Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Consistently wrong since 2002

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

Let me file that under fuck it.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

This fight is for everything.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

We do not need to pander to people who do not like what we stand for.

A fool as well as an oath-breaker.

In after Baud. Damn.

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

Humiliatingly small and eclipsed by the derision of millions.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Everybody saw this coming.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

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War for Ukraine Day 1,053: A Brief Saturday Night Update

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Two quick housekeeping notes tonight. First, Rosie had her three month post-chemo check in with the vet today. The vet is thrilled with how she’s doing and everything looks good.

Second, I’m just going to run through the basics tonight.

The cost:

⚡️ 41-year-old Latvian volunteer soldier killed in Luhansk Oblast on Christmas.

Edgars Platonovs, a 41-year-old Latvian volunteer soldier fighting for Ukraine, was killed in action in December on the eastern front, the Latvian Armed Forces reported on Jan. 10.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) January 11, 2025 at 11:00 AM

From The Kyiv Post:

Edgars Platonovs, a 41-year-old Latvian volunteer soldier fighting for Ukraine, was killed in action in December on the eastern front, the Latvian Armed Forces reported on Jan. 10.

Platonovs was fighting in the areas near the village of Novoiehorivka in the largely Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast as part of the Ukrainian military’s International Legion, composed of mostly foreign volunteers, according to the Latvian Armed Forces. The military said that the volunteer was killed on Dec. 25, 2024.

Platonovs’ death is among the huge costs that Ukraine and those helping the country have had to pay to fend off the relentless Russian offensives since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Many foreign fighters – like Platonovs – were killed and wounded in Ukraine, but Kyiv has not disclosed the casualty figures.

“Another of our volunteer soldiers has died defending the freedom and independence of Ukraine. Our deepest condolences to the relatives and comrades of Edgars Platonovs,” Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said on social media platform X, adding: “Eternal memory to the hero!”

Unlike many other foreign volunteers, Platonovs had not served in the Latvian Armed Forces before arriving in Ukraine. His family praised him as a “loving son, our older, strong and caring brother, who always did everything with all his heart and conviction,” as cited by Delfi news website.

“Edgars was a kind, sincere and always positive person who never lost faith in himself and his principles,” his family said, according to Delfi.

Earlier in October 2023, a Russian drone attack had killed another Lithuanian – 28-year-old Vitalijs Smirnovs – in the Lyman area of Donetsk Oblast.

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

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State of Our Altered States Weekend Reading: The Next Drug Epidemic Is Blue Raspberry Flavored

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It seemed, to me, like a bad Phillip K. Dick pastiche… but apparently our all-American techbro hustle culture, in combination with 50 years of *wink-wink* ‘but of course we don’t want to use these illicit chemicals for getting high, heaven forfend’ hypocrisy has led to a ‘burgeoning epidemic’ of teenagers risking permanent damage to their nervous systems huffing stuff brand (*wink, wink*) ‘for culinary purposes only’. NYMag on the New New Thing:

In early 2023, Alex took a job at Cloud 9, a strip-mall smoke shop off Atlanta’s I-85. He had recently graduated from college and wanted something laid-back; the shop, with its graffitied ceilings and cheesy blue-light displays, seemed like the ideal register job for a stoner with a music degree.

It didn’t take long for him to realize that many of his customers weren’t there for rolling papers or vapes. They were coming instead for Galaxy Gas, the shop’s toddler-size, candy-flavored, Day-Glo–colored tanks of nitrous oxide. He didn’t know anything about nitrous when he started, but his manager walked him through the basics. “They had to teach me all the legal loopholes you had to jump through, that you had to tell customers that it was for infusing drinks or making whipped creams,” he says.

Soon, he understood exactly what nitrous oxide was. How could he not? His customers were buying hundreds of dollars worth of tanks at a time, inhaling as much as they could in the parking lot of the store, then coming back for more, often with strange new limps and tremors. “One guy would come a bunch of times a day,” Alex says (employees’ names have been changed for privacy). “We’d first see him in the morning; he’d just stuff whatever he could fit in his book bag.” Then he’d reappear a few hours later for more, stumbling and slurring his words. But what could Alex do? His card ran. Still, Alex was disturbed. He started telling customers the gas wasn’t in stock even when it was. “The fact that I’ve had to say ‘Bro, I think you’re good for the day’ is insane,” he says. “I’m not a bartender. This isn’t something where I’m obligated by law to tell you. But just out of my morals, I don’t want to be the person that sells this guy this tank and he goes and hits it in his car, then kills somebody.”

