Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Come on, man.

A tremendous foreign policy asset… to all of our adversaries.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

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

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

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

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

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

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

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

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

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

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

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

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On The Road – Elma – Iceland, long delayed, part two

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Elma

The Smithsonian provided two excellent lecturers for our trip. (Whenever I have traveled with my kids and grandkids, my daughter always bemoans my need to “learn something” from my travels.) Anyway, our teachers did not disappoint. I noticed a woman sitting in the theater on the first night at our Meet the Captain orientation. I kept trying to figure out where I knew her from. When she was introduced as Dr. Michelle Thaller, a NASA scientist, I realized that I had seen her many times on TV explaining some complex astrophysics principle so that a non-scientist could comprehend it.

The second lecturer was Dr. Elizabeth Ward, a Smithsonian curator, expert on Icelandic history and literature. She told us the interesting story of how Iceland regained its independence after being part of Denmark for many centuries. The Icelanders had managed to get a “contract” with the Danes guaranteeing them a measure of home rule. When the contract expired in 1943, the Icelanders sent a letter to the Danish King announcing that they did not wish to renew the contract and were therefore independent. Of course, at that time, Denmark was occupied by the Nazis and there was no Danish government to respond. So the Icelanders picked a date, June 18th, to be their Independence Day. Their case was helped in no small part by the fact that the US immediately recognized their independence and made them one of the first members of NATO.

My experience of learning something on this trip was great. There were lectures, intimate seminars, and dining opportunities with the experts; and they came out on excursions to help us understand what we were seeing.

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On The Road - Elma - Iceland, long delayed, part two 8
Grundarfjordur, IcelandJune 17, 2024

After Heimay we sailed north calling in at Grundarfjordur. At each port of call, we had a choice of excursions. I chose a trip around the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Among the interesting factoids about the Snaefellsnes Peninsula was that Jules Verne located the entrance for The Journey to the Center of the Earth in a crater here. Although there was still a lot of snow around, the alpine flowers were in abundance.

Open Thread: The Ancient & Honorable Art of Code Switching

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Columbia professor John McWhorter, in the NYTimes, “Harris Gonna Code Switch” [gift link]:

… Twenty years ago I never thought I would hear the term “code-switching” used as widely as it now is beyond the halls of academe. Code-switching is perhaps best known in reference to alternating between different languages, such as English and Spanish. However, the same concept applies to different dialects of the same language, such as between a standard dialect and a colloquial one. But as glad as I am to see this, my heart sinks at the way people are mocking Vice President Kamala Harris for code-switching according to the audience she is speaking to. Barack Obama attracted criticism for doing the same thing back in the aughts; I hoped we had gotten past this…

A lot of people think there is something wrong with her doing this. “Harris seems to put on an accent for Atlanta rally,” read one chyron on Fox News. One take on X, typical in its tone on the issue, displays familiarity with the term “code-switching” but frames it as a cynical act: “Code switching is a convenient way to describe blatant pandering.” Of course, Trump has joined in, asking “Did you hear a new accent?” with his running mate, JD Vance, right behind him claiming that Harris is using a “fake Southern accent.”

First of all, Harris is not doing a “Southern” accent. She is not summoning Jeff Foxworthy, the comedian Fortune Feimster or Rue McClanahan’s Blanche Devereaux. What people are hearing as Southern is Black English, with which white Southern English overlaps only partially. Black English has a great many traits alien to white Southern English.

More to the point, language is about reaching into another mind. It’s about connecting. Code-switching is one of the ways that humans use language to connect. Using the colloquial dialect of a language serves the same function as drinking or getting a mani-pedi together. It says, “We’re all the same.” It is especially natural, and common, when seeking connection about folksier things or summoning a note of cutting through the nonsense and getting to the heart of things in a “Let’s face it” way. This is why many of us readily say “Ain’t gonna happen” even if we aren’t given to saying “ain’t” regularly…

Harris grew up among Black kids in Oakland, Calif., and went to Howard University, an HBCU, where she was a member of a sorority. I have never met Harris, but in my California days I spent a good deal of time in Oakland, and my sister went to an HBCU around the same time Harris was at Howard. I feel quite confident that Harris was richly immersed in code-switching between standard and Black English in her formative years. Today she is faking neither a “Southern” accent nor a Black one, but bringing to a national audience the sincere and effortless linguistic versatility that most Black Americans possess…

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How Many of Us are Taking Up the Fight of Our Mothers?

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Some of our Balloon Juice Angels have told me that they are donating in honor of their mothers – or their grandmothers – who fought the good fight, and that always brings a (literal) tear to my eye, thinking about how proud those women would be to have instilled that in their children.

A couple of weeks ago, one of our jackals (Warren Senders) sent me this note and this video; once again, taking up the fight of their mom, who is no longer with us.  I hope you’ll watch the short 4-minute video and consider sharing it with friends or family, and on social media or wherever you hang out with folks outside of Balloon Juice.

I just completed a short video giving the story of my mother’s abortions (in 1945 and 1956 respectively) in her own words.  Mom died in 2021 at age 98 after a long struggle with dementia.  While she was active she made a point of sharing her story as widely as possible.

In the present moment – in the present election – it seemed to me that her story has some additional resonance, so I put together this 4 minute video.  Please watch it when you have a chance and share it if you think it’s appropriate.

Note: His mom’s voice in the video is the voice of an someone Warren knows, but the words are his mom’s.

