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You are here: Home / Balloon Juice / Meetups / DC Meetup This Saturday – RSVPs, Venue, Details

DC Meetup This Saturday – RSVPs, Venue, Details

by WaterGirl|  November 15, 20231:48 pm| 69 Comments

This post is in: Balloon Juice, Meetups, Open Threads

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One last update on the DC Meetup this Friday!

rekoob, who is organizing the meetup, writes:

After a couple of false starts (the first place never got back to me, the hotel wanted me to reserve a private party room), I’ve made a reservation at Clyde’s Gallery Place for 14 people at 12:30p on Saturday, 18 November 2023. For what it’s worth, all DC restaurants are tacking on another 3.5% “pandemic makeup” fee, and Clyde’s will only do two split checks (same as other venues). Clyde’s, as “An American Bar”, may not be to everyone’s liking, but they were willing to take the reservation.

https://www.clydes.com/location/gallery-place/

Clyde’s Gallery Place
707 7th Street NW
Washington DC 20001

It’s literally on top of the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro Station, next to Capital One Stadium.

I propose meeting at around 12:30 pm, which may make it easier for those coming in from farther away to make it. Although I’ll do my best to find a green balloon, I’ll at least wear an obvious green sweater and perhaps we can decide on a word or phrase to direct others.

Of course, there’s nothing stopping the group from migrating elsewhere after 2 pm or so…

In reviewing the previous threads, the following people expressed interest:

Robtrim
Barbara
Lord Fartdaddy (etc., etc.)
lowtechcyclist
Ramona
planetjanet
Sherpatrick
Elizabelle
Shana
boatboy_srq

Today’s additions!

MattF

Others who wished to attend but have a conflict on the 18th:

Redshift
DougL
caphilldcne
frosty
EarthWindFire
tandem

All are welcome!

Please confirm by 5:00p Eastern on Thursday, 16 November 2023, that you plan to attend.

Looks like a great crowd!  If you haven’t already RSVP’d, it’s not too late!  And if you’re on the list as attending, but something has come up, please let rekoob know that, too.

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Reader Interactions

69Comments

  1. 1.

    HinTN

    November 15, 2023 at 1:52 pm

    I do wish I could be there but, alas, it’s an 8 – 10 hour drive. Y’all have a big time and hoist a glass to all in absentia.

  2. 2.

    MattF

    November 15, 2023 at 1:56 pm

    I’m interested and will probably be there.

  3. 3.

    WaterGirl

    November 15, 2023 at 1:58 pm

    @MattF: Great!

    I just added your name up top.

  4. 4.

    Alison Rose

    November 15, 2023 at 2:05 pm

    Obviously I won’t be there, but I peeked at the menu, and that “Spreads and Breads” starter plate looks freaking delicious.

  5. 5.

    zhena gogolia

    November 15, 2023 at 2:07 pm

    @Alison Rose: I’d go for the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake.

  6. 6.

    WaterGirl

    November 15, 2023 at 2:08 pm

    @zhena gogolia: If only they could get our orders TO GO.

  7. 7.

    Jeffro

    November 15, 2023 at 2:08 pm

    Y’all have fun up there!  Clyde’s is pretty good grub.  =)

  8. 8.

    Baud

    November 15, 2023 at 2:09 pm

    @Alison Rose:

    “Spreads and Breads” starter plate looks freaking delicious

     
    It’s also my OnlyFans stage name.

  9. 9.

    Alison Rose

    November 15, 2023 at 2:13 pm

    @Baud: Make sure that’s front and center on your campaign site.

  10. 10.

    zhena gogolia

    November 15, 2023 at 2:14 pm

    @WaterGirl: Yeah!

  11. 11.

    Jeffro

    November 15, 2023 at 2:15 pm

    OT but Biden-Harris 2024 already has up Rep Chip Roy’s “Can someone please tell me ANYTHING that our Republican House majority has actually DONE?” comments up and running as a campaign ad.

    LOLOLOLOLOL

  12. 12.

    WaterGirl

    November 15, 2023 at 2:18 pm

    @Jeffro: Most excellent!

  13. 13.

    Alison Rose

    November 15, 2023 at 2:22 pm

    @Jeffro: Do you have a link? I can’t find it

    ETA Oh here it is. Weird, I swear at first it didn’t show up on their Twitter page for me!

  14. 14.

    WaterGirl

    November 15, 2023 at 2:26 pm

    @Jeffro: @Alison Rose:  Oh my god, that is so good!

    GOP Rep. Roy: I want my Republican colleagues to give me one thing that I can go campaign on and say we did. One! Come and explain to me one meaningful, significant thing the Republican majority has done pic.twitter.com/Es8Sqy4SGj

    — Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) November 15, 2023

  15. 15.

    lowtechcyclist

    November 15, 2023 at 2:28 pm

    Still planning on being there!

