Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

How stupid are these people?

Usually wrong but never in doubt

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

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

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / ‘At Long Last Friday’ Morning Open Thread

‘At Long Last Friday’ Morning Open Thread

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I {heart} Nancy Pelosi:


When they tell you who they are…

Very nearly local news (Pepperel’s in the upper reaches of Middlesex County):

Reader Interactions

88Comments

  1. 1.

    Nicole

    BEAR GETS SPOOKED BY FISH.

    This is the kind of thing I need on a Friday morning. Thank you!

  3. 3.

    Josie

    I hope the people running for office figure out how to explain in simple terms that our right to control over our own bodies and our right to venture out into the public sphere without fear are not just cultural issues. When I think about it, I get so angry at how little Republicans care about such important rights.

  4. 4.

    Dangerman

    I’m kinda like the bear; the color orange mostly has me running away these days, too.

  5. 5.

    raven

    I’m sure I’m the only one who cares but Tiger is not going to make the cut so he’s about to walk up 18 on the Old Course at St Andrews for the last time. The crowd is very appreciative.

  6. 6.

    UncleEbeneezer

    To be fair, abortion is a cultural issue in that one side has a culture that values women/bodily autonomy/life and the other has a culture that values misogyny/Patriarchy.

  10. 10.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Old joke about the Pope and some Italian Nana:  “He no playa the game, he no maka the rules.”

    Nancy, SMASH!

  12. 12.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Josie: The five Federalist fascists have declared war on the right to privacy which is implied quite strongly, but not specifically in those words named, in the First, Fourth, and Ninth Amendments.

  15. 15.

    Josie

    @Villago Delenda Est: ​
     Yes, and this is what we should be pointing out to people at every opportunity. I would imagine protecting their privacy would be important even to those who are not immersed in politics (like us).

  17. 17.

    JML

    That retirement fix is HUGE. that’s a generational fix, not some short-term plugging of a hole, and it was hanging out there the entire time TFG was in office and they didn’t give AF.

    Team Biden should run that postcard out to everyone over 60: “I protected your retirement. The GOP gave it to Wall Street.”

  19. 19.

    Elizabelle

    @raven:  My late mom loved Tiger Woods.  So I do care, and am thinking of her this morning.

    I appreciate the guy for coming back from a serious injury (albeit one of his own causing).  That is a type of courage.

  22. 22.

    Steeplejack

    Amazon Prime Days were kind of meh this time, or maybe it was just me. This kind of sums it up. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but usually there are a few things that pique my interest.

    Okay, I did get interested in one thing, and I ended up buying a new Kindle. I have been staving off Internet doom-scrolling lately with more reading on my old Kindle (mostly sci-fi and crime fiction). The new one has a bigger screen, variable illumination, USB-C charging (old one is inconvenient micro USB), no ads and a free cover for $105. Big discount. (My old one has no ads, but I had to pay extra for that.) The fly in the ointment is that Amazon will get right on that and deliver it . . . sometime in September. Not a big deal, since I’ve got the old model, but somewhat unexpected.

  23. 23.

    Matt McIrvin

    As far as I can tell, the “cultural issues” are very often about people dying. That’s more the rule than the exception, regardless of what they’ll tell you.

  24. 24.

    zhena gogolia

    @Steeplejack: What’s your take on Endeavour? We loved the first two episodes, and the first half of the third episode, but then it kind of jumped the shark. But in an enjoyable way.

  25. 25.

    Steeplejack

    @raven:

    I saw that. I think he’s kind of a dick, but it was a touching moment.

    The Open is my video wallpaper today, especially since the Tour de France has been preëmpted.

  27. 27.

    Steeplejack

    @zhena gogolia:

    Embarrassed to say I haven’t started this season yet. Realized that I needed to back up a bit into the previous season to get a running start and just haven’t summoned the energy yet.

    Ditto for Grantchester, where I think I would have to go even farther back to get caught up.

  28. 28.

