Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

Fight them, without becoming them!

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

This really is a full service blog.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

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Reader Interactions

117Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    Yeah, none of my RSS feeds are discussing this. People realize that without Baud!, it’s a sham.

    That, and no dick measuring means no interest.

  2. 2.

    MomSense

    @Baud:

    I’m getting s little bored of the dick measuring. I think it’s time to move on to pissing. With his commitment to hydration, my money is on Rubio.

    ETA finally a contest Rubio can win!

  9. 9.

    PhoenixRising

    Bernie Sanders is a much more skilled politician than his supporters give him credit for. (I am not a supporter.)

    He wasn’t willing to destroy the GOP friends he’s made in the Senate. Even with the circumstances we currently face, Sanders won’t stick the knife in. It’s almost like he doesn’t yet understand that Republicans are his enemies.

    May he never reach a situation in which he has to face that reality. He’s a nice old guy.

  14. 14.

    Gardenfli

    @Baud:

    Have you ever thought about choosing Jim Gilmore as your running mate? You could guarantee at least 2-3 seconds of coverage!

  16. 16.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Baud: Yep, he said if he named anyone their careers would be over. People would be running 30 second ads with the footage from the town hall. After some prodding he explained that he was friends with Senator Inhofe.

  20. 20.

    MomSense

    @p.a.:

    All of them, Katie.

    I’m going to say Rubio for volume, Trump for distance (it’s going to be a beautiful stream, yuuge, classy, it’s gonna make a rainbow, you’ll love it) Cruz definitely accuracy.

  21. 21.

    PhoenixRising

    @Baud: You mean had he chosen to move the Democratic Party to the left by joining it?

    Yeah, interesting counterfactual. He wasn’t willing to stick the knife into his GOP friend in the Senate. Because he was rightly afraid that this ‘friend’s career would be destroyed. Well. That’s a great statement of where your priorities are.

  27. 27.

    Peale

    @MomSense: a trump stream would go everywhere all at once and not make sense to anyone who hadn’t been paying attention to Fox News for the past 7 years.

  28. 28.

    Baud

    Is it sad that Ohio is voting in Tuesday and no one is talking about Kasich’s urination prowess?

  32. 32.

    Peale

    @dr. bloor: he strikes me as the pee shy type. Actually, no, that’s Rubio. cruz is the guy who’ll hold it until he gets somewhere he feels is safe and unused by others.

  35. 35.

    dr. bloor

    @PhoenixRising:

    Yeah, interesting counterfactual. He wasn’t willing to stick the knife into his GOP friend in the Senate. Because he was rightly afraid that this ‘friend’s career would be destroyed. Well. That’s a great statement of where your priorities are.

    Quite frankly, it was a batting practice fastball opportunity to completely fuck over someone he hates, and he whiffed on it.

  41. 41.

    MomSense

    I’m calling BS on this health insurance question. She’s buying from a private insurer which means she doesn’t get the subsidies.

  42. 42.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    Gawd with all the talk of “golden showers”, I thought I was on the wrong blog.

  44. 44.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @MomSense: yes. She is obviously struggling with a difficult and complicated issue. She was very honest about her struggle and perplexity. Wouldn’t be surprised to see her come around to total opposition to the DP eventually.

  52. 52.

    WarMunchkin

    @Kay: Thanks for that read. That’s the type of thing that I’d rather see covered as national, not local, news – instead of the horse race stuff. Given me a new idea to start a hashtag campaign, something like #notTrumpNews to shame news orgs into spending less time on horse race. (Except I don’t use Twitter).

  53. 53.

    Betty Cracker

    Good answer from Hillz to the 2nd gen American doc.

    @MomSense: Agreed. Before the ACA, that lady had one of those garbage plans that doesn’t cover shit. Now she has real health insurance, and it’s a lot more expensive. That’s because it’s real coverage, not the illusion of coverage.

  56. 56.

    George Hayduke

    @Peale:

    Whereas Clinton just made up something completely counter factual in order to kiss some republican’s ass.

  57. 57.

    Kay

    @WarMunchkin:

    Trade is weird. It’s hugely important to just about everyone but no one pays any attention to it. It’s like foreign policy- ” a long arc”- we’ve been essentially following the same trade policy for 25 years. The general arc is like this- we “led” on it- we got rid of tariffs and trade barriers with the idea that other countries would follow. There was such a long period where we were pursuing this and other countries weren’t “following” that there’s a kind of accrued deficit, a tipped playing field that disadvantages US workers. Some countries were protecting their domestic markets while we were busily importing everything, for years. That put US workers at a disadvantage.

