Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.

“But what about the lurkers?”

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Joe Biden can go out like FDR, not by dying in office, but by crushing the fascists.

This really is a full service blog.

Russia bombs Ukraine’s maternity hospitals; Republicans in the House can’t sort out supporting Ukraine.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

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

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

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Found liable for massive fraud, is required to post a massive bond, gets a break, then files a *fraudulent* bond!

Motown is Joe-Town!

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

The lights are all blinking red.

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

When we show up, we win.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Fani Willis claps back at Trump chihuahua, Jim Jordan.

I am pretty sure Katy Tur wasn’t always such a bootlicking sycophant.

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Open Thread

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Long day- half day in Pittsburgh, then some work, then town council. I’m tired. Here are some more flower pictures I took today:

My favorite thing about my garden is that while there was planning, there wasn’t too much planning. I just put in a bunch of perennials, and then threw in bulbs where ever.

And, of course, the prettiest Lily:

I just love everything about her- her delicate eyelashes, her fuzzy little ears, her big eyes, that wet black nose.

Reader Interactions

65Comments

  3. 3.

    Scotian

    For those wondering, so far my first chemo went reasonably well. Feeling a bit off kilter like the beginning of an alcohol buzz, but so far that is the extent of it. Hoping for a good night’s sleep and see how I am in the morning. Will try to check in tomorrow with another update.

  9. 9.

    Amir Khalid

    When you said “flower pictures”, I was hoping you’d include one of THE Lily, and I was not disappointed.

  10. 10.

    Elizabelle

    @Scotian: Yea Scotian. I hope you last so long and live so well that you amaze your physicians. It happens.

    Someone’s gotta be the outlier.

    ETA: Look at sweet Lily. As we all do, happily. We could keep you in bow ties too.

  18. 18.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Scotian: We all, I’m sure, wish you a speedy and as PAINLESS AS POSSIBLE recovery!

    As for Lily, there is just no way to say adequately in words what a good, gorgeous dog she is, so we’ll leave it at that!

  19. 19.

    Ruckus

    @Scotian:
    All the best.
    Follow directions.
    Ask questions.
    My treatment was radiation so it was every day. The grind can get to you but just remember that it’s making you better.
    ETA. A little tough love. Don’t let the bastards get you down, whomever/whatever they might be.

  21. 21.

    JustRuss

    I can remember when “photo by Cole” meant a fuzzy rendition of…something sort of recognizable, if you squinted hard enough. These are lovely.
    *Sniff* How our little Cole has grown!

  25. 25.

    Harbison

    With the statement from DNC official and (Nancy Smash!!!!) daughter Christina Pelosi that some of our favorite democrats will be implicated in sex crimes along with Epstein, the question becomes, quite simply, how long ago did Pelosi/Hillary Clinton/Others know this was the case while still protecting/not speaking up about Bill Clinton?

    Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ve no doubt that Trump and lots of R’s are implicated, but damnit, we’re supposed to be better than this. If not, what is the fight for anyway?

  29. 29.

    Debbie (Aussie)

    @Scotian:
    May tomorrow be ok too. As prayer is not my thing I am thinking good thoughts. (Wonder if I should try to think the other way around, being down under and all? Or should I just send them UP!) Sleep well.

  30. 30.

    Harbison

    @Brachiator:
    If you ever wondered what you would do if a politician you supported enabled the cover-up of raping children, you’re doing it now.

  32. 32.

    Brachiator

    @Harbison:

    If you ever wondered what you would do if a politician you supported enabled the cover-up of raping children, you’re doing it now.

    Actually no, but again, thanks for trying.

  33. 33.

    Cacti

    @Harbison:

    There’s been one President in the past quarter century accused of having a fetish for underage girls.

    It wasn’t Bill Clinton.

  34. 34.

    chopper

    @Harbison:

    indeed, upon hearing about this awful story about epstein and a member of trump’s cabinet who let him off, “what about clinton?” is what we should all be thinking.

