Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When I was faster i was always behind.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

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

One way or another, he’s a liar.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

We will not go back.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

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

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

I really should read my own blog.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

You cannot love your country only when you win.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

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    105Comments

    1. 1.

      schrodingers_cat

      Happy Birthday to my birth state of Maharashtra. Formed in 1960 with Mumbai as its capital.

      Literal translation of Maharashtra == Great Nation

      Both Gujarat and Maharashtra claimed Mumbai. Maharashtra and Gujarat made up the Bombay Presidency. It was a bloody and long struggle to get statehood for Maharashtra along with Mumbai as its capital.

      Reply
    3. 3.

      Rusty

      It’s a weird week. Tuesday, I found out my former pastor and her family were visited that morning by 4 plain clothes members of Homeland Security.  They came to speak to her husband about some online posts.  I know him and I see his FB posts, so I have a good sense of what he writes.  It’s thoughtful, progressive and opposed to Trump, but never threatening.  He told the agents he asserted his 5th amendment rights and they left.  It freaked out their elementary aged kids.  4 agents, at 8 in the morning when they were getting the kids ready was intended to intimidate them.  They got a lawyer and even contacted their congressman.   The lawyer thinks they are unlikely to return, but it is so crazy.  These are people I know well (a minister and a librarian, hardly threatening), US citizens, but still subject to harassment.   It all feels crazy.

      Reply
    4. 4.

      Old Dan and Little Ann

      There is railroad bridge near our house that I’ve been passing under for as far as I can remember. When I was 5 I could read the painted white graffiti, “NO DRAFT” with a peace sign next to it. This was @1980.  It’s still there but badly worn and faded. Whelp, I just drove under it earlier today and on the opposite side, in big, bright white letters, NO KINGS.   It made my day.

      Reply
    8. 8.

      Omnes Omnibus

      My dad’s younger/only sister passed away yesterday.  She was 78.  She had been dealing with Lewy Body Dementia and Parkinson’s for several year.  When I was a small child, she was the coolest aunt on earth.  She and her boyfriend took me to all night drive-in showings of Woody Allen movies and to see the original Dirty Harry in the theater.  That was the summer I turned eight.  While that explains a lot about me, I will miss her.  My dad didn’t say much, but I am sure that losing a younger sibling is a wrench.

      Reply
    12. 12.

      Spanky

      @prostratedragon:

      Yeah,  I’ve been out of the loop all day and just caught the AP article.

      WASHINGTON — Detailed Army plans for a potential military parade on President Donald Trump’s birthday in June call for more than 6,600 soldiers, at least 150 vehicles, 50 helicopters, seven bands and possibly a couple thousand civilians, The Associated Press has learned.

      The planning documents, obtained by the AP, are dated April 29 and 30 and have not been publicly released. They represent the Army’s most recent blueprint for its long-planned 250th birthday festival on the National Mall and the newly added element — a large military parade that Trump has long wanted but is still being discussed.

      While the slides do not include any price estimates, it would likely cost tens of millions of dollars to put on a parade of that size. Costs would include the movement of military vehicles, equipment, aircraft and troops from across the country to Washington and the need to feed and house thousands of service members.

      Such a fanboi of Li’l Kim.

      Reply
    15. 15.

      Spanky

      @prostratedragon: Optimism in the early 70s? I graduated high school in ’72 with the likelyhood of being drafted and sent to Nam. College and a draft number in the 180s saved me.

      The war and the recent memory of the summer of ’68 (eta and Kent State)  took the optimism out of most of us.

      Reply
    25. 25.

      prostratedragon

      @Spanky:  College class of ’73. Said with considerable irony, and the realization that if true, then we’re in deep stew now.

      Reply
    29. 29.

      Marc

      @Spanky: Optimism in the early 70s? I graduated high school in ’72 with the likelyhood of being drafted and sent to Nam. College and a draft number in the 180s saved me.

      I graduated high school in ’72, too, but I paid attention to the draft lottery rules and noticed they stopped calling guys up after the ’52 birth year, so in truth I missed getting drafted by two years.

      Reply
    30. 30.

      brendancalling

      @Steve in the ATL: they did that one. When they introduced “Jocko Homo,” they asked the audience if we believe in de-evolution, and added “it’s kind of hard not to these days.”

      Reply
    34. 34.

      Albatrossity

      @prostratedragon: I graduated from college in 1972, with a draft lottery number that was high enough that I was not drafted, but low enough that it was certainly possible that my (rural) draft board would get to it. After that presidential election (Nixon reelected with 60% of the vote), optimism was in short supply. But the Watergate hearings and subsequent purging of that odious pustule from the White House did start to give me some hope.

