Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

No one could have predicted…

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

It could be worse. Vance could have said “post-menopausal sows.” Waiting for that audiotape to surface.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

If you’re looking for someone who’s young and athletic, go watch a fucking movie.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

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102Comments

  2. 2.

    Baud

    Mockery from the last thread

    President Biden mocked former President Trump on Sunday for appearing to mix up Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) during a campaign rally this weekend.

     

    “I don’t agree with Nikki Haley on everything, but we agree on this much: She is not Nancy Pelosi,” Biden wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, attaching a campaign ad that knocked Trump for the mix-up and highlighted concerns about his mental fitness.

  3. 3.

    Jackie

    Request: Since we had posts dedicated to the World Cup, could we have two posts dedicated to the NFC and AFC championship games next weekend?

  5. 5.

    Mousebumples

    @Jackie: could we have two posts dedicated to the NFC and AFC championship games next weekend?

    For the record, the games are both next week Sunday. 3pm & 630 pm eastern (blog) time.

  6. 6.

    trnc

    @Baud: “I don’t agree with Nikki Haley on everything, but we agree on this much: She is not Nancy Pelosi,” Biden wrote in a post on X

    Man, way to deliver a sick burn on both repub candidates.

  10. 10.

    kindness

    I can see Trump naming DeSantis as his VP candidate.  Be nice to see him and Trump defeated at the ballot box (& the Electoral College).  The nut cases out there would absolutely lose their nut and refuse to recognize the loss, of course.

  16. 16.

    JPL

    @Baud: Same!   There’s a little devil in me that hopes Taylor and the Chiefs go to the White House just to irk trump, but I know that is wrong.

  18. 18.

    Brachiator

    @kindness:

    I can see Trump naming DeSantis as his VP candidate.

    Not a chance. DeSantis is too strange, even for Trump, and is covered with too much loser stink.

    But then again, who knows what Trump might do. I’m still hoping he goes to jail.

  19. 19.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: where would i find the video? I don’t find it at the Hill article.

    @Jackie:   I googled NFC and found this.

    Near Field Communication (NFC) technology

    Pretty sure that’s not it.  Guessing football?

    If you tell me the days and the start times to put up the posts.  Equal opportunity sports.  Balloon Juice, where we don’t play favorites! :-)

    Also if you could send me a link to something – and image, a link – that I can use in the post, that would be great.  Otherwise it will be “here’s your football post” and a tiny bit of content would be good, at least.

    *I am not a football person, which you probably already guessed.  But also not basketball, etc, either.

  21. 21.

    Honus

    @Alison Rose: I think he copped that from some wag here in Virginia that posted “sale on Youngkin for president merch” after last November’s election

  23. 23.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    We hung out for a while today with our secret cabal of Democrats. We talked politics and I was dismayed to realize they all assume Trump will win the election. When I said I didn’t, they looked at me with pity. One of them proposed Biden should step aside and maybe accept the VP role for someone else. I had no idea what to say.

  27. 27.

    Jackie

    @WaterGirl: Will do!

    So far only the NFC game is set: Detroit Lions vs SF 49ers.

    The AFC game will be Baltimore Ravens vs winner of current game; either Buffalo Bills or KC Chiefs.

  29. 29.

    Another Scott

    @schrodingers_cat: The news is out there and not too hard to find.

    E.g. AlJazeera.com:

    […]

    They have a deadline to meet – January 22 – by when they must build enough of the Ram Mandir for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate it, amid nationwide frenzy around the project fed and fuelled by the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allied Hindu majoritarian outfits.

    Built on the ruins of a mosque of the 16th century, Babri Masjid, which Hindu activists demolished in December 1992, the temple is close to the site that is believed by many Hindus to be the birthplace of Lord Ram, a personification of the victory of good over evil. In 1990, the BJP and quasi-religious bodies like Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) launched a massive campaign demanding that a temple be built where the mosque stood, culminating in the physical assault on the existing shrine two years later. The movement catapulted the BJP, which had won only two out of the 543 seats in the lower house of India’s parliament, to national centre stage.

    Now, the semi-constructed temple is poised to serve as the backdrop for what many analysts and opposition leaders say is effectively the launch of Modi’s campaign for re-election in the 2024 national polls, expected to be held between March and May.

    […]

    Besides Modi, others who will be part of the consecration include Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological parent; Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and a priest chosen to perform the ceremony.

    That the inauguration is taking place before the temple is complete, and that it focuses on Modi — who is not from the Brahmin or priestly community — has upset some Hindu gurus. Four of the most prominent seers, called the Shankaracharyas, are boycotting the event.

    Also skipping the event is the opposition Congress party, which described the inauguration as a political show rather than one meant to honour Ram. India’s mostly pro-government mainstream media has savaged the Congress over its decision — the BJP and its allies portray India’s Grand Old Party as anti-Hindu and focused on the interests of Muslims.

