI is still knocking around, but much lazier over there than in the past.

  124. 124.

    James E. Powell

    @askew:

    Personally, I think the GOP nukes the filibuster completely if they gain control of the Senate.

    I agree. And I believe it will and would have happened no matter what Democrats might do while they were in the majority. The ‘nuclear option’ was floated out there by Frist. The country, to the extent they were aware of it, were told either that it was all due to Democratic bullying or “both sides do it.” It would not have cost the Republicans politically to nuke the filibuster then, it won’t now.

    Remember, the very partisan supreme court ruled that we should not count votes to determine who won a presidential election. The country, the great mass of Americans, had no problem with that at all.

  125. 125.

    mai naem

    @Violet: I bought that album – I think I bought it in cassette. I have no idea what happened to it. I lost a bunch of cassettes/cds during one of my moves, years ago. Anyhow, I cannot believe they’re asking $125 for a cd. I did see the cassette on Amazon for $5.00 I don’t know if you want to go through the hassle but my sister got a bunch of her tapes converted to cds a while back. I seem to remember she got the conversion doohicky off Woot but I’ve seen it on different sites. She also got a bunch of her personal VHS tapes converted to digital stuff by a company for not that much. I would think a place like that would do it for you but I don’t know if that is legal.

  126. 126.

    lahke

    Sorry I’m so late to this thread. I’ve printed out a Tunch picture to display so that folks can locate us, and reserved a small table just to hold a place.

    Could folks email AnneLaurie (annelaurie at verizon.net — click on ‘Conctact’ in right-hand column) to RSVP so that I can let Watch City know our real required table size?

    Thank you, Bible Dude, but I do NOT want your handouts emailed to me…..

  128. 128.

    Roger Moore

    @lahke:

    I’ve printed out a Tunch picture to display so that folks can locate us, and reserved a small table just to hold a place.

    Don’t forget the green balloons.

  129. 129.

    mk3872

    Geez, it’s middle of summer and you all look like white ghosts! Doesn’t the sun ever shine in Seattle ??

  130. 130.

    mai naem

    Looking at the pic, I really thought Yatsuno and PsiFi were younger. Not that they look ancient or anything. I thought they were relatively recent college grads – not that that means anything any more either.

  132. 132.

    Jebediah

    @Yatsuno:

    If I’m lyin’ I’m cryin’

    Well, you seem jolly and not at all crying in the picture, so I guess I have to believe you. I’ll just re-adjust the mental image…

  133. 133.

    Elizabelle

    @Valdivia:

    Excellent. And we will mention it a few more times.

    The director put in a personal appearance when movie ran at the AMC Hoffman Center, but I missed that evening.

    Got to support artists. It’s brave to have a movie out in limited release.

  135. 135.

    Jebediah

    @raven:

    How come I thought you were a diminutive person of Asian extraction?

    I had a picture of a 6′ – 6’2″ Eurasian.

  136. 136.

    PurpleGirl

    @gogol’s wife: Yes, I’m watching Endeavour. I love it. I rather really like Allam’s Insp. Thursday. I like that they use Phelong’s theme music after the Morse Code opening segment. I’ve been waiting for the series since they had the pilot last year (?). Of course, Oxford is again a character and gets lots of screen time. I iz happy TV watcher.

  139. 139.

    Summer

    Oops! Ever so late, having gone to Moral Monday, but North Carolina Balloon Juicers are having what I think is our first meetup tonight at 8 p.m. at Geer St. Garden in Durham. There are just two of us so far, but we plan to totally build a vibrant community and work together to schedule another meetup soon. Toasts to Tunch (and photographic evidence to follow).

  143. 143.

    Violet

    @MikeJ: No worries! Just thought you might want to comment on what we were commenting on. The more people who remember “Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City” and connect it with Florida and think of a boycott, the better!

  145. 145.

    gogol's wife

    @muddy:

    Oh, I thought it was just barely plausible. Morse has a sensitive side. Have you seen “Dead on Time”?

