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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

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

The willow is too close to the house.

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

All hail the time of the bunny!

How stupid are these people?

Giving up is unforgivable.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

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

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

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

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

Second rate reporter says what?

People are weird.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

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Open Thread:  Hey Lurkers!  (Holiday Post)

Open Threads

You are here: Home / Archives for Open Threads

MSNBC has decided that Jacob

by John Cole|  January 8, 20026:23 pm| Leave a Comment

This post is in: Open Threads

MSNBC has decided that Jacob Weisberg’s blather about Bush was so awful that it just had to be on their opinion page. Hooray for joint ventures.

IN a related note, I have not seen the bimbo broadcaster lately. I wonder, has she dyed her hair again?

MSNBC has decided that JacobPost + Comments

Happy, Happy! Joy, Joy! The

by John Cole|  January 8, 20022:43 pm| Leave a Comment

This post is in: Open Threads

Happy, Happy! Joy, Joy! The people who brought you Amtrak, the Post Office, the Brady Bill, and Mohair subsidies have further involved themselves in education.

Happy, Happy! Joy, Joy! ThePost + Comments

In a rhetorical smack-down of

by John Cole|  January 8, 20022:37 pm| Leave a Comment

This post is in: Open Threads

In a rhetorical smack-down of unparalleled dimensions, Anne D. Coughman at Protein Wisdom gives Ted Rall the thrashing of his life. I have read this four times, and I laugh out loud each time. This really should be a how-to example for bludgeoning morons, and it ranks up there with P.J. O’Rourke’s Kennedy-hating manual (Mordred Had a Point- Camelot Revisited in Give War A Chance). Perhaps reciting this should be required to join Charles Johnson’s Anti-Idiotarian party.

Also, do not miss PhotoDude’s take on the H. Rap Brown trial, currently underway in Atlanta.

Back to work. Let it be known I officially hate writing abstracts.

In a rhetorical smack-down ofPost + Comments

The Illuminated Donkey discusses name

by John Cole|  January 8, 20021:33 pm| Leave a Comment

This post is in: Open Threads

The Illuminated Donkey discusses name changes for blogs. This site (Balloon Juice, not Blogical Suspects) has had more name changes than days of existence. Now I find out that one of the reasons Blogical Suspects changed names was that when abbreivated it was BS. Balloon Juice, shortened, me thinks is worse. Sometimes I want to cry.

The Illuminated Donkey discusses namePost + Comments

Andrew Sullivan notes that it

by John Cole|  January 8, 20021:00 pm| Leave a Comment

This post is in: Open Threads

Andrew Sullivan notes that it is a sad world because the 10 day old daugher of Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer, Gordon Brown, died. I disagree. This is a terribly sad event, and we do extend our condolences, but the remarkable rarity of this sort of tragedy as opposed to the frequency with which it occurred just 30 years ago is reason enough for a positive outlook for the future. The daily expansions in our medicine, science, and technology, as well as the unprecedented freedoms we enjoy, are truly a marvel to behold. Don’t forget what we are fighting for when we send out troops into Afghanistan to stop an enemy who wants to terrorize us back to the stone ages.

Andrew Sullivan notes that itPost + Comments

I watched Exit Wounds last

by John Cole|  January 8, 200212:51 pm| Leave a Comment

This post is in: Open Threads

I watched Exit Wounds last night, and I am afraid that my vocabulary is not large enough to completely eviscerate it properly. I will attempt a a Ten Second Movie Review anyway:

Exit Wounds– Seagal still runs like a girl. Handguns carry a lot of bullets, which is good because bad guys miss a lot. Movie equivalent of a root canal.

I will post more later. I have not checked Professor Pundit’s sight in 12 hours, so I have a couple hours of reading to do.

I watched Exit Wounds lastPost + Comments

If there was ever a

by John Cole|  January 8, 200212:47 pm| Leave a Comment

This post is in: Open Threads

If there was ever a question that Congress’s attitude was that they pass laws for other people (meaning us, the peasant class), listen to John Dingell whining about having to remove his trousers because the STEEL BRACE around his knee was setting off the alarms.

“I complied, but tried to do it with some small bit of dignity,” Dingell said, adding that afterward he couldn’t help seething to his wife, “Woman, do you realize what they made me do?” He added: “It seems to me that there was some incompetence involved here.”

After considering Dingell’s track record in Congress, his dignity seems to be something that is difficult to hurt anymore, but at least he perceives he was wronged. Dingell then called Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta, whose chief lackey stated “The secretary got ahold of Mr. Dingell and told him he is appalled.”

Why is he appalled? The screeners were doing their job, and I am not sure at this time if Dingell was his usual loud obnoxious self when it was announced that screeners are going to be required to have high school degrees.

Dingell recounted: “I said, ‘Norm, I’m not asking for an apology. And I know we don’t want any more events like September 11th. I don’t want any special treatment. I don’t want to be treated any better than anyone else, but I don’t want to be treated any worse either.’ “

If he doesn’t want special treatment, he should shut up and suffer the indignities that the rest of us are going through in the name of security. Norm Mineta’s number is not on my speed dial.

If there was ever aPost + Comments

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