• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

How stupid are these people?

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

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

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

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

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

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

This blog will pay for itself.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

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

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

People are weird.

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Open Threads / Good Government In Action

Good Government In Action

by John Cole|  February 2, 202211:48 pm| 25 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

FacebookTweetEmail

In case you are interested, I am now at the two week mark of this god damned cold, although the past two days I have felt much better. However, I still can not get rid of this cough and fatique. It’s irritating as hell, because were it covid I would at least know what I am dealing with. Now it’s just some stupid bug and I just have to roll with it. On the upside, at least my cough is producing.

In other news, a couple of weeks ago I ordered the rapid home tests from the USPS website, and sure enough, they have arrived. I think it took about three weeks, maybe less. And I have to say I am pretty impressed with that. It’s just a small reminder that who is in charge of the government matters. They said they would get us the test kits, and if you want them, you can.

I find that comforting. Now spend a couple hundred billion and pump it all into the Post Office.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « A Poem for February 2nd (Open Thread)
Next Post: Late Night Open Thread: ‘That’s Not A Glitch, It’s DELIBERATE!’ »

Reader Interactions

25Comments

  1. 1.

    Ruckus

    February 3, 2022 at 12:04 am

    John

    Now spend a couple hundred billion and pump it all into the Post Office.

    Please, a baseball bat is less than $30 on amazon. Sure that won’t be enough to replace the machines but used properly that would motivate the current PG to retire and someone with the concept that government is for all of us to actually make our lives better, rather than make mass mailers wealthy.

  2. 2.

    danielx

    February 3, 2022 at 12:10 am

    All the Postal Service needs is removal of the requirement that it fund post-retirement health care costs 75 years into the future, a requirement to which no other federal agency or private organization is held.

    That would help a lot right there.

  3. 3.

    Another Scott

    February 3, 2022 at 12:26 am

    @danielx: A bill is coming soon…

    GovExec:

    The House is planning to vote on a bipartisan bill to overhaul the U.S. Postal Service as soon as next week, looking to finally make progress on legislation the mailing agency has said is vital to avoiding fiscal calamity.

    The 2021 Postal Reform Act (H.R. 3076) won unanimous support when the House Oversight and Reform Committee approved it in May and has companion legislation in the Senate, but has languished without action for months. Lawmakers are finally looking to move the bill forward, however, and are waiting only for a Congressional Budget Office score expected in the coming days.

    It’s a start, but not enough (of course).
    Incremental progress is how change happens.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  4. 4.

    The Oracle of Solace

    February 3, 2022 at 12:44 am

    Speaking of good government, Texas has the opposite of that. In the hours before the arrival of tonight’s winter storm, there was Panic! In the Supermarkets. I am really, really hoping that Texans remember that fear, that panic, come November, and remember that the GOP did nothing after 2021’s vargavinter.

  5. 5.

    Yarrow

    February 3, 2022 at 12:49 am

    I am now at the two week mark of this god damned cold, although the past two days I have felt much better. However, I still can not get rid of this cough and fatique. It’s irritating as hell, because were it covid I would at least know what I am dealing with

    I’m not sure the tests are totally accurate for Omicron. A couple I know are both double vaxxed and boosted and both started feeling sick. Got tested. He tested negative, she tested positive. It’s now seven days later, she’s still positive and he has never been positive. They did get PCR tests. Their symptoms have been fairly similar all the way through. Do they both have Covid? Who knows. They’re isolating as if they both do.

  6. 6.

    danielx

    February 3, 2022 at 12:52 am

    Getting rid of the legal requirement that USPS fund its post-retirement healthcare costs 75 years into the future would help a whole lot, as would more funding. It would also help to alter the mindset among certain congresscritters and their funders/enablers/stringpullers that –

    • the Postal Service should be run as efficiently as any profit-making organization
    • indeed, should be a profit-making organization
    • this whole bit of delivering first class mail, let’s say a #10 envelope with three sheets of paper from Portland MN to Portland OR for 50 cents, is obsolete and if somebody wants to do that he/she should bigod pay what it costs, so stamps should be two bucks apiece, except for
    • large bulk mailers/campaign contributors/nonprofits/pols, who of course get monfucious discounts.

    Except that the Postal Service isn’t supposed to run efficiently, it’s supposed to deliver the mail, which is a) an inherently inefficient process and b) a constitutional requirement, which means that all Postal Service employees are required to swear a constitutional-type oath, not all that dissimilar to those taken by police, military, etc. To wit:

    I, Joe Schmoe, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

    I don’t imagine even Amazon could get people to sign something like that (with appropriate substitutions), much less stand up and be recorded doing it. I took that oath once and took it seriously, as one should.​​

  7. 7.

    different-church-lady

    February 3, 2022 at 12:54 am

    WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO GET A COUPLE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLA… oh, wait, you weren’t talking to me.

  8. 8.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 3, 2022 at 12:54 am

    Glad to hear you’re feeling better.

    Feels like COVID tests have gotten a little funky, a friend of mine had a negative PCR but a positive rapid antigen, and he’s definitely got something, even hallmark symptoms like dizziness ??‍♂️ but of course there are plenty of other seasonal bugs flying around NYC.