  38. 38.

    sdhays

    @Harbison: I think I’ll wait for specific people with specific charges to actually be implicated before I start worrying about political fallout. But one thing I’m sure of: no matter what the alleged crimes, Republicans will circle the wagons and deflect and Democrats will try to figure out how to treat the allegations seriously and with respect for the victims while also trying not to take part in a mob over possibly unsubstantiated allegations. And the media will focus on the Democrats rather than the Republicans, because Republicans are expected to amoral and the media finds that boring to cover.

  41. 41.

    sdhays

    @Harbison: I think I’ll wait for specific people with specific charges to actually be implicated before I start worrying about political fallout. But one thing I’m sure of: no matter what the alleged crimes, Republicans will circle the wagons and deflect and Democrats will try to figure out how to treat the allegations seriously and with respect for the victims while also trying not to take part in a mob over possibly unsubstantiated allegations. And the media will focus on the Democrats rather than the Republicans, because Republicans are expected to amoral and the media finds that boring to cover.

  42. 42.

    smike

    @sdhays:

    I think I’ll wait for specific people with specific charges to actually be implicated before I start worrying about political fallout.

    Second that. Actually, anybody who is found culpable will pay a price. I would rather we had our eyes wide open. We’ll deal with it.

  43. 43.

    Mnemosyne

    @Scotian:

    Best of luck! I can’t remember if you’re in a state that allows medical marijuana, but it really does help alleviate the side effects of chemo. Talk to your doctor about it if you haven’t already.

  45. 45.

    Aleta

    WaPo, by David Fahrenthold

    (The TP Org) said it canceled Shadow Cabaret’s tournament after the nonprofit named as the beneficiary of the event — Miami Allstars Foundation — dropped out earlier Wednesday.

    “The event was originally booked with the understanding that it would be raising money to support a local charity benefiting underprivileged children,” a Trump Organization spokeswoman said in the statement. “Now that the charity has removed its affiliation, the event will no longer be taking place at our property and all amounts paid will be refunded.”

    In a phone interview, Miami Allstars’ director, Carlos Alamilla, said he had paid little attention to the planned event and had not seen its advertisements. That changed when The Washington Post called him Tuesday.

    On Wednesday morning, after The Post’s article was published, Alamilla said, he called the Shadow Cabaret and said his organization was backing out.

    “We’re not participating, and I think you should cancel the event,” Alamilla said he told the tournament’s organizers.

    Alamilla said his group is a nonprofit, though it is not registered as a charity in Florida — he said he missed a registration deadline. He said the group provides mentoring, tutoring and basketball lessons to about 40 young people.

    He said he had been approached by the organizers and offered an unspecified payment as a result of the tournament. He said he did not realize that his group’s logo was being used in advertisements for the event.

  46. 46.

    Mnemosyne

    @sdhays:

    I think I’ll wait for specific people with specific charges to actually be implicated before I start worrying about political fallout.

    What are you, some kind of SJW pansy, to be worried about “proof” and “evidence” when there’s innuendo to be had?!?!

    If Democrats are implicated, we’ll find that out through the court process. Some of us are old enough to remember Whitewater, Mena, and Vince Foster and be wary of any attempt to insist that Bill Clinton is GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY without any proof required.

  47. 47.

    Mnemosyne

    On Friday I get to do an overnight sleep study and CPAP titration for my sleep apnea at a local sleep center. Yay. I’m still pretty pissed that my HMO dragged their feet on this for 18 months after I had a home test that came back with moderate-to-high obstruction.

  48. 48.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    Hey, remember this guy? I crossed paths with him in San Francisco today, which wasn’t actually a huge surprise. I’d kind of mentally rehearsed what I would say to this dipshit if I ever saw him – something very much along the lines of “you saw a woman of color talking to other women about equality and you took her microphone.”

    Well, um, ah, when that moment came I was running late and he was holding hands with some girl and most of all, we were going in opposite directions in the middle of a huge, busy, loud, and dangerous intersection (South Van Ness and Mission, if you know the area), so I didn’t take the opportunity to give him a piece of my mind. I did give him a death glare and he definitely saw it – he gave me a nervous little smile and nod. But I feel kind of ashamed that I didn’t give him the dressing down he deserves when I had a chance. Also, he now has white dreads instead of a man bun, as if he could have been any more of a clueless dickbro. Grr.

    “Walking kombucha burp” will never stop making me laugh, though.