  149. 149.

    PurpleGirl

    @MaryRC: I liked Inspector Lewis but I loved Hathaway. Laurence Fox is kinda alien looking — being tall, thin and lanky — but he was so good in that role. He was a good contrast to Lewis’s working class background, but the two of them worked well together.

  151. 151.

    maya

    @BIBLE_DUDE1: Uh, dood. You’re the one saying it could get rained on which would make it a soggy mess. Can’t you remember your own drivel?
    I said nothing about “hitting or destroying” anything. If it’s your property it’s your property. I have no desire or interest to deprive you of your life’s work.
    After 16 years of a RC education and possessing a minor in Theology and Philosophy, (required at a Jesuit institution) I seriously doubt there is much you could open my eyes to.

    Lastly, my blog nym is in memory of the most loyal dog I ever had. I’ve used it for a long time, but I’m not a woman. But thank you anyway for your Rushbo imitation. I knew you had it in you somewhere.

  153. 153.

    beltane

    @efgoldman: My 99 year old grandmother moved to Florida in the early ’70s and I remember childhood visits there being a form of torture because it was so hot, flat, and artificial looking. Her funeral will be the last time I set foot in that state as nothing else could induce me to ever go there again.

  156. 156.

    IowaOldLady

    We recorded Morse last night and just watched the first half before Mr IOL had to go play bridge. Even when it’s far-fetched, it’s better than most of what’s on.

    Back when Stevie was Little Stevie, he lived across the street from one of my great aunts.

  157. 157.

    gbear

    @Schlemizel: I’d be game for a Twin Cities meetup. I’m in St. Paul but I can find Minneapolis if that works out best. I missed out on Kay’s meetup at Brit’s when she was in town for Netroots (she probably still hates that bar for not letting her save a table). I actually went there but couldn’t find anybody and the place was super packed. I gave up and went record shopping instead.

  159. 159.

    joel hanes

    @aimai:

    Wow, thats the nicest thing anyone will ever say to me about my posting at OW

    Hunh. I never told you, but I thought you were a great contributor, and I’m sorry you no longer comment there.

  161. 161.

    Johnny Coelacanth

    I’d go to a Vegas Balloon-Juice meetup. I think there’d be two of us.

  163. 163.

    Thoughtcrime

    Another reason to boycott Florida:

    […Allen Daniel Hicks Sr., 51, was found stopped in his car on the side of Interstate 275 by a sheriff’s deputy and a Florida Highway Patrol trooper the morning of May 11, 2012. Passers-by had called 911 after they saw Hicks’ Chevy Cavalier swerving west into a guardrail, records of the incident show.

    Speaking incoherently and unable to move his left arm, Hicks was arrested on a charge of obstructing a law enforcement officer when he did not respond to commands to exit his car. Just after noon, he was booked into the Orient Road Jail.

    Hicks did not receive a medical screening, but was put in a cell where he lay facedown on the floor or tried to crawl using the one working side of his body. On the night of May 12, soaked in his own urine, his brain choked of blood, he was at last taken to Tampa General Hospital and diagnosed with an ischemic stroke. He slipped into a coma and died within three months…]

    tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/inmates-untreated-fatal-stroke-results-in-1-million-settlement-by/213…

  165. 165.

    lamh35

    Wow!! Just wow. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but if this really is the juror who’s signed with a book agent, then I’m beginning to believe that the prosecution threw this damn case!!!

    George Zimmerman Juror B37 Hates Media, Called Trayvon ‘A Boy of Color’

    The video above is the entire voir dire of juror B37— the process during which the attorneys question prospective jurors to determine their suitability. During the questioning, the juror, a mother of two who owns “a lot” of animals, revealed the following things:

    – She dislikes the media in general and considers it worthless. “You never get all the information… it’s skewed one way or the other.”

