I have no desire to write anything as I am on about hour 38 of being a cranky miserable shit because I just feel achy and sore and the weather has not decided if it wants to be hot or rainy and everything hurts. So there. Did go to the gym and the pool, and am pleased to report there were no annoying old white dudes (I suppose I should say “no other annoying…”) in the pool and no one had perfumed the sauna. So that was nice.
I was babbling on bluesky a little bit ago and came across this video:
US Park Police now doing traffic stops in DC, and charged at me with a baton for filming closer than they liked
— Simon Fondrie-Teitler (@simon.overgrown.garden) August 14, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Here’s a link if the embed does not work for you (it goes to bluesky, not one of Baud’s favorite foot fetish sites). At any rate, just a fucking thug with a gun and a badge, nothing new here really except for middle class white people seeing it unleashed on them. Minorities and white trash have been dealing with this forever. It’s one of the real mysteries to me how cops went from bad to worse around here in much of Appalachia yet at the same time the victims of their abuse are the overwhelmingly white and poor people who have gone from a healthy disdain for authority to becoming bootlickers with Jason Aldean playing in the doublewide with thousands of dollars of Trump paraphernalia littering their front yard. I guess Trump pretending to let them in the club was enough to make them feel better than the minorities they have been trained to fear and hate
I don’t know what to do living in an era where half the country doesn’t get that robocop and minority report and starship troopers were warnings and cautionary tales or that Bruce’s born in the USA isn’t patriotic in the jingoistic way you think it is. I just don’t. Anymore I feel like I am all to frequently dealing with people who simply can’t comprehend what they read or formulate more than the simplest of thoughts. Or even if they agree with you around here, they will say “Yeah I don’t agree with that but you never know why Trump is doing thing he’s got a trick up his sleeve I’m just gonna trust him” or “it’s gonna take some pain to fix what Biden broke.”
It’s really fucking exhausting having to be around dumb people (and all the smart people I know are annoying as fuck because they are miserable like me). We need silent stores so I don’t have to hear people. And restaurants.
Gavin Newsom is making news again:
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday called on California lawmakers to approve a November ballot measure that would allow them to redraw the state’s congressional map to fight back against Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting plans in Texas and elsewhere.
Newsom’s proposal, called the “Election Rigging Response Act,” would pave the way for California Democrats to circumvent the independent commission that controls the map-drawing process in the state and pass new congressional lines that would be more favorable to their party.
Republicans in Texas, with President Donald Trump’s backing, are pursuing a new congressional map that would allow them to gain up to five more House seats.
“It’s not complicated. We’re doing this in reaction to a president of the United States that called a sitting governor of the state of Texas and said, ‘Find me five seats,'” Newsom said. “We’re doing it in reaction to that act. We’re doing it mindful of our higher angels and better angels. We’re doing it mindful that we want to model better behavior, as we’ve been doing for 15 years in the state of California with our independent redistricting commission. But we cannot unilaterally disarm.”
Say what the fuck you want about the man, but he fucking gets it. I mean every fucking time I look at the guy I get a fucking histamine reaction he’s so fucking slimy and unctuous. He’s the human manifestation of the dictionary definition of slithery. But at least for now, in this moment, he’s our human canker sore.
As far as I am concerned, this is war, and just fucking bring them all back- Alan Grayson, John Edwards, Carlos Danger/Anthony Weiner, every fucking one of them. Tell Alan Grayson that Joe Rogan called him a pussy liberal and book him on the podcast. You know who I would really love to see back on the scene? Andrew Gillum. That guy was fucking great and still has one of the greatest debate lines EVER:
God damn that was beautiful.
But he’s human and had some personal issues so now of course instead of realizing he owned up to his bullshit and grew and became a better man, he’s a political unperson. Only white people and professional athletes get to recreate themselves in this country.
I think I am going to go watch some Spooks, which is delightful, but afterwards I am going to need a show with a frumpy old male or female british detective who solves things in quaint towns- basically jessica fletcher with an accent, because Spooks kills off characters like George R. R. Martin. Night!
Guest Post – Tony Jay – A Letter from Brexitania: The Tedium IS Their Message
Baud
Don’t knock BunionHub.
Teresa
Vera, Britbox.
Andrew Abshier
I worked on the Gillum campaign and saw him on the stump. I was getting chills from him like I had when Obama made his presidential run in 2008. When he lost by less than half a percentage point it gave me hope that Florida was still attainable for Democrats. Boy, was I wrong. Now we have a second ersatz Democrat (David Jolly) at the top of the ticket after previous ersatz Democrat Charlie Crist got blown out by 20 points last cycle. I’d say Gillum needs to get back in and make a run!
Betty Cracker
Frost > Gillum.
