Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

People are complicated. Love is not.

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

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

The lights are all blinking red.

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

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

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

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. ~Thomas Jefferson

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

So many bastards, so little time.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

You are here: Home / Politics / Open Thread + Looking for Something Constructive To Do Today?

Open Thread + Looking for Something Constructive To Do Today?

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Early voting started this week in Wisconsin.  Want to do something constructive?

  • Do you have family in Wisconsin?
  • Friends in Wisconsin?
  • Acquaintances in Wisconsin?
  • Your best friend has a cousin in Wisconsin?

Reach out to every single person you know. And send them this, and remind them to also vote against the voter ID amendment. The “voter ID” amendment will, you guessed it, make it harder for people to vote.

So…

  • Contact everyone you know.
  • Write postcards.
  • Volunteer through Wisconsin Dems!

Wisconsin voters: Early voting is now underway!

Have you voted yet? Or made a voting plan? If not, do it now. If you care about democracy, it’s time to cast your ballot and recruit friends to vote for Susan Crawford.

Find your polling place for early in-person voting at wisdems.org/vote

[image or embed]

— Ben Wikler (@benwikler.bsky.social) March 19, 2025 at 9:20 AM

Watch this – Ben Wikler makes the case that the Wisconsin election is the first step to taking our country back.  It’s worth a watch.

Last week, I spoke with @hcrichardson.bsky.social about the Wisconsin State Supreme Court race, its national implications, and why electing Judge Susan Crawford on April 1 will be the first step toward taking our country back from Trump/Musk/MAGA.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyXb…

[image or embed]

— Ben Wikler (@benwikler.bsky.social) March 19, 2025 at 8:21 AM


.

Brad Schimel, MAGA Supreme Court candidate in Wisconsin:

* supports 1849 abortion ban
* as AG, left 6,000 rape kits untested
* said he was “honored” to be named in Planned Parenthood v Brad Schimel
* said female Justices were “too driven by emotion” in abortion case

… bad for Wisconsin women.

— Ben Wikler (@benwikler.bsky.social) March 19, 2025 at 1:00 PM

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

45Comments

  1. 1.

    chemiclord

    This will be a good first indication of how serious sane Americans are to do the absolute bare minimum to restore sanity to this country.  Are they willing to get out of their chairs and leave their homes to do something about it?  Or will they continue to seethe impotently because it’s more convenient for them?

    Human history does not lend me much hope.

  2. 2.

    WaterGirl

    Unrelated to Wisconsin, I have been thinking about the Wiley Cash books I have read.  At least two, maybe three.  Loved the first one I read.  Also really liked another one, though there was some creepy disturbing stuff (to me) related to snake handling.

    If you have read his books, do you remember which one that might have been?

  5. 5.

    zhena gogolia

    @WaterGirl: I almost bailed on The White Lotus season 3 because of the snake episode, so don’t ask me.

    Love the picture of the sandwich sign.

  7. 7.

    H.E.Wolf

    For the next several days, I’ll continue to write GOTV postcards to WI with PostcardsToVoters.org – and there are other GOTV postcard groups doing good work on that front as well.

    Anyone who’d like to write a few postcards to WI, here’s the signup for Postcards To Voters:
    [email protected]

    Three short, pre-provided sentences to write. Minimum is 4 cards. Due in the mail within 3 business days. If you ask for addresses on a Thursday, they’re due in Monday’s mail.

    This is a nice, small, concrete action to take. WI can use our help.

  10. 10.

    kindness

    I just don’t understand how normie women even consider voting for these troglodites.  Sure, I see things through our lens, but I really don’t think our positions wrt birth control/women’s place in society is out there in crazy land.  The brainwashed evangelical & hard core Republican women I get.  They’re Stepford wives.  The normies though?  I don’t understand that.

  11. 11.

    pinacacci

    I am so ANGRY.  I knew it would happen but my “Weil for Congress” sign didn’t last 24 hours.  I live among fascists and I’m putting up 2 more for every first amendment violation these fuckers commit.  WHY.

