Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

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

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Democracy is not a spectator sport.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

This blog will pay for itself.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

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

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

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

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

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

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

We do not need to pander to people who do not like what we stand for.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

The National Guard is not Batman.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

This is dead girl, live boy, a goat, two wetsuits and a dildo territory.  oh, and pink furry handcuffs.

You are here: Home / Climate Change / How about that weather? / Squishable Wee Hours Open Thread

Squishable Wee Hours Open Thread

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Check out this handsome eggplant-colored dragonfly:

Squishable Wee Hours Open Thread

It was hanging out where the swamp behind our house borders the crappy dirt road. In other words, the dragonfly is my neighbor across the street.

The swamp on that side of the road is mostly dry because the river is so low due to lack of rain. South Florida is getting biblical floods, but the northwestern coast has been dry as a popcorn fart.

The low pressure system off the northeastern coast is getting organized and turning west, but it looks like it will soak Georgia instead. Damn.

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

98Comments

  2. 2.

    MagdaInBlack

    Good Morning, Betty.

    We had a little thunder storm roll thru nw Chicagoland so I was out on the balcony enjoying it.

  3. 3.

    Betty Cracker

    I’m catching up on yesterday’s news and wondering about reports that Alito has missed two SCOTUS sessions. Hmmm! 🤔

    MagdaInBlack: A thunderstorm woke me up a couple of hours ago, and I came out on the porch to watch too. Saw an impressive light show, but the rain stayed to the northeast.

  6. 6.

    TBone

    I awoke about a half hour ago, let a cat out, and came outside to see one of the most beautiful full moons I’ve ever seen.  Glowing, absolutely huge, golden orb suspended near the horizon looked like something you’d see in a sci fi movie.  Good thing I don’t believe in omens, ha ha.

  7. 7.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Dry here too. I’m watering the veggie garden and greenhouse plants once every 3 or 4 days. Supposed to tickle 100 Monday and Tuesday and then hoping for rain Tuesday night and Wednesday. That last is probably just a tease.

  8. 8.

    Pete Mack

    The dragonfly is a Purple skimmer. They live in N. Florida only, and are fairly rare. (Vulnerable status.) It was surprisingly easy to find out: “purple dragonfly Florida.”

  11. 11.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @opiejeanne: I hope that in the future, people don’t react to any unexplained absences of mine by hoping I’m dead or dying in agony. That should really be a general life goal.

  12. 12.

    JWR

    Haven’t read the blog all the way through today so probably already discussed, but WTF is this all about?

    CHAPIN, S.C. (AP) — The president of the Teamsters Union is set to speak at next month’s Republican National Convention, as Donald Trump angles to chip away at President Joe Biden’s support among the blue-collar workers who are expected to play a major role in the general election, particularly in crucial Midwestern swing states like Wisconsin and Michigan.

    In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said that Sean O’Brien had “accepted my invitation to speak at the RNC Convention in Milwaukee.”

    Teamsters spokesperson Kara Deniz said Friday that O’Brien had requested a speaking slot at both major party conventions and accepted Trump’s invitation for the RNC, marking the first time a Teamsters president would speak at the GOP event.

    Here’s more, from CNN:

    Trump and O’Brien met at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in early January. Trump then met with the union’s leadership on January 31. Some other union leaders objected to the meetings, with John Palmer — the group’s international vice president at-large — writing a letter at that time denouncing Trump as “a known union buster, scab, and insurrectionist.”

    “We should never entertain dialogue with a candidate with such an anti-union record,” he wrote.

  14. 14.

    sab

    My stepdaughter is a claims adjuster for a national insurance company. Her territory is SE. She has been working 16 hours a day seven days a week for the last couple of months just from cars in floods, mostly Florida and Texas.

  15. 15.

    raven

    There’s no rain forecast here until the middle of next week. The boss lady will be dragging the hoses around today.

  16. 16.

    TBone

    Get a load of this horseshit:

    A government watchdog group filed suit in Delaware federal court this week, seeking to compel the Justice Department to produce records that may determine whether Hunter Biden should be further investigated under a 1910 law relating to “prostitution or debauchery.”
    The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project petitioned the same Wilmington bench where Biden was found guilty on gun charges this month, contending that there is a significant amount of evidence the first son was being probed on Mann Act grounds.

    First expert witness: MTG (snark tag)

    digbysblog.net/2024/06/21/theyre-going-after-hunter-again/

    Also, they are now seeking to disbar Hunter (link at his name in quoted text)

  17. 17.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    As for dry weather? Greece has it bad. Apparently among other wildfires, there was a forest fire sparked by some dumbasses with more money than brains shooting fireworks from a yacht towards land.

