Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

Let me file that under fuck it.

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

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

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Everybody saw this coming.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / The Real ‘Liberty’ Agenda

The Real ‘Liberty’ Agenda

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Ron DeSantis and team are now crying “hoax” when accused of banning books, which suggests maybe they dimly realize that book bans aren’t popular outside the extra-frothy “Moms for Liberty” bubble. As Judd Legum reports, Team DeSantis published a “fact sheet” on the official government website that purports to debunk “myths” about the “book ban hoax.” It’s pure gaslighting, as Legum details in his coverage:

DeSantis falsely claimed that a video of empty book shelves recorded by former Duval County substitute teacher Brian Covey was a “hoax,” noting that Covey was fired. It’s true that Covey lost his job for recording the video, but the video was not a hoax.

A spokesperson for Duval County Public Schools (DCPS), Tracy Pierce, told Popular Information in February that the empty shelves in Covey’s video once housed “the fiction titles” in the school media center, but all those titles were removed pending review by a media specialist. That review was mandated by a “curriculum transparency” law signed by DeSantis last year…

In addition to making false claims about Covey’s video, DeSantis smeared teachers, claiming there was a “concerted effort to bring some of this sexualization into the classroom, particularly in these young grades.”

The so-called “curriculum transparency” law DeSantis championed is vaguely worded by design, just like all of the other bullshit culture war legislation, to maximize the intimidation factor. On their own initiative, districts removed or covered book titles that are subject to review. The “fact sheet” notwithstanding, we have copies of district memos and official statements that resulted in bare shelves and covered titles.

Sometimes all it takes to ban books is a complaint from one parent. A single extremist in Martin County, Florida is behind the banning of nearly 100 titles in a district, including books by popular author Jodi Picoult. She wrote a piece about it in The Daily Beast:

The 92 books that were pulled from Martin County School District shelves were based on the complaint of a single parent…

Look, I’m a mom. I used to read books before my kids did, to make sure I felt they were emotionally ready for the content. If it was a hard topic, we used the book as a springboard for discussion. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a parent deciding a certain book is not right for her child. There is a colossal problem with a parent deciding that, therefore, no child should be allowed to read that book.

Bolding mine. Those sentences underscore the irony here because the book bans in Florida and elsewhere invariably arise from right-wing “freedom” or “liberty” agendas that flatter busybodies who want to curtail their neighbors’ freedom and liberty.

I remember PTA and school board meetings I attended when my kiddo was a Florida public school student. Frequently, there would be a random religious kook who’d go off on a tangent about a book or movie or classroom policy that might tempt their precious Snotleigh to stray from the path of righteousness. The rest of us would exchange glances and roll our eyes while enduring the paranoid rant.

Now randos like that are effectively if not literally running entire school districts. An actual “liberty” agenda requires opposing them at every turn. After decades of mindless humping, there’s so much gross wingnut ball-sweat on words like “freedom” and “liberty” that liberals can be excused for avoiding the terms in the past. But goddamn it, it’s time to hose the words off and reclaim them.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

195Comments

  2. 2.

    Alison Rose

    DeSatan and his ilk never seem to want to answer the question of whether or not books featuring straight couples also count as “sexualization” in the classroom. I mean…men and women fuck. That’s where babies come from. But somehow, people like him have no problem showing those relationships. GEE I WONDER WHY NOT.

  5. 5.

    geg6

    If I had a kid, particularly if I had a kid in FL (which, horrors!), I’d get my hands on those lists and buy every fucking one of those books and Junior/Junioress and I would be reading them aloud every night.

  7. 7.

    NotMax

    Cookbooks nearly always include the word “breast.” Multiple times, even.

    Also too, “rump” and “butt.”

    Think of the children!
    //

  8. 8.

    Brachiator

    A spokesperson for Duval County Public Schools (DCPS), Tracy Pierce, told Popular Information in February that the empty shelves in Covey’s video once housed “the fiction titles” in the school media center, but all those titles were removed pending review by a media specialist. That review was mandated by a “curriculum transparency” law signed by DeSantis last year…

    So, are they saying that the books were not “banned,” but removed for review and then all returned to the library shelves?

  14. 14.

    cmorenc

    The RW culture warriors want the US to be like their imagined remembrance of the US c.1953, except with China as our cold-war enemy.  Back then, the entertainment industry was censored, and schools opened with prayer and pledge of allegiance.  And white folks were still in charge of everything.

  16. 16.

