• 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.

So many bastards, so little time.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

No one could have predicted…

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

Bark louder, little dog.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

He really is that stupid.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

Books are my comfort food!

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Let there be snark.

Mobile Menu

  • 4 Directions VA 2025 Raffle
  • 2025 Activism
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • 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 / President Obama: Challenges to Democracy In the Digital Information Realm (LIVE) at 3:15 ET

President Obama: Challenges to Democracy In the Digital Information Realm (LIVE) at 3:15 ET

by WaterGirl|  April 21, 20223:00 pm| 82 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

FacebookTweetEmail

President Obama will deliver a keynote address at Stanford University on April 21 about disinformation and challenges to democracy in the digital realm. The event is co-hosted by the Stanford Cyber Policy Center and the Obama Foundation.

Open thread.

Reminder: Social Media training zoom is tonight (Thursday) at 8 pm Eastern.  If you don’t have the zoom link, please let me know.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « FL Dems protest DeSantis super-gerrymander
Next Post: The Resumption of History: Part 4 The Resumption of History: Part 1 (by Carlo Graziani)»

Reader Interactions

82Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    April 21, 2022 at 3:23 pm

    (LIVE) at 3:15 ET

    Liar

    ETA: It just started.

  2. 2.

    mali muso

    April 21, 2022 at 3:31 pm

    Have it playing in the background…

  3. 3.

    Baud

    April 21, 2022 at 3:41 pm

    ? Obama doesn’t call our Balloon Juice.

  4. 4.

    NotMax

    April 21, 2022 at 3:45 pm

    @Baud

    Mr. Cole would have to take out a second mortgage in order to handle the increased traffic.

    :)

  5. 5.

    mali muso

    April 21, 2022 at 3:49 pm

    Cat videos reference, FTW!

  6. 6.

    Baud

    April 21, 2022 at 3:50 pm

    @mali muso:

    Heh. I caught that too.

  7. 7.

    zhena gogolia

    April 21, 2022 at 3:58 pm

    This is an important speech.

  8. 8.

    Old School

    April 21, 2022 at 3:59 pm

    @Baud: The disinformation training session isn’t even until tonight.  Why would we be on his radar?

  9. 9.

    Baud

    April 21, 2022 at 4:00 pm

    @Old School: 

    Moles.

  10. 10.

    Baud

    April 21, 2022 at 4:00 pm

    So much CRT.

  11. 11.

    mali muso

    April 21, 2022 at 4:13 pm

    A good regulatory environment stimulates innovation. Agreed!

  12. 12.

    cain

    April 21, 2022 at 4:16 pm

    @NotMax: It would be filled with right wing trolls. We’ll have a version of “DemsofTikTok” with “DemsofBJ”

  13. 13.

    zhena gogolia

    April 21, 2022 at 4:23 pm

    He just called out BJ: “Does this person who’s typing in his underwear in his mother’s basement seem like a credible source?”

  14. 14.

    Baud

    April 21, 2022 at 4:24 pm

    @zhena gogolia: 

    Juicers are more likely to be the mother.

  15. 15.

    zhena gogolia

    April 21, 2022 at 4:25 pm

    @Baud: True.

  16. 16.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 21, 2022 at 4:30 pm

    @Baud: There is no need to bring the Pence family into it.

  17. 17.

    NotMax

    April 21, 2022 at 4:38 pm

    @zhena gogolia

    Difficult to wedge a keyboard into underwear.

    ;)

  18. 18.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 21, 2022 at 4:41 pm

    @NotMax:  Consider bloomers.

  19. 19.

    Tom Levenson

    April 21, 2022 at 4:42 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Okay, bloomer.

  20. 20.

    frosty

    April 21, 2022 at 4:47 pm

    Comments 14 through 19. This is the kind of expert intellectual discourse that keeps drawing me back to Balloon Juice.

  21. 21.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 21, 2022 at 4:48 pm

    @Tom Levenson: Just wait until June 16.  You’ll get yours.

  22. 22.

    BC in Illinois

    April 21, 2022 at 4:56 pm

    The conclusion was good. He talked about the Russian TV editor with a handwritten antiwar sign on a Russian newscast.

    The handwritten sign was a tool. The TV is a tool. The internet is a tool. Social media is a tool. At the end of the day, tools don’t control us. We control them. And we can remake them.

    It’s up to each of us to decide what we value, and then use the tools we’ve been given to advance those values. And I believe we should use every tool at our disposal to secure our greatest gift — a government of, by, and for the people for generations to come.

