Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

We still have time to mess this up!

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Wait, what?

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Hot air and ill-informed banter

In my day, never was longer.

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

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

So fucking stupid, and still doing a tremendous amount of damage.

Find someone who loves you the way trump and maga love traitors.

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

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Archives for 2024

Medium Cool – Looking for Love Looking for Ideas!

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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.

In today’s Medium Cool, I am looking for input on topics for future Medium Cool posts.

Other than that, talk about whatever culture-related stuff you want!

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War for Ukraine Day 760: Russia Bombards Ukrainian Civilian Targets Again!

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Screen shot of new artwork by NEIVANMADE. The background is black. In the bottom foreground are grey Ukrainian homes and apartment buildings being bombarded by red Russian missiles with the Special Military Operation "Z" symbol on them. Above the missiles, written in red is the word "Ruzzians". Below the buildings being attacked is the statement "Turns Homes Into Graves".

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Two notes before we start: 1) There are still a LOT of videos and imagery circulating of the Russians torturing the Tajiks they scarfed up yesterday and are blaming for the terrorist attack on the Crocus disco. DO NOT go looking for them. You don’t need to see them. 2) There was some confusion as to whether the Russians cutting one of these captives ears off was actually from yesterday or from last year. It was from yesterday. What you’re remembering was from 2022. It was the castration of a Ukrainian POW by a Russian soldier from Buryatia.

As I type this, at 5:20 PM EDT, the air alert is tracker for Ukraine is clear. For now…

Russia opened up on Ukraine again last night.

Machine translation of the Polish MOD’s statement:

❗ We would like to inform you that on March 24 this year at. 4.23, there was a violation of Polish airspace by one of the cruise missiles launched this night by long-range aviation of the Russian Federation. The targets of the strikes were towns in western Ukraine.

The object entered Polish space near the town of Oserdów (Lublin Voivodeship) and stayed there for 39 seconds. During the entire flight, he was observed by military radar systems.

Tonight all necessary procedures to ensure the safety of Polish airspace were launched. Among other things, Polish and allied aviation was activated.

#WojskoPolskie monitors the situation on the territory of Ukraine on an ongoing basis and remains on constant readiness to ensure the safety of Polish airspace.

We’ll have more on the attacks after the jump.

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

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Looks like Ronna (not Romney) and Donnie Are Going Through Some Things

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Does anyone know how the attempted boycott of Meet the Press went today?

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Love the mockery! Needling Donnie the day before (hopefully) he has a come to Jesus meeting with the judge who will determine the future of his financial life.

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Open thread.

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Double Angel Match Up to $100 for Worker Power in AZ (We Did It!)

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Update:  We did it!  Double Match is complete!  Thank you, everyone!

Sending a great big thank you to each of our Balloon Juice Angels who made this happen!

PatrickG, Pinkpuppy, and three anonymous BJ Angels – you know who you are!

And the match offers would go nowhere without all of the BJ peeps making their matching donations.

Thank you all!

Original post:

I got a phone call with a fundraising offer that’s right up our alley and too good to pass up – external matching for two of our key states – but it has a timetable attached.   And we can’t pursue that while we’re still raising funds for Worker Power.

So, to help goose our current effort along, we’re running two Angel matches at once, which gives us a double match for donations up to $100.  So $100 = $300, $75 = $225, $50 = $150, $25 = $75, $10 = $30, $5 = $15.

To count toward the double match, tell us about your donation in the comments, or send me an email message.

Right now, as you know, we are trying to fund a boots-on-the ground voter registration team for three weeks.  If we can fund the first 2 weeks right now, I am hoping we can defer funding for the third week until after we have pursued this pending opportunity.

What’s at stake?  Why District 2 and District 4 in AZ?  In a word: micro-targeting!

  • 11 electoral votes to keep Biden as president
  • replace Sinema with Ruben Gallego to hold the Senate seat
  • flip one seat in the U.S. House to beat the vulnerable Republican who barely beat Jevin Hodge
  • pick up two AZ House seats  (Republicans hold the AZ House by 2 seats)
  • pick up one AZ Senate seat  (Republicans hold the AZ Senate by 2 seats)
  • get rid of the charter-school-loving election denier who chose Clarence Thomas as her son’s godfather
  • as a bonus, creepy crazy Kari Lake loses again!