    Jobeth

    There was a new dept head at work who introduced herself and talked about her two dogs named Liberty and Patriot. I knew immediately she was a wingnut that would be lousy at her job. Sure enough she only lasted six months, the whole time whining and blaming everyone else for why she couldn’t get her work done. It’s a shame the right has taken ownership of those words but at least it gives you fair warning.

  19. 19.

    AliceBlue

    I saw a tweet earlier this morning that said DeSantis is the guy who would “consider unplugging your life support to recharge his cell phone.”

  20. 20.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    There’s a scene in To Catch a Thief where Grace Kelly, rummaging through the picnic hamper, asks Cary Grant: “Would you prefer a thigh or a breast?”  Quite the racy dialogue for 1955!

  21. 21.

    JPL

    DeSantis is a coward since he can’t even own up to the harm he has caused children.   His not me is nothing but bullshit.

  22. 22.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Gin & Tonic: RRR’s maker’s outlook on the Indian freedom struggle hews too close to the RSS for my comfort.

    Anyway I am going to see the movie before saying anything more. But most Americans including reviewers have no clue about the subtext they are glorifying.

  27. 27.

    UncleEbeneezer

    I’m all for re-claiming words like “Freedom” and “Liberty” generally, but I do find it helpful that as soon as I see them in the name of some organization, I know with 99% certainty that the organization is Christo-Fascist/Nazi and I can weigh their words accordingly.

  28. 28.

    rikyrah

    See, that’s my issue.

    If MY child can’t read said book, then NO child should read it.

     

    If MY child shouldn’t go to a Book Reading at a library by a Drag Queen, then NO child should be able to.

    See, that encroaching on the rights and decisions of other parents to know what they want for THEIR children.

     

    It’s time for a group of Black parents to get together and SUE TO GET THEIR HISTORY AND VOICES OF PEOPLE WHO HONOR THEIR CHILDREN BE PLACED BACK INTO THE SCHOOLS.

  30. 30.

    cope

    @NotMax: In 2017, I retired after teaching public school in Florida for 28 years.  Even back then, media specialists were being whittled back because it was equal to a classroom teaching position and budgets were being thinned. I think one would be hard pressed to find a true media specialist at any school in my old district anymore.  At least at my high school, IT staff were given the duties previously done by the media specialist.

  32. 32.

    waspuppet

    On their own initiative, districts removed or covered book titles that are subject to review.

    See, that’s the problem. That made DeSantis look bad. What they were supposed to do was keep them there and taken their chances that DeSantis would wake up in a good mood and not feel like criminally charging them. That’s freedom! And really there’s only like a 30 percent chance they’d be charged, so why were they so uptight?

  35. 35.

    RaflW

    This is good. I actually think DeSantis is quite vulnerable. He’s been sniffing his own right wing farts for so long, he doesn’t get how much all this stinks to 2/3rd – 3/4ths of voters.

    UNF Jacksonville did a poll of 1,452 FL voters about 10 days ago and found that Ronnie Dee And The GOPee is flogging very unpopular ideas:
    Six week abortion ban   22% fav  75% opp
    Concealed carry              21% fav  77% opp
    Ban CRT/DEI at univs     35% fav  61% opp

    The war on freedom of thought – and freedom from being gunned down anywhere by anyone, as well as the freedom to chose reproductive care – is only resonating with a narrow, hard-right slice, even in FL!

  36. 36.

    Tarragon

    @schrodingers_cat: It was clear to while watching RRR that it has a political sub-text beyond “British Bad”. Then there is final dance sequence where it hits you over the head with a political message that I had no context to understand.

    In many ways it’s a great film, but I’m hesitant to recommend it because I don’t understand the message.

  37. 37.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jobeth: LOL! It’s definitely a tell. There’s an auto repair place in my area called “Patriot” something, and I’ve mentally crossed it off the list of available options should I need those services.

  39. 39.

    Cameron

    Most of the early reporting I saw (in both local and national media) about the Florida Public School Inquisition was on people and events here in Manatee County, where I happen to live.  Not just teachers, but county-level school administrators confirmed that the classroom libraries were either locked up or abandoned.  A teacher who brings in an unapproved book and shared it with their class can be charged with a felony.  It figures that this asshole would go the DJT route, telling easily falsified lies while claiming everybody else is lying.  If I had kids of any age through college, I wouldn’t live here.

    On the upside, a friend of mine is probably going to get her dream job at a college in South Carolina.  I suggested to her that she should recommend the college look to Florida to fill any teaching openings.  Any professor worth their salt is almost certainly looking to get out of here.

  41. 41.

    Jackie

    @rikyrah: EXACTLY!

