Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Consistently wrong since 2002

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

This really is a full service blog.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

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

Come on, man.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Middle Afternoon Open Thread

Reader Interactions

125Comments

  7. 7.

    Aimai

    In chicago for my aunts 60th wedding anniversary. Waiting for an enormous thunderstorm to make it impossible for me to get there.

  9. 9.

    lollipopguild

    It is their chair not yours, they will let you know when you can have it back.

  11. 11.

    Mike R

    Isn’t this as it should be, adorable, happy and comfortable pets. We minions must make sacrifices for our critters. Steve looks rather unconcerned about the prospect of his chair being commandeered.

  15. 15.

    laura

    You may relax, you may sit in “a” chair and you may read. But it ain’t gonna be in that chair.

  18. 18.

    A Democratic Thinker

    The cat is, what, twice as big as the dog? If I were the dog – I would look more nervous!

    But Roger is right, the mountain lion kitties are cuter! They look so much like a bobcat when they’re babies, and then when they grow up, they look like a lion! A dangerous lion.

  21. 21.

    Trollhattan

    @kindness:
    Do a chair count first–with four critters he needs five at a minimum, and that’s presuming he never drives anywhere again. We know what happens when he does that. .

  22. 22.

    Miss Bianca

    @A Democratic Thinker: Steve is bigger than Thurston. And wasn’t Thurston the bigger of the two puppies? Holy Catfish!

    Yes, mountain lion kitties are cute. I’m not sure I’d want them running around the office, or stalking my leg as my two are right now, *or* sleeping in my chair, but they are serious squee.

  23. 23.

    Mnemosyne

    Our cat Annie gives me that same look when she’s too comfy to move: Aren’t I too cute for you to want me to move?

    @Aimai:

    I can’t tell from this comment if you’re hoping for that thunderstorm or not. ?

  26. 26.

    Another Holocene Human

    Your pets are cute. My pet ate my computer charger cord and now I need a new $80 one, thanks apple/horrible cat.

  30. 30.

    Miss Bianca

    OK, now kitties are in total whee-up mode, scrambling over me and the chair. I think it may be time to go get some lunch!

  31. 31.

    Mnemosyne

    @Dead Right:

    they whole nine years.

    From the mouths of babes. Hey, if Republicans want to play with themselves for the next nine years of President Clinton and President Democrat-To-Be-Elected-In-2024, that’s their choice. Please proceed.

  32. 32.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    @Dead Right:

    Kyle Foley, a commentator for the conservative Web site Red State, wrote, “If you choose to support Trump, that is absolutely your prerogative, but he has proved tonight (and pretty much every night) that he is absolutely and certifiably insane.”

    So, it will be a ride all right, but not in the way you think.

    And Mark Halperin is as solid a predictor of anything as Bill Kristol.

  35. 35.

    Mnemosyne

    @rikyrah:

    Steve just wants to be petted, but admittedly it’s like a Golden Retriever trying to climb onto your lap. You know they mean well, but they’re way too big for that!

  37. 37.

    Helen

    @Aimai: Ditto kinda. Stuck on an Amtrak train in Springfield, MA. Headed to Burlington, VT from NYC. An 8 1/2 hour trip in the best of times. Apparently there is ONE track all the way down the east coast and the south bound train is delayed because of the weather so we have to wait for it to pass.

    Oh wait. Is that wine in the café car? Oh I believe it is!

    Thank FSM for the internet and WiFi. And for wine.

  38. 38.

    inventor

    @Dead Right:

    Here’s the new angle on Hillary:

    Seems a whole lot like the old angle.

    Meanwhile, even Mark Halperin says Trump “has his groove back”.

    Now THAT’S funny! I mean EVEN Mark Halperin!

    It’s looking like 400+ E.V.s for Clinton if Donald can keep this “groove” going!

  40. 40.

    ET

    Well. If we didn’t know already, we do know now who is running – or more correctly who is not – the Cole household.

  41. 41.

    Dead Right

    @inventor:

    Average is down to only a 4 point lead in RCP with NBC News switching none other than Pennsylvania from leans Dem to TOSS-UP.

    It’s going to be trench warfare in the rustbelt, not 400+EV blowouts.

  42. 42.