      I don’t think we can get there anytime soon because that purge required Republican senators and congresscritters to put country over party. And they did. I see no way that such a thing will happen with the current GOP. A party full of lunatics, and a full-time lunatic propaganda machine disguised as a news network, are the two biggest differences between then and now.

      And that does not make me think about optimism anytime soon. I’d love to be wrong about that, for sure.

      Reply
    37. 37.

      The Audacity of Krope

      @Spanky: They represent the Army’s most recent blueprint for its long-planned 250th birthday festival on the National Mall

      Hmm, I was under the impression that the federal government didn’t maintain a standing army until the early 20th century.

      Reply
    42. 42.

      The Audacity of Krope

      @The Audacity of Krope: Weird, I edited but it seems not to have worked then locked me out.

      Turns out it simply wasn’t a large  standing army. It was dramatically reduced in size during any peacetime.

      Reply
    45. 45.

      Jay

      @The Audacity of Krope:

      The Continental Army was created on 14 June 1775 by the Second Continental Congress[26] as a unified army for the colonies to fight Great Britain, with George Washington appointed as its commander.[4][27][28][29] The army was initially led by men who had served in the British Army or colonial militias and who brought much of British military heritage with them. As the Revolutionary War progressed, French aid, resources, and military thinking helped shape the new army. A number of European soldiers came on their own to help, such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, who taught Prussian Army tactics and organizational skills.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army

      Reply
    48. 48.

      Old Dan and Little Ann

      @WaterGirl: The best part is I was taking my daughter to dance and she wanted to to know what it meant.  Since we discuss politics frequently and she recently finished her SS unit on The Revolutionary War, it made perfect sense to her.  I’m going to point it out to her every single time we go under that bridge!

      Reply
    49. 49.

      Jackie

      @eclare:

      @Rusty:

      Holy shit!

      This is in the back of my mind every day. FFOTUS would round us all up given the chance.

      It’s today’s reality. But I’m not shutting up.

      Reply
    55. 55.

      Mr. Bemused Senior

      @Omnes Omnibus: @eclare:

      Theo Waitley, upon meeting Kareen yos’Phelium for the first time:

      Theo flexed her fingers, and considered the lady in the chair.

      She simultaneously resembled Father and looked nothing like him—which must be—what had Pat Rin called it? The clan face. At the moment, it was wearing an expression that Theo recognized: politely wondering how long it was going to be before she did something intelligent.

      “On Delgado,” she said, in her laborious Liaden, “there is not so much bowing. An aunt, however; an aunt is a treasure. My mother is without sisters, and to find now that I have an aunt from my father . . . the discovery deprives me of my manners.”

      My condolences and best wishes.

      Reply
    56. 56.

      HopefullyNotcassandra

      @Omnes Omnibus: I am sorry for your loss.  If your father is up for it and a talker, give him a call or visit and let him reminisce for as long as he wants.  I have so many questions and I failed to ask them when the people who could answer them were still here.

      Reply
    59. 59.

      HopefullyNotcassandra

      @Spanky: don’t forget our roads are not graded for tanks.  Ergo, cost estimates must include the complete rebuild of the resulting rutted roadway

      Reply
    61. 61.

      prostratedragon

      @Rusty and all:
      Homeland Security* advisor Ripper:

      Children will be taught to love America. Children will be taught to be patriots. Children will be taught civic values for schools that want federal taxpayer funding … we’re gonna make sure these funds are not being used to promote communist ideology.

      ____
      * Like many here, I suspected we were in deep trouble when I heard that name.

      Reply
    64. 64.

      Old School

      Jill Sobule, the groundbreaking singer-songwriter and activist whose 1995 song “I Kissed a Girl” is widely considered the first openly gay-themed song to crack the Billboard Top 20, died in a Minneapolis house fire early Thursday morning, her rep confirmed. She was 66.

      Reply
    65. 65.

      Sure Lurkalot

      @Omnes Omnibus: Your aunt was wonderful! I had an uncle like her…took me to see From Russia With Love and Dr. No when I was about 8. He had one heart attack, fatal, at 50. I was devastated.

      My sincere sympathies to you and your family and all who loved your dear aunt.

      Reply
    67. 67.

      RevRick

      In the weep for your country category, I just finished watching clips of Harry Enten revealing the details of the latest CNN poll.

