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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

The house always wins.

I swear, each month of 2020 will have its own history degree.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Too inconsequential to be sued

Something seems odd about that, but i have been drinking.

Everybody saw this coming.

Fuck if i know. i just get yelled at when i try it.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Let there be snark.

I don’t care how fun he is after a few whiskies. fuck that guy.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

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

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

The covid deniers are really testing our commitment to universal health care.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

This is how realignments happen…

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

It’s not even safe to go out and pick up 2 days worth of poop anymore.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

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Friday Evening Open Thread: Also Running (In Circles)

by Anne Laurie|  September 10, 20215:43 pm| 123 Comments

This post is in: 2024 Elections, C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads

It's ok. We never identified him as a Democrat either. Good riddance. https://t.co/ie3QUwxoBU

— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) September 9, 2021

Everybody on social media needed a little treat, some jamoke to abuse, after this long week…

I gotta say that launching a third party makes perfect sense for Andrew Yang; he's more than qualified to do so.

Yang's been losing elections as a media curiosity that nobody takes too seriously for years now, which provides him with all the experience he needs. pic.twitter.com/Og9w1awFIl

— KnowNothing (@KnowNothingTV) September 9, 2021

show full post on front page

"Andrew Yang is starting a 3rd party…"

me: huh interesting

"…that coincides with the release of his new book."

me: and there it is

— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) September 9, 2021

this is the only time i will say this, but comparing yang's vanity party to no labels is wildly unfair to no labels https://t.co/TO5JUUHnsK

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) September 10, 2021

yeah I was inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt as 'kind of dumb but well meaning,' but the last year or so has definitely scrapped that

— James Palmer (@BeijingPalmer) September 10, 2021

Andrew Yang will guarantee everyone in his new party a universal basic income paid in BotCoin… which is like BitCoin but doesn’t actually exist — but totally could exist if you join the Yang Gang something something Tesla Entrepreneur Crypto. https://t.co/jK63pahPnV

— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) September 9, 2021

"I can't in good faith be part of any group that is unwilling to make me its leader."

— Office of Chimchar Management (@TeatimeXavier) September 10, 2021

I assume Yang’s been prepping this for a while — note the date on the NYTimes beat-sweetner:

This report on Yang's business background shows him to be, surprisingly enough, a well-meaning, good-natured dilettante who's failed or quit every difficult task after law school. https://t.co/r5F9zjgy6d

— Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) May 1, 2021

Return of the ‘Useful Idiot‘…

Guy Jill Stein

— Sterling 🎰 (@SterlingRettke) September 10, 2021

Note I am NOT saying any of those candidates participated in or was aware of Russian support. Bernie was briefed on it in iirc March. But somehow Yang got a lot of consistent support & it didn’t fit obviously in to a Dem primary constituency.

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) September 10, 2021

Friday Evening Open Thread: Also Running (In Circles)Post + Comments (123)

He’s running!

by Betty Cracker|  September 10, 20212:59 pm| 118 Comments

This post is in: 2024 Elections, 2024 Primaries, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity

Chris Christie, that is. He’s running, but he’s going nowhere. Here are excerpts of remarks Christie made at the Reagan Library last night (courtesy of CBS News), which will surely doom him with the MAGA base:

“We need to give our supporters facts that will help them put all those fantasies [about election fraud] to rest so everyone can focus with clear minds on the issues that really matter,” Christie said. “We need to quit wasting our time, our energy, and our credibility on claims that won’t ever convince anyone of anything.”

“All this lying has done harm to our nation, to our party, and to each other,” he said, and he sought to remind the audience of the Republican Party’s values, which he listed as conservatism, faith, decency, integrity, freedom, liberty, competence and truth.

“If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we’re not going anywhere. Voters looking for Republican leaders want to see independence and mettle,” Ryan said, adding, “They will not be impressed by the sight of yes-men and flatterers flocking to Mar-a-Lago.”

