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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Monday Morning Open Thread

Monday Morning Open Thread

by Anne Laurie|  September 29, 20255:49 am| 204 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republican Politics

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Here's a recap of Trump's week:
– Spewed false and dangerous claims about Tylenol and childhood vaccines
– Announced new tariffs that will make furniture and home construction more expensive
– Directed the Justice Department to indict James Comey
How does any of this help you?

— James E. Clyburn (@repjamesclyburn.bsky.social) September 27, 2025 at 9:45 AM

===

Democrats want to sit down to prevent a shutdown & protect your health care.
Trump and Republicans are cancelling meetings, throwing tantrums, & forcing a shutdown.
Why are they so hell-bent on making sure your health care premiums double next year?

— Senator Patty Murray (@murray.senate.gov) September 26, 2025 at 7:33 PM


 
Assuming Don TACO doesn’t chicken out again… Per Politico, “Trump to meet with top congressional leaders Monday on shutdown”:

The top congressional leaders of both parties will meet Monday afternoon with President Donald Trump — less than 48 hours before a possible government shutdown — according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the plans ahead of a public announcement.

The meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson , Senate Majority Leader John Thune , Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is set to take place less than a week after Trump abruptly canceled a previously scheduled meeting with Schumer and Jeffries.

The new sitdown was set after Thune and Schumer spoke for the first time in weeks about the spending standoff, according to two other people granted anonymity to describe a private conversation…

Democrats are pressing for an extension of health insurance subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, among other concessions. Trump and Republicans will press Senate Democrats to allow a House-approved seven-week stopgap pass and punt any larger negotiation for later. All Democratic senators except Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman voted to block the continuing resolution earlier this month…

The meeting, which was first reported by Punchbowl News, is currently slated for 2 p.m. Monday. Senate Republicans are expected to put the House-passed measure up for a second vote Tuesday just hours before the midnight shutdown deadline.

Johnson will hold a call with House Republicans Monday at 11:15 a.m., according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the plans. The House is scheduled to be recess over the coming days, and GOP leaders have been discussing continuing the recess through the week of Oct. 7.

House GOP leaders are insistent that they won’t strike a deal with Democrats on health care policy, including an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the year. Two senior GOP aides said Johnson and Trump are limited in what they can do because of a brewing fight among Republicans over abortion coverage related to the ACA subsidies and the cost of an extension.

Nice of him to make it CRYSTAL CLEAR that Trump & the Republican Majority will own a shutdown, period.

[image or embed]

— Charles Gaba (@charlesgaba.com) September 28, 2025 at 9:16 AM

===

I think the state of play here is that a short term clean CR is the only thing the House Rs are capable of jamming Senate Dems with

[image or embed]

— post malone ergo propter malone (@proptermalone.bsky.social) September 28, 2025 at 9:18 AM

===

Crunch time: Democrats ready for shutdown standoff over Republican health cuts

[image or embed]

— #TuckFrump (@realtuckfrumper.bsky.social) September 28, 2025 at 9:20 AM

===

The GOP's whole political gambit in this shutdown depends on the American public feeling pain—and blaming somebody else for it.
Read @citizencohn.bsky.social's latest in The Breakdown

[image or embed]

— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) September 28, 2025 at 12:01 PM

===

Planes still fly. Social Security checks still arrive. The real shutdown is trust in our politics. Here’s my first-hand look at what a government shutdown is—and isn’t.
open.substack.com/pub/adamkinz…

[image or embed]

— Adam Kinzinger (@adamkinzinger.substack.com) September 26, 2025 at 3:06 PM

By the way if Trump sabotages his own govt during a shutdown well, that’s his choice and he owns it.

— Adam Kinzinger (@adamkinzinger.substack.com) September 27, 2025 at 11:54 AM

===

Really need the power users of this website to accept that what we want has very little bearing on what will happen, & prepare ourselves to help Democrats make the best of the consequences, rather than providing theater criticism for how we get there

[image or embed]

— Chatham Harrison dba TRUMP DELENDUS EST (@chathamharrison.bsky.social) September 25, 2025 at 5:23 PM

===

Remember: Sharing is caring!

Never forget….
He’s to blame when the shutdown happens.

[image or embed]

— stornoway-cove.bsky.social (@stornoway-cove.bsky.social) September 27, 2025 at 5:15 PM

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    204Comments

    1. 1.

      Jeffro

      September 29, 2025 at 5:54 am

      I’m sensing a “yell at Zelenskyy for the cameras” vibe from trump & Co…fingers crossed that our side yells back and walks out if that’s the case.

      Oh and good morning, peeps!

      Reply
    2. 2.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 5:55 am

      Really need the power users of this website to accept that what we want has very little bearing on what will happen, & prepare ourselves to help Democrats make the best of the consequences, rather than providing theater criticism for how we get there

      Good luck with that. We’re all Statler and Waldorf now.

      Reply
    3. 3.

      Shalimar

      September 29, 2025 at 5:59 am

      Thune and Johnson are there to make sure they are the last people Trump talks to before the press conference.

      Reply
    4. 4.

      Jeffro

      September 29, 2025 at 6:02 am

      speaking of shutdowns and the evil geniuses that create them: The Man Behind Trump’s Push for an All-Powerful Presidency (Russ Vought)

       

      In the months since Mr. Musk fell out with the president, Mr. Vought has at last begun to put his plans into action — remaking the presidency, block by block, by restoring powers weakened after the Nixon administration. His efforts are helping Mr. Trump exert authority more aggressively than any modern president, and are threatening an erosion of the longstanding checks and balances in America’s constitutional system.

      Now, as the government heads toward a shutdown when federal funding lapses on Tuesday, Mr. Vought, 49, is leveraging the moment to further advance his goals of slashing agencies and purging employees, with his office telling agencies to prepare for mass firings unless Congress can strike a deal to keep the government open.

      For the leaders of Mr. Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement, Mr. Vought is seen as the disciplined architect who channeled the passion of MAGA into an actionable policy blueprint. The slain activist Charlie Kirk, whose podcast was one of many where Mr. Vought regularly shared his views with the Republican base, called Mr. Vought an absolute rock star.

      To many legal experts, Mr. Vought’s work is a threat to the foundations of democracy.

      “One of the main sources of power that Congress has over the executive branch is the budget,” said Eloise Pasachoff, a law professor at Georgetown University. “If the executive branch isn’t controlled by the power of the purse, then there is very little that will control the President.”

      (especially THIS “president”)

      more of this, snooze media – Americans need to get much more familiar with the banality of evil that is the essence of trump’s goon corps.  And there’s no one goon-ier than Russ Vought

      (sorry I’m out of gift links!)

      Reply
    5. 5.

      MagdaInBlack

      September 29, 2025 at 6:12 am

      “TAPPER: Just to be clear, there’s not gonna be any negotiation at this meeting? This is just gonna be you, Thune, and Trump telling Jeffries and Schumer ‘we’re not giving you anything’? MIKE JOHNSON: I’m telling you where the president’s head is”

       

      Trust me, Mikey, we know where his head is. We know where yours is too.

      Reply
    6. 6.

      Professor Bigfoot

      September 29, 2025 at 6:30 am

      Good morning all— and I’ve been wishing terminal hemorrhoids for every American* castigating Schumer and Jeffries when Americans* put them completely out of power.

      I am fucking sick of them.

      But good morning anyway.

      Reply
    7. 7.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 6:35 am

      @Professor Bigfoot:

      Good morning.

      Reply
    8. 8.

      Princess

      September 29, 2025 at 6:50 am

      @Jeffro: This is why the SCOTUS decision on tariffs is so key. If the president can raise revenue on his own from tariffs, he doesn’t need Congress for anything. No president will give that power back. Effectively you have a dictatorship by the president. Does the party holding the presidency change? I don’t see why it would. And eventually you don’t need parties except for distributing the goodies.

      Reply
    9. 9.

      Princess

      September 29, 2025 at 6:51 am

      In other news — yay, Moldova!

      Reply
    10. 10.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 6:53 am

      @Princess:

      I like countries that stand up to Russia.

      Reply
    11. 11.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 6:58 am

      Under Trump, US cedes its share of China’s beef market to Australia

      Reply
    12. 12.

      Professor Bigfoot

      September 29, 2025 at 7:11 am

      @Baud: Of course, you know that’s the fault of the Democrats, too, right? //

      Reply
    13. 13.

      Geminid

      September 29, 2025 at 7:16 am

      This morning’s Politico Playbook has plenty of material previewing today’s White House budget meeting,and the prospective government shutdown.

      They also answered a question I had: would Trump’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be before or after?

      It will be before. Trump is scheduled to greet Netanyahu at 11am, with bilateral discussions following; then, a “working lunch” followed by a joint press conference at 1:15pm.

