Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I personally stopped the public option…

We Survived Breitbartpocalypse!

How has Obama failed you today?

Word salad with all caps

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity.

Mission Accomplished!

Almost as fun as hiking the Appalachian Trail.

I thought we were promised Infrastructure Week

Saul Alinsky is my co-pilot

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense.

We have all the best words.

A snarling mass of vitriolic vicious jackals

An army of rabid, anonymous commenters

Verified, but limited!

Wetsuit optional.

The house always wins.

What fresh hell is this?

Gastritis Broke My Calculator

This Blog Goes to 11…

This blog is Obama’s Katrina.

Where tasty lettuce and good mustard aren’t elitist.

The Math Demands It!

Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack!

You are here: Home / Archives for Anne Laurie

Anne Laurie has been a Balloon Juice writer since 2009.

Tuesday Evening Open Thread: The Way We Live Now

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I’m sure Cheryl and/or Adam will have serious, information-packed post about this later, but chroist jaysus, as the old folk used to say…

RECEIPTS:

Repubs: Hide the evidence, y’all!…

The Senate will incorporate the annual intelligence policy legislation into the National Defense Authorization Act — but only after stripping language from the intelligence bill that would have required presidential campaigns to report offers of foreign election help.

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday that Senate Republicans forced the removal of the election reporting provision as a condition to include the intelligence bill on the must-pass defense policy legislation.

Earlier this month, the Senate Intelligence Committee approved an amendment on an 8-7 vote from Warner and GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, which added a provision to the Intelligence Authorization Act requiring campaigns to notify federal authorities about offers of foreign election help.

That bill, however, was unlikely to get Senate floor time on its own, which is why it’s being included in the National Defense Authorization Act. The effort to strip the foreign election help provision from the intelligence bill was not a surprise, as acting Senate Intelligence Chairman Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, predicted earlier this month it would be removed before the bill was on the floor, because of an objection from the Senate Rules Committee…


And when they go, is there any way we can bar them from returning?

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The Pandemic’s Six-Month Anniversary: Some Longer Reads

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Counting, as Nature does, from 31 December 2019, when “Chinese authorities notify WHO of an outbreak of ‘pneumonia of unknown causes’ in Wuhan City, Hubei”:

The coronavirus is spreading too rapidly and too broadly for the U.S. to bring it under control, Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday.

The U.S. has set records for daily new infections in recent days as outbreaks surge mostly across the South and West. The recent spike in new cases has outpaced daily infections in April when the virus rocked Washington state and the northeast, and when public officials thought the outbreak was hitting its peak in the U.S.

“We’re not in the situation of New Zealand or Singapore or Korea where a new case is rapidly identified and all the contacts are traced and people are isolated who are sick and people who are exposed are quarantined and they can keep things under control,” she said in an interview with The Journal of the American Medical Association’s Dr. Howard Bauchner. “We have way too much virus across the country for that right now, so it’s very discouraging.”…

“This is really the beginning,” Schuchat said of the U.S.’s recent surge in new cases. “I think there was a lot of wishful thinking around the country that, hey it’s summer. Everything’s going to be fine. We’re over this and we are not even beginning to be over this. There are a lot of worrisome factors about the last week or so.”

The coronavirus has proven to be the kind of virus that Schuchat and her colleagues always feared would emerge, she said. She added that it spreads easily, no one appears to have immunity to it and it’s in fact “stealthier than we were expecting.”

“While you plan for it, you think about it, you have that human denial that it’s really going to happen on your watch, but it’s happening,” she said. “As much as we’ve studied [the 1918 flu pandemic], I think what we’re experiencing as a global community is really bad and it’s similar to that 1918 transformational experience.”…

… Most other high-income countries are dealing with modest numbers of new cases — often an inevitable consequence of reopening — and the countries are responding aggressively. Many are following the advice of public health experts, ordering social distancing, mask-wearing and partial lockdowns and doing their best to track people who came in contact with new patients.

