Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

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

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

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

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

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

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

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

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Hey Lurkers!

Hey Lurkers!

by | 276 Comments

This post is in: 

Open Thread: Hey Lurkers! (Holiday Post)

It’s way past time for another thread for all the lurkers out there.  We haven’t had one since just a few days before the election.

You all may already know this, but when you post your first comment, it goes into moderation, and sometimes it takes a while for one of us to see it and free your comment so it shows up for everyone.  Once it’s released from moderation, it goes into the comments with the time-stamp for when you first submitted it, so then most people probably never see it.  So it’s not surprising that first comments often don’t get replied to.

So here’s a special open thread where we can keep a particular eye out for first comments that go into moderation.  Plus we get to say hello and wave to some of you!

A few of you who poked your heads up on previous lurker threads have turned into commenters, but don’t let that scare the rest of you away!

In any case, it’s lurker appreciation day here on Balloon Juice!  Welcome, all.

Totally open thread.

*Also, mostly lurker Jax chimed in last night to say that he’s looking for his friends from outsidethebeltway.com, which appears to have gone dark, so if anyone knows what’s up there, please let us know.  And if you’re a nomad from outsidethebeltway, you are more than welcome here as you try to find your friends, and beyond.  Speak up, maybe we can help you find each other!

*Also, also.  This seems like a good time to remind everyone that we have a Balloon Juice signup link so that if we ever need to communicate outside of Balloon Juice – insert your worst case scenario here – you will receive the communication.

Reader Interactions

276Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    This seems like a good time to remind everyone that we have a Balloon Juice signup link so that if we ever need to communicate outside of Balloon Juice – insert your worst case scenario here – you will receive the communication.

    Nice try, DOGE.

  2. 2.

    A Ghost to Most

    Hey, we gotta do something until the season opens. The niceties must be observed, for now.

  3. 3.

    Eric NNY

    Mostly lurker but i thought we’re all living worst case scenario?  Or did I miss something?

  4. 4.

    OldManGamer

    Once upon a time I posted regularly here under a different name, brought here by the Daou Report and Schiavo. Fell out around the era Obama, mostly because the constant self side sniping got exhausting to participate in, even when I agreed with it.

    Still read regularly thanks to RSS feeds.

  6. 6.

    BSR

    Hey all. Currently lurking in Denver, although I’ll soon be relocating to SE Michigan. Probably still lurking, though.

  8. 8.

    No One of Consequence

    A question for the assembled:

    In the midst of all the chaos and General Fuckery, I haven’t seen any talking heads (granted I don’t watch much of any tv) speaking about how recently Poland announced an interest, or expressed an interest in obtaining nuclear weapons.

    . ? !

    Now, I get the calculus of any nation that doesn’t have them, wanting them to insure against invasion. However, wasn’t that one of the nominal reasons for the US and NATO and the non-nuclear proliferation treaty(ies), and basically the post WW2 democratic stability for the world — you know, keeping every schlub of a country getting nukes?! By PREVENTING their pursuit by ostensibly providing their implied benefits without their actual acquiring and maintenance?

    I fear I am looking at things too simplistically, or unInformedly. Despite that, my intuition sides with this being a Profoundly Bad Idea. We Americans have proven they are not collectively mature enough to own firearms, yet we think other countries will somehow miraculously be stable enough to keep accidents and intentional incidents from happening with nukes? We’ve had nuclear screw-ups of our own, and we’re allegedly the experts and with decades of experience handling these Weighty Matters…

    Oi.
    -NOoC

    (Here is the part where you let me know how much of an idiot I am for x, y, z, etc. Try to limit your answers to no more than 50 per entry. Purchase not required.)

  10. 10.

    chrome agnomen

    is there an over/under comment number?   I’m good for about 1/mo mostly because I work, and get to the threads too late to post anything except as a thread obit.

    solidarity über alles.

  11. 11.

    WaterGirl

    @OldManGamer: I don’t read the comments at most places, but I do here.  What reader do you use for RSS?  I use Leaf, but I set that up so long ago that I don’t even know what new ones there might be.

  13. 13.

    Scott

    *Also, mostly lurker Jax chimed in last night to say that he’s looking for his friends from outsidethebeltway.com, which appears to have gone dark, so if anyone knows what’s up there, please let us know.  And if you’re a nomad from outsidethebeltway, you are more than welcome here as you try to find your friends, and beyond.  Speak up, maybe we can help you find each other!

    Got this Patreon message form OTB:

    Good morning, As most of you are likely aware, OTB has been down since Friday. No, I have not shuttered the site. Matt Bernius, who has been doing pro bono IT work for us, ran into a glitch fixing something and has been working with our host’s support team to get us back up and running. We seem to have narrowed it down to a single file as of late last evening. Much thanks for your continued support. I hope to be back in operation very soon. -James

  20. 20.

    WaterGirl

    @Omnes Omnibus: Of course you were!

    I gave you the perfect setup for that, but it was totally unintentional.

    I guess “totally” is redundant there because if it’s only partially unintentional, that makes it intentional.

  21. 21.

    They Call Me Noni

    Hi.  Long time lurker, first time poster.

    Found BJ via Jabberwocking (RIP Kevin) and am still in mourning.

    Just wanted to stick my head above water and let y’all know that I appreciate all the discourse, intelligent arguments and humor this site offers.  I might be old(ish), but not too advanced in years to learn something new every day.

    And I really loved the cats this week.

  23. 23.

    Nukular Biskits

    Good mornin’, y’all!

    Beautiful morning after a couple of days of windy, overcast weather.  T-storms passed through here last night almost uneventfully … I heard some thunder, a little rain and that was it. Places further north in the state weren’t so lucky, though.

    And, Watergirl:

    *Also, also.  This seems like a good time to remind everyone that we have a Balloon Juice signup link so that if we ever need to communicate outside of Balloon Juice – insert your worst case scenario here – you will receive the communication.

    Is there a way to check if you’ve already signed up?

  25. 25.

    Travels with Charley

    Long time lurker here, since about 2008. Enjoy the intelligent discussion of news, the community, pets, and wide range of subjects.  Do we have any idea of how many people regularly visit the site?

  29. 29.

    BlueGuitarist

    Welcome lurkers.
    Many people will read and appreciate your comments, even if no one replies to them.

    Reference to OTB made me miss OzarkHilbilly.

  31. 31.

    karen gail

    My home page just refreshed with article where Trump compares himself to “the great” Al Capone; cue the next “great” villain that will probably start popping up in his rants.

    My first thoughts were wondering if he was telling us that he has syphilis or that he is also guilty of tax evasion.

    I read one article by “Irish Star” and now it comes up all the time, interesting articles that don’t cater to whims of trump and cult.