    I was too busy encouraging my kiddos to read to even consider denying them the opportunity. I read most of the books they brought home to encourage discussion and, when necessary, sharing a different point of view. The GOAL is to EXPAND their horizons – not restrict or limit them.

  42. 42.

    Cacti

    Good luck to those of you living in fundy land.

    I chose to move to the unchurched belt and can’t see myself ever leaving.

  43. 43.

    Eolirin

    @RaflW: Policy preferences are bad predictors of voting behaviors, unfortunately. Outside of the core ones around taxation and social spending. FL politicians are unlikely to pay much of a price for pushing deeply unpopular legislation.

    Abortion access might move the needle a little, maybe, especially as women start dying. But the hole Dems are in in the state is so big now that it may not make much of a difference. It’ll probably hurt DeSantis nationally though.

    It’s really hard to see how this fever breaks when so much of the electorate continues to support the GOP even when they disagree with what they’re doing.

  46. 46.

    Kay

    @twbrandt:

    I hope Democrats watch Michigan as a bellweather rather than NY.

    we’ll see how MI Democrats do with protecting women’s rights and (with repealing RTW) workers rights.

    it’s a good test state for Democrats

  48. 48.

    NotMax

    @SiubhanDuinne

    Grant had the leeway to get away with a lot.

    Can you picture Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda or Gary Cooper expostulating “I just went gay all of a sudden!” (Bringing Up Baby.)

    Impossible. &nsbp: :)

  50. 50.

    Delk

    And yet the book filled with whores, incest, and lusting over donkey dick is safe for children.

  51. 51.

    eclare

    @Jackie:   My parents took no interest in what I read, and  I am very glad about that.  They prob would not have liked some of what we read in AP English, although I don’t see how anyone can understand a Faulkner book outside of reading it in a class.

  56. 56.

    Doc Sardonic

    @Betty Cracker: If the business has the words Liberty, Freedom, Patriot. Maranatha, etc, or trucks emblazoned with the christian swastika(fish), and/or lots of flags. I know not to use them because they are going well overpriced and under quality for the work they perform.

  57. 57.

    Gin & Tonic

    @eclare:

    No, Mr. Zelensky, you can’t speak at the Oscars, that’s politics. But we’ll give an Oscar to “Navalny”, that’s not politics. And Navalny’s wife will speak, that’s also not politics. But she won’t mention her country’s invasion of Ukraine, because… Yeah, you got it.
    — Danylo Mokryk (@DMokryk) March 13, 2023

  58. 58.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Tarragon: I saw the message loud and clear when I saw a couple of trailers and teasers. I am going to watch it this week because if I am going to offer a critique I feel I need to do that. As many people IRL and here are asking me about it.

  59. 59.

    Roger Moore

    @RaflW:

    The problem is that voters don’t actually vote for policies in isolation.  They vote for parties, and they seem comfortable voting for the Republican party in spite of their dislike of many Republican policies.  Knowing that people don’t like the 6 week abortion ban abd permitless concealed carry might be useful for someone trying to pass ballot measures opposed to those points, but it turns out not to be terribly useful to the Democrats.

  62. 62.

    citizen dave

    @Betty Cracker: I had to abort (traffic jam) getting on my local beltway this morning and drove through my lovely city for a bit.  I saw a Poor Mann’s Tire place.  Google review says they have used tires as low as $40 with a 7 day guarantee.  (Anyone remember John Edward’s Two Americas framing?).

  63. 63.

    catclub

    @Jobeth: ​
     

    It’s a shame the right has taken ownership of those words but at least it gives you fair warning.

    Many retailers know that if the organization name has ‘Christian’ in it they will not pay their bills.

  68. 68.

    Matt McIrvin

    @schrodingers_cat: Before I forget, I’d like to thank you for bringing that to my attention. I’ve seen a lot of American reviewers I respect going gaga over that film and now there’s always this asterisk there in my mind. Haven’t seen it though.

  69. 69.

    Kay

    @eclare:

    I didn’t monitor what my kids read.

    I’m still good with that – I made sure they got to school and the public library and just cut em loose :)

    they did a competitive reading program in our public school and my daughter was absolutely dominating so I got caught up in that, which was fun, but I didn’t know what she was reading to rack up all those points

  70. 70.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @Betty Cracker: Performative patriotism, yeah. The sort of people who’ll fly the Stars and Stripes, the Stars and Bars, the Gadsden flag, the blue-line flag, and the POW flag depending on their mood – kind of a red flag for me, as it were.

