• 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.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Not all heroes wear capes.

This blog will pay for itself.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

No one could have predicted…

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

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

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

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

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

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

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

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

This really is a full service blog.

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

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

I really should read my own blog.

Mobile Menu

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

About This Afternoon

by Tom Levenson|  March 24, 20174:53 pm| 121 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Schadenfreude

FacebookTweetEmail

These messages, encountered on a foggy morning on the Venice (CA) boardwalk last week, seem on point:

Sorry for the soft focus — I had only time to grab a quick phone shot; these bearers of wisdom disappeared before I could unlimber some more sophisticated camera action.  But the point is made, I think.

I had a ten-day Flagyl imposed alcohol break, but that ended last night.  I plan to raise a cocktail tonight flavored with sweet, sweet wingnut tears.  La lucha continua, certainly.  But that doesn’t mean triumphs along the way can’t be savored. In fact the reverse.

Open thread, y’all.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « I’m not tired of winning
Next Post: Friday Evening Open Thread: Repubs Be LOOOOSERRRSSSS! »

Reader Interactions

121Comments

  1. 1.

    Elizabelle

    March 24, 2017 at 4:56 pm

    Adam, do you know why Comey was at the White House today? (Or so I am told.)

  2. 2.

    TenguPhule

    March 24, 2017 at 4:57 pm

    Monday promises to be interesting. In every sense of the word.

  3. 3.

    danielx

    March 24, 2017 at 4:59 pm

    It’s Friday afternoon, a beautiful day, the Butler Bulldogs tip off in two hours, and (to paraphrase an earlier commentor) Hair Furor and the Zombie-Eyed Granny Starver just did a simultaneous face plant into a pile of flaming dog shit.

    I’m sure this day could get better somehow, but if it doesn’t I am a happy man.

  4. 4.

    amygdala

    March 24, 2017 at 5:00 pm

    Here’s to it being a 10, rather than 14, day course.
    *raises glass*

  5. 5.

    lamh36

    March 24, 2017 at 5:03 pm

    HAHAHAHA…go cry in your cheerios Paul Ryan…ya poor hating bastard…

    @AP
    BREAKING: Speaker Paul Ryan says the nation will be ‘living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future.’

    https://twitter.com/AP/status/845369965263900674

  6. 6.

    Tom Levenson

    March 24, 2017 at 5:03 pm

    @amygdala: Actually 8 days plus three, in the end, of post pill abstinence. The story on Flagyl and alcohol is not quite as straightforward as the pharmacist said — it ain’t an Antabuse analogue. But I decided I could do with a my-body-is-a-temple couple of weeks and felt no desire to test the limits of the drug. Plus, Flagyl (w. an Amoxicillin chaser, no less) left me feeling queasy enough that adding more stressors to the system seemed like a poor idea.

    But I intend to take in the evening with a rye smile, if you know what I mean and I think you do.

  7. 7.

    Elizabelle

    March 24, 2017 at 5:04 pm

    @lamh36: Key word there is “LIVING.”

  8. 8.

    ArchTeryx

    March 24, 2017 at 5:04 pm

    I did say that I’d eat a nice pile of medium rare crow with a smile on my face if this bill went down, because in my world, Republicans always fall in line at the end. For the most part, they do. But not this time.

    At least I’ll get it with a nice Bearnaise sauce.

  9. 9.

    donnah

    March 24, 2017 at 5:04 pm

    We may not win every battle against this garbage administration, but this one feels good. Whatever lies ahead, we have momentum and support to face it.

    I hope Trump has a miserable, whiny, crybaby weekend. And Ryan can go pound sand.

  10. 10.

    Elizabelle

    March 24, 2017 at 5:05 pm

    @Tom Levenson: Ah, Tom. Glad it was you in fog-shrouded Venice, CA.

    Not sure why I thought “Adam.”

    Be well, and enjoy that rye.

  11. 11.

    D58826

    March 24, 2017 at 5:08 pm

    @lamh36:

    ‘living with Obamacare

    yep and some significant number of people will remain ALIVE because Obamacare still lives. That makes it a very good day

  12. 12.

    Redshift

    March 24, 2017 at 5:08 pm

    Since I’m in the DC area, I’m keeping an eye out for if there’a gathering outside the White House or the Capitol to celebrate and taunt Cheeto and Paulie.

  13. 13.

    amygdala

    March 24, 2017 at 5:09 pm

    @Tom Levenson: I’ve always wondered if there’s some pharmacogenomics at play, since I’ve definitely seen patients drink through their metronidazole unscathed (and not because they weren’t taking their antibiotics). But I’ve also seen folks wind up in the ED when they didn’t get (or ignored) fair warning of what can happen.

    Even better that you had a day to let it wash out of your system.

    War’s not won, but it’s always good to win a big battle.

