Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Stay strong, because they are weak.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Most of you should go to bed and try to be better Jackals in the morning.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Fucking consultants! (of the political variety)

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

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

I really should read my own blog.

Decision time: keep arguing about the last election, or try to win the next one?

The willow is too close to the house.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Hell hath no fury like a farmer bankrupted.

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Archives for 2024

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Some Things Change, Some Things Don’t

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Thursday Morning Open Thread: Some Things Change, Some Things Don’tPost + Comments (170)

Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Drop Out Already, Dean

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Dean Phillips’ ill-considered primary challenge is sliding downhill like a ride on a crappy New Hampshire sledding slope — all rocks, furrows, and bare patches. He’ll end up with a pain in his backside and a sore jaw from clenching his teeth, but meanwhile he’s spreading those afflictions to the rest of us Democrats. And for what? To get attention from bigger millionaires and bored media horserace touts… while enshrining his legacy as a would-be spoiler and general sad-sack?

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Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Drop <em>Out</em> Already, DeanPost + Comments (86)

On The Road – Captain C – Amsterdam, October 2023, Part 10

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Captain C

Having been to the most serious part of the trip, we continue with mostly scenes from my walks on Friday evening and the first part of Saturday.

On The Road – Captain C – Amsterdam, October 2023, Part 10Post + Comments (16)

On The Road - Captain C - Amsterdam, October 2023, Part 10 7

Near the Tilted House (the first picture in this series) is this, the most subtly named coffeeshop in Amsterdam.

War for Ukraine Day 693: Speaker Johnson Adds Another Nail to the Ukrainian Supplemental Aid Legislation’s Coffin

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From The New York Times:

Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday dug in against President Biden’s efforts to revive stalled legislation to send aid to Ukraine, saying the Republican-led House would not entertain it unless Democrats agreed to a far more severe crackdown at the U.S.-Mexico border than they have been willing to consider.

Mr. Johnson’s latest ultimatum cast further doubt on the prospects of Congress’s approving Mr. Biden’s request for tens of billions of dollars in emergency security assistance to help Ukraine fight off Russia.

Republicans have insisted that such a package be paired with measures to clamp down on migration at the southwestern border, and a bipartisan group of senators has made considerable progress on striking a compromise to do so. But the plan has no path to enactment if the House, where a sizable far-right contingent is pressing for even tougher immigration policies, refuses to accept it.

I can guarantee that Speaker Johnson’s position was quickly noted in the Kremlin and they were very happy to read about it.

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

The fundamental task is to retain the initiative so that we can become stronger – address by the President of Ukraine

17 January 2024 – 22:12

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

Key points for today.

I held a meeting of the Staff. Operational level – the situation at the front now. Reports from the commanders. Different directions. East. South. North as well – countering subversive groups, fortifying the border.

There was also a strategic level of discussion – our actions this year. And not just defense. Ukraine needs an ambitious, active perspective. We want our country to retain the initiative, not the enemy. We want the end of the war to depend on Ukrainian actions. The world supports those who have a perspective. And this is a fundamental task – to retain the initiative so that we can become stronger.

I also held a debriefing after all the meetings and negotiations within the official visit to Switzerland and participation in the Davos Forum. There were many good, useful meetings. Europe, America, Africa, Asia. We talked to politicians and business leaders.

Today, government officials continued their work at the forum. In particular, to attract more business and technological opportunities to Ukraine – to the defense sector. It is very important that we present not only the needs of Ukraine and our warriors, the entire society, but also, despite all the difficulties of the war, Ukraine’s capabilities – what we do, what we can do, what we can contribute to the common security in Europe.

I held a separate meeting with the Minister of Defense. We are preparing more power for our country.

A meeting with law enforcers. In particular, with the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine. The keynote report was on countering collaborators and destroying enemy logistics. I am grateful to the Service for the results.

Separately, I would like to address the situation with our journalists. In particular, the fact of surveillance of journalists. The Security Service of Ukraine has launched an investigation and will find out all the circumstances. Any pressure on journalists is unacceptable.

