Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Alexa, change the president.”

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

I swear, each month of 2025 will have its own history degree.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

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

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

No Kings: Americans standing in the way of bad history saying “Oh, Fuck No!”

We will not go back.

One way or another, he’s a liar.

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

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

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Archives for 2024

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Boxing Day (Is For Leftovers)

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Two dudes chillin in an eggnog hot tub…

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— Laurasaurus (@laurasaurus.bsky.social) December 7, 2024 at 4:53 PM


 

There's genuinely so much beauty in the American project, even amidst the horrors. There's nothing wrong with this country that can't be fixed by what's right with it.

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— Leonid Baezhnev (@rev-avocado.bsky.social) December 25, 2024 at 9:54 PM

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— Pete Woods- use only as directed (@thatpetewoods.bsky.social) December 24, 2024 at 10:39 PM

 

Some people never got past how they felt in like 2011, so they’re teaming up with those who objected to every inch of progress we’ve had since the civil war.

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— Clean Observer (@hammbear2024.bsky.social) December 25, 2024 at 11:19 PM

My credo for the upcoming year:

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Chag Sameach! Hanukkah Open Thread

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Today, we mark both Christmas and the beginning of Hanukkah. It is very good that in Ukraine we can celebrate such holidays with respect for each other, communicate, live together and wish different people the same victory—the victory of light over darkness.

And today, together with the rabbis of Ukraine, I lit Hanukkah candles. This particular Hanukkah menorah was presented to me by President of Argentina Javier Milei during his inauguration last December.

I congratulate the Jewish community on this holiday. I wish Jewish families peace, joy, and a prosperous future. May the Hanukkiah shine in every home, granting strength, filling hearts with new hopes, and deepening faith in the power of truth and justice

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Wednesday Night Open Thread

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Spent the day cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and taking it easy. Watched some football (had it on in the background), and basically just talked to friends and family. Hope y’all’s was good, too.

Standing rib came out perfect at rare to medium rare, and the horseradish sauce I made was top tier (sour cream, mayo, fresh horseradish, microplaned garlic cloves, salt, chives, and dijon). Smashed potatoes were top tier, too. The whole dinner was decadent.

Sleep well, people.

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War for Ukraine Day 1,036: Putin and the Russians Deliver a Bitter Present to Ukraine on Christmas Day

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A screen grab of NEIVANMADE's Christmas 2023 art. It shows Joseph and Mary standing over the baby Jesus in a crib/manger. All have Orthodox style halos. The sky behind them is a dark blue and there is a golden thatched roof over them. To the left of the top of the roof's center a star/comet is visible.

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Russia targeted Ukraine’s power grid and energy infrastructure this morning. All of these are civilian targets. All of these strikes are war crimes.

Over 70 missiles were launched by russia at Ukraine this Christmas morning.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) December 25, 2024 at 6:17 AM

Merry Christmas?

Russians launched over 70 missiles at Ukraine today, attacking Ukrainian energy sector. 50 destroyed.

🛑Kharkiv. 11 explosions in 30 sec
6 injured
🛑Vinnytsia region
🛑Poltava region
🛑Kriviy Ryh, yesterday missile attack, 1 killed, 17 injured

Power outages.

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— Zarina Zabrisky (@zarinazabrisky.bsky.social) December 25, 2024 at 5:05 AM

⚡️Update: Russia launches over 70 missiles, more than 100 drones at Ukraine in mass attack.

Russia launched more than 70 missiles, including ballistic ones, and over 100 drones in a mass aerial attack against Ukraine’s energy grid on Dec. 25, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) December 25, 2024 at 4:36 AM

From The Kyiv Independent:

Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Russia launched a mass aerial attack against Ukraine on Dec. 25, targeting cities across the country with missiles and drones.

The northeastern city of Kharkiv was among the hardest hit, coming under “massive fire” from ballistic missiles, according to local authorities. At least six people were injured, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Explosions were also reported in Dnipro, Kremenchuk, Kryvyi Rih, and the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk.

Russia launched 78 missiles and 106 drones, the Air Force said. Ukraine shot down 55 Kh-101/Kh-55/Kalibr cruise missiles and four Kh-59/Kh-69 missiles, as well as 54 Shahed-type drones and other types of drones, according to the report. Another 52 drones were “lost.”

