Balloon Juice - Open Threads Archives

Need Some Inspiration?

by WaterGirl| September 27, 202511:15 am| 44 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Political Action, Politics

Looking for some inspiration to do something?

frosty sent me a pic of the postcards he’s writing.

Cool postcards!

The cards are from StoneMavenDesigns on Etsy, and frosty bought 1,000 for the next few elections!

And if that’s not enough inspiration, maybe the tweet below will make you mad enough to write a postcard or make a call or talk to a friend or neighbor or family member about the Comey indictment and how un-American it is.

from prostratedragon

So for me, apparently the rules have now changed in just two weeks.

Grijalva: I was looking at the example of now-Representative Walkinshaw from Virginia, who was elected two weeks ago Tuesday. The following Wednesday—less than 24 hours later—he was sworn in, with unofficial results.

So for me, apparently the rules have now changed in just two weeks.

[image or embed]

— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 2:18 PM

Lie, cheat and steal. I was tempted to add “that’s all they know”, but no, that’s not true. I would have to add “destroy” for that to be true.

Need Some Inspiration?Post + Comments (44)

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Repubs in Disarray Retreat?

by Anne Laurie| September 27, 20254:59 am| 183 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republicans in Disarray!, Trumpery

He's term-limited. This is a crime spree with a clock ticking down to zero. Anything that throws him off for a week, a day, an hour is time he's not getting back. By the end of next year, regardless of midterm outcome, most of these lackeys propping him up will be scrambling for campaign jobs.

[image or embed]

— Zeddy (@zeddary.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 5:54 PM

===

Kimmel felt like a real turning point. People see it for what it is and this time the backlash was strong enough that the institutions that have been collaborating all year reversed themselves.
The hyper online wing of Trumpworld really thought they had a Reichstag Fire and it's fizzling hard.

[image or embed]

— Zeddy (@zeddary.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 2:57 PM

===

Democrats have been presenting a united shutdown message. Trump, Thune and Johnson, not so much.

[image or embed]

— Politico (@politico.com) September 25, 2025 at 8:40 AM

Politico is disappointed in their beloved GOP — but a nasty intragroup conflict makes for good copy! “Republicans’ shutdown blame game is fracturing”:

Republicans across the federal government are eager to hammer Democrats for making bold policy demands ahead of next week’s shutdown deadline. But they’re split on how to do it.

Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader John Thune, are trying to keep the message simple: The GOP wants to keep agencies open for a few more weeks while negotiations continue while Democrats are asking for unreasonable concessions.

Speaker Mike Johnson and the House GOP are all in on a message focusing on how the Democratic wish list would undo Republican-passed provisions barring undocumented immigrants from accessing public services…

The diverging messages from GOP leaders comes after Trump reversed his decision to hold a White House meeting with top Democratic leaders — an about-face that came after Johnson and Thune privately warned him that it would undercut the party’s negotiating position.

Taken together, the visible cracks in the GOP front are raising internal concerns as party leaders face off against Democrats who are largely united behind a plan to focus on health care — particularly an extension of expiring insurance subsidies…

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have seized on Trump’s cancellation of the meeting, with Schumer accusing the president of throwing a “tantrum” and Jeffries criticizing Johnson for sending House members home until after the Sept. 30 shutdown deadline.

“They’re not even pretending as if they want to find common ground,” Jeffries told reporters Wednesday in the Capitol…

show full post on front page

In a lengthy social media post cancelling the meeting, Trump decried Democrats for refusing to vote for a shutdown-avoiding spending punt “unless they can have over $1 Trillion Dollars in new spending to continue free healthcare for Illegal Aliens (A monumental cost!), force Taxpayers to fund Transgender surgery for minors, have dead people on the Medicaid roles, allow Illegal Alien Criminals to steal Billions of Dollars in American Taxpayer Benefits, try to force our Country to again open our Borders to Criminals and to the World, allow men to play in women’s sports, and essentially create Transgender operations for everybody.”…

The White House further scrambled the GOP strategy late Wednesday when it circulated a draft memo instructing agencies to create plans for mass firings of federal workers if Democrats don’t relent and a shutdown occurs. That alarmed some Hill Republicans who saw it as an unnecessary provocation that, in the words of one, “would give Democrats an excuse to vote against” the GOP-led stopgap — and muddy their message that it was Democrats, not Republicans, who were unreasonable hostage-takers…

Jeffries on Wednesday said it was Trump who was the “unhinged” one, citing his Truth Social screed Tuesday. He said the GOP has “no path forward” without Democratic cooperation.

