Eight hours of meetings and I still feel like I am on West Coast time so I am pooped. I had forgotten how much it rains here, though.
Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.
The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.
Let’s not be the monsters we hate.
Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.
Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.
Optimism opens the door to great things.
People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.
Books are my comfort food!
When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.
Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.
Nothing worth doing is easy.
This blog will pay for itself.
So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.
They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.
Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.
Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.
We will not go back.
Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.
I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.
You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.
The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.
She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.
One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.
Second rate reporter says what?
sab
We are not doing NoMow May but you wouldn’t know it by the front yard. Dandelions and other stuff a foot high and very green. And it was mowed last Tuesday.
My feeling on yards is if it is green and short it belongs in the yard. Wild strawberries, dandelions, clover, non-banana plantains, other stuff I can’t even identify, it’s all good. Grass needs to be watered. The other stuff not so much.
The Red Pen
US Transportation Command is being asked to cut their budget about 8%-10%. How does that jibe with Trump trying to increase the military budget?
Easy: the new money is for deploying the military domestically.
I can’t even.
Hope everyone is having a better week than I am.
frosty
@sab: That’s been my feeling on the yard too. Green is good, doesn’t matter what species of green. Up until the last year when I decided to get a lawn care company to make it look presentable so we can sell the house in the near future.
He asked me what I wanted them to do. My answer: “Take care of 20 years of neglect.”
ETA I like clover but I can’t plant it until the weeds are gone and everything is back to grass. Broadleaf herbicides kill it. Funny that a clover lawn was acceptable in the suburbs in the 50s but not now.
Baud
This was reported here, but it deserves repeating.
The Audacity of Krope
@Baud: Good for Janet Mills and great for Maine.
sab
@frosty: We live adjacent to a MetroPark, so weeds are pretty much the norm in lawns around here. A few people try for grass only, but they mostly fail.
sab
TRAIN! Wheeling and Great Lakes. I am curious to see what happens to train traffic next month, because a lot of the northern routes go towards Canada.
cmorenc
@John Cole:
Although my primary residence is in densely canopied, humid, sometimes very rainy Raleigh NC, I spend 3-4 months a year in extended stays at my daughter’s place in semi-arid Grand Junction, Colorado (3 young grandsons). After an extended stay at either end, the climactic and scenic transition going to the other is always a bit of a shock, particularly the one returning to NC. Although the initial return to Grand Junction can quite literally be a shock walking across a carpeted floor in sock feet and touching anything metallic because the dry air promotes accumulation of static charge.
The morning I last left GJ on Mar 31 was clear with 20+ mile views in every direction, especially the still snow-topped Grand Mesa where I had just been skiing a couple days before – back in Raleigh that afternoon in warmth, the densely leafy trees in my neighborhood allowed at most 50-100 ft views except maybe 400 feet straight up the street – it was springtime, gloriously reassuring and at the same time kind of suffocating, but with the compensation that the azaleas in our yard were in gorgeous bloom.
kindness
It rains year round in W. Virginia. Yup, stays nice and green. And you get an undergrowth in the forests. Out here in CA, we are already at our ‘golden’ look (dead, dried brown/tan). We got our last rain of the season last month and won’t see more till October. It took me several years after moving out here to appreciate that golden, but I do now. Still…. miss the green I see where it rains.
Old Dan and Little Ann
Little League parade and game cancelled on Satruday due to rain. Rained all morning Sunday and had a soggy practice. Supposed to rain for Wednesday’s game. Death, taxes, and fucking shite spring sports seasons in Western NY.
Earl
@frosty: Clover lawns are making a comeback since they require less water. You’re good.
Baud
I’m not sure if this has been reported here.
Still have appeals, but that was a Trump judge.
Spanky
@Baud: Sadly, there are multiple definitions of “beats”.
Jay
Citizen Dave
@frosty:
You said it re: clover lawns. First I did normal clover then discovered microclover (hard to find) which is even better.
I read once that since the invented weed killer killed clover too, the Monsantos had to market clover as bad from then on. Corporations.
Sister Golden Bear
@The Red Pen: Real warfighters just need guns and ammo, they don’t need no stickin’ logistics. /s
Denali5
My sister says it does not rain in Austin anymore.
Trivia Man
Looking for some resources i can pass on to a new candidate for congress. They are running against glen grotggman, aka the dumbest congressman in america.
They describe themselves as “autistic, queer, disabled, trans, non-binary” so rural Wisconsin is a tough hill to climb.
Baud
Baud
@Trivia Man:
Good for them.
Trivia Man
@Trivia Man: Born and raised here, big time 4H chops so they are an authentic rural voice. Passionate, unafraid of confrontation, full of energy and hope, committed to a MAJOR overhaul of the system. my concern is they might fall into the trap of being “fair” by attacking democrats.
What is a persuasive way to emphasize ATTACK THE ENEMY?
WaterGirl
@Baud: I have a post about NC and Alilson Riggs ready for tomorrow morning!