The moral calculations of smoke-shop employees like Alex are the only limit on customers’ ability to purchase as much nitrous oxide as they want. While it’s illegal to sell nitrous oxide explicitly for recreational use, companies can carry it if they say it’s a food-processing propellant for whipped cream and culinary products. Thanks to this loophole, it can be sold legally over the counter (to those 21 and over, depending on the state), online, and in bulk and delivered by head shops like Cloud 9 as well as large chains like Ace Hardware, Walmart, and Amazon.

In the past few years, as nitrous has grown in popularity, distributors have inundated the market with bigger, brighter, and better-tasting tanks. This marketing has been especially effective among teens, who are already accustomed to inhaling flavored substances. But nitrous is a lot more dangerous than the vapes with which it shares shelf space. Heavy users report seizures, mouth lesions, paralysis, brain damage, psychosis, and spinal-cord degeneration. Pedestrians are being killed by drivers huffing in their cars. Those outcomes haven’t slowed the drug’s rise, and for those who got in on the nitrous market early — like Cloud 9 — the trade has been unfathomably lucrative. Alex didn’t know that his employer wasn’t just selling Galaxy Gas — it created the brand. Nor did he know that eventually, according to a Cloud 9 executive, the company’s output would grow to represent nearly 30 percent of all nitrous sold in the country. “They are gray-market specialists,” says another former employee, Chris. “And they’re capitalizing on people’s inability to legislate as fast as they can make new products.”…

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DNC Candidate For DNC Candidate Forum at 4pm Eastern (LIVE)

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The DNC Candidate For DNC Candidate Forum at 4pm Eastern (LIVE).  Looks like the part with DNC Chair has finally begun!

USA Today in an article about the upcoming DNC elections:

Immediately after losing last fall’s presidential election, Democrats were shredded by critics inside and outside the party for failing to connect with working-class people, triggering a debate among pundits and strategists over who is to blame and how to win back blue-collar voters.

But instead of an ideological grudge match or blame game, the race to replace Jaime Harrison as Democratic National Committee chair is dominated by two Midwestern nice guys looking to leverage their relationships and home state records.

One leading candidate, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, has been endorsed by advocacy groups from the party’s left flank such as MoveOn and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and also by the centrist Third Way.

Casey Burgat, director of the legislative affairs program at the George Washington University Graduate School of Management, said the DNC leader race thus far reflects a shift toward pragmatism.

“The fact that the DNC race hasn’t devolved into ideological warfare suggests that party leaders are moving beyond the knee-jerk narratives of the post-election weeks and focusing on what they can control: improving the party’s infrastructure, refining its outreach, and crafting a winning strategy for 2026 and beyond,” he said.

More excerpts:

In the shadow of Trump’s return to Washington, Democrats are convening various forums in January to hear from eight candidates who hope to revive the party’s prospects.

It’s a familiar place for liberals, who were exiled from power when the GOP won control of both the presidency and Congress in 2004 and in 2016. What’s different this time, experts say, is Democrats must deal with a fractured media ecosystem, rising disinformation and an electoral realignment that calls for a more nuanced coalition.

Chief among the issues facing the party will be addressing an enthusiasm gap, particularly among younger voters and progressives, which saw the Democratic ticket draw roughly 6.2 million fewer votes compared to 2020.

“A strong chair who can coordinate resources and rally diverse factions of the party could be the difference between a Democratic resurgence and another cycle of missed opportunities,” Burgat said.

Wikler, 43, hasn’t shown his cards in terms of a DNC member vote count, but he has major muscle behind him, such as his close ties with billionaire Reid Hoffman, a LinkedIn co-founder, who has poured millions into the Wisconsin Democratic Party. He also received an endorsement this month from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is the highest-ranking Democrat to publicly support any contender.

In a statement, Schumer called attention to Wikler receiving support from the “full spectrum” of the party and said Wikler was critical in helping hold a Senate seat and flipped 14 state legislative seats.

“Ben has what Democrats need right now—proven results—and that’s why I’m backing Ben,” Schumer said in a Jan. 2 statement.

Those connections make Wikler a formidable candidate, but those same ties could be a liability if the chair race turns into a clash between establishment and more grassroots leaders, who have longstanding grievances about how the DNC operates and being too close to megadonors.

Ben Wikler: What Democrats need to learn from 2024.

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RV and Camping Culture

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My wife and I went to the Sportsmen’s Expo in Denver yesterday, mainly to see a couple of camper manufacturers who were exhibiting there.  The vibe of that show was very kill-y, with lots of safaris to exotic places to trophy hunt, but there were also a lot of vendors selling camping and fishing goods.  There were also dogs and raptors, both very cool.