    Also a sign that says if you’re against freedom of speech just go on and move to Russia.  Also a wildlife cam to catch the assholes in the act.  24 hours, I expected it but I’m still gobsmacked.

  12. 12.

    mappy!

    Open…

    Went to a Town Meeting Tuesday evening. The agenda was to fill a vacancy on a regional BOE, to fill out the term. Town ordinance specifies that this is done at a Town Meeting rather than as an appointment or special election. The 2023 Municipals saw traditional Dem support evaporate. The Regional BOE election ended up tied, the recount forced a new vote. Both Dem candidates lost by one vote. On Education, this is generally a blue town, although the Regional school can be an exception sometimes.

    The general Munis last fall were complicated due to a contentious referendum on a new school that unceremoniously got shot down. Predictable outcome unfortunately. The rule of thumb here is don’t create contentious issues you can’t win. And more importantly, do your research so you never put yourself in that position. It all comes down to the votes, you either have them or you don’t.

    Anyway, at the Town Meeting the vote of the 110 electors present (a good turnout) was 39 for the MAGA offering, 71 for the Dem. A complete turnaround in less than six months. It’s good to be around angry Dems again.

  13. 13.

    Omnes Omnibus

    I donated to Crawford again on top of my recurring donation to WISDEMS.  Work commitments keep me from canvassing this time around.

  14. 14.

    Timill

    @WaterGirl: Haven’t read them, but Wikipedia has your answer in the Career section:

    Cash’s 2012 debut novel, A Land More Kind Than Home, a thriller with Southern Gothic elements which follows the destructive wake of a deceptive snake-handling faith healer, was positively reviewed by The Washington Post and other national publications.

  15. 15.

    Jackie

    Here’s hoping Muskrat wastes millions when Susan Crawford defeats Brad Schimel! <fingers crossed>

  16. 16.

    WaterGirl

    @pinacacci:  I’m pissed for you.

    Around here, if your property is vandalized in any way, you can ask the police to patrol your street in the evenings and overnight for a few days.

    Maybe you could request that?

  18. 18.

    WaterGirl

    @Timill: I had checked for book summaries online with no success, but I didn’t think to look at Wikipedia in particular.  Thanks so much.

  19. 19.

    Bokonon

    This Wisconsin election is also a test of the GOP’s new paradigm … of using money bombs and massive social media pressure to flood the zone with sh!t (Steve Bannon’s cute term).

    Schimel is a singularly unattractive candidate.  But you know, if you attach enough force, even a cinder block can fly like a bird.  For a while.

  20. 20.

    BarcaChicago

    I’ve driven from Chicago to my home state of Wisconsin several times to canvass in Milwaukee and Kenosha over the last weeks, and will be heading to my home town Madison (where my elderly mother lives) to GOTV over the last 4 days before the election. Also sending postcards and donating. My last canvass in Kenosha was heartening, many people aware and angry, getting active. One youngish father to some small kids complained about “having to vote” in all the off elections now because “otherwise crazy things happen” ie the Republicans have become so extreme that it’s no longer just a policy inconvenience when they win. If we lose, our hard fought fair map will be gone and Wisconsin will be over as a democracy at the state level. Needless to say, hardcore abortion ban. It will break me. Hence all my volunteer work.

  21. 21.

    WaterGirl

    @BarcaChicago:

    If we lose, our hard fought fair map will be gone and Wisconsin will be over as a democracy at the state level.

    Needless to say, hardcore abortion ban. It will break me. Hence all my volunteer work.

    Those are the stakes, for sure.

    Susan Crawford is so impressive.  It’s disgusting that elections can be bought with crazy sums of money.  Hopefully not this one.

  22. 22.

    WaterGirl

    @BarcaChicago: I should have mentioned how heartening it is to hear that people are getting pissed and active.

    Are you funding people who received the postcards giving them a different date than April 1?

  23. 23.

