I hate to even bring it up, but remember the Apocalypse? Where we lost the BJ site for a period of time?
Remember the signup link we had so that we could communicate with everyone while the site was down and/or at the Home Away from Home site?
If you’re not already on the list, this is your chance to sign up, so that if we ever need to communicate outside of Balloon Juice – insert your worst case scenario here – you will receive the communication.
You have 3 days to click the link to sign up. We have until Friday to add more people to the list.
If you’re not sure whether you are already signed up, click the link and sign up again – I imagine that if you’re already signed up you’ll see some sort of message to that effect if you sign up again.
Mailchimp wants us to pay a $27 monthly fee now (which comes to $324 a year), so we’ll need to export the list from MailChimp, and then if / when we want to communicate with list members in the future, we’ll get a paying subscription then and import the list back into MailChimp.
I am secretly hoping that one of our BJ peeps will offer to cover the cost, but if not then we’ll go with Plan A above.
So anyway, please sign up if you are interested. We have 850 BJ peeps on the list right now.
Open thread.
cain
Probably cheaper to get an AWS machine and self host a listserv.
https://www.opensourcealternative.to/alternativesto/mailchimp
I would also say that you want to host it not in the U.S.
Phylllis
It will let you know if you have already signed up. Ask me how I know.
WaterGirl
@Phylllis: I figured it would; I appreciate the confirmation!
HeleninEire
I just signed up. And I sent, via Zelle to John, the annual cost.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
Yup, I was already on the list. Would have been easier to check if my nym was shorter :-)
princess leia
@HeleninEire:
@HeleninEire:
Thank you for doing that!!!
DFH
became a Patreon person a couple minute ago, hope it helps
goldengirl
@HeleninEire: That’s beautiful and generous. ♥
Jackie
I’m already in, apparently :)
Jackie
@HeleninEire: That’s so wonderful of you! 🥰
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@HeleninEire:
That was very nice of you!
ETA: And I’m signed up
JaySinWA
@Phylllis: It also lets you update your nym if you request the profile update. You get an email with the profile link.
NickM
I signed up, even though I’m a bit of a lurker. :)
Today, I bought a sticker printer and hundreds of stickers. It cost less than $150, total. I’m going to start printing out anti-Trump stickers (like “I did that!” with him pointing) and start sticking them on egg price displays, gas pumps (once the prices start going up as they will), and other stuff. I still remember some stickers that I passed every day on the way to work for years, and I’m hoping these small acts of dissent (along with whatever else we do) will remind people of the opposition, either to encourage them to support us, or to encourage those who don’t like my stickers to get higher blood pressure.
Another Scott
I know you have my e-mail info already, but I don’t remember signing up for this particular list.
Please clarify:
1) Is this list just for B-J communication to us (i.e. not public or quasi-public)?
or
2) Is this list for e-mails among the people who sign up to talk with each other (public or quasi-public)?
I segregate my e-mail addresses for different purposes and just want to clarify.
Thanks for all you do.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Annie
Since this is an open thread:
I think Wednesday protests at state capitols are a really bad idea, for these reasons:
People who would go on a weekend can’t get time off from work.
Many state capitals are remote from major population centers — Albany is some distance from Nee York City for example — thus harder for people to get to. Sacramento is a 2 hour train ride from the Bay Area, for instance.
I think this may be another example of how people who are deeply involved in, and knowledgeable about, politics are almost in an separate universe from ordinary people who may have some awareness but aren’t down in the weeds.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Annie: I suspect the Wednesday protests are just Day 1 of what is going to be a growing movement.
But your point is taken. Harrisburg is some 2-2.5 hours from here, to far for me personally to make the trek. And much farther for people on the Pittsburgh end of the state. However, I think I read there will be a satellite protest in Philly.
la caterina
@HeleninEire: Thank you! Much appreciated. We can and will fight this.