  18. 18.

    Betty Cracker

    The MAGA dope snowbirds next door are persisting with their plan to experience a Florida summer so far. Bill reports that the husband talked excitedly about the possibility of a cat 1 hurricane, so he isn’t just an idiot about politics.

    Did I mention they live in a double wide? I told Bill if there is a hurricane that takes out their trailer, I’ll slam the door in their stupid faces if they show up here.

    He said, “No you wouldn’t. You’d invite them in and cook for the bastards!” He’s right. I’m a goddamn softy. But I would forbid the wearing of MAGA swag on our property as a condition of refuge.

  19. 19.

    TBone

    @Betty Cracker: I would make them denounce Dotard as a requirement for entry, and then barrage them with factual information for the duration of their stay.  You can only come in if you say VonShitzinpants!  It’s our password here.

    I might also hand that “real man” some diapers.

  23. 23.

    TBone

    @rikyrah: my Rumpy neighbor blows the public street in front of our houses with his gas powered leaf blower every single day.  He makes sure to blow any and all debris on to my front lawn.  He’s not ever getting in my house unless he says VonShitzinpants!

  28. 28.

    TBone

    @OzarkHillbilly: 👍😆 we just ignore the provocation.  His wife has apologized for his OCD so we choose to point and laugh when he’s out there in 100 degree heat, or in a windstorm.  If they put their offensive flags and campaign signs back up, however, IT’S ON.

  34. 34.

    Princess

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR: Alito is, what? Mid-seventies? If he doesn’t want people to be praying/hoping for his painful and disfiguring death, he can just retire and I’m willing to let bygones be bygones. Thomas too. But as long as they can only be removed by their own deaths, that’s what I’ll hope for. Their call.

  35. 35.

    JAFD

    @TBone: ​
     Or ask them if they know the difference between a chickpea and a garbanzo ?

    (TFG never paid to have a garbanzo on him.)

  38. 38.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’m catching up on yesterday’s news and wondering about reports that Alito has missed two SCOTUS sessions. Hmmm! 🤔

    I would be delighted to have the pleasure of reading his obituary sometime in the next few months, in time for Biden to nominate and the Senate confirm his successor on the Court.

    Not counting my boobies before they’re hatched (h/t James Thurber) but one can’t help but hope!

  42. 42.

    JWR

    @Betty Cracker:

    Is O’Brien the guy who got into a standoff with the quarter-wit senator from OK

    Heh, “quarter-wit Senator.” -) But yeah, that’s him, and I do wonder what he intends to say before a crowd of union busting thugs.

  44. 44.

    Barbara

    @TBone: ​ Leaf blowers stoke a lot of negative emotions on my neighborhood chat board. As someone said, I see why they are useful in November but why are people out there in the early morning in July and August?​

  47. 47.

    TBone

    @Barbara: it’s his wish, his deep seated need to dominate.  He’s actually dominating nothing but street debris and dead leaves, but he’s a legend in his own mind.  😆

  49. 49.

    Suzanne

    @Betty Cracker:

    Bill reports that the husband talked excitedly about the possibility of a cat 1 hurricane 

    Oh FFS. What a fucken dumbass.

    Today is supposed to be the last day of the “heat wave”, which, due to so many years of living in an actual hot place….. really felt (to me) more like “mildly sticky”. Not hot enough to be roasty. But still, I’ll be happy to see the back of it!

  50. 50.

    TBone

    @Harrison Wesley: 👍 or orange fart clouds. And we especially don’t tolerate Nazis.  The Klanned Karenhood (Moms for Biberty)  were chased out of Reading Terminal Market with loud, jeering protestation!

  51. 51.

    WereBear

    @Suzanne: Yes, you were in Arizona.

    We are not used to heat in the mountains, and I have low tolerance. Grew up in Florida, so it must be genetic.

    It’s not terrible, but it does wear me out so much faster than a cool breeze does :) We were almost 90! And yesterday, cooler, and humidity.

    Have no idea what today will be.

  52. 52.

    Suzanne

    @WereBear: Here in Pittsburgh, people say all kinds of dumb shit about the weather. Like, it’ll be 85 degrees and somewhat humid, and I hear people complaining. And I usually say nothing, because I get that it is genuinely uncomfortable. But every once in a while, especially if someone knows where I’m from…. someone will pop off with the “but that’s a dry heat!” nonsense and then I realize that they’re stupid. Like, I don’t like being sweaty, either….. but that’s a lot different from the kind of heat that gives people second-degree burns if they touch a surface or the kind of heat that melts building materials.

  53. 53.

    Barbara

    @Suzanne: ​To me, what makes a true heat wave at least east of a Mississippi is when the night time low stays in the 80s. So far, we have not been in that realm. But it’s only June, so it’s early.