“They’re running scared,” he said. “They have no defensible position, and that’s why, unfortunately, they’re marching us to a government shutdown.”

The old king is increasingly incoherent, and it’s getting harder to hide his incapacity from the peasants.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune says in an AP interview there's a "way out" of a government shutdown if Democrats "dial back" their demands.

[image or embed]

— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) September 26, 2025 at 6:40 AM

The Associated Press tells some truths:

… “I’m a big believer that there’s always a way out,” the South Dakota Republican said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. “And I think there are off-ramps here, but I don’t think that the negotiating position, at least at the moment, that the Democrats are trying to exert here is going to get you there.”

Thune said Democrats are going to have to “dial back” their demands, which include immediately extending health insurance subsidies and reversing the health care policies in the massive tax bill that Republicans passed over the summer. Absent that, Thune said, “we’re probably plunging forward toward the shutdown.”

It’s just the latest standoff in Washington over government funding, stretching back through several administrations. President Donald Trump was the driving force behind the longest shutdown ever during his first term, as he sought money for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. This time it is Democrats who are making demands as they face intense pressure from their core supporters to stand up to the Republican president and his policies.

Democrats have shown little signs of relenting, just before spending runs out Wednesday. Their position remained the same even after the White House Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday released a memo that said agencies should consider a “reduction in force” for many federal programs if the government closes — meaning thousands of federal workers could be permanently laid off.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the OMB memo was simply an “attempt at intimidation” and predicted the “unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back.”

Thune stopped short of criticizing the White House threat of mass layoffs, saying the situation remains “a hypothetical.” Still, he said no one should be surprised by the memo as “everyone knows Russ Vought,” the head of the Office of Management and Budget, and his longtime advocacy for slashing government…

Jeffries: "Cancel the cuts, lower the costs, save healthcare. Not complicated. Eight words. Even Donald Trump should be able to understand that."

[image or embed]

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) September 26, 2025 at 1:22 PM

===

also, to be really clear about what’s being argued, johnson jammed thune with a CR that thune’s own members aren’t thrilled about, dems offered a better CR that some reps are interested in, thune does not want to negotiate and vought wants to destroy the government. who is at blame here?

[image or embed]

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) September 25, 2025 at 1:44 PM

Democrats, not buying what Thune / Johnson are selling…

If the White House thought its threat to fire federal workers during a government shutdown would spark a Democratic retreat, so far, it’s not happening.

Instead, multiple congressional Democrats brushed off the prospect of mass layoffs — floated in an Office of Management and Budget memo first reported by POLITICO — as a negotiating tactic and vowed not to bend as a midnight Sept. 30 shutdown deadline approaches.

Among the Democrats still standing firm against a Republican-led seven-week funding punt include those representing many of thousands public employees who would be most at risk if President Donald Trump and OMB director Russ Vought follow through on their threats.

“Whether there’s a shutdown or not, they just keep firing government employees,” said Rep. Glenn Ivey, who represents part of Washington’s Maryland suburbs. “I don’t know that capitulating on this front slows that down. In fact, it might actually encourage them to think that they can stay on the track that they’re currently on.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland called the threats “mafia-style blackmail” in a statement, adding that the potential layoffs are “likely illegal.” Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said, “For Trump, people’s lives and livelihoods are just bargaining chips.”

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, added that Trump is a “petty wannabe tyrant” who will “try to abuse a shutdown.” But “that doesn’t mean he gets whatever he wants as a result,” she said…

But it’s not only Democrats who are showing signs of unease with the layoff gambit spearheaded by Vought. It’s emerging as the latest crack in what had been, until this week, a united GOP messaging front.

Senate Appropriation Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) called for passage of the seven-week stopgap bill but added that federal employees “should not be treated as pawns amid a needlessly partisan impasse.”

“No I don’t support mass firings,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said in a brief interview. “But there’s a very simple way to avoid it … pass the CR, which Schumer and Jeffries have repeatedly supported in the past.”…

Other Democrats have joined Schumer in arguing that, shutdown or not, Trump is determined to wage war against federal employees and would pursue mass firings in any event.

