Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let there be snark.

Stand up, dammit!

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

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

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

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

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

A fool as well as an oath-breaker.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

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

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Republicans do not trust women.

Let me file that under fuck it.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

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

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

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War for Ukraine Day 907: More on the Kursk Offensive

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A quick housekeeping note. Rosie is still doing great. Amazingly we had low humidity today, so we went for her first walk since she was diagnosed. She did very well. Her next treatment, which is the last one of round three, is tomorrow. Thank you for all the good thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and donations.

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

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Medium Cool – Concerts, Music Festivals, and Outdoor Theater

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Medium Cool is a weekly series related to popular culture, mostly film, TV, and books, with some music and games thrown in.  We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.

Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered.  We’re here every Sunday at 7 pm.

It’s summer – tonight let’s talk about outdoor concerts, music festivals, outdoor theater, and any other outdoor cultural activities.

Have at it!

 

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NYC Meetup? (and Open Thread)

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This was supposed to go up on Thursday night, so for maximum coverage I will post this now and then re-up it for the evening crowd.  (Sorry, NotMax)

NotMax will be in NYC for a couple of weeks and he is putting out feelers about a NYC meet-up.  Guessing that he is visiting his Mom, but he’ll still have time for Balloon Juice peps, if anyone is interested.

Will be visiting the area 8/22 – 9/8. Past experience is that people prefer the weekends. Looking at the calendar, Labor Day weekend seems a good choice.

Friday (evening) 8/30 or any time Saturday 8/31 or Sunday 9/1 or Monday 9/2.  Please do chime in with preferences.

So far as venue, open to any and all suggestions. Initially thinking of eitherPershing Square cafe (steps away from Grand Central Terminal at Park and 42nd) or a more funky spot, Washington Square Diner (easy access by subway, massive menu but no cocktails, beer or wine only).

Update: Failed to mention the possibility of Tir Na Nog (31st and 8th, across from Penn Station), where we’ve met up previously.

Open thread.

 

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Harris-Walz Campaign Live: Touring PA

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Okay…fool me once. But  it looks like this starts at 2:30/1:30/12:30/11:30

I will be around to double-check, after I wash the Japanese beetles out of my hair. Weeding was long overdue today. Talked with my neighbors who have moved to 5 acres just north of here and are turning the entire property into a regenerative farm. Boy oh boy, did my heart go zing! They also gave me all the grass clipping from their current (for sale) house, which was also excellent. Helping to revitalize the last section of backyard before I reseed this fall.

Their house being on the market all summer is something we could probably talk about at another time – housing prices, interest rates and a sluggish market, even in CO where people usually come to blows over offers.

****

This feed is fun – just a look at the crowds and the new buses for the campaign. It’s worth rewinding a bit to see Walz’s arrival and then Harris’ arrival.

This is an open thread

 

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Trump Just Isn’t a Shiny New Object Anymore

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Trump Just Isn't a Shiny New Object Anymore

3. He said VP Harris “laughs like a lunatic” and therefore “she is prohibited from laughing.”

4. He said Time Magazine didn’t take a good photo of VP Harris so they needed a sketch artist. This makes him upset.

5. He is upset now that VP Harris looked like Sophia Loren or Elizabeth Taylor on the Time Magazine cover.

6. He said “they say I ramble. But I don’t ramble. I’m a really smart guy.”

7. He said “Biden hates Kamala. He hates her.”

8. He said he should be paid $100 million for Biden being replaced by VP Harris.

9. He randomly said “Barack Hussein Obama.”

10. He said climate change is good because it will give us more beachfront property.

11. He said our country “ will die.”

12. He said he hopes we “enjoy” an economic depression.

I saw this last night and wondered how the press would cover the rally.  Here’s the Post [gift link] and here’s the Guardian.  The Guardian headline/subhead are better (“Trump campaign reset goes awry in Pennsylvania as he attacks Harris / Ex-president quickly broke away from prepared speech to accuse vice-president of being a communist and a fascist”). The Post’s is still good (“Trump escalates gendered personal insults against Harris, defying GOP pressure / The Republican nominee also stoked Democrats’ rift over Israel by baselessly claiming Harris passed over Gov. Josh Shapiro to be her running mate because he is Jewish.”).