  16. 16.

    piratedan

    November 15, 2023 at 2:29 pm

    @WaterGirl: in these trying times ladies and gentlemen, when there are so many stresses and conflicts and arguments, my fellow elected Representatives in the House GOP membership have endeavored to lighten your lives with our non-stop clown show.  We hope that you have been entertained…. Vote for Me.

  17. 17.

    Alison Rose

    November 15, 2023 at 2:29 pm

    @WaterGirl: I only wish they’d added the “I’m Joe Biden and I approve this message” thing at the end :P

  18. 18.

    Captain C

    November 15, 2023 at 2:30 pm

    @WaterGirl: They probably can’t even say as much as noted mobster Frank Costello, who at least paid his taxes according to his testimony.

  19. 19.

    Jeffro

    November 15, 2023 at 2:34 pm

    @WaterGirl: isn’t it?   =)

    There was a clip up just now (not a BH’24 ad) of some Congressman (Casten from Illinois) speaking in the House and noting all the times that the GOP should give thanks for House Democrats saving them from their own idiocy.  It’s great!

    Big finish:

    “So when you gather next week at the Thanksgiving table, don’t be that crazy uncle who won’t stop yappin’ about Hunter Biden – give thanks for Democrats instead”

    I’M DEAD

  20. 20.

    WaterGirl

    November 15, 2023 at 2:35 pm

    I don’t know why Trump isn’t already locked up in jail.  (Okay, I do know why.)

    But with the latest he said about Jack Smith and family?  He calls Jack Smith deranged (again) and a Trump-hating prosecutor (again).

    Then he said “his wife and family despise me much more than he does, talks about Jack Smith’s wife’s contributions to Biden.  Smith is a 10 out of 10 on ill will, and his family is 15 out of 10.  He is a disgrace to America.”

    If that’s not an invitation for Trump’s goons to go after Smith’s wife and daughter, I don’t know what is.

  21. 21.

    WaterGirl

    November 15, 2023 at 2:37 pm

    @piratedan: Definitely a novel campaign theme; I hope it works out for them. //

  22. 22.

    WaterGirl

    November 15, 2023 at 2:38 pm

    @Captain C: Nope, they can’t say that.

  23. 23.

    WaterGirl

    November 15, 2023 at 2:39 pm

    @Jeffro: I’d like to see that one!

  24. 24.

    Geminid

    November 15, 2023 at 2:41 pm

    @Jeffro: I like how Republican officeholders are trashing each other. Virginia Delegate John McGuire just announced a primary challenge to Rep. Bob Good, and he really ripped the 5th District Congressman.

    Republicans stacked the deck for Good in 2020 by choosing the Caucus/Convention route, but I read in Cardinal News that state law requires a primary this time. Good is a creepy guy, and McGuire just might beat him.

  25. 25.

    Baud

    November 15, 2023 at 2:46 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    The GOP isn’t going to claim credit for Biden’s age?

  26. 26.

    Alison Rose

    November 15, 2023 at 2:46 pm

    @WaterGirl: From the few pictures and videos we have of Jack Smith, I’m fairly certain his response to that is I wish a motherfucker would while cracking his knuckles. Honestly, sometimes it seems like Trump is TRYING to get himself thrown in jail, so he can ramp up the martyr bullshit to 11.

  27. 27.

    Almost Retired

    November 15, 2023 at 2:50 pm

    So wish I could be there, especially since my sister lives nearby in the District and I’m going there next month.

    And Clyde’s!   Many, many, many (I could add some more “manys” for further emphasis), I did the usual Poli Sci college major “Junior year in Washington” thing.  I was exploited for free labor by some long-forgotten think-tank which focused on something that required thinking (I’m hazy on the details, but it was close to the Hawk N Dove where I had lunch every time I could afford it. ).

    For actual money, I worked as a bar back/dog’s body at the original Clyde’s on M Street in Georgetown. It sort of had a “Cheers” vibe at the time.

  28. 28.

    Geminid

    November 15, 2023 at 2:53 pm

    @Jeffro: Sean Casten represents a district in the Chicago area, and was one of the 40 Democrats who flipped House Districts in 2018. Because of redistricting, Casten had to compete with Rep. Marie Newman in the primary last year.

  29. 29.

    C Stars

    November 15, 2023 at 2:57 pm

    OOh fun! Sounds like a great gathering.

  30. 30.

    WaterGirl

    November 15, 2023 at 3:01 pm

    @Alison Rose: Jack Smith can’t be with his family all the time to protect them.

  31. 31.

    Alison Rose

    November 15, 2023 at 3:12 pm

    @WaterGirl: I would hope they have security of some kind. It does make me afraid for them, since we know there is no depths Trump’s minions won’t sink to.

