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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Excellent Links / Open Thread: Lemonade

Open Thread: Lemonade

by | 127 Comments

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Trump Approval – White Americans:
February 7, 2025:
🟢 Approve: 61%
🔴 Disapprove: 39%
July 18, 2025:
🔴 Disapprove: 50%
🟢 Approve: 50%
– YouGov –

— Polling USA (@usapolling.bsky.social) July 22, 2025 at 10:51 AM


===

The GOP slipping into negatives in white approval is very very bad for them when it happens.

— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) July 22, 2025 at 11:08 AM

I read a science article recently saying that lemonade can be particularly rehydrating because its acid content encourages salivation. When it comes to stressful politics, sometimes mockery is the best refresher. Tom Nichols, at the Atlantic, on “Presidential Pettiness” [gift link]:

… From his first day as a candidate, Trump has appeared animated by anger, fear, and, most of all, pettiness, a small-minded vengefulness that takes the place of actual policy making. It taints the air in the executive branch like a forgotten bag of trash in a warm house on a summer day—even when you can’t see it, you know it’s there…

Trump’s second term has been a cavalcade of pettiness; his lieutenants have internalized the president’s culture of purges, retribution, and loyalty checks. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s insistence, for example, on renaming U.S. military bases after Confederate leaders has led to clumsy explanations about how the bases are now named for men who had names that are exactly like the 19th-century traitors’. This kind of explanation is the sort of thing that high-school teachers get from teenage smart alecks who think they’re being clever in class.

My colleague Shane Harris recently reported an appalling story about how former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper sponsored a rescue dog to become a working animal at the CIA. He named the dog Susan, after his late wife, an animal lover who volunteered at a local shelter. Clapper was looking forward to attending Susan’s graduation ceremony at a CIA facility—but the agency, taking what it believed to be Trump’s lead, barred him from even setting foot on CIA property. (Trump despises Clapper, and blames him for what Trump calls “the Russia hoax,” among other slights against the president.) As Shane wrote: “The upshot is that an octogenarian Air Force retiree who spent half a century in his nation’s service was not allowed to attend a party for a dog he essentially donated to the government and named after his dead wife.”…

Now Trump’s attention seems to be on strong-arming the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians football and baseball teams into reclaiming their old names, the Redskins and the Indians. It’s possible that Trump is responding to some hidden groundswell of nostalgia. He’s also not the first president to get fired up about Washington’s home team: Obama was clearly interested in getting rid of the Redskins name, and undoing anything Obama did is something of a Trumpian rule.

More likely, however, Trump is focusing on this small issue in the hopes of picking a racist scab that will occupy the attention of his base—because much of that base right now is deeply angry about a supposed cover-up relating to Trump’s former friend and the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.

Yet again, when trying to throw red meat to the faithful, Trump picked something small and silly. Trump rules by appeals to grievances—rather than focusing on substantive national problems—because at least some of the MAGA movement revels in that kind of cruelty. This culture-warring behavior helped get him elected, and Trump’s voters have been willing to join him on these capricious roller-coaster rides for the first six months of his second term. But roller coasters don’t have actual destinations, and sooner or later, even the most dedicated riders will want to get off.

As a sidebar, more good news for Team Sane:

he'd be big mad about this but he's kinda busy atm having a meltdown about epstein.
he'll get back with u later.

[image or embed]

— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) July 22, 2025 at 2:30 PM

Reader Interactions

127Comments

  2. 2.

    JiveTurkin

    Apparently Speaker Johnson’s strain of Christianity is the one where Jesus specifically preaches that it is okay to protect wealthy, powerful men who like to fuck underage girls.  It’s too bad they can’t run ads reminding voters of that.

  3. 3.

    dmsilev

    I find it hilarious that the best that Johnson and the House GOP can do right now is to scurry for cover and shut down for a summer vacation. Must be nice to be able to take off 8 weeks to hide underneath a bunch of rocks.

  4. 4.

