Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

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

Republicans in disarray!

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

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

I really should read my own blog.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

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

In my day, never was longer.

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

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Republicans do not trust women.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

“woke” is the new caravan.

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

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Big Birds (Open Thread)

Big Birds (Open Thread)

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In comments the other day, I posted a photo of this giant eagle that landed across the river. Here’s a crappy video of the same bird. I recorded it from the side porch, with a soundtrack of Badger barking at something and the local Tufted Titmice bidding him cease:


Please excuse the video quality (it’s embarrassing to post bird pics and vids on a blog where Albatrossity shares his masterpieces). The critter was a ways off, but I wish something besides tree branches were present to provide context for just how BIG this eagle was.

It’s the biggest one I can ever remember seeing, and I’ve seen my share of eagles. Also, the tree in which it perches is uncommonly large too. It’s an old cypress tree that towers above all nearby.

Our stretch of the river is (unfortunately) along the route of a “Swamp Adventure” airboat tour outfit. Can’t complain much because the outfit has been a good neighbor — a boat captain once hauled Bill out of the drink when he sank a boat (long story, lol!). But it is annoying when the giant airboats roar past, disturbing the peace, and they pass by more frequently on holidays like Spring Break.

Anyhoo, the tour boat captains often stop at the base of this cypress tree, which is about as big around as a VW Bug. If the wind is right, I can hear the captain tell the tourists that tree is more than 500 years old, which means it would have been a sapling when Juan Ponce de León first landed on these shores. Interesting if true!

The next Big Bird is self explanatory:

[image or embed]

— Kampf mit Kette (@kampfmitkette.bsky.social) March 24, 2025 at 3:29 PM

It made me laugh.

Speaking of Russian assets, I saw a clip of Tulsi Gabbard getting roasted at a Congressional hearing earlier today. She was already scheduled to appear before Secretary Hair Gel’s epic fuckup. Good lord, Gabbard is dumb! And a liar!

She kept insisting no classified information was shared on the Signal app but then declining to share the material with the committee because reasons. Even Senator Mark Warner was having none of it.

Open thread!

ETA: Adding this clip of Senator Ossoff questioning Ratcliffe:

Ossoff: This was a huge a mistake

Ratcliffe: No

Ossoff: This is an embarrassment. We will get the full transcript of this chain and your testimony will be measured carefully against its content

[image or embed]

— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 12:12 PM

Ossoff has an old-timey moral gravity that’s rare among politicians these days. He rocks.

Reader Interactions

69Comments

  1. 1.

    The Audacity of Krope

    [Gabbard] kept insisting no classified information was shared on the signal app but then declining to share the material with the committee because reasons.

    Any good Trumper knows that classified information is safer with the general public than any average Senator.

  2. 2.

    cain

    She has to say that otherwise she would have to do something about it and risk the ire of Trump.

  4. 4.

    RandomMonster

    I was watching live as Jon Ossoff was tearing into some of those choads. He was awesome.

  5. 5.

    realbtl

    In winter I sometimes see road kill deer on the side of the road with a bald eagle perched on top surrounded by a bunch of ravens. The ravens look all You just go right ahead though they are actually waiting for the hide to be ripped open. Raven beaks can’t penetrate hides.

  7. 7.

    Kelly

    We’ve had a resident pair of eagles nearby for a long time. We also see eagles in immature plumage every year which leads me to believe they are successful parents. When I was a child I learned they might go extinct due to thin egg shells. My first awareness of environmental problems. The recovery of the eagles always gives me hope. Here’s a photo of one of our eagles. At first I thought it was a crappy pic, now I think the distance, bare trees and fog are artistic, moody,

    https://bsky.app/profile/northsantiam.bsky.social/post/3lg355uyekk2y

  8. 8.

    Geminid

    Mark Warner is usually tough on intillegence matters. He’s a very bland guy generally though. I remember when new VP Kamala Harris was giving cooking lessons to some Democratic members of Congress. When I saw that Harris showed Mark Warner how make an open faced, grilled tuna sandwich on white bread I thought, “Harris knows her man!”

