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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

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

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

When we show up, we win.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

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

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

We are learning that “working class” means “white” for way too many people.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Keep the Immigrants and deport the fascists!

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Open Thread:  Hey Lurkers!  (Holiday Post)

Open Threads

You are here: Home / Archives for Open Threads

NPR Livestream: Kamala Harris Will Speak At the National Mall

by Anne Laurie|  October 29, 20246:15 pm| 245 Comments

This post is in: Elections 2024, Kamala Harris for President, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

VP Harris delivers a speech at the Ellipse in DC / 7:15pm ET
WATCH PARTY RSVP: https://t.co/ejXC0WIy2i

— Olga Nesterova (@onestpress) October 29, 2024

Kamala Harris speaks at 7:30PM tonight in DC at the same location Trump rallied insurrectionists on January 6.

She will give the speech of her life at what will be the highest attended campaign event by far of 2024.

All eyes on Madam President Harris today. Mark my words. 🙏🏾

— 🪷 Vote EARLY for Kamala Harris for PRESIDENT! (@flywithkamala) October 29, 2024

Kamala Harris's official campaign "closing argument" speech at the Ellipse in DC, where Trump's January 6 mayhem began. Crowd originally estimated at 20,000 is now heading past 50,000. #Ellipse #KamalaHarris https://t.co/xKCyKH0fhh

— Neil McMahon (@NeilMcMahon) October 29, 2024

show full post on front page

From the local paper The Washingtonian yesterday — “What to Know About Kamala Harris’s Speech on the Ellipse”:

… Plan for big crowds
Harris is expected to address an audience of about 20,000 people on the Ellipse, according to the event’s National Park Service permit. An earlier permit, which sought to host the remarks on the National Mall rather than the Ellipse, estimated about 8,000 attendees. (For reference, the 2011 National Christmas Tree Lighting on the Ellipse, which featured an appearance by Kermit the Frog, drew about 17,000.) Overflow crowds will head to the Washington Monument’s northeast grounds.

To grab a good spot, attendees might want to arrive early—the site opens to the public at 3 PM, hours before programming is slated to start at 7:15 PM. Once underway, the event should run for about an hour.

Registration is free
Those interested in watching the speech in person can register for free on the Democratic National Committee’s website. Washingtonian has reached out to the DNC for information on whether attendance will be capped, but we haven’t heard back yet…

We don’t know who—if anyone—will join Harris

Harris is the only speaker specified on the NPS permit, and campaign officials have kept mum on whether any special guests will be joining her…

The symbolic significance of the Ellipse as the site of Harris’s final appeal to voters marks another effort by the campaign to distinguish her as this year’s pro-democracy candidate. Trump was the last political figure to speak at the park back in January 2021: He urged listeners to “fight” against baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, which he falsely argued led to President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory—shortly after, throngs of his supporters broke into the Capitol as Congress was certifying the results.

NPR Livestream: Kamala Harris Will Speak At the National MallPost + Comments (245)

Pennsylvania GOP Lawsuit Targeting Overseas Voters Dies on Its Ass

by Rose Judson|  October 29, 20243:11 pm| 100 Comments

This post is in: Domestic Politics, Open Threads, Politics

Excellent news for us broads (and gentlemen, and gentlethems) abroad, particularly us Pennsylvanians:

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit by six Republican members of Congress seeking to make Pennsylvania election officials institute new checks confirming the identity of soldiers, sailors, and others who vote from overseas and to make sure they’re eligible.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner said he agreed with the defendants — Secretary of State Al Schmidt and one of his top deputies — who argued there were no grounds to sue and that the case was launched too late and too close to Election Day.

The Pennsylvania congressmen “provide no good excuse for waiting until barely a month before the election to bring this lawsuit,” Conner wrote. More than 25,000 overseas ballots had already been sent out when the case was filed in late September, the judge noted.

I have nothing more eloquent to add beyond fuck these cockweasels. At every level of government since the turn of the century, the GOP’s constant mean-spirited, bad-faith jockeying for advantage has left our nation weaker and all of us more suspicious and cynical – a process that has been doused with accelerant since that monster came down the golden escalator in 2015.

I want Kamala Harris to win for lots of reasons, but mainly because I want to get out of the defensive crouch. Returning to a posture of mere vigilance, as opposed to panicked hyper-vigilance, will seem like sweet relief. I can only imagine how it feels for our transgender and POC neighbors. Again: fuck these fuckers.

