Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

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

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

In my day, never was longer.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

After roe, women are no longer free.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

This fight is for everything.

The willow is too close to the house.

You cannot shame the shameless.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

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

Republicans do not pay their debts.

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Reader Interactions

82Comments

  1. 1.

    Roger Moore

    Somebody is worried about the news and is trying to make it about anything but Russia.

  5. 5.

    Yutsano

    @Roger Moore: We need an established Fox news monitor. Something got reported there that set him off on this course. No way the Walrus of Doom planted that seed in his head.

  6. 6.

    chopper

    YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH

    this sounds like some 13-year-old metal fan’s first attempt at writing a song.

  9. 9.

    MattF

    @Yutsano: In fact, Trump sort of plays that role. It’s true, he has other responsibilities, but watching Fox News is the big one.

  15. 15.

    zhena gogolia

    Jon Zal’s comment on this tweet:

    They voted to give the nuclear codes to the guy from “Celebrity Apprentice” and some of you think we should compromise with them.

    I don’t have enough middle fingers.

  17. 17.

    Yarrow

    YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE

    Reminds me The Wizard of Oz. “Do not arouse the wrath of the great and powerful Oz!”

  24. 24.

    ruemara

    “Donald the Dove; Hillary the Hawk”
    “I’m far more afraid of Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy.”
    “Brother Donald is an authentic person.”

  27. 27.

    NotMax

    Sounding more and more like Kim Jong Un, ain’t he?

    Switching gears, this is an under the radar BFD. Hope Yutsano shows up to provide some expertise.

    The House voted Thursday to make it harder for the government to punish churches that get involved in politics.

    In a 217-199 vote, lawmakers approved legislation barring the IRS from revoking the tax-exempt status of churches that back political candidates, unless it is specifically approved by the commissioner of the agency.

    The provision, buried in a budget measure setting IRS funding for the upcoming year, amounts to a backdoor way around the so-called Johnson amendment, a half-century-old prohibition on nonprofits getting involved in political campaign activities. Source

  31. 31.

    Roger Moore

    @NotMax:

    The provision, buried in a budget measure setting IRS funding for the upcoming year, amounts to a backdoor way around the so-called Johnson amendment, a half-century-old prohibition on nonprofits getting involved in political campaign activities.

    It’s worse than that. Just repealing the rule would be one thing, but this makes enforcement selective based on the whims of a political appointee.

  32. 32.

    NotMax

    @NotMax

    Ought to add that personally disagree with the use of the word “punish” in that snippet. It’s a piss poor editorial decision top have let that through.

  33. 33.

    TenguPhule

    @NotMax:

    In a 217-199 vote, lawmakers approved legislation barring the IRS from revoking the tax-exempt status of churches that back political candidates, unless it is specifically approved by the commissioner of the agency.

    Well that’s fucking great. //s

    If it makes it past the Senate, we will officially have an official government religious litmus test.

  34. 34.

    germy

    Borowitz headline:

    Trump to Discontinue Obama-Era Practice of Using Lower Case Letters

  36. 36.

    TenguPhule

    @NotMax:

    It’s a piss poor editorial decision top have let that through.

    Feature, not a bug. GOP worked the refs successfully.

  37. 37.

    SFAW

    @debbie:

    What is with him? He’s slagging Obama for not being Mandela? WTF?

    The esteemed Dr. West is what I believe is known as “an asshole.”

  38. 38.

    zhena gogolia

    @Mnemosyne:

    I heard about him here, and now I’m addicted to his tweets. He’s a really good writer.

    I ordered A Gentleman in Moscow — I’m a little worried that I’ll be too picky about historical accuracy. I never heard about any nobleman being imprisoned in a hotel, unless the address was Magadan. But I’ll give it a shot!

  41. 41.

    lollipopguild

    @Roger Moore: Conservative churches will be just fine, but every other church will be told that they are not allowed to back anyone.

  42. 42.

    TenguPhule

    @SFAW:

    The esteemed Dr. West is what I believe is known as “an asshole.”

    Assholes only pass shit, they don’t generate it.

