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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Fighting and Winning

Fighting and Winning

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First, fighting.  Hakeem steps up.

Pete Hegseth must resign or be fired immediately.

[image or embed]

— Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 4:27 PM

Second, winning.  Pennsylvanians step up.

Democrats have secured their majority by one seat in the Pennsylvania State House.

Congratulations, Dan!

[image or embed]

— Democrats (@democrats.org) March 25, 2025 at 8:55 PM

It helps if we can focus on the good things that are happening, as well as the bad.  Okay, make that awful.

One more good thing.   Henry worn out after fighting the good fight.  Or perhaps after a tough day of lounging after his bath.  A good day, either way.

Lazy Afternoon Open Thread

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

87Comments

  1. 1.

    WaterGirl

    I love that Hakeem is going straight at the top guy.

    Really hoping for the Supreme Court win in Wisconsin.

    Even a good Democratic turnout in FL will be a good thing, if we can get it.

  2. 2.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    Thanks for the good update, WG! I didn’t even know about the PA special election and they’re right next door to me

    I hope Henry got lots of pets on the head

  3. 3.

    TONYG

    Good.  Donald Trump Part Two has been full of surprises (none of them good).  I had figured that RFK Junior would be the most dangerously unqualified cabinet secretary — but Hegseth has turned out to be surprisingly psychopathic.

  4. 4.

    Lyrebird

    @WaterGirl: Absolutely!  THanks for front-paging that.

    I just saw a headline that Waltz “takes full responsibility”, so if that was accurate, I guess he gets under-bussed.

  5. 5.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @WaterGirl:

    Some good news on the Wisconsin front as reported by RevRick in an earlier thread:

    Early voting is up 48% over the same period in 2023, when the liberal justice won in a landslide

    Fingers crossed

  6. 6.

    Jackie

    I see Muskrat’s jumping into Florida’s special elections… Hopefully too little, too late.

    No links. Just saw headlines while skimming headlines.

    Muskrat’s already throwing money into Wisconsin’s special election.

    When will FFOTUS demand that naturalized citizens not be allowed to buy elections?

  7. 7.

    BlueGuitarist

    Democrat James Malone is leading 50-49 in the Pennsylvania state senate special election in a Republican seat

  8. 8.

    Math Guy

    I wish a reporter would ask Hegseth if he has quit drinking as he promised he would if confirmed.

  13. 13.

    Jackie

    @Math Guy:

    I wish a reporter would ask Hegseth if he has quit drinking as he promised he would if confirmed.

    No kidding. But, no one will go there. The media is TERRIFIED of FFOTUS lawsuits. When the media stays mum, we know democracy is over.

  15. 15.

    Soapdish

    I have a neighbor who served with Hegseth. We were at a local gathering last month and when asked about Hegseth he replied without any hesitation, “What a douchebag!”

  17. 17.

    lamh47

    I have gotten in the habit of reading Reddit at the end of my day, because at this point it’s the only place I can get almost up to the minute news and stuff on what’s going on with federal workers.  Honestly, it’s thanks to Reddit that I was able to navigate and keep abreast of my appeal process rights and state aid and steps to follow once terminated.  Never thought I’d say it, but Reddit has been a reall stress relief and kept my head above water this past month, especially since I loss access to my fed .gov stuff.

    Anyhoo, so I was checking Reddit today and the big thing right now is that apparently HUD (so far the only agency, but if it works for one I suspect the rest might follow suit) has been sending emails to their reinstated employee telling them they are not getting back pay after all and instead they will only start getting paid beginning the day of the judged rehired deadline 3/17….smh

    So folks for background after the mass termination, folks have been applying en masse for unemployment.  Many folks have not been able to get unemployment because of both the reason for termination and also because the unorganized nature of the terminations so folks had been having to wait for final documents like their SF-50s or final leave statements, etc.  So as part of their acceptance for reinstatement, they were told to end their unemployment claims and instead will receive backpay.  Now HUD has been emailing folks sayin “oh wait, no we are not giving you backpay after all” …smh

    So far I’m only seeing that is HUD in particular…who knows for my agency, but then again, I’ve never received any actual official emails so who really know what’s going on in my case…smh

    Not only that, but they also are not re-enrolling folks for health benefits, to not have an interruption of your health coverge, instead they are telling folks they have to complete, a you may elect to enroll in Temporary Continuation of Coverage (TCC) which is basically enrolling in COBRA…and COBRA is hella expensive!

    Now see this is why all that reinstatement talk meant nothing to me since I still never received an official notice other than my mgr texting me…smh

  18. 18.

    WaterGirl

    @Jackie:

    When will FFOTUS demand that naturalized citizens not be allowed to buy elections?

    My guess is the first of never.  The one smart thing the US Supreme Court did, though, is make themselves the arbiters of what is presidential immunity and what is not.  It’s just possible that they will find it in their own self interests to rule against him on some of this stuff.

