Balloon Juice - Open Threads Archives

So Thirsty! (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker| April 8, 20254:59 pm| 80 Comments

This post is in: Birdwatching, Open Threads

In the morning thread, I mentioned an epic three-way battle between three male Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds for control of a feeder we recently placed off the front porch. I know it was three males only because at one point two were on opposite sides of the feeder, and a third zoomed in to chase them off.

Here’s a stealth claimant for that same feeder: a female hummingbird who’s been zooming in when the boys are elsewhere.

Check out this thirsty girl! #hummingbirds

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— Betty Cracker of Florida (@bettycrackerfl.bsky.social) April 8, 2025 at 4:38 PM

In the clip, she looks up frequently to make sure no rivals or other dangers from above are approaching. She’s smart to do so; if you listen with the sound up, you can hear the record-scratch vocalizations of nearby males fighting over other feeders or flowering plants.

It’s close enough to 5 PM where I am, so I think I’ll head outside with a glass of red zin, station myself near the firepit and stake out the feeder from that angle. I don’t know anything about birds, but I suspect this feisty lady may have a nest nearby, so I’ll watch her comings and goings to see if I can figure out where it is.

The world is too awful to contemplate right now, if you’re looking at news and politics. But nature is hanging in there so far. We seem to have a bumper crop of hummingbirds this season, judging by the volume at which they’re consuming the nectar.

Could be the flood last fall wiped out some of the blooming plants they used to count on. Bill has planted new flowering bushes in our yard and revived some of the flood-damaged ones, but maybe that’s why they’re all over the feeders this year.

Anyhoo, y’all feel free to discuss anything you want in this thread, including The Horrors. Or birds, if you’d like.

Open thread.

So Thirsty! (Open Thread)Post + Comments (80)

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: The Way We Live Now

by Anne Laurie| April 8, 20256:30 am| 206 Comments

This post is in: Democratic Response to Trump 2.0, Open Threads, Republican Venality

Protest the offices & homes of everyone who attends.

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— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) April 7, 2025 at 12:09 PM

Cowards, ‘reporting’ on courtiers — ‘Trump to hold “pep rally” for House Republicans and big donors Tuesday’:

President Trump is planning to attend the National Republican Congressional Committee’s big donor event Tuesday night, on the eve of a consequential House vote on the budget package that passed the Senate Saturday.

Why it matters: Expect something between “pep rally” and pressure campaign, sources tell Axios.

– Trump will try to persuade GOP lawmakers to take the next step on getting his “one big, beautiful bill” passed into law. A vote is planned for Wednesday on the budget resolution.

– But his appearance at the National Building Museum also will come amid growing concern among lawmakers and donors about the market meltdown Trump’s tariffs have caused.

Zoom out: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) faces another challenging week. Some of his fellow Republicans used a Sunday conference call to raise concerns about the Senate budget resolution, which doesn’t call for cuts as deep as many conservative lawmakers would like…

Zoom in: The entire GOP leadership is expected to attend, along with rank-and-file members, big dollar donors from out of town and DC-based lobbyists.

The House is planning to vote on the budget resolution on Wednesday before Congress leaves time for the Passover and Easter recess.

Republicans have the authority to do something about this.

Speaker Johnson:

“We have to give the president space. His strategy is playing out. It’s been less than a week. I think he’s owed that.”

Yikes. pic.twitter.com/JMwd0eh8i2

— John W. McCarthy (@JohnWMcCarthy) April 7, 2025

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread: The Way We Live NowPost + Comments (206)

Late Night Memories Open Thread: Sarah Proud & Tall

by Anne Laurie| April 8, 202512:10 am| 73 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

From Monica Hesse: Can we #Romanticize our way out of this dumpster fire called life? https://t.co/TcUqnwYUX8

— Washington Post Opinions (@PostOpinions) April 7, 2025

So many dear front-pager comrades over thr yeaes…Monica Hesse, at the Washington Post, brought back one particular stalwart in her larest boost for the young & Democratic, “Can we #Romanticize our way out of this dumpster fire called life?”:

… I have learned that I could romanticize laundry by adding lavender oil to the wash cycle and storing the detergent in Mason jars. I could romanticize cooking by doing it by candlelight and storing the ingredients in Mason jars. Yardwork doesn’t have to be a slog; it is #Romantic when performed in a wide-brimmed hat at dusk — which, to be honest, seems like an unsafe time of day to be operating a riding lawn mower. Ethereal dresses are nonnegotiable, and many content creators of the #Romanticize movement have at least one video in which they indignantly explain that ethereal dresses are actually the most practical attire for unclogging a drain.