    Kelly

    @zhena gogolia: We binged our way thru Endeavor recently. Loved it. Miss it now. Great actors, great photography, the characters develop as the episodes march on.

  29. 29.

    catclub

    @Josie: ​
     

    Yes, and this is what we should be pointing out to people at every opportunity. I would imagine protecting their privacy would be important even to those who are not immersed in politics (like us).

    The Democrats can walk and chew gum at the same time. So they are more likely to manage the economy better than the GOP and protect jobs and workers, as well as deal with liberty and security issues better. It is the media that cannot do two things at once, so they report on what interests them.

  30. 30.

    Old School

    @raven:

    Tiger is not going to make the cut so he’s about to walk up 18 on the Old Course at St Andrews for the last time.

    Why can’t he play next year?  Do you have to make the cut one year to be able to play the next?

  32. 32.

    zhena gogolia

    @Steeplejack: We watched first episode of Grantchester, and although we watched the entire last season, we were like, “What? When did that happen? Why is [no spoilers]?” So it seems maybe we have to back up too. We completely skipped the last season of Endeavour, but I read about it on Wikipedia, so I could pick right up.

    @Kelly: Apparently there will be one more season.

  38. 38.

    trollhattan

    @Steeplejack: Not sure what the correct Californian is for “screw that guy” but screw that guy.

    Boy am I glad we don’t have bears. Raccoons are quite enough to keep out of the koi pond, thanks, but that bear cracks me up. “What the hell, why are these things nibbling my butt?”

    Koi don’t have teeth, which is good because those mouths are pretty large.

  40. 40.

    oatler

    The morning Sinclair network affiliate was full of despair. Gas prices down but LOOK HOW BAD IT”S BEEN, unemployment is low AND BIDEN IS OLD.

  41. 41.

    trollhattan

    @Steeplejack: Was doing real well not buying anything then a bigass 21:9 monitor popped up and my “buy” finger took hold. Supposed to get here tomorrow, which seems like a real trick since it has yet to ship.

  42. 42.

    Kelly

    @zhena gogolia: Mrs Kelly usually doesn’t enjoy murder mysteries but I talked her into Endeavor. She loved it. We binged all the way from season 1 to current.

  43. 43.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    We got to the end of the third episode, looked at one another, and said this show had gone downhill.

    I thought the plot went a little off the rails with the snow-bound hotel stuff, but I still find (young) Morse, Thursday and Bright compelling. Kinda hard for me to see how get from slightly dopey hail-fellow-well-met Jim Strange to Morse’s boss in the original source/s. Mrs Thursday’s personality swings aren’t very well written, IMHO. But I’ll be back for the final season.

    What do you think the next permutation of Morse-world will be? Young Thursday, back from the war and courting Win in 1946? Back to the future with Lewis’s sergeant whose name escapes me?

  45. 45.

    Ken

    @oatler: The morning Sinclair network affiliate was full of despair.

    I sometimes feel sad for people who get sad when other people are happy. Then I say to myself “hell of their own making”.

  48. 48.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @zhena gogolia: one of my favorite moments of the whole Endeavour series is when the young London toughs try to step up on Inspector Thursday and he very calmly says, “Well, I’ll just have to take off my hat…”

    I’d like to see Sgt Thursday taking care of some shit in post-war Britain

  49. 49.

    Scout211

    I don’t know if this has been posted yet, but the Secret Service has officially responded to the accusations of deleted text messages from 1/5/21 and 1/6/21.  Full statement below.

     

    The insinuation that the Secret Service maliciously deleted text messages following a request is false. In fact, the Secret Service has been fully cooperating with the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) in every respect – whether it be interviews, documents, emails, or texts.

    First, in January 2021, before any inspection was opened by OIG on this subject, the Secret Service began to reset its mobile phones to factory settings as part of a pre-planned, three-month system migration. In that process, data resident on some phones was lost.

    DHS OIG requested electronic communications for the first time on Feb. 26, 2021, after the migration was well under way.  The Secret Service notified DHS OIG of the loss of certain phones’ data, but confirmed to OIG that none of the texts it was seeking had been lost in the migration.