  73. 73.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Matt McIrvin: I think it reminds the film critics of the glory days of Hollywood. I loved Gone with the Wind when I saw it as a teen in the theaters in India. Even though some of the subtext about black people was troubling. I did not link that to the systemic racism and defense of chattel slavery. I was able to overlook it since I only had a fleeting acquaintance of American history and politics.

    But yes a film critic should be better informed than a 13 year old.

  74. 74.

    Gvg

    DeSantis and the republicans want what they want without taking responsibility. They write these laws with deniability in them, because they want to please ALL of the conservatives who don’t like each a different personal list of things but they also don’t want to stand up and say yes we banned such and so. Probably they also know it will be easier to overturn if it is that specific but this law comes across as scared to take responsibility. Lots of people, especially education administrators and lawyers need to point this out to the public. This law is to hide behind. It is deliberately badly written so that people have to guess. Can we attack it based on that?

    I’d like his law degree revoked, and anyone who voted for such a law.

  75. 75.

    neldob

    ” it’s time to hose the words off and reclaim them.” Absofuckinglutely, if you don’t mind my saying so., and even if you do. Right on Betty Cracker!

  79. 79.

    Jeffro

    These book bans are unpopular, just like the anti-CRT nonsense, just like the wokety-woke-woke boogeyman, and just like the GOP’s crazy-ass anti-reproductive rights stance.

  82. 82.

    Kay

    I think parents are often NOT the best judges of their own children – I actually learned things about my children talking to other adults who dealt with them and sometimes changed my mind about what was good for them.

    This whole rigid “parents know best!” slogan is bullshit – any honest parent will tell you they’re  biased as hell and often just wrong- although I recognize I probably could not run on this  :)

  83. 83.

    Jackie

    @eclare: His dates are eternally grateful, I’m sure.

    Makes one wonder about Mrs Anti-Woke, though; several articles hint that SHE’S the brain of his political aspirations.

  88. 88.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Jobeth: Megan McCain and which Ben she’s married to named their daughter “Liberty”, which should get some kind of trying-too-hard award. They would’ve been more honest if they’d named the kid “Budweiser”

    @Betty Cracker: Hoo, boy. That sets off all kinds of sensors. Changing Cs to Ks always make me raise an eyebrow, especially down south.

  90. 90.

    Jackie

    @Roger Moore: ROE Your Vote made a huge difference in ‘22. One major reason we expanded the Senate and kept the GQP House red wave to a trickle.

    I predict the Roe/Dobbs continuing effect to be foremost with women and the men who love them when they vote in ’24. ESPECIALLY if prescriptions for abortions are banned NATIONWIDE.

  91. 91.

    Gravie

    As a graduate of the formerly (mostly) excellent Florida school system — first grade through bachelor’s degree — I am sickened and enraged by what is being done to people in my home state. All to support the ambition of a soulless weasel like DeSantis.

  98. 98.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    Here in the Midwest, there is a chain of convenience marts called Kum & Go. No, really

    Edit: And Dorothy A Winsor beat me to it!

  99. 99.

    Mike in NC

    Haven’t read about it of late, but in our county we’ve had right wing extremists from Heritage Action or whatever it is (was?) called trying for years to get books banned that offended their fascist sensibilities.

  101. 101.

    Citizen_X

    DeSantis falsely claimed that a video of empty book shelves recorded by former Duval County substitute teacher Brian Covey was a “hoax,” noting that Covey was fired.

    You know, when Putin says, “That war-crime video was fake, and the reporter was shot,” that doesn’t exactly fill me with trust.

  104. 104.

    Doc Sardonic

    We have a convenience store in the area called the Hit & Run…. It has been robbed a few times.

  105. 105.

    Tony G

    @Jackie: Unfortunately, empirically, the majority of people in Florida who bother to vote support this third-rate fascist.  They are the problem.  If DeSantis were to drop dead tomorrow, someone else would fill his high-heeled go-go boots.

  106. 106.

    StringOnAStick

    I got pinched by a scary huge dog last week, if the owner holding his collar didn’t have him under control I would have been seriously injured.  She was trying to introduce him to me slowly and the female dog was cool with me; I made no moved to pet him or touch him, he just went apeshit and now my friend is realizing he’s too dangerous and will have to put him down, though she’ll try the best trainer available first.  Rottweiler Doberman mix, about 100 lbs.  I’m still feeling traumatised,though once I got back home, it made me appreciate our gentle, sweets pair of kitties even more.

  109. 109.

    Tony G

    @Citizen_X: I’m obviously not a lawyer — but doesn’t DeSantis leave himself open for a libel lawsuit by falsely accusing Brian Covey of perpetuating a “hoax”?