  56. 56.

    BellyCat

    Will accept either retirement or “peaceably died in his sleep” for Alito and Thomas. We’ve got only two options and wishing for either are guilt-free as far as I’m concerned.

  59. 59.

    Barbara

    @BellyCat: Don’t care how it happens but I will celebrate anything that means he no longer has power over me. Retire, die, go into a coma, whatever.

  60. 60.

    JWR

    Judge Cannon asks, “How does government work?” Stall, stall stall. From Politico:

    Judge Cannon wants to know whether Merrick Garland is supervising Jack Smith

    FORT PIERCE, Florida — The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s classified documents case grilled special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutors Friday on how closely Attorney General Merrick Garland oversees their work.

    Under persistent questioning from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the prosecutors declined to divulge details and seemed caught off-guard by the inquiries. At one point, Smith deputy James Pearce said he was “not authorized” to discuss the level of communication that occurred between the attorney general and the special counsel.

  62. 62.

    Geminid

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR: I read that wildfires killed 5 people in southeastern Turkiye a couple days ago.

    There’s also a big forest fire near Ruidoso, New Mexico that’s claimed a lot of houses.

  63. 63.

    catclub

    @Suzanne: gives people second-degree burns if they touch a surface or the kind of heat that melts building materials.

     

    I think Mark Twain said about the heat in some Indian City. “it’s not hot enough to melt a brass doorknob, but it is hot enough to make it soft.”

     

    Also the warning on the front door of a store “Hot Escutcheons”  Look it up.

  64. 64.

    Baud

    @JWR:

    Doesn’t matter. She can’t rule that the special counsel is invalid without creating an issue that can be taken up to the 11th Circuit. She wants to avoid that at all costs.

  65. 65.

    Raven

    I’m standing at the entrance to the farmers market 15 minutes early to get first crack at the awesome tomatoes!

  66. 66.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Barbara: ​
     

    Leaf blowers stoke a lot of negative emotions on my neighborhood chat board. As someone said, I see why they are useful in November but why are people out there in the early morning in July and August?​

    I actually find my blower to be useful for most of the year. Crap from the trees is always falling on the deck and front walk, and just a few minutes a couple times a week with the blower minimizes the amount of crap that gets tracked into the house. Yes, I could use a broom, but the blower is a lot quicker, easier, and more thorough. Also, after a rain, the blower blows the water off the deck so the deck dries off much more quickly. Brooms really don’t do very well at that.

    Now why people use their blowers on their lawns, I have no idea. Any leaves or other small debris that the blower could be used on, will get chewed up by the lawn mower when you mow.

    And why early in the morning is another good question – my rule has always been to not run any powered yard appliances before 9am, unless it’s an emergency of some sort. (I also try to avoid the evening hours, so people nearby can sit out on their decks and enjoy the evening without having to listen to my lawn mower, leaf blower, hedge trimmer, etc.)

    Also, I don’t have any gasoline-powered yard equipment. My mower runs on batteries, and the motor of my wet-dry vac converts to a blower. (I have to run an extension cord for the blower, but aside from when the leaves come down in November, everything I use it for is pretty close to the house.) So it’s still somewhat noisy, but a lot less so than a gasoline-powered blower – I’d be happy to ban those suckers.

  68. 68.

    TBone

    I like this Francis guy.  I am not Catholic but I like the guy.  Suck it, Qanon! Suck it, anti vaxx morons!

    Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the disgraced former papal nuncio to the United States, announced that he has been charged with schism by the Vatican’s doctrinal office, after a six-year rogue period in which he called for Pope Francis to resign and labeled him a “false prophet.” Via National Catholic Reporter:

    crooksandliars.com/2024/06/q-anon-anti-vax-archbishop-charged-schism

    Viganò has also lavished praise on Russia as one of the last bastions of civilization, and supported the invasion of Ukraine.

  69. 69.

    Raven

    @Baud: They finally put a sign in front of each entrance “no entry until 8 am”. People love to pretend they don’t know and wander in. The crush for these tomatoes is viscous!

  71. 71.

    Suzanne

    @catclub: I used to work in a building in Phoenix that had a first-generation TPO roof. (TPO is one of the newer single-ply roofing membranes that exist for commercial buildings.) When it rained, we all knew to get our wastebaskets and position them around the office. The extreme UV light and heat gave those first TPO roofs all these pinhole failures. The product has since been improved, but it’s still all over the place!

  72. 72.

    Spanky

    @JWR: Perhaps the Balloon Juice team of crack lawyers can tell me why Smith and/or Garland shouldn’t tell her to fuck right off. This seems about as far out of her responsibility as you can get (though I suspect she’s going to blow right past this extreme in short order. )

  74. 74.