Elma
I just tried it and it told my email was already subscribed. (This is where I would put a smiley face emoji, if Cole had not banned emojis.)
NotoriousJRT
@HeleninEire: thank you!
ChrisSherbak
@Annie: Agreed. We lubs JB and all, but Springfield is in the middle of bum f-ck nowhere. AND, as I discovered a number of years ago, the last plane out is at 7pm. (!) Maybe that has since changed but … man that was annoying.
Also has anyone of note taken responsibility for organizing or even spearheading those things? I could only fine a one page list of links to other socials AND just a subReddit with some suspended moderator IDs. No ‘real’ names. Very suss. But sure, go ahead and have at it. It’ll make the news I guess.
dkinPa
I could have sworn that I’d signed up before, but then realized that I used my alternate email back then. Watergirl, I just changed my email to the hotmail account. This is what I use for my besties. 😊 Thanks for all you do!
NotMax
@Ceci n est pas mon nym
Then again, Wednesday is 2/5/25 in U.S. parlance.
Not to be sneezed at when it comes to memorability.
Scout211
I didn’t sign up the last time because of some old grudge I had against MailChimp that I currently can’t even remember. Now it seems like those kinds of grudges are from a quaint time in the past when we had the luxury to hold grudges over stupid things. Sigh.
So I signed up this time. And am glad I got a second chance. I don’t want to lose this connection.
Thanks, WaterGirl.
bjacques
Signed up
SiubhanDuinne
@HeleninEire:
You are a very good person, no matter what anybody says.
Phylllis
Also chipped in on the Patreon for a monthly dollop. Been meaning to do it for awhile now anyway. Thanks for the nudge.
HeleninEire
@SiubhanDuinne: Don’t listen to those people! 😀 They’re just jealous of my beauty.
SiubhanDuinne
@Elma:
I had the same message, so I guess everything is copacetic. But it would have been pleasanter if Mail Chimp hadn’t felt the need to say “ERROR!!” in big scary red letters.
SiubhanDuinne
@HeleninEire:
Never!
EighthCousin
I was also (apparently) officially registered.
Got a response that also said it would send: “…an email to your inbox that contains a link to update….” No email came….yet…
And…THANKS!! to HeleninEire for the funding. Was going to send part..but will wait for the next opportunity.
WaterGirl
@HeleninEire: Thank you so much for doing that!!!!
WaterGirl
@Another Scott: This would just be for communication from BJ (like me or Cole) to the list.
There can also be sub-lists where people are interested in this or that in particular.
It would not allow regular BJ peeps to send to the list.
Does that answer your questions?
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: LOL. for real!
Renie
@HeleninEire: Thanks for doing that!!!
narya
Yes, I am already signed up, apparently! I’ve been doing a monthly Patreon donation; let me know if there’s a more-preferred method or if we need to increase our donation amounts.
mrmoshpotato
I have confirmed my potatomanity.
JerseyBeard
@HeleninEire: You’re awesome.
Renie
@Annie:
I agree on location. I would go to NYC but not to Albany. I read they do it weekdays cuz, surprisingly, they get more participants. Also they get people who work near the capitol buldings who go out for lunch.
mvr
@HeleninEire: Pretty generous! Thanks!
Leto
Via Miami Herald: Flights carrying undocumented immigrants to Guantánamo have begun, White House says
zhena gogolia
@Leto: I have not yet watched a clip of this evil creature. Where do they get them all? I guess the country was full of monsters and I didn’t quite realize it.
bluefoot
@NickM: that’s great!! Let us know your experience with the printer if you’d recommend it. I have been working on some sticker design but need some drawing software since I’m old school pencil and paper. Right now leaning toward Inkscape.
TBone
@Leto: This is why Jesus’s middle name is Fucking.
stinger
@HeleninEire: Thank you.