    Second, DHS OIG’s allegation regarding DHS’s cooperation with its investigation is neither correct nor new.  To the contrary, DHS OIG has previously alleged that its employees were not granted appropriate and timely access to materials due to attorney review.  DHS has repeatedly and publicly debunked this allegation, including in response to OIG’s last two semi-annual reports to Congress.  It is unclear why OIG is raising this issue again.

  51. 51.

    Immanentize

    @Scout211: That sounds as fully transparent as the Capitol Police letter saying that no suspicious tours happened before January 6. Remember that one?

    ETA Is the SS saying no texts requested were lost? It seems that way, but the OIG says different. Are they saying no texts at all week lost? No, they admit some were lost. So, specifically, the texts of whom, when were lost? Is it those directly involved w/Pence or the President and no others?

  53. 53.

    Steeplejack

    @Old School: 

    The Open is not played at St. Andrews every year. The venue moves around. St. Andrews probably won’t get it again until 2027 at the earliest.

  56. 56.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I want to recommend DERRY GIRLS again. It’s on Netflix. It’s primarily comedy, but it keeps reminding us that it’s set against the background of the Troubles. We saw a bit last night where the girls are celebrating a friend at school while the adults watch a TV report of a bombing in which a lot of people were killed

  58. 58.

    Immanentize

    @Steeplejack: my son seriously considered St. Andrew College, but Brexit. One cool thing was that students get membership for somewhere around $250/year as part of their activity options. The daily green fees for visitors when we were there was something like $185/day — limited play.

  60. 60.

    Scout211

    @Immanentize: This is close to admitting that

    In that process, data resident on some phones was lost.

    The J6 committee has already said they will work on retrieving the deleted lost emails.

  61. 61.

    Immanentize

    @trollhattan: I do not tend toward conspiracies, but AOC tweeted that investigation of Capitol Police security issues on Jan 6 (missing panic buttons, changed locks, phone problems) was squelched by House leadership. Why this should be secret baffles me? It only increases suspicion regarding insiders in the insurrection.

  62. 62.

    Immanentize

    @Scout211: yes, “some phones.”

    Do you remember the SS problem with using the Obama’s space that they were offered after Trump one so that the SS could have a staging area to protect Ivanka and family? IIRC, the Obamas withdrew their accomodations after the SS trashed the joint including, it was implied, smearing shit all over the bathroom (and elsewhere?)

  64. 64.

    Scout211

    @Immanentize:

    This is the part that really got to me:

    It is unclear why OIG is raising this issue again.

    Does this sound even a little bit professional?  No, it sounds like a smear of the OIG and a veiled accusation that the OIG has ulterior motives.

  65. 65.

    Chief Oshkosh

    Tied up with work, haven’t followed the Jackalariat much. Have we discussed

    1. Manchin pulling the plug on his own proposals? ETA: AGAIN.
    2. The Secret Service destroying texts that they were told to turn over to the J6 Committee? ETA: DOH! I missed Scout211 at 49…
  68. 68.

    piratedan

    @Immanentize: I do wonder if there’s some unravelling to unspool.  None of the Coup Club attendees included that Rep from Georgia who had the tour with all of the interesting security stations and stairwells.  No one from the Senate has been mentioned and we have plenty of history on what a bunch of ambitious sociopathic asshats inhabit that august body.

    I have to wonder if the Democrats in Congress believe if they can really trust anyone outside of themselves.  Considering the lack of pace from the DOJ, the GOP refusing to self-police, the media not running with any of the threads that have been revealed thus far.

  69. 69.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Scout211: Yet ANOTHER institution that Biden needs to clean up. What pisses me off about the SS is that they’re being treated like a police force with a strong union (which is why mayors and police chiefs have so much trouble making changes to the force). Fuck the SS officers who are the known assholes. There are a bazillion federal levers that can be pulled to fuck with these guys. Do it, and do it openly. The fuckers who actually WANT to be on the TFG’s detail? The others that fucked with the Obama’s home? Fuck ’em. Put them in the dankest basement of the oldest federal building in the nation, hand them a cracked magnifying glass and a stack of one-dollar bills with the instruction to look for the one counterfeit bill planted in the 100 in front of them.  Of course, there’s no counterfeit in the stack.

