Much of downtown DC a ghost town a few hours ahead of the State of the Union.
Pennsylvania Ave from the Capitol to the White House empty save for police, joggers/cyclists and some stray journalists. pic.twitter.com/RrTVSTrb2p
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) March 1, 2022
Wow, this huge ‘Freedom Convoy’ trucker rally in DC is lit. Really making a bold statement. Three weeks of hype from Steve Bannon every day. For this? From @FordFischer pic.twitter.com/UQDLAqdSSq
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) March 1, 2022
The world now knows what REAL tyranny looks like. And it’s not the slight inconvenience of wearing a fucking mask. https://t.co/fsDRstRffC
— Markos Moulitsas (@markos) March 1, 2022
“Where are the trucks!? Where are the trucks!?” the rally organizer yells. Still not a singular truck in sight.
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) March 1, 2022
The rally, which is scheduled to end at 8pm, has gone off the tracks, as the current speaker is now talking about fences and cows.
— Zachary Petrizzo (@ZTPetrizzo) March 1, 2022
This may come as a bit of a shock to you America but it turns out that the #TruckerConvoy folks have turned out to be self involved, whiny assholes: https://t.co/Yvqw8K3bNz pic.twitter.com/rTswo7wYGU
— billbindc (@BillBindc) March 1, 2022
WaterGirl
Just so no one wonders.. I pulled my post since this one just went up.
Baud
Sad trombone.
debbie
Jumping to a thread that actually exists. ?
Can’t link on iPad, but some GOPers aren’t attending. Has anyone else seen anything about this?
WaterGirl
@debbie: I didn’t mean to goof anyone up. There was just no point in having 2 threads about the same thing 5 minutes apart, so I pulled mine.
steppy
OK. Still might be worth putting up a SOTU post. In the meantime, hardy har har, weak-ass Trucker Convoy.
Ken
Anyone else hearing “the funding was suddenly withdrawn on Saturday”?
mrmoshpotato
I see DC’s journalistcatcher is falling down on the job.
Another Scott
Hey, WG pulled the SOTU thread so everyone missed my brilliant comment!!1
I guess I’ll have to post it again…
WH.gov – Excerpts (as prepared for delivery):
Good, good.
Cheers,
Scott.
steppy
@Ken: Hmm. Interesting point. Where might that lead?
Ken
@WaterGirl: How can two Balloon Juice threads be about the same thing? If two of the front-pagers made identical posts, I guarantee you that within twenty comments one thread would be sharing cat videos and chocolate recipes, and the other would be arguing about what effect COVID is having on the Russian troops.
Baud
@Another Scott:
Don’t tempt me.
germy
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) in the House chamber wearing traditional Ukrainian frock (photo)
Anne Laurie
I’m prepping one to go up at 8:45pm, Murphy the Trickster God willing.
Jinchi
@Ken:
How was he supposed to make money setting up the event?
Ken
You have me wondering if forensic accountants have a negative version: “Follow the absence of money.”
Steeplejack
Brought up from downstairs: Zelensky gets news from the E.U.
Villago Delenda Est
Tag and bag the stray “journalists.”
prostratedragon
@germy: Thanks, I have been wondering how this was going. Today I only heard fresh anecdotes about African students not getting onto trains out of Kyiv, but those difficulties are not confined to them.
mrmoshpotato
Cry harder, you whiny ass titty shitstain! Fuck all these Dump-humping, truck trash, plague rats.
germy
Here’s what I think Joe Biden should say tonight
Only kidding. I’m avoiding the pundits. President Biden’s got this.
SiubhanDuinne
I was sorry to see the earlier SOTU thread pulled, and I hope WG will repost it a few minutes before 9:00.
In the meantime, however, re the Big Patriotic Scary Disruptive Trucker Convoy, here’s a little haiku I wrote:
Cacti
@Ken:
Innit amazing how this “grassroots” right wing movement stopped dead in its tracks once Russia got cut off from the US economy?
