Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

We still have time to mess this up!

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

Let’s finish the job.

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

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

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

You can’t love your country only when you win.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Come on, man.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

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66Comments

  3. 3.

    lamh36

    Watching a House Hunters: Where Are They Now marathon on HGTV.

    The couples picked bought fixer uppers and they went back to see how the couples and the houses are doing now.

    Mahn…these folks are crafty…they all did most of the renovations themselves…one couple by budgeting and DIY spent only $7000 to renovate and that included some real labor work..

    Woo…that could NOT be me. First of all, I live alone, and I don’t see anything changing for the near future. Who knows, maybe by the time I’m buying a house I’ll have a BF, but I doubt it. So move in ready is the ONLY way for me…lol

    So I don’t know how old this one ep was, but dude…buying a condo in ATL for like $42,000!
    With his renovations…the listing $42000, he bought for $33,000 renovated for about $5500 and now the condo is listed at $60000…wow

    What???

    Is real estate that cheap in ATL?

  5. 5.

    Felonius Monk

    @satby: Haven’t seen anything from Sooner since before the grand opening of the new and better Balloon-Juice, but then sometimes I’m not too observant
    .

  8. 8.

    grishaxxx

    Prime Bacharach/David – tho, yes, appallingly sexist for us; back then, the Mad Men days, it would have been unobjectionable. Think also “How to Succeed in Business…”, Wilder’s “The Apartment” – the latter the basis for the Bacharach/David/Neil Simon musical “Promises, Promises.” What goes around….

  10. 10.

    Roger Moore

    @lamh36:

    First of all, I live alone, and I don’t see anything changing for the near future. Who knows, maybe by the time I’m buying a house I’ll have a BF, but I doubt it. So move in ready is the ONLY way for me…lol

    Why do you need a boyfriend to do renovations? One of my friends has done extensive renovations of her house, including refinishing all the hardwood floors and repairing the deck. You just need the confidence that you’re capable of doing that stuff yourself.

  13. 13.

    lamh36

    @Roger Moore: I’ve lived alone for quite some time. I already don’t find the need for a BF for anything. But there are something that I just would rather not have to do. Having a partner who is willing to do those things is an incentive.

    I do not have any desire to do any renovation project like that alone…period. If renovation had to be done and I had money then I’d hire someone.

    But if I had a partner or BF who like that sort of thing, then maybe I’d be more willing to look for a home with some renovation needed.

    But without that, aside from maybe painting walls myself, it’s just NOT something I’m interested in at the moment.

  15. 15.

    Elizabelle

    I like Cecile. Moar, please. Gonna follow her.

    Not such bad advice in the song; don’t take each other for granted. He gets home first, he starts the martinis!

  16. 16.

    goblue72

    @lamh36: Compared to the metro markets in the Northeast (DC, NYC, Boston) or the West Coast major markets (SD, LA, SJ, SF, Oak, PDX & Seattle) – yes.

    You can get a trendy 2 BR loft in a hipster warehouse district neighborhood in Atlanta for under $300k.

    I posted this with a link to a Redfin listing as an example, but stuck in moderation.

  18. 18.

    lamh36

    Still watching HGTV. And um yeah…no to this “tiny house” movement. that is some bullshhhh…I’m too big and tall for some “tiny house” no ma’am

  21. 21.

    Mike in NC

    @lamh36: We get a kick out of shows like ‘House Hunters’ because they often have a couple of 20-something hipsters who turn down a fabulous deal if it means they have to drive more than ten minutes to get to work. Those poor dears. Commuting on the DC Beltway sometimes took us two hours to get home on a rough night.

  23. 23.

    Roger Moore

    @lamh36:
    I’m just thinking that a fixer-upper gives you a chance to move into a better neighborhood than you might be able to get into otherwise. The friend who refinished her own floors always says you want to buy a bad house in a good neighborhood rather than a good house in a bad neighborhood (i.e. location, location, location) because it’s easier to improve the house than the neighborhood.

