Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

They are not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Republicans in disarray!

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

Second rate reporter says what?

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

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

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

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

You are here: Home / 2016 / Archives for August 2016

Archives for August 2016

Social Cues Fail Open Thread: Trump (Ain’t) Going to Mexico

by | 178 Comments

This post is in: , , ,

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto: “We must do lunch, one of these days.”
Deadbeat Donald Trump: “See ya on Wednesday — you’re buying!”

Donald Trump is considering jetting to Mexico City on Wednesday for a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, just hours before he delivers a high-stakes speech in Arizona to clarify his views on immigration policy, according to people in the United States and Mexico familiar with the discussions.

The possibility, which was hatched in recent days by Trump and his campaign advisers, comes after Trump has wavered for weeks over whether he would continue to hold his hard-line positions on the central and incendiary issue of his campaign, in particular his call to deport an estimated 11 million immigrants who are living in the United States illegally…

show full post on front page

Social Cues Fail Open Thread: Trump (Ain’t) Going to MexicoPost + Comments (178)

Breaking News: Abu Muhammed al Adnani is Dead

by | 96 Comments

This post is in: , , ,

Abu_Mohammed_al-Adnani

(Abu Muhammed al Adnani*)

Abu Muhammed al Adnani (real name: Taha Subhi Falaha), the number 2 man within the Islamic State and its commander for special operations (terrorist operations outside of the declared caliphate, recruitment, social media, and communications), is dead. It is being reported that al Adnani was killed in Aleppo earlier today and had been targeted by the US military led coalition forces in a precision strike near the town of al Bab. Here is CENTCOM’s release of the coalition strikes in Syria for today, as well as the past several days. Al Bab is not mentioned, but that may just mean it will be in tomorrow’s press release on coalition strikes. Expect the information on this to solidify over the next 24 to 48 hours. We’ll also see what this does to the Islamic State’s operational capabilities, especially those outside of the self declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

* Image found here.

Breaking News: Abu Muhammed al Adnani is DeadPost + Comments (96)

Open Thread: Taking the High Road

by | 244 Comments

This post is in: , ,

But seriously: Good for President Obama…

President Obama on Tuesday commuted the sentences for 111 inmates, the latest in his push to ease harsh penalties given to nonviolent drug offenders.

Obama has been critical of what he has called the “devastating” effects of severe sentences handed down during the country’s war on drugs. He became the first sitting president to visit a federal prison, and spoke there about the importance of “second chances.”…

Obama said that he hoped the bipartisan push for criminal justice reform could wind up weighing how to fight crime alongside “the need for proportionality in sentencing and the need to rehabilitate those who commit crimes”…

Open Thread: Taking the High RoadPost + Comments (244)

Tuesday Evening Open Thread: The NYTimes “Sh… ugar” Test

by | 138 Comments

This post is in: , , , , ,

In honor of the proverbial gently-reared lady who “wouldn’t say ‘shit’ if she had a mouthful of it.” Because the real social solecism is calling an old white man the R-word!

From Maine’s Portland Press-Herald, “In the morning Gov. LePage says he might resign; by afternoon he discounts the idea”:

… In a morning radio interview, LePage said he was totally at fault for leaving a threatening voice mail last week for a Democratic lawmaker whom he believed had called him a racist. He later invited Rep. Drew Gattine to the State House to have a face-to-face meeting on Wednesday, and Gattine accepted.

LePage also raised the possibility more than once on the radio that he may not finish his second term because of the controversy, which has stretched on for a week.

“I’m looking at all options,” the Republican governor said while appearing on WVOM, a Bangor talk radio station, Tuesday morning. “I think some things I’ve been asked to do are beyond my ability. I’m not going to say that I’m not going to finish it. I’m not saying that I am going to finish it.”

He said later in the interview: “If I’ve lost my ability to help Maine people, maybe it’s time to move on.”

