For my money, the best left-of-center energy in U.S. politics today isn’t to be found in D.C. It’s happening outside Tesla dealerships all across the country right now, which is why Trump and the kleptocracy’s personal attorney Pam Bondi are so desperate to stop it.
I’ll have more to say about that later. In the meantime, over the weekend, a legend emerged at a Tesla Takedown protest in Berkeley. Check this out:
Trump supporter Rick Fuze was arrested in Berkeley for using a stun gun on peaceful protesters outside a Tesla dealership. Fuze claimed they were paid protesters and he went there to show his support for Musk and DOGE.
— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) March 24, 2025 at 12:35 PM
The woman who grabbed that deluded shithead by the hair and hauled him off his bike is 66-year-old Susan Kegeles, a retired professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco. Respect, ma’am.
Open thread.
On The Road – Auntie Anne – Southeast Asia – Thailand 1 of 3
Baud
They call her Dr. America.
prostratedragon
Let the good doctor be an example in this.
Elsewhere,
Comment underneath:
tsquared2001
Prof Kegeles: Come here! I said COME HERE!
Splitting Image
@prostratedragon:
Also, “patriot”.
prostratedragon
@Splitting Image: FnA.
Mr. Mack
Great to see…but I worry instead of this lame attempt to tase people, the next asshole just opens fire with a more deadly weapon.
Baud
@Mr. Mack:
Out of our control.
eclare
Wow, legend indeed. And the cops hauled Rick off, too.
Betty Cracker
@Mr. Mack: A Trump-humper in South Florida drove his SUV into a group of Tesla protesters over the weekend. He was driving slowly, and people got out of the way, so no one was seriously injured. But deadly escalations wouldn’t surprise me.
When Trump and Bondi call Tesla protesters “domestic terrorists” and threaten to illegally sentence them to a foreign slave-labor camp, they know they are also activating their insane cult. It’s on purpose.
satby
@Betty Cracker: it is indeed on purpose. And the cultists they activate are secure in the knowledge that they’ll get a pardon or charges may never be brought. Red-hatted brownshirts.
On the other hand, we have the old ladies, who have decades of righteous rage waiting to be triggered. I like our chances.
satby
@eclare: They were monitoring the demonstration and saw him assault the people with his stun gun.
satby
I hope Anne Laurie is doing ok too.
Baud
@satby:
Me too.
Michael Bersin
Meanwhile, the supermajority republicans in the Missouri General Assembly fling poo at each other.
Elect clowns, expect a circus, part the infinity
Because they can? It’s in their nature? The Aristocrats?
Betty Cracker
@Baud: Me three.
Baud
As as media critic, I give credit where it’s due.
Betty Cracker
On a lighter note, and in an effort to live down my nym, I’m trying to be a teensy bit more adventurous with my cooking lately. Will be making a recipe I found in this month’s issue of Bon Appétit, French onion pasta, which sounds like a cross between French onion soup and mac ‘n cheese. Will let y’all know how it turns out!
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Michael Bersin:
Renaming the Katy Trail, that’s rich.
That Cupps dude seems like he’s got the Misery Batshit Insane MAGAt turned up to 11.
Ramalama
@satby: what’s happened to Anne Laurie?.
Michael Bersin
@Baud:
“…As a media critic, I give credit where it’s due.”
Nah. We could have had nice things.
Baud
@Ramalama:
She’s been ill. She was still posting, but lately hasn’t been. Hopefully getting some rest.
Baud
@Michael Bersin:
We need to reinforce good journalism though. We don’t have a media ecosystem of our own that mainstream media fears.
Betty
@Baud: Perhaps they sense the real danger we are in. It’s no longer cool to find fault with Democrats while letting the miscreants create havoc. We’ll see.
satby
@Ramalama: she hasn’t been posting as much as usual. Could just be busy IRL.
But thank heavens for Betty 🤗
Baud
@Betty:
I don’t think we’re quite that far along yet.
Michael Bersin
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
I can’t find any biographical information on him. His official House photo is, shall we say, clichéd.
There is a news story about a default judgement on loans to an agriculture operation…
Gretchen
@satby: Was she having a problem?
Betty
@Baud: That’s why I used perhaps and we’ll see. Just a tiny green shoot of hope.
Geminid
This morning’s Politico Playbook leads off with the Atlantic/Signal SNAFU. It sounds like National Security Advisor Mike Waltz will have to fall on his spork. Waltz’s replacement will not need Senate confirmation and that makes him a likelier fall guy.
Waltz’s Turkish counterpart will visit Washington this week. I wonder who he’ll talk to.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will also be in town, today and tomorrow. Fidan has esablished himself as a heavy hitter in Middle East and Black Sea regional politics, and swings a good deal of weight in Europe as well. He’s known to have Turkish President Erdogan’s absolute confidence.
Suzanne
LMAO.
Maybe Resistance 2.0 will be hilarious. That would be a good thing.
Professor Bigfoot
I said yesterday on Bluesky, no only would I love to buy Dr. Kegeles a glass of wine, I’d like to treat her to a whole dinner– and hopefully breakfast afterwards. ;)
Just watching her take that ass down– “Oh no, MF, you picked the wrong one today!” (fans self)
Michael Bersin
@Baud:
“…We need to reinforce good journalism though. We don’t have a media ecosystem of our own that [their corporate owners] fear…”
Fixed it for you, politely.
Suzanne
@Geminid:
Second laugh of the thread. Fantastic. Thank you!
satby
@Gretchen: She was feeling under the weather and her posting has been lighter than usual. That’s all.
