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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

đŸŽ¶ Those boots were made for mockin’ đŸŽ”

White supremacy is terrorism.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

If America since Jan 2025 hasn’t broken your heart, you haven’t loved her enough.

They are not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

Fear and negativity are contagious, but so is courage!

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

In my day, never was longer.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Be a wild strawberry.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

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Open Thread:  Hey Lurkers!  (Holiday Post)

Open Threads

You are here: Home / Archives for Open Threads

It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over (Narrator: It’s Finally Over!)

by WaterGirl|  May 7, 202512:20 pm| 129 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Politics

Griffin concedes.

(AP)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Republican challenger for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat conceded last November’s election on Wednesday to Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs, two days after a federal judge ruled that potentially thousands of disputed ballots challenged by Jefferson Griffin must remain in the final tally.

In a statement provided by his campaign to The Associated Press, Griffin said he would not appeal Monday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Myers, who also ordered that the State Board of Elections certify results that show Riggs is the winner by 734 votes from over 5.5 million ballots cast in the race.

Griffin’s decision sets the stage for Riggs to be officially elected to an eight-year term as an associate justice.

“While I do not fully agree with the District Court’s analysis, I respect the court’s holding — just as I have respected every judicial tribunal that has heard this case,” Griffin said. “I will not appeal the court’s decision.”

He remains a state Court of Appeals judge whose term ends in 2028.  Not sure what happens after that.  Pure speculation on my part:  he’s hoping to avoid losing in 2028 if there is a retention vote for judges in NC.

More information in my post from yesterday.

Big Win in North Carolina!

Open thread.

It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over (Narrator: It’s Finally Over!)Post + Comments (129)

Damp Grey Dawn Open Thread: Cosplay ‘Warfighter’

by Anne Laurie|  May 7, 20256:12 am| 181 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

Classic Soviet artwork pic.twitter.com/bSNI5q3r7p

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) May 3, 2025

My own first impression was ‘Trump’s military concierge ushers Erik Primce’s private mercenary contractors into America’s citadel’… but of course I;m a cynic.

dump trucks crashing into nitroglycerine plants don't tend to get positive coverage

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 6, 2025 at 4:43 PM

If only the Mad King knew...

"Three sources familiar with the situation said Hegseth misinterpreted discussions with the president about Ukraine policy and aid shipments without elaborating further."
I know! I'm surprised too!

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— Philip Bump (@pbump.com) May 6, 2025 at 10:38 AM

“Across military Reddit forums and enlisted meme pages, Hegseth has become a regular target of satire, often referred to with nicknames such as "DUI Hire," "Whiskey Leaks" and "Kegseth."”
www.military.com/daily-news/2…

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— Phil Klay (@philklay.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 5:14 PM

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth</del>, a former Fox News host and National Guardsman, has attempted to reframe the role of the Pentagon’s top civilian leader during his first months on the job, casting himself as a relatable everyman — “one of the guys.”

Instead of the standard suit and tie, he regularly appears in khaki hiking pants, rolled-up sleeves that reveal tattooed forearms and occasionally a trucker hat emblazoned with an American flag. He often posts videos and photos of himself working out with troops.

But that carefully curated image — so different from past defense secretaries — may not be totally landing with the rank and file. Interviews with service members and a review of hundreds of social media posts on message boards suggest the image the Pentagon chief is trying to project is seen by some as overly manufactured and desperate for affirmation.

“He seems too preoccupied with his personal brand,” one Army captain told Military.com on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation. “This is the ‘vet bro’ Pentagon.”

Across military Reddit forums and enlisted meme pages, Hegseth has become a regular target of satire, often referred to with nicknames such as “DUI Hire,” “Whiskey Leaks” and “Kegseth.” The references allude to past controversies, including alleged alcohol abuse and an incident in which he shared sensitive Yemen attack plan details in an unsecured Signal group chat that included a journalist…

The jabs at and mocking of Hegseth, while not unprecedented for senior military officials, appear unusually persistent and pervasive. Other high-ranking leaders have been the butt of jokes and the target of online irreverence — such as Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer, the Army’s top enlisted leader who was mocked online for his perceived preoccupation with grooming standards — but those moments have tended to fade quickly.

In Hegseth’s case, satire has become part of the daily discourse…

Hegseth also routinely uses the phrase “warfighter” to refer to American troops, a phrase that itself has long been met with eyerolls within the military community, which is known for its signature gallows humor and scoffing at anyone being overly serious…

Damp Grey Dawn Open Thread: Cosplay ‘Warfighter’Post + Comments (181)

Ice Cream, a Mattresses, and Half a Day of Work

by WaterGirl|  May 6, 202510:12 pm| 157 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

I mostly played hooky today, and that’s how i spent my day.  In no particular order (except for my excitement level).

Has anyone else tried jemi’s  jeni’s ice cream?  I stopped by one of my favorite little stores this afternoon to pick up some fresh-baked ciabatta, and the fellow went to the back to check and then came out to tell me they won’t have it again until Thursday.

While I was waiting for him to come back out I was aimlessly looking at their small freezer case, so after he gave me the bad news I asked if he had ever tried the ice cream that was in the case.   He asked what flavor I was thinking of and I said mint chocolate chip.   He said had never tried that flavor, but he became quite animated and said that jemi’s is one of the best ice creams in the country and that people seem very excited to know that the store carried it.

I asked what his favorite flavor was, and the next thing you know I was walking out with “sweet cream” and “darkest chocolate”.  Is it wrong that I can tell you that they are both very good?  Haagen Diaz has been my go to for years, but this beats that by a mile.  Anyone else a fan of ice cream?

I have had a way too soft mattress on my daybed for the past 7 years, and today I went mattress shopping and ordered a new mattress.  It sounds like about a 2 week wait.  High hopes and all that.

