• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This is a big f—–g deal.

What fresh hell is this?

This blog goes to 11…

Everybody saw this coming.

Deploy the moving finger of emphasisity!

We are aware of all internet traditions.

False Scribes! False Scribes!

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

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Shock troops for the Unitarian Jihad.

Let there be snark.

There’s some extremely good trouble headed their way.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

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

It’s the corruption, stupid.

I personally stopped the public option…

Just a few bad apples.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

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

We have all the best words.

This blog will pay for itself.

No one could have predicted…

Gastritis broke my calculator.

Mobile Menu

  • Look Forward & Back
  • Balloon Juice 2021 Pet Calendar
  • Site Feedback
  • All 2020 Fundraising
  • I Voted!
  • Take Action: Things We Can Do
  • Team Claire, and Family
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • BJ PayPal Donations
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Nature & Respite
  • Information As Power
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • On The Road
  • Garden Chats
  • Nature & Respite
  • Look Forward & Back

Riveted By The Sociological Significance Of It All

You are here: Home / Archives for Riveted By The Sociological Significance Of It All

The Web Is Broken, Everybody Knows It, And Donald Trump Has Proven It

by Major Major Major Major|  January 9, 20214:44 pm| 121 Comments

This post is in: Science & Technology, Tech News and Issues, Riveted By The Sociological Significance Of It All

I’m sure we’ve all seen the news that Donald Trump has been banned from Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, Shopify, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. Pinterest, Discord, and Reddit have similarly cracked down on Trumpy content. Parler, a social network for people that find Twitter insufficiently extreme, has been banned from the Google Play store, and Apple has fired a shot across Parler’s bow that will probably end with the app being banned from the App Store. (Thanks to commenter Wyatt Salamanca for the above link and the reminder to write this post.)

Is this good? That is a difficult question. It isn’t hard to whip up a slippery-slope argument. It also isn’t hard to say that Trump’s social media accounts present a truly unique problem at this time, which justifies a unique response. But is that special pleading? It’s easy to argue the importance of free speech, just as it’s easy to ask what the true goal of enlightenment principles were, and whether slavish adherence to them will get us where we want to go. But is ditching principles for two weeks going to weaken them? Should it? Reasonable people can disagree (not that all of the people disagreeing are reasonable).

I’m interested in a different question, though. How did we find ourselves grappling with this problem in the first place? Much as I’d like it to be Donald Trump’s fault, it really isn’t. This is an inevitable result of how the Web works 2021: walled gardens and closed protocols have concentrated informational power in the hands of a few companies, companies whose every action affects the structure of our press and our democracy. As a wise man once said, “Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.”

So, what’s to be done? I don’t know, but I do know one way we could have done it better. So, if you’re interested, join me below the fold for a discussion of distributed social networks.

show full post on front page

The Web Is Broken, Everybody Knows It, And Donald Trump Has Proven ItPost + Comments (121)

RNC Con After Dark: Riveting TV Drama

by Anne Laurie|  August 25, 202012:34 am| 136 Comments

This post is in: GOP Death Cult, Open Threads, Trump Crime Cartel, Trumpery, Riveted By The Sociological Significance Of It All

pic.twitter.com/wDRWfFzq4V

— mike luckovich (@mluckovichajc) August 21, 2020

“We’re getting ready to do things like nobody’s ever seen before,” President Trump says as he formally claims the GOP nomination.

— Matt Viser (@mviser) August 24, 2020

I’m not watching the RNC. If I wanted to see an old, incoherent despot being praised by family members while urging his population to drink bleach I would’ve stayed in Uzbekistan.

— Rita Konaev (@RitaKonaev) August 25, 2020

show full post on front page

RNC Con After Dark: Riveting TV DramaPost + Comments (136)

Late Night Schadenfreude Open Thread: The RNC Convention of the Doomed

by Anne Laurie|  July 17, 202012:14 am| 89 Comments

This post is in: Election 2020, GOP Death Cult, Open Threads, Repubs in Disarray!, Riveted By The Sociological Significance Of It All

At this point, who wants to be in a crowd surrounded by ill people?