    And I hope you agree with me, and I look forward to you joining in the work.

    If this were a campaign speech, he could have roused the crowd by pointing out that those who oppose voting are against government of the people; those who are ruled by dark money are against government by the people; and that the entire Republican Party is against government for the people.

  23. 23.

    zhena gogolia

    April 21, 2022 at 4:58 pm

    Great speech.

  24. 24.

    Steeplejack

    April 21, 2022 at 4:59 pm

    @frosty:

    Also what keeps us out of the top 10,000.

  25. 25.

    stacib

    April 21, 2022 at 5:09 pm

    Totally OT

    Sometimes, my company really makes me proud.

    Providing Support for Ukraine

    Fresenius Kabi is part of a nationwide campaign with blood centers in the United States to provide needed blood-collection and transfusion supplies to those impacted in Ukraine.

    “We’re committed to helping the people of Ukraine,” said Dean Gregory, president, Global Commercial Operations, Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapies at Fresenius Kabi.  “In addition to our ongoing work donating medicines and supplies through humanitarian aid organizations, this initiative is bringing together the blood-collection community in the US to support Ukraine.  Blood is a critical component of patient care, and we are proud to support this important nationwide campaign.”

  26. 26.

    kindness

    April 21, 2022 at 5:10 pm

    So long as Stanford hosts the Hoover Institute it is dead to me.

  27. 27.

    Old School

    April 21, 2022 at 5:12 pm

    I see the Florida Department of Education has provided examples of problematic elements from textbooks.

    You might not believe it, but CRT does not seem to be included in math textbooks.

  28. 28.

    Baud

    April 21, 2022 at 5:22 pm

    @Old School:

    Not actual CRT, but more than two trains leaving New York and Los Angeles traveling att 65 mph.

  29. 29.

    debbie

    April 21, 2022 at 5:29 pm

    @mali muso:

    You guys zoomed with PBO?

  30. 30.

    Dangerman

    April 21, 2022 at 5:34 pm

    @Old School: It’s invisible. That’s how good the Lefties are now.

    Put on the special polarized glasses we can send you for the low, low price of…

  31. 31.

    Tom Levenson

    April 21, 2022 at 5:41 pm

    @frosty: My work is done.

  32. 32.

    NotMax

    April 21, 2022 at 5:41 pm

    @Dangerman

    What with global warming, won’t polarized glasses melt?

    //

  33. 33.

    trollhattan

    April 21, 2022 at 5:56 pm

    This guy’s headed into a world of hurt. Talk about taking a bad situation and making it worse. (Special Florida Man edition.)

    April 21, 2022 at 4:58 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard

    “A Florida man has been arrested for allegedly pepper spraying officers at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and who law enforcement officials say then allegedly made a menacing call to the FBI special agent investigating his role in the riot,” NBC News reports.

    “Barry Bennett Ramey, who officials say was affiliated with the Proud Boys, was arrested in Florida on Thursday.”

  34. 34.

    mali muso

    April 21, 2022 at 6:19 pm

    @debbie: ​
     I wish! Nah, just followed along with the speech.

  35. 35.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    April 21, 2022 at 6:22 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Earlier this month, according to the FBI affidavit, Ramey called the FBI special agent investigating his case and read aloud the agent’s home address. He then texted the agent the agent’s former vehicle identification number.

    I wonder how what charges that will generate, how threatening (stalking?) a Fed compares to physically assaulting a cop

  36. 36.

    Baud

    April 21, 2022 at 6:31 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I wonder how he got that address.

  37. 37.

    MomSense

    April 21, 2022 at 6:42 pm

    @frosty: 
    INORITE!

  38. 38.

    H.E.Wolf

    April 21, 2022 at 6:45 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: @Tom Levenson: Just wait until June 16.  You’ll get yours.

      Yes he said yes he will yes

  39. 39.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 21, 2022 at 7:01 pm

    @frosty: I concur.  Well played, gentlemen. And Omnes.

    @kindness: I still have a few issues to take up with Leland Stanford.

    @Baud: blue state to blue state mass transit is both CRT and Marxism.

  40. 40.

    WaterGirl

    April 21, 2022 at 7:10 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Well played, gentlemen. And Omnes.

    Well played, yourself!

  41. 41.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 21, 2022 at 7:10 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: First up against the wall when the Revolution comes says what?

