Balloon Juice - Open Threads Archives

Tuesday Later Night Open Thread

by WaterGirl| February 4, 202511:11 pm| 88 Comments

WHITE Washing is right!

Image – h/t Felony Govt.

Also, is anyone else besides Jackie getting an error message for the site? I suppose if you are getting an error message instead of Balloon Juice you won’t see this and therefore can’t respond. :-) So I guess I’m looking for confirmation that the site is still up for most of you. (Okay, she’s back in business, but I would love to hear if anyone else was getting a Cloudflare error besides Jackie.)

Also, too, I am trying to figure out whether it’s worth keeping Apple TV+ or if I should just watch a few shows and then cancel.

Apple TV+ shows I’m curious about are:

I’m caught up with Slow Horses.

I plan to watch Bad Sisters 2.

No idea about The Morning Show.

Seems like maybe Blackbird, Presumed Innocent and Prime Target might be good?

I’ve only seen 2 seasons of Ted Lasso, and I’ve forgotten most of the details of the first 2 seasons, which I liked. Worth watching?

Severance and Silo look like my kind of thing.

Open thread.

Update: I kind of feel like maybe I need to find a pet pic to add to the post to counteract the oh-so-white-and-awful image up top.

Here’s Henry sleeping with his favorite baby, which was Tucker’s favorite, too. He drags his babies from the dog bed to “his” chair and back again. And out to the porch when the weather is nice.

Tuesday Later Night Open ThreadPost + Comments (88)

War for Ukraine Day 1,076: Another Night, Another Drone Swarm

by Adam L Silverman| February 4, 20258:12 pm| 15 Comments

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

That’s the air raid alert map as of 7:20 PM EST/2:20 AM local time in Ukraine. As has been the case for the better part of two weeks, I expect the drones swarms will be followed by missiles and bombs.

I also think that these nightly swarms followed by the missiles and bombs are clearly Russia’s response to Ukraine striking at Russia’s petroleum infrastructure.

I am aware that people are posting on social media that the Trump administration has lifted the conditions and limitations of the Biden administration and given Ukraine permission to use US weapon systems and munitions for long range strikes. I’m not going to say anything else about it until I see it reported by a legitimate news or other credible source.

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

show full post on front page

The Teams of Ukraine and the U.S. Have Already Begun Substantive Discussions – Address by the President

4 February 2025 – 19:48

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

I held a meeting of the NSDC today.

Government officials – Prime Minister Shmyhal and First Deputy Prime Minister Svyrydenko – reported on support programs for our people – Ukrainian citizens and businesses. eSupport, eOselia, free meals for Ukrainian children in schools, the teacher salary supplement program that started this year, the “Made in Ukraine” program, and other initiatives. No matter how difficult it is, we are finding funds to help all Ukrainians and Ukrainian producers. Nearly thirteen million applications have been submitted for eSupport, and almost thirteen billion hryvnias have been paid directly to Ukrainian families, to our citizens. The number of participants proves the necessity of this program – and the need for similar direct support programs. There are already over five million clients in the National Cashback program – this is also the number that speaks for itself. We are working to expand all effective support formats, and this will be done – I have given the government the relevant instructions. Importantly, we are already prepared for the spring pension indexation, which will take effect on March 1. Today, we also reviewed key issues related to our financial stability and discipline. A significant problem is the imbalance between imports and exports. Imports – and this is not about weapons – far exceed our exports. This is a trend that must be reversed. We need to create far more opportunities for production within Ukraine and support all forms of economic activity in Ukraine. Just as we are already attracting foreign investment in weapons production, government officials must also work on other industries. Additionally, instructions were given to work with partners to increase our resources, shared European resources for ensuring the security of economic activities – this includes various aspects, from humanitarian demining, demining of agricultural lands to enhancing protection for our cities, primarily through air defense.