Plus, there’s the whole coronavirus thing.

https://t.co/NvtZJBseca

— The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) July 16, 2020

It’s not sparsely attended, we just have a very select audience…

… Admittance to convention sites will be limited to delegates over the first three days, while on the final day, when President Donald Trump delivers his acceptance speech, delegates will be able to bring one guest and alternate delegates will be able to attend, the chairwoman wrote.

McDaniel said Republicans plan to use multiple venues, both indoor and outdoor, throughout the course of the convention while implementing a series of health protocols, such as on-site temperature checks and available coronavirus testing, to deal with the pandemic, which is surging through Florida…

McDaniel’s letter comes as Jacksonville and the wider state of Florida has experienced record-setting COVID-19 case counts and as some Republicans say they won’t be attending.

Speaking with Greta Van Susteren last week, Trump seemed more open to the idea of having a scaled-down event.

“It really depends on the timing,” the president said. “Look, we’re very flexible, we can do a lot of things, but we’re very flexible.”

Former Vice President Joe Biden will accept the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination at a nearly all-virtual convention in Milwaukee one week before Republicans gather in Jacksonville. Delegates were told to stay home because of health concerns.

Biden 2020 — he *wants* to keep his voters alive!

Trump forced the RNC to switch convention sites from North Carolina to Florida because he didn't like the cautious approach on the coronavirus being taken by NC officials. Infections per million people were lower in Florida 30 days ago but now 3x times higher than NC. Oops. pic.twitter.com/TGViZcEJdc

— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) July 12, 2020

Ronna Romney McDaniel is gonna be the fall guy for this, just as Parscale was for the Tulsa fiasco. Six weeks from now, Lord Velveetamort will absolutely be in the mood to insist that his Faithful follow him into the hellpit, plague or no plague…

show full post on front page

Late Night Schadenfreude Open Thread: The RNC Convention of the DoomedPost + Comments (89)

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Not Monday, At the Very Least

by Anne Laurie|  July 14, 20207:19 am| 123 Comments

This post is in: Biden For President, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Trumpery, Riveted By The Sociological Significance Of It All

How to cognitive pic.twitter.com/YM51OJ58qA

— Sarah Cooper (@sarahcpr) July 10, 2020

Donald Trump needs to spend less time playing golf and more time listening to experts like Dr. Fauci.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 13, 2020

Have the Republicans made one even quasi-substantive hit on Biden over policy, or is it all personal attacks & “Dems are socialists” boilerplate?

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) July 13, 2020

Just checked the forecast and I believe it’s the first time that the votes of the “very likely” states has eclipsed 270 votes. pic.twitter.com/ULuOh9Ojgp

— (((Michael Spence ??????))) (@michaeljspence) July 13, 2020

Wild that there's a coalition in American politics stretching from Angela Davis to Bill Kristol https://t.co/jK2RKEUuJ1

— Michelle Goldberg (@michelleinbklyn) July 13, 2020

And nothing of value was lost…

“As America is brought low by the pandemic, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the Republican party itself will simply be another casualty of Trump’s serial bungling.” https://t.co/TTx3e2hY1A

— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) July 13, 2020

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Not Monday, At the Very LeastPost + Comments (123)

Repub Stupidity Open Thread: Cue the Nano-Violin Orchestra!

by Anne Laurie|  July 13, 20206:26 pm| 178 Comments

This post is in: Election 2020, Grifters Gonna Grift, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republican Venality, Repubs in Disarray!, Trump Crime Cartel, Riveted By The Sociological Significance Of It All, Schadenfreude

Not the biggest thing in the world right now but in the Before Time I don’t recall campaign managers describing other folks in the campaign as “anonymous cowards” in an on-the-record statement. https://t.co/iuoDkWf8yz

— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) July 12, 2020

They’re just… bad at their highly-compensated jobs. Parscale at least has the excuse, such as it is, that he’s too busy grifting to put any real energy into his work. But his detractors (hi, Jarvanka!) sending out ‘anonymous leaks’ about how Dear Leader totally sees through that terrible Death Star dude is just… amateur. If only they’d had the luxury of hiring a real campaign manager, and not just some code jockey bent enough to serve as a conduit for the GRU!