    Michael Bersin

    In Missouri we’ve been watching two wealthy right wingnuts, one a billionaire from the eastern side of the state, and the other, a millionaire from the western side, fund different republican statewide candidates in the August 2nd primary. Today the western right wingnut dropped $1,000,000.00 – that’s no typo [Missouri has no campaign contribution limits, but does have 48 hour reporting requirement for amounts over $5,000] – for one of the republican right wingnut candidates for Attorney General. This probably to counter the other republican right wingnut Attorney General candidate’s television ads (funded by the eastern side of the state billionaire) running in constant rotation which accuse the other republican of defending terrorists. I kid you not.

    Campaign Finance: escalation

    The republican gubernatorial primary is a four way contest among similarly funded candidates – a former Speaker of the Missouri House, funded by the east side billionaire (over $3.6 million to date); a wealthy businessman who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in the past, who is self funding; a newcomer to politics who runs ads about being a Navy SEAL and has raised the most money – most of it from out of state; and the current long time Lieutenant Governor (“Peter the Tweeter”) who recently received $500,000 in two contributions in the same day from the west side millionaire and his out-of-state sister.

    Popcorn futures have skyrocketed in the State of Missouri.

  44. 44.

    Chyron HR

    @Dead Right:

    Romney/Ryan NOW HEADED TO PENNSYLVANIA! It’s official folks–the map has EXPANDED.

    Th-th-th-that’s all, folks!

  45. 45.

    Ella in New Mexico

    @Dead Right:

    Meanwhile, even Mark Halperin says Trump “has his groove back”

    Had to look at his stupid, bent-mouthed, ugly mug over Comey’s shoulder all morning during the hearings. Apparently he wasn’t in the big meeting Trump had with the Republicans in which he acted like a complete ass and threatened them if they wouldn’t come out and support him.

    Perhaps he’ll change his mind when he reads the reports. Meanwhile, you are such a fucktard.

  46. 46.

    Dead Right

    @Chyron HR:

    Trump has a far wider appeal to white, working class rustbelt voters and they’re the voters that truly count this election. Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan–that’s where this battle will be fought. You can run up the score on the coasts but we will win in the Rustbelt. To win an election you have to listen to the heartbeat of America.

  48. 48.

    Cacti

    As for Donald’s promise to expand the map…

    California polling has him trailing 58-28, with 16% of GOPers saying they’d vote for Clinton.

    LoL

  51. 51.

    geg6

    Look at Thurston! He’s so cute! As for Lovey, I have to ask, Cole. Does Thurston have a ridge of fur down the middle of his back that is all curly and looks like he got a mohawk? ‘Cuz that’s what Lovey has now. Just grew that way naturally. Must be some of that Ginger coming out in her. Otherwise, I had to laugh because twice lately I’ve had my main suspicion about her confirmed. First was at the vet’s when I was getting her Lyme booster. The vet tech asked me what breeds she was and I told her I was positive about the poodle but not so much about her paternal side. She immediately said, looks like a min pin to me. Then I was showing some photos to a friend and she asked me if Lovey was a min pin. Her daughter raises them and she said she is definitely one.

  52. 52.

    MomSense

    All I can think about is toasted coconut gelato. I’m thinking it is just what my sore throat needs.

    Puppies and kittehs living together harmoniously. I’m envious. Our neighbor’s cat is a lovely tortoise. She struts in front of the living room window like a super model swishing her tail with a flourish as she turns and walks back in front of the living room window. Inside the pup is snarling and growling furiously. One of these days she is going to crash through the glass to get that cat.

    That cat knows exactly what she is doing.

  53. 53.

    dogwood

    @Chyron HR:
    They sent Palin in there as well in ’08. There’s some conventional wisdom that always says Penn. is close, and it really never turns out that way. George W was supposed to win it as well according to the very wise pundits.

  54. 54.

    Iowa Old Lady

    @Dead Right: Based on the history of past elections, I expect Trump’s numbers to be at their highest the week after the R convention.

    I also expect Ds to be in full panic mode at that point because that’s how we roll.

  55. 55.

    indycat32

    Watching Governor Dayton. He sounds drunk – slurring his words. Is he always like that?

  56. 56.

    Chyron HR

    @Dead Right:

    Ohio is still in play too. This just forces Obambi to play more defense and quite possibly help to defeat Casey (the PA Senate race is tight-as-a-tick in some polls).

    #WMReagan12

    But this time you really mean it, right?

  57. 57.

    Gemina13

    Rust Belt voters “will decide this election”?

    Sounds like somebody’s angling for Bill Kristol’s job.

  58. 58.

    geg6

    @Amir Khalid:

    Over a year and a half old now, so not so much puppy any more. Believe me. Lovey lets me know that every day.

