Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Consistently wrong since 2002

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

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

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

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

Also, are you sure you want people to rate your comments?

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

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

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / What’s on the Agenda for Today?

What’s on the Agenda for Today?

by | 108 Comments

This post is in: 

Here’s what’s on the agenda Balloon Juice-wise for today.

We have an Artists in Our Midst post from Dan B at 3 pm.  An artist in a different medium!

We have “Take Two” of Jennifer Schiff’s Authors in Our Midst post at 5pm.  Rudely interrupted last week by the golf course incident!  How can that have only been a week ago?

We have Medium Cool at 7 pm.  Song lyrics, I think it could be a good one, but of course you never know.

We have the Double-Angel Matching going on until midnight tonight.  I didn’t want to put up another post, so I linked to yesterday’s post in the sidebar.  I say “midnight”, but anything that’s in there when I get up early on Monday that’s matchable will be matched.

There’s a new comment policy for Balloon Juice.  Everybody please read it.  There will be a quiz.  The comment policy is in the footer of every page.  But here’s a direct link.

And we have car magnets available for order at Cafe Press.  Tunch, Dark Tunch, Steve, Dark Steve, Woke not Weird with a peace sign, Woke not Weird with a raised fist (female!) and Woke not Weird Pride version.  If you don’t find all of them up there, please let me know.

Link

Friday Night Open Thread 20

The Balloon Juice Store looks like crap because Cafe Press took it down, scrambled everything, basically threw all the piece into a box.  So it’s functional enough to purchase but will need a lot of work.

Also note that these designs are available in buttons, golf balls, baby bibs, and (apparently) thongs!  Cafe Press does that automatically, and beth tries to hide the worst of them, but Cafe Press keeps adding them back in.  (We hate Cafe Press.)

What’s on the agenda for you guys?

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

108Comments

  3. 3.

    eclare

    I am meeting satby this evening to pick up my new kitty, William!  He is one of the five kitties that satby rescued and wrote about a few weeks ago.

  5. 5.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @eclare:

    I am meeting satby this evening to pick up my new kitty, William!

    Thanks to both of you.  That’s so great.  Post photos at some point!

    We’re leaving for Italy in an hour.

  9. 9.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Baud:

    Problem with that is you gotta become president first.  Anything will do at this point, HOA, local Hells Angel chapter, etc.

  10. 10.

    wjca

    Wondering if it might not be time for a serious GOTV push in Florida.  Not so much for the presidential race (nice as a win there would be) but to take the Senate seat.  Scott is so unpopular that the race is already close.  And with abortion rights and marijuana legaluzation on the ballot as well, a lot of young voters might be moved, with a little nudge, to show up to vote.

    No doubt jackels in Florida have a better handle on how feasible this would be.  But with control of the Senate on a knife edge, perhaps some pump priming from here would be money well spent.

  11. 11.

    Renie

    Ugh my neighbor across the street put out a trump sign.  Now I have to look at it every day.  Always suspected he was a MAGA cuz of the low intelligence idiotic stuff he and his wife say.  Luckily I received my Kamala sign which is now going outside my house.

    Another annoying issue we have all seen.  My sister received from her religious friend a letter put out by the NYS Catholic Conference telling people to vote against Proposal 1 aka Equal Rights Amendment since it permanently legalizes abortions in NYS.  My sister showed me and then threw it in the garbage.  We need someone strong in gov’t to take a stand against religious organizations getting involved in politics.

  15. 15.

    piratedan

    @wjca: at the rate that the GOP is setting itself on fire, I could see it happening.  DeSantis has not won many fans by his own activities from what I can gather and it feels like there’s a shift coming where people are absolutely reaching the point of “tired of this shit” when it comes to these idiotic culture war fights that don’t solve anything.

    being too online these days, you see signs of the facade cracking nationwide,  the race tightening in Iowa?  Alaska?  Nebraska Senate seat now in play?  Texas?  TEXAS? and how Cook has moved the NC Governor race from lean D to Likely D… how will that play out downballot as the state GOP continues to embrace Robinson?