  32. 32.

    Ohio Mom

    @No One of Consequence: I had a chance to re-listen to Tom Lehrer recently. “Whose Next?” has hardly aged at all:

    Who’s Next? Lyrics
    First we got the bomb and that was good
    Cause we love peace and motherhood
    Then Russia got the bomb, but that’s O.K
    Cause the balance of power’s maintained that way!
    Who’s next?

    France got the bomb, but don’t you grieve
    ‘Cause they’re on our side, I believe
    China got the bomb, but have no fears
    They can’t wipe us out for at least five years!
    Who’s next?
    Then Indonesia claimed that they
    Were gonna get one any day
    South Africa wants two, that’s right:
    One for the black and one for the white!
    Who’s next?

    Egypt’s gonna get one, too
    Just to use on you know who
    So Israel’s getting tense
    Wants one in self defense
    “The Lord’s our shepherd”, says the Psalm
    But just in case, we better get a bomb!
    Who’s next?

    Luxembourg is next to go
    And, who knows, maybe Monaco
    We’ll try to stay serene and calm
    When Alabama gets the bomb!
    Who’s next, who’s next, who’s next?
    Who’s next?

  35. 35.

    ArchTeryx

    It wasn’t that long ago I was a permanent lurker. Who would want to hear the political opinions of some furry freak brother?

    Trump’s first election brought me out because I was staring slow, agonizing death in the face, and all I got from places like LGM was snark and arguments why I should just accept my fate and die.

    This place, especially OhioMom and a few others, helped convince me not to off myself. And here I am, right back to where I started. The nightmare never ends.

    I still wonder if anyone truly cares what I have to say sometimes. But fact remains this place supported me when no other political community would.

    Archibald Mirenopteryx, signing off.

  38. 38.

    Fox Valley Tom

    Good morning from NE Wisconsin. I knock on doors for Winnebago County Democrats to give direction to my otherwise impotent rage (think Mr. Furious of Mystery Men). I’ve been lurking here probably 20 years. I’ve learned a lot from the numerous front pagers and posters.

  47. 47.

    OldManGamer

    @WaterGirl: I’m a Google Reader to Feedly user, and it works fine for keeping up with various sites and webcomics.

    and I usually skim comments, but generally a thread is dead by the time I get to it, so I’ve drifted from posting.

  51. 51.

    Fair Economist

    @No One of Consequence: When bad actors like Russia, North Korea, Mainland China, and Iran have bombs, and the US can no longer be counted on for an umbrella, there’s no choice but for decent countries to get nuclear weapons.

    What everybody remembers now is that if Ukraine had refused to give up its nukes, it wouldn’t have been invaded and subjected to the nastiest war of this century (so far).

  52. 52.

    WaterGirl

    @karen gail:

    My first thoughts were wondering if he was telling us that he has syphilis or that he is also guilty of tax evasion.

    Reasonable questions, but my heart and mind jumped immediately to going to prison.  If there’s any justice in the world, it will be all three.

  54. 54.

    Phylllis

    @WaterGirl: I finally found the OneWordSearch game you’ve mentioned. I don’t know whether to thank you or shake a fist at you. My best time so far is 1 minute 17 seconds. Scurrying back under my rock now.

  55. 55.

    Harrison Wesley

    Lurking? Why no thread on shirking? I’d be all over that..,. whenever I got around to it.

  58. 58.

    narya

    @ArchTeryx: It wasn’t that long ago I was a permanent lurker. Who would want to hear the political opinions of some furry freak brother?

    One of the best things about this site is the immense variety of jackals, and your voice is a welcome part of that chorus. This community, and your voice in it, provides me with perspectives that I otherwise wouldn’t get, so thank you for sharing.

  59. 59.

    oldgold

    Today on Face the Nation, Steve Witkoff, a billionaire buddy and appointee of the Tangerine Terror, stated about with considerable clarity the peril our three-legged constitutional republic faces going forward.

    Witkoff: “President Trump is the ultimate decision-maker. Our decision-maker. And President Putin, for the country of Russia, is their decision-maker.”

  63. 63.

    WaterGirl

    @ArchTeryx:

    I still wonder if anyone truly cares what I have to say sometimes.

    We all wonder that about our comments! :-)

    Seriously, though, just because comments often don’t get a response doesn’t mean that people aren’t reading, taking the comments in, nodding in agreement or thinking WTF? but they don’t have the energy to engage that day.

    I know I read and appreciate a whole bunch of comments every single day that I don’t respond to.

    Maybe social media with its LIKES (!) and retweets have trained some people to expect the immediate gratification?  Here, it’s a conversation and plenty of people are interested in or appreciate a comment without responding

    It’s good to remember that, particularly if you’re having a hard day.

  64. 64.

    frosty

    @No One of Consequence: I just finished reading Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen in which Armageddon comes because of a single launch from North Korea. Horrifying in many ways, but one thing that stood out was the Proud Prophet war game in 2005. No matter how it started, no matter how de-escalation or a limited nuclear war was set up, over the course of two weeks, every scenario ended up with the nuclear powers launching everything they had and the US, Russia, and Europe completely destroyed, uninhabitable for decades.

    I no longer believer we’ll avoid it.

  66. 66.

    WaterGirl

    @CanMia: Welcome Ontario resident!  Thank you for not hating us because of the crazy, hateful outlaw child and his minions.

  68. 68.

    WaterGirl

    @Fox Valley Tom:   Yay on door knocking!!  What’s your gut feeling on how it’s going for Susan Crawford?

    Welcome to commenting!

    edited: no idea how I added a ? about door knocking. That was supposed to be !!

  72. 72.

    WaterGirl

    @Jeff Sanderson: Well, if you did comment before, it would have to have been with a different screen name or email address.

    As I like to say…  Lurk less, comment more! :-)

  78. 78.

    Sure Lurkalot

    Our half-billionaire Treasury Secretary (h/t Aaron Rupar via BlueSky):

    WELKER: Worst week for the market in two years — does that worry you, Mr Secretary?
    BESSENT: Not at all. I can tell you corrections are healthy. They’re normal.

    IOW, can’t wait to hoover up assets of our dumb fuck voters for pennies on the dollar.

    https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lkitcv6qic2h

  79. 79.

    karen gail

    @WaterGirl: Prison didn’t even cross my mind; honestly, I doubt there is enough “justice” left in this country for the rich white male to end up there. Best we can hope for is end of life.

  81. 81.

    TBone

    @NotMax: as always, you are awesome.  Perfect Sunday fare for this Jackal.

    ETA I’m really happy about the Edna May Oliver sleuthing on TCM Saturday mornings.

  82. 82.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    @WaterGirl: @Mr. Bemused Senior: Are you thinking of retiring?