    And no one should worry about Thurston with Steve. Number one, Steve is a chill cat. Number two, if Thurston is anything like Lovey, he loves him a bit of a fight. Lovey has no problem taking on Koda, one on one, if need be. And Koda outweighs her by 80 pounds.

  60. 60.

    geg6

    @Gemina13:

    Yeah, funnier still because I’m a white Rust Belt (even PA!) voter.

    True story…there is only one house around here stupid enough to advertise that they are such mouth breathers that they support Trump. The only Trump sign (or even bumper sticker) I’ve seen around here, ground zero of the Rust Belt. At first, it was proudly and prominently displayed at the edge of their yard across the major county artery road and a few houses down from where I live. Then, someone stole the sign. He got another one and put it closer to the house. I don’t know what happened lately (was it stolen again or is he getting embarrassed), but suddenly it’s hanging on the railing of his front porch, almost impossible to see from the road because of large trees in his yard.

  63. 63.

    Trollhattan

    @Gemina13:
    They should paint the rust belt so we don’t have to listen to this crap ever again. Kickstarter, anybody?

  64. 64.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    I live in a deep red republican area of Eastern NC and I haven’t seen a SINGLE Trump sticker, sign or anything. I have seen a couple of those “Hilary for Jail” stickers but that is it.

  65. 65.

    Gravenstone

    @Dead Right: Oh look, our favorite racist chew toy has a new nick to evade the ban hammer. Must’ve found its thesaurus because it’s back to the R’s.

  68. 68.

    Mike J

    @Iowa Old Lady: We have a coördinated campaign office with yard signs for all our candidates available (as well as phone banking, volunteer coördinating for parades, state fair, etc). Paid for by the state party & the DNC. Establishment Dems doing the hard work in Washington.

  69. 69.

    Isobel

    The cuteness is unbearable. I love pics of Steve.

    So where is a politically active Democrat more useful this election season – Florida or Missouri? I ask because I transition back to the U.S. In 3 weeks and I have to decide where to go.

  72. 72.

    Quinerly

    @Litlebritdifrnt:
    I grew up in Pitt County, NC and still have a place in Carteret County on Bogue Banks…plenty of Trump signs in Carteret County when I was there in April. None spotted in Pitt, a few on the back roads in Craven….a few in Lenoir County. A lot of retired military in the Trump heavy signage parts of Carteret. Will be back in October. I’m curious if there will be changes.

  74. 74.

    hueyplong

    I am in NC. Two Trump signs in my neighborhood. Zero Clinton ones

    I live in hell.

  75. 75.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Litlebritdifrnt: Trump’s most enthusiastic supporters are blue-state Republicans. You see his yard signs and bumper stickers all over the place in New England.

  76. 76.

    Mnemosyne

    @Isobel:

    I do not live in either of those places, but my instinct says Missouri. I think Trump’s neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic antics are going to doom him in Florida. Even the oldest Cuban voters aren’t going to like that shit.

  78. 78.

    Mnemosyne

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Hopefully Sanders’s sinking reputation among Democrats has woken him up. And if not that, then the Star of David on top of a pile of money ad from Trump.

  79. 79.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Dead Right: And Bill Kristol has a new (well, not so new, UNLIMITED CORPORATE CASH!) rival for the guy with the most wrong predictions, ever! (You can take it to the bank, libtards…Romney will not only win the Colorado Primary, he will win the general election!).

  80. 80.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Dammit, FYWP is eating comments again. Is Thurston responsible for maintenance of the code base here?

  82. 82.

    JCJ

    @Miss Bianca:

    Years ago I was working for a professor at Purdue. We went to the Veterinary Science building to meet someone and as we were walking down a hallway a mountain lion came into the hall towards us. About a second later its handler entered the hallway and said, “Don’t worry, he won’t hurt you.” I was extremely worried, then the mountain lion rubbed his head on the professor’s leg like a little kitty cat and the handler put him back on a leash. It was cool yet terrifying.

  83. 83.

    Miss Bianca

    @Litlebritdifrnt: We’ve got one of those “Hillary for Jail” signs outside the right-wing “newspaper’s” office, but that’s it. No other yard signs that I’ve seen.

  84. 84.

    Pinacacci

    @geg6: Similar behavior in my neck of deep red Florida. Trump signs were up months ago but they’re all gone now, replaced by signs for down-ticket candidates.

  85. 85.

