Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The lights are all blinking red.

The willow is too close to the house.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

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

To the privileged, equality seems like oppression.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

Everybody saw this coming.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

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

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

“But what about the lurkers?”

How stupid are these people?

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

We are aware of all internet traditions.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

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

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

You are here: Home / Politics / Political Action / New Additions

New Additions

by | 102 Comments

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Looks like we could use a new thread, so maybe this is a good time to share two new additions.

Targeted Political Fundraising

There is now a page with all of our 2024 fundraising efforts and information about what our targeted fundraising is all about.  Click below to take a look at it, and feel free to share the link with any family or friends who are looking to make a difference or would like to donate but don’t know how to best use their funds for the most benefit.

2024 Targeted Political Fundraising

2024 Activism

I’ve also set up the beginnings of a 2024 Activism area.  Here’s a direct link, but you can also find it in the top menu bar if you’re on a computer, and in the hamburger menu if you’re on mobile.

https://balloon-juice.com/category/2024-political-activism/

I’m putting together a list of all the ways we can contribute to the outcome we want in November.  Donating, be a poll worker, election judge, etc.  I’d appreciate nominations for that list in the comments.

Feedback welcome.

Also, this is a (Mostly) Open thread.  There are plenty of other threads where you can talk about will he or won’t he, should he or shouldn’t he.  Just not this one.

Also, please don’t feed the trolls.

 

Reader Interactions

102Comments

  2. 2.

    Ken

    I was both saddened to hear that Bob Newhart had died, and moderately puzzled because I had thought he was already dead. My parents had his “Button Down Mind” record, and I think at least one other.

  3. 3.

    WaterGirl

    @Ken: I was so sure that Anne Laurie would be doing a Bob Newhart thread that I didn’t put one together.

    He definitely deserves a front-page post.  I guess I’ll get working on that.

  6. 6.

    SuzieC

    I meant to say in the last thread that I never stopped being energized and through all the doom and agony I never stopped writing my 5 Vote Forward letters per day.  I’m up to 120 and plan to keep going until our mass mailing in October.

  10. 10.

    Old School

    @Ken: Not sure if you watched The Big Bang Theory, but his character died on that show.

    And maybe at the end of Newhart.  I don’t recall if the golf ball killed him or not.

  13. 13.

    bbleh

    So here’s something (arguably) relevant.  I’ve been BOMBARDED recently with fundraising emails — even some from the Felon! — and they almost all have some hook, like a “survey” whose results nobody will ever see, or a !!! 800% MATCH TIME IS SHORT OMG !!!  Naturally I want to maximize the effect of a contribution, so matches are good, but some of the promised matches seem absurd, and I wanta check them out to see whether they’re scams.

    Not a lawyer or a campaign pro or anything, but one way I’ve found useful is to check their EXPENDITURES on the FEC site. fec.gov/data/browse-data/?tab=committees

    — Find the name of the soliciting organization in whatever email or text you receive.  Go the FEC site and search for them there.

    — If they’re not registered with the FEC, RUN AWAY!

    — If they ARE registered, check their DISBURSEMENTS.  Click on “filter all disbursements,” and click on the header for “Amount” to sort by amount.  That will display their disbursements (where they sent the money) starting with the biggest amounts.

    — If most of their disbursements are to, say, “Biden For President,” they’re probably a legit PAC supporting Biden’s re-election.  But if most of them are to something-something Services or something-something Advisors or Consultants or what have you, I would suspect a scam, eg that THEY (whoever runs the committee) are turning around and sending the money to themselves for unspecified “services,” in much the same way the Felon raked in big bucks from buildings and businesses with his name on them that he neither built nor did much for, and I would RUN AWAY!

  14. 14.

    SuzieC

    @One of the Many Jens: And I am but one of hundreds of thousands postcard and letter writers.  A story that the media and pollsters miss or ignore.  Grassroots activists fly beneath the radar but will save our democracy, I believe.

  15. 15.

    UncleEbeneezer

    We are heading to the Red Sox vs. Dodgers in a couple hours with an old friend.  Hopefully it will be nice once it starts cooling off a bit.  Haven’t followed baseball at all this year.  I’ll keep my Sox cheers fairly low volume since I can only take so much arguing and conflict, lol.

  16. 16.

    WaterGirl

    @bbleh: My way is easier!  I never respond to any fundraising reach out.  (Is that like a reach around?)

    Even if it was Barack Obama in 2017-18, I do not ever give in response to an email or phone request

    But I applaud you for your due diligence.

