Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

When I was faster i was always behind.

This blog will pay for itself.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

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

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

Let there be snark.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

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

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

The willow is too close to the house.

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

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / Anniversary Week / Anniversary Week: Balloon Juice Turns 20!

Anniversary Week: Balloon Juice Turns 20!

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20 years ago today, Balloon Juice went live and John Cole put up his first post.

Steve, amazing artwork by Avalune

John’s first post, 20 years ago today:

Jan 2, 2002
by John Cole

Since nothing in my life is easy, I doubt this will work the first time I try it. If it does work, I will be moderately elated.

Nearly 70,000 blog posts and 6.5 million comments later, John Cole is still here, and and so are we.  I would guess that Cole is moderately elated about that, too.

We have some fun things planned for Anniversary Week, at least we hope you’ll think so, and John has some surprises up his sleeve for the new century on Balloon Juice.  20 years in blogging is considered a century, right?

About a third of the 70k blog posts are John Cole posts, and the rest have been written by various authors over the years.  There’s a link in the sidebar that will take you to the first post written by each of the current front-pagers at Balloon Juice.

We have a new Past Authors page so you can check out all the people who have been on the front page of Balloon Juice over time – in chronological order of arrival at Balloon Juice.  If you click on a particular author, you will see all of their posts, from most recent to earliest.  Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the biggest number you see; that will take you to their very first post.

Over the course of the week we’ll be rolling out links to some of the classic posts.  We’ll be naked mopping, losing the mustard, skull-fucking kittens, dining on tire rims and anthrax, faxing credenzas, reaching peak wing nut… Oh wait, that last one didn’t turn out as expected.

My personal favorite might be Living the Dream, the day when Cole got a new pair of cargo shorts:

So last week, I ripped my last pair of cargo shorts. I had worn them until they were so thread bare that when I caught a pocket on a doorknob stumbling around in my usual ogre-like fashion, it ripped them all the way down the side. I went to the store, picked up some more, but also picked up a pair of the same shorts but only 7″ instead of 9″ leg or whatever it is called. Why am I telling you this? Stay with me.

Today, I traveled to go to some meetings, and during a break I sat outside for a while on a bench watching people walk by and just generally enjoying the day. It was kind of hot and humid, but I was in the shade and had on my new shorts, and they were quite comfortable. Sat there for a good bit, checking my email, reading the news online, etc. After about a half hour, I went to scratch my thigh, and to my horror…

We know that as you check out the classic posts you will see some commenter names that we haven’t seen for awhile, and we’ll see a whole lot of “oh, I miss …” (insert commenter name) comments.

We miss them too, so we’re planning a few ‘Homecoming’ posts this week (tailgating optional because of Covid) where we hope that all the old commenters (figure of speech!) will pop back in and let us know what you have been up to!  And maybe some new commenters will pop in, too.

Not to mention the past authors… you are missed. Hoping you can all stop by, too, and even better, let us know if you are up for a guest post to fill us in on what you’ve been up to.   Wherever we could, we included links to what you’re up to on your Past Authors page.   But we couldn’t include what we didn’t know, or what John knew but didn’t tell me.

It’s the commenters and the front-pagers that have made Balloon juice what it is.

Oh my, where are my manners? Who would like some cake?

⭐

Thus concludes the first post of Anniversary Week at Balloon Juice!

Reader Interactions

97Comments

  1. 1.

    Jerzy Russian

    Mr. Cole is so relatable, apart from the part about sitting on a public park bench with his junk hanging out, naked mopping, obsessing over how to peel a banana, etc.

  6. 6.

    Jerzy Russian

    Also two: Betty Cracker’s 10 year anniversary is coming up in a few weeks.

    Also three: Anne Laurie’s first post was May 28, 2009? I would have thought it would have been earlier. I would have guessed at least before Obama’s election.

    Also four: DougJ’s first post was January 6, 2009. Likewise, I would have thought it would have been earlier.

  7. 7.

    mrmoshpotato

    Over the course of the week we’ll be rolling out links to some of the classic posts. We’ll be naked mopping, losing the mustard, skull-fucking kittens, dining on tire rims and anthrax, faxing credenzas

    Gonna be a great week!

  9. 9.

    Jerzy Russian

    @WaterGirl:   Yes, very nice!

    Is there a way for commentators like myself to find the date of our first comment? I search my name in the search function tool and found the three On the Road posts I contributed to.  Google is not helpful either.

  11. 11.