“We know that Republicans wouldn’t stand up to Trump for doing any of these things at any other time anyway,” said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.). “That’s part of the problem is because they’ve shown to have no spine, no ability to stand up to a rogue administration. These threats just aren’t as strong as they could be.”…

thune is offering a handshake deal that republicans *might* discuss ACA subsidies in the *next* round, that’s a deal that isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on, thune has reneged on previous deals, he doesn’t have any credibility to offer one now

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) September 25, 2025 at 1:46 PM

===

The Felon says the pressure is on the President if a shutdown happens.
Noted.👌🏾

[image or embed]

— 💫⭐️N. Jules⭐️💫 (@northjules.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 9:17 AM

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Repubs in <del>Disarray</del> Retreat?Post + Comments (183)

War for Ukraine Day 1,310: On Being Expeditionary

by Adam L Silverman| September 26, 20259:07 pm| 26 Comments

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

A brief housekeeping note: Rest in the peace you couldn’t find in life Hunter, we’ll finish the mission for you. May your memory be a blessing for your family and friends.

Last night Nettoyeur asked:

I grew up during the Cold War and spent a significant part of my 50 year scientific/engineering carreer working on intl projects with and in the USSR, Japan, France, Australia, Germany…I thought the basis of the post-WWII US natl security strategy was Forward Defense, precisely because that keeps wars away from the US mainland. That’s why we have naval and air bases around the globe, rapid heavy lift capability, special ops, , and LOTS of radar and comms installations from Greenland to Australia. Are we now just going put all our assets in civil war style forts in the South and wait for the Russians, Chinese, and assorted terror groups to do a Pearl Harbor on us?

As I’ve remarked repeatedly, Trump’s senior natsec team are, at best, genteel isolationists. Hegseth may be belligerent, but he’s also an ignoramus, which is why he’s constantly saying we’re going to start matching threats to capabilities. That’s backwards. Part of every assessment of a problem set is to determine the threat, as well as challenges and opportunities, then map our capabilities to defeat the threat, turn challenges into opportunities, and capitalize on the opportunities as the plan is developed. Rubio isn’t really in charge of State. He has a political minder who reports to the White House. The real players are the folks like Colby, the other deputy and deputy assistant Secretaries of Defense and State. Those folks are all isolationists and nativists and a lot of them come out of the Koch natsec and foreign policy community. The result is that you have a highly bellicose president, a highly belligerent Secretary of Defense, but the actual US policies and strategies, for lack of better terms, are all about pulling the US back.

One of the most misunderstood concepts in US national security is what it means to be expeditionary. The bottom line is that it meant to be out and engaged with the world. Living among and working with our allies and partners. As Nettoyeur said some of this was to keep conflict away from the continental US and North America. Some of it was to maintain the rules based order the US created post World War II was maintained and sustained. And yes, I know, that order kept a lot of the global south down, which was a major flaw. The late General Odierno used to use three words to explain being expeditionary: shape, fight, win. The problem is almost everyone took that literally: we shape so we can fight in order to win. That WAS NOT what General Odierno meant! What he meant was that by being expeditionary, by being out and about and engaged, we and our allies and partners can shape the environment so that we don’t have to fight.However, if the worst happens and we and our allies and partners do have to fight, we’ve shaped the environment so we and our allies and partners can win.

We learned from today’s leaks that Hegseth’s all GOFO hands meeting next week will be for him to lecture them about lethality and the warrior ethos. Provided that’s accurate, that’s about the best outcome we could’ve asked for at this time. In addition to the previously announced reduction in the number of 4 stars, as well as eliminating billets for 1, 2, and 3 stars, I expect that they will eventually combine Northern and Southern Commands into a US Homeland Defense Command. When they do that I also expect they’ll get rid of AFRICOM divvying up its area of responsibility between Central and European Commands. And I expect them to do something to the National Security Agency and Cyber Command; most likely separating the two out completely rather than keeping the NSA Director and the Commander of CYBERCOM as the same person.

None of this, from the bellicosity and belligerence to the genteel isolationism, is going to make anyone the US, let alone anywhere else safer. There is no doubt that US foreign, defense, and national security policy and strategy need a significant review and revision. We have gotten worse and worse diminishing returns from them since the end of the Cold War. Largely because the geostrategic environment coming out of the Cold War was misunderstood by natsec, defense, and foreign policy “intelligentsia” of both parties. What is being done right now is not a thoughtful, clearheaded, multidimensional review and revision. It has already increased suffering, destruction, and death. And it will create even more.

President Zelenskyy sat for an interview with Barak Ravid for Axios. Ravis is a reporter for Israel’s Wallah News, CNN, and Axios and is one of my go to Israeli reporters.

Journalist: Trump, not very long ago, said that you don’t have the cards. What changed?

Zelenskyy: I think the situation with Putin. President Trump understood that Putin will not bring him success. American society doesn’t respect and doesn’t trust Putin.

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 8:13 AM

Journalists: Ukraine, at the moment, is definitely not losing the war, but it’s also not winning.

