Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

American History and Black History can not be separated.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

The words do not have to be perfect.

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

This really is a full service blog.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

He really is that stupid.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

You are here: Home / Civil Rights / Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Juneteenth

Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Juneteenth

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  1. 1.

    Baud

    The #Juneteenth ALL White party in Baltimore!

    Was initially confused when I read this.

  2. 2.

    Ken

    @Baud: Good, I wasn’t alone.

    Juneteenth isn’t on my company’s holiday calendar yet, so I’m off to work. They also don’t do Veterans Day or MLK Jr. Day, but do grant Memorial Day and Thanksgiving. That seems a common pattern (and tells you I don’t work for a bank).

  4. 4.

    Jeffro

    Happy Juneteenth, folks!

    (reposting from a previous thread:) thanks to all BJers who contributed suggestions last night for me to pass along to Froette re: keeping safe at the RNC.  I know it will be quite the learning experience for her and her fellow students, but I do wish she hadn’t drawn the short straw! (ie, RNC instead of DNC)

  8. 8.

    Anne Laurie

    @Baud: Good, then I wasn’t the only one to have to read down!

    (Why I decided to include that particular tweet… )

  15. 15.

    Ken

    @Anne Laurie: Part of my confusion was the capitalization of “White party,” since it’s the style to capitalize “Black” as in “Black Boaters” later in the tweet.

    And I just realized “ALL” may be an acronym for the sponsors?

  16. 16.

    Ken

    @Betty Cracker: It was because I left the interstate and took the back roads that I learned of the Klown Doll Museum in Plainview, Nebraska.

    (And doesn’t that sound like a horror movie premise?)

  20. 20.

    Betty Cracker

    Have y’all seen “Station Eleven” on HBO Max? It’s a 10~part series based on Emily St. John Mandel’s novel. I loved the book and watched the series when it first came out. I am rewatching it, and it’s better than I remember somehow.

    The adaptation deviates from the book significantly but in ways that make sense for the medium, and it’s well presented and scored. Now I’m obsessed with Franz Liszt’s La Campanella and will have to bug Bill to play it for me when he comes home.

  21. 21.

    Mousebumples

    I have today off of work. A good time to be scheduling appointments as doctors are still open.

    Also have a 5th birthday party for a niece later tonight. Still need to buy a birthday present… I’m thinking a Water WOW book (for the plane ride back to AZ) and maybe some cash? Any other ideas? I’d do just cash, but I figure a 5 yo would like something to open…

  22. 22.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Betty Cracker: Haven’t seen the TV version, but read the book and thought it was great. I just read her “Sea of Tranquility” and really enjoyed that one, too. Have you read it?

  23. 23.

    Anyway

    @Ken:

    Juneteenth isn’t on my company’s holiday calendar yet, so I’m off to work. They also don’t do Veterans Day or MLK Jr. Day, but do grant Memorial Day and Thanksgiving. That seems a common pattern (and tells you I don’t work for a bank).

    Happy Juneteenth— I love that word. Same here re work but I took the day off to go watch the Phillies with some buds. Of course we had no idea it would be so hot back when we got the tix — but it’s fun to blow off work and have a mini tailgate . Cooler is ready!

  24. 24.

    zhena gogolia

    Open thread, so I just finished watching Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Oldman version). It’s so great. What a wealth of acting talent.

  26. 26.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @zhena gogolia: I adored the Alec Guinness version. Would happily give the Oldman version a try. Which “channel” is it on?

    ETA: AL, thank you for this and so many other posts. I grew up in NJ–nowhere near any of the turnpike exits TYVM–and of course had no info about the AA town in south Jersey. Would love to visit it someday.

  27. 27.

    H.E.Wolf

    Thank you to Anne Laurie for this beautiful and moving post bearing witness to Black American history. I’m going to read all the links with a full heart (and full eyes).

    A great way to celebrate Juneteenth would be to donate to the North Carolina Black Alliance’s Campus Engagement project (GOTV outreach to Black students in NC). This is Balloon Juice’s current political fundraiser. Thermometer is in the sidebar.