Jeffg166
@Betty Cracker:
I had seen that recipe and thought about making it then didn’t. Let us know how it turns out.
geg6
That might be my favorite video ever. Inspiring!
Betty Cracker
@Jeffg166: Will do! I am off to the grocery store soon. Also thinking about making this cod with chorizo, chickpeas and greens from the same issue — IF I can find the right chorizo at my local store. I think Cuban-style smoked chorizo would work, which is widely available in Tampa at Publix but not necessarily here in the North Central FL hinterlands.
JML
The best part about that video is how the MAGA-tool clearly can’t believe that he’s getting arrested and hauled off. He was so certain that the cops were on his side and he was the smart one, he was the one in the right. Nice to see the reality check. In handcuffs.
But mad props to The Prof, who Was Not Taking It.
Jackie
@tsquared2001: Undoubtedly Professor Kegeles’ background is being investigated as Muskrat and others are hoping she’s not a born in America American citizen… //
eclare
Deleted. Answered above.
zhena gogolia
Deleted.
catclub
@Michael Bersin: Yeah, this CNN bit will be a one day wonder.
They are not even bothering to say that They should NEVER be using non secure devices for discussing highly classified action plans and planning.
Jeffro
100%
And this is exactly what Dems at every level need to speak out about every time one of these kinds of issues unfortunately happens.
Jackie
@Betty Cracker:
That sounds delicious! I can already smell the onions caramelizing! Mmmm!
sentient ai from the future
@Betty Cracker: i wouldn’t sweat the type of chorizo in this, honestly. a mexican chorizo would be fine. you just want some of the spices and the annatto color and the fat from the sausage and that’ll get you 90% of the way there.
unless you ENJOY seeking out a rarities list, then i say go for it.
zhena gogolia
That video is sweet. will try not to watch it too many hundreds of times today
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
Maybe you’ll get a chance to do the same thing one day.
lowtechcyclist
@Splitting Image:
Speaking of which, remember back during the Shrub administration, they used to ask us, “why do you hate America?”
It’s time to steal that one, turn it around, and use it on them. Because everything their side is doing is tearing down America.
They may love some 1950s version of America that exists in their heads, but they hate the real thing, and everything they do demonstrates that.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: I don’t do protest marches, sorry.
Baud
@zhena gogolia:
You could try being a vigilante for justice. Fewer crowds.
rikyrah
It hit me this morning. Thanks to the Editor at The Atlantic. We found out about this breach of National Security in pretty much real time. If this had been one of those muthaphuckas from the NYT, they would have held onto this to tell us in a couple of years in a phucking book.😠😠😠
Baud
@rikyrah:
Haha. Excellent point.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊
eclare
@rikyrah:
I saw that mentioned a few times yesterday.
Baud
@rikyrah:
Good morning.
They Call Me Noni
@Jeffg166:
Same here. We love onion soup.
rikyrah
You didn’t add a video of the crazy piece of MAGA hate who drove into one of the protests in Florida😠😠😠
rikyrah
@Baud:
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 for AL
sentient ai from the future
@catclub: yeah i think the point needs to be made (bt is likely to be lost) that they were using personal, consumer devices for this, even if those are regularly assessed for security (we know shitbird keeps a personal device that is a huge security hole), they are still vulnerable is ways that the proper government issued hardware (and following protocol) would not.
seems pretty farfetched that signal would be loadable on a secure govt device in the first place.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Work was interesting, the subject of Trump came up and all the Trump voters apparently loath Trump even more than I do.
lowtechcyclist
@Professor Bigfoot:
And if I wasn’t already happily married, I’d be giving you a run for your money!
Baud
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Heartening. We’ll see.
Betsy
@Betty Cracker: Whoa. That sounds great.
Steve LaBonne
@sentient ai from the future: The even more important point, which Josh Marshall explains this morning, is that their purpose in using Signal is to conduct government business in the dark and leave no record behind. This negates the whole idea of the government being in any way responsible to the country.
satby
@Steve LaBonne: the far more important point.
Matt McIrvin
@sentient ai from the future: Signal is probably more secure than most commercial OR government communications software–but any such channel is only as secure as the bozos at its endpoints, which was the problem here.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Love hearing this. What were they reacting to?
trnc
@Matt McIrvin: Thus the reason for legally only communicating highly sensitive info in highly restricted settings.
ETA: The point being to not start going down a rabbit hole of “it could have been worse.”
Rudi666
BC Did you know about this incident in eastern Florida?
cbsnews.com/miami/news/man-drives-car-into-protesters-outside-a-tesla-dealership-nobody-hurt-sheriff…
catclub
This.
Geminid
@Suzanne: As we youngs say, no problem!
catclub
@Matt McIrvin: agreed, but what about all the other apps on their personal phones? Which one was repurposed to intercept typing on Signal?
Thor Heyerdahl
Thanks for the recipe links Betty. With a large Portuguese population in Toronto, Iberian chorizo is not difficult to find (and egg tarts are a great treat in the city). And the French onion pasta…magnifique!
karensky
@prostratedragon: Excellent start to my day! Thanks
catclub
The non-classified software is the Microsoft windows version of zoom. The classified software? I don’t know, but probably the same.
Salty Sam
Wait, what!?! What’s happening with AL?
ETA, Never mind, I see Baud’s response at #20…
Soprano2
@Michael Bersin: So what the hell is that about? I feel like I should know, he’s from down here.