    – “I don’t listen to the radio” or read the internet, she said. Her only news about the case came from the Today show. “Newspapers are used in the parrot’s cage. Not even read,” she said. “It’s been so long since I even read one. The only time I see em is when I’m putting them down on the floor.”

    – During questioning, she referred multiple times to “riots” in Sanford after Trayvon Martin was killed. “I knew there was rioting, but I guess [the authorities] had it pretty well organized,” she says at one point. In fact, despite a great deal of salivating anticipation by the media both before and after the trial, there were no riots in Sanford, Florida.

    – She referred to the killing of Trayvon Martin as “an unfortunate incident that happened.”

    – Asked by George Zimmerman’s attorney to describe Trayvon Martin, she said, “He was a boy of color.”

  167. 167.

    Davis X. Machina

    @Omnes Omnibus: I thought Old Morse was one of the most believable fictional characters I’d ever seen on the telly-box. The RW is full of Morses — probably 1 prof in 4 I ever had qualified. The day-long buffeting by dim people takes a cumulative toll.

  169. 169.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @lamh35: Sadly, that might have been the best of the people available. However, that someone said “boy of color” in 2013 is mindboggling.

  171. 171.

    Violet

    @lamh35: How old was that juror? 100? That’s about the only reason I could imagine for someone to use the phrase “a boy of color” in 2013.

  172. 172.

    raven

    The juror is talking about the witness that was a “doctor” in the war and how he was the best witness at all. She’s talking about the guy that was a medic in the Nam. Not mensa here folks.

    All but one juror thought it was Z on the audio.

  174. 174.

    gelfling545

    @JPL: This is why I feel the Democrats should just go ahead & end it. At least that way we’d get some benefit from it.

  175. 175.

    Mnemosyne

    Damn, you search one wedding site for bartender recommendations and suddenly all of your BJ ads are WEDDING WEDDING WEDDING.

  179. 179.

    Kevin the Hen

    @Summer: Dang, wished I’da known earlier – I am in Durham! Do let me know when the next one is. Geer St. is a great place – you can bring dogs, too.

  180. 180.

    Gex

    @efgoldman: The brother-out-law always invited me and Kate to go visit him in Florida. He really could not understand why I will not go to that state.

  181. 181.

    maya

    @lamh35: There’s not much to be accomplished by reviewing this travesty with Monday QBing on the trial itself,. What to watch now is how DOJ handles this now. If there is one appointment of Obama that I have a serious problem with and always had, it’s that jellyfish of an AG, Holder. Jesus Christ, Ashcroft had more spine than him
    He’ll fumble it off as is his usual want. This time he’s got the perfect excuse: He would look “racist” if he had DOJ take on a civil rights suit against Zimmerman, which could also go to the heart of all those SYG laws. Way too much to concentrate on when there are leakers to pursue.

  183. 183.

    Anne Laurie

    @aimai:

    The real question is will the grandchildren boycott Florida? I wouldn’t be caught dead in Florida, or even in my declining years, if it weren’t for the fact that my spouse’s parents moved there full time and are very frail. They already vote straight progressive ticket, though, so it seems cruel to refuse to go see them in order to boycott Florida’s craptacular legislation/legislators.

    I suspect if enough people announce in the social media that they’re not going to the giant tourist attractions — Disney, SeaWorld, Universal, etc — that might well be enough to get the legislator’s attention. Conventions, too — I know Orlando lives & dies on giant bookings for trade shows & such, so the peple who attend those business bashes need to announce that Intl SEO Optim-Apps Marketing, Inc will be looking at other cities for their 2015 bookings, if attention is to be paid.

  184. 184.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    Just had a friend offer to bring John a kitten. She’s driving through WV next week.

    I suggested she contact Anne Laurie about a bleg post instead.

  185. 185.

    ruemara

    @lamh35: FUCK. FUCKING FUCKTARD FUCKBASKETS OF ROTTED FUCK. I’m go cook something because I need to go use a knife on somethin.

