Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

No one could have predicted…

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Motown is Joe-Town!

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

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

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

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

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

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Giving up is unforgivable. ~Joe Biden

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

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

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97Comments

  2. 2.

    Keith G

    Here is a question:

    What should be the first , all-in, legislative push of President Hillary Clinton’s administration?

  4. 4.

    D58826

    1. Judicial confirmations from SCOTUS down to the district level
    2. Multi-year regulatory agencies like the FED/NLRB/etc.

    Lock in the gains for a generation by picking mid-40’s people.

  7. 7.

    catclub

    @D58826: @Keith G:

    Are we assuming a majority in both the house and senate? Counting chickens before they hatch? I am leaning towards it.

    If senate only: appointments. This was the major failing of the Obama admin – 2009 was kind of busy and they never caught up.
    Fed reserve members, FEC, NLRB, etc etc are still hamstrung. I think there is no ATF administrator after at least 8 years.

  8. 8.

    Roger Moore

    @Keith G:

    What should be the first , all-in, legislative push of President Hillary Clinton’s administration?

    I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: fix the VRA. It’s both the right thing to do and politically expedient. Ideally, every state should be on preclearance with a bail-out provision for states that can avoid problems for a decent interval (and bail-in provisions if they ever backslide), and there should be something about partisan gerrymandering. Other high priorities should be fixing known problems in PPACA, and, as @D58826 said, judicial appointments and adequate funding for regulatory agencies. BTW, “regulatory agencies” should include IRS.

  9. 9.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    I need help/advice/suggestions: I’ve been asked to do a reading at my brother’s wedding – 2nd marriage for both of them, they found each other after tragedy in the case of my brother losing his 1st wife suddenly, and after many years of unhappiness with her 1st husband. My brother is also quite sick, on top of everything, so we’re all keeping our fingers crossed that he’ll make it to his own wedding in mid October.

    Other than Rumi which is my go-to for a lot of love/spiritual stuff, I don’t know where else to look for inspiration. BJ is full of well read people – any help appreciated.

  10. 10.

    lamh36

    UGH!!!! Why is my Netflix sound going in and out on my tv…ugh. I’m using my wifi…an the sound keeps going in and out.

  11. 11.

    Mr. Mack

    Think I wound up in moderation on the previous thread..but I was clumsily trying to figure out if yard signs are a thing of the past? During 04 Bush campaign, you could not walk a step without tripping over a Bush/Vader sign. But, I often wonder how much of it was just people trying to get on the perceived winning team. No one wants to be different from their neighbors, or ostracized in their church, but those were crazier times. (Hard to believe I know)

  12. 12.

    germy

    Dan Bongino is a fine politician.

    Except when he tells a reporter to go fuck himself.

    Congressional candidate and former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino went on a screaming, profanity-laced tirade on 08/21/2016 during a phone call with a POLITICO Florida reporter who asked the Republican to clarify his criticisms of a news story.

  13. 13.

    Hungry Joe

    I’m puzzled by the criticism of the GOP bigwigs re Trump’s nomination: “They should have stopped him.” “They should have moved to get someone else the nomination.” Well … how? The process — primaries and caucuses — was in place, and Trump reeled in enough delegates to get the nomination. What were they supposed to do — poison him? (Hmmmm … ) And the idea that the other candidates should have banded together to 86 him is downright fanciful: First, each is in it for him- or herself (which is as it should be), and second, nobody took Trump seriously until it was too late.

    No, nothing went wrong in the GOP nominating process. No one dropped the ball, blinked, screwed up, or anything else. It worked: They got the candidate their voters wanted. Now they can follow him down the drain.

  16. 16.

    randy khan

    Speaking of wicked, or rather, Wicked, I saw Kristin Chenoweth at Wolf Trap last night. That dame has a mean set of pipes.

    But also, she introduced a song by saying that she’d been speaking to Donald Trump, and had given him some advice. The song was “Popular.”

    Very nice, Ms. C.

  17. 17.

    germy

    Bongino is a member of the Groundswell, a coalition of conservative and libertarian activists fighting to advance conservative causes, according to public documents.

    Bongino opposes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as Obamacare) and penned an editorial against it.

  19. 19.

    Roger Moore

    @Hungry Joe:

    I’m puzzled by the criticism of the GOP bigwigs re Trump’s nomination: “They should have stopped him.”

