Please enjoy this as much as I did:
We noticed @realDonaldTrump's tweets about @nytimes are basically lyrics to an early 2000s emo song, so we turned them into one. pic.twitter.com/pEr0v1t3o1
— Super Deluxe (@superdeluxe) May 14, 2017
Open thread
This post is in: Open Threads
Please enjoy this as much as I did:
We noticed @realDonaldTrump's tweets about @nytimes are basically lyrics to an early 2000s emo song, so we turned them into one. pic.twitter.com/pEr0v1t3o1
— Super Deluxe (@superdeluxe) May 14, 2017
Open thread
This post is in: Dolt 45, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity, Clown Shoes, Not Normal
What is slightly surprising is that the administration is getting more and more chaotic and dysfunctional the longer Trump is president. https://t.co/M2sdJ5Kkay
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) July 26, 2017
Fewer and fewer holdovers from the Obsma administration https://t.co/ZWW7lFA5wv
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) July 26, 2017
“This morning two senators were caught on a hot mike calling President Trump crazy. And when the news came out, literally every member of the Senate was like, ‘Wait, was it me?’” — JIMMY FALLON
Only the sane members of Congress, and they don’t have a majority. Per the Washington Post:
At the end of a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday morning, someone sitting near Chairman Susan Collins (R-Maine) didn’t switch off a microphone. Collins was recorded discussing the federal budget and President Trump’s lack of familiarity with the details of governing with a colleague — apparently Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.), the ranking Democrat on the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies subcommittee.
After Reed praises Collins’s leadership of the hearing, she laments the administration’s handling of spending.
“I swear, [the Office of Management and Budget] just went through and whenever there was ‘grant,’ they just X it out,” Collins says. “With no measurement, no thinking about it, no metrics, no nothing. It’s just incredibly irresponsible.”
“Yes,” Reed replies. “I think — I think he’s crazy,” apparently referring to the president. “I mean, I don’t say that lightly and as a kind of a goofy guy.”
“I’m worried,” Collins replies.
“Oof,” Reed continues. “You know, this thing — if we don’t get a budget deal, we’re going to be paralyzed.”
“I know,” Collins replies…
“You’ve got [Budget Director Mick] Mulvaney saying we’re going to put in all sorts of stuff like a border wall. Then you’ve got [Treasury Secretary Steve] Mnuchin saying it’s got to be clean,” Reed continues. “We’re going to be back in September, and, you know, you’re going to have crazy people in the House.”…
The old man squatting in the Oval Office is losing his grip on day-to-day tasks, he’s surrounded by bigots and grifters, and the best hope for the rest of us is that the organic brain failure will progress swiftly enough Lord Smallgloves shows up for an on-camera event wearing no pants.
Say it with me: THANKS, REPUBLICANS!
As he reverts to the simple clan slogans of his misbegotten youth…
IN AMERICA WE DON'T WORSHIP GOVERNMENT – WE WORSHIP GOD!??https://t.co/jIejSgVnnA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
Wow, pretty surprised you'd let ISIS guest tweet. https://t.co/kLBIgEdqJ3
— Oliver Griswold (@originalgriz) July 26, 2017
Wednesday Evening Open Thread: Not Crazy, Just AddledPost + Comments (74)
by Betty Cracker| 218 Comments
This post is in: LGBTQ Rights Are Human Rights, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity, Assholes, General Stupidity
He lied, you idiot. He's been a pathological liar all his life. Are you really just now getting this? ?
— Betty Cracker (@bettycrackerfl) July 26, 2017
Politico has a story about how Trump came to ban trans service members by fiat. It’s a doozy:
Numerous House conservatives and defense hawks this week had threatened to derail their own legislation [spending bill containing numerous MAGAt goodies, such as The Wall] if it did not include a prohibition on Pentagon funding for gender reassignment surgeries, which they deem a waste of taxpayer money. But GOP leaders were caught in a pinch between those demands and moderate Republicans who felt the proposal was blatantly discriminatory.
“There are several members of the conference who feel this really needs to be addressed,” said senior House Appropriations Committee member Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) on Tuesday. “This isn’t about the transgender issue; it’s about the taxpayer dollars going to pay for the surgery out of the defense budget.”
That’s why House lawmakers took the matter to the Trump administration. And when Defense Secretary James Mattis refused to immediately upend the policy, they went straight to the White House. Trump — never one for political correctness — was all too happy to oblige.
“[P]lease be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”
The president’s directive, of course, took the House issue a step beyond paying for gender reassignment surgery and other medical treatment. House Republicans were never debating expelling all transgender troops from the military.
“This is like someone told the White House to light a candle on the table and the WH set the whole table on fire,” said one senior House Republican aide. The source said that while GOP leaders asked the White House for help, they weren’t expecting — and got no heads up on — Trump’s far-reaching directive.
Fucking hell.
That time I was mean to someone on Twitter…Post + Comments (218)
by Betty Cracker| 238 Comments
This post is in: Domestic Politics, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity, Assholes, General Stupidity
Here’s the dog who stole my seat in the wee hours this morning:
She always does that, then gives me the stink-eye when I return and expect her to shove over. I could understand it if it was winter and she was looking for a warm spot. But it’s July in Florida, and she’s wearing a fur coat!
On the Twitters, some folks are saying the Republicans are getting close to 50 votes on the so-called “skinny repeal” scheme. We shall see. Open thread!
by David Anderson| 75 Comments
This post is in: Anderson On Health Insurance, Not Normal
The Senate is going through the mandated 20 hours of debate and vote-a-rama. What should we expect?
