Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

We still have time to mess this up!

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

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

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

I like you, you’re my kind of trouble.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

This blog will pay for itself.

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

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Republicans in disarray!

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

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

You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / Meetups and social events / Open Thread

Open Thread

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Open thread.

August 18, 2021 – Denver
Pictured from left to right: ActiveDad (former lurker), The Pollyanna from hell, and quakerinabasement

So… like me, you guys probably thought the meetup last night didn’t happen because PsyFighter was there for more than an hour and nobody showed.  So we thought!

Lurker Rob ActiveDad sent me a photo of the other Balloon Juice meetup at Whisky, Tango, Foxtrot in Denver last night.

So sorry you guys didn’t connect!   What happened?  We may need some literal green balloons so this doesn’t happen again. (sale item from the Balloon Juice store?)

Totally open thread.

Reader Interactions

132Comments

  1. 1.

    WaterGirl

    PSA:  There’s a link called Meetups: Proof of Life in the sidebar under Calling All Jackals.

    If you click the link, you’ll find information about meetups.  Since we rolled out the new site just before Covid, we barely got to use it.  And maybe it will be awhile again, but this way you will know how it works.  Any questions about where to find it or how works?

    We also have a setup for proposed meetups, but I’ll have to dust off the cobwebs to remember what I did there. :-)

  2. 2.

    PsiFighter37

    Now I am annoyed at myself because I saw all 3 of you while I was sitting at the bar (figured it’d be better waiting in the shade of the bar)! Will be a bit more standout-ish in my clothing beyond wearing a Yankees hat next time….

  4. 4.

    randy khan

    @PsiFighter37:

    The Yankees hat – that was your mistake.  Right-thinking people try to avoid people wearing Yankees caps, especially outside the NY Metro area.

  5. 5.

    piratedan

    @PsiFighter37: if you want to stand out in Denver, I would recommend Chiefs’ gear, just sayin’ :-).  Sorry that it didn’t happen for you gents to meet.

  8. 8.

    dmsilev

    I’m shocked:
    Boebert pushed to loosen drilling rules. She failed to disclose her husband’s income from energy consulting.

    Well, ok, not really all that shocked. Guess posing with her pistol just wasn’t bringing in the cash.

    When Lauren Boebert, the pistol-packing Republican firebrand, was running for Congress last year, she traced her income to Shooters Grill, a restaurant she and her husband own in Rifle, Colo.

    She suggested her husband also did some consulting, listing “Boebert Consulting — spouse” on her candidate form, but identified his income source as “N/A.”

    Only now, with Boebert not just in Congress but on the House Natural Resources Committee, has she revealed that her husband made $478,000 last year working as a consultant for an energy firm. He made $460,000 the year before, she disclosed in a filing Tuesday with the House of Representatives. Her husband, Jayson Boebert, earned that income as a consultant for Terra Energy Productions, according to the filing.

    Boebert has been a staunch advocate for the energy industry during her first six months in office, introducing a bill in February seeking to bar the president from issuing moratoriums on oil and gas leasing and permitting on some federal land.

  10. 10.

    Just Chuck

    Had a scheduling conflict and couldn’t come up. Sorry I forgot to let y’all know. One of these days I’ll annoy y’all in person. Anyone local to Denver or the Springs, feel to hit me up anytime at [email protected] if you want to do a meetup of two (mod types, don’t bother de-spamming the address, gmail does just fine at at filtering)

  12. 12.

    SpaceUnit

    I’m in the Denver area but sort of new to this jackal forum. Maybe next time if it’s somewhere near Union Station so I can take the train. Driving and parking in downtown Denver is for the birds.

  13. 13.

    smith

    @dmsilev:  Hmmm. Is somebody about to crack down on unreported conflicts of interest among congressional spouses? Wasn’t it just about a week ago that Rand Paul suddenly remembered a stock purchase his wife had made 16 months ago?

  14. 14.