And when the Permanent GOP Party — as embodied by Steve Guest — decides to step in and Show How It Is Done… Well, in a climate where the old rules applied, the Biden campaign would have to cite Guest’s tweets as an in-kind contribution.

First, Mr. Parscale’s problems, per the Washington Post:

Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale had an unusual cameo in the president’s first television ad of the year: Sandwiched among images of President Trump and Vice President Pence, the bearded Parscale appears twice, taking a selfie with supporters and hugging girls in red ball caps.

It was an unprecedented use of an ad — one that cost $142,655, according to the firm Advertising Analytics — to promote a campaign staffer. It sent a clear message to Trump’s orbit: Parscale, a colorful and outspoken public face of Trumpism, was the leader of the campaign.

But the image concealed a more complicated reality. As Trump’s reelection effort struggles, Parscale, despite his self-promotion, increasingly finds himself out of favor with his boss and hemmed in by newly hired staffers and recently promoted advisers, according to people familiar with the campaign.

A political novice who became a Republican celebrity after running Trump’s online ad effort in 2016, Parscale has long operated without a campaign manager’s usual autonomy, as Trump family members exert their influence.

Now Parscale’s role is being further threatened. Trump has made clear his displeasure with Parscale, especially after a disappointing rally in Tulsa, and the campaign has expanded its senior team in ways that diminish his role, according to multiple campaign and administration officials.

show full post on front page

Repub Stupidity Open Thread: <em>Cue the Nano-Violin Orchestra!</em>Post + Comments (178)

Friday Morning Open Thread: If You Thought *You* Had A Bad Week…

by Anne Laurie|  July 10, 20207:21 am| 116 Comments

This post is in: Biden For President, Open Threads, Repubs in Disarray!, Riveted By The Sociological Significance Of It All, Schadenfreude

Members of the exonerated Central Park Five help paint #BlackLivesMatter on the street in front of Trump Tower on New York’s Fifth Avenue. pic.twitter.com/Cw2AB2zhb9

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) July 9, 2020

Things Trump has bragged about this month:

– 11% unemployment
– 3 million COVID cases
– being able to lift a 6 oz glass of water with one hand
– successfully identifying a picture of a camel

— Grudgie the Whale (@grudging1) July 10, 2020

Every time Trump says "If we did less testing, we'd have fewer cases," he's essentially failed a cognitive test.

— Daily Trix (@DailyTrix) July 10, 2020

WARREN: "Look, Donald Trump is going to spend this election trying to fool people into thinking the economy isn't collapsing around us because of his failure to lead during this health crisis. But it is."

— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) July 10, 2020

We can't keep ignoring the facts and hoping our economy recovers on its own—we need action and we need leadership.

That's what @JoeBiden will bring to the White House. https://t.co/8Cgg93aXq0

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) July 9, 2020

Anyone who thinks Trump cant sink lower, wait until Sept 15 or so & it hits people that there really won’t be school for a long time, maybe not until fall 2021 (if even that soon). There are lots of parents teetering on the abyss. They will not blame that on Nancy Pelosi or BLM

— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) July 10, 2020

and trump can’t change his handling of coronavirus to improve perception because it means an admission of failure https://t.co/HrzP4rr8fd

— kilgore trout, suburban female understander (@KT_So_It_Goes) July 9, 2020

Friday Morning Open Thread: If You Thought *You* Had A Bad Week…Post + Comments (116)

Late Night Open Thread: Trump’s Proposed Portsmouth NH Rally

by Anne Laurie|  July 8, 202012:32 am| 35 Comments

This post is in: Election 2020, Open Threads, Republican Stupidity, Trumpery, Riveted By The Sociological Significance Of It All

