Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

No Justins, No Peace

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Thanks for reminding me that Van Jones needs to be slapped.

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

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

After roe, women are no longer free.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

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

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

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

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

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

White supremacy is terrorism.

You are here: Home / Civil Rights / LGBTQ Rights / LGBTQ Rights Are Human Rights / Thursday Morning Open Thread: Short Week, for Some

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Short Week, for Some

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Thursday Morning Open Thread 5

(Mike Luckovich via GoComics.com)

These folks, for instance:

The Freedom Carcass, as a child therapist might frame it, is having some really big feelings (also known as: throwing a public meltdown). Per the Washington Post, “House heads home after hard-right Republicans defy McCarthy, block legislation”:

A two-day stalemate between hard-right Republicans and GOP leaders has effectively frozen the House from considering any legislation for the foreseeable future, as both groups failed to find a resolution to the standoff that would allow the majority to vote on bills.

Just past 6 p.m. Wednesday, after GOP leaders gave up on resolving the impasse this week and canceled the remaining votes for the week, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) addressed reporters and explained that part of the ongoing frustration is the hard-line faction’s inability to articulate their demands.

“This is the difficult thing,” he said. “Some of these members, they don’t know what to ask for.”

McCarthy met with several members of the House Freedom Caucus on multiple occasions Wednesday to negotiate on their demands after 11 lawmakers — still angry over McCarthy’s handling of the debt ceiling bill — voted with Democrats against passing a rule Tuesday that would have set parameters for debate of several noncontroversial bills this week.

The blockade presents a high-stakes challenge for McCarthy as he seeks to assuage the myriad demands by the far-right faction of conference; previous Republican speakers have had to confront similar challenges before they were eventually forced out of the position. The conflict not only threatens McCarthy’s tenure with the speaker’s gavel, but also the House’s ability to take up any legislation, contributing to growing irritation within the razor-thin majority…

At the center of the far-right’s concern is an argument that McCarthy violated an agreement several of them struck in January in exchange for supporting his speakership bid. No list of those promises made exists publicly, so it’s unclear exactly what lawmakers and McCarthy agreed to. But several members of the Freedom Caucus have claimed he violated three main components of the agreement: Supporting legislation that reduces spending back to 2022 appropriation levels; putting legislation on the floor that is not passed overwhelmingly by Democrats; and not taking up bills that don’t have unanimous support from Republicans on the House Rules Committee…

Throughout Wednesday morning, the group of disrupters met and spoke with McCarthy and his team. Leadership remains unclear what exactly the group of 11 Republicans want, and different members want different things, making it more difficult to address their concerns, according to four people close to leadership who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations….

Meanwhile, other Republicans waiting to be told of what happens next were growing frustrated. Several governance-minded Republicans privately expressed their frustration that a small faction of their conference continues to hold up “the majority of the majority” from doing their basic job in elected office and voting — with little optimism that things change when lawmakers return on Monday.

“This is, in my opinion, political incontinence on our part. We are wetting ourselves and can’t do anything about. This is insane,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) said. “This is not the way a governing majority is expected to behave. And frankly, I think there’ll be a political cost to it.”…

One can but hope!

Thursday Morning Open Thread 7

(Drew Sheneman via GoComics.com)

Reader Interactions

133Comments

  3. 3.

    satby

    Been stalking the front page for the morning thread to leave a Duke update. Duke’s slowly improving, is eating sparingly but consistently, and the antibiotics seem to be having an effect, so the still unidentified infection isn’t viral. Right now he’s sulking under the bed because I made him take his pill. Appreciate everyone’s support, but for some reason GFM only enabled a direct email thank you on 20 people. Some of you will get thanks because I have your emails already. Otherwise, if you don’t get a personal note from me know that I wanted to send one but had no way to do so.

  7. 7.

    Nora

    Just who are these “governance minded Republicans” of whom the article speaks?  In the last couple of decades, at least, all I’ve seen are Republicans who are interested in playing performative outrage and stopping the adults in the room from accomplishing anything.

  10. 10.

    randy khan

    My wife and i were at that Nats game.  It was the 18th annual Night Out, the longest-running Pride event in Major League Baseball (and maybe in all of American sports).  Lots of people in themed attire (including t-shirts they gave out with special tickets) and we also got a Pride bobblehead.  It was a good time.

  11. 11.

    Anyway

    @Nora:

    Just who are these “governance minded Republicans” of whom the article speaks?  In the last couple of decades, at least, all I’ve seen are Republicans

    Exactly. What legislations are being prevented from getting to the floor? Is there a list?

  12. 12.

    satby

    The Freedumb caucus inadvertently aiding democracy by paralyzing their own party’s ability to pass even more toxic and stupid legislation is sweet schadenfreude.

  14. 14.

    twbrandt

    This is not the way a governing majority is expected to behave. And frankly, I think there’ll be a political cost to it.

    Good. Keep it up.

  16. 16.

    Ken

    I’m imagining John Boehner’s phone ringing, but after he checks the caller ID and sees McCarthy’s name, he just lets it ring and pours himself another scotch-and-no-soda.

  17. 17.

    brendancalling

    If I understand this correctly, the House has done it’s main task: lifting the debt ceiling til 2025. Given that this GOP isn’t going to send anything less than horrible to the the Senate, where their horrible bills will be DOA anyway, I don’t think I mind all that much if the House is paralyzed. House Dems can run on Republican dysfunction/incompetence all year.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    Apparently, student debt relief rollback passed the Senate, with Manchin, Sinema, and Tester voting with Republicans.   Biden has vetoed.

  19. 19.

    Baud

    McCarthy will cave to the Freedom Caucus again. The House won’t stay paralyzed forever.

  20. 20.

    MattF

    I’m betting that bail for George Santos came from some obscure Congressional slush fund.

  22. 22.

    Anonymous At Work

    Actually, I’m partially amazed that none of the vandals in the House GOP have submitted a Motion to Vacate the Chair yet.  None of them want to be the one stepping up to be the next Speaker, I guess.  And yes, the cowardice of the GOP is the reason for “partially”.

  25. 25.

    eversor

    @satby:

    This keeps happening to them.  I remember the Obama Grand Bargain fiasco.  Obama had talked to donors and others about wanting to reform/cut entitlements prior to running for president.  It was a priority of his.  Then he pulled up Simpson Bowles and came forward with the cuts to social security and medicare for the Grand Bargain which he really wanted.  David Brooks was almost orgasmic over it.

    Then the Tea Party/Freedom group blew it all up because they didn’t want to give Obama a win.

    They are just unhinged.

  26. 26.

    WaterGirl

    @satby:  Yay for Duke!

    For the GoFundMe I did for Cole when Tammy died, and the one for Larime, there was a “send a thank you to everyone who hasn’t already received one” button.

    That doesn’t seem like a feature they would remove.  I think there’s a text chat or phone number for support.  They were super helpful when I contacted them.

  28. 28.

    Baud

    @eversor:

    Obama had talked to donors and others about wanting to reform/cut entitlements prior to running for president.  It was a priority of his.

     
    I liked you better when you lied about Christianity.

  29. 29.

    Rusty

    The Free-dumb Caucus is made up of some the members most popular with the Republican base.  It’s going to get worse before it gets better.  Governance as performance art for the foreseeable future.  Those “governance oriented Republicans” can get some respect when they start routinely winning open Republican primaries.

  35. 35.

    satby

    @WaterGirl: nope, that was the 20. I can link it to our already verified non-profit and once confirmed I’ll get a complete list, but that will take a while. GFM is doing privacy better and that’s probably a good thing. But annoying right now.

  36. 36.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: Reforming entitlements could include removing the cap so the fat cats have to continue to contribute.  That’s the only way I would believe that statement.

  42. 42.

    Hoodie

    This whole thing is stupid and tedious.  McCarthy promised them whatever he needed to get the speakership, but the main purpose there was to create an impression that they owned him.  However, he was the only one who wanted the job and every one of them knew he would never honor those promises.  That works for them, however, because they get to continue to stage tantrums and get attention when he doesn’t honor the stupid promises.  The bottom line is that they do nothing except protect GOP donors and fleece the rubes.  Kev gets to pretend he’s a mastermind by passing the debt ceiling deal, which is really just a normal budget negotiation where his main goal was to prevent tax increases on GOP donors while pretending to cut spending.  It’s a never ending cycle of nonsense.  The GOP has turned in a particularly bad form of performance art.

  46. 46.

    p.a.

     

    @Baud: … Apparently, student debt relief rollback passed the Senate, with Manchin, Sinema, and Tester voting with Republicans.   Biden has vetoed.

     

    I understand Manchin & theSchemer because they’re puffed-up popinjays, but I really wonder if this “issue” really resonates with Montanans…

  48. 48.

    Manyakitty

    @Baud: Tester bothers me less than the other two. He’s in a tough race in a suddenly wingnut-infested state. To quote our Forever Madame Speaker, “Just win, baby!”

  51. 51.

    Baud

    @Manyakitty:

    Agreed. Free vote since Biden was sure to veto.

    I just hope the youth turn out in sufficient numbers to have a wave election. The GOP had really taken a sledgehammer to their interests.

  53. 53.

    Manyakitty

    @Baud: Hard same. You know the republican criminals are worried about it, what with all their efforts to raise the voting age and make everything in general more difficult for young voters.

  56. 56.

    Baud

    Y’all are so awful. Pat Robertson died for Pride Month and all you can do is slam him.

  57. 57.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @PsiFighter37: Pat Robertson kicked the bucket. Good fucking riddance.

    I knew he was one of the guys preaching “God sent hurricanes there because they have gay people. God only sends hurricanes to places with sinners. [*]”

    [*] “Rule does not apply if God sends hurricanes to my home”

    That stuff I kind of laughed off. But when I read something he said about how the parable of the Good Samaritan is really about how you should treat people in your own tribe nicely but not others, I was honestly shocked. I’m not a religious guy, but couldn’t stop thinking the word “blasphemy”.

    Same feelings about “Prosperity Gospel” (Jesus really meant rich people are better than poor people and are the ones going to heaven), but I’m not sure if Robertson was one of the people peddling that nonsense.

    I first ran into him decades ago, finding the absurd “700 club” while channel surfing.

  59. 59.

    BellyCat

    A circular firing squad is on order for the House GOP, complete with crocodile tears. Popcorn! 🍿

  60. 60.

    Geminid

    @Anonymous At Work: The Freedom Caucus holdouts might be able to remove McCarthy, but they cannot control what happens after. The Democrats and 5 fed-up Republicans could end up electing the next Speaker.

  61. 61.

    Albatrossity

    Agree that the posturing by the Freedumb Caucus was predictable, and that indeed Squeaker McCarthy could never honor all the promises that he had to make to get a job that nobody else wanted. What I find most fascinating about this situation is that the Freedumb Caucus base is mostly in it just to “own the libs”, and it will take a fair bit of gaslighting to sell this internecine kerfluffle as an example of owning the libs. Bottling up legislation that no Dem will support is pretty much the opposite of that!

  62. 62.

    tobie

    @satby: Word. Talking about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Still, glad to know their tantrum prevented passage on some pointless, if not damaging, GOP bills. Remember when Michelle Bachmann had a bill passed to protect the incandescent light bulbs? The gas stove bill seems to be of the same mindset.

  63. 63.

    SFAW

    @Baud: ​
     

    I’m not engaging in trollish debates with bad faith actors on the internet.

    And yet, here you are.

  64. 64.

    Baud

    The comments came as Falwell was appearing as a guest on Robertson’s daily700 Club program. Both expressed their sorrow and outrage over the attacks and advocated a strong response to the terror. Then Falwell elaborated on who, in addition to the terrorists who perpetrated the attacks, was responsible for them.

    God, he told Robertson, had protected America “wonderfully these225 years. And since 1812, this is the first time that we’ve been attackedon our soil and by far the worst results.

    Ad

    “Throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal courtsystem, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools,” he said.”The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will notbe mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we makeGod mad.

    “[T]he pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way — all of them who have tried to secularize America,” Falwell continued, “I point the finger in their face and say ‘you helped this happen.'”

    “Well, I totally concur,” responded Robertson.

  65. 65.

    WaterGirl

    @Betty Cracker: We are so lucky to have had Nancy Pelosi in congress and then as Leader Pelosi.

    I wish I remembered where I read yesterday that the shift of the Democratic party becoming more progressive can be traced back to one particular date – the date Nancy Pelosi was elected to congress.  (Maybe Charlie Pierce?)

    I loved that, and I think he’s right

    Unlike so many others, her main goal when elected was not to keep being elected, at the expense of all else.

  66. 66.

    SFAW

    @Geminid: ​
     

    The Democrats and 5 fed-up Republicans could end up electing the next Speaker.

    I think them electing Hitlary would be good fun. [Yes, I know it would never happen.]

  67. 67.

    Geminid

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: Robertson managed to achieve some political power in Virginia Beach by moblizing evangelical voters. Discredited Governor Bob McDonnell was a product of that machine. The organization will be tested next year, when Republican Jen Kiggans will face her first reelection in the 2nd Virginia CD.

  68. 68.

    Doug R

    @eversor: I think Obama wanted something that looked cruel on the outside but with the proper mathemagic could be the same or better. But the Rs blew that up.

  69. 69.

    SFAW

    @Baud: ​
     
    Trigger warning when you post about those two mofos, please. My monitor almost burst into flame from the virtual hellfire that appeared when those two names appeared in the same virtual place.

  70. 70.

    gene108

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    But when I read something he said about how the parable of the Good Samaritan is really about how you should treat people in your own tribe nicely but not others, I was honestly shocked. I’m not a religious guy, but couldn’t stop thinking the word “blasphemy”.

    Isn’t that the exact opposite of the parable of the Good Samaritan means?

    Still pissed off about Robertson going off about how Hindus, and by implication the majority of Indians, were devil worshippers and therefore wicked, back in the 80’s.

  72. 72.

    Geminid

    @Albatrossity: Yes, the Freedumb Caucus believes in owning the libs. Just like lemmings believe they are owning the lynxes as they run off a cliff.

  73. 73.

    SFAW

    @gene108: ​
     

    Still pissed off about Robertson going off about how Hindus, and by implication the majority of Indians, were devil worshippers and therefore wicked, back in the 80’s.

    Well, projection IS the stock in trade for the RWMFs, after all.

  74. 74.

    Doug R

    @WaterGirl: Former Senator Al Franken had the idea to leave the cap, adjusted for inflation-then for incomes above say a million or so, tax the rest.

    He called it the “doughnut hole”.

  77. 77.

    Betty Cracker

    @Baud: I think one or both of those two sanctimonious, greedy scumbags started a rumor about gay men with HIV wearing sharp rings to cut straight people and infect them with AIDS. They’re both taking a dirt nap now, and halle-fucking-lujah for that, but their ideological heirs are busy trying to make life miserable for vulnerable people. The fight never ends.

  78. 78.

    Anyway

    @Baud:

    Wow. I didn’t think he’d ever pass.

    Kissinger just had a big bash for his 100th. At the NYPL.

  80. 80.

    Baud

    @James E Powell:

    Usually, no?

    ETA: The GOP line is that liberals get student loan relief while “working” people get nothing. Pure crab bucket politics, but it works for them.

  81. 81.

    Sanjeevs

    @twbrandt: I still can’t believe that Wohl and Burkman tried to frame the former FBI head for rape … and faced no consequences for it.

  84. 84.

    gene108

    @Baud:

    “Throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal courtsystem, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools,” he said

    I’m never going to understand the logic behind this statement. Falwell’s admitting the U.S. court system is more powerful than his Christ-God, because the courts can effectively keep an omnipresent, omnipresent, and omniscient being out of public school buildings.

    I’m taking his words literally. Little Christian kid prays to do well on a history test, and the kid’s prayers go nowhere, because the Christian god’s banned from public schools.

    The little Buddhist kid one seat over prays to do well, and that kid’s prayers are heard.

    Wildly speculating out my ass here, but may be this ban of the Christian god from public schools versus Buddhist and Hindu gods is one reason Asians, on average (I wasn’t one), do better academically? The Asian prayers are heard and answered.

  85. 85.

    Geminid

    @SFAW: In this (unlikely) scenario, Democrats would agree with Republican defectors to pick a “caretaker” Speaker willing to ensure that important legislation makes it to the floor. Someone like recently retired Republican Tom Reed (NY) might be suitable.

    The Turkish President is mad at Ambassador Jeff Flake, so maybe he would take the job of caretaker Speaker. Then it would be known as the Flake Congress.

  87. 87.

    gene108

    @SFAW:

    Well, projection IS the stock in trade for the RWMFs, after all.

    It wasn’t projection. He truly believed non-Christians were evil in someway.

    On the other hand, it made the intolerance lurking below the surface noticeable. He said the quiet part out loud.

  88. 88.

    Baud

    @gene108:

    We’ve been talking a bit recently about the religious right’s need to feel persecuted.  This is just another example of that.  It’s not a new phenomenon.

  89. 89.

    SFAW

    @gene108: ​
     

    It wasn’t projection. He truly believed non-Christians were evil in someway.

    I don’t think projection requires a lack of belief that The Other is evil (or whatever).
    The point of projection is that you project your own flaw(s) onto someone (probably) lacking that/those flaw(s).

  91. 91.

    gene108

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Meh, they all say that and worse about atheists like me. Water off a duck’s back.

    As a white man, you do not present differently than a Pat Robertson follower.

    It’s not the case with people from India with darker skin and clearly non-Christian names. Being singled out by a bigot with a large following was unnerving.

  92. 92.

    topclimber

    @Doug R: Obama also wanted a federal budget with room in it for benefits to the working poor, for the ACA and other priorities besides social security and defense. Plus a fairer immigration system so that the SSA tax base would include more workers, offsetting the population decline among our current “legal” citizenry.

    We will probably wind up with a grand bargain which, like those in the past, creates a less generous system but also expands the tax base. This will pass about 10 minutes before the social security system approaches insolvency.

  94. 94.

    Scout211

    Joe Biden takes steps to protect LGBTQ Americans amid onslaught of attacks

    WASHINGTON – Just in time for Pride month, the Biden administration is taking a series of steps to counter an onslaught of attacks against the LGBTQ communityin GOP-led states across the country.

    President Joe Biden will announce Thursday a new community safety partnership led by the Department of Homeland Security to protect LGBTQ Americans.
     
    The partnership will train LGBTQ community centers and businesses, such as restaurants and gay bars, that have faced threats to respond to “worst-case” scenarios, such as bomb threats, active shooters and cybersecurity attacks. The partnership will also work with healthcare providers and others that serve the LGBTQ community.
     
    The administration also plans to release $1.7 million for new federal programs to support the health and mental health of LGBTQ youth. As part of the effort, the Department of Health and Human Services will issue an advisory to mental health professionals on best practices for supporting the mental health of transgender youth, who in some states have been the focus of bans on gender-affirming care.

  99. 99.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    @Baud: That was the whole point of Emmanuel Goldstein in Orwell’s 1984, after all. Ingsoc needed an enemy against which it could tell the people to close ranks.

  101. 101.

    BC in Illinois

    I remember the theologian Johnny Carson saying that Pat Robertson said that God had told him to run for President.

    Johnny said in response, “And when God tells ME to vote for Pat, then I will.”

  102. 102.

    Birdie

    @Baud: this sounds a lot like “la la la I can’t hear you”. A lot of us were alive in 2009-11, pretending Simpson Bowles didn’t happen is of the same ilk as Republicans saying gay marriage was never controversial. It’s not true and you diminish yourself by saying it.

    It’s ok that the political climate has evolved, and it doesn’t make the politicians of the past bad people (necessarily). Long term structural deficits used to be a thing that all credible politicians had to care about, and now they don’t.

    Whether or not that’s a good thing is somewhat TBD. For all that it’s “protected”, social security is still unfunded, such that young people today have low likelihood that they will ever get out anything like what they put in. If more people realized that was a live concern, I expect the priority of doing something about it would be higher. I’m not excited to be throwing money in the trash (potentially), myself.

  104. 104.

    Kosh III

    “Pat Robertson kicked the bucket. Good fucking riddance.”

    Absofragginlutelydammit  yes1

    A reminder:  Jim and Tammy Bakker started the 700 Club and Robertson was jealous of their success and kicked them out.  (Also Jim is, despite denials quite gay.)
    I heard him say on the air that he believed that God told him if he ran for President(1988) he would win.

  107. 107.

    Baud

    @Birdie:

    this sounds a lot like “la la la I can’t hear you”.

     
    By that token, I have to engage in serious debate with MAGA.

    The original comment didn’t pass my test for reasonable debate. Maybe it passes yours. To each his own.

  108. 108.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Kay: ​
      Eh, there as a pretty broad gap between “was willing to discuss” and “wanted.” We know one happened. The second doesn’t necessarily follow.

  109. 109.

    Kay

    Mark Copelovitch
    @mcopelov
    Absolutely bonkers. Same with inflation relative to unemployment, the unprecedentedly rapid recovery, etc. We lost the plot completely sometime in mid-2021, and we’ve never found it again since.

    Th ereporting on the economy during Biden’s term as been as bad or worse than the “but her emails” reporting in 2016.
    They are no longer capable of simply reporting economic facts- they have created a whole “bad economy” narrative that is fiction.
    The funniest part to me is all of media like to pretend they’re not east coast snobs who only pay attention to tech and finance- but they only pay attention to tech and finance.
    Manufacturing is BOOMING. I have never in my life seen the rust belt cooking like it is. But because finance and tech are slowing these ridiculous out of touch dopes announce we have a bad economy every day- it simply is not true.
    It’s “but her emails” except applied to the economy. It’s junk. Sloppy, garbage work.

  110. 110.

    rikyrah

    A two-day stalemate between hard-right Republicans and GOP leaders has effectively frozen the House from considering any legislation for the foreseeable future, as both groups failed to find a resolution to the standoff that would allow the majority to vote on bills.

     

    Like this is a bad thing.

  113. 113.

    Kay

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I think commentors on this site sometimes take “we can’t dispirit or depress our base” too far into some very creative depictions of events. It’s one of the risks of the kind of “power of positive thinking’ approach to politics, IMO.

    A nomal person reading Obama’s comments or watching his actions, without any kind of Kremlinology of what he REALLY meant, would believe he wanted to reform entitlements and chained CPI is a cut. They didn’t pull this out of thin air. It happened.

    It’s fine- it moved in a better direction. IMO cutting entitlements has gone back to being a “third rail” and it fucking should be. They can find the money somewhere else. I’d be happy to help them. I love budgets.

  114. 114.

    Citizen Alan

    @Baud: My favorite Pat Robertson story was when someone called in to his show to complain that their next door neighbor had purchased some small Buddha statues while on a trip.to the farest  and they were worried about their friend “engaging in idolatry.” And the senile motherfucker flat out encouraged the caller to go to their friend’s house and smash the statues. You know, likely would expect out of some taliban mullah.

  116. 116.

    Citizen Alan

    @Baud: I actually know quite a few “working class people” who are only  “working class people” because they flunked out of collte3ge twenty years ago and have been saddled the whole time with student loans for the degree they never even got.

  117. 117.

    Citizen Alan

    @gene108:

    It wasn’t projection. He truly believed non-Christians were evil in someway

    To be fair, he also believed that christians who were not of his denomination and/or political persuasion. Were also going to hell.

  121. 121.

    ETtheLibrarian

    To Womack and other so-called governance minded conservatives, you are just as much of the problem by not sticking together and being grown ups. They are taking as much powere as they are being given to them by you weenies.

  123. 123.

    Bill Arnold

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    “God sent hurricanes there because they have gay people. God only sends hurricanes to places with sinners. [*]”

    We call those “Red State Hurricanes”.
    (Apologies to blue inhabitants of said said areas.)

  124. 124.

    Gravenstone

    @Baud: A shame that studio didn’t simply blip out of existence in that moment, taking two absolutely useless excuses for “humanity” with it.

  125. 125.

    satby

    @Birdie: Whether or not that’s a good thing is somewhat TBD. For all that it’s “protected”, social security is still unfunded, such that young people today have low likelihood that they will ever get out anything like what they put in.

    That is incorrect and a long time right wing bit of misinformation. SS funds collected are held in US Treasury bonds and are redeemed as needed when incoming revenue falls below outgoing disbursements. Lifting the cap would solve the solvency problem, defaulting on the full faith and credit of the government is the only way “young people today have low likelihood that they will ever get out anything like what they put in”. It’s an annuity anyway, not a savings account. Many people expire before they collect a dime.

  126. 126.

    Scout211

    I posted this upthread, but CBS has more after the announcement.

    Several new protections for LGBTQ students and families were unveiled on Thursday by the Biden administration, including establishing a coordinator to “lead the charge” against banning books in schools, administration officials said.

    The yet-to-be-named Education Department coordinator will train school districts and advise them that banning books “may violate federal civil laws if they create a hostile environment for students,” said White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden.

    Almost 1,500 instances of book banning in schools, affecting 874 different titles in the first half of this school year, according to PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans, representing a nearly 30% increase over the previous school year.

    More than a quarter of the banned books have LGBTQ characters or themes, according to PEN. The states that have implemented the greatest number of books bans this year are Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah and South Carolina.

    . . .

    A new joint effort by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Justice Department to train LGBTQ centers to deal with threats of violence, including shooting and bomb threats, along with cyberattacks, was also announced by administration officials. Last month, DHS noted the United States’ “heightened threat environment” and said LGBTQ individuals and events are “likely targets of potential violence.”

    DHS said some might be inspired to commit violence by factors including “their perceptions of the 2024 general election cycle and legislative or judicial decisions pertaining to sociopolitical issues.”

  128. 128.

    Paul in KY

    @OzarkHillbilly: When he has a smaller man on him, he sorta looks like a well coordinated but chunky 14 year old playing against some 8 year olds, on a 7 foot goal.

  130. 130.

    H-Bob

    @satby: You are correct — the projected Social Security deficit is 25%, not 100%. Just raising FICA (2.1% on workers and 2.1% on employers) would resolve the insolvency issue; that taxa increase could be implemented over 10 years, so it wouldn’t be a crushing increase. Or just eliminating the cap on the employer contribution.

    The real issue is that the Social Security “Trust Fund” is used to hide the portion of the deficit used for other spending and the Republicans don’t want taxes to increase for that.

  132. 132.

    Geminid

    @brantl: Recip Tayip Erdogan would agree on your second point. He’s mad because Ambassador Flake met with Mr. Kilicdaroglu, the opposition presidential candidate.

    I’m joking about Flake as Speaker, though. A retired Republican Congressman like Tom Reed or Charlie Dent would be a better fit for a caretaker Speaker.

    And this is an unlikely scenario. I put it out there as an example of the possible unintended consequences of removing McCarthy. It may be one reason the Freedom Caucus holdouts haven’t backed up their big talk about a motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair. They might not be able to elect a Speaker out of their caucus, except maybe Scalise. But 6 Republicans and the 212 Democrats could fill that vacuum.

  133. 133.

    taumaturgo

    “If you gave [Jerry] Falwell an enema, he could be buried in a matchbox.” (Ditto Pat) Christopher Hitchens

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