    The steel issue is different. Dumping is actually illegal. It just isn’t enforced. I have no idea why.

  58. 58.

    MomSense

    That’s it for me right there. Clinton saying “I’m going to take them on” about the gun lobby.

  59. 59.

    Aleta

    H is doing well I think.

    But I wish she had said
    — I’m opposed to the death penalty. —
    And if she really needed to for her own beliefs, she could add
    — But I’d like to figure out how to apply it only to mass killings by terrorist-designated people —
    So as to show some deference to the man asking the question.

  61. 61.

    geg6

    @MomSense:

    Yup. That’s in my top five issues for a candidate and she kicks ass on it while Bernie sucks ass on it. He cares more about gun manufacturers than he does about dead children.

  63. 63.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    I’m glad he endorsed Clinton. He’ll be the single best person to go against Trump on trade in Ohio. He’s (IMO) a horrible debater, though. I watched a debate with him and Josh Mandel where I was just dying, he was so bad. I don’t know why he can’t do it. I see him on MSNBC just rattling this stuff off. He was stilted and boring and horrible in the Mandel debate.

  64. 64.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Aleta:

    I think that is what she did say. I think she’s genuinely struggling with the terrorist side of things, but she made it clear she would reserve DO for federal crimes and only egregious crimes at that (terrorism etc.) I think in due course she may well come around to total opposition to the death penalty, but I’m happy enough with where she is now.

  67. 67.

    Baud

    @Kay: Brown won’t have to debate Trump directly, so no issues there. I am surprised to hear that he’s not a good debater though.

  68. 68.

    magurakurin

    @Aleta: why? She’s not opposed to the death penalty. That’s her belief. I completely disagree with her and think she is totally wrong, but that’s my belief. She gets attacked for be nothing but a wind sock or panderer, but when she states her belief that is unpopular she gets attacked for lacking political skill. She really is Ginger Rodgers dancing backwards in heels. Whatever. I’m voting for her in Oregon in the primary. She’s way better than Sanders.

  71. 71.

    WarMunchkin

    @MomSense: I don’t remember how my brain got to this association, but your comment reminded me – I’d like to know the percentage of childless women versus mothers going for Clinton over Sanders, normalized against age.

  72. 72.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    I’m not worried about Trump getting the better of Clinton. She’s not afraid of him. I heard him bellowing on the radio today that she “most fears” him or some bullshit but I don’t think that’s true and I don’t think people will believe that, outside the GOP base. I don’t think she has a reputation for being afraid of people. No one thinks of her as “afraid”, even people who hate her.

  74. 74.

    Baud

    @Kay: Agreed. I can’t say for sure how’d she do against him in this topsy-turvy year, but she’s not afraid of anybody.

  76. 76.

    Miss Bianca

    btw…some nauseating new shit from the Koch Brothers-supported “Americans for Prosperity”:

    This from an organization called EveryLibrary, courtesy of Libnet, the Colorado state library email list:

    Hey team, I wanted to get this out and let you know about a situation we’re seeing in IL. The Koch Brothers have turned their anti-tax fight against libraries. You can see the full post below, with a recording of the robocall and what you can do to get involved in the fight. And remember, this could just as easily happen in your library and that’s why we need to stop it in IL first.

    Here’s the link (it does go to EveryLibrary’s donation page).

    We have to fight this crap. I’ve taken part in many library capital campaigns, and the last thing we need is more anti-tax propaganda making our job more difficult. It was this kind of “no new taxes!!” BS that helped shoot down the bond issue for the library in Gunnison, CO, which like this one was a bond issue and a mill levy increase for operating expenses. (Full disclosure: had it gone thru’, I would still be there as the director of Community Education in a new facility not at all unlike the one Plainfield was going for). I’m not bitter about that job never materializing, so much as how much the community missed out. New libraries generate all kinds of new economic opportunities, which is what these “Americans for Prosperity”, with their anti-tax mania, refuse to acknowledge or understand.

    The referenda go to the polls March 15. Sorry to rant here, but this shit makes my stomach tie up in knots. : (

  77. 77.

    Aleta

    @magurakurin: I heard her say that she is opposed to it except for her belief in using it for that one situation. I’m not criticizing her for her belief or her need to say that. And, I’m a supporter.

  79. 79.

    Eric U.