This revised iteration of BCRA — which included an amendment by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to allow non-Obamacare plans back on the market paired with $100 billion in funding to partially offset the Medicaid cuts — was subject, because of the Senate budget rules, to a 60-vote threshold for a procedural vote. It failed handily, 43 to 57, with nine Republicans and all of the Democrats opposing it.
Next up: a vote on clean repeal of Obamacare’s spending and health insurance coverage expansion with no replacement, which is scheduled for midday Wednesday. That bill is also expected to fail.
Neither result would be a surprise. Health care lobbyists and Senate aides believe the most likely destination is a skinny Obamacare repeal bill that undoes the individual mandate, the employer mandate and a few of the law’s taxes.
Vote-a-rama is a series of amendments that have to be germane to the bill. There will be 2 minutes of debate and roughly 10 minutes of voting on each amendment. Those can go on for a long time. Some Democratic Senators have already indicated that they have 100 or more amendments ready to file. Very few, if any, of these amendments are expected to pass but they are designed to highlight the differences between the parties and put Republicans in awkward positions.
And then after that, the Senate votes. Assuming there are 50 plus the Vice President, either the House accepts the Senate bill as is or they go to conference. And at that point, health policy wonks will figure out exactly what just passed as the Senate won’t know what they did.
by Betty Cracker| 190 Comments
This post is in: Election 2016, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity, Assholes, General Stupidity
Twitler just now:
After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
….Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
….victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
Twitler last year:
Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2016
Yeah, not a dime’s worth of difference.
by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)| 46 Comments
This post is in: Albatrossity, On The Road, Open Threads, Readership Capture
Good Morning All,
So far, this feature has been about travel, with the occasional “local” picture or two. I think limiting this to just travel is just that – limiting. So I’m changing this up a bit to include neat, colorful, funny, interesting, poignant, etc. pictures that don’t require travel.
As always, if you’re on a trip or have a story to share, you can just pitch in below.
I’m pleased to announce the release of the new picture submission tool for this feature. Using this tool will ensure I don’t mess things up, will make it much less time-consuming for me, and will make for a much easier process all the way around. This would not be possible without the efforts of valued commenter Major Major Major Major. His help has been invaluable in this feature, not to mention in the pie filter and rotating quote.
The form is here and has a few simple rules:
If you are a lurker and thus not a commenter, or should you wish to submit a video, archive of multiple pictures, links to pictures hosted online, or want to include more text or pictures than the form allows, send an email.
Travel safely everyone, even if it’s just down the hall for that second cup of coffee!
A simple reminder:
Just a few today, first from Raven:
These are some shots from my LA trip last week. There is no way to measure up to the stuff Bill has but think of these as “lay” photos!
The first picture is Puige crossing the plate after parking one. It was a
mixed night since they were the best seats I’ve ever had but traffic kept
us out of the stadium until the 5th inning.
The second is the Manhattan Beach Pier. I’ve been going there for over 50 years and, cold water or not, I got in for some body surfing every day.
Three is the Korean Friendship Bell on the old Ft Mac Arthur in San Pedro. In 1967 I was home on leave between Korea and Vietnam, ran out of dough and had to go there to get some “casual pay’ to get back to Ft Lewis.
One is the Kris Kristofferson display at the Grammy Museum.
Two is a shot outside of the Anime convention in downtown LA. I don’t know from Anime but it seemed to me that there were lots of kids who had found an outlet that suited them. I also wonder if it’s not a real fertile ground for creeps.
Thanks for an interesting view of LA. Except for one foggy evening when I drove through from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, I’ve never been further than the smoking bench outside the terminal (years ago, when I still smoked).
Next up – BIRD!
Where it was taken: Manhattan KS
When: June 2017
Commenter nym: Albatrossity
Other notes or info about the picture: Male Painted Bunting.
Not exactly “on the road”; this guy lives about ¼ mile from my house and I see him most days on my early morning walk. But he’s a stunner, nonetheless, and since folks at Balloon Juice seem to like bird pictures, I thought they needed to see him.
What an amazing pretty bird! I am continuously amazed by the variety of life on our blue sphere.
And finally, something new – Nigeria!
Some pictures from my trip to Nigeria
Where it was taken: Ibadan, NigeriaWhen: June 2017Commenter nym: evapOther notes or info about the picture: I recently returned from two weeks in Ibadan, Nigeria, where I was involved (as a lecturer) in a summer school in mathematics for African graduate students. The school was held at the University of Ibadan, which is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in west Africa. It was an amazing experience! This picture is a view of the city of Ibadan (population 3 million, the 3rd largest city in Nigeria) from the high point in the city.The British built a government building here — Mapo Hall — which isnow a municipal building.
Where it was taken: Ibadan, NigeriaWhen: June 2017Commenter nym: evapOther notes or info about the picture: During the summer school everyone stayed inside the universitygrounds, we all stayed in a hostel/hotel on the campus and were insulated from “real life” for the most part. But on the Saturday in between the two weeks of school we were taken for a tour of the city, including visiting this market. It was completely chaotic outside the university — crazy traffic, many people — but fun to see how the locals live.
Where it was taken: Ibadan, NigeriaWhen: June 2017Commenter nym: evapOther notes or info about the picture: One of the locals took me to buy some fabric and I had some clothes custom made. The fabrics are incredible and it was hard to pick just a few. This is the shop where I bought fabric. This is a typical row of shops.
Where it was taken: Ibadan, NigeriaWhen: June 2017Commenter nym: evapOther notes or info about the picture: Some of the fabrics I purchased.
I love fabrics – and paper. Your choices are so lively and exciting.
As I listen more and more to the BBC during the day, I am learning more about Nigeria, both historical and current, politics and art, and it’s now on my list. I look forward to watching its rise as Africa begins to shine.
Have a great day everyone!