Soprano2
@Betty Cracker: I’ll be interested, because I’ve got several packets of French onion soup hubby bought that I need to do something with.
sentient ai from the future
@Matt McIrvin: signal, itself, maybe. but we don’t know what zero-days intel services might be keeping close to their vests.
further, we also don’t know how/if those phones themselves were exploited in ways that permit e.g. remotely adding a journalist to a chat, such as via the UI.
the point is that these phones could indeed have vulnerabilities and be pwned already, if not subject to ongoing security assessments (as, again, shitbird reportedly shields at least one personal device from).
of course, like marshall, i am much more concerned with the clear intent there was to evade the PRA but that’s not a thing that is going to rile up the hoopleheads.
Scout211
Remember yesterday when we discussed the story at Politico that cited a White House spokesperson saying that Trump will make his decision on what to do about the Signal chat after he sees the coverage? Look at the top story on memeorandum . That many links to the security breach may force the White House to push Waltz aside, as Politico reported yesterday. We’ll see.
The rapid response from Sean Duffy (I think it was) was something like “people are too concerned about who is on a chat.” LOL. Very lame, rapid response team.
Soprano2
@Professor Bigfoot: She had the attitude “I’m tired of putting up with shit from people like you”.
satby
@sentient ai from the future: potentially getting our service members killed due to data breached will rile up a lot of folks though, starting with the military itself.
sentient ai from the future
@Scout211:
“so we put someone in the chat where we were discussing military operations who we consider an enemy, big whoop. find something real to be mad about, like tesla being protested”
Princess
@Betty Cracker: ooo, I think I’ve found dinner for Friday night.
Steve LaBonne
Since chorizo was mentioned, if you have some bulk Mexican chorizo (which is pretty easy to find), chorizo tacos with salsa verde and red onion are really yummy.
Scout211
Wanna place a bet on whether the hearing gets canceled or not? The Axios article also reports on the many attempts to downplay the security breach. All are lame.
Flanders Other Neighbor
Violence erupts from both sides at a Berkeley Tesla dealership! -NYT probably
Let’s not forget doge and attempts to wreck Social Security. I miss when every day didn’t feel like a month or two.
Princess
Re:chorizo. The strongest spice note in Iberian chorizo is small led paprika/pimenton. If you have that but don’t have real chorizo, you can dupe the flavour by adding it. I’ve never eaten Mexican chorizo so I don’t know if it used smoked paprika. Otherwise, Iberian chorizo is usually dry and hard while the Mexican I’ve seen in stores is usually soft/uncooked. A dry hard pork salami plus smoked paprika might get you closer to the taste/texture of the dish.
satby
Florida, though it could be any R dominated state.
cmorenc
@Baud: a look over at how the fox news website is egregiously misreporting the yemen missle planning session leak indicates the challenge of breaking through the RW fog of misinformation and propaganda.
Quiltingfool
@Michael Bersin: Here’s a good one for you – one of our county commissioners (Camden) may be out of a job; man hasn’t paid taxes for awhile. He’s Republican so he probably will be fine.//
The guy’s name is Ike Skelton. For real. I wondered if he got a few votes because of name recognition. Michael and I are 4th District Missourians, so we know who the *real* Ike was; he was our US Representative for years before Vicky Hartzler won the seat. He was a Democrat, if you can believe it.
Raoul Paste
@satby: “I like our chances”
Inspiring, and it made me smile.
Soprano2
@Flanders Other Neighbor: I miss things being normal with the government. This firehose of crap is terrible.
Steve LaBonne
@Flanders Other Neighbor:
Oh but Joe Biden was so boring.Steve LaBonne
@satby: Not to worry, it won’t be THEIR kids working nights.
Baud
@cmorenc: SSDD.
@Steve LaBonne:
This. I know BJ is on the up and up, as are many others. But I’m still unsure about how much of the “resistance” doesn’t prefer this timeline to the one in which Biden or Harris wins. Consciously or subconsciously.
Steve LaBonne
@Baud: Who I’m not at all uncertain about are the “journalists”. Trump’s never-ending chaos is money to them.
satby
@Raoul Paste: never underestimate the old ladies 😉 Especially the current generation of them, we have storehouses of rage not yet accessed. And no fucks left.
Geminid
@Quiltingfool: I was interested to see that Ike Skelton’s full name was Isaac Newton Skelton IV. Skelton’s dad, Isaac Newton Skelton III was a friend of Harry Truman, and in 2006 Skelton4 told fellow Missouri Congressman Todd Akin to “stick it up your ass” during a heated floor debate.
Baud
@Steve LaBonne:
I think there are some individual journalists who do real journalism. But agreed as to the media as a collective.
Belafon
@Michael Bersin:
Everything could have been better, but we don’t live in that universe, we live in this one. And we should celebrate the things that are good now, like a good fact check and a grandma subduing an idiot with a taser.
different-church-lady
@Baud: Ah, they’ve noticed the game is Calvinball, have they?
different-church-lady
@Betty: It’s likely more that they think “TRUMP IN JEP” is a great plot twist. “How will he wiggle out of this one? Tune in tomorrow!”
Michael Bersin
@Soprano2:
One hates the other with the heat of a thousand suns? Maybe it’s over a obscure point of right wingnut orthodoxy? We never get out of junior high school? Who knows?
Ella in New Mexico
If that had been me Tazer Boy would have accidentally knocked out a couple of teeth on my knee
different-church-lady
I don’t get it. Why light Tesla locations on fire when the cars will just do it for them?
AM in NC
@cmorenc: I am actually shocked this morning at how much pushback in comments this clusterfuck is getting at FOX. The NatSec screw ups that keep happening are a very fruitful wedge for us to exploit over there.
Casting the Democrats as the defenders of US NatSec and the GOP as fuck-ups who only care about covering their asses and not one whit for US National Security is a good hand to play.
I think reclaiming patriotism, love of the Constitution, and US NatSec is what we should be focusing on to win back normies. The economics will also be huge as the GOP continues to fuck up there as well.
eclare
@Steve LaBonne:
Gawd I miss boring. Drama is overrated. I get my drama from reality TV, I don’t want it in reality.
Michael Bersin
@Belafon:
Not saying we shouldn’t celebrate the small things.
They just don’t get praise from me since they’ve collectively screwed up their jobs for at least the last thirty or so years.
eclare
@satby:
I believe you!
different-church-lady
@Belafon:
“If you don’t like it, move.”
different-church-lady
@satby: Title IX rocks.
Quiltingfool
@Geminid:
I knew I liked that guy! I think Ike was pretty good at making sure military bases in Missouri didn’t get axed (well, except for Richard Gebauer (aka *Dickie Goober* in AF slang) AFB.
lowtechcyclist
@satby:
But the real threat to their kids is drag queen story hour.
Ain’t enough rolleyes.
Belafon
I see the FBI task force on Tesla burning turning to the task force on Tesla protesting pretty quick.
Jackie
@eclare:
NOMINATED!!!
Belafon
@lowtechcyclist:
Captain C
@rikyrah: I still don’t understand why journalists who do that don’t get fired for screwing their employer.
satby
@different-church-lady: I bet at least a couple of those are insurance fraud fires. The demonstrations are a good cover for that. Sales have cratered.
satby
@Belafon: see my comment above.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: A lot of the “resistance” grifters made bank and/or became famous during the first reign of error. So I think you have a point there.
Betty Cracker
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: Tell us more when you get a sec.
Interacted with some likely Trump-voting relatives this week, and while they are vaguely uneasy about some recent incidents, they’re still buying the lies and making excuses, for the most part. The information bubble is formidable.
schrodingers_cat
@Captain C: NYT gets a cut of the profits? Who is the publisher of MAGA Haberman’s books?
lowtechcyclist
@different-church-lady:
You win the thread!
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Quiltingfool:
I was in Ike’s district back in the 90s.
Is this guy related in any way to ole Ike?
Betty Cracker
@Scout211:
That’s so telling all by itself, right? He doesn’t give a fuck about a scandalous security breach that could have cost servicemembers’ lives. He cares how the fuckup plays on TV.
sentient ai from the future
good news overnight, that judge (alsup) who at first said the government employees unions dont have standing to challenge their members’ firing in federal court reconsidered and now says they can.
bsky.app/profile/normeisen.bsky.social/post/3ll76ny7r2s2e
MCat
@satby: I hope she’s okay.
Ocotillo
I am late to the thread but I think you are correct BC, my book of faces feed shows the usual suspects sharing memes that denigrate Tesla protesters deriding the hypocrisy of the hippies resorting to violence.
catclub
They are not reliable enough. pun intended
lowtechcyclist
@sentient ai from the future:
Good, because it looks like the union at my old workplace is going to sue b/c the acting director ordered an end to telework altogether. And there’s really nowhere for them to put everyone: they can fill the conference rooms and the cafeteria, and there still won’t be enough room.
Ghost of Joe Liebling’s Dog
@Steve LaBonne: Thank you. That seems to be a key point, and not highlighted as much as it ought to be.
Jackie
@Betty Cracker: For the moment, FFOTUS stands by his man:
Glory b
@schrodingers_cat: I read that the at the cheered-on, very well attended Bernie townhall he’s encouraging people to run as, and vote for, independents, NOT Democrats.
No word on what AOC thinks of that.
As we all know, Democrats vs Republicans vs Independents is a recipe for Republicans winning again.
Baud
@Jackie:
The Susan Collins gambit!
Quiltingfool
In my stroll around the internet, I see that Josh Hawley had some praise and admiration for Sec Def and Trump on Fox.
I sent him the text of his conversation (in case he forgot) and I expressed my disgust. I called him an oath breaker, complicit in the destruction of the United States.
I’m pretty sure ol’ Joshie doesn’t care what I think of him, but I feel a bit better. What would be awesome is if he would fade into absolute obscurity. Better yet, him being completely shunned.
Baud
@Glory b:
I heard about that. But I haven’t seen the text of his speech in context. I don’t want to get manipulated by media spin. That applies to Bernie as well as to people like Schumer.
Jackie
@Baud: My immediate reaction, too lol
Quiltingfool
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: I don’t think he is related to Ike. If he was, I’m sure whoever ran against him would have pointed out that no true Republican would ever be related to a Democrat.
David Collier-Brown
@catclub: If it’s on a phone, it’s probably rated for restricted or confidential. For secret or top secret, you probably need a STU-3 wired phone in a controlled area.
Battle plan are defined as secret. Entire-war plans are Top Secret.
David Collier-Brown
@Glory b: He caucuses with Democrats and ran in a Democratic primary, so I suspect he’s putting together a non-machine, non-somnolent wing of the Democratic party. Just not called that.
Otherwise AOC would have said something about it. Loudly!
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: There are a good number of people on the “left” who are very uncomfortable with power and thrive in opposition. The reasons vary, but the result does not.
