Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

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

We still have time to mess this up!

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

In after Baud. Damn.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

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

White supremacy is terrorism.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

This really is a full service blog.

It’s possible to be a liberal firebrand without crapping on the party.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

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This Might Be Fun to Watch

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I saw this go by in my feeds a couple of hours ago, and it’s interesting that none of the mainstream media outlets (People, CNN, etc.) reporting it would reprint the AI-generated image of Taylor Swift, because they’re not fucking idiots like Trump.

I assume her lawyers will get a quick takedown, and she won’t even mention it. He’s clearly trying to get in a fight with any prominent woman that he can, as part of his new “we’re the incels’ #1 choice” campaign strategy.

She endorsed biden in 2020 and I assume she’ll endorse Harris when she decides that the time is right.

Edit: This just popped up on Bluesky. The gross incompetence of this campaign, Jesus. Disorb!
This Might Be Fun to Watch

This Might Be Fun to WatchPost + Comments (117)

Open Thread (and don’t forget to RSVP) and rescheduling the zoom

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If you are interested in attending tomorrow’s zoom with the Civics Center, please let us know in the comments and send an email to WaterGirl.

Never mind.  We will reschedule the zoom for after the convention.

The zoom is at 7:30 pm Eastern time.  There are only a small handful of RSVPs at this point, and I’m not sure whether that indicates lack of interest (but who wouldn’t want to come and talk with someone who clerked for RBG?) or focused on the Democratic Convention (so you’re distracted) or if you plan to attend the zoom but just haven’t RSVP’d yet.

I would be surprised if it’s lack of interest because so many of you have written to say how excited you are about this group.  So I am perplexed!

Speaking of The Civics Center, PatrickG’s $2,500 Angel match from yesterday is complete, and he added that to the thermometer this morning.

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What Does It Mean to Fight? Part 2

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What Does It Mean to Fight? Part 2

This is KamalaHQ on Instagram.  In case you can’t read the reply, it says:

No, @realdonaldtrump, we posted a video of your empty rally taken *while* you were speaking.

Americans are tired of your lies and slur-filled delusions. It’s getting… old

In the last post on this topic, I mentioned the apparently low-effort Colin Allred Senate campaign in Texas, and those of you familiar with it said that you’re disappointed that he’s running a pretty standard campaign that’s probably going to lose.  (Though, to be fair, almost any statewide campaign in Texas is probably going to lose — Beto ran good campaigns and lost, too.)

Anyway, this kind of stuff was going around on Bluesky and it’s a dman good question:

What Does It Mean to Fight? Part 2 1

Tim Ryan raised around $50 million in his open-seat campaign against Vance in 2022.  Most of the cat lady, post-menopausal female bullshit that we’re hearing today was stuff JD said while he was running for Senate, yet we heard none of it then (that I know about).

I started blogging back in the Paleolithic age, around 2006, starting up a blog that covered New York’s 29th Congressional District.  Eric Massa was the candidate challenging mediocre Republican Randy Kuhl, and Massa’s campaign was a shoestring operation, especially in 2006.  (He won in 2008 and then resigned after a sex scandal.). Massa’s media operation, run by one of his few staffers, had the goal of getting in the paper every day.  And they dogged Kuhl, dredging up everything he said in town halls and press releases and hitting back.

One would expect that a $50 million political campaign would have one smart media person listening to all of Vance’s appearances, picking on the ones that looked terrible, and issuing a press release as well as a social media post about it.  But apparently that was beyond the pale for Ryan.  Maybe some Ohio commenters could tell me if I’m wrong, but sometimes it’s hard to tell a Democratic campaign from an Elizabeth Bishop poem:

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
(I say this as someone who worked on campaigns when I was young.  I have no doubt that the volunteers and most of the staff for Ryan and Allred worked/are working their asses off.  This isn’t a criticism of them, but of the leadership that wasted/is wasting their energy and enthusiasm.)

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Monday Morning Open Thread: Dems in Array!

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… The title of the four-day convention is “For the People, For Our Future,” with Democrats hoping to use the festivities to introduce Harris and running-mate Gov. Tim Walz to the nation after Harris quickly secured the nomination following President Joe Biden’s exit from the race last month.

“The story here is simple and it’s one that will resonate with Americans across the country: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are fighting for the American people and America’s future. Donald Trump is only fighting for himself,” said Minyon Moore, the convention’s chair…

Monday, Aug. 19
The convention kicks off Monday with the theme “For the People.” Biden will be the keynote speaker on a night that will pay tribute to the outgoing president, who dropped out of the race amid pressure from fellow Democrats worried about his chances to beat Republican nominee Donald Trump.

First Lady Jill Biden will address the convention as well Monday night. Harris, who is taking part in a campaign bus tour through western Pennsylvania on Sunday, is expected to arrive at the United Center on Monday to watch the Bidens’ addresses…

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in the 2016 election, will also address the convention Monday. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, host of the convention, will speak Monday night as well.

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On The Road – Albatrossity – Herons and Egrets of the World – 1

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Happy Monday!

On The Road - Albatrossity - Herons and Egrets of the World - 1 10

Albatrossity

Well, it is the end of the summer, and most of the birds here in Flyover Country are laying low, molting, recuperating after raising a batch of two of young’uns, and generally not being very cooperative photographically. So I don’t have enough good local images (10) to fill up a post, and I have not traveled anywhere recently with the camera. I have plans for an Arizona trip in late August, and a California trip in late September, but future trips don’t really help fill out an On The Road post today.