  14. 14.

    Chris

    March 24, 2017 at 5:10 pm

    @donnah:

    I have been dreading this vote for almost five months now. And while the ACA isn’t exactly safe, it looks for now like I’ll get to keep my health insurance after all. This is the best I’ve felt since before the election.

  15. 15.

    Hobbes83

    March 24, 2017 at 5:10 pm

    I’m starting to get sick of all this winning. Anybody else there yet?

  16. 16.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    March 24, 2017 at 5:12 pm

    I’m sure Dean Heller and Jeff Flake are thrilled with this messaging

    Lindsey Graham‏Verified account
    @ LindseyGrahamSC
    Next move on health care – #CollapseandReplace.

  17. 17.

    bluehill

    March 24, 2017 at 5:12 pm

    “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
    Winston Churchill

  18. 18.

    D58826

    March 24, 2017 at 5:12 pm

    @ArchTeryx: As I said on another thread inspite of all the pissoing and moaning the GOOPERS always fall in line and vote the party line.

    They would make Hitler the man of the decade for all of the jobs he helped create in the 1940’s if the GOP leadership demanded it.

    So in that sense this is somewhat ‘unpresidented’

  19. 19.

    Elizabelle

    March 24, 2017 at 5:13 pm

    Good read, from the Los Angeles Times. On The Zookeeper’s Wife; true story, film out shortly. Interview with book author Diane Ackerman.

    The Sunday Conversation: ‘Zookeeper’s Wife’ author Diane Ackerman sees parallels between World War II and today

    …. How did you discover this story?

    I came to it through animals. I learned that there were unusual species of small horses living in a forest in Poland and I wanted to write about them. I got in touch with the park service there, but I didn’t speak Polish, so I asked a neighbor in Warsaw to help me. She said, incidentally, that one of her uncles had worked in the Zabinskis’ zoo, and he told me that the zookeeper’s wife had published a diary. When I read it, I began to see the extraordinary sensibility Antonina had about animals, and how many she had adopted. But as it turned out, she was also rescuing people and saving lives.

    Do you think there’s a relevance, an echo to this story in our world today?

    I think the book and the film as well really resonate with what’s happening now. We see white supremacy suddenly being legitimized, as it was before. We see anti-Semitism on the rise. There’s terrible prejudice against refugees and immigrants. An entire religion has been singled out. And the story in the book reminds us of what can happen. This is not a new phenomenon. It’s happened before, and it started small. We need to be more vigilant than ever about what’s going on around us, and how it’s growing. Otherwise, history can repeat itself.

    …. The book focuses in great detail on Antonina’s relationship with animals and how well she understood them. She treated them with dignity and respect.

    That’s the key to who she was. For the longest time, we’ve insisted that we’re separate from nature, that we’re humans. But now we know, more than ever, that we are nature. We are intimately connected to every inch of nature. We are the dominant force for change in the world, and if we disrupt nature like the Nazis did — trying to wipe out entire cultures — we’ll destroy ourselves in the process.

    Your book and the movie tell a shattering story. What should people take away from “The Zookeeper’s Wife”?

    I want us to cherish our links to other animals, and to the great kindness that’s within us. I also want us to remember always that our animal nature is capable of horrific evil. We most definitely need to be our brother’s and sister’s keepers. And if we want to protect this planet, that includes other animals as well. I’m hopeful for the future, because so many people are becoming more active by the day.

    We were active this week and before, jackals. We have to turn back the evil afoot amidst us.

    Now I want to see that movie, although it sounds difficult with the cruelty against humans and animals.

  20. 20.

    lamh36

    March 24, 2017 at 5:13 pm

    @MattMurph24

    Following
    More
    Obama stayed the course with health care for 13 months until the ACA passed. Trump gave up on health care after 64 days.

  21. 21.

    raven

    March 24, 2017 at 5:13 pm

    I was listening to Ryan’s remarks on the Atlanta news when they broke in for a traffic report and the guy said “and now for a system that is really not working!

  22. 22.

    The Moar You Know

    March 24, 2017 at 5:14 pm

    Awww damn. Had to do the Flagyl thing last year for a c.diff infection (don’t let a doc put you on long-term antibiotics, folks!). The Flagyl was the worst experience I’ve ever had on a drug. Horrendous stuff.

    Don’t get c.diff either, that disease is a motherfucker. Had I gotten it at age 80 instead of 50, I might not be here posting this.

    ETA: I basically drink about 4 times a year, and certainly not while I’m sick…the Flagyl is just a punishing drug on your body.

  23. 23.

    Yutsano

    March 24, 2017 at 5:14 pm

    @Tom Levenson:

    But I intend to take in the evening with a rye smile, if you know what I mean and I think you do.

    You clever boy…

    @ArchTeryx: Be careful what you wish for. There are crow recipes on the Internet.

