Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

They are not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

The lights are all blinking red.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

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

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

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

We still have time to mess this up!

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Thank You

Thank You

by | 104 Comments

This post is in: 

Cheryl retweeted this earlier tonight. I’ve been to Fergus Falls, MN. It’s a couple hundred miles from where I grew up. I have no specific idea why an ambulance from that place is in Queens tonight, but I have a general idea: the people there care. If at all possible, I know that New York will be there for you when you need us. I hope the crew from Fergus Falls has enough PPE to stay healthy. The next couple of weeks are going to suck for all of us.

Reader Interactions

104Comments

  3. 3.

    Keith P

    . I have no specific idea why an ambulance from that place is in Queens tonight, but I have a general idea:

    It’s a smuggling operation intended to make Trump look bad when, in fact, he’s very strongly and powerfully doing perfect.

  4. 4.

    Cheryl Rofer

    People are basically cooperative animals. You have to work hard, as Trump does, to try to split them. We’ll heal, but man I wish we could get him out of office this very minute and silence him after that.

  5. 5.

    Mallard Filmore

    O/T !!!
    Kern High School District has dropped zoom for online classes. Some classes were invaded by hate images and porn.

  6. 6.

    TS (the original)

    @Cameron:

    Cuomo spoke of this on his presser this morning. With no centralised help, everyone is helping each other. This shows the failure of trump not anything he can claim.

  7. 7.

    Elizabelle

    Fergus Falls was in the news a few months ago.  A Der Spiegel journalist wrote a fanciful story about them being Trump admiration central.

    Um, no.  Story fell apart, journalist was fired, and Fergus Falls (a very nice little community, way up north) was on the map.

  8. 8.

    Central Planning

    I found out a friend who lives in Maryland is recovering from covid-19.

    He said he was not able to get a test confirming whether he had it or not. He would only get one if he were in such a bad condition he would have to check in to a hospital.

    I can’t even begin to imagine how many people are really infected.

  9. 9.

    Elizabelle

    That Fergus Falls ambulance traveled 1,400 miles to be in place to assist New Yorkers.

    Thank you, Minnesota.

  10. 10.

    Mary G

    It’s like fires in California – one breaks out where you are and the first thing you see are engines from near communities, and by the next day they are from all over the state and even Nevada.

    ETA: This is why I don’t give up on America, but I have been tempted lately.

  12. 12.

    raven

    My ex’s family was from Fergus Falls, I made one trip to Ottertail Lake back in the day.

  13. 13.

    HRA

    This is who we are and not who we are portrayed every day from the White House. Thank you for sending this tonight.

  14. 14.

    Mary G

    A WWII soldier carrying a donkey. Because the field is mined & if the donkey was free, it would likely detonate a charge & kill everyone.

    So during difficult times the first ones you have to keep under control are the jackasses who don't understand the danger & do as they please. pic.twitter.com/WqRhNtUF77
    — Mohamad Safa (@mhdksafa) April 3, 2020

  15. 15.

    Baud

    Now more than ever, we need to choose hope over fear. We will beat COVID-19. We will overcome this. Together.
    — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 3, 2020

  17. 17.

    Another Scott

    @Mary G:

    The description is incorrect.In July 1958 French soldiers (13e demi-brigade de Légion étrangère) in the Middle east found a starving donkey, they rescued it and it became their mascot, they named him Bambi. pic.twitter.com/tsTjjamH0W

    — Fake History Hunter (@fakehistoryhunt) April 3, 2020

    True? Who knows, but it sounds more plausible to me. Both are good stories. :-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  18. 18.

    TS (the original)

    @Cameron:

    Do you think the fact that it’s a lie would stop him?

    I think the number that would believe him is getting smaller by the minute – he can scream about fake media but they are streaming Cuomo every day.

    And Rachel has NMFTG – and is calling trump out on everything.

  19. 19.

    Elizabelle

    @TS (the original):   I love that The Atlantic published a story (yesterday) saying Trump should do his fucking job.  And I did not embellish with the F word.