I didn’t really get started working until 2 or 3 o’clock this afternoon, so I guess I’d have to say that it was a day filled with self-indulgence.  I’m sure I deserved it.

Oh, and when I got back from all of the above, I discovered that my little Henry had somehow broken into the tin where I keep his dog food (brand new bag arrived last week).  He had pulled the tin over and probably 4 pounds had spilled out.  Bad Henry.  For dinner he got (literally) 3 pieces of kibble.

Can you spot the dog with the distended tummy?

I woke him from his nap by taking his picture.
Takes a lot of energy to digest that much food!

Open thread.

Ice Cream, a Mattresses, and Half a Day of WorkPost + Comments (157)

War for Ukraine Day 1,167: 205 Ukrainian POWs Were Returned Today

by Adam L Silverman|  May 6, 20258:19 pm| 20 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Military, Open Threads, Russia, Silverman on Security, War, War in Ukraine

A painting by Ukrainian artis NEIVANMADE. The background is white. In the center, which is black with blood red bordering, is an hourglass. Inside the hourglass is a Ukrainian Azovstal POW painted in blood red. He is shirtless. His arms are upward along the outer edges of the upper half of the hourglass forming a saltire cross. He is chained with steel gray chains shackled to his wrists. Above his head, in grey, is written "Ruzzian Captivity." below his torso in the lower half of the hourglass, written in gray, is "Kills." To the left of the hourglass "He Saved Others" is painted in gray. To the right of the hourglass "But He Can't Save Himself" is painted in gray.

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Air raid alerts are up for all of eastern and most of central Ukraine as drone swarms make their way across Ukraine from east to west as of 7:20 PM EDT/2:20 AM local time in Ukraine. These late night/early morning attacks follow another early morning and long day of genocidal attacks by Russia against Ukrainian civilian targets.

From the bombed-out clothes market in Kharkiv. 💔

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 8:32 AM

More on the genocidal Russian attacks on civilian targets after the jump.

In more pleasant news, the Ukrainians were able to bring 205 more POWs home today.

Our dearest, our bravest, our defenders! our people are home!

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 9:13 AM

🙏đŸ‡ș🇩 The mother of the defender, who during today’s exchange was in a hurry to see her son and was speeding. She was stopped by the police, but immediately released after learning the reason.
Another young man was met by his sisters after 1.5 years of separation and congratulated on his 25th birthday.

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— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 2:57 PM

Our warrior, liberated from russian captivity, sang “Chervona Kalina“ in the first minutes on his native land!
Honor and Glory to our Heroes! đŸ«ĄđŸ‡ș🇩

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— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 1:23 PM

From The Kyiv Independent:

Ukraine secured the return of 205 soldiers in a one-for-one prisoner exchange with Russia that was mediated by the United Arab Emirates, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on Telegram on May 6.

“Ukraine has returned 205 soldiers. Young men and adult men from almost all types and branches of the military. The defenders of Mariupol and the defenders of the entire front line,” Zelensky wrote.

This marks the fifth known prisoner of war (POWs) swap of 2025 and the 64th since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

“Every day, we fight for our people. We will definitely do everything to return each and every one of them,” the president added.

The latest exchange follows a larger April 19 swap, when 277 Ukrainian soldiers returned home ahead of the Easter holiday.

Ukraine does not reveal the exact figures on how many Ukrainian POWs are held in Russia. According to Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, Russia holds over 16,000 Ukrainian civilians in detention.

In 2024, Kyiv proposed an all-for-all exchange of prisoners, but Moscow rejected the offer.

Of course Moscow did.

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

show full post on front page

During This War, We Have Already Managed to Bring Home 4,757 People From Captivity – Address by the President

6 May 2025 – 20:53

Dear Ukrainians!

The most important news today is that another 205 of our warriors have returned home from Russian captivity. Two hundred and two of them are privates and non-commissioned officers, three are officers. Defenders of Mariupol and the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk regions, our Kharkiv and Sumy regions. I thank all our team working on the exchanges: all the guys at the Coordination Headquarters, I want to thank every institution – these are Defense Intelligence, the Office of the President, the Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs – all those who are helping. During this war, we have already managed to bring home 4,757 people from captivity. And of course, I am grateful to every soldier, every commander, all our units that are on the frontlines, ensuring the replenishment of the exchange fund. Our ability to bring our people back is the result of the bravery of our warriors, who skillfully fight and capture the occupiers. We must bring all our people home.

Today, I also congratulated Ukrainian warriors on Infantry Day. Motorized infantry, mountain assault, mechanized, rifle units are the very backbone of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the foundation of our army, all those who physically hold the lines, reclaim positions, and raise our flag. Ukraine stands because our infantry stands. Because no matter what happens, the front line and Ukraine’s positions are exactly where our infantrymen are. I thank all our warriors!

Today, I held a Staff meeting. Several key issues were on the agenda. In particular, provision for our army – financial support. The Minister of Finance of Ukraine delivered a report. We are working to ensure complete stability in the financial provision for our warriors. Another important topic discussed at today’s Staff meeting was the protection of Ukraine’s skies, particularly the downing of “Shahed” drones, including with the use of other drones. This is one of the most advanced technologies in modern warfare. And I am grateful to everyone who is implementing it – those who are providing this capability, new to any army, to use drones in protecting our country from drones. Today, I instructed the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work more actively with our partners to ensure funding for the production of just such interceptors. We will develop this direction as much as possible, and each region will have its own area of responsibility for this very work.

And one more thing.