    Hoodie

    @dmsilev: Wonder how long he’s been “consulting.”   His LinkedIn profile lists him as a “well site supervisor” for Chesapeake Energy.  That’s a 100k/year job.   They claimed losses of over $100k in 2019 and 2020 on their ptomain palace restaurant.  If it smells like payola . . .   The thing is these mooks suck at covering their tracks.

  18. 18.

    rikyrah

    I am beginning to resent the non-vaxxers more and more everyday.

    I haven’t seen one of my sisters since September 2019. I was planning on seeing her next month, but now with Ms Delta Rona out there, I just don’t trust any travel plans. Wanted to do Amtrak, cause I didn’t want to drive. I let my reservation die, cause I will not get on a rolling petri dish with the lying unvaccinated ??

    Phucking clowns ??

  21. 21.

    CaseyL

    @PsiFighter37:  I have missed at least one meetup because I couldn’t find anyone  and, for all I know, they were sitting right in front of me.  It’s a real problem, trying to meet people you only know online and have never seen.

    That was a good few years ago, though.  Now, quite a few BJ Meetups have some kind of signage, or a green balloon, or silly hats, or something, so they can be found in a crowd.

  24. 24.

    Scamp Dog

    I wound up missing because my plane from Michigan arrived about an hour late, just after 8 pm instead of just before 7. I figured by the time I arrived downtown the meeting would be winding down at best. Let’s try again when the plague has died down a bit.

  25. 25.

    What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @rikyrah: Bummer. Is driving feasible? Otherwise I’m guessing the least favored mode of transportation for anti-vaxxers is trains. GOPers hate passenger trains as a general rule.

  26. 26.

    KrackenJack

    I thought the microchips were going to fix this problem. That’s what happens when you use the first release of a Microsoft product. They’ll have it working in the Omega variant booster.

  27. 27.

    Rob

    Oh, there’s another Rob who is a lurker? I think I need to change my nym.

    (I am not in the photo.)

    –Rob in Maryland​

  29. 29.

    Cacti

    So, about that MAGA terrorist in DC today.

    Big thanks bruh for reminding the public who remains the biggest threat to the United States.

    Also, who wants to bet that he called it the “Liberry of Congress”?

  30. 30.

    WaterGirl

    @Rob: Yes, Rob the lurker was there last night and sent the photo.  But I don’t know if he has ever commented, so I have no idea what his nym might be, if he even has one.

    Lurker Rob, you should definitely start commenting.  :-)

  34. 34.

    Citizen Alan

    The fat redneck eagle has landed.  After a somewhat nightmarish plane trip that took 7 hours longer than it was supposed to, your humble Mississippi expat is officially a resident of Queens, New York for the next year (at least; got an interview for a career gig up here next week). If I can  find the time, I’m gonna start blogging about it next week.

  42. 42.

    Mary G

    @rikyrah: I remember you saying in June that you were going to stay masked up and out of restaurants until September. I thought you were being a bit too careful. Ha! What a fool I was. Listen to Black women indeed.

    How is Peanut doing? Is she old enough to have gotten vaccinated and back to school? I’m sure you posted and I missed it or lost it down the memory hole, but I think of her and all the other jackals’ kiddos often.

  43. 43.

    Anyway

    Ok, this cracked me up. Psi37 was in the bar and y’all didn’t meet up!!! Perils of non-virtual communication :-)

  45. 45.

    trollhattan

    The Calder Fire, a relatively new blaze between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, has grown nearly to Highway 50, which is not only bad for, you know, using the highway but it could then jump across to a new hillside. Hills propagate fire, acting as a geographic chimney.

    Meanwhile, the Dixie Fire that may have consumed Prof Levenson’s family cabins, grew more than 30k acres. It has the hallmarks of a fire that can only be put out by winter. Assuming we get a winter.