Some six hours later, in a tweet posted from his Twitter account, LePage backed away from any suggestion that he was considering resignation…

The uncertainty comes after several days of sustained controversy that began last week when the governor told an audience in North Berwick that he’s been keeping a three-ring binder of drug dealers and that 90 percent of those dealers are black or Hispanic. Statistics show that the overwhelming majority of drug dealers arrested in Maine are white, and critics have said that even if the governor’s numbers were accurate, he is wrong to focus on race….

During his radio interview, LePage did apologize to the people of Maine and to Gattine’s family for leaving a threatening voice mail last week, but didn’t apologize to Gattine directly.

“When I was called a racist I just lost it, and there’s no excuse,” the governor said. “It’s unacceptable. It’s totally my fault.” LePage said being called a racist for him was, “like calling a black man the ‘N’ word or a woman the ‘C’ word. It just absolutely knocked me off my feet.”…

Incidentally… and no surprise, given LePage is a Republican…

… While LePage has repeatedly emphasized his concern about the impact of drug addiction in Maine, state spending on addiction treatment during his administration has actually declined…

He’s unfit for his current position, but maybe the RNC can offer him a replacement job as their national mascot / cheerleader? Because I sense he’d do much better as an opener for Trump ralies than that Reince Priebus guy…

Apart from deploring the Disloyal Opposition, what’s on the agenda for the evening?

Tuesday Evening Open Thread: The <em>NYTimes</em> “Sh… ugar” TestPost + Comments (138)

More “Both Sides” Juice

by | 194 Comments

This post is in: , , , , ,

Via CNN:

The FBI expects to publicly release as soon as Wednesday the report the bureau sent to the Justice Department in July recommending no charges in the Hillary Clinton email server investigation, according to multiple law enforcement officials.

Perhaps then Director Comey (R-FBI) can go on a book tour to promote the novella-sized email report — he did a smashing job of turning a statement about the decision not to recommend charges into a closing argument for the prosecution last month.

Venues like network TV morning shows and old timey radio screech-a-thons might be a good way to generate buzz for the book tour. To keep the momentum going and appeal to the youngs, maybe the FBI could release a graphic novel edition in mid-September.

With any luck, the movie rights will get picked up in October, and casting decisions (Meryl for Hillz, obvs), etc., will keep this publicity train on track clean through the election.

More “Both Sides” JuicePost + Comments (194)

Dogs Suck

by | 170 Comments

This post is in: , ,

I rarely go outside this time of year because it’s too goddamned hot, but thanks to that little tropical depression in the Gulf, it’s breezy and pleasant today, so I temporarily moved Cracker Inc. to the tiki bar. While setting up my workstation, I noticed one of the dogs rooting around in the bromeliads and told her to stop.

She stopped, alright — drawing back from the flower bed with a snake in her mouth! I screamed, of course, which caused her to drop it, and she and the other dog were snapping at it while it lashed at them with fangs bared, causing me to scream myself hoarse until the dogs came to see what was wrong with me.

I grabbed their collars and wrestled them back into the house, then ran to fetch my laptop and other accoutrements. The cops are probably on their way since any neighbor within half a mile must have immediately assumed someone was being murdered.

It was a black snake, so not poisonous, I’m pretty sure. The dogs seem uninjured. I believe the snake survived, as I can no longer see it — from a great distance, of course. I am never going outside again. The end.

Dogs SuckPost + Comments (170)

Sounds like she’s got this…

by | 242 Comments

This post is in: , , ,

From an article on debate prep in today’s NYT:

The Clinton camp believes that Mr. Trump is most insecure about his intelligence, his net worth and his image as a successful businessman, and those are the areas they are working with Mrs. Clinton to target.

Bingo. Trump, meanwhile, isn’t doing much prep at all, according to the Times piece. He’s convinced it’s not necessary since he easily vanquished the Republican field.

Do y’all enjoy watching presidential debates? I do in the primaries, but I dread them during the general election season. There’s just too much at stake, and I’ve seen too many debates turn on stupid and meaningless soundbites and media spin, so I watch them much as I’d view a slasher movie — peeking through my fingers and muttering, “Dear God, what are you thinking?!? No! Don’t go into the basement!!!”

Sounds like she’s got this…Post + Comments (242)