Astute observers will note that Christie was one of the yes-men and flatterers who used to flock to Disgraceland. He helped build the monster that ate his party, and now he wants to thrust an arm down the creature’s gullet and pull the party back out?

I think he’d have better luck waiting for it to emerge from the other end.

Open thread.

He’s running!Post + Comments (118)

Schadenfreude Open Thread: OSHA Is the New HIPAA

by Anne Laurie|  September 10, 20219:54 am| 215 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, GOP Death Cult, Proud to Be A Democrat, Schadenfreude

… A conjure word that, it is imagined, will immediately stun one’s many (perceived) enemies into submission!!!1!…

USPS legally aren't federal employees under the direct control of the executive, there was a whole thing last year about this

The amount of performative filling of diapers will be something else, and I'm confident the media will utterly dork it up https://t.co/9VgexXBZP5

— Mike Black (@MikeBlack114) September 9, 2021

show full post on front page

The OSHA piece is not a vaccine mandate

A mandate is an employer mandating something, under pain of some sanction, up to and including termination

The OSHA piece is implementing additional safeguards to ensure a safe workplace, as is OSHA's purpose

Do better https://t.co/2af3ZaKQQM

— Mike Black (@MikeBlack114) September 10, 2021

Part of the OSHA rule will be paid time off to get vaccinated and recuperate from any side effects, per the WH handout. pic.twitter.com/7HA5a7nl6K

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) September 9, 2021

Here’s a CRS report on OSHA’s authority to do this from July. https://t.co/KkT1QepjZi pic.twitter.com/EeYL5W4Zg9

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) September 9, 2021

IDC if every new person vaxed lies about side effects and takes a week of fuck-it time off to party with pay. As long as they get the jab and we can stop burning through healthcare workers and hospital resources. Companies can cut exec pay if they're worried so much about cost.

— Jenifer Brooks (@lessthanzen_Jen) September 10, 2021

The Discourse grows stronger pic.twitter.com/5kH3qrZOpp

— Rational Bot (@Rationalbot) September 10, 2021

Homeschooled GOP show pony has BIG THOUGHT…

i'm filing a bill to make you spell out the words in the acronym https://t.co/P3oWQLxEei

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) September 10, 2021

A House member can write "Resolved, the sense of the House is I am awesome and cool," on a sticky, sign it, drop it in the hopper, and say they just filed a bill declaring that Congress thinks they are awesome and cool

I would probably do this once a week

— Mike Black (@MikeBlack114) September 10, 2021

he unleashed seventy percent of the population that wants you to take a free and miraculous vaccine or go live in a cardboard box. seems like an easy choice but i'm very famously against living in cardboard boxes.

but you might like them. https://t.co/0TZY4j4KDQ

— World Famous Art Thief (@CalmSporting) September 10, 2021

Biden absolutely has the power to do what he's doing. The president has a lot of power! This is very much in OSHA's purview. Especially since the penalty for not getting vaccinated is…routine testing, not termination. https://t.co/eTQPUHoMVF

— Jeff Fecke (@jkfecke) September 9, 2021

Storming the Bastille over an OSHA regulation lmao pic.twitter.com/w3JAbhwz0I

— Landlord Rights Violator (@MenshevikM) September 9, 2021

like, i dunno, an epidemic that’s killed three quarters of a million americans and has holdout reactionaries raiding the nation’s strategic horse dewormer supply seems pretty dangerous to just kind of wait out

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) September 10, 2021

Schadenfreude Open Thread: OSHA Is the New HIPAAPost + Comments (215)

Mandates, and the designated asshole

by David Anderson|  September 10, 20217:13 am| 61 Comments

This post is in: Anderson On Health Insurance

When I was a teenager, I did not have a good relationship with my parents. We clashed about big things. We battled over miniscule things on misguided principles. I was a generic sixteen year old piss and vinegar know it all. Moving to Pittsburgh and getting enough distance where I could make my mistakes on my own allowed me to have a good relationship with my parents once I got to my early twenties to today.