  17. 17.

    trollhattan

    Reasons to keep at it seem to mostly circle back to “because Republicans.”

    A federal appeals court on Thursday temporarily blocked implementation of the Biden administration’s student loan repayment plan that aimed to lower monthly payments for hundreds of thousands of Californians. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in St. Louis agreed to Republican-led states’ request to halt President Joe Biden’s Saving on Valuable Education program, known as SAVE, while legal challenges work their way through courts.

    A lower court judge in Missouri had already paused future debt forgiveness under the SAVE plan. SAVE is considered a more generous income-driven repayment plan with lower monthly payments and faster routes to debt forgiveness. Almost 670,000 Californians were enrolled in SAVE as of April, according to the White House.

    The Biden administration launched the SAVE plan last year. It’s full implementation to further reduce federal payments was supposed to take hold July 1, 2024. But the future of the program has been thrown into doubt as a pair of GOP-led challenges seek to invalidate SAVE, with states saying that the administration overstepped its legal authority, and that officials were trying to work around a Supreme Court 2023 ruling against Biden’s initial student debt relief plan, that impacted more borrowers. With SAVE blocked pending court cases, its future is cast into doubt for 8 million enrolled borrowers, more than half of whom had $0 monthly payments.

    “Borrowers enrolled in the SAVE Plan will be placed in an interest-free forbearance while our Administration continues to vigorously defend the SAVE Plan in court,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement Thursday night. “The Department will be providing regular updates to borrowers affected by these rulings in the coming days.”

    sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article290210384.html#storylink=cpy

    Didn’t the Sups just finish saying if a president does it it’s the law and no taksie-backsies?

  19. 19.

    WaterGirl

    @trollhattan: I think they just can’t be indicted for it, but it doesn’t mean that it necessarily flies.

    That’s for the Supreme Court to decide, now that they have given themselves all the power.

  20. 20.

    Captain C

    @Old School:

    Not sure if you watched The Big Bang Theory, but his character died on that show.

    And had an amusing afterlife as Sheldon’s reluctant, disgruntled force ghost advisor.

  21. 21.

    WaterGirl

    Seriously, is there nothing else to talk about?

    So my little Henry is now only waiting two hours after he has last eaten to tell me that it’s time to eat again.  They eat 3x a day, plus they get a midnight snack, which is what I call the extra food they get right before I go to bed, no matter what time that is.

    (Henry is one of those dogs that throws up if they go too long without eating – the vet suggested the midnight snack since Henry was puking up foamy nothingness by about 3 or 4 am.

    This morning I decided to set an alarm on my phone for their 3 mealtimes, and will only feed them when the alarm rights.

    How long before they catch on?

    Just one day.

    Never.

    If something in between, what’s your guess for number of days?

  22. 22.

    bbleh

    @WaterGirl: Generally, I agree; ignore, or at least be suspicious.  I donate through ActBlue.  But there was a specific question in a reply to one of my comments a thread or two ago, so I thought maybe reposting my reply might be useful.

  25. 25.

    Darkrose

    @trollhattan: Welp. Not entirely sure what this means for me, since I enrolled in the plan a couple months ago. It took about $100 a month off my previous payments, but that’s apparently worse than Elon and Bezos not paying any taxes.

  26. 26.

    WaterGirl

    @Ken: What the heck is Crowdstrike?  I guess I am off to the google.

    edit: You left me a nice link.  So glad I do not have to care about Microsoft Windows anymore.

    But something about that name is reminding me of the other thing we will not speak of that happened two summers ago.  God, that was a nightmare.

  27. 27.

    trollhattan

    @WaterGirl: Can I talk heat?

    We’ve had plenty enough for one complete summer, thanks. I’d like to cancel this service until next June, at the earliest.

    Thanks mucho.

  28. 28.

    bbleh

    @trollhattan: lol I am beginning to wonder whether & if so how Biden et al will finally take them up on their offer.

    Let’s say some red state starts really fking with elections, eg “policing” certain precincts for “fraud,” or sequestering electoral votes because “process” or some such sh!t.  And let’s say Biden, in his role as CinC of the Armed Forces, sends in troops to push the locals back & or take possession of electoral votes and transport them to the Capitol.  This would be a misuse of the armed forces, a breach of Posse Comitatus, and probably a dozen other Crimes Against the Constitution.  But … official act!  Immune!  And you can’t prosecute a sitting President either!  So …

  30. 30.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @WaterGirl: Lost is now on Netflix with HD.  It was on Hulu or Amazon a while back but the picture quality was not great.  We watched a couple episodes (I’ve never seen it) and then bailed.  But now that it’s on Netflix we are gonna try again.  I liked what I saw the first attempt just couldn’t hang with the mediocre video quality.  I’ve heard that despite a lot of hating on the ending (I already know) that it’s one of the truly great tv series of the last 20 years so I’m down.  I can already see why people were so hooked.