  32. 32.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    November 15, 2023 at 3:15 pm

    @Geminid: Casten used to be my rep, but we were redistricted into Mike Quigley’s district.

  33. 33.

    WaterGirl

    November 15, 2023 at 3:15 pm

    @Alison Rose: Harry Litman was speculating that they would have a secret service detail, but I don’t know that for sure.

  34. 34.

    boatboy_srq

    November 15, 2023 at 3:25 pm

    Confirming. I’ll be there.

  35. 35.

    caphilldcne

    November 15, 2023 at 3:27 pm

    Wish I could go! Alas, I’ll be at the concurrent University of Michigan (my undergrad alma mater) vs. University of Maryland (my law school) football game. It’ll be fun but lack crab cakes.

  36. 36.

    Uncle Cosmo

    November 15, 2023 at 4:13 pm

    @WaterGirl: ​Follow that clip with audio of more and more crickets chirping, and finish it off with a clip of Majority Leader Jeffries noting that the Democrats had to provide the votes to keep the government running while the Thuglicans kept slapping one another silly…

    I tells ya, the BH ad creators must be having the time of their lives savaging the Krazy Klown Kaukus…

  37. 37.

    Baud

    November 15, 2023 at 4:14 pm

    Via reddit

     

    Ukraine’s Security Service notified Rudy Giuliani’s top Ukrainian allies on Monday that they are suspects of treason, citing evidence that the officials participated in activities aiding Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    A Ukrainian member of parliament, Oleksandr Dubinsky, ex-Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach, and ex-prosecutor Kostyantyn Kulyk are suspected of joining an organization founded by chief members of Russia’s Military Intelligence while Giuliani worked to dig up dirt on President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden in 2019, according to a statement.

    The organization received more than $10 million from the Russian Federation to “discredit” Ukraine on the international stage.

  38. 38.

    Shana

    November 15, 2023 at 4:14 pm

    Confirming that I’ll be there

  39. 39.

    The Lodger

    November 15, 2023 at 4:18 pm

    @Jeffro: That, right there, might be my favorite Chip Roy quote of all time.

  40. 40.

    Martin

    November 15, 2023 at 4:22 pm

    @Alison Rose: So we learned that David DePape, the guy who attacked Paul Pelosi was radicalized by the gamergate movement, which is where the GOP takes their tactics from.

    Harassment and violence is central to the movement.

  41. 41.

    Jeffro

    November 15, 2023 at 4:24 pm

    @Geminid: here’s hoping!

    I still try not to think about it too much (being represented by Good) 🤢

  42. 42.

    Martin

    November 15, 2023 at 4:25 pm

    @WaterGirl: Probably US Marshals, not SS. I don’t think SS is legally allowed to protect a special counsel unless the president designates the trial a national special security event (which, honestly, it should qualify to be).

  43. 43.

    Uncle Cosmo

    November 15, 2023 at 4:28 pm

    FTR, count me out for Saturday. Yinz have fun.​

    (How do I “let rekoob know”?)

  44. 44.

    WaterGirl

    November 15, 2023 at 4:29 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo: BH?

  45. 45.

    Geminid

    November 15, 2023 at 4:30 pm

    @Baud: There is also a breaking story related to a  Cyprus bank that has implicated a German media figure in a 600,000 Euro bribe from Russia. He has been a conspicuous apologist for Putin. This may turn out to be another Panama Papers-type affair, with a lot more shoes to drop.

  46. 46.

    Uncle Cosmo

    November 15, 2023 at 4:33 pm

    @WaterGirl: ​Biden-Harris.

  47. 47.

    Geminid

    November 15, 2023 at 4:34 pm

    @Jeffro: McGuire is probably no less conservative than Good, but I’ll still be rooting for him. There is something about Bob Good that makes my skin crawl.

  48. 48.

    Alison Rose

    November 15, 2023 at 4:36 pm

    @Martin: Uggghhhh. I have often thanked my lucky stars that in my gaming days, I had a group of decent guys to game with and that we rarely encountered incel bigots in the games we played.

  49. 49.

    Alison Rose

    November 15, 2023 at 4:37 pm

    @Baud: [insert Montgomery Burns “excellent” gif]

  50. 50.

    Scout211

    November 15, 2023 at 4:39 pm

    The leaked proffer video hearing had a confession and now a protective order.

    An attorney for one of former President Donald Trump’s co-defendants in the Fulton County district attorney’s 2020 election interference case admitted at a hearing Wednesday that he shared witness proffer videos of key figures in the case with a media outlet, saying he thought it was in his client’s interest to do so.

    Jonathan Miller, an attorney for Misty Hampton, made the confession during an emergency hearing for a protective order that was prompted by the publication of parts of the video statements of Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro and Scott Hall by ABC News and The Washington Post. The judge said he would issue a protective order barring the disclosure of certain discovery information by Thursday morning.

