• 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.

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

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

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

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

“But what about the lurkers?”

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Hell hath no fury like a farmer bankrupted.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

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

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

The world has changed, and neither one recognizes it.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Nothing worth doing is easy.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

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

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

American history and black history cannot be separated.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Mobile Menu

  • 4 Directions VA 2025 Raffle
  • 2025 Activism
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2016 / Late Night Open Thread: TV Notes…

Late Night Open Thread: TV Notes…

by Anne Laurie|  September 10, 201510:52 pm| 78 Comments

This post is in: Election 2016, Open Threads, Television

FacebookTweetEmail

Having reviewed the @colbertlateshow transcript, let me just say this: You really might want to tune in tonight to see @VP Biden.

— Ed O'Keefe (@edatpost) September 10, 2015

But I was looking forward to more Jindal sick burns delivered in person. pic.twitter.com/JjRHnZw2qi

— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) September 11, 2015

Probably not related, but O’Keefe is one of the high priests of the journamalistic Cult of the Savvy…

ETA: Most of the Biden segment was about his son Beau, and the ongoing pain of coping with loss. Last words were Colbert’s (he mentioned losing his own father when he was ten): “My mother used to say ‘What’s the use of being Irish, if you don’t know the world is going to break your heart?'”

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Open Thread: Sports Talk, Collective Bargaining Edition
Next Post: 18 U.S. Code § 2331: The US Definition of Terrorism »

Reader Interactions

78Comments

  1. 1.

    benw

    September 10, 2015 at 10:57 pm

    Time for a beer and some music! I’m trying a Greenport Harbor Brewing Co. Harbor Ale, which I’ve never heard of but it showed up in the local beer section of my supermarket and it’s pretty good. Any music suggestions? My default will probably be Matthew Sweet’s “Girlfriend” if I don’t hear anything.

    EDIT: is a “Jindal sick burn” aimed to or from Jindal? Either would be acceptable, obvs.

  2. 2.

    Punchy

    September 10, 2015 at 10:58 pm

    Huck wont be there unless it’s moved to Rowan County. Maybe McAfee can take his place, unless its moved to Belize.

  3. 3.

    Gin & Tonic

    September 10, 2015 at 11:04 pm

    Just finished making about a quart of a seriously smoky, spicy tomato jam. First experiment, as I’m tired of hot pepper jelly after three batches, and I had a lot of tomatoes that were on the verge of not being usable.

  4. 4.

    Renie

    September 10, 2015 at 11:14 pm

    Resigning myself to having a 2nd root canal tomorrow. Ugh. At least I’m taking the whole day off from work.

  5. 5.

    vheidi

    September 10, 2015 at 11:15 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: recipe, please? I made apple butter due to same problem with apples,

  6. 6.

    Redshift

    September 10, 2015 at 11:18 pm

    Rachel read from the transcript after the earlier embargo was lifted. I would agree, probably well worth watching.

  7. 7.

    rk

    September 10, 2015 at 11:21 pm

    Bobby Jindal said Trump has a “squirrel on his head” and jeb thinks he’s been most insulted by Trump. This is all very middle school. I think they’re going to start throwing spit balls at each other soon, or maybe Trump will pull Carly’s pigtails and make her cry.

  8. 8.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    September 10, 2015 at 11:28 pm

    Hadn’t heard this

    John Fugelsang ‏@ JohnFugelsang 1h1 hour ago
    Jack Nicholson quietly retiring from acting is still the most depressing quiet retirement from acting since Gene Hackman.

    I do miss Hackman. I remember reading a couple years ago that Nicholson was having trouble remembering his lines

  9. 9.

    Gin & Tonic

    September 10, 2015 at 11:29 pm

    @vheidi: When cooking, I really tend to improvise. The basis is Mark Bittman’s tomato jam.

    I started with about three times the tomatoes, so 4-5 pounds. Halve them and roast in a 400+ oven (convection if you can) until the skins char. Take them out, cool slightly, remove skins and chop coarsely in a food processor. Put in heavy pan with 2.5-3 cups of sugar, 3-4 Tbs of fresh lime juice, 2-3 Tbs cider vinegar. Here I deviate completely from Bittman, as I don’t like the ginger-clove profile. I added 3 fresh Thai hot peppers, chopped fine (with seeds), 1 Tbs ground cumin, 2 tsp Spanish pimenton, 1.5-2 tsp alder-smoked sea salt. Cook at a bit more than a simmer, stirring often, for 2-ish hours, until reduced by about half-volume. Increase/decrease the pimenton and smoked salt depending on your tolerance for that flavor profile. Mine is very smoky.

