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Balloon Juice

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DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

The National Guard is not Batman.

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

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

Fear and negativity are contagious, but so is courage!

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

They spent the last eight months firing professionals and replacing them with ideologues.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

That meeting sounds like a shotgun wedding between a shitshow and a clusterfuck.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

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Hot air and ill-informed banter

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

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RIP Steeplejack

by John Cole|  July 22, 20244:09 pm| 76 Comments

This post is in: Absent Friends, RIP, FFFFFUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKKK

God damnit. I missed the news yesterday that longtime commenter and valuable member of the blog passed. My only excuse (other than that I am a clod) is I didn’t check the blog until after I had been to the gym and it was 2 o’clock and some other stuff had happened that you may have heard about.

Regardless, this is terrible news and I feel horribly for his family. It’s kind of awful being in this phase of life and having to watch so many good people you know die. In your twenties you watch everyone get married and then in the late 20’s they have their kids, early 30’s is the first round of divorces, late 30’s the second marriages, the 40’s you watch peers die freakishly young and the adults you grew up loving and respecting start dropping like flies, and then in your fifties it feels like death is lurking around the corner for someone you love. And it stays like that until either you drop dead or get so old that there is no one left your age. Cruel.

Steeplejack was a good friend of the blog, always present, always participating, always decent. I’d like to have everyone take a moment to share their favorite comments and memories, and maybe when the grief has died down a bit we can have a remembrance and those who knew him best can share their thoughts.

RIP, man.

RIP SteeplejackPost + Comments (76)

Still Conflicted But 100% Committed

by John Cole|  July 22, 202410:17 am| 477 Comments

This post is in: John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House", FFFFFUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKKK

I still feel kind of numb from the weekend’s events. As I said on twitter and in the comments last night, I played enough team sports and was in the army long enough that I know to put myself below the needs of the many to achieve a goal, and I am legit excited about VP Harris becoming the nominee and will rally enthusiastically around the candidate. Having said that, I am still pissed at what happened to Joe Biden. He was never my first choice I don’t even think my 5th in 2020, but he has been a great President and this was just wrong. We have a process and we have rules and that is how we choose nominees and this bothers me. Millions of people voted for Joe Biden and donated to Joe Biden and he won the nomination. And spare me the “He chose to withdraw” bullshit.

I’m not sure if you noticed, but I’m a dance with the girl that brung you kind of guy. I’m also risk averse, and believe the reason you make plans and have procedures is so you can follow them when needed rather than just make shit up on the fly. And on a more basic and gut level, I feel like they did Biden dirty.

But I can’t control any of that and in the end beating Trump is what matters. And I know some have not been gracious in the comments here and that I upset some of you last night. At least once a week, and let me reiterate, AT THE VERY LEAST, once a week Watergirl wants to put a fist through the wall because I have either heavy handed something or not paid the right amount of attention to or vacillated over what to do with someone misbehaving or acting the fool in the comments or I’m acting inconsistently. I’ve always been of the opinion that what people say reflects on them, not others, and also equally committed to the belief that assholes often make great points. So yeah, trying to keep everyone happy when there are thousands of unique personalities and beliefs, often times at odds with each other, is not easy.

So yeah, things are a mess and emotions are raw and I am a little confused and blindsided by events. At the same time, I am genuinely thrilled that for the most part people have rallied around Kamala. I thought Biden stepping aside was not optimal, but there was no way Biden and Harris stepping aside would do anything but rip the party apart forever, so I suppose this is the best case scenario in that regards.

And I’m pissed at the media and the pundits. The pile-on and ageism was gross.

So yeah, conflicted. But optimistic, maybe?

Still Conflicted But 100% CommittedPost + Comments (477)

Sunday Night Open Thread

by John Cole|  July 21, 20249:00 pm| 497 Comments

This post is in: John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House", FFFFFUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKKK

I hope the shock has died down a little bit and we are all moving rapidly into the acceptance phase and hoping everyone is as excited as they said they would be about a younger nominee. We’ll see.

For dinner I had what I call my “white boy chicken sandwich,” where the only seasoning is salt and pepper. Take a chicken breast and filet it because breasts are so ridiculously big these days even on organic chickens, salt and pepper it, then sear it on both sides for a couple minutes in a skillet with some butter, when it is done cooking for top it with a slice of cheese and cover it for a minute until it melts.

Take two slices of sourdough, put duke’s mayo on one slice, a little dijon on the other. Layer some washed and dried arugula, a layer of seasoned (salt and pepper) heirloom tomato slices on the bread, and then top with the chicken. It’s very good and you don’t need to have all these sauces and heat, because you really want the tomatoes and individual ingredients to shine through. Delicious.

Having some black diamond watermelon for dessert, and it is so juicy that if I did not have a beard I would have stained my shirt.

***

I realized earlier that now that they pushed Biden out, I personally am in a great position. Either the replacement (presumably Kamala) wins and the country is saved or I get to spend the next 20 years yelling “I FUCKING TOLD YOU.”

On a more serious note, there were several people in the comments who were saying this needed to be done and would happen, and a lot of us piled on, and maybe now we should all reflect on the value of dissent and look at whether or not we are the insular out of touch folks. And maybe be kinder to everyone in the comments in the process. Not everyone who disagrees is either a troll or acting in malice.

On another serious note, I could really use some pointers to election law experts, and not this afternoon’s graduates from the University of Youtube with a major in “I Did My Own Research” and a minor in “Well Actually). Marc Elias is one people have noted.

***

I’m really liking these sunglasses. Never thought of myself as a mirrored sunglasses kind of guy, but man everything is so clear and even at sundown with the sun right in my eyes, there is very little glare.

Sunday Night Open Thread 18

Might have to get me a pickemup truck. Hybrid, of course.

I’m off to unwind and watch True Blood and yell at journalists and Republicans on twitter.

Sunday Night Open ThreadPost + Comments (497)

May You Live in Interesting Times

by John Cole|  July 21, 20243:41 pm| 702 Comments

This post is in: John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House", FFFFFUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKKKK

Just spent a couple hours at the gym. Anything interesting going on?

Created a new category.

May You Live in Interesting TimesPost + Comments (702)

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