Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

White supremacy is terrorism.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

You cannot love your country only when you win.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

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Open Thread

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This is an open thread, but in case you missed it, Mustang Bobby told us this morning in the comments that his blog Bark Bark Woof Woof turned eighteen today.  That’s quite a feat these days, and well worth noting!

Bark Bark Woof Woof Turns Eighteen!

Mustang Bobby in his blog post today:

Today marks the eighteenth anniversary of the start of this blog. And if the counter is correct, this is the 30,798th post.

I’m told that in terms of life expectancy of blogs, eighteen years is like an eon; a lot of blogs have come and gone since I started, and even blogging itself is somewhat of a dinosaur: everyone now has Twitter and Instagram and Tik-Tock or whatever the newest form of social media there is. (The blog does have a Twitter account — @BobbbyBBWW — but I don’t feed it.) But here I am, still poking away on this old-fashioned form, the equivalent of an Underwood typewriter in a voice-to-text world.

A lot has happened since that Saturday afternoon in November 2003 when I put up the first post, and a lot has changed…

Congratulations, Mustang Bobby!

Reminder: If you are a jackal with your own blog, we are happy to list you under Readers and Friends of Balloon Juice on our blogroll.  (The blogroll is in the footer.)

Totally Open Thread.

Reader Interactions

98Comments

  1. 1.

    WaterGirl

    I am going to go take a nap.

    Some of you know that I went to an old friend’s memorial service on Saturday.  I started coughing last night, and I have the sniffles, and my eyes feel like they do when I’m sick, and I keep turning up the heat and my tummy is not normal.

    As you can guess, I am not a particularly happy camper.  I’ll take a test before the end of the week, but not sooner because a negative test doesn’t mean much early on.   Anyway, it’s off to bed for me, I am feeling super tired.

    We were mostly outdoors but were inside for about 30 minutes, getting food, signing the book, saying goodbye to the host.  I was one of two people who wore a mask inside, and I tried to keep my distance outside, but when eating I was sitting next to my friend on a bench for probably 20 or 30 minutes..

    I masked in the car on the way there and back, but the friend I rode with did not.  I have been super careful since Feb 2020 and if this is what it appears it may be, I am going to be pissed

    Our last 60-degree day, and I am going to spend it napping inside.  grumble, grumble

  2. 2.

    Butch

    I’ve been reading Bark Bark Woof Woof for a long time; I never knew that there was a blogroll in the footer here.  I need to check out some of those sites.

  5. 5.

    Brachiator

    Congratulations, Mustang Bobby!

    a lot of blogs have come and gone since I started, and even blogging itself is somewhat of a dinosaur: everyone now has Twitter and Instagram and Tik-Tock or whatever the newest form of social media there is.

    I was listening to a BBC History Extra podcast interview with the author of a fascinating history of the wheel. He noted how in the 1950s, American teens and car culture influenced the rest of the world. But today it is Chinese teenagers and their smart phones who are global influencers. They were the first big users of Tik-Tock.

    ETA: Tom Standage is the author of A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel to the Car to What Comes Next (Bloomsbury, 2021).

  6. 6.

    VOR

    @WaterGirl: Hope you feel better soon. I felt sneezy and feverish a week ago. It felt like a normal cold with no obvious COVID symptoms like loss of taste or smell. But there is always that worry in the back of your mind these days, even if you are fully vaccinated. Get your rest, hope it helps.

  7. 7.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Feel better WaterGirl. My optimistic take is that while surface contact transmission of Covid is very rare, we can still easily catch colds that way. So if you were wearing mask regularly it may be more likely a cold (fingers crossed).

  8. 8.

    brendancalling

    @WaterGirl: There’s a cold going around. I went to Montréal this weekend, and my kid was too sick to hang out. he had a fever and everything, but rapid covid test came back negative.

  9. 9.

    Weekend Editor

    Reminder: If you are a jackal with your own blog, we are happy to list you under Readers and Friends of Balloon Juice on our blogroll.  (The blogroll is in the footer.)