Zelenskyy: We don’t have enough weapons. We are not comparable in the numbers of weapons, drones, artillery, and missiles. But the biggest problem is we don’t have enough air defense.

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 8:05 AM

Here’s the full interview:

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

show full post on front page

Putin Lies to the Leaders Who Still Talk to Him When He Says That the Occupying Forces Are Achieving Some Kind of Their Goals – Address by the President

26 September 2025 – 20:41

I wish you good health, fellow Ukrainians!

Today has been packed with military matters. I received reports from the Commander-in-Chief and the Chief of the General Staff. I also spoke with the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. I thank everyone. I thank all our warriors, primarily in the Dobropillia, Pokrovsk, and Kupyansk areas. It’s extremely important that you are delivering results and defeating the occupiers. In just our Dobropillia counteroffensive operation, Russian overall losses have already exceeded 3,000, most of them irrecoverable. This was the area where the Russians aimed to achieve one of the major breakthroughs on the front, but our forces are neutralizing them. And that is important. Putin lies to the leaders who still talk to him when he says that the occupying forces are achieving some kind of their goals. For years now, they have been forced to come up with new and new reasons why the deadlines set for them keep being pushed back. And it is telling that despite everything the world says to Russia, they still respond only with new attempts at assaults and new strikes on Ukrainian cities and our infrastructure. They are truly sick with war – and whether they can be cured is an open question. The only thing that can force this Russian virus of war to stop is strength: strong decisions and strong assistance.

We discussed this in New York with many of our close partners, and, of course, we discussed it with President Trump. President Trump is very well informed about the situation on the front, what the Russians are doing, and how they are trying to deceive everyone. We are discussing with the U.S. specific measures that can stop this war. The solutions exist. It is crucial that the agreements we have reached be implemented. These past few days, the Russians continued to inflict heavy strikes on our cities: Chernihiv, Kharkiv and the region, Odesa and Dnipro regions. They constantly strike the Donetsk region. Kherson is under severe artillery fire and bombing. Russians must be held accountable for all of this. Without a doubt. Today, there were also reports on deep strikes carried out by our forces. Efficiency, drone production and missile production – we will increase output volumes.

I held a Staff meeting, including on contracts in our army: I instructed to expand the contract component. There were also reports from Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service and the Defense Intelligence on Russian weapons production, their industry in general, and the fuel sector. We outlined new tasks. Now is the time when the world sees that Russia has entered a stage where the war will bring more and more problems for the Russian system itself, the Russian economy, and Russian society. The critical point is not to ease pressure on Russia for this war. Sanctions, restrictions on trade with Russia, restrictions on the schemes they exploit and profit from – all of this will work. We expect the approval of the 19th EU sanctions package. We expect steps from the United States. We value President Trump’s stance toward those in Europe who still buy Russian oil and continue a policy of dependence on Russian schemes. We hope Hungary listens to a key NATO ally and respects the President of the United States – right now, no one in Europe sees such respect from Hungary. America is ready to fill the European market with energy resources so that no one will even need to look in Russia’s direction. The Middle East is ready to work with Europe. Every nation in Europe can become stronger – without Russia.

There was also a report from our military on, frankly, very unusual events along the Ukraine–Hungary border. Our forces spotted drones, and those were reconnaissance drones. I instructed the military to conduct a full check, and if such drones appear again, to respond appropriately for the defense of our state. Ukrainians are currently the best in Europe at defending against any drones. We are ready to share our experience with other nations that need reliable protection against drone threats. Negotiations are underway with dozens of countries in Europe and the Middle East, and we have proposed a strong deal to the United States – one of the most promising. We now see constant incidents with Russian drones in Denmark, Norway, and the Baltic states. According to intelligence, Russia may be using tankers to launch these and similar drones – as platforms for launch and control of drones. And it is not easy to prevent, but it is possible. And this must be learned, it must be built into the relevant capacity.

Today I spoke with the Prime Minister of Denmark, and one of the topics was exchanging details on drones and all these incidents – which are obviously not accidental. Russia is trying to reshape Europe to suit itself – in line with its own vision of life. And that vision is one no European would ever embrace – except, of course, those whom Russia has corrupted. Therefore, counteraction is necessary. Joint action is necessary. Collective defense is possible. I thank everyone who is helping us! I thank everyone who knows that life must prevail!

Glory to Ukraine!