    Project 2025 is still permeating thru to the normies and they absolutely hate it.  The GOP continues to doubledown on Dobbs and confirm that IVF and birth control is Next.  Texas trying to turn into East Germany to prevent potentially pregnant women from leaving the state to the point where they’re putting up barbed wire on the state line with New Mexico… just absolutely beyond the pale shit.

  17. 17.

    Harrison Wesley

    @wjca: If the reactions that the other poll greeters and I witnessed during the primary a few weeks ago are a sign, some Democratic pickup in Florida seems possible.  None of us encountered anything other than thumbs up, “Go Blue,” and other encouragement.  And this is in Manatee County, which is very heavily Republican in terms of registration.

    I’m going to be doing some more of this at the Supervisor of Elections office for early voting and election days.  Hope we get the same response.

  21. 21.

    Harrison Wesley

    @Renie: Aren’t they putting their tax exemption at risk with this sort of overt politicking?  I guess maybe it depends on how the letter is worded.

  23. 23.

    Anoniminous

    @Harrison Wesley:

    The International Pedophile Protection Organization, aka “The Roman Catholic Church”, has been getting away with it for hundreds of years so no reason to expect them to get called on it now.

  24. 24.

    KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))

    @Ken:

    Being regularly annoying is not ban-able.

    Is that “regularly” as in no more than an average level of annoying, or “regularly” as in day-in-and-day-out?

  26. 26.

    KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))

    @Ken:

    Being regularly annoying is not ban-able.

    Is that “regularly” as in not more than a usual, average level of annoying-ness, or “regularly” as in always, on a near-daily basis annoying?

    Not that I’m accusing anyone of anything here of course, just trying to clarify… :-P

  27. 27.

    Renie

    @Harrison Wesley: yes but nothing is ever done to any religious organization that mixes the “church and state” concept. Thats why we need someone brave in government to take it on. But I doubt I’ll see that in my lifetime.

  29. 29.

    Scout211

    In a follow-up to a discussion in an earlier thread, Janet Jackson’s management has issued an apology regarding her statement that Kamala Harris is not black.

    Following swift backlash for recent comments about Vice President Kamala Harris, Janet Jackson has issued an apology.

    The 5x Grammy winner’s manager Mo Elmasri admitted the Jackson previously spoke “based on misinformation” about the Democratic presidential nominee’s family and ethnicity during a recent interview with The Guardian.

    “She deeply respects Vice President Kamala Harris and her accomplishments as a Black and Indian woman. Janet apologizes for any confusion caused and acknowledges the importance of accurate representation in public discourse,” Elmasri told Buzzfeed in a statement. “We appreciate the opportunity to address this and will remain committed to promoting unity.”

  30. 30.

    Mousebumples

    Watching the Packer game, after starting quiet time. No spoilers please as we’re about 20 minutes behind. Yay TiVo!

    Note for WaterGirl – I see a few wierd typos in the OP…

  31. 31.

    HumboldtBlue

    @eclare: ​ 

    Woooohoooo

    Elsewhere, the Olivia Nuzzi kerfuffle has yet again exposed beltway media as the navel-gazing double secret club it’s always been.

    DC journalists who chimed in on social media to defend their colleague Olivia Nuzzi, who this week admitted to a secret relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr, drew outrage and ridicule from fellow journalists for missing the fundamental ethics lapse in her behavior.

    “Nuzzi was in a romantic relationship with one of Joe Biden’s opponents WHEN SHE WAS REPORTING & WRITING this highly critical article about Biden,” Jennifer Schulze wrote on X, referring to his article published in July. “That is journalism malpractice full stop. Any media types who say otherwise also have questionable ethics.”

  32. 32.

    artem1s

    @Harrison Wesley: 

    Aren’t they putting their tax exemption at risk with this sort of overt politicking?