Baud
Dr. King said the same thing about the March on Washington.
Mallard Filmore
Open Thread.
https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1498799589100605444
(not far north from Crimea)
Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)
Let’s put the BJ snark machine to good use!
In the afternoon thread “Taking-the-w” several people were talking about Rick Scott’s 11-point manifesto for Republicans. Like most of you, I’ve been thinking about some things that Dems need to do to fight back on the culture war crap and one thing we definitely need is a good reply for every lie and for each and every line of the culture war garbage the GQP is spewing.
I propose we here at BJ come up with pithy 3- or 4-word counter slogans that can be easily remembered and chanted at protests (especially all of you who are better at snark and word-crafting than me) and then focus on getting them into the political discussions on social media etc. not just in use here in our little community.
I’ve been thinking about schools and the CRT hue and cry. For example Pennsylvania Gov. Wolfe just vetoed a bill from the rethuglican legislature that would have basically required schools to provide every single teacher’s lesson plan to any parent that asks for it. Gov. Wolfe called it burdensome, which is true, but not a good retort. I would have said something like:
“Republicans want to MICRO-MANAGE OUR SCHOOLS and let any parent however crazy have veto power over every word every teacher says to your kids!” and then we chant “Don’t micromanage schools! Let teachers teach!) over and over.
With the COVID nonsense, we should Call anti-vaxers “Vax-dodgers” and for mask wearing when needed revive the concept of “good citizenship” in the sense of making a sacrifice for the good of the country even when it may cause you some discomfort, financial loss or even pain.
I hope all of you will contribute to this effort as most of you are very good at snark and retorts. I’ll be keeping track of this effort and try to keep a summary, maybe Watergirl can fined a place to link it for us.
Another one is that some many things rethugs accuse Dems of is things they want to or are doing, but calling that “psychological projection” or just projection is woefully inadequate. Calling them out for Self-accusation” is a little better, but there must be a good and pithy way to say it. Especially with their whining about election fraud and how Democrats are afraid of their biased “election audits”.
The nauseating and in accurate anti-Trans stuff about “boys being boys and girls being girls and that’s science” requires some real scientific discussion that is impossible in a 30 second TV add, or does it? I don’t think talking about parents’ rights and privacy will do the trick. Would calling this “REPUBLICAN FAKE SCIENCE” work? How about say “SCIENCY oversimplifications.”
I don’t have any real ideas about simple sounding ways to deals with the whining and crying about the “evils of Wokeness” and “Cancel Culture” other than saying it’s all Self-accusation by the GQP.
Thanks for reading.
-Mike S (Now with a democratic Congressperson)
Cacti
@Mallard Filmore: Good.
No quarter for the fascist storm troopers.
Baud
@Mallard Filmore:
?
Calouste
@Mallard Filmore: Not a great day for convoys today. Apparently the 40 mile one that’s heading to Kyiv has now come to a complete standstill.
Jinchi
These numbers always seem absurdly high to me, and then I remember reading about the casualty rates during the siege of Stalingrad and I wonder if massive losses are just a part of Russian culture.
mrmoshpotato
@Ken:
I don’t see the problem.
SiubhanDuinne
POTUS and FLOTUS just departed the WH. It’s nice to have a First Lady who is happy to travel to the Capitol in the same vehicle with her husband.
Baud
@Calouste:
At least someone’s protest was successful.
Mallard Filmore
@Cacti: I understand the sentiment, but most of the soldiers don’t deserve that yet.
In the SciFi novel “The Black Ship” by Christopher Rowley, something like …
… And once again, the common ground soldiers were utterly and completely betrayed …
Elizabelle
Good evening. Morning here in Germany; woke up at 2 for the SOTU, but it’s not ’til 3 am local time.
It’s 3:37 am in Kyiv.
JoyceH
Scale of one to ten – how churlish will Congressional Republicans be tonight?