Georgia:

Today Moldova denied entry to Georgian propaganda TV channel Imedi. Naturally, the Moldovan flag is front and center tonight on Rustaveli Avenue, which protesters have blocked for the 303rd consecutive night. 🇲🇩🇬🇪

[image or embed]

— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 1:11 PM

For the 303rd night in a row, Rustaveli Avenue is blocked. Protests continue in 8+ cities across Georgia. ✅🇬🇪

[image or embed]

— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 1:22 PM

No intimidation tactic worked for suppressing #GeorgiaProtests, even getting jailed has lost its intimidating value, so now the regime has resorted to threatening to seize family properties of activists. 1/

[image or embed]

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 7:25 AM

Our Droa party member Natia Letodiani’s family property apparently risks confiscation over Natia’s unpaid dictatorial protest fines.

The National Bureau of Enforcement said they must assess the value of property at her place, and that they’d be back on Monday. 2/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 7:33 AM

Natia has no property of her own and her accounts are frozen due to unpaid draconian fines.

It’s worth noting that Natia’s family is internally displaced from Sokhumi, Abkhazia, and that his father lost sight due to the brutal Gavrilov’s Night crackdown of anti-Russian protests in June 2019. 3/3.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 7:33 AM

1/ 🚨 On Sept 26, the Georgian Dream–linked propaganda channel POSTV claimed that the “Coalition for Change” held a meeting at TV Pirveli to “discuss radical plans for Oct 4.”

[image or embed]

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 10:18 AM

2/ TV Pirveli responded, warning that this disinformation campaign may serve a larger purpose.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 10:18 AM

3/ According to TV Pirveli: “The spread of lies and the statements of GD’s parliamentary defense & security committee deputy chair appear to be preparing the ground for Georgian Dream to enter the television premises and stop broadcasting.”

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 10:18 AM

4/ TV Pirveli has long been a target of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream party. The channel has faced sustained pressure, intimidation, and attempts to silence its reporting.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 10:18 AM

5/ In their statement, TV Pirveli added: “When restrictive laws failed to disrupt broadcasting, these new attacks look like a direct move against television – aiming to shut us down completely.”

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 10:18 AM

Ivanishvili’s mouthpiece Zaza Shatirishvili says people should just go into exile and come back after a generation or so.

Which means they admit they can’t suppress us, and are frustrated that we aren’t burning out either.

The host also remarked: “They are all in.”

[image or embed]

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 5:22 AM

⭕ Propagandist Zaza Shatirishvili claims that part of the youth is “redundant” and should leave #Georgia – “just as the communists left the Basque Country during Franco’s regime”.

He praised the dictator and said that GD likewise defends religion.
🔴 batumelebi.ge/articles-in-…
#TerrorInGeorgia

[image or embed]

— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) September 26, 2025 at 12:19 PM

GD’s Russia ties and how Ivanishvili managed to make enemies in the criminal world👇🏻

Otar Partskhaladze is a former GD Prosecutor-General and most likely Bidzina Ivanishvili’s main channel to Russia. It’s through Partskhaladze that Ivanishvili got sanctioned by the US for Russia ties. 1/

[image or embed]

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 4:20 AM

Partskhaladze was sanctioned by the US as a Russian asset in 2023 (and by the UK in September 2025). In 2023, the National Bank of Georgia quickly came up with a way to exempt him from sanctions regulations and didn’t restrict his finances or flow. 2/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 4:20 AM

He took up an additional surname of Romanov in a clear attempt to associate himself with the Russian royalty.

Now, he’s suspected of having taken millions from the grandson of “Grandpa Hassan” to kill Levan Jangveladze, the brother of thief-in-law Merab Jangveladze. 3/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 4:20 AM

This caused serious friction between Jangveladze and some criminal authorities on the one hand and Ivanishvili on the other.

Partskhaladze and the Mikadze brothers, who also took the USD 5 million to kill Levan Jangveladze, had bad relations with Levan over tobacco and alcohol export in Russia. 4/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 4:20 AM

Russian business, Russian royalty, state-orchestrated sanctions exemption, mafia world, killing… 5/5.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 4:20 AM

🔴Armenia’s Appeals Court refused to free Georgian citizen Giorgi Kinoiani, w anted by #Russia for alleged involvement in the war in #Ukraine.

He was detained on Sept 3, placed in 40-day extradition custody & now faces extradition to Russia.

#Georgia #Armenia
batumelebi.netgazeti.ge/articles-in-…

[image or embed]

— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) September 26, 2025 at 7:46 AM

🔴 258 days of unlawful imprisonment for journalist & media founder Mzia Amaglobeli
🔴 258 days without justice for police abuse and inhuman treatment
🔴 258 days of disinformation & smear campaigns by GD officials
🟢 But also 258 days of strong, united public support – #FreeMzia.
#RepressionInGeorgia

[image or embed]

— Batumelebi&Netgazeti (@netgazeti.org) September 26, 2025 at 2:55 AM

For almost a year, Georgians are protesting every single day.

