Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

“Alexa, change the president.”

American history and black history cannot be separated.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Plagues & Pandemics Update – March 4, 2026

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US #flu activity still high, with 8 more pediatric deaths
Levels of #RSV also remain high in many areas of the country, while #COVID-19 activity is waning in most of the country.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/i…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) February 27, 2026 at 3:15 PM

3. Now #flu:
More kids have died from flu, both this season & last. (Reporting of pediatric deaths to #CDC can be slow.)
8 more kids died in 2025-26, bringing the total to date to 79.
In the past 2 weeks, CDC has been alerted to 4 more peds flu deaths in 2024-25, bringing that year's total to 293!

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— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) February 27, 2026 at 11:41 AM

4. #CDC reports that 90% of the kids who died from #flu who were old enough to be vaccinated (<6 months is too young) & for whom vax status is know had not been vaccinated. Last year's death toll was record-breaking but this year Sec. Kennedy's #HHS dropped the flu vax recommendation for kids.

— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) February 27, 2026 at 11:41 AM

6. To give you a sense of what #flu is like where you are, the map on the left is for the week ending 2/21. On the right shows what things were like at the peak of the season, between Xmas and NY. Not out of the woods yet, but the end of flu season is coming. www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv…

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— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@helenbranswell.bsky.social) February 27, 2026 at 11:41 AM

European regulators recommend approval of combined mRNA vaccine for flu and COVID
If the recommendation is accepted by the European Commission, Moderna's mCombriax vaccine will be available for adults 50 and older throughout the European Union.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/c…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) February 27, 2026 at 4:48 PM

WHO updates all 3 viral strains to be included in fall flu shots
The recommendation for vaccines for the next flu season includes a new influenza variant—subclade K—that started to increase last fall.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/i…

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— CIDRAP (@cidrap.bsky.social) February 27, 2026 at 7:08 PM

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On The Road – Winter Wren – Santa Cruz: Wilder Ranch (1 of 2)

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Winter Wren

On my most recent business trip to San Jose (California), I had planned to meet up with a friend and former colleague on the Saturday after my weekday meetings and go hiking, but she cancelled on me. So, I had the whole day free with perfect, bright, sunshiny weather (and fortunately was blissfully unaware of the latest horrors after a full week of meetings).

After an early morning of birdwatching at Don Edwards NWR, I decided to catch a mid-day whale watching trip out of Santa Cruz. I had about an hour to kill before needing to be at the boat, so I took a short drive up the coast to Wilder Ranch and hiked out to the ocean. It was my first time visiting, but I think I will be back!

On The Road - Winter Wren - Santa Cruz: Wilder Ranch (1 of 2) 5
Wilder Ranch State Park, Santa Cruz CAJanuary 24, 2026

The path to the ocean that I took was between a meadow on the north side (with cultivated land beyond that) and a small creek valley filled with small trees/brush on the south side.

On The Road – Winter Wren – Santa Cruz: Wilder Ranch (1 of 2)Post + Comments (2)

War for Ukraine Day 1,468: (Some of) You Have Questions, I (May) Have Answers

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Well this is ungood:

Iran destroyed AN/TPY-2 THAAD radars at Al-Ruwais Air Base in the UAE and Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, while satellite imagery confirms the AN/FPS-132 phased array radar in Qatar was also damaged, complicating missile defense across the region. #MiddleEast

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— NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) March 3, 2026 at 5:28 PM

Anyhow, I told Amy! I’d answer her question from last night tonight.

your reports regularly note that Ukrainians are regaining ground now (phrased as regaining more than they’ve lost, so I gather that there’s actually movement in both directions on what have become somewhat static lines). I heard (a little less than four years ago now) that Putin and Russia, failing in that initial push, had already lost the war, even if they could continue the war until exhaustion stopped them. Is this evidence of a threshold being crossed? Has the tide turned? Gah, clichés: will the boys be home by Christmas? Seriously, is this an indicator that the outcome of the war is, in the end Ukrainian victory? I’m not sure that you accept the premise that, failing to win an overwhelming victory, Russia cannot win an attempted occupation against a hostile population, but I found the argument compelling, which made the past three and three quarters years all the more tragic. Do you have an opinion on that score that you’re willing to share?