    I blog at Some Weekend Reading.  A few political rants and a lot of skeptical looks at the news from a retired physicist and statistician who wishes reporters would use data better.

    Can that be added to the blogroll?

    Thanks!

  10. 10.

    Matt McIrvin

    @brendancalling: My daughter caught a cold at school a couple of weeks ago–a couple days of just a sore throat, typical cold symptoms after that, and they went away after a few days. It apparently had been going around. It was the kind of thing we’d have thought nothing of in the Before Times, but as it was, there was a doctor visit and days home from school and a couple of COVID rapid tests.

  11. 11.

    susanna

    Congratulations, Mustang Bobby!  Your blogging history is impressive, and may it continue successfully for as long as you choose.

    Watergirl, take care so you can get up to enjoy the waning sunshine days!  In good health, of course.

  12. 12.

    PaulWartenberg

    Congrats to Mustang Bobby!

    I also Blog intermittently at two different accounts.

    You Might Notice a Trend is my main blog where I rant about politics, culture, politics, sports, politics, and cheese. https://noticeatrend.blogspot.com/

    WittyLibrarian and the Book with the Blue Cover is my librarianship/writing blog where I also share pics of cats and rant about comic books and stuff I read (my geek stuff tends to go there, although I do bounce between the two). https://wittylibrarian.blogspot.com/

    If you can please add my blogs to the Blogroll, thank you.

  15. 15.

    Mary G

    Congratulations, Mustang Bobby! Impressive achievement!

    Hope you just have a cold, WG. The teen and his gf had one last week and her parents paid for tests which were negative. The housemate resumed putting cut onions and garlic in all our rooms, which she did faithfully for the first 18 months of the pandemic.

  18. 18.

    FlyingToaster

    WarriorTeen was sick with a headcold last Wed-Sun; it’s going around the 8th grade (patient Zero has been sniffly for like two weeks but his [redacted] parental units don’t make him stay home.  Masking works better for Covid than rhinoviruses, alas.

    Thursday, WT slept for 20 hours and spiked a fever; Friday I dosed them with DayQuil and made them go to their prospective HS visit despite serious Brain Fog.  Upon return, they coughed up an insane amount of phlegm, and blew a big bloody mucous clot out of their nose (seriously, ewwwww).  And have been on the mend, since.  Back to school today with just a dry-ish throat.

    We did a rapid antigen test Wednesday evening and Friday morning; just a severe headcold.  School does PCR tests every Monday.

  20. 20.

    Mike in NC

    It’s a crisp early autumn day here, sunny and about 65. I spent an hour raking leaves and am taking a break to hydrate. The neighbors are walking their dogs or washing their cars.

  22. 22.

    Mustang Bobby

    Thank you so much for the kind words and appreciation.  Balloon Juice has been a source of information, mirth, snark, pet pictures, gardening tips, cooking inspiration, and just plain good fellowship all these years.  I am honored, @WaterGirl, and thank you for your support of my writing.

    And now, as President Josiah Bartlet asked, “What’s next?”

  23. 23.

    Fair Economist

    @Mary G:

    The housemate resumed putting cut onions and garlic in all our rooms, which she did faithfully for the first 18 months of the pandemic.

    @Anyway:

    What is that supposed to achieve? New to me …

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Keeps vampires out.

    No, it keeps *people* out. Which is a good thing if you’ve got a contagious disease!

  28. 28.

    zhena gogolia

    If political reporters covered sports, stories would read, "The NE Patriots encountered setbacks, faced pushback, angered fans, made errors and failed to score all the points in their 54-13 struggle with the NY Jets."— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) November 7, 2021

  34. 34.

    Brachiator

    @Mary G:

    The housemate resumed putting cut onions and garlic in all our rooms, which she did faithfully for the first 18 months of the pandemic.

    Doesn’t this attract cannibals?

  38. 38.

    CaseyL

    @WaterGirl: Hope your nap has you waking up feeling wonderfully, languidly, rested.

    Like many other people, I wonder when -or if! – we’ll be able to treat incipient upper respiratory infections with the no-big-deal response of the Before Times.