    It’s a long story and I’d rather not post it here. What is wrote is mostly facetious, but not entirely.

  83. 83.

    Scout211

    @Sure Lurkalot:

    BESSENT: Not at all. I can tell you corrections are healthy. They’re normal.

    Oh my.

    The Treasury got a big fat check from us this year because Bidenomics was so terribly bad for the stock market last year. Biden was such a failure.  //////

    Good is bad. But poof! Suddenly bad is good!  It’s like magic.

     

    ETA: typos and clarity

  84. 84.

    karen gail

    @Mr. Bemused Senior: I hadn’t seen that, but in a twisted way it makes some semblance of sense after all look what Halliburton and Cheney managed to do.

    I figured that it was only a matter of time before someone on came up with the idea to make money off deportations, only thought it would be a private prison company.

  85. 85.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    @Scout211: But poof! Suddenly bad is good!  It’s like magic.

    They create their own reality. That didn’t turn out so well last time but they’re going to keep doing it.

  86. 86.

    Baud

    @Sure Lurkalot:

    BESSENT: Not at all. I can tell you corrections are healthy. They’re normal.

     

    This is the type of response that the media would go crazy over if a Dem administration had given it.

  87. 87.

    Ruckus

    @WaterGirl:

    When one is dealing with shitheads it aways does get worse before it gets better. ALWAYS. Another reason that they are shitheads. And it really doesn’t matter where one is or what is going on, which is why they are shitheads. And why few humans ever go through life without knowing at least a couple of them, but likely over a lifetime one will likely know more than a couple – or they lead an exceptional life. Or exist in an area of few humans. I had a stretch in my early years where I didn’t grow for 6-7 years. And unsurprisingly I got to meet a few shitheads. Easy target and all that. Except it meant that when a shithead started screwing with me I had the perfect aiming spot for a right hook. And there aren’t eyes and ears near that aiming spot. They are half a body above. I only had to do this once, to the head bully. No one ever bullied me again. And I made a lot of new, nice friends. There is always a way to protect one’s self, but it is often not something that someone being bullied will want to do, because if it doesn’t go well, everything gets worse. But we all have limits, which is what bullies look for, because then they get to be worse bullies. In my not all that short lifetime I’ve never figured out why some people have to be bullies. There were bullies in school, in the USN. They are everywhere. And they almost always went too far. Once. They always at least once pick on someone who says to themselves “I’ve had far more than enough of this crap.” They almost always say this as the bully is falling to the ground, crying. Now of course this response cannot be done if one is all by one’s self and is surrounded by bully followers. Like everything else in life – timing is everything.

  89. 89.

    MagdaInBlack

    @NotMax: And I’m sure he has since picked up some more fine employees at the Wagner Group going out of business sale.

  90. 90.

    p.a

    I’m using Inoreader RSS.  Seems a bit clunky, but since it’s my first RSS reader, IDK if it really is or not.  Takes about 1 hour for B-Juice page posts to make it on.

     

    Welcome lurkers!

  95. 95.

    Timill

    Once it’s released from moderation, it goes into the comments with the time-stamp for when you first submitted it, so then most people probably never see it. So it’s not surprising that first comments often don’t get replied to.

    One way of addressing this would be to put an asterisk by the number of any comment released from moderation. I often wish for this, when I find that a comment has changed from being #149 to #150.

    Just a SMOP, I’m sure…

  101. 101.

    WaterGirl

    @Phylllis:  57 seconds is my best time, but I have only been under 1 minute that one time to get the 5 stars.

    The one that haunts me is 1 minute and 1 second.  Dammit!

  102. 102.

    Ariobarzanes

    I found this site sometime in the mid to late aughts, when I was still a dewy-faced graduate student who hadn’t yet had all of my optimism crushed out of me. My spouse Athenaze have been lurkers ever since. We’ve posted the occasional comment and contributed to On the Road, but otherwise we hide in the shadows. Now seems as good a time as any to say that this place has been really important to us over the years, even if we never say much. Thanks to Cole, to Watergirl, to all the other front-pagers (and, yes, even to all you jackals) for all that you do.

  106. 106.

    R E G

    Lurker for several years. Got hooked on the covid updates and just continued.

    Once upon a time, long, long ago on another entirely different blog I left a comment. It inspired the blogger to expend about 700 words of abuse on myself and my comment.

    I re-read my comment and gave some thought to defending myself with examples and citations and so forth.

    Then I just decided I had expressed myself very badly and commenting was not for me.

    I really enjoy the comments section here! Sometimes I wait to read a post just so there will be comments.

  107. 107.

    karen gail

    @WaterGirl: It has been said out loud for some time; but now they are bragging about it.

    I can almost hear my paternal grandparents talking about the start of Great Depression, they feared things would be bad so they left Chicago to return to Wisconsin farm families so they wouldn’t have to worry about food or shelter.

    Sadly, the maternal side of family just got richer and they bragged about how they took advantage of people willing to work for food.

  110. 110.

    Scout211

    It’s always good to remind the lurkers who start to post in regular threads and get discouraged because their comment does not get any replies, that this happens often, even to most of the long-time commenters.  Conversations and cross-conversations sometime move quickly and some comments get lost in the conversations.

    Just like many of the lurkers commenting for the first time here, there are many, many lurkers who are reading your comments and for any number of reasons, don’t post a comment.  Your thoughts are still important and sometimes maybe even brilliant.  :-) And there are many, many people who will still read them.

    And also, if you are reluctant to comment in the political threads, you can always start commenting in the non-political threads like the garden chat and respite threads.

    Welcome to you all.

  112. 112.

    Ruckus

    @No One of Consequence:

    Look at this from another direction.

    Why do nations need nuclear weapons?

    It is the ultimate answer. No one can use them without massively increasing the chance that everyone will lose everything. The chances are that if a nuclear war is started, the results quite possibly will be catastrophic for everyone – including any survivors. It will massively change any sort of modern life. And it will very likely escalate far beyond one country. It is the modern answer to “If I can’t have this no one can.” And it doesn’t matter what “this” is. Because “this’ will also likely cease to exist. For most people who understand anywhere near to what the consequences will very, very likely be, they know that this is a weapon that is intended to deny any actual victory. It is intended to deny any chance of victory whatsoever for anyone. It was bad when there was one or two of them. It is far, far, far worse when there are lots of them. Sure it ended a war. But that was because there was only one side with them. Multiply that by today’s numbers of today’s weapons and think of the difference 80 years makes. It may not be the end of all living things but the concept of any survival whatsoever may not be the best answer for anyone.

  115. 115.

    Kristine

    @Scott:

    Got this Patreon message form OTB:

    I had to dig around for a definition of that acronym because when I first saw it my mind inserted “off-track betting” and I wondered why they needed a Patreon.