Just two years ago, people would laugh at you if you suggested that Georgians can be enduring in discipline.

Yet, this is the most enduring daily protest in the world history, from what I know. 1/2

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 7:07 PM

And this is despite torture, extortionate fines, financial terror, imprisonment, sweeping crackdowns on communities, etc.

Once we crown it with victory, it will be a new global playbook of democratic resilience. 2/2.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 7:07 PM

Denmark:

Reuters reports that Denmark closed the airspace over Aalborg due to a suspicious object resembling a drone. Flights had to be redirected to other airports while the police inspected the area.
www.reuters.com/business/aer…

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 9:44 AM

The US:

Despite earlier reporting today, Trump is not giving Tomahawks to Ukraine:

Axios reports that Trump refused to give Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
www.axios.com/2025/09/26/z…

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 3:16 PM

Back to Ukraine.

Footage shows russian war crime as russian troops deliberately target rescue workers

[image or embed]

— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 10:08 AM

Kherson:

Horrific indiscriminate artillery strike on Kherson today by fascist Russia’s forces. No military sense – simply terrorizing civilians in the city.

[image or embed]

— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 3:14 PM

Kherson comes under fire again: one person has died today as a result of the latest Russian shelling of the city.

Several cars in a residential neighborhood burst into flames when they were struck by munitions.

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 9:09 AM

Emergency crews promptly put out the blaze, but tragically, they found a body while extinguishing the fire

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 9:09 AM

Kharkiv:

Russia struck a furniture store in Kharkiv a little earlier today, injuring at least 4 people‼️

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 11:35 AM

Zaporizhzhia:

Russia struck a civilian infrastructure facility in Zaporizhzhia. Local authorities report that there are casualties.

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 5:51 PM

Daily life in Ukraine: Russian drone crashed into the roof of Kharkiv shopping centre today. Hole in the roof, water covering the furniture. The sign outside says: ‘We are working’ in Ukrainian – you’ll see a lot of signs like this in Ukraine outside of stores and cafes hit by Russian attacks.

[image or embed]

— Margo Gontar (@margogontar.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 4:08 PM

The Pokrovsk front:

Combat operation of the Leopard 2A4 crew of the 155th Brigade on the Pokrovsk front

[image or embed]

— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 4:09 AM

Dobropillia:

“Since the beginning of the Dobropillia counteroffensive, 168.8 km² of territory have already been liberated, and another 187.7 km² have been cleared of Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups. The total Russian losses within this operation alone are already nearly 3,000 personnel.” – Zelenskyy.

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 12:44 PM

Russia:

/1. The fuel crisis is rapidly spreading to more and more cities and regions across Russia.

Every day, one can find not just one, not a few, but dozens of reports that the fuel crisis is spreading or worsening.

[image or embed]

— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 5:29 AM

/2. At many stations where fuel is available, gasoline is being dispensed in quantities of either no more than 10-20 liters per vehicle or only for specialized vehicles.

This is the clearest indication that the attacks on Russia’s fuel infrastructure are working and should continue and intensify.

— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 5:30 AM

Smolensk Oblast, Russia:

Russian fuel train carrying 18 fuel tanks crashed in a truck which was crossing a railroad on a red light. Between the settlements of Rudnya and Golonki, Smolensk region.

[image or embed]

— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 2:33 AM

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

A new official Patron video:

@patron__dsns

😵‍💫🧀 #песпатрон

♬ оригинальный звук – 𝓞𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓪.𝓥𝓸𝓲𝓬𝓮𝓼.𝓐𝓻𝓽

Open thread!

War for Ukraine Day 1,310: On Being ExpeditionaryPost + Comments (26)

They Are Sounding the Alarm, Are We Listening?

by WaterGirl| September 26, 20255:45 pm| 108 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

They are sounding the alarm. Are we listening?

Listening is step one. Step two is figuring out what we do about it.

Donald Trump is attempting to impose his authoritarian rule across the United States.

Sending troops to cities against their will is unconstitutional and un-American.

Stand up, speak out, and be loud against it.

[image or embed]

— Governor JB Pritzker (@govpritzker.illinois.gov) September 23, 2025 at 5:18 PM

Twitter links below, which I hate to do.
But I think what Newsom is saying is important to hear.

Donald Trump is not concerned about safety — only about inciting fear and creating chaos.