    Mai Naem mobile

    1. @Jerzy Russian: it seems like I’ve been reading Anne Laurie longer than ’09.  I was reading the comments on the cargo shorts post. There’s quite a few commenters on that post I don’t see here anymore. I miss Sara. Her posts were hilarious.
  12. 12.

    HumboldtBlue

    Go back and read some of those first author posts.

    And then read the comments.

    All I remember is Tbogg recommending John as he transitioned, and then Cole poached Betty, and I was forced to follow.

    Never liked Cole.

    Congratulations on an extraordinary endeavor that has created an extraordinary community.

    Rather fascinating both as an observer and a participant, for better or worse.

  14. 14.

    CaseyL

    It’s amazing to think how long BJ has been around, and how long we’ve all been coming here.  My first comment to John – I remember it pretty well – I got in his face, a bit nastily, about some remark he made about federal funding priorities.  He responded more politely than expected, and I felt bad about being angry.

    I wouldn’t mind seeing those Greatest Hits again, but it would be hard to go back and read the comments. So many commenters not around anymore.

  15. 15.

    WaterGirl

    @Jerzy Russian:

    Is there a way for commentators like myself to find the date of our first comment?

    I can search on the back end, assuming the person knows the email address they used when they first started commenting.  Or if they have a distinctive nym, and know what that was.

    In honor of Anniversary Week, I am willing to look up 10 people in each of our “Come Here Often?” or “How Did You Get Here” posts.

  16. 16.

    WaterGirl

    @CaseyL: Have faith!  I am hopeful that we will see some of those folks this week.

    There are a lot of commenters that I think about and wonder how they are doing.  Maybe we’ll have a couple of “Who Do You Miss?” posts.  If we say their names, maybe they will show up.

    *this may be true of trolls, too, so use with caution when mentioning them. :-)

  19. 19.

    Yutsano

    If we’re doing Balloon Juice Classics, we have to post when Cole did his heel turn. I know there was a post where he abandoned the Republican Party but I couldn’t even begin to think of where to find it.

  22. 22.

    Jerzy Russian

    @WaterGirl:   My fake name here hasn’t changed, and my fake E-mail is <my fake name>@gmail.com, and that hasn’t changed.

     

    Anyway, your mention of E-mail gave me an idea.  I went to that E-mail account I created for the sole purpose of posting here, and there was a test message sent to my actual E-mail in November of 2011.  That gives me a rough time frame to start. So I went to the archives here and used my browser to search.  I found something on December 1, where I replied to Schlemizel.  So it seems my 10 year anniversary here came and went without notice.

  23. 23.

    WaterGirl

    @Yutsano: Lucky for you, we have that post on the menu for this week, too.

    Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly which post it is.  Is it when he turned on them for Terri Shiavo?  The day Cole registered as a Democrat?  We have both of those lined up.

    (I was smart enough to ask Steeplejack to help find various posts, and I was lucky enough that he said yes!)

    Steep did a lot of work finding a good number of the posts we’ll be rolling out this week, so be sure to thank him.

  26. 26.

    WaterGirl

    It was fun to put together the Past Authors page.  Some of their first posts were classics, too.

    Some were here for a long time; others were recruited to fill in at various times while DougJ was away.  TBogg was asked to babysit us while Cole was in rehab.

    If you miss any of the previous folks who posted here – I know I do! – we have links to their blogs and their twitter feeds in their individual Past Authors pages.

  28. 28.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    Cowboy Bebop (original) mini-marathon just started on the Cartoon Network. Episodes 1–6.

  29. 29.

    Ruckus

    @WaterGirl:

    I recognize most of the names of past posters on the list. I’m pretty sure I’ve been coming here around 15 yrs but am not actually sure. (As most things in life, age shows it’s limitations in things like remembering dates, especially of normal things that we do regularly. Now I know there will be a question of me using the word normal…)

    Any way if you could I’d appreciate you searching for my earliest comment. I believe I’ve always used a capital in my name Ruckus and my email has been the same since 2005 but then geezer so I may have failed to capitalize early on.

  31. 31.

    frosty

    @WaterGirl: @Jerzy Russian:  Google came up with a comment of mine from March 2011; I believe I may have been here a couple of years before that, commenting as Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason. I’m curious though, so if WG can fit me into the first 10 I’d like to know.

  33. 33.

    guachi

    I know I’ve been reading far longer than I’ve been posting, not that I’m a frequent poster. Seems like I’ve been reading since 2007 or so and first poster in 2010 but I could be really off.