    @maya: And the fact that this AG has been fighting for voting rights and has already re-opened the civil rights case, would that affect your pre-made up mind?

  186. 186.

    Betty Cracker

    God, the juror on AC360 is a dipshit. In addition to what Raven noted above, she also said that Officer Serino’s stated belief that GZ was telling the truth had a huge impact. The judge told them to disregard that statement. Also, she says that right after the trial, 2 jurors wanted to convict on manslaughter and 1 one on murder 2.

  188. 188.

    lamh35

    @maya: Don’t know if u are snarking or not, but my snark-ometer has been off since the verdict, so I am unfortunately on my very last “give a fuck”…right now, so I’m not even gonna try anymore. enjoy my pie filiter til I have more “fucks to give”

  189. 189.

    raven

    @Betty Cracker: I figured I was just pied by most people but maybe they just moved on. This seems pretty important to me.

    “George has learned a lesson”.

  194. 194.

    beltane

    @lamh35: It tells us that that the prosecution was in cahoots with the police and Zimmerman from day one. There’s no other way this klanswoman would have made it through voir dire. And yet the Supreme court tells us that institutionalized racism is a thing of the past.

  196. 196.

    YellowJournalism

    @raven: I take back any benefit of the doubt I gave the jury back in one of the first trial threads.

    Fuck! *headdesk*

  197. 197.

    debbie

    I heard on NPR a couple of hours ago that one of the jurors has already signed a book deal.

  198. 198.

    Betty Cracker

    @raven: Yes. In the context of Zimmerman would be a good Neighborhood Watch participant in her neighborhood. FFS.

  199. 199.

    The Snarxist Formerly Known as Kryptik

    Between that Juror and all that I’ve fucking read that treats the not-guilty verdict for Zimmerman necessarily meant that Martin was guilty and thus deserved his fate, and I’m just….bleh.

    I’ve gone from misanthropic to genocidal to simply….empty. I give up. America is a racist shithole of a land and I give up.

  203. 203.

    smith

    I have no idea why people torture themselves watching the crapfest that is CNN.

    I have no words for that moron of a juror if she is saying what you guys are saying she said. Ignorant, ignorant, ignorant.

    As for the meet-ups, I like putting faces to the names, even if I mostly lurk here rather than post. I know there have been meet-ups in my area before but I am pretty shy in person – I don’t think I’d be any fun at a meet-up.

  204. 204.

    raven

    “It’s hard that someone lost there life but there was nothing that could be done about it”.

  207. 207.

    Comrade Jake

    I’ve read that lawyers want morons on juries because they’re impressionable. This lady seems determined to prove the point.

  209. 209.

    suzanne

    @JordanRules: COOL. I will send Anne Laurie my email address (would rather not post it where T&H can see it), and we can go from there.

    Four Peaks? Casey Moore’s?

  210. 210.

    beltane

    @Comrade Jake: I don’t think this one was impressionable at all. This racist fuck supported Zimmerman’s actions to the hilt and there was nothing that could ever convince her otherwise.

  213. 213.

    David Koch

    @Betty Cracker:

    Also, she says that right after the trial, 2 jurors wanted to convict on manslaughter and 1 one on murder 2.

    It’s mind boggling that they caved in on a murder case after a only a day so they could go home!

  215. 215.

    JordanRules

    @suzanne: Sounds good! Why did I read that as Twin Peaks first tho?? I was thinking, the Irish Hooters huh, that’s an umm interesting suggestion. Then my brain corrected.

  219. 219.

    Roger Moore

    @efgoldman:

    That’s why the MA one-day/one-trial method works: almost nobody is exempt from jury duty (and its based on census rolls, not registered voters.) Everybody serves: Lawyers, judges, journalists, almost no excuses (although mrs efgoldman got excused when they called her for her due date, all those years ago.)