One of the things that I truly appreciate my parents doing was making it extremely and repeatedly clear over the course of five or six years that they were more than willing to be the designated asshole whenever my friends were thinking about doing something that was truly and spectacularly dumb that I knew was a bad decision ahead of time. I could always blame my parents for being completely unreasonable assholes if I needed an escape hatch that allowed me to save face and maintain social cohesion with my group of friends. And I used the designated asshole card once or twice that probably saved me a long and significant interaction with either the medical or criminal justice system.

I thought about my parents last night when the President announced that OSHA would be issuing rules that large employers would either need to require vaccination or enact “test to stay” policies and medical groups that receive federal money for Medicare, Medicaid or other direct health programs would have to require vaccination of all staff. The Feds are taking on the role of the designated asshole. Bosses can say to their employees and protestors “Don’t blame me, blame CMS or OSHA and we can’t afford the fines/loss of Medicare eligibility….”

NEW: The President will announce that all employers with 100 or more employees will be required to mandate COVID-19 vaccines or require testing at least once a week, and they’ll have to provide paid time off.

The new rule will impact over 80 million workers in private sector.

— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) September 9, 2021

COVID-19 vaccinations will also be required for more than 17 million health care workers at hospitals and other facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement—roughly 50K providers. (This covers a majority of health care workers nationwide.)

— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) September 9, 2021

These are the steps needed to allow a new normality without overwhelming our hospital systems this winter.

Mandates, and the designated assholePost + Comments (61)

(TGI)Friday Morning Open Thread: President Biden Is *Very* Good At His Job

by Anne Laurie|  September 10, 20217:04 am| 139 Comments

This post is in: Biden Administration in Action, COVID-19 Coronavirus, Open Threads

Yes, it’s both. And like Pelosi—& person of steadfast principles, as well as an avid reader of baseball boxscores, which are numbers w no spin—his convictions, plus his trust in data, plus his trust in his staff/advisors overpower any fears RE the press or short term unpopularity https://t.co/fafhJie9gp

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) September 10, 2021

I think that Biden takes the hits because he knows that when you do things as correctly as you can, it takes some time to resonate.

— Andrew Gatto (@AndrewGatto) September 10, 2021

To be clear, most Republicans are worried the Biden plan will work. Covid is the key to the economy and if Covid drops, economy goes up and Republicans want the economy to fail under Biden. It’s not that Republicans think the plan won’t work, they are terrified it will.

— stuart stevens (@stuartpstevens) September 10, 2021

I think much of the analysis is vastly underestimating the visceral appeal of a president standing before the country and calling bullshit.

— Schooley (@Rschooley) September 10, 2021

ICYMI…

President Joe Biden has unveiled a new “action plan” to confront the COVID-19 surge being driven by the delta variant. It includes vaccine mandates for millions of Americans and lays the groundwork for a booster shot campaign. https://t.co/hAUmIbk1R4

— The Associated Press (@AP) September 9, 2021

(TGI)Friday Morning Open Thread: President Biden Is *Very* Good At His JobPost + Comments (139)

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday / Friday, Sept. 9-10

by Anne Laurie|  September 10, 20215:43 am| 18 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs

President Biden to the unvaccinated: "We've been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us."

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 9, 2021

lots of moms and dads out there are pretty angry at the selfish/ignorant/malevolent people damaging our country by their behavior https://t.co/rEmhsu4ydl

— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) September 9, 2021

show full post on front page

the @WhiteHouse released it's new #COVID19 roadmap. It has 6 components:
1. Vaccinating the Unvaccinated
2. Furthering Protection for the Vaccinated
3. Keeping Schools Safely Open
4. Increasing Testing and Requiring Masking
5. Protecting Our Economic Recovery
6. Improving Care pic.twitter.com/okBr9tO8ow

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) September 9, 2021

In August, we tested a concept similar to the vaccine proposal that @JoeBiden unveiled today in the five states that flipped from Trump to Biden. Given how closely divided those five states are, this is about as much consensus as you will ever find. pic.twitter.com/mBoM3z86Xx

— Steve Schale 🇺🇸 (@steveschale) September 9, 2021

My 12-year-old had appendicitis. The ER was overwhelmed with unvaccinated Covid patients and we had to wait 6+ hours. While waiting, his appendix ruptured and had to spend 5 days in hospital; just got hmo bill of $5000. So yeah, your decision to not vaccinate does affect others.