Baud
@Trivia Man:
Remind them that Dem voters in rural Wisconsin are already swimming against the tide, so don’t make them feel bad about who they are. They’re heroes.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Does anyone have any lists or recommendations for things to stock up on given the upcoming supply shortages?
Trivia Man
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): OTC meds, replacement parts for things
Trivia Man
@Baud: great start, thanks
Jackie
Heh
I predict a lot of “spy agencies” are gonna be in the dog house…
Jay
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
https://balloon-juice.com/2025/04/25/something-practical/
A whole list.
YY_Sima Qian
@Jay: What a time to be alive…
MagdaInBlack
@frosty: Because I was a barefoot child, clover lawns are responsible for all of my bee stings.
Salty Sam
It sure is tonight!
Melancholy Jaques
@kindness:
Not sure where you are, but last night it was raining as I drove from the IE into Los Angeles.
Jay
@YY_Sima Qian:
So far,……………………….
HopefullyNotcassandra
Get enough sleep !
@The Red Pen: I do hope your week improves.
Danielx
Reopening Alcatraz, um, yeah. Sure glad we didn’t elect a doddering confused old fool.
Jay
Last lawn I had was about 20 years ago in Maple Ridge. It was 50% grass, underlain with spring bulbs, the rest was a mix of thymes, red clover, creeping oregano, fescues, and lambs ears.
WaterGirl
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Maybe check out this post on the topic?
edit: I see that Jay beat me to it!
Librettist
@Baud:
That job sucks.
Paying people out so they could go work a retirement gig in Dubai, while leaving the US system short staffed, was brain damaged.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Trivia Man:
Thanks. Probably wouldn’t hurt to stock up on some cold/pain medicine
@Jay:
@WaterGirl:
That’s exactly what I was looking for! Thank you both
I know I need a new mattress, so that’s first on my list
Jay
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Make sure it will fit in your cardboard box with enough room for the curtain rods,….//
Gvg
@Citizen Dave: we had clover when I lived in Oklahoma for a year as a child. That was when I decided to not go barefoot in a lawn. Bees sting. It made an impression, a bad one on a kid. Now we all want more bees. I understand but remember to be careful. My nephew was terrified of bees when he was young. I cut down a tibochina bush the bees loved because it was near the door and it scared him so much.
WaterGirl
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I made a list of things that were suggested on that post – check out comment #220 on that post.
prostratedragon
Mike Lawler is a wanker.
karen gail
Hegseth looking to cut 20% of high-ranking military officials; so years of experience will be gone. Not sure if that is good or bad; but since this is what Trump wants figure it must be bad for country.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@WaterGirl:
That list at #220 you put together is really helpful, thank you.
I really want to get my passport/passport card. It’ll be a good secondary photo ID if I ever lost my DL.
CHETAN MURTHY
@prostratedragon: Jesus, that’s sick. He had po-po and rent-a-cops carry her out for asking that question? Sick.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@prostratedragon:
What the fuck were the NY State Troopers removing that woman for?! All she did was ask a simple, reasonable question. They deserve to be fired and be barred from jobs in law enforcement for this
prostratedragon
@CHETAN MURTHY:
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Several other people were also removed. There were numerous troopers and “Security” people there.
RobinS
@Trivia Man: can Run for something help?
mrmoshpotato
Excellent! Regular bowel movements are good and healthy. 🚽💩😌
Kayla Rudbek
@The Red Pen: yeah, I thought that the goal was 8% cuts across the entire military, so where is that extra money going to? (Also, 8% rounds up to 10% which is what my ancient Roman ancestors called a decimation I.e. eliminating/killing one man out of ten…)
Kayla Rudbek
@karen gail: what would Trump be doing differently if he was on the Russians’ payroll?
Trivia Man
@RobinS: It will help, thanks. My main goal is to plant some seeds about how to steer them away from some specific pitfalls. Like “to be fair…” is admirable but has no place in fighting fascists. Nuance is useless, rebuttal of their straw men is a waste of time, and helping them focus on one M A Y B E valid point in an avalanche of shit hurts the good guys.
Geminid
@prostratedragon: Westchester County Democrat Tom Watson (guitarwatson.bsky.social) lives in the district south of Mike Lawler’s NY17. Watson can’t stand Lawler and slams him whenever he can.
So Watson has several posts up showing this incident. One was a repost of a comment by Beth Davidson (@Beth4Congress). Ms. Davidson represents Nyack-area District 10 in the Rockland County legislature and is running against Lawler.
Watson also likes to get his digs in at Elise Stefanik, like this one posted four days ago after Trump chose Mike Waltz to be UN Ambassador:
Stefanik missed out on a high-class Manhattan apartment.
Baud
@Geminid:
That is a good dig at Stefanik.
Jeffg166
@sab:
The lawn does what it wants. I have all the plants you mentioned plus violets. I like the week or two of the purple in the mix.
I saw a honey bee the other day on a dandelion flower. A good reason to keep dandelions. I may pick its leaves if I need a green to eat.