      Reply
    14. 14.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 7:17 am

      @Geminid:

      He’s going to be exhausted for his meeting with Schumer and Jeffries.

      Reply
    15. 15.

      rikyrah

      September 29, 2025 at 7:28 am

      Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊

      Reply
    16. 16.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 7:28 am

      @rikyrah:

      Good morning.

      Reply
    17. 17.

      Geminid

      September 29, 2025 at 7:33 am

      @Princess: Yes, yay Moldova!

      From Guy Elster:

           The pro-European party of Moldovan President Maia Santu heads for victory and a new majority in parliament after a campaign mired with claims of Russian interference. Pro-Russian bloc is far behind.

      Elster reported that President Samtu’s Party of Action and Solidarity won 49.5 percent of the vote, while the pro-Russion bloc won 24.5 percent. Three smaller parties cleared the electoral threshold, two of which favor closer ties to the EU.

      Reply
    18. 18.

      hueyplong

      September 29, 2025 at 7:33 am

      Looks like a greater percentage of Moldovans than Americans recognize an existential threat.  We’ll see if we’re any better at it in 2026.

      Reply
    19. 19.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 7:36 am

      @hueyplong:

      Whatever happens next year, I doubt that Russian threat will be a major factor.

      Reply
    20. 20.

      Geminid

      September 29, 2025 at 7:40 am

       

       

      @Baud: Who knows? Trump could be on an emotional high, with uncertain effect on the budget meeting. I have hunch though, that Trump’s role in that meeting is already scripted: he, Thune and Johnson will present a united front and insist on passage of a “clean” Continuing Resolution.

      Reply
    21. 21.

      Betty

      September 29, 2025 at 7:40 am

      @MagdaInBlack: I don’t think anyone knows where Trump’s head is at any given moment other than immigrants are bad and tariffs are good. Everything else is up for grabs.  Oh, I should add gold is good too. He is not well.

      Reply
    22. 22.

      Geminid

      September 29, 2025 at 7:44 am

       

       

      @Baud: The Gaza news might overshadow the news from the other meeting, at least until tomorrow when we get into the the Shutdown Countdown.

      Reply
    23. 23.

      JoyceH

      September 29, 2025 at 7:48 am

      @Geminid: but both Thune and Johnson command majorities in their house. They shouldn’t need minority party votes to pass anything. Sounds like a Republican problem to me.

      Reply
    24. 24.

      Geminid

      September 29, 2025 at 7:54 am

      @JoyceH: Thune needs a super-majority of 60 on a cloture vote in order to get to a vote on the CR. So in effect, he cannot pass this bill without help from Democrats.

      Reply
    25. 25.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 7:56 am

      @JoyceH:

      Dems are fighting for health care. So this is a good test to see whether people will actually support standing up to Trump or whether that all that is just talk.

      Reply
    26. 26.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 8:03 am

      @Baud:

      That all that = all that

      Reply
    27. 27.

      hueyplong

      September 29, 2025 at 8:04 am

      @Baud: The existential threat doesn’t have to be Russia.

      Reply
    28. 28.

      satby

      September 29, 2025 at 8:04 am

      @Baud: that quote struck me too. “providing theater criticism for how we get there” is the entire career path for way too many of our media. Edit: and a lot of our political operators as well.

      Reply
    29. 29.

      lowtechcyclist

      September 29, 2025 at 8:05 am

      @Geminid:

      I have hunch though, that Trump’s role in that meeting is already scripted: he, Thune and Johnson will present a united front and insist on passage of a “clean” Continuing Resolution.

      What’s our problem with a ‘clean’ CR? In the past, AIUI, that’s meant continuation of funding at the previous FY levels, so no cuts until the CR runs out.  Isn’t that what we want, or is there something I’m missing here?

      Reply
    30. 30.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 8:06 am

      @satby:

      Video that was taken down in the late night thread.

      Reply
    31. 31.

      Bruce K in ATH-GR

      September 29, 2025 at 8:08 am

      @lowtechcyclist: Well, Schumer and Jeffries will be making what the GOP considers to be unreasonable demands, such as Trump actually obeying the law.

      Reply
    32. 32.

      satby

      September 29, 2025 at 8:11 am

      @Baud: Thanks. I really want some jurisdiction to file charges so we find out how many of these obvious thugs are former J6, Proudboy, or KKK alumni.

      Reply
    33. 33.

      lowtechcyclist

      September 29, 2025 at 8:11 am

      @Geminid:

      Thune needs a super-majority of 60 on a cloture vote in order to get to a vote on the CR. So in effect, he cannot pass this bill without help from Democrats.

      He can kill the filibuster with 50 votes + JD, so he doesn’t really need 60.  They changed the filibuster rules to get Gorsuch on SCOTUS, so they can change the filibuster rules to exempt budget votes. Or just get rid of the damned thing entirely.

      Whether he wants to or not (he doesn’t) is a different question. It’s completely within his power to pass this thing with 50 votes.

      Reply
    34. 34.

      Another Scott

      September 29, 2025 at 8:12 am

      @lowtechcyclist: Jeffries on MSNBC a few days ago:

      LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, here’s the thing. We’ve made clear that we’re ready, we’re willing, we’re able to sit down with anyone, at any time, any place, including the President, to have a discussion about avoiding a painful and catastrophic Republican-caused government shutdown. But at the same period of time, we’ve also been very clear we do not support this partisan Republican spending bill because it continues to gut the healthcare of the American people. We want no part of that. We’ve seen a massive attack on the healthcare of everyday Americans. Largest cut to Medicaid in American history. We’ve seen hospitals and nursing homes and community-based health clinics close all across America because of the One Big Ugly Bill. They refused to extend the tax credits for the Affordable Care Act, which is going to result in at least 20 million Americans experiencing incredibly skyrocketing premiums, co-pays and deductibles. There’s actually a $536 billion cut to Medicare that may occur because of what Republicans have done in the One Big Ugly Bill if Congress doesn’t act over the next few months. And we know, Lawrence, that they’ve also shut down medical research and in large measure vaccine availability in the United States of America. This is like immoral stuff that Republicans have done. And so we’re going to try to find a bipartisan resolution here, but there’s a clear line in the sand that we’ve drawn around the healthcare of the American people.

      HTH!

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    35. 35.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 8:12 am

      @lowtechcyclist:

      They just changed the rules to allow them to vote on multiple nominees at once.

      Reply
    36. 36.

      satby

      September 29, 2025 at 8:15 am

      @Baud: also, the Benny Hill Yakity Sax version is best!

      Reply
    37. 37.

      lowtechcyclist

      September 29, 2025 at 8:15 am

      @Bruce K in ATH-GR:

      Well, Schumer and Jeffries will be making what the GOP considers to be unreasonable demands, such as Trump actually obeying the law.

      Not sure how that would be a problem on the GOP side. Trump breaks agreements all the time, so he could agree to start obeying the rules, then break them later on anyway.  The Dems, being in the minority in both houses, don’t exactly have any enforcement mechanism, and the media would shrug, just like they have been.

      Reply
    38. 38.

      Geminid

      September 29, 2025 at 8:17 am

      @lowtechcyclist: Oh yeah, Thune can change the Senate rules in order to pass this bill. I don’t think he wants to though, for various reasons. I think he’d rather see the CR fail under existing rules, and then try to lay the onus on the Democrats.

      Reply
    39. 39.

      Soprano2

      September 29, 2025 at 8:18 am

      @Baud: I agree with this. They keep saying “stand up to FFOTUS”, so we’ll see if they support this or if they keep sniping from the cheap seats. As we saw with Kimmel last week, if enough people rise up and say “No, we won’t tolerate this” he backs off.

      Reply
    40. 40.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 8:20 am

      @satby:

      That’s what I linked to earlier that was taken down.

      Reply
    41. 41.

      Geminid

      September 29, 2025 at 8:22 am

      @lowtechcyclist: Hey, I’m not saying that I have a big problem with passing a clean CR. There are plenty of people here who do though.

      Reply
    42. 42.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 8:25 am

      @Geminid:

      The House 7 week CR pushes off the problem to nearly Thanksgiving. They probably figure they need to see some movement now before they agree to a short term CR. My guess.

      Reply
    43. 43.

      lowtechcyclist

      September 29, 2025 at 8:27 am

      @Another Scott:

      Ah, the cuts to the tax credits and the Medicare budget.  Those were in the Big Bastard Bill, IIRC, and they’re both outside the scope of the bill funding the government for the new FY, so they’d stay in effect under a clean CR, so (if I have this right) Jeffries and Schumer are saying no Dem votes for a spending bill (CR or otherwise) until the tax credits and the Medicare funding that fund people’s health care are reinstated.  And good on them.