    NC went blue for Obama in 2008… and the Democrats have a powerhouse operation in-state this year. NCBA is targeting a group of potential voters who are likely to vote for Biden Harris!

  29. 29.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    I just had a nice Juneteenth interaction.  I’m walking City Park this week instead of my usual up at 3:30am to run two circuits around the Park (achilles tendonitis that my doctor said “stop being stupid and give it a break”) thus, I see a) daylight, and b) people (other than some of the homeless, I have stories of bushes talking to me at 4am).

    I’m coming up on the MLK Jr memorial, there’s a black couple there, probably around 70, taking photos of the various stuff and posing each other in front and taking photos.  I called out “Happy Juneteenth”, they smiled and replied the same.

    I then stopped and said “would you like me to take your picture” because people our age simply don’t do selfies.  They thanked me and said yes.  He then noticed my shift (from a 50K rail-to-trail ultra in KS I’ve run) and said “oh, you’re a runner.  I am too.”  We then spent a couple of minutes swapping basically growing old as a runner and managing the hurt.

    Just a casual encounter between three strangers in a great space for a great man on a great day.

  30. 30.

    Layer8Problem

    @zhena gogolia:  Have you seen the Guinness version?  If you did, how do you find the two versions compare, understanding that the formats are different?

  32. 32.

    Layer8Problem

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage:  I have been putting off resuming running because of vague worries that I’m doing a lightly damaged knee no favors.  I need to visit a sports orthopedist and get some idea of my options and hopefully find out it’s as simple as putting on a brace and soldiering on.

  33. 33.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Betty Cracker:

    Lemme state upfront that I could never live in most of Kansas (of course I said that about Central Misery when my wife first approached me about chucking away careers to move their and renovate an 1840s railroad hotel)…

    But, I’ve seemingly been driving thru the state for much of the last 50 years.  And everybody, understandably, always talks about the western part being something to “get thru” because they’re on I-70.

    We’ve driven every highway it seems in the state and have discovered that it’s got a unique beauty in many places and have stumbled onto all kinds of interesting and entertaining spots (the Barbed Wire Museum, Cottonwood Ranch State Historic Site just to name two).

    Thus, we’ve tended over the years to actually allow for a little more time going thru rural stretches of ‘Merka because inevitably, once off the beaten path, we’ll find something cool in the most unforseen places.

  34. 34.

    MomSense

    @Betty Cracker:

    I remember watching it with my youngest when it came out and we devoured the series.  Probably watched too quickly because I don’t remember it that well.  I did like the characters, especially Kirsten and Jeevan.  I always find the beginning of zombie/dystopian premises so fascinating.  Society breaks down FAST.

  36. 36.

    Ishmael

    @H.E.Wolf: “A great way to celebrate Juneteenth would be to donate to the North Carolina Black Alliance’s Campus Engagement project (GOTV outreach to Black students in NC). This is Balloon Juice’s current political fundraiser. Thermometer is in the sidebar.”

    Thank you for the reminder H.E.W.!

  37. 37.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Thanks. It sounds promising, even to someone highly post-apocalyptic avoidant. The last movie more or less in that genre I saw was Mad Max…when it first came out. :-)

  38. 38.

    rdldot

    @O. Felix Culpa: I don’t do post-apocalyptic either but enjoyed the book and series.  No zombies or anything like that.  Kind of like different groups coping and trying to rebuild societies.

  39. 39.

    Soprano2

    @Mousebumples: I’m off work today too. I don’t do doctor’s appointments on my days off, but I do other things. Right now I’m on the front porch waiting on a man to come look at the railing on my stairs. It needs to be replaced. I was just thinking I’d like to have a deck when I’m retired. It’s nice here this morning, with temps in the low ’70’s.

  40. 40.

    CliosFanBoy

    I have a Juneteenth flag flying at home, and the missus and I will be working the historical society’s table at the Arlington Va Juneteenth event.