    Captain C

    @JiveTurkin: I will maintain until conclusively proven otherwise that Squeaker Johnson and his son have those “anti-porn accountability” apps on their phones so they can tell each other about the really good (read: extremely depraved) stuff they find online, without alerting Mrs. Squeaker Johnson.

  5. 5.

    Kirk

    @dmsilev: 5 – they’re due back on September 2.

    But yeah. (Even if it is supposed to be working in their districts, staying in touch with their constituents, being … I’m sorry, I can’t keep a straight face here.)

  7. 7.

    Steve LaBonne

    I will believe that Republicans will stop getting a majority of the white vote when it happens, and not a millisecond before. White supremacy is just too powerful a drug.

  9. 9.

    JiveTurkin

    Ozzy Osbourne, RIP.  Playing “Crazy Train” right, now.  Ozzy was the epitome of the heavy metallers.

  12. 12.

    Steve LaBonne

    @Formerly disgruntled in Oregon: Until now I was bored by this stuff because I didn’t think Trump could be any more depraved than we already knew he was. But the way he’s panicking, I’m starting to REALLY want to know what could possibly be in those files to make him so terrified.

  13. 13.

    Deputinize America

    @Steve LaBonne:

    Shiny Happy People is the definitive hate watch for those who really want to feel foamy bloodcaps rushing through their stretched veins and arteries.  It’s like intense cardio without the work.

    You’ll never look at an evangelical/fundamentalist the same way ever again.

  14. 14.

    jonas

    If it becomes clear that Republicans are heading for a wipeout in the midterms next year, which is looking likely, the question won’t be what Trump will do to shift course and save his congressional majorities, it will be what he will do to either disrupt or overturn the elections.

  17. 17.

    JaySinWa

    @Baud: Come join us in the light, white people.

    But I burn so easily, can’t you just throw me some shade?

  19. 19.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Steve LaBonne:But the way he’s panicking, I’m starting to REALLY want to know what could possibly be in those files to make him so terrified.

    Since it would be irresponsible not to speculate. I am going to predict:  Trump is gay or bi.

  21. 21.

    Kirk

    @jonas: ICE and DHS teams at all high-count polling stations in switchable districts “to provide voter security”.

  23. 23.

    Captain C

    @Steve LaBonne: Tweens and under of both sexes?  Definitive proof that Ivanka was one of his victims?  Whatever we speculate, given what we know, it’s probably worse than whatever we can think up.

  24. 24.

    Melancholy Jaques

    From his first day as a candidate, Trump has appeared animated by anger, fear, and, most of all, pettiness, a small-minded vengefulness that takes the place of actual policy making.

    Also describes Trump’s voters. It’s why policies that benefit them do not win their votes.

  25. 25.

    Anne Laurie

    @Steve LaBonne: Until now I was bored by this stuff because I didn’t think Trump could be any more depraved than we already knew he was. But the way he’s panicking, I’m starting to REALLY want to know what could possibly be in those files to make him so terrified.

    I still think it’s about Trump’s ever-shaky finances, not his well-documented sexual proclivities.  (Sen. Wyden is going through Epstein’s wire transfers, bless him.)  If Epstein leaned on his ‘financial clients’ to provide support for one or more of Trump’s ‘developments’ — or, even better, asked his Russian backers to prop up Jeff’s running buddy — that would really, at the least, embarrass Don TACO.

    And given Trump’s deteriorating mental state, it’s possible he doesn’t actually remember the details of what might’ve happened back in the 1980s / 90s… just that it’s not something he wants exposed to daylight now.

  26. 26.

    Steve LaBonne

    @Kirk: I think out of stupidity, racism, and force of habit they will terrorize polling places in blue inner cities. Which will be a somewhat effective tactic in a statewide election (i.e. the Senate) but won’t help them in the House.

  27. 27.

    ArchTeryx

    @prostratedragon: If I were Hochul I would send the state police in to provide a barrier between ICE and the polling stations, and refuse to let them in any closer than they are normally allowed to be. Treat them as electioneers. And keep your guns at the ready. If they actually try arresting people at polling stations, book them for tresspass, assault, false arrest and election fraud, and throw them in the klink until the polling stations close. State charges, so Trump can’t just pardon them back out again.