  110. 110.

    Betty Cracker

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Budweiser or Plagiarism!

    @StringOnAStick: How scary. I hope the trainer is able to help the dog so that he doesn’t have to be put down.

    As I’ve mentioned, we’re dealing with a dog aggression problem, though in our case, it’s dog-on-dog aggression, and they are small dogs, so a different situation. But we’ve made remarkable progress with a combination of training and meds, so I know it can be done! Takes a TON of patience and commitment though.

  111. 111.

    Mai Naem mobile

    I think RonnyBoy DeSantis is just  Scotty Walker 2.0 with better hair.  During the Obama years, Wisconsite BJrs used to comment about how Scotty Walker wouldn’t catch on outside Wisconsin but I was always worried about him being the next big GOP thang.

  112. 112.

    Soprano2

    @eclare: Reminds me of a man I worked for a long time ago. His secretary, who was professional, said the first time she corrected some of his grammar errors in dictation he blew up and told her he wanted it typed up exactly how he said it! She said she had never before had a boss who didn’t want you to make them look better.

  114. 114.

    cain

    @eclare: bullet dodged  – probably says something about mrs. DeSantis. I hope she’s ok.I mean, didn’t this guy get his jollies at Gitmo?

  115. 115.

    trollhattan

    @Mai Naem mobile: Was Walker as hellbent on prosecuting the culture wars as DeSantis? He seemed primarily focused on breaking government and unions, from several states away, while DeSantis appears hellbent on hippy-punching and putting Jesus in everybody’s underwear.

    Part of that may be because Florida already has rid themselves of the whole “effective government” problem.

  116. 116.

    trnc

    @Kay: If that one parent gets to do all the parenting related to what our kids can read, why don’t they have to pony up every once in a while for our kids’ tuition when the time comes?

  117. 117.

    cain

    @Mai Naem mobile: the man won’t be able to stand challenge. In Florida, the entire GOP apparatus bows to him. He doesn’t have what it takes to handle a national campaign – especially with many other rivals ready to go at him.

    Of course, the GOP race is going to be going to set crazy to 15 as they try to whip up votes. There will be a lot of crazy talk, and the media will cover everything gleefully because it will get the libs all upset.

  118. 118.

    Soprano2

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Yeah, they bought out the Git ‘n Go stores here about 20 years ago, so they’re all over the place here. I’m used to it now, but at first I did a double take every time I saw that name!

  122. 122.

    Gravenstone

    @trollhattan: Was Walker as hellbent on prosecuting the culture wars as DeSantis?

    That era wasn’t as toxically aggressive as what the aftermath of Trump has bestowed on us as a nation. But ol’ Scotty did have a hate boner for the UW system, especially the Madison campus. So yeah, I’m confident he’d have gone whole hog on the culture wars of today were he still in office.

  123. 123.

    JaneE

    Can we fight fire with fire?

    Raise hell if your kid is not allowed to read the books you think he should – and if they are “banned” demand to know why your child should be denied the right to learn about whatever it is they object to if you as a parent think he would benefit from it.

  124. 124.

    Matt McIrvin

    “We never banned all these books, we were just strategically vague about which ones we were banning and threatened to arrest people for felonies.” This is just like their vote-suppression tactics.

  126. 126.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @cain:

    the man won’t be able to stand challenge

    I think this is crucial.  DeSantis is bad at hitting back.  Trump hit back like an elementary schooler going “I’m rubber and you’re glue!” but that fits his Let’s Go Brandon audience fine.  DeSantis freezes up.  That’s going to hurt him badly on the campaign trail, and especially in the primaries.

  127. 127.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Matt McIrvin:

    This is just like their vote-suppression tactics.

    I do wonder how much this had to do with the low Democratic turnout in Florida.  DeSantis did a great job of broadcasting that he would arrest any Democratic voter he could accuse of voting wrong for even the slightest excuse, like being black.

  128. 128.

    glory b

    @Jobeth: Of course.

    This is also why any corporation with the words “Liberty,” “Patriot” or “Eagle” in its title never gets my business.

  130. 130.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    OT:

    Jose Pagliery @Jose_Pagliery

    Breaking news: the Manhattan Trump grand jury is hearing from Jennifer Weisselberg today. “It’s bigger than any taxes, paper, insurance, banks, insurance… it’s bigger than money,” she told ⁦ @thedailybeast⁩ exclusively.

