Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

This blog will pay for itself.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

If you are in line to indict donald trump, stay in line.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

As long as McCarthy is Speaker, the House will never be in order.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

Come on, man.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Republicans in disarray!

Thursday Evening Open Thread: TFG’s (Predictably) Fake ‘Union Autoworkers’ Audience

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… A lot of coverage noted that Trump’s visit wasn’t really “at the strike,” as a number of reports had it, but at a non-union auto parts manufacturer, Drake Enterprises. What’s gotten much less attention is that a substantial number of the “auto workers” and “union members” in the audience appear to have been phonies produced by the Trump campaign…


Craig Mauger seems to have been the first reporter to point this out:

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Let’s Hear It for the Young Pups in the House!

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h/t to Aaron Rupar for collecting all of these in his twitter feed!

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Not sure that Goldman is a young pup, but he is a freshman, so I’m gonna call it close enough.

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Mortality and education disparities

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Just saw this graph and it is making me say WOW

Mortality and education disparities in the United States for Age 25 adults

Case and Deaton are looking at the life expectancy of Americans at age 25 over time. They stratify on a single variable — does a person have at least a 4 year degree.

AND WOW!

Americans with at least a 4 year degree look pretty much like citizens of most rich nations. In 1990, these folks would be expected to live about 54 years longer and in 2019 (pre-COVID) the expected life span is about 59 more years, for a gain of 5 years. 2020 was a bit rough due to COVID with what looks to be visually bigger drops because the US got bored with social solidarity and public health by May 2020. But overall, in a 30 year time frame, Americans with college degrees have life expectancy trajectories that look a lot like the average (mostly non-degreed) international peer comparisons.

Folks without degrees in the US always lived less than folks with degrees. A 25 year old without a degree could expect to make it to ~76 in 1990. This slowly rose to about 78 in 2010 and then it flatlined and declined to 2019, with probably 6 to 12 months of less life expectancy. This cohort got wrecked by COVID in 2020, giving up 3 years of post-25 life expectancy.

I don’t know what to say or do about this beyond think deeply.

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Open Thread (Mendacious Menendez and More)

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Until this morning, I was only aware of two of the five items on this list from Just Security..

How Dangerous is Menendez to Our National Security?

Short answer? VERY>

Let us count the ways…

  1. Disclosing the United States’ Staffing Blueprint in its Egyptian Embassy
  2. Providing Advance Information on U.S. Military Aid
  3. Ghostwriting a Letter Requesting U.S. Military Aid from the Government of Egypt
  4. Providing a Heads-Up on Questions U.S. Senators Intended to Ask of Egyptian Officials
  5. It’s Impossible to Know How Much Leverage Egypt Continues to Have Over Menendez

Surely his girlfriend – now his wife – who was in the middle of all these things, must have been pivotal in his recruitment.  That’s just my opinion, but it’s hard for me to see otherwise.   Not just in their pocket; definitely in bed with them.

Read the whole thing.  (Just Security)

Also, the polls that we probably won’t hear much about in the media:

Also, I cannot believe that a formal dress code for male senators passed unanimously today.  Seriously?

Open thread.

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Thursday Morning Open Thread: But Seriously…

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… these are *not* serious people.

Doesn’t mean they’re incapable of f*cking up a lot of innocent peoples’ lives, though:

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On The Road – way2blue – Valparaiso, Chile [1 of 2]

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way2blue

We got up before the sun our last day in Torres del Paine for the 4-hr drive back to Punta Arenas.  Accompanied by a spectacular sunrise that seemed to go on forever.  Long flight to Santiago (Chile is a very long country), arriving in the evening.  We’d originally planned to stay in Santiago for three nights, visiting the historic parts of town. 

But our niece, who’d spent a college year abroad in Chile, told us her favorite Chilean city was Valparaíso.  Founded by the Spanish in 1536, Valparaíso thrived as a port stop along the trade route that circumnavigated Cape Horn. Large parts of the city were rebuilt after a devastating earthquake in 1906 only to be sidelined as a major port stop after the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914.  Many buildings were heavily damaged in the 1971 and 1985 earthquakes, and then more recently in 2010.

On The Road - way2blue - Valparaiso, Chile [1 of 2] 9
VALPARAíSO, CHILE

After a fair amount of Google sleuthing while in Torres del Paine, I found room in the Alegre Barrio (within the historical area which had been deemed a World Heritage Site in 2003).  An old stately home that had been converted to a small B&B.  Our lodging had a terrace on the first floor overlooking the harbor from up high.  Great breakfast spot.  Here, looking toward the south end of the harbor.

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Dank Grey Dawn Open Thread: The Repubs Debate in Loma Linda (Early Reports)

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The clip I’m betting will define the evening:

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