    Cuomo, as much as he was a bastard DINO, did not take any shit from Trump. He threatened to do exactly this when Sessions threatened to send ICE and the FBI over to all our medical pot dispensaries. Hochul needs to get with the program.

  28. 28.

    Captain C

    @Anne Laurie:

    I still think it’s about Trump’s ever-shaky finances, not his well-documented sexual proclivities.

    Given that at his roast, FFOTUS was apparently fine with jokes about him lusting after Ivanka but not about jokes that he wasn’t as rich as he claimed, this seems a reasonable speculation.

  29. 29.

    Splitting Image

    July 18, 2025:
    🔴 Disapprove: 50%
    🟢 Approve: 50%

    I suppose this is the best we can hope for at the moment, but if you were to break this down by gender, it would show that white men still support the guy by a good margin. Sigh.

  30. 30.

    cckids

    @Deputinize America: Same with “Jesus Camp”.

    When your reaction to 9/11 is “why aren’t OUR kids motivated to do something like that in the name of Christianity?”; you are a deeply f*cked up person.

  31. 31.

    Bill Arnold

    @Kirk:

    ICE and DHS teams at all high-count polling stations in switchable districts “to provide voter security”.

    With masks, obvious body armor, and heavily armed.

  32. 32.

    Trollhattan

    Habba-Habba-don’t.

    E. Jean Carroll’s description of Habba’s appearance and lawyering, defending Trump at her trial is delicious and meangirlish as anything you’ll hear.

  33. 33.

    Trollhattan

    @Bill Arnold:

    Yeah, I’m supposed to become a “secure feeling” voter with a bunch of armed bemasked thugs having a donutfest at my polling place?

  34. 34.

    ArchTeryx

    @Splitting Image: White men alone are always going to vote majority Republican. But white men alone aren’t enough to get Trump elected. It’s when he gets a majority of ALL white people, and a lot of minority males, that we end up in this mess.

    And that goes double for when he isn’t on the ballot. A lot of his most dedicated MAGAt supporters are rednecks that don’t bother to vote unless his NAME is on the ballot. They don’t give a shit what he does afterward other than hate on who they hate.

  35. 35.

    Ramalama

    But roller coasters don’t have actual destinations, and sooner or later, even the most dedicated riders will want to get off.

    As an expat Roller Coaster-American, I will admit that even the most dedicated riders have a strong chance of experiencing brain damage and whiplash.

  36. 36.

    ArchTeryx

    @Bill Arnold: And that’s why you send state cops in riot gear to meet them. Polling places are strictly state controlled and mostly regulated by state law and election commissions. That shit may fly in red states, but not in NYS, and they should meet any show of force with an equal show of force escorting voters in.

    I live in some pretty lily white-flight suburbs outside of Albany, so I doubt I’ll see ICE there, but if I do, my immediate call is to 911 and the state cops and my second call is to Election Protection.

    They want to float that trial balloon, shoot it down with every AAA gun you got. Maybe that’ll teach them not to pull that shit in blue states.

  37. 37.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Steve LaBonne:

    I will believe that Republicans will stop getting a majority of the white vote when it happens, and not a millisecond before. White supremacy is just too powerful a drug.

    Ditto, but if they win the white vote by only 55-45, we win in a landslide.

  41. 41.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Steve LaBonne: ​

    Remember when we thought white women would take care of that after Dobbs?

    Yeppers. I’m just giving the math, not the odds of our seeing those numbers. 50% of the white vote is way out of reach, but we don’t need 50%.

  42. 42.

    prostratedragon

    @Anne Laurie:  The readiness of the House to run away this week has me thinking much of the biggest concern relates to money, perhaps not only 🤡’s, and where it might come from or go. Not that dead girl or live boy wouldn’t be a problem with the conspiracists in their base.

  43. 43.

    JiveTurkin

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: Bi or gay would be a game changer.  16-year-old girl should be a game changer, but the Republican base would convince themselves he did what any normal “man” what do.  Bi or gay is something much of his base would have trouble accepting.  But some of them are so crazy maybe it would take a goat or something like that.

