Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

No one could have predicted…

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

75% of people clapping liked the show!

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Bark louder, little dog.

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

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

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75Comments

  5. 5.

    Jackie

    Torture chambers next?

    “National security agencies across the Trump administration are ramping up investigations into alleged leaks to the news media, in some cases using polygraph tests that current and former officials say are creating a climate of fear and intimidation,” the Washington Post reports.

    Said one official: “It’s a toxic environment. First you’ve got the insecurity of not knowing whether you’re going to get fired or not. Then there’s the witch hunt to find the whistleblowers who are exposing the ineptitude and bad management of agencies. They’re trying to silence those who do not follow the party line.”

  9. 9.

    hitchhiker

    Just want to say thanks for everything, water girl. We’ve had such a bloody row to hoe, and it’s good to know this space is being kept.

    Especially glad for Betty’s Canada thread earlier — so refreshing to hear Canadian jackals discuss their politics. They must get mighty sick of us.

  17. 17.

    Jay

    @Fair Economist:

    These are Riding counts of the votes being tallied. Early voting always swings Cons. Not a single riding yet has declared a winner, they are just reporting the votes as they are counted.

  18. 18.

    Citizen Dave

    @Jackie: I remember reading once about Canada’s use of paper ballots, yet the results are known the night of…

    Here’s a real source, the Toronto Star: Special ballots are “counted in waves,” or entered into the aggregation and reporting system in batches on election night and in the days following if necessary.

    Also:

    Once your vote is cast, how is it counted?

    Canada still uses paper ballots and all ballots are counted by two election workers in front of witnesses, usually the candidates or their representatives, according to information provided by Elections Canada.

    https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal-elections/canada-election-2025-once-your-vote-is-cast-how-is-it-counted/article_8c7eb2e4-cb0c-4066-9599-92537a34fca8.htm

    I’m sure others know much more than me–I’m just a lowly googleholic.

  19. 19.

    RevRick

    Just listened to some video clips of a speech by Gov. J. B. Pritzker that were linked by Heather Digby on her website. They were part of a post crying out “It’s Time to Stop the Circular Firing Squad.”

    Smart Democrats, she suggests, would go to the Port of Los Angeles, point to all the empty containers and say, “Trump did this!”

  20. 20.

    New Deal democrat

    Just read the summary of the EU’s counter proposal to Russia for a ceasefire and negotiations to end the Ukraine war.

    The only thing I would change is “The guarantor states will be European and willing non-European countries. No restrictions on the presence, weapons, and operations of friendly foreign forces on the territory of Ukraine.”

    I would let Russia know those guarantor troops are being sent to Ukraine by a specific date, whether Russia agrees to the peace terms or not.

  21. 21.

    frosty

    Because a commenter in the last thread liked the photo WG used today, here’s the backstory.

    I wish it was mine, but no. The photo is on the way back from Channel Islands National Park when the ferry pilot moved so we could see a pair of bald eagles. This is the point when one eagle snatched a gull out of the water then took it to the nearby cliff for dinner. I watched it through binoculars. My friend next to me watched it through his camera. This was the best of a couple hundred shots.

  25. 25.

    WaterGirl

    @David Collier-Brown:  Is there a good Cliff Notes version of how this works in Canada?  Actually, a Cliff Notes version of the Cliff Notes would be good. :-)

    edit: maybe the kindergarten-level explanation of the Cliff Notes of the Cliff Notes…

  27. 27.

    Fair Economist

    @Eolirin:

    If the EU were willing to commit troops, I think this would be over already.

    Indeed. IMO if any substantial EU country (or the UK) sent troops Putin would immediately call for a ceasefire.

  28. 28.

    Eolirin

    @WaterGirl: Oh this happens a lot nowadays. Things don’t currently feel “real” and my connection to my body is really floaty. I do a lot of meditation/qigong type stuff, so when I’m not like this I have a really concrete sense of my body. Memory and attention are also impacted.

    It’s just stress and high baseline anxiety. I’ll be okay. Just snuck up on me.

    ETA: As an analogy I’m sure most people have the experience of driving somewhere and getting there and realizing they didn’t quite process the trip, so they don’t really remember the drive? It’s kinda like that but for everything.