Sure, the boys will eventually be home by Christmas. Just like in the 30 and 100 year wars. More seriously, what you’re finally seeing is some of what has been moving below the waterline or below the ice. Since early 2023 people – from pundits to think tankers to intel weenies – have been arguing that the conflict was frozen, would remain frozen, and that meant that Russia had won and Ukraine should negotiate terms and cut their losses. The reality, as I’ve explained here and as I explained in my professional work, is that the conflict was NOT frozen. Rather, there was a lot going on that wasn’t being reported, that wasn’t going to show up on satellite imagery, and it would eventually become apparent in a year or two. A lot of what we’re now seeing is the result of the quiet hard work done by the Ukrainians. This includes work by the HUR, both in operations we’ve seen and in their work with partisan undergrounds in Russian occupied areas. It includes all the weapon and counter-measure development. It includes the continuous development and redevelopment of the Ukrainian way of war.

Here are some of tonight’s outgoing Ukrainian fires:

HERE WE GO 🦅🦩🚀 DroneBomber

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— MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) March 3, 2026 at 1:55 PM

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

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Tuesday Night Open Thread

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Just like every generation gets their own quagmire, every generation gets their own Ollie North:

The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN.

The Trump administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing them with military support, the sources said.

Iranian Kurdish armed groups have thousands of forces operating along the Iraq-Iran border, primarily in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Several of the groups have released public statements since the beginning of the war hinting at imminent action and urging Iranian military forces to defect. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been striking Kurdish groups and said on Tuesday that it targeted Kurdish forces with dozens of drones.

I wonder how Erdogan feels about this or if he even knew? I am sure this will end fabulously and none of those weapons will slip into the wrong hands and end up being used against us because nothing like that has ever happened before.

***

The names of four of the first six dead American military members have been released:

The Defense Department has identified four of the six service members who were killed over the weekend by an Iranian attack. All four Reserve soldiers were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, based out of Des Moines, Iowa.

Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, were killed on March 1 in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait by an Iranian drone attack, defense officials announced on Tuesday.

The names of the other two service members killed in the attack have not yet been released.

“We honor our fallen Heroes, who served fearlessly and selflessly in defense of our nation,” Lt. Gen. Robert Harter, Chief of Army Reserve and Commanding General U.S. Army Reserve Command, said in a statement. “Their sacrifice, and the sacrifices of their families, will never be forgotten.”

Killed in a retaliatory drone strike while Trump was partying with billionaires at Mar-a-lago. They won’t be the last. We will be paying a price for this war for a long time to come.

***

The pathetic piece of shit Noem was in front of the Senate today being grilled, and there were some heated exchanges and she didn’t remember or didn’t know about apparently everything that has happened underneath to and include things she herself said:

When pressed by Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, about why Noem labeled Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis in January, a domestic terrorist without evidence, she would not admit she was wrong.

You can watch the whole Durbin line of questioning here– she’s just garbage and Durbin is too polite. I am just so instantly repulsed whenever I see any of these fucking people. The Tillis grilling is pretty fun to watch:

In other ICE news:

Support for abolishing ICE has hit a new high in this week’s Economist / YouGov poll. Half (50%) of Americans now somewhat or strongly support abolishing ICE. Only 39% oppose abolishing the agency.

This marks the first time support has reached 50% in YouGov polling. Support for abolishing ICE has been steadily growing since January. At the same time, opposition to abolishing ICE has fallen since the start of the year, and now sits at an all-time low.

And in one last piece of ICE news, in North Carolina last year, a Democrat defected to the Republicans on a pro-Ice vote, and she is currently just being destroyed in her primary today, as are several other Dems who were voting with the Republicans.

Wow: In the early vote, it's a blow-out *so far*.