    Miss Bianca

    @JCJ: I would not cuddle with a mountain lion, personally. Even those little kitty faces look more fierce than cuddly to me. “Cool but terrifying” just about sums up my feelings about the critters. But, of course, I live in their territory, and I don’t take that lightly. They scare me more than bears.

  86. 86.

    WarMunchkin

    I’d like to propose “Weak End at Bernie’s” for thread title for next week’s endorsement. Just putting that down.

  91. 91.

    Mnemosyne

    @Pogonip:

    I’m so sorry. I hope it wasn’t the one you’ve been dreading (though I suppose an unexpected one would be worse). Take care of yourself.

  92. 92.

    kindness

    Since this is a critter thread, I live on the outskirts of town. Central Valley, CA. While my house is on a developed court it sticks out into farm fields. I’ve got feed corn growing on two sides behind my house (we’re at the corner of the end of a cul-de-sac). Well a baby red fox has taken up residence just outside our fence. I see him hunting field mice all the time in this one fallow field behind us. He is so tiny I figure he was separated from his mom early. And the field has a ton of mice so as much as he/she is skinny, I know he’s eating. It’s so cute to watch him pounce over the tall grass to try and catch them. I’ve kept my dogs from chasing him because I like to watch. My only problem is one of my cats hunts mice in that field too. Now right now the cat is bigger than the fox but at some point I’m going to have to worry about the fox going after the cat. Because, well foxes eat cats when they can. Before I only worried about coyotes. And I’m not worried yet but I’ll have to start at some point looks like.

  93. 93.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Isobel: I can’t speak to down-ticket races, but from the perspective of the presidential election, Florida is far more important than Missouri.

    Both are potential swing states, and Florida is looking bluer this year. But if Hillary Clinton wins Missouri, she’s already winning the presidential election walking away–Obama never won Missouri. Whereas if she loses Florida, Trump has a bunch of paths to the election that just aren’t there if she wins it.

    Sam Wang does a “Power Of Your Vote” calculation on the PEC site that ranks the power of an individual voter in various states to swing the general election. Right now, Florida is second only to New Hampshire. He does it for Senate control too, and both FL and MO are fairly high on the list, almost equally important.

  94. 94.

    Mnemosyne

    @kindness:

    Is there a wildlife rescue place near you? The only one I know of is the Wildlife Learning Center in Sylmar, but maybe they would know a local place? If nothing else, it might be possible to relocate Mr. Fox.

  95. 95.

    Jay C

    @Dead Right:

    Trump has a far wider appeal to white, working class rustbelt voters and they’re the voters that truly count this election

    Really, troll? Why them in particular? And how many of them? ALL of them would have to turn out, and vote for Combover Caligula by overwhelming margins to flip those rustbelt states: with turnout percentages well above normal (and of course, also above that of minorities, liberals, Democrats, Republicans sickened by Trump’s utter unqualifiedness, etc). Those states may indeed be in play, but they’re unlkely to be guaranteed for anyone.

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    You might be right, but given the *ahem* peculiarities of this years’ election season, I think it’s at least a 50-50 chance that Donald Trump may come out of the RNC with a negative “post-convention bounce”. Which, of course, will be immediately spun by the media as “bad news for Hillary”…..

  96. 96.

    Jay C

    @Dead Right:

    Trump has a far wider appeal to white, working class rustbelt voters and they’re the voters that truly count this election

    Really, troll? Why them in particular? And how many of them? ALL of them would have to turn out, and vote for Combover Caligula by overwhelming margins to flip those rustbelt states: with turnout percentages well above normal (and of course, also above that of minorities, liberals, Democrats, Republicans sickened by Trump’s utter unqualifiedness, etc). Those states may indeed be in play, but they’re unlkely to be guaranteed for anyone.

    @Iowa Old Lady:

    You might be right, but given the *ahem* peculiarities of this years’ election season, I think it’s at least a 50-50 chance that Donald Trump may come out of the RNC with a negative “post-convention bounce”. Which, of course, will be immediately spun by the media as “bad news for Hillary”…..

  98. 98.

    Roger Moore

    @Miss Bianca:

    I would not cuddle with a mountain lion, personally.

    That sounds like a wise policy. I think one that had been raised from a kitten would probably be friendly and not injure you deliberately, but they’d still be entirely capable of doing a lot of damage without realizing what they were doing.

  99. 99.

    PST

    @Aimai:

    my parents, who met as children, count themselves together for 76 years. They have been married for, i think, 63 years.

    My wife and I have known each other since we were 11 and 14. We celebrated our first wedding anniversary on July 4 at ages 62 and 59. We never totally lost track of one another over the decades, but we certainly were not together.