    JML

    I don’t love it when we use the “untested rape kits” stat; having talking through this with prosecutors before, it’s a little more complicated than that…but on the other hand it’s Brad Schimel, and eff that guy. preferably with a flamethrower.

    Please bury this schmuck, WI. He’s as bad as anyone could ask for on the WI Supreme Court, a nasty reactionary sh!tbag who is perfectly comfortable throwing away the last 175 years of individual rights for anyone who isn’t white & male.

    I hope WI crushes him in a landslide. Don’t be fooled by his bland exterior: he’s as reactionary as they come. I’m sure he loves everything about Project 2025. the epitome of the “I got mine” douche.

  25. 25.

    A Ghost to Most

    “And in a moment, they were swept away, before the deluge.”

    The song has grown more relevant every day since I first heard it 50 years ago.

  26. 26.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @mappy!:

    It’s good to be around angry Dems again.

    The late, great Steve Gilliard put it this way waaaaay back in 2003:

    It’s is time to stop looking for an accommodation with the right. They want none for us. They want to win, at any price.

    So, you have a choice: be a fighting liberal or sit quietly.

    https://web.archive.org/web/20050910004807/http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/2003/12/im-fighting-liberal-you-know-ive.html

    Great report, thanks for sharing.

  27. 27.

    WaterGirl

    @BarcaChicago: I have heard about it, but I don’t have confirmation that it’s real.  But yeah, Republican dirty tricks to be sending postcards like the regular ones, just giving them a different date for the election.

  28. 28.

    The Other Bob

    “* said female Justices were “too driven by emotion” in abortion case”

    No, women are driven by a need to protect their bodies and protect healthcare.

    On the other hand, anti abortion people are driven by religious, emotional insanity, instead of medical and cultural facts.

  35. 35.

    Old School

    Judge James Boasberg had ordered the government to provide, by 12 p.m. ET today, “the information discussed in the Minute Order of March 18, 2025, or to invoke the state-secrets doctrine and explain the basis for such invocation.”

    As of 1:00 p.m. ET, the government had not posted to the docket providing the information requested in five questions, nor had they posted to the docket invoking the state-secrets doctrine.

  36. 36.

    Old School

    I can’t even…

    In February, a 6-year-old Texan was the first child in the United States to die of measles in two decades.

    …

    The child’s grieving parents have given just one on-camera interview, to Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine nonprofit group founded and led until recently by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the health and human services secretary.

    ….

    The couple, who are Mennonites, believe their daughter’s death was the will of God. When Children’s Health Defense’s director of programming, Polly Tommey, asked specifically about parents who heard their story and might be “rushing out, panicking,” to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, the parents rebuked the intervention that offered the best chance of preventing their daughter’s death.

    “Don’t do the shots,” the girl’s mother said. Measles, she added, is “not as bad as they’re making it out to be.” She noted that her four other children all recovered after having received alternative treatments from an anti-vaccine doctor, including cod liver oil, a source of vitamin A, and budesonide, an inhaled steroid usually used for asthma.

    “Also, the measles are good for the body,” the girl’s father said, adding through an interpreter of Low German that measles boosts the immune system and wards against cancer — an untrue supposition often offered by anti-vaccine groups and repeated recently by Kennedy.

  37. 37.

    Baud

    @Old School:

    The couple, who are Mennonites, believe their daughter’s death was the will of God.

     
    I believe the invention of the measles vaccine was the will of God.

  38. 38.

    WTFGhost

    @Old School: measles actually damages your acquired immunity, making you more vulnerable to diseases that you have already fought off.

    Just in case anyone here didn’t know that – it does not toughen or harden. It attacks too many systems, in too many ways, for the body to fight it off without damage.

    Of course, having the vaccine, well, that’s like your body having a loaded gun, of the right tactical type, for a home invasion. Invader opens your bedroom door, *BLAM*, and likely, goes down. But gun nuts would rather fight with nothing more than their dick in their hands, when it comes to disease.

  39. 39.