  45. 45.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Well it seems I’m a fugitive from the law. Got a violation notice that our yard has excessive growth and weeds. Which it does, though I’ve been chipping away at it for months.

    But here’s the thing. The notice says the inspection was done in March. And gives me 7 days to fix it. But gives no specifics. Why is it being sent now? What was overgrown in March that might have been bugging them?

    All I can do is keep addressing the stuff that bugs ME. Probably the wrong stuff. So in 7 days (now 6) I’ll be an outlaw.

    Also we’re now in the heat wave so I really don’t feel like weeding.

  51. 51.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @zhena gogolia: That must be rectified! It’s absolutely brilliant, and, as s_cat says, hews closely to the novel. As does the Guiness version of Smiley’s People. Both are highly worthy watching.

  52. 52.

    CliosFanBoy

    Did anybody else watch “Death and Other Details”?  I really liked it (my wife gave it a “meh, it’s OK).  I’m disappointed there’s no season 2 coming.

  57. 57.

    CaseyL

    Happy Juneteenth, everyone!

    I have a set of exercises my PT prescribed for my knee. Actually, to strengthen the entire leg.

    I like walking and hiking. I hate “exercise.”

    Sigh. Better get to it, though…

  59. 59.

    Geminid

    I was glad to see Virginia state Senator Suhas Subramanyam win the 10th CD primary yesterday. Rep. Jennifer Wexton’s endorsement helped Subramanyam a lot in a crowded field. The 10th covers the western DC suburbs and is considered a safely Democratic seat.

    At age 37, Subramanyam has a long political future ahead of him. He grew up in the Houston area before attending Tulane and then law school at Northwestern University. He worked in the Obama White House in the area of technology policy.

  60. 60.

    Ben Cisco

    Happy Juneteenth!!

    Resting after attending the Barons game at Rickwood Field. The announcement of the passing of Willie Mays was a shock; there was a great tribute to him.

  63. 63.

    JML

    We got officially Juneteenth off this year for the first time, won this in contract. (to be fair to management, they didn’t fight it or really ask for a concession) It’s nice to have an official holiday in June for everyone.

  65. 65.

    Baud

    @JML:

    It’s nice to have an official holiday in June for everyone

    We need one for August. I propose Augusteenth.

  66. 66.

    Betty Cracker

    @Geminid: Any word yet on which of the Trump~humping knuckleheads (No-Good & McGuire) will prevail? Kinda hope they accuse each other of cheating and that it drags on thru recounts, with lots of hard feelings…

  67. 67.

    CaseyL

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    It’s nice to have an official holiday in June for everyone.

    I thin there should be an official holiday every month.

    The stretch from February to May without any is too long.

  68. 68.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @CaseyL:

    The stretch from February to May without any is too long.

    Yup.  I always felt “history makers” needed to “make history” somewhere in mid-April for that very reason.  Find us a way to enact a federal holiday for it.

    Even if it’s another stretch-of-a-holiday like the one in October.

  71. 71.

    smith

    @CaseyL: I was just trying to figure out which months had no official holiday, and came up with August, March and April. Did I miss any?

  72. 72.

    Baud

    There’s a Reddit post calling out Fox for yet another lie, and I just admire this comment for the succinctness and clarity of its message.

    This is a classic tactic of the anti-American right-wing propaganda machine- accuse good Americans of the crimes and misdeeds they are guilty of

    As the kids say, no notes.

  73. 73.

    smith

    @Betty Cracker: I think it’s still within a few hundred votes. I’m looking forward to the aftermath  — Recounts! Lawsuits! Slapdowns! Fistfghts! Pistols at dawn! Much hilarity to get us through the summer.

  74. 74.

    JAFD

    Lived for a while in Mount Holly NJ (the ‘white folks’ section’ of Timbuctoo)  Interesting little town, between the fringe of Philly suburbia and the Pine Barrens, right off the Turnpike.  If you visit, I recommend the Vincentown Diner

  75. 75.