    I’ll show myself out.

  118. 118.

    Leinie

    Haven’t posted in years – so lurker I am.  Actually had stopped looking at blogs for a while, but the Jackels kept me sane during the insanity of the Shrub years, so I’ve come back now for support during the demise of American democracy.  Y’all help me feel less alone, here in Idaho as it tries to out-MAGA the MAGA.

  119. 119.

    getsmartin

    Hello BJ peeps from the deep and dirty Gulf South (Mississippi). I’m one of the roughly .01% of the population down here who are not raging RW lunatics. I’ve been lurking here, and once in a blue moon commenting, since the days of Shrub administration. Much gratitude to all for the enlightening discourse found here!

  122. 122.

    PIGL

    Not really a lurker, I just don’t comment much anymore … mainly, I find the unthreaded comments not conducive to conversation unless one is there on the dot, which I rarely can manage. I am here a bit more lately since abandoning LGM, certain toxic elements of which I decided I could no longer support.

    Since it’s been a while, let me say that over the past several yeas I have come around to Adam Silverman’s stated position on Russia.

  123. 123.

    WaterGirl

    @Aggieric:  Glad to see that.  Thanks for the heads up on the article from Josh.  I subscribe to TPM, but I hadn’t read that yet.  Front page worthy for sure.

  124. 124.

    DKinLV

    Hello Balloon Juice!  I’m an old-school lurker.  Tend to shy away from commenting.  Maybe I’ve commented once or twice, but I’ve been around since 2006 or 2007.  I did submit one of my dogs, Tessie, to the first or second calendar.  And at one point in the early- or mid-teens I invited John to see my show in Las Vegas (which he accepted but then passed cuz he said he was tired, which, understandable!).  Anyway I’ll go back to lurking, but thanks for keeping the lights on at this place.

  126. 126.

    tobie

    Hello, Lurkers! Nice to meet you.

    I’m just done with my morning phonebanking session in the FL-06 special election. Sunday mornings are always slow because of church. Still reached quite a few voters who were not aware of the special election and even managed to nudge one typically conservative voter to consider Josh Weil because she has a special needs child who depends on a robust Dept of Education. Most people were friendly on the phone, so if you have a spare hour, consider signing up to mae some calls.

    https://joshweil.us/

  129. 129.

    WaterGirl

    @R E G:

    Once upon a time, long, long ago on another entirely different blog I left a comment.   Inspired the blogger to expend about 700 words of abuse on myself and my comment.

    What a horrible experience.  I am so sorry!   That sounds like a blogger problem not a “you” problem.  Yikes.

  131. 131.

    WaterGirl

    @Kristine: Yes!  There are multiple OTB abbreviations, but it will always be off track betting to me.  I continue to think that abbreviations are the devil.

  132. 132.

    TBone

    It has arrived like a lion just now, must batten all hatches.  Man, I’m gonna miss NOAA.

    Widespread showers with embedded thunderstorms are expected as a
    strong cold front moves through. A few of these storms could produce
    damaging wind gusts and an isolated tornado. Winds away from any
    thunderstorms may also gust up to 40 MPH, especially on the higher
    terrain. A few minor flooding issues may arise as rainfall of an
    inch
    or more may occur in just a few hours.

  133. 133.

    WaterGirl

    @Leinie:

    Wow, Idaho would be a hard place to be right now.  Scary times, particularly if you feel alone.  Glad you wandered back!

  138. 138.

    tobie

    @Baud: What a good haul for FL-01! That is swell news.

    I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing but I feel like I’m more effective when I focus on only one race instead of several, although they are all equally important. At this point I have some sense of what pitch people in FL-06 respond to so I guess I’ll stick with this race till April 1.

  142. 142.

    WaterGirl

    @kalakal: I agree, Feedly is good.  I was just wondering about apps that use the Feedly feed.  Unless you’re saying you read directly from Feedly?

  143. 143.

    DK

    Basically lurking since 2004. I have popped up once or twice in previous lurker threads. It’s kind of weird that I mostly start my day with BJ but seem to find the lurker threads late. I’m from South Texas – on the Gulf of MEXICO. lol

  147. 147.

    WaterGirl

    @kalakal: Interesting.  I think I tried that years ago and didn’t care for it, but I don’t really any of the details.  I have slept since then.

  148. 148.

    oldgold

    Lurkers, a word of caution from Virgil:

    “The gates are open night and day;
    Smooth the descent, and easy is the way:          But to return, and view the cheerful skies,
    In this the task and mighty labor lies.”

  149. 149.

    Trivia Man

    @Ruckus: my theory is that a successful society has to have a plan to deal with predators and parasites. Bullies are a subset of predators and any solution has to be a society solution for a permanent fix.

  150. 150.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    @Trivia Man:can’t forget Wehner Von Braun

    Yes. I can’t help thinking of We Will All Go Together When We Go.

    … in the tradition of the great old revival hymns. This one might be more accurately termed a “survival hymn.”

  152. 152.

    Trivia Man

    @Ruckus: when they become widespread we will increase the chance someone truly without hope will get one. When an individual or a group is convinced they can never improve their lot, starting a nuclear war is just a bigger suicide. So many different reasons for suicide, often they either dont care if they take along others or intentionally try to spread the damage.

  153. 153.

    Gvg

    @ArchTeryx: I care.

    I don’t know what to do most of the time and I suffer from in person shyness or people phobia. I don’t understand the people who voted for Trump, or any of the republicans for the last 30 years, but this last election was a real shock. I want to be nice to people and help. All these other people who don’t are mysteries to me. Also people who won’t be swayed by verified fact are alien. I am not good at persuasion because of this.

  154. 154.

    Ruckus

    @Eric NNY:

    This unfortunately is not the worse case scenario.

    It’s just one possible step on the road to it.

    This is a pissing contest to see who the hell knows what, but humanity as a whole needs to grow the fuck up – and in the worst case scenario – soon. Now that’s not to say that there aren’t a lot of adults around who actually understand but all it takes is one moron with one button to make this far, far, no, the worst possible answer. Ever. Humanity has created a very rational reason to end war, to figure out something/anything better. We no longer can use war, of any size, to take – well anything. That we should be every last one of us. We have created the ultimate concept of NO MORE WAR. Of course being humanity, not everyone will actually learn that. Or will actively ignore it. Theoretically it was the point of a total mass destruction weapon and a lot of them. But it’s changed massive war from both sides lose, to every damn last one of us will lose. Now that may have been the point at one time but to me, not everyone has or likely ever will learn the reality. And here’s a question. Has it ended all warfare? Easy answer. NO. It has changed the concept of major warfare, but has it changed the concept of any warfare?

