Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

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

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Come on, man.

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

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

The words do not have to be perfect.

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.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Bark louder, little dog.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

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

Accountability, motherfuckers.

People are complicated. Love is not.

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

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

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112Comments

  4. 4.

    Mike J

    A fresh coat of snow, a fresh thread.

    Anybody care about the issue of caucuses v primaries? Live in Washington and want to help get rid of the wasteful duplication of having a goat rodeo of a caucus that very few people can attend and then having a big turnout primary that doesn’t count?

    WA Dems are asking for input through April 4. Let them know what you think.

    https://www.waelectioncenter.com/

  5. 5.

    The Fat Kate Middleton

    And it’s fucking freezing here, for fuck’s sake. I’m so sick of winter.

  7. 7.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    The weather report today says that winter is coming back next week, seems like March is going out like a Lion. I am with you Kate, I am sick of Winter.

  10. 10.

    Death Panel Truck

    It’s 68 and sunny here in Pasco, WA. The solar panels on the roof are makin’ lots of juice today.

  11. 11.

    WhatsMyNym

    Spring is here with temps hitting the high 50’s and staying in the 40’s at night. Daffodils survived the one big snow storm we had for the winter. Pollen is already bugging me. We do need some rain though.

  14. 14.

    Sab

    Winter isn’t over until God snows on daffodils. This has been a fact of life for my whole life and I am 65.

  21. 21.

    B.B.A.

    And now leaping to Biden’s defense are… Peggy Noonan and Joe Scarborough.

    You have to wonder if Obama is starting to regret making him Veep.

  22. 22.

    Aleta

    Nearly 60 here, when normally we’d be out sunbathing in anything over 40. Saw people going barefoot sinking into unthawed mud.

    eta No daffs though.

  23. 23.

    Steeplejack

    The weather is all over the place. It was up in the 70s here in NoVA yesterday, then it dropped like a rock. Cold and rainy last night, intermittent sun today and now around 52°. Think it got up to 57° earlier, per my weather page. High of 51° tomorrow, and then by Wednesday it’s up in the mid-60s for a while.

    I’m just trying to ride it out. Had the windows open for a while yesterday, and the HVAC has gone silent after huffing and puffing all winter. So it’s quiet and peaceful.

    The Washington cherry blossoms are supposed to peak tomorrow, so I might see about going to have a look this week. Maybe Wednesday, when it warms up.

  25. 25.

    Cacti

    @B.B.A.:

    You have to wonder if Obama is starting to regret making him Veep.

    Considering he won with him twice, and by large margins, I’m going to say not likely.

  29. 29.

    Dan B

    @rikyrah: Let me know when it snows 3 inches on the last day of high school and it will remind me of June in northern Ohio.

  30. 30.

    A Ghost To Most

    @Dan B: I got stuck in a snowbank on the 4th of July. Does that count?

    Seriously, though, WNY has two seasons: winter, and July.

  31. 31.

    Chris T.

    @Death Panel Truck: Sunny in California too.

    The California ISO app (“ISO Today”), which shows what retailers pay for wholesale electricity (that they then sell to us retail suckers for $.25/kWh), currently costs them negative-a-penny. Earlier it was about negative-a-dollar.

    In other words, PG&E collects electricity from, say, Calpine, collects money from Calpine for buying this electricity—they don’t pay for it, they earn money by buying electricity—then they turn around and sell it to us retail suckers for (much) more money.

    How’d you like to be in that business? If they were selling, say, hamburgers, they’d collect a dollar from the butcher, then collect another $20 from the consumer. (For a hamburger worth no more than $5, because PG&E. Of course, being PG&E, they’d also be injecting all their hamburgers with listeria.)

    (I can’t get too worked up myself because I use solar panels to make most of my own electric energy, and hence don’t pay this highway robbery.)

  32. 32.

    geg6

    Been snowing off and on all day here, goddammit. Thankfully, I think the ground is too warm for it to stick. Could be worse, I guess. It once snowed here in May. I know, because it was the day of my college graduation party.

  33. 33.

    B.B.A.

    @Cacti: @rikyrah: Am I losing it here? Noonan and Scarborough are always wrong, I thought that’s something that all decent thoughtful people could agree on.

  34. 34.

    Cacti

    @B.B.A.:

    Attacking Democrats and sowing discord within the party has always been the goal of the Wilmer campaign.

    They put Trump in the White House.

    They’re not to be trusted.

  35. 35.

    mrmoshpotato

    ?The West Virginia hills are alive with the sound of Cole cursing the snowfall!?

    ?️?️?️

  36. 36.