Jeffro
Betty, have you ever asked them what their top 2 or 3 “concerns” about trumpov & Co might be?
the Gaetz nomination had to have been be one of them, right?
is the obviousness of Musk essentially pulling trumpov’s strings another?
Jeffro
“also, if anyone gets canned that would reek of accountability...and we don’t want to start a trend here…”
“…besides, my MAGA sheep will just nod their heads and forget about it if I pretend like nothing happened…”
Enhanced Voting Techniques
The Black Shirts would have posters of them formation holding daggers, the MAGA should have them in formation holding plastic sporks.
MAGA; the Pepsi Light of Fascism.
If you are a
* Authoritarian
* Corporatists
* Occasional Nationalist.
* Think birds are spybots created by the government.
Then you are a MAGA
Quiltingfool
As I was getting ready to exit the coffee klatch here, I checked my email and discovered a former quilt customer just purchased FIVE quilts. And requested that I make a custom quilt, too. The customer loves cats. The new quilt will be cat themed. Yay!
Ah, I sense a fabric shopping trip in my future. Well, after I design the quilt…
I’m grabbing for every bit of sunshine I can in these dark days. Quilting is my happy place.
UncleEbeneezer
@eclare: Too many people (even on our side) don’t want boring, competent, effective leadership. We had that with Biden and look how that was rewarded. Dems refused to stand up for him and GOTV for Kamala. Hell, even right here at BJ, despite all the evil and incompetent horrors of Trump’s first term, people seemed incapable of just enjoying boring Dem life. We talk about it wistfully, but when we actually get it, we are no better than the journalists who pine for and try to imagine/manufacture some sort of drama.
Doc Sardonic
@Ella in New Mexico: From the video clip I saw of the incident, had the white cop not intervened, it looked like Taser Boy was about to star in a new movie……..The Ass Kicking Cometh. Also it appeared to me that had there not been a whole bunch people videoing the incident the other police officer that jumped out of the F250 was ready to administer a little frontier beat down.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Dorothy A. Winsor: The Salvadorian prison.
jonas
@Jackie: Good to know that NSA under Trump is one of those “learn as you go” kind of jobs.
My hunch is that where DOGE ends up is collapsing under a massive security breach caused by their own carelessness and idiocy that allows Russia and China to hack into most US government computer systems and the only way to fix it is to shut down and rebuild everything from scratch and the government is effectively paralyzed for six months, triggering massive civil unrest and an economic depression. Hope I’m wrong.
Ohio Mom
@Enhanced Voting Techniques: I have to say, there have been a few times I’ve been embarrassed by things a person I voted for did, or maybe irritated by, but I have never loathed any of them. Then again, I’ve never voted for Trump.
But kudos to your workmates for being able to take in new information that challenges their old decisions and to change their thinking accordingly. A lot of people can never manage that.
Scout211
USA Today
This will not end well. I guess federal spending cuts include BYO toilet paper. Ewww!
UncleEbeneezer
@Omnes Omnibus: Anyone whose identity is built on being a brave “Resister” (whether it’s to the GOP, White Supremacy, The DNC, whatever) loses their power the moment those threats are actually addressed, and a huge part of them becomes irrelevant. It’s not a coincidence that every time we have a chance to deliver a potential death blow to bad things, they instead choose to serve as spoilers. 2016 and 2024 elections are the most glaring examples. We had the opportunity to make the Supreme Court fairly-liberal for a generation in 2016 by electing Hillary and then to prevent Project 2025 (and everything else) by re-electing Biden/Harris. In both cases, the people who scream the loudest about being Anti-(fill in the blank) Resisters sat on their hands, or even worse, put their energy towards spreading BothSides™ bullshit, tearing down our candidates and stoking voter apathy. And now we are all paying the price.
They Call Me Noni
@Flanders Other Neighbor:
I miss when every day wasn’t a five alarm fire.
artem1s
well, you all got your wish. they won’t show up with tazers next time. that woman will become the target of swatters and will be economically destroyed due to being outed by the trolls who have been wishing for J6 violence by Dems.
It will be trucks and cars and guns. then next will be martial law starting with the red states. then the blue states will have completely out of control riots because the MAGAts won’t get arrested anymore for shipping in uHauls full of Nazi’s. then the national guard will be free to gun down anyone they want all over the country. followed by blanket immunity EOs and probably bounties for the number of cucks and granny scalps they turn in.
The Muskrats won’t have to shut down the federal government because the governors will shut it down for them at the state levels and the ‘do something progressives’ will blame the Dems for not beating each other to death with walking sticks on the house and senate floor.
If TX secedes like they been threatening to for years, they will take a minimum of 20 states go with them and they will happily make Soutpiel their president and establish a new Fourth Reich apartheid SW complete with slaves. The Great NW will become the 11th Canadian providence (CA will be split in half and either join the Fourth Reich or Mexico depending on who wins the Battle of Bakersfield (the Split will be roughly north/south of the Golden Gate bridge – I predict the retired grannies in Berkeley will drive all the incels south of the bridge and then firebomb it). Western CO/Colorado Springs will be come the Western Hemispheres Vatican headquarters and rename itself District 13. The independent state of Boulder will hang on until the snow cuts them off and the go Donner Party on themselves.
