Tom Levenson – Balloon Juice

A Break From All That

June 13, 2018 /148 Comments/in Humor, Open Thread /by Tom Levenson

Hey, everybody. Just prairie-dogging here, coming up from book-hell to say “hi.” I’m sure I’m not alone in having just about every working day disrupted by Trumpian and GOP dysfunction — which is what I blame the fact that my book is a crooked number of Friedman Units overdue. Still, while I can’t really blog […]

Comhghairdeas Éire! (Our Chance Comes In November)

May 26, 2018 /63 Comments/in All we want is life beyond the thunderdome, Don't Trip, Organize, Make The World A Better Place, Vote Like Your Country Depends On It, Women's Rights Are Human Rights /by Tom Levenson

Ireland has done what, as a not-much-younger-human I would have thought impossible in my lifetime: it has legalized abortion — and by an overwhelming margin. In doing so, it has struck a blow that will resonate worldwide, and especially here, I think and hope. Most important, it says to the forces of reaction that all […]

Trump’s Open Door Policy…

May 17, 2018 /34 Comments/in All we want is life beyond the thunderdome, FFS, Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Week to Stop Sniffing Glue, Our Failed Political Establishment, Republican Stupidity, Security Theatre, Trump-Russia /by Tom Levenson

Let anyone who wants waltz right into US cyberspace: The White House eliminated the position of cybersecurity coordinator on the National Security Council on Tuesday, doing away with a post central to developing policy to defend against increasingly sophisticated digital attacks and the use of offensive cyber weapons. A memorandum circulated by an aide to […]

As A Box Of Rocks. That Dumb (GOP Climate Change Edition)

May 17, 2018 /63 Comments/in Changing Climate, Climate Change, Clown Shoes, Republican Stupidity /by Tom Levenson

File this one under the “It matters too much too laugh, and my tear ducts are dry”: Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) questioned Duffy on the factors that contribute to sea-level rise, pointing out that land subsidence plays a role, as well as human activity. Brooks then said that erosion plays a significant role in sea-level […]

May Day!

May 1, 2018 /34 Comments/in All we want is life beyond the thunderdome, Open Thread /by Tom Levenson

I’m working on another post, to come shortly, but hey, it’s May Day, and I figure we could all use more thread, produced in the true socialist fashion: from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs. So, as we comment below, let us all join in song, appropriate to the day! […]

Him Too?

April 23, 2018 /122 Comments/in An Unexamined Scandal, Good News For Conservatives, Trump Crime Cartel /by Tom Levenson

Looks like Rear Admiral Doctor Ronny Jackson may have erred in inviting the kind of scrutiny no mere physician to the powerful usually encounters: Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee are raising concerns about allegations involving Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the department of Veterans Affairs and […]

Popcorn Futures…Looking g

April 12, 2018 /89 Comments/in Clown car, Republican Stupidity, Schadenfreude, Trump Crime Cartel /by Tom Levenson

Yo, Donald… This is what happens when you use as your fixer some thug/schmoe who went to the worst law school in the country: President Trump’s personal attorney Michael D. Cohen sometimes taped conversations with associates, according to three people familiar with his practice, and allies of the president are worried that the recordings were […]