    And Béarnaise would work quite well for the gaminess I think.

    (It works with the Twitter comment I just sent.)

  24. 24.

    tomtofa

    March 24, 2017 at 5:16 pm

    Now that people have a slightly better idea of the issues involved in health insurance, seems like it would be a good time for Dems to offer their own plan to lower premiums, and improve and extend coverage, being sure to note how the Republicans have voiced how they want the current ACA to wither and die, hurting even more people.
    Paid for, of course, by getting more than the current pathetic .9% tax on the wealthy. Point out how much the Trump/Ryan plan would have given the rich, and suggest that some of that windfall should instead go to the rest of us.

  25. 25.

    Corner Stone

    March 24, 2017 at 5:16 pm

    Can you imagine being Speaker of the House and going up to a podium and saying, “Governing is hard.”
    This is mind blowing levels of incompetence.

  26. 26.

    Corner Stone

    March 24, 2017 at 5:18 pm

    Trump doesn’t have a fucking agenda! He does not believe or understand anything!

  27. 27.

    lamh36

    March 24, 2017 at 5:18 pm

    @mitchellvii
    Those who understand strategy are sitting in awe of Trump the Master right now.

    HAHAHAHA
    “stratey master”

  28. 28.

    Corner Stone

    March 24, 2017 at 5:18 pm

    “He’s The Closer!”

  29. 29.

    pk

    March 24, 2017 at 5:19 pm

    Obama made things look so easy when the reality was that he had to deal with these monsters in congress for a better part of his presidency. Trump is such a fool that even with complete control of congress and senate he fails. Yet again he’s going to be a failure. He’s not a self aware individual, but I hope that he dies knowing that his life has been an utter and complete failure.

  30. 30.

    Aleta

    March 24, 2017 at 5:19 pm

    @lamh36:

    “A lot of the members are new. Most of us were not here when Obamacare was first passed, and so there’s a curve,” said Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) after the Friday meeting. … And trying to bring all (the factions) together is very difficult.”

  31. 31.

    amygdala

    March 24, 2017 at 5:19 pm

    @Corner Stone: Nancy Smash has been trolling Ryan, hard, about his incompetence on Twitter and just twisted the knife a little more at the post-nonvote presser. If I were a more actualized person, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it all so much.

  32. 32.

    Xantar

    March 24, 2017 at 5:20 pm

    Jill Biden throws epic shade

    Ironically “pulling out” is the only method of birth control covered under the #AHCA. #Trumpcare #KillTheBill

  33. 33.

    zhena gogolia

    March 24, 2017 at 5:21 pm

    @pk:

    He measures success in gold leaf.

  34. 34.

    stinger

    March 24, 2017 at 5:22 pm

    @Hobbes83: But at least you have health care!

  35. 35.

    The Moar You Know

    March 24, 2017 at 5:23 pm

    @Xantar:

    Ironically “pulling out” is the only method of birth control covered under the #AHCA. #Trumpcare #KillTheBill

    I find most attempts at “throwing shade” weak at best but that is fucking brutal. Remind me to not ever piss off Jill Biden.

  36. 36.

    Roger Moore

    March 24, 2017 at 5:24 pm

    This isn’t as big as the initial passage was, but it’s still a big Biden deal. This was probably their best shot at killing Obamacare outright. They can go back and try again, but every day they spend on Obamacare is a day they can’t spend on tax “reform” or eliminating the EPA. And they have to be worried that this has weakened them, so that every day they spend on it is also costing them the political capital they could be spending on those other projects. I don’t think Obamacare is charged up to full third rail power yet, but it’s enough that they aren’t going to want to touch it again any time soon.

  37. 37.

    PVDMichael

    March 24, 2017 at 5:24 pm

    After being disappointed by some of the polls during the election, I’ve pretty much only watched Rasmussen (which has a strong R lean to it). I then figure that Trump’s real approval numbers are “somewhere less than this”.

    Trump has moved from 50-50 approval in Rasmussen to 44-56 appr/disapproval – a 12 pt shift in 4 days. And the >real< numbers are even worse.

  38. 38.

    Hal

    March 24, 2017 at 5:25 pm

    Judd Legum‏ @JuddLegum
    Trump has done everything possible to repeal Obamacare including 5 visits to Mar-a-lago, 9 trips to the golf course & sitting in a big truck
    2:44 PM · Mar 24, 2017

  39. 39.

    lamh36

    March 24, 2017 at 5:25 pm

    @lamh36: damnit…spellcheck didn’t work…

  40. 40.

    jl

    March 24, 2017 at 5:25 pm

    @lamh36: Problem I have with that tweet is that there was no course to stay on the AHCA. Now that it has been pulled, and the US population’s health is safe for the time being, I can laugh my head off.