    @Kay: Hillary is the only candidate left that has killed a man, so I doubt she is afraid of Trump. I want to hear her say that once, maybe on SNL. I’m discounting rumors that Cruz is the Zodiac killer, which is something he still refuses to deny

  82. 82.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Trump is getting hammered on all three evening newscasts (photo)

    This makes two devastating nights in a row. One of the broadcast last night spent the first 8 minutes just pummeling him.

  83. 83.

    ? Martin

    @Kay:

    Some countries were protecting their domestic markets while we were busily importing everything, for years. That put US workers at a disadvantage.

    The steel issue is different. Dumping is actually illegal. It just isn’t enforced. I have no idea why.

    Yep, and yep. But you have a choice here – either everyone protects and only the richest nations can afford to import due to tariff friction, or everyone opens and you open the US to more exporting. You know which category I’m in.

    Dumping is difficult to police because it almost always happens with the backing of the state. So it’s not so much of an action against a corporation, but against another nation so it gets tangled in the larger political web.

  85. 85.

    geg6

    @Cacti:

    Seriously. But that said, they were both good. Again. And Hillary is much better at this than he is. Again. Don’t know why people worry about her in debate against that asshole with a ferret on his head. With apologies to ferrets, which are really lovely animals when they aren’t on the head of a vulgar talking yam.

  87. 87.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    “He has turned the most important election in a generation into a circus! Into a complete fiasco – a carnival.” ~ Lil Marco

    You built that.

    You guys could have stamped him out 5 years ago when he went full crazed birther, but you guys wanted him to fire up the dregs.

  88. 88.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @MomSense:

    I’m imagining Cruz spelling Trump in pee.

    Spring came early this year, and all signs are that summer will too. May we also hope for snow well before Election Day?

  90. 90.

    geg6

    @David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:

    Didn’t catch any network news today, but I saw CBS news last night and it was pretty devastating. Of course, their cameraman getting roughed up and arrested may have had some influence on that. And the interview of the cameraman. with the footage of the event from his perspective, didn’t help. His description of the entire atmosphere was sobering. Maybe ales Moonves is realizing that the Trump phenomenon isn’t so funny any more and that maybe ratings aren’t the be all and end all…Nah! Just kidding!

  91. 91.

    geg6

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Have I ever told you that I am not a bat lover but that they love me, for some reason? I’ve had more bat encounters than anyone else I know.

  92. 92.

    Elie

    ahhhh — bats… I do appreciate them. The little brown bat is stalwart on mosquitoes and other pests. We have a small clan in the attic above our garage. They will stay there (tho we will check to make sure the clan is getting too big but we would not kill them) They are endangered due to habitat — so many people are needlessly afraid…..

  94. 94.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Northwestern University freshmen allegedly spray-paint slurs, swastika and ‘Trump’ in campus chapel

    According to police, the freshmen blemished one hallway with a slur for African-Americans and a swastika. In another part of the chapel, they wrote a slur for homosexuals and spray-painted lines over photos of Muslim students. They drew p*nises on an organ and over the word “God” in a hallway.

    Last but not least, they allegedly wrote the GOP presidential front-runner’s surname in a stairwell.

    Classy.

  95. 95.

    Just One More Canuck

    @geg6: In this environment, is there anything that any one of them wouldn’t do or say to try to score political points?

  96. 96.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @geg6:

    No, I didn’t know that, but honestly, with rare exceptions, they will not harm you, so I hope very much you don’t harm them. I once shared a house with bats and I wasn’t happy at the time about having them up close and personal, but truthfully they left me alone (since then I have really come to love what they do).

  97. 97.

    Marc

    @Miss Bianca: AfP dumped a ton of money into defeating a zoo levy here in Columbus OH a few years ago. Yea, they want to buy everything. At least their attempt to buy a Democratic primary for mayor backfired, with the party needing only to point out that they were backing someone to have that person get defeated decisively.

    Tax levies are always a harder sell – so yes, it’s infuriating – hopefully they can become toxic enough that it doesn’t work any more.

  98. 98.

    Eric U.

    I thought about putting up a bat house, but I’m afraid it might drive the dogs crazy. My mom loved bats, and I’ve gained an appreciation of them. Riding my bike through the woods at night with a helmet light watching the bats swoop in to catch bugs is kinda fun.

  99. 99.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Marc: @Miss Bianca:
    They, as in the Kochs, are also, apparently, behind the Concerned Veterans of America group, which has been hyping scandals – most of which aren’t – at various VA hospitals and centers around the country. Why you ask? Because if you privatize the VA’s function, which is one of the most successful government programs, there’s money to be made.