      Again, if the GOP really wants to, Thune & Co. can carve out a filibuster exception with 50 votes + JD, and then pass their spending bill with 50+JD.  So they totally have the power to prevent a shutdown on their own budgetary terms.  It’s all on them.

      Reply
    44. 44.

      Jeffro

      September 29, 2025 at 8:28 am

      @Bruce K in ATH-GR:Schumer and Jeffries will be making what the GOP considers to be unreasonable demands, such as Trump actually obeying the law.

      right??!?

      make Vought (or trumpov himself) go on camera and tell the American people, “It’s perfectly ok for the president to ignore Congress’ role in appropriations and fund – or NOT fund – whatever he wants”

      after all, that’s what they believe, right?  they should own it, publicly

      Reply
    45. 45.

      Geminid

      September 29, 2025 at 8:30 am

      @Baud: Republican strategy could be to kick this can down the road again in November. That would make December 31 the deadline.

      Reply
    46. 46.

      Professor Bigfoot

      September 29, 2025 at 8:36 am

      @Baud: That man was pedaling like the Devil Himself was behind him.

      Which is close enough to the truth.

      ETA— the parallels to 1850 are right there. The Supremes have essentially made ICE a “runaway slave patrol,” and anyone who LOOKS brown or Latino can be snatched off the street and sent into slavery.

      Reply
    47. 47.

      Jeffro

      September 29, 2025 at 8:42 am

      “Mr. President, according to you and Russ Vought, a future president could refuse to fund ICE entirely, correct?”

      “Mr. President, according to you and Russ Vought, a future president could put massive tariffs on parts bound for coal and oil plants, and give the proceeds to solar and wind companies, correct?”

      “And in both cases, as long as that future president comes up with a so-called ‘national emergency’, Congress can’t do anything about it, correct?”

      “One last thing, Mr. President: which branch of government did the Founders list first in the Constitution?”

      Reply
    48. 48.

      satby

      September 29, 2025 at 8:43 am

      @lowtechcyclist:  this is the subject of Paul Krugman’s post today, an explainer on what will happen if those cuts go into effect and how he believes the Democrats are doing the right thing.

      Reply
    49. 49.

      Another Scott

      September 29, 2025 at 8:43 am

      @Geminid: It seems to me that the strategy is to get enough Democratic votes in the Senate without giving up anything of substance.

      Then the Keyboard Komandos swarm Democrats with the usual cries of “feckless”, “all the same”, “won’t fight”, etc., etc. to disillusion our side.

      Legislatures depend on compromise and respect for the other side and give and take and keeping agreements to function.  If the majority won’t do any of those things, and they haven’t thus far, then there’s no point in Democrats supplying any votes.

      Democrats have some leverage in the Senate now.  It’s good they are using it.  If the MAGAts end up passing something, that won’t be surprising because they have the majority.

      Schumer and Jeffries know what they’re doing.  They Keyboard Komandos aren’t our friends.

      My $0.02.  FWIW.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    50. 50.

      satby

      September 29, 2025 at 8:45 am

      @Professor Bigfoot: Devil/ICE.

      Po-tay-to/po-tah-to.

      Reply
    51. 51.

      prostratedragon

      September 29, 2025 at 8:45 am

      Justice Kavanaugh: “If the person is a U. S. citizen or otherwise lawfully
      in the United States, that individual will be free to go after the brief encounter.”

      I really do hope the phrase “Kavanaugh Stop” or “Kavanaugh Encounter” sticks.

      Reply
    52. 52.

      Nettoyeur

      September 29, 2025 at 8:47 am

      @Baud: Sounds like the US in 1938-41. Then came a,wee surprise.

      Reply
    53. 53.

      Professor Bigfoot

      September 29, 2025 at 8:48 am

      @Jeffro: That particularly chaps my hide— these “patriotic” conservatives are HAPPY to burn the Constitution they claim to revere if their pumpkin-faced Führer wants it.

      They are unworthy of their patrimony.

      Reply
    54. 54.

      mappy!

      September 29, 2025 at 8:49 am

      Taco breaks things. That’s all he does. He wants a shutdown. He’s going to get a shutdown. This is his appeal to the Freedumb Caucus. Thune and Johnson want cover because they know they’ll get blamed. But what it really all comes down to (the long game), The old school Rs want to be able to blame it all on Trump. The Dems, by having the meeting and having Thune and Johnson involved, get to expose all Rs as being complicit. You have to lay a solid foundation to build an offense. Stone by stone. Hopefully…

      Reply
    55. 55.

      Professor Bigfoot

      September 29, 2025 at 8:50 am

      @Another Scott: Schumer and Jeffries know what they’re doing.

      I believe you are correct; but the online brigade simply will not give them any sort of “benefit of the doubt.”

      Reply
    56. 56.

      David Collier-Brown

      September 29, 2025 at 8:51 am

      redundant

      Reply
    57. 57.

      Nettoyeur

      September 29, 2025 at 8:51 am

      @JoyceH: GOP does not have 60 votes in Senate. They need Dems to pass anything. So Trump is threatening wholesale, permanent layoffs.

      Reply
    58. 58.

      Deputinize America

      September 29, 2025 at 8:53 am

      @prostratedragon:

      The chances, ironically, are really high that Shouhed voted for Trump.

      Reply
    59. 59.

      trnc

      September 29, 2025 at 8:53 am

      @Princess: ​
       

      This is why the SCOTUS decision on tariffs is so key. If the president can raise revenue on his own from tariffs, he doesn’t need Congress for anything.

      Of course, SCOTUS seems to be counting on Trump to think that Article I is just a list of friendly suggestions but that Article III is sacrosanct.

      Reply
    60. 60.

      Nettoyeur

      September 29, 2025 at 8:54 am

      @David Collier-Brown:  True, but huge consequences thereafter. Rgey could also eliminate the need for a budget limit approval. Neither party has dared to do either in the past.

      Reply
    61. 61.

      oldgold

      September 29, 2025 at 8:55 am

      I think wisdom at this particular moment dictates that we punt.

      Reply
    62. 62.

      Belafon

      September 29, 2025 at 8:56 am

      @Professor Bigfoot:

      Same, but I would like to tell Jeffries if he’s not going to endorse Mamdani, he should have shut up about Adams.

      Reply
    63. 63.

      Belafon

      September 29, 2025 at 9:00 am

      @lowtechcyclist: Assuming he has the votes on the Republican side.

      Reply
    64. 64.

      trnc

      September 29, 2025 at 9:02 am

      @Jeffro:

      “Mr. President, according to you and Russ Vought, a future president could refuse to fund ICE entirely, correct?”

      Word salad response.

      “Mr. President, according to you and Russ Vought, a future president could put massive tariffs on parts bound for coal and oil plants, and give the proceeds to solar and wind companies, correct?”

      Word salad response.

      “And in both cases, as long as that future president comes up with a so-called ‘national emergency’, Congress can’t do anything about it, correct?”

      Word salad response.

      “One last thing, Mr. President: which branch of government did the Founders list first in the Constitution?”

      Ed note: Consider how they treat amendments, regardless of the order.

      Reply
    65. 65.

      Another Scott

      September 29, 2025 at 9:03 am

      @Belafon: I can’t quickly find the original, but the last paragraph of Jeffries’ statement on Adams says that he will make a mayoral endorsement in the near future, well before the start of voting.

      FWIW.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    66. 66.

      Belafon

      September 29, 2025 at 9:03 am

      @Soprano2: This would require enough Republican voters. Disney was losing their subscribers, but every liberal who said they would no longer vote for Republicans didn’t vote for them in the first place.

      Reply
    67. 67.

      Mo MacArbie

      September 29, 2025 at 9:05 am

      @satby: Dang, I was just getting ready to make the point that Krugman said much better.

      So, uh, how ’bout them baseball playoffs?

      Reply
    68. 68.

      Jeffro

      September 29, 2025 at 9:06 am

      @trnc: agree on the word salad, I just want the rest of the country to see it

      Reply
    69. 69.

      matt

      September 29, 2025 at 9:08 am

      Two Tesla influencers recorded their attempt to drive cross-country from California to Florida using the latest version of the company’s so-called Full Self-Driving technology, without human intervention. They made it only about 60 miles before a collision cut their journey short, according to Electrek.

      In 2016, Musk, the billionaire Tesla CEO, famously claimed that a fully autonomous Tesla would be able to make a coast-to-coast drive completely on its own by the end of 2017.

      Imagine if we had a functioning SEC.

      Reply
    70. 70.

      Shakti

      September 29, 2025 at 9:10 am

      @Geminid: 
      So Thune (theoretically) needs 6 Democrats to vote for something?
      And the overall response from Republicans is fuck off and die?
      And then to complain about a shutdown? They didn’t try to change the rules last time because Trump DOGE and Vought are playing games with freezing allocated budget monies and recissions anyways?