    No, it hasn’t. It has changed the size of the military that we think we used to need. It has changed the concept of national power and warfare. But not all humanity has, and quite possibly never will, learn the ultimately necessary answer of getting along. Which is likely one of the unspoken rationals behind a weapon of mass destruction. Which is a threat that in some ways makes sense. And in other ways – no sense whatsoever.

    I wish, that someone had an actual answer. But this being humanity, in all it’s views, intentions, intelligence, stupidity, brilliance, etc, etc, I’d bet none of us do. Can we go back to the past? Should we? I don’t think so. Should we at least try to figure out something better? Yes, but I’m not holding my breath that anyone will even try. And given the number of humans today – and humanity, I’m not in any way sure there even is an answer.

  157. 157.

    karen gail

    @Ruckus: I remember hearing from someone who was involved in Manhattan project; just a little cog in big machine. (Secretary who took notes of meetings.) Japan was on verge of surrendering but there were these bombs, so even though there was no real need; they were dropped.

    It doesn’t matter what the “weapon” is someone is going to want to use it; put a gun in reach and good chance someone will use it.

  158. 158.

    OldManGamer

    @Ruckus: Because nations with them get negotiated with, those without get ignored or invaded.

    Simple reality, depending on another nation deterrence can work as long as that other nation is a reliable partner, but the moment you don’t have a reliable nuclear deterrence partner, you need your own.

  162. 162.

    WaterGirl

    @Gvg:  Ugh.

    Side note.

    Growing up in Chicago, there was an apartment building next door.  One of the tags on one of the apartment building mailboxes said “Al Capone”.

    I thought it was the real Al Capone.

  163. 163.

    BellaPea

    I can possibly be classified as part lurker/part poster. This is the first blog I look at every day. I really enjoy the pet discussion, and it was a thrill to get my lovely kitty on the Pets of Balloon Juice calendar this year! I needed to come here after looking at our USA Today owned local newspaper. The editorial section features some of the most unprofessional, weak-kneed conservative columnists around, including MAGA cheerleader/idiot Nicole Russell. One editorial today was about how the chainsaw cuts of federal employees by the odious Musk was “long needed.” I didn’t read it, the headline alone made my blood pressure go up.

  164. 164.

    Heidi Mom

    @Scout211: Your comments reach more than lurkers.  As a not-very-frequent commenter who lurked for years, and who now seems to catch the very tail end of many threads, this is encouraging.

  166. 166.

    WaterGirl

    @BlueGuitarist: Blue, was it you who linked to the sign about the Trump sandwich?  I swear I used it in a post, which means i had to upload it to the Media Library, but I can’t find it, and I have since deleted the original image.

    Hoping it was you!

  168. 168.

    karen gail

    Anyone else notice all the tacky gold in Oval Office? After all these years of plant on mantel of fireplace we now have tacky gold “trophies?” I hope that someone put that plant the Swedish gave to JFK is being cared for.  For me that says, more than anything else, that the Oval Office has become the symbol of tacky, bullying, used car salesman.

  171. 171.

    DKinLV

    @WaterGirl: ​

    I had been working on the show Absinthe at Caesars Palace (where John stood me up!), but left during the pandemmy and now work on The Empire Strips Back, the burlesque Star Wars parody. Check us out! We’re in San Diego, Houston and Miami right now. And opening in London and Vegas in May. (On May the Fourth, natch.)

  173. 173.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Sure Lurkalot: right?
    Those rich creeps are counting on it, and then might be laughing all the way to the bank. Talk about counting!  Making the plummeting stock values count!

  174. 174.

    Loveofcoffee

    Hi- I’ve been lurking since the +# for how many drinks everyone had before commenting– honestly I’ve never felt the need to comment(and most of you are super smart so I’m a bit intimidated) but I’m genuinely afraid.

  175. 175.

    Lavocat

    I live for the John Cole rant-posts.

    They make me belly laugh EVERY time & they make me realize I’m not alone with my rage.

    More power to you, John.

  176. 176.

    WaterGirl

    @DKinLV: I hope you didn’t take that personally.  I think Cole is a homebody at heart.  You should be flattered that he actually considered going! :-)

  177. 177.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @oldgold: inspires me (wrong word) to explore the layers and nuances of the word ultimate. If it turns into a poem, it’ll show up on blue sky

  178. 178.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    @DKinLV:

    @WaterGirl: I think Cole is a homebody at heart.

    Here’s hoping Joelle will have a salutary effect on John. Bemused Senior was a bit of a recluse and I had to drag her to the occasional party. Afterward she would usually admit she had a good time.

  180. 180.

    WaterGirl

    @Loveofcoffee:

    I’ve been lurking since the +#

    That’s a long time!  Anyone who isn’t afraid isn’t paying attention.

    *which is a lot of my extended family, and it makes me sick.

  181. 181.

    daddio7

    I call this place The Range, where never is heard, a discouraging word.  The people may be discouraged but no one wants to hear any other view.

  184. 184.

    russell

    Lurker here.  Have commented before but can probably count all of my comments on one or two hands.  Retired, former coder, lifelong drummer, now studying bebop on the vibraphone.  It’ll keep me busy for the rest of my life.

    I enjoy the community and the vibe here.  Mostly don’t read all the comments, but sometimes I do.  Also value this place as a source of good information for where to send $$$$ during election cycles.  You all do good work, thank you.

  186. 186.

    WaterGirl

    @daddio7:  It’s not always like that, but it has been too much that for my tastes for too much of the past few months.  People are hurting and still adjusting to the upside-down world of not really a democracy.

  191. 191.

    No One of Consequence

    @Fair Economist: I agree. It is a calculus that can no longer be honestly-argued against. I know that this country has miles and miles of shadow in our history. But every now and then, there is an example or a chance at Real Truth and Goodness. Where we collective act like mature adults with a stake on this planet. I am hoping that we return to that, in earnest, honest fashion. Doubtful, to be sure, but the coming pain may have a way of sharpening the mind, or at least grabbing the attention.
    -NOoC

  192. 192.

    Interesting Name Goes Here

    @daddio7: I’ve seen plenty of discouraging words on here, particularly in the last few days.  But this seems to be one of the few remaining places on the Internet where discouraging words actually get pushback.

    I have stronger thoughts on such “discouraging words”, but this isn’t the thread for that now.  I’ll just say that some of those discouraging words finally got me to start posting last night, so there’s that.

  193. 193.

    No One of Consequence

    @Princess: Thank you. I haven’t blueskied yet, and used to visit Lawyers Guns and Money. I’ll look them up again, thanks.
    -NOoC

  194. 194.