At today’s NSDC meeting, important reports were presented regarding financial transparency in the country. Recently, leadership changes were made in the Tax Service and Financial Monitoring Service, and there are already first results – results with shadow financial schemes that have finally been stopped. These schemes involved oligarchs, officials, members of parliament, and those who have used or continue to use various funds to conceal money. Billions of hryvnias. The relevant materials have already been handed over to law enforcement agencies. Investigations must be objective, regardless of who is breaking the law. The NSDC has also approved new sanctions. The lists will be published soon. Several strict sanction packages are on the way.

Also today.

A meeting on the development of our Air Force. We are preparing changes. And we are getting ready for French fighter jets with our pilots to start operating in the Ukrainian skies. I met with IAEA Director Grossi. IAEA missions are currently operating in Ukraine – at nuclear power plants – and we agreed that these missions will work more actively at other critical energy infrastructure sites as well. We also spoke with Mr. Grossi about Ukrainians – our citizens, the hostages from Enerhodar whom Russian occupiers have taken. We expect that the IAEA will be actively involved in efforts to secure their release. I am grateful that the IAEA Director has supported Ukraine’s strategy for completing the construction of nuclear power units at the Khmelnytskyi NPP. This project is key to Ukraine’s energy independence and regional energy stability, and it is important that Ukraine’s members of parliament support this project. We spoke in detail about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP – it is necessary to restore Ukraine’s legitimate control over the plant and resume its proper operation within Ukraine and for Ukraine. We invite our partners to work with us on this matter – this is a mutually beneficial endeavor, this energy will significantly strengthen Europe and make Ukraine’s relations with America much more beneficial for both sides. By the way, our teams have already begun substantive discussions – teams from Ukraine and the United States. Today, Head of the Office Andriy Yermak spoke with Michael Waltz, and we are preparing a schedule of meetings. I also spoke today with the Prime Minister of Australia. The most important topic is new steps to increase pressure on Russia for its war – pressure for the sake of a just peace. We maintain our unity – global unity – and this truly weakens Russia’s ability to continue this insane and criminal aggression, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. I thank everyone who is helping Ukraine!

Glory to all who make our state stronger.

Glory to Ukraine!

Georgia:

On the 24th day of her hunger strike, imprisoned media manager Mzia Amaglobeli has been transferred to Vivamed clinic for medical tests. According to Clinical Director Zurab Chkhaidze, tests revealed “changes”, and she agreed to hospitalization while maintaining her hunger strike.

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— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) February 4, 2025 at 1:25 PM

At a protest in support of Mzia Amaglobeli near the parliament, policemen knocked down Vancent Khabeishvili, the editor-in-chief of news.on.ge. Footage from TV Pirveli shows another protester falling to the ground with him. Khabeishvili is currently in the hospital.

#TerrorinGeorgia

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 5:49 AM

Day 69 continuous, large-scale; day 99 overall. The regime is doubling down big time. Some are more angry, some are more depressed. We do understand that stopping is death.
If our partners intend to help us avoid whatever costs can be avoided, now is the time. #GeorgiaProtests

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 12:47 PM

At a protest in support of Mzia Amaglobeli near the parliament, policemen knocked down Vancent Khabeishvili, the editor-in-chief of news.on.ge. Footage from TV Pirveli shows another protester falling to the ground with him. Khabeishvili is currently in the hospital.

#TerrorinGeorgia

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— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 5:49 AM

How the regime police threw down online media on.ge information editor Vantsent Khabeishvili. Tens of journalists at the back of the Parliament were assaulted by excessive force and not even allowed to protest on a pavement. Vantsent is hospitalized. #terrorinGeorgia #GeorgiaProtests

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— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 6:01 AM

Let this sink in: the only thing keeping Georgia from Kadyrov’s Chechnya, and keeping Armenia from physical disengagement from democracies is the ongoing protests in Georgia.
The minute we stop, the region is lost for decades at best, and we can forget the Black Sea security.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 10:28 AM

The regime announces “reorganization” in the Ministry of Defense, liquidates the Civil Service Bureau. Its competences of civil service integrity screening are largely transferred to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which has long become a repressive tool against parties and CSOs.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 11:41 AM

Back to Ukraine.