    During the “hard” lock down, a friend recommended, and loaned me, a book called “Station Eleven.” It’s set during, and 10 years after, a respiratory plague kills off most of the human population. Just the thing to read while living through something similar in real life! (The novel is actually quite good, focusing more on how people are revealed – to themselves and others – for who they really are.)

    Anyway, as was probably inevitable, the book’s movie rights were snapped up, and a film based on the book is coming out. I can’t tell from the trailer how faithful they’ve been to the theme of the novel, and of course expect the movie to more of a conventional post-apocalypse story, but one can always hope for a pleasant surprise.

  39. 39.

    Gin & Tonic

    Here’s a weird story. Guy named Evan Neumann of California, wanted by the FBI for 1/6-related charges, sold his home and fled the US in March. Now he turns up in Belarus, and is spotlighted on state TV saying “Goodbye, America.”

    “Goodbye, America!” That’s the title of this segment on Belarusian state TV in which American Evan Neumann of California explains he fled the US to evade the FBI. He’s wanted on 6 counts related to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and now wants asylum in authoritarian Belarus. pic.twitter.com/ncxebdfylO
    — Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) November 8, 2021

  42. 42.

    Tony Jay

    I do like the idea of putting garlic out to fend off any Rick Scott lookalikey nosferatu that might be floating eerily outside your window. If I remember correctly one of the clues that you might have a genuine infestation of the Undead is a sudden outbreak of plague, so yeah, better safe than sorry.

    Not sure about the onions, though. Probably better in a nice hearty casserole.

  43. 43.

    brendancalling

    PS: it’s not my blog, but I am part of the team at Progress Pond, which, along with Balloon Juice and LGM, is one of the remaining three blogs I seriously read every day. Almost all the others have fallen by the wayside, some of them disappointingly so (lookin’ at you, baby blue cherub).

  44. 44.

    hueyplong

    @Gin & Tonic: Gotta wonder what he was up to on 1/6 when you consider the fact that most everyone pleading guilty so far has gotten probation or sentences measured in days.

    I’m with Baud, let them all go to Belarus and, more importantly, stay there for good.

  45. 45.

    karen marie

    I have a cat litter problem I’d like some advice on. I have a kitten for the first time in almost 20 years. I used regular non-clumping litter with my previous cats but started this monster on “So Phresh” – a “light” clumping litter. What a mess that was! I live in AZ – it’s very dry and so there’s a lot of static. The litter leaving the pan with her was obnoxious.

    The current litteris Tidy Cat clumping but not “light.” I have to vacuum the bathroom multiple times a day. I considered switching back to non-clumping clay but I really like the quick cleanup of the clumps, because, obvs, I can remove clumps over the course of the day as opposed to my old method of keeping only a cup of litter in the pan and cleaning and swapping the clean wet pan for a clean dry pan multiple times a day. I hate stepping in even small amounts of litter when I use the bathroom!

    My apartment is small and my bathroom is tiny but there are no other options for where to put the pan because it has to be somewhere the dog can’t get at it, and the bathroom is the only place I can gate. I am not keen on an enclosed litter pan because it doesn’t solve the litter outside the box problem and makes it more complicated to clean frequently.

    Is this just my new reality?

  46. 46.

    germy

    Pretty insane but totally predictable that the media hasn’t mentioned a peep of the 41 seats being flipped to blue across 21 counties in Georgia in municipal elections on Tuesday’s election. I mentioned it two days ago and nothing. Once again, the doom and gloom is for ratings.

    — Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) November 8, 2021

  54. 54.

    Almost Retired

    @WaterGirl:   Oh no!  Although I rarely say, “I hope you have a terrible head cold,” I do hope that’s all it is.  Let us know.

  55. 55.

    germy

    @Baud:

    https://www.georgiademocrat.org/democrats-net-30-seats-statewide-in-municipal-elections/

    In Georgia’s November 2, 2021 statewide municipal elections, Democrats gained a net total of more than 30 seats and counting, including mayorships in Cairo, Stone Mountain, Hampton, and McDonough and crucial city council seats in Lawrenceville, Peachtree Corners, Sandy Springs, Tucker, Stone Mountain, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Kennesaw, and Powder Springs.