    I would say that the use of “they” in “They should have stopped him,” is the key sign. Lots of people think Trump should have been stopped, but they failed to stop him because hardly any of them were willing to step up and be one of the people stopping him. They all wanted somebody else to take the risk.

  21. 21.

    PaulW

    Pokemon GO observations in Central Florida:

    1) Pokestops and Gyms were set up based on public landmarks and signage. As such, I’ve discovered the International Drive dragstrip is one of the most packed Stops area I’ve ever seen outside of cemeteries.

    2) The requirements to battle for control of a Gym – and to keep control of it – are so complex and competitive that it almost discourages team-ups. I had on a whim battled for a Gym that had just one high level Snorlax sitting on it… and by sheer luck I beat it with a weaker Vaporeon. Unfortunately, I then had to engage in a battle with a rival Valor to seize control of the Gym for Team Mystic (there’s a brief period when there’s noone in charge of a Gym: I say that the player who wins it should automatically get control with a fully healed Pokemon that won it), which then enticed other Team Mystic players to join the Gym… whereupon they beat up my Vaporeon to kick me out of the Gym and then locked it down to prevent me back on (outside of battling back in). Insane. I have no idea what I did wrong.

    3) WHERE TO THEY SPAWN MORE SQUIRTLES? /cries

  23. 23.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Mr. Mack: Obama’s team de-emphasized yard signs in 2008/2012, on the basis of research showing that they’re useless in high-profile elections where the candidate’s name is already well-known. I recall Romney-Ryan absolutely carpet-bombing some areas of the country with yard signs, and a fat lot of good it did them.

    But supporters really, really like to have them, so for the most part the Obama campaigns just sold them as a fundraising measure (though I’ve heard they eventually relented and gave them out in some areas).

    I think Trump is actually doing the same thing, and Clinton probably is as well. Trump’s signs are gigantic, though, so they stand out for a mile when somebody does buy one.

  24. 24.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    @PaulW: You realize that to someone who does not know what you’re talking about that you sound like an insane person, yes?

  25. 25.

    rikyrah

    @Keith G:

    What should be the first , all-in, legislative push of President Hillary Clinton’s administration?

    1. An infrastructure bill 40% higher than what President Obama proposed.
    2. A Voting Rights Act that applies to the ENTIRE country
    3. Get rid of those last conservative Judicial Circuits

  27. 27.

    PaulW

    @Keith G:

    It depends entirely on what sort of House she’ll be facing: if it’s still under Republican control, it won’t matter how hard she’ll push on any issue, they will block her in an insane attempt to make her concede to their entire agenda without compromise. That arrogance/obstructionism, that is all they have left.

    The Senate would be obstructionist as well, but likely will give her most of her judicial and executive vacancies (because they’ll start getting grief from SCOTUS about the damn empty seats causing legal confusion and delays). But the Senate is likelier to flip to Democratic control, which should give her more wiggle room there (and the likelihood that the new Senate Dem leadership will rewrite the Cloture/Hold rules to make it harder for the Republicans to block everything).

  28. 28.

    Miss Bianca

    @PaulW:

    WHERE TO THEY SPAWN MORE SQUIRTLES? /cries

    Won’t someone think of the SQUIRTLE SPAWN?? Someone? ANYONE??

  34. 34.

    Calouste

    @Hungry Joe:

    nobody took Trump seriously until it was too late.

    No, nothing went wrong in the GOP nominating process. No one dropped the ball,

    People did drop the ball. Trump had been leading most national and early primary polls for 3 months straight by the start of November, which was a big clue that his chances should be taken seriously. At that point there were still 3 months to the first primaries, which even taking into account the holiday season, should have been plenty of time to sink him. And it’s not like they had to really dig deep to find damaging stuff about Trump. But no one wanted to take the fall.

  35. 35.

    JCJ

    @PaulW:

    If your Pokemon was already in there and the others were Team Mystic how did they kick out your Vaporeon? More likely the Team Valor person poached the gym before you could put in your Pokemon, then a Team Mystic person won that gym and that person and two others put in their Pokemon which would then necessitate you raising the prestige to level 4 to put in your Vaporeon.

    Tip: Have a healthy Pokemon ready to go so you can claim the gym and put in your Pokemon. Heal your Vaporeon later.

