Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
I dozed off too early, so I’ve been wide awake for hours. But that’s okay — there’s a new season of “The Bear” to binge.
Not sure why I find that show so fascinating. There’s a lot of screaming and general fuckery.
I worked in a kitchen or two back in the day, though my employers were pizza chains and a crappy lounge rather than an aspiring Michelin starred eatery.
Still, there was lots of screaming and general fuckery, so it’s relatable.
Open thread!
This is my favorite sign from the marches in 2017.
It’s not just that we actually know how to spell; our side is fun and clever, and they are not. They may have all the best people (no they don’t!) but we definitely have the best people – and the best signs!
Okay, the SUMMER SCHOOL reference is a bit of poetic license. I’m talking about Worker Power Leadership School, and with your help, we’ll be raising $15,000 to cover the cost of one future leader to attend Leadership School.
This project with Worker Power hits all the sweet spots for me. In the Spring, we funded a team of 10 people for 3 weeks to get people registered. This summer (now) we’ll be funding someone who can attend Leadership School where they can can learn the skills to allow them to be a great leader of a 10-person canvass team in the fall. The person we fund for Leadership School may or may not be the team leader for our team again in the fall when we fund 3 weeks of a 10-person GOTV team in September.
*can I just say that I am STILL getting ads for boots because when we were funding Worker Power in the spring, I searched for images of boots so I could add a new image each time we raised another $1,000 in the thermometer. Stupid Google, wasting all these months trying to sell me boots.
We are raising funds to send one person to Leadership School. Our $15,000 will cover housing + training for a campaign leader who will lead a canvass team of 10 to knock on over 25,000 doors during this election year!
We all know that the 2024 election on November 5th will decide whether our Democracy as we know it survives, and the swing state of Arizona is a major path to victory for the Presidential, House, and Senate races.
In the coming weeks, Worker Power will run once again the largest field operation in Arizona and knock on over 1.1 million doors! They will hire over 500 canvassers to deliver the White House, secure our Democratic U.S. Senate seat, and flip Congressional Districts 1 and 6, giving us a path to control of the House!
To keep Arizona blue, they created the Worker Power Leadership School, a free, month-long, in-residence training program educating the next generation of organizers to run strong field campaigns.
Building on the successes of 2022, when they secured the Governorship, Secretary of State, and Attorney General’s office in Arizona and the U.S. Senate seat in Georgia, the Worker Power Leadership School will offer 150 hours of campaign training to 24 organizers, guided by some of the nation’s top strategists.
Following their graduation in August, these 24 organizers will lead a team of 10 canvassers who will help knock on over 1.1 million doors!
Is this effort something you guys can get behind? I am so fucking tired of waiting for the corrupt Supreme Court. I am so fucking tired of waiting for Cannon to make a move that will allow the 11th Circuit to slap her down. We are not without agency, even when it feels like we are in limbo. Let’s do this!
Open thread.
Quick housekeeping notes. First, Rosie is still doing well. Thank you all, again, for the good thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and donations.
Second, another long day, so I’m going to keep this short.
As you can see from the map above at 7:25 PM EDT about 4/5ths of Ukraine is currently under air raid alert. And now at 7:55 PM, all of Ukraine is under air raid alert. And as you can see in the image below, twi MiG-31Ks are inbound. Though one is partially obscured in the upper right of the map.
Earlier today Russia hit Kharkiv again with more glide bombs.
And again! Kharkiv is shuddering with explosions! https://t.co/YmYfLGLJzU
— Iryna Voichuk (@IrynaVoichuk) June 26, 2024
Kharkiv Oblast is gradually turning into ruins as russian troops attack it daily with glide bombs. Today, an attack on the town of Derhachi destroyed houses and injured nine civilians, including two children. pic.twitter.com/wqQNARnth3
— Iryna Voichuk (@IrynaVoichuk) June 26, 2024
More on Kharkiv after the jump.
Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
War for Ukraine Day 854: 4/5ths of Ukraine Is Currently Under Air Raid Alert!Post + Comments (21)
Thankfully you can prevent this with one simple trick of voting for Joe Biden https://t.co/ix3i41ZVH2
— Noah Wright 🇺🇦🌋 (@Npw1234567) June 24, 2024
America's democratic system is on fucking life support. Start paying attention.https://t.co/6kkDRbTPiz
— John Phipps: All Your Valor Are Belong to Me (@MagitekDad) June 24, 2024
GOP attacks on our country never end. The Heritage Foundation has a new pass-through division:
From his home office in small-town Kentucky, a seasoned political operative is quietly investigating scores of federal employees suspected of being hostile to the policies of Republican Donald Trump, a highly unusual and potentially chilling effort that dovetails with broader conservative preparations for a new White House.
Tom Jones and his American Accountability Foundation are digging into the backgrounds, social media posts and commentary of key high-ranking government employees, starting with the Department of Homeland Security. They’re relying in part on tips from his network of conservative contacts, including workers. In a move that alarms some, they’re preparing to publish the findings online.
With a $100,000 grant from the Heritage Foundation, the goal is to post 100 names of government workers to a website this summer to show a potential new administration who might be standing in the way of a second-term Trump agenda — and ripe for scrutiny, reclassifications, reassignments or firings.…
The concept of compiling and publicizing a list of government employees shows the lengths Trump’s allies are willing to go to ensure nothing or no one will block his plans in a potential second term. Jones’ Project Sovereignty 2025 comes as Heritage’s Project 2025 lays the groundwork, with policies, proposals and personnel ready for a possible new White House…
Wednesday Evening Open Thread: Meet the ‘American Accountability Foundation’Post + Comments (99)
Looks like the Supremes are going to make the slightest nod to letting women have the same rights as human beings by letting Idaho hospitals stabilize them if they’re bleeding out due to a pregnancy. Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito are taking turns whipping the ass of the intern who accidentally posted that decision on the court’s website as we speak (it apparently wasn’t supposed to be released today).
The mercy shown by acknowledging that in the 21st century there are ways to save women’s lives even if they happen to have a non-viable embryo implanted in their uterus would make me want to pen numerous breathless encomiums to the new-found “moderation” of the court — if I were an idiot journalist living in DC.
Speaking of the rights that women don’t have, if you’re a member of the GOP, as these three are, you certainly don’t have the right to fight for even a modest restriction in abortion rights:
These are three state legislators from South Carolina all lost to their primary challengers because they did the unthinkable:
They only rejected a newer version of the [South Carolina abortion] ban that didn’t allow minors a right to petition a judge for an abortion at up to 12 weeks, and Shealy tried and failed to amend the abortion ban from six weeks to 12 weeks. But this doesn’t change the fact that Shealy and Gustafson did vote for the ban at one point. Meanwhile, Senn previously said she supports an abortion ban after the first trimester, which is still an abortion ban.
Since they’re Republicans, they received a JFK Library “Profile in Courage” award. If they were Democrats, they would be told to shut the fuck up.
Two more days of Supreme court rulings to come, and a debate to boot. I hope my liver can handle it.
Three Days, Filled with Pain and SorrowPost + Comments (115)
I’ve been doodling on my iPad with a new (to me) app called Procreate. Here’s a swamp scene:
I enjoy painting and drawing more than doodling on the iPad, but with an app, you don’t have to wash brushes, scrub paint stains out of your clothes or fool around with paper and pencils. Here’s another:
Open thread!
Where the Tree Frogs Sing (Open Thread)Post + Comments (120)
If you want to follow along on SCOTUSblog.
I’ll copy the short summaries as each one shows up on their website.
I have these scheduled for Thursday and Friday mornings, as well.
Here we go!
In Murthy v. Missouri, a dispute over the government’s communications with social media companies during the 2020 election season and COVID-19 pandemic, the court holds that the challengers — two states and five social-media users — do not have a legal right to sue. Opinion: 6-3 (good)
The court rules in Snyder v. United States, that federal bribery law does not make it a crime for state and local officials to accept gratuities that may be given as a token of appreciation after the official act. Federal law, the court writes, “leaves it to state and local governments to regulate gratuities to state and local officials.”
Opinion: (official WG rating: that’s fucked up)
Supreme Court Decisions Again Today at 10 am ET (June 26 Edition) & Open ThreadPost + Comments (201)