(John Deering via GoComics.com)
Another noteworthy event that we didn’t get to discuss last weekend…
cool of zelensky to be polite to the fucks who let trump get away with attempting to extort him and withholding vital weapons that would have saved lives https://t.co/gDDgc06b6k
— kilgore trout, death to putiner (@KT_So_It_Goes) May 14, 2022
Note: It's smart for Zelenskyy to meet with Republican Senators. It's a way to get commitments of continued to support if Republicans take both houses at the midterms.
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) May 14, 2022
President Zelensky welcomed US delegation to Kyiv led by Sen Mitch McConnell today. Zelensky said it’s “a strong signal of bipartisan support for Ukraine.”
“Thank you for your leadership in helping us fight not only for our country, but also for democratic values and freedoms.” pic.twitter.com/amTIudErkb— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) May 14, 2022
“I have a message for Zelensky. Send Lavrov to deliver it”
“Lavrov’s schedule is full”
“Then get McConnell to do it!”
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) May 15, 2022
Recently drove across the US via the northern Midwest and the amount of visible pro-Ukraine support was astounding. Every tiny town in deep red states like N Dakota & Wyoming had as much or more pro-UA things as Trump flags. A clear winning issue for Dems & moderate republicans.
— Gregory Waters (@GregoryPWaters) May 15, 2022
Lucky for #MoscowMitch & Co, he can always count on Politico to carry his water:
NEW: Inside McConnell’s bid to quash GOP’s Ukraine ‘isolationists’
In interview, McConnell tells me he called Biden before Ukraine trip & said he wanted to blunt Trump’s influence by reassuring allies that “Republicans still believe NATO is important.”https://t.co/neFu3vLali
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) May 20, 2022
TFG could give a flying phart about Ukraine; #MoscowMitch is busy juggling the demands of his puppetmaster Putin with those of his ever-ambitious fellow GOP Death Cult quislings, like Young Prince Rand…
donald trump thinks he should be on television and you should give him money. that’s the sum total of his entire world view. he’s an incredibly easy person to understand.
— World Famous Art Thief (@CalmSporting) May 20, 2022
Missed you guys.
I didn’t do so well on this week’s Wait, Wait quiz. I blame the absence of Balloon Juice, which is my primary news source these days.
So glad it’s back, in any form! Thank you John Cole, WaterGirl, and anyone else involved!
I loved John’s Greetings From Hell email. Thank you for that.
I love this blog, and was not that surprised at how many times I wanted to check it over the past week. This home away from home is really helpful.
I don’t comment often as I am usually late to threads but I was amazed at how much of a void not having BJ left me with
John’s message is great, if a little disturbing.
I agree with John about wildflowers and pretty weeds.
I heard John’s voice saying “I’ll be back!” and I was reassured.
First I’ve seen the new temp site. Hey, wouldn’t threaded comments be a super awesome feature here?!?//
I’ve missed you all and feel a little less sane without “our chats.”
This week I have been (1) feeling like crap, concerned I might have covid, and (2) missing Balloon Juice. The second is the worst. Thank you, Water Girl and John, for getting this temporary site up and emailing us and generally keeping me from going crazy.
John, thanks for the update.
Please keep talking watergirl down, she’s doing a great job, I really appreciated the zoom meetings yesterday. It’s incredibly frustrating for you as you set everything up right to be secure and stable and something totally beyond your control strikes.
It’s been a revelation to me how much I missed Balloon Juice and my fellow Jackals
Look after yourself, have fun with Steve and Lily, and enjoy the wild flowers
@kalakal
i wrote a formal letter of protest to John (okay, not formal, it was a text to John that said “I object!” ::-)
Because i haven’t needed to be talked down since Wednesday, when I figured out that there was finally something i could actually DO, which was set up this site.
The whole situation totally sucks, but I no longer feel totally helpless, which is good because that was making me crazy!
For folks who didn’t sign up for the mailing list, here’s the message from John. Title was titled MESSAGE FROM HELL.
Hello all. If the title of this email was not enough of a clue, this is John, coming to you from the smoking abyss known as Balloon Juice HQ. We’re now a week into this hot mess, and allegedly there is an end in sight.
As you know, WG has been sending out what both she and I learn from David, our man on the inside at Bizbudding, and to be honest, the way he is being treated by 365 Data Centers is nothing short of shocking. They are literally keeping him in the dark on everything, and giving him vague assurances that his data (translation- OUR data) is fine and that pretty soon they will release it to him. Basically, they have spent a week sitting on the side of the bed telling him how good it is going to be, and at this point, he, WG, and I are all in the put out or shut up phase.
Having said that, there is literally nothing we can do. If we had access to the files, we could spin up Balloon Juice in under an hour. But since we do not, we are kind of screwed in the interim. Going forward, David is creating a page (much like the landing page) that I will have access to and every day I can download an updated backup of the website so should this happen again (it god damned better now) we will be back up on a new cloud service in no time.