RaflW
Wow. Ilhan Omar’s office already responded to my message sent in I think last Wed or Thurs about the Trump Admin freezing all grants. As it stands, the org I most care about has not yet had their funds restored, but I appreciate the fighting tone in this letter. Omar was also one of the 12-14 Congressional Dems to go to USAID and hold that presser and then have the door past the lobby barred by some security goons.
(Oh, how I wish Hakeem Jeffries wasn’t second fiddle to Chuckles Schumer right now, though).
A longish snippet of Omar’s letter
Phylllis
@RaflW: I work with a small, rural fire department & our drawdown request from the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters program to pay for their new tanker is sitting in limbo. We did get an email yesterday talking about the restraining order, but that additional guidance is necessary from the Dept of Homeland Security before they take any other actions. I guess firetrucks are woke now.
stinger
@Leto: Does she really refer to him as “Trump”?
Old School
@Leto:
Related:
raven
Bird flu has become an issue in Georgia as well as many other areas of the country. Now that is taking a toll on breakfast tables.
In a letter from Waffle House’s headquarters in Norcross on Monday, the diner chain has implemented a 50-cent surcharge per egg to all menus. The company said, rather than increasing prices across the menu, this is a temporary targeted charge tied to the unprecedented rise in egg prices caused by bird flu.
Redshift
@RaflW:
Yeah, she was on fire there. She was the only one who could talk about being a child in a refugee camp being fed by USAID.
ETA: I’m not sure I’d ever seen her speak in person before.
Bill Arnold
@Old School:
Trump’s very best campaign joke – when he recited The Snake, he was telling a true story about himself.
“Oh shut up, silly woman,” said the reptile with a grin. “You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in.”
Quinerly
@Phylllis:
Same here.
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: Yes, thank you.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Old School
Trump plans for New Gaza:
Quinerly
@Old School:
I heard this in real time. He went on for quite a bit. “Gaza is a demo site.”
Then tooted his horn about knowing construction.
Baud
@Old School:
People believe what they want to believe.
@Old School:
I don’t get to say this very often, but Trump was honest about his plans during the campaign.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Yep he outlined what he was going to do.
Birdie
Off topic, this might have been covered already but would like advice: what government info are you downloading / making copies of in case systems go down?
I’ve got SSA payment history and IRS filing history on my list – is there anything else that I’m missing?
Advice appreciated.
Jackie
@Quinerly:
FFPOTUS and Jared Kushner have been drooling about building luxury condo resorts along Gaza’s shoreline since Oct 7, 2023.
NotMax
@raven
Skirts the doomy side a little too much, but might want to see what’s what with upcoming and recent grocery shortages/disruptions. Does have several good tips, though.
Jackie
@Baud:
Outside of claiming he knew nothing about Project 2025.
But, WE knew that was bullshit, and none of us are surprised – or even outraged. WE KNEW.
schrodingers_cat
@Jackie: The Genocide Joe yelling protesters are still protesting the Dems but not a peep from them against the Republicans.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@schrodingers_cat:
Maybe they wouldn’t be if so many Dem Senators had voted no on Trump’s horrible nominees and tried to gum up the works to slow things down. As I said in another thread, it’s not about ultimately stopping them, it’s about not being/looking complicit, raising awareness of what’s happening, and being seen fighting
It’s good to see there’s talk of that now, I will say, and that RFK’s nomination had to be voted out of committee on party lines
I won’t go into Biden’s handling of the I-P War
Miki
@Old School: How’s about we give them Texas? Beautiful clean land …. Or Florida? Just bulldoze the hurricane-wrecked areas into the Gulf of Landfill USA and call it
just another refugee camphome.Miki
@Baud: Talking about shit he doesn’t give an honest shit about doesn’t turn shit talk into honesty.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Old School:
Morons. They were warned and believed the word of liars
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@raven:
Man, Waffle House is woke now and making President Trump look bad! /s
Raven
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): The Awful Waffle!
Another Scott
@Baud: Trump took nearly every side of nearly every issue, depending on the audience. As he always does.