    All NPs are allowed to lobby and have publicly state policy positions on pretty much anything. They can ‘educate and inform’ their members about pretty much anything. However, every NP has a mandate built into their charter/articles – they cannot endorse any candidate for public office or use their funds for individual campaigns. Lobbying is allowed but expenses are subject to excise taxes if they are deemed excessive (very difficult to get the IRS to do this).
    Churches can even condemn someone for choosing to vote in a certain way as long as that ‘condemnation’ isn’t in the form of denying constitutionally guaranteed civil rights. I.E. you can be excommunicated as a member, but not tortured into submission.
    Holding a woman hostage in her home state to keep her from accessing health care is certainly crossing the line. But making it economically impossible for her to travel out of state isn’t.
    Obviously, state to state these grey areas are up for debate depending – IOKIYAR male.

  33. 33.

    David 🐝KHive🐝 Koch

     INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark was unanimously named the 2024 Associated Press WNBA Rookie of the Year, it was announced today.

    Clark was also named to the AP All-WNBA First Team with Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart, Alyssa Thomas and A’ja Wilson.

    🔥

  34. 34.

    Joey Maloney

    All that’s left on my agenda is bedtime, but let’s pretend there aren’t all these time zones between me and thee.

    First thing this morning, before it gets too hot, I have to sweep up all the dead leaves and other garden waste on the patio so when the cleaner comes tomorrow he can help me bag it up for disposal. Then when the Non-Euclidean mall opens I want to be first in line at the computer store to replace my monitor which annoyingly died on Friday afternoon, too late to replace before all the shops closed for Shabbat and when I was in the middle of a big work clusterflop and really needed that extra screen real estate.

    Then after lunch one of the cats goes to the vet to check out a lump on his neck (message from the future – it will turn out to be nothing, just a scab that fur had grown through and matted up). Next, a trawl through several nearby pharmacies to get my prescriptions filled – stocks of some drugs have gotten irregular over the past few months. The start of that predated the war but that hasn’t helped.

    For a relaxing evening some musical instrument practice for the online workshop I’m taking. Dinner will be a variation of Mongolian beef made with half chicken. After eating perhaps I’ll screw around on the internet for awhile and see what’s happening on that near-top-10000 blog I like to read.

  36. 36.

    Jackie

    @wjca: You’re not alone:

    Tired of playing only defense, a small but vocal number of Senate Democrats are pushing party leaders and political operatives to pour money into trying to knock off GOP incumbents in races most view as long shots for Democrats.

    They fear Democrats are leaving potential pickups on the table, particularly in Florida and Texas, where unpopular incumbents, Sens. Rick Scott (Fla.) and Ted Cruz (Tex.), have not seen anything resembling the financial onslaught faced by GOP candidates in Ohio, Pennsylvania or Arizona.

    “I just spent three days in Florida to make that very point. I think we will win Florida if we put in a real effort,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who campaigned with second gentleman Doug Emhoff in a traditionally conservative-leaning area outside Orlando.

    Comments like these from prominent Democrats up pressure on the main party entities to shift their long-held strategy from, first and foremost, defending eight Democratic-held seats that are seen as the most competitive. An eight-for-eight performance, difficult to pull off perfectly, would likely leave the Senate deadlocked at 50-50, allowing Democrats to retain the majority if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidential contest.
    Much more at the gift link: https://wapo.st/3XS2pB7

    I really want to see the DNC spend money on the FL and TX senate races.

  38. 38.

    JoyceH

    @Scout211: I’ve seen that misconception in a number of places and I’m sure Jackson did too. Hey, Harris’ dad isn’t black, he’s Jamaican! Uh, guys? Jamaica is over 90% black. It’s more black than the US is white. They must have been running to the fridge during those “come to beautiful Jamaica” commercials, otherwise they’d have noticed a lot of black people.

  39. 39.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Jackie: Scott and Cruz both need to be exiled to somewhere in the Canadian Arctic, if we can get the Intuit to go along.  Which will be a VERY hard sell.

  41. 41.

    gkoutnik

    Just came back from the opening of our county Democratic headquarters, in this small upstate NY city in a pretty red county.  Three State Assembly candidates, State Senate candidate, and Congressional Candidate Josh Riley spoke for about five minutes each.  Congresswoman from San Diego came to support Riley.  The place was packed and lots of folks out on the street.  Lots of energy.  Got my lawn signs, came home and continue to write postcards.