The absence of communication from 365 is not only irritating, but poisonous, as it leads to all sorts of speculation about what is REALLY going on. I beg you not to succumb to that (and wish I could follow my own damned advice), because it doesn’t do any good. One of these days we will know, but the last thing we need is a bunch of conspiracy theories floating around leading to 500 people emailing me or WG every day with their hastily googled fix. Again, for now, we are just fucked, as is David at Bizbudding who is dealing now only with us, but with 500 other clients.
The good news is that WHEN the data is released from the data centers, David will be one of the first if not the first to receive it, because ironically he hosts 365 Data (they are his client and he is theirs). That means as soon as the data is released, we will be spun up in no time.
I can also assure you that 365 is not in our long term future. Once we have extricated ourselves from this clusterfuck, David and I will be having a chat about a different and perhaps larger cloud service. What we have gone through to date is simply unacceptable, and we (you) spend TOO MUCH money for this website to have been down for this long. I am personally livid and every time I so much as think about what is going on get pissed off even more, but I have been trying to remain calm and collected because as it is I have been having to talk WG off a ledge on a daily basis. So I understand your frustration. I really do.
As a side note, for someone who allegedly never reads his website, I sure do seem to refresh it a shitload every day. It’s been quite a revelation to me just how often I do check. Apparently I miss you bastards. Well except that fucker Omnes. Splitter.
Other than that, things are quite normal here at Home Crap Home. Steve was such an asshole begging for food last night that when I ignored giving him a second dinner, he went downstairs, ate a bunch of dog kibble, promptly came upstairs and loudly vomited it up in the hallway. Lily is still an angel, and Thurston is, well, Thurston. I’m going to spend the rest of the day getting the yard and gardens finished and when the site is up I will send you some pictures.
Below is a picture I took driving home yesterday. One of my favorite things this time of year is the random burst of colors you see everywhere. We need more wildflowers, less grass.
Later on today I am going to try to figure out how to send a word document with a Ukraine update that Adam sent me late last night.
Peace out, Juicers, and be good to yourselves. Ya jerks.
Thank you, Watergirl! I’ve really missed Balloonjuice.
I have to say I really liked John’s version of “put up or shut up.”
What was: “put out or shut up.”
Too funny.
@Watergirl
________
>>Apparently I miss you bastards. Well except >>that fucker Omnes.
________
Cole DOES read this blog.
Bravo to John Deering on drawing Moscow Mitch! Absolutely disgusting – as the Kremlin-humping trash is!
@Baud
I think we all envy OO for being called out this way.
@watergirl
glad to hear it.
“when I figured out that there was finally something i could actually DO, which was set up this site.”
That’s how you came across to me yesterday. 356 and their problems are beyond your control but you’re making a positive difference anyway. It’s great reading the comments about how happy people are to see this site, and the zooms were/are a great idea. I’m still laughing at the fact that Rick Perry failed a course called ‘Meat’ at school.
Thanks very much indeed, you’ve made a lot of people happy
A big thanks and virtual hug to all who were involved in putting Jackal Action together. You are the best!
Zelenskyy probably understands enough about realpolitik to know that he may have to deal with the GOP again in several years’ time. But I get the distinct impression that it’ll be a thousand years before Ukrainians forget what Donald Trump and the GOP tried to do to them.
And I’d bet cash money that Zelenskyy knows that some parties here call McConnell “Moscow Mitch”, and knows why.
“the last thing we need is a bunch of conspiracy theories”
Speaking of theories, I have one:
Anne Laurie in the library with a candlestick.
I was in rural Southern Indiana last month and spotted a Ukraine flag flying by a tobacco drying barn. Shared the picture with my ex girlfriend from Mariupol.
That cartoon doesn’t look like Zelensky at all.
In other war news, a friend of my son’s was killed by russian artillery outside Kharkiv on Wednesday.
I missed everyone so much. I really appreciate having this stopgap site (thanks, WaterGirl!), and I loved getting John’s “Greetings from Hell” email.
@Gin & Tonic
I’m so sorry.
And that dude tweeting about Ukrainian flags in North Dakota doesn’t know much about Ukrainian emigration.
Gin & Tonic:
I’m so sorry your son’s lost a friend. I hope it’s the last time it happens. I’ve been trying to follow things on Twitter, but it overall sucks for honest information.
@ Gin and Tonic; I’m so sorry, that sucks.
@Gin & Tonic
I am so very sorry. Strength to all in Ukraine.
@Gin & Tonic
I am so very sorry.
I thanked WG privately yesterday, but I need to add a public thanks for resurrecting Jackal World. I knew I spent too much time here, and the disappearance certainly confirmed it. But I depend on all of you for news and arguments and pets and gardens and silliness and . . .
And John’s email this morning had most of this in a few paragraohs + photo! Full service! Yay!
My condolences to you and your son on his loss of a friend.
@ Gin & Tonic
So sad to hear your tragic news. I keep hoping every day that this awful war will end.
Mr. evodevo wishes to thank you for putting up this substitute blog LOL – I was NOT in a good mood since BJ went down, and he was getting tired of being snapped at…
I thank WG too…such a relief…I didn’t realize how much of my mornings is spent on BJ lol
@evodevo
haha to Mr. evodevo, glad you are back!