The United States is not. President Trump and many governors continue to flout scientific advice and send mixed messages about the seriousness of the virus.

The federal government, as The Washington Post explained in a helpful reconstruction, has failed to offer “the kind of clear and consistent messaging experts say is necessary to mount a successful public health response.”…

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread: The Heroes We Need Now

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… Dedicating her award to protesters around the country, the star said: “You’re proving to our ancestors that their struggles were not in vain.”

“I’m encouraging you to continue to take action, continue to change and dismantle a racist and unequal system.

“We have to vote like our life depends on it, because it does.”

Beyoncé was presented with her award by Michelle Obama, who praised the star’s commitment to the black community.

“You can see it in everything she does, from her music that gives voice to black joy and black pain, to her activism that demands justice for black lives.

“And she’s doing it all while staying devoted to her children and the loved ones she holds dear,” she continued. “To my girl, I just want to say – you inspire me. You inspire all of us.” …

Finally, an anniversary reminder:

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COVID-19 Coronavirus Update: Monday/Tuesday, June 29-30

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No Sooner Than Time Open Thread: Who *Are* Those Masked Men?

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Suddenly, it’s no longer un-American!

Excellent news, regardless — because As above, so below…

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Resolutely Joyful Open Thread: Still Taking PRIDE

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Next year, Murphy the Trickster God willing, we’ll be able to party in public again…

… More than 200 people thronged Liberty Square in Taipei, saying they were “marching for the world” during the LGBT pride season.

Organiser Darien Chen said it was an honour to march when nearly 500 other events globally had been cancelled.

Last year Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage…

The island normally holds its pride parade in October but brought this year’s event forward to replace the hundreds of cancelled marches around the world.

Taiwan has recorded just over 440 coronavirus infections and only seven deaths. It has not seen any local transmissions for more than two months.

Mr Chen said the LGBT community in Taiwan wanted to mark the 50th anniversary of the first pride marches in the US.

“The whole world is facing the height of the pandemic,” he said. “So Taiwan won’t give in. and we must continue with this flame of hope and stand up for the world.”…

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Election Year Open Thread: Readership Capture

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Allowing for the inevitable NYTimes animus towards Democrats, especially successful Democrats:

… As America’s first black president, now its first black ex-president, Mr. Obama sees the current social and racial awakening as an opportunity to elevate a 2020 election dictated by Mr. Trump’s mud-wrestling style into something more meaningful — to channel a new, youthful movement toward a political aim, as he did in 2008.

He is doing so very carefully, characteristically intent on keeping his cool, his reputation, his political capital and his dreams of a cosseted retirement intact.

“I don’t think he is hesitant. I think he is strategic,” said Dan Pfeiffer, a top adviser for over a decade. “He has always been strategic about using his voice; it’s his most valuable commodity.”…

“Obama has now been out of office for three and a half years, and he is still facing this kind of scrutiny — no one is pressuring white ex-presidents like George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter the same way,” said Monique Judge, news editor of the online magazine The Root and author of a 2018 article arguing that Mr. Obama no longer owed the country a thing.

Mr. Obama’s head appears to be somewhere in the middle. He is not planning to scrap his summer Vineyard vacation and is still anguishing over the publication date of his long-awaited memoir. But last week he stepped up his nominally indirect criticism of Mr. Trump’s administration — decrying a “shambolic, disorganized, meanspirited approach to governance” during an online Biden fund-raiser. And he made a pledge of sorts, telling Mr. Biden’s supporters: “Whatever you’ve done so far is not enough. And I hold myself and Michelle and our kids to that same standard.”…

On June 4, an hour or so before Mr. Floyd’s memorial service in Minneapolis, the former president called his brother, Philonise Floyd — a reprise of the calls he made to grieving families over his eight years in office.

