Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

There are times when telling just part of the truth is effectively a lie.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

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

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

White supremacy is terrorism.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

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

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

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

So very ready.

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

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

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

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

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

Be a wild strawberry.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

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Archives for 2024

Relentless Positivity Open Thread: No More Handmaids

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STOCKPILE - No More Handmaidens

(Mike Luckovich via GoComics.com)

When your marriage is rock solid

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— Molly Knight (@mollyknight.bsky.social) November 1, 2024 at 11:08 AM

STOCKPILE - No More Handmaidens 2

(John Deering via GoComics.com)

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I Refuse to Learn About the Martyred MAGA Porn Squirrel

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Like everyone who gives a shit about the fate of the republic, I am way Too Online at the moment. But to preserve one’s sanity, one must draw a line somewhere. Over the weekend I began to see posts about a squirrel named Peanut, and how MAGA influencers were apparently up in arms about it being euthanized by government agents, calling it a martyr every bit as innocent as our lord Jesus Christ, and I have to stop typing this sentence here because, you know, I fuckin’ can’t. I don’t want to know about it.

But social media persists on putting more details about Peanut the squirrel in front of me, because the story has bobbed up to the very top of the septic tank GOP ticket:

“Democrats killed the Elon Musk of squirrels” what the fuck are we doing here
bsky.app/profile/mari…

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— Michael Hobbes (@michaelhobbes.bsky.social) November 4, 2024 at 7:12 PM

I don’t know what the fuck we are doing here, Michael Hobbes. I am much more confident of an unambiguous win for the Democrats than I was three weeks ago. However, like most of you, I am gnawed by the existential dread. If the Rough Beast gets back in the White House, I will resign myself to becoming a British citizen at last and living away from most of my family for the foreseeable future. I will be terrified for my LGBT relatives, particularly the T ones, and for all LGBT Americans. If Social Security is cut, my parents will lose a key income stream, and I may have to try to get them over here. The Child could lose her birthright citizenship. And so on.

“It’s funny when you think about it, because if Trump wins, Peanut’s owner won’t be able to make money on Only Fans because Project 2025 will ban porn.”

:the attendant swabbing my burning forehead with a cloth in 8th century Byzantium: “She has been delirious and babbling all night my lord.”

— Jessica Ritchey (@jmritchey.bsky.social) November 4, 2024 at 7:28 PM

But the dread isn’t all that we’ll have to handle. We’ll have to cope with news organizations and well-meaning historians or journalists we follow constantly elevating and giving airtime to whatever imagined grievances the worst people in the nation are obsessing about today. You all remember what it was like when he was president, even before COVID. Everything he or his coterie of paranoid dipshits were fixated on was in our faces. It was like being under house arrest awaiting a trial while some asshole honked showtunes at you through a spit-filled kazoo.

learning about the homoerotic onlyfans maga squirrel rabies euthanisation

if this is your activation codeword i’m sorry

— tef (@tef.bsky.social) November 4, 2024 at 8:00 PM

I don’t have the bandwidth for their bullshit. Dealing with the fallout from a Project 2025-powered second Trump administration would, if it came to pass, be difficult enough. So over the next few days, I am muting every possible keyword about Peanut the Martyred MAGA Porn Squirrel. Hopefully well before the end of the week we’ll all know that we never have to “be informed” about  another one of these losers’ hate fantasies ever again.

That is, unless it is really, really funny to us.

Open thread for any topic EXCEPT the martyred MAGA porn squirrel. I beg of you.

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A Bit of Wisdom from Joyce Vance

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TODAY

Some of the news is concerning today: Fencing was erected at the White House and the VP residence as D.C. braces for unrest. But we should not face this moment with fear. This is a moment for courage, not alarmism. The fact that our government is preparing for a storm is good news, much better than in 2020 when they were taken by surprise.

This is a good day to be a smart, careful consumer of news and information and to be a voice of reason for those around you. Avoid the drama-la. Are there some scary possibilities out there? Of course there are, but they’re unlikely to materialize, and if they do, we’ll take them as we find them. Make sure you stick to news you can trust and critically examine the rest.

On Saturday, the FBI issued a statement advising the public that they were aware of two fake videos being circulated on social media. One involved a fake claim the FBI had determined three groups were committing ballot fraud. The second involved Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff.

Statement from the FBI regarding two videos falsely claiming to from the the FBI relating to election security.

NBC News reported that Russia was behind a fake video claiming Haitian immigrants voted illegally in Georgia. It looks like Putin’s government and Trump’s campaign are both involved in efforts to undercut Americans’ confidence in our elections. That’s something we know and have known for so long that we don’t always pay the attention that we should to it.

But it’s Donald Trump who has created this crisis of confidence in our elections—it did not exist before him, and he continues to fan the flames. The half-truths and lies are so pervasive that people beyond his base may have doubts too. That is not the conduct of someone who belongs in the White House. Let’s make sure we say that today to encourage people to vote for democracy tomorrow. And let’s avoid the speculation and the hype.

This is good advice not just for today, but for whatever period of time it takes for the election to be resolved.

I am so glad that we have a community here – whatever comes our way, joyful or scary, we will face it together.  Except for the people we lost during the great not-so-civil war in July.  I hope those folks come back.

Oh, and a bit of information from Philly.  F around and find uut.

I could watch that on repeat.  You might have to pull me away to do things like eat, and shower.

Open thread.

