Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We will not go back.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

There are times when telling just part of the truth is effectively a lie.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

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

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Come on, man.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: Say Naught But Good of the Dead…

Open Thread: Say Naught But Good of the Dead…

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James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family and one of the most influential voices in the conservative evangelical movement, has died at age 89

— David S. Bernstein (@dbernstein.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 9:21 AM

Per the Blogmaster’s rule: James Dobson just made the world a slightly better place.

he will be confined to a blanket and a hundred toddlers will beat him with wooden spoons any time he steps off of it for all eternity.

— Michan Connor (@michanconnor.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 10:37 AM

===

… More than 1,000 quote-skeets on this, and I’ve never seen so many ways to celebrate

— David S. Bernstein (@dbernstein.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 10:32 AM

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    68Comments

    1. 1.

      Quicksand

      What kind of depraved, soulless, moral monster would celebrate someone like James Dobson’s death?

      THIS KIND!!!!! WOOO!!!

      Reply
    6. 6.

      cain

      Looks like he’s finally lost focus on the family and well, focused keeping the devils away from him in whatever lake of fire he belongs in.

      Reply
    7. 7.

      mali muso

      As I said in an earlier thread, as an exvangelical who was raised in the shadow of his pernicious teachings (parents were big on his books and Focus on the Family materials), I only wish I still believed in hell so that I could enjoy the thought of him in it.  The amount of pain and suffering he facilitated is hard to calculate and certainly our current political moment owes a huge debt to his malign influence.  I will be raising a glass tonight to toast his departure from this mortal coil.

      Reply
    8. 8.

      NutmegAgain

      Among the many tortures I would wish on this gobshite are included lots and lots of very painful dog bites, in perpetuity.

      Reply
    11. 11.

      Trollhattan

      My only regret is Frank Zappa was not around to give him the Jimmy Swaggart treatment.

      Take out the trash, Lord.

      Reply
    13. 13.

      bbleh

      He will be confined to a blanket and a hundred toddlers will beat him with wooden spoons any time he steps off of it for all eternity.

      I had something mind more like strapped face-down and spread-eagled plus devils and pitchforks …

      Reply
    15. 15.

      Butch

      Attributed variously to Moms Mabley, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, and others:

      “I was always taught never to say anything about the dead unless it’s good. He’s dead. Good!”

      Reply
    19. 19.

      Deputinize America

      @rikyrah:

      That was what segregation academies, homeschooling and all the hyperevangelical movements have been about.

      Its going to take 3 generations and some genuine economic, war and natural disaster spawned crises to get back to where we were in 2008.

      Reply
    28. 28.

      Chetan Murthy

      It’s possible everybody here already knows, but just in case: thebaffler.com/salvos/the-long-con

      The Long Con
      Mail-order conservatism

      About the nexus between fundamentalist religious grifters and the G(r)OP, how it all started in the early 70s, and how it was the basis of the funding and outreach model of the modern G(r)OP.

      Reply
    29. 29.

      Bokonon

      @Deputinize America:That was what segregation academies, homeschooling and all the hyperevangelical movements have been about.

      Bingo.

      I am constantly amazed that few pundits or observers connect the rise in homeschooling and hyper-religious private schools with the rise of extreme partisanship, disdain for science, and lack of critical thinking that we are seeing in the American voting public.  These things didn’t just happen because of social media and influencers – people were wired in before that.  And this succession movement away from public schools and a common civic culture is changing the electorate.  For 30 years now, they have been producing wave after wave of “spiritual warriors” that the Democrats simply cannot reach with their messaging.

      Reply
    31. 31.

      Splitting Image

      Congratulations to James Dobson on attaining his lifelong goal of being tortured in hell for all eternity.

      May his conscience be never free from the torments of remorse, and his bottom be never free from the prickings of little forks.

      Reply
    32. 32.

      –ly Ballou

      For being so big on the Bible and all, you’d think the man might have reflected at some point on that verse concerning millstones hung around necks. Well.

      Reply
    33. 33.

      Bokonon

      @Steve in the ATL: @rikyrah: good lord.  I’m not creative enough to make up a lie about a causative relationship between those two things.