Izium, Kharkiv Oblast:

The Russians committed more war crimes and crimes against humanities again today.

WARNING!! WARNING!! GRAPHIC IMAGERY!! WARNING!! WARNING!!

Russia struck Izum in Kharkiv region with a missile, killing at least 5 people ‼️

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 6:22 AM

Russia hit central Izyum with ballistic missile, killing at least five people. After mass graves with hundreds of bodies, they’re killing civilians here again – this time at an admin building where people were getting passports. This is what impunity leads to.

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— Maria Avdeeva (@mariainkharkiv.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 7:24 AM

Izium, Kharkiv Oblast

City center, administrative building, paperwork, conversations, the hum of ordinary life.

Then — russian missile, explosion.

Five people killed. Over 40 injured.

In seconds, ordinary life became ruins and pain.

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— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 8:42 AM

Izum after today’s russian missile attack. At least 5 people died.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 6:39 AM

The number of people injured in the russian missile attack on Izium has risen to 55, including three children.

Among the five killed, two were sisters, aged 18 and 19, one of whom was pregnant.

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— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 9:28 AM

Another horrific video of search and rescue efforts in Izum after the russian missile attack.

5 people died
38 others got injured

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 7:53 AM

Borova resident Valentyna Zhalpis arrived with her daughter-in-law, her sister, and a driver to the passport office in Izyum.
“I was sitting in the car, the driver got out to smoke, my daughter-in-law went to the passport office. Just as she arrived, an explosion occurred. Our driver was killed.”🤬

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— ajit4g.bsky.social (@ajit4g.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 9:59 AM

Kharkiv:

The Kharkiv Police have released bodycam footage capturing the initial moments following the Russian drone strike on Kharkiv on February 1st.

The footage shows officers rescuing people they can reach from the fire and rubble.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 2:51 PM

The artists are Hanna Stasenko and Slava Leontyev from Kharkiv.

The documentary about them “Porcelain war” is this year’s Oscar nominee

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 5:40 PM

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 5:42 PM

Pokrovsk:

Warriors of the 5th Separate Assault Brigade took down a large number of enemy paratroopers during an attempted attack in the Pokrovsk direction.
t.me/c/1377735387…

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 5:07 AM

Kyiv:

⚡️Explosions heard in Kyiv.

Residents heard explosions in Kyiv shortly after midnight on Feb. 5, according to local Kyiv Independent reporters. The Air Force warned that Russian Shahed-type attack drones were targeting the region.

— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 4, 2025 at 5:24 PM

The Kursk cross border offensive:

⚡️Ukraine’s strike on Russian command center in Kursk Oblast causes ‘significant losses,’ General Staff says.

The building was severely damaged, and Moscow suffered significant losses among Russian personnel, the General Staff said.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 4, 2025 at 2:42 PM

From The Kyiv Independent:

Ukraine’s Air Force carried out a “precision strike” on Feb. 3 at a Russian command post near the village of Novoivanovka in Kursk Oblast, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported.

Kyiv launched a limited incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6, first capturing about 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of Russian territory. While Ukraine has reportedly lost around half of that territory since then, fighting continues in the region.

The command post, located in an abandoned building, was used to coordinate Russian troops’ offensive against the Ukrainian army in the Kursk sector of the front line, the statement read.

The building was severely damaged, and Moscow suffered significant losses among Russian personnel, the General Staff said.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.

Earlier on Jan. 31, Ukrainian forces struck another command post of Russia’s Kursk group of forces in the Russian city of Rylsk.

These attacks are part of Ukraine’s broader strategy to weaken Russian operational capabilities by targeting key command centers. The General Staff has emphasized that such strikes aim to reduce Russia’s offensive potential.

⚡️Nearly 8,000 North Korean soldiers still fighting in Kursk Oblast, Budanov says.

Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov denied reports that North Korean soldiers have not been seen on the front line for weeks.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 4, 2025 at 2:31 PM

The Kyiv Independent has the details:

About 8,000 North Korean soldiers are still fighting against Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with The War Zone magazine published on Feb. 4.