    California has switched to one day, one trial, and it’s been a big benefit. One of the major driving forces behind reform was the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court getting called for jury duty and winding up serving on a jury. He became a really strong advocate of a variety of reforms to the jury duty system, including one day, one trial. It’s a great example of exactly why important, powerful people shouldn’t be exempted from the same daily problems the rest of us have. If our elected representatives had to suffer through the same crappy service the rest of us encounter at government offices, there would be a lot more call for reform.

  221. 221.

    raven

    “My hope is that people will read Juror B37’s book, written with her attorney husband, and understand the commitment it takes to serve and be sequestered on a jury in a highly publicized murder trial and how important, despite one’s personal viewpoints, it is to follow the letter of the law,” the president of Martin Literary Agency, wrote in a statement.

  222. 222.

    Central Planning

    I’ll throw in for meetup in Rochester (NY). Who else would represent?

  224. 224.

    Kay

    @lamh35:

    “He was frustrated and things got out of hand”

    Jesus. She uses “George”. Did she use Martin’s name at any point?

  227. 227.

    lamh35

    @Kay: only when asked a direct question and the use of “George” was all in defense of Zimmerman.

    “I have no doubt George feared for his life in the situation he was in at the time.”

    “He had a right to defend himself.”

    “George had a right to protect himself.”

    “George Zimmerman is a man whose heart was in the right place…got displaced by vandalism in neighborhood.”

  228. 228.

    corry342

    @Summer: Mark me down as another Juicer who would love to attend a Durham event. My work takes me out of town, but if I’m around I’m in for sure.

  229. 229.

    Mnemosyne

    @raven:

    They let a juror through whose husband was an attorney? Jaysus, I almost got thrown out of a jury pool in California because my father was a retired real estate lawyer in Illinois who never made an appearance in court. How the fuck did that happen?!

  230. 230.

    Kay

    @raven:

    Thanks.

    I’m having trouble accepting why they didn’t question his story. I understand the legal.issue, but I can’t wrap.my head around how Zimmerman needed a reason to shoot Martin but they accepted NO reason for Martin to attack Zimmerman.
    He attacked Zimmerman because Zimmerman called the police? How does that make any sense? He didn’t commit a crime UNTIL he found out the police were on the way?

  231. 231.

    raven

    @Mnemosyne: Every time I get called I get put on a jury. I know the public defender and a shit load of lawyers. Never matters, I get profiled.

  234. 234.

    beltane

    @Kay: You are overthinking this. If someone is of a mindset that tells them that “those people” are always up to no good, then all the rest makes sense. If someone is not of this mindset the whole thing is incomprehensible.

  235. 235.

    Kay

    @lamh35:

    Thanks. I felt as if they didn’t make him real to the jurors. I didn’t feel he was “there” and that bothers me, because it turned into HIS trial.

  236. 236.

    PeakVT

    The double jeopardy clause is a very good thing, but in this case it just doesn’t seem right. The juror is clearly biased, clearly misunderstood the instructions, and appears to have been working on a book deal during the process. If there was a conviction and the juror was just as biased in the other direction, I think the conviction would be thrown out in a heartbeat on appeal.

  239. 239.

    Kay

    @Mnemosyne:

    I got put on a muni ct jury when my husband was the felony prosecutor.

    I told tge babysitter I’d be back in 2 hours. Nope!

    It was just a misdemeanor, but still.

  240. 240.

    The Snarxist Formerly Known as Kryptik

    @Kay:

    And the worst part is how this has somehow turned into vindication across America that 1) Blacks really are all thugs and 2) Reverse Racism is the only true racism left in America.

    Just….guh. I can’t stand to read or watch anything anymore at this point. The Self-congratulatory bullshit plus the apologia for racism because apparently on racism against whites actually exists in this country to so goddamn many of them is just…fuck it. I’ve just exhausted all the fucks I have to give about things anymore.

  241. 241.

    Mnemosyne

    @raven:

    Yeah, but you’re in Georgia. The prosecutor thinks you’re his perfect juror: white, male, over 60, you’ll vote to convict for sure!