      What is weird whining from Republicans about Democrats about the shutdown the Republicans clearly want?

      Reply
    71. 71.

      brendancalling

      September 29, 2025 at 9:10 am

      @Another Scott: If I never hear the word “bipartisan” again, it will be too soon.

      Every single time I see one of those “Bipartisan Infrastructure Act” signs along a highway construction project, steam toots out of my ears like Popeye when he’s angry.

      Reply
    72. 72.

      trnc

      September 29, 2025 at 9:10 am

      @Jeffro: agree on the word salad, I just want the rest of the country to see it

      Yup. If only the reporters who would ask those questions existed and had access.

      Reply
    73. 73.

      Geminid

      September 29, 2025 at 9:12 am

      @Geminid: Regarding today’s Trump/Netanyahu meeting: Axios posted an article this morning previewing it. It’s by Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo and titled, “Netanyahu inches closer to Gaza deal under pressure from Trump.”

      It’s a decent summary of the situation, but readers might have to do an e-mail sign in to read most of it.

      Reply
    74. 74.

      Another Scott

      September 29, 2025 at 9:12 am

      @brendancalling: Remember – we aren’t the audience.

      Our representatives have to make things work with the electorate that exists, not the one that we would like to exist.

      Hang in there.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    75. 75.

      Professor Bigfoot

      September 29, 2025 at 9:16 am

      @satby: he believes the Democrats are doing the right thing.

      Obviously he’s rong. ;^)

      Reply
    76. 76.

      Betty Cracker

      September 29, 2025 at 9:18 am

      @Belafon: Apart from the foot-dragging on Mamdani, I don’t understand why Jeffries issued a statement praising Adams as “authentic” and “courageous” and thanking him for his service. Adams is an authentic crook who courageously sucked up to Trump to avoid accountability and was all about servicing himself and his cronies. What the fuck, man?

      Reply
    77. 77.

      Professor Bigfoot

      September 29, 2025 at 9:19 am

      @Jeffro: I just want the rest of the country to see it

      “… make the son of a bitch deny it!” ;^)

      Reply
    78. 78.

      prostratedragon

      September 29, 2025 at 9:19 am

      Guardian:

      Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, has played a leading role in directing US strikes against suspected Venezuelan drug boats, according to three people familiar with the situation. At times, his role has superseded that of Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser.

      Reply
    79. 79.

      NotMax

      September 29, 2025 at 9:19 am

      Cannot recommend highly enough the address to the U.N. by the Prime Minister of Barbados.

      More than merits its own front page placement.

      Reply
    80. 80.

      Jeffro

      September 29, 2025 at 9:21 am

      @trnc:If only the reporters who would ask those questions existed and had access.

      Right?  I’d also like a pony, but…

      Sadly, what it’ll take is for one or more Dem presidential candidates to get out there asking those questions.

      Reply
    81. 81.

      Shakti

      September 29, 2025 at 9:23 am

      @lowtechcyclist: 
      I wonder why Thune doesn’t want to.
      Seems strange. Shouldn’t Congress be making a bigger stink about the Supreme Court letting Trump appropriate funds whenever he fucking feels like it?

      Why did Mike Johnson even want to be Speaker of the House anyways, if Trump gets the most powerful parts of his job?

      He’s basically Anna Paulina Luna with less rizz.

      I’ve lived through the past few months years and I don’t get these people.

      Reply
    82. 82.

      Another Scott

      September 29, 2025 at 9:23 am

      @Betty Cracker: One thoughtline I can see is that 47 was obviously attempting to bend the Mayor to his will and offering really big personal benefits if he complied.  Supporting the independence of the office of Mayor is important – especially these days.

      And if you read Jeffries statement carefully, he’s not praising Adams at all.  He’s saying Adams was in office when these things happened, and that Adams has a history of being a cop, etc.  It wasn’t praise of him personally, it was praise of public service and the office of the Mayor.

      At least that’s the way I read it.

      YMMV.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    83. 83.

      narya

      September 29, 2025 at 9:24 am

      @Professor Bigfoot: I want everyone to start calling these “Kavanaugh stops,” especially the ones where the thugs are smashing people to the ground. Because Kav says they’re fine, and not inconvenient or anything untoward.

      ETA: and I see prostratedragon got there first.

      Reply
    84. 84.

      lowtechcyclist

      September 29, 2025 at 9:25 am

      @Professor Bigfoot: ​

      ETA— the parallels to 1850 are right there. The Supremes have essentially made ICE a “runaway slave patrol,” and anyone who LOOKS brown or Latino can be snatched off the street and sent into slavery.

      This. 100%.

      Reply
    85. 85.

      satby

      September 29, 2025 at 9:26 am

      @Mo MacArbie: 😂

      Reply
    86. 86.

      Scout211

      September 29, 2025 at 9:27 am

      It’s been almost 24 hours and we haven’t heard the FBI tell us that the church mass shooting yesterday in Michigan was left-leaning, leftist, trans, antifa?

      The gunman who rammed his truck into a Mormon church and opened fire on worshippers was an Iraq war veteran who had previously shown support for Donald Trump.

      Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, from suburban Michigan, killed at least four people in the attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township on Sunday.

      Police are still combing through the wreckage after he set the building ablaze.

      The ex-Marine was killed by police after he shot at least 10 people with an assault rifle in what the FBI described as an “act of targeted violence”. Authorities have yet to provide a motive.

      Sanford, who also went by the name of Jake, graduated from a nearby high school in 2004 before joining the Marine Corps.

      His recent political views remain unclear, but he was seen wearing a camouflage Trump 2020 campaign shirt, emblazoned with the words Make Liberals Cry Again, in a picture posted on social media in 2019.

      An image of Sanford’s home, taken on Google Street View in June, showed a Trump-Pence sign attached to his garden fence.

      More at the link (web archive version).

      Added:

      According to a GoFundMe page from 2015, the family appealed for donations to help pay for the medical care of their son, now 10, who was born with congenital hyperinsulinism, a rare genetic disorder in which the pancreas releases too much insulin, forcing numerous surgeries and hospital stays.

      Reply
    87. 87.

      Professor Bigfoot

      September 29, 2025 at 9:28 am

      @NotMax: Thank you, NM— and she is SO right.

      Reply
    88. 88.

      satby

      September 29, 2025 at 9:30 am

      Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter today:

      If MedBeds were real and “every citizen” could use them, as the deep fake video suggests, no one would need to worry about losing their healthcare insurance.

      Reply
    89. 89.

      lowtechcyclist

      September 29, 2025 at 9:33 am

      @satby:

      Thanks! Krugman, as always, knows his stuff and has a talent for explaining things clearly. Especially now that he’s freed from the FTFNYT’s shackles.

      Reply
    90. 90.

      Butter Emails!!!

      September 29, 2025 at 9:37 am

      @Another Scott:

      Remember – we aren’t the audience.

      Our representatives have to make things work with the electorate that exists, not the one that we would like to exist.

      Hang in there.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      The Democrats’ failure to place themselves as a true opposition party is a significant contributing factor to why our electorate feels by a 2 to 1 margin that Republicans are better for the economy than the Democrats despite the last 4 decades of Republicans tanking the economy and Democrats having to clean up the mess. There are similar numbers on crime, despite blue states having lower crime rates than red states on average. My personal favorite is the edge Republicans have with the Republic on dealing with corruption despite openly shoving cash in their pockets.

      Reply
    91. 91.

      Spanky

      September 29, 2025 at 9:38 am

      MIKE JOHNSON: I’m telling you where the president’s head is

      The jokes, they write themselves.

      (Now back up to read comments.)

      Reply
    92. 92.

      jonas

      September 29, 2025 at 9:41 am

      @Baud: Right now ranchers are enjoying record high beef prices and making money hand over fist. They’re not going to care. But things will eventually change and once these trade relationships are lost, they’re very hard to rebuild.

      Reply
    93. 93.

      zhena gogolia

      September 29, 2025 at 9:42 am

      @Butter Emails!!!:

      The Democrats’ failure to place themselves as a true opposition party

      You think it’s the Democrats’ failure. I think it’s the completely right-centered orientation of the entire media landscape.

      Reply
    94. 94.

      lowtechcyclist

      September 29, 2025 at 9:46 am

      @Belafon: ​

      Assuming he has the votes on the Republican side.

      Whether he does or he doesn’t, it’s all on the GOP either way. They had 50 votes for putting RFK Jr, Hegseth, etc. in the Cabinet, so if they can’t come up with 50 votes for this, it damned sure ain’t the Dems’ fault.​

      ETA: Fixed reply button failure.

      Reply
    95. 95.

      NotMax

      September 29, 2025 at 9:47 am

      @zhena gogolia

      The Overton window is not a guillotine.