  11. 11.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    Everytime BCrack shares a bald eagle experience, it’s always worth trotting out this meme:

    https://flic.kr/p/2qAegrD

    And I always point out that Bald Eagles are simply vultures with better PR.

    Last time we went down this eagle hole, Archteryx had great stories about vultures as nice birds and bald eagles as psychos.

  12. 12.

    geg6

    I saw a clip of an Ossoff speech from the other day going around the interwebs the last day or two.  He roasts Republicans and sounds more like Bernie and AOC than the center-left guy he is.  It was very good.

  14. 14.

    eclare

    Wow Ratcliffe is an asshole.  Ossoff is great at questioning, he is always very prepared.  I still remember him questioning Louis DeJoy, facts can be brutal.

  18. 18.

    FastEdD

    I’m always grateful for BC posts. Around here, a pair of geese have decided to make my chimney their home. They are really irritating because they squawk at all hours, shit on my car, and when their chicks fell out of the nest I attempted to return them to Ma and Pa and the parents attacked me. They bug the dog and he growls at them, but they know we can’t get at them. This has been going on for a couple years now. Well, last week another chick fell out and De Dawg got his chance. He smiles at them now, secure in the knowledge he ate one of their children.

  24. 24.

    FastEdD

    @Baud: I was laughing last night at James May. He imagined what the world would be like if electric motors had never been invented. “Sorry, Ma’am, we have to stop while I wind this up.”

  26. 26.

    UncleEbeneezer

    I’m trying to decorate my music/jam room and decided I want: 1.) music/album/artist posters, 2.) some vintage tennis tournament posters and 3.) a stunning photo from the Eastern Sierra.  I put out a request to all the photographers in an E. Sierra FB group that I frequent and now have several websites and dozens of amazing possibilities to consider suffer complete decision-paralysis over, lol.

  27. 27.

    Baud

    @FastEdD:

    Ridiculous. In the old days, those things were powered by hampsters running in their little wheels. They’d last for hours.

  28. 28.

    RaflW

    A clip from a bit ago had Tsarina’s Trinket Tulsi saying “I don’t recall” several times about the Signal thread that happened around March 15, just ten days ago.

    Lyin’ sac of shit.

  30. 30.

    Belafon

    @eclare: Ratcliffe was the guy who kept Ralph Hall from serving one last term in the House as my representative. The only good thing Trump has ever done was ending Ratcliffe’s career as the rep of my district.

  37. 37.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Large protests against Hamas’s fascism in Gaza today, with thousands demanding dignity, an end to the war & destruction, and calling on the terror group to “get out.” Listen to Palestinians in Gaza; cover these demonstrations; be their voice; amplify their cries. Down with Hamas!

    Sadly, I predict SJP, CAIR, CUAD (and all the other #FreePalestine groups), student protestors and all the GenocideJoe cheerleaders, will do none of those things.  These protests will get little-to-no signal-boosting/traction and will be mostly ignored by the media and the Left.

  41. 41.

    Jay

    @cain:

    Jeffery Goldberg has all the receipts. If they keep saying “none of it was classified” often enough, he can release it all, and they can’t touch him, because the people responsible for creating and classifying that information, say that “none of it was classified”.

     

    The normal loophole the Feds use when something leaks, is to retroactively classify it. This only works with documents, it does not work in regard to an unsecure group chat on Signal in which they invited Jeffery to sit in. If any of the documents they shared were classified, well, all the group chat members leaked classified documents.

    Hoist, meet petard.

  44. 44.

    Baud

    Chinese EV giant BYD outpaces Tesla with annual sales of more than $100 billion

    I can’t understand how Tesla retains it’s sky high value.

  45. 45.

    Betty Cracker

    @Belafon: Now that fascist U.S. government officials are disappearing legal residents for protesting and ruining the lives of U.S. citizens for the same crime, we probably won’t see major student protests.

  49. 49.

    NotMax

    @Trollhattan

    Still have my Walkman clone from the early 1980s (it’s a Toshiba, not a Sony). Not only for tapes, it came with a faux cassette FM radio receiver one could pop in.

  51. 51.