The stories themselves hit some of the 12 points that Ben mentioned in the tweet. (It would be hard to fit everything into a standard-length news story, so I won’t ding them for that.) There was little-to-no cleanup / explanation of his nonsense, just quoting. I’m not going to look at the Times because I don’t read it, but if you’ve seen it, please let us know in the comments.

I think there are a couple of reasons for this:

  1. They’re under immense pressure from Democrats/subscribers/people on Twitter to report the facts.  KamalaHQ on Twitter is really good at just quoting the nonsense he says, so if that nonsense isn’t in one of their stories, it’s clear they missed something.
  2. Trump is so pudding-brained that he can’t even keep on message for a few minutes, so there’s no real “hard news” to report.
  3. Trump is losing and once you’re viewed as a loser the press thinks they can shit on you without repercussion.

It might just be the soft bigotry of low expectations, but I see a bit of a change here.  Harris/Walz is the new shiny thing.  Let’s enjoy it while we can.

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PatrickG Angel Match & Zoom with The Civics Center on Tuesday at 7:30 pm

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We have a new Balloon Juice Angel match for The Civics Center –  PatrickG will match up to $150 per person, up to $2,500. 

If we can get the thermometer to $20,000 by midnight – not including his match – he will throw in an extra $2,500!   (thank you, Patrick!!!)

I hope you’ll join us for the zoom on Tuesday.  Laura Brill is the founder and CEO of  The Civics Center.

Laura has an extraordinary background!  Laura clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and co-authored several articles with her.  She’s an award-winning advocate with more than two decades of experience working on complex legal issues and advocating for the LGBTA+ community and for equal voting rights.  Laura will be here to talk about The Civics Center, but I bet we can talk her into a story or two!

And now, she’s focused on The Civics Center.

 

The Civics Center trains students and educators to conduct registration and preregistration drives in High Schools.  And they make it fun!  In addition to training and support, The Civics Center provides T-shirts, stickers, customizable flyers, tote bags, candy and other swag in the brilliantly-named Democracy in a Box!

With this fundraiser, we’re helping the Civic Center expand into 25 schools in diverse metropolitan areas – in Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania! 

Here’s a link to our first post about the Civics Center, in case you missed it or you have slept since then. :-_

It’s Up to Us Now, Next Up, Youth Again (only Younger!)

Come to the zoom to learn more about how The Civics Center is making registering to vote a part of the turning 18 experience – or in many states, the “turning 16-or-17 experience”.  RSVP via email to WaterGirl!

Angel match from PatrickG: you know the drill, to count toward the match, tell us about your donation in the comments or send email to WaterGirl.

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Sunday Morning Open Thread: Joyfully Into the Fray

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… KAMALA, DOUG/TIM, GWEN/BILL, HILLARY HIT CHICAGO SUNDAY: Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff arrive in Chicago on Sunday night from Pittsburgh. Harris and Emhoff will attend Monday’s kick off session, where she will get the baton from Biden and be there for the salute to the president. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, head to Milwaukee for a Tuesday rally, returning to Chicago later in the day.

Harris and Emhoff and the Walzes will remain in Chicago through Friday.

Former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton — the 2016 Democratic nominee and former secretary of state, New York senator and first lady — headline a high-dollar fundraiser for the Harris Victory Fund on Sunday night in Highland Park, with the ask ranging from $25,000 to $100,000, according to an invitation obtained by the Sun-Times.

Hillary Clinton will speak to the convention on Monday night; Emhoff on Tuesday; Walz on Wednesday; and Harris on Thursday.

After his speech, Biden and first lady Jill Biden, who also addresses the convention on Monday, will leave Chicago…

Biden plans to hit the road for the Harris-Walz ticket, his aides said, with an extensive travel schedule in the weeks ahead.

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