      Reply
    96. 96.

      Jackie

      September 29, 2025 at 9:47 am

      @Scout211:

      It’s been almost 24 hours and we haven’t heard the FBI tell us that the church mass shooting yesterday in Michigan was left-leaning, leftist, trans, antifa?

      Along with the excerpts you added, the truck he drove into the church had two huge American flags brandishing in MAGA style. I ran across one photo showing the truck after it crashed into the church and both flags were clearly visible.

      Like you, I’m waiting with bated breath for the FBI’s report.

      Reply
    97. 97.

      WTFGhost

      September 29, 2025 at 9:49 am

      Hey, Anne Laurie. You haven’t been missing, so this “thank you” for being you comes out of the blue. That’s my way of doing things.

      Today, I was lonely, and I needed a connection, and BJ was here. Thank you. It wouldn’t be here without our Queen of late night understanding and compassion.

      Reply
    98. 98.

      Belafon

      September 29, 2025 at 9:50 am

      @Butter Emails!!!:

      The Democrats’ failure to place themselves as a true opposition party to buy newspapers and television stations is THE significant contributing factor to why our electorate feels by a 2 to 1 margin that Republicans are better for the economy than the Democrats despite the last 4 decades of Republicans tanking the economy and Democrats having to clean up the mess. There are similar numbers on crime, despite blue states having lower crime rates than red states on average. My personal favorite is the edge Republicans have with the Republic on dealing with corruption despite openly shoving cash in their pockets.

      Reply
    99. 99.

      satby

      September 29, 2025 at 9:50 am

      @Jackie: I don’t think even my cousin, a retired FBI agent and former Trump voter (pre-Jan6), will trust any report produced under Kash Patel’s FBI. We shouldn’t either.

      Reply
    100. 100.

      lowtechcyclist

      September 29, 2025 at 9:53 am

      @prostratedragon: ​
      I deeply desire a future where both of them (along with their orange boss) spend the rest of their lives in the equivalent of Spandau Prison.

      Reply
    101. 101.

      lowtechcyclist

      September 29, 2025 at 9:55 am

      @Shakti: ​

      Why did Mike Johnson even want to be Speaker of the House anyways, if Trump gets the most powerful parts of his job?

      Bigger office, nice title on the door?

      Reply
    102. 102.

      Betty Cracker

      September 29, 2025 at 9:57 am

      @Another Scott: Here’s the statement, which speaks for itself IMO.

      Monday Morning Open Thread 26

      I think shit like this matters because it lends credibility to the “both sides” lie, the idea that both parties are equally corrupt. In fact, despite the occasional corrupt Dem like Eric Adams and Bob Menendez, it is Republicans who are overwhelmingly corrupt, and they’ve never been more openly corrupt than they are right now and have no intention of holding their corrupt leaders accountable because they’re too busy getting in on the grift themselves.

      Dems have an opportunity to make that case and differentiate themselves as the anti-corruption party. This sort of thing doesn’t help. I’m not saying it’s the end of the world, but it was a bad move, IMO. No upside. Lots of downside.

      Reply
    103. 103.

      Uncle Cosmo

      September 29, 2025 at 10:01 am

      @Betty: I don’t think anyone knows where Trump’s head is at any given moment

      FFS, we know EXACTLY “where his head is” – up close and poisonous with his colonic polyps.

      Reply
    104. 104.

      Jackie

      September 29, 2025 at 10:09 am

      @satby: Oh, I agree! My bated breath comment was meant to convey sarcasm ;-)

      Patel has his panties twisted into a bunch trying to figure out how to blame Democrats for the attack.

      Reply
    105. 105.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 10:18 am

      @Jackie:

      He’s also trying to figure out if Mormons believe in Valhalla.

      Reply
    106. 106.

      Belafon

      September 29, 2025 at 10:20 am

      @Baud: Or if he wants to meet them there.

      Reply
    107. 107.

      mrmoshpotato

      September 29, 2025 at 10:24 am

      @Baud: Viking Mormons do.

      Reply
    108. 108.

      Jackie

      September 29, 2025 at 10:25 am

      @Betty Cracker: Speaking of the NYC mayoral race, FFOTUS is flapping threats, again:

      President Donald Trump once again threatened New York City against voting for Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, this time suggesting he’ll personally intervene at the federal level to defund all of his policies if he wins.

      “Self proclaimed New York City Communist, Zohran Mamdani, who is running for Mayor, will prove to be one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party,” wrote Trump on his Truth Social platform, though Mamdani — a democratic socialist — has never proclaimed himself a communist.

      “He is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City. Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?”

      “This ideology has failed, always, for thousands of years. It will fail again, and that’s guaranteed! President DJT.”

      —RawStory

      What he didn’t say – while saying: “Vote for my dear friend, who too, enjoys sexually abusing women, Andrew Cuomo!”

      Reply
    109. 109.

      zhena gogolia

      September 29, 2025 at 10:26 am

      God, I’m hoping Jeffries endorses Mamdani. Not that I give a f–k, since I don’t live in NYC, but I don’t want to hear all the complaining if he doesn’t.

      Reply
    110. 110.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 10:28 am

      @zhena gogolia:

      I hope he does too, but I expect people will still complain

      ETA: NYC and NY politics has always been weird. Unfortunately, both of our congressional heads are from there, so it ends up a national problem.

      Reply
    111. 111.

      zhena gogolia

      September 29, 2025 at 10:30 am

      @Baud: True.

      Reply
    112. 112.

      schrodingers_cat

      September 29, 2025 at 10:37 am

      @zhena gogolia: I hope he doesn’t. I am not sold on Mamdani.

      Reply
    113. 113.

      Scout211

      September 29, 2025 at 10:38 am

      In other news, what is the NFL thinking? Hiring a Spanish speaking pop star from Puerto Rico  to headline the Super Bowl halftime show? DEI hire?

      Will Trump and his minions have something to say about this? Bad Bunny is an international superstar and is not a Trump fan.

      Good on the NFL and Apple Music.

      Reply
    114. 114.

      zhena gogolia

      September 29, 2025 at 10:39 am

      @schrodingers_cat: Well, he’s better than Cuomo or Sliwa, I’d say.

      Reply
    115. 115.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 10:39 am

      @Scout211:

      Yeah, I saw that.  MLB has been rolling over for Trump all year. Hopefully, the NFL can show some courage.

      Reply
    116. 116.

      schrodingers_cat

      September 29, 2025 at 10:39 am

      I was today years old when I found out that the Portuguese conducted an inquisition in India. And killed and tortured over 20,000 people. In some ways T2.0 is an heir to “western values” of yore. In the miniscule portion of India over which they ruled.

      Reply
    117. 117.

      zhena gogolia

      September 29, 2025 at 10:39 am

      I can’t even read the NYT Sunday Styles section any more. It’s always featuring some MAGA celebrity.

      Reply
    118. 118.

      schrodingers_cat

      September 29, 2025 at 10:40 am

      @zhena gogolia: IDK that. His flippant answers about Muslims in Gujarat was what I found highly problematic. YMMV.

      Paraphrasing Mamdani, People are surprised when they find that I am a Gujarati Muslim because they think all Gujarati Muslims in India have been genocided.

      Reply
    119. 119.

      Jackie

      September 29, 2025 at 10:41 am

      FFOTUS has spoken again! Let’s make everyday Americans poorer than ever!

      “In order to make North Carolina, which has completely lost its furniture business to China, and other Countries, GREAT again, I will be imposing substantial Tariffs on any Country that does not make its furniture in the United States,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “Details to follow!!! President DJT”

      Reply
    120. 120.

      prostratedragon

      September 29, 2025 at 10:44 am

      @Jackie:

      At least, USA Today is on it, per Joe.My.God. He also has some social media community reports about the shooter and his family.

      Reply
    121. 121.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 10:46 am

      @schrodingers_cat:

      Like anybody, he could end up a failure, but I don’t think he’s a worse person than Cuomo based on what little I know.of both of them. YMMV.

      Reply
    122. 122.

      Jackie

      September 29, 2025 at 10:47 am

      @Scout211:

      Good on the NFL and Apple Music.

      Bad Bunny! Maybe this announcement will cause FFOTUS to have an aneurysm!

      Can he deport Bad Bunny? He and Miller are probably huddled together right this minute…

      Reply
    123. 123.

      Old School

      September 29, 2025 at 10:48 am

      @Jackie:

       I will be imposing substantial Tariffs on any Country that does not make its furniture in the United States

      And movies!

      I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

      Reply
    124. 124.

      schrodingers_cat

      September 29, 2025 at 10:49 am

      @Baud: I don’t trust him.

      Reply
    125. 125.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 10:50 am

      @schrodingers_cat:

      You don’t have to. No one has an obligation to trust anybody.