  45. 45.

    danielx

    @Yutsano:

    We need an established Fox news monitor.

    Not for a hundred thousand. A million, maybe; I’m not cheap but I can be had. I would insist on a free and unlimited supply of intoxicants and anti-nausea meds as part of the deal above and beyond the mil..

  47. 47.

    SFAW

    @TenguPhule:

    Assholes only pass shit, they don’t generate it.

    Interestingly, when I say to you “Don’t be fucking literal, smartass,” it doesn’t mean that I think you’re going to intercourse the penguin literal, nor that I think your buttocks have a high IQ.

  48. 48.

    Yarrow

    @debbie: I have no idea. He’s been angry at Obama since 2009 when he didn’t get tickets to the inauguration. Figure someone with an ego that big is ripe for turning by enemies.

  49. 49.

    Ohio Mom

    @NotMax: That *is* a BFD. It will allow crazy fundamentalist churches to stop being coy — if they ever were — about backing specific candidates, but more significantly, it’s going to make life very, very hard for mainline churches and non-orthodox synagogues.

    These sorts of congregations tend to have very liberal national organizations while also having lots of very conservative, old-fashioned Republicans in the pews.

    The clergy are very careful not to adopt anything at all that looks like a partisan stance. They’ve always claimed this is because of the federal law, but it is really to prevent civil wars from breaking up their congregations.

    Breaking up mainline Protestantism has always been a project of the VRW Conspiracy, even as it has been under-reported.

  50. 50.

    germy

    THOU SHALT TURN OFF CAPS LOCK BECAUSE WHEN YOU LEAVE IT ON PEOPLE THINK YOU’RE SHOUTING AND ALSO THAT YOU’RE BATSHIT INSANE
    — God ? (@TheGoodGodAbove) July 23, 2018

  51. 51.

    SFAW

    @danielx:

    Not for a hundred thousand. A million, maybe; I’m not cheap but I can be had. I would insist on a free and unlimited supply of intoxicants and anti-nausea meds as part of the deal above and beyond the mil..

    Normally I’d say “Deal!” but I think encouraging a person of good will to watch Fox probably qualifies as a war crime.

  52. 52.

    Ohio Mom

    @Ohio Mom:

    This is the article that first alerted me to the war on liberal Protestantism.

    Of course, the part of this new legislation that allows the federal government to either approve or disapprove a church’s endorsement of a candidate is beyond awful. But I would guess that could be fought in court.

  53. 53.

    Mike in NC

    Look for some trumped (yes) up incident to take place near Iran around the middle of October.

  54. 54.

    HRA

    I am led to believe there was an agreement, pact or contract made early on between T and P. It is a current feeling I have been keeping to myself.
    It begins when I saw the exit from the summit meeting and how T looked in contrast to P. Someone had been threatened and someone had delivered his message.
    A day or so ago I quickly glossed over apiece that told about P’s desire to capture the oil market. Iraq is a competitor in that field. Today the threat went out to Iraq.
    You all are better informed than I am on this subject. All I ask is some kindness in the attack.

  55. 55.

    Roger Moore

    @debbie:

    What is with him? He’s slagging Obama for not being Mandela? WTF?

    Obama didn’t get him an invitation to some inaugural event, and he took it as a personal slight. He’s never forgiven Obama for it and has slagged him at every opportunity since.

  56. 56.

    Yutsano

    @NotMax: On my way to an appointment after work but: this is bad. This is really really bad. You’re basically making a church a PAC while letting said church keep its tax exemption. And you bet this will be subject to political whims. I can’t see this getting out of court easily.

  57. 57.

    TenguPhule

    @Yutsano:

    I can’t see this getting out of court easily.

    Depends on the district the suit is decided in. That’s where we are now.

  59. 59.

    Thoughtful David

    @Ohio Mom: I think everyone, and I mean everyone, 320 million of us, should just become a “church” and then we could all go about using tax exempt money for campaigning and see if they could prosecute us all. Hell, some us could become several “churches.”

  60. 60.