Rodney Sadler, the progessive pastor and activist, leads state Representative Carla Cunningham 75% to 18%.

(Stay tuned as we see how the Election Day vote compares, but that's an ominous start for the incumbent.)

Context:

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— Taniel (@taniel.bsky.social) March 3, 2026 at 6:40 PM

So it could be a really big night in NC, and that jackass Republican Dan Crenshaw is being nuked into orbit by a Trump MAGA loser in his primary. They both vote the same way on all the important shit, so I am much happier with a frothing lunatic in the seat than someone the media can give a shiny patina to. Fuck off, Crenshaw, you smarmy shit.

***

Behold, dinner:

My new dinner hyper fixation (3 out of the last four dinners) has been a massive bowl of tabouli with feta on top with a grilled chicken breast and some castletrevano olives

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— Cake or Death (@johngcole.bsky.social) March 3, 2026 at 7:23 PM

I’m off to relax. Be cool.

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Texas Primary Results – This Should Be Interesting! (and NC!)

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Update at 7:45 pm:

I was thinking of Texas, but NC primary is today, too. NC peeps, what are the key primary elections there?

A Win for Texas (and for Voting and Democracy)

 

(MSNOW)

Republicans and Democrats are locked in epic primary battles to set the stage for November in the Texas Senate race. Sen. John Cornyn is running for a fifth term and faces serious competition from Attorney General Ken Paxton in the GOP primary. U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico are vying for the Democratic nod to face the winner of the GOP contest. If no candidate nabs a majority of the vote, a runoff will be held on May 26.

BJ peeps in Texas, is there a good site to watch the election returns?

MSNow seems to be the best of the ones that don’t require a login or turning off an ad blocker.

MSNow

Option A

Option B

 

 

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Open Thread: Warner Bros. Paramount’d

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Paramount'd

Maybe I’m just a Cynic, but this whole saga reads to me like one of the We are no longer bound by your puny Rules!!! indicators that come just before a major economic crash. Per the WSJ, “Six Months, 9 Offers and $81 Billion. How Hollywood’s Nasty Takeover Was Won” [unpaywalled version]

For six months, the son of one of the world’s richest men kept hearing the same unfamiliar word: No.

Even before he closed a deal to combine his company with a much bigger one, David Ellison was already plotting to do it again. Once his Skydance Media took control of Paramount, he turned his attention to a Hollywood icon, launching an audacious takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery that would give the Ellison family control of a sprawling media empire.

His first offer was swatted away. So were his second and third. By the time Ellison made his sixth offer, Warner Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav stopped responding to his texts. Even when Warner officially accepted a rival offer from Netflix, Ellison refused to take no for an answer.

As the battle dragged on, Ellison sweetened his offers, ratcheted up the pressure, took the hostile bid directly to shareholders, threatened a bruising proxy fight, brought in President Trump allies to lobby, and treated the existing term sheet like paper waiting to be shredded.

On the ninth offer, the wealth and influence of the Ellisons finally won…

And once Netflix dropped its own $72 billion deal for Warner’s studios and HBO Max streaming business, the scion of software billionaire Larry Ellison was poised to become one of the most powerful people in a town that once derided him as a nepo-baby.

Ellison, 43 years old, as Paramount chief executive will now control much of our attention: the shows we watch, the news we consume and the screens we stare at all day long, with a family portfolio that will include HBO, CNN, CBS News, the historic Warner Bros. studio lot and crown jewels such as DC Comics and Harry Potter.

As much as Ellison and his team had been telling anyone who would listen that his business would ultimately prevail in buying a company five times its size, the reaction on Friday from Hollywood to Washington to Wall Street was astonishment…

On Friday, Paramount paid a breakup fee of $2.8 billion to Netflix.

