• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Finding joy where we can, and muddling through where we can’t.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

You cannot shame the shameless.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Everybody saw this coming.

This blog will pay for itself.

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

Also, are you sure you want people to rate your comments?

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

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

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

The National Guard is not Batman.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Mobile Menu

  • 4 Directions VA 2025 Raffle
  • 2025 Activism
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / z-Retired Categories / Previous Site Maintenance / Open Thread

Open Thread

by Michael D.|  May 20, 20089:30 am| 43 Comments

This post is in: Previous Site Maintenance

FacebookTweetEmail

Good-bye, Vito. Yeah, we know. You need to spend time with your families.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Unmotivated
Next Post: Hillary’s New Campaign Strategy »

Reader Interactions

43Comments

  1. 1.

    cleek

    May 20, 2008 at 9:35 am

    Q: are the people in OR the right kind of white working class people, or are the people in KY the right kind ?

  2. 2.

    Tara the anti-social social worker

    May 20, 2008 at 9:41 am

    Something tells me Vito’s families may not be so keen on spending more time with him.

  3. 3.

    dr. bloor

    May 20, 2008 at 9:42 am

    Q: are the people in OR the right kind of white working class people, or are the people in KY the right kind ?

    The Magic 8 Ball Sez: Check back later today. About 10 PM EDT.

  4. 4.

    4tehlulz

    May 20, 2008 at 9:42 am

    Michael fails again. He gave in to the troublemakers in the previous thread.

    Appeaser.

  5. 5.

    flyerhawk

    May 20, 2008 at 9:50 am

    So it would seem that Hillary is a fan of Karl Rove…

    Then, she veered off into new territory. “Just today,” Clinton said, “I found some curious support for that position when one of the TV networks released an analysis done by — of all people — Karl Rove, saying that I was the stronger candidate. Somebody got a hold of his analysis and there it is

    She is now using RUMORS of Karl Rove’s analysis to make her case.

  6. 6.

    Wilfred

    May 20, 2008 at 9:50 am

    It’s nice to see KY jell and get behind Clinton.

  7. 7.

    4tehlulz

    May 20, 2008 at 9:53 am

    I see what you did there.

  8. 8.

    Don McArthur

    May 20, 2008 at 9:54 am

    ‘families’ .. Oh, nicely done, that.

  9. 9.

    Throwin Stones

    May 20, 2008 at 9:57 am

    John,

    Looking forward to the Finals – Wings VS Pens
    Osgood looked good last night…

  10. 10.

    cleek

    May 20, 2008 at 9:58 am

    Check back later today. About 10 PM EDT.

    sorry, no can do.

    who’s the goofball who scheduled a primary the same night as the American Idol finals ?

  11. 11.

    rachel

    May 20, 2008 at 9:58 am

    Karl Rove wants to help Hillary Clinton to the White House. Right.

    Desperation sure can make people do (and say) stupid things.

  12. 12.

    Rick Taylor

    May 20, 2008 at 10:02 am

    From the Clinton campaign:

    Senator Obama’s plan to declare himself the Democratic nominee tomorrow night in Iowa is a slap in the face to the millions of voters in the remaining primary states and to Senator Clinton’s 17 million supporters.

    Josh Marshall notes:

    Separately, it’s worth noting that the claim that Obama has a “plan” to do this appears to rest on a single anonymous quote given to The Politico several weeks ago.

    Thank you so much, Hillary, for telling your supporters that Obama is slapping them in the face. That’s just what we need coming up into the next election.

  13. 13.

    ThymeZone

    May 20, 2008 at 10:05 am

    Karl Rove hearts Hillary. Hmm. Actually, when I heard Rove speak for himself recently, he sounded like an Obama fan to me. But that’s just me.

    Meanwhile, thanks to vicious attacks of Rampant Sexism(c) Hillary claims that she has the most popular votes, which is what happens when Rampant Sexists(c) attack you, and therefore, she is just about toast, or something.

    Not just toast, but a crostino.

  14. 14.

    Original Lee

    May 20, 2008 at 10:05 am

    In other news, it appears that Jack Evans, a DC council member who was also a pledged delegate for Clinton, told a crowd of people that he was endorsing Obama. He later clarified that he intends to vote for Clinton at the convention. (Heh.)