    My nym and email address have never changed.

  34. 34.

    Ruckus

    @WaterGirl:

    Also this is a great idea, this history lesson. I see so many blogs I used to follow have sort of faded out or the blogmaster has moved on to bigger and better or bigger and worse. And some like Alan are no longer with us, maybe they and Betty White can entertain themselves and each other wherever they land.

    To those who have been or are posters, including blogmaster John, those nearly 70K posts and 6 1/2 million comments have been a lot of fun, interesting and yes sometimes exasperating. As a lot of human communication is. This blog has been a highlight of computing for some times. Even when I’ve refrained from commenting because I sometimes fail to communicate what I’m actually thinking, I still have read the blog. It is a community, even if we live half way around the globe, and maybe because we live so far apart and yet can commiserate or cheer on or even call/think someone is a dutyhead. The modern world scares the crap out of some people because they never seem to understand change, but change happens, always has, always  will. It just can to so a lot faster these days.

     

    So Thank you, John and all the front pagers and commenters past, present and future for this bit of modern humanity.

  37. 37.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @eclare: Most of my shots of the B-2 over the past 6 years have been with the sky as a  background, so it was much more difficult to notice the distortion.  The low profile as it is coming at you is quite intentional to give it a low radar profile.  The shots I took today are the best I’ve ever captured.

  40. 40.

    Ladyracterinok

    One of my favorite comment sections was the extensive discussion about who killed the two boys in the tower

    It eas super super great

  41. 41.

    guachi

    Using Google search and limiting my date range to 1/1/2017 as the most recent date gives only two comments of mine. One from May 18, 2011 where I can’t find my comment and a second from January 20, 2012 where I compliment Cole on his World of Warcraft reference in his post title.

    Apparently I didn’t comment at all for the remainder of 2012 through 2015 despite reading every post. Though I know this is wrong as I definitely commented on other things in that time (mostly around election time).

  43. 43.

    Thor Heyerdahl

    Congrats!

    I can’t remember when I started reading here (I know it’s at least since the tire rims and anthrax posting). I believe Markos at the Orange Satan gave a heads up to check it out.

  47. 47.

    Steeplejack

    @James E Powell:

    I start with a Google search of the form

    site:balloon-juice.com [search phrase]

    where [search phrase] is replaced by the word or phrase you are looking for, e.g.

    site:balloon-juice.com living the dream

    That will get you the post that WaterGirl linked to at the top.

    As with any Google search, if you put the phrase in quotes Google will search for that exact phrase; otherwise it looks for the words anywhere in a page. The quotes are useful when you’re trying to narrow down a search.

    After that it gets really gnarly. I’ll save further discussion for later, if anyone is interested.

  48. 48.

    Hermann Fegelein

    There should be a bit of mockery to leaven the appreciation because through and past the 2004 election, Cole was a full-on Republican freak.

    But mostly appreciation and wonder, because almost no Republicans have any capacity for enlightenment.

  51. 51.

    Steeplejack

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Wikipedia:

    The Princes in the Tower refers to the apparent murder in England in the 1480s of the deposed King Edward V of England and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York.

    ETA: It’s the theme of Josephine Tey’s novel The Daughter of Time. That figured in the BJ discussion.

  52. 52.

    Mike s

    Watching John transition from Redstate to who he is now has been encouraging until you realize way too few followed him.

    Still…

  53. 53.

    eddie blake

    (sorry i was in the middle of a titanfall match.)

    happy anniversary, all. i really love this site. definitely helped keep me saner than usual during tang the conqueror’s reign of error. i find the insights i glean from the perspectives of the disparate BJ diaspora to be invaluable.

    thanks, everyone.

  57. 57.

    opiejeanne

    @WaterGirl: I used to blog during W’s reign of terror. I posted this on November 1, 2007. After some commentary from me, It begins:

    a word to the Republican party

    “Go fuck yourself. To death.

  58. 58.

    Asparagus Aspersions

    This is only my second comment in the 14 years or so I’ve been coming here – the time difference living overseas makes it harder to join discussions – but I am a faithful daily reader of nearly all posts and comment threads, and I can’t wait to relive these greatest hits. I stumbled across BJ post-conversion (I think it was a link from Sadly, No) so I’m looking forward to reading John Cole’s break-up post.

  59. 59.

    Honus

    @Asparagus Aspersions: I also got here from Sadly, No the same way.  The post mentioned John’s conversion “on the road from “Shinnston to Bethany” and since I grew up there I took notice.