  10. 10.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 10, 2015 at 11:42 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    1.5-2 tsp alder-smoked sea salt.

    Sounds a bit McMegany to me.

  11. 11.

    Gin & Tonic

    September 10, 2015 at 11:44 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I bought some on a whim when I was in Vancouver and have been looking for a way to use it.

  12. 12.

    Gin & Tonic

    September 10, 2015 at 11:45 pm

    @efgoldman: It’s very dark gray, actually. A manly shade. Don Draper would wear a suit that color.

  13. 13.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 10, 2015 at 11:50 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Classy, even?

  14. 14.

    Mike in NC

    September 10, 2015 at 11:50 pm

    TV Note: “Under the Dome” series finale tonight sucked to high heaven. It was shot at Screen Gems Studio in Wilmington. NC once had a thriving television and movie industry (known as Hollywood East) like many states, but then the Republican teabaggers in Raleigh took over and decided that creating jobs and raising revenue were government tyranny and had to go, and the pricks slashed the incentive budget by about 90%. All those jobs moved to places like Texas and Georgia.

  15. 15.

    scav

    September 10, 2015 at 11:54 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Had a really good Italian style Tomato Jam in Ames, that tended a bit more toward Bittman’s original but definitely had fennel in it and probably more lemon. Was completely ambiguous as to what the flavor was: we originally had votes from strawberries to figs, but there was a bite underneath. My mother’s been experimenting ever since (she definitely cut back on the sugar).

  16. 16.

    Gin & Tonic

    September 10, 2015 at 11:57 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Classy in an understated way; a way that The Donald would not understand.

  17. 17.

    Geeno

    September 10, 2015 at 11:57 pm

    Since it’s an open thread: I’m listening to ancient Genesis albums this week. Up to “Trick of the Tail” tonight. I miss prog-rock.

  18. 18.

    lahke

    September 11, 2015 at 12:01 am

    Help! Came home tonight and little cat had big cat cornered under the bed, and there was big cat fur everywhere. I finally had to shut the little cat into her own room because her aggressive behavior is escalating. Is this sudden change normal in a 10 year old cat, or should I start getting paranoid about the fact that she had a rabies shot last week? Can a cat get rabies from the vaccinations? Her certificate doesn’t say if it’s live virus.

  19. 19.

    Eric

    September 11, 2015 at 12:13 am

    @Geeno: go to you tube. Look up Big Wreck live 2015 Suhr factory concert. Enjoy

  20. 20.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 11, 2015 at 12:15 am

    @benw: @Geeno: It’s Otis Redding’s birthday. Just saying.

  21. 21.

    Morzer

    September 11, 2015 at 12:16 am

    @lahke:

    You should rent little cat out to Cole as Thurston’s new mother.

  22. 22.

    SarahT

    September 11, 2015 at 12:17 am

    Anne Laurie, that Biden interview was amazing, and sooooo different from anything you’d usually find on late night TV. Really special.

  23. 23.

    PJ

    September 11, 2015 at 12:18 am

    I have to say that Biden’s conversation with Colbert came across as genuine and affecting in a way that most politicians rarely do. This may be simply due to the subject matter, but I agree with Colbert that that recognition of suffering and sense of public service would be an asset in the current race.

  24. 24.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 11, 2015 at 12:20 am

    @PJ: And yet Biden effectively said he wasn’t running.

  25. 25.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    September 11, 2015 at 12:25 am

    @Renie:

    I’ve been very lucky for my several root canals to have found a really great endodontist who knows exactly where to inject the novocaine so I don’t feel a thing during the procedure. It’s the next couple of days afterwards that hurt. If anyone in the LA area needs an endodontist, I can wholeheartedly recommend Jeff Berlin, DDS, in Beverly Hills. He even calls you that night to make sure you’re feeling okay.

