Some feral swine I encountered while out photographing wildlife several months back:
They are surprisingly cute when they aren’t charging at you through razor-sharp scrub palms. Open thread!
by Betty Cracker| 143 Comments
This post is in: Nature, Open Threads
Some feral swine I encountered while out photographing wildlife several months back:
They are surprisingly cute when they aren’t charging at you through razor-sharp scrub palms. Open thread!
by DougJ| 215 Comments
This post is in: Assholes
I’ve grown to hate all the talk about ERODING NORMS, because so far, legislation created by the wonky Paul Ryan (and voted for by the serious Lindsey Graham and Benn Sasse) has done more damage to the country than anything Trump did that another Republican president would not have done.
But…the Stormy Daniels stuff. I don’t think it would have made any difference in November 2016 because apparently no one cared about seventeen accusations of harassment and assault. It’s so strange, though, that a blowjob from an intern brought impeachment on Clinton, whereas Trump was getting spanked by a porn star while his wife was pregnant had a newborn without any repercussions.
One thing I didn’t even think of til recently was how under Clinton, we endless heard “How can Hillary stay with him”, “what about their marriage”, etc. I haven’t heard a peep out of that from the media, and it wasn’t until I saw this tweet that even remembered this might affect Trump’s marriage.
Have said it many times, but going to 're-up': There's a strong chance Donald Trump becomes the first president to get divorced while in office
— ethan epstein (@ethanepstiiiine) January 19, 2018
by DougJ| 92 Comments
This post is in: C.R.E.A.M.
With a new baby, I don’t have the time and energy to write more than a few real posts a week, but I want to keep the fundraising going and I don’t want it to be just me putting the thermometer up an saying GIMME.
So I thought I’d try something new. You olds may not be hip to this, but there’s a thing that the kids in music do today called “feating”. You can google it. I’m going to be feating some commenters that I think will write fun, interesting posts, much better than I can do right now! They’ll throw up the Balloon Juice Nowhere To Hide thermometer in the post. This way, at least you’ll get something for your money.
We will start off with Jewish Steel, a great guy with good taste in music. He’ll start sometime over the weekend.
If you don’t like posts of the people I’m feating, blame me, not them! Maybe go a little gentler on them in the comments than you usually do.
In the meantime, let’s hit our goal for Conor Lamb in PA-18. Donnie Dementia was raising money for his opponent yesterday.
Update. Here’s a picture of the dog guarding the baby.
I’m tired as hell, I’m not the cat I used to bePost + Comments (92)
by Betty Cracker| 147 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity, Trump Crime Cartel, Trump-Russia, Assholes, General Stupidity, Not Normal, Our Failed Media Experiment
I know some of y’all dislike prurience, are depressed by bitterness, do not like “not normal” framings and despise GIFs. As a courtesy to you, I’m putting most of the content below the fold. You’ve been warned!
You realize Trump will probably tweet a picture of his dick to dispute her description, right?
Now, I’m not a fan of the “imagine if President Obama had done this” game. But imagine for one fucking second if President Obama paid off a porn actress, who then blabbed to the media about his junk!
The legs on fainting couches nationwide would groan under the weight of their insensate owners. Democratic leadership on Capitol Hill would huddle under their desks in the fetal position. Republicans would immediately convene committees to explore every aspect of the scandal with an objective of impeachment.
But it’s Trump, so the story is not prominently featured on any major news outlet I’ve seen. If that could be interpreted as a signal that Beltway types are less interested in politicians’ bedroom peccadilloes, maybe it would be a positive thing.
But it’s a sign that Trump has so flooded the zone with every conceivable type of perversion, corruption, mendacity, etc., that our press corp has simply gone catatonic. It’s a stunning indication of just how far we’ve strayed beyond the bounds of NORMAL. As a malignant narcissist, Trump believes he deserves special treatment.
But his voters want desperately for the rest of us to accept this surreal clown show as normal. That’s the unspoken plea in every conversation I’ve had with the Trump voters in my life. You can hear it in this recent exchange at a Chuck Grassley town hall in Iowa, which was dominated by criticism of Trump in a rural, conservative area.
We pick up the scene after Iowans have raked Grassley over the coals for obstructing the Trump-Russia investigation and normalizing Trump’s bizarre behavior (via The Des Moines Register):
Heather Nejedly of Pisgah caught Grassley’s attention, stood and said: “I just love our wonderful President Trump,” drawing a chorus of mocking laughter mixed with sincere applause.
“I just think we’ve all got to come together,” Nejedly said, turning to Mikels and others. “You know, I don’t know you, I don’t know you, but don’t hate so much. We’ve got to come together and stop hating so much.”
“We’re not hating. It’s not that we hate Trump,” replied Pat Crosley, 67, a home-school teacher from Kimballton who brought her two children to the meeting as a field trip. “We are recognizing behavior that’s not normal. We’re not psychiatrists, but we can see abnormal behavior when we see it.”