  45. 45.

    BR

    @Baud:

    I am surprised that Harris and Walz haven’t visited AZ/NV in a while. There are a dozen possible reasons, and I have no guess as to which is most likely.

  46. 46.

    SFAW

    Re: candidate signs:Was in central Maine last weekend, saw a sign I liked.

    PRO-AMERICA
    [Image of an American flag]
    ANTI-TRUMP

    Did not stop to ask where the owner got it, unfortunately.​

  47. 47.

    wjca

    @BR: There area dozen possible reasons, and I have no guess as to which is most likely.

    The awkward restriction of each day to 24 hours seems a likely culprit.

  49. 49.

    October Light

    Did Kamala might the correct decision to skip this event?

    I understand her team’s reasoning, but it would have been nice to hear Kamala deliver some zingers that would have driven Trump crazy.

    Kamala Harris has decided not to attend a star-studded charity dinner in New York City which has historically hosted both major-party presidential candidates in the final run-up ton the election.

    As first reported by CNN Saturday, Harris will skip the Al Smith dinner on Oct. 17, opting instead to campaign in a battleground state. With a few notable exceptions, the Catholic fundraiser has hosted every major-party presidential candidate since 1960.

    According to the New York Post, Trump has confirmed to the Archdiocese that he will attend.

    https://www.mediaite.com/news/kamala-harris-bails-on-famed-charity-dinner-historically-attended-by-both-candidates-first-to-spurn-an-invite-since-1984/

  50. 50.

    cain

    Well this should be interesting. My wife’s ex husband invited me for bowling with his kid. His brother is joining us and hasn’t been in town for 20 years. So the world has changed a lot

    My wife’s ex and I are friends and so between us we are completely comfortable with each other. My parents have met him and like him etc. First time meeting his family.

    Brother is nice according to my wife but his wife is a piece of work and definitely is the main character and the reason there hasnt been any contact.

  54. 54.

    Matt McIrvin

    @JoyceH:

    I’ve seen that misconception in a number of places and I’m sure Jackson did too. Hey, Harris’ dad isn’t black, he’s Jamaican! Uh, guys? Jamaica is over 90% black.

    That one came directly from Laura Loomer, if I recall correctly.

  55. 55.

    marcopolo

    @Baud: Well, right now the D campaign money machine is going brrr brrr brrr and virtually every D campaign committee is better funded than in any other election in my lifetime (includes Obama ’08 & ’12).  The Harris/Walz numbers are particularly off the chart.  If we can’t do some stretch goal spending now then when?  Particularly with the added benefits of left leaning ballot initiatives (pot legalization; abortion) in many states.

    I keep dreaming there’s some billionaire out there (Tom Steyer what are you doing?) who will spend $10M or $20M set up a PAC to support Osborne in the NE senate race to run lots of TV ads and, you know, time it so they don’t have to report donor info till after the election.

    Anyway, no brakes, peddle to the floor through Nov 5.

  56. 56.

    West of the Rockies

    So glad the second “assassination effort” story has been swiftly forgotten and that it resulted in no sympathy bump for the ambulatory shit stain.

  57. 57.

    Matt McIrvin

    @October Light: My first reaction is to think “HELL YES, FINALLY”. These weird chummy insider events, in an alternate universe where it’s all a game… they increasingly make my skin crawl.

  58. 58.

    Baud

    @marcopolo: Hillary was particularly well funded, and she had a bigger polling lead than Trump than Harris has had. It’s always possible to make the case, but it’s really not possible to make a compelling case with the polling numbers we currently have

    ETA: Compelling = the Dems deserve harsh criticism for not spending money on long shots.

  61. 61.

    dmsilev

    @Matt McIrvin: Can we kill the ‘nerd prom’ at the same time? Pro tip for political reporters: nerds famously obsess about all the details and ins and outs of their chosen subjects (both serious and amusing). You, who equally famously don’t give a shit about anything except gossip and the horse race, aren’t that.