— nathaniel osborn (@NEOsborn) September 6, 2021

If we want to stick with "working-age adults" (18-64), there were about 74,000 COVID deaths in 2020 and another 67,000 in 2021 already

— Jeremy Horpedahl 🍞🔕 (@jmhorp) September 9, 2021

======

Australia's COVID-19 daily cases topped 1,900 for the first time in the pandemic as an outbreak fueled by the highly infectious Delta variant continued to gain ground in locked-down Sydney and Melbourne, its largest cities https://t.co/BkyuXIVeBR pic.twitter.com/2muP2Jabw3

— Reuters (@Reuters) September 10, 2021

Australia’s west coast can seem like it has almost entirely avoided COVID-19, with its thriving nightlife and packed stadiums. But states that remain COVID-free face mounting pressure to open their borders in the interest of the national economy. https://t.co/6QjAWQgInn

— The Associated Press (@AP) September 10, 2021

Auckland COVID cases drop again as New Zealand presses on with Delta curbs https://t.co/DXczrP8jPz pic.twitter.com/Y1IulOIiOP

— Reuters (@Reuters) September 10, 2021

The European Medicines Agency said Thursday that it still needs more data on Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine before the jab can be authorized for use across the EU.https://t.co/FUumZlreb7

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) September 9, 2021

Scotland to launch vaccine passports on 1 October https://t.co/Lpu3gOXsl4

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) September 9, 2021

Spread of Delta COVID variant slows UK economy to crawl in July https://t.co/mKufaOWMCq pic.twitter.com/m4OXcD85Nb

— Reuters (@Reuters) September 10, 2021

Africa’s already thin supply of COVID-19 vaccines takes another significant hit. The WHO Africa director says that for reasons including the rollout of booster shots, the continent will receive 25% fewer doses than anticipated by the end of this year. https://t.co/bXMTKYbecU

— AP Africa (@AP_Africa) September 9, 2021

South African government offers free football tickets for fans with Covid jabs https://t.co/8TgaZMn3Lh

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) September 9, 2021

======

BioNTech to seek approval soon for vaccine for 5-11 year olds-Spiegel https://t.co/qfqKeILuhG pic.twitter.com/N44yzVHuZb

— Reuters (@Reuters) September 10, 2021


We call it the Pfizer vaccine:

BioNTech is set to request approval across the globe for use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children as young as five over the next few weeks and preparations for a launch are well on track, two of the biotech firm’s top executives told Der Spiegel.

“Already over the next few weeks we will file the results of our trial in five to 11 year-olds with regulators across the world and will request approval of the vaccine in this age group, also here in Europe,” Chief Medical Officer Oezlem Tuereci told the weekly magazine.

She added final production steps were being adjusted to bottle a lower-dose pediatric version of its established Comirnaty vaccine, jointly developed with Pfizer. It is currently approved for adults and children over 12…

Once Delta variant viruses invade human cells they start "cranking out copies of itself like the viral version of the brooms in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice'," @DrewQJoseph writes in this piece exploring Delta's superpowers. https://t.co/VjaN20bULz

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) September 9, 2021

Early days, but this is hopeful:

Lasting immunity & protection from a new single-shot, room-temperature stable Covid vaccine. An internat'l collaboration is reporting that their novel gene-based vax is highly effective at eliciting neutralizing antibodies & cell immunity w/ a single dose https://t.co/teUSa30yRK pic.twitter.com/KLF9pcBxxy

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) September 9, 2021

Another "miracle" cure for #COVID19 that was heavily promoted by #PeterNavaro & #Trump administration bites the dust. https://t.co/RkCNA4zKNX