PBS.org – I have nothing to do with Project 2025…
It used to be that bold-faced lying was frowned on in America, and the press called it out in no uncertain terms. School kids were taught that it was the duty of leaders to tell the truth. Remember the Washington story, “I cannot tell a lie”??
People – even cynical people – still believe that leaders, especially in their tribe, usually won’t tell bold-faced lies to them, especially not about vitally important things.
Normie people are finding out that Donnie broke that norm, too.
Perhaps it’s Donnie and his minions turn to learn the meaning of something something and fill him with a terrible resolve.?
I guess we’ll see.
Grr…
[eta] Jackie got there first.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Barbara
@Old School: Even I’m a little shocked by this. And Lincoln Diaz-Balart is quoted in the article and let’s just say he doesn’t come across as a profile in courage. He hopes all of TPS recipients can try for asylum on a case by case basis. There are a half million such recipients in total.
Ohio Mom
@HeleninEire: Add my thanks and gratitude to everyone else’s.
Jackie
@Raven: Go to Waffle House and order anything BUT eggs.
Blech! I’m so grateful we have none of those atrocities in WA state!
Ohio Mom
@NickM: Please look over your shoulder first and be careful.
I love small acts of protest!
ljt
@NickM: What printer did you get?
Jackie
@Ohio Mom:
Yes, please! Cameras are everywhere these days. Eggs are probably under 24 hr surveillance.
Ohio Mom
@Annie: I had the same thought, as far as distances to state capitals goes. But I’m not convinced about this set of last-minute-thrown-together protests. I’m going to think of them as a beta run.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Jackie:
They’re really not that bad. I always thought they had good breakfast meals. I usually only ever eat at one on the road on vacations
KatKapCC
@Old School: Does…does he think “Gaza” is like a stadium or something?
frosty
@HeleninEire: Wow that’s generous. Thank you!!
zhena gogolia
I remember how proud I was when Obama spoke at the Brandenburg Gate. We were the beacon of the world.
Was it all just a mirage?
HeleninEire
@Ohio Mom: Thank you to everyone who has said thank you to me. It is the least I can do.
We at Balloon Juice are a community, and a team, and at the end of the day we are a family.
Let’s go!!!!
Jackie
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I don’t do greasy. Or rather, my stomach doesn’t do greasy. Ate at one once years ago while in Nashville. I literally had to use several napkins to blot the grease from everything – and still got intestinal backlash.
BellyCat
Great proactive move! Been thinking this might be necessary (all things considered) and relieved to see this “hope for the best but plan for the worst” post. Thanks WG!
Ohio Mom
@Annie: I had the same thought, as far as distances to state capitals goes. But I’m not convinced about this set of last-minute-thrown-together protests. I’m going to think of them as a beta run.
schrodingers_cat
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Republicans are doing horrible stuff but protesting Democrats because they are not perfect is more important. Well ok then
Also the Genocide Joe yelling protesters encouraged their followers to not vote for Kamala Harris or the Democrats. Screaming now serves little purpose. YMMV.
Baud
@Jackie:
My comment was in response to his Gaza plans.
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
It was real. Societies change.
schrodingers_cat
@Ohio Mom: The time TO DO SOMETHING was on Nov 5th. And that something was to vote for KH and the D ticket..
Ds have been dealt a weak hand by the voters.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: That fast?
schrodingers_cat
@zhena gogolia: I think Trump brought many low propensity voters to vote for his supremacist agenda. They were always there but were non-voters until he ran.
The whitelash won this time and in 2016.
There are many on our side too that are not comfortable with increased power of black people in the party. They sat out the election or voted 3rd party.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Jackie:
That’s no fun, so that’s understandable
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@schrodingers_cat:
Not perfect? Come on. You could get away with this argument 10 years ago, but not now. Democrats are not above criticism and they should be criticized for voting for ANY of Trump’s nominees at this point. Even the “good” ones like Rubio and Bessert have proven themselves awful. Rubio made an agreement with El Salvador to take “violent” US citizens in our prisons and ship them down there.