    The mess was an incoherent and innumerate hash. “Incompetent’ doesn’t do it justice, since there is no way they were doing anything to which the word ‘competence’ would be relevant. Truly, 1 + 1 = minus 6 level work. But, I do apologize, in the spirit of comity and compromise, I guess I should say it was 1 + 1 = minus 4 level work and we are all good.

    I predict all Trump/GOP lgislative and executive initiatives will meet the same fate, except tax cuts or the filthy rich and gutting needed regulation in order to puff up corporate profits even more.

    Edit: and wonder where any giga-jobs infrastructure proposals might be hiding. I didn’t hear about them in the misnamed ‘Trump budget’ (actually it was the crazed GOP House reactionary budget). Anyone know?

  41. 41.

    Tom Levenson

    March 24, 2017 at 5:26 pm

    @Xantar: Damn! Had to retweet that with a hat-tip for game.

  42. 42.

    MikefromArlongton

    March 24, 2017 at 5:26 pm

    Does being morally and ethically bankrupt count as two more bankruptcies for Trump?

  43. 43.

    trollhattan

    March 24, 2017 at 5:27 pm

    Flagyl? Did you have giardiasis? Hellofa weight-loss program if so.

  44. 44.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    March 24, 2017 at 5:28 pm

    BWHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA

    Via Breitfart

    Republican officials in Congress and the White House are now openly discussing finding a GOP replacement to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as Speaker of the House, after Ryan failed to pass the American Health Care Act out of the House and misled the public and President Donald Trump when he promised repeatedly the bill would pass.

  45. 45.

    XTPD

    March 24, 2017 at 5:29 pm

    @Xantar: that ain’t shade that’s a sick burn (word to Kara Brown)

  46. 46.

    Corner Stone

    March 24, 2017 at 5:30 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: That’s most likely just Bannon propaganda. But I’ll fucking take it and see if it starts to build Big Mo.

  47. 47.

    raven

    March 24, 2017 at 5:31 pm

    @MikefromArlongton: Nice!

  48. 48.

    Chris

    March 24, 2017 at 5:31 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    This isn’t as big as the initial passage was, but it’s still a big Biden deal. This was probably their best shot at killing Obamacare outright.

    I’m a big believer that the way you know a major political reform is here to stay is when the opponents of those who passed it gain power, and… accept, or are forced to accept, that it’s now part of the landscape.

    Ur-example being the New Deal: twenty years of Roosevelt and Truman were nice, yes, but what finally cinched the deal was when a Republican president came to power in 1952 and… accepted it. (A less happy example would be Democrats governing by “Third Way” in the nineties after twelve years of Reaganism).

    It’s too soon to tell for sure, but right now it’s looking hopeful that the ACA, like Medicare and Social Security, has become part of the landscape and is here to stay.

  49. 49.

    NotMax

    March 24, 2017 at 5:31 pm

    @Tom Levenson

    But I decided I could do with a my-body-is-a-temple

    My body is a temple.

    And I desecrate it daily.

    :)

  50. 50.

    Elizabelle

    March 24, 2017 at 5:31 pm

    Former Penn State President Guilty in Sandusky Case

    A jury convicted Graham Spanier of child endangerment and acquitted him on two other counts related to the Jerry Sandusky child-molesting scandal.

    On fuck the fucking NY Times website.

  51. 51.

    Chris

    March 24, 2017 at 5:32 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:

    I mean, whoever comes next will probably be even worse. But frakk it, that turd needs to be gone yesterday.

  52. 52.

    Immanentize

    March 24, 2017 at 5:33 pm

    @Tom Levenson: Flagyl is the worst. Even thinking the name brings back that taste…. and the tongue stuff. Ick. So happy for you that you are done.

  53. 53.

    lamh36

    March 24, 2017 at 5:33 pm

    Steve Kornacki talking about how “confident and unflappable” Cheeto Prez was in the face of defeat.

  54. 54.

    Jay S

    March 24, 2017 at 5:34 pm

    @Corner Stone: The sporks are out now, will the knives follow?

  55. 55.

    Elizabelle

    March 24, 2017 at 5:36 pm

    @lamh36: Did he get media coaching from Van Jones?

    Why I don’t watch broadcast/cable news. Can’t spare the brain cells it kills.

  56. 56.

    Tom Levenson

    March 24, 2017 at 5:37 pm

    @trollhattan: Nah. Problems w. my gums and local microbiome. Feh.

  57. 57.

    lollipopguild

    March 24, 2017 at 5:37 pm

    @Corner Stone: We had a preznut who said the same thing-George W. Bush. “It’s hard, hard work”

  58. 58.

    MomSense

    March 24, 2017 at 5:38 pm

    @ArchTeryx:

    Hey AT we are still here and TrumpRyanDon’tCare is dead! Of course the GOP psychopaths will never stop trying to do harm but for right now we are both ok!!! Sending you the biggest hug.