After The New York Times reported on Jan. 30 that North Korean troops had been pulled from the front, a Special Operations Forces spokesperson confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Ukraine’s special forces had not faced Pyongyang’s soldiers for three weeks.

Budanov denied reports that North Korean soldiers have not been seen on the front line for weeks. However, Budanov noted that the number of North Korean troops has decreased, and Ukraine is trying to establish why.

“We have to wait for some time to see if there are any real changes or if this is just lower activity for a couple of days,” Budanov said.

Up to 12,000 North Korean troops were deployed to Kursk Oblast last fall to support Russian forces in countering a Ukrainian incursion launched in early August 2024.

At least 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and another 2,700 wounded fighting in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) claimed on Jan. 13

The heavy losses of the North Korean army may be related to its lack of combat experience and the tactic of human waves attacks with a limited amount of equipment, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief added. According to Budanov, North Korean soldiers attack “almost without any combat vehicles.”

Budanov also suggested that the North Korean military is so willing to advance on foot against Ukrainian drones and artillery because of its loyalty to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. He added that their disregard for personal safety makes Ukraine’s defense more challenging.

That’s enough for tonight.

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Open thread!

War for Ukraine Day 1,076: Another Night, Another Drone SwarmPost + Comments (15)

Wings Over Water (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker| February 4, 20256:05 pm| 77 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity

Let’s see if I can embed a Bluesky post with video:

Each evening this time of year, flocks of ibises fly west in the morning and east in the evening. If you’re in the river and they fly low over and around the boat, the sound of their wings seems to fill up the world. #birds

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— Betty Cracker of Florida (@bettycrackerfl.bsky.social) February 4, 2025 at 5:09 PM

Looks like it might work?

There’s a SpaceX launch soon, and Bill is outside to watch it. I can’t even. The Bond Villain ruined rocket launches for this Floridian, which is quite a feat. One of my early memories is seeing an Apollo launch with my father — lucky 13, I think.

Anyhoo, fuck that fuck-squib. (Musk, not my father.)

Open thread!

Wings Over Water (Open Thread)Post + Comments (77)

PSA, Memory Lane, and Housekeeping

by WaterGirl| February 4, 20253:38 pm| 111 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Site Maintenance

I hate to even bring it up, but remember the Apocalypse? Where we lost the BJ site for a period of time?

Remember the signup link we had so that we could communicate with everyone while the site was down and/or at the Home Away from Home site?

If you’re not already on the list, this is your chance to sign up, so that if we ever need to communicate outside of Balloon Juice – insert your worst case scenario here – you will receive the communication.

Signup link

You have 3 days to click the link to sign up. We have until Friday to add more people to the list.

If you’re not sure whether you are already signed up, click the link and sign up again – I imagine that if you’re already signed up you’ll see some sort of message to that effect if you sign up again.

Mailchimp wants us to pay a $27 monthly fee now (which comes to $324 a year), so we’ll need to export the list from MailChimp, and then if / when we want to communicate with list members in the future, we’ll get a paying subscription then and import the list back into MailChimp.

I am secretly hoping that one of our BJ peeps will offer to cover the cost, but if not then we’ll go with Plan A above.

So anyway, please sign up if you are interested. We have 850 BJ peeps on the list right now.

Open thread.

PSA, Memory Lane, and HousekeepingPost + Comments (111)

Small Actions Matter

by @heymistermix.com| February 4, 202512:09 pm| 129 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

If you need some inspiration, AOC posted a long reel on her Instagram last night, and her main points were that we should contact our Senators and tell them to slow everything down. She likened the authoritarian Musk junta to the Wizard of Oz — small men behind a curtain. She pointed out the special elections that will be held, which are a big lift, but even if we outperform expectations, it sends a message to the vulnerable reps who were elected in Biden or Harris districts. Watch the whole thing if you’re interested. I couldn’t find a full YouTube version and Instagram reels suck, so I didn’t embed this.