I congratulate Friedrich Merz on being elected the new Chancellor of Germany. Germany is one of our key friends, truly one of the leaders in supporting Ukraine. This applies, above all, to air defenses – the largest number of Patriot and IRIS-T systems supplied by a single country has come specifically from Germany. These are thousands of saved lives. Germany is also a leader in supporting our financial resilience. Ukraine greatly values our cooperation. We are preparing for our first talks with Mr. Chancellor. We have things with him that can economically strengthen both our countries and offer greater security for decades to come. We look forward to our meeting. I wish him success in his position. Overall, the coming weeks are expected to be very active for Ukraine in diplomacy. We are preparing decisions, and we are preparing new support packages. We are planning new measures to increase pressure on Russia – to protect our people. I thank everyone who stands with Ukraine!

Glory to Ukraine!

President Zelensky also congratulated Ukrainian infantry on Infantry Day:

Georgia:

Day 160 of uninterrupted #GeorgiaProtests

Georgians express gratitude to the United States for the House of Representatives passing the MEGOBARI Act.

On Sunday, an entire march of gratitude towards the US Embassy in Tbilisi is planned. We look forward to the bill becoming law.

đŸ“· Gela Khasaia

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬đŸ‡ȘđŸ‡ș🇩đŸ‡ȘđŸ‡ș (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 2:10 PM

Currently, regime supporters feel very uncomfortable amid increasing social tensions.

They don’t want change but they wish to wake up into the pre-crisis environment when they were accepted everywhere.

Outright enablers have additional worries of international sanctions.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬đŸ‡ȘđŸ‡ș🇩đŸ‡ȘđŸ‡ș (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 8:44 AM

Beating women, just like rape threats by the regime police amid crackdowns, is how the Georgian Dream protects traditional Georgian values. #terrorinGeorgia

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬đŸ‡ȘđŸ‡ș🇩đŸ‡ȘđŸ‡ș (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 4:30 PM

It seems police may be actively destroying evidence in this case.

Elene Kaikhosroshvili, a friend of the victim, claims the bottle with the dye went missing during the night and reappeared in the morning — empty. Police were “guarding the scene of the crime” throughout.

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— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 4:02 PM

Germany:

Friedrich Merz, who supports supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine, has been elected Chancellor of Germany.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 12:36 PM

Love how the VE Day parade started 👏

“RAF Veteran Alan Kennett who is 100 years old, officially started events”

Kings Guard, “Thank you, and your generation, for securing our freedom 80 years ago”

“May I have your permission to start the parade sir please?”

Alan Kennett, “Carry on sir”

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— Farrukh (@implausibleblog.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 4:31 PM

The US:

Shameless people. “The Trump administration earlier this year urged the Ukrainian government to accept an unspecified number of U.S. deportees who are citizens of other countries” www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec…

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— Shashank Joshi (@shashj.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 6:53 PM

From The Washington Post:

The Trump administration earlier this year urged the Ukrainian government to accept an unspecified number of U.S. deportees who are citizens of other countries, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post, an extraordinary request of a nation at war and dependent on American military and financial support for its survival.

The documents do not indicate how officials in Kyiv responded to the late-January proposal, relayed by a senior U.S. diplomat, that called for sending third-country nationals to Ukraine amid Russia’s deadly, devastating invasion — and despite the absence of a functioning airport there b continual air attacks. A Ukrainian diplomat informed the U.S. Embassy only that her government would offer a response once it formulated a position, according to the documents, which show that similar proposals were issued to a number of other countries around the same date.

Ukraine has not accepted any third-party nationals from the United States, and there is no indication that Kyiv seriously considered the American proposal. Two Ukrainian officials familiar with the matter, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss interactions with the Trump administration, said the topic never reached the government’s highest level. One of the officials said he was unaware of any “political demands” made by the United States regarding its desire for Ukraine to take in deportees.

The State Department said in a statement that “ongoing engagement with foreign governments” was “vital to deterring illegal and mass migration and securing our borders.” The agency referred questions about the Ukraine proposal to the Department of Homeland Security, which did not respond to requests for comment.

Yael Schacher, director for the Americas and Europe at the humanitarian organization Refugees International, said it appears the Trump administration is targeting governments “it knows want to curry favor and are under pressure.”

Both before and after last year’s election, Trump’s rhetoric repeatedly signaled his willingness to leverage Ukraine’s reliance on U.S. military aid, pronouncements that appeared to grow more brash once he entered office in January. Tensions peaked in late February, with a remarkable Oval Office argument between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, cooling slightly only after Kyiv conceded to some of the administration’s demands, including an agreement granting U.S. access to Ukraine’s critical mineral resources.

Schacher, an immigration historian, also noted the administration’s efforts to woo Rwanda — an African nation with a poor human rights record that is also at the center of U.S.-led efforts to end a long-running conflict. Its leaders have agreed to take in third-country nationals deported by the U.S.

Previous U.S. governments have worked with foreign nations to receive third-country nationals, Schacher said, “but the extent of this outreach is new.”

“What’s unusual,” she added, “is the variety of arrangements, their ad hoc nature, their clear quid pro quos and the amount of money the administration will put behind them.”

Washington’s outreach to Kyiv came in the first days of the new administration, as the president continued to tout his ambitious goal of brokering a peace deal while expressing deep misgivings about the vast sums of assistance that his predecessor, President Joe Biden, had provided to Ukraine. The new U.S. administration also considered ending some Biden-era provisions that allowed Ukrainian citizens to stay in the United States.

Documents reviewed by The Post record a Ukrainian diplomat telling U.S. counterparts that while Ukraine had a “solid track record of accepting the return of its citizens when removed by the United States,” the government in Kyiv faces the prevailing reality of “wartime exigencies.”

Former U.S. officials said the U.S.-Ukraine dialogue about deportations was unusual and not part of any routine diplomatic correspondence.

âšĄïž Hegseth reportedly ordered Ukraine aid pause without Trump’s knowledge.

The suspension affected 11 shipments of artillery shells and weapons from Dover Air Force Base and a U.S. base in the United Arab Emirates.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) May 6, 2025 at 8:31 AM

From The Kyiv Independent: (emphasis mine)

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office ordered a temporary halt of military aid flights to Ukraine in early February without notifying the White House, Reuters reported on May 6, citing unnamed sources.

The suspension reportedly affected 11 shipments of artillery shells and weapons from Dover Air Force Base and a U.S. base in the United Arab Emirates.

The order, issued about a week after U.S. President Donald Trump began his second term, caused immediate concern in Kyiv and among officials in Poland, who contacted Washington for answers.

Top national security officials at the White House, Pentagon, and State Department were unaware of the decision and could not respond to inquiries.

The flights resumed Feb. 5, after a three-day pause, following an alleged intervention from U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, one source said.

Reuters reported in February that the United States briefly halted weapons shipments to Ukraine while the new White House administration debated its policies toward Kyiv.

The verbal order reportedly originated from Hegseth’s office after a Jan. 30 Oval Office meeting on Ukraine, where cutting off aid was discussed but not approved by Trump.

Four people familiar with the matter told Reuters a small group of Pentagon staffers, many with long-standing opposition to U.S. aid for Ukraine, had advised Hegseth to suspend assistance.

The president and other senior officials remained unaware of the suspension until Ukrainian and European partners raised concerns. The canceled flights reportedly cost U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) $2.2 million.

The weapons had been previously approved under the former President Joe Biden’s administration and authorized by Congress. Since Trump’s second term began in January, no new aid packages have been approved.

The U.S. temporarily halted military supplies for Ukraine in March before restarting them after Kyiv agreed to the truce plan during talks in Jeddah on March 11.

In an April 13 interview with CBS News, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the U.S. to provide air defense support, saying Ukraine is ready to purchase 10 U.S.-made Patriot systems for $15 billion to protect major cities.

“We will find the money and pay for everything,” Zelensky said, emphasizing Ukraine’s intention to buy, not request, additional systems.

Trump rejected the request the next day, accusing Ukraine of “always looking to purchase missiles” and falsely blaming Kyiv for instigating the war.

Trump has not clarified whether U.S. military aid will continue if his peace talks with Russia fail, fueling concern among allies over Washington’s long-term commitment.

A Patriot air defense system based in Israel will be transferred to Ukraine after refurbishment, the New York Timesreported on May 4, citing four unnamed current and former U.S. officials.

Moscow has refused a 30-day ceasefire, demanding extraordinary concessions, including a halt to all foreign military aid to Ukraine.

This small group of Pentagon staffers with “long-standing opposition to US aid for Ukraine” would describe several of the senior political appointees who were fired last month. All of them come out of the Koch natsec network and are genteel isolationists. The staffers referred to in this reporting could be different ones, but it would not surprise me if it is that same group. Which would provide more context to their terminations. Trump has made it clear he’s not going to get rid of Hegseth, so someone would’ve had to take the fall for doing this without presidential authorization and notification.

As the air defense missile stocks run low and the future of the U.S. military aid to Ukraine grows increasingly uncertain, Kyiv is under pressure to defend its sky.

Concerns mount as Russia scales up its aerial attacks, combining ballistic missiles and drones to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defense.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) May 6, 2025 at 1:13 PM

The Kyiv Independent has the details:

As the air defense missile stocks run low and the future of U.S. military aid to Ukraine grows increasingly uncertain, Kyiv is under pressure to defend its sky.

The concerns mount as Russia scales up its aerial attacks across Ukraine, combining ballistic missiles and drones to overwhelm air defenses. Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, are “definitely facing a shortage of (air defense) missiles,” a source in the Air Force told the Kyiv Independent.

Ukrainian aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi said that Russia has “radically changed” its tactics by targeting central Ukraine with ballistic missiles — instead of cruise missiles — such as Iskanders and upgraded North Korean variants.

“That’s an entirely different level of threat,” Khrapchynskyi told the Kyiv Independent.

While Kyiv remains the most protected city in Ukraine with the most prestigious Western air defense systems, the U.S.’s future steps and the worldwide shortage of air defense missiles due to their cost may impact its ability to protect civilians all over Ukraine, including the capital.

Among the most capable Western-provided air defense missiles manning Kyiv’s sky is the U.S.-made Patriot, which the U.S. confirmed had been used to shoot down the first Kh-47 Kinzhal hypersonic missile in May 2023.

The Patriot air defense systems have proved to be a game-changer for Ukraine, whose Air Force previously have had to rely on outdated Soviet-era versions to shoot down aerial targets.

Ukraine currently has only eight Patriot systems, two of which are currently not in service, according to the New York Times, which also reported that an additional Patriot system is on its way to Ukraine from Israel as part of a previously arranged commitment.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in April that Ukraine is ready to purchase additional air defense systems to protect its sky better.

The equipment — and most importantly, the ammunition — are limited in number to effectively use the mobile surface-to-air system for countering ballistic and cruise missiles, forcing Ukraine to conserve them even when Kyiv is under heavy attack, according to military experts interviewed.

Ukraine has to move its six operational Patriot systems, provided by Western allies over time, across the country to defend the sky from Russian missiles and drones, according to Ukrainian aviation expert Kostiantyn Kryvolap.

Ukraine would ideally need at least two Patriot systems for every major city, such as Kyiv, Lviv, and Dnipro, to “more or less reliably” defend it using two radars to detect aerial threats, Kryvolap said.

There are seven cities across the country with a population of over 500,000 people, excluding Russian-occupied territories.

In a plea to Western allies to help defend civilians, Zelensky has repeatedly asked for more Patriots and ammunition for them. Details about the remaining missile stock remain unknown, as Kyiv has tightly guarded the information for operational security.

The shortage of Patriot missiles persists worldwide, as production is complicated and expensive. Kryvolap said that the American manufacturer Lockheed Martin can only produce about 500 a year, which wouldn’t be sufficient even if all the produced ammunition were allocated to Ukraine.

The company was awarded a government contract to increase the production of PAC-3 interceptors to 650 missiles per year in 2027.

Kryvolap stressed that at least two Patriot missiles are needed to intercept a ballistic missile with “a more or less high probability.”

Meanwhile, Russia constantly attempts to improve its ballistic missiles, posing additional challenges for Ukraine, according to the Air Force. “The enemy is still modernizing ballistic missiles,” its spokesman, Yuriy Ihnat, said in April.

Aviation expert Khrapchynskyi pointed out that the interceptor shortage had already become “critical” in 2024 when the delay in Western aid delivery coincided with Russia’s deployment of a new combination tactic using Shahed-type drones, ballistic missiles, Kh-47 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and Kh-101 and Kh-555 cruise missiles.

“We’re facing a shortage of interceptors, limited coverage, and no system can hold out for long without constant resupply,” Khrapchynskyi told the Kyiv Independent, underscoring that Ukraine would need at least eight or nine Patriot batteries in total, including at least three just for Kyiv.

“But even the best system is still just a platform. Without missiles, it’s just blinking lights,” he added.

More at the link.

I will emphasize, once again, that we are now over three years into this full scale re-invasion of Ukraine and the US defense industrial base is still not on a war footing. And it is not on a war footing because there is not demand for their products, but because two consecutive administrations have done nothing to actually put them on a war footing to drive more rapid expansion of manufacturing capabilities and, as a result, more manufacture of weapons systems and munitions. Even if you’ve bought into the notion that the PRC is the pacing problem set and we have to be ready because Xi ordered the PLA, PLAN, PLARF, etc to invade Taiwan in 2027, which is a misunderstanding of Xi’s guidance, then the US cannot meet that challenge wit the current state of its defense industrial base.

Back to Ukraine.

Russia’s best drone unit just flew an un-jammable attack drone at least six miles behind the front line in eastern Ukraine and blew up one of the Ukrainian army’s High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) wheeled launchers.
www.forbes.com/sites/davida…

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— Karsten Marrup (@karstenmarrup.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 6:15 PM

From Forbes:

Russia’s best drone unit just flew an un-jammable attack drone at least six miles behind the front line in eastern Ukraine and blew up one of the Ukrainian army’s precious High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems wheeled launchers.

It’s the fourth U.S.-made HIMARS the Russians have destroyed. And while the Ukrainians aren’t about to run out of HIMARS—there are around three dozen are left—the rate of loss could increase as Russia’s best drones strike deeper behind the front line.

The fast-moving HIMARS, each firing six 660-pound rockets as far as 57 miles, are some of Ukraine’s best weapons for striking Russian troop concentrations, headquarters, air-defense batteries and artillery. They’re top targets for Russian drones. But powerful electromagnetic jamming, which can ground radio-controlled drones, protects Ukrainian forces along the most critical stretches of the front.

But drones controlled via signals traveling along millimeters-thick but miles-long optical fiber “are impervious to any jamming,” explained “Roy,” an expert in electronic warfare. As Russian forces have deployed more and more fiber-optic drones, the HIMARS have become more vulnerable—especially while traveling along main roads in daytime.

It’s worrying for the Ukrainians, but hardly surprising given the rapid evolution of drone technology, that a fiber-optic drone hunted down and struck a HIMARS reportedly near Chasiv Yar on or just before Tuesday. The crew may have bailed out following the strike, but the $20-million launcher is a total write-off.

More at the link.

The question will be how quickly can Ukraine innovate a countermeasure.

The newly presented Ukrainian prototype, FP-1, drone. Range – 1,600km and a warhead – 120kg.

What makes it especially notable is the absence of landing gear and the use of a rocket booster for launch — a design choice that could significantly simplify launch operations

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— 🩋Special Kherson Cat🐈đŸ‡ș🇩 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 2:18 PM

In Kyiv, Ukraine unveiled its latest weaponry: strike drones and self-propelled artillery systems.

Among the exhibits was the Ukrainian drone “Bulava,” developed by the Ukrainian-Czech company UAC. This drone is equipped with a powerful 3.6 kg cumulative-thermobaric warhead.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 2:14 PM

Here are the maps of Ukraine’s strikes on Russia tonight:

Tonight’s Ukrainian drone attacks on fascist Russia – drones mostly in NE directions, including several heading for Moscow. 3rd night in a row Russian capital bring targeted. Map compiled from Russian sources by t.me/dronbomber.

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— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 3:48 PM

Updsted map.

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— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 3:51 PM

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— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 6:11 PM

👋 Say goodbye to Russia’s Msta-S

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— 🩋Special Kherson Cat🐈đŸ‡ș🇩 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 1:00 PM

Zaporizhzhia:

Tonight, Russia struck Zaporizhzhia with missiles. First responders are rescuing people from the rubble of their own homes

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 5:22 PM

Russia attacked Zaporizhzhia with Shahed drones. A series of explosions occurred in the city.
According to preliminary information, there is destruction, and people may be trapped under the rubble.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 4:21 PM

Kharkiv:

Russia is determined to make Kharkiv uninhabitable. Again and again, the city rises from the ruins only to be hit again. Last night, 20 drones struck, targeting Kharkiv’s largest market and damaging homes.

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— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 3:01 AM

Today’s russian direct drone strike on the market in Kharkiv

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 8:30 AM

Another video from this morning—Russia’s drones strike Kharkiv yet again.

Turn the sound on. Watch closely. Then imagine living this nightmare every single day for over three years

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 2:52 PM

During the night, Kharkiv came under a massive Shahed drone attack. One of the UAVs struck the Barabashovo market — one of the largest shopping centers in Ukraine and Europe. In total, the city was hit 20 times overnight, leaving four people injured.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 6:35 AM

Behold, the highly classified Ukrainian military installation… cleverly disguised beneath this pile of charred clothing. My mistake, though. Turns out it’s just what it looks like: a clothing market that Russia decided to bomb for kicks.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 6:58 AM

Russia has once again struck the largest market in Kharkiv. This section of the market sold clothes and children’s toys—the same place where half of Belgorod and Kursk came to shop before the full-scale war.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 6:38 AM

Another Russian strike on Kharkiv this morning landed near an apartment building, causing damage.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 7:01 AM

Kharkiv this morning. Turn the sound on to watch

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 6:41 AM

Kyiv:

Kyiv under attack by ballistic missiles launched from fascist Russia’s Bryansk Oblast. Only a couple of minutes between sirens going off, sound of interceptor missiles launching, and then this


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— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 6:09 PM

Flash of light in sky at 2 seconds is probably an interception (I heard sound of interceptor missiles launching before I started filming), and first bang comes 15 seconds later, so it was about 5km from me. Four bangs in all, second more distant than others.

— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 6:25 PM

Sumy Oblast:

Russia struck suburbs of Sumy with a ballistic missile, murdering 2 kids and a man according to city authorities.

A girl died immediately, while a man and a boy passed away in the hospital.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 2:01 PM

In broad daylight, Russia launched a ballistic strike on the outskirts of Sumy, targeting civilian infrastructure. Three people were killed, and most of the injured are children.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 12:58 PM

Moscow Oblast, Russia:

A Ukrainian drone flies over Ramenskoye, SE of Moscow. A few minutes later it was destroyed by air defense forces, Russian authorities say. Threat continues, with drones attempting to break through air defenses around Moscow from several directions, Russian media say.

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— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 3:58 PM

Muscovites getting used to a sound very familiar to Ukrainians – the “lawnmower” engine sound of an attack drone overhead. Ukraine attacked the Russian capital for the second night in a row early May 6, forcing closure of all 4 of Moscow’s main airports.

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— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 2:35 AM

Russian air defenses were so heroically “protecting” Moscow from drones last night that one of their own missiles proudly parked itself in the living room of a high-rise apartment in suburban Podolsk.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 7:11 AM

Belgorod Oblast, Russia:

đŸ‡șđŸ‡ŠđŸ‡·đŸ‡ș Footage of Russian Air Defense in Belgorod Amid Large-Scale Ukrainian UAV Attack in Russia

[image or embed]

— Conflict Dispatch (@conflictdispatch.bsky.social) May 6, 2025 at 3:49 PM

There are no new Patron skeets or videos today.

Here is some adjacent material:

đŸ«ĄđŸ‡ș🇩 Meet Runa. She is 26, and she leads the crew of an anti-aircraft gun on the front line.
Her dugout is very cozy – it smells of fresh flowers and books.
Runa feeds all the surrounding animals, and her faithful dog Shonik patiently waits for her mistress from every trip.

[image or embed]

— Vitalis Viva (@vitalisviva.bsky.social) May 5, 2025 at 11:11 AM

Open thread!

War for Ukraine Day 1,167: 205 Ukrainian POWs Were Returned TodayPost + Comments (20)

Sad, Hilarious Read: Talking To The President

by Anne Laurie|  May 6, 20255:33 pm| 204 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

I wrote about the pluses, minuses, and theoretical best practices for having a conversation with a liar on TV. defector.com/talking-to-t…

[image or embed]

— David_j_roth (@davidjroth.bsky.social) May 3, 2025 at 12:21 PM

Or: TV ‘President’ Yaps at Talking Heads, per Dave Roth at Defector: [gift link]

It is only sort of true to say that you know what you’re going to get when Donald Trump sits for a television interview. It is true in the sense that, after a decade spent alternately threatening and occupying the White House, everyone knows how he is going to act. There is some more uncertainty when it comes to what Trump is actually going to do, but even these variables aren’t notably variable. He is going to act like Donald Trump, or some version of Donald Trump. This is something that can be prepared for, to some extent.

If he is being interviewed by someone from one of the television channels he likes, Trump will be drawling and digressive in his familiar toastmaster mode, the tone he puts on when he is Making Some Remarks before an audience that he senses is eager to applaud him. “A little secret,” he told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham while showing her around his increasingly cluttered and gilded Oval Office, “throughout the years, people have tried to come up with a gold paint that would look like gold. And they’ve never been able to do it.” No, Ingraham agreed, in a tone of hushed awe, while the Fox camera focused on a dorky little golden cherub above a door. “That’s why it’s gold.” He sounds like he’s talking in his sleep, murmuring through a dream in which he is doing exactly this sort of thing. That’s one version.

The other version emerges in situations where Trump knows he might get asked a question he doesn’t want to answer. These interviews are shot and staged differently, and not quite in the ways that presidential interviews generally have been. He will be in a room that is too big or stuffed with Trumpy doodads and signifiers—glossy wood and gold, picture frames and trophies and bad art, flagpoles clumped uncannily together like the seven fingers on a AI-generated image’s hand. You will, for some reason, always be able to see Trump’s entire body in a chair, squatting and heaving and canted in an uncanny way that might remind you of Blanka from Street Fighter wearing a suit. In close shots, you will for some reason always be able to see Trump’s bottom teeth. The diction is different, brittle with distress and umbrage; he is immediately flustered and aggrieved, always, as if surprised—or not surprised, but offended and a little disappointed—that this nasty man or woman has not asked, not even once, whether that is real gold on those cherubs or just gold paint.

Trump’s frustration in settings like those clearly has something to do with his supreme sensitivity to lĂšse-majestĂ©, but it seems grounded in a more foundational frustration, which is that interviews like this are not designed to do the things that he wants interviews to do. For someone so steeped in and warped by television, Trump has an oddly stilted and inert sense of what it should be like. He understands that good TV is when he shouts at an underling and they go away or when he comes up with a really good idea that saves everything; he was casting himself in the lead of stories like this long before he got into politics. But what Trump actually prefers is something far more dramatically slack than that, a sort of endless rolling Entertainment Tonight segment in which some correspondent visits him on the set of his latest blockbuster, or just footage of him pointing and golfing with leering Robin Leach voiceover ladled over it. This is not what television is, but it is what Trump has always dreamed it would be: all those other stories about other people replaced by something much more luxurious and high-quality, for instance him sitting at a big table while everyone laughs at his jokes and thanks him, or him walking a news host around some gaudy space and pointing out the various fixtures, or him roping one perfect drive after another down the dead center of the fairway as a grateful nation puts its differences aside to shout “get in the hole” with one voice.

When Trump got upset with ABC News anchor Terry Moran during their interview earlier this week, it transparently had less to do with any of Moran’s qualified and exceedingly polite attempts at correcting whatever weird lie the president had just told than with a breach in what Trump understood as the principle of the thing. “Terry,” Trump said at one point, “you can’t do that—hey, I’m giving you the big break of a lifetime. You know, you’re doing the interview. And I picked you because, frankly I never heard of you, but that’s okay. But I picked you, Terry, [and] you’re not being very nice.” At some level, Trump was mad that Moran had briefly deigned to correct the lie that Trump was telling about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who Trump’s oaf cadres had renditioned to a torture gulag in El Salvador—in this case, about a hilariously specious interpretation of some of Garcia’s tattoos, which Trump had misunderstood in an idiotic and apparently permanent way. But the “you can’t do that” bit is the thing, the sound of a wrestler upset by his opponent’s unwillingness or inability to play his scripted part, and put the champ over…

show full post on front page

It is one of the defining Trump things that any belief that makes it into his mind will bump around in there forever; his understanding of the world is the sum of those things, thousands of permanent and perpetual irritants cut free from any context or facticity, smashing into each other and echoing forever inside of his luxuriously appointed skull. They drop bowling balls on the cars; there is no such thing as gold paint; they looked at his hand and the proof was right there. None of this, of course, is new. None of the beliefs are new, really, and nothing that Trump will do between this moment and his last one on earth will be new, or surprising in the least. It’s just a matter of which echoes are ringing most loudly at that moment…

Trump understands the rhythm of television in the way that only someone profoundly warped and wounded by it can; where any other finer and more human thing might have been within him there are now just gallons of flat, room-temperature Access Hollywood exclusives sloshing about, a whole dead ocean inside. The lies that he tells are boring because there is just nothing to them; they’re meaningless, unattached to anything, something that They Did or They Saw that he heard somewhere. It’s not even bullshit; it’s just gossip.

But Trump also knows where those sounds fit within the broader rhythm of a television interview, and if he understands what noises to make and when much more readily than he grasps what any of those sounds might signify or “mean,” the interplay of those noises will still more or less assume the conventional shape. This does Trump a very big favor—everything looks and sounds much more fucked up and stupid than you’d expect, but you can still see the outline of a Presidential Interview in there, just with any residual social value replaced entirely by lead and chalk.

That it will make anyone watching it at the very least more confused and in some meaningful ways more stupid—if it will, through letting Trump fill all those familiar spaces with a heady, sewage-forward stew of carcinogenic gossip and nonsense, lead those viewers into that impenetrable and subjective Trumpian incoherence—seems much less important to the media organizations producing it than that it all continue to look how it’s supposed to look, and unfold more or less in the ways that it has always unfolded. There are things that a sufficiently dedicated and prepared journalist could do to mitigate this. Stop the interview to not just contest but disprove an obvious lie, for the sake of the viewer if not for the liar hunched in the opposite chair. Contextualize all that conjecture and insinuation. Ask the question and just keep on asking it until it is actually answered, as Hamilton Nolan once suggested. If he walks away, which he might, then he walks away. The job is not to simply fill the container, but to fill it in a useful way…

Sad, Hilarious Read: <em>Talking To The President</em>Post + Comments (204)

The Stuff of Mad Kings

by WaterGirl|  May 6, 20254:18 pm| 78 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

How did I miss this?

The orange menace is shooting himself in the foot.

(The New Republic)

He has now said it right out in the open—not once but twice. In two major interviews, President Donald Trump openly declared that he has the power to bring the wrongfully deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States. And on both occasions, Trump said straight out that he is not doing so because administration lawyers have told him he doesn’t have to—or that he shouldn’t.

This has been widely seen as an admission that Trump is defying the Supreme Court, which has directed the administration to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return. Yes, it is that. But these two moments are also their own story. They offer a unique glimpse into the deep rot of bad faith infesting Trump and Stephen Miller’s broader project to expand the president’s removal powers into something extraordinarily vast and entirely unaccountable. They also show how Trump is inadvertently sabotaging his case against Abrego Garcia—and that broader project as well—with his bumbling incompetence.

[snip]

Trump has now admitted he can take this alternate path anytime he wants. So who is telling Trump not to? Who is directing that overall strategy? The more we learn along these lines, the more Trump’s whole case will collapse.

All this deals a blow to Trumpworld’s arguments in a deeper sense. Miller’s bigger argument is essentially that the president’s powers to remove people should be above challenge and unreviewable by definition. Miller appears to want Trump to have the power to declare undocumented immigrants to be terrorists and gang members by fiat; to have the power to absurdly decree them members of a hostile nation’s invading army, again by fiat; and then to have quasi-unlimited power to remove them, unconstrained by any court.