  59. 59.

    Feebog

    March 24, 2017 at 5:38 pm

    They were holding a 2/9 off suit and pretending it was a pair of kings. They will now try to kill it off with regulatory malpractice. We need to be vigilant and call them out on it. For tonight however, it’s champagne and a rare rib-eye. Woot!

  60. 60.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    March 24, 2017 at 5:38 pm

    @Xantar:

    Great line, but unfortunately that’s a parody account.

  61. 61.

    lamh36

    March 24, 2017 at 5:38 pm

    @Elizabelle: like he doesn’t follow Cheeto on twitter…smh

    Dude was just fishing…

  62. 62.

    Mike J

    March 24, 2017 at 5:38 pm

    CNBC‏Verified account @CNBC 2 hours ago
    BREAKING: Stocks sharply rebound after news that House pulled GOP health plan

  63. 63.

    lamh36

    March 24, 2017 at 5:40 pm

    @Lawrence 47m47 minutes ago
    More
    Who was the last president to lose his 1st big bill? Seriously. I can’t think of any. Laziest, most ignorant president is also weakest.

  64. 64.

    Waldo

    March 24, 2017 at 5:41 pm

    These guys could f*ck up a wet dream. Heck, for Ryan, that might literally be the case.

  65. 65.

    jl

    March 24, 2017 at 5:41 pm

    @lamh36: As long as he attributes Trump’s aplomb to complete ignorance and obliviousness, I guess it’s OK. And seems like Ryan is taking the bulk of the personal humiliation. So Trump don’t care.

  66. 66.

    danielx

    March 24, 2017 at 5:41 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Had a bout with a colon difficulty a few years ago and went through two courses of antibiotics – first AugmentIn and then Flagyl + Augmentin…..a month for each course. Naturally, this was in August and with augmentIn you couldn’t go out in the sun and with Flagyl you couldn’t drink. Oh, and on clear liquids the whole time. To this day, I cannot so much look at a Jello box at the grocery. After that meat/chicken/fish and potatoes for a month. Most miserable summer of my life, by the end of the whole deal I’d lost 26 lbs (thin and flabby at the same time, joy) and would have sold my soul for a green salad with vinaigrette dressing.

  67. 67.

    MaryL

    March 24, 2017 at 5:41 pm

    @Chris: To paraphrase Jefferson in Hamilton: An American Musical, ” “I’ll give him this: His [healthcare] system is a work of genius. I couldn’t undo it if I tried, and believe me, I tried.”

  68. 68.

    hovercraft

    March 24, 2017 at 5:42 pm

    According to Bob Costa, Twitler was shocked about the hatred between GOP factions in the house.
    I guess he just thought that the previous Orange man just chose to retire and spend more time smoking, drinking Merlot and golfing. But now he’s just content to sit back and wait for the democrats to come crawling back to him when Obamacare explodes. He really was also surprised that they refused to make a deal with him on this.

    People I think the man is insane, delusional and insane.

  69. 69.

    Mnemosyne

    March 24, 2017 at 5:42 pm

    I’m on a short break at my conference, so all I can say is:

    Ha-Ha! Your bill failed!
    /pointing and laughing like Nelson

  70. 70.

    jl

    March 24, 2017 at 5:43 pm

    @Mike J: Yeah, I heard a news report about the stock market rebound. The report attributed it to two things. First, probably right, that now Trump can get to the really important work of cutting taxes for the filthy rich and gutting regulations. Second, I think delusional, that now Trump can get on with his giga-mega-googleplex JOBS! infrastructure program.

  71. 71.

    lollipopguild

    March 24, 2017 at 5:44 pm

    @hovercraft: Trump lives in a reality show world where he always wins.

  72. 72.

    trollhattan

    March 24, 2017 at 5:44 pm

    @Tom Levenson: Ah, problems at the other end as it were. Hope all is better now, not the best of times to give up drinking/sniffing glue/et al.

  73. 73.

    lamh36

    March 24, 2017 at 5:45 pm

    @hovercraft: was just saying Boozing Boehner made baby Ryan think this speakership-ing was so easy…

    https://media.tenor.co/images/d85f21a214b7adbe1a95609809a05961/tenor.gif

  74. 74.

    WereBear

    March 24, 2017 at 5:46 pm

    happy for @ArchTeryx and also President Obama..

  75. 75.

    debit

    March 24, 2017 at 5:46 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I actually did that. At work. It was awesome.