      In a hypothetical replay of the 2024 election, Trump beats Harris 45-43

      In who offers better solutions on immigration and the economy, Congressional Republicans have a +19% advantage over Democrats on immigration, and a +9% advantage on the economy.

      Let’s pray that Trump hangs on to his tariffs long enough to drive our economy into a Depression.

      Reply
    70. 70.

      Matt McIrvin

      @brendancalling: Bringing the whole thread together: Mothersbaugh, Casale and Lewis were all students at Kent State when the shootings happened, and cite the horror of it as one of the things that produced Devo. They had a reputation for being this sort of puzzling novelty act but I think that in the early years, at least, they were one of the angriest bands in the world.

      Reply
    72. 72.

      jonas

      @prostratedragon: I always think X thing he did to shit on vets *this time* will be the last straw and they’ll finally realize they’ve been had. But no, it seems a hearty majority of active service and military vets are still willing to line up to let Trump knee them in the groin…yet again.

      Reply
    73. 73.

      Steve Crickmore

      @prostratedragon: Fifty-five years ago today, May 1, 1970 I was at the Black Panther/ anti-war May day rally on the New Haven Green, along with half of Yale’s campus. Hillary Rodham, a law school student helped release several student protestors from jail, arrested by the National Guard who entered the campus courtyards to arrest protesting sitdown students. Yes, there was definitely something different in the air. It was my first experience with tear gas. I assume it was Bill’s and Hillary’s, too.

      Reply
    77. 77.

      prostratedragon

      Not a gangster:

      Irish born Santa Cruz permanent resident (green card) holder Cliona Ward, 54,
      was held at SFO customs on returning with her stepfather from abroad. She had several drug possession charges expunged by the state from 20 years ago, but Customs detained her anyway.

      https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/family-speaks-out-santa-cruz-woman-green-card-holder-detained-sfo/3850763/

      She’s been clean since those long-ago days, and is now main caregiver to a son who has an illness.

      From the comments:

      IRONY: I have a nephew who’s excited about all the deportations of “illegal aliens,” meanwhile he served time for attempted murder after pushing someone over a freeway overpass after a fender bender, & more recently he was charged with domestic violence. He’s an idiot.

      https://bsky.app/profile/sallydeal4.bsky.social/post/3lo42agvncs2h

      Reply
    80. 80.

      HopefullyNotcassandra

      I grew up with the Woody Guthrie version.  This one rocks.
      All these fascists are bound to lose!

      Reply
    81. 81.

      Jackie

      YAY Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson!!!

      “Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson forcefully condemned attacks by President Donald Trump and his allies on judges who have blocked Trump administration policies, warning Thursday that the increasingly hostile rhetoric poses a dire threat to the country’s political fabric,” Politico reports.

      Said Jackson: “The attacks are not random. They seem designed to intimidate those of us who serve in this critical capacity. The threats and harassment are attacks on our democracy, on our system of government. And they ultimately risk undermining our Constitution and the rule of law.”

      She speaks TRUTH

      Reply
    84. 84.

      Miss Bianca

      @Omnes Omnibus: Oh, man, I am so sorry to hear this. My condolences. Sounds like she was a really great person.

      I have lost two of my older siblings, and my younger brother (he’s the youngest) is in a nursing home as a result of a massive stroke last year, and he’s had seizures that have put him in the hospital since, so I can attest…it’s hard enough to lose older siblings, but even the *thought* of losing my younger sibling has been a proper freak out.

      So yeah…I’m betting your dad is going through some stuff.

      Reply
    85. 85.

      Jackie

      Food for thought:

      Liz Oyer, the Justice Department’s recently fired pardon attorney, made a staggering claim on social media this week: President Donald Trump’s pardons of people convicted of white-collar crimes have cost Americans $1 billion,” the Washington Post reports.

      “She arrived at the number by adding up all the money that people who were pardoned allegedly owed in restitution, based on how much they were convicted of stealing.”

      I don’t know if her numbers are 100% accurate, but her point is the FFOTUS administration is saving the US money, exactly HOW?

      Reply
    86. 86.

      Sister Golden Bear

      @prostratedragon: So he’s is pissing off a cohort of people with weapons training, a number of whom have real-life experience using them, and either have guns or can get them, some of whom have anger issues and/or PSTD.

      It’s a bold move Trumpie, let’s see if it pays off.

      Reply
    90. 90.

      frosty

      @Omnes Omnibus: My condolences on the loss of your cool aunt. You’re right about it being hard on your father. Ms F lost both her older and younger siblings within the same year or so and she grieved for four years.