  33. 33.

    WaterGirl

    @UncleEbeneezer: Ooh, I will have to watch that.  BUT NOT THE ENDING!!!

    I don’t know how many years ago the final episode aired, but I made the decision at the time to pretend I had never seen the ending.  I did such a good job with that that all I really recall is how much I hated the ending, and not the terrible ending itself.

    Who said denial always has to be a bad thing?

  34. 34.

    Fair Economist

    @bbleh: Amen. Check who you are donating to. I normally just donate direct thru ActBlue because I don’t really believe those match numbers.

  35. 35.

    Eyeroller

    @Ken: I have a full set of DVDs of “The Bob Newhart Show” (yes, I am old) but I never liked his “Newhart” series.  The ending of that series is inspired, however, and was supposedly his wife’s idea, based on the beginning of a season of “Dallas” where it turns out something was all a dream.  His wife, who was apparently about a decade younger, died a little over a year ago, and he was not in good health and 94, so no surprise he left us.

  36. 36.

    mali muso

    Send thoughts and prayers. I am hosting a sleepover for my kiddo and 2 of her little friends. Three 7 year old girls all hopped up on kid-energy bouncing all over my house. lol

  41. 41.

    Fair Economist

    @UncleEbeneezer: The fundamental problem with something like Lost is that it’s way easier to write a complex mystery than to write a satisfying solution. Sometimes the resolution is good but I’ve never seen one with the resolution *as* good as the setup.

  45. 45.

    Ken

    @WaterGirl: What the heck is Crowdstrike?

    Think of it like a browser add-on, except instead of blocking ads, it blocks cyberattacks. When a new cyberattack is created, Crowdstrike has to be updated to block it. It appears that Crowdstrike didn’t do a good job of testing this release, and it’s bricking Windows machines.

  46. 46.

    Fair Economist

    @rikyrah: Trump is so messed up – confusing a woman he raped in an elevator with his second wife – Heritage could probably get his ass 25th’d the day after the inauguration.

  49. 49.

    gwangung

    @WaterGirl: I am forever grateful that Lost made Daniel Dae Kim a familiar name, with enough clout to get series made. A truly nice guy and someone our community appreciates for his talents and what he does in the community.

  50. 50.

    TaMara

    @WaterGirl: This might be of interest then

    The new Entertainment Tonight special Bob Newhart: A Legacy of Laughter, celebrating the late actor, will air Monday, July 22 at 8 pm on CBS.

  51. 51.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @gwangung: We actually saw him at So Woon Galbi (Korean BBQ place in K-Town, Los Angeles) a couple years ago.  My wife recognized him (he’s a very good looking guy, in real life) and we were trying to figure out if that was him.  Then a couple people went up and asked to take selfies with him.  We just watched the pilot, so I’m not a fan of his character so far, but he seems like a great actor.

  53. 53.

    TBone

    If I could describe how lovely a summer day at a lake in the mountains of PA is with music, this is close to how perfectly picturesque and refreshing this day was:

    🎶🏞️

    m.youtube.com/watch?v=DQgunytVmIU

    I met my Dad’s doppelganger today.  He even has the same first name(!), same piercing blue eyes, brushy mustache, and bush hat.  It was like God brought my dad back today to speak to me on a beach by a lake under a perfect sky.  He is a volunteer Park Service guy who rode up on his ebike to shoot the breeze with us.  I feel…so complete.  Thanks, Dad, I’ve missed you so.

    Peaches and blueberries were purchased at farm stands on the way home, taking a bit of the sting out of this day having to end.  And I checked the huckleberry bushes on a mountain top this morning, they’ll be ready to pick next week!

    I adore 🥰 Pennsylvania.

    OH and guess what else!  BIDEN FLAGS! In the tiny towns, on the back roads, nary a Rump sign, everyone is Ridin’ with Biden!

  55. 55.

    Shana

    @Fair Economist: I nominate The Good Place as a contender. The premise, setup, and ending all held together beautifully.

    Also canvassing is a big help. You’re going to your neighbors and talking to them about the election

  59. 59.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Fair Economist: Yeah.  That’s the problem with a lot of great series’.  There have been a couple K-dramas and Nordic crime dramas that we really loved that were incredible and complex but then just couldn’t figure a way out on the last episode or two.  Mask Girl, Light The Night, The Glory, 1899, True Detective: Night Country etc.