So you’d assume that a place where a lot of gun-centric activities were happening would be pretty Trumpy, and maybe it was, but it wasn’t much in evidence.  A few “lions not sheep” t-shirts was the extent of it.  That slogan always makes me laugh because those shirts are often stretched to the limit over the pot belly of the out-of-shape “lion” wearing it.

Next door to the Sportsmen’s Expo was a free RV show sponsored by Camping World, which is a terrible company that nobody should ever buy an RV from, but since it was free and close, we decided to have a quick look.  There were a few exhibitors in addition to Camping World, including one woman who had a booth selling blingy Trump hats.  We noped out of there pretty quickly, but I wasn’t surprised to see Trump merch at a RV show.

We’ve been traveling a lot over the past few years, and as we travel, we encounter different groups of folks who like to camp.  There are a lot of different types of travelers, with different styles of campers.  I’d characterize our style as Overlanders: vehicle-based, international, generally “dry camping” (meaning no electric, water or sewer hookups), with a smaller rig (we have a 18′ long van).  On our trips, we’ve encountered a lot of international travelers making their way through Canada, the US and Mexico.  These people generally take longer trips (many weeks or months).  We all use iOverlander to find spots to camp and things to do.

Our camping style and rig overlap a lot with the kinds of people who go to a Sportsman’s show.  But we also see a fair number of what I’d call RVers.  These are people who have a much larger rig, who often camp in a campground with full hookups (water, sewer and electric).  These folks want to carry their living room with them, and are willing to haul around a 30 foot or longer trailer, or drive a big motorhome.

We don’t camp at RV parks very often, but we encounter RVers at state and national parks, and the only place I’ve seen a lot of Trumpy paraphernalia has been in a state park where a lot of RVers gathered.  The rest is just a bumper sticker or MAGA hat or two.

Anyway, the point of all of this is that Trumpers do camp and enjoy the outdoors.  Yet their orange boy gives no shits about the outdoors and public lands.  All he wants to do is drill on it  The red states themselves are oddly variable in their attitude towards financing and expanding their state parks.  We were in Arkansas this year, and their parks were cheap and nice.  Missouri wasn’t bad, either.  Texas, on the other hand, is notorious for having a lot less public land and parks than you’d think for a place that size.

I don’t have a big point to make here, just that I find it interesting that people who want to spend time in the outdoors are all about a clown who would put a fucking oil well in the middle of Yellowstone if he thought he could get away with it, and if one of his rich donors wanted him to.

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Two Sides of the Coin on Canada and Mexico

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First, both countries are sending help for the fires:

Premier David Eby says crews from British Columbia are joining the fight against wildfires spreading in the Los Angeles area in California.

On social media, Eby said the province had received a request from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for a senior management team to join the fight and that “they will be departing imminently.”

“California has been there for us. We will be there for them. That’s what good neighbours do,” Eby wrote in a post on Bluesky and X (formerly Twitter).

President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that Mexico was sending a team of firefighters and military personnel to Los Angeles to support the fight against the devastating fires.

[…] “We’re going to help, not just because the people and government of Mexico have always been generous, but also because there are a lot of Mexicans in this part of the United States,” Sheinbaum said.

The more that we publicize the help we get from our two best allies, the better.

Second, politicians from both countries are treating Trump’s nonsense the way it should be treated.  I wrote about Claudia Sheinbaum’s proposal to turn call part of the US “America Mexicana”.  Brian Beutler found at least one Canadian politician making a similar offer:

In response to Trump’s ongoing campaign to belittle Canada as the 51st state, the leader of the Canadian Green Party, Elizabeth May, suggested a different trade. “I don’t want to belittle Trump,” May said. “But on the other hand, hey Donald, have we got a deal for you. You think we want to be the 51st state? Nah. Maybe California would like to be the 11th province. How about it? California, Oregon, Washington.”

California (39 mil), Oregon (4 mil) and Washington (8 mil) have more citizens than the whole of Canada (40 million).

Anyway, Beutler thinks that we should adopt the approach of Sheinbaum and May:

Liberals today seem more inclined than in 2017-2020 to roll their eyes or mutter at his empty provocations, and move on. This is as much a mental-health exercise as a strategic ploy. It’s arguably a wiser approach to opposition than indiscriminate resistance, though of course it means we’ll err in certain edge cases—over-reacting to some things, under-reacting to others.

But a good way to resolve the debate might be to establish an informal rule: responding to Trump’s provocations is always acceptable if the effect is to belittle him; to make him look like a boob or a chump or a phony. Not “ahhh! this is dangerous!” but “whatever, clown!” Not “what about our norms!” but “try me.” Etc, etc.