Further to yesterday’s discussion, I wanted to flag up some more data that’s just been published. This time it’s a presidential poll out of Kansas:

show full post on front page

TOPEKA — A statewide online survey of political and public policy issues reveals nearly half of registered voters in red-state Kansas who plan to cast a ballot in the presidential election support Republican Donald Trump and more than 43% favoring Democrat Kamala Harris.

The 48.2% for Trump and 43.2% for Harris suggested further narrowing of the Kansas advantage for Trump, who has been the GOP nominee for president in 2016, 2020 and 2024. In 2016, Trump carried Kansas with 56.6% against 36% for Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump won Kansas in 2020, but the gap closed modestly with Trump at 56.2% and Democrat Joe Biden at 41.5%.

Only plus 5% for the Rough Beast, you say? In Kansas? Innnnnnteresting.

Anyway: run through the tape, friends. I’m distracting myself by building up my candy stockpile for the hordes on Thursday. Monty is keeping track of inventory for me:

a devastatingly handsome tuxedo cat watches over a pile of candy

I think I need more Snickers bars. The Child has advised me that I really ought to get Cadbury Wispas and some Haribo Tangfastics in as well. The latter are like a timid version of Sour Patch Kids. I can’t quite bring myself to endorse them.

Open thread.

Pennsylvania GOP Lawsuit Targeting Overseas Voters Dies on Its AssPost + Comments (100)

Musical Interludes

by WaterGirl|  October 29, 20242:23 pm| 20 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Political Action, Politics

Beautiful.  Profound.  Haunting.

h/t Kay in MD

Who could you share this with where it might make a difference?


Hopeful

h/t Nelle


Lyrics

Hope Lingers On
by Lissa Schneckenburger

My mother, when love is gone (2x)
In our darkest hour hope lingers on

My father, when peace is gone (2x)
In our darkest hour hope lingers

I will not hate, and I will not fear
In our darkest hour, hope lingers here

My sister, when equality’s gone (2x)
In our darkest hour hope lingers on

My brother, with tolerance gone (2x)
In our darkest hour hope lingers on

I will not hate, and I will not fear
In our darkest hour, hope lingers here

My love, when honor is gone (2x)
In our darkest hour hope lingers on

My country, when justice is gone (2x)
In our darkest hour hope lingers on

I will not hate, and I will not fear
In our darkest hour, hope lingers here.


HOPE.  INSPIRATION.  ACTION.

BR posted this in an earlier thread.

I’m proud to say that I successfully got one Arizona vote yesterday — someone who didn’t know her ballot was rejected due to missing signature. Ballot curing phone banking is going on right now for all the swing states, and if you are nervous about normal phone banking there’s no persuasion involved because these are Dem voters. Sign up for a shift or two:

https://volunteerblue.org/take-action-ballot-cure/

No persuasion, no Republican assholes, nobody who is going to be crazy at you for bothering them.

We are the little engine that could – for Fundraising.  And, now, apparently, Postcarding.

What if we each did one shift of ballot curing?

Musical InterludesPost + Comments (20)

Four Directions Update

by WaterGirl|  October 29, 20241:06 pm| 48 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

This is an ad that Four Directions is running in the weekly newspapers, starting on Wednesday.

This is the followup to the situation I described in my Sunday call to action post.

Good Trouble

In case it’s easier to read as text instead of part of the image:

We are Four Directions Native Vote, a non-partisan voting rights organization headquartered on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. We work to help Native Americans and Tribal Nations gain greater access to the ballot box across Indian Country, through negotiation and through the courts if needed. Working with Tribal Nations and Tribal Citizens, final results of our assistance is Native Voters voting in state and federal elections.

Relying upon our decades-long experience, and with growing concern for Native voters in Roosevelt County and Valley County – who face unnecessary barriers to casting their ballots in a free, fair, and secure election, we purchased this advertisement to direct attention to our website: fourdirectionsvote. com, to report and publish documentation of unequal access to voting, and intimidating conduct and harassment from county election officials.

All Native voters should expect and receive reliable and complete information from Roosevelt and Valley County election officials about the voting process, but this is not happening.

We have witnessed Native voters being given misleading information by county officials in an apparent attempt to discourage eligible Native voters from exercising their constitutional right to be heard on an equal basis. Because of this, we want eligible Native voters to know they may decide to have assistance from another person as they vote their ballot. The person assisting does not have to be an election official. The voter chooses.