    If part of the problem is that your jaw hurts from holding it open for so long, ask your dentist or endodontist if they can use a bite blocker on you. It lets you relax your jaw but keeps it open enough for them to do their work.

    (My endodontist works with dental phobics like myself a lot, so he actually referred to the bite blocker as a “tooth pillow” when he offered it to me, which cracked me up later.)

  26. 26.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 11, 2015 at 12:26 am

    @Morzer: The new cat would just join the conspiracy against Cole.

  27. 27.

    trollhattan

    September 11, 2015 at 12:34 am

    @Morzer:
    You do understand “renting a cat” involves handing over a cat plus an envelope containing a significant sum of cash?

  28. 28.

    Anne Laurie

    September 11, 2015 at 12:36 am

    @lahke:

    Is this sudden change normal in a 10 year old cat, or should I start getting paranoid about the fact that she had a rabies shot last week? Can a cat get rabies from the vaccinations? Her certificate doesn’t say if it’s live virus.

    Doubt it’s rabies, but it’s certainly possible that she’s having a bad systemic reaction to the shot & the pain is making her unusually aggressive. I’d definitely call your vet in the morning, make sure he doesn’t want to see her again. Especially if she’s ever had an issue with her kidneys.

  29. 29.

    PJ

    September 11, 2015 at 12:36 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: That wasn’t the impression I got, which was that he still hasn’t made up his mind. I think his emotional state is a large consideration, but another one probably is that Hilary has sucked up huge amounts of cash from the big donors. Biden has been making a lot of public appearances (like Colbert) and his office allows him public attention that Sanders and Clinton have to campaign to get. I think if he wants to run, he should do it – all this talk of tarnishing one’s legacy is just a lot of hoo-hah from people who have no legacy to tarnish. (As a side note, the American obsession with being a “winner” ignores the benefits that strong public debate and discourse can have on a democracy. I don’t expect Bernie Sanders to win the nomination, but I’m glad that he’s running because he’s raising issues that it would be easy for Clinton to ignore.)

  30. 30.

    trollhattan

    September 11, 2015 at 12:37 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    Coincidentally I’m sittin’ ona dogam day at this very moment.

  31. 31.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 11, 2015 at 12:37 am

    @trollhattan: Now that you mention it, “renting a cat” sounds like a euphemism for something illicit.

  32. 32.

    dww44

    September 11, 2015 at 12:41 am

    @Morzer: LOL. I hope Cole sees your comment.

  33. 33.

    Morzer

    September 11, 2015 at 12:42 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    John G Cole arrested for running a cat-rental scheme…. I could see it happening all too easily.

  34. 34.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 11, 2015 at 12:43 am

    @PJ: Hasn’t made up his mind equals not running at the point.

  35. 35.

    PJ

    September 11, 2015 at 12:43 am

    Here’s some more of Biden’s non-campaigning;

  36. 36.

    lahke

    September 11, 2015 at 12:45 am

    @Anne Laurie: Thanks, but we may not survive the night. She’s rocking that door pretty hard.

  37. 37.

    SiubhanDuinne

    September 11, 2015 at 12:45 am

    I heard the first few minutes (just audio) of the midnight rebroadcast of Rachel’s show. Just hearing her read the transcript was moving enough. I’ll hope to find a streaming pod whatchacallit video thing of the actual Colbert-Biden interview tomorrow.

    Fourteen years ago today (meaning September 10) I was forced to be in the same room as Dick Cheney. That was awful. But 14 years ago tonight (still meaning September 10) I met George Clooney and his aunt Rosemary, which took most of the Cheney stink away. Unfortunately, those nice Clooney memories were rendered mostly irrelevant the next morning.

  38. 38.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 11, 2015 at 12:45 am

    @Morzer: It sounds very W. Va.

  39. 39.

    Amir Khalid

    September 11, 2015 at 12:45 am

    @PJ:
    Biden ran twice before, and didn’t do all that well. That too is something he needs to take into account.

  40. 40.

    SiubhanDuinne

    September 11, 2015 at 12:47 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Sounds like something Governor Mark Sanford would have done if only he hadn’t been busy hiking the Appalachian Trail.

  41. 41.

    askew

    September 11, 2015 at 12:49 am

    Man, that interview made me ugly cry. So, heartbreaking. Joe was having a hard time keeping it together.