DSC
JOHN, you really need to watch Poker Face–delightfully plotted murders, deftly written, and so well acted with great casting (see Ellen Barkin and Tim Meadows as a washed up TV pair starring in summer stock–The Ghosts of Pensacola). Often written and produced by Rian Johnson, of Knives Out and The Glass Onion. Natasha Lyonne as Charlie is, I have no doubt, your kinda woman. The guest stars are a surprise in every episode.
And if y’all haven’t watched Lioness starring the amazing Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman, you’re missing a thrilling action series. Just watch the opening of Season 1 episode 1.
mali muso
Speaking of Andrew Gillum, check out Native Land Pod, a politics podcast he co-hosts with Tiffany Cross and Angela Rye. Been listening since last year when they started it to get a Black perspective on current events.
JaySinWa
I was under the impression that if you read “Starship Troopers” in the original Heinlein it was more or less gung ho fascism and only the movie versions were revisionist cautionary tales.
ETA I tried to watch Spooks S1E1 last night. Too much split screen BS busy busy action without much sense for my sensitive sensory sensibilities.
John Cole
@DSC: I watched season one I watch anything lyonne is in.
NeenerNeener
“Cozy” Brit mysteries:
Father Brown on Britbox
Sister Boniface on Acorn
Madame Blanc on Acorn
My Life is Murder on Acorn
Harry Wild on Acorn
Nukular Biskits
Nominated!
RSA
This may be too long for a tag line, but it’s such a classic Cole-ism.
Bulgakov
We’ve recently gotten hooked on The Brokenwood Mysteries from New Zealand on Britbox
HinTN
Reupped from Tony Jay, here’s a descriptor for the ages.
NotMax
A plethora from which to choose. Here’s just two goodies.
The Last Detective – (Prime, Britbox or Roku channel)
A Touch of Frost – (Britbox or Roku channel)
.
And some others.
Non-frumpy: Departure – (Prime or Roku channel)
Period Canadian: Murdoch Mysteries – (Hulu or Acorn or Hoopla or Roku channel*)
Quaint Scottish town cop, with a humorous edge: Hamish Macbeth – (Prime or Acorn)
.
*total number of seasons varies by which streamer
RSA
I remember reading Starship Troopers as a teenager and being kind of excited about the claim by an authority figure character that they had worked out all of ethics, right versus wrong, in rigorous proofs. Disappointingly, the book didn’t actually explain that, or even give any convincing examples. So, yeah, if I remember correctly it did boil down to might makes right.
Marc
@JaySinWa: Paul Verhoeven directed both RoboCop and Starship Troopers. He is, to put it mildly, an anti-fascist. Throw in V for Vendetta to complete the watching party.
NotMax
@NotMax
Whoops. One more.
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates – (Britbox)
Omnes Omnibus
@NeenerNeener: Madame Blanc is really good. I have only three episodes left and I am rationing them.
Chetan Murthy
via LG&M. hang onto your lunch if you clickthru
bsky.app/profile/reichlinmelnick.bsky.social/post/3lwfccy4n6c27
Omnes Omnibus
@Marc: Verhoeven’s Soldier of Orange about WWII Dutchn resistance is fantastic. I think it might’ve been Rutger Hauer’s first major role.
prostratedragon
@Omnes Omnibus: If the pattern holds, there will be new ones in late December.
NotMax
FYI. Heh.
Just Two Weeks In, Tesla Diner Already Axed Most of Its Menu.
XeckyGilchrist
Long ago I read a quote I wish I could attribute – something like “dystopian fiction describes worlds where white people are treated like black people are in real life.”
At first I thought it was hyperbole but with time I realized it’s gently stated.
NotMax
Loony, loonier, looniest?
‘Interdimensional beings’: Some congressional Republicans head down weird paths.
JaySinWa
For a light hearted Brit Dick pair you might find Shakespeare & Hathaway a decent diversion:
JustWatch shows it available
Streaming, rent, or buy Shakespeare & Hathaway – Private Investigators – Season 1:
Currently you are able to watch “Shakespeare & Hathaway – Private Investigators – Season 1” streaming on fuboTV, HBO Max, HBO Max Amazon Channel, Britbox Apple TV Channel , Philo, BritBox, Hallmark+ Amazon Channel, BritBox Amazon Channel, Hallmark+ Apple TV Channel or buy it as download on Amazon Video, Apple TV, Fandango At Home.
You can also stream the title for free on Hoopla.
Synopsis
Private inspector Frank Hathaway and ex-hairdresser Lu create an unlikely but entertaining duo. They quickly discover all is not as peaceful as it seems in this pretty theatre town. Vengeful lovers stalk the streets, the mayor is murdered and a magician’s trick fatally misfires.
prostratedragon
@Chetan Murthy: Baud posted that last thread and I was immediately reminded of back in 2016, when I told someone not familiar with him that whenever you think he’s approaching bottom, he somehow manages to crash through that floor, with momentum.