And, of course, if there was someone in your life who played an inspirational role, maybe you can consider telling us about them?

Open thread!

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War for Ukraine Day 924: Russian Ballistic Missiles Are Inbound While the Butcher’s Bill for the Day Is Still Being Tallied

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A painting by Ukrainian artist NEIVANMADE. The words "NEVER AGAIN" are repeated over and over, from left to right and top to bottom, in a faded, washed out black against a white background. Red, the color of blood, runs and drips down across 2/3rds of the painting. "WHILE YOU TOLERATE TYRANTS" is written/painted in the bottom white corner below the three rows of "NEVER AGAIN".

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Two quick housekeeping notes: Rosie is doing fine, with the exception of the electrical monsoon. Her next treatment is in two weeks. Than you for the good thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and donations.

Second, I don’t seem to be getting the notifications that someone is stuck in moderation. My apologies to Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom, I don’t know why you got stuck in moderation, but when I saw you were this afternoon I approved it so you should be good to go. If you, or anyone else, are still having trouble, just email me through the contact a front pager tool. As soon as I get the message I’ll let you out.

All of eastern and central Ukraine is under air raid alert as of 6;15 PM EDT/1:15 AM local time in Ukraine. The alert maps are not showing any Tu-95s or MiG 31s airborne, but there are reports of ballistic missile warnings.

And Russia has launched another Shahed swarm attack:

This is after Russia attacked deep into Ukraine in the small hours of the morning.

More on the Lviv strike, as well as the others that were inflicted on Ukraine today, after the jump.

I want to make something very clear: President Biden, his senior natsec appointees, Chancellor Scholtz in Germany, none of them are responsible for Putin’s decision to commit genocide in Ukraine. What they are responsible for is being too cautious by half, for being too risk averse, and, as a result, hamstringing Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s genocidal war for Ukraine. That nine year old girl in Lviv did not need to die today. Russia was able to attack so deeply into western Ukraine because the Biden administration refuses to let them strike at legitimate Russian military targets that lie beyond a very narrow within Russia just over the border of Kharkiv and Sumy Oblasts. As a result, the Russians are able to keep their theater strategic assets out of range of the Ukrainians and attack Ukraine while Ukraine has no way of stopping them from doing so. More on this after the jump too.

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

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Wednesday Evening Open Thread: Another Russian Disinformation Operation Unmasked

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‘Beanie Boy’ Tim Pool and serial plagiarist Benny Johnson are two of the highest-ranked ‘Just Doing Our Own Research’ right-wing pests on social media. It’s probably true that they’d be almost as persistent in pushing Russian disinformation for free. But then again, it can be assumed that, given the lavish nature of the Wingnut Wurlitzer, they knew they’d never have to go unpaid… Per the Washington Post, “Justice Dept. charges two Russian media operatives in alleged scheme”[gift link]:

The Justice Department on Wednesday charged two Russian media executives in an alleged scheme that authorities say illegally funneled millions of dollars to a Tennessee-based company to create and publish propaganda videos that racked up millions of views on U.S. social media.

The 32-page federal indictment accuses Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, employees of RT, a Russian-state news site formerly known as Russia Today, of conducting a money-laundering operation that spent nearly $10 million on efforts to covertly influence public opinion and sow social divisions, including placing blame on Ukraine regarding the war with Russia.

Authorities said the U.S. company, which was not identified by name in the indictment, allegedly created and posted hundreds of English-language videos on social media sites, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and X, a site formerly known as Twitter, that echoed Russian state propaganda and garnered 16 million views on YouTube alone.

Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva, Russian citizens who remain at large, were charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which is punishable by up to 20 years, authorities said…

The federal indictment doesn’t name the Tennessee-based company. But a quote from the company’s YouTube channel in the indictment describing it as a “a network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues” suggest the business is Tenet Media.

Tenet is a Tennessee corporation founded by conservative commentator Lauren Chen, who goes by the name “Roaming Millennial” online and her husband, Liam Donovan. Chen, who also works as a host for Glenn Beck’s BlazeTV online video company and contributes to Turning Point USA, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The indictment alleges that at least two Tenet contributors were misled about the true source of the site’s funding, while the company’s co-founders knew the money came from Russia.

Tenet Media’s launch in November 2023 was hotly anticipated in the world of right-wing YouTube, a mega-channel combining the work of prominent pundits like Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, and Lauren Southern.

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Everything Old is New Again

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I really don’t see the upside for Trumpublicans on this one, but I guess I’m not as smart as them:

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is pressuring Republicans to shut down the government at the end of this month if Congress doesn’t pass a GOP-backed proposal to establish new election rules nationwide.

Trump has called on Republicans in Congress to link funding the government with the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote — in a bid to target non-citizen voting, which is already illegal. And House Republican leaders are considering adopting the strategy and picking a fight with Democrats.

The deadline to fund the government is Sept. 30. The GOP-led House and Democratic-led Senate have to agree on how to move forward in order to prevent a shutdown, and Democrats have decried the SAVE Act as a poison pill.

“I would shut down the government in a heartbeat if they don’t get it,” Trump said on the “Monica Crowley Show” last week.

My guess is that a few Biden-district “traitors” on the Republican side will vote for a clean continuing resolution rather than be branded as do-nothing shitbirds, but it’s hard to predict where each clown will end up once they exit the car.

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