Elizabelle
@SiubhanDuinne: I wonder if Jill Biden is in a sunflower mask again.
Germans are still masking, and you cannot be seated in a restaurant without showing your covid vaccine status/record.
Kent
@Jinchi: Well, if a convoy stuck in a massive traffic jam is being bombed you’d think soldiers would be hopping out and running for the ditches. So perhaps more destruction of equipment than people
But yes, even up until the end of the war, most battles that the Soviets fought and won they had greater losses than the enemy. It wasn’t until they had absolutely overwhelming superiority and the Germans were down to the dregs that this changed.
Ken
@JoyceH: Churlish, or childish?
Benw
@SiubhanDuinne: LOL!
CROAKER
Again. I would be careful about posting things. There are reasons for trying to create something out of nothing.
Calouste
@JoyceH: Duh. 11.
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
I loved that mask!
Do a lot of Germans/other Europeans stay up late/get up early to follow things like U.S. election returns and SOTU live, or do they just wait until the next morning’s news roundup?
Miss Bianca
@SiubhanDuinne: Beautiful! *wipes away tear*
Perhaps your most inspired effort yet!
Omnes Omnibus
@CROAKER: Sometimes one can be so cryptic as to be indecipherable.
Miss Bianca
@Cacti: Verrrrry interesting…
@Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!): I like “vax-dodgers”.
Gin & Tonic
@prostratedragon: I would simply caution you and others that Russia, and before them the USSR, were experts in fanning racial divisions in the US.
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
@Omnes Omnibus:
.– …. .. -.-. …. / .. … / .– …. -.– / .. / ..- … . / -.-. — -.. . -.. / .-.. .- -. –. ..- .- –. .
mrmoshpotato
@Ken: Trumptrashish.
Suzanne
Marco Rubio is not attending tonight because he’s really thirsty.
Anne Laurie
‘Official’ SotU post now open, up top.
Joy in FL
@SiubhanDuinne: You have written some really good poetry here. But this one is the most perfect !!! I just love it.
SiubhanDuinne
@Miss Bianca:
Sometimes the Muse just shows up and I am but a channel.
White & Gold Purgatorian
@CROAKER: Which posted “things” inspired your comment, please?
Gin & Tonic
@SiubhanDuinne: One year I was in Kyiv during the Super Bowl. *That* made for a long night. I think it was getting light when we finally stepped out. Luckily the concept of “closing time” is kind of flexible…
Cameron
@Elizabelle: I thought she was carrying sunflower seeds to put in Republicans’ pockets.
Mallard Filmore
@Mallard Filmore: In a similar vein, thinking about Russian soldiers looting grocery stores …
… as an insult, leave food and water packages for advancing columns where there are no plans to defend.
[ETA] It needs a note like “This is to help you go home.”
Kent
And in Quebec.
Cameron
@Gin & Tonic: Hey, don’t steal all the credit from Americans – we’ve always been pretty good at the racial-division thing ourselves.
Kent
Booby trapped of course.
SiubhanDuinne
@Joy in FL:
? Thanks!
Kent
The German Nazis came to the American south to take notes and learn how things were done.
Concentration camps were invented by the American army during the Indian wars.
SiubhanDuinne
@CROAKER:
Sorry, I honestly have no idea what you’re getting at here.
Dan B
@David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch: Carolyn Maloney regularly is righteous!
Mallard Filmore
@Kent:
What I earnestly want to avoid is pushing normal soldiers into rape and murder.
Geminid
@Calouste: I was checking out @Cheryl Rofer’s Twitter feed and someone reported that there had been an error in translation, that the forty mile long convoy was actually a 3-4 mile long supply convoy that was 40 miles from Kyiv. It’s on a road with marshes on either side.
There was another report that Turkey would supply more TB-2 drones to Ukraine. I hope it’s true.