  76. 76.

    tobie

    March 24, 2017 at 5:46 pm

    We should take a moment to thank Nancy Pelosi for holding her caucus together. I suspect there might have been a few defections if Tim Ryan had been House Minority Leader.
    @tomtofa:

    Now that people have a slightly better idea of the issues involved in health insurance, seems like it would be a good time for Dems to offer their own plan to lower premiums, and improve and extend coverage

    I don’t disagree with you. It shows the Dems are the mature party, responsive to the concerns of Americans, and eager to get things done, but I have a hard time seeing any Republicans getting on board.

  77. 77.

    HinTN

    March 24, 2017 at 5:47 pm

    @raven: Yeah, you right. Avoid Hotlanta at traffic time like the plague.

  78. 78.

    StringOnAStick

    March 24, 2017 at 5:47 pm

    @Tom Levenson: Check into getting that gum issue treated by laser, either a Periolase or Biolase device through your DDS. Gum disease is no joke.

  79. 79.

    NotMax

    March 24, 2017 at 5:48 pm

    As it’s an Open Thread –

    Lesser film but for two things:

    Seeing how smoothly Frank Sinatra does nefarious, and Sterling Hayden is always worth a watch.

    Saturday, 8:30 a.m. Eastern time on TCM – Suddenly.

  80. 80.

    Iowa Old Lady

    March 24, 2017 at 5:48 pm

    @lamh36: :Lost with majorities in both houses. They didn’t need a single Democratic vote. They still failed.

    I was just in the car and an Alabama congresscritter was saying how the exchange in his state had only one carrier and this was terrible, but it didn’t seem to occur to him that he and his colleagues could act to improve that situation. They were apparently helpless.

  81. 81.

    Davebo

    March 24, 2017 at 5:48 pm

    @Xantar: It’s great, but it’s not Jill Biden.

  82. 82.

    Iowa Old Lady

    March 24, 2017 at 5:49 pm

    @tobie: They have an alternative: the ACA. They could propose improvements to it, I guess.

  83. 83.

    Hobbes83

    March 24, 2017 at 5:50 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: we knew this was coming. I will bet anyone a sawbuck that Ryan doesn’t last past the midterms, and a double sawbuck that he doesn’t last past this year.

  84. 84.

    hovercraft

    March 24, 2017 at 5:50 pm

    @lamh36:
    Yeah I saw that, as was said in the last thread, Kornacki used to be good, but he’s developed into a real tool. I remember back during the campaign someone here said he had held a grudge against the Clinton’s going way back to something Bill did to I believe it was Tongas, or whomever it was who ran against Bill in the ’92 primary. His commentary on Hillary was very negative.

  85. 85.

    lollipopguild

    March 24, 2017 at 5:50 pm

    @Iowa Old Lady: They are helpless and hapless.

  86. 86.

    Fair Economist

    March 24, 2017 at 5:52 pm

    I’ve taken Flagyl twice with no medical side effects more serious than the mild diarrhea typical with antibiotics. The first time I didn’t have any trouble taking it. But, strangely, the *second* time it was the NASTIEST tasting stuff I’d ever had. I was involuntarily making faces and contorting like a Loony Tunes character being poisoned. It was so bad I swear I could taste the foulness just from it getting dissolved in my stomach. Eeyurgh.

  87. 87.

    gwangung

    March 24, 2017 at 5:52 pm

    @Xantar: Aw, man. Brutal. Just brutal.

  88. 88.

    Josie

    March 24, 2017 at 5:53 pm

    @MomSense: So happy for you and @ArchTeryx and all the others who got this reprieve. I hope we can continue to win this battle.

  89. 89.

    The Red Pen

    March 24, 2017 at 5:54 pm

    Most delusional Freeper quote I’ve found (so far):

    Trump is Machiavellian. Same reason he kept Comey and reaches out to Romney and other douche bags. Instead of surrounding himself with yes men, he keeps his enemies close and turns THEM into yes men. Its actually brilliant (3d chess and all)

  90. 90.

    WereBear

    March 24, 2017 at 5:55 pm

    @NotMax: I notch it a little higher than that: quite effective little thriller.

  91. 91.

    Immanentize

    March 24, 2017 at 5:56 pm

    @Hobbes83: so Ryan’s career plan was that Hillary would win, he would loudly, aggressively, and publically pursue all bullshit claims for three years, then people would mostly forget his pathetic VP run and he could run for President. But that path to success for Ryan completely depended on Hillary winning.

    Oopsie.

  92. 92.

    Immanentize

    March 24, 2017 at 5:57 pm

    @Fair Economist: exactly. Tongue coat.

  93. 93.

    tobie

    March 24, 2017 at 5:58 pm

    @Iowa Old Lady: That’s what I meant. Propose fixes to the ACA, not new legislation. That’s what was done in the past until the GOP became a nihilist party.

  94. 94.

    MomSense

    March 24, 2017 at 5:59 pm

    @Josie:

    Josie! Thank you. You are always in my thoughts. Sending love to you. ♥️

  95. 95.