    I think some of the Clinton pledged delegates are looking at Clinton’s little hints that pledged delegates are allowed to switch their votes in the first round of balloting and thinking real hard about voting for Obama instead. Another Failed Campaign Strategy (TM).

  15. 15.

    John S.

    May 20, 2008 at 10:08 am

    Thank you so much, Hillary, for telling your supporters that Obama is slapping them in the face.

    Hillary is a gender-baiter!

    Nice choice of words that “slap in the face” is. I’m sure it did not go unnoticed.

  16. 16.

    Kevin

    May 20, 2008 at 10:15 am

    Thank you so much, Hillary, for telling your supporters that Obama is slapping them in the face. That’s just what we need coming up into the next election.

    She’s trying to court World of Warcraft players.

  17. 17.

    flyerhawk

    May 20, 2008 at 10:15 am

    Over at TL, Armando is blasting Richard Cohen for some sort of sexism. I can’t really figure out what the sexism is but it isn’t really worth asking.

    What I find amusing is that he feels completely comfortable calling Richard Cohen, Dick Cohen, in a obvious attempt at using a male specific slur. Apparently that’s ok.

  18. 18.

    Incertus

    May 20, 2008 at 10:17 am

    flyerhawk,
    She probably heard that from No Quarter, which brought a whole new level of stupid to the park last night on that very idea. Between Rove’s conflict of interest since he works for McCain and his claim to “the math” which worked so well in 2006, I’d say his opinion on who the best candidate would be is more than a little suspect.

  19. 19.

    jake

    May 20, 2008 at 10:18 am

    The Live Story Developing banner at the top of the page:

    ‘Drive Smarter Challenge’ Launched.

    Someone at CNN is a snarky little devil.

  20. 20.

    Dreggas

    May 20, 2008 at 10:19 am

    flyerhawk Says:

    Over at TL, Armando is blasting Richard Cohen for some sort of sexism. I can’t really figure out what the sexism is but it isn’t really worth asking.

    What I find amusing is that he feels completely comfortable calling Richard Cohen, Dick Cohen, in a obvious attempt at using a male specific slur. Apparently that’s ok.

    Of course it’s ok. It’s always ok to belittle men and use derogatory terms like “dick”, “prick”, “asshole” etc when talking about men. It’s called a double standard and while I could care less (I’m a card carrying asshole) it is amusing to note it’s perfectly ok to gender stereotype men and, in fact, men are supposed to be a set way (dripping with Old Spice as Chris Mathews would say) but to see women in a set way is sexist.

  21. 21.

    Cain

    May 20, 2008 at 10:19 am

    Well folks, we’ll see how Obama does today in Oregon.. I’ve not seen any polls or anything but I hope that we’ll be seeing some serious numbers. My prediction is a 10-15 point spread and I base that on how badly my fart smelled this morning.

    cain

  22. 22.

    chopper

    May 20, 2008 at 10:19 am

    Thank you so much, Hillary, for telling your supporters that Obama is slapping them in the face. That’s just what we need coming up into the next election.

    this is hill’s way of trying to take the wind out of obama’s sails on the day he obtains a majority of pledged delegates. his campaign has denied that he intended to ‘declare victory’, but putting this accusation out there might make him tone down the celebratin’ either way. whatever it takes to keep her in the game i guess.

  23. 23.

    Xenos

    May 20, 2008 at 10:21 am

    The Republicans said that gay marriage would lead to polygamy, but I did not think they would be so determined to prove the point.

  24. 24.

    Incertus

    May 20, 2008 at 10:23 am

    Over at TL, Armando is blasting Richard Cohen for some sort of sexism. I can’t really figure out what the sexism is but it isn’t really worth asking.

    Maybe for the use of the word “harridan”? Or simply because he got the facts wrong in his original column? I could buy the first–it plays into the stereotype of the nagging woman–but it’s not because of sexism that Cohen made the latter error. It’s because he’s a lazy writer.

  25. 25.

    ThymeZone

    May 20, 2008 at 10:23 am

    I base that on how badly my fart smelled this morning.

    TMI violation.

  26. 26.

    Rick Taylor

    May 20, 2008 at 10:23 am

    So it would seem that Hillary is a fan of Karl Rove…

    According to a diary over at mydd, Terry McAuliffe’s office sent the release to the press.