    Of course this is in LA, where even bad neighborhoods are expensive by normal standards. The LA Times has a regular feature where they show typical houses available for so much money in different parts of the LA area. It’s pathetic how little you get for your money.

  24. 24.

    Gvg

    Condo prices are usually a lot lower than houses and they go up and down more in most places. Tampa is an exception because of the larger retired population that wants condos. When my cousin was hunting here in Gainesville about 15 years ago the condo market was so hot they were selling for asking prices the day they came on the market and she missed a bunch till she and husband agreed that she should leave work when realtor called and make an offer if she thought it matched agreed on parameters. After market crashed, they couldn’t sell it and currently rent it out. Gainesville has always had a rather extreme boom bust real estate cycle because of the University and developers always being kind of behind the curve. Right now they seem really cheap here, but you have to be careful of area. You always have to look at what the resale potential is in case you need to move. Look into the condo boards. Make time to join and vote so they don’t go control freak just because a few friends are the only ones who want to bother running for board. Decide which ones are acceptable and wait for a good one to come on the market. Currently people are still renting and putting off buying. Rents here are higher than mortgages. That doesn’t usually last, but a lot of people were really hurt by both real estate bust around 05 and economy bust in 08. People are buying houses, but a lot still only want to rent. Condo’s usually aren’t quite as reliable investments as houses but if you don’t want the house maintenance it may be good for you. Look into pet rules too. Townhouses often have little fenced back “yards” that can be OK for dogs if allowed and cats love screened porches. Many don’t allow any pets.

  26. 26.

    gogol's wife

    @grishaxxx:

    I distinctly remember when that song came out, and I found it nauseating at the time.

    Despite my great respect for the talents of Bacharach/David. Alfie is a masterpiece.

  27. 27.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @burnspbesq:

    Did you catch her interview on “Fresh Air” two or three days ago? I heard snippets but not the whole thing; reminder to self to listen to the podcast.

  28. 28.

    Steeplejack

    @lamh36:

    (FYWP. Reposting because of [pointlessly] forbidden word. Don’t nobody say “Watson”!)

    Gotta say that Elementary got off to a great start last night. Really good episode. Holmes has been pounded down, so it will be interesting to see how he copes with that, and Watson is upping her game. She was great threatening a smug suit: “Let me ask you a question. What’s the hardest you’ve ever been hit?”

    And when is the finale of Person of Interest? I keep getting panic attacks that I missed it.

  29. 29.

    bystander

    @BGinCHI:

    “Moon of Alabama”

    We also have Hal David to thank for the great lyric to Bachrach’s love theme from “A House Is Not a Home”.

  30. 30.

    Marc

    I went over to the dark side and watched some Fox News clips about Ben Carson and his West Point lies. They’re furious. He’s toast.

  31. 31.

    Elizabelle

    @SiubhanDuinne: Thanks. Am enchanted by Mlle Salvant.

    Per her website, she gave a concert in Berlin last night. On a European tour. She’s the voice of Chanel “Chance.”

    Watched the Jack Jones version up on youtube — ugh. It’s more “dress up or he’ll leave you. Little girl.” Cecile’s and Dionne Warwick’s versions are more like advice to a beloved woman friend. Cecile’s is my fave version.

  32. 32.

    Elizabelle

    @Marc: Ben Carson story led the ABC evening news, but I was thinking about Cecile and missed the tone of the story.

    Carson’s evangelical supporters may forgive him. Other “screw the establishment” types? Prob not.

  37. 37.

    Steeplejack

    The least Bacharachian Bacharach song ever: Love, “My Little Red Book.” (Totally lame lip-sync, but interesting video.)

    ETA: Just saw this great comment on that video: “It’s not easy to play tambourine and sing at the same time. It took the later Partridge Family to develop that advanced skill.”

  38. 38.

    goblue72

    @Roger Moore: Los Angeles (like most of coastal California) has expensive housing because it chose to have expensive housing –

    https://www.cp-dr.com/node/3717

    Most of coastal California has zoned itself into a supply constrained market guaranteeing high housing costs and lack of affordability. Its not an accident; its by design (even if partially, though not entirely, unintentional)

  40. 40.