Today I would like to recognize and thank all our people who continue to work day and night helping after the Russian strikes. Our rescuers – the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. Local authorities that are truly with their communities, truly with their people. Every Ukrainian doctor. All medical workers. Volunteers. Everyone who helps Kherson and Kherson region, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk region, residents of our frontline and border communities, Kharkiv and the region.

Today there was another Russian air strike on Kupyansk district – two children were injured, including a 10-year-old boy. He was very seriously wounded… One person was killed by that strike. My condolences… It was a deliberate Russian strike with a guided aerial bomb on one of the villages in the Kupyansk district. Kherson is under almost continuous shelling. Unfortunately, there are also wounded and dead. We will definitely respond to the occupiers. And everyone can see that our responses are really tangible.

It is also important not to forget to thank those whose job it is to rescue people after Russian terrorists’ attacks.

Kharkiv: Ihor Fedorchenko, 6th state fire and rescue unit, and Oleksandr Huzhva from the 9th state fire and rescue unit of the region. Thank you!

Odesa: doctor Vladyslav Kryzhanovskyi from the Odesa Regional Emergency Medical Center and firefighters-rescuers: Sergeant Kostiantyn Vilchynskyi and Master Sergeant Serhiy Pihar. Thank you!

Donetsk region: Vladyslav Halushko, a feldsher from the city of Lyman, who works for the State Emergency Service, and Ivan Ponomarenko, a firefighter-rescuer from the city of Toretsk. Thank you very much!

Our Sumy region: Volodymyr Pylypenko and Oleksandr Nebylytsia, employees of the 8th state fire and rescue unit of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, and Vladyslav Lysokon, the city of Shostka, a feldsher at the emergency medical station. I thank you for your professionalism, and I thank all our doctors, all your colleagues, the entire staff of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, each emergency medical team, all doctors, feldshers and nurses.

I thank everyone who cares about Ukraine, our people and our country. I thank everyone who is destroying the occupier and working to hold Russia accountable for everything it has done.

Glory to Ukraine!

Germany:

 

We are grateful to our German friends for their steadfast support. The new package of military aid for Ukraine includes:
◾️Ammo for Leopard 1
◾️24 Armored Personnel Carriers
◾️5 border protection vehicles
◾️16 Zetros tankers
◾️3 vehicles (trucks, minibuses, all-terrain vehicles)
◾️25 RQ-35 Heidrun reconnaissance drones
◾️50 SatCom terminals
◾️1,840 combat helmets
◾️500 LED lamps
◾️material for explosive ordnance disposal

Vielen Dank!
🇺🇦🤝🇩🇪
#StandWithUkraine
@BMVg_Bundeswehr

France:

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1747744968783921641

These announcements from Germany and France are nice to read. But we need to be very honest: until or unless the Biden administration develops an effective legislative strategy to get a supplemental aid package for Ukraine through the GOP majority House, they aren’t going to make a difference. What the GOP is doing now was predictable. It was predictable because they announced back in 2022 that they were going to cut Ukraine off if they retook the House. Instead of doing a Ukraine supplemental while the Democrats still had a majority in the House just in case they lost it, locking that funding in through 2024, the Biden administration decided to wait. And it was that failed legislative strategy that provided the opening for the GOP majority that took over in the House in January 2023 to do what they’re now doing, which is what they told us they were going to do.

Tweet thread between Ruben Gallego and Matt Gaetz regarding Ukraine war funding.

I’m sure Congressman Gallego is NOT happy to have been correct here. But no one can say they were not warned.

Every day that the House GOP holds support for Ukraine hostage, the harder it will become for Ukraine.

Every day there is new reporting about Russia’s military production while neither the US or the EU member states have placed even select portions of their economies on a war footing and while the House GOP slowly strangles its hostage. All the while the Russian leadership watches, listens, reads, and tweaks their strategy to take advantage of the US’s and the EU’s inability to rise to the moment.

