Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

So many bastards, so little time.

We can show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

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

“Alexa, change the president.”

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Finding joy where we can, and muddling through where we can’t.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Also, are you sure you want people to rate your comments?

Reality always gets a vote in the end.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

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

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

“In this country American means white. everybody else has to hyphenate.”

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Trump Crime Cartel

Open Thread: Battle of the Titan(ic Egos)

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Cartoon by @billbramhall.bsky.social.

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— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) March 29, 2026 at 8:24 PM

".. The war is turning into the ultimate test of an operating principle that has guided Trump for decades: construct a narrative, declare it to be true and relentlessly force the world to submit to it."
@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026…

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) March 30, 2026 at 8:09 AM

The emperor has no clothes (and his carcass is pretty saggy). David Smith at the Guardian — “‘Battle of the titans’: Trump’s distorted reality on Iran war runs into a brick wall”:

“Let me say, we’ve won,” he told a rally in Kentucky on 11 March. “I think we’ve won,” he said on the White House south lawn on 20 March. “We’ve won this war. The war has been won,” he said in the Oval Office on 24 March. “We are winning so big,” he promised a fundraising dinner on 25 March.

Donald Trump keeps declaring victory in Iran. But saying it over and over does not make it so. While the US president insists that his military campaign in the Middle East is a historic success, the world is bracing for a conflict that continues to metastasize and could wreak havoc on the global economy.

The war is turning into the ultimate test of an operating principle that has guided Trump for decades: construct a narrative, declare it to be true and relentlessly force the world to submit to it. It has proved effective in Manhattan boardrooms, on reality television and even at the heart of power in Washington.

But in Iran, Trump’s unique brand of “truthful hyperbole” has collided with the truthful truth. His reality distortion field has run into a brick wall…

A month into the conflict, Trump is in trouble. It has already cost 13 US lives and billions of dollars. Yet there is little sign of the Iranian regime losing its grip. Instead, as many observers predicted, Tehran has triggered a global energy crisis by blocking the strait of Hormuz. Opinion polls show the war is already unpopular with US voters and a ground invasion would be even more so. There is no obvious exit strategy.

Blair, author of The Trumps: Three Generations of Builders and a Presidential Candidate, believes that Trump has finally met his match. Noting Iran’s proud culture and unwillingness to bend the knee, she said: “He has zero interest in their history; they have zero interest in his fame…

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Open Thread: FBI Director Ka$h Patel Has An Email Problem

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That Iranian claim to have hacked Kash Patel's been email inbox is at least partially legit, per @reuters.com
Story TK

— Raphael Satter (@raphae.li) March 27, 2026 at 10:14 AM

Here's Reuters' story about Iran hacking a 2010-2019 email account of Kash Patel.
www.reuters.com/world/us/ira…

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— emptywheel (@emptywheel.bsky.social) March 27, 2026 at 10:45 AM

Reuters, “Iran-linked hackers breach FBI director’s personal email, publish photos and documents”:

… The FBI confirmed Patel’s emails had been targeted. In a statement, bureau spokesman Ben Williamson said, “we have taken all necessary steps to mitigate ​potential risks associated with this activity” and that the data involved was “historical in nature and involves no government information.”

Handala, which ⁠presents itself as a group of pro-Palestinian vigilante hackers, is considered by Western researchers to be one of several personas used by Iranian government cyberintelligence units. Handala ​recently claimed the hack of Michigan-based medical devices and services provider Stryker, opens new tab on March 11, saying they had deleted a massive trove of company data…

Alongside the photographs of Patel, the hackers published a sample of more than 300 emails, which appear to show a mix of personal and work correspondence dating between 2010 and 2019.

Iran-linked hackers may ⁠have other ​emails in reserve.

Last year, another group operating under the pseudonym “Robert” told Reuters it was considering disclosing 100 ​gigabytes of data stolen from White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and other figures close to U.S. President Donald Trump…

The FBI confirmed hackers targeted the personal emails of Director Kash Patel.
This is hours after an Iranian government-linked hacking group posted documents and images online, claiming to have stolen them from Patel.

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— Politico (@politico.com) March 27, 2026 at 1:36 PM

why would I give you a free dollar this is not a charity app

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— Micah (@rincewind.run) March 27, 2026 at 10:48 AM

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Friday Morning Open Thread

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No Kings. Find your event for this Saturday, March 28th.
www.nokings.org
#NoKings

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— Timothy Snyder (@timothysnyder.bsky.social) March 26, 2026 at 2:45 PM

If anyone would like to use this image for your sign (I drew it), please feel free to download/share/print it out. Or take the idea and run with it as you see fit!

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— anselmyew.bsky.social (@anselmyew.bsky.social) March 26, 2026 at 3:19 PM

#NoKingsInAmerica

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— Scott (@thegopisfubar2024.bsky.social) March 26, 2026 at 3:29 PM

www.cnn.com/2026/03/26/p…

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— Anne Laurie (@annelaurie.bsky.social) March 27, 2026 at 7:37 AM

…[F]irst, she’ll appear at fundraisers for the North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia state parties the week of April 13, then follow that with a keynote address at the Arkansas Democrats’ annual Fisher Shackelford Dinner in Little Rock on April 25. That’s in addition to her appearance last Friday at the National Women’s Law Center annual gala in Washington and another scheduled speech at the end of April.