“The judicial process is for Americans,” Miller has said. “Immediate deportation is for illegal aliens.” He appears to want to dispense with due process for migrants entirely—the Constitution be damned.

Drunk with hubris and high on his sad little fascist fantasies, Miller believes he can bury Americans in propaganda about criminal migrants, seducing them into embracing unchecked presidential power as essential to securing public safety. But Trump’s blithe admission that he can follow the law on Abrego Garcia anytime he wants to—and is not doing so because someone, somewhere told him he doesn’t have to—reveals this as entirely unmoored from anything resembling public order and the rule of law. It’s lawless, arbitrary, and dictatorial—proudly so, in fact.

The more transparency we have gained into the rot of corruption and bad faith at the core of this whole saga, the worse it has come to look. Trump himself is exposing it all for what it truly is: the stuff of Mad Kings.

The arrogance is astonishing.  He truly believes he is untouchable.  Let’s hope he’s wrong.

The Stuff of Mad KingsPost + Comments (78)

Strategizing vs. Doing (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker|  May 6, 202512:04 pm| 242 Comments

This post is in: Domestic Politics, Open Threads, Politics

This was mildly depressing to read first thing in the morning:

Senate Democrats have invited New York Times columnist Ezra Klein and Democratic data guru David Shor to talk to senators at their annual one-day issues retreat on Wednesday, sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: Democrats are still processing how they lost the 2024 election and are looking for new ways to appeal to a changing electorate that neither party clearly owns.

I guess the quest for One Weird Trick that doesn’t involve voters suddenly developing better critical thinking skills, a greater sense of civic responsibility or becoming less bigoted or whatever is inevitable.

But at this moment, I like Josh Marshall’s suggestion better: Focus on discrediting Republicans at every turn. Drive up their negatives. Oppose, oppose, oppose. Marshall uses Iowa as an example, but it’s broadly applicable: (gift link)

With this in mind, if I were in charge of any Democratic electoral operations my goal right now would be to be investing a lot of money in doing everything possible in Iowa to discredit the Trump White House with a view toward defeating Sen. Joni Ernst next year. (Not solely in Iowa, but it’s a place where the logic and opportunities are among the clearest.) Right now, the Trump White House is playing havoc with the farm sector from countless different directions — gutting the FDA and the USDA and various loan programs that facilitate family farming. They’re also gutting the Veterans’ Administration as well as various health care programs that support older Americans and rural voters. The White House is giving Democrats quite a lot to work with…

The DC discourse tells us that the Democrats lost in 2024 because their party became too “woke” and identified with purported elite concerns about trans rights, DEI, “open borders” and the like. The truth, I think, is a bit different. The reality of the 2024 election is that there was concentrated public unhappiness with inflation, the high cost of living and other dislocations tied to the aftermath of the pandemic. Republicans were able to make the case with a key slice of voters that Democrats were indifferent to the cost of living because they were so focused on pronouns and DEI. That notorious Trump ad (“Kamala is for they/them. I am for you”) I think captures this…

Obviously, anti-trans voters ate this ad up. But I think it’s real power comes in that message about, who are you for? Who do you care about? Trans rights supporters make a very good point when they point to polls which show most voters are not anti-trans. Where things break down is on the question of salience. If Republicans can successfully make the argument that Democrats don’t care about cost of living challenges facing the majority of Americans because they’re hyper-focused on trans issues or making sure trans women can compete in women’s sports, that’s a big problem. You change that misunderstanding or perhaps you get the party to change less by holding performative intra-party battles than simply by driving up the salience of different issues through the act of being an opposition.

I’m not even sure you have to drive up the salience of “different issues” because the economy is already worse due to the ceremonial head of state’s trademark chaos and the wrecking ball his top campaign donor took to U.S. agencies. People are even more unhappy about the economy now than they were last year. It’s unlikely to get better since the idiots running the country are actively wrecking things.

Meanwhile, Trump keeps stomping on his own dick. This week, he’s mumbling about how parents should give children fewer dolls — a weird line he keeps waddling out to repeat. And Commerce Secretary Nutlick [sic] is on TV yapping about future American jobs that involve screwing in tiny little screws and multigenerational factory toil.

And the voters who are most detached from politics? The nitwits who broke hard for Trump because they were mad about eggs and gas prices? Looks like they’ve discovered that hot stoves are HOT barely 100 days into Trump’s second term:

New piece: Trump’s approval rating among low-engagement voters has fallen 30 points since Jan, the worst decline for any group. The GOP’s big advantage with hard-to-reach voters has evaporated as economic turmoil & toxic politics turns them away from Trump
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/what-do-di…

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— G Elliott Morris (@gelliottmorris.com) May 6, 2025 at 8:09 AM

The economy aside, there are a whole lot of new issues Democrats can add to the pile of stuff to hang around Trump and Republicans’ necks. Making it hard for seniors to access Medicare service is unpopular. Blowing up U.S. biomedical research is unpopular. Gutting the VA is unpopular.

Enshittifying FEMA is unpopular. Making airline travel less safe is unpopular. Running crypto scams from the White House while people struggle to afford housing is unpopular (or would be if people knew about it).

Anyway, I think Marshall has a point. Less navel-gazing, more vilifying the villains.

Open thread!

PS: Bird bonus: these lovely Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks stopped by this morning.

A pair of russet-colored ducks with pink bills are standing on a riverbank in tall grass.

We hear them fly by a lot — as the name suggests, they whistle! But it’s always a thrill when they actually stop by and say hello.

Strategizing vs. Doing (Open Thread)Post + Comments (242)

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