  60. 60.

    TheflipPsyd

    @TBone: Would you mind sharing where in PA this lake is?  Sounds lovely and I would love to visit there — although I understand if you don’t want to say so that it doesn’t get overcrowded — lol.

  63. 63.

    cmorenc

    @bbleh:

    Let’s say some red state starts really fking with elections, eg “policing” certain precincts for “fraud,” or sequestering electoral votes because “process” or some such sh!t.

    I predict their efforts will particularly ramp up at the point in the count where Trump is temporarily ahead (in places where election-day votes are counted first, and relatively small town and more rural area vote counts are finished quicker) – and try to intervene to get urban blue precincts and mail-in ballots (which typically favor Ds) thrown out or stopped.  Pennsylvania and Michigan are two prime examples from 2020 where Trump was ahead until Philadelphia and Detroit precincts began coming in, and formed a main basis for his bogus claims of “election fraud”.

  65. 65.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: Hey WaterGirl, I have a suggestion: a thread on voter registration. Dems have until early October to register new voters.

    I suspect this has been an unusually busy time for you Front Pagers and I hesitate to task anyone with more work anytime. But this is an area where many people here have experience and may be already involved, so I think they could do most of the work in the comments.

  69. 69.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    I think after last night’s The God King’s Stream of Consciousness we really should be fund raising to give Trump more air time because that is the best argument to vote Blue early and often so far.

    Call it “Please proceed, Mushroom Dick”

  73. 73.

    TBone

    @TheflipPsyd: tip: go on a weekday if you can. We had the place almost to ourselves most of today.  They now have free sunblock dispensers too!

  74. 74.

    sab

    @WaterGirl:Our new house is a bit of a money pit. We knew that going in when we got it way below market.

    So far new roof, new air conditioner, kitchen appliances, and Davey Tree people to remove a dying oak tree before it kills some one.

    A previous accounting boss had a client whose son in law was killed by a sick yard tree dropping a branch on son in law at the first family picnic at their new house. Destroyed the survivors finacially. Tree guy was shocked at the story. But it was true.

    Otherwise we are happy (and being careful.) Air conditioning guys tore out part of our new eaves backing out of our narrow driveway with their big trucks.  Sigh. They will be here to repair Monday.

    I think the cats will love the new place. Pitbull (staffie) will lose a yard she loves. But she will get walks instead of “Go outside and pee or whatever.” The neighbors are sorry to see us go but won’t miss her at all. They will love the new neighbor dog.

    Our new right hand neighbor never liked anything in her life so she deserves the new barky pitbull neighbor. We already need to hire a surveyor because she claims our generator is an inch over the property line. Our estimate is we might get six inches or a foot on our side with surveying. It would be hilarious if she lost land.

    We are too old to move but we need one floor and two bathrooms. But relocating is logistically and physically hard. And explaining to the pets that life is changing?

    ETA : Neighbor says our tidy generator is an eyesore, when she has big rubbermsid storage shed at our side of her house with old shingles and rotting saw horses and rusting tools on top

    ETA : Did I forget the unchecked poison ivy on her side? Sneeking through the fence?

    ETA: We will be fine. I don’t relish fighting but I do dig my heels in. I didn’t want to be friends wit her anyway (unchecked poison ivy.)

  75. 75.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Taken from the TBogg below: I just got a call from WISDEMS to see if I wanted to canvass next weekend. Of course I said yes. A perfect antidote to the negativity. I also got invited to see Kamala Harris on Milwaukee on Tuesday. Unfortunately I can’t make that. Here is a link for anyone in the area who wants to go.

  78. 78.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, … Nitter (Twitter version)

    Biden’s Wins
    @BidensWins
    23m

    BREAKING: David Letterman has just announced he has endorsed and will be hosting a fundraiser for President Biden. Let’s go.

    Jul 19, 2024 · 10:37 PM UTC

    Good, good.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  82. 82.

    Archon

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    Lost is a show that didn’t need 120+ episodes but overall I’d say it was worth the time commitment. In terms of the ending I’d say it was bumpy but landed better than most shows of it’s type. Definitely better than the shattered the plane into a million pieces ending like Game of Thrones.

  84. 84.

