Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

So very ready.

Human rights are not a matter of opinion!

All hail the time of the bunny!

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

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

An almost top 10,000 blog!

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

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

T R E 4 5 O N

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

I really should read my own blog.

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Sunday Morning Open Thread: To Boldly Go

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Sunday Morning Open Thread 15

*Excellent* message discipline from Rep. Shontel Brown!

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Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Azaleas Abloom

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Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Azaleas Abloom

From master gardener and commentor SkyBluePink:

From earlier this year…

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Azaleas Abloom 3

Pet cemetary
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Native azalea tutu
Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Azaleas Abloom 1

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Azaleas Abloom 5

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Recently, more than ever, the garden photos have been a genuine blessing. Between politics and the heat dome (which, praise goddess, has finally broken here… for the moment), my yard is an overrun disaster and my mood isn’t much better.

What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?

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Open Thread and Late Night Programming Note: Bob Newhart

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Programming note:  Medium Cool will be all Bob Newhart tomorrow evening.  (7 pm blog time)

JWR sent me a note to say that all this weekend, the “Catchy” network is all Newhart shows, all the Newhart time.

I don’t know what the Catchy Network is, but I wanted to share the info.

Maybe you night owls can find some great clips to share tomorrow.

Fun open thread?

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Excellent Link: ‘Donald Trump Was Never Going to Change’

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Alexandra Petri remains a national treasure. A Washington Post gift link:

… We were told to expect a unifying, chastened Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention. It seemed just barely possible, especially if you had just emerged from a coconut tree, unburdened by what has been. And for about 20 minutes Thursday night, accepting the Republican nomination (Is “Republican” the correct name still, after the total transformation the party has undergone in his image?), he delivered a very different speech than he ever does, recounting his assassination attempt in Butler, Pa.

Then for the next 70-odd minutes — making this the longest acceptance remarks on record, I believe — he gave the exact speech he always gives. It was as full as ever of hatred toward immigrants, contradictory pronouncements about the state of the economy, accusations of stealing the election, complaints about witch hunts, and misplaced nostalgia for an era I could have sworn was just four years ago and not a newly unearthed Golden Age of Mankind. It mentioned “the late, great Hannibal Lecter.” If this was indeed a new Trump, he was the same as the old Trump. It was like watching a New Year’s resolution unravel in real time.

Suppose for a moment that it really was going to be different. Sometimes after a particularly sobering moment, you can decide to become a new person. Change is possible. With effort, you can become someone else, with new thoughts and a new point of view.

But generally, if you decide to do that, the thing to do is to go somewhere no one knows you. If you are Donald Trump, say, and you want to become someone different — someone chastened and unifying — a bad place to start would be the Republican National Convention, amid all the people waving “MASS DEPORTATION NOW” signs.

The atmosphere is all wrong for it. Here are people wearing your face on their pants, who have dressed their babies like you, who have bandaged their ears in solidarity, who are hanging on your every word. You are being introduced by Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock. Everyone worships the water you walk on, and each evening begins with a video of a spotlight shooting your name into the night sky. Here, you aren’t just God’s chosen; you’re also Batman. Here, why would you want to be anyone other than Trump?

No, there was never a chance of anything different. But you would think we might stop believing there was.

Excellent Link: <em> 'Donald Trump Was Never Going to Change'</em>

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Saturday Night Open Thread

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The beard was getting unmanageable so I drove to the big city and got a haircut:

Saturday Night Open Thread 15

I don’t know if I like it or not, and to be honest, don’t much care, but I am pissed I didn’t wipe the iced coffee out of the corner of my lips before taking a picture I blasted out all over the internet. Solid.

When I got there the lady asked me what I wanted and I said hold on I have a text from Joelle describing what to do and all the women squealed “how sweet she sent you with a note,” and it’s nice they think that is cool, because so do I, but at the same time I wanted to make sure they knew this was not learned helplessness, this was just complete apathy about the process and the understanding that Joelle is the one who has to look at me all the time so she can do what she wants with this head of hair.

Other than that, I really have nothing to report. Had a tomato sandwich for dinner, and I reckon I might have another in a little bit, and I can’t decide if I want peaches or cantaloupe as a snack. Maybe both. It’s the weekend, after all.

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War for Ukraine Day 878: The Butcher’s Bill for Mykolaiv & an Attack on Izium

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A quick housekeeping note. The first is that Rosie is still doing excellently. Her next chemo treatment is this Monday. Then she has two weeks until the next week as rounds three and four are treatments every other week. Thank you all for the good thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and donation.

As of 6:30 PM EDT, the entire eastern half of Ukraine – from north to south – is under air raid alert.

The death toll from Russia’s attack on Mykolaiv early yesterday stands at four:

And overnight Russia attacked Barvinkove in Izium Raion, Kharkiv Oblast with Iskanders:

Last night, russia launched three Iskander missiles at the town of Barvinkove in the Izium district of Kharkiv Oblast, killing two civilians and wounding four others. The strikes damaged over 50 apartment buildings. In a separate incident, railroad infrastructure was hit, causing train delays.

President Zelenskyy has not yet returned to Ukraine. There are no new speeches or addresses posted. He did tweet this earlier today.

It is very important and symbolic for Ukraine and Ukrainians to have such a strong and committed partner as the United Kingdom.

With each chapter of this war, our cooperation provides more solutions to repel tyranny, and Britain’s leadership inspires other countries. We must not weaken our resolve in the future.

Ukraine’s long-range capabilities, the Maritime Security Strategy, the development of Ukraine’s Maritime Capability Coalition, and defense cooperation are the steps we can take together to bring about a just peace.

I am grateful to the United Kingdom for all the support of Ukraine and Ukrainians, and to Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer for our substantive negotiations.

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Flash Fundraising for the Student Engagement Project in NC + July 30 Zoom Announcement

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Flash Fundraising!

This is our first FLASH fundraising for this cycle.

Campus organizers and canvassers in the South, including in North Carolina, are being targeted, with a rash of credible threats to their safety coming in the wake of the Trump assassination attempt.   As the NC Black Alliance’s Deputy Director Marcus Bass explained:

Political violence and the backlash to efforts that invest in equity and justice are not new issues.  Black and Brown communities have had to deal with the enduring threat of white supremacist violence, police violence, and legislative violence for generations.

But, for North Carolina organizers and canvassers, this feels different.  Canvassers report being followed and verbally harassed.  According to Marcus:

This week, in response to inflammatory statements following the assassination attempt, we decided to pause our canvass operations, along with several partner organizations, out of concern for the safety of our teams in the community.  As we resume our field operations into the weekend, we do so with a heightened focus on safety and security measures.

This is where we can help.   We’re already helping expand the Alliance’s campus voter engagement process in North Carolina from their traditional focus on the State’s HBCUs onto new campuses with majority or substantial African American student bodies.  But the canvassers need to be safe during this unusual electoral season in NC!

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