    Otherwise, he could have them killed if they don’t find a way to hold him back.

    @Jackie:  Last I saw, the muskrat had put $19 million into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.

  22. 22.

    lamh47

    @WaterGirl:

    Oh and FYI,  I may not have received an email about reinstatement, but I sure did receive an email from IT letting me know that my equipment return along with my PIV has been completed…smh.

    Sigh…pathetic..

    There’s got to be some damn karma or wrath coming for them treating folks like this…sigh

  28. 28.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @BlueGuitarist:

    He’s apparently the first Dem to represent that district since 1978, according to a commenter on that Bsky post. Awesome news! Onwards to WI and FL next week!

  30. 30.

    WaterGirl

    @BlueGuitarist: So does that mean he won the senate seat?  It sure looks like it from the BlueSky link.

    If so, I’d like to add that up top with the House info.

  31. 31.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Barbara:

    Don’t bet on that.

    Funny that after all these years of the stereotypical “sternly worded letter”, we finally have an example of one.

    And no, I’m not beating on Jeffries, nice of him to do this.  It sends the right message that’s not some BS ‘combative centrists’ that you get from the usual quarters.

  34. 34.

    WaterGirl

    @comrade scotts agenda of rage:

    One of my favorite stories.  The dad of my -ex was head of a huge project at the University, and he had a stamp made up.

    Fuck you.  Strong letter to follow.

    I loved that man.

    Edit:  I bet Pete Buttigieg could pull that off.

  35. 35.

    Spanky

    Democrats are poised to reclaim control of the Pennsylvania House as McKeesport police officer Dan Goughnour rolled to a commanding victory Tuesday night in a special election to fill a vacancy in the chamber.

    The chamber has been gridlocked, with 101 Democrats and 101 Republicans, since the January death of state Rep. Matt Gergely, D-McKeesport.

    Goughnour faced White Oak Republican Chuck Davis and White Oak Libertarian Adam Kitta in the race to fill the vacant 35th District seat in Harrisburg.

    With about 99% of precincts reporting results from Tuesday’s in-person voting and most write-in votes tallied, Goughnour had collected 63.4% of the votes counted compared to 35% for Davis and 1.6% for Kitta, according to unofficial results.

    About 10,700 votes had been counted, placing voter turnout at about 25%, county results showed.

    25%. Oy. Well, at least it was our 25%, mostly.

  38. 38.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Barbara:

    The way I heard it he was “spooked” by what happened to Bob Casey.

    Hopefully it was just some “Trump effect” of his name being on the ballot in a presidential year that did Casey in. MAGA-style candidates largely lost in 2022, including in PA

  39. 39.

    Steve LaBonne

    @Spanky: What is somewhat worrisome is that we do best in special elections and well in off-year elections because high turnout no longer seems to benefit us. Hopefully that will change after Trump leaves the scene one way or another.

  40. 40.

    lamh47

    I know I’ve been here in the bay area for over a year now, but next month will be the first time I was officially registered to vote in local elections where I actually have some ideas of what’s going on.  Took me a minute to get acclimated and the bullshit since last November has been piling, but I’m finally able to do my civic duty with actual personal knowledge of the issues.

    I’m more excited than I probably should be.  It’s the def the first time I will be doing mail-in ballots.  Last time I was a new resident and the deadline was looming so I had to do in person early voting since I was going to be in Maui on election day.

  42. 42.

    WaterGirl

    Update from the fundraiser for the family in Maine that I linked to in one of my posts yesterday.

    Support Impacted Family in Waldo County

    $201,427.72 Raised
    6982  Donations
    $15,000  Goal

    Thank you. This is truly a life-changing gift for this family, during this horrifying time. The family is profoundly grateful, the comments on the wall and everyone’s generosity mean so much to them.

    They want to share your generosity with other families who have had family members taken by ICE in Maine, and there are many. So while all funds raised to date will be given directly to the family as promised, all funds donated from here on will be shared with the community of impacted immigrant families in Maine. And there are many. Many whose stories are not gaining the same publicity, but are just as horrifying. There are many families who need support, and because of your generosity, we can help them.

    In keeping with the original intent of this fundraiser, all funds will be given directly to families whose loved ones are currently in ICE custody. Because of this shift, we invite you to continue sharing this fundraiser far and wide, and we will keep this momentum going to support as many families as we can.

  44. 44.

    Spanky

    Speaking of Fetterman (warning: ragebait):

    Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sens. Dave McCormick and John Fetterman and their wives are holding a public event this weekend in Downtown Pittsburgh where the McCormicks will discuss their new book and participate in a discussion with the Fettermans about mentorship.

    McCormick is a Republican from Pittsburgh, Fetterman a Democrat from Braddock. Both are in their first terms, with Fetterman taking office in January 2023 and McCormick being sworn in about two months ago.

    An Eventbrite listing for the hourlong event, scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Saturday, offered tickets for $32 apiece. Those attending will receive a copy of the book “Who Believed in You?” by McCormick and his wife, Dina Powell McCormick, the listing said.

    The listing did not say where the event would be held.

  45. 45.

    WaterGirl

    Apropos of nothing (except maybe of good things!) I hope everyone took a minute today to click on the beautiful image from Steve from Mendocino that’s in the sidebar today.

    (If you click on it, you see the full-sized version.)

    To me, it’s kind of a magical image, and I see a castle where (actual) kings might have lived in a fairy tale.

  46. 46.

    BlueGuitarist

    @WaterGirl:

    Closest to official is that Malone’s campaign posted a video of Zeke Tayler – a super energetic Pa Dem – saying they won
    bsky.app/profile/maloneforsenate.bsky.social

    but haven’t seen the candidate claim victory or race call from AP or Times. not sure what media are waiting for; assume Malone is waiting for concession call from opponent.

  50. 50.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @BlueGuitarist:

    assume Malone is waiting for concession call from opponent

    If his opponent is like most Rs these days, Malone could be waiting a long time for that

  53. 53.

    Spanky

    @WaterGirl: I’m pretty sure that’s Mont St. Michel, accessible only by a causeway at high tide. Or at least that was the case in olden days. Steve’s is one of the better shots I’ve seen of an excessively photographed icon.

  55. 55.

    WaterGirl

    @BlueGuitarist: I hope it truly is a win!  I will post it anyway even though it’s not official because this guy’s message here is relevant to all these elections that we’re fighting for

  59. 59.

    WaterGirl

    @Spanky:  HIs photos are always amazing.

    edit: so you’re telling me Steve in Mendocino didn’t actually photograph something from a magical world that is not here on earth?

  63. 63.

    WaterGirl

    @eclare: I need to get some graphic design person to make an overlay of “Fuck you.  Strong letter to follow.” that I could slap onto images and text from appalling Republicans.

  68. 68.

    Redshift

    @Spanky:

    I’m pretty sure that’s Mont St. Michel, accessible only by a causeway at high tide. Or at least that was the case in olden days.

    They tore down the causeway ten or fifteen years ago and replaced it with a bridge. The causeway prevented water from flowing through and the bay was silting up, so now (I hear) it’s back to being really cut off (except for the bridge.)

    If you ever go to visit Mont St. Michel, be sure to stay overnight on the island. After the last tourist buses leave to meet the last train, the souvenir shops close up and you have a medieval walled city practically all to yourself. It’s even more magical.

    We also were lucky enough to run into one of the monks who come over from the mainland to conduct services in the abbey, and convince him we wouldn’t just be gawker tourists if they let us attend. It was in a side chapel, just a couple of monks, and all in French, of course. When they sang, the notes would just hang in the air. I commented afterward that we got to have a true medieval church experience — we were in this magical space that it was a privilege to be in, and the service was familiar enough to follow along, but we barely understood a word that was being said.. :-)

  69. 69.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @WaterGirl:

    Thanks.

    I feel so sorry for that family, having their father taken from them, for nothing. I hope the worst hasn’t happened. I hope that he hasn’t been deported. At least they’ll have money to fund a legal fight for him. I hope they succeed and he can come home soon.

    The people who voted for Trump have a lot to answer for

  73. 73.

    JoeyJoeJoe

    @geg6: I read that only two Democrats won Lancaster County in the post civil war history of the state; LBJ in 1964 and Bob Casey for Governor in 1990 (he won 66 of 67 counties that year, losing only Montgomery County).  The district is in Lancaster County

  74. 74.

    WaterGirl

    This is why we fight, even for the long shots!

    Big congratulations to all the Pennsylvania peeps!

  75. 75.

    frosty

    @WaterGirl: I keep forgetting to click to expand the picture. This one is Mt St Michel in France. We visited it when we went to Normandy in 2014. Wall to wall tourists!!!

    I love all these sidebar photos you’re putting up. What a great idea, and I hope you can keep it up without having it be an undue burden.

  77. 77.

    scav

    @frosty: Wall to wall tourists with souvenir tchotchkes honestly reminded me of nothingsomuch as medieval pilgrims buying fake relics as I climbed up the streets of Mont St-Mich.  A sort of continuity of uses bled through somehow.

  79. 79.

    eclare

    @WaterGirl:

    I just watched that video.  That guy was so overwhelmed, I get it.  We need to celebrate every bit of happy news to the fullest, it has been so bleak.

  83. 83.

    Betty

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Casey, Tester and Brown were singled out by the billionaires for an onslaught of negative advertising on immigrants and trans people. Casey nearly managed to hold on. I wish he would have paid for an audit of the vote.

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