To #Romanticize means that you take something nobody wants to do and find a way to make it feel desirable. Luxurious. Feminine. Cozy. The influencers who show up on my phone have thousands of followers interested in what they are trying to teach us, and so I have spent a truly dumb amount of time thinking about what they are trying to teach us…

“I love to romanticize motherhood and the mundane,” one mother explained, swaying in her nap dress. Another shared that she did 95 percent of the cooking in her household, but she could make it romantic by lighting a candle when she defrosted the pizza. A third showed us how romantic “a rare 30 minutes of alone time” could be: At the bumcrack of dawn, while her children and husband still slept, she lit a candle, brushed her teeth, cleaned the birdcage, gave the bird a bath, and this is the point at which I wanted to reach through the phone and tell her: Honey, those are just chores. You can add a tiny vanilla-scented fire to the routine, but they’re still just chores.…

Nobody ever jumps down the rabbit hole of a vintage dress Pinterest page and ends up watching TikTok edits of “Norma Rae” or reading Hannah Arendt. But there’s a decent chance that within 15 minutes, you’re going to be reading about how public schools harm children and how instead of vaccines, we can just eat bee pollen. It’s the Duggars meet Jane Eyre; it’s Anne of (Marjorie Taylor) Green Gables.

I’ve read no shortage of think pieces about how the Democrats can’t start winning elections until they find a liberal equivalent of Joe Rogan, someone to speak to the overwhelmed young men who are just trying to figure out how to live. But I think what they also need is someone doing “Sarah, Plain and Tall” cosplay — a liberal influencer who tarts up a loaf of sourdough while casually quoting from floor speeches by Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut.…

It is truly empowering to feel that you are the master of your own happiness — that you can simply wake up one day and decide that with the right blend of raw milk and cottagecore, motherhood and homemaking will be soulful and beautiful. Empowering and at least partially incorrect. Because real-life success requires a harmonious confluence of community, relationships and policy, and I cannot help but note how many of the women in these videos are almost always being romantic alone.

I raise my pixilated adult beverage glass to Our Sarah, and her spiritual left-wing heirs!

Late Night Memories Open Thread: Sarah Proud & TallPost + Comments (73)

War for Ukraine Day 1,138: A Brief Monday Night Update

by Adam L Silverman| April 7, 202511:14 pm| 9 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Military, Open Threads, Russia, Silverman on Security, War, War in Ukraine

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

I know everyone has had a long day, if not weekend, and is stressed out from the malicious stupidity coming from DC, so I’m just going to run through the basics tonight.

As I’m finishing up tonight’s update – 11:15 PM EDT/6:15 AM local time in Ukraine – the air raid alerts have gone back up in eastern Ukraine. It is going to be another harsh dawn.

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

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Russia Must Be Held Accountable for This War – And It Will Be, in Every Available Form – Address by the President

7 April 2025 – 20:42

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

Today, I held a meeting of the Staff. The main focus was reports on drone production in Ukraine – we are ramping it up to the maximum. This includes the full range of drones: from “Mavics” to long-range drones. We’re also expanding our domestic capacity to produce ground-based robotic systems. What we need is constant, stable growth in the production and supply of every necessary part of the unmanned component to our forces. And for this year, the outlook is promising. We’re also working separately on fiber-optic drones – just since the beginning of this year, more than 20 new certified drone models with fiber-optic control systems have emerged. Eleven of our Ukrainian enterprises have already mastered the production of such drones. The task now is to reach the highest possible scale of production and delivery. Today, I’ve instructed that contracts be signed to the fullest extent possible. There is also positive momentum on “deep strikes.” I cannot mention specific figures, but this year we will ensure the necessary volume for our Defense Forces. I want to thank all our enterprises involved, as well as all our warriors, all specialists – everyone who is developing the unmanned component for our army, for all of our Forces.