Bernie will get his fondest wish and become president of NH and Vermont. Maine will end up joining Canada along with a smattering of rust belt, Great lakes states that will split in half roughly along the Ohio Mansfield/Dixon line (old Connecticut Reserve line). The bloodiest wars will be fought in the old western border states of OH, IN, IL, KY, TN. WV will be reabsorbed into VA because coal will be king again. The Atlantic States will join together with the Pentagon to form the Third Continental Congress and New United States (they will elect Richard Starkey as their president because Kevin Costner died in the first wave in the Bakersfield war). The new US will stave off invasions from NC/SC/coastal GA and eventually conquer them and absorb them into their economic partnership. They will form a non-aggression/no nukes pact with the independent state of District 13. They will blockade use of any ports not in their fold and cut off commerce to the rebels in the midwest. Bridges that don’t fall down on their own will be firebombed to cut off invasions from border states. The New Confederacy will be revived in the SE states of rural land locked GA, FL, AL, MS, and land locked part of LA (NOLA and southern parts of the Mississippi River will join the Fourth Reich). Eventually FL will become a wasteland due to repeated hurricane strikes and President in Exile, JD Vance will lose the South. He will be sworn in by SCOTUS CJ Boof after an angry mob of Disney workers invades Ft. Lauderdale. They will carry off the President in Exile and Last King of Scotland off the golf course to an unknown location. There will be rumors he is living in exile in Guyana at the old Jonestown site but the Pentagon and Intelligence community operating in the Old South cite eye witness testimony that the mob dismembered his corpse, like Sejanus, and he is interred in an unmarked outhouse somewhere in the Panhandle. VJ will eventually get summarily court marshaled for high treason and drawn and quartered by the GGGrandson of Colonel John Glenn after he marches into MAL and finishes what William Tecumseh Sherman started 175 years before him. Thus will end the great democratic experiment 250 years to the day that was started on July 4, 1776.
I predict (like fellow Ohioan Sherman before me) that the toll will be a minimum of 4 years of civil strife, economic disaster and 600K lives only three time worse – or 12 years and 1.8M dead at least. Welcome to the second civil war.
Omnes Omnibus
@UncleEbeneezer: I wouldn’t necessarily be as cynical about all of them as you just were. Some people are better at resistance than construction and vice versa. The trick is knowing what you are good at and being willing to step forward when you are needed and step back when the other type is needed.
sentient ai from the future
kinzinger with analysis that is in keeping with what ive been saying this morning
bsky.app/profile/adamkinzinger.bsky.social/post/3ll7dwvtims2n
goldberg may very well have been added, remotely, by a threat actor. its a possibility that cant be ruled out.
if thats the case, he must have been a deliberate choice, and this is intended to test the limits of how much power shitbag has been able to amass. can he ride it out?
Old School
The Atlantic Signal story just shows how great everything is!
eclare
@Glory b:
Goddammit.
Doc Sardonic
@UncleEbeneezer: Not only do they lose their power, but their ability to fundraise(grift) is diminished or completely eliminated. So sitting on their hands and not eliminating the Anti-whatever, continues the grift, example from the other side was abortion. Why did the Republicans not eliminate it each time they were in a position to do so? Reason was that if they did, they lost a main wedge issue, money and they would have to find something else to keep the Evangelicals riled up and donating. Unfortunately, even though Mango Mussolini took abortion out of their equation over time they developed new bullshit issues to continue the grift.
Betty Cracker
@Jeffro: I didn’t question them per se (trying not to be Ranty Liberal Niece, who is easily ignored). The purges at Social Security, VA and national parks came up in conversation. They seem vaguely uneasy about SSA since all of them currently collect checks, and they love the parks and don’t want to see that destroyed or the VA dismantled.
They seem to believe the nonsense about rampant fraud and bloated bureaucracy because Fox News and the Sinclair affiliate confirm their priors.
I think the “out of touch rich people want to steal from you” angle might be the most fruitful with that bunch. I whipped out my phone at one point and played the clip of Trump’s commerce secretary saying only fraudsters would complain if SSA didn’t issue checks for a month. They were properly appalled and had not seen it on Fox or Sinclair, of course.
Old School
From February:
Glory b
@David Collier-Brown: He runs in thr Democratic primary so he won’t have an actual challenger for his seat.
He joins the party, discourages anyone from running against him, then quits the party after he wins.
Seems cynical and calculating to me.
eclare
@Quiltingfool:
Wonderful! Happy fabric shopping!
Jeffro
I can see that.
When folks stop getting SS checks, can’t get VA services, etc – that should make for a golden opportunity for the Dems to wake up the RWNJs. But I keep feeling like we’ll be reaching for a megaphone that isn’t there…
Steve LaBonne
@Betty Cracker: Certainly most of the blame accrues to the propagandists in organizations like Fox and Sinclair, but I’m not terribly impressed with people who make zero attempt to get information from outside the wingnut bubble. They play an active part in hearing only what they want to hear.
Timill
@Glory b:
Wiki suggests that there was no D primary (and no D candidates) but Bernie ran as an I throughout.
They Call Me Noni
@jonas:
Perhaps that was the plan all along? Surely Elon learned something from screwing up Twitter and he does love him some Putin.
Betty Cracker
@Jeffro: Yeah, I know what you mean.
I’ve got hardcore wingnuts in my family who love Trump and also small-c conservative, lifelong Repub relatives who find Trump embarrassing. The latter group might be persuadable on some level now that their entire party has gone barking mad and they’re getting an agenda nobody voted for. The former group is hopeless, and the best I can wish for them politically is that they’ll go back to not bothering to vote.