      Well … it is brilliant little piece of fascism from the standpoint of sustaining MAGA anger and resentment. It’s all so simple.  If your healthcare sucks, BLAME AN IMMIGRANT.  If your job situation sucks, BLAME AN IMMIGRANT.  If your housing costs are unsustainable, BLAME AN IMMIGRANT.  And you should CLAP HARDER when ICE comes and sweeps them up and puts them in detention camps – those CRIMINALS took your quality of life away!  And now Trump is going to make them suffer!  Payback time!

      Filthy and dirty and disgusting and stupid.  And effective.

      Reply
    34. 34.

      WTFGhost

      Dobson’s concept of heaven and hell don’t make a lot of sense to me. That said, he brings to mind an old joke to the effect of “he’s given a choice of doors to go through, one to heaven, and one to hell, but he’s not told which is which – he must choose, by watching who goes through which. When he sees some good, kind, helpful, and, honestly, a bit socialism-tinged liberals being directed to the door to heaven, he giggles almost Satanically, and dives through the door into hell.”

      Sorry – pain is too bad to write the proper sendup, but, you know, Dobson doesn’t deserve a proper sendup. He’s not worth the energy. Since he is dead, the air in his city is that much more pleasant to breathe.

      Reply
    35. 35.

      piratedan

      may he arrive at his perceived concept of Heaven and be informed that thru his thoughts and deeds, he has been found wanting and will spend an eternity in purgatory.

      Reply
    36. 36.

      WTFGhost

      @Ten Bears: That concept comes from ancient Greece, or so I’ve heard, and the idea was, “don’t raise accusations against a man who can’t defend himself.” Can I promise I’m correct? No – but I remembered thinking “oooooh, yeah, that makes *sense*.”

      (Oh, no, I’m not being sexist, though I might be mistaken – I don’t think the Greeks thought much about women or slaves being defamed post-death, hence “a man who can’t defend himself.”)

      Well, that doesn’t seem to have any bearing on stating facts in the historical record that you find deplorable – as long as you’re willing to be humble, “I didn’t read the whole book, but the idea of whipping a dog just sickened me, maybe if I’d read the whole book, yadda yadda.” That is not raising an accusation that the man can’t defend against – *he* wrote the effing book!

      In today’s world, especially, with our information glut about everything, you can allow people to present you with explanations from talks and interviews, in an attempt to sway your opinion. So I gather the concept is intended to say “don’t say Dobson gave you a wedgie in high school! He’s not here to defend himself!” and not to forbid saying “he seems like a vile human being from his writings.”

      Reply
    37. 37.

      mrmoshpotato

      @Nix Besser:

      And where I can pick up a gallon of coffee and a six pack of beer on the way.

      If you know what I mean and I think that you do.

      Case of water too – you’re gonna have to rehydrate.

      Reply
    39. 39.

      Trollhattan

      Two possible ledes:

      I promise this is on-topic/

      A day ending in “y”.

      “A secret gay sex scandal has rocked the Republican Party as married men and a sitting member of Congress have been accused of sleeping with male escorts — even as their party thunders about traditional family values,” the Daily Mail reports.

      “One DC-based male escort described having a two-year relationship with a sitting Midwestern congressman who, during that period, had multiple serious girlfriends.”

      Shocked face is in the shop.

      Reply
    43. 43.

      Jackie

      @Trollhattan: The Daily Mail is a dubious source – but as the saying goes about smoke and fire… worth waiting to see if this rumor catches hold with the MSM. I couldn’t care less, other than the usual hypocrisy of the right.

      Reply
    45. 45.

      Odie Hugh Manatee

      My Mom always said to not speak ill of the dead. Mom wasn’t always right about things but she had a good heart, unlike James Dobson and his hate group. The best thing I can say about Dobson’s life is that he’s finally dead and we are rid of him forever.

      I offer my condolences to those who suffered because of Dobson and join them in celebrating the bastard’s death. Fuck his family and those who supported him, I hope they follow Dobson real soon.

      Reply
    49. 49.

      Geminid

      @Jackie: The Daily Mail specializes in this type of story. They’re the ones who drove Katie Hill out of Congress, by printing revenge-porn pics provided by her vindictive husband.