    Koenigin

    Reading alone makes me a lurker? Ok, fair enough. Been reading posts here for some time, avoid the comments if they get too sharp or too “insider.” Appreciated the Friday Cat Blog shout out to Kevin Drum. Will miss weekly cats, but enjoy the dogs, cats, birds and other critters here.

  195. 195.

    Gloria DryGarden

    WRT outlawed crazy child and its  minions, my first thought is about the occasional very difficult  out-of-the box child

    – not someone w autism and wild behaviors, we make allowances, and we have teams to de escalate them, and help give them containment and a very short leash, if possible –

    but for the ones with no understood excuse for their destructive behaviors. I’m thinking of one classroom , a child who didn’t have any autism or IEP, but who destroyed the room, regularly. Pour out all the Lego’s, tip the tables. The whole class would be sent to conduct our activities in a hallway somewhere, while the teacher dealt w a child who apparently was spoiled, whose parents never set limits, who when he didn’t get his way would do his destructive thing. It happened nearly every day, it was disruptive, and the child was destructive.

    But we were allowed to name it. It was exhausting.
    i hate seeing it scaled up for our nation. And most of us can’t leave the room, while they terrorize  the place.

  196. 196.

    No One of Consequence

    @frosty: I will check this out, thank you for noting it. Your summary doesn’t seem unreasonable to me. Not that the outcome isn’t reasonable, it isn’t. But the probabilities with a single launch going much, much more poorly than most think — for probabilities of total nuclear destruction being a nigh-inevitable conclusion of affairs.

    The only way to win is not to play. In fact, the Real Truth of the Matter may be: The only way to survive is to rid the planet of such weapons.

    (Yes I realize there are other mass-destruction mechanisms than nuclear, and some of these are also horrific and should be eliminated. Chemical and biological agents and such. And I also realize that eliminating all potential threat is as impossible as proving a negative. Nuclear weapons require quite a bit to go from ground floor to ground zero, if I may coin a phrase. (the explody kind, not the dirty bomb kind) )

    -NOoC

  197. 197.

    Tohubohu2025

    OK – you got me as a long-time lurker.  My favorite weekly posts are AL’s coronavirus and bird flu updates, but I do read most posts and comments. I’m a conservation ecologist in the SF Bay Area, observing the rapid (un) planned disassembly of our environmental protections is heartbreaking, along with Ukraine betrayal, attacks on science and the minimal safety net we have, and many more outrages.

  198. 198.

    WaterGirl

    @Koenigin:  I would love to hear more related to “too insider”.  If you would be wiling to share them, please send an email to me.

    watergirl at balloon-juice.com

  201. 201.

    No One of Consequence

    @Ruckus: I appreciate your take. I also can assure you that I have done some thinking (and some reading on this), as well as the game theory behind it all. This isn’t some claim of superiority at all, just to assure you that I have given the matter some consideration.

    For example, the very argument you present is, I believe, one of the US military’s reasons for the immense investment and expenses of our defense footprint. The top staff realized rather early on that these weapons cannot actually be used. Their value exists only in their deterrent factor. Therefore, I would assume they concluded, we must have an immense conventional capability with the ability to project that globally and rapidly.

    We got that, I think. But what Iraq and Afghanistan proved to at least this citizen, is that we cannot sustain ground-based operations in a foreign land much beyond the initial invasion and action. To stay longer is to incur casualties and losses that quickly sour the public.

    What Ukraine is teaching us, again, I think, is that drone warfare will be the future of armed conflict. Along that path will the escalations and advancements be made for a while, I would posit.

    Duh fuq do I know? Interesting times, indeed.
    -NOoC

  203. 203.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Interesting Name Goes Here: discouraging words. Discouraging situations. Sometimes connected. Other times not the same thing.

     

    @No One of Consequence: Thank you for the sliver of hopeful thought in your comment

    know that this country has miles and miles of shadow in our history. But every now and then, there is an example or a chance at Real Truth and Goodness. Where we collectively act like mature adults with a stake on this planet. I am hoping that we return to that, in earnest, honest fashion.

    hold that thought. I like to think a lot of us are rooting for such, in spite of the complexity, discouragement and forces of destruction.

    _________

    To all the lurkers and late posters on dead threads: I sometimes come late, read a day or two late, or hours late, and see those late posts. Sometimes it seems a good place to comment, out of the fray. Once in awhile there’s even some interaction, way later on a thread that was mostly dead. I call it the telomere ends of a thread.

    They didn’t used to think the telomeres had any value or information, in our dna, but it turns out it does.

  205. 205.

    PeteS

    Well, technically I have been signed up for ages but I almost never post here — I am an occasional commenter at LGM but I appreciate the front pagers here; I regularly visit both, and TPM etc … keep up the good work, everyone, we need each other!

  206. 206.

    Ruckus

    @OldManGamer:

    I left this out because it is, to anyone actually looking – it should be obvious.

    But a sincere thank you for pointing it out clearly, because to many humans – nothing is obvious. As an ex mental health counselor I can unequivocally say that to some humans, almost everything is in no way obvious. And it isn’t their IQ, it is in their concept of actually looking, learning, understanding, other than extremely basic animal existence – you know eating, sleeping, exhausting the bodily exhaust, earning enough one way or another to get the stuff to eat and a place to lay down. And even that may be difficult for them.

  209. 209.

    TBone

    @RICH GARDNER: thank you fellow citizen! Our group called Action Together NEPA is protesting there at that very location tomorrow!

    https://www.mobilize.us/atnepa/event/763688/

    Senator Dave McCormick has had plenty of time to attend the Superbowl, hobnob with his billionaire donors, and pal around with Donald Trump since being sworn into office. What hasn’t he had time to do? Answer his constituents’ questions and hear their concerns.

    Is it because they don’t have enough money to be important to him?

    Is it because he’s afraid of what they’ll ask?

    Is it because he knows he can’t handle being held accountable to his constituents?

    How:

    Constituents will gather outside Senator McCormick’s Scranton office, ask their questions, and raise their concerns. Whether or not someone from the Senator’s office is there to hear them is up to him. They will be happy to share their concerns with members of the press and their fellow constituents.

    Do we expect to meet with the Senator? Nope.

    Senator McCormick has only been making himself available to the richest of the rich and his DC friends in positions of power. We hope to be pleasantly surprised, but we’re not counting on it.

    Do we expect to meet with the Senator’s staff? Maybe.

    We hope that a few constituents are able to speak with staffers in the Senator’s Scranton office. We will be calling to make appointments, and we encourage you to do the same.

    Do we expect to make some noise and get a lot of attention on Senator McCormick going MIA on his constituents? ABSOLUTELY.

    We have a few tricks up our sleeve and will be alerting our friends in the press. If you have a specific question for the Senator, please email it to [email protected] and include the subject line: Question for Senator McCormick

  210. 210.