  42. 42.

    debbie

    April 21, 2022 at 7:14 pm

    In other good news:

    BREAKING: Russian military research facility, apparently involved in development of at least some of the S-series surface-to-air missiles and Iskander ballistic missiles, is on fire with dead & many injured. pic.twitter.com/Hd5MLzP8KL
    — Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) April 21, 2022

  43. 43.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 21, 2022 at 7:14 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: you seem to have forgotten that on this very blog I was promised a high tumbrel number since I’m not a total management stooge, just a partial one!

  44. 44.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 21, 2022 at 7:20 pm

    @WaterGirl: I’m not as stupid as people say!  Or at least my mother tells me that.

  45. 45.

    debbie

    April 21, 2022 at 7:20 pm

    The boat’s pilot had to be awestruck:

    Humpback whale breaching In Monterey Bay, California.
    photography by Douglas Croft pic.twitter.com/9HYyxqpbta
    — Chris Mason (@mason4922) April 21, 2022

  46. 46.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 21, 2022 at 7:21 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: I didn’t forget.  Sure, you get a high tumbrel number, but that’s for the guillotine.  The up against the wall for the firing squad people are on a different list.  Poor negotiating on your part.

    ETA:  I suspect I am pretty high on that list too.

  47. 47.

    debbie

    April 21, 2022 at 7:26 pm

    This is the seamstress of the bird world…

    Nature is incredible ?

    ? sound up!
    tt/a77132 pic.twitter.com/cTDvqkojrb
    — Jess ? (@jessi_asli) April 21, 2022

  48. 48.

    NotMax

    April 21, 2022 at 7:33 pm

    OT.

    Perhaps missed any previous mention of the announced death of Robert Morse at age 90.

  49. 49.

    zhena gogolia

    April 21, 2022 at 7:34 pm

    @NotMax: oh sad.

  50. 50.

    debbie

    April 21, 2022 at 7:38 pm

    Breakfast is served…???? pic.twitter.com/ghCjHpN091— Fred Schultz (@FredSchultz35) April 21, 2022

  51. 51.

    laura

    April 21, 2022 at 7:40 pm

    @NotMax: we used to go to the movies as a family back in the day before the 24/7 service economy and all its freedom. How to get ahead in business (without really trying) was so memorable and so imprinted Robert Morse as a loveable rapscallion and what a career he made of his persona.  Rest in Applause. ??

  52. 52.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 21, 2022 at 7:42 pm

    @debbie:

    OMG. That is amazing!

  53. 53.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 21, 2022 at 7:44 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Amazing as in very disturbing?

  54. 54.

    zhena gogolia

    April 21, 2022 at 7:46 pm

    @NotMax:

    @laura: I loved him in the show “That’s Life.” I may have been the only person who watched it.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That%27s_Life_(1968_TV_series)

  55. 55.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 21, 2022 at 7:47 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    It’s a gorgeous animal. The word “disturbing” didn’t occur to me. But I’m not sure I would have wanted to be on that boat at that moment.

  56. 56.

    dexwood

    April 21, 2022 at 7:48 pm

    @debbie: The one that got away. I swear, it was this big!

  57. 57.

    Baud

    April 21, 2022 at 7:48 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    We’re gonna need a bigger boat.

  58. 58.

    Gin & Tonic

    April 21, 2022 at 7:50 pm

    @NotMax: We’ll, he outlived his eponymous communication protocol.

  59. 59.

    debbie

    April 21, 2022 at 7:50 pm

    @dexwood:

    ?

  60. 60.

    prostratedragon

    April 21, 2022 at 7:50 pm

    @Old School:  Was just coming to mention the Popular Info story. Seems the objections are as jejune as many of us thought:

    Functions Modeling Change [a banned advance high school textbook] contains 10 mentions of “race” but all are related to running and biking. There is no discussion of racism and no math problems that deal with racial issues.

  61. 61.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 21, 2022 at 7:52 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: My bad,  I am on my phone and I thought you were commenting on the chickens.  They were disturbing.

  62. 62.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 21, 2022 at 7:53 pm

    @Old School:

    McSweeney’s explains Florida’s objections.

    https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/math-concepts-the-state-of-florida-finds-objectionable

  63. 63.

    VeniceRiley

    April 21, 2022 at 7:56 pm

    @debbie: In even more good news- 7 hours later, Russia’s largest industrial solvent plant caught fire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ieafrw2GASk

  64. 64.