President Zelenskyy is correct here:

 

Unfortunately, they are only effective when they have ammunition. And because the House GOP majority is holding the Ukraine supplemental hostage, every time Russia undertakes a bombardment, Ukraine’s supply of that ammunition is further depleted with no real way ahead for resupply.

This isn’t a thought exercise. This isn’t a border skirmish. This is existential.

Stepove, Russian occupied Donetsk Oblast:

https://twitter.com/GloOouD/status/1747741801451045078

An update on the attack on Kharkiv last night:

Soledar, Bakhmut District, Donetsk Oblast:

For you drone enthusiasts:

And for Omnes and the redlegs:

Tonight, Ukraine used the FrankenSAM for the first time in combat conditions. It shot down Shahed from a distance of 9 kilometers.

FrankenSAM is a hybrid air defense system jointly developed by the Pentagon, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Strategic Industry. In fact, these are three anti-aircraft missile complexes: the Soviet Buk air defense system with American RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles, AIM-9M air-to-air missiles in combination with Soviet radars and air defense systems based on Ukrainian old systems with Patriot elements and missiles.

https://babel.ua/amp/news/102928-v-ukrajini-vpershe-zastosuvali-sistemu-ppo-proyektu-frankensam-zbili-shahed-na-vidstani-9-km

Rostov Oblast, Russia:

Bashkorostan, Russia:

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

First, some adjacent material:

And a new video from Patron’s official TikTok!

@patron__dsns

Люблю це життя❤️

♬ Little Life – Cordelia

Here’s the machine translation of the caption:

I love this life ❤️

Open thread!

War for Ukraine Day 693: Speaker Johnson Adds Another Nail to the Ukrainian Supplemental Aid Legislation’s CoffinPost + Comments (39)

Wednesday Evening Open Thread: The Cruz Curse

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Felt like posting this earlier would’ve been a challenge to the Trickster God, but it looks like the ERCOT power grid held up safely, so…

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Wednesday Evening Open Thread: The Cruz CursePost + Comments (54)

Timeline Cleanser: Inside Kamala Harris & Doug Emhoff’s L.A.

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Just a nice, upbeat, chatty beat-sweetener, for a respite. From the L.A. Times:

… In a city full of celebrities and A-listers, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s presence is hard to escape.

On a mid-October weekend, the couple came to town to celebrate the marriage of Emhoff’s 29-year-old son, Cole Emhoff, to his longtime girlfriend, Greenley Littlejohn, 28. Two days after the wedding, the pair was snacking on guacamole, salsa and chips in a dimly lighted vinyl booth upstairs at one of their favorite Mexican haunts, El Cholo in Santa Monica, when Emhoff received a text message from a friend.

The second gentleman’s buddy was just saying hello: He knew Emhoff was in town because he’d seen the motorcade speed by. (So much for sneaking into town)…

For Harris, the impulse to escape Washington — where she faces Republican scorn and criticism within her own party — for downtime at home has been difficult to satisfy over the last few years. While President Biden has made a near weekly habit of returning home to neighboring Delaware, the taxpayer-funded, cross-country flight to L.A. is harder to justify unless it includes official business. Harris’ trips home to L.A. are often camouflaged with an event to celebrate a local small business or a stop to raise awareness about one of her policy focuses such as Black maternal healthcare or reproductive rights. The vice president was also anchored to Washington during the first half of her term to cast tiebreaking votes in an evenly divided Senate.

But the Brentwood home, largely concealed by its verdant surroundings, has become a sanctuary for one of the world’s most visible figures. The four-bedroom, 3,500-square-foot house, less than a mile from Sunset Boulevard and roughly a 10-minute drive from the Will Rogers State Historic Park, is off-limits to reporters. In October, a group of protesters pulled up in cars outside to call for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, though Harris wasn’t there to hear their pleas.

As vice president, Harris is briefed multiple times a day, and reporters often follow her from event to event. But at home, Harris can avoid the scrutiny to recharge, cooking and chatting with her family as they watch from the kitchen table…

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Timeline Cleanser: <em>Inside Kamala Harris & Doug Emhoff’s L.A.</em>Post + Comments (122)