    StringOnAStick

    We were at the Oregon coast last week to watch waves and beach walk.  Prior to moving here, all my coast experience was much farther south, so it still blows my mind to see pine trees at the sea edge, and then a bald eagle flew by, just adding to the sense that its just so different from what I’ve seen before.

    We saw the best beach dog, an extremely muscular French bulldog that would chase (fast!) a large ball rolled like a bowling ball, change it’s direction, get it rolling again and then pop it up into it’s nose, then run down the beach balancing that ball for 50-100 feet with the wind, 25-40’ into the wind.  I’ve never seen anything like it!

  52. 52.

    Geminid

    @geg6: I think Ossoff and Warnock held a spirited rally in Georgia last weekend. It did not get nearly the coverage that the,Sanders/Ocasio-Cortez rallies did, but that  wasn’t any of those four Democrats’ fault. The national media is fixated on “stars” and that’s who they cover.

  53. 53.

    Juju

    I think we should have a Greek chorus that follows Sec. Hegseth around and shame him and demand he resign whenever he’s in a public place. He’s the Secretary of Defense.  If Austin had done something similar he would have resigned and Republicans would still be complaining that he didn’t kill himself as well.

  56. 56.

    Betty Cracker

    @StringOnAStick: I love the Oregon coast, and you’re right — it’s nothing like Southern coastlines. The dog you encountered sounds like a very talented Frenchie! My Frenchie cross is basically a farting, snoring throw-pillow. I can no more imagine him galloping through the surf with a ball balanced on his nose than I can picture him designing a rocket engine.

  57. 57.

    rebelsdad

    Thanks for sharing, BC! Until moving here, I had no idea that Florida had such biodiversity. It’s become the highlight of my day at work to see a stork poking its head through the bushes, a Muscovy duck bathing in a fountain, or a flock of egrets plucking grubs out of the grass. I went to Lettuce Leaf Park last week and saw my first armadillo and pelican.

    This is a special, magical place.

  60. 60.

    Geminid

    @UncleEbeneezer: That anti-Hamas rally could be significant in that Gazans may think Hamas is on its way out. Hamas would been able to squelch such a rally up until now. Ankara-based Clash Report posted this yesterday:

    BIG: Egypt threatened to expel Hamas leaders and activists if they refused a new hostage deal. Hamas was given 72 hours to accept or leave, prompting their agreement.

    Source– KAN

    KAN is KANN News, Israel’s public broadcadting network and the reporter with the scoop was Suleiman Masaweida. He’s their diplomatic correspondent and also anchors a show for KAAN. As his name suggests, Masaweida is an Israeli Arab.

    Details of the proposed deal have not been made public, but reports suggest Hamas would give up their hostages in return for safe passage to another country, perhaps Turkiye. Israel is massing forces for a multi-division invasion of the Gaza Strip and between that prospect and intense pressure from Arab governments, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders may have to throw in the towel or be killed along with hundreds or thousands of the Gazans they ostensibly protect. I guess we’ll find out by the end of the week.

     

     

    @Belafon:

  61. 61.

    They Call Me Noni

    @Kelly:

    Silent wings.

    Sadly, no eagles here but we do have a large, majestic woodpecker that I hear doing his busy work in the woods behind us.  I have seen him fly through our back yard a few times and I didn’t know that they were that large.  I also see him chilling in the big cedar tree nearest our house.  Easy to spot with that red head.

  65. 65.

    geg6

    @SpaceUnit:

    Hey now!  It’s been explained to me as an unholy mixture of Appalachian and PA Dutch dialects.  I just had to come in here and redd up your mess.

  66. 66.

    geg6

    @Geminid:

    This is why I don’t pay attention to major media.  The video of Ossoff that I saw had gone viral.  No MSM needed.  I would not be one bit concerned with them if I was an elected Dem.  If you go viral, it’s likely they’ll eventually have to cover it.

  68. 68.

    catclub

    @Baud: ​
     

    I can’t understand how Tesla retains it’s sky high value.

    The stock market: insane, solvent, longer.
    The US elected Donald Trump twice, how did that happen?

Comments are closed.