      Reply
    126. 126.

      Jeffro

      September 29, 2025 at 10:54 am

      @Jackie:“He is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City. Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?”

      hey y’all remember the time that President Obama said the exact same thing during the 2014 race for mayor of Dallas?

      no?

      Reply
    127. 127.

      rikyrah

      September 29, 2025 at 10:54 am

      @Geminid:

      the problem is that the Democrats negotiated in good faith with Senate Republicans last year, only to have everything they negotiated thrown away later.

      So, the GOP can’t be trusted.

      No Democrat vote for any of this shyt.

      Reply
    128. 128.

      Jeffro

      September 29, 2025 at 10:55 am

      @Jeffro: note also that the money comes from him, as president…it’s not the American people’s money or Congress’ money…it’s all Donnie’s money, now.

      Reply
    129. 129.

      Butter Emails!!!

      September 29, 2025 at 10:58 am

      @zhena gogolia:

      You think it’s the Democrats’ failure. I think it’s the completely right-centered orientation of the entire media landscape.

      That’s probably the largest component, but Democrats cheering bipartisanship every time they’ve successfully managed to drag the Republicans kicking and screaming into doing something for the American people doesn’t help. It’s probably also counterproductive for Democratic leadership to talk about their friends across the aisle when those “friends” routinely accuse them of being in support of elementary schools cutting of the genitals off children without parental permission.

      Reply
    130. 130.

      Scout211

      September 29, 2025 at 10:58 am

      Another sport that Trump is ruining .

      Europe may have defeated the United States in golf’s marquee event. But the verbal abuse hurled at the European players by a baying, boozed-up New York crowd left a sour taste Monday, with calls for tighter policing of American spectators.

      The scenes at the Ryder Cup were unrecognizable from golf’s genteel archetype, where etiquette demands silence on the tee and applause greets opponents’ drives and putts. Instead the Bethpage Black Course, on Long Island, descended this weekend into a bearpit of personal insults, vulgar chanting and — in one instance — a beer thrown at the wife of star Rory McIlroy.

      European media responds:

      “Grotesque Bethpage circus holds a mirror up to Trump’s America,” read a Monday headline in Britain’s right-wing Daily Telegraph newspaper. The left-leaning Guardian opined, “U.S. fan ugliness at the Ryder Cup was merely a reflection of Trump’s all-caps America.”

      Reply
    131. 131.

      schrodingers_cat

      September 29, 2025 at 11:00 am

      @Baud: If he wins he is going to be a liability for Ds in 2026 retaking the House.

      Reply
    132. 132.

      satby

      September 29, 2025 at 11:00 am

      @schrodingers_cat: Mandami won the primary. He’s up against a Republican and an independent (sore loser). That ship has sailed.

      Reply
    133. 133.

      rikyrah

      September 29, 2025 at 11:01 am

      Candidly Tiff
      @tify330
      The last two Government shutdowns happened under Trump with Republicans holding a majority in the House and Senate.

      January 2018: 3 days
      December 2018- January 2019: 35 days

      Republicans do not know how to govern yet you keep electing them. Makes no sense.
      x.com/tify330/status/1972651392826270020

      Reply
    134. 134.

      tam1MI

      September 29, 2025 at 11:01 am

       

      @prostratedragon: My first thought when I heard about the shooting was that it was some crazy pants MAGA type getting vengeance for Charlie Kirk.

      Reply
    135. 135.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 11:03 am

      @schrodingers_cat:

      Maybe. I don’t know. But I can’t hold other voters’ prejudices against Mamdani, just like I don’t care when lefties complain about centrist Dems who win elections.

      Reply
    136. 136.

      schrodingers_cat

      September 29, 2025 at 11:04 am

      @satby: Doesn’t change my opinion about him.

      Reply
    137. 137.

      Another Scott

      September 29, 2025 at 11:04 am

      @Betty Cracker: I appreciate and understand your point, but I’m not seeing a reason to get upset with Jeffries about this, myself. I continue to think that it is a nuanced statement (and recognize that others may not read it that way).

      Looking at the Memeorandum River, I see 8 mentions of Adams and 3 mentions of Jeffries and there doesn’t seem to be an immediately obvious overlap in the headlines. (No time to click on all of them at the moment, unfortunately.)

      FWIW.

      Thanks.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    138. 138.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 11:05 am

      @tam1MI:

      Mine too.

      Reply
    139. 139.

      schrodingers_cat

      September 29, 2025 at 11:06 am

      @Baud: No not because of prejudice, but because of the stuff that he will say and do.

      Reply
    140. 140.

      Jackie

      September 29, 2025 at 11:09 am

      @Scout211:

      “U.S. fan ugliness at the Ryder Cup was merely a reflection of Trump’s all-caps America.”

      I was so ashamed of those Americans when I heard about this. Mcllroy’s wife was hit in her head by a half full bottle of beer thrown at her. Embarrassing. Humiliating.

      Reply
    141. 141.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 11:10 am

      @schrodingers_cat:

      Sorry, I meant prejudice in the broader sense of being against his ideology, not just his race or religion.

      If voters outside of NYC are concerned about how NYC is run, rather than what their own elected reps are doing, then that’s a form of prejudice that NYC voters don’t have to accommodate IMHO.

      Reply
    142. 142.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 11:11 am

      @Jackie:

      Wow. The organizers need to say something. And the club.

      Reply
    143. 143.

      Ruckus

      September 29, 2025 at 11:12 am

      Why are they so hell-bent on making sure your health care premiums double next year?

      Ask simple questions – get simple answers.

      MONEY.

      They likely know they won’t get double but if they ask for say a 50% increase they’d likely get maybe a 20-25% increase. They ask and fight for double they might get a 30-40% increase. Major companies are in business to make MONEY. They do that by providing a service or product. Which is more important to them, PROFIT or the product? Yeah I’d bet you know the correct answer. I say this as a prior specialty manufacturing company owner. We made tools for customers to make products they sold. It is an economic train, getting from a concept to delivering a product in a way that works for the common purchaser. Say fruit juice. Often you can buy it in a 4oz bottle or a quart or half or gallon, etc bottle. The product is the same, the delivery quantity is different. And someone has to make the tools that make the bottles and someone has to make the bottles and someone has to fill them and deliver them to the store to sell them to you. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that most people never see or even realize. And food products have a half life, they go bad if not sold in time, which is a possible cost that the vendor has to suffer, which raises the cost of every product that can become useless. Now in a high population density area the concept of waste is likely to be less because there are more purchasers. (also more sellers) In a low density area the opposite can be true. It is a big circle that most people never actually get the concept of because they aren’t in the business. Insurance is another product that makes money if the price is high enough and the area safe enough. Change either of those and the cost can be astronomical. And while the companies have data to give them a decent idea of the sales to profit ratio, that data can be completely off or the concept of whatever the insurance is for can change from no cost to holy hell cost. It’s a concept that the company hopes will never happen but one they have to account for. Now for the kicker – GREED. That common human bit that changes everything.

      Reply
    144. 144.

      jonas

      September 29, 2025 at 11:13 am

      – Spewed false and dangerous claims about Tylenol and childhood vaccines – Announced new tariffs that will make furniture and home construction more expensive – Directed the Justice Department to indict James Comey

      All of which the MSM — as far as I could tell — reported as though it were just a list of things a president does and of course Democrats protested this or that, gridlock and so forth, yada, yada.

      Reply
    145. 145.

      WereBear

      September 29, 2025 at 11:13 am

      @Ruckus: And they don’t bring ANYTHING to the table. No added value.

      Reply
    146. 146.

      WTFGhost

      September 29, 2025 at 11:14 am

      @Baud: And I’ll add a “good morning” of my own.

      Reply
    147. 147.

      rikyrah

      September 29, 2025 at 11:15 am

      Bloomberg Law

      @BLaw
      At least a third of senior career leaders have left the Justice Department since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, taking with them centuries of combined expertise, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis.
      x.com/BLaw/status/1972640078016004137

      Reply
    148. 148.

      WTFGhost

      September 29, 2025 at 11:17 am

      @rikyrah: *YOU* again?

      Ah, eff. Good morning.

      @Geminid: That’s what a smart, and strong, President would do. By random chance, donny-boy might do it too.

      @Betty: anyone who can see Trump’s ass – he shows it often enough! – knows where Trump’s head is

      @Geminid: Man, that sucks. I hope he hasn’t been shit-posting Democrats the past year+.

      Reply
    149. 149.

      Jackie

      September 29, 2025 at 11:18 am

      Secret Service vehicle caught fire outside the White House on Monday, resulting in street closures ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit, according to a report from Just the News.

      The SUV caught fire in its back seat and there did not appear to be any immediate casualties. Just the News White House Correspondent Amanda Head confirmed the events as an eyewitness.