    Mai Naem mobile

    Has anybody heard Andrew Yang speak? He is another dark horse Dem candidate. He was on some NPR show a few weeks ago. He was pretty impressive. He talked about people being left behind in a digital knowledge based economy. He could reach rust belt voters.

  39. 39.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Cacti: I don’t see how Wilmer gets away without releasing his taxes and there’s obviously something unpleasant for his fans in those returns or they would have been out already. Also, I think it is entirely possible that he is running to make money for his wife and her pal for campaign consulting fees etc.

  40. 40.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    I remember an ice storm we had in NC one year in March that trapped us inside the house for a week. The ice outside the door was a foot thick we couldn’t walk up the pathway to the drive. Even if we got to the drive the cars were under a foot of ice and couldn’t be accessed. We basically burned anything flammable in the fireplace to keep warm while using the generator to cook. Weird times to be sure.

  43. 43.

    Cacti

    @Mai Naem mobile:

    It’s been 33 days now since Wilmer said he’d be releasing 10-years of income tax returns “sooner rather than later”.

    Another reason why the attack on Biden from one of his flacks smells fishy.

    @Jay:

    Thanks.

  44. 44.

    A Ghost To Most

    Isn’t Andrew Yang the guy who wants to ban circumcision? Seems like an odd policy plank.

  49. 49.

    eemom

    @B.B.A.:

    You have to wonder if Obama is starting to regret making him Veep.

    Per this and other comments, I must say you are spectacularly clueless. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

  52. 52.

    sukabi

    @B.B.A.: If Nooners and Scar are defending Joe it can only mean one thing…they are hoping to preserve the status quo, and Biden is a benign relic of that state.

  53. 53.

    J R in WV

    OK, haven’t read the comments, but wanted to jump in to say It is Sunny and Clear here, although pretty chilly. Rained hard briefly last last night.

    Freeze warning, I’m a little worried what will happen to the Bluebells, Ostrich Ferns and Dog-tooth Violets, but not enough to go out with sheets and stuff. Its a natural landscape, if it can’t cope with nature… WTF, right?

  54. 54.

    sukabi

    @debbie: let’s bulldoze your park so we can put up a stage for a day.

    That’s got to be one of the stupidest things this week.

  55. 55.

    CapnMubbers

    Low seventies here in NorCal. I went up to my total loss Paradise property yesterday, kitted out in Tyvek suit, booties, gloves etc, for one last pass through the ashes before the debris removal contractor takes it down to bare earth on Tuesday. No tales of recovering Grandmother’s jewelry or other small items—the wood stove and cast iron skillets came through, nothing else. Daffodils and blue grape hyacinth are blooming, one red and one white camellia flowering above the three feet of burned branches…When Ozark Hillbilly posted his purple crocus pictures, I used my (new) phone camera to shoot the one crocus that survived with the ash footprint of the house, chimney still standing, in the background. I decided that’s not something to share, garden posts being pretty upbeat on the whole.

  56. 56.

    Jay

    @eemom:

    The current MSM Policy in the US is to actively hide context, rather than provide it. So when you read any political “story”, you have to either wait tor a blogger, or tweeter to debunk it, or do your own research.

    CNN selectively editted their own full length Town Hall with Elizabeth Warren for short stories twisting her actual words 180 degrees from the truth.

  57. 57.

    raven

    @sukabi: UPDATE: Mayor David Briley announced on Twitter Saturday afternoon that the cherry trees slated to be cut down will instead be removed intact and relocated.

    Twenty-one mature cherry trees on public land in downtown Nashville will be removed as part of preparations for the upcoming NFL draft, according to the city.

    The trees will come down at 9 a.m. Monday, said Thomas Mulgrew, press secretary for Mayor David Briley. Those that are removed will be replaced, and trees that can be replanted will be, he said. The trees that are cut down will be mulched and used to line trails at other parks.

  58. 58.

    Jay

    @sukabi:

    Stupider than the Flat Earther Cruise to Antartica to prove the existence of an Icewall at the edge of the earth holding in all the water on their flat disc?

  61. 61.

    James E Powell

    @Jay:

    The current MSM Policy in the US is to actively hide context, rather than provide it. So when you read any political “story”, you have to either wait tor a blogger, or tweeter to debunk it, or do your own research.

    They’ve been doing this for at least 20 years. See, e.g., everything they ever said about Al Gore.

  62. 62.

    B.B.A.

    @eemom: So it’s clueless to think sexual misconduct is wrong, regardless of how evil the victim is. (And Berners are certainly evil.)

  65. 65.

    A Ghost To Most

    @rikyrah:
    And it took only a day or two for it to become obvious. We should be thankful they are so incompetent.

  68. 68.

    Steeplejack

    @B.B.A.:

    Scarborough is occasionally right, but only when he is driven there by the utter madness of Trump.

    Noonan is never right.

  69. 69.

    sukabi

    @raven: what would be the problem with holding the draft nonsense in a venue that can actually accommodate without taking out the trees? The city of Nashville will likely get stuck with the cost of replacing the trees.

  71. 71.

    CapnMubbers

    @debbie: Very mixed feelings seeing nature enduring in the midst of such devastation. Many birds expressed their commitment to ensuring the next generation with courting, song, and display behavior. Don’t know where they’re nesting but I saw brown and rufous sided towhees, a plain titmouse, even a red-tailed hawk.

  72. 72.

    japa21

    @raven: So good to see Duke lose. Virginia should have lost yesterday. Of course, being a MSU Alumnus does make me biased.

  76. 76.

    Jay

    @B.B.A.:

    In a he said she said no witnesses claim about what happened in 2014, between a die hard Burnier, and Uncle Joe, after last weeks Anita Hill effect,

    It’s best not to believe either.

    The willing embracement of zero sum politics and a willingness to burn the whole Big Tent down if they don’t get their way, is not healthy.

  79. 79.

    Aleta

    @debbie: That really makes me angry. They can put their stupid stage and PR operation away from the river. Maybe a dying mall where stores need the business.

  80. 80.

    sukabi

    @Jay: ??????wouldn’t a flight to Antarctica be a faster way to prove they’re dumbasses? There’s some Boeing planes that aren’t doing anything at the moment that they could go on.

  81. 81.

    trollhattan

    That snow is too close to the willow!

    Sunny and warm enough to see if the car’s A/C had an uneventful winter. All good there. Dogwood blooms popped yesterday and today the wisteria is popping, but not fragrant yet. A plant one blesses two weeks/year, curses the other fifty.

    Do not plant a wisteria anywhere near the house. Just don’t.

  82. 82.

    Jay

    @sukabi:

    You gotta admit, it’s a great grift.

    It’s at times like this, that I wish I lacked morals.

    In the past, conmen had to use ropers who selected for greed, avarice and no morals/situational morals, to find marks.

    Now the marks self select and cluster in gated communities online.

    Just think how much money you could take in a $5 bucks a head, once a month, off QAnon alone,…….

  83. 83.

    Aleta

    @debbie:
    From your link
    (bold = corporate lie)

    “To the citizens of Nashville, to Mayor (David) Briley and to the Metro Council,” Spyridon said. “The NFL and our organization heard the public outcry loud and clear.

    “We thought we would be helpful in removing the trees and replacing them. We were wrong and we apologize.”
    …
    He said the number of trees that need to be moved to make way for what is “likely the largest stage ever constructed in the state” will be now be just 10. All of the impacted trees sit back along the circle drive at Riverfront Park.

  84. 84.

    Jay

    @sukabi:

    The problem with a flight is that whole curvature of the earth thing and they might accidentally notice Antartica is an island, not an icewall.

    The view from sealevel how ever, in the right spot, will assure the marks that the Icewall stretches from horizon to horizon and they can sell more tickets next year, and the year after,………

  86. 86.

    sukabi

    @Aleta:

    Isn’t there a football stadium somewhere in the state where they could bring in a stage, the bigliest stage in the state, where seating for people is already in place to watch the greatest draft OF ALL TIME.

  87. 87.

    eemom

    @B.B.A.: @B.B.A.:

    it’s clueless to think sexual misconduct is wrong, regardless of how evil the victim is

    The fact that you could even remotely deduce that from what I said proves my point.

  88. 88.

    sukabi

    @Jay: well sure, the curvature and island things would be problematic, but the whole gravitational pull thing in combo with Boeings you have to pay extra for safety things would take care of all those things that are hoaxes.
    Adding, Darwin needs a laugh.

  90. 90.

    Jay

    @sukabi:

    Yeah, but the Organizers are looking for free, easy, cash,……

    Like an IycFest with out all the pesky lawsuits and fraud charges.

  91. 91.

    sukabi

    @Jay: I suspect that someone would like to use that land for a development of some kind, and the NFL draft nonsense is a bit of cover…clear the site and hope no one will check on after recovery…

  92. 92.

    Jay

    @sukabi:

    Maybe, but it’s a park.

    One thing we do know is the Sports Industries and Owners do like adding a little bit of grovelling from Cities and States in their taxpayer subsidized shenanigans.

  93. 93.

    karensky

    A friend just texted from Scranton and it is snowing hard. When she left a Philly it was 54 and sunny. Spring in the middle Atlantic.