Redshift
My pet Canadian wingnut (I call him that because I follow him on Twitter to keep an eye on things but don’t engage) had the gall to forward a tweet complaining that “everyone’s talking about Putin’s crimes against humanity, but not about the crimes against humanity here!” The accompanying graphic claims that vaccine mandates violate the Nuremberg Code because it says you can’t be given any medical treatment without your consent. (Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.)
It doesn’t matter how horrific any other event is, it cannot be worse than their petty grievances.
CROAKER
@Omnes Omnibus: Yes
@White & Gold Purgatorian: Yep
@Kent: Exactly
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
@Kent:
And then IBM sold them the data machines to organize the mass murder
SiubhanDuinne
It is really shocking to see how many Republican seats are vacant. Not that I’ll miss them, but I’m offended by their insulting arrogance.
Elizabelle
@SiubhanDuinne: Maybe they’re on their scheduled conference call with Putin? Priorities.
scav
@SiubhanDuinne: Ahhh, It is the sound of one neuron firing.
Kalakal
@Ken: Was it pay per view?
Geminid
@CROAKER: I think you are making a straw herring argument.
Sebastian
Should we mail those truckers sunflower seeds? Might send the wrong message.
Kalakal
@Mallard Filmore: laced with exlax
Anomalous Cowherd
@Mallard Filmore: @34:
The poor men always fight the rich men’s war.
The young men always fight the old men’s war.
From the beginning of time.
Mike in NC
Well, Moscow Mitch looks pretty damn glum.
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
@Mike in NC: the undead usually look glum
Sebastian
@Kent:
The kids have all bailed or will soon. UKR is way better than RU at info war. By now everyone with a smartphone knows what’s going on. UKR civilians should be handing out Androids and chargers to passing Russians.
Russia has a lot of material but why destroy it and kill those young boys? Sparing their lives has so many advantages, now and later. You save ammo too and you get to keep all that gear undamaged.
Ukraine just had an influx of 80,000 men, mostly 20-40, majority served because of conscription, many saw combat.
UKR is offering cash money (almost $50k), the EU is offering amnesty and refugee/asylum status to every defecting Russian soldier if they have not participated in warcrimes (I am not 100% if this was confirmed but I wouldn’t be surprised). This is also a huge incentive not to participate in any bullshit.
I am putting my money on a mega psyops campaign against the folks in the column, offering them a deal without Putin. At the same time, the parents of the kids are being told: your kids are alive and they will live if you stop the war. Every parent is going to climb the walls of the Kremlin. I know I would without a second thought.
In the meantime, the Russian POS mobster is doing what a Russian POS mobster does. Using the few assholes still loyal to him to inflict damage via artillery and from afar. Same playbook as in Yugoslavia. Next, he will besiege the cities.
But in the end, he has no soldiers.
Ken
@Mike in NC: Probably got the report on the impact of the Russia sanctions on GOP fundraising.
Sebastian
@Gin & Tonic:
Must have been an epic hoot. There is no party like an Eastern European party haha
Sebastian
@germy:
Yeah, knowing Eastern Europe I find that very hard to believe. Eastern Poland, the heartland of racial equality? Yeah, right.
Of course, there was.
Peale
@Mallard Filmore: Or “only one out of every 20 apples has a razor in it. Happy Halloween.”
SFAW
@SiubhanDuinne:
Finally! A haiku that makes sense!
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus:
Not sure I understand.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
That quote from from he dumbass going on about fighting a war isn’t true bravery, talk about Mr Effete. I guess if that’s the type of American Putin talks to I can see why Putin convinced himself that we wouldn’t do anything about his Death March Back to Berlin.
Ascap_scab
“The rally, which is scheduled to end at 8pm, has gone off the tracks, as the current speaker is now talking about fences and cows.”
FREE BIRD!! PLAY FREE BIRD!!
jonas
A lot of these right-wing astroturf demonstrations, including this bullshit convoy thing, seem to have lost their momentum, as it were, as soon as sanctions were imposed on the Russian financial system. Strange coincidence.