    WTFGhost

    @Baud: No, you see, there was a miraculous CURE for measles, and it was GODS WILL that it be distributed, but *whoops*, *YOU* aborted this life-saving baby!

    God’s will sure isn’t very strong, given that it uniquely determines our nation’s leadership. Also, “bozo the clown, sans humor value, and with no moral compass” – geez, is the claim that God is *punishing* us? I’m not saying that would be *wrong*, what with the mass incarcerations and deaths and cruelty, the torture we deserve for failing to protect gay, queer, gender-non-conforming, etc., but, c’mon, people, y’all are saying he’s the second effing coming, not divine punishment!

    @Warren Senders: A shame you can’t include a song with the postcards. (I hope you’re the right Warren Senders, and my brain malfunction hasn’t caused me to misremember the name.)

    @WaterGirl: If inspiration would do it… sigh. I’d have to load postcard printer paper, and send the same message, and then leave the effing house, and, then, I’d feel like it was a form-letter, so why bother, and….

    @Old School: With Republicans, assume nefarious intent. They will do anything to win an election, because it doesn’t matter how badly they cheat, so long as the first official count shows them ahead. For the Wisconsin Supreme Court, you know any Republican malfeasance will be ignored, at the (Wis) Supreme Court level, at least.

    @The Other Bob: I’ve found that when someone talks like that, looking at them like they have two heads, and saying “you really don’t know pregnancy at all, do you?” helps. (If I’m told to continue, I’ll say “well, it’s messy; and, what if it’s abortion, or no further pregnancies ever? Kill 3 more babies you might have made, to save one that will ruin fertility?”) (Uterine scarring, fellows – it’s not “fake news”. Those precious babies, at conception, will all die because they can’t attach to scar tissue. Kill three babies, to save one? Go ahead, tell the grieving mother she must make your choice, or go to jail.)

    If they can think, they do. Meh. Most can’t.

    @A Ghost to Most: Bruce Springsteen promised a change when singing “how can a poor man stand such times and live?” which, as some of you know, it a very moving song, since I have to choose to “live” over and over. I keep hoping he was right. Dear god, the man must be feeling horrible.

    @JML: Truth doesn’t matter to Republicans, when dealing with anything. We can’t let a devotion to the truth keep us from effing someone, preferably with a flamethrower, etc.. “Untested rape kit” might be complicated, but anyone who is truly “tough on crime” would have wanted to catch the low hanging fruit – the rape kits that point to someone already in the database (and maybe already incarcerated). You might say “well, state law, fourth amendment,” but that’s when Republicans curbstomp Dems, so, it’s time to remember that tit for tat is appropriate. Campaign on division, govern on unity – once we win, we can govern on truth, and even speak it, sometimes.

    @Bokonon: It’s not just that. With all the information publicly available about you, they can microtarget ads that they know will be effective. I mean, they aren’t *mind control*, but they know what they want. Dishearten Dems, excite Repubs, and they might just eke out a win in the margins.

  41. 41.

    WaterGirl

    @WTFGhost: Your comment went into moderation because of more than 7 links. (that includes replies)

    I have the content of your comment, though, in the message that was sent to me telling me your comment needed attention. Would you like me to put it back? It would just take a second.

  44. 44.

    WTFGhost

    @WaterGirl: I assume due to replies to multiple people – I’ve seen that happen in the past, where a post that seems innocuous to me goes into moderation, because I responded to several people.

    Alas, the PTSD doesn’t always allow for the mature choice of waiting, fully aware that people don’t actually hate me, because the PTSD keeps whispering “oh fuck yeah they hate you.”  Plus, when my brain malfunctions, I can’t always spot the malfunction. So there’s not a problem with the comments, really, just, one of those times I should hold up my PTSD card.

  45. 45.

    WaterGirl

    @WTFGhost: Okay, I added it back in from the email notification I got.  Looks like the links don’t go where they should, but at least folks can read your replies!

    7 links (including replies) is all good.

    8 or more, and you go into moderation.

Comments are closed.