Comrade Scott sent me an update that the Denver Mobilize events for today had such large signups that they’re split into Hickenlooper and Bennet visits. Here’s a note from the organizer:

Notes from the organizer: I can’t edit the main description for some reason, BUT we have decided to hold this event at two locations simultaneously (so at Senator Bennet’s office AND at Senator Hickenlooper’s office 1961 Stout Street) rather than try to go from one location to the other. This is because so many people are signing up and for accessibility/logistics reasons. Feel free to go to EITHER office at 2:30, as we will have people at both and want people at both.

Feel free to add any small (or large) actions in the comments. I’ve got a busy day today with work and family commitments so I’ll make this an open thread.

Small Actions MatterPost + Comments (129)

IT Folks — this is bad, right?

by David Anderson| February 4, 202510:59 am| 191 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

I am not a programmer (I am at best a mediocre SAS and vaguely decent STATA programmer — let me use SQL please) and more importantly I am not an IT project manager. However I worked at UPMC Health Plan in the System Configuration department which maintained and updated the claims system that was mission critical to paying billions of dollars in claims per year. One of my first assignments for 2+ years was tracking system change requests. The big project was “EXPANSION” which meant adding either two and three additional characters to Plan ID, member ID, and a few other fields to a claims system that had been first deployed in 1983( +/- a year or two as my memory is faulty.) That project took over a year, and most of the company’s dedicated claims systems programmers. We had multiple promotions from DEV to TEST and back to DEV as weird things happened, and then back to TEST and finally to UAT for a month before a 96 hour mandatory overtime promotion to PROD. If EXPANSION failed in PROD, roll-back would have occurred to a stable saved version but it would have been painful.

So this is bad, (per Josh Marshall), right?

The DOGE team, which appears to be mainly or only Elez for the purposes of this project, has already made extensive changes to the code base for the payment system. They have not locked out the existing programmer/engineering staff but have rather leaned on them for assistance, which they appear to have painedly provided hoping to prevent as much damage as possible — “damage” in the sense not of preventing the intended changes but avoiding crashes or a system-wide breakdown caused by rapidly pushing new code into production with a limited knowledge of the system and its dependencies across the federal government.

Bring on the meteor

IT Folks — this is bad, right?Post + Comments (191)

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Never Stop Fighting for Justice

by Anne Laurie| February 4, 20256:29 am| 260 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, President Biden, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republican Venality

(Clay Bennett via GoComics.com)

Two days after nonprofit groups sued the federal government over a stop-work order targeting programs that provide guidance to people facing deportation, the U.S. Justice Department reversed course and ordered that funding to the programs be restored. https://t.co/MfMqjieqt2

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 3, 2025

Elon Musk creates confusion about IRS' Direct File — but the free tax program is still available https://t.co/Sc7p5O0Ysz

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 4, 2025

Remember — sharing is caring!

Elon Musk seized control of our payment system—that's how your grandpa gets his Social Security check or how your mom’s doctor gets paid by Medicare.

The unelected billionaire wants the power to turn that on or off, for anyone.

No more business as usual. We need to fight… pic.twitter.com/cF2WauPzdk

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) February 3, 2025

(Yes, Senator Warren has a BlueSky feed, but this video isn’t posted there. Posting videos on the butterfly site seems to have a learning curve… )

New York shields abortion pill prescribers after a doctor was indicted in Louisiana https://t.co/X3x09G2z8k

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 3, 2025

show full post on front page

talked to an immigrant tailor who told me he found out one of his clients supported deportations so he made his shirt collar too small on purpose

— derek guy (@dieworkwear) February 3, 2025

Disaster aid — for decades a mostly bipartisan issue — is suddenly a political hot button after Hurricane Helene last year and this year’s Los Angeles wildfires. Experts explain how the money goes out, why it's needed and how it's spent. https://t.co/i1SKuBShd3

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 4, 2025

Per the Associated Press, “Who gets more disaster aid? Republican states. Experts explain that and more about FEMA”:

Federal disaster aid is nearly everywhere. About 94% of Americans live in a county that has gotten Federal Emergency Management Agency help for disasters since 2011.