    Throughout the municipal election season, the Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG) made nearly 91,000 calls and sent nearly 185,000 texts to voters across the state to get out the vote in dozens of targeted races.

    Candidates in DPG-targeted races flipped 41 seats in 21 counties across Georgia, while Republican candidates picked up just 6. The counties that saw Democratic flips include Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Chatham, Clarke, Cobb, Cook, DeKalb, Fulton, Grady, Gwinnett, Heard, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Lanier, Meriwether, Mitchell, Oconee, Troup, and Walton.

  60. 60.

    NotMax

    Having blogged daily for over ten years (approximately ’99 to ’10, IIRC), including a stint simultaneously guest blogging at a place other then my own, can attest this is no small accomplishment.

  61. 61.

    karen marie

    @CaseyL: Yes, my bathroom is too small for that to work. Her pan is between the toilet and sink, and the only floor space is just enough to sit on the pot or climb into the tub. With the door all the way open, there’s not even enough room to stand fully in front of the sink.

    This is why I said I’d never get another cat. But when presented with a three-week old kitten, how could I say no? She was so tiny! She needed me!

  63. 63.

    germy

    @Baud:

    That tweet was the first I’d heard about it.

    I suspect if the news was reversed (GOP picking up seats) it’d be shouted from every MSM rooftop.

  65. 65.

    karen marie

    @germy: The clumping version has terrible reviews on Chewy:

    “The litter leaves a slimy residue which is almost impossible to completely clean.”

    “Cat is covered in dust, floor is covered in litter and dust.”

    “Too hard to scoop because it doesnt shake between the openings of a litter scooper. Also its very dusty so my black cat looked like his paws were dirty after using the litter box. Very difficult to clean and scoop or take care of.”

    I think I am just going to have to get used to frequent vacuuming.

  66. 66.

    germy

    @hueyplong:

    I still think there’s something neurologically wrong with Gosar.  He says he’s only got a bad back or something, but it looks more serious than that.

  68. 68.

    Frankensteinbeck

    I found out that I can’t keep up with a blog, but I’ve been able to keep up with my microfiction Twitter thread, and it seems to get some attention.  I think it’s the third best advertising I’ve ever done, honestly.  The second best was that Artists In Our Midst post here that Watergirl was so kind as to put up for my last book release.  I feel guilty about it, for no clear reason.  The best is the weird titles of my books.  I guarantee I would not have gotten enough glances to become a success without the title Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m A Supervillain.

  70. 70.

    CaseyL

    @karen marie: Good heavens, they need to be bottle fed every two hours at that age! Kudos to you for adopting the wee mite!

    If you had the funds, and didn’t mind a fairly major redo of the bathroom, I’d suggest swapping out the current sink for a wall sink you could put the litter pan under. But that wouldn’t actually solve the current problem.

  71. 71.

    Kayla Rudbek

    I’m getting old; I want to go out and buy athletic wool socks (cycling and running) and base layer tops, and a flannel duvet cover to boot.

    Fall is the time of year when a knitter’s thoughts turn toward piling on the finished objects..,(no I’m not going to knit myself a cycling jersey or dedicated athletic socks.  I have more than enough ideas with respect to hats, neck gaiter, shrug, cropped sweater, and ear covers to fit my helmet).

  72. 72.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    The second best was that Artists In Our Midst post here that Watergirl was so kind as to put up for my last book release.  I feel guilty about it, for no clear reason.

    You certainly shouldn’t! On account of that post, I read Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m a Supervillain, which I enjoyed.  And yeah, it’s an awesome title.

  73. 73.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @Frankensteinbeck: yes, covers indicate genre, but a good/interesting title is what’s going to get me to pull a book off the shelf at the store or the library

  74. 74.

    lowtechcyclist

    @WaterGirl:

    Some of you know that I went to an old friend’s memorial service on Saturday.  I started coughing last night, and I have the sniffles, and my eyes feel like they do when I’m sick, and I keep turning up the heat and my tummy is not normal.