  45. 45.

    Jeffro

    FOLKS

    I cannot keep up with trumpov’s spiraling, and that’s A-OK with me!

    Looking forward to Actual President Barack Obama taking to a podium/tv camera/both soon and asking trumpov to please, PLEASE bring those charges.  Like, yesterday!  Since you have so much ‘evidence’ and all…

    …Obama mocking trumpov into a stroke (or worse) would bring this ridiculous farce  tragedy  I can’t even tell anymore to the end of Act II.  Act III?  Let’s just call that one “the complete free-fall of the MAGA GOP”

  47. 47.

    rikyrah

    The Washington Post

    ‪@washingtonpost.com‬

    Follow

    New Jersey’s federal judges rejected President Donald Trump’s choice of Alina Habba to serve as U.S. attorney in the state, delivering a sharp rebuke to one of his most controversial Justice Department nominees.

    BWA HA AH AHA HA HA H AH AH AHH A

  49. 49.

    Baud

    @dc:

    Earlier this year, young people gave Trump about 55% approval.

    They’ve since swung hard toward decent people and now overwhelmingly disapprove of Trump.

  51. 51.

    Fair Economist

    @Steve LaBonne: It’s strikingly different from his usual denials. I too am getting curious about what could be so bad that TACO would act like this.

  55. 55.

    ArchTeryx

    @prostratedragon: It worked like a charm on Sessions. He backed off his anti-pot crusade, nobody showed up at our dispensaries, and his replacement wouldn’t touch that topic with a 10 foot bong.

    Someone like Hochul actually arresting ICE agents and throwing them in the klink even for just long enough to get the election done? That might send a messages to all the more weak-kneed D governors: Do not let them steal the election with armed vigilante Jim Crow tactics.

  57. 57.

    prostratedragon

    Statement from the Office of President Barack Obama:
     

    “Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one.”

    “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. “Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.”

    “These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.”

  58. 58.

    rikyrah

    More likely, however, Trump is focusing on this small issue in the hopes of picking a racist scab that will occupy the attention of his base

     

    The muthaphuckas at the DOJ suggested a 1 day sentence for the Cop who killed Brionna Taylor in her bed.

    He got 33 months.

  59. 59.

    Archon

    Our President likely a pedophile who is participating in a massive coverup to protect himself I guess has even got some white people a bit perturbed.

    Small victories I guess.

  60. 60.

    rikyrah

    @ArchTeryx:

    Someone like Hochul actually arresting ICE agents and throwing them in the klink even for just long enough to get the election done? That might send a messages to all the more weak-kneed D governors: Do not let them steal the election with armed vigilante Jim Crow tactics.

     

    Want for California to pass that law of law enforcement not being able to cover their faces.

  61. 61.

    bluefoot

    @Baud: That’s pretty interesting actually. Do you have a link? I’m interested in how that breaks down and the reasons. That is, what are the shorts by different groups, what does it say about the appeal of “authenticity” to younger people, or what non-traditional media are saying about the administration.

  62. 62.

    bbleh

    @Steve LaBonne: This.  It’s like they SAY they voted for him because of “the cost of living” or something equally anodyne, but puh-LEEZ people …

  63. 63.

    Jeffro

    @Steve LaBonne:Pritzker is the governor I can actually picture doing this.

    from your lips to the Great Khan*s ears…

    *no I have no idea how this got started but I love it!

  67. 67.

    Kirk

    @ArchTeryx: I’m pretty sure that if she did this she’d have the governor’s seat locked for as long as she wanted. Something about effectively punching Nazis seems to bring out a lot of support.

  70. 70.

    Tony Jay

    Speaking of sparkling lemonade, in the semi-final of the Women’s European Football Championships, England were down 1-0 for a lot of the game after Italy scored a frankly lovely goal, I mean, really, that’s some fantastic control of a very difficult to control ball.

      Then with two minutes left in the 7 minutes allocated to injury time, English teenager Agyemang came on and equalised. Then in injury time Chloe Kelly converted a definite penalty (on her second attempt) to put Italy out and book England’s place in the Final to defend their title.