    But political analyst Harish Khare said the Congress decision was a reflection of the leadership of the party’s current president, veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who in 2022 took over from the Nehru-Gandhi family that has controlled the Congress for much of the past 75 years.

    “Unlike the Gandhis, the new Congress president will not allow himself to be on the backfoot on this matter,” Khare said. “Mr Kharge has brought in new clarity that the new president would not be part of any congregation in which the RSS chief would be a major presence.”

    The Congress is the hub around which the opposition alliance, called INDIA, has been built. With elections coming up, Congress cannot be seen as complicit in a ceremony orchestrated by the party it wants to replace.

    For the BJP, meanwhile, the Congress decision is a chance to reinforce its narrative that it alone cares about the country’s Hindus. On January 22, as the Ram Mandir is consecrated, a re-election campaign too, will in effect be inaugurated.

    […]

    Maybe Modi and the BJP has finally over-reached?

    Thanks for reminding us to keep India in mind.

    Your comments on India are always welcome.

    Hang in there.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  31. 31.

    Delk

    Anderson Cooper was in Chicago last week. In an attempt to keep a low profile he bought a baseball cap to wear. I guess he thought it would cover his hair and the bill would help mask his face. Anyway, he couldn’t figure out why people were staring at him and calling him names. When he got back home a friend explained that he was wearing a Packers hat. He had no idea what the G was for or why it wasn’t a good hat to keep a low profile in while walking around Chicago.

  32. 32.

    Brachiator

    @schrodingers_cat:

    India’s dive into a majoritarian theocracy is being met with big yawn by the world.

    Unfortunately, of the many countries in the region, people only care about China and maybe North Korea, because they are on an official Enemies List.

  35. 35.

    Another Scott

    @Suzanne: @Jackie:

    Yes, there’s not a prohibition on them both being from the same state, but there’s a penalty in the EC.

    12th Amendment:

    Additionally, electors may not vote for presidential and vice-presidential candidates who both reside in the elector’s state—at least one of them must be an inhabitant of another state.

    Florida has 30 electoral votes – a big prize!

    It gets complicated if there is no majority in the EC – it gets thrown to the House – so in practice the candidates are almost always from (or pretend to be from – e.g. Cheney) different states.

    HTH!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  38. 38.

    Honus

    @WaterGirl:

    I walked in the restaurant
    For something to do
    The waitress yelled at me
    And so did the food
    And the water taste funny
    When you’re far from your home
    But it’s only the thirsty
    That hunger to roam

    Hey three for a quarter
    One for a dime
    I’ll bet it’s tomorrow
    By Rocky Mountain time

  42. 42.

    Scout211

    Another good opinion piece on USA Today This time it was a little more light-hearted than the one I posted previously

    Taylor Swift simply being at NFL playoff games has made the sport better. Deal with it.

    Taylor Swift isn’t ruining the NFL or football, despite what some of you and actual Hall of Famers claim. She’s too busy to bother with that. And she may well be too busy this weekend living her best life in a luxury stadium box, cheering on boyfriend Travis Kelce and his Kansas City Chiefs as they play the Buffalo Bills, to worry about whether NFL fans’ fragile emotions will survive her apparent happiness.

    In fact, the truth is that she is saving the NFL from itself.
    . . .
    Forbes reported in November that Swift’s attendance led to the most viewership for a Sunday night game since the Super Bowl. Since. The. Super. Bowl.

    She also helped grow female viewership, ushering significant increases across several age groups. You might not like it, but that’s an important demographic the NFL has catered to for years. She made that easier.
    . . .

    That is right sports fans, your cherished and revered tradition of yelling at teams that don’t care about you over games that have zero impact on your life got a popularity lift from a female superstar. She made your sport more popular and relevant. Not the other way around.

    And while you’re yelling at the screen during the Chiefs playoff game, think of this: If the NFL were to put out an honorary Taylor Swift jersey, it would outsell every other jersey in sports entertainment.

    If NFL officials were smart, they’d also do friendship bracelets for the rest of us to wear while you lot are complaining about all the camera shots of Swift and her friends dancing in the stadium box.

  45. 45.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Baud: ​ 

    Same here, in addition to seeing the ever-odious Niners lose (fingers crossed). There isn’t a team I am more ambivalent about in all sport than the Lions.

    No history, no lore, no success, epic failures and years of soul-sucking abject mediocrity. It’d be nice to see them in the Super Bowl.

    I like Josh Allen, but he’s gotta win this game, he’s not gonna have a better chance to get past Reid/Mahomes.

  49. 49.

    Pittsburgh Mike

    Both Ashes to Ashes and Life on Mars are great.

    The end of A2A tries to explain the whole thing.

  53. 53.

    Brachiator

    @Scout211:

    Forbes reported in November that Swift’s attendance led to the most viewership for a Sunday night game since the Super Bowl. Since. The. Super. Bowl.

    That’s a little amazing.