    I’ve been wondering if Alan Weisselberg was somehow back in play, as a witness or a target for new charges? I’d be skeptical  of an ex-in-law, and I’d take her comments to teh press with a large grain of salt, but I’m guessing prosecutors have taken that into consideration.

  132. 132.

    glory b

    @Tony G: Yes, false accusations of dishonesty are defamatory. He will have to prove damages, but if he can tie his firing to DeSantis, maybe so..

    We will have to consider that the judicial branch of government is tied to DeSantis too. Remember that when he fired the prosecutor for being “woke,” the judge agreed it was outrageous but said he’d have to sue in state court, as the federal didn’t have jurisdiction.

    As I recall, the former prosecutor and his attorney didn’t bother, but I could be wrong. I don’t think the statute of limitations is up yet.

    Too bad that people in FL seem to have no recourse for this display of almost fascistic behavior (almost?).

  134. 134.

    smintheus

    The real agenda is imposing right-wing Christian beliefs and practices upon everyone else. The Christianist bigots realize that they need to normalize imposing all manner of beliefs/practices to make it seem impossible to resist their agenda. Books are at the top of their list of things to impose because their own agenda comes from their favorite book of fairy tales, via their own twisted minds.

  135. 135.

    schrodingers_cat

    I have found my people on Twitter, a bunch of other Indian people who think that Nattu Nattu is overrated and unmusical. We even prefer Jai-Ho (If I were to make a list of Rahman’s best Jai-Ho wouldn’t make it in the top 20)  to it.

    The choreography was not too bad. Of course YMMV.

    Of the Oscar contenders I personally preferred Lady Gaga’s song.

  138. 138.

    glory b

    @RaflW: I’ve said this before here and say it again now, lots of people know what the Democratic party stands for and what we want to do. They like a lot of it. They just don’t want to vote for the party with the black people in it.

  140. 140.

    Betty Cracker

    @glory b: The state attorney DeSantis unlawfully suspended (Andrew Warren) appealed the federal judge’s ruling. The lackey DeSantis appointed to take over for Warren, Susan Lopez, plans to run for the office in 2024. I wonder if Warren will too.

  141. 141.

    TerryC

    @glory b: I named my disc golf courses the BRATS Red, White and Blue DGC which makes it obscenely difficult to argue with me on social media if you’re on the right.

  143. 143.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Baud: Yeah pretty so-so, not very original and quite unmusical. India’s last entry that got a nomination in the foreign film category, Lagaan has better musical numbers than Natu Natu.

    This one from Haider

    is one of the best Hindi cinema musical numbers in recent years in the last ten years or so.

  145. 145.

    LiminalOwl

    @Betty Cracker: On my way to work I have to pass the “Patriot Village” apartment complex.  I hoped it might refer to the not-really-local football team, but the cartoonish statue of a dog at the entrance, painted all over with the Stars and Stripes, makes that seem unlikely.

  150. 150.

    Geminid

    @Frankensteinbeck: I did not watch the debate between DeSantis and Crist that was hosted by a South Florida Sinclair station,  I saw at least a couple people say that DeSantis did not perform well. Among other things, Crist was said to get DeSantis flustered somewhat on the question of whether he would run for President in 2024. I wluld tbink that’s a question DeSants would have expected to be pressed on and been well prepared for.

    So he may be on the brittle side, and that could hurt him in primary debates. Those  count for some, maybe a lot if someone blows up. I expect DeSantis will be pushed plenty by the other non-Trump candidates. Or pulled, as he’ll be the highest crab in the bucket.

    I still could not rule DeSantis out as the nominee. For one thing, I can’t tell how strong Trump and the other likely candidates will be. It seems that like DeSantis they all have weaknesses, but one of them still has to win.

    Another problem is that this seems to me to be a very unpredictable primary electorate. Part of that may be due to Trump’s effect as a chaos agent, and part may be due to tensions from well before Trump. The party and its voters  seem fractured and unsettled to me, and that state could persist well into the primaries.

    That could be projection on my part. But anyway, I think I’ll have to learn about next year’s Republican voters the hard way: watching primary results and popping popcorn.

  152. 152.

    Baud

    @RaflW: I’ll get on my high horse again and say part of that is talking about how blue states are doing things differently than red states.  Michigan has been doing some great things with the Dem takeover there.

  153. 153.

    jefft452

    Be very worried when someone says “Parents should decide”

    They dont mean you should decide for your children

    They mean some other kid’s parents should decide for your children

  154. 154.

    Geminid

    @Baud: Blue states are doing good work in the area of clean energy transition. That is becoming a force in state and local economies..