    I am drained. These Lionesses just Do. Not. Give. Up.

    Football, eh? Better than politics.

  71. 71.

    scav

    Well, if we’re renaming military bases after traitors to our country, I suppose it absolutely makes sense to rename the Kennedy Center opera house after Melania Trump.

  72. 72.

    Ramona

    @Steve LaBonne: I doubt Trump knows specifically what’s in the files but he knows what he has done with Epstein and he cannot be sure that the files don’t have anything incriminating in them.

    Available online is the deposition of the woman who in 2016 alleged Trump and Epstein raped her when she was thirteen. She withdrew her lawsuit upon receiving death threats. She says in the deposition that when she pleaded with Trump to stop he hit her.

  74. 74.

    Peale

    @Baud: I’m such an old fart…I’m so old I remember when I was supposed to be boycotting CBRL for having HR policies to fire gay employees. Or was it to make gay customers sit out by the garbage bins instead of with the other guests. I’m so old I can’t remember why I haven’t eaten at one in 30 years.

  76. 76.

    suzanne

    And just an aside….. speaking of loathing, that is what I am doing right now. Oh my God. What an absolute piece of shit.

    As Shane wrote: “The upshot is that an octogenarian Air Force retiree who spent half a century in his nation’s service was not allowed to attend a party for a dog he essentially donated to the government and named after his dead wife.”

  77. 77.

    Splitting Image

    @prostratedragon:

    “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction. “Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.”

    The Russian operation in 2016 may not have manipulated any votes during that election, but it certainly affected how several Republican office-holders voted after they began seeing Russia as an ally.

  78. 78.

    danielx

    @Baud: ​
     Wonder if any members of said legal group have actually BEEN to a Cracker Barrel. It ain’t called Cracker for nothing.

    And the food and service suck.

  79. 79.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @scav:

    Well, if we’re renaming military bases after traitors to our country, I suppose it absolutely makes sense to rename the Kennedy Center opera house after Melania Trump.

    I suspect they’re planning to change the name to John Wilkes Booth Center. Because heritage.

  82. 82.

    hueyplong

    @danielx: I’ve been in cracker barrels a few times, and I’ve got to say it didn’t seem like any DEI scheme in favor of people of color was making much headway.

  83. 83.

    Marcopolo

    @bluefoot: Poll results of Trump approval among younger voters is here (hope it works) 🤞 bsky.app/profile/newnarrative.bsky.social/post/3luj65zpfps26

    this should be the actual full poll results: scribd.com/document/890583482/Cbsnews-20250720-1-SUNDAY#fullscreen&from_embed&content=quer…

    Comment I saw in regards to this is Trump is doing what he said he’d do during the campaign.  That the results are polling so awful might be an indictment of what younger voters DID NOT learn about through the news media at that time—like what did they think he was going to do?

  84. 84.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @JiveTurkin: This one hits me hard.  The God(Devil)father of Metal.  He absolutely defined the genre.  An incredible performer, underrated singer and remarkable songwriter.  Listening to Blizzard of Ozz now and I swear I will die on the hill that aside from maybe War Pigs, Ozzy’s solo work was even better than Sabbath.  I feel like going to a keg party in the woods in his honor.

  85. 85.

    Deputinize America

    OT tip – A bottle of Cremant is lovely, but you need to finish it in a day or two. If it’s in the fridge 4 days, it’s done.

    Flat.

    Fini.

    Sad.

  87. 87.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @rikyrah: I’m 100% certain that Merrick Garland’s DOJ would’ve sought the maximum sentence possible (and nobody would’ve given him credit for it).

  88. 88.

    Deputinize America

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    Don’t do the keg party in the woods – you’ll pay for it for days at your age.

    I can’t run with the big dogs no more.

  89. 89.

    Miss Bianca

    @Baud: So, Columbia is not only bending the knee to Trumpo, they are doing the full-face prostration? Gods.

    I hope their application and acceptance numbers absolutely fucking TANK.