It is against the law to threaten, coerce, or intimidate voters and persons assisting voters. That includes shouting, menacing, threatening arrest, or following voters and persons assisting voters by election officials and law enforcement officers. Montana’s Constitution protects voters from arrest going to and from a polling place to vote.

While Valley County Attorney Dylan Jensen refuses to make a public statement confirming the protections of Montana’s Constitution for Native Voters going off-reservation to Glasgow, he has confirmed to us that Native voters are in fact protected against interference by Valley County and Montana law enforcement while traveling to Glasgow to register to vote and vote.

Working with the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Fort Peck Indian Reservation, we continue the work to expand voting access through satellite voting election offices, and we will continue our work helping Fort Peck Tribal Citizens proudly vote by November 5, 2024.

WTF is wrong with these public officials who want to intimidate voters?

Open thread.

Four Directions UpdatePost + Comments (48)

One More Week (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker|  October 29, 202411:32 am| 217 Comments

This post is in: Elections 2024, Open Threads, Politics

This has been the wildest presidential election season I’ve ever experienced as a voter. So many unexpected plot twists! So many contradictions!

The contest has been both interminable (Trump has been running nonstop for nearly a goddamned decade at this point, mostly for the grift) and astonishingly brief, with Harris putting together and near-flawlessly executing a campaign in mere weeks.

The split-screen contrasts couldn’t be more stark: an intelligent, upbeat, experienced, attractive woman with a positive, future-focused agenda vs. a braying old orange convicted felon who’s eternally fixated on his personal grievances.

How can it be this close? Well, the long and short of it is that we share this land with tens of millions of malevolent assholes and blithering, self-important idiots. Sadly, sometimes they prevail.

That said, I’m glad our candidate isn’t the one who felt compelled to publicly declare, “I’m not a Nazi” a week before Election Day. I like our chances.

Open thread!

PS: I hope this doesn’t come across as tone police-y because lord knows I enjoy a good intramural spat in comments now and then. But maybe extend a little grace to each other over the next week? We’re all under a lot of stress.

One More Week (Open Thread)Post + Comments (217)

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: We Have Righteousness on Our Side

by Anne Laurie|  October 29, 20247:50 am| 276 Comments

This post is in: Elections 2024, Kamala Harris for President, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat

Only you need to know who you vote for. Just ask Melania. pic.twitter.com/gdMyXZXYjj

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) October 28, 2024

Remember, jackals: Sharing is caring!

What a beautiful crowd of 21,000+ people in Ann Arbor, Michigan gathering in support of Vice President Kamala Harris. This is democracy. This is why we will win.

pic.twitter.com/YsCwBCeNDf

— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) October 29, 2024

Their closing argument is hate and division.

Our closing argument is unity, joy, and the future – a new way forward. pic.twitter.com/KGdyFhQ0l0

— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) October 26, 2024

Doug Emhoff’s closing argument to Jewish voters:

“We should never have to wonder whether our leaders are praising Nazis behind closed doors… So when Donald Trump says something unhinged, do not roll your eyes. Roll up your sleeves.” https://t.co/wyHnqNgHRw

— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) October 28, 2024

JD Vance has the pop jawed nerve to say this after he got so angry about us telling jokes about him fcuking a couch.

Apparently the only acceptable jokes are the ones where privileged white men get to punch down at women, minorities, LGBTQ and immigrants. Weird innit https://t.co/mjHHTNFGw0

— Ragnarok Lobster ?? (@eclecticbrotha) October 28, 2024

Anita Hill: The Smearing of Kamala Harris https://t.co/2FAfAl4TX5

— Janet Johnson (@JJohnsonLaw) October 28, 2024

Another public endorsement I didn’t expect (but I’m happy to see): Anita Hill, at the NYTimes, on “The Smearing of Kamala Harris” [gift link]:

It’s not easy to remain calm and collected in the glare of intense public scrutiny, especially when the opposition is set on denying your integrity, competence and accomplishments. But call it grace, poise or dignity, Kamala Harris has managed to make a positive case for her candidacy every day since President Biden endorsed her to take his place on the Democratic ticket. Think about it: No presidential nominees in modern history have faced such a direct challenge to the authenticity of their identity and by extension their qualifications to be the president.

I can tell you with confidence that the various and sundry racist, misogynist and sexist insults hurled at Ms. Harris must sting. They are a reminder of the disgraceful lengths that Republican senators took to shame me when I challenged Clarence Thomas’s fitness to be appointed to the Supreme Court. What helped me stay composed was knowing that I was not the first woman to have her sanity, truthfulness and virtue falsely impugned. Even now, when I am attacked, my mother’s firm but gentle admonition rings in my ears: “You know who you are and what you can do.” Lesson learned: Never let the people who despise you define you.

One key to surviving under such pressure is to forcefully embrace the value of your own capabilities and principles. “Don’t be confined to other people’s perception about what this looks like, and how you should act in order to be,” Ms. Harris said this year. That posture is evident in the clarity and directness with which she states her qualifications for the presidency. During their debate last month, when Ms. Harris exposed Donald Trump’s weaknesses without lowering herself to his level, the strength of her dignity was made even more obvious. She told us that she knew “Donald Trump’s type,” and she proved her point without self-congratulations…

show full post on front page

Truth be told, “dignity” and many similar words are loaded. We rarely talk about men’s grace, particularly in the political arena. We often save that conversation for women, perhaps because a man’s leadership worthiness is assumed, while a woman has to prove herself highly competent to lead. In today’s politics, hubris, dissembling, anger, fearmongering and personal grievances are brandished and accepted as proof of power, confidence and competence. Equanimity itself is preyed upon as a sign of weakness….

In her nomination speech, Ms. Harris paired dignity with housing policy and reproductive health care. On the stump she touts workplace safety and wage policies as her effort to fight “for the dignity of all working people” and to allow every senior to “retire with dignity.” She has also shown how maintaining respect for her constituents figures into her policies and vision for the future.

By focusing on the humanity of people whom her domestic policies will affect — women seeking abortions and other reproductive health care, people struggling to afford a home down payment, workers struggling with the cost of living and taxes — Ms. Harris creates chances for more dignity for everyone, regardless of party. Perhaps that same focus on humanity will shape Ms. Harris’s international policy to address the plight of people around the globe suffering from devastating droughts, displacement and armed conflicts…

Since the making of the U.S. Constitution, people in this country have voiced their yearning to enjoy the rights, privileges and immunities it offers. Their appeals make up a uniquely American songbook that each American president has inherited. It is filled with lyrics that reflect the sovereignty claims of Indigenous populations and the freedom petitions of those who arrived from other continents, some in chains. In time, the rights movements grew, led by those whose ancestors suffered the incomparable indignity of chattel slavery and those who were denied full citizenship and enfranchisement because of their race, gender, ethnicity, gender or sexual identity. And today, those drawn to the American democracy to escape violence and political and economic death add to the appeals. As the poet Langston Hughes reminded us, they “too, sing America” and have a common theme of the recognition of human decency.

If Ms. Harris is elected president, she will be in a unique position to ensure that all of these songs are reflected in our democracy and the structures that govern it.

And whatever the result of Election Day, she has already introduced an American political future that promises a recognition of human dignity as its bedrock. She has earned the opportunity to make that future a reality.

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: We Have Righteousness on Our Side

(Clay Jones via GoComics.com)

And a closing wish…

mackenzie scott should buy the washington post from jeff bezos

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) October 25, 2024 at 2:12 PM

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: We Have Righteousness on Our SidePost + Comments (276)

Wee Hours Open Thread

by Betty Cracker|  October 29, 20242:48 am| 166 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

Badger and I both feel like crap. I know why I’m uncomfortable; I had my second shingles shot this morning, so my arm hurts, and I can’t sleep.

I’m not sure what’s up with Badger. Maybe he ate a bad lizard or something. Anyhoo, we’re companionably miserable, which is better than enduring our distress alone.
Sad Boston terrier

We’ll be okay. We both hate getting shots, but he’s far more stoic about it. I’m a big crybaby.

Years ago, I read about a new injection technology that was supposedly on the horizon whereby shots could be delivered painlessly via a Velcro strip-like device with multiple tiny needles.

If President Kamala Harris puts me in charge of public health policy — which despite my being an English major with no science qualifications makes more sense than Trump’s threat to appoint crackpot RFK Jr. to head up H&HS — I would invest in painless vaccine delivery and require Big Pharma to offer gummy versions of all pills.

Open thread!

Wee Hours Open ThreadPost + Comments (166)

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