  155. 155.

    gvg

    @Jackie: I am pretty sure those are from his staff or other fluffers trying to help him evade responsibility for his own actions. I see no reason to buy those stories.

  157. 157.

    Bill Arnold

    @eclare:

    If his date corrected him, he would leave because he did not want a gf who corrected him. That is creepy and scary AF.

    I wish that just once, a date had been quick enough to reverse-engineer the question and rather than correcting him, ask him about why he disliked women who corrected him.

  158. 158.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    @glory b:

    They just don’t want to vote for the party with the black people in it.

    Or the uppity womens who don’t know their place or the gheys or …

  161. 161.

    Geminid

    @Geminid: Texas actually leads the nation in renewable electricity generation, but for dumb ideological reasons Republicans don’t brag on it. Kemp is making the most of electric vehicle investments in his state, but on a national level the party is locked into a reactionary position on the environment. This I think presents a real opportunity for Democrats, as the Republicans are on the wrong side of popular opinion in this area.

  165. 165.

    Geminid

    @Baud: Jeff Jackson is the freshman Rep for the North Carolina 14th CD. He’s 40 years old, and was a State Senator before running for Congress.

    Last month Karl Kondyk (U.Va. Center for Politics) put out a set of ratings for 2024 House races, and he rated Jackson’s district a “Tossup.” That was because his and three other blue North Carolina districts may be affected by a new round of redistricting by the Republican legislature.

  166. 166.

    Elizabelle

    Meanwhile, in Rodanthe NC (Outer Banks, south of Nags Head), the woke ocean took down another house today.  That makes four in the past year.

    WaPost video feature, with about 2.6 K reader comments.  Gift link:  Retreat in Rodanthe

    I truly don’t understand how anyone bought an oceanfront home here in recent years, but … I kind of wish they’d return these islands to nature preserves, with some camping and temporary structures.

    Barrier islands want to be barrier islands.

  168. 168.

    way2blue

    Gosh.  This brings back memories…  My sons’ sixth grade history teacher wanted to take her class to see the new film, Der Untergang.  One set of parents objected—they didn’t want their child to see it.  Fine?  But.  They insisted it would be unfair to said child—if the rest of the class saw it.  So.  No field trip.

    I did of course take my sons to see it.  Well worth it…

  171. 171.

    Geminid

    @schrodingers_cat: You may well know this already, but in 1860 the nativist American (Know Nothing) Party dissolved itself, and the bulk of its members went over to the new Republican Party. The American Party had been a force in 1850’s politics, and it’s politics have been a powerful strain in the Republican party ever since. One could say that an amalgam of the American and Dixicrat Parties dominates the party today.

  173. 173.

    Bill Arnold

    @lowtechcyclist:
    R. Crumb’s book looks like a worthy entry; thanks!

    The book’s cover contains the warning, “Adult Supervision Recommended for Minors”.

    (While not Jewish, I do go to Jewish services and can (phonetically) read the liturgy (well, Friday evening at least) in Hebrew. A favorite pastime when bored is finding non-normative interpretations for passages. )

  174. 174.

    Chris Johnson

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Literally the first thing Trump blames is ‘RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA SCAM’, posted in that twitter thread, in his subsequent meltdown.

    That guy has no self-control at all, and when it comes to things bigger than money, I think that’s it. Trump was Russia’s guy the whole time, that’s how he became President, and somehow the ‘bigger than money’ thing is that they’ve got him dead to rights on it.

    I think Trump got caught. He’s Russia’s guy. That’s bigger than money.

  175. 175.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Kay: One of the standard conservative explanations for the 2008 financial crisis was that it happened because lenders were forced to make home loans to non-white people.

    This time around, they’ve just gone on to assuming that putting non-white people in a bank’s management will make them foolish.

    That train is, as the man said, never late.

  176. 176.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Elizabelle:

    I truly don’t understand how anyone bought an oceanfront home here in recent years, but … I kind of wish they’d return these islands to nature preserves, with some camping and temporary structures.

    Barrier islands want to be barrier islands.

    I totally agree.

    From the article: “she estimates it will cost her $200,000 to move her home and have its first floor rebuilt, an expense not covered by insurance.”

    These articles never talk about how they can get insurance at all.  You’d think that would be an important part of the conversation.

    I assume they must be getting Federal flood insurance because I can’t imagine a private insurer having anything to do with low-lying coastal properties like these.  But I wish that just one time, an article about houses in places like this would say where they got their insurance from, and how.

    Anyway, I raised this question with the reporter on Twitter.  I’ll see whether he responds, and what he says if he does.