    From twitter, all the pundits are saying Joe’s in for sure after this interview. I just don’t know. He looks broken. I don’t think he has another run in him.

    Colbert showed why he got the job with that interview. He, like Letterman, can turn off the jokes and do a thoughtful interview. Makes the contrast with Fallon even more remarkable.

  42. 42.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 11, 2015 at 12:51 am

    @askew:

    From twitter, all the pundits are saying Joe’s in for sure after this interview. I just don’t know. He looks broken. I don’t think he has another run in him.

    I agree. I think he effectively announced tonight that he wasn’t running.

  43. 43.

    Morzer

    September 11, 2015 at 12:52 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Neighbors described John G Cole as “a little different” today as news broke of his arrest for alleged involvement in a cat-rental scheme. Elspeth Miggins, who lives two doors down, recalled encountering Mr Cole naked in his front garden, clutching a mop, with one foot stuck in a bucket. Mrs Miggins was not convinced by his explanation that he was “Looking for the mustard”.

  44. 44.

    Kay (not the front-pager)

    September 11, 2015 at 12:53 am

    @Morzer: Hey! I was drinking coconut water! My keyboard will never be the same.

  45. 45.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    September 11, 2015 at 12:53 am

    @lahke:

    If you have to, put one of the cats into their carrier for their own protection. (Preferably the one who’s acting out, but you don’t want to get bitten, so you can put the non-crazy one in the carrier instead.) I would definitely being the little one back to the vet, because a sudden behavioral change is something to worry about in cats.

  46. 46.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 11, 2015 at 1:00 am

    @Morzer:

    Mr. Cole’s high school chemistry teacher, Amos Teal, said, “That boy ain’t right. He never was. He set his shirt on fire with the bunsen burner in class at least twice a week. How the f%#k can someone do that?”

  47. 47.

    David Koch

    September 11, 2015 at 1:29 am

    Biden is treading on Twitter

    People are really moved.

    ProfThug ‏@AmericanGriper 1m1 minute ago

    Holy shit Joe Biden on Colbert got me weeping.
    #UncleJoe

    ZipBuddha ‏@Montanabuddha 7m7 minutes ago

    Maybe the best 20 minutes of TV ever……
    Joe Biden on Colbert

    Jordan Crouse ‏@CosmicPenguin 14m14 minutes ago

    I might be in the minority on this but that interview just made me fall in love with Joe Biden.

    Peter Gwinn ‏@gwinns 11m11 minutes ago

    @StephenAtHome’s interview with Joe Biden on #ColbertLateShow was just flat-out amazing.

    Nicky Woolf ‏@NickyWoolf 13m13 minutes ago

    Joe Biden just got a standing ovation in the living room I’m in in Denver.

  48. 48.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 11, 2015 at 1:30 am

    @David Koch: And?

  49. 49.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 11, 2015 at 1:40 am

    @David Koch: Add this:

    Omnes Omnibus ‏@OmnesOmnibus64 1h1 hour ago

    Okay, the Biden interview is really touching.
    0 retweets 0 favorites

    Now what?

  50. 50.

    Steeplejack

    September 11, 2015 at 1:43 am

    My verdict on the new Colbert show is still out—there’s something that feels slightly off about it, which could just be me getting used to it—but this was classic Colbert tonight: “Frank Luntz—Republican pollster and child who wished to be a grown-up on a cursed carnival ride . . .”

    ETA: I had never seen Frank Luntz, to my knowledge. Whoa.

  51. 51.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 11, 2015 at 1:45 am

    @Steeplejack: Eek!

  52. 52.

    cckids

    September 11, 2015 at 1:50 am

    Apropos of nothing else in the thread, but I’m re-watching Ken Burns’ Civil War on PBS, and I’m struck by how much I’m enjoying Sherman marching through Georgia. Get ’em, Bill!!

    “Atlanta is ours, and fairly won”

  53. 53.

    Steeplejack

    September 11, 2015 at 1:55 am

    @benw:

    Music? The Kills’ “Future Starts Slow,” which was featured at the end of the Person of Interest episode “Relevance” tonight. Awesome fit.

    The song.