    SiubhanDuinne

    April 21, 2022 at 7:57 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Oh, yes, the chickens were terrifying. And I like chickens. But that video clip made me feel like Tippi Hedren on her worst day.

  65. 65.

    Spanky

    April 21, 2022 at 8:00 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    The Number Zero: All numbers are either positive or negative. That’s just basic math.

    The number Zero is a positive number. That’s just basic math.

  66. 66.

    Baud

    April 21, 2022 at 8:01 pm

    @Spanky:

    Whoa.  Really?  There are more positive than negative numbers?  Mind blown.

  67. 67.

    prostratedragon

    April 21, 2022 at 8:06 pm

    @debbie:  Further down that thread, a big fire at a chemical plant miles away on the other side of Moscow has been reported.

  68. 68.

    prostratedragon

    April 21, 2022 at 8:09 pm

    @NotMax: ​ He believed in him.

  69. 69.

    Eyeroller

    April 21, 2022 at 8:09 pm

    @Spanky:

    Mathematically, zero is “nonnegative,” not positive.

  70. 70.

    Spanky

    April 21, 2022 at 8:13 pm

    @Baud: Nah, I just felt this place needed some excitement.

    In other matters, while we were noshing some good dark chocolate I just asked Mrs. Spanky if she could think of any holidays that didn’t feature either the flag or chocolate. She named MLK Day. I, with a mouth full of water, immediately pictured kids biting the heads off of chocolate Martin Luther Kings.

    That was a mistake.

  71. 71.

    Cameron

    April 21, 2022 at 8:13 pm

    @VeniceRiley: Wonder if these are the same sort of accidents the Moskva had?

  72. 72.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 21, 2022 at 8:15 pm

    The greatest challenge, in my view, is mass media consolidation.  Break them all up.  The four major broadcast networks, Twitter, Facebook, Google, Time-Warner.  And prohibit them from re-consolidating.  The mistake was made with Ma Bell.  Never again.

  73. 73.

    Baud

    April 21, 2022 at 8:16 pm

    @Spanky:

    If you want excitement, we should debate whether 1 is prime.

  74. 74.

    cain

    April 21, 2022 at 8:17 pm

    @debbie: Huh.. so Dan Ackroyd and Chevy Chase managed to finally completed their mission!

  75. 75.

    Steve in the ATL

    April 21, 2022 at 8:20 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:  but we’re cool with Apple, right?

  76. 76.

    cain

    April 21, 2022 at 8:21 pm

    @VeniceRiley: Man, they sure have a lot of spies and other folks there fucking with them. Putin must be pissed.

  77. 77.

    realbtl

    April 21, 2022 at 8:32 pm

    In the 50s my family lived in SanDiego and at around 5-7 years old my dad and I took a whale watching cruise.  We were chugging along 10-15 knots and all of a sudden the Captain slammed it into reverse.  A (blue I think) whale was breeching about 50′ feet ahead.  Quite the sight for a kid.

  78. 78.

    Sure Lurkalot

    April 21, 2022 at 8:41 pm

    In the not too far future, the only thing left that will be acceptable to teach kids is how to how to duck and run from active shooters. Think of the money we’ll save!

  79. 79.

    Omnes Omnibus

    April 21, 2022 at 8:42 pm

    @Baud: Well, one is the loneliest number.  Does that count?

  80. 80.

    debbie

    April 21, 2022 at 8:48 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    The woman had to know what the animals’ response to the dinner bell would be.

  81. 81.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 21, 2022 at 9:37 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Nah.  Nuke them ’till they glow.

  82. 82.

    Old School

    April 21, 2022 at 10:44 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: But two can be as bad as one.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - dmkingto - SF Bay Area Scenes 7
Image by dmkingto (7/31/25)
Donate

Recent Comments

  • MattF on Space Tech Open Thread: No Theft Too Large or Small (Jul 15, 2025 @ 1:31pm)
  • Jay on Open Thread: How Has Trump Failed Us, Today? (Jul 15, 2025 @ 1:31pm)
  • Old Man Shadow on Space Tech Open Thread: No Theft Too Large or Small (Jul 15, 2025 @ 1:30pm)
  • dnfree on Late Night Open Thread: Obama Speaks (Jul 15, 2025 @ 1:30pm)
  • Chetan Murthy on Open Thread: How Has Trump Failed Us, Today? (Jul 15, 2025 @ 1:29pm)

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
No Kings Protests June 14 2025

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

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

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

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

Feeling Defeated?  If We Give Up, It's Game Over

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!