  177. 177.

    Geminid

    @Baud:

     

    @Geminid: Jeff Jackson’s 14th NC CD consists of much of Charlotte and suburban Mecklenburg County. It’s 57.1% White, 21.8% Black, 12.8% Hispanic, and 6.9% Asian. He carried it 57.7-42.3% in 2020. Joe Biden got 57.5% of the vote there.

    Jackson made a serious run for the open U.S Senate seat but in December, 2021 he suspended his campaign and endorsed Cheri Beasley.

    Jackson was an officer in the Army JAG Corps, and served in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. He is now a major in the North Carolina National Guard.

  179. 179.

    StringOnAStick

    @karen marie: There has been several rounds of training, starting at puppy class.  They are 2.5 years old now and the male is tightly bonded to her husband.  She figured his aggression had to do with feeling he needed to protect the husband because he was feeling a sudden onset of hip joint pain and playing it for everything he could to get attention from my friend, as he usually does.

    There was a prior hint 6 months ago when he nipped or snagged an elderly woman’s hand and drew blood; now that event is being reviewed as being more meaningful.  My friend and I sat together in the kitchen and the dogs could run around outside and come to the door; he’d look at her with love and at me with murder in his eyes.  When they were locked up in their laundry room to keep him away from me, he was hitting the door in a state of rage trying to get out and get to me, so they had to be put in their crates until I left the next morning.  I got away with a 2″ diameter blood blister thanks to the jacket I was wearing ; the next person might not be so lucky and this is a very, very large and powerful dog.

  180. 180.

    cain

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    I think this is crucial.  DeSantis is bad at hitting back.  Trump hit back like an elementary schooler going “I’m rubber and you’re glue!” but that fits his Let’s Go Brandon audience fine.  DeSantis freezes up.  That’s going to hurt him badly on the campaign trail, and especially in the primaries.

    The key here though is in a debate – you go for the jugular when DeSantis falters – say stuff like “why are you stumbling? What’s wrong?” – the trick is to make him look weak to his audience.

    Hopefully, the press and stupid liberals don’t shake their heads about ‘tone’. Every time it is about that we will lose the battle.

  181. 181.

    Urza

    @Gvg: The “Many Questions doctrine” that appears to be the new rightwing legal theory for denying laws would actually work in our favor here.  Any law that isn’t very specific would have Many Questions as to its validity.

  184. 184.

    Geminid

    @schrodingers_cat: The Know Nothings were anti-Irish, anti-German, and anti-Catholic. Then they became anti-Labor. I identify that strain with the “Taft Republicans” of the 1940s and 50s. The “Eisenhower Republicans” could hold them at bay for a while, but after the Southern party realignment of the 1970s the Know Nothings had powerful allies, and what used to be the Eisenhower Republicans were marginalized.

  186. 186.

    Geminid

    @schrodingers_cat: Yes, a lot of them came over to the Democratic side. I still see a few remnants in the Republican Party around me, but they are aging out. My State Senator, Emmet Hanger, is probably one but he’s in his 70s.

    There is a group of Eisenhower-tupe Republicans who run a Virginia political blog, Bearing Drift. They still try to fight the radicals, but their audience is small. It’s a good publication, though.

  189. 189.

    kalakal

    @Cameron: In one of C. S. Forester’s books, Hornblower is on half pay and is working as a teacher at a private school. “Readers – penny a week, Writers – tupenny, Counters – thrupenny”

    DeStupid is already trying to fill teacher vacancies by waiving all qualification requirements for vets.

    As people have pointed out he’s stiff  and inflexible  in debates. He’s a very thin skinned I speak your weight machine who can’t handle pushback which is why he always operates in a controlled bubble. He won’t be able to do that at a national level.

    Being thin- skinned is a real problem for a politician, many voters are turned off by people who can give it out but can’t take it. DeSantis is particularly bad as he just whines, pouts, and sulks.

  192. 192.

    Paul in KY

    @Doc Sardonic: Back in the paleozoic, when I used to wait in line for great UK basketball tics (outside in very cold weather) a Maranatha nut or two would harangue us at about 3 or 4 in morn about how we were all heathens bound for Hell.  Good times….

  193. 193.

    Cthulhu

    @rikyrah:  I just wish the media (Corporately right wing owned, so little hope of this) would call these people what they are, Nazis and Fascists.

  194. 194.

    Paul in KY

    @StringOnAStick: I never understand why someone would want an animal that, if it decided, could kill you, and you couldn’t do anything about it (unless you had a gun handy and could use it).

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