  27. 27.

    cleek

    May 20, 2008 at 10:25 am

    t’s perfectly ok to gender stereotype men and, in fact, men are supposed to be a set way (dripping with Old Spice as Chris Mathews would say) but to see women in a set way is sexist.

    as i was told over and over the last time i visited Feministing, men are neither capable nor allowed to judge whether something is sexist or not. only women can do that.

    and that’s why i now avoid Feministing.

  28. 28.

    rachel

    May 20, 2008 at 10:26 am

    Over at TL, Armando is blasting Richard Cohen for some sort of sexism.

    I thought I’d read somewhere that Armando had banned himself, but I guess not, huh?

  29. 29.

    Cain

    May 20, 2008 at 10:29 am

    TMI violation.

    oh..sorry about that. I’ll keep my farts to myself next time.

    cain

  30. 30.

    Paul

    May 20, 2008 at 10:30 am

    Good-bye, Vito. Yeah, we know. You need to spend time with your families.

    I’m honestly surprised.

    I still maintain that the Democrats still won’t pick up the seat this fall, though.

  31. 31.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    May 20, 2008 at 10:32 am

    who’s the goofball who scheduled a primary the same night as the American Idol finals ?

    Jesus! Is that still on? oh puhleeeeeezz! Everyone who counts is watching the Dancing With the Stars results show tonight. (Much better outfits and better looking people!)

  32. 32.

    Dreggas

    May 20, 2008 at 10:32 am

    cleek Says:

    as i was told over and over the last time i visited Feministing, men are neither capable nor allowed to judge whether something is sexist or not. only women can do that.

    and that’s why i now avoid Feministing.

    Yeah see that’s where I call bullshit.

  33. 33.

    dlw32

    May 20, 2008 at 10:37 am

    This one got me.

    Kmeic Denied Communion

    Now you can be denied a sacrament not based even on your beliefs but on those of someone you endorse.

  34. 34.

    cleek

    May 20, 2008 at 10:40 am

    Yeah see that’s where I call bullshit.

    once i realized how much crazy it takes to assert something like that, i figured i was better off walking away quietly.

  35. 35.

    Bot LaBeer

    May 20, 2008 at 10:42 am

    McCain is going to try and do his best to trash Obama in the early part of today’s news cycle. Grandpa will be talking to a group of Cuban expats on Cuban Independence Day and tossing out the “Obama’s going to appease Castro” crap.

  36. 36.

    flyerhawk

    May 20, 2008 at 10:43 am

    Thought you guys might like to read an email I received from my cousin in Portland, 35 year old stay at home mother of 3.

    I’ve had two Obama volunteers come to my door over the last three days which is unheard of in a primary in Oregon. We usually don’t count in the least, so it is very strange to get some attention this time around. I’m totally in Obama’s camp but struggled early because I really liked Hillary’s early work on health care.

    Everyone seems really excited about Obama’s message and it is refreshing to feel like this county can start to go in a new direction. The Dems. better not screw this one up!

  37. 37.

    Genine

    May 20, 2008 at 10:51 am

    dlw32 Says:

    This one got me.

    Kmeic Denied Communion

    Now you can be denied a sacrament not based even on your beliefs but on those of someone you endorse.

    That’s screwed-up. I’m sure Jesus wouldn’t approve.

    But religion stopped having anything to do with Jesus a long time ago. lol

  38. 38.

    Cain

    May 20, 2008 at 10:57 am

    Thought you guys might like to read an email I received from my cousin in Portland, 35 year old stay at home mother of 3.

    I canvassed on Saturday, and I’ll be doing phone banking today and whatever else the campaign needs help in. There are a lot of people of various sizes, ages, and colors volunteering. I see a lot of older women, one explanation I heard was because they tend to have a greater volunteering spirit (which I agree with) and not particularly because of any demographic. One older lady told me she hasn’t volunteered for a political campaign since McCarty.. Damn, that’s awhile. :) I almost said “McCarty who?”

    I’ve seen some wierd ass stuff too.. a woman came in asking for an Obama sign, she said she needed one because her husband had a hillary sign up front and she wanted to put her candidate up there too. I joked that there must be some really interesting discussions in her household for that dichotomy after she left.

    There is a LOT of political stuff going on with the various races, especially the congressional race between Jeff Merkeley and Steve Novack and Secretary of State. Gordon Smith the Republican has been attacking Jeff Merkeley especially. So there is a lot of political theater going on this time around. They are all good candidates so nobody is losing here. I voted for Novick.. that man seems to be on the ball. Jeff Merkeley is good too though.