    HinTN

    March 24, 2017 at 5:59 pm

    @tobie: That doesn’t matter. They needed to put something or there and bang it into the public consciousness.

  96. 96.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    March 24, 2017 at 5:59 pm

    Meanwhile, in Trumpworld:

    The President also falsely claimed that he’d never vowed to do away with the law as soon as he took office, which was one of his core campaign promises.

    “I’m here 64 days, I never said repeal and replace Obamacare—you’ve all heard my speeches. I never said repeal and replace it within 64 days,” Trump said. “I have a long time.”

  97. 97.

    lamh36

    March 24, 2017 at 6:00 pm

    If you follow Pete Souza on social media, you’ll see he’s been steadily trolling the new administration with photos from the Obama years with caption commentary…lol

    Like this one today…a pic of Obama and Pence, I think after that GOP confab they invited PBO to, and he answered everyone of their questions and completely PWNED the room.

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C7tgbP2VwAEdt85.jpg

    is this the one where he was zinging GOP Congress left and right…at their confab or something?

    Baby Paul and Cheeto, had such contempt for PBO, that they let themselves believe that what PBO accomplished was easy to do…

    they learned the truth today: https://twitter.com/psddluva4evah/status/845394409504038912

  98. 98.

    lamh36

    March 24, 2017 at 6:01 pm

    Hilary’s statement from twitter:

    @HillaryClinton
    Today was a victory for all Americans.
    https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/845385004389666816

  99. 99.

    jacy

    March 24, 2017 at 6:01 pm

    @NotMax:

    A good temple needs constant offerings: preferably cake and vodka.

  100. 100.

    zhena gogolia

    March 24, 2017 at 6:02 pm

    @Davebo:

    I thought that was a little indecorous for her.

  101. 101.

    hovercraft

    March 24, 2017 at 6:03 pm

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
    That is straight from shadow president Bannon.
    I think they need to cancel President Toddlers play dates and keep him in class over the next several weekends, the ‘art of governing’ seems to be eluding him.

  102. 102.

    NotMax

    March 24, 2017 at 6:05 pm

    @jacy

    Or both together.

  103. 103.

    Elie

    March 24, 2017 at 6:06 pm

    @Immanentize:

    Flagyl IS a rough antibiotic but when its needed — its needed. The infections that it counters are usually serious and this is the stuff that is effective. C Diff is horrible — better to prevent cause its a bitch to have it and to treat it. Whenever you look at a negative experience in medicine (or life) — consider the alternative. Rarely are alternatives clean —

    Hang in there. I hate the stuff but when I have needed it, I have needed it…

    PS — be sure to take some probiotics. My fave is Kombucha tea which has lots of good bacteria to repopulate your gut with good things…

  104. 104.

    tomtofa

    March 24, 2017 at 6:06 pm

    @tobie:
    Oh, they for sure wouldn’t. Then they’d have to spend some time explaining exactly why they wouldn’t…

  105. 105.

    J R in WV

    March 24, 2017 at 6:06 pm

    @The Moar You Know:

    I will see your Flagyl (which I did many years ago) and raise you Itraconazole, which I am taking 1 week on and three weeks off for 6 weeks/months. I’m sure there are worse drugs, but this one is unique in my experience… a ton of fairly normal drugs interact with it. Three down and three more months to go.

    For example, I have to stop taking my statin while I’m taking it. There’s a three page list of drugs you can’t take (or have to take extraordinary precautions) while taking it. And as I say, after taking it for a week, you get 3 weeks off to get ready for the next course.

    It is apparently working, so that’s good.

    I’ll be able to have a sip of brown whiskey with you Tom. Not rye, but corn.

    And we get to keep that terrible Obamacare for a while longer, and they don’t get to use it as a vehicle to lower taxes on the rich either…. so many darns!!!

  106. 106.

    amygdala

    March 24, 2017 at 6:06 pm

    @MaryL: And also:
    You don’t have the votes.
    You don’t have the votes.
    You’re gonna need Congressional approval
    And you don’t have the votes.

  107. 107.

    Frankensteinbeck

    March 24, 2017 at 6:07 pm

    @tobie:
    I think it’s likely they will, but no one will know. It would die fast in the Senate, would not even get a vote in the House, and the media will not talk about it. At all. During Obama’s time, I was floored by the number of things I found out in fiddly corners of the internet he was doing that got whole raging debates about how people wished he was doing that. And look at Clinton’s excellently liberal policies. The news does not want to talk about this stuff, so even most of the politically aware don’t know.

  108. 108.

    hovercraft

    March 24, 2017 at 6:07 pm

    @The Red Pen:

    Trump is Machiavellian

    Yes he’s also very popular and smart, and well respected, sure dear now why don’t you sit down if in front of the TV and watch some more FOX, while the grown ups talk.