Invitations to many of these events will start going out in the coming days and come as even other prospective 2028 Democratic candidates are beginning to ask around for intel on her plans. Though she has not made any decision on a repeat run, her geographic choices for this swing are reminiscent of what her 2020 campaign team used to call its “SEC strategy,” hoping to win lots of delegates among the heavily Black primary electorates to counter what they expected would be weaker showings in other early voting states…

The former vice president and 2024 replacement Democratic nominee is coming to the end of a six-month national tour to promote her memoir of the campaign, which has put her in front of dozens of friendly audiences. As the book was published last September — shortly after Harris passed on entering the California governor’s race — she said she wanted to take a break from being in government, while hoping to boost Democrats in this year’s midterms.

Harris has already recorded ads for the Democratic National Committee and for Virginia Democrats’ ballot proposition, scheduled for April 21. And though she endorsed Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the final days of the Texas Senate Democratic race, she has been in touch with the winner of that primary, James Talarico, as well as other recent primary winners Juliana Stratton in Illinois and Scott Colom in Mississippi…

n late February, appearing in Cleveland at a fundraiser for Rep. Emilia Sykes, the congresswoman asked, “What have you been doing lately?”

“Listening,” Harris replied.

How a Juliana Stratton win in Illinois could make history: The US Senate could soon set a historic first, 3 Black women serving at the same time www.cnn.com/2026/03/21/p…

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— Black Intellect Media (@blackintellect.bsky.social) March 22, 2026 at 2:37 PM

Jeffries after the Florida Results is now targeting 5 seats in the state

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— #1 Nate Blouin for Congress Stan (@purrtah.bsky.social) March 26, 2026 at 10:30 AM

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Open Thread: Our ‘Not Enough Facepalms’ Administration

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Iran rejects ceasefire as widely predicted.

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— George Pearkes (@peark.es) March 25, 2026 at 8:38 AM

Forget TACO, we are approaching the NACHOOO Zone
Not
Able to
Cease
Hostilities
On
Our
Own
‪

This is what is consistently missing from coverage of Trump’s blurts about the war, and especially market reaction. He controls very little.
The key to ending the war is reopening the Straight, and Iran has total control over when (and what) transit occurs there. The war ends when they say so.

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— Douglas Moser (@douglasmoser.bsky.social) March 25, 2026 at 12:33 PM

No problem, libs!

We are literally planning an actual war around what is essentially a Call of Duty highlight reel.

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— Starfire’s Deranged Neocon Foreign Policy Podcast (@irhottakes.bsky.social) March 25, 2026 at 8:02 AM

… The daily montage typically runs for about two minutes, sometimes longer, the officials said. One described each daily video as a series of clips of “stuff blowing up.”

The highlight reel of U.S. Central Command bombing Iranian equipment and military sites isn’t the only briefing Trump gets about the war. He’s also updated through conversations with top military and intelligence advisers, foreign leaders and news reports, the officials said.

But the video briefing is fueling concerns among some of Trump’s allies that he may not be receiving — or absorbing — the complete picture of the war, now in its fourth week, two of the current officials and the former official said.

They said the videos are also driving Trump’s increasing frustration with news coverage of the war. Trump has pointed to the success depicted in the daily videos to privately question why his administration can’t better influence the public narrative, asking aides why the news media doesn’t emphasize what he’s seeing, one of the current U.S. officials and the former U.S. official said. ..

“We can’t tell him every single thing that happens,” a current U.S. official said. The official noted that Trump’s briefings tend to draw better feedback from his aides when they focus on U.S. victories.

Overall, the official said, the information Trump gets about the war tends to emphasize U.S. successes, with comparatively little detail about Iranian actions.

One example came this month when five U.S. Air Force refueling planes were hit in an Iranian strike at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, according to one of the current U.S. officials. Trump wasn’t briefed about the strikes, and he learned what had happened from media reports, the official said. When Trump inquired, he was told the planes weren’t badly damaged, the official said.

The official said Trump reacted angrily behind the scenes to the news coverage. Publicly he posted on Truth Social calling coverage of the strike misleading and accusing media organizations of wanting the U.S. “to lose the War.” …

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Open Thread: ICE (Rhinestone) Cowboy

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The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary on Monday.

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— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) March 23, 2026 at 9:00 PM

Gift link:

… Mr. Mullin, a Cherokee Nation member who was sworn in as Oklahoma’s junior senator in 2023, will take charge of the Homeland Security Department at a pivotal time. Recent polling has shown that Republicans’ advantage on immigration is shrinking and that most Americans believe that immigration agents have gone too far, especially after the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January. Mr. Mullin will have to balance the task of mending the agency’s image while also delivering on President Trump’s signature campaign promise of mass deportations.