    A lot of us have NFLTG.

  20. 20.

    joel hanes

    @Elizabelle:

    Fergus Falls (a very nice little community, way up north)

    One of the only places in the world in which mooseberries  (which are a key ingredient in flying saucer fuel) can be found.

  22. 22.

    Elizabelle

    A good story following the fraudulent Der Spiegel story.  First page is in German, just hit what looks like “accept” and you will get the English language story.

    A Fantastic Town

    Fergus Falls in Minnesota is one of the places Claas Relotius spread untruths about. A visit to a small town where the only thing left for a DER SPIEGEL reporter to do is apologize.

  24. 24.

    sdhays

    @Central Planning: I found out earlier this week that a colleague of mine in Arlington probably has COVID-19, but also doesn’t have serious enough symptoms to get tested. It’s just crazy that we’re still having to ration testing like this. Are we going to even going to be able to do South Korea-style mass testing by the end of summer, assuming we have the will

    ETA: He’s early 30’s and very fit, so he’s probably going to be fine. I least I hope so…

  25. 25.

    joel hanes

    @TS (the original):

    The networks are beginning to cut away from his pressers while Himself speaks.

    Jesus, I can’t believe we had to get to this point for them to finally get a fucking clue.

    Now if only the FTFNYT … nah.  Never happen.

  26. 26.

    NYCMT

    I know that parking lot. I park there when I take my sons to Flushing Meadows and the Queens Museum parking lot is full. There is a little concrete skateboard feature next to the ice-skating rink my older son scooted on when he was three and four years old.  Some of those ambulances may be screaming past my Forest Hills apartment right now.

  27. 27.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @joel hanes:

    The networks are beginning to cut away from his pressers while Himself speaks.

    Oh god, has he thrown Twitter Tantrums yet because of this?

  28. 28.

    TS (the original)

    Trump announces intent to nominate White House lawyer Brian Miller as inspector general for $2 trillion coronavirus law

    From WaPo

    Is this putting the fox in charge of the hen house?

    But former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who played a leadership role in Congress’s response to the 2008 financial crisis, called the pending nomination “contemptuous” and a “blatant conflict of interest.”  “He may be a nice guy, a decent guy, but the job of White House counsel is to represent the president,” Frank said.

  29. 29.

    Central Planning

    @sdhays: My buddy is 50 and just got laid off from his company that makes luxury items for pets.
    He does want to volunteer somewhere to do all the things around sick people since he can’t get sick again.

  30. 30.

    WaterGirl

    @Salty Sam:  The first comment on Balloon Juice goes into moderation and has to be manually approved.  Which I just did, so comments should go through automatically from now on.

    Welcome

    edit: I deleted your empty comment, in case you wondered where that one went.

  32. 32.

    TS (the original)

    @joel hanes:

    Why are journalists skipping Trump’s daily coronavirus briefing? Not enough news to risk their health. … ”Reporters are keeping their distance because they are concerned about the health risks at a time when many consider the president’s evening news conferences to have become increasingly less newsworthy. …. The Post, Times and CNBC stopped sending reporters to the briefings …  after two White House correspondents were suspected of having contracted covid-19

    Executive Editor Dean Baquet said the Times has withdrawn its reporters from the briefings, both because of health considerations and the uncertain newsworthiness. Reporters continue to monitor them on TV and report anything worthwhile.

    Wapo 

  33. 33.

    Caphilldcne

    @sdhays: I’m in DC. I have 100 degree fever, light cough and headaches. Same thing. Dr. Says he can test but it’s 14 days to get the results and I need to quarantine anyway. So I don’t think I’ll be going out. Fortunately no trouble breathing right now and of course I’ll watch out for that. I mean I can’t swear it’s COVID but it certainly matches up to the mild end. I have enough food and friends will help. The scary part is I’ve barely been outside since March 11th. Had a weird prolonged grocery trip Tuesday and I probably picked it up then. If so I was not very close to anyone and wore gloves tho no mask. Anyway I’m keeping my anxiety level low, resting and drinking fluids. What else can you do?  I’m very irritated tho because I thought I was doing really well.