Today, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported separately on the situation at the front, including our presence in the Kursk and Belgorod regions. We continue to carry out active operations in the border areas on enemy territory, and that is absolutely just – war must return to where it came from. The main objective remains the same: to protect our land and our communities in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions as much as possible from the Russian occupiers. The Commander-in-Chief reported on the activity of our units along the border line, in the so-called “gray zone,” and directly on enemy territory. It is important that, thanks to the bravery and resilience of our soldiers in the Kursk region – thanks to the entire Kursk operation – we have managed to ease the pressure on other parts of the front, particularly in the Donetsk region. It is absolutely crucial to keep destroying Russian equipment and all logistics used by the occupiers along the front. I am grateful to every one of our units delivering these results, inflicting losses on the invader, and defending our Ukrainian positions. I thank the 57th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, which has been holding positions in Vovchansk for nearly a year. Also, the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade, the 1st and 425th Assault Regiments that are defending the Pokrovsk sector. Thank you, warriors! Thank you for your results! I also want to recognize the 32nd Separate Mechanized Brigade – Pokrovsk sector – thank you. And also – the Belgorod region. Active operations these past few days – the 225th Assault Regiment. Well done, guys! I’m proud of each and every one who is fighting for Ukraine! It is absolutely necessary to support our Defense and Security Forces, our weapons production, and our state. Only a Ukraine that has strength will always have freedom.

And one more thing.

Today, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs reported on communication with our partners and all the measures in response to the ongoing brutal Russian strikes. We are working at every level. Russia must be held accountable for this war – and it will be, in every available form. We are also working on new defense packages for Ukraine – relevant announcements are being prepared.

Glory to Ukraine!

Georgia:

Day 131. 🇫🇷 is here in gratitude to Renaissance party and Gabriel Attal for calling the President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili the face of true resistance – as opposed to Marine Le Pen.

Bringing flags of our friends in gratitude is what protesters usually do. #GeorgiaProtests

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) April 7, 2025 at 3:37 PM

It got tense on Rustaveli, day 131, as the regime police apparently wanted to clear the road from remaining protesters. “We are on the pavement, let us go!” can be heard. #terrorinGeorgia

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) April 7, 2025 at 3:38 PM

‪One detainee, Tazo Kveselava, has been injured by the regime police as he was being detained, and there’s a lot of his blood on the pavement. I don’t post a picture due to sensitivity issues. ‬

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) April 7, 2025 at 3:53 PM

At Batumi City Court, Judge Nino Sakhelashvili — who lacks criminal law qualifications — continues to oversee Mzia Amaglobeli’s case. On Jan 14, with two months left in her term, she ordered Amaglobeli’s pre-trial detention. She was soon after appointed to a lifetime judgeship.
#RepressionInGeorgia

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— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) April 7, 2025 at 6:12 AM

GD plans to adopt changes to the Law on Political Associations of Citizens, as well as related laws on grants, anti-corruption, and the Administrative Procedure Code, through a fast-track procedure.

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) April 7, 2025 at 10:05 AM

🟥 Under a new amendments proposed by GD, receiving a foreign grant will require 🇬🇪govt approval. Grants accepted without consent will be prohibited and subject to penalties. The Anti-Corruption Bureau will oversee enforcement, and violations may result in fines double the grant amount.
#Georgia

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— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) April 7, 2025 at 9:35 AM

I guess the regime has operated faster than our partners could finally draft up ways to allocate their pledged funds to the civil society in Georgia, right? Riiight…

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) April 7, 2025 at 9:55 AM

I don’t even keep track of dictatorial laws anymore, because all is banned but breathing.
However, this deserves a post still:

Under FARA, individuals deemed “foreign agents” must submit email content to the Anti-Corruption Bureau if the email is sent to more than two people.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) April 7, 2025 at 10:01 AM

In Tbilisi, the regime police has lately been searching young men en masse, especially near metro stations. Pockets and bags are top targets. The search often takes illegal forms (but it’s now a lawless country, so…). #terrorinGeorgia #GeorgiaProtests

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) April 7, 2025 at 8:33 AM

So now there is a random EUR 1700 fee for foreigners to enter Georgia, because what’s the point in arguing whether you were at the protests or you’d never been to Georgia before.