      The vehicle was situated at the corner of 18th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

      Reply
    150. 150.

      jonas

      September 29, 2025 at 11:19 am

      @rikyrah: If this kind of institutional destruction/dismantling had happened during a Democratic administration, the MSM would be in a 24/7 code red meltdown for weeks — like the Afghanistan withdrawal — but since it’s just another Monday under Trump, whaddyagonnado?

      Reply
    151. 151.

      Jackie

      September 29, 2025 at 11:20 am

      @Baud:

      If voters outside of NYC are concerned about how NYC is run, rather than what their own elected reps are doing, then that’s a form of prejudice that NYC voters don’t have to accommodate IMHO.

      Well said, Baud, well said.

      Reply
    152. 152.

      schrodingers_cat

      September 29, 2025 at 11:21 am

      @Baud: Fair enough.

      Reply
    153. 153.

      Ruckus

      September 29, 2025 at 11:25 am

      @MagdaInBlack:

      His head. Somewhere dark and smelly. Which is why he can’t see what’s in front of him. Or behind or to the left. To the right he can see. Sort of. Of course what he sees is not in any way a working reality. His brain, such as it is, doesn’t work that way. IOW it’s difficult to hear (or see) anything when one’s brain is yelling ME, ME, ME……..

      Reply
    154. 154.

      iKropoclast

      September 29, 2025 at 11:25 am

      Free rides for working people? Food sold at cost?

      What kind of hellscape is this?

      Reply
    155. 155.

      Gloria DryGarden

      September 29, 2025 at 11:31 am

      @WTFGhost: good morning!

      Reply
    156. 156.

      Jackie

      September 29, 2025 at 11:36 am

      Just another typical FFOTUS supporter…

      Wisconsin business owner Bill Berrien, a supporter of President Donald Trump, ended his Republican campaign for governor on Friday, days after it was reported that he followed numerous sexually explicit accounts online, including a nonbinary pornography performer, the AP reports.

      Berrien, a former Navy SEAL and one of three announced prominent Republican candidates, issued a lengthy statement saying “I had no idea that running for political office could be almost as dangerous” as “hunting down war criminals in Bosnia.” Berrien said he concluded he could not win the Republican primary.

      “Looking towards what is in the best interest of the party, voters, donors, and my family, I have decided to end my campaign,” he said.

      Reply
    157. 157.

      iKropoclast

      September 29, 2025 at 11:38 am

      @Jackie: Wisconsin business owner Bill Berrien, a supporter of President Donald Trump, ended his Republican campaign for governor on Friday, days after it was reported that he followed numerous sexually explicit accounts online, including a nonbinary pornography performer

      No shame in it if you’re not ashamed. It’s the one thing Trump gets right.

      Reply
    158. 158.

      Belafon

      September 29, 2025 at 11:39 am

      @Jackie: You mean a Republican got held to a standard they think they have the right to force on other people?

      Reply
    159. 159.

      iKropoclast

      September 29, 2025 at 11:40 am

      @Belafon: He held himself to his own standard he’s trying to apply to others, the fool.

      Reply
    160. 160.

      stinger

      September 29, 2025 at 11:40 am

      @Princess: I drank a Moldova wine yesterday — white, light, pleasant!

      Reply
    161. 161.

      Baud

      September 29, 2025 at 11:41 am

      @Jackie:

      I’m glad he’ll have more time to spend with his porn.

      Reply
    162. 162.

      geg6

      September 29, 2025 at 11:43 am

      @Another Scott:

      Oh please.  Let me praise the guy but I’m secretly criticizing him if you squint and tilt our heads is now the excuse for this guy?   And months after the primary was decided, I’m going to tease a possible endorsement at some point down the road, maybe, is doing anything other than making him look like an asshole?  He’s really not meeting the moment.  I want to like the guy since he is one our leaders but damn.  He makes it really hard.

      Reply
    163. 163.

      Professor Bigfoot

      September 29, 2025 at 11:47 am

      @zhena gogolia: You don’t think they’ll stfu, do you?

      They will hound every single thing that man says or does no matter what.

      They are stupid, lazy, and profoundly uninformed.

      Reply
    164. 164.

      geg6

      September 29, 2025 at 11:47 am

      @zhena gogolia:

      Porque no los dos?

      Reply
    165. 165.

      Belafon

      September 29, 2025 at 11:52 am

      @Jackie: Which is funny because we still have companies here in Texas making furniture, though he’s probably making the materials so expensive that their prices are going to go up significantly.

      Reply
    166. 166.

      iKropoclast

      September 29, 2025 at 11:52 am

      @Professor Bigfoot: They will hound every single thing that man says or does no matter what.

      “They” are always up to something. Damn “them,” whoever “they” are.

      Reply
    167. 167.

      Professor Bigfoot

      September 29, 2025 at 11:52 am

      @Baud:  There’s campaigning, and there’s governing.

      ZM is obviously a great campaigner (for the particular, somewhat provincial) office he’s running for.

      I don’t live there, so if New Yorkers want him, then so be it. Best of luck to all of them.

      But I absolutely don’t blame anyone for being sceptical or distrusting of him or most especially distrustful of the online hordes demanding fealty to him.

      Reply
    168. 168.

      Jackie

      September 29, 2025 at 11:55 am

      Didn’t FFOTUS release a statement saying the attack on the Michigan church was an attack on Christians?

      White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavett revealed the gunman who killed four worshippers and injured eight others at a Michigan church on Sunday “hated” people who belonged to the Mormon faith.

      Speaking on Fox & Friends on Monday, when asked about the nature of the motive by co-host Lawrence Jones, without revealing whether there was a personal connection to that church community, Leavitt said FBI director Kash Patel told her that the assailant targeted members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because of their faith.

      mediaite.com/media/tv/karoline-leavitt-reveals-fbis-michigan-shooter-motive-finding-hated-people-of-…

      Is Karoline implying Patel doesn’t consider Mormons Christians?

      Reply
    169. 169.

      Another Scott

      September 29, 2025 at 11:56 am

      @geg6:

      Maybe compare Jeffries statement on the passing of Gerry Connolly with the statement about Adams in #102 above.

      May 21st, 2025 | Press Release

      LEADER JEFFRIES STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF REP. GERRY CONNOLLY

      Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries released the following statement:

      The Democratic Caucus, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the country have lost a hardworking, humble and honorable public servant with the passing of Congressman Gerry Connolly.

      For more than three decades, Gerry relentlessly defended our democracy on the Oversight Committee, where he became a Subcommittee Chair and then the Ranking Member. As the co-author of the Issa-Connolly Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), he was instrumental in overhauling our federal IT laws and ensuring our government institutions remain strong and secure. He used his foreign policy expertise as both a Senate staffer and a Member of the People’s House to bolster our transatlantic alliance, serving twice as the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Even as he battled a difficult cancer diagnosis, Ranking Member Connolly continued to push back against the unprecedented attacks on the federal workers in his district and across the country.

      In addition to his legislative wisdom, Gerry always brought his signature mirth and wit to the House, making even something like proxy voting a point of levity during an otherwise challenging time in our nation. My prayers, and those of the entire House Democratic Caucus, are with Congressman Connolly’s loved ones and the devoted staff who he considered to be his family.

      ###

      Gerry “relentlessly defended our democracy”.

      Adams was “in office”.

      There’s a pretty big difference in the levels of praise, it seems to me.

      FWIW.

      Thanks.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    170. 170.

      Professor Bigfoot

      September 29, 2025 at 12:04 pm

      @iKropoclast: Follow my Bluesky feed. “They” are all TF over it.

      Reply
    171. 171.

      Jackie

      September 29, 2025 at 12:05 pm

      @Belafon: I assume he’s going after IKEA and the like, who get their furniture from China and other foreign countries.

      Reply
    172. 172.

      geg6

      September 29, 2025 at 12:11 pm

      @Another Scott:

      Nope, sorry.  He didn’t have to say anything at all about Adams.  He could have just said no comment if asked for one.  Sick of excusing these milk toast Dems and needing an Ovaltine secret code to parse that their praise for garbage people is actually some sort of hard hitting criticism.  Either say nothing or be fucking honest.  This is one of the major problems Dems have with voters.  They don’t trust them because they won’t be honest about their foes and won’t forcefully stand up for the ideals they say they espouse.  Of course it’s not every Democrat, but too much of the leadership has lost touch with the voters.  Hell, I’m as committed a liberal Dem as you’ll ever meet and I don’t trust them.  They haven’t given me much reason to.  I’m still going to vote for all Democrats I can but I am not inspired much by the so-called leaders, whether in the government or the party.  And the criticism people like me get for pointing this out just perpetuates the problem.  If we can’t discuss what is wrong with our side and find ways to improve and modernize, are we really on the same side?  It doesn’t feel like it sometimes.