  62. 62.

    Scout211

    @HumboldtBlue: Is there a way to read that beyond the ellipses in the tweet you posted for those not on Twitter?  It looks like it’s a thread but all that is showing is the first one.

  67. 67.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Baud: I recall Democratic efforts in 2016 came in for criticism afterward for spending money and effort on hopeless stretch goals when Clinton’s support was eroding in critical swing states (but nobody necessarily realized it).

  69. 69.

    Scout211

    Thread reader

    DougjBalloon

    Trying again. Okay, you have to click on the first entry in the thread to get to the whole thread.  That works.

    The whole thread:

    1/X) I hate doing these, but I feel like I’m being baited to do so. A few days ago Maggie H did an interview where she complained criticism of her reporting, James Fallows answered back (mentioning this account) and Jon Chait and some Reason bro took a shot at Fallows for…


    (2/X) praising this account. First things first…Jon Chait and some obscure Reason bro lecturing James Fallows about journalism is ludicrous. Fallows is a legend, a five-time National Magazine Award finalist. More on this later…


    (3/X) But first, Maggie admits “The systems are just fundamentally – they were not built to deal with somebody who says things that are not true as often as he does or speaks as incoherently as he (Trump) often does.” That’s exactly the point of all the criticism…


    (4/X) of her and the Times’ coverage of Trump. It’s not built for Trump. Trump is hold to lower standards. Let’s just take a couple examples. The Times played a big role in forcing Biden out of the race (which has worked out great for Dems)…


    (5/X) Two or three times a week, Trump does something that is more strongly indicative of dementia than anything Biden did during that debate. Is there any move to force him out?

    6/X) “The Times couldn’t force Trump out beacuse it’s mostly read by liberals,” you say. Well, have there been many articles focusing on his obvious dementia or opinion pieces saying he has to step aside? No.

    (7/X) Likewise, there has been coverage of the hacked Trump campaign emails. I agree it is better not to cover them. But there is no way they wouldn’t be getting covered if they were emails from a Democratic campaign.

    (8/X) I don’t think anyone can dispute either of those two points: that there’s been no coverage of Trump’s dementia comparable to the discussion of Biden’s age and that hacked Democratic campaign emails would be getting covered.

    (9/X). That’s a different standard and one that is markedly lower for Trump. It’s that simple. It doesn’t mean that the Times hasn’t taught the public a lot about Trump. There have been a lot of revealing stories. But they are easier on Trump than on other candidates..


    (10/X) That’s how narcissistic sociopaths work. They get weak institutions to make special rules for them. What I find fascinating about the discussion of this obvious fact is that you have an in crowd (Times political journalists, ppl like Chait, large account Substackers),


    (11/X) Who devote themselves to denying this obvious fact and those who assert its truth. It doesn’t matter if the person asserting is a no name like or a legend like James Fallows or James Risen. Doesn’t matter, they deserve scorn and derision.

    (12/X) There are no serious arguments, just a lot of RESPECT MUH AUTHORITY and boiler-plate evidence-free assertions. Serious people know that Trump is getting tough coverage is the thrust of it.

    (13/X) Again, it is so similar to my own dealings with the Trump-like figure in my department. The administration makes special rules for him, spends all of their time attacking the people trying to him in, and portrays themselves as the serious people in the room…


    (14/X) Because how they be facilitators of harassment and abuse? They give their pronouns and vote Democratic, so come on, you can’t be serious when you say they take the side of an abuser.

    (15/X) And if you disagree, you’re not serious, not just if you’re a more or less regular faculty member like me but even if you’re a Chaired recipient of a nearly Nobel-like prize (no Nobel in math) like one of my colleagues.

    (16/X) And no facts or investigation can change any of it. The Times is tough on Trump because they are tough on Trump. Don’t you get it, Resistance libtard?

    This may be even more incoherent and typo-ridden than usual. I wrote it while monitoring my six-year-old’s Minecraft video intake.