When I refreshed my screen a minute later I saw the post about him trying to extort a Nobel Peace Prize from a minister of the Norway govenment, with tariffs as the threat. I have yet to need to modify my statement.
Sister Golden Bear
If you’re looking for a British non-murder cozy mystery series, I highly recommend both The Art Detectives and Fake or Fortune, non-fiction shows which have similar concepts, and are both available on YouTube.
In the former, “Art historians examine some of the lesser known works among Britain’s largest collections. The look for lost masterpieces and examine the history and lineage of each piece from creation to collection.” Often, but not always, they discover a forgotten/lost masterpiece.
The latter—different from the fictional 2025 series—ups the ante with an art dealer and journalist investigating whether artworks owned by private people are hidden gems or fakes. Sometimes the pieces turn out to be worth hundreds of thousands or more.
geg6
@NotMax:
I read that yesterday and laughed and laughed. Eric Greenspan just tossed his reputation down the drain.
WaterGirl
@NotMax: Wait, what? I thought references to the Tesla Diner were just people mocking him.
TheOtherHank
The thing about the British detective solving murders in adorable little villages is it makes me think that British country folk are consumed with homicidal rage.
Martin
@Chetan Murthy: Apparently nothing is more hip hop than whoring for the cops.
Jackie
A second FFOTUS appointed judge rules against him. That’s TWO FFOTUS appointed judges this week!
WaterGirl
@geg6: Who is Eric Greenspan?
Martin
@TheOtherHank: What about Angela Landsbury living in a small coastal Maine town where there’s a weekly homicide.
WaterGirl
@Martin: Not sure how well those hold up.
TheOtherHank
@Martin: The all consuming rage, and a lot of (off screen) sex since the need to repopulate the tiny towns somehow.
Jackie
Moved
Sister Golden Bear
@TheOtherHank: Sherlock Holmes agrees.
Sister Golden Bear
@Martin:
Most successful serial killer ever, particularly adept at framing innocent people for her crimes.
Timill
@Martin: Mur Lafferty has a riff on that: Amateur detective Mallory Viridian’s talent for solving murders ruined her life on Earth and drove her to live on an alien space station, but her problems still follow her there.
BigJimSlade
@Martin: I figure that there was just one murder, but each week we see it in an alternate universe. They don’t tell us this because they didn’t really want it to be a sci-fi thing.
kindness
As a Californian I like Gavin. He’s been a great governor. I get it. There is a predisposition across the country to not like Californian politicians. Even talented ones. I see this over at LG&M all the time. They love to hate Newsom over there. Except there is no Johnny Unbeatable. Sticking a shiv in your own team’s potential leaders is something far too many progressives love to do.
Gin & Tonic
So I bought a fairly expensive piece of camera equipment (used) from a dealer in Japan, via eBay. Smooth transaction, quick updates, I’m sending it via DHL, here’s the tracking number. DHL sends me updates, estimated delivery day, sends me a link to fill out a signature release. I live in the sticks, and know I’ll be out most of the day, so I fill that out. Finally get home at 8:15, no package, no updates.
At 8:21 I get an update: “We tried to deliver DHL Express # from $NAME today but no one was home.” Except a) I filed a signature release, and b) I was actually home, and any attempted delivery sends the dog into a frenzy, yet she was sound asleep on the floor.
It is the Year of Our Lord 2025, so you *know* you can’t call anyone about this sort of thing. But if you confuse their chatbot enough, it helpfully suggests that it can bring its “human colleague” into the chat. I explain the situation to the (alleged) human and get this: “There was an unexpected operational delay and unfortunately, the driver was not able to attempt / complete the delivery today. You can expect the delivery for tomorrow, Aug 15th, as soon as possible.” But in two separate places it says the driver attempted delivery, that’s false, no? “That is an error with the updates.” Having been in IT much of my life, I’m trying to imagine a decision tree here: driver attempted delivery; driver did not attempt delivery. That about exhausts the decision space, yes? How the fuck you get to where this is now is a complete mystery to me.
Let’s see what happens tomorrow. I can hardly wait.
Martin
@Sister Golden Bear: Statistically, that really is the only reasonable explanation, isn’t it?
WaterGirl
@Gin & Tonic: Maddening.
Melancholy Jaques
@kindness:
Completely agree. I don’t see Newsom as slimy at all. He’s human, all too human, I suppose. As we used to say back in the days of the Bush/Cheney Junta, his biggest blunders aren’t nearly as bad as what that asshole and Republicans do every day on purpose. Contrary to what (apparently) the rest of the country thinks, California is a fairly well run state.