  36. 36.

    Gvg

    After the 2004 hurricanes hit Florida (4 in one year if you remember) I had to travel on the interstate to see if my parents house survived 120 miles away in Orlando. Normally we try to stay home, out of the way of the work crews, but my my parents were in Alaska and Wisconsin at the time. They started vacation in Alaska and then got word my mom’s father was dying so mom scrambled to Wisconsin. They hadn’t prepped for a hurricane and we weren’t even sure they would hear the news it was coming.so we were on the road and got to see an amazing human planned response.  The interstate was a solid northbound mass of convoys or power crews, national guard and other emergency responders from every single state. It was impressively organized. Truck after truck with loads of new power poles and so many kinds of equipment. It was public and private and so amazing to see. Miles of solid truck loads going to help. We talked to a couple in an RV at gas station, and they were insurance adjusters coming to pay claims planning to stay for several months.

    Later I learned more, that the response had been planned since Andrew in 1992 but that we hadn’t had a hurricane to test the plans till 2004. There are all kinds of agreements between power companies and fire fighter squads that are nationwide mutual help. At any given time the companies all send crews all over to payback or build credit for the next time. These agreements exist with or without government being involved. It works better when the feds help but it can still work with the feds hindering. I would assume ambulance crews and hospitals do the same.

    for the hurricanes that came after, I tried to go watch the interstate flow of goods. It sort of cheered me up to see.

    Hurricane Andrew in 1992 was met by no planning and slow recovery. People’s reaction was never do that bad again. Local pundants said it cost Bush Sr. Florida’s electoral votes and re election. FEMA was lame. Clinton made a point of hiring a professional to run the national FEMA.

  38. 38.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Another Scott:

    Those soldiers—and the apparent civilian at the far left of the frame!—look way too casual to be tiptoeing through a minefield.

  39. 39.

    dmsilev

    LA County is saying that the social distancing is working to flatten out the curve. Cases are still increasing, as are casualties, but the doubling time has increased to about double of what it was last week, and is now nearly six days. If that holds up, it’s excellent news. It’ll mean that LA will be harder hit than SF, but nowhere near as bad as what New York is suffering through now.

  40. 40.

    Mohagan

    @Mary G: Here in UKiah CA (Mendocino County), I was particularly struck by firetrucks from Hollywood and Pasadena during the Redwood Fire.  That’s a long way.

  41. 41.

    Caphilldcne

    @Central Planning: as of now I still seem to have smell and taste. So hopefully I’ve lucked out and it’s a false alarm. I’ll eventually plan to get an antibody test.

    anyway, I guess I just wrote in to say be extra careful. Don’t be embarrassed to wear a mask. oh and thank you to all the responders who have gone to help New York and elsewhere. 

  42. 42.

    Kirk Spencer

    And another Houston tidbit. Two article links first:

    Austin Statesman

    NBC News

    The first is bad, the second is scary. Both say there are a lot of people in the hospitals due to Covid-19, and the numbers are much larger than they should be based on cases reported.

    The first is covering Governor Abbot who in the midst of telling how much space we have mentions that there are 827 accumulated cases that have or are using the beds. That’s for an official 5330 accumulated cases in the state. Oh, and the other scary thing from this one? 8741 total ventilators in the state. The article buries the lede that not only is testing limited, but some hospitals are not reporting.

    The second claims that Houston alone has 996 people in beds with Covid-19 or covid-19-like symptoms. Since the 25 county region has only reported an accumulated 950 /confirmed/ cases, you can see why that’s a bit of a problem. But why it scares me (besides the fact I live here) is that even if the 996 is the magic 4%, that’s still just under 25,000 symptomatic cases.