      Reply
    173. 173.

      Belafon

      September 29, 2025 at 12:17 pm

      @Jackie: The funny thing about that is my home town, Rockwall, is getting an IKEA that will open up early next year. This place went for Trump by about 30 points.

      Reply
    174. 174.

      Paul in KY

      September 29, 2025 at 12:18 pm

      @Jeffro: If it is televised, then for sure that’s what it will be.

      Reply
    175. 175.

      Paul in KY

      September 29, 2025 at 12:29 pm

      @Baud: I’m pretty sure I have walked across that bridge several times. Got a great laugh!

      Reply
    176. 176.

      iKropoclast

      September 29, 2025 at 12:30 pm

      @Professor Bigfoot: I try to minimize my social media exposure to basically just here, but sure. How do I find you?

      Reply
    177. 177.

      comrade scotts agenda of rage

      September 29, 2025 at 12:31 pm

      @geg6:

      +1

      Reply
    178. 178.

      iKropoclast

      September 29, 2025 at 12:34 pm

      @geg6: Sick of excusing these milk toast Dems and needing an Ovaltine secret code to parse that their praise for garbage people is actually some sort of hard hitting criticism.

      Adams is so corrupt he got his first corruption investigation wiped away by Trump, then he gets pegged for whole new corruption.

      Reply
    179. 179.

      Another Scott

      September 29, 2025 at 12:35 pm

      @geg6:

      WARNING – TheHill.com:

      House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) warned Monday that Democrats won’t accept any Republican spending bill that makes life more expensive for working class people, pointing specifically to looming health care cuts as a “five-alarm fire” that must be addressed to win his party’s support for legislation preventing a shutdown.

      Just hours before he and other top congressional leaders were scheduled to meet with President Trump at the White House, Jeffries amplified the Democrats’ opposition to the Republicans’ partisan bill, saying it’s doomed to fail unless Republicans agree to scale back the scheduled cuts to health care programs.

      He did not draw specific red lines but pointed directly to threats to Medicaid, Medicare, medical research, vaccine availability and tax credits under ObamaCare that are due to expire at the end of the year.

      “What we will not do is support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people,” Jeffries told reporters in the Capitol. “This is a five-alarm fire in terms of the Republican-caused health care crisis. And that’s why Democrats are determined to turn things around.”

      FWIW.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    180. 180.

      Paul in KY

      September 29, 2025 at 12:37 pm

      @Spanky: Now tell us where your head is? Though I think I already know…

      Reply
    181. 181.

      satby

      September 29, 2025 at 12:37 pm

      @schrodingers_cat: your or my opinions don’t really matter here, we’re not voters in NYC. They get to pick.

      Reply
    182. 182.

      Paul in KY

      September 29, 2025 at 12:39 pm

      @Betty Cracker: Agree that it appears to be a tongue bath of Mr. Adams. I guess he thinks some of his voters will hopefully vote for him? Maybe it’s ‘game acknowledging game’, even if they were opponents at times?

      Reply
    183. 183.

      LAC

      September 29, 2025 at 12:42 pm

      @Jackie: Seconded.  No matter how many ,many ,many times it is brought up.

      Reply
    184. 184.

      Aziz, light!

      September 29, 2025 at 12:45 pm

      Thune and Johnson are there to make sure they are the last people Trump talks to before the press conference.

      What happens after Trump loses object permanence?

      Reply
    185. 185.

      Paul in KY

      September 29, 2025 at 12:46 pm

      @schrodingers_cat: Pro Tip: You shouldn’t ‘trust’ any particular politician.  Ours or (especially) theirs.

      Reply
    186. 186.

      Betty Cracker

      September 29, 2025 at 12:47 pm

      @Paul in KY: I think Adams was polling in single digits, and Jeffries hasn’t endorsed any of the other candidates, so it doesn’t appear to be a strategic thing. I have the same question geg6 has at #172 — why say anything at all? 

      I will say I think Jeffries (this applies to Schumer sometimes as well) doesn’t deserve a lot of the criticism he gets. I’m not one of the folks who pile on him every time he opens his trap.

      But yeah, sometimes he’ll do or say something like this, and it makes me want to pour a pint of bourbon into a half-eaten carton of dulce de leche ice cream and call it lunch because damn. 

      Reply
    187. 187.

      Paul in KY

      September 29, 2025 at 12:48 pm

      @Jackie: In fairness, it was intended for Rory.

      Reply
    188. 188.

      Paul in KY

      September 29, 2025 at 12:55 pm

      @Baud: He’s with it right now. Diddy can sell him some of his lube.

      Reply
    189. 189.

      Interesting Name Goes Here

      September 29, 2025 at 12:57 pm

      @zhena gogolia: The complaining didn’t cease when Kamala did – it just shifted to them being upset because she didn’t use his name and dared to suggest that there were other races worthy of the same attention.

      These people are going to turn on Mamdani in a microsecond the moment he has to actually govern.

      Reply
    190. 190.

      Paul in KY

      September 29, 2025 at 12:58 pm

      @Professor Bigfoot: He’ll be much much better for NYCers than Cuomo or Sliwa. That is all that matters, IMO.

      Reply
    191. 191.

      Paul in KY

      September 29, 2025 at 12:59 pm

      @Jackie: My Methodist preacher back in the day did not consider them Christians.

      Reply
    192. 192.

      geg6

      September 29, 2025 at 12:59 pm

      @Another Scott:

      I’ll wait and see.  He says a lot of things.  Hopefully, he and Schumer have taken their heads out of their asses.  But I’m not as sanguine as you are.

      Reply
    193. 193.

      Paul in KY

      September 29, 2025 at 1:00 pm

      @Another Scott: He still gave him a glowing (IMO) send-off, considering how bad he was as a ‘Democrat’.

      Reply
    194. 194.

      Paul in KY

      September 29, 2025 at 1:01 pm

      @geg6: What would LBJ or Truman have said about Mr. Adams? They need to channel that.

      Reply
    195. 195.

      geg6

      September 29, 2025 at 1:04 pm

      @Paul in KY:

      For real.

      Reply
    196. 196.

      Paul in KY

      September 29, 2025 at 1:05 pm

      @Betty Cracker: Maybe he was trying to throw an olive branch to the NYPD, who were probably Adam’s only supporters? Maybe they are personal friends from back in the day?

      Makes me cringe too.

      Reply
    197. 197.

      Scuffletuffle

      September 29, 2025 at 1:08 pm

      @Jackie: Clearly a republican was speaking and set his own pants on fire…

      Reply
    198. 198.

      Ishiyama

      September 29, 2025 at 1:15 pm

      I’m just going to say something nice about Bernie Sanders.  Bernie has been fighting the long war, and “liberal” Democrats had their knives out for him long before 2016. If you weren’t born before 1953, “don’t criticize what you don’t understand”.

      Reply
    199. 199.

      Interesting Name Goes Here

      September 29, 2025 at 1:31 pm

      @Ishiyama: Who cares?  He lived long enough to see himself become the villain.  He’s played a significant role in bringing about the world I currently live in, and as a Black man, I have to be honest – I know enough about 1953 to know that I don’t want to go back to get whatever perspective you think is necessary to have positive appreciation for him and his actions.

      Reply
    200. 200.

      Jackie

      September 29, 2025 at 1:48 pm

      @Paul in KY:

      My Methodist preacher back in the day did not consider them Christians.

      A lot of people also believe(d) Catholics are not Christians. They weren’t the Director of the FBI. Or, they kept their beliefs private.

      Reply
    201. 201.

      iKropoclast

      September 29, 2025 at 1:54 pm

      @Jackie: A lot of people also believe(d) Catholics are not Christians.

      I had a conversation with a non-denominational Christian who asserted just this only a couple months ago. I learned during my research through this process that non-denominational churches are, themselves, a relatively new phenomenon.

      Reply
    202. 202.

      Paul in KY

      September 29, 2025 at 2:35 pm

      @Jackie: They (in UMYF Class) taught that Catholics were ‘Christian’. Just not the kind giving them donations, etc.

      Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and a few others were the ones taught as ‘not Christian’.

      I know some of the more out-there (for me) Protestant sects teach that, but I just mentioned Mormons since my very mainline Protestant denomination taught that about them.

      Reply
    203. 203.

      Paul in KY

      September 29, 2025 at 2:37 pm

      @iKropoclast: To me, they are the nutter ‘Christian’ sects trying to rebrand themselves. Very, very fundamentalist (IMO).

      Reply
    204. 204.

      Citizen Alan

      September 29, 2025 at 3:49 pm

      @Ishiyama: I hate Bernie Sanders more than anyone alive that’s not a card-carrying Republican.

      Reply

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