    One last thing, Obama’s secret service code name is called “Renegade” according to the comments on this thread I gotta admit that’s kind of cool name. I’d prefer “Harbinger” though.

    cain

  39. 39.

    flyerhawk

    May 20, 2008 at 11:09 am

    Latest SUSA poll for Oregon…

    Obama up 13

  40. 40.

    Rick Taylor

    May 20, 2008 at 11:15 am

    I thought I’d read somewhere that Armando had banned himself, but I guess not, huh?

    Just for a day or two.

  41. 41.

    Incertus

    May 20, 2008 at 11:41 am

    as i was told over and over the last time i visited Feministing, men are neither capable nor allowed to judge whether something is sexist or not. only women can do that.

    I think that they were probably trying to point out is that men–myself included–might not see something as sexist, especially if we say it, because we know our intent wasn’t to be sexist. But intent isn’t really the issue, because in a lot of cases, we’re talking about things that we’ve done as a society for so long that we consider them normal, or that we’ve done so long that we don’t even know why we do them anymore, but that have their basis in sexist acts. My reaction these days is, if a woman tells me something is sexist, I don’t get defensive–I just ask her to explain to me how and why, and I find that most of the time, I learn a little something. The key is to give them the benefit of the doubt, because they have to live with shit that men can’t even begin to dream of.

  42. 42.

    Dreggas

    May 20, 2008 at 12:30 pm

    Incertus Says:

    as i was told over and over the last time i visited Feministing, men are neither capable nor allowed to judge whether something is sexist or not. only women can do that.

    I think that they were probably trying to point out is that men—myself included—might not see something as sexist, especially if we say it, because we know our intent wasn’t to be sexist. But intent isn’t really the issue, because in a lot of cases, we’re talking about things that we’ve done as a society for so long that we consider them normal, or that we’ve done so long that we don’t even know why we do them anymore, but that have their basis in sexist acts. My reaction these days is, if a woman tells me something is sexist, I don’t get defensive—I just ask her to explain to me how and why, and I find that most of the time, I learn a little something. The key is to give them the benefit of the doubt, because they have to live with shit that men can’t even begin to dream of.

    I might catch flack for this but the reality is I am not responsible for other people’s feelings. Each one of us is responsible for how we respond to a given remark, situation, whatever. While I try to be relatively sensitive to people’s quirks and try not to be offensive most of the time I do not have the power to control how a person reacts or feels. They, themselves have that power and choose how to react whether by instinct or other metrics.

    I used to let everything everyone said about me affect me. I gave them that power and control. It took a long time for me to realize they only had that power because I let them and once I took it back and didn’t let shit get to me I became a lot happier.

  43. 43.

    cleek

    May 20, 2008 at 12:39 pm

    I think that they were probably trying to point out is that men—myself included—might not see something as sexist, especially if we say it, because we know our intent wasn’t to be sexist.

    i can understand that part (it’s the “capable” half). i don’t buy it, but i understand the point.

    but when someone says, in effect, “as a man, you don’t get to decide what is sexist and what isn’t”, i walk away. to me, someone who explicitly claims exclusive and ultimate authority over something for their gender is not someone who’s looking for equality with another gender.

    (and, oops. the site was Feministe, not Feministing. apologies to the presumably fine people at Feministing, which i don’t read either.)

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - Dan B - Late Fall and early Winter Seattle Gardens 1
Photo by Dan B (3/10/26)

Election Resources

Voter Registration Info – Find a State
Check Voter Registration by Address
Election Calendar by State

Recent Comments

  • Martin on Tuesday Night Open Thread (Mar 10, 2026 @ 10:30pm)
  • Jackie on Tuesday Night Open Thread (Mar 10, 2026 @ 10:28pm)
  • Martin on Tuesday Night Open Thread (Mar 10, 2026 @ 10:27pm)
  • Martin on Tuesday Night Open Thread (Mar 10, 2026 @ 10:24pm)
  • catclub on Tuesday Night Open Thread (Mar 10, 2026 @ 10:23pm)

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
On Artificial Intelligence (7-part series)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Outsmarting Apple iOS 26

Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup

Order Calendar A
Order Calendar B

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix
Rose Judson (podcast)

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Privacy Manager

Copyright © 2026 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!