     

    While I believe both articles should be taken with grains of salt, they both say basically that Texas’s official numbers are way too low. We might be Louisiana, or even New York. It’s just that the cess geyser has not yet broken through the cover.

  44. 44.

    Mary G

    @Mohagan: I have a friend whose husband is a retired fire captain. When he was working he always had a duffel bag packed with duplicates of his personal equipment, clean underwear and socks. He’d get paged* and he’d get up from the dinner table or wherever he was and head out. Didn’t take a minute.

    *yes, we are old.

  48. 48.

    Salty Sam

    @WaterGirl: Thanks, but I’ve been around for years, an infrequent commenter.  I cleaned out my cache and cookies today, so I’m assuming that’s why BJ comments no longer recognized my nym.  Also too, thanks for deleting the empty comment- I accidentally double posted, and didn’t know how to delete the duplicate, so I just un-typed it.

  49. 49.

    MoCA Ace

    It’s hard to see it when we focus so much on the sociopath in chief, but most people are genuinely good.

    Some not insignificant percentage of the population will go above and beyond, acting in opposition to their own self interest to help others. Given competent moral leadership many more would do so.

  50. 50.

    debbie

    @BR: 

    I’ve been taking elderberry for a while as an immunity booster, for whatever that’s worth.

  51. 51.

    BR

    @debbie:

    I have too, but I will stop if I get sick.  The evidence I’ve seen is that elderberry is good to take before but only before getting sick with COVID-19.  After any sign of symptoms or a positive test, elderberry can overdrive the immune system, which is already the main way COVID-19 is dangerous.

  52. 52.

    Eljai

    @Mary G: Apparently, he was so distracted by the impeachment that he couldn’t deal with the pandemic.  But he still has time for petty revenge in the midst of a global crisis.

  54. 54.

    aliasofwestgate

    I have a friend sending me a resuable mask in a while. But for now we have a pack of masks here from last year which are good for the next few trips out. At the moment i’m recovering from a long year of crazy and being overly stressed. I ended up evicted from my home in MI, so now i’m in Wisconsin with an old friend who picked me up from Chicago Union Station 2 weeks ago from a train trip with nothing but a suitcase, my personal electronics, and anything else i could carry safely on me.

    Still worried as fuck about my Mom back in the home she’s in, back in MI. But they were under quarantine for a good chunk of january and part of february. then went into total lockdown on March 11th. So i’m hoping the place will be okay. I plan on calling her again soon. Wishing i was in better mental health, because i’d go to work as a Pharmacy Technician in a heartbeat to help out again. But it requires licensing here, and i need to get Recertified. *sighs

  55. 55.

    Another Scott

    @Steeplejack (phone): To elaborate…

    AlJazeera:

    There are fears that it may be possible to catch the coronavirus more than once, after a woman in her 40s in Osaka, Japan, tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time at the end of February. Studies and research are still going on to determine if this may be the case. So far, we do not have a definitive conclusion.

    […]

    There are coronaviruses other than the one that causes COVID-19 disease. A lot of common cold viruses are from the coronavirus family and we do not gain lifelong immunity after being infected by them. People who have been infected with another type of coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), can have two to three years of immunity, so it really does vary.

    Most experts believe that there are two ways out of this pandemic. We may find a vaccine against the virus, and that will allow rapid immunity to those who are administered the vaccine. Or enough people may get the virus through its current mode of spread and build up a natural immunity that will eventually result in “herd immunity” – where enough people are immune to it that it can no longer multiply and spread.

    It is thought that roughly 60 percent to 70 percent of the population would have to be exposed to coronavirus in order to achieve this herd immunity.

    What these solutions do not take into account is the prospect that the COVID-19 virus could mutate enough in the future to make it unrecognisable to a person’s memory cells, or the prospect that some infections do not make memory cells that last for life.

    So, is it possible to be infected with the COVID-19 virus more than once?

    The first thing to remember is that we have only anecdotal reports concerning very small numbers of people. It is also not clear whether these cases involved a new infection or a relapse of the original infection.