    JWR

    @Eyeroller:

    I have a full set of DVDs of “The Bob Newhart Show”

    One of the sub-channels, which used to be called “Decades” but has rebranded itself as “Catchy”, plays entire season runs of TV shows on the weekends, and the time they did Bob Newhart, they started with a show I didn’t know existed called “Bob”, and boy, did that ever suck. But once that was finished they switched to “The Bob Newhart Show” and finally “Newhart”. I’m not a huge fan, mainly because of his choice of characters, but truly appreciate his work.

  85. 85.

    TheflipPsyd

    @TBone: Thanks — looks gorgeous. I want to be there right now!

    Happy you got a good day to just be with nature and away from this crazy timeline

  86. 86.

    TBone

    @sab: I have next door neighbor like that, my heart goes out to you. When they moved in and immediately surveyed, they tried to make another neighbor move his shed.  We all just laughed in their faces – I almost broke a leg in a knee deep, 8″ wide hole their surveyor left under my bush.  When they had a giant oak (perfect, healthy shade tree) cut down to build a 10’x10′ sunroom, the tree guys let a huge chunk fall right through their new roof 😆 and their tree outfit had no insurance either!

    I wish the same for your new pain in the ass.

  90. 90.

    WaterGirl

    @eclare: I know, it’s ridiculous.  I think maybe I’ve been so busy with work and so stressed that maybe I got sucked in (a few times) to feeding them just to make the begging stop.

    Which is a terrible idea!

    They don’t normally eat every two hours, but they have been adamant with the insistence lately.  If I really did give in a few times then we have proof positive that intermittent reinforcement is the most powerful!

    Bad mom.

  92. 92.

    Eolirin

    @Fair Economist: Dark and Summer Time Rendering come pretty close.

    An argument could maybe be made for Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex, but I’m not sure if it really counts as a mystery the same way as Lost

    Babylon 5 is a great example of landing the ending, but that isn’t a mystery set up at all

    I have high hopes for The Devil’s Hour, but we’ll have to see, if Amazon ever gets around to airing the next seasons. It’s only getting the three, and they shot two and three back to back, so there’s a much more definite plan than these kind of things usually get.

  93. 93.

    Josie

    @WaterGirl: ​
     If Henry is anything like my corgi, he will inch up the feeding time a little each day. I feed Duncan first thing in the morning and 6:30 in the evening. He started moving it up to 6:00 when the time changed. Then he started pushing at 5:30. When that didn’t work he fell back to 6:00 and so on. If I didn’t get him weighed every time at the vet’s, I might fall for the starving corgi look he gives me.

  94. 94.

    JoeyJoeJoe

    @eclare: Michael Schur is a good TV writer and maker.  I didn’t understand how Sunnyside and especially Mr. Mayor got cancelled so quickly

  95. 95.

    PatrickG

    @WaterGirl: reminds me I haven’t offered my employee discount here lately.

    Anybody buying Apple products? Email WaterGirl and save 15% through Balloon Juice iConcierge service*. Guaranteed to protect you from the thing that already happened!

    * me :)

  96. 96.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @WaterGirl:

    How long before they catch on?

    Just one day.

    Never.

    If something in between, what’s your guess for number of days?

    In dog time, an hour of not being fed = weeks of starvation. So my bet is on “never.” But good luck!

  97. 97.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Eolirin:

    Babylon 5 is a great example of landing the ending, but that isn’t a mystery set up at all

    Also the show runner, J. Michael Straczynski, figured out the five-year arc before it started, and did a masterpiece job of contingency planning. E.g. one reason all the diplomats had aides is the aides could step into principal roles if one of the main actors left. I remember hearing talk about all the off-ramps and escape hatches that were planted in case they were needed later.

    ‘Course the one thing he couldn’t foresee is the network fucking around with whether there would be a fifth season or not, so he had to rush the intended ending — and did a good job of doing so — but ended up having to fill the unexpected fifth season.

    Part of the reason Straczynski was able to stick the early ending is he had enough episodes to do so. Game of Thrones was hamstrung by how few episodes there were in the final season, so that a potentially plausible heel turn, if developed correctly over time, felt like it came out of nowhere.

  99. 99.

    Citizen Alan

    @Archon:  The problem with Lost, IMO, was that halfway through first season, people started loudly theorizing that they were basically in Purgatory because whenever someone resolved their primary emotional drama, they died. And in response, all the writers panicked, said “Na-Uhh!”, and tried to come up with an ending that was not Purgatory. Even though it still ended up being Purgatory.

  101. 101.

    There go two miscreants

    @WaterGirl: ​Dead thread, but…if they do catch on to your phone alarm for feeding time, after a week or two of that, just start setting it longer and longer apart to gradually wean them to a better (for you!) schedule.

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