Scolding Trump is pointless — he and his supporters just see it as “liberal tears”.  Walz was getting somewhere with “weird” until the Harris campaign consultants decided that kumbaya was a better approach.  That was wrong.  There’s about 30-40% of Trump’s support that is hardcore, the rest are vibers.  Well, the vibes around an old man saying ridiculous shit and getting laughed at by our allies, and by the other party, aren’t great.

Claudia Sheinbaum, who’s shaping up to be a great leader, showed us the way earlier this week, we just need to follow.

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Saturday Morning Open Thread: Everything Is Unsatisfactory

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Saturday Morning Open Thread 39

(Clay Bennett via GoComics.com)

My personal hobbyhorse… “Egg prices continue to climb amid the bird flu outbreak” [gift link]:

Photos of bare grocery refrigerator cases and tales of egg prices gone wild have been rampant on social media this winter.

The scenes aren’t manufactured drama. The U.S. Department of Agriculture noted last week that some grocery stores have been limiting the number of cartons customers can buy and hanging signs announcing shortages where cartons of eggs would normally be stacked.

The bird flu outbreak behind the shortages began affecting U.S. chickens in 2022, and prices are still rising. Adding to consumers’ woes, experts say that prices now could rise in Michigan and Colorado as the states join others requiring all eggs to come from chickens raised without cages. Here’s how much — and why — you might be shelling out more than ever.

How much are eggs?
Prices differ widely, of course, depending on geographic area and individual retailers. But nationwide, the consumer price index puts the cost at $3.65 for a dozen regular large white eggs in November (the latest available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics)…

Why are they so expensive?
Experts say it’s a classic case of supply and demand. According to the USDA, nearly 40 million commercial egg-laying hens across the country were lost last year to the H5N1 strain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and fires. The losses were especially high in December, the agency noted, which coincided with the usual peak holiday demand for eggs, leading to “record-high wholesale and retail prices.”

And on the demand side, it’s not just the rise in holiday sales: The volume of eggs sold at retail has been up year over year for 21 consecutive months, according to the American Egg Board, which attributes Americans’ appetite to a number of factors, including the emphasis many people are placing on protein in their diets…

Will they get cheaper?
Don’t expect a price drop anytime soon, experts say. The latest projections from the USDA suggest that egg prices are expected to climb even higher in 2025, given the continued bird flu threat. USDA economist Megan Sweitzer said the agency is predicting another price increase this year, of 11.4, assuming the avian flu remains a problem. “We’re still seeing egg-laying flocks being affected by the avian influenza,” she said in a radio interview posted last month on the USDA’s website…

 

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War for Ukraine Day 1,052: SCHOLZ!!!!

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With friends like these, Ukraine doesn’t need enemies.

⚡️Scholz blocks proposal for $3 billion arms package for Ukraine, Spiegel reports.

The initiative reportedly included the provision weapons including three additional Iris-T air defense batteries, 10 howitzers, and more artillery ammunition.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) January 10, 2025 at 8:54 AM

From The Kyiv Independent:

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has blocked a proposal for an additional military aid package for Ukraine worth 3 billion euros ($3.09 billion), Spiegel reported on Jan. 9, citing its undisclosed sources.

Under Scholz’s leadership, Germany has become Ukraine’s second-largest military donor after the U.S. The chancellor has nevertheless often been criticized for his cautious approach on some key issues, such as his refusal to provide Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.

The new assistance plan, proposed by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, was for additional weapons including three additional Iris-T air defense batteries, 10 howitzers, and more artillery ammunition, acording to Spiegel.

But Scholz claimed the existing allocation of 4 billion euros ($4.1 billion) for 2025, as well as funds from the $50 billion G7 loan financed by frozen Russian assets, should be sufficient, Spiegel reported.

Scholz also expressed concern that the new government could take on significant financial obligations after early federal elections in February if the package was allowed to go ahead.

Baerbock and Pistorius justified the need for the package by arguing that the combat situation in Ukraine was worsening, and that there was uncertainty about further U.S. support under Donald Trump’s leadership.

Pistorius and Baerbock hoped to gain parliamentary support for their proposal before the federal elections, and presented their proposal as “a vital signal of Germany’s unwavering support.”

Despite Scholz’s lack of support, Pistorius reiterated Germany’s support during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, also known as Ramstein, on Jan. 9, according to Spiegel.

Pistorius announced the provision of nearly 50 guided missiles for the Iris-T air defense system.

The missiles, originally designed for the Bundeswehr, were redirected directly from production to Ukraine.

President Zelenskyy gave an interview with Italy’s RaiNews24 while in Italy for meetings with President Meloni.

President Zelensky: “Putin wants to go down in history as a leader of a country that grabs lands and no one can beat it”.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) January 10, 2025 at 1:02 PM

Here is the video:

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