  73. 73.

    scav

    @Matt McIrvin: Haven’t learned that any action one takes will be judged unsatisfactory, perhaps slightly more so when in the rear-view mirror, but possibly even more loudly in the present tense.

  74. 74.

    artem1s

    Playoff season is here. For the first time in my life I can enjoy a postseason without the embarrassment of a racists mascot or name hanging over #TheLand.
    For more information on the inspiration behind the Cleveland Guardians new-ish name
    10 things you should know about the Guardians of Traffic

    And one of the reasons the franchise is so excited about this post season. Here’s their new manager Stephen Vogt talking about last week’s walkoff win against the Twins.

  75. 75.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @HumboldtBlue: Chait is pure Villager.  He’ll defend the Village to his last adjective.  “Some Reason guy” is from a publication based in an ideology that wildly ignores reality.  Reason is really good on civil liberties, but sucks at anything touching on economics and politics in general, because they’ve never read Adam Smith, for one thing.

  76. 76.

    H.E.Wolf

    Top of the agenda list today: rehabilitating a way-too-salty quart of chicken-vegetable soup that I purchased from our local co-op.

    I was low on supplies and inspiration, so I ended up cooking barley and red rice separately, in extra water, and dumping the result into the soup pot. Not thrilling, but it’s now both edible and colorful.

    Moral 1: sometimes it’s smarter to make it from scratch.
    Moral 2: sometimes it’s OK to ignore the sunk-cost fallacy and keep going until you win. Let’s hear it for the emergency barley stash. :)

    Oh, and I was working on postcards to FL voters, in between soup surveillance. I can cause trouble on two fronts at once!

  80. 80.

    marcopolo

    @Baud: The thing is is if you look at the existing advertising commitments in the battleground states (PA is the worst) it’s already so saturated that there isn’t tons of free ad time to buy between now and Nov 5.  The battleground polling numbers are what they are (accurate or not) but they don’t change that fact.

    Polling outside the current battleground states suggests there might (low chance but maybe) be some opportunity in FL and TX plus the value of boosting the senate candidates (and maybe AK which is yeah only 3 EVs but would be a cheap place to advertise btw).

    I assume the Harris/Walz folks are getting more frequent polling (maybe close to daily with 45 days to go in like PA, MI, WI, NC, GA, AZ, and NV) and are also seeing state polls for just more states than we see (I’d imagine some Congressional/Senate polling gets shared).  Not gonna try to second guess them but I will be sorely disappointed if they wind up with $50 million left over at the end.

  81. 81.

    Mousebumples

    https://bsky.app/profile/golikehellmachine.com/post/3l4r6xyonva2z

    i’m an idiot rando, but the writing was on the wall about how the wheels were going to start flying off the trump campaign in the final lap as early as a year ago, and rather than choke my own chicken about how i was right, we should ask why so many people who are paid to understand this didn’t

    maybe the polls were right(ish) at points throughout the year, i have no idea, fuck numbers, all my homies hate numbers, but polls *are not the only important measure of a presidential campaign*, and a whole lot of people who should know better decided they were at some point

     

    https://bsky.app/profile/golikehellmachine.com/post/3l4r7mllgns2r

    i have no idea how much disciplined surrogate management and campaign ops and GOTV logistics and strategic advertising purchases and harmonization between state and national parties and the volume of volunteers all matter in a general election campaign, but i know that the answer is not “none”

    there’s plenty i didn’t predict, i didn’t think biden would step down (and then didn’t think the party could pull it off), i didn’t predict 10/7, i didn’t predict jd fuckin’ vance as VP, but all of the non-polling fundamentals were a constant undercurrent, and have been obvious for over a year

     

    https://bsky.app/profile/jamellebouie.net/post/3l4r7xv6hh222

    this is all very important. it is cliche but at the end of the day polls don’t vote, and a close election in the polling ASSUMES that all things will be equal on the ground. if they aren’t then, well, all bets are off.

     

    https://bsky.app/profile/mcmjolnir.bsky.social/post/3l4r7kgz3fd22 (must be logged in to view)

    Polls don’t measure GOTV efficacy and boy howdy does Trump look like he hired crooked grifters for ground operations.