    Elizabelle

    A pleasure starting off the morning w a purple skimmer dragonfly.
    Happy Saturday, Betty C and jackals.  

  77. 77.

    TBone

    @JWR: when they display those new wall posters (they’re polluting schools with) all over every wall at Mar A Lardass, then we can take them seriously.

    Establish this, motherfuckers.

    The Church of Satan gets equal wall space for every one of those posters, right? Right?

  79. 79.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Raven:

    The crush for these tomatoes is viscous!

    I find crushed tomatoes to be of pretty low viscosity, too much water in them.  Maybe they’ve got a higher pulp-to-water ratio where you are. //

  80. 80.

    Kay

    @JWR:

    I can’t imagine moving to Louisiana. I completely get staying if you’re already there – family, work, the idea that the bastards can’t chase you out, whatever other things tie you there – all valid- but moving there, now that it’s become a full blown Christian authoritarian state? No thanks. I’ll stay in the modern world.

  81. 81.

    lowtechcyclist

    @JWR: ​
     

    Her response to families who don’t share her religious views? “Don’t look at it.” It being the Ten Commandments. So magnanimous of her.

    I’m all for posting them in the original Hebrew. Screw this modern stuff.

  83. 83.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay:  Louisiana is one of the states where many of its residents will need an Ark, sooner than they might think.

  84. 84.

    JWR

    @TBone:

    did you see the child faint right behind the Gov

    Yes! I was just catching up on last night’s Jimmy Kimmel and he pointed her out. I thought she was pulling one of those, “oh, look at the cute kid” bits, but apparently not. Probably forced to stand there for an inordinate length of time. Hope she’s okay, and that she grow up into a thinking, feeling human being, unlike the “adults” in the room around her.

  85. 85.

    Kay

    @Elizabelle:

    Agree. I read a long article about the water rising. Fascinating. It sent me to look up maps – just wild – the place is 70% water.

  90. 90.

    cope

    And out here in the desert of Western Colorado, we have had two days during which massive T-storms rolled through replete with lightning, heavy rain, hail and flash flooding.  I haven’t checked but we might have had a month’s worth of rain in those two days.

    Thursday afternoon, driving home with the dog from my sister’s house where we go almost every day for puppy playtime with her dog, I drove into a literal wall of storm.  Before I could get the windows up, hail was smashing down, giving me two painful welts on my left arm.  I had to pull over because I couldn’t even see the road in front of me.  We sat in the car, me waiting for glass to start breaking, listening to the deafening din of hail.  Amazingly, it cleared enough for us to get home, windows intact and no visible damage to the car.

    Yesterday was less extreme but also very wet and thundery.  Today:  blue sky, fluffy white cumulus and an expected high of 90.

    I hope you get the water you need in your part of FL, Betty.

  91. 91.

    Glidwrith

    @JWR: “Don’t look at it”

    Sure, now that she’s squatted and pissed all over those classrooms as her personal religious territory, we’re just supposed to ignore the stench.

  92. 92.

    scav

    @JWR: Well, her co-religionists have certainly proved they’ve never read their holy wallpaper, nor picked up any virtuous deeds or actions by being physically exposed to its manifestation of letters.  Given school funding levels in LA, presumably they’re planning to use the rest of the Gideon Bibles they nicked as cheap sources of school district bum fodder.

  93. 93.

    opiejeanne

    @Bruce K in ATH-GR: The. goal should be to live your life so that no one wishes you dead, and you will note that I did not say dead or dying in agony. A nasty head cold would suffice.

  96. 96.

    Lily

    @Betty Cracker: @TBone:

    Make them bring any  flags with them ‘to keep ’em dry.’  Lose them ‘in the storage closet’  under the house next to ‘where the gator is laying eggs.’

  97. 97.

    opiejeanne

    @OzarkHillbilly: You got it.

    My uncle married a woman who my grandfather once described as enjoying poor health. There was always something that prevented her from visiting or participating in family events. His regret was that he didn’t get to see his granddaughters very often.  Despite her many health problems she lived to age 88 and was quite cheerful for most of it.

  98. 98.

    Lily

    @TBone:  OCD guy built a house (after he cut down a magical grove) a little ways down a beautiful wildflower dirt road from where we’d built (what was basically just a porch–sleeping space, table, chairs).  Then he put gravel on the road (illegally).  Then every summer morning we’d wake to the sound of him raking every single piece of gravel that’d scattered, back onto the road.  (After I realized he was never going to quit,  I began kicking gravel off just far enough into the bushes to torment him.)

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