    End of the episode (possible spoilers).

    I’ve been rewatching Person of Interest and Elementary on WGN’s current binge-a-thon. Pleasantly surprised at how well both series hold up. Just ran through the Irene Adler arc on Elementary the last few nights.

  54. 54.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 11, 2015 at 1:58 am

    @Steeplejack: For some snobbish reason, I cannot bring myself to watch Elementary.. Probably my loss.

  55. 55.

    The Pale Scot

    September 11, 2015 at 2:06 am

    In times of great joy, it’s always a comfort to the Irish to know that tragedy is just around the corner.

    Oscar Wilde

  56. 56.

    Steeplejack

    September 11, 2015 at 2:11 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Possibly you have a bit of a Lucy Liu problem? A lot of people do, it seems. But, anyway, tastes differ, so no blame attaches.

    The series started off a little shaky but got better quickly. In seeing the episodes again now, I’m a little surprised at how good.

    The premise (and treatment thereof) is certainly no stranger than that for the universally beloved BBC Sherlock. Plus the Irene Adler arc featured Natalie Dormer of The Tudors and Game of Thrones.

  57. 57.

    Jordan Rules

    September 11, 2015 at 2:15 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: “People are really moved.” If this is all he meant by the comment, that’s enough.

    Whew. Cutting onions over here.

  58. 58.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 11, 2015 at 2:17 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: I was flying back from Hawaii with Miss America sitting across the aisle from me.

  59. 59.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 11, 2015 at 2:23 am

    @Steeplejack: Wait! Ms. Dormer is involved? I’ll look in.

    @Jordan Rules: Read the next comment down. Okay, people (including me) are moved by the VP’s interview. Now what?

  60. 60.

    Steeplejack

    September 11, 2015 at 2:32 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Sorry, she was in only a handful of episodes, and they ran them all this week. But she definitely made an impact, both as Irene Adler and the identity behind Irene Adler.

  61. 61.

    NotMax

    September 11, 2015 at 2:37 am

    Home again, home again, jiggedy-jig.

    Thank FSM.

  62. 62.

    Steeplejack

    September 11, 2015 at 2:42 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Holmes meets Irene Adler. (Heats up at 2:20 if you get bored.)

  63. 63.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 11, 2015 at 2:43 am

    @Steeplejack: I’ll look.

  64. 64.

    Jordan Rules

    September 11, 2015 at 2:46 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:Now what?
    Nothing. That’s it. That was my point. People were moved and commented on it.

  65. 65.

    mclaren

    September 11, 2015 at 2:47 am

    By the way, isn’t it time for the annual American 9/11 hysteria?

    I’m waiting for the chanting wailing crowds murmuring “nine eleven…nine eleven…nine eleven” obsessively over and over, in a mindless mantra of blind fear and abject panic. Where are the Fox News shills prostrating themselves before videos of the Twin Towers while they whimper “Never again”?

    Where are the candlelight vigils by the self-appointed guardians of the American population who don’t give a shit about all the black men being choked to death or shot in the back by cops, who couldn’t care less about all the no-knock SWAT teams kicking in the doors of innocent families and shooting their dogs and kids and husbands in the head, yet who swoon and fall into a faint at the thought of 9/11?

    Where are the sacramental hosannahs offered on every TV channel to our ignorant incompetent U.S. military with its rapists and gang members and misfits? Where are the craven explications of fear and mindless panic and cries from the no-neck American population for the corrupt socipoaths in law enforcement to protect them from the imaginary wahabis hiding under every bed and lurking behing every bush? Where are the shouts of “anything they want, give it to them!” from our gullible sheeplike populace to the wardheeling bribe-taking politicians sleazy enough to exploit 9/11 for more military procurement grifting and domestic police payoffs misnamed “national security”?

    I’m really missing the national hysteria here.

    Why aren’t you people falling on your knees en masse and slithering forward begging to hand over your sacred liberties to a bunch of thieves with badges, bribe takers in high office, and incompetent careerist military thugs who courts-martial a private for losing his rifle but give generals like Petreus a pass when he loses a war?