    Marc

    @Steeplejack: And now there appears to be a counter-movement. Go figure. Having seen his direct claims in print and in speeches, I don’t think that he’s going to be able to escape from this one. I’d wager that it’s a dead cat bounce.

  43. 43.

    Elizabelle

    @Emma: I have a Billie Holliday recording of that song. Hunting down Cecile’s version now.

    She’s a Floridian. Gonna do some concerts there later this month; will be in NYC (Lincoln Center?) and a few other cities in 2016.

    I love her voice and phrasing.

  46. 46.

    satby

    @Steeplejack: I stream the shows, so I have to wait till tonight, but I have been looking forward to Elementary’s return since spring. I love all things Holmes.
    @lamh36: I could watch this all day too.

    Ok, so full disclosure: in my earlier years before IT I was a licensed PI in IL (I wanted to be a legal investigator, so I got a paralegal cert from Roosevelt Uni and went to work for a detective agency to get experience). Sometimes I get curious about things and people get offended when I check up on them (which I always do openly)…. just in case anyone was wondering about the extreme reaction I got earlier to a fairly innocuous question.

  48. 48.

    Steeplejack

    @satby:

    Seriously, it’s a great start to the season. I was actually a little surprised at how good it was (Elementary being halfway in my “guilty pleasure” category). But I don’t want to oversell it. Let me know what you think.

  51. 51.

    Pogonip

    Someone mentioned the kazoo. There was at least one song with a kazoo solo: “Johnny Get Angry,” performed by Joanie Summers, early ’60’s. Evidently Johnny got so angry that no one ever ventured a kazoo solo again.

  52. 52.

    Roger Moore

    @goblue72:

    Most of coastal California has zoned itself into a supply constrained market guaranteeing high housing costs and lack of affordability. Its not an accident; its by design (even if partially, though not entirely, unintentional)

    An important point left out of that article is the pernicious effect of Prop 13 on all that. In most places, skyrocketing housing prices have both good and bad effects for homeowners, since they lead to rising property taxes as well as rising home values. Prop 13 protects homeowners from rising taxes, so they see little downside in outrageous housing prices. If property owners weren’t shielded from rising taxes, they might be more inclined to support policies that would keep prices in check.

  54. 54.

    Roger Moore

    @Roger Moore: [Responding to myself because I can’t edit]
    A big factor in the expensive property on the West Coast is the lack of space. For all its reputation for sprawl, Los Angeles has spread about as far as it reasonably can. It’s hemmed in by the ocean and the mountains. The LA urban area is now the densest* urban area in the country, and there simply isn’t any open space for new development this side of the Inland Empire and the High Desert. Building anything new within the urban area means tearing out something old, which makes it inherently more expensive and more prone to opposition by NIMBYs.

    *By conventional measures of density, which are reasonable for figuring out how many people can fit; I realize that population weighted density makes more sense for other purposes.

  59. 59.

    Hob

    If you ever get the chance to see Cécile McLorin Salvant live, do so. I had the pleasure of seeing her recently, doing that song among others, along with her excellent backup band. Her version of “John Henry” is particularly stunning, even more so live than the one they recorded.

  60. 60.

    Gimlet

    Huffpost

    Viggo Mortenson – As disturbing as the police brutality that we’re talking about — these instances of abuse of power that have unfortunately caused the death of people, unarmed citizens — as disturbing as that, if not more so in the long run, are the people who are condoning it, these heads of police unions, by going after Tarantino instead of sitting back and going, ‘Yeah, we know there are some issues.’ It has become endemic because these people are condoning it. That’s what they’re doing when they go after the messenger like that.

  62. 62.

    satby

    @Elizabelle: I looked on LinkedIn and Googled… But now I’m blocked on the Link… because what kind of asshole checks out people openly on a professional social media site? Seriously, I suck.

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