  109. 109.

    hovercraft

    March 24, 2017 at 6:09 pm

    @Steeplejack (tablet):
    Sadly for him, even Chucky and his panel are saying that he actually would do it day one, and that his attempts to blame the democrats don’t make sense.

  110. 110.

    NotMax

    March 24, 2017 at 6:10 pm

    Dolt 45 crew so inept that am half expecting them to supply the annual Easter Egg Roll with egg rolls

  111. 111.

    Elizabelle

    March 24, 2017 at 6:11 pm

    @NotMax: Funny.

  112. 112.

    Elizabelle

    March 24, 2017 at 6:12 pm

    @hovercraft: Funny, also. Especially about the grownups.

  113. 113.

    Immanentize

    March 24, 2017 at 6:16 pm

    @Elie: thanks. I hope to never have to do it again (2 times for diverticulosis). I knew I had to. But sheesh. But I have noted your probiotic advice because it certainly burnt the whole Forrest to kill the weeds.

  114. 114.

    Another Scott

    March 24, 2017 at 6:21 pm

    @PVDMichael: PPP from 3/15:

    […]

    -Overall Trump has a 43% approval rating, with 50% of voters disapproving of him. The 43% approval matches the lowest we’ve found for him since he took office, but his disapproval is not as bad as the 53% we found for him right on the heels of the initial controversy over the travel ban. 41% of voters see Trump favorably, with 52% having a negative view of him. Voters are closely split when it comes to the idea of impeaching Trump, with 44% in support of impeaching him and 45% opposed.

    -Congress as a body continues to be very unpopular (18/64 approval) with Paul Ryan (34/48 approval) and Mitch McConnell (20/50 approval) unpopular individually as well. Democrats lead the generic House ballot 46-41.

    -And finally we polled on two of the important food debates that have gripped America over the last month. By a 47/32 spread, Americans approve of having pineapple as a pizza topping. But by a 27/56 spread, they disapprove of using ketchup as a condiment on steak. This is a rare issue where even Donald Trump’s own voters abandon him on something- only 34% of them approve of ketchup on steak to 52% who disapprove.

    It must be highly unusual for equal numbers to want a new President to be impeached as not, less than 3 months into his term.

    And even the Teabaggers are horrified by using ketchup on steak… ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  115. 115.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    March 24, 2017 at 6:25 pm

    @Another Scott:

    Pineapple on a pizza?! Never! Now I know this country is insane.

  116. 116.

    Keith P.

    March 24, 2017 at 6:34 pm

    $20 on the one on the right.

  117. 117.

    Gelfling 545

    March 24, 2017 at 6:36 pm

    @lamh36: It’s easy to be unflappable if you don’t understand what’s happening- and don’t really care.

  118. 118.

    Ruckus

    March 24, 2017 at 6:37 pm

    @MikefromArlongton:

    Does being morally and ethically bankrupt count as two more bankruptcies for Trump?

    Nah, he started without morals or ethics at birth. He would have had to have sold them at a loss for them to count as bankruptcies.

  119. 119.

    Ruckus

    March 24, 2017 at 6:51 pm

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    They were apparently helpless.

    Far more than just apparently. They are fucking helpless. How many republican congress critters would be the night manager at a McDs (at best!) if they hadn’t been elected?

  120. 120.

    cain

    March 24, 2017 at 8:14 pm

    @Steeplejack (tablet):

    Pineapple on a pizza?! Never! Now I know this country is insane.

    Mmm.. pineapple and jalepeno pizza with onions and italian sausage.. so good.

  121. 121.

    chopper

    March 24, 2017 at 9:12 pm

    I had a ten-day Flagyl imposed alcohol break,

    goddamn fucking hobbits.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Comments

  • Uncle Cosmo on War for Ukraine Day 402: Putin Has Signed a New Foreign Policy Concept. (Apr 2, 2023 @ 3:55am)
  • AlaskaReader on Late Night Open Thread: Same Bullsh*t, Different Decade (Apr 2, 2023 @ 3:53am)
  • Uncle Cosmo on War for Ukraine Day 402: Putin Has Signed a New Foreign Policy Concept. (Apr 2, 2023 @ 3:42am)
  • Rose Weiss on Late Night Open Thread: Same Bullsh*t, Different Decade (Apr 2, 2023 @ 3:39am)
  • eclare on Late Night Open Thread: Same Bullsh*t, Different Decade (Apr 2, 2023 @ 3:29am)

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Seattle Meetup coming up on April 4!

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

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

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8

Balloon Juice Posts

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

Featuring

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

Calling All Jackals

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

Twitter / Spoutible

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

Join the Fight!

Join the Fight Signup Form
All Join the Fight Posts

Balloon Juice Events

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

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

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

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

Email sent!