    A study done in China looked at whether monkeys who were infected with the coronavirus and developed antibodies to it could be reinfected when exposed a second time. Reassuringly, it found they were immune to it the second time around.

    Immunologists agree that more research is needed. It is not clear if immunity from the COVID-19 virus will be lifelong, and data we do have on some other coronaviruses, such as the common cold, show that antibodies only give temporary immunity, usually lasting around three months.

    However, some experts are optimistic. Martin Hibberd, a professor of emerging and infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, says: “Although we need more evidence to be sure of this, people who have recovered are unlikely to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 again.” This is another name for COVID-19.

    The jury is still out on immunity: the initial reports look good, but there is much work to be done. The virus simply hasn’t been around long enough for us to conclude that getting it will confer lifelong immunity.

    […]

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  57. 57.

    Raoul

    Dammit.

    President Trump has fired Michael Atkinson (NYT link), the Inspector General who first raised concerns about the whistleblower complaint, which led to the impeachment inquiry.

    (And f— the NYT for not naming that the GOP in the Senate acquitted Trump)

  58. 58.

    Mary G

    (Keep thinking: I’ve a Masters in Public Health; wrote my doctoral dissertation on global efforts to tackle AIDS pandemic; co-authored a book on global health governance; teach MPH courses on health systems & global health & I’m not qualified to lead a national #covid19 effort.)— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) April 4, 2020

  59. 59.

    Fair Economist

    @dmsilev: LA has been flat at just over 500 cases per day for 5 days running. Could be that exponential growth has stopped – need a few more days, because % growth is still high. Santa Clara County (worst hit initially) has been roughly flat for 14 days, although it did have one really bad day a few days ago. Hoping masks will help.

  61. 61.

    mrmoshpotato

    Hoooooooooole Lee Shit!

    Look at Cole’s Twitter feed.

    Are any jackals close enough to cave in Shaun King’s face?

    Wooooooooow!!!!!!

  62. 62.

    mrmoshpotato

    Hoooooooooole Lee Shit!

    Look at Cole’s Twitter feed.

    Are any jackals close enough to cave in Shaun King’s face?

    Wooooooooow!!!!!!

  65. 65.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Eljai: Dump’s job is to destroy the United States of America because he’s a Soviet shitpile mobster conman who slurps the Kremlin’s asshole.

    I hope you don’t think he ran for office to actually govern.

  69. 69.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Raoul: Comes with the territory of “Waaaaahhhhhhhhh Bernie’s the Lord and Savior, and you’re all dumbfucks for not knowing it!  Waaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

  71. 71.

    cain

    @Central Planning:

    That’s my thought. If I get laid off, I will go full bore and start working to help people. COVID-19 be damned. Something happens for a reason and for me I believe that is a calling to help.

  73. 73.

    debbie

    @BR:

    I saw that in your link. A bit surprising, considering the bottle gives a higher dosage to lessen the severity of influenza. I guess elderberry can be like goldenseal in that it’ll make things worse. Good to know, thanks.

  75. 75.

    debbie

    @chris:

    On the other hand, there will be one less person to stand at attention while he walks out and away from the White House forever next January.

  77. 77.

    James E Powell

    @Mallard Filmore:

    My district, Los Angeles, is telling us to use zoom. Several teachers (not me, I know nothing) have mentioned problems with zoom, including hacking, but that’s what the bosses are telling us.

  78. 78.

    Mary G

    This is where we're at in buying PPE.An Illinois official sped on a highway to get to a meet-up in a McDonald's parking lot, where she handed off a $3.4 MILLION CHECK to buy N95 masks from China with 20 minutes to spare, beating other bidders. https://t.co/267fo2kpUA— Nader Issa (@NaderDIssa) April 4, 2020

    So much winning!

  81. 81.

    Another Scott

    @Dahlia: Yup.

    I’m sure too many of our island friends here do as well.  :-(

    We have to vote them out!  Eyes on the prizes.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  85. 85.