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) September 9, 2021

New @CDCMMWR shows how untreated wastewater is used to detect #COVID19 infection trends in communities. The National Wastewater Surveillance System serves as an early detection system for tracking the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. https://t.co/0RXAncRZdw pic.twitter.com/ehgNR55gu7

— CDC (@CDCgov) September 9, 2021

======

Researchers say federal data understated the impact of COVID-19 in nursing homes last year. A study by a Harvard researcher says the CDC is missing about 12% of cases and 14% of deaths. It estimates more than 118,300 nursing home residents died last year. https://t.co/z4eKdnScGk

— The Associated Press (@AP) September 9, 2021

About 130 Black morticians have died of COVID-19 across the United States. For some, their work was as much about community life as it was about death, and their successors struggle to fill their place. https://t.co/WIEo0xND3j

— The Associated Press (@AP) September 10, 2021

College students across the nation are back on campus, bracing for another tumultuous semester amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.

Health experts share some advice to minimize covid-19 risk on campus: https://t.co/wlLZaGg893

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 8, 2021

The nation's second-largest school district, Los Angeles, will require students 12 and up to be vaccinated against the coronavirus if they attend in-person classes. It's by far the largest of a very small number of districts with a vaccine requirement. https://t.co/WN29g4g3O1

— The Associated Press (@AP) September 9, 2021

Baltimore City leaders have endured withering criticism at times for stricter handling of Covid.
Seems to have paid off according to new study from Johns Hopkins–
City has among lowest incidence rate and highest vaccination rate when compared to similar jurisdictions pic.twitter.com/sk1JbHq9ZA

— Jayne Miller (@jemillerwbal) September 9, 2021

Nevada @GovSisolak has a model, data-driven mask policy that is beautifully simple. County mandates turn on when cases are high and off when cases are low.

Section 2 ties policy to @CDCgov guidelines – policy automatically changes if the virus or context becomes better or worse pic.twitter.com/x5MNz8dqDA

— Julia Raifman (@JuliaRaifman) September 9, 2021

Mu coronavirus variant recorded in 167 people in L.A. County https://t.co/cg6yDWFmuF

— Lydia Maria Fanfan (@LydiaMFanfan) September 9, 2021

Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt canceled his upcoming tour dates in Florida and Salt Lake City because the venues would not comply with his request that attendees either show proof of full vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test. https://t.co/nxVC1JIIsv

— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 8, 2021

Nah. They'll just quietly get the shot and hope their family and friends forget. https://t.co/LcY7JeVM6d

— Cheryl Rofer (@CherylRofer) September 10, 2021

Exquisite. This one goes on the mantelpiece with the other Greatest Vaccine Post of all time. pic.twitter.com/rdlZ5RZSbA

— The Mall Krampus (@cakotz) September 10, 2021

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Thursday / Friday, Sept. 9-10Post + Comments (18)

On The Road – frosty – Death Valley National Park – Historic Sites

by WaterGirl|  September 10, 20215:00 am| 12 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Photo Blogging

frosty

We made stops at several sites. Death Valley had a short history of gold mining, a longer history of borax mining, and then finally tourism and park status when borax could be mined elsewhere more easily. The president of one of the borax companies was the first person to encourage the tourism industry.

On The Road - frosty - Death Valley National Park - Historic Sites 7
Rhyolite, NVApril 26, 2021

Rhyolite, just outside the park in Nevada, is one of the ghost towns. It started as a two-man camp in January 1905 and two weeks later 1,200 people had moved in. By 1906 it had indoor plumbing and electricity, paid for by the new mine owner, along with several substantial buildings, including 19 grocery stores, 50 saloons, 19 lodging houses, 35 gaming tables, and 3 railroads serving a peak population of 5,000 (more or less). By 1910 the mines began to fail and by 1911 they closed. The 1910 census counted 675 residents. Newspapers, post office, and train service ended, the electricity was cut off in 1916, and a year later the town was abandoned, just 12 years after it was founded.

On The Road – frosty – Death Valley National Park – Historic SitesPost + Comments (12)

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