  51. 51.

    MattF

    November 15, 2023 at 4:42 pm

    @Geminid: See report here.

  52. 52.

    Uncle Cosmo

    November 15, 2023 at 4:43 pm

    @Geminid: I have a sneaking suspicion that at least one of the Five Eyes intel operations has the goods on at least a dozen Thuglican Congresscritters who’ve knowingly taken fistsful of rubles from the Rooskies – and are just waiting for the right moment to drop the proof to DOJ and major MSM outlets. It probably won’t be our guys (CIA, NSA, FBI crawling with fascist moles) but MI6 or the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Intérieure or the Bundesnachrichtendienst….

  53. 53.

    Martin

    November 15, 2023 at 4:49 pm

    @Alison Rose: That’s extremely lucky. I don’t generally play online games because even when it’s just guys, it gets toxic immediately. They’ll always find someone to shit on and bully.

    There are exceptions – certain games are better than others, and certain communities can be quite good. But throw me in a matchmaking lobby? No. Hard pass.

  54. 54.

    Martin

    November 15, 2023 at 4:52 pm

    @Scout211: saying he thought it was in his client’s interest to do so.

    Let them fight.

  55. 55.

    Scout211

    November 15, 2023 at 4:54 pm

    So what does it take for the House ethics committee to actually recommend a punishment?

    Ethics Committee will not recommend punishment for embattled Rep. George Santos

    The House Ethics Committee will not recommend any punishment for embattled New York Republican Rep. George Santos in a public report it plans to release later this week after a monthslong investigation, Chairman Michael Guest said Wednesday.

    Instead, the panel will release its evidence and details of its work for members to review and make their own conclusion about whether Santos should be removed from Congress, Guest, a Mississippi Republican, said.
     
    An investigative subcommittee has contacted at least 40 witnesses, reviewed 170,000 pages of documents and authorized more than three dozen subpoenas as part of its investigation into whether Santos “engaged in unlawful activity” in his 2022 House campaign.

  56. 56.

    Martin

    November 15, 2023 at 4:55 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo: Quibble: France and Germany aren’t Five Eyes. Five Eyes is US, UK, NZ, AU, Canada. It’s purely a UK colonial org.

    But my money would be on France.

  57. 57.

    WaterGirl

    November 15, 2023 at 4:58 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo: I just took you off the list of attendees up top.  So rekoob will know.

  58. 58.

    Alison Rose

    November 15, 2023 at 4:59 pm

    @Martin: The main game I played was a fantasy RPG, which doesn’t draw as many hateful jerks as FPS games and such. Plus, we played on a specifically role-playing server, which I think was just so nerdy that it cut down even more. We certainly ran into some awful people, but far less than in other games.

  59. 59.

    WaterGirl

    November 15, 2023 at 5:00 pm

    @Scout211: wow, surely that’s not considered acceptable by the court?

    edit; of course all these people are scum, so what do they care?

  60. 60.

    cain

    November 15, 2023 at 5:00 pm

    Since this is an open thread – if some of you are still interested in mastodon here is an article that talks about a ‘starter pack’ for mastodon – accounts to follow for various kind of things.

    https://mastodon.social/deck/@[email protected]/111416613846115256

     

    Mastodon continues to grow and some major folks are coming over now – eg businesses

    ETA #60! WOW!!!!

  61. 61.

    The Lodger

    November 15, 2023 at 6:29 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo: 5 eyes are all anglophone countries (YMMV for Canada) so the outfit with the German name isn’t officially playing.

  62. 62.

    schrodingers_cat

    November 15, 2023 at 6:35 pm

    I have only been to the Georgetown Clyde’s. Great place to hang out. Have fun jackals.

  63. 63.

    Planetjanet

    November 15, 2023 at 6:38 pm

    I would like to go.  Please count me in.

  64. 64.

    Yutsano

    November 15, 2023 at 8:12 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo: It’s the Kiwis. Always the Kiwis.

  65. 65.

    Ramona

    November 15, 2023 at 11:46 pm

    I plan on being there. My gmail is full of spam and I haven’t seen an email from you. Is answering here good enough for an rsvp?

  66. 66.

    WaterGirl

    November 16, 2023 at 5:53 am

    @Ramona: yes!

  67. 67.

    Vadranor

    November 16, 2023 at 9:25 am

    I would like to attend the meetup.

  68. 68.

    Primer Gray (formerly yet another Jeff)

    November 16, 2023 at 1:00 pm

    Howdy from Fairfax County, just barely inside the Beltway….

    Can’t do this one, but definitely hope to be at the next. Would love to meet jackals in my area. ;)

  69. 69.

    rekoob

    November 17, 2023 at 4:53 pm

    @Vadranor: Just saw this. I believe there will be room — please join us!

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