    TenguPhule

    @Thoughtful David:

    I think everyone, and I mean everyone, 320 million of us, should just become a “church” and then we could all go about using tax exempt money for campaigning and see if they could prosecute us all. Hell, some us could become several “churches.”

    Bad idea. Tax court has a lengthy history of those kinds of cases. Except for Scientology, the IRS win record on scam churches is really good.

  61. 61.

    Miss Bianca

    @zhena gogolia: I just started it – so far, so good, but I’m guessing you know way more about the history of early Soviet Russia than I do.

  62. 62.

    Mnemosyne

    @zhena gogolia:

    FWIW, I don’t think that Alexander is supposed to be based on a real person, but he seems to interact with a lot of real people, which is part of what makes it interesting. I think he’s largely a device to tie together a bunch of otherwise disparate people from that time period (though he’s also an interesting character in and of himself).

  64. 64.

    Mnemosyne

    @Miss Bianca:

    From a writing craft point of view, it’s pretty amazing to see someone write a book in third person omniscient in 2018 and actually pull it off.

  66. 66.

    Chip Daniels

    In the late 60’s when I was a kid, I remember my older brothers smirking and riffing off of those bizarre Communist Chinese slogans from the Cultural Revolution, you know, like “EXHORT THE PEOPLE’S CADRES TO SMASH THE CLAQUE OF THE RUNNING DOGS OF CAPITALIST OPPRESSORS!”

    I’m wondering how long it will be before we see these sort of Tweets blown up into giant Jumbotron placards for Trump rallies to cheer to, N. Korea style.

  67. 67.

    patrick II

    @Roger Moore:

    Is this all bad? Evangelicals are choosing candidates anyway, and since it is no longer in violation of any code, neither is rebuttal. Politicians should rebut their arguments, call out their lies, and ties to money, power and Russia. People like Falwell Jr. and Graham Jr. have stood above the fray; no politician has the nerve to take them on yet — but they should. They aren’t holy guys, just politicians interested in their candidate and causes (racism and money) just like the rest of the republican politicians.

  68. 68.

    Bex

    @zhena gogolia: Have you read “A Terrible Country” by Keith Gessen? I just finished it and thought it was outstanding. It is set in Moscow in 2008.

  69. 69.

    Lee

    Did anyone figure out what set him off (other than the obvious -the latest Manafort revelations)?

    I’ve heard a couple of suggestions, but nothing concrete.

  70. 70.

    Quinerly

    @John Cole: emailed you back this AM re Pine Knoll Shores, NC. Took a break from Trump, BJ, on line, and news for about 48 plus hrs. Still waiting to hear back from a friend who usually rents from me 7-10 days in Sept. Think there would be overlap in timing, though.

  71. 71.

    Roger Moore

    @patrick II:

    Is this all bad?

    Yes. If the law were changed to make politicking from the pulpit fine, that would be one thing. But changing it so it’s technically still wrong but it requires a high-level political appointee to enforce is begging for selective, politically biased enforcement.

  72. 72.

    Denali

    @Miss Bianca,

    Just finished reading Saramouche. Enjoyed it immensely. Would like it to be dramatized. The best books are those recommended by others, I’ve found. And so I will pass along one – The Sympathizer – a historical novel of the Viet Nam war from the perspective of a Vietnamese.

  73. 73.

    Mainmata

    @Adam L Silverman: As always, you nailed it. But, the same analysis could have been made (and should have been) prior to the Iraq War. Iran is just exponentially worse. The neo-cons are always wrong.

    Of course, Trump knows nothing of thi because h is demented and ignorant. That is the danger (but believe the US military would defy an insan order to bomb/invade Iran.

  74. 74.

    LosGatosCA

    Dear President Trumpbag:

    WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY WORLD THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH.

    Fuck you,

    The Non-Fascist World

  81. 81.

    burnspbesq

    @Redshift:

    Trump responds to Iranian threats.”

    Maybe I lack imagination, but I thought Rouhani’s statement wasn’t much of a threat.

  82. 82.

    AnotherBruce

    @NotMax: unless it is specifically approved by the commissioner of the agency. In other words, the government official who gets to play God.

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