Geminid
There is news this morning on Bilal Hamdal, the Palestinian filmmaker who was beaten and arrested yesterday. Axios reporter Barak Ravid reposted this from Times of Israel reporter Nurit Yohanom:
Ms. Yohanam is “Palestinian and Arab World correspondent” for the Times of Israel.
Betty Cracker
@Geminid: Good to hear that he is alive, at least.
Professor Bigfoot
@artem1s: Harry? Harry Turtledove, is that you?
Because this sounds like one of Harry’s alternate histories.
EXCEPT THIS IS NOT A NOVEL!
Belafon
@Scout211:
Have you read Snow Crash?
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Betty Cracker:
I know a ton of people like this and we can talk and find craptons of commonality on *issues*. But, the minute you move that up a notch into who to vote for on issues, they stop dead cold.
I see them then do one of two things: 1) vote libertarian as if that was some electoral solution when all it does is make them feel superior and not part of the “two party problem”, which is simply an excuse for not voting (D), 2) don’t vote for Hair Furor but remain firmly entrenched in voting (R) down the rest of the ballot.
It’s amazing how few people I’ve seen convert over the years. One would think we’d have seen more since 2016 but it seems to be at about the same, microscopic level.
eclare
@Betty Cracker:
My 94 yo aunt is a small c conservative, votes Republican. I talked with her this morning, she is appalled, angry, you name it about the Intel meeting over Signal. Her big concern is that it could have caused troop deaths.
Not saying she’ll vote D, she is old and set in her ways. But maybe this disgrace will change some younger Republican minds.
Belafon
@artem1s: You left out the part where aliens invade.
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: Betty, it showed me the picture and the comments, but not the recipe. Any chance you could share it?
I add a bunch of sautéed onions to my mom’s recipe for mac and cheese, and I’m wondering if it will be like that.
Geminid
@Betty Cracker: An updated article about Hamdan Bilal’s areest said thst he and two other neighbors who were arrested with him have been released on bail and are being treated in a Palestinian hospital.
The TOI article gives a fuller account:
timesofisrael.com/palestinians-co-director-of-no-other-land-arrested-after-settlers-reportedly-beat-…
This link does not work but I found the article by looking up “Times of Israel Bilal Hamdal.”
Betty Cracker
@WaterGirl: Sure thing! Here you go:
One-Pot French Onion Pasta
INGREDIENTS:
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
4 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 tsp. chopped thyme
¾ cup dry white wine
1 lb. lumache (snail shells) or other medium shell pasta
1 oz. Parmesan, finely grated (about ½ cup)
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
8 oz. Gruyère, coarsely grated (about 2 cups)
Thinly sliced chives (for serving; optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Step 1
Heat 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large (3½-qt. capacity or more) high-sided ovenproof skillet, rondeau, or other short-sided pot over medium-high heat. Add 4 large yellow onions, thinly sliced, a pinch of kosher salt, and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally and adding 1 Tbsp. water and scraping bottom of the pan if starting to burn, until onions are a deep mahogany color and jammy, 30–35 minutes. Add 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped, and 4 tsp. chopped thyme and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ¾ cup dry white wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by about half, about 3 minutes. Add 5½ cups water and bring to a simmer. Add 1 lb. lumache (snail shells) or other medium shell pasta and cook, stirring often to prevent pasta from sticking to bottom of pan, until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed, a thick sauce has formed, and pasta is al dente, 10–14 minutes.
Step 2
Remove pot from heat and add 1 oz. Parmesan, finely grated (about ½ cup), 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard, 2 tsp. sugar, 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, remaining 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and remaining 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper and stir until cheese is melted.
Step 3
Place a rack in upper third of oven; heat broiler. Scatter 8 oz. Gruyère, coarsely grated (about 2 cups), over pasta and broil until melted and golden brown in spots, 2–5 minutes depending on your broiler.
Step 4
Top with thinly sliced chives if using just before serving.
WaterGirl
@Ocotillo:
I read that as book of feces. Disappointed to realize that wasn’t what you had written!
matt
@Baud: our national security advisor is a young child who needs to learn on the job and not be subject to workplace rules.
it’s like every one of them is the nepo hire at Dad’s company.
WTFGhost
Personally, I’d like to find the guy referenced here:
crooksandliars.com/2025/03/released-prison-donald-jobless-ex-proud
… so I can say “get a job, loser! What’s that? Oh: eff your feelings!! Yes, eff them sideways with a rusty combine harvester (that’s been infected with tetanus because rust doesn’t actually have any effect on tetanus dangers).”
I’d probably get a better effect from these statements if I didn’t speak the parentheticals in my out-loud voice. (Did you know you don’t *have* to, and that’s why they’re in parenthesi…ARG! I’m doing it again!)
Jeffg166
Kind of creepy.
youtube.com/watch?v=I44_zbEwz_w
Professor Bigfoot
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: As it’s been since the passage of VRA65.
UncleEbeneezer
@Omnes Omnibus: Definitely not ALL of them. The good and reasonable ones know when to prioritize electing Dems and will put their energy into making sure people understand that as job #1. But far too many of them simply can’t ever bring themselves to do that and will happily serve as useful idiots in efforts to divide our coalition and elect Republicans in razor-thin margin elections.
Just look at their words, actions and energy in the lead up to elections. The good ones are mad, frightened and screaming to the hilltops about the danger of Fascism/Trump/GOP. The shitty ones just keep whining about Dems.
Kristine
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
They want white supremacy with competence, protection from blowback and unintended consequences, and don’t realize that it doesn’t work that way.
Also, they don’t get that they’re not rich enough to matter.