    I’m guessing you’ve given them some unpleasant surprises. :-)

  242. 242.

    Kay

    @raven:

    I think they coukd have done a better job collecting physical evidence.
    Then they wouldn’t have to rely on George’s story.

  246. 246.

    LongLost

    @gbear: I was at the NetRoots meetup. We missed you. I’m also down for gathering in either of our fair cities sometime soon (Gnome is a great idea!)
    /checking in (way too late) from the north loop of DT Mpls

  247. 247.

    Kay

    @The Snarxist Formerly Known as Kryptik:

    So I understand the legal.issues, I know it’s The State not Martin v Zimmerman, but because of the posture, where they essentially had to find Martin guilty of attacking Zimmerman (I don’t think that’s what happened) I’m just obsessing over the idea that Martin wasn’t represented.

  250. 250.

    The Snarxist Formerly Known as Kryptik

    @Kay:

    It’s just galling on so many levels. Especially how it’s yet another bullet point to how, since ’08, it’s suddenly become OK to be racist because racism is dead and the only real racism left is reverse racism and FJLDHSKFJHDNK

  251. 251.

    Lyrebird

    @lamh35: Late to the party (the wake?) here, but respect to you… and no I will not watch that link and listen to that juror, but yes I did just make all of my so-called-[FB]-friends watch Sweet Honey in the Rock sing “We who believe in freedom cannot rest” (aka Ella’s Song)

    Thanks to all BJ’ers for maintaining my faith in humanity!

  253. 253.

    MomSense

    @Kay:

    It feels like Martin was the one on trial. I keep thinking of the U2 song. How long must we sing this song?

  255. 255.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @raven: You hate me if you mean we all need to watch that whole interview. And I love you because you’re weak – I admit it. (michelle said so)

  256. 256.

    Steeplejack

    Re Inspector Morse:

    I have enjoyed the three Endeavour episodes, and I can see Constable Endeavour Morse plausibly growing into curmudgeonly Inspector Morse years later. They are both impatient misfits—“good detective, poor policeman,” as it was brought out last night—but Endeavour can’t reveal his frustration because he’s the low man on the totem pole. Inspector Morse has the luxury of experience and rank that Constable Morse doesn’t.

    The evil-genius-serial-killer plot of “Fugue” was over the top, but the previous week’s, “Girl,” was within bounds (except for the severed fingers), in my opinion. But what really makes the show are the performances. Shaun Evans is fine as Endeavour Morse, Roger Allam is excellent as Inspector Thursday, and the supporting cast is good—the jealous Sergeant Jakes, the doughty Constable Strange and the truly awful Superintendent Bright.

    By coincidence, one of the lesser PBS stations here has been showing the original Inspector Morse episodes in order, and over the last few months I have caught up with those, and with various episodes new and old of Inspector Lewis. All of them together make an interesting trilogy. Last week was the penultimate episode of Inspector Morse—it was only the week before that that we finally learned Morse’s given name—and I’m awaiting/dreading the final episode, “The Remorseful Day,” this week. I don’t think I saw it when it first came out. I sort of know how it ends, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

  257. 257.

    Elie

    Hope to make contact with youze guys (and gals) before too long as I head back to the Northwest….

  258. 258.

    Kay

    @MomSense:

    Is there no restraint? The idiot brother has to come out and invent a drug running story, the juror has to make sure we know she relied on what she was TOLD to disregard.
    Are they trying to.make this worse?

  259. 259.

    Valdivia

    @Steeplejack:

    I have been thinking about you when I was watching Endeavour. Like you I think it is all in the acting. The last episode of Morse is a killer. I saw all the episodes years ago and thought they were amazing. He was an incredible actor and was in some other series where he plays a judge I think.

    I wanted to recommend an italian movie based on a scandinavian mystery The Girl by the Lake, saw it a few weeks ago, really very very good. It’s on netflix on disc.

    Hope you’re enjoying the heat here :)

Comments are closed.