      And a story they printed about Jessica Cisneros very likely caused her primary loss to Henry Cuellar in 2022. Cisneros lost by around 240 votes after the Daily Mail reported on an affair she allegedly was carrying on with a former higher school teacher, a married man.
      Their source? the angry wife’s hairdresser, who was not named. That anonymous hairdresser met the Daily Mail’s editorial gold standard.

      Reply
    50. 50.

      Jackie

      @Geminid: Yeah, that’s why I didn’t post that innuendo here myself. Like I said, I’m waiting to see IF it’s picked up by the MSM with proven facts before giving it any credibility.

      Reply
    51. 51.

      Mike in Pasadena

      Did someone drive a stake through his heart and empty a revolver loaded with silver bullets through his chest? Otherwise, I don’t believe he’s dead. The antichrist is probably still alive in his crypt drinking the blood of little girls. Put a mirror under his nose. Jam a syringe in his face a dozen times to be sure. Pure, unadulterated evil is hard to kill. Fuck Dobson.

      But I don’t feel strongly about this. My hatred of that pile of excrement is without limit.

      Reply
    52. 52.

      Geminid

      @Jackie: I guess you could say what goes around, comes around. Cuellar is under indictment now, for taking bribes from some Azerbaijanis. I think his trial is set for this fall.

      If Cuellar is convicted, that will set up a barnburner of a special election. Republicans have been gunning for TX28 all decade. Trump won it last year, but Cuellar ran 7 points ahead of Harris to win reelection.

      If the Republican gerrymander holds up, I think the special election will still be held in the old district. That one will be lit! as we olds say.

      Reply
    53. 53.

      Mike in Pasadena

      I’ve been saving a bottle of champagne in the basement tiny fridge to celebrate the imminent debilitating stroke or death of a certain politician. However, this devil’s death will do. A cork will pop tonight.

      Reply
    55. 55.

      laura

      I trust J Dobson is doing laps in Satan’s grease trap. Who urges parents to beat their children starting in their infancy. I wish peace and relief to all who have grown up in households under that abuse….for jesus.

      Reply
    61. 61.

      UncleEbeneezer

      Neo-Nazi Lucas Gage Plots Congressional Run:

      Lucas Gage is a virulently antisemitic, Hitler-loving neo-Nazi and white nationalist who fills his social media accounts and website with relentless attacks on Jews.

      Gage, formerly known as Angelo John Gage, runs one website selling Nazi books and another website selling prints of “distinguished dictator” Adolf Hitler, prints of Hitler’s artwork, and even a coffee mug bearing the phrase “mein coffee,” which he says is a “funny play on the phrase, ‘Mein Kampf.'” Gage’s own website is actually called “Our Struggle,” in homage to Hitler’s book.

      In recent years, Gage has channeled his Jew-hatred into pro-Palestinian activism, which he now thinks might help propel him into Congress in 2026.

      Last week, Gage posted a video in which he announced that he is seriously considering running for Congress in his home state of New Jersey by finding a blue district that has a large Muslim population who he believes will be receptive to his attacks on Israel and Jews.

      Reply
    63. 63.

      Jackie

      @UncleEbeneezer: More from your link:

      Gage said that he is willing to run provided that there are “dedicated individuals who live in New Jersey” who will volunteer and work for his campaign and if “the smartest [and] brightest people” in the white nationalist movement will support him.

      “Clearly, running in my own district would be suicide, right?” Gage explained. “I’m surrounded by Jews.”

      Running in a BLUE DISTRICT??? Does he actually believe Democrats and Independents would vote for him? Hopefully he listens to his wife.

      Reply
    65. 65.

      WendyBinFL

      Back in the 1980s, when my husband and I relocated from the Northeast to South Florida with our two very young children, I sought new friends by joining several Mommy-and-me groups. Met one wonderful gal at the neighborhood synagogue, one at the local community college, and several through a community playgroup-matching organization, some of whom remain closer than kin more than 40 years later. The one total loss was a church-based group where the mommies focused (haha) on Focus on the Family. All self-congratulatory about corporal punishment. Never met a creepier cadre. Ugh!

      Reply

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