He will also take the reins at a time when thousands of department employees are working without pay amid a partial government shutdown that has led to scenes of chaos at airports across the country. On Monday, Mr. Trump deployed more than 100 immigration agents to airports in an effort to ease long security lines as the ranks of Transportation Security Administration officers have thinned…

At his confirmation hearing, Mr. Mullin made clear that he was committed to fulfilling the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. But he also tried to strike a more cooperative tone, saying that immigration officers would generally no longer enter homes without a judicial warrant under his leadership. And he said the department would foster closer relationships with jails, suggesting a move away from sweeping operations in Democratic-led cities and states…

A close ally of Mr. Trump and a staunch defender of his policies, Mr. Mullin was sworn in as a senator after a decade of serving in the House. He had a brief stint as a mixed martial arts fighter and took over his family’s business, Mullin Plumbing, at the age of 20.

I would generally say that leaving the senate to take DHS director indicates that he doesn't want to be in the minority senate, tbh.

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— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) March 24, 2026 at 10:51 AM

There is also the possibility he saw Noem's grift racket and thought "maybe if I just do it a little bit less.."

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— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) March 24, 2026 at 10:59 AM

About that… Per the NYTimes, “How Trump’s Homeland Security Pick, a Prolific Investor, Got a Lot Wealthier in Congress” [gift link]

Our outnumbered Democrats went down fighting, and took markers:

I will hold Mullin to every one of his promises.

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— Senator Andy Kim (@kim.senate.gov) March 23, 2026 at 9:08 PM

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Monday Morning Open Thread

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Democrats 2028: "Ok but for real—wouldnt you all actually like for things to get back to 'normal' now?"

— Daniel Gilmore (@gilmored85.bsky.social) March 22, 2026 at 9:43 PM

Donald Trump and Republican extremists started a reckless war of choice in the Middle East.
Gas prices are way up, billions are being wasted and our country is less safe.
We need regime change in America.

— Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social) March 21, 2026 at 9:32 AM

Meanwhile, the Punchable Faces Club for Men (Acting President, Scott Bessent) thinks they had a *great* weekend!

WELKER: Would the administration ever raise taxes in order to fund this war?
BESSENT: Again, Kristen, terrible framing
WELKER: It's a simple question
BESSENT: It's a ridiculous question
WELKER: Can you answer it?
BESSENT: Why would we do that? We have plenty. We have a trillion dollars.

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 22, 2026 at 10:22 AM

“Oh, you won’t pay a ransom for this hostage? Well, now you have to pay the ransom, because I’ve taken _another_ hostage for whom nobody will pay a ransom!”

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— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) March 22, 2026 at 9:43 PM

Take that, bitch ass American people!

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— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) March 22, 2026 at 10:34 AM

I think we should offer Trump exactly as much grace as he offers everyone else

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— Bill Corbett (@billcorbett.bsky.social) March 22, 2026 at 11:59 AM

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Open Thread: Trump’s Government Will Never Stop Persecuting Kilmar Abrego Garcia

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They not busy losing a war??? Leave that man alone!

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— Woke Zero (Original Recipe) (@csilverandgold.bsky.social) March 21, 2026 at 10:37 AM

Per ABC News, “Trump administration seeks to move ahead with removing Abrego Garcia to Liberia”:

The Trump administration is moving forward with its plan to swiftly remove Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia as soon as a court allows.

In a series of filings on Friday, administration officials asked a judge to dissolve a preliminary injunction that bars them from re-detaining Abrego Garcia and deporting him…

Although Abrego Garcia has said he’s willing to be sent to Costa Rica, Acting Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons said in a memo filed in court that he has “decided to disregard” that request and intends to send him to Liberia if Abrego Garcia is ordered removed from the U.S….

Lyons also said the administration had already negotiated Abrego Garcia’s removal with the government of Liberia and that abandoning that agreement “could cast doubt on the diplomatic reliability of the United States.”…

In a sworn declaration, a top ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations official said the government has gone as far as to have the contractor that handles removals to Liberia draw up a “mock itinerary,” which showed Abrego Garcia could be on a flight to Liberia within five days of the government’s request.

The government is asking a federal judge to rule on its motion to dissolve the order barring his removal by April 17…

This sorry petition is being heard by Judge Paula Xinis, who has not been sympathetic to the Trumpists’ previous arguments. It’s not my carcass on the line, but frankly, the presentation here seems to be a very thin broth scraped up to reassure President Stephen Miller that all due force is being shown against this heinous attempt to treat ‘illegals’ as though they were fellow humans. And I most sincerely hope Judge Xenis sends them back to him sufficiently humiliated that Team Trump decides to focus on less hardened targets.

God willing so many of their fuckass lawyers will be in jail for contempt that they won’t have any left to file motions to harass this man.

— Woke Zero (Original Recipe) (@csilverandgold.bsky.social) March 21, 2026 at 10:38 AM

He wants to leave and go somewhere that will treat him nice but instead they want to foist him on some country he doesn’t want to be in just to be mean. These people are evil!

— Woke Zero (Original Recipe) (@csilverandgold.bsky.social) March 21, 2026 at 10:41 AM

Open Thread: Trump’s Government Will Never Stop Persecuting Kilmar Abrego GarciaPost + Comments (51)