 

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Keep Calm-ala and Carry On-ala (Open Thread)

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Post title from the SNL cold open, which 99% of you have probably seen:

As shared in previous threads, I’ve been pretty calm(ala) during the runup to the election. It’s not confidence. Although I think we’ll win, I’m not anything like sure about it. I fully understand the existential nature of the outcome, which will affect me and mine in direct and indirect ways.

It’s more of a que sera sera attitude I’ve developed over this year during which, sometimes, it seemed the universe was personally shitting on me and mine. And which also revealed notes of grace, love and support that I didn’t fully comprehend and appreciate before.

Yesterday, my placid veneer cracked a bit while Bill and I were watching a football game and grilling hot dogs (Sahlen’s — the best!) outside. If you watch sportsball, you’re bombarded with political ads, so we’re used to it, but a particularly obnoxious Trump ad pushed me off the ledge briefly, and I started ranting about how disastrous it would be if that ambulatory anal abscess actually won.

Bill did not disagree but expressed surprise at my outburst because I’ve been so outwardly unbothered by the turd maelstrom of this election season. (We’ve been together nearly 30 years so have weathered a few bumpy elections, hoo boy!)

I regained my composure as quickly as I lost it because I think, for me, at least, freaking out is a choice. I choose calm-ala.

***

Valued commenter Baud said something in the morning thread that bears repeating:

So I hate to be negative but I want to say something and today is the only good day to do it. We are likely to win, but there’s a possibility that we might lose. If we lose, a lot of abusive people will come out of the woodwork to blame Dems or some component of Dems for not being good enough. Please give those attacks the back of the hand. None of us are responsible for the depravity of others. Liberal guilt only hurts liberals.

Hopefully, in 36 hours, this comment will be moot.

Co-signed!

BTW, I don’t know how our Baud came up with the nym (and it’s none of our business, really), but the handle always reminds me of this Umberto Eco novel, which is one of the books we took with us when fleeing the flood:

Book cover: Baudolino by Umberto Eco

Thanks, Baudolino!

***

Meanwhile, at our temporary pet-friendly headquarters in town, the host thoughtfully provided a cover for the WHITE loveseat (why???) for folks who allow their pets on the furniture. (Of course mine are allowed on the furniture; they live here too.)

Here’s Pete using the loveseat as intended:

Dog lounging on covered loveseat

And here he is as a lump who has burrowed under the cover, defeating the purpose.

Pete is undefeated.

***

Just one more day, y’all. We can get through this.

Open thread!

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Voting Access for All (VAAC) Report from the Field!

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We raised $25,000 for VAAC, and I just got an update from them via text.

So much shorter than the the update from NCAAT in Action, but so great!

Soooo much goodness happening – so far:

– 7500 doors knocked
– 1 million phone calls.
– 3,000 postcards to jails
– 300 people driven to the polls so far.

More today and tomorrow.

TONS of materials distributed at events.

The stories are incredible.
Person after person.

Just one story:

Woman who voted for first time after 49 years who didn’t know she could vote because she had a record.

Open thread.

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NCAAT in Action – Report from the Field!

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You may recall that we raised $25,000 for NCAAT in Action, and then another $25,000 for their ballot curing effort.

Here’s an update from them!  Thought you guys might to see it?

Overall positive, but the intimidation they are facing makes me angry.

Dear Friend,

Happy Diwali to all who celebrate the Festival of Lights! Here at NCAAT in Action, we carry this hope for good fortune and prosperity as our team wraps up the last day of Early Voting in North Carolina and as we draw ever closer to Election Day.

I know our efforts wouldn’t have been possible without your support, and I want to express my sincere gratitude.

This is what we have been working toward all year, and it’s so close we can almost see the finish line!

Our canvassing team has been going strong and will finish knocking 100,000 doors this weekend! Throughout this season, NCAATIA has hosted numerous Community Canvass Days with local Community Partner organizations, all with the aim of mobilizing the progressive Asian American vote. On October 27th, we hosted a Diwali-themed canvassing event with music, lights, and plenty of fun! Over 70 folks from across North Carolina came together to help knock 2,000 doors in the Triangle area – an incredible effort!

We were joined by a number of elected officials, including Congressman Wiley Nickel, Congresswoman Debroah Ross, Representatives Ya Liu and Maria Cervania, Senator Jay Chaudhuri, Councilman Steve Rao, Mayor Pro Tem Satish Garmilla, Mayor TJ Cawley, and Councilwoman Anne Robotti. A major shout out to White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tandan and public speaker and advocate Nina Devaluri for knocking doors alongside us!

Intimidation and Protection at the Polls

Unfortunately, one challenge we have faced during the Early Voting period has been stark and brazen intimidation targeting Asian American voters at the polls. This has included the appearance of people wearing “Asian MAGA” shirts, yelling derogatory things about transgender people, and fearmongering about non-citizen voting. Similar harassment has also targeted me directly, through phone calls and emails to my work and home lines. This election year is proving deeply personal on many levels, and the targeted harassment only strengthens NCAAT in Action’s resolve.

Although NCAAT (our c3 affiliate organization) had not intended to put on a full-scale election protection project, we have pivoted to provide poll protection throughout various sites in Wake County. In addition to looking out for incidents that may need to be reported, we have brought in musicians and distributed food to liven up the atmosphere. While this pivot has meant unanticipated expense and the stretching of staff capacity, I feel it necessary to protect our community.

Casting your vote should not only be protected, but it can and should also be fun!

 

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Monday Morning Open Thread: Keep Working…

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Remember, folks: Sharing is caring!

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