Martin
@kindness: I’ve said before that I think one of the things that causes Newsom to give off a bit of the ick is that he suffers from dyslexia pretty badly and so doesn’t use a teleprompter but memorizes all of his speeches – so I think he comes off as very over rehearsed.
I think he’s fine. I don’t think national voters will go for him, though.
Melancholy Jaques
@Martin:
For sure, the right-wingers would hate him, but what about normies? What would be their reasons to dislike Newsom?
PJ
@Gin & Tonic: This happens all the time, due to the quotas drivers are under. The driver did not attempt a delivery. The driver put in a report that he/she had attempted a delivery so that they don’t get dinged for it. Hopefully, it will arrive sometime in the next week or so, but sometimes with “the driver attempted a delivery” messages that I get, the packages never show up.
dnfree
@NeenerNeener: The new Father Brown supporting cast doesn’t gel, sadly, in my opinion. That ditsy Mrs. Devine and the police guy are supposed to be falling in love and they don’t even look like they like each other.
PJ
@Melancholy Jaques: The man oozes ambition. That’s not fatal in itself, but he has very poor judgment. I mean, he was married to Kimberly Guilfoyle (Don Jr.’s former girlfriend), and they chose to pose for this photo together, in an article that called them “the New Kennedys”. x.com/ellievhall/status/1298075368654548992
I’d say that’s disqualifying.
Doc Sardonic
I have found that a string of profanity that includes at least one of the compound words containing the F-bomb or one of its non compound variants, tends to get a human fairly quickly. Apparently that is the universal panic word or phrase for AI.
catclub
I predict that if Gavin Newsom gets the new districts, someone will sue and the SC will say the new districts are too late for 2026 elections.
dnfree
@WaterGirl: They’re bringing “Murder, She Wrote” back with an intriguing replacement….Jamie Lee Curtis.
NotMax
@dnfree
Run, do not walk, to savor her tour de force supporting role in Prime’s The Sticky.
;)
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Martin:
Oh, the long-running Italian series “Don Mateo” first murdered most of rural Gubio, then most of rural Spoleto.
BellyCat
@Sister Golden Bear: +1 x 1,000
MaryRC
@dnfree: I couldn’t agree more. I miss the days of Lady Felicity, Mrs. McCarthy and Sid. Although I guess it was time for young Bunty to start living life on her own.
MaryRC
@JaySinWa: Yes, Frank is your frumpy grumpy man for sure and Stratford-upon-Avon is your quaint town.
Hoodie
@PJ: Eh, all pols are ambitious. One thing I’ve grown to respect about Newsom is he doesn’t seem to be afraid to try shit, doesn’t always play it safe and isn’t afraid of confrontation. Maybe doing a podcast with Steve Bannon wasn’t the greatest idea, but who cares if he balances that out with recognition that Dems needed to get bare knuckled on redistricting and some pretty solid trolling of Trump. FDR wasn’t a giant intellect but he was willing to experiment and wasn’t afraid of a fight. There’s nothing wrong with thinking that being the governor of the world’s seventh largest economy might make you relevant.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Hoodie:
The problem with Newsom is that he’s a weathervane who only believes in advancing himself. By doing those podcasts with the likes of Steve Bannon, he basically sold out Trans people.
I also remember he was babbling about “Make Film Great Again” when Trump wanted to illegally apply tariffs to foreign films a few months back. Complete idiocy
kalakal
A frumpy lawyer rather than Cop show but Kingdom with Stephen Fry as a lawyer in a quaint Norfolk town with a lot of quaint loopy inhabitants and quaint loopy criming is rather fun – Britbox
Ed Snerd
I get some Bill Clinton vibes from Newsom. Depending on how you view the present moment, that could be a positive or a negative. I think Newsom is a legit contender for Dem nominee in 2028.
@kindness:
Ramalama
@Sister Golden Bear: I loved your MurderBot recommendation many posts prior, so I’m going to check the real life art stuff:
The Art Detectives and Fake or Fortune
WaterGirl
@PJ: What if she was a normal person back then and she turned awful and crazy afterwards?
Mick McDick
As far as Newsom being slimy, yes he’s all that, but let me clue you in: you don’t send choir boys to fight your battles for you. That’s the mistake we dems have been making for 50 years. We can’t compromise, hug it out and expect to restore normality.
That’s just me. And my favorite dem president of all time, easily, is LBJ. I pray for the return of someone as sharp and mean as him.
Paul in KY
@prostratedragon: Norway doesn’t even do them! It’s like a parody of a parody of a parody of the stupidest and most evil dipshits in the world somehow running the US.
Paul in KY
@kindness: I like him! He gets it.
Paul in KY
@Melancholy Jaques: Looks overly rehearsed…
Paul in KY
@PJ: I can forgive it. Is super cheesy though.
Paul in KY
@Hoodie: FDR was never afraid of a fight. He loved whupping on GQPers of his day.