Sununu, who’s up this year in a state Hillary carried & where Ds have both Senate seats, is skipping Trump’s rally this weekend in NH and next month’s national convention

Virus alibi is both legit and convenient https://t.co/SJUOdAvqNu

— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) July 8, 2020

Live free or die gasping! Local officials don’t exactly sound thrilled to pieces over this event — I have to assume none of them were contacted before the Trump campaign announced it. Per the local Seacoast Online:

Attendees for Saturday’s appearance by President Donald Trump should be prepared for inclement weather and screenings for contraband, before passing through a privately owned hangar, onto a private tarmac, said Paul Brean, executive director of the Pease Development Authority.

Saturday’s event is billed as a “Make America Great Again” outdoor rally for Trump’s reelection campaign. Brean said gates open at 4 p.m. and the rally will be held on the south side of the airport in the corporate general aviation area, with access from Durham Street.

“It’s always exciting to showcase Portsmouth International Airport at Pease,” he said.

The PDA director said parking logistics are in the planning stage and he does not yet have information about how many people are expected to attend. Brean said the private tarmac is the general aviation area and leased from the PDA by a fixed based operator with private planes. He described the tarmac as “quite a vast area” and said the rally will “not be too disruptive to our tenants.”

Brean said the passenger airport terminal will be closed Saturday. Air traffic will be ceased through a “ground hold” when Trump arrives through the air space, he said. The event is scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m. and it’s believed Air Force One will arrive midpoint, he said…

So, the Squatter-in-Chief will jet up after his Saturday golf game, and haul arse in good time for his nightly dose of Fox ‘News’. Everyone in a tourist-dependent town will have their whole weekend disrupted — probably been lots of cancellations and closures already — but what’s that to him?

There is, of course, a Black Lives Matter protest scheduled ‘in advance’ of the rally.

show full post on front page

Late Night Open Thread: Trump’s Proposed Portsmouth NH RallyPost + Comments (35)

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 55
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Guest Posts: Priorities

Kakistocracy
I believe In My Fellow Americans
Defeat Them
Turning Bystanders Into Activists
UFOs and Officers
First Up, COVID
Idiots and Maniacs
Our National Illness
Libraries
You Have One Job

Do Something!

Call Your Senators & Representatives
Directory of US Senators
Directory of US Representatives
Letter to Elected Officials – Albatrossity
Letter to Elected Officials – Martin

I Got the Shot!

🎈Ways to Support Our Site

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal
Shop Amazon via this link to support Balloon Juice ⬇  

Recent Comments

  • Elie on Here’s Why We Can’t Have More Vaccine (Jan 27, 2021 @ 6:53pm)
  • dm on Here’s Why We Can’t Have More Vaccine (Jan 27, 2021 @ 6:52pm)
  • Poe Larity on Wednesday Evening Open Thread: Rolling Up the Terrorists (Jan 27, 2021 @ 6:52pm)
  • Roger Moore on GME YOLO (Jan 27, 2021 @ 6:51pm)
  • BruceFromOhio on GME YOLO (Jan 27, 2021 @ 6:49pm)

Team Claire, and Family

Help for David’s Niece Claire
Claire Updates
Claire update for the holidays 12/23

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year

Featuring

John Cole
Silverman on Security
COVID-19 Coronavirus
Medium Cool with BGinCHI
Information Is Power

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Submit Photos to On the Road
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Meetups: Proof of Life
2021 Pets of Balloon Juice Calendar

Culture: Books, Film, TV, Music, Games, Podcasts

Noir: Favorites in Film, Books, TV
Book Recommendations & Indy Recs
Mystery Recommendations
Medium Cool: What If (Books & Films)
Netflix Favorites
Amazon Prime Favorites
Netflix Suggestions in July
Fun Music Thread
Longmire & Netflix Suggestions
Medium Cool: Places!
Medium Cool: Games!
Medium Cool: Watch or Read Again

Twitter

John Cole’s Twitter

[custom-twitter-feeds]

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc