Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Not all heroes wear capes.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

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

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

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

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

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

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

To the privileged, equality seems like oppression.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Also, are you sure you want people to rate your comments?

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

You are here: Home / 2019 / Archives for November 2019

Archives for November 2019

Late Night Open Thread: Vroom!

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I want one of these cycles, and I’m not even chairbound (yet)…

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Open Thread: Some Good Dogs Just Need the Right Job

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(My motto: Whenever possible, choose the red ones.)

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Calling All Authors In Our Midst: Submissions Please, Round Two

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In October, we put out a call to our Balloon Juice writers, asking if anyone was interested in having their books work included in our list of published authors.  There was quite a bit of interest, and the result is the first draft you will find at the Our Authors link in the footer on the new site.

So much talent here on Balloon Juice!

Dorothy Winsor’s comment about her book in the morning thread reminded me that this is the perfect time to ask for a second round of submissions by our authors.  Past time, actually!  I had planned to have an updated list in place by December 1, in time for gift-buying season, so I am running out of daylight on this one.

For our published authors, we are asking for Balloon Juice people only, not family members.  (The cousin to this list – Our Artists & Artisans – can include spouses and partners.   John was waiting for the new site to put out his call for artists and artisans, so I suspect we may see that soon.)

What you need to know before submitting your information:

  1. Up to 3 publications can be listed on Our Published Authors page.  (fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, plays, poetry…)
  2. They must be written by Balloon Juice people only, not family members.
  3. Please please please submit your information in the format below.
  4. Please copy the contents of the window below into your comment and fill in the blanks.

Balloon Juice Nym:

Author Name:

Do you want your BJ nym displayed with your entry?  (yes or no)

Author URL, if you have one:

Title 1:

Title 1 category/type:

Title 1 URL:

Title 2:

Title 2 category/type:

Title 2 URL:

Title 3:

Title 3 category/type:

Title 3 URL:

We have a better idea of what we are looking for and what the limitations are this time around, so if you supplied information during the first call, please check Our Authors in the footer so we can make any changes or additions to your information.

If you want to make changes or additions to your listing, please use the format above.

Update:  If you do not want us to know that “Little Surfer” is actually Diana VanWriter, then please send email to WaterGirl at the balloon juice address.  You can copy the format into your email message and fill it in there.  I”ll need to know what nym connects with which author, but that will never be published anywhere, so no one else will see it.

Authors Added or Updated 11/30 by 5pm:

Tehanu
Hungry Joe
Laura Koerber
Bud
Munira
La Gata Gris
PhoenixRising
Robmassing
PaulWartenberg
Vicki Delany

Authors Added or Updated 12/1 by noon:

Facebones
Carol Van Natta
btom89
Citizen Alan
WereBear
JoyceH
Lucy Pick
Mark Benbow
mike shupp
Badgetoon
Cliff Wirt
hitchhiker
gwangung
Frankensteinbeck
tokyocali
Alex Olson

Final Update at 8pm on Sunday: I am no longer checking this thread for authors who wish to be added to the Our Authors list.  Thanks to all of our authors!

 

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Why We Build The Wall

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We saw the musical Hadestown last night. It’s a rousing retelling of the tragic Orpheus and Eurydice myth. It is of course a major bummer–no Broadway magic swoops in to rescue the doomed heroes. I felt lightly chided by Hermes at the end, when he said that the reason we watch tragedies is because we hope that maybe, just this once, it’ll turn out differently.

Act I ends with a stunning set piece. Hades, who is depicted as a depression-era robber baron, leads a call-and-response dirge about the importance of building a wall around Tartarus. “Why do we build the wall, my children?” he asks. “We build the wall to keep us free,” they chant back.

While I was watching this, I thought, gosh, it’s is a bit of an anvil-drop, isn’t it? So precisely-tailored to our political moment. This is obviously not a new phenomenon to Broadway, but it still took me out of the story.

Well, apparently I was wrong. The song, with a scenery-chewing authoritarian mogul leading chants about how we need to build a wall… is not about Donald Trump. It was written in 2006, inspired by scenery-chewing authoritarians the world over, and walls throughout history.

Asked about this in 2016, the writer said, “We all know the underworld boss/king archetype when we see it. Let’s not elect him president.” So, first, oops. Second, that’s what we’ve become, a nation led by somebody’s imagining of the chaotic evil king of hell. Great.

Good song, though. Lyrics of the last verse below the fold. Open thread.

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Saturday Morning Open Thread: No More Diner-Diving, Pundits

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It’s bad for your cholesterol, and your takes:

Meanwhile…

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Open Thread: Revenge of the “Rockies”

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Since Trump theoretically didn’t have access to his own twitter account when it first  appeared, it’s possible he didn’t personally retweet that ridiculous Rocky Balboa photoshop. (His diligent minions should’ve known better than to retweet it, but ‘should’ve known better’ is not a skill for which Trump minions are selected.)

Interesting riff from Jamelle Bouie on the trope:

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Schadenfreude Open Thread: Soft, Soft Targets

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Speaking of TP-USA, what’s triggering its leader Charlie Kirk, this week?

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