    Long form reporting here;
    http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/marchaprilmay_2016/features/the_va_isnt_broken_yet059847.php

    Charles Pierce’s take on the long form reporting here:
    http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a42938/koch-brothers-va-hospitals/

  100. 100.

    MomSense

    @Eric U.:

    We put some up in our neighborhood on common land that is near the woods. They are away from the houses but we still see them swoop around at night eating our mosquitos.

  102. 102.

    Peale

    @Adam L Silverman: please keep promoting that story. It’s really important that at least our side starts to see through it. A lot of trump’s “we treat our veterans horribly” appeal comes from these “scandals”.

  103. 103.

    Peale

    Found out that my 15 year old niece is moving to Canada if Trump wins. She’s getting her drivers license this Fall and liked my idea of helping drive people to vote in November even if she can’t vote yet. I think we’ll win Ohio for sure now.

  104. 104.

    goblue72

    @geg6: All of which would matter is (A) debating was a core skill for Presidenting and (B) debaters actually affected voter behavior. But (A) its not and (B) it doesn’t. They merely solidify pre-existing opinions of candidate supporters and occasionally shape the media frame for a candidate – with the latter, given the number of debates and frequency, is a frame that rarely lasts more than 24 hours.

    Presidential debates during the primary season are aimed at the media and shut-ins. I am as much a political junkie as the next, but I can’t recall a single one of these debates that I have managed to watch more than 5 minutes of before changing the channel.

  105. 105.

    Aleta

    @SiubhanDuinne: Barn swallows, too. And such beautiful swoopers while they nab the black flies and mosquitoes. The black fly season has seemed shorter the last 4-5 years in Ontario. Is that true?

  107. 107.

    sparrow

    @geg6: Heck, I wish Bernie had an F from the NRA instead of, what is it, a D-minus? But I think that’s a pretty gross misrepresentation of what Bernie stands for.

  108. 108.

    Ruckus

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Other than voting to defeat their candidates, how do we defeat the Kochsucker bros? As someone who depends on the VA for my healthcare (pretty good healthcare at that) I hate these assholes with the intensity of a thousand suns.
    What can one do? I have friends who hate the VA almost as much as I hate the Kochsuckers, as their level of care was dismal. I know the backlog has been cut tremendously, which considering the bullshit coming out of congress is nothing short of amazing. Funny what actual leadership in the WH can do.
    I also hear people complain at the VA because they had to wait for care for an hour. Was in the ER last week and about 15 of us were waiting our turn. One guy was pissed off and left because he didn’t get to walk right in and get care. I thought he must not be very bad off if he could just leave. And they even tell you that there are no beds in the ER and they will be taking people in the order of need and beds, not arrival, but for some that just isn’t good enough. I’ve seen public ERs and it for sure isn’t different there.
    Point being, convincing many of the vets at the VA is going to be difficult although there are many that realize the level of care is pretty good. And if we can’t even convince enough of the vets at the VA, how do we convince others?

  109. 109.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Peale: The “we treat our veterans horribly” is perpetrated by chickenhawk slime like The Donald and the parasites that are the Koch brothers.

  110. 110.

    Amir Khalid

    @goblue72:
    Debating may not be a core presidenting skill or affect voter perceptions of candidates — I would dispute both these points, though — but it can offer valuable insights into a candidate’s breadth and depth of knowledge, as well as how the candidate thinks and argues. And from the reporting, it appears the Democratic party’s candidates come off better than the Republican party’s in all respects. We may of course disagree on whether it is Hillary or Bernie who comes out of the Democratic party’s debates looking better.

  112. 112.

    J R in WV

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Bats. Many years ago I visited the neighbors up at the head of the holler, they invited me up to help them dispose of some home brew that was popping the beer bottles. I only had 3 beers, and went out into the field to pee, and saw 6 stars in Orion’s Belt!

    So walking home down the holler, in a star-let darkness, and just as I got to the bottom field above our farmhouse, something fluttered down from the sky, and landed just by my feet in the very edge of a tiny puddle. My flashlight was nearly totally out of juice, just a dim red glow.

    When I put the light right next to the flutter, it was a bat !! I wondered if there was something wrong with it ?? Should I put it down to prevent the spread of rabies ??

    Then one of them flew away, seeming very healthy and happy ~!~!~! and then the other one flew away ~!~!~!

    I believe I had witnessed the end of some batty love, the part where they couldn’t fly together any more!

    I was so glad they flew away all healthy and happy – it was so cute !

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