    Sending thoughts, prayers, and good vibes your way – here’s hoping it really is just a bad cold.

  75. 75.

    Woodrow/asim

    @karen marie: I think I am just going to have to get used to frequent vacuuming.

    Sadly, I’d agree. Our cats use pine litter, which at least is finer and tends to manage smell well. What gets outside the box is also pretty easy on the vacuum, once the kitties rip it up as part of the process.

  77. 77.

    Roger Moore

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    I guarantee I would not have gotten enough glances to become a success without the title Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m A Supervillain.

    It’s a funny title, but it does a great job of telling you exactly what the story is about.  Is there any news on the licensing rights?

  79. 79.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    In a weird bit of family news, my wife this weekend discovered a picture of her uncle with Jimmy Durante. He played marimba in a band (we knew that) which was apparently good enough to record with Durante (we didn’t know that).

    Edit to add: My wife is bursting my bubble, telling me that the publicity shot doesn’t necessarily mean he was on the record or that they recorded with him. I’m a little confused what it does mean.

    Anyway it’s still pretty cool.

  83. 83.

    Hildebrand

    I ordered an electric snow-blower from Home Depot – since shipping was free, I had it sent to my house.  This morning, the FedEx truck dropped off a package from Home Depot – a drill bit.  I did not order a drill bit.

    Strangely enough, it had the right order number on it – so I called customer service to see what was going on.

    Their first impulse: Did porch pirates steal the snow-blower?

    Me: No, that’s not possible, I was home, I saw the FedEx driver walk down my driveway to the truck.

    Thus, they needed to set up a way to return my item and then send out a new one.  The conversation just got weirder from there:

    Them: Unfortunately, we don’t have return shipping for a 44lb item. You’ll have to return it at the store.

    Me: I received a drill bit, not a 44lb item, which would have been the snow-blower, which would mean that I wouldn’t need to send it back, or even call you.

    Them: But the FedEx manifest says it was 44lbs.

    Me: I’ll send you a picture.  It was a drill bit.  I assure you it doesn’t weigh 44lbs.

    Them: Are you sure you looked for the box?

    Me: Umm, yes.  Quite sure.

    From there it devolved into a long conversation sorting out the return of the drill bit before they would refund my money – even though I told them I simply wanted to receive the snow-blower that I ordered and paid for.  It was a long and dumb conversation, and I am just hoping that this works out  sooner rather than later.

    Stay tuned.

  85. 85.

    karen marie

    @CaseyL: Yeah, I rent. If I had house money this wouldn’t be a problem.

    I was totally unprepared to be a mother cat but given how well she’s doing, I am very proud of myself and her!

  86. 86.

    Dan B

    @WaterGirl: Get well soon!  Are you vaxxed and boostered?  I assume that would make Covid very unlikely.  Sorry if it’s a bad cold.  Better than the alternative.

  89. 89.

    J R in WV

    @karen marie: ​
     

    I have a cat litter problem I’d like some advice on.

    Try Feline Pine or a similar wood pellet litter. The little pellets are too large to come out on kitty feet, yet absorb liquids without falling apart.

    Just for the record, this time my comment window had both the visual tab and the text tab, but the visual tab would not accept focus, and didn’t have the comment data I was replying to, tho the text tab did have the comment data I was replying to.

    Linux Ubuntu 18.04.6, Firefox 94.0 and a System 76 laptop pretty recent vintage. I’m trying to post details every time things are strange and different.

  94. 94.

    grandmaBear

    We had a couple of colds in our household recently. Both of us tested negative, but I realized I was annoyed even so because I’d gone 18 months without one and I liked that. I wore a mask in the outside world because I assume other people now feel the same way. There’s no need to pass along my cold.

  97. 97.

    WaterGirl

    I think I forgot to reply to some of the folks who listed their blog for me to add.  I have added all the ones I saw, so if you added one and you don’t see it in the blogroll, I missed it somehow, so please point it out.

    If you do see yours listed in the blogroll, please click the link and make sure it takes you to the right place.  I didn’t verify all the links after I added them.  Tired, and headed back to bed.

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