  100. 100.

    Schlemazel Khan

    @indycat32:
    Yes, he has done that since before he was a US Senator but it has gotten worse the last few years. Every time I hear him I am stunned that the voters of MN elected him. He is doing an OK job but he comes across as loaded

  101. 101.

    arielibra

    We live in blue Maryland and vacation in red upstate New York. RUNY has far fewer Trump signs than I expected. But we saw one homemade roadside charmer reading “Trump White House, Hillary Big House, Bernie Nut House.”

  104. 104.

    Mike J

    Earlier, Adam brought up that it would only be a problem for Chaffetz to have gmail address on business card if it were the only address.
    Here’s his card.

  105. 105.

    Feathers

    My guess with the lack of Trump signs is largely due to his not putting a campaign (staff) together. There has to be money to print the signs, have field offices where people can pick them up… And so on. He just doesn’t have that. Doesn’t see the point of it. My guess is that the ones in the wealthy New England suburbs that you are seeing were created by the state or local GOP. The primary reason for being a NE Republican is hippy-punching and pissing neighbors off, so they made the signs to keep the base happy.

  106. 106.

    CONGRATULATIONS!

    I think one that had been raised from a kitten would probably be friendly and not injure you deliberately, but they’d still be entirely capable of doing a lot of damage without realizing what they were doing.

    @Roger Moore: Knew a guy who ran an animal rescue here, he cleaned our offices at nights to keep the rescue going (pre-internet/internet begging). He had one he’d bring out with him. Better than a bulletproof vest and machine gun for personal protection.

    It was like a giant dog with muscles of steel – loved all the kitty stuff, and he could purr so loud you’d shake. VERY friendly. But you kind of were not able to forget that this critter could have had your arm, leg or head off in one second, with really no effort on his behalf. Would not keep one for a pet.

    Doesn’t see the point of it.

    @Feathers: Given he will get a minimum of 45% of the vote if from today onwards he vanishes from the public eye and sits around watching Star Trek reruns all day, I don’t see the point of it either. But for national-level races I never have seen the point anyway. It’s not like people don’t know who is running.

  107. 107.

    Gemina13

    @JCJ:

    I’m currently having an, “Awww . . .” moment over the image of the lion pushing its head against the professor’s leg. But I remind myself that the doc has probably earned the lion’s trust ten times over, whereas if I were to attempt to give it a head-scritchie, I’d lose my arm somewhere above the neck.

  108. 108.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Isobel: Also, if you’re open to other choices, consider New Hampshire. It’s probably less key than Florida as a whole, because it’s small, but per individual vote, NH currently has the highest power over both White House and Senate control of any state in the country.

  111. 111.

    kindness

    @Mnemosyne: I’m OK with the fox. Usually we get the smaller gray foxes around. And I suspect my cat is smart. She’s outwitted coyotes for 3 years. She sits on the fence and looks over. I’ve no doubt she’s seen the fox too. But you know, one worries about their kids (even the furry ones). No, in my area I could call animal control but they’d kill the poor thing and honestly I like that it’s eating the mice. Come winter all those mice try to get into our house.

  113. 113.

    Pogonip

    Thanks for the kind words, everyone. It was my father. He was 89 and ready to go but there’s just no good time to become an orphan.

  122. 122.

    CaseyL

    Condolences, Pogonip. He seems to have had a good long run, but there’s no shock like losing a parent.

  123. 123.

    J R in WV

    @Dead Right:

    Another right-wing sock-puppet speaks up from the center swirl of the falling water of the toillet.

    The only interesting question is if this is the same sock-puppet that used to babble about Brinks Trucks backing up to ?jeb?s HQ to unlaod money, that didn’t do him any good.

  124. 124.

    J R in WV

    @Miss Bianca:

    The last time we were in Colorado, we stopped for lunch at a little place between Canyon City (sic) and Salida. There were lost of pictures of guys with giant trout, big deer/elk, etc. Then I saw a picture of a guy holding up a dead lion, he had it under the front legs, and it was still half on the ground.

    The folks who ran the restaurant said he was a local rancher who heard action in the back yard, ran out, the lion had his dog down! The rancher grabbed a 2×4 and killed the lion with that for a club!! Mpre balls than a basketball team!!!

    @Pogonip:

    So sorry to hear about your Dad! I knew he was failing in the hospital, but still, as you say, there is no good time for it. Take care, hug everyone around you as much as you can.

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks