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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

When I was faster i was always behind.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

He really is that stupid.

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

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Everybody saw this coming.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread

Open Thread

by John Cole|  June 14, 20236:55 pm| 71 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Apparently everyone else went on strike.

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Previous Post: « And While We Are At It, Fuck Centrists
Next Post: Why Not This? »

Reader Interactions

71Comments

  1. 1.

    SiubhanDuinne

    June 14, 2023 at 6:56 pm

    LOL

  2. 2.

    steppy

    June 14, 2023 at 6:57 pm

    Just leaving the field open for the boss.

  3. 3.

    Alison Rose

    June 14, 2023 at 6:58 pm

    They were just waiting for your third “fuck [X]” post.

  4. 4.

    PaulWartenberg

    June 14, 2023 at 7:00 pm

    I’m just taking care of family business, my mom’s birthday today.

  5. 5.

    wonkie

    June 14, 2023 at 7:00 pm

    I’m sitting here anxiously awaiting a phone call from a rescue about a dog I want to adopt. She’s supposed to call at four.

  6. 6.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    June 14, 2023 at 7:01 pm

  7. 7.

    Baud

    June 14, 2023 at 7:02 pm

    @steppy:

    Exactly my thoughts.

  8. 8.

    steppy

    June 14, 2023 at 7:04 pm

    @Baud: You know why? It was out of respect.

  9. 9.

    cain

    June 14, 2023 at 7:05 pm

    That new diet of yours is clearly giving us results!

  10. 10.

    Baud

    June 14, 2023 at 7:05 pm

    @steppy:

    Hail to the chief!

  11. 11.

    dmsilev

    June 14, 2023 at 7:09 pm

    Solidarity with the Hollywood writer’s guild.

  12. 12.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    June 14, 2023 at 7:09 pm

    Hopefully it was a 7-10 pickup… rather than a strike!

  13. 13.

    satby

    June 14, 2023 at 7:09 pm

    @cain: That’s what happens when you’re only allowed vegetables with piss and vinegar. Fantastic rants.

  14. 14.

    Trivia Man

    June 14, 2023 at 7:09 pm

    @wonkie: what a talented dog! Phoning without a thumb!

  15. 15.

    JPL

    June 14, 2023 at 7:13 pm

    I’ve been trying to find the recipe for Stretch Pizza’s  potato chip salad, since Pete Wells said it’s the best thing on the menu.

    nytimes

  16. 16.

    karen marie

    June 14, 2023 at 7:13 pm

    @Trivia Man:   I was going to say I was jealous but then I realized, given she wants to talk to everyone she sees when we’re on walkies, I’d have to listen to the fucking dog chatting on the phone all hours of the day and night.  That’s a big nope.

  17. 17.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    June 14, 2023 at 7:14 pm

    My writer group zooms from 6:30 – 9:00. I’ll be checking in sporadically.

  18. 18.

    David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    June 14, 2023 at 7:14 pm

    Dump has lost Bill Barr, Christie, Turley, and Dershowitz but he still has Matt Taibbi defending him:

    “If you’re going to take the very extreme step of indicting somebody who is the likely nominee of the opposition party, the charge has to meet two tests: It has to be extremely serious and it has to be an airtight case. And [this indictment] fails on both points”​

    He then goes on to promote… [checks notes]… Tulsi Gabbard for president. I used to think he was just a useful idiot – a russophilia who defended all things Russia. But defending Dump on a non Russia matter when even a hack like Turley won’t leads me to think he’s on russian payroll.

  19. 19.

    Baud

    June 14, 2023 at 7:18 pm

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch:

    Agree. Turley is low, so Taibbi is worse.

    And indictments don’t lay out evidence, so that whole part is fabricated.

    If you’re going to take the very extreme step of indicting somebody who is the likely nominee of the opposition party

     

    So only intraparty prosecutions?

  20. 20.

    Gin & Tonic

    June 14, 2023 at 7:19 pm

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: I doubt payroll, but I’m sure they have tapes of him when he was fucking under-aged girls in Moscow.

  21. 21.

    billcinsd

    June 14, 2023 at 7:22 pm

    Apparently everyone else went on strike.

    Water Girl is celebrating that she was born yesterday and not today, ie as today is TFG’s birthday

  22. 22.

    eclare

    June 14, 2023 at 7:23 pm

    @billcinsd:

    Wouldn’t you?

  23. 23.

    Chief Oshkosh

    June 14, 2023 at 7:25 pm

    @Trivia Man: Not so tough these days, what with voice commands and all…

  24. 24.

    Burnspbesq

    June 14, 2023 at 7:28 pm

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch:

    Since Cole has officially declared this “Fuck [x] Day,” I feel safe in saying Fuck That Idiot Taibbi.

  25. 25.

    Splitting Image

    June 14, 2023 at 7:28 pm

    I saw that John Romita Sr. passed away today. He was one of the very last comic book artists from the 1940s still alive, and one of the last people who worked at Marvel in the early ’60s.

    I wasn’t around in the 1960s, but I was reading reprints of the ’60s Spider-Man comics all through the 1980s. Like Kirby and Buscema, Romita influenced so many of the Marvel artists who came along later that his art style was ubiquitous in my childhood.

  26. 26.

    geg6

    June 14, 2023 at 7:31 pm

    @wonkie:

    You must take pictures and have Watergirl or Anne Laurie post them for us!

  27. 27.

    JPL

    June 14, 2023 at 7:32 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: That’s what I think.

  28. 28.

    dmsilev

    June 14, 2023 at 7:33 pm

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: Trump is, according to the indictment, pretty much captured on tape saying “this is a crime, I know it is a crime. I do this fully knowing it is a crime”. Now, maybe his hack appointee of a judge can skew things in his favor and maybe some diehard MAGAt will end up on the jury, but the prosecutorial team sure seemed to present a strong case. Largely because Trump is both a criminal and a complete fucking idiot.

  29. 29.

    frosty

    June 14, 2023 at 7:33 pm

    @Splitting Image: The Guardian had a nice remembrance, including one of my favorites: “Face it Tiger, you just hit the jackpot!”

    https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jun/14/john-romita-sr-the-spider-man-artist-was-a-titan-of-the-comic-book-world?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

    ETA: I was reading Spidey with my friends in the high school cafeteria as they came out. They really were a world different than other comics.

  30. 30.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    June 14, 2023 at 7:34 pm

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: I mean, it’s an airtight case just from the evidence that’s available to the public. I wonder what Taibbi thinks qualifies as a serious crime if getting intelligence assets and service members killed doesn’t qualify.

  31. 31.

    Citizen Alan

    June 14, 2023 at 7:39 pm

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?:

     I wonder what Taibbi thinks qualifies as a serious crime if getting intelligence assets and service members killed doesn’t qualify.

    Being a democrat.

  32. 32.

    Scout211

    June 14, 2023 at 7:40 pm

    So the crazy ex-president guy is truthing out more insults today.  Ya big bunch of MISFITS, MUTANTS, MARXISTS, & COMMUNISTS!

    So eloquent.

    REALLY BIG FUNDRAISING, EVEN GREATER POLLS, SINCE THE RADICAL LEFT INDICTMENT HOAX WAS INITIATED BY THE MISFITS, MUTANTS, MARXISTS, & COMMUNISTS! THANK YOU !!!

  33. 33.

    Geminid

    June 14, 2023 at 7:40 pm

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: Taibbi will probably get his wish. I think former Rep. Gabbard will run on the Libertarian Party ticket next year. They’ll have ballot access in 40+ states, and the von Mises Caucus that now controls the party will want to build their brand with a well-known candidate. Gabbard has the resume-a 3 term Representative and Army Reserve Lt. Colonel. She’s glib, and she’s also a looker

    I think Gabbard would take more Republican votes than Democratic votes, though. The Democratic coalition seems very cohesive now. It’s the Republicans who are falling apart.

  34. 34.

    dr. bloor

    June 14, 2023 at 7:40 pm

    No one wants to work anymore.

  35. 35.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    June 14, 2023 at 7:44 pm

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: Dump has lost Bill Barr, Christie, Turley, and Dershowitz but he still has Matt Taibbi defending him:

    Well, since the former four presumably didn’t come down with a sudden case of morality, there are two conclusions to be drawn.

    Trump is an obvious loser.

    Taibbi lacks situational awareness.

  36. 36.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 14, 2023 at 7:45 pm

    @dr. bloor: ​
      I certainly don’t.

  37. 37.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    June 14, 2023 at 7:47 pm

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?: it’s an airtight case just from the evidence that’s available to the public.

    Trump will go to any public forum and confess, save for the court room.

  38. 38.

    Steeplejack

    June 14, 2023 at 7:47 pm

    @wonkie:

    If the dog calls you on the phone, that should be a no-brainer.

  39. 39.

    Captain C

    June 14, 2023 at 7:48 pm

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch:

    Dump has lost Bill Barr, Christie, Turley, and Dershowitz but he still has Matt Taibbi defending him:

    “If you’re going to take the very extreme step of indicting somebody who is the likely nominee of the opposition party, the charge has to meet two tests: It has to be extremely serious and it has to be an airtight case. And [this indictment] fails on both points”​

    Does Mr. It’s-Funny-To-Pretend-I-Raped-Underage-Russian-Girls* claim to have even read the indictment?  I did, and to this reasonably educated layman’s eyes, the charges seem quite serious and if the evidence supports them, the case seems pretty strong.

    ETA:  *This is his best-case scenario, as this is what he claimed when  he got called out for him and Ames bragging in their book that they harassed and even raped their female Russian employees, some whom were underage.

  40. 40.

    PJ

    June 14, 2023 at 7:50 pm

    Twitter stops being functional in major aspects, and Cole suddenly discovers he has his own blog he can post to.

  41. 41.

    OzarkHillbilly

    June 14, 2023 at 7:51 pm

    I’m a union carpenter. Being on strike is what I do.

  42. 42.

    JWR

    June 14, 2023 at 7:52 pm

    Remember Joseph Komrosky, the Temecula School Board president who referred to Harvey Milk as a pedophile? Well, that same school board is still fighting The Woke:

    TEMECULA, Calif. (KABC) — The Temecula Valley school board voted to fire the district’s superintendent Jodi McClay as hundreds of teachers continue to protest the board’s decision to block a curriculum that mentioned gay rights leader Harvey Milk.

    The board voted to hire former Assistant Superintendent Kimberly Velez to fill in as interim.

    Many of the teachers said they’re upset with the board’s recent decision to not approve a social sciences textbook for elementary school students because of material some board members found objectionable.

    Now, some of those board members will be facing recall.

    Recall Komrosky. That would be a good start.

  43. 43.

    Brachiator

    June 14, 2023 at 7:55 pm

    @Splitting Image:

    I saw that John Romita Sr. passed away today. He was one of the very last comic book artists from the 1940s still alive, and one of the last people who worked at Marvel in the early ’60s.

    May he rest in peace. Loved his work.

  44. 44.

    Geminid

    June 14, 2023 at 7:55 pm

    @Captain C: Ryan Grim is complaining about the Trump indictment also. He says Biden should beat Trump in an election, not take him out with a criminal case.

    I’m not surprised. Grim and associates like Sirota now realize they can’t take over the Democratic Party, so they have a severe case of sour grapes.

  45. 45.

    Rebel’s Dad

    June 14, 2023 at 7:56 pm

    @David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: Taibbi never met a ruble he didn’t like.

  46. 46.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    June 14, 2023 at 7:56 pm

    @Geminid:Ryan Grim is complaining about the Trump indictment also. He says Biden should beat Trump in an election, not take him out with a criminal case.

    Mr. Grim, show me President Biden’s signature on the indictment.

  47. 47.

    Rebel’s Dad

    June 14, 2023 at 7:57 pm

    @Baud: Turley is a gutter rat. Taibbi is a subway one.

  48. 48.

    Jay

    June 14, 2023 at 7:57 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    so you make the picket signs?

    Is it a living,…… I know it’s honest work, but,……

  49. 49.

    Rebel’s Dad

    June 14, 2023 at 7:59 pm

    @Burnspbesq: eww no. Even I have higher standards than that.

    Can you imagine how those poor Russian girls he boinked felt afterward? There’s not enough water in the Volga River to wash that skeevy feeling off.

  50. 50.

    Jay

    June 14, 2023 at 8:03 pm

    @Rebel’s Dad:

    you are allowed to use a rusty pitchfork or a dildo of consequences,……….

    Up to you,……..

  51. 51.

    Another Scott

    June 14, 2023 at 8:04 pm

    GQPers can’t keep an agreement?? Unpossible!!

    GovExec.com:

    When President Biden earlier this month signed the bipartisan budget deal into law, it was intended to create a framework for annual spending bills that would take a government shutdown off the table.

    Now, however, Republicans are pushing appropriations bills that come in at less than the levels to which Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., agreed. Democrats are warning this is putting Congress on a collision course with a funding lapse.

    The disagreement came to a head on Tuesday at a markup of an Agriculture Department fiscal 2024 funding measure, during which Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would revert spending to fiscal 2022 levels. That ignored the Fiscal Responsibility Act’s caps, which—on a government-wide level—aimed to essentially freeze spending at current amounts. Republicans said they would approve $115 billion in take-backs of not-yet-spent but previously approved funding—including nearly $8 billion from Agriculture—making total spending 1% less than would have occurred under a continuing resolution.

    “The Fiscal Responsibility Act set a top-line spending cap—a ceiling, not a floor—for fiscal year 2024 bills,” said Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, who chairs the appropriations panel. “That is why I will use this opportunity to mark up appropriations bills that limit new spending to the fiscal year 2022 top-line level.”

    Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the committee, condemned that decision, saying it undermined a deal Republican leadership itself just negotiated.

    […]

    Grr…,
    Scott.

  52. 52.

    Delk

    June 14, 2023 at 8:06 pm

    I saw the Pride Ride this morning. An entire Chicago L train wrapped in the Pride Rainbow. It was the red line so it was a lot of cars. 12? 14? It looked awesome.

  53. 53.

    Geminid

    June 14, 2023 at 8:08 pm

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: Yeah, it’s bullshit. I guess Grim has a receptive audience, but I wonder how big it is.

  54. 54.

    KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))

    June 14, 2023 at 8:10 pm

    Apparently everyone else went on strike.

    Maybe they’re just holding their breath, hoping you’ll keep posting. Seriously, it’s exhilarating to see you back in your old, corrosive form! When you get your teeth into a topic your writing is a joy to behold.

    I was thinking just the other day about how quaint Marcy’s blowjob exile looks these days.

  55. 55.

    zhena gogolia

    June 14, 2023 at 8:12 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: That is for sure.

  56. 56.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    June 14, 2023 at 8:14 pm

    @Another Scott: Now, however, Republicans are pushing appropriations bills that come in at less than the levels to which Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., agreed. Democrats are warning this is putting Congress on a collision course with a funding lapse.

    Then it’s up to Republican leadership and other Republicans on the appropriations committee to nip this in bud before it becomes a problem. I’ll be holding my breath starting…now.

    ::Inhales enough air to support NYC for a month::

  57. 57.

    Rebel’s Dad

    June 14, 2023 at 8:23 pm

    @Jay: “Dildo of Consequences”…?

    That sounds way too good to waste on Taibbi. Although I am curious what those Consequences are.

  58. 58.

    karen marie

    June 14, 2023 at 8:31 pm

    @Geminid:   I’ve never heard of Ryan Grim, so I googled him.

    Now I understand why I’ve never heard of him – he works for that Greenwald joint.  A more deeply unserious group of people would be hard to find outside the GOP.

  59. 59.

    Geminid

    June 14, 2023 at 8:33 pm

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: Senate Republicans will not go along with a cut in Agriculture Department funding. Same with Defense spending. McCarthy’s 5 vote* majority may not be big enough to make cuts in those areas stick.

    * McCarthy has a 6 vote majority now, since David Cicciline retired. His Rhode Island seat should be filled by November, and Santos may be gone before then.

  60. 60.

    Steve in the ATL

    June 14, 2023 at 8:35 pm

    Clearly this blog needs my help. You lock them out before they can strike!  Sheesh.  This is basic stuff, people.

  61. 61.

    Chief Oshkosh

    June 14, 2023 at 8:42 pm

    Doesn’t it feel weird that the immediate-past president of the Unites States has now been arrested TWICE, and both times for serious crimes?

    You sure as heck wouldn’t know it from the MSM. I’ve seen a handful of headlines from April 4th stating that, yes, Trump was arrested, but geeze, a second felony arrest?

  62. 62.

    Rebel’s Dad

    June 14, 2023 at 8:45 pm

    @Chief Oshkosh: It’s weird, but are any of us really surprised? I exhausted my outrage supply in like February 2017.

  63. 63.

    wenchacha

    June 14, 2023 at 8:51 pm

    @eclare: Aww, cmon. My daughter turns 35 today. I would have pushed harder or held on to her longer if I’d known, dammit.

  64. 64.

    eclare

    June 14, 2023 at 9:07 pm

    @wenchacha:

    I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything personal by it.  Happy birthday to your daughter.

  65. 65.

    Chief Oshkosh

    June 14, 2023 at 9:08 pm

    @Rebel’s Dad: It’s not a matter of being surprised. It’s that this isn’t even the top headline, and when it is covered, it’s entirely from the horse-race political perspective. TWICE arrested, and they’re felonies, and the press is one step away from asking him whether he’s going to vacay in Scotland or somewhere else this year.

  66. 66.

    mrmoshpotato

    June 14, 2023 at 9:35 pm

    @wenchacha: LOL!  Happy birthday to your daughter!

  67. 67.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 14, 2023 at 9:39 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Holy fuck!  You have found your moment.

  68. 68.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    June 14, 2023 at 9:41 pm

    @karen marie: A more deeply unserious group of people would be hard to find outside the GOP.

    No Labels and Forward may be more unserious. Just like the GOP, they lie to us. But not the entire GOP lies to itself

    ETA: The internally honest GOPers might be called “the deplorables.”

    And hi, Cole, welcome back. Don’t let looks deceive you, @rikyrah beat me there.

  69. 69.

    Steve in the ATL

    June 14, 2023 at 9:44 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: it took years, but I’m a patient man…now, back to crushing people’s hopes and dreams!

  70. 70.

    rikyrah

    June 14, 2023 at 9:45 pm

    Hi Cole😂😂😂

  71. 71.

    Omnes Omnibus

    June 14, 2023 at 9:50 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: You do you, man.  You do you.

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