  47. 47.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @dmsilev:

    This paragraph from later in the same WaPo article you cited, made me laugh:

    Boebert Consulting was formed in 2012 but is classified as delinquent, according to the secretary of state’s office, meaning it hasn’t filed the necessary reports or kept a registered agent on file. No business by the name of Terra Energy Productions is registered in Colorado, according to a database maintained by the secretary of state’s office. Terra Energy Partners is an oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Houston. The company did not respond to several messages from The Washington Post.

    Honestly, where do they find these people?

  49. 49.

    ActiveDad

    @WaterGirl: As @Anyway guessed, it’s a sour: Odell’s Sippin’ Pretty. (Which was an ordering mistake on my part, I don’t generally like sours.)

    @PsiFighter37 sorry we missed you. Pollyanna and Quaker great to meet you IRL.

    I’ll do my best to comment more!

    -Lurker Rob

  53. 53.

    germy

    If a Democrat had said that they condemn the guy who shot up the congressional baseball game but understood his frustration with fascism the party would have run him out of town in 7 seconds. There is basically no space between the fringe-right and the mainstream GOP. https://t.co/ELn9d8hDak

    — Joshua Holland (@JoshuaHol) August 19, 2021

  55. 55.

    Roger Moore

     We may need some literal green balloons so this doesn’t happen again.

    I have been sure to bring literal green balloons to our meetups here in the LA area. It really helps people find the table!

  62. 62.

    Steeplejack

    Etiquette/hygiene question: Is it still considered eating in bed if you’re sitting on the edge of the bed?

  78. 78.

    germy

    Did you see how the Taliban rolled through the streets and took back their county? I know a few dudes who would do the same with me right now.— Robert J. O'Neill (@mchooyah) August 19, 2021

    This is the guy who claimed he killed Osama Bin Laden.

    He wants to roll through U.S. streets like the taliban.

  81. 81.

    Immanentize

    @raven: thats great! Congrats. I’m hoping the OTC versions show up in time for me to hear my students in a few years.

  82. 82.

    Geminid

    I hope Mr. 37 doesn’t feel too bad about the imperfect meetup. He introduced three good people to each other. This was a real achievement, and 37 only had to fly 1700 miles to pull it off.

  83. 83.

    trollhattan

    @germy: ​
     I don’ t even have thoughts anymore, much less those prayer thingies.

    Locally, our Covid hospitalization and ICU rates are approaching their historic highs, several times the values of one year ago.

  87. 87.

    Rob

    @Rob:

    from twitter.com/ChadPergram just now

    USCP on Capitol incident: A bomb was not found in the vehicle, but possible bomb making materials were collected from the truck. Our investigators are working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia to determine the charges.

  88. 88.

    germy

    @Cacti:

    A few nights ago the TV show “Inside Edition” on NBC had him on as an expert on the Afghanistan situation.

    He made an effort to sound reasonable “I don’t blame Biden, I don’t blame Trump” etc.  but he’s among friends he sounds more radical.

    And did he even kill OBL?  I thought that was a controversial claim.

  89. 89.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @glc:

    It does indeed. My TBR queue is getting out of control (again) (still), but I think I’ll have a look at this one. Thanks for the links.

  92. 92.

    trollhattan

    @Rob: “Sir, we’ve found a 12-volt lead-acid battery and a Bic lighter. I think this guy meant business.”

  93. 93.

    JustRuss

    For some reason the phrase “wretched hive of scum and villainy” popped into my head when I saw that pic.  Probly just a coincerdince.

  95. 95.

    jnfr

    Sorry everyone didn’t find each other, but yay! that some did! Maybe we’ll see you after the pandemic.

    We just had a big hailstorm here in Westminster, and a tornado cell that fortunately did not spawn a funnel.

  99. 99.

    Major Major Major Major

    Ah jeez, oh no!

    I once skipped a meet up because I didn’t want to ask the restaurant host for “balloon juice” and instead spent a half hour out front feeling panicky and depressed, so don’t feel too bad.

  100. 100.

    NotMax

    FYI.