 
At NYMag, “Paramount Wins, Everybody Loses”:

Backed by his billionaire dad’s bankroll and the full support of many in Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, Paramount CEO David Ellison won the battle for Warner Bros. on Thursday, successfully quashing a surprise bid by Netflix to take over the storied movie and TV company. Ellison is no doubt celebrating his victory over the streaming powerhouse, ditto Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders who stand to gain from Paramount’s sweetened offer. But for everyone else, this deal feels like a colossal dud, one that will result in a new company burdened with billions more in debt — almost surely leading to thousands of layoffs, fewer movies and TV shows getting made, and the creation of a combined CBS News–CNN operation likely to lean well to the right of where either is now.

In fairness, Netflix closing a deal for Warner Bros. would have had numerous downsides too. Many in the film business, including notable figures such as director James Cameron, were vehemently opposed to the streamer getting its mitts on WB given its business model to date has had no real use for theatrical distribution. And as the Writers Guild told Vulture in December, “The problem is the acquisition and pending consolidation of two media giants, not who the buyer is.” Industry consolidation in this century, including Disney’s purchase of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox entertainment assets or Amazon’s gobbling up MGM, has rarely been good for everyday people. A Netflix “win” wouldn’t have been great news for the average viewer or moviegoer either.

But as one Warner Bros. veteran told me late last year, the Netflix bid felt very much like the “least worst option,” and I think that’s exactly right. For all the downsides the tech giant’s now-dead deal would have had, Paramount’s winning is the worst-case scenario for Hollywood — and America.

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Another Win for Democracy Docket

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Another win for Democracy Docket!

The Department of Justice (DOJ) abandoned its defense of President Donald Trump’s retribution campaign against law firms that challenged his political agenda or represented his political opponents over the years.

This makes the big law firms that rolled over the administration look even more weak and cowardly and feckless than they did before.

Well, hang on, maybe I spoke in haste.  They were completely weak and cowardly and feckless before; I’m not sure they could look worse.  But somehow they do!

Marc Elias

The Department of Justice (DOJ) abandoned its defense of President Donald Trump’s retribution campaign against law firms that challenged his political agenda or represented his political opponents over the years.

The DOJ dropped its appeals of four lower court rulings that found Trump’s executive orders sanctioning Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, Perkins Coie* and Susman Godfrey were unlawful and issued specifically to punish the firms for exercising their constitutional rights.

Last year, Trump attempted to paralyze the firms’ ability to represent clients in dealings with the federal government by signing a series of orders that terminated contracts and stripped their lawyers of security clearances and access to government buildings.

In addition to firms, Trump also targeted individual lawyers through his orders.

The DOJ dropping its defense of the orders represents a major win for the rule of law. By targeting firms based on the clients they represented, Trump’s orders represented a direct assault on the country’s adversarial system of justice.

Some law firms — including Paul, Weiss — folded in the face of the orders and pledged tens of millions of dollars worth of pro bono legal work for causes favored by the White House in order to get Trump’s sanctions lifted.

Other firms successfully sued. The first to do so was Perkins Coie, which argued that it was being illegally targeted because it challenged the Trump campaign’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and for its work on voting rights cases.

“The government’s decision to dismiss its appeal is clearly the right one,” WilmerHale said in a statement. “As we said from the outset, our challenge to the unlawful Executive Order was about defending our clients’ constitutional right to retain the counsel of their choosing and defending the rule of law. We are pleased these foundational principles were vindicated.”

Several district court judges overseeing the suits gave impassioned defenses of the rule of law and warned that Trump’s orders risked intimidating attorneys or law firms that might represent the president’s political opponents.

In a March hearing on Perkins Coie’s complaint, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, said the government’s defense of Trump’s order sent “chills” down her spine. A DOJ attorney had claimed that the president could also issue a retaliatory order against Williams & Connolly, a major law firm that was representing Perkins Coie in its suit.

Talk about people and institutions rising to the occasion.  Where would we be without Marc Elias and Democracy Docket?

I would love to hear from our legal peeps about whether and how this has affected the world of big law.  Have the big firms that rolled over lost standing in the legal world?

I’m tired.  You’re tired.  We’re all tired.  But we have to keep on fighting the good fight.

Another Win for Democracy DocketPost + Comments (65)