Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

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

Their shamelessness is their super power.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

Wait, what?

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

Find someone who loves you the way trump and maga love traitors.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

They are not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

I really should read my own blog.

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

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

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The Bridge

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I wanted to put up a thread on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key I-695 bridge in Baltimore at 1:30 this morning.  Here’s the latest from the Post [gift link]:

A major bridge in Baltimore collapsed after being hit by a freighter at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, sending at least eight people from a construction crew into the water as a large section of the bridge crashed into the Patapsco River. The container ship, traveling at a relatively rapid speed of about eight knots, lost power in the moments before it struck the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said at a news conference.

Other reports say that the ship was able to broadcast a Mayday when it lost power, and they were able to close the bridge to new traffic, probably saving some lives.

Obviously there’s going to be an investigation and hopefully some changes to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread: As We’ve Been Saying…

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You’d think that maybe, perhaps, possibly, even the lazy media stenographers are getting tired of the same old WakKy AnTIcs from TFG and his ‘Base’… Per the Associated Press, “As Biden tours the country and visits swing states, Trump is fundraising and playing golf”:

… Trump has held just a single public campaign event since he locked up the Republican presidential nomination on March 12: a rally in Ohio funded not by his campaign but by backers of a Senate candidate whom he had endorsed. The events page on his campaign website has had nothing listed.

Biden, meanwhile, has been barnstorming the country. After a trip to North Carolina on Tuesday, the Democratic president will have touched down in all of the 2024 swing states in the less than three weeks since his State of the Union address…

Trump’s campaign faces a serious money shortfall and mounting legal bills as he fights four criminal indictments. His focus in recent weeks has been on wooing potential donors as his campaign builds its infrastructure across battleground states to catch up to Democrats, who have a significant head start.

For Biden, 81, the tempo is a message in and of itself as he aims to combat persistent voter concerns about his age. Whoever wins in November will be the oldest president to be inaugurated, though polls find that voters see the issue as more pressing for Biden. Trump is 77.

Both sides are projecting confidence and accusing the other of trying to hide its candidate’s problems…

Trump has been spending his days in and around his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida — fundraising, hosting elected officials who frequently visit, and meeting aides.

But Trump has also made time for other pursuits. He recently said he won two championships at his Palm Beach golf club, writing on his social media site that they were “very exciting” wins on a “GREAT and difficult course.” He visited his golf club in West Palm Beach on Sunday to accept two trophies from a cheering audience…

Some allies of the former president argue that holding fewer rallies helps him not only by saving money but by limiting opportunities for him to go off-script and say something that might alienate swing voters…

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Cold Grey Dawn Open Thread: TFG, Spiraling

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Cold Grey Dawn Open Thread: TFG, Spiraling

(Jack Ohman via GoComics.com)

A.B. Stoddard, at the Bulwark — “Trump’s Legal Fee Scam Is Just the Start, and Republicans Know It”:

REPUBLICANS KNEW MAKING HISTORY by nominating a four-time-indicted individual for the presidency would be, well, a little complicated. They knew they would have to explain away an insurrection and the theft of national secrets. They knew they would have to vouch for him against “racist” prosecutors in New York and Georgia, and a “weaponized” Department of Justice for bringing “fake” charges against him.

Fortunately they were assured that Donald Trump could, and would, pay for millions upon millions of dollars in legal bills, and—after anemic fundraising and an uninterrupted string of defeats—the GOP was getting its act together and preparing to win everywhere in this critical election year.

And then last week, Trump’s legal fee scam came to light when the Associated Press noticed the fine print on an invitation to a megadonor event next month:

Donations to the Trump 47 Committee will first be used to give the maximum amount allowed under federal law to Trump’s campaign. Anything left over from the donation next goes toward a maximum contribution to Save America, and then anything left from there goes to the RNC and then to state political parties.

… So at massive-dollar events, most of the money will still go to the RNC, but at smaller fundraising events, much of it will go to Trump. The arrangement allows Trump “to tap funds from larger donors for his legal matters without the money ever passing through the RNC,” the New York Times wrote…

In a normal political party a guy who is bragging that he has “ALMOST FIVE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN CASH, A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF WHICH I INTENDED TO USE IN MY CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT,” wouldn’t be diverting money from the party coffers to pay for his criminal habit…

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On The Road – frosty – 3rd Annual National Park/COVID Challenge – Oregon – Portland

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Big thanks to the three people who sent pics in on Monday!  Keep ’em coming.

frosty

We had a campsite just east of Portland in Troutdale, with our site backing up on the Sandy River. We went into Portland two days while we were there. On the first day we visited two sights in Washington Park. The first was the Japanese Garden, described as “the most beautiful and authentic Japanese garden in the world outside of Japan.” Most of the pictures are from there – it was an amazing experience. The other was Hoyt Arboretum, a collection of more than 2,000 species of plants and trees from around the world.I don’t have pictures from there, though. The second day was a trip to Powell’s City of Books, the largest independent bookstore in the world. (I bet the Strand in New York would put up an argument though.)

Finally I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the cycling infrastructure, trails, and bike lanes all around the city. We were there for the Bike Summer Kickoff ride and we discovered it as a mile or so of cyclists pedaled past us on our way out of town.

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On The Road - frosty - 3rd Annual National Park/COVID Challenge - Oregon - Portland 9
Portland Japanese Garden

Heavenly Falls

War for Ukraine Day 761: Russia Continues Its Bombardment of Ukrainian Civilian Targets

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Screen shot of new artwork by NEIVANMADE. The background is black. In the bottom foreground are grey Ukrainian homes and apartment buildings being bombarded by red Russian missiles with the Special Military Operation "Z" symbol on them. Above the missiles, written in red is the word "Ruzzians". Below the buildings being attacked is the statement "Turns Homes Into Graves".

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Russia continued its bombardment of Ukrainian civilian targets again today. And has been the case for the past several days, it is doing two separate sets of attacks a day.

Today’s second set of attacks came while EU representatives were in Kyiv for meetings with Ukrainian government and military officials.

Together with the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, met in Kyiv with a delegation of committee heads of the European Parliament.

I highly appreciate the efforts of the European Parliament and the European Union to support Ukraine in resisting russian aggression.

Grateful for the intentions to boost the amount of aid, it is of great importance for both our military and civilian people and infrastructure.

We briefed the European delegation about the current situation on the frontline.

High-quality training of Ukrainian soldiers within the framework of the EU mission gives its results on the battlefield.

Urged the EU to strengthen sanctions against those who try to bypass them, in particular, supplying spare parts for the russian defense industry.

More on these attacks after the jump.

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

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One Day at a Time

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I don’t want to cause problems for someone else, so I have decided to put this discussion of my mental status below the fold. If you’re sick of reading about it or worry it may impact you negatively, just scroll on by. I assure you that I am more sick of living it than you are reading about it, but this is a full service blog.

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Good News Open Thread: Andy Kim for Senate!

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Good News Open Thread: Andy Kim for Senate!

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