    The White House said President Joe Biden would nominate Charles F. Sams III to be director of the National Park Service, moving to fill a post that has gone without a Senate-confirmed leader since 2017.

    Sams has a background in conservation management, has worked in state and tribal governments for more than 25 years and served in the U.S. Navy, the White House said Wednesday.
    [snip]
    …Sams would be the first director of the agency to be an enrolled member of a Native American tribe, Interior spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz said.
    [snip]
    “Never in the 104-year history of the NPS has the agency gone through an entire administration without a permanent director,” Paul Anderson, president of the Association of National Park Rangers, wrote last year to the Biden transition team.

    The last person the Senate confirmed to be director of the parks service was Jonathan Jarvis, who was confirmed by voice vote in 2009 and served until January 2017. Source

  106. 106.

    Nobdy in particular

    @raven:

    @Immanentize: I’ve read things that say those can be a problem.

    Just taking this opportunity to bring more Public Health PSAs.

    Almost any medical device you buy on TV  you shouldn’t have bought on TV. Especially “health” products. If you are one of those folks who use a CPAP or BiPAP machine, a respirator – they’ve been recalled.

    com/healthcare/e/sleep/communications/src-update#top

    And if you bought one of those So Clean contraptions James Tiberius Kirk flogged on TV, that was the culprit.  It ate through rings and seals and gaskets during the “cleaning cycle.” But I get a new one anyway, although mine is fine. These things ain’t cheap 10K and higher. I just don’t get it.

    As Franklin said, “commerce is generally cheating.”

  107. 107.

    Scout211

    @trollhattan:

    The Caldor fire has devastated the town of Grizzly Flats.  https://www.kcra.com/article/el-dorado-county-caldor-fire-aug-19/37348911#

    The entire El Dorado National Forest is now closed through September.

    The Caldor Fire, which ignited Saturday near Little Mountain between Omo Ranch and Grizzly Flats, had charred at least 65,474 acres, more than 100 square miles, as of Thursday morning with no containment, Cal Fire said.

    And the Dixie fire has burned over one third of Lassen National Park.

    https://www.sfgate.com/california-wildfires/article/Lassen-volcanic-national-park-fire-dixie-morgan-16396213.php

    California is burning . . .

  109. 109.

    Another Scott

    @WaterGirl: Maybe there should be an obvious thread during the meetups so that stragglers or people who can’t find the group can indicate that they’re having trouble?

    “Whar U at??”

    “We’re at the corner table under the moose head!!”

    Something like that?

    Of course, it depends on the people in the meetup watching their phones and having a decent internet connection…

    Just a thought.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  110. 110.

    trollhattan

    @Scout211:

    Did not realize it had gone that far into Lassen Park. The burn map overlays dozens of trail miles I’ve hike, lakes I’ve camped alongside. So very sad.

  114. 114.

    JoyceH

    @Cacti: 

    who wants to bet that he called it the “Liberry of Congress”?

    I don’t think he even realized he was at the Library of Congress – he was apparently looking for the Capitol building. Geez, wouldn’t you think these guys would use Google Images to be able to recognize the building they plan to bomb?

    In other news, three new COVID infections announced from the Senate – all three Senators are vaccinated. Doesn’t it sound like breakthroughs are more common than we’ve been told?

  117. 117.

    Scout211

    And a public service announcement for Californians:

    Be sure to sign up for your county’s CODE RED alert program.  The county officials in El Dorado and Amador Counties were urging people to get signed up because that is how they get evacuation warnings and evacuation orders go out to hundreds of homes and businesses. Each county has a sign-up on their county emergency services section of their website.

    Edited for clarity

  118. 118.

    Another Scott

    @trollhattan: A recent fire in the Great Dismal Swamp in VA burned for 111 days.

    If the ground can stay wet, the peat won’t burn as deep, said Tim Craig, the refuge’s fire management officer. Smoldering ground fire is what keeps the swamp burning for months, he said.