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) April 7, 2025 at 9:55 AM

Coming soon to the US.

Speaking of the US…

Hamilton County, Indiana:

Spartz sold her soul for rubles, so I have nothing to add to that, but the Telegraph? Wasn’t there a better headline @telegraphnews.bsky.social

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) April 7, 2025 at 9:34 AM

From The Telegraph:

Congress’s only Ukrainian member isn’t afraid to upset her fellow countrymen either, telling The Telegraph they must accept the ceding of territory to Russia and replace wartime leader Volodymyr Zelensky if they don’t wish to lose their entire country.

Speaking to The Telegraph before her town hall appearance, clips of which were shared wide and far online, she said: “I just don’t see how they (Ukraine) can be positioned to demand to keep the land. If they would be winning the war, that will be very different.”

Endorsing Donald Trump’s decision to negotiate with Vladimir Putin while admonishing Volodymyr Zelensky, Ms Spartz said “there are no easy solutions”.

“President Trump inherited it, so now he has to deal with that,” she said, casting blame on his predecessor Joe Biden, with whom she clashed over his unwillingness to supply the aid she felt was needed for Ukraine to win the war.

“As I said two years ago, the best thing is to win wars as fast as you can. As long as it takes usually doesn’t end very well for Democracies,” she said grimly.

Her scorn for Mr Biden is matched only by the contempt in which she holds Ukraine’s president.

In the aftermath of his infamous Oval Office blowout with Mr Trump, Ms Spartz excoriated Mr Zelensky for doing a “disservice to the Ukrainian people” and “insulting the American president”.

She urged the Ukrainian people to vote out their wartime leader in the pursuit of lasting peace.

“They will have election, and then if they elect him, they’re going to lose the rest of the country,” she warned.

It is not the first time the sharp-tongued congresswoman has spoken out against Ukraine’s leadership.

Ms Spartz was an early advocate of US support for Ukraine, but she voted against a $61 billion aid package last year, accusing Mr Zelensky’s government of corruption and opposing giving away “blank cheques”.

Challenged on her alleged refusal to support her own people at last month’s town hall, she retorted: “My number one job as an American congresswoman is to protect interests, American interests.”

Despite spending the first 22 years of her life in Ukraine, Ms Spartz views herself first and foremost as a US citizen.

“Everyone that comes across the ocean is an America first,” she said. Indeed, throughout our conversation, she refers to the Ukrainian people as “them”.

Hands Off! – BJ Peeps Around the Country

by WaterGirl| April 7, 20258:35 pm| 55 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Open Threads, Photo Blogging

Lots of pics from BJ peeps around the country!

mvr - Hands Off! – Lincoln Nebraska Capitol

Nebraska State Capitol, Lincoln NebraskaApril 5, 2025

Hands Off Protest Rally – from mvr. They blurred the lower part of the photo so as not to have readily identifiable people in the image.

Hands Off! – BJ Peeps Around the CountryPost + Comments (55)

That’s Cheating

by John Cole| April 7, 20258:05 pm| 91 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Sociopaths

Lovely:

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said he plans to tell Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water, the Associated Press reported on Monday.

This is absolute bullshit. If everyone in the country is going to have shitty teeth, they need to do it the WV way- meth, mountain dew, smokeless tobacco, and being too poor to go to the dentist. This just feels like cheating.

That’s CheatingPost + Comments (91)

Music interlude

by David Anderson| April 7, 20256:05 pm| 23 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

This funny 'American Pie' parody bites hard — from a comedy show that went out a few days ago in the UK

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— Ian Johnson 🔆 (@mrianjohnson.bsky.social) April 6, 2025 at 1:56 PM

Music interludePost + Comments (23)

Second rate reporter says what?

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

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

A fool as well as an oath-breaker.

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

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

When we show up, we win.

Their shamelessness is their super power.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Republicans do not trust women.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

Come on, man.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Fucking consultants! (of the political variety)

So very ready.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

Is trump is trying to break black America over his knee? signs point to ‘yes’.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”