    LegalGovernment

    Hey, I’m not really a lurker.  I’m here cause Jax awesomely remembered that a some of the OTB crew hangs out here too. Hi, I’m Beth vigorous pain in the ass and adorable weirdo over at OTB.

    I just wanted to jump in to say hi and how important it is to protect our online spaces and how important something like that emergency signup link is.

    so I’m more or less a trans refugee to the UK and the OTB community has been giving me tremendous support the last week and a half as I try to get myself up right and sorted while I find a place for my family.  I don’t do well when I’m alone, it gets bad in this brain.  The support from everyone there has been a critical pillar of support.  When OTB went down I was immediately filled with panic that the worst had happened and the site went down to protect people’s livelihood.  I’ve started to worry that my commenting as an out trans person could contribute to problems for people.  Thankfully Jax has had much more presence of mind than me.  I think we all should start thinking about how we back up and secure our online communities.  If these places go away it will be much easier to keep us all divided and scared.

    also, holy fuck I wish OzarkHillbilly was still with us all.  I miss him.

  213. 213.

    TBone

    @RICH GARDNER: P.S. I’m a transplant from my native DelCo now up here in the Appalachian hinterlands of PA, so when I greet you as a fellow citizen, it is with sincere gratitude!  I’ll be looking in on your work from now on.  (*rubs hands together in anticipation).

    ETA I tried the join button on your site but was unsuccessful

  214. 214.

    WaterGirl

    @LegalGovernment: Welcome!

    And I’m sorry about everything you are facing.   I have been thinking a lot about OzarkHillbilly lately.  Any friend of Ozark’s is a friend of ours.  Of course, even strangers are welcome!

    I want to be sure that you saw this message from Scott earlier in the thread,  that he got through Patreon:

    Good morning, As most of you are likely aware, OTB has been down since Friday. No, I have not shuttered the site. Matt Bernius, who has been doing pro bono IT work for us, ran into a glitch fixing something and has been working with our host’s support team to get us back up and running. We seem to have narrowed it down to a single file as of late last evening. Much thanks for your continued support. I hope to be back in operation very soon. -James

  215. 215.

    Ruckus

    @karen gail:

    Remember that survival is survival of the fittest – so some throw fits all the time. I believe that they are too stupid to understand there is a difference between fits and fittest. English can be a subtle language. Actually any language can be subtle because humans. Subtle works for somethings, and for somethings it works in the opposite manner for the speaker and the listener.

  217. 217.

    Ruckus

    @Trivia Man:

    There are only two fixes. Learning (A predator often learns very slowly. If they learn at all. Remember they might learn how to be a better/(worse?) predator)

  218. 218.

    TBone

    Red alert for any interested PA peeps per today’s The Inky:

    The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church is a fundamentalist group with about 54,000 members worldwide.
    Though membership has declined across the country, it is rising in Delaware County, and the church has purchased a handful of properties around Middletown Township along the way.
    The Brethren have long been known for imposing boundaries on outside life, but some former members have compared life under the church to that of a “cult.” They say they lived in fear, their activities, clothing, and even their thinking was “really regimented and controlled,” and recount being shunned after leaving their congregation.
    Allegations like these have been investigated by news organizations in the United Kingdom and Australia, but none have been raised in Delco. The Brethren categorically deny any wrongdoing, and tout a more modern approach with looser restrictions and public integration of members in recent years.
    In their own words: “To be clear, most of us live normal lives, run normal businesses, have normal families, and work with and alongside many people from outside of our church community,” a spokesperson said.

    Reporter Jesse Bunch explores the group’s history and their larger ambitions for the area.

    This is my former stomping ground, specifically, and I take umbrage!  I have run into this cult there in the past and know some folks who got FLEECED.

    No paywall here:

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-controversial-christian-church-eyes-the-philly-suburbs-for-expansion/ar-AA1B0Yja

  219. 219.

    Katrina

    Longtime reader but always desperately trying to get off my phone so never comment! Really appreciate BJ!!!

  224. 224.

    Ruckus

    @Trivia Man:

    It’s humanity. (OK most of it is….)

    We will always have predators and parasites. That is the very nature of all living beings. It is one of the concepts of survival.

    Is it necessary to have them? I don’t know, I didn’t design and make them. But all animals can be predators and parasites. Every last damn one of them. Including humans. It is where and with whom else will they exist as predators and parasites? To them they are likely to see it as survival. Remember that. But also remember that for many humans, survival  is different today than it was within the lifetime of many humans alive today. I’m an old and it is different today than when I was a kid. In some ways better, in some ways not. But then there are a few more of us than there was 75-100 yrs ago and living today is not the same as it was then. In many ways. It was still living, surviving, but much of it was significantly different than today.

  225. 225.

    Haydnseek

    If anybody is still around……I used to comment quite a bit, but have been lurking for too long.  I plan on fixing that.  How long have I been here?  How about a quick haiku……​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
     something went wrong

  226. 226.

    PIGL

    @Trivia Man: Absolutely this. Our inability to constrain bullies, parasites, and other assorted assholes will have been the death of us all.

    One very partial solution that has occurred to me: Systematically teach children starting in grade school how to deal with bullies, individually and in groups. 

  229. 229.

    Trivia Man

    @PIGL: i am considering moving to an intentional community and am spending more time pondering what i would like to be involved with.
    As Ruckus says, we will always have some degree of predators and parasites. How do we keep them in control and limit their damage? I think this is important in civilization as a whole, community of ANY size, families, and as individuals dealing with others.

    Punching a bully in the nuts often works. But. It might escalate things and enrage the bulky into coming back with more support. Or they might move to a different victim. Long term visibility means we need to prevent those outcomes. Somehow.

  230. 230.

    WaterGirl

    @Haydnseek: Yeah, no haiku showed up, just a ton of white space.

    Were you trying to add an image?  Only front-pagers can add images to comments.

  231. 231.

    Trivia Man

    @Trivia Man: Parasites have more nuance. A hymn i heard years ago echoes in my head – “sometimes we give, sometimes we receive. Together we live”

    Taking isn’t bad. A parasite is something different snd identifying it is hard. At different times we all might be 100% takers – newborns and the totally disabled are obvious examples. But some are lazy? Spoiled? Entitled ? Egomaniacs? who feel entitled to take take take.

  232. 232.

    maody

    I posted a couple times a long time ago after my late sister in PA led me astray by pointing out Balloon Juice.  I just can’t keep up with the cleverness of y’all, but my heart is right.  And i have thrown money at the juicers’ political picks a few times and post that i did.