  95. 95.

    Steeplejack

    The comments about Nashville are reminding me that we have a Nashville commenter not heard from in a while. Can’t remember her name for the life of me, but her nym linked to her blog, where she talked about Nashville and Tennessee issues. Anybody remember who I’m talking about?

  96. 96.

    CapnMubbers

    @trollhattan: Come to think of it, this is the first time in 32 springs without heaving a deep sigh while preparing to battle the wisteria—one end of support wires was attached to the house. Really a drastic solution (the Paradise fire, in case you missed the above comments).

  97. 97.

    Jay

    @CapnMubbers:

    In your past posts, you laid it out that you are going to be okay, but how is the rest of Paradise doing?

    We often lose track of disaster recovery.

  99. 99.

    Just One More Canuck

    @Aleta: Is it wrong of me to hope that a nasty thunderstorm blows through Nashville on draft day?

  101. 101.

    Bobby Thomson

    I just spread some money around before the quarter ends. Not sure when the cutoff is for debates but better safe than sorry. Castro isn’t my first choice but he deserves a spot on the stage more than some people who are assured of getting one. Also wanted to reward good behavior.

    I found it was a useful exercise for confirming my rankings.

  102. 102.

    CapnMubbers

    @Jay: It’s going much more slowly than some imagined it should at first; the extent of debris removal/lot clearing and water/power restoration could mean several years’ delay in rebuilding for some lots. Melted plastic water meters and boxes are being replaced with metal and concrete respectively, but benzene detected in the water complicates delivery. Paradise Irrigation District resumed basic service charges in January to fund recovery—-I sent one friend to pidwater.com for PID recovery information because she couldn’t understand why she had to pay without having water at her property. Power is being restored to properties able to receive it, and a few businesses have re-opened, but it will be years before Paradise as a community thrives. One obstacle: Paradise is built on a lava cap with septic systems. There’s talk about connecting at least the downtown business district to the Chico water treatment down the hill; how to finance that project and implement it entails lots of discussion and, again, time.

    My cohort skews older and most have relocated elsewhere with no intention of returning. I’m closer to 80 than I am to 70 so I understand the feeling that time is not on our side. Many younger people have a Paradise Strong! spirit and I wish them well.

    Google Earth has post fire satellite images which give an idea of the damage. Block after block for miles of dead trees, lots with burnt-out hulks of autos and appliances, roads damaged by fire and heavy trucks/machinery—it’s eerie in the daylight and more so when the sun goes down, a few scattered lights and silence.

    Other communities in California struggle after a year or more. Paradise and surrounding areas as you know lost many more residences, businesses, and people than any other fire. I think there’s the will to return but it won’t be anything approaching the town I knew for years.

  103. 103.

    2liberal

    @Chris T.:

    PG&E collects electricity from, say, Calpine, collects money from Calpine for buying this electricity—they don’t pay for it, they earn money by buying electricity—then they turn around and sell it to us retail suckers for (much) more money.

    PGE provides the distribution system and earns a profit from the investment and has maintenance costs.

  104. 104.

    Aleta

    @sukabi: Really. Who tf cares if they build ‘maybe the biggest stage’ in the state to be taken down in 4 days. (Or is there some hope in the hearts of the City Planning profiteers to keep it as a concert stage and this became a way to lever it in there.)

    I hate these business people who claim they’d be “helping” by removing taxpayer-owned trees. Or think that “landscaping”
    (by which they mean, grass + a concrete bench + two or three shrubs) can replace a woodland.

    I will bet, given their callousness, that the building of the stage, wiring the surroundings, renting to concessions and the 4 day event for 100,000 fans will risk the health of the cherries they’ve generously offered to spare.

    (Guardian in Jan) Energy Transfer Partners planted only about 8,800 of the 20,000 trees required along the pipeline’s route in 2018.

    This was one of ETP’s promises and was required for permission, but they found a loophole so the deadline has passed.

  105. 105.

    Jay

    @CapnMubbers:

    So, in Canada, there is a septic system designed for the Northern Shield, it’s aboveground, PVC and peat. It’s so efficient because of the peat that when I replaced my septic field several years ago, I got permission from Interior Health to use peat and not gravel over the pipes.

    We’ve had a lot of communities burned out here, and it takes a while, but the BC Government moves mountains to get communities back on their feet. Cache Creek and Ashcroft were “back on their feet” in under a year, but now have to deal with mud slides.

  107. 107.

    CapnMubbers

    @Jay: Good to know, maybe that information will help with the discussion. The septic, not the mud slides.

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