  36. 36.

    jacy

    The boys both went back to school today. (For those of you who gave helpful advice during my summer custody drama — we made an agreement before trial. My lawyer and I decided, considering all the crazy factors we couldn’t be sure of, to give my ex specifically what he asked for in his lawsuit. Which he immediately tried to go back on, when he realized what that actually meant. Too late, and we outmaneuvered him on everything else. So he has the boys from 7:30 am Monday morning to 7:30 am Friday morning. I get all weekends. I will Skype with them every night to hear about their day and help with their homework. I’m happy with the arrangement for now, and realize that it’s only a matter of time before the ex realizes that parenting is hard and gives them back full time. In the meantime, for the first time in 27 years, I am not a 24/7 parent. I am going to act accordingly. Probably assignations with The Boyfriend on his lunch hour to start…. And afternoon cocktail hour can now begin much earlier in the day!)

  37. 37.

    Roger Moore

    @PaulW:
    Your description of the gym battle doesn’t make sense. You can’t kick another player from your own team out of a gym; once a pokemon goes into the gym, it will stay until the prestige is reduced by an attack from another team. The only ways you could have lost in the situation you’re describing is if either A) the other Team Mystic players got their pokemon into the gym before you could (which could easily happen if it’s competitive enough) or B) they had stronger pokemon than you did so yours was at the bottom of the gym when the Team Valor player kicked you out.

  38. 38.

    lamh36

    Yes…fixed my Netflix sound problem (had to change sound from Dolby to Stereo) and I’m not watching an Archer marathon!

  40. 40.

    Roger Moore

    @Doug R:

    Are you getting to meet other pokefolk, squinting at the sunlight?

    This is a rather unfair dig. The whole point of the game is that it requires people to go out and do things in the real world in order to do well in the game. Unless your home is very well situated (or you cheat), you really can’t play it from the comfort of your couch. The bigger complaint about Pokemon Go is that there are too many players out in the real world getting in the way of people who aren’t used to sharing their space.

  41. 41.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Mr. Mack: Though I’ve mentioned before that there are several Trump yard signs around my neighborhood, the race that’s really generating huge numbers of yard signs is the election for county sheriff, which has a special primary coming up. There are many candidates and their names aren’t widely known; this is one way to get them out there.

  42. 42.

    jacy

    @PaulW:

    We spend an inordinate amount of time parked in the driveway of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on the way to the Albertson’s. Apparently there’s a hotly contested “gym” there. I’m just the chauffeur, which doesn’t stop me from sighing loudly and rolling my eyes.

  43. 43.

    jacy

    @PaulW:

    Do they spawn Squirtles near the water? We go to the lakes at LSU all the time to get something. Not sure what it is. But walking a lot helps. I’m trying not to know too much…..

  44. 44.

    JCJ

    @Roger Moore:

    As a 54 year old I am embarrassed that I know so much about Pokemon GO. I forgot about suggesting that he had the lowest level Pokemon when Team Valor lowered the prestige.

  45. 45.

    AliceBlue

    @randy khan:
    According to one explanation, she had a fairly dark complexion, so Robert Browning referred to her as his “Portugese.” The sonnets were written for him; therefore, “Sonnets From the Portugese.”

  46. 46.

    Miss Bianca

    @jacy: See? Silver linings! Enjoy your kidless time while you got it, because it sounds like My Ex, The Douchecopter is going to get a clue wake-up once school gets started!

  48. 48.

    Roger Moore

    @JCJ:

    Tip: Have a healthy Pokemon ready to go so you can claim the gym and put in your Pokemon. Heal your Vaporeon later.

    This. It’s still possible for somebody to squeak in before you, but it’s a lot harder.

  49. 49.

    PaulW

    @Roger Moore:

    B) they had stronger pokemon than you did so yours was at the bottom of the gym when the Team Valor player kicked you out.

    It must have been that, because I got in first and the other Mystic players – whom I never knew in RL – joined in a few minutes later with higher-value Pokemon. that made three Mystic players at the Gym with me at lowest rank. there’s supposed to be three default spots though, when I apparently lost to someone there should have been a Mystic vacancy (because the others survived) but nobody – not me or anybody else Mystic – fit that third slot. …shouldn’t there be three slots, or did that get taken away by my loss? That shouldn’t be right…

  52. 52.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Matt McIrvin: Yard signs are there to feed some candidates’ egos. Sarah Palin, for example, reveled in all the signs at intersections with her name on them.

    To be fair, name recognition is the first, and sometimes most important, step in getting elected to public office at any level. I learned this in HS.