Bessert of course gave Musk and his cronies unfettered access to sensitive Treasury systems.
They knew what Project 2025 was and repeatedly warned against all of last year and then some of them immediately turn around start talking about bipartisanship!? Did they ever believe what they were saying? Those are the questions I was left wondering.
Many trans people feel abandoned right now are facing literal genocide.
“Not perfect” is a deflection.
That said, it’s good they’re starting to talk about blanket opposition while Musk continues to run wild, etc
Ohio Mom
@Birdie: Ohio Dad always keeps hard copies of our various tax returns. Then he supposedly files them in that box which is really just a vertical pile of paper.
And I keep the paper correspondence from Social Security, including the letters announcing the next year’s increase in monthly benefits, in file folders carefully labeled by year.
We gave up merging our paper storage systems early in our marriage.
Do you have copies of your birth certificate, Social Security card, any marriage related papers (license, divorce papers)? You might want to get, or renew if necessary, a passport. Do you know where your car title is, and if you own a house, all that paperwork? I can’t think of anything else government-related but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other papers you should have.
zhena gogolia
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): The election is over. The people voted to give the remaining two branches of government to the Republicans. Democrats have very little power. Focus on the enemy, please.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@zhena gogolia:
That doesn’t mean they have none. They have their voices and their votes. They should not be voting for any of these people, because absolute loyalty to Trump is a requirement of the job.
They should slow things down as much as they can, to show they are fighting, and draw attention to what is happening. It doesn’t matter if they ultimately stop everything, they won’t, but they can’t be complicit
Gvg
Is the alternate website still where we should check if we lose this site?
should we list multiple email addresses?
Annie
@raven:
my favorite breakfast place in San Francisco has started charging $1.25 extra for omelets and scrambles, for the same reason.
Nix Besser
@Phylllis: And if you need to update your profile. If you have changed your nym, just wait for the email and it’s easy to update.
Bill Arnold
@Ohio Mom:
That is sometimes known as the “archaeological filing system”.
Sorted by age, newest on top.
Madame Bupkis
Hi Watergirl! I signed up and sent some money to John via PayPal. Sorry, it’s the only one I’m signed up for.
Ksmiami
@Jackie: but but we had to show Biden who’s boss…/s
Ksmiami
@zhena gogolia: yes , definitely a false mirage and an accident of history. Seriously, if the Japanese hadn’t bombed Pearl Harbor, we’d be a very different country.
Birdie
@Ohio Mom: Thanks for these suggestions. We have moved a lot so all our papers are in a mess. We still own a condo but no car – good idea to get a copy of the title from the county.
Not American by birth but also a good tip about searching out my citizenship papers (and I’ll ask my partner about their birth certificate). We both have valid passports to 2029 so at least that is sorted out.
It feels paranoid to be doing this but I guess it’s something I can control.
WaterGirl
@Gvg: It’s not a problem if you want to sign up with multiple email addresses, at least not for me. Try it out and see if it lets you do it, and report back?
WaterGirl
@Gvg:
That’s an excellent question. I was thinking about that a week or so ago but haven’t followed up yet. Thanks for the reminder.
FelonyGovt
I signed up but not too surprisingly, I was already signed up. Thanks for thinking of this! I will also instruct my husband to let you know if I meet an untimely end (you never know)
Gloria DryGarden
@Baud: totalitarians change societies
Gloria DryGarden
@WaterGirl: there’s an alternative website?
Kayla Rudbek
@Ohio Mom: student loan forgiveness documents are another good one to add to this list.
Divadias
I can help with the mail chimp and I live overseas (where a dozen eggs cost 2.34 E.
Ramalama
I’ve been recommending Brevo and Email Octopus to clients for auto responders and newsletters. ~ 2000 subscribers or fewer get you free services.