    It’s September 11 again. Get moving, people. Prove once again you’re the lowest form of human being on the planet — you did it last year, it’s time again, now get to it, lazybones. Fox News isn’t re-running those videos of the Twin Towers to get you to play fucking yahtzee — they’re re-running those videos to turn you into sniveling crawling cowards eager to sell your constitutional birthright for a mess of fear-induced pottage. Now get moving! Crawl like the animals you are!

  66. 66.

    Steeplejack

    September 11, 2015 at 2:57 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I really felt bad when I finally realized that Hackman had “quietly retired.” I’m a little more ambivalent about Nicholson, because my memory of his late-stage career is a tendency toward phone-it-in “Nicholson being Nicholson” type performances. Still a great career, though.

  67. 67.

    Steeplejack

    September 11, 2015 at 2:59 am

    @mclaren:

    Hope you had enough tissues to clean up after your jackfest.

  68. 68.

    Morzer

    September 11, 2015 at 3:12 am

    @Steeplejack:

    I think mclaren’s had one game of fucking yahtzee too many.

  69. 69.

    J R in WV

    September 11, 2015 at 3:34 am

    @mclaren:

    Asshole!

    That’s in the morning, hours yet from right now.

    Dumass. Fuck you for being a sociopath, which finally is proven by what you have said tonight.

    I was working, and my boss came into my office and said “NPR just said a plane just flew into the World Trade Center.”

    I said “What do you mean, like a Cessna lost or something?”

    He said, “No, like a 747 or something like that… A big airliner of some sort.”

    So we went to a guy’s cube who had a 8 or 9 inch B&W TV, and there was the first Tower, burning like a hand of glory candle. The cube was full, 9×12 with 8 guys. We were quiet, for us… and then another airliner came across the image, and hit the other tower.

    I saw footage of people crowding into shops after the first tower fell, just before that the news anchor told us that many of the falling objects were people diving away from the flames.

    Not long after that I went home… it was strange, no traffic, even for the rural road I traveled on.

    Mrs J was at work too, at a news bureau. With 4 or 5 TV screens 24/7. She got the full dose all day long. I did too, on a broadcast network station.

    mclaren Fuck you!

    Everyone else, good night, I’m gonna take another swing at sleep tonite.

  70. 70.

    mclaren

    September 11, 2015 at 3:56 am

    Crocodile tears from Biden the sociopathic authoritarian.

    How about all the pain from all the men and women who’ve had their lives destroyed by the no-knock raids Biden’s legislation started? How about all the loss from the countless innocent people who have had their homes and their cars, their bank account and their possessions legally stolen by the asset forfeiture legislation Biden wrote?

    Joe Biden needs to be charged with conspiracy to commit grand larcency for writing the asset forfeiture legislation, and aiding and abetting assault, battery and murder for the insane drug lasws Biden rammed through.

    Joe Biden needs to be tried, convicted and sent to prison, where his victims can form a rape conga line on him that circles around the prison ten times.

  71. 71.

    A Humble Lurker

    September 11, 2015 at 4:27 am

    @mclaren:

    If the founders of the United States rose from their graves, they’d be so disgusted by you that they’d piss in your slackjawed open mouth.

    Considering they were slave owning and many of them were against the kind of democracy that’s common place today, that sounds like a compliment. Judge a man by the quality of his enemies, and all that.

  72. 72.

    mclaren

    September 11, 2015 at 4:28 am

    You ignorant incompetent bully-worshiping pithecanthrepoids need to have the truth shoved down your throats so far it spew out your backsides, so open wide and say “Ahhhh”:

    Mantra for 9/11
    Fourteen Years Later, Improbable World
    By Tom Engelhardt

    Fourteen years later and do you even believe it? Did we actually live it? Are we still living it? And how improbable is that?