    Geminid

    @Betty Cracker: I think the vote count for the 5th CD primary won’t be completed until Friday. Right now McGuire is 300+ votes ahead in the unofficial count and he’ll likely end up on top.

    This fight probably won’t have medium or long-term consequences, it seems to me. Bob Good never built up much of a personal following in the district, and I’m not sure he even tried. Good thought he had a safe seat, and it would have been if he hadn’t jumped on Ron DeSantis’s bandwagon in early 2023. He should have kicked the tires first.

  77. 77.

    hueyplong

    @Betty Cracker: I hope the loser takes it less well that what you lay out.  If the GOPers are destined to end up committing more electoral violence, which we believe, let the public be offended by violence against one another instead of innocent Americans.

  78. 78.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @CaseyL: I think you got the response and quote crossed (not my quote), but I totally agree, nonetheless.

    Here’s another good one to celebrate Juneteenth: Get Lit by Kamasi Washington feat. George Clinton & D Smoke

  81. 81.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid: one wonders how many of those 300 votes that put McGuire over the top came from Good-hating Ds 🤔

    (I’m just sayin’…)

  82. 82.

    NotMax

    BTW, Kamehameha Day in Hawaii falls on June 11.

    Totally spaced out mentioning it last week.

  83. 83.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    Happy Juneteenth!

    Love to see the Station Eleven fans out today. I loved the novel, I’ve read all of Emily St. John Mandel’s books since discovering her through Station Eleven. Her common themes and style really pulled me in, but they’re not for everyone. Lots of lonely characters and unrequited longing is definitely a theme in many of her works.

    I was grateful to be able to share her writing with my late dad, who was never much for fiction until around when he retired. He loved her books too.

    I’m not one for film adaptations of my favorite novels, though. The strengths of each format are too different, and I’m usually disappointed in the film version.

  84. 84.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: I wouldn’t doubt that Democrats put McGuire over the top. My Charlottesville friends all wanted Good to lose. Also, Denver Riggleman had his fans among district Independents and some of them may have wanted revenge.

  87. 87.

    SteverinoCT

    Juneteenth isn’t on my company’s holiday calendar yet, so I’m off to work. They also don’t do Veterans Day or MLK Jr. Day, but do grant Memorial Day and Thanksgiving. That seems a common pattern (and tells you I don’t work for a bank).

    My company grants ten holidays. They deliberately skipped Presidents Day this year, so as to include July 5th. Independence Day is a Thursday this year, and so that gives us a four-day weekend. I’ll take that.

  91. 91.

    Soprano2

    @SteverinoCT: I’ve heard thru the grapevine that we’re finally going to get the day after Thanksgiving off as a paid holiday! Can you believe I work for city government and that day has never been a paid holiday? I’ve been suggesting that as something they could do as a non-pay benefit forever! They could have put one of our floating holidays on that day. I don’t know how we got it, maybe they finally realized it was dumb that we were the only government entity that worked on that day.

  93. 93.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Soprano2:

    We in Club Fed never had it off.  Maybe a president granted it as an off day but damn, if that happened in my 38+ years, it was early on and I don’t remember.

    The vast majority of people took the day off, meaning they used some kind of ‘leave’ time for it.  I always liked going in that day because virtually nobody was around and it made for a good day of work with no distractions.

  94. 94.

    JaySinWA

    I just checked, and yes, today is a USPS holiday, now that Juneteenth is a federal holiday. No mail today.

  97. 97.

    dnfree

    @smith: At one time, either March or April had Good Friday as a holiday.  Currently spring break for schools usually happens in one or the other.  It would be nice if that were more standardized.  As it is, sometimes the week for my teacher daughter’s district is different from the district her children attend.

  99. 99.

    SomeRandomGuy

    Juneteenth is not just a celebration of emancipation from slavery, it is a celebration and testament to the enduring spirit and resilience of Black people.

    I want to make a joke here, about how Juneteenth should be a reminder of the time white people finally got their first clue, but I’m finally woke enough to realize, “too soon.”

    When there’s justice, it will stop being too soon.

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