    I saw a headline on a media story about some male right wing idiot trying to attack her. I didn’t bother to read further. It’s good to know that sane people are ignoring this nonsense.

  54. 54.

    Scout211

    @WaterGirl: So both games are the same day, just a few hours apart?

    Yes, and if the first game is delayed or runs late due to overtime, they delay the start of the second game

    Added: Yes, two posts.  Thanks!

  60. 60.

    Ajabu

    @WaterGirl:

    i’m with you on the football. it makes no sense to me although my wife is in the other room watching it currently.
    We (you and me) disagree on basketball. If there’s a basket involved I watch it. Love me some Lakers!

  62. 62.

    AlaskaReader

    @NotMax: You mentioned ‘plate lunch’ the other night.

    Plate Lunch I can easily ‘recreate’ here at home in Alaska.

    Sourcing appetizers, Opihi, and an entree, Ono, for dinner is a whole other thing.

  68. 68.

    WaterGirl

    @mrmoshpotato: @Jackie:

    Okay, two bare bones posts have been scheduled.

    Balloon Juice post times on Sunday Jan 28.

    2:30

    6:00

    Someone will need to remind me the day before so I can set an alarm.  The scheduling feature isn’t always reliable, so I can set alarms on my phone to remind me to force publish the posts if the don’t behave and publish themselves.

  74. 74.

    mrmoshpotato

    @WaterGirl:

    The scheduling feature isn’t always reliable, so I can set alarms on my phone to remind me to force publish the posts if the don’t behave and publish themselves. 

    Pull yourselves up by your own publishstraps, posts!

  75. 75.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @AlaskaReader: I live in an over-55 condo building that’s heavily inhabited by Republicans. We Democrats locate one another by clues we scan for and then carefully feel out. Like, did you say you watched msnbc? Then we meet to sound off about politics.

  77. 77.

    wjca

    @Another Scott: @Suzanne: @Jackie:

    in practice the candidates are almost always from (or pretend to be from – e.g. Cheney) different states.

    Fortunately, TIFG can merely shift his residence (to New Jersey, perhaps?).  Problem, gone.  Only the electability problem left.

    In fact, I can’t see TIFG picking anybody who was so disloyal as to run against him in the primaries.  Some obscure nothing-burger of a governor seems more likely.  Someone who won’t steal the spotlight.  Ever.

  82. 82.

    Seefleur

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Were these people in Maine? I have been appalled at the assumption here that tRump is a shoe-in, by fellow Dems. It’s like they’re rolling over and not even willing to toss sand into the gears of the GOP. I don’t get  it… and it’s pissing me off.

  85. 85.

    Chetan Murthy

    @schrodingers_cat: Back in the early ’90s I was head-down in work, (unbeknownst to me) rapidly exiting my then-current career, and in France, so not really keeping track of news.  It was difficult, since my French was OK but not great.  But I remember when the Babri Masjid got torn down by Hindu nutters, and my memory is that it was part of a wave of anti-Muslim violence all over India.  None of that gets mentioned in the articles about this new temple, and it needs to be.  That 30+ years ago, these Hindu fundamentalists purposefully attacked and destroyed this half-millennium-old mosque,  specifically to achieve the end they’re getting today.

  91. 91.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Chetan Murthy: That temple is being built over the corpses of thousands. And that’s what changed BJP’s electoral fortunes. I was in India then. The problem is not Modi primarily it is the ideology behind BJP. Modi is the face not necessarily the brain.

  93. 93.

    Chetan Murthy

    @schrodingers_cat: I completey believe you on this: this Hindu fundamentalism was a massive force 30+ years ago.   No flash in the pan, no recent development.  It’s deep-rooted.

  94. 94.

    Brachiator

    @Scout211:

    And while you’re yelling at the screen during the Chiefs playoff game, think of this: If the NFL were to put out an honorary Taylor Swift jersey, it would outsell every other jersey in sports entertainment.

    This would be so cool.

  96. 96.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Chetan Murthy: Its not new. BJP was bidding its time till it got the absolute majority without any electoral allies before it unleashed its entire agenda.

    RSS has been around for over 90 years, Hindu Mahasabha is even older. What expanded their numbers greatly from its upper caste base was this Ram Temple agitation begun in the late 80s as a counter to affirmative action for the OBC (Other Backward Castes)

    Indians are pretty religious but the ethos of most Indians (Hindus included) is live and let live. RSS uses these religious sentiments to promote a facsist agenda.

  98. 98.

    Steeplejack

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    One of them proposed Biden should step aside and maybe accept the VP role for someone else.

    Late to the thread, but I suggest in future you make their heads explode by asking, “So you’re all in on Kamala Harris, then?”

  102. 102.

    Paul in KY

    @frosty: I love Lamar (ex Cards great), but as a Brownie must hate the Ravens (Rot in Hell, Art Modell, etc. etc.). I will be very torn, as I really don’t like the coach of the Chiefs (from his time in Philly).

    God, I wish the Bills had won!!!

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