  71. 71.

    brantl

    I think we should stop calling them the GOP and start calling them the GOOP, the Grand Old Opportunist’s Party.

  72. 72.

    rikyrah

    @Scout211:

     

    The insinuation that the Secret Service maliciously deleted text messages following a request is false. In fact, the Secret Service has been fully cooperating with the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) in every respect – whether it be interviews, documents, emails, or texts.

     

    Ain’t no insinuation.

    Either the texts exist

    or

    they don’t.

    and, if they don’t….there’s  a problem.

    You don’t get the benefit of the doubt.

  75. 75.

    Scout211

    Secret Service Director leaving to work for SnapChat.

    So this happened.

    The head of the US Secret Service, James Murray, is leaving the agency to become Snap’s security chief.

    Murray has worked for the agency for 27 years and been its director for the past three. His departure on July 30 was first reported by The Washington Post.

    He will report to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, the company told The Verge. Snap did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

    Murray’s departure has been on the cards since April, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Thursday. The move was not related to congressional hearings about the January 6 attacks, she said.

  77. 77.

    Steeplejack

    @Old School:

    To your other point, “exemptions” (tournament slots, basically) vary in pro golf. If you win one of the majors you typically get a five-year exemption for that event (plus a slot in some other events). If you’re a non-superstar, there are a number of ways to qualify for an event. And the event supervisors have some leeway to issue special invitations.

    Wikipedia:

    In the modern era, the majority of players get an exemption from qualification which is awarded for previous performance in the Open, performance in high-profile global tournaments (such as other majors), performance in top golf tours, or a high position in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). Five amateurs are also exempt from qualifying by winning various global amateur titles provided they maintain their amateur status prior to the Open.

    The article also notes that if you win the Open—which Tiger has, of course—you get guaranteed entry to all future Opens until the age of 60.

    Interesting footnote: Right now it looks like four of the five amateurs in this year’s Open will make the cut for the weekend. A first, I think.

  78. 78.

    Captain C

    @rikyrah:

    Ain’t no insinuation.

    Either the texts exist

    or

    they don’t.

    and, if they don’t….there’s  a problem.

    You don’t get the benefit of the doubt.

    And even if we assume no malice, the level of incompetence is such that the people involved either need to be fired (and have all their work records and correspondence tossed through to see what they were up to on work time) or, as Chief Oshkosh stated above, sent to an unventilated Federal basement to spend the rest of their days examining ratty old singles with decrepit, inadequate magnifying glasses.

  81. 81.

    Steeplejack

    @Immanentize:

    I am seeing a (welcome) resurgence of questions on Twitter about the dreadful lack (or suppression?) of security preparedness for January 6.

  83. 83.

    zhena gogolia

    @Steeplejack: They find him in the basement with his paraphernalia! I think that was the first time I saw him.

    Unfortunately, his own personal politics are not far off.

  85. 85.

    Another Scott

    @Scout211: I think one has to be very careful about reading the press release and comparing it to the reporting.  The press release says some “data” was lost in some phones.  It also says no “texts” that were requested were lost.

    We know that TFG appointed a bunch of monsters to break things.  The DHS IG might or might not be one of those monsters – I don’t know.

    This stuff is complicated with lots of moving parts (various policies, requests for some types of data, reporters looking for clicks, everyone having biases on how to read headlines, etc., etc.).  We’ll see what happens.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  86. 86.

    raven

    @Immanentize: Last time on the Old Course at St Andrews. I think he came back too quickly because this was so meaningful. It’s the 150th Anniversary of “The Open” but I don’t think he’s done.

  88. 88.

    Jerzy Russian

    @raven:   I watched this morning’s round also.      Too bad the outcome was not more favorable for him.

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