“Every Russian massive strike takes time to prepare. It is never a spontaneous decision. It is a conscious choice not only of targets but also of time and date,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Multiple cities in Ukraine imposed emergency blackouts following the attack.

Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, reported that Russia had attacked its thermal power plants, “seriously damaging equipment.” The location of the facilities was not disclosed.

The Air Force reported that Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers had taken flight overnight, and later announced that a number of Kalibr cruise missiles had been launched from the Black Sea.

Poland scrambled fighter jets in response to the Russian missile threat in western Ukraine, the Polish Operational Command reported.

A series of explosions were reported in Kharkiv after the Air Force warned of a ballistic missile threat against the city. At least seven missile strikes targeted the city, Syniehubov said.  The attacks caused fires and damage to civilian infrastructure, he added.

Located only 30 kilometers from the Russian border, Kharkiv has suffered relentless aerial attacks over the past two years of the full-scale war.

Mayor Ihor Terekhov on Dec. 24 announced that the city had put up holiday decorations and lights for the first time since Russia’s February 2022 invasion. The decorations are “a symbol of (Kharkiv’s) resolve,” Terekhov said.

The Russian attack on energy infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast killed one person, Governor Serhii Lysak said.

Energy infrastructure was also targeted in Vinnytsia and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts, according to local authorities. In Kyiv Oblast, drone debris damaged a cafe, three houses and 12 trucks, Governor Ruslan Kravchenko said.

The mass attack follows a ballistic missile strike against Kryvyi Rih on Christmas Eve. The missile struck an apartment building in the city, killing one civilian and injuring 15 more.

More at the link.

More on these strikes after the jump.

The cost:

Don’t feel guilt for celebrating Christmas with your family. Feel gratitude. But don’t stay silent about those in Ukraine who can’t. Speak for the ones whose tables are empty, whose homes are gone, whose loved ones are missing.

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— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) December 25, 2024 at 7:07 AM

In the photo is Ukrainian power engineer, Dmytro Petlenko. He was killed by the enemy on Christmas night during missile strikes on the thermal power plant.

Dmytro was 51. He dedicated over 30 years to his profession. In recent years, he fought for light.

Eternal memory to him.
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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) December 25, 2024 at 11:21 AM

President Zelenskyy did not deliver an address today. He did present apartment certificates to families of Ukrainian Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and/or Marines killed in action.

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Reason for Hope (Walz) Open Thread

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From the Washington Post, “Hope Walz’s pragmatic videos are helping Democrats mourn — and carry on” [gift link]:

In her first TikTok video after the presidential election, Hope Walz and her younger brother are driving without Secret Service protection for the first time post-campaign.

“Finally free,” Gus Walz says from the driver’s seat.

“I would not describe it like that,” Hope, 23, replies. “But it is a little weird.”…

“We’ll be okay,” Hope Walz, a frequent companion to her father on the campaign trail, assures her audience in the Nov. 7 video. “We’re going to be okay, everyone.”

For some following along, that’s all the reassurance they need: If one of the people closest to the Democrats’ loss can pick themselves up and carry on, then so can they, even while they remain terrified that President-elect Donald Trump will eliminate rights they hold dear. As Walz uses TikTok to grieve, process and plan her next steps, many watching — especially women — are doing the same…

Walz’s near-daily videos run the gamut from intensely serious to entertainingly lighthearted. In her first few posts after the election, she tells her audience that she had been wearing the same blue Graviet sweatshirt for days, that “this sadness and this heaviness is going to be something that we all feel for a long time” and that those worried about Trump’s second term should respond by getting involved in their local communities. In later videos, she displays her Trader Joe’s haul, shows off her outfits and gives a tour of her Subaru Crosstrek.

Neither Walz, who works as a social worker at a homeless shelter and a ski instructor, nor the Minnesota governor’s office responded to requests for an interview about the TikTok account, which has surpassed 230,000 followers.

But in thousands of comments across dozens of videos, those watching wrote that Walz’s insights and snapshots of her life were showing them “how to pick up the pieces” and remain calm in light of an election outcome that feels catastrophic to them…

“Hope said something about, it’s okay for us to have big feelings, it’s okay for us to be disappointed,” Northman-Kelly, 56, recalled, “and yet we still need to take a little time to grieve and then put one foot in front of the other and march forward and choose to do better.”…

I will try again tomorrow is gonna be our mantra for a while, I guess.

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