  82. 82.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @artem1s: The Mariners are 5 games behind the Astros, and 1.5 games behind in the wild card race.  I don’t think they’ll make it, but they have been very winning as of late.  Far cry from that 10 game lead in the division back in June, though.

  83. 83.

    Mousebumples

    I may have sent a post into the spam filter with too many links. Maybe? It’s been awhile, but I thought I would still be able to see the Problem Post. Maybe?

  86. 86.

    Mousebumples

    @trollhattan: I bought my TiVo ~10 years ago. No cable – I have it hooked up to a converter box/antenna. I bought the lifetime “service” which has paid for itself kan3 years ago now.

    Great for recording stuff without needing a VCR!

  91. 91.

    scav

    @marcopolo: Hello brave new world.  While the traditional advertising channels may be finite and clogged, the insta/youtubey/tictocy/I’mtooagedtoocare space between ads is  far more expandable — and at times indistinguishable from ads already.

  92. 92.

    TBone

    Rolling first doobie of the day and looking forward to continuing afternoon of lazy lolling about.  Which is a continuation of my morning inactivity.  Second nap could occur, since first nap was unsatisfactory.  Cats set good examples on this gray, almost chilly afternoon.  They really know how to do retirement!  If only someone else would make supper, serve it, and clear up afterward, my Sunday would be perfect.  Hubby does the clearing up and dishes but, alas, I will get up later and roast some baby sized yellow taters with EVOO, salt, pepper, and rosemary, grill a seasoned steak, and figure out what veggies we feel like having.  Then, an evening of additional lolling about, punctuated by frozen yogurt milkshakes.

  93. 93.

    marcopolo

    @scav: So I live in a profoundly red state, in no way shape or form winnable for Ds at just about every level.  The one place I see Harris/Walz ads is in my social media (my insta is overrun by them).  Reading around the time of the DNC about the $100M + they already had allocated in this space (and probably more now) has me thinking they may already have that angle covered.  It was massively more than the Rs (something like 20x or 50x).

    I think the theory of the campaign vis a vis media (and why they are giving the legacy media outlets less time/access) is that fewer folks now get their info from traditional media than ever before plus the those outfits emphasize sizzle (cause they need eyeballs) over substance so they are not too valuable for getting their message out.  That’s meant an unprecedented lean in on social media content.

    Just my 2 cents.  Curious if other BJers who are on social platforms are having similar experiences.

  94. 94.

    trollhattan

    Feel the Freedom ®. And it’s only Sunday.

    Two people were killed and one was wounded Sunday morning in back-to-back shootings Sacramento police said were connected to sideshows. The latest deaths were the fourth and fifth shooting fatalities in the capital city in 26 hours. The first of Sunday’s incidents unfolded when police responded about 2 a.m. to the 2400 block of Seamist Drive at Sandcastle Way in South Natomas for reports of a shooting. Sacramento Police Department spokeswoman Officer Allison Smith said police found a man with at least one gunshot wound. Smith said despite life-saving efforts, the man was pronounced dead by firefighters.

    Less than an hour later, officers were called to the area of Kelton Way and Main Avenue in the Northpointe section of North Sacramento for another shooting report. Smith said two male victims were later found by officers at hospitals after they were transported privately. One of the men was later pronounced dead, Smith said; the other victim was listed in “stable” condition. There were no suspect descriptions in either shooting but Smith said while the incidents were not connected, they were related to “various sideshow activities from the evening/early morning.”

    The incidents capped a deadly weekend in the city of Sacramento that began with two men being shot along the J Street corridor at 24th Street about 1 a.m. Saturday. One of the men died from his injuries and the other remains hospitalized, according to police. Several hours passed before a woman was shot and killed about 5 p.m. in the College/Glen neighborhood in eastern Sacramento while a 12-year-old boy was gunned down in a south Sacramento residential neighborhood near 22nd Street near Meadowview Road.
    https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article292877764.html#storylink=cpy

  95. 95.

    brantl

    Thongs! Why thongs? We don’ need no steenking THONGS! (Where have you got room to illustrated anything on a thong?)

