Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

Their shamelessness is their super power.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

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

… gradually, and then suddenly.

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

When we show up, we win.

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

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

“woke” is the new caravan.

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

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

The National Guard is not Batman.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

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

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

This really is a full service blog.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Democracy is not a spectator sport.

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Archives for 2020

Sunday Night Semi-Respite Open Thread

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Throwing the yarrow stalks via twitter… Politics mood:

Guess we’re looking forward towards at another long week.

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Pete’s graceful exit

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Here’s a clip of Pete Buttigieg’s announcement that he’s ending his campaign:

He didn’t endorse anyone outright, but reading between the lines, it’s clear Buttigieg is clearing the way for Biden.

It was a good speech. The ending was particularly strong — worth watching the whole thing.

Open thread!

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Dear MSM, Biden, and Bernie Supporters

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Please stop telling my preferred candidate to drop out when only three states have voted.

Thank you.

*** Update ***

Two minutes after posting this, I learn that Buttigieg is suspending his campaign. He was not my preferred candidate, but this seems very newsworthy.

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Medium Cool with BGinCHI – Noir!

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Tonight we kick off Episode 2 of the weekly Guest Post series: Medium Cool with BGinCHI.

In case you missed the introduction to the series:  Culture as a Hedge Against this Soul-Sucking Political Miasma We’re Living In

Tonight’s Topic: Noir!

Medium Cool with BGinCHI – Noir!

Take it away, BG!

In this week’s Medium Cool, let’s talk about noir.

Typically, noir is defined by the moody, dark, psychologically-acute films of the ‘40s-‘50s, involving femmes fatales, gumshoe detectives, pessimism, etc. Contrarily, New Yorker film critic Richard Brody argues that, while this genre is difficult to define, “film noir is historically determined by particular circumstances.” Let’s use this as our jumping-off point.

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Playing to Win: Day 6 (Sunday 3/1)

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Note for the day:

The first Playing to Win went up just over a week ago.  Are you guys finding it inspiring to see what everyone is doing?  These threads are for you guys, so please speak up about what you want and what works for you.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

Let’s try late mornings on Wednesday and Friday mornings and Sunday afternoons.

You asked for easy ways to find these threads:
·  there’s a link in the sidebar under Calling All Jackals (on computers & tablets in landscape mode)
·  there’s a link in the hamburger menu bar (on mobile)
·  click on the Playing to Win category that shows up just under the byline at the top of the post
·  if you’re super lazy worn out from all your work canvassing and calling and texting, click here

The resource page – with suggestions and resources from previous threads – can be found here and at Playing to Win.  Additional links will be added as you provide them in ongoing threads.

*****

A couple of our jackals requested a regular political “action” thread, which we are calling Playing to Win. We’ll keep this up for as long as there is interest.

The goal is a poll-free, spin-free, prognostication-free, media-free, what’s-wrong-with-the-other-candidate-free-zone – a political thread where the focus is on ACTION:  What can be done to help our candidates, and what are we doing to help them, every day?

The hope is that this will help provide inspiration, and encourage action, as an alternative to anger, frustration and despair.

Everyone is free to chime in about what they are doing for their their preferred candidate.  What actions are we taking at Balloon Juice, individually or collectively, to help candidates we believe in?

What might you like to do, if you weren’t stuck on not quite knowing how to go from thinking about doing something to actually doing something?

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We Learned More From a Three Minute Record, Baby Than We Ever Learned in School

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There is a bit of irony in the fact that “No Surrender”, the song containing the lyric in the title of this post, clocks in at 4:02. God knows how long it would last if the Boss did it in concert – at least 10 minutes, I’d guess.

But we’ll leave the Springsteen to Chris Christie. Let’s talk three minute songs. As a kid who grew up on bands like the Clash and the Sex Pistols, I like short, hard-driving songs. As someone who appreciates brevity, I think a good short pop song is an underrated and difficult art form. So let me name a few three minute songs that are from the last 10 years or so. None of them are masterpieces. I think they’re all pretty good. And, shit, they’re under three minutes long — it’s not like you’re making a major investment in time listening to them.

I’ll start with Cuffing Season by Beach Bunny (2:58 on the album, the YouTube version has a few seconds of silent padding). It’s the song that made me think of this post. It also introduced me to the concept of cuffing season, and the lyrics are a great commentary on the ambivalence of an affair that may be just be a convenience to ward off the cold. I also really like the phrasing.

Strawberry Blond from the cleverly titled album “Retired from Sad, New Career in Business” by Mitski is a fun little song, and at 1:58 is under two minutes of your precious life. What a beautiful voice she has, and this little piece showcases it.

I’ll finish up with a live version of the song “Love Doesn’t Just Stop” (2:41) from a group called Standard Fare, long dissolved, performed in a studio in Austin when they were there for South by Southwest ten years ago. You can feel the band’s excitement, the lyrics are simple but smart, and the lead singer, Emma Kupa, just belts it out (her delivery makes the song, in my view). That drummer is having the time of his life.

(Another track from the same lead singer that’s longer that 3 minutes but still fun is Boy Look at What You Can’t Have Now (3:42). It’s about a girl who broke up with her boyfriend, “put a stone on her hips became size 12” and makes sure her ex knows how hot she is, and that he can’t have her. )

Drop your favorite 3 minute or less song in the comments.

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Election Year Open Thread: Congratulations, Joe Biden!

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I’ll admit, while I did assume Joe Biden would/should win in South Carolina, I never imagined he’d sweep the field like this. No matter the surrounding circumstances, no matter what happens next — Biden earned this one, and after thirty years and three valiant attempts, he deserves his victory lap today.

Next on the agenda (and there will be pressure for it to happen before Tuesday) is announcing his vice-presidential pick… which just became considerably more complicated, of course, because so many people who’d written him off will be making a whole different set of calculations now.

Kudos to Rep. Clyburn, also:

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