“I want you to have hope. I want you to know you are not alone. I want you to know that Michelle and I will do anything you want me to do,” Mr. Obama said during the emotional 25-minute conversation, according to the Rev. Al Sharpton, who was on the call. Two other people with knowledge of the call confirmed its contents.

“That was the first time, I think, that the Floyd family really experienced solace since he died,” Mr. Sharpton said in an interview.

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Monday Morning Open Thread: Resist — Joyously

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Baby Trump inflatable

From commentor TonyD:

Here is our $99 Baby Trump balloon.

I tend to avoid social media because I dislike taking dips in toxic swamps. But I wanted to do something to speak out about the Poison Cheeto in Chief. So I got permission from my wife and bought myself a Baby Trump inflatable balloon for my birthday.

We mounted it on our our porch roof, which is close to 20 feet from the ground. I was concerned that we might experience broken glass or worse, and my neighbor Alex agreed, offering to set a pool and taking 12 days as to his estimate of Baby Trump’s life span.

Alex is one of the smartest people I know. He is a NYC EMT who was down at Ground Zero for several days from Sept, 12th on. Many laughed at him because he insisted on wearing a high grade mask, but now he’s still here and many of those who made fun if him are not…

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COVID-19 Coronavirus Update: Sunday/Monday, June 28-29

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Lest We Forget Open Thread: Pence Is Every Bit As Dangerous As Trump

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Some people say, given the obvious deterioration of the Oval Office Squatter’s reelection campaign, that the Permanent GOP is preparing to shove Mike Pence to the front of the 2020 ticket — just in case. Let nobody forget that Pence is every bit as vile, dishonest, and dangerous to our joint American experiment as his ‘chief.’

Also, he is really, incredibly, remarkably-even-by-Indiana-Republican-standards stupid. The only difference between a Trump incumbancy and a Pence one would be less ‘entertaining’ press conferences and more overt theft by his kakistocratic handlers.

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Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Floral Serendipity

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white flowers

From commentor Lapassionara:

I don’t know what the little white flowers [in the top photo] are, but they really cheered me up when they appeared.

I can’t take credit for the iris, as they were here when we moved in.
Irises

The other plants were planted by me after I spent days cleaning out the shrubbery beds. There are Virginia sweetspire…

Wild ginger…
wild ginger

Oakleaf hydrangea…
oakleaf hydrangea

Then, in another part of the yard, clematis…
clematis

… And Black-eyed Susans, with Annabelle Hydrangeas in the background.

***********
Here north of Boston, we went from a moist English-style spring to very dry summer just about overnight. The unusually lush roses are gone, but the daylilies are suddenly bursting into bloom (too early! I want their bright colors in late July / early August!). My hopeful sweet-pea transplants have swooned; I’d like to believe they’ll come back in the fall, but I know the odds aren’t good. Most of the beds look like untended garbage, but at least they’re lush garbage…

On the other hand, 18 tomato plants are a lot easier to keep up with than 24-plus. It let me align the rows of rootpouches so they can all get a little more sun, too. So we’ve already harvested a handful of Chocolate Sprinkles, there are Cherokee Purple and Ramapo fruits starting to swell, and most of the vines are blossoming, so that’s something to look forward to every time I go out there.

I need more pictures, unless I’ve missed an email — if you sent me some that haven’t appeared, remind me!

What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?

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COVID-19 Coronavirus Update: Saturday/Sunday, June 27-28

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… Even as Trump attempts to move on, the protective bubble around him has grown thicker. Aides say the steps are necessary to allow the President — by all definitions an essential worker — to continue leading the country amid the pandemic.

But people familiar with the matter say the precautions also stem from Trump’s own insistence that he not contract the disease and his heightened awareness of how a sick President would affect both the country’s view of him and his ability to command a response to the pandemic.

After Trump told aides at the beginning of the outbreak he must avoid getting sick at all costs, efforts to prevent him from contracting the virus have progressively become more intensive and wide-ranging. Early steps such as keeping more hand sanitizer nearby eventually evolved into an intensive safety apparatus, including the testing regimen requiring dozens of staffers.

So far the efforts appear to have been effective, at least at preventing the President from contracting the virus. But events of the past week have also underscored the primacy of Trump himself to the safety measures, with the safety of staffers who compose his massive footprint coming second…

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Late Night Open Thread: Parler, It’s Where the Kewl Kidz Are!!!

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Parler, per Wikipedia, is a “microblogging and social networking service launched in August 2018, promoted as an alternative to Twitter and particularly marketed to political conservatives in the United States”. (The article cites “Brad Parscale, Senator Mike Lee, and activist Candace Owens” as prominent early supporters, for what that’s worth.)

Benny Johnson, formerly ‘Buzzfeed Ben’, is a plagiarist currently serving as “chief creative officer at conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA”.

As you may have heard, Professional Conservatives are currently Big Mad at Twitter and FaceBook for those companies’ recent half-hearted attempts to staunch the sludge of hate speech, misinformation, and monetized lies. Lo, Mr. Johnson proclaims a Solution!

It’s the hot new craze!

Tom Cotton’s aide writes some advertising copy:

Report from Fast Company:

… I have to admit: The Parler site itself is well-designed and organized. It obviously takes many cues from Twitter in terms of features and layout, but it’s got some of its own bells and whistles, such as the ability to tip other users’ posts with influence points, which you must buy with a credit card. You can also vote up posts and “echo” them by hitting a little megaphone icon…

Of course, if Parler has your credit card info, it can sell your data, just like those other evil apps! And because I am an elderly cynic, when a company offers a chance for its marks to send money to their faves, I immediately wondered about the percentage of outright grifters among its users…

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Electoral Justice Open Thread: DC *Will* Be A State

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… Just as soon as we succeed in turfing out the GOP racists currently supporting the Oval Office Squatter. Goals!

Karen Tumulty, at the Washington Post — “Why the lopsided House vote in favor of D.C. statehood was so historic”:

Before Friday, the last time Congress considered the question of the District of Columbia becoming a state was 27 years ago. The measure failed in 1993 by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, with all but one House Republican and 40 percent of the Democrats voting against.

So the lopsided House vote in favor of D.C. statehood on Friday was a historic one, illuminating both the politically and racially charged moment that we are in and forces that have building for decades.

It passed along party lines, 232 to 180, with Rep. Collin C. Peterson, a Democrat from a conservative district in Minnesota, the only one in the chamber to break ranks and join the Republicans in opposition.

“I was born without representation, but I swear — I will not die without representation,” D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, a Democrat and a fifth-generation Washingtonian, said shortly after the vote…

Though the measure has 40 Democratic co-sponsors in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said it will not reach the floor. Even if Democrats win control in November, as looks increasingly possible, it’s unclear that statehood could garner the 60 votes it would need to overcome a filibuster…

(IMO, if we break McConnell’s majority, it won’t be all that hard to peel off some of the GOP cowards looking to get out from under the wreckage.)

And of course the Republicans, inside and out of Congress, immediately leapt to announce their allegiance to racism…

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GOP Venality Open Thread: #PutinsPuppet Gets His Strings Yanked

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I’m sure Cheryl & Adam will have more informed commentary later, but SRSLY: At this point, the Notorious P Tape is gonna be a live-on-air performance where Putin soils a kneeling Trump’s ‘very expensive silk’ tie, and Trump meekly comments, Thank you sir may I have another?

Is ‘Sure, Russia was paying a bounty on dead Americans, but when American intelligence found out, nobody bothered to tell Trump’ supposed to be some kind of vindication? What’s the message supposed to be — that everyone figured Trump knew about it already, or that nobody expected him to do anything about it but maybe tell some more lies?

I’d predict McEninny would be out of a job by Monday, except who the hell would they get to replace her?

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