  29. 29.

    WaterGirl

    @frosty: I didn’t mean to lie! :-)    I just thought the photo was gorgeous when it came in with your OTR post, and I don’t read the posts as they come in so I can enjoy them when they go up. ;-)

    Do I need to change the credit?

    “Image by frosty’s friend Bob, but frosty was there”

  30. 30.

    Martin

    @Citizen Dave: Canada has a very nice system because the counts are done locally, and at a time when nobody knows the larger picture, so nobody knows where votes would be needed to swing a race, or how many votes. That’s why Florida 2000 went so badly because we did know those things and so all the energy in the universe got focused on a handful of locations to engineer the needed outcome.

    The US needs to learn that lesson – that partial reporting while counts are still happening is where the problems come from because it reveals where the opportunities are and allows legal and narrative focus on just those places.

  31. 31.

    Jay

    @WaterGirl:

    Riding by riding, across Canada, the polls close at 7pm, local time.

    Now a days, your paper ballot is scanned after you have filled it out.

    That allows for a “quick” estimate of the trends and counts, they start getting released after the poll has closed.

    After the polls have closed, the hand counting starts, which are the “official” results.

  32. 32.

    RevRick

    @Jay: Only in the Atlantic Provinces. They close in the rest of the country at 9:30, except British Columbia, which closes at 10.

  34. 34.

    Jay

    @WaterGirl:

    Oh, btw, we don’t vote for the PM, we vote for the MP in our riding, which ever party has the most MP’s elected, gets to try to form the Government, (coalition)  unless they have a majority.

  35. 35.

    WaterGirl

    @Eolirin: Well, that doesn’t sound like fun.  I really appreciate you saying more about that.  I want to make it better for you somehow.  If you think of a way, please send me an email.

  38. 38.

    Jay

    @WaterGirl:

    Yup, except Elections Canada shapes them, (a neutral 3rd party) based on population, not a Political Party or “bipartisan” Committee.

  39. 39.

    Eolirin

    @WaterGirl: Honestly WG, the concern is about as much as anyone can do right now, and I really do appreciate it. Thank you.

    I have consistent access to treatment and services, as long as medicaid sticks around anyway.

    A lot of this is learning to come to terms with and find acceptance and meaning in the unpleasantness. I do an okay job most of the time.

    And I’m really grateful that I’ve been able to share some of the things I’ve learned from having to go through these things in a way that seems to have been valuable to people. It makes a lot of the suffering feel worth it.

  40. 40.

    Fair Economist

    @WaterGirl: Ridings are more like Congressional districts. Much smaller, though; slightly fewer elected for 1/10th the population.

  46. 46.

    MagdaInBlack

    Since it’s an open thread, I have a question: Is anyone else reading (or trying to read) “Careless People” the new FB expose ?

    I am really struggling with the writing style. I feel like I’m reading a 10th grade what I did on my summer vacation essay.  I’m bored and this should not be boring.

    I’m kinda glad I used digital credits for the e-book, because I’d be pissed if I had spent money on it

    eta: I’m gonna have to re-calibrate my brain with some Tom Levenson writing.

  49. 49.

    WaterGirl

    @Eolirin: Doing an okay job at that most of the time is more than most of us could do, I’ll bet.

    I really appreciate your presence here.

  51. 51.

    frosty

    @WaterGirl: No need to change the credit since it was from my OTR. But if you want to it was my friend John.

    It was a pretty amazing experience. The gulls in the water were calling out and were clearly disturbed. Then the eagle in the picture goes down and grabs one.

    I wanted to get a picture but I knew I wouldn’t have time to drop the binocs, pick up the camera, turn it on, hit autofocus, and click the shutter. John took care of all that on burst mode. He ends up with a LOT of pictures!

  52. 52.

    Chetan Murthy

    @WaterGirl: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_district_(Canada)#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20the%20four%20federal,the%20entire%20population%20of%20Prince

    The unequal size of electoral districts across Canada has sometimes given rise to discussion of whether all Canadians enjoy equal democratic representation by population.[15] For example, the four federal electoral districts in Prince Edward Island have an average size of just 33,963 voters each, while federal electoral districts in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia have an average size of over 125,000 voters each—only slightly smaller, in fact, than the entire population of Prince Edward Island.

    By contrast: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_congressional_districts#Extremes

    • Average population: 761,169 people based on 2020 U.S. census.[1] It was 708,377 in 2010.
    • State with the most people in the average district: Delaware (989,948).[1] In 2010, Montana: 994,416.
    • State with the fewest people in the average district: Montana (542,113).[1] In 2010, Rhode Island: 527,624.
    • District with the most people: Delaware at-large (989,948).[1] In 2010, Montana at-large: 994,416.
    • District with the fewest people: Rhode Island’s 1st (545,085).[4] In 2010, also Rhode Island’s 1st: 526,283.
  53. 53.

    Chetan Murthy

    @WaterGirl: oops, looks like my reply got thrown in moderation.  I found some links with stats for CA ridings and some more for US cong districts.  For comparison.

  54. 54.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Jay: Thank you, because I’m not going to make it thru this “book.”  It’s tedious.

    And I’m a History major. You know we read boring stuff ;-)

  55. 55.

    Eolirin

    @Jay: There’s a reason Meta pays something like twice the industry standard to attract and retain talent. And they still have a lot of talented engineers refuse to consider them.

  56. 56.

    Jay

    @RevRick:

    My poll in Coquitlam/Port Moody closes at 7pm PST, 10 pm your time, 11:30 in Newfoundland.

    According to Elections Canada.

  57. 57.

    David Collier-Brown

    @Jackie: Yes, but not until most of the polls close. British Columbia polls close at midnight EDT, so it could take that long.
    It’s usually decided by the time Ontario and Quebec report, after 9 PM EDT. That’s where the majority of the voters live. I’m expecting a land-rush of results right about now

  63. 63.

    RevRick

    @Jay: I was giving the times by EDT. So, well starting hearing from the whole country pretty quickly. It looks like the Liberals are taking the absolute majority of the votes.

  65. 65.

    David Collier-Brown

    @WaterGirl: Sure.

    We vote by timezones, closing at 9 PM.
    We count the ballots by hand, with two people counting and each party allowed to have scrutineers watch from a few feet away (I scruted, once)
    The majority of the population is in Ontario and Quebec
    As of 9:30 EST, we have many results in from the Atlantic time zone, and the Ontario/Quebec results are being counted
    We elect 343 Members of Parliament, where a majority is 172
    Sometimes it takes two parties together to get 172, which we call “a minority government”
    The head of the majority party becomes Prime Minister
    Each party elects their own head

    Within my lifetime, we passed our own constitution, so the courts can act as a check and balance to some degree. The far right hates this, and wants to override the constitution… which is just possible, but the party that does so is looking for a defeat, for “moral turpitude”.

    The parties are, from left to right

    NDP (roughly aligned with Bernie)
    Liberals (leftist Democrats)
    A hole where the Progressive Conservatives used to be (no-longer-existent Republicans)
    Conservatives (the Tea Party, pretending to be Republicans)
    The People’s Party (far right), where the Reform party used to be, before Reform (Tea Party) took over the Conservatives
    The Bloc Quebecois, who are centrist folks who are Quebec patriots and boosters.
    The Green party, who are green

    We have elections roughly every 4 years, unless the government of the day pisses enough MPs off that they vote “no confidence”, and an election is forced early.

    As I speak, the numbers from riding which have reported is

    NDP 1
    Liberals 72
    Conservatives 44
    PPC 0
    BQ 12
    Green 0

  66. 66.

    Jay

    @David Collier-Brown:

    • The head of the majority party becomes Prime Minister

    If they win their seat in their riding, looking at you Pierre,

    If they don’t win their seat, the usual practice is that an MP in a safe riding, gives up their seat, and the “Leader of the Party’, runs in a byelection.

  67. 67.

    RevRick

    @WaterGirl: Election is by first-past-the-post in each riding, which is a seat in Parliament. So, whoever gets the most votes, even if it divides 33.4, 33.3, 33.3, wins

  74. 74.

    Divadias

    I was sitting in the city Aquarium, when the lights went out in Spain. Luckily in Basque country, the electricity was quickly restored. However, banking, credit cards and internet remains dicey this morning.

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