      Reply
    91. 91.

      frosty

      @Albatrossity: ​ My lottery number was 34 and I was a year behind you so I got lucky when the draft ended during my senior year.

      @prostratedragon: I don’t recall any optimism in the early 70s. Nixon’s resignation was about it. But the Moratorium, Kent State, the lingering effects of ’68 (Chicago, Paris, Prague, RFK, MLK). Nope. Not optimistic.

      Reply
    92. 92.

      Matt McIrvin

      @RevRick: A replay of the 2024 election is not actually an indication of anything that will happen, since Harris is never going to run again and Trump running again would be a constitutional crisis in itself. And whenever you ask about generic Democrats and Republicans instead of specific people, you invite people to project all kinds of lazy generalizations.

      I honestly don’t care much at this point whether growing dissatisfaction with Trump translates to approval for current Democrats: usually, when there’s a real political sea change it has to do with new figures coming on the national scene, and I don’t think we’ve really met the next leaders of the anti-fascist opposition. We won’t for a while.

      Reply
    94. 94.

      smike

      @eclare: In baseball terms, I’m goin’ down swingin’.

      Even though I am somewhat of a baseball fan (pros, Astros), I’ve always associated that phrase with boxing (of which I am not a fan).

      Reply
    95. 95.

      Ruckus

      @Omnes Omnibus:

      Sorry about your loss.

      This getting old stuff does get old – no pun intended. My dad lived a bit longer – but had Alzheimer’s. Couldn’t form words his last 5 years. The five years prior to the last 5 he couldn’t always form the sentences he wanted. I’m not much younger than your aunt and seeing the world a bit differently now than for many decades. And I’m the only one left in my family of 5 and I’m the oldest in the extended family, and I was the youngest in mine.  Oldest sister passed in the hospital, cancer, I was the last one to talk to her, said she had to sleep and the doctor told us she passed about a minute or two after she told me she wanted to sleep and I walked out. Life is what you get, had a cousin that made 6 months, mom lived to 94 and 364 days.

      My point is that life has a beginning a middle and an end. And it can be wildly different for everyone. And it often doesn’t matter if you are good, indifferent or pure crap. You get the life you get. I’ve been hit by a pickup truck literally head on. Fortunately wearing a motorcycle helmet and we were both going slowly and this was after a coyote ran out in front of me and took out my front wheel. The coyote was fine…. picked up the motorcycle and rode up the street to home.

      We often don’t get the life we wanted (or thought we wanted!) but we get the one we get. Make the best of it while you can, even if we get more – this is the one you’ve got. The best life is one you live and do your best not to be an ass or hurt others.

      Once again sorry about your family loss.

      Reply
    97. 97.

      Ruckus

      @Spanky:

      Graduated in 67, took my draft physical in 68, my lottery number was in the 90s, joined the USN in 69 because I couldn’t take one more day of coming home dreading to see that envelope. Good times.

      Reply
    98. 98.

      Ruckus

      @prostratedragon:

      We can’t.

      But what can you do to change it? We have power in numbers but not nearly the power that is sometimes needed. Like now. Our power in this country is mostly in elections. Can we do more? Contact your reps and senators. Our power is in elections and in our reps and senators. We can march, we can show the power of the numbers, we can show our reps and senators that we mean business but the current White House occupant is ………… (insert your remarks here)

      Reply
    99. 99.

      Ruckus

      @Albatrossity:

      It won’t be huge but there is a segment of the conservative side of the legislature that is seemingly getting less and less desirable of what shitforbrains is doing. And some of them are doing so in public. They want conservatism but some of them also want a government that actually works. If you’ve got one of those, the ones in the government that believes in the government working for ALL the citizens, and often, even if they don’t see eye to eye with the left side of the aisle, they will take notice and see the horror of what the far right – in this case, the shitforbrains supporting segment wants and disagree with that. It’s happened before, it can happen again.

      Reply
    101. 101.

      sab

      @Ruckus: My dad joined the Navy in 1942 because he figured that if they had to build a ship at least they would have time to train the crew ( including him.) Instead they sent him to college and med school.

      ETA The Army tried to do the same thing, but gave up and instead pulled all their young barely trained medical officers out of school and sent them (barely trained) as officers into the Battle of the Bulge. Very few survived.

      Reply
    104. 104.

      brantl

      @frosty: Those were tough years (I was going to school with a gleefull Nixon-supporting Nazi, though I got the last laugh with Nixon leaving in disgrace.).

      Reply

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