But disaster aid — for decades a mostly bipartisan issue — is suddenly a political hot button after Hurricane Helene last year and this year’s California wildfires. President Donald Trump and a conservative think tank have floated the possibility of shifting disaster response to the states, including eliminating FEMA or curtailing federal handouts.

Experts worry about that…

Experts say every state gets millions in federal help — and a little more goes to Republican states and congressional districts.

New York University’s Rebuild By Design, a nonprofit that focuses on disaster prevention, created an atlas of the 795 non-medical and non-technological federal disasters since 2011, which they called climate disasters. It found that every state and all but a few hundred counties have been helped.

“It’s clear that climate is not a red or blue challenge,” said Amy Chester, the atlas creator and Rebuild by Design’s director. “Communities are suffering whether you are a red state or blue state.”

Since 2011, more than $68.2 billion in FEMA aid has been spent on disasters that don’t include the pandemic or oil spills. And that’s payments just to governments, not people. Tens of billions more came — mostly from Housing and Urban Development — to people needing individual help to rebuild…

The disaster-heavy states that former FEMA chief Fugate calls his “frequent fliers” also tend to be more Republican. About two-thirds of the top 15 states in total FEMA funds, FEMA spending per person and number of federally declared disasters are Republican. Those include Florida, Louisiana, Alaska, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Mississippi.

Twelve congressional districts have had at least a dozen federally declared disasters since 2011; three-quarters of them are represented by Republicans. Those are in Kentucky, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Texas, Vermont and West Virginia…

The first thing that has to happen in any disaster is the state has to ask the president to declare it a federal disaster, which lets the money flow, Fugate said.

In general, the federal government pays 75% of the cost with state and locals picking up 25%. But in the biggest disasters the state share can shrink to 10% or even close to nothing, especially if Congress steps in.

In disasters, government bills pile up quickly. States may have a hard time even making payroll because of that and that’s where FEMA can step in early, helping with initial payments sometimes within 30 days.

And FEMA simply has specialized expertise. In California, for example, the state’s wildfires mean tons of debris — much of it toxic — has to be cleared and quick, Fugate said. FEMA can ask the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers — experts who cleared World Trade Center debris — to take charge, making it faster and cheaper for taxpayers.

Experts also worry that states will struggle to stop waste, fraud and abuse that are currently harder with FEMA due to federal procurement laws…

Cynic that I am, I suspect a state-level FEMA would be a windfall for Ken Paxton’s developer cronies in Texas, Chuck Grassley’s #nepo-family in Iowa, and Jane Sanders’ leadership institute in Vermont.

Meanwhile, I take some comfort that Joe Biden is living his best retirement life:

One thing I told all the leftists who wanted to "teach Joe Biden a lesson" was that he was going to end up fine at the end of this. And he will. You didn't screw him over. You screwed the rest of us over. https://t.co/5K9yxxNP05

— You Should've Said Nicer Things About Joe Biden (@What46HasDone) February 3, 2025

Congratulations Joe pic.twitter.com/ZayFofFFTG

— BenNyc (@ben_nyc) February 4, 2025

(Joel Pett via GoComics.com)

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Never Stop Fighting for JusticePost + Comments (260)

Chetan Murthy on Saturday Night Open Thread (Nov 16, 2025 @ 2:14am)

cain on Saturday Night Open Thread (Nov 16, 2025 @ 2:13am)

Stephen on The Elite Impunity Crisis (Nov 16, 2025 @ 2:05am)

Chetan Murthy on Saturday Night Open Thread (Nov 16, 2025 @ 1:52am)

divF on Saturday Night Open Thread (Nov 16, 2025 @ 1:40am)

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

Second rate reporter says what?

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

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

They don’t have outfits that big. nor codpieces that small.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

“Alexa, change the president.”

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

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

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!