  51. 51.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’m no dread expert. They were more kind of proto-dreads, only in the spot where the man-bun appeared in the earlier pix, and not that much of an evolution from his earlier “I’m an annoying fucking goofball” stylings. Whoever called him a shredded-wheat golem is still right.

  52. 52.

    Aleta

    Julie Brown talking about her reporting.
    https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/how-julie-brown-broke-open-jeffrey-epstein-story

    Brown pored over internal emails to see exactly how Acosta and other powerful law-enforcement officials made these decisions. While in New York to receive a Polk Award for her work, Brown stopped by WNYC’s Greene Space to talk about her reporting, and the personal background that drove it.

    (TW: A while ago, the interview host-actor said that he was misogynist for years and is trying to do better now. He’s been abusive and racist as well.)

  53. 53.

    Mel

    @Scotian: Was thinking of you today. So glad that things went well.

    Getting as much rest as you can is a good thing. Just listen to your body, be kind to yourself, and take things at whatever pace feels right to you.

    Sending you and your loved ones a big hug.

  54. 54.

    Aleta

    Tom Winter @Tom_Winter


    
There’s now only one question for Acosta. If he’s so proud of the non-prosecution agreement how come they didn’t tell the victims of the agreement?

    Acosta says he wished for the investigations that have been rumored over the years to get Epstein because “he’s a bad man.”

    Legal experts say there was nothing that mandated his office stopped the investigation when it did.

    Former Palm Beach State Attorney Barry Krischer says in a statement that Alex Acosta is “completely wrong.”

    He says a 53 page federal indictment “was abandoned after secret negotiations between Mr. Epstein’s lawyers and Mr. Acosta. ” (h/t @MikeDelMoro )

    In a statement Krischer says, “no matter how my office resolved the state charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office always had the ability to file its own federal charges.”


    Peter Alexander 
@PeterAlexander



    Former Palm Beach (FL) State Atty Barry Krischer challenges Acosta’s characterization of why Acosta pursued a plea deal for Epstein: “I can emphatically state that Mr. Acosta’s recollection of this matter is completely wrong.”

    Kirby Sommers @KirbySommers

    This is an exhibit from the attorney of Jane Doe #3 which explicitly states his frustration that the FEDS are adversarial to victims.

    I smell a cover-up. I don’t know why people aren’t using that word.

    Both statements are here.

  56. 56.

    prostratedragon

    @Mnemosyne: Yay, indeed! Sorry to hear you’ve had to endure what in my experience was real torture for such an unnecessarily extra time.

    Don’t forget to skip the caffeine today.

  57. 57.

    prostratedragon

    I know that at least some of the discussion in this article has already appeared on this blog, but …

    “The American Dark Money Behind Europe’s Far Right,” NYR Daily

    A recent openDemocracy investigation found that America’s Christian right spent at least $50 million of “dark money” to fund campaigns and advocacy in Europe over the past decade. (By the measures of US political financing, this may not seem like a vast sum, but by European standards it’s formidable. The total spend on the 2014 European elections, for example, by all of Ireland’s political parties combined was just $3 million.)

    These numbers are also likely the tip of the iceberg: our analysis looked at only twelve US Christian right groups, and there were many obstacles to disclosure that limited the information we could extract. Institutions registered as churches, for example, are not required to publish their overseas funding. The largest spender appeared to be the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which spent more than $20 million in Europe from 2008 to 2014, but filings are not available beyond that period, so the true figure could be far larger.

  58. 58.

    Sebastian

    @Aleta:

    It just dawned on me that Donald is Mr Cover Up. Stormy, Taxes, Mueller, Trump Tower, Trump Tower Moscow, Epstein ….

    That’s just on top of my head.

  59. 59.

    Ilefttxwhenannlost

    @<a h

    ref=”#comment-7337963″>plato:
    Loud duh and disgusto…the sleaze soaks and seeps

  63. 63.

    Wanderer

    @ Scotian Glad to see your post today. Have been thinking about you. I hope you manage the chemo without any bad side effects.

  64. 64.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @Scotian: That’s good news. You’re in my thoughts, and your gracious approach to your circumstances – with such equanimity – is inspiring. It makes me want to be a better person. I’m holding you in the light.

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