    Fourteen years of wars, interventions, assassinations, torture, kidnappings, black sites, the growth of the American national security state to monumental proportions, and the spread of Islamic extremism across much of the Greater Middle East and Africa. Fourteen years of astronomical expense, bombing campaigns galore, and a military-first foreign policy of repeated defeats, disappointments, and disasters. Fourteen years of a culture of fear in America, of endless alarms and warnings, as well as dire predictions of terrorist attacks. Fourteen years of the burial of American democracy (or rather its recreation as a billionaire’s playground and a source of spectacle and entertainment but not governance). Fourteen years of the spread of secrecy, the classification of every document in sight, the fierce prosecution of whistleblowers, and a faith-based urge to keep Americans “secure” by leaving them in the dark about what their government is doing. Fourteen years of the demobilization of the citizenry. Fourteen years of the rise of the warrior corporation, the transformation of war and intelligence gathering into profit-making activities, and the flocking of countless private contractors to the Pentagon, the NSA, the CIA, and too many other parts of the national security state to keep track of. Fourteen years of our wars coming home in the form of PTSD, the militarization of the police, and the spread of war-zone technology like drones and stingrays to the “homeland.” Fourteen years of that un-American word “homeland.” Fourteen years of the expansion of surveillance of every kind and of the development of a global surveillance system whose reach — from foreign leaders to tribal groups in the backlands of the planet — would have stunned those running the totalitarian states of the twentieth century. Fourteen years of the financial starvation of America’s infrastructure and still not a single mile of high-speed rail built anywhere in the country. Fourteen years in which to launch Afghan War 2.0, Iraq Wars 2.0 and 3.0, and Syria War 1.0. Fourteen years, that is, of the improbable made probable.

    Source: TomDispatch.com website, “Mantra for 9/11.”

    Read it and weep for your own stupidity and gullibility, you slope-browed dupes.

  73. 73.

    Morzer

    September 11, 2015 at 4:33 am

    @mclaren:

    Honky, please: pithecanthropoids.

  74. 74.

    Duane

    September 11, 2015 at 5:09 am

    @PJ: @Omnes Omnibus:

    Or,he’s not all there.

  75. 75.

    GHayduke (formerly lojasmo)

    September 11, 2015 at 8:09 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I can’t remember who, but an actor recently reported working with jack and being told “nice to meet you” and they had done three or four other films together.

  76. 76.

    Sherparick

    September 11, 2015 at 8:28 am

    @lahke: No, they can’t. How long have the cats been living together? Have there been any other changes in your environment and the cats environment the last month? There may be little status dynamics going on in the “pride.” Talk to your Vet and see if you can afford a consult from a cat behaviorist

  77. 77.

    Neldob

    September 11, 2015 at 1:08 pm

    I believe Biden is to the right of HRC. The Nation magazine has an article, but haven’t seen it yet.

    Somehow all this constant insistence that she’s not nice, not someone you want to have a beer with, not genuine, not affected by suffering is some weird take on her being a woman and fomented mainly by the right wing media.

    A person can’t be in politics their whole life and be always sweet and nice. Not Biden, not Obama. Maybe W was ‘nice’ to his friends, but that turned out not to be a plus.

  78. 78.

    Ruckus

    September 11, 2015 at 5:26 pm

    @J R in WV:
    I was on a plane flying from east to west. The pilot came on and told us about the first plane. Then a few minutes later he said he couldn’t believe that a second plane hit and that we would be landing ASAP. The pilot was amazing. After we landed in Atlanta and were parked on the taxi way waiting for a gate he walked through the cabin. When we finally got off the plane we saw and heard that a lot of pilots didn’t say anything to their passengers and people were getting off planes and being rushed out of the terminal by police and military, and had no idea why. I wrote a letter a few days later to Delta telling them how professional he had been and while he was just doing his job, he did it very well that day.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Life In A Eudora Welty Story
Image by Betty Cracker (11/15/25)

Recent Comments

  • comrade scotts agenda of rage on Interesting Read: Inside the Sandwich Guy’s Jury Deliberations (Nov 15, 2025 @ 7:19pm)
  • zhena gogolia on Interesting Read: Inside the Sandwich Guy’s Jury Deliberations (Nov 15, 2025 @ 7:14pm)
  • John Sterling on Interesting Read: Inside the Sandwich Guy’s Jury Deliberations (Nov 15, 2025 @ 7:13pm)
  • zhena gogolia on Interesting Read: Inside the Sandwich Guy’s Jury Deliberations (Nov 15, 2025 @ 7:13pm)
  • zhena gogolia on Interesting Read: Inside the Sandwich Guy’s Jury Deliberations (Nov 15, 2025 @ 7:09pm)

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
On Artificial Intelligence (7-part series)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

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

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix
Rose Judson (podcast)

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

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

Email sent!