So I have put together a couple of posts with a group theme, and that group is Herons and Egrets Of The World. I certainly have not been to all the corners of the world, and I certainly have not seen all the herons and egrets, even in the places that I have visited, but I do have quite a few decent images, collected over the years. Herons and egrets are favorites of bird photographers for a lot of reasons. There are lots of them, but they are also are large, conspicuous, and tend to be found in wide-open sunny habitats. They have some interesting behaviors and lifestyles as well. So here are 10 herons or egrets, from various places around the world, to bide us over until I can get on the road again!

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On The Road - Albatrossity - Herons and Egrets of the World - 1 9
Near Manhattan KSAugust 27, 2019

Most North American birders are very familiar with the large heron known as the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias). Last week’s post featured one of these as well. We’ll start here, however, because these birds have closely related large cousins in most parts of the world, and I have some images of some of those. Click here for larger image.

Energized Dawn Open Thread: The Convention Party Begins

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As someone on the last thread pointed out: He’s giving his SecSer agents agita, but it’s good to know they *are* fully alert!

A viewing guide from watchful expert NotMax, lifted from the last thread:

1) C-SPAN: The network will feature continuous coverage — titled Campaign 2024 — beginning with a preview at 5:30/4:30c on Monday and 6/5c on Tuesday through Thursday.

2) MSNBC: The network will begin its coverage of the contention on […] August 19 at 6/5 with Ari Melber kicking off a special cohosted by Joy Reid, who’ll be on location in Chicago, and followed by coverage anchored by Rachel Maddow and Jen Psaki. Throughout the week, Morning Joe‘s hosts will provide coverage in the morning, with the afternoon shows hosted by Andrea Mitchell and Chris Jansing following suit during their regular hours. On Wednesday, August 21, the network will air MSNBC Live: Access for All as live coverage of the convention. MSNBC’s YouTube page will stream the DNC all four days, and the network’s website and app will feature additional coverage.

3) The DNC will feature a live-stream video on its YouTube channel. Link.

4) PBS: The network will air three hours of nightly coverage — titled PBS News Special: Democratic National Convention — starting at 8/7c, with Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett anchoring.

5) Noticias Telemundo: The network will feature daily convention coverage from Monday through Friday, with special editions of the newscast anchored by Juli Vaquiero. Damià Bonmatí will anchor coverage on the streaming channel Noticias Telemundo Ahora (which is available on Peacock and the network’s digital platforms).

Source

Also: Watch the Convention, on the offical DNC 2024 site.

Any other tips or queries, leave a message below!

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Interesting Read: As Democrats gather in Chicago, the spirit of ’68 is a painful memory

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I was twelve in the summer of ’68, so my memories of the Chicago convention are spotty. But certainly even a lot of older / more attentive Democrats weren’t fully aware of some of the backstage maneuvers Joel Achenbach discusses here [gift link]:

… The return to Chicago this week comes amid echoes of 1968. The party has once again had to find its footing when the sitting president made a stunning decision to not seek reelection. Thousands of protesters are expected to march outside the convention and law enforcement is prepared for the possibility of violent disruptions. Cultural and generational divides in the party are pronounced. And there has been gunfire on the campaign trail, a jangling reminder that an election year can be turned upside down at the speed of an assassin’s bullet.

And yet despite those echoes, the Democrats are gliding into Chicago with little or no resemblance to the polarized and grieving party of 1968.

Unlike in 1968, the Democratic ticket is settled. The poll numbers are rising. The party activists are euphoric, with enthusiastic crowds greeting Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on the campaign trail.

And, unlike in 1968, there’s just not much left to decide in Chicago. When President Joe Biden stepped aside, some party leaders and pundits advocated for a protracted nomination contest culminating at the convention. With stunning speed that idea evaporated. In just days, Harris became the consensus choice and is already officially the nominee.

“Democrats have already done the main thing that was necessary to avoid the chaos of 1968: They’ve unified in advance,” said David Farber, a historian at the University of Kansas…

For America, 1968 was the bloodiest year of the Vietnam War. The war split the Democratic Party. Sen. Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, an antiwar candidate, ran a stunningly close second to President Lyndon B. Johnson in the New Hampshire primary. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy of New York announced his opposition to Johnson’s war policies and jumped into the race. Johnson, painfully aware that he was bleeding party support, shocked the nation on March 31 with a televised announcement that he would not seek reelection…

By that point Humphrey had entered the race. But Humphrey did not compete in any primaries, which in those days were few in number. Party bosses and governors controlled most of the convention delegates. Humphrey went to Chicago with what appeared to be enough pledged delegates to get the nomination.

But it wasn’t a done deal. The situation invited plenty of backroom negotiations and Hail Mary schemes by Democrats opposed to Humphrey. McCarthy had hundreds of delegates from the primaries. Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota, also a war opponent, had entered the contest just two weeks before the convention. Some party leaders hoped to lure Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, still shattered by the assassination of his brother, into the race…

There was even some possibility that Johnson himself — nursing his political wounds at his Texas ranch — might storm into Chicago to reclaim what he felt was rightfully his. Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley hoped to lure him back into the race...

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