WaterGirl
@Timill: That is what Bernie did when he ran for President. Joined the D party, ran, left the D party and registered as an independent
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: Wowser!
Wondering why i had that problem and others could apparently see the recipe. Happy to have it, thank you.
The Thin Black Duke
@Kristine: They don’t understand that they’re “white nigg*rs”.
Kristine
@The Thin Black Duke: And they never will, because it would mean facing facts about themselves, their lives, their choices.
Glidwrith
@Soprano2: I understand Dylan Hollis has an onion bread recipe that uses those packets.
WTFGhost
@Baud: Or, possibly, just “The Doctor” in disguise – admit it! You’re anti-TARDIS aren’t you!
@Betty Cracker: My wife might have tried it – I think, from the name, she did – and it came out well. Now, for me, a lover a French onion soup, I yearned for nearby Max and Erma’s, because the recipe wasn’t a too-hot onion soup with beef broth, covered in cheese, with croutons that *almost* stood up to the soup.
No dis to the recipe – it has to be good, or it wouldn’t evoke memories. And, okay, my wife doesn’t want to hear she reminds me of old girlfriends, so, recipes shouldn’t remind me of food I got from other places, so I tried to explain that lots of people went to Max and Ermas, and it wasn’t like cheating, because they paid for it and realized I wasn’t helping my case.
@Professor Bigfoot: I find the same flash of admiration I did watching Mona take down the prosecutor in “My Cousin, Vinny”
@catclub: Remember, during 2016, they were explaining that it didn’t matter that Kushner was trying to hold negotiations in the Russian Embassy, to avoid US monitoring, as long as he revealed everything that was discussed afterward. As if we ever trust anyone in situations like that! I swear, if Russia took over the US next year, any Republican who said “how did the Russians know so much about our defenses?” should be immediately struck forever blind by the flash of the obvious that should occur in the next instant.
But more than half will say “It was Biden’s fault!” nevertheless
@artem1s: Okay… but what did you think of the quality of the video?
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Geminid:
That’s awful, but at least he’s alive
Llelldorin
@David Collier-Brown: Oh, for God’s sake, do we need to go through this again? Those were not war plans.
War plans are a restricted appellation; they’re only war plans if they were written in War Plans, KS.
These were just sparkling OPORD.
(More seriously, I strongly suspect “They weren’t war plans, they’re OPORD” is precisely the “clever” distinction Hegseth thinks he’s making.)
tobie
@Jackie: @Betty Cracker: Avi Scharf is a reporter for Ha’aretz who has a hobby of tracking flights. He notes that Witkoff would have been in the Kremlin (!!) when participating in the Signal chat about bombing Yemen:
I gather Gabbard may have also been abroad.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@satby:
@Baud:
@Betty Cracker:
I hope Anne feels better soon
The Audacity of Krope
So at work today I put on my Spotify so I could vibe to some music while I type, type, type away and my recommendations had lists that included news with my music. It’s been a while so I played them.
I heard actual, real news today. There was a particular NPR show whose title I won’t remember until I’m back at my desk and a show by the Financial Times. Both have been very informative. I wasn’t this impressed with a news program since the car shop had NECN on during my oil change maybe a few years ago.
For comparison, they also had a NY Times derived podcast. It was completely up its own ass, so no real expectations were defied. I’ve been able to block performers before, a feature I’ve only used on Kanye West so far, but I couldn’t block the Times. I wonder what they paid to be block-proof.
So I settled in giving them one star.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@The Audacity of Krope:
My man 👊
The Audacity of Krope
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): 👊
The Audacity of Krope
I can totally understand any disrespect for Gabbard, personally, but that’s no way to refer to a woman.
WTFGhost
@lowtechcyclist: Ah, memories of working in a Microsoft “vendor cave” :-). They put – I can’t remember if it was three, or four – of us into a very small room. In fact, on the door, (I swear, I wouldn’t make this up!) you could see where “SUPPLIES” had been sanded off.
@Princess: Thank you! I knew there was a difference, but I didn’t know the names. Mexican chorizo is good, but I’d heard of “chorizo” being sliced – you can’t do that to the Mexican.
@sentient ai from the future: Why don’t actual journalists talk to people like you? I’d love to see good news reporting on such ludicrously simple tech issues.
No One You Know
I’m just going to park this here.
mobilize.us/indivisible/event/762809/
CliosFanboy
@catclub:
any communications software that’s commercially avaliable to the public should be assumed to have been cracked by every capable intel service in the world.
CliosFanboy
@Professor Bigfoot:
Turtledove writes move believable fiction.
CliosFanboy
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
feel better soon Annie!
Professor Bigfoot
@CliosFanboy: Even in an LA of the 1950s populated by sorcerers, werewolves, vampires, and one chain-smoking, hard-drinking, hard-boiled private eye.
(Which I am enjoying the heck out of right now, by the way. ;) )
TEL
@AM in NC: I agree with you. The repubs in my acquaintance that didn’t vote for Trump all said it was because of national security reasons. A lot of republicans hate Russia, and Trump hasn’t been able to change that.
Glory b
@Timill: Not recently. It’s a waste of time & money, his control of VT politics is tight.
Miss Bianca
@Baud: I wonder the same thing. Part of why I am viewing the whole “resistance! Fuck yeah!” energy with a bit of a jaundiced eye. Can’t help thinking, “maybe if more of you fuckers had actually just, you know, VOTED FOR THE DEMOCRATS we wouldn’t be where we are now.”
way2blue
Made my day!