Unlike Ms. Crosley, I do hate Trump, with every fiber of my being. But her remarks about recognizing abnormal behavior are on point.
It’s only been a year. Can we hang on to normal? Have we lost it forever? I don’t know. I’m just grateful my daughter came of age during the Obama presidency. Hers may be the last generation that remembers what “normal” felt like.
“Bring me the brain bleach and the big knife…” (Open Thread)Post + Comments (147)
by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)| 16 Comments
This post is in: On The Road, Open Threads, Readership Capture
Good Morning All,
This weekday feature is for Juicers who are are on the road, traveling, or just want to share a little bit of their world via stories and pictures. So many of us rise each morning, eager for something beautiful, inspiring, amazing, subtle, of note, and our community delivers – a view into their world, whether they’re far away or close to home – pictures with a story, with context, with meaning, sometimes just beauty. By concentrating travel updates and tips here, it’s easier for all of us to keep up or find them later.
So please, speak up and share some of your adventures and travel news here, and submit your pictures using our speedy, secure form. You can submit up to 7 pictures at a time, with an overall description and one for each picture.
You can, of course, send an email with pictures if the form gives you trouble, or if you are trying to submit something special, like a zipped archive or a movie. If your pictures are already hosted online, then please email the links with your descriptions.
For each picture, it’s best to provide your commenter screenname, description, where it was taken, and date. It’s tough to keep everyone’s email address and screenname straight, so don’t assume that I remember it “from last time”. More and more, the first photo before the fold will be from a commenter, so making it easy to locate the screenname when I’ve found a compelling photo is crucial.
Have a wonderful day and a great weekend – and enjoy the pictures!
It’s Friday, and yet again, the wonderful otmar!
I’ve still got lots to work through and next week I’ll post some brilliant pics from Le Comte, Bill, and the rest from JR. It’s going to be a good week, just in time to help push through these deep winter times!
Where it was taken: Laa an der Thaya
When: 2018/01/02
Commenter screenname: otmar
Other notes or info about the picture:
After spending Christmas with both grandmas and hosting relatives until the 28th, I’m now on a short holiday with wife and both kids at the spa in Laa. The building in the picture is city hall, which was built during the Austria/Hungary empire days. Laa is straight up north to the Czech border from Vienna. This used to be the iron curtain, so for 55 years this town was almost cut off from the neighbours to the north. This was certainly not helpful for the economy, and so the villages here offer a glance back into the past.
These days the border is open, Austria and the Czech Republic are both members of the Schengen treaty, thus there is minimal friction passing over these days.
This shows: the signs in the spa are tri-lingual: German, English and Czech, and some of the staff here sport the typical Czech dialect of German.
Three letters folks – WOW!
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email
This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Hail to the Hairpiece, Open Threads, Republican Venality, Republicans in Disarray!, Trump Crime Cartel, Assholes
Senior admin official: WH staffers have been examining idea that Trump could issue a tweet late Friday night to say he will sign CR and that would be a signal the government is not shutting down.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 19, 2018
I'm having trouble understanding how this is not just utter gobbledygook. If the Senate has the votes to pass the House version, then he can just sign the bill–no tweet needed. If it doesn't then no tweet is going to prevent a shutdown. https://t.co/h7vgqogXUU
— Josh Chafetz (@joshchafetz) January 19, 2018
I think we need to consider the possibility that the Trump White House is populated by morons. https://t.co/14pW0fn0YO
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) January 19, 2018
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BUT DADDY’S GOT BIG PLANS FOR HIS LONG WEEKEND!…
Trump will be marking the anniversary of his inauguration with a celebration at Mar-a-Lago this weekend. Tickets start at $10,000 for dinner and a photo, @JenniferJJacobs reports.
"For $250,000, a couple can also take part in a roundtable."https://t.co/A9wUTEWKY4
— Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) January 19, 2018
Honestly, if Trump goes to Palm Beach tomorrow before there’s a deal, I think we’ll get a shutdown.
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) January 19, 2018
"I'm excited about the event. There are so many friends here who care about our country." Eric Trump in interview at Trumpettes party celebrating Trump's first year in office. #trumpinpalmbeach #maralago #trumpettes pic.twitter.com/Ab5V4b1t5w
— alexandra clough (@acloughpbp) January 19, 2018
And Judge Janine Pirro of Fox News takes the stage. "Welcome to Mar-a-Lago. A magnificent place. It sure ain't no shithole!" pic.twitter.com/z0HBLDtsLk
— alexandra clough (@acloughpbp) January 19, 2018
What’s that lawyerly phrase? — oh, yeah, asserts ‘facts’ not in evidence.
Friday Morning Open Thread: Repubs Can’t Govern, and Trump Is Head RepubPost + Comments (237)
by John Cole| 66 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
Where do you all get your seeds? I am going to start planting my starter packs for the spring in a couple weeks and want to make sure I am ready.