  90. 90.

    ruckus

    @dmsilev:

    Not sure there are enough rocks on the planet for them to hide under. Hope they use boulders. That outa work out just fine……

  93. 93.

    Tony Jay

    @Baud:

    They should be made to sit at a desk and carve “I should not oppose genocide or war crimes” into their delicate skins with a sharpened pen over and over again until they understand that ‘shut up, that’s why’  is the latest shadow docket Amendment to your constitution.

    Or maybe they shouldn’t. Maybe the people putting them in that position should face some sunlight and consequences instead. Sounds like a great idea to me.

  97. 97.

    Redshift

    @Miss Bianca: Columbia agreed to ensure the definition that criticism of the Israeli government is antisemitism as part is their deal with the administration over bad-faith accusations of not doing enough to combat it

  98. 98.

    Jeffro

    @prostratedragon:Found in House Republican conference: 219 able-bodied adults who refuse to work.

    may this framing please, PLEASE find its way into every House race nationwide next November

  99. 99.

    Jeffro

    @UncleEbeneezer: I was late to the Ozzy and Black Sabbath party, musically speaking, but it’s amazing to me how many bands that I did love growing up (and still listen to) were so strongly influenced by them.

    Like Alice In Chains?  Early Soundgarden?  holy cow

  100. 100.

    Redshift

    Just so no one is surprised, Maddow had the story last night of a different acting US Attorney in New York who had requested his temporary unconfirmed status be extended and was turned down by the judges like Habba. Their “, one weird trick” was to appoint him to be his own assistant, and then not appoint anyone to replace his as acting US Atty, so the now-assistant would so the job indefinitely without being confirmed.

    According to Joyce Vance, it’s obviously extremely improper, but probably not clearly illegal, so the district judges probably won’t go to war with the White House to stop it. Expect the same for Alina Habba.

  102. 102.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @Baud: Columbia just expelled or suspended 80 students for protesting in favor of Palestinian rights. Suspended students can only be readmitted if they “apologize”–otherwise the suspension converts to an expulsion.

    Academic freedom, folks.

  104. 104.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @Miss Bianca: So, Columbia is not only bending the knee to Trumpo, they are doing the full-face prostration? Gods.

    Shit, I’m half tempted to show up from the neighboring state and protest the University directly.

  108. 108.

    NotMax

    Because of course they would.

    The Trump administration is considering slashing rules meant to protect the environment and the public during commercial rocket launches, changes that companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX have long sought. Source

  110. 110.

    Kathleen

    @Deputinize America: I saw that! It was powerful indeed. And while I wasn’t shocked or surprised, hearing individuals recount their stories took the horror to a new level..

  112. 112.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @dmsilev: I love how they have one specific photo to prove Donald Trump was at his own wedding. Cover all your bases, I guess.

  113. 113.

    Geminid

    @dmsilev: One irony in the calls to “release the Epstein Files” is that there is the equivalent of several Epstein files already out in public records including photos. Many journalists are only now beginning to examine these stories that were allowed to fly under the radar for decades.

    And a friend tells me that new accusers are going public. Trump’s thrashing about on this matter gave it oxygen, and now it appears to have a life of its own.

  114. 114.

    Baud

    @Geminid:

    Many journalists are only now beginning to examine these stories that were allowed to fly under the radar for decades

     

    Editor: This is big folks. It’s time to do something that was previously thought unthinkable.

    Reporter: You mean…?

    Editor: Yes. We need to bring in the entire Biden is Old team to work on this story.

    Reporter: Dios mio. {Makes sign of the cross}

  115. 115.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @Baud: Yes. We need to bring in the entire Biden is Old team to work on this story.

    Wait, Biden is old!?!?!? Why is this the first I’m hearing about this?

  116. 116.

    ruckus

    The photo of the lady with the sign – Low Expectations…, should stay up on the front page for a long time. Maybe forever.

    It says a lot and in a way that is very, very appropriate.

    I mean really, it says far, far more than the seven words written there.

    Plus I like women that know how to swear properly. And appropriately.

  117. 117.