  9. 9.

    different-church-lady

    February 3, 2022 at 12:59 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Have a friend who got sort of almost but not quite definitive pink stripes on two different home tests, while her husband tested negative on both kinds. So they both went out and got official PCR tests.

    Result? She tests negative and he tests positive.

  10. 10.

    danielx

    February 3, 2022 at 1:01 am

    @different-church-lady: ​
     
    Well, you DO have to shove that swab to uncomfortable heights/depths.

  11. 11.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2022 at 1:02 am

    Not to go all pedantic but if your doc prescribed antibiotics (IIRC) then in his/her determination it’s not a cold.

  12. 12.

    different-church-lady

    February 3, 2022 at 1:04 am

    @danielx: Nah, I haven’t had an “insert into the brain” style test for quite a while, even when getting officially clinic tested. But I will NEVER forget the first one. It took me about two minutes to regain the power of speech.

  13. 13.

    NotMax

    February 3, 2022 at 1:07 am

    @different-church-lady

    Discovered you were then able to also speak Flemish?

    ;)

  14. 14.

    jnfr

    February 3, 2022 at 1:16 am

    @Another Scott: ​
     May this be so.

  15. 15.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 3, 2022 at 1:18 am

    @different-church-lady: oh those were fun. Lol

  16. 16.

    different-church-lady

    February 3, 2022 at 1:20 am

    @NotMax: Phlegmish, perhaps.

  17. 17.

    WestTexan

    February 3, 2022 at 1:20 am

    @The Oracle of Solace: I’ve lived in Tejas 61 years. I wish I could share your hope. Folks who look like me are too f_cking scared of brown people to vote their own interests.

  18. 18.

    Leslie

    February 3, 2022 at 3:06 am

    Yeah, entirely possible your test was a false negative. Those appear to be more common with Omicron. Glad you’re on the mend.

  19. 19.

    Asparagus Aspersions

    February 3, 2022 at 3:25 am

    @Major Major Major Major:  I also think Omicron might cause skewed test results — my coworker had symptoms, so she took an at-home test which was positive, but the rapid antigen test at the pharmacy was negative. The next day she still felt kind of crummy, and took another at-home test, which was positive. So she went for a PCR test, which was also positive. She felt mildly crummy for a few days but is fine now (she is double-vaxxed and boosted).

    I was a little surprised that she got a correct result with her at-home test, but not with the antigen test at the pharmacy – I would have expected the reverse. I have a pretty big stash of autotests here, since we have to test AA Jr on a fairly frequent basis – whenever there’s a positive case in his class, which has happened three times in the past four weeks, he needs to have three tests over the course of five days. This could change though, France is constantly changing its school testing protocoles.

  20. 20.

    ETtheLibrarian

    February 3, 2022 at 6:00 am

    I ordered mine on the first day and haven heard a peep. I do live in DC and some here have gotten them so I sit here a bit jealous. DC mail is tricky, but I haven’t even gotten confirmation they have even shipped so it is a problem somewhere higher up the supply chain.

  21. 21.

    satby

    February 3, 2022 at 6:26 am

    In spite of the negative result of my clinic rapid test, I do think I had covid. Same general symptoms as John and several other folks, including my friends and coworkers who tested positive. H3N2 is the predominate flu this year and a lot of the symptoms overlap, but I never got a fever or sore throat.

    @NotMax: IIRC, John gets sinus infections nearly every winter. Antibiotics can be prescribed during a viral infection as a prophylactic against a subsequent bacterial infection for susceptible individuals.

  22. 22.

    pensive

    February 3, 2022 at 7:56 am

    I had a cold or sinus infection for about 2 weeks in December.  Finally got better when I got some low level antibiotics (augmentin) and Prednisone (which is what I think really kicked things into gear to make me feel better.)  Feel better soon!

  23. 23.

    pluky

    February 3, 2022 at 8:28 am

    @danielx: Beat me to it!

  24. 24.

    Betsy

    February 3, 2022 at 9:15 am

    I would get another test.

  25. 25.

    The Oracle of Solace

    February 4, 2022 at 12:12 am

    @WestTexan: Unfortunately, too many Texas anglos are more interested in keeping white power than electric power.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - Winter Wren - North of Quebec City (part 2 of 3) - Cap Tourmente and on the way to Tadoussac 4
Image by Winter Wren (5/16/25)

Recent Comments

  • schrodingers_cat on Friday Morning Open Thread (May 16, 2025 @ 1:29pm)
  • AM in NC on Lunch Among the Ruins (Open Thread) (May 16, 2025 @ 1:29pm)
  • Enhanced Voting Techniques on Lunch Among the Ruins (Open Thread) (May 16, 2025 @ 1:29pm)
  • MagdaInBlack on Lunch Among the Ruins (Open Thread) (May 16, 2025 @ 1:27pm)
  • Paul in KY on Lunch Among the Ruins (Open Thread) (May 16, 2025 @ 1:26pm)

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
War in Ukraine
Donate to Razom for Ukraine

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Meetups

Upcoming Ohio Meetup May 17
5/11 Post about the May 17 Ohio Meetup

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Hands Off! – Denver, San Diego & Austin

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!