    Lowie said there also has been talk of preemptively filling the ditches during drought conditions.

    “If we’re going to be hotter and drier with more fires, we need to do something now,” said Lowie, adding that almost every year since 2004 has been drier than normal, creating drought conditions conducive to wildfires.

    Refuge officials also have been talking about the future of logging in the swamp, a practice that dates to when George Washington bought the swampland.

    More recently, after Hurricane Isabel in 2003, loggers were brought in to clear out trees so Atlantic white cedar could be restored. Lowie said officials are talking now about whether the benefits of logging for habitat restoration outweigh the added risk that logging brings during the dry periods.

    Lowie said a fire can blaze through dry, open land that logging creates when it eliminates forest canopy. Loggers also leave behind stumps and debris, called “slash,” which becomes little more than firewood once a blaze starts, he said.

    Logging slash fed a fire that caused almost 100,000 acres of the swamp to burn in a blaze that lasted from 1923 to 1926. Logging equipment also caused the South One fire to ignite.

    After South One, Lowie said the refuge looked into the cost of having a contractor remove some of the fire-fueling debris. The bid came in at $2,600 an acre, he said. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the refuge, ultimately rejected the idea, he said.

    “We would basically be paying someone to remove trash,” Lowie said.

    The most recent fire has left behind a whole new layer of slash that will dry out and ultimately turn into kindling for the next fire.

    You folks in the West don’t have the option of flooding the forest…

    :-(

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  120. 120.

    Dan B

    @WaterGirl: Such cuties!  Have they all been smile models?

    Sad Psi. ;<(

    Hoping for another Seattle Meetup when Covid is under control.  We’re going to the ocean with a group of vacc’d friends over Labor Day.  The local hospital has a better-than-average hospital bed availability for WA, 10%!*

     

    * 3 beds!!!!!

  121. 121.

    germy

    @JoyceH: three new COVID infections announced from the Senate – all three Senators are vaccinated. Doesn’t it sound like breakthroughs are more common than we’ve been told?

    I think it’s just that they’re tested constantly.  Unlike the rest of us vaccinated citizens.

    It’s a different standard of health care for these people.

  122. 122.

    Dan B

    @trollhattan: I used to whinge that California was going to be chaparral in the north and Baja California in the south.  It was an emotionless, analytical observation.  The actual process is emotionally draining.  On top of that it seems increasingly likely that my sweet damp Western WA may be consumed by devastating firestorms.  We’ve had less than 1/4″ rain in more than two months.  Forests on the Kitsap Peninsula, east of the Olympics (Mountains) were bone dry last week.  These forests are among the most dense on earth, more dense than the tropics.  We’ve seen how “Patriotic Americans” do in a pandemic.

    Dog has sent a warmup exam.

  123. 123.

    the pollyanna from hell

    Mix-up probably my fault as first on scene. I just waved at anyone who seemed lost. I eliminated the bar because I never saw meet-up pictures at a bar.
    I recognized quakerinabasement instantly but didn’t figure it out til the end: we unitarians worked with the quakers on immigrant justice.​

  124. 124.

    Steeplejack

    Problem solved indeed!
    @germy:

    This decision allows people to attend church services. If you choose not to attend worship services for fear you will be one of the fraction of 1 percent of Americans who die from COVID you simply don’t have to attend. Problem solved. Good grief!

    — Steve Walsh (@Stevewalsh2010) February 7, 2021

  125. 125.

    Almost Retired

    Someday, there will be a Los Angeles meetup at billinglendaleCA’s house. He may or may not know about it in advance.​

  131. 131.

    Another Scott

    @Starboard Tack: “Psst!  Mr. Boebert!  Here half-a-million!  You know what to do!!”

    “You betcha!”

    “Be sure you set up your LLC with the state and report it on the financial disclosure forms!”

    “Yeah, yeah.  Whatever…”

    Only the best people.

    Cheers,
    Sott.

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