  97. 97.

    WaterGirl

    @trollhattan: You will pry my Tivo out of my cold, dead hands.  Love Tivo.  Click once when an ad starts and it takes you to where the show starts again.

    And there’s no “oh, that’s not on Netflix anymore” for shows you care about .

  98. 98.

    WaterGirl

    @brantl: I hadn’t actually seen them – beth had already hidden them again when she mentioned them to me, but one of our BJ peeps looked online today and sent me a screen capture of the thongs.

    They are as awful and you imagine they would be.

    Though it might be fun to send one to Joelle as a laugh for her upcoming reunion with John G.

  100. 100.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @piratedan: Texas trying to turn into East Germany to prevent potentially pregnant women from leaving the state to the point where they’re putting up barbed wire on the state line with New Mexico…

    seriously? For real? I mean, really? Barbed wire?
    yikes. Seriously appalled if so. The whole border? Along sections near the highways that cross state lines? Do you have links?

    im not disbelieving you, I just want to know more. And it’s intensely ….I’m just sputtering and beyond words

    I don’t want to imagine what other outrages and travel-inhibiting situations might ensue.

  101. 101.

    wjca

    @piratedan: they’re putting up barbed wire on the state line with New Mexico…

    More performative bull.  Because they can’t block the highways.**  And does anybody really think women heading to New Mexico for medical care are going to walk?!?!?

    ** Try that on an Interstate and see how fast the Feds come down on you like an avalanche.

  105. 105.

    Gloria DryGarden

    I carefully read your updated comments policy

    1 “Maybe tell someone they seem like they are trolling and see how they respond rather that jumping to a conclusion?”

    2 “But we’re no longer open for business to people who are of ill intent.”

    If that’s what you thought about a comment I made Friday on “palate cleanser” and that’s why I was discussed as a probable “sock puppet “ (whatever that actually means) (and you were not actually joking), phooey, and my intent and character have been misconstrued.

    3. “No-one  wants to feel like a dog hit at random.”

    Thank you to the people who directly told me when I was wrong, kindly wrote to explain what I would change, or asked if something was really true/ surely not. You were constructive, and inclusive, and I responded to you. I’m grateful to the many people here who have been kind, and helpful, and fun.

    I’m naive and unsophisticated, but smart, and able to learn. And I care about a lot of things, including the country I live in.  Being labeled incorrectly is a kind of reverse lie, and it’s a bit like having a bucket of ice water poured on my head, to read such comments.

    I’ll make a point of looking up what different people mean by trolling, and by being an asshole. It seems that would be useful.

    I’ll bear in mind these adverse opinions/ judgements that have been made. I know how that usually goes. It’s a bit like being around a certain flavor of judgmental other-ing “Christians.”

  106. 106.

    WaterGirl

    @Gloria DryGarden: I hadn’t read to the end of that thread, but I skimmed it just now.  Glad to see that someone explained further about Democrat vs. Democratic.

    I’m kind of surprised to find that not everyone is aware of that.

    To answer your question about what a sock poppet is…  This definition is from the Urban Dictionary which is a good place to check when someone uses a term you don’t understand.

    What does it mean when someone calls you a sock puppet?

    It is a false online identity used for deceptive purposes.

    The term can be used when someone doesn’t seem to be quite real.  If there’s a feeling that someone is being disingenuous, maybe.

    It’s human nature, I think, if a couple of people say something to assume that everyone feels that way, but that’s often not the case.

     

  107. 107.

    Sallycat

    @wjca: I am in Florida and have been working on the Dems’ campaigns.  When I speak with Democrats on the phone, they are very enthusiastic and ready to vote.  I think with the abortion amendment on the ballot, the chance to flip Florida is real.

  108. 108.

    Ken

    @dmsilev: Pro tip for political reporters: nerds famously obsess about all the details and ins and outs of their chosen subjects (both serious and amusing).

    The chosen subject of journalists is… themselves. Their collective reaction to the Nuzzi scandal is just the latest example.

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