    Damn, I miss Sadly No.

  60. 60.

    Ida Slapter

    Happy Juiceversary, everybody! I’m still mostly a lurker, but I love the place more than ever and browse it almost daily. I had originally clicked over here from Kos a few times. Stayed for keeps right when Cole went to the shelter to get a cat pal for Tunch, and was lovestruck by Lily instead. The rest is history. I’m reeeeeeally gonna enjoy the forthcoming classic posts! Thank you WG and everyone else who’s helping to produce this extravaganza! ??????

  61. 61.

    R-Jud

    I found this place in 2008, right after Sarah Palin was thrust upon a weary nation, via Andrew Sullivan’s blog at the Atlantic. I’ve read most every day since then but comment rarely, because of the five-plus hour time difference between me and (the majority of) thee.

  62. 62.

    Ida Slapter

    @Honus: I loved Sadly, No! too and I still miss it. So glad some of the great commenters from there and Rump Roast and TBogg still comment here.

  63. 63.

    ColoradoGuy

    I think I migrated here after the late lamented Steve Gilliard passed on. Lurked for nearly a decade before working up the nerve to post here, in the company of so many talented writers.

  64. 64.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    I had always hoped “tire rims and anthrax” would become the name of a rock band.   Yet 13 years later and still no.

  65. 65.

    JWR

    My first comment here, as far as Google is concerned, was in 2012. It was right around election time, and I’ve always regretted that I didn’t preface my comment with something like, “First ever comment. Please don’t kill me.”

    As far as when I started reading here daily, it was right around the time FDL when batsh*t over HRC. (Even Paul Krugman went down the Taylor Marsh rabbit-hole with that Crazy.) I think that was 2007?

    And the very first time I read anything at all here was in 2003 or 2004, when Markos at GOS did his infamous “f*ck those 4 dead mercenaries” post, and recommended John Cole as a right wingnut to watch.

    Ah, the memories..

    ETA. Unless I’m mistaken, the first commenter to be given the FDL banhammer went by the nym “Raven”. ;)

  66. 66.

    Cermet

    The picture of Steve really captures the cat’s essence – impressive achievement. Not the faintest idea how long I’ve been posting. But I certainly am glad I never saw the post on Cole’s “free the junk” comment

    I’ll add that I likely came here on the recommendation of ‘Bart Cop’ after he shut down.

  70. 70.

    p.a.

    Really looking forward to BJ’s “This Is Your Life”!

    I know I was here for neti pots? and the poor Schiavo saga in Florida, which IIRC was a big chit on John’s “fuck the Republican Party” balance scales.

  71. 71.

    Anne Laurie

    @Honus: I also got here from Sadly, No the same way. The post mentioned John’s conversion “on the road from “Shinnston to Bethany” and since I grew up there I took notice.

    Damn, I miss Sadly No.

    IIRC correctly, it was Sadly, No! that led me here, too. (Unless it was TBogg, but probly S,N!

    And, of course, I still miss that blog, too…  even if I was always a hair away from getting banned there…

  72. 72.

    lowtechcyclist

    A different BJ anniversary is coming up: Anne Laurie’s first Covid-19 post was on January 21, 2020, before most of us were giving it more than a passing thought.

    If there’s a better aggregator of Covid-19 news than AL’s daily thread, I haven’t seen it.  Anne, you’re amazing.  Thanks for keeping us so well informed.

  74. 74.

    Another Scott

    @Steeplejack: Good tips.

    One other thing to keep in mind about Google – it seems to cull results older than 10-15 years old.  For really old stuff, I usually have to poke around at the Wayback Machine at Archive.org. Trouble is, there doesn’t seem to be a good way to search a site snapshot, so it’s a lot of guessing and reading, but if one knows roughly the month and year, it’s doable.

    I lurked here quite a while before creating a ‘nym – I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet. Then I had to create it without the apostrophe because FYWP.  Then I became Another Scott.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  75. 75.

    WaterGirl

    @James E Powell: I did my searching on the back end of the blog and by using the “Search this website” box that’s at the top of the sidebar.  The search is weighted more for front page posts than comments.

    Steep did his with Google and also searching and notes he had made or links he had saved over the years.

  76. 76.

    WaterGirl

    @JWR: i just got up and my eyes are bleary, so I first read that as you starter to read BJ right around the the of FDR.

    You really have been here a long time!  :-)

  77. 77.