    Jay

    Some of the ventilators the US bought as part of Putin's humanitarian aid package are from a company under US sanctions, RBC reports.That would make an enormous troll of the US, wrapped inside a massive PR coup for the Kremlinhttps://t.co/QpJ4nxHcku— max seddon (@maxseddon) April 3, 2020

  87. 87.

    Jay

    NBC News: FDNY Deputy Chief Inspector Syed Rahman has died as a result of COVID-19, the department says.The news comes as approximately 1 out of every 4 FDNY EMS member is out on medical leave tonight, that's 24% of the more than 4,000 total EMTs and paramedics, the FDNY says.— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) April 3, 2020

  88. 88.

    Another Scott

    @Jay: Yes, I saw that.

    Thanks.

    The tweet about Miller is a bad (intentional) joke though.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  89. 89.

    Jay

    Trump just laid out GOP strategy for November: oppose mail voting for everyone except voters over 65 (i.e Republicans) & force everyone else to choose between their health & their ballot during deadly pandemic. Absolutely despicable voter suppression— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) April 3, 2020

  90. 90.

    Kattails

    @mrmoshpotato: Thanks, checked out this tweet and scrolled down a little way to the video of Mayor Lightfoot verbally giving young Jared the face-punch he so richly deserves. It was delicious. Fun to watch the signing guy’s face at the denouement.

    I’ve watched the video of Capt. Crozier leaving his ship a couple of times now. For some reason this has hit me harder than every other goddamned fucking thing this administration has done.  I literally pounded the desk so hard it hurt my hand.

    On a brighter note, I just got some firewood off the porch and there are FROGGIES croaking away–there was ice on this little ephemeral pond two days ago, it’s been raining all day, maybe mid-40-‘s. They must have tiny little mufflers on. Or be really desperate for some lovin’.

  91. 91.

    Jay

    -180 largely Latina workers, who make flan, went on strike in Chicago today.

    – Poultry workers at Pilgrim's Pride walked out in rural Virginia.

    – 1,000 Immigrant meatpackers, speaking 27 languages, walked out this week in CO.

    Food workers are striking!https://t.co/2nQHio0jqC— Mike Elk (@MikeElk) April 4, 2020

  95. 95.

    Kattails

    @mrmoshpotato: Just too tired to watch the whole thing but did look at the bit you linked to, better video quality. They were much more polite than I would manage under the circumstances. And that signing guy!

    Right now I’m trying to bring myself from the space of “incandescent” to something more like “implacable”. Better for the blood pressure.

  98. 98.

    Uncle Jeffy

    @Jay: Shit-for-brains thinks people over 65 are gonna vote Rethuglikkkan in November? Hope he stops by my 55+ community some time – they’ll have to pick up the bastard’s remains with a sponge.

  99. 99.

    prostratedragon

    @Mary G:
    When you’ve been out in the hot sun too long some day this summer, just think of Chelsea Clinton.

  100. 100.

    prostratedragon

    @Kattails:

    Right now I’m trying to bring myself from the space of “incandescent” to something more like “implacable”. Better for the blood pressure.

    This captures the essence of prostration.

  102. 102.

    Raven Onthill

    Friday nightmare; Josh Marshall on Twitter: “There are just too many stories of PPE supplies being shipped into hot spot states and being conficated by US customs when they arrive through an airport or US port. I’m not talking abt big amazon orders. This is states, massive hospital systems.

    “If the US federal govt had made itself the sole purchaser for the country this might make sense. But it hasn’t. So where are these supplies going? On what basis are they being seized?

    “I suspect others working in state procurement or major hospital systems have stories to tell. Hit us at talk at TalkingPointsMemo dot com. We’re eager to learn more. Confidentiality assured.”

    Josh Marshall is not going to publish until he has a watertight story. Me, I think it’s likely. DHS and CBP are all under acting directors, all Trump picks, probably personally loyal to Trump himself. The stuff of revolution, if true.

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