Federal officers must follow the law in Illinois and respect constitutional rights to peaceful assembly without the fear of intimidation and physical harm.

— Governor JB Pritzker (@govpritzker.illinois.gov) September 26, 2025 at 3:48 PM

Donald Trump is not concerned about safety — only about inciting fear and creating chaos.

.

Trump’s administration claims they’re arresting criminals, yet they’ve detained US citizens.

Illinoisans deserve to know why the federal government is spending their money to promulgate a fear campaign instead of supporting public safety efforts.

[image or embed]

— Governor JB Pritzker (@govpritzker.illinois.gov) September 26, 2025 at 1:59 PM

.
I embedded the video rather than the whole tweet, which I hope will allow it to play here without going to twitter.
Can you guys without twitter accounts click play, if you want to?

Wake up, America, or I fear we may not have elections in 2028. pic.twitter.com/paO3Pwvqts

— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) September 24, 2025

.

Trump’s using American military forces to further his own political agenda rather than protect American citizens. He’s deploying our own military against us. pic.twitter.com/1yz9cgIm9X

— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) September 24, 2025

.

Update:

Speaking of which, BlueGuitarist just sent me this info:

There’s a virtual phone bank for good Kim (and 2 other good candidates)

The next 4 Saturdays
(10 am-noon Pacific time (early afternoons blog time)

organized by Sister District CA Peninsula.

https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/615402/

The 2 other D candidates are women
challenging strong R incumbents in flippable districts:
Jessica Anderson VAH-71 (Williamsburg area) and
Lindsey Dougherty VAH-75 (Hopewell area)

Sister District had raised well over $600k for Virginia House candidates by July.

They’re good: here’s their page about Kim https://sisterdistrict.com/candidates/kimberly-pope-adams/

Postcards4va said last day for mailing current postcards is Oct. 9 – possibly later date with next batch of cards.

Looks like they’re done with postcards for Kim and Virgil and most of the strongest challengers.

Lots of addresses still available for longer-shot candidates and a few tighter races.

They Are Sounding the Alarm, Are We Listening?Post + Comments (108)

Dirty Birds of A Feather Open Thread: Epstein, Musk, Thiel, Bannon…

by Anne Laurie| September 26, 20253:46 pm| 110 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republican Venality, Trump Crime Cartel, Elon Musk

Pretty ripe Friday doc dump. Yesterday, Ed Kilgore at NYMag, “Mike Johnson May Want a Government Shutdown to Avoid Epstein Files Vote”:

… Democrat Adelita Grijalva’s special-election victory in Arizona on Tuesday to fill the seat left vacant by her father’s death means there will be 214 Democrats in the House once she’s sworn in. She’s indicated she will instantly sign the discharge petition sponsored by Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna to force a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would require the Justice Department to release everything it has on that explosive scandal. Three other Republicans, all of whom have been outspoken in various ways about pedophilia and sexual abuse, have signed the petition as well: Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Nancy Mace. Grijalva is likely to provide the 218th signature, the last needed to put the Epstein Act before the House. This is very much not what Johnson wants; he’s been ordered by the White House to let the president and Pam Bondi handle the Epstein matter without any messy and potentially disastrous public disclosures.

But here’s the catch: Grijalva can’t be sworn in until the House is in session. The longer Johnson can put this off, the more time he and the White House have to increase pressure on Boebert, Greene, and Mace to take their names off that discharge petition (Massie is considered incorrigible). And even if that effort fails, delaying Grijalva’s swearing-in gives them more time to gin up some distractions from the Epstein issue. So maybe the Speaker wants to give his troops a break while the government shuts down, or maybe he has other smelly fish to fry.

Today:

Now you know at least part of the reason that Trump won't release the Epstein files.
Elon Musk apparently went to Epstein Island, and Bannon and Peter Thiel are in this as well.

[image or embed]

— soonergrunt (@soonergrunt.bsky.social) September 26, 2025 at 2:12 PM

Politico, “Musk, Bannon and Thiel named in new Epstein estate documents”:

New files turned over to congressional investigators from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein suggest the convicted sex offender, in the last years of his life, had ties with President Donald Trump’s former adviser Elon Musk.

The documents, which were delivered to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and published Friday by the panel’s Democrats, come in response to the committee probe into the Epstein case. In what appears to be a copy of Epstein’s itinerary, Musk had a tentative trip to Epstein’s island on Dec. 6, 2014. A note appended to that plan reads, “is this still happening?” At the time, Epstein owned a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Another schedule notes a planned lunch with tech billionaire Peter Thiel on Nov. 27, 2017, and a breakfast with conservative political strategist Steve Bannon on Feb. 16, 2019 — just months before Epstein was charged with sex trafficking of minors. Bannon was Trump’s chief strategist, and Thiel is a prominent Republican megadonor.

