MoDo
by John Cole| 5 Comments
This post is in: Outrage
John Cole started Balloon Juice early in 2002. Those who have followed along know that this has been quite the journey.
by John Cole| 5 Comments
This post is in: Outrage
by John Cole| 70 Comments
This post is in: General Stupidity
President Bush has got to be the most powerful man to ever walk the face of the earth. Kevin Drum has a long post today about the growth in inequality in income and a discussion attempting to debunk the ‘myth’ of income mobility. He has some very telling charts, and then closes with this sweeping indictment of our current President:
This is fundamentally unhealthy in a democratic society. When the rich absorb more and more of the economic growth of the nation, and the poor begin to lose hope of economic advancement, you have a potentially toxic combination. George Bush and the policies of the Republican party are making this ever worse, and someday soon the poor and middle class are going to figure out what’s going on. How about 2004?
Here are the charts- why am I laughing?
For his next trick, Bush will explain how he shot Kennedy, started WWI and WWII, and helped to craft the policies that led to the Stock Market Crash. By the way, he apologizes for starting the Aids epidemic.
by John Cole| 3 Comments
This post is in: Popular Culture
Via Calpundit, a computerized “Twenty Questions.”
I stumped it, in a sense, even though I gave it credit. My thing was a vodka tonic, and the machine guessed “Gin and tonic.” It shockedthe hell out of me because the questions seemed to be getting broader and I was starting to become convinced it would never get it. Then it guessed, and Iwas so shocked that it was that close that I just gave it credit. After all- how is it supposed to know my drink of preference?
This post is in: Foreign Affairs
This might work:
Japan, Myanmar’s largest donor, froze all financial aid to the country on Wednesday to punish its military government for detaining pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Japan appears to be rethinking its policy of engaging the junta in a dialogue with promises of aid — unlike the United States, the European Union and Britain, which have already imposed sanctions to press for Suu Kyi’s freedom.
Also Wednesday, U.N. special envoy Razali Ismail, the only outsider to see Suu Kyi since her arrest more than three weeks ago, said U.N. officials are “increasingly alarmed” about the government’s refusal to release her.
I hope she is still alive.
This post is in: Humorous
Scott Ott is a genius:
New York Times columnists Nicholas Kristof and Paul Krugman, whose power and influence dwarf those of the President, finally forced Mr. Bush to confess his deception.
“I guess I really didn’t think this thing all the way through,” Mr. Bush said. “I just thought I’d tell the people Iraq has WMD, then start a war…and…uh…that’s as far as it got in our strategy sessions.”
The President added that, despite the blow to his popularity ratings this revelation would surely bring, “at least we got the oil.”
I hope the Atriettes realize this is satire.
by John Cole| 2 Comments
This post is in: Sports
The Atlantic Coast Conference reached deep into its expansion playbook late Tuesday and pulled a shocking end run.
School presidents and chancellors voted Tuesday night to invite Miami and Virginia Tech to join the conference — a scenario that excludes fellow would-be Big East defectors Boston College and Syracuse.
Sources also told ESPN that the vote was 7-2 in favor of inviting the two football powerhouses.
I hate Donna Shalala. Lying troll.
by John Cole| 3 Comments
This post is in: Foreign Affairs
One of the things that irritates me the most is hearing liberals tell me how good it is to be European. “They have a better quality of life, shorter work weeks, paid vacation, socialized medicine, blah, blah, blah.” Here is the latest perk for the Eurotrash:
Sexist or raunchy images on television or in advertising could be banned across the European Union under a directive being considered in Brussels.
Anna Diamantopoulou, the Greek commissioner for social affairs, has ordered an internal study of gender questions outside the workplace, it was confirmed last night.
But officials said discussions were still in their early stages, with different commission departments being asked for their views, and some already strongly opposed.
“This is a trial balloon,” insisted one well-placed source. “No decision has yet been taken.”
Such a directive could have implications for Europe’s media, advertising and insurance industries, and could stop TV programmes that stereotyped women – or men – and ban advertising that did not “respect human dignity”.
That would mean no more of this:
(Photo from Page 3 Dot Com)
What is wrong with these people?