  54. 54.

    PaulW

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I live in a major suburban subdivision where I’ve gone by houses with “Hillary for Prison” signs. I know Florida has too many rednecks for its own good, but still it breaks my heart to see them…

  55. 55.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    @germy: I knew that name sounded familiar — In Maryland’s 6th here — we kicked him to the curb twice. Current Congressman Delaney (D) has issues (questioning the Iran agreement), but he isn’t bug fuck crazy.

  56. 56.

    jacy

    @Miss Bianca:

    As my lawyer said, “He has no idea how much his lifestyle is about to change.” Then she actually cackled a little. She gives it till Christmas. I give it less. My adult daughter already thinks I’m acting too much like a teenager. Of course there was that one time when The Boyfriend and I got rousted from the park by the cops and had to drive home half-clothed at 3 in the morning…But when you’ve each got a houseful of kids, you have to make do…. I’m going to have some fun and not feel guilty about it!

  59. 59.

    JCJ

    @PaulW:

    Team Mystic seems to be the dominant team in the area here. The gyms were in Brookfield and Wauwatosa (Wisconsin). There was an event at the Milwaukee County Zoo so she won two gyms there. On the way home she took over a gym at a church. There were three gyms with openings on the way to a park. She took over all three gyms in the park. She has two Pokemon in level 8 gyms that have been there for a few days. Then just for fun she took over two more red gyms for Team Mystic. If you are in the area and see the Pokemon trainer Saifaisara that is her.

  60. 60.

    germy

    @Cheryl from Maryland: He started as a cop… then worked in the secret service. Odd that he has such a hair-trigger temper (screaming Fuck You!! at a reporter) when his background is in professions that require a calm head.

    Now he’s in Florida being bug-fuck crazy.

  61. 61.

    JCJ

    @Roger Moore:

    Oh she is hatching plenty of eggs. This game is pretty amazing in that my daughter has pretty bad problems with lupus so she has arthritis with a lot of fatigue. Before Pokemon GO she did not do much walking. Now we walk in these parks, at the zoo, and in the neighborhood. We also have a tandem bicycle so we often ride to two nearby parks.

  62. 62.

    Emma

    @randy khan: The book was titled Sonnets from the Portuguese for two reasons. First, her husband’s nickname for her was “my little Portuguese” and second, because she didn’t want to publish the poems but he insisted and they decided they would hide her identity behind a non-existent Portuguese poet.

  65. 65.

    WaterGirl

    @jacy: Interesting strategy, to give him what he wanted. Or thought he wanted. I’m not sure I would have been brave enough. I am happy that you are content with this plan for now and I hope the future brings with it exactly what you want.

    We had to go through some crazy custody stuff about 15 years ago and it would give me a vicarious thrill to hear about the ways you outsmarted him on the other stuff.

  66. 66.

    Origuy

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne: At my sister’s wedding, they had me read from One Corinthians 13:4-7.
    It’s called the “love verse”.

    4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

  68. 68.

    Roger Moore

    @PaulW:
    There’s only one free spot at the gym, but every time somebody puts a Pokemon in, it gains 2000 prestige. For the first two Pokemon in the gym, the 2000 prestige is enough to raise the gym a level and open up a new spot. But if somebody attacks the gym before the empty spot gets filled, it can reduce the prestige enough that the empty spot goes away. Example: an empty gym. The player who took it down puts in a Pokemon, raising the prestige from 0 to 2000, opening up a second spot. Another player puts in a Pokemon, raising the prestige to 4000 and opening another spot. Before a third player comes along, a player from a rival team comes along, beats the lower ranking Pokemon in the gym and then quits the battle. That drops the prestige from 4000 to 3500; neither Pokemon gets kicked out, but there’s no longer an open spot, and a player from that team who wants to get in will have to train to raise the prestige until it’s 4000+ again. I’m not sure, but I think the free spot also goes away if a gym is at the dividing line between levels when rival team attacks but doesn’t win; the prestige doesn’t go down, but the gym goes from minimum prestige at one level to maximum prestige at the level below.

  71. 71.

    Miss Bianca

    @jacy:

    I’m going to have some fun and not feel guilty about it!

    Living well, best revenge…there’s some bromide to that effect out there somewhere, I’ll have to look it up…

  73. 73.

    catclub

    @germy:

    Odd that he has such a hair-trigger temper (screaming Fuck You!! at a reporter) when his background is in professions that require a calm head

    maybe got fired? asked to leave, demoted?