    Mousebumples

    I linked here from something at Sullivan’s old place, back when his stuff was readable. (i think probably before Obama was elected) I probably lurked for ages before dropping a comment on some nfl thread or other.

    Thanks to Cole and the other front pagers and commentators for so many years of political diversions!

  80. 80.

    JWR

    @WaterGirl: Yep, and the Eisenhower era was pretty gnarly, too. ;

    ETA that it’s surprising I’ve been here so long because I’m so easy to miss. ;) I don’t comment a whole lot.

  81. 81.

    Wanderer

    Congratulations Balloon Juice.  Thank you to every front pager for their dedication, insight, and wit. I read daily but post nothing of consequence except this thank you.

  82. 82.

    MelissaM

    I went to the past authors page and quickly saw Freddie de Boer (de Boor?) and chuckled. I wonder if he’ll pop his prick head in during a homecoming post.

  89. 89.

    PaulB

    A cursory Google search shows that I’ve been posting here since at least 2005, with my heaviest activity in 2008 and 2009 and mostly lurking since. Reading some of those earlier threads shows just how much the blog has changed, as there were some real trolls here then. Remember “myiq2xu”?

  90. 90.

    J R in WV

    You know who I miss? Soonergrunt, who seems to have migrated to Twitter, where I only visit via links from right here. I also miss Sarah Proud and Tall, she at least pretended to be elderly, and may have found her way to that famous Rainbow bridge. And of course, Alan, whom I corresponded with quite a bit about mountain creeks, ‘shrooms, trout, etc, etc. Was a shock to lose him like that… so young and with such a healthy lifestyle.

    I don’t recall how I found this place, I suspect I first came here via the Great Orange Satan, tho if may have been Sadly No, which I enjoyed a lot.

  91. 91.

    NWO Joe

    I don’t comment but now and then, and only recently. But i have been lurking around here listening to folks for a long time; sometime in the middle 00s I think. I remember rolling my eyes when the Subaru was resting in a field. Recall when John went to rehab and others who had been through the same gave him kind encouragement. Can’t recall how I got here either, but it was a tip from one of the other political blogs.

    Lots of these have come and gone (Billmon, may god rest his soul or whatever the hell happened to him) and some are just not particularly relevant or pretty cynically dysfunctional (OMG Markos ffs: I have a four figure UID there and haven’t been near the place in years). This place is different. BJ has a sense of community that is not usually seen and difficult to achieve online. It is genuine. I have seen people here in tough spots and community members helping them out with care. And many of the folks here have met in meatspace, which is not the norm for many blogs.

    I take my snarky side over to the Washington Post, where I troll the wingers (Henry Olson, Marc Theissen) and openly ask the writers of some of the centrist crap why they persist in both-sides’ing the current situation. I don’t feel right trying that here – y’all are much more polished at it. Gotta be quick here, and when I’m quick I don’t necessarily say the right thing. If I want to say the right thing I have to think about it a while sometimes. I like you folks and would never want to offend. For all the snappy commentary it’s a very gentle place. Always has had a genuine civility even when the snark comes out.

     

    Thank you all for being the fine folks you are!

    I enjoy this place, am glad to be able to come here!

  92. 92.

    mg_65

    I love this blog. I’ve been here since just before John turned to the Light Side.  This is such a genuinely warm and smart community–mostly I just lurk and always feel comforted by everyone’s wit and wisdom. Happy New Year to all!

  94. 94.

    Ruckus

    @Steeplejack:

    I used your search phrase and it worked, I got 30 pages of posts I had commented in. Of course that only goes back to 2019. That is as much way back machine output that I know how to squeeze out of it. I know I was here long before that.

    Oh well. It did work far better than my very weak attempt did! Thank You!

  95. 95.

    PaulB

    @Ruckus:

    Definitely not fondly in my case, as I found that commenter to be a rather unpleasant combination of arrogance and ignorance, two attributes that never go well together.

    In my search for my own posts, I found that individual in several of the threads. Far from the worst commenter here, of course, but memorable, nonetheless, particularly for their take on the 2008 election.

  97. 97.

    dearmaizie

    Mostly lurker, but long time.  As a cancer alumnus, I sometimes cough when I laugh.  As an old person, my eyes are always dry.  I read Cole’s Living the Dream post (thanks @WaterGirl). I coughed so hard it felt good. I laugh-cried so much that my eyes are moist and youthful again. New year, new me.

    Thanks, Cole, for being you, and especially to the womens, for making this place such a nice way to spend part of my day.

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