These new files are notable in that they suggest all three powerful men had a relationship with Epstein after his controversial plea deal that forced him to register as a sex offender. Many people have argued that the non-prosecution agreement, which was signed in 2007, allowed Epstein to continue to prey on young women and girls for years before his subsequent 2019 arrest.

“It should be clear to every American that Jeffrey Epstein was friends with some of the most powerful and wealthiest men in the world,” said Sara Guerrero, a spokesperson for Oversight Democrats, in a statement. “Every new document produced provides new information as we work to bring justice for the survivors and victims.”…

show full post on front page

Dirty Birds of A Feather Open Thread: Epstein, Musk, Thiel, Bannon…Post + Comments (110)

A Bit of Fun Before the Friday Afternoon News Dump Begins

by WaterGirl| September 26, 202512:20 pm| 148 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

sent to me by Blondie

A Bit of Fun Before the Friday Afternoon News Dump BeginsPost + Comments (148)

Friday Morning Open Thread (and ActBlue FYI)

by WaterGirl| September 26, 202510:45 am| 58 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Political Action, Politics

[I really don’t expect much, if any, discussion of this, but I did want to let everyone know, and this seemed like the most effective way to do that. We have a lot of BJ peeps who are politically active, who support new candidates, etc, and I think it’s helpful to get the word out in case this is a useful resource.]

TOTALLY OPEN THREAD, feel free to skip to comments if you don’t care about ActBlue, and even if you do!

One stop shopping?

Act Blue Expands Its Mission

ActBlue started out as a clearinghouse so Democrats could donate easily to the candidates of their choice. It worked well and has been the biggest clearinghouse for Democrats for multiple decades. It works especially well for smaller campaigns that don’t have the infrastructure big campaigns do.

Now ActBlue is expanding. It bought Impactive, a company that has tools for canvassing, phone banking, and other forms of voter outreach. The goal is to become one-stop-shopping for small-to-medium campaigns, like House campaigns and many state offices. This will give Democratic candidates for many lower offices tools that previously were available only to top-of-the-line campaigns.

ActBlue has become a sufficiently powerful player that Donald Trump is starting to go after it. He claims (with no evidence, as usual) that ActBlue is not doing enough to stop straw-man donations from foreign sources. Specifically, it is illegal for a foreign person, organization, or government to give money to an American citizen with the specific purpose that the American then donate the money to a political campaign, thus making it look like the donation is legal. There is no evidence that this is happening at more than a microscopic scale, if that much. It is like talking about noncitizen voting. There is almost none of it but Republicans make it sound like it is an epidemic.

Democrats are asking why Trump is not going after WinRed, the Republicans’ donation clearing house. It is worth noting that ActBlue is a nonprofit and very efficient whereas WinRed is a commercial, profit-making company and more interested in its take from the donations than what the campaigns get.

from electoral-vote.com a few days ago.

h/t dnfree

Totally open thread.

Friday Morning Open Thread (and ActBlue FYI)Post + Comments (58)

Paul in KY on Saturday Morning Open Thread: Parsing Chaos (Nov 9, 2025 @ 9:52am)

JML on Sunday Morning Open Thread (Nov 9, 2025 @ 9:52am)

Matt McIrvin on Sunday Morning Open Thread (Nov 9, 2025 @ 9:51am)

prostratedragon on Sunday Morning Open Thread (Nov 9, 2025 @ 9:51am)

satby on Sunday Morning Open Thread (Nov 9, 2025 @ 9:51am)

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

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

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

The revolution will be supervised.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

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

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

We will not go back.

One way or another, he’s a liar.

Reality always gets a vote in the end.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

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

“Alexa, change the president.”

Giving up is unforgivable.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

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

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Need Some Inspiration?

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Repubs in Disarray Retreat?

War for Ukraine Day 1,310: On Being Expeditionary

Putin Lies to the Leaders Who Still Talk to Him When He Says That the Occupying Forces Are Achieving Some Kind of Their Goals – Address by the President

They Are Sounding the Alarm, Are We Listening?

There’s a virtual phone bank for good Kim (and 2 other good candidates)

Dirty Birds of A Feather Open Thread: Epstein, Musk, Thiel, Bannon…

A Bit of Fun Before the Friday Afternoon News Dump Begins

Friday Morning Open Thread (and ActBlue FYI)

One stop shopping?

Act Blue Expands Its Mission