    TS

    @Redshift:

    This was a recent headline in Australia from the Foreign Minister

    Australia condemns Israel’s ‘indefensible’ actions in Gaza as calls for sanctions grow louder

    Guess that will damage any remaining relationship with the trump administration.

  118. 118.

    Jackie

    @Marcopolo: Actually, per your link FFOTUS said he didn’t want to be like Tom Foley:

    “No, no, I have no age—,” Trump started, before backtracking. “I mean, I have an age—I don’t want to be like Congressman Foley, with, you know, 12-year-olds.”

    So maybe his age limit was 13? <rolling eyes>
    He did seem to have trouble keeping his hands off Ivanka when she was barely a teenybopper. Lots of photos of that.

  120. 120.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Baud:

    Dafuq?!

    What bullshit is this?! Got to apologize for supporting Palestinian rights in order to not be expelled??

    Fuck Columbia.

  121. 121.

    Jackie

    @rikyrah: @prostratedragon:

    And, then this happened mere hours later:

    Attorney General Pam Bondi took extraordinary steps to fire their chosen replacement.

    According to The New York Times, a panel of district judges “rejected Alina Habba’s bid to stay in the job as the state’s U.S. attorney. Instead, they invoked a rarely used power to select a candidate of their own, Desiree Leigh Grace, an experienced prosecutor whom Ms. Habba named as her first assistant soon after she took over as interim U.S. attorney in March.”

    However, Bondi “responded Tuesday evening with a social media post defending Ms. Habba and saying that the first assistant — Ms. Grace — ‘has just been removed.'” Bondi then went on to blast the district panel as a group of “rogue judges.”

  122. 122.

    Geminid

    @TS: Pretty much everyone is saying this. Australian, Canadian, European– they’re all sounding the alarm on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. There’s reporting that White House officials including Trump are worried as well.

    The Europeans are especially mad because they thought they’d made a solid agreement with Netanyahu’s government last week to increase aid to the Strip, but all they’ve gotten out of it so far is a thumb in the eye.

    Whether anything will be done is a different matter. Steve Witkoff will supposedly head to Europe soon to discuss the Gaza situation with foreign ministers there, and then fly on to Doha end of week if it looks like there’s a ceasefire deal to be had.

    One problem: while Hamas leaders in Qatar seem to favor the deal that’s been on the table for several days, Hamas leadership in Gaza is said to have “gone dark” and can’t (or won’t) communicate with Doha.

  125. 125.

    Citizen Alan

    @hueyplong:  IIRC, they got threatened with a lawsuit a few years back over some particularly egregious bit of racism and came up with a bunch of mealy-mouthed DEI policies as an ass-covering move.

  126. 126.

    Another Scott

    @Marcopolo:

    Relatedly….:

    The Trump campaign did not offer a response to either story, but in a 2005 appearance on Howard Stern’s show, Trump bragged about doing exactly what the women describe. “I’ll go backstage before a show, and everyone’s getting dressed and ready and everything else,” he said.

    His position as the pageant’s owner entitled him to that kind of access, Trump explained, seemingly aware that what he was doing made the women uncomfortable. “You know, no men are anywhere. And I’m allowed to go in because I’m the owner of the pageant. And therefore I’m inspecting it… Is everyone OK? You know, they’re standing there with no clothes. And you see these incredible-looking women. And so I sort of get away with things like that,” he said.

    (Billado told BuzzFeed she mentioned the incident to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, who shrugged it off, saying, “Yeah, he does that.”)

    (Emphasis added.)

    Whatever could she mean???

    All of this stuff has been out there for decades. It’s interesting to see the press bringing receipts on the MAGA folks for a change.

    Grr…

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  127. 127.

    chemiclord

    @Geminid: The spectre of Nazi Germany, and the generational guilt from the rest of the Western World has enabled so much strife caused by Israel.  They are very, very reluctant to yank the chain because they know they are nigh directly the reason why its happening.

    Fuck, the fact that Israel exists at all stems from the West looking for a solution to their own “Jew problem” that wasn’t a FINAL solution.

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