  74. 74.

    JCJ

    @Mike E:

    My lawn has seemingly expanded, and I now want moar of you people off of it!

    But if there are Squirtles spawning on your newly expanded lawn PaulW might not leave!

  76. 76.

    Mike E

    @Betty Cracker: I just returned from my new dentist office where treatment is performed with a flatscreen TV right there across from the ‘chair’…we watched Kelly Ripka so not cable hell but a Burr ad played (& a Trump too) where the senator concern trolled about Obama ruining our Medicare. Heh. I hope Deborah Ross stomps him on this issue (& others)

  77. 77.

    germy

    @catclub: Left secret service under mysterious circumstances, and then exaggerated his importance in a “ny times best seller”?

  78. 78.

    rikyrah

    @jacy:

    I will Skype with them every night to hear about their day and help with their homework. I’m happy with the arrangement for now, and realize that it’s only a matter of time before the ex realizes that parenting is hard and gives them back full time.

    Full time parenting IS hard work.

    He just stuck it to himself.

    oh well…enjoy your free time.

  79. 79.

    Peale

    @Hungry Joe: Yep. I don’t quite get it, either. Maybe they should change the rules next time so that a candidate in Iowa and New Hampshire requires 15,000,000 signatures in each state to appear in the Caucus or in the primary. That would considerably cut down the number of candidates. Since no one could get on the ballot, the parties could then select whomever they wanted.

  81. 81.

    Mnemosyne

    Hamilmaniacs will be glad to hear that Daveed Diggs is a sweetheart in person and took a picture with my friend after he signed me book. Yes, I haz a major jealous now.

  84. 84.

    Feathers

    @Hungry Joe: I think one thing the parties should do next time is demand the medical exam records and tax returns before allowing anyone to appear in a debate. They don’t need to be made public until later in the game, but someone at the party needs to be able to look them over. One of the main functions of the parties is supposed to be to ensure we have “vetted” candidates. Both parties had candidates with major financial issues, one of whom got the nomination.

  85. 85.

    J R in WV

    @Kay:

    Nice! Empty hall for the VP candidate. Hope he gets the meaning behind the empty quality of his events. He won’t be Gov. in Indiana, either.

    Otherwise, the poster, John Nichols, seems to be totally behind either “third/forth party” candidate, which is strange.

  87. 87.

    catclub

    @J R in WV: “third/forth party”

    I am favor of a Forth party, also a Cobol party. I bet there will be certain shibboleths required for entry in for the Lisp party. Richard Stallman for president!

  88. 88.

    germy

    @efgoldman: I’m not sure if the Florida media picked up on it. But aren’t reporters like Hell’s Angels bikers? Attack one of them and you attack them all?

  89. 89.

    Peale

    @Kay: Should have advertised that everyone was welcome to bring a dish to pass. The audience isn’t really going to trust the food that Pence would cater anyway, so might as well rely on your neighbors to supply the food.

  90. 90.

    Roger Moore

    @catclub:
    I do not want to try reading the platform of the Lisp party; way too many parentheses. I’d be happier, though still not thrilled, with the sigils in the Perl party platform. And isn’t the Cobol party platform in all caps?

  91. 91.

    Peale

    @Feathers: Yep. And this whole “Hillary has health issues” is in part a cover for Donald’s issues. I don’t know what those issues are, but they exist. Otherwise, why release a phony letter.

  92. 92.

    J R in WV

    @catclub:

    Ugggh, no more COBOL for me. I did that for quite awhile before advancing to Windows network systems… And I always had trouble with getting parenthesis in the right places for LISP. But you got me on the Forth…

    I suspected there was a U missing in there! And now you pointed it out. ;-)

  95. 95.

    Raven Onthill

    @the Conster, la Citoyenne: @Betty Cracker: I remember how solutions to the problems of the ACA from the left were rejected because they were “impractical.” And now it turns out that not only were those solutions practical, they may be necessary. It wasn’t only the ACA. “Reality,” as has been famously remarked, “has a well-known liberal bias.”

    Seems to me that the practical thing to do would be to change our thinking.

    Not holding my breath.

  97. 97.

    catclub

    @Raven Onthill: I had a college friend who was good at APL and graduated to VLBI – Very Long Baseline Interferometry Astronomy.
    He got to use all the matrix math that is standard in APL symbology.

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