    In central NC where it used to be country, now surrounded by $800K houses. philosophy at 70?  all those folks who fucked around are gonna find out with the rest of us.  little do they realize we’re all in the same boat.

    i am a protester and have been to one last week.  been arrested for civil disobedience 3 times.  i have three cats: Shug, Lucy Lu and Mo; all girls.

  233. 233.

    Haydnseek

    Let’s try this again……mustard mysteryold subaru in the fieldnaked mopping funYep, it’s been quite a ride. Let’s keep it going……..​​​

  234. 234.

    mrmoshpotato

    @WaterGirl:

    We showed a blip of snow today, but they just took it away. Hey, if it has to be cold, at least you get snow! 

    Hehe, fair enough.

  237. 237.

    Haydnseek

    Okay, I’m giving it one more shot——–

    mustard mystery
    old subaru in the field
    naked mopping

  239. 239.

    WaterGirl

    @Haydnseek: Okay, here’s what’s going on.

    A few comments in, you changed your email address in the form, so WordPress thinks you’re someone new that has to be manually approved.

    Until that comment is manually approved, none of your other comments will show up, either.

    I approved all of your comments, so unless you change your email address or you comment from a new device, your comments should now show up right away.

  240. 240.

    WaterGirl

    @Haydnseek: You got your formatting right on the one I am replying to.

    If you do shift-return in visual mode, instead of retain, you get the single-line spacing.

  246. 246.

    Darn Frank

    Mostly lurker have commented I think 2-3 times.   Veteran, Computer person and food truck chef in Pittsburgh region.   Helped get PA 2 medical MJ conventions in Pittsburgh and run a bunch of meetups.

    Keep up your good work.    If you could find some Union, Black and Hispanic Front pagers.  Just even if was a once a month post from them.  Would appreciate perspective.

    Keep up the good fight and support others.   Lift up, Support, Hunker Down when Needed.   And prevent Nazis from invading your favorite watering holes.

    CHEERS!

  251. 251.

    The Lodger

     

    @TBone: When Garrison Keillor talked about the Sanctified Brethren during his Prairie Home Companion monologues, that was the church he was satirizing.

  253. 253.

    WidespreadPanicInDC

    First time, long time as they say. Starting reading BJ in ~2005 when I was putting off studying in college and the golden era of blogging made it very easy to do so.

  254. 254.

    John Sterling

    Hi everyone.  Long time lurker here.  I like Balloon Juice because it’s not filled with screaming trolls., but sensible folk.

  255. 255.

    WaterGirl

    @GB in the HC: Oh.  That makes sense.

    So I googled “high country” to see if that’s a reference to a particular location.  That’s above the “piedmont” and below the timberline.  Then I had to google Piedmont.  I had no idea.

    So thanks to you I am slightly smarter than I was before :-)

  258. 258.

    WaterGirl

    I will check back for comments in the morning.

    This was a nice thread.  I think lurkers bring out the best in us. :-)

  259. 259.

    charon

    @Scott:

     

    I can now bring up the OTB front page from Friday instead of the error message.  Still can’t see anything  else besides the old front page though.

     

    I very seldom comment here, although I read most of the front pagers every day.  So my name may be unfamiliar to you all, although I have been reading BJ since when Tim F. was the only other front pager  (and the blogmeister was still a Republican).

  260. 260.

    WaterGirl

    @charon: That’s progress on the site!  I’m sure that just knowing that it will be back up make things a whole lot better

    In the meantime, we’re here if you want to hang out.

  263. 263.

    KenK

    Long time lurker here. Taking advantage of the newbie deal.

    I just read about the wildfires in Oklahoma and Texas. Tragic! I wonder if Trump will blame the States for the fires and drain their reservoirs to teach them a lesson like he did to California?

  264. 264.

    WaterGirl

    @KenK: Welcome to commenting.

    Trump has no shame, so of course the answer is a big NO.  Pretty sure we are in agreement on that!

  266. 266.

    m0nty

    Very infrequent commenter here, reporting from Australia. I have started commenting a bit over at LGM lately, but not here yet. Have read this blog on the daily for at least one decade, if not two, and enjoyed it greatly. It helps keep me sane in an increasingly insane world.

     

    I appreciate Adam’s Ukraine posts the most of all, even if I roll my eyes at how he seems to be tired and racking out at the start of each and every one of them. Pet blogging, pop culture, photography and culture threads aren’t for me, but each to their own (at least you don’t have interminable music posts lauding obscurely boring folk rock). I sympathise with John’s burnout on posting much of anything other than domestic stuff about his house – I was a features journo to start with in my career, and running out of gas on writing long-form argumentative essays is entirely understandable.

     

    I was disappointed to see mistermix leave, and while I have sympathy for the positions of commenters who don’t want to see community leaders like Hakeem Jeffries criticised because they identify so closely with them and their struggles, I think the blowback on people like mistermix was overblown. If you write OPs for a blog like this, you can’t be all sweetness and light or pull your punches. Critiques must be levelled when warranted, otherwise you lose credibility and become reduced to boosters, clapping and cheering from the pews. Is that what some commenters want out of Balloon Juice? Maybe it is. But not everyone wants that.

     

    Admittedly, I am just some random Gen X white man from the other side of the world, so I don’t fundamentally understand how people who share Hakeem Jeffrey’s ethnicity can identify so closely with his cause that they endeavour to cancel anyone who says negative things about him. I am not even being snarky by saying this, I genuinely have not lived that experience, which leaves me with a deficit in connection and communion with the mindset of those who dragged mistermix down. The whole thing was just a damn shame, and could have been avoided if this was a less atomised medium with more personal interactions.

  268. 268.

    Divadias

    Years a lurkin, that’s me. I keep returning for John’s grumpiness. Too radical for my liberal friends, I moved to Pais Vasco 3 years ago, when it became very apparent that tRump was not going to be punished. It has been therapeutic to begin following European and world politics more closely.
    Thank you BJ, for being the only poli-blog I still visit.

  269. 269.

    KimK

    Lurking here since about 2008, via Andrew Sullivan.  Left him behind a couple of years ago (what happened to that guy??) but visiting Balloon Juice (and Kevin Drum) pretty much daily ever since.  Love you guys!

  272. 272.

    Dr. Regina Phalange

    I have commented twice I believe but I don’t know if my posts have ever posted. I don’t get any confirmations or responses. I assume they are in BJ ether.

  274. 274.

    WaterGirl

    @Dr. Regina Phalange: Your comment at #272 came through just fine, and there’s nothing in the trash or in spam, so maybe you are referring to a comment from another time?

    Anyway, please try replying to this reply from me so I can confirm that you are good to go.  thanks

  275. 275.

    mg_65

    Hi Balloon Juice, I’ve commented a few times but mostly I like to read what everyone has to say. I love this blog, y’all just fabulous.

Comments are closed.