Remember, this time it’s personal!

Open thread!

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Sunday Morning Open Thread: Palm Sunday

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Something attempted, something done:

President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a $1.2 trillion package of spending bills after Congress had passed the long overdue legislation just hours earlier, ending the threat of a partial government shutdown.

“This agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything it wanted,” Biden said in a statement. “But it rejects extreme cuts from House Republicans and expands access to child care, invests in cancer research, funds mental health and substance use care, advances American leadership abroad, and provides resources to secure the border. … That’s good news for the American people.”…

 


Another religious celebration of the Spring equinox:

… This year, Palm Sunday falls on March 24. Also known as Passion Sunday, it marks the start of Holy Week. The most sacred week of the Christian year includes the Good Friday re-enactment of Jesus’ crucifixion story and death, and their belief in his resurrection on Easter…

In the biblical Palm Sunday story, a cheering crowd greeted Jesus along the road. Some spread their garments on the ground; others threw down leafy branches they had cut from the fields. In the Gospel of John, they are branches from palms, a tree that symbolized victory and triumph…

The ritual or liturgy typically starts with a blessing of the palms by clergy. It’s followed by a reading of the Passion of Christ, meaning an account of the final events of Jesus’ life…

Ashes can be purchased, but some churches make their own by burning the palms from prior years.

They’re used to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday, the solemn day of fasting and reflection that signals the start of Christianity’s most penitent season.

 
Palm-Out Sunday, and every day…
Sunday Morning Open Thread: Palm Sunday

(Clay Jones via GoComics.com)

Per Politico, “It’s ‘brass tacks’ time for cash-strapped Trump campaign”:

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Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Yard Art

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Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Yard Art

If the soil’s still frozen / too soggy to work, the hardscaping could always use some attention. Courtesy of commentor SkyBluePink:

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Yard Art 1

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Yard Art 2

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Yard Art 3

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Yard Art 4

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Yard Art 5

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I need more photos, fellow gardeners, or you’ll be reduced to reading random news stories about gardening…

What’s going on in *your* garden (planning / prep / fresh growth), this week?

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Late Night Open Thread: ‘Tis the Sneezin’ Season

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If you find yourself suddenly tired, sad, cranky… maybe it’s (also) your histamines. Apparently it’s time for us to start washing our faces as obsessively as we’ve learned to wash our hands, paying particular attention to eyebrows & eyelashes. And maybe take the ‘outdoor’ clothes off as soon as you walk in the door, or at least before you go into your bedroom.

Per the Associated Press, “Allergy season arrived early in US. Here’s how to keep pollen from ruining your spring”:

Allergy season is here — and it’s earlier and stronger than expected.

More than 80 million Americans deal with itchy eyes, runny nose and other symptoms of seasonal allergies, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America…

Dr. Rachna Shah usually starts looking at pollen counts in the Chicago area in April. But she peeked at her data in mid-February, and saw tree pollen was already at a “moderate” level.

“This season has been so nuts,” said Shah, an allergist and director of the Loyola Medicine Allergy Count. “Granted, it was a pretty mild winter, but I didn’t expect it to be so early.”

Shah said she believes this season will be longer than other years, assuming the weather remains warm. Experts say climate change has led to longer and more intense allergy seasons.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America issues an annual ranking of the most challenging cities to live in if you have allergies, based on over-the-counter medicine use, pollen counts and the number of available allergy specialists. This year, the top five were Wichita, Kansas; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Greenville, South Carolina; Dallas; and Oklahoma City…

The best and first step to controlling allergies is avoiding exposure. That’s easier said than done when everyone wants to enjoy spring weather.

To prevent allergy issues, keep windows closed at home and in the car, avoid going out when pollen counts are highest and change clothes when you get home.

Pollen trackers can help with planning. The American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology tracks levels through a network of counting stations across the U.S. Counts are available at its website and via email…

As with all self-care, there is no One Weird Trick, but sometimes enough small modifications can make a crucial difference. Ah, the ‘joys’ of being made of meat jelly…

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