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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Fight them, without becoming them!

People are weird.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

If you voted for Trump, you don’t get to speak about ethics, morals, or rule of law.

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

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

Oppose, oppose, oppose. do not congratulate. this is not business as usual.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

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Open Thread:  Hey Lurkers!  (Holiday Post)

Open Threads

You are here: Home / Archives for Open Threads

Saturday Night Palate Cleanser: ‘Kamala Harris Yard Signs Trigger Snit… ‘

by Anne Laurie|  August 31, 202410:01 pm| 112 Comments

This post is in: Elections 2024, Kamala Harris for President, Open Threads, Readership Capture, Women's Rights Are Human Rights

Pink ‘Kamala Harris’ yard signs trigger snit in Birmingham, owner orders hundreds more https://t.co/1L6RtIruaZ

— Detroit Free Press (@freep) August 28, 2024

In keeping with the Blogmaster’s latest post… The Detroit Free Press reports:

… When Birmingham resident Nikki Sapiro Vinckier adorned her front yard with campaign signs promoting Kamala Harris for president, an anonymous neighbor said they had to come down. Having a batch of signs violated city ordinances that stipulate just one sign, according to the neighbor, who stuck a list of intimidating rules about signs in Sapiro Vinckier’s mailbox.

The rules looked real. But Birmingham’s mayor and city manager both said, in effect, “Nothing doing — put up all the signs you want until the election,” Sapiro Vinckier said. That unleashed her more-than-equal-and-opposite reaction. The happy Harris fan ordered a whole lot more signs and planted them in her front yard. Pink ones are printed with a symbol representing reproductive rights, a design widely available on Etsy and other Internet sites. Others are white with a Harris quote that Sapiro Vinckier chose and that rings true for her: “We must be a nation that trusts women.”

“In total, I have ordered or helped facilitate the ordering with my design of over 7,000 signs,” she said. Many came to Michigan, but “hundreds have shipped to other swing states,” she said.

On Tuesday afternoon, Sapiro Vinckier set up tables at Birmingham’s Adams Park, peddling the signs to all comers, for donations of any amount. After getting more than 12,000 likes and 220,000 views of videos she posted about her experience with freedom of political speech, she expected demand would outstrip supply, even with Tuesday’s ominous weather forecasts. As it happened, with rain pouring down, she and friends had takers for more than 600 signs, she said via text…

“I’ve got family members on both sides of this. And, really, my goal is to start a conversation, not be deprecatory,” Sapiro Vinckier said. Politics has gotten so confrontational that her goal, on social media and in her videos, has been to “stay lighthearted,” she said.

In keeping with that positive spirit, she left on her front lawn a note to the anonymous neighbor. The note sweetly thanked whomever it was for their “concern,” calling that a “beautiful virtue,” but then she warned the interloper not to put anything else in her mailbox. Although widely abused, a regulation of the U.S. Postal Service says that nothing but U.S. mail belongs in mailboxes…

ETA: H/t commentor VeniceRiley…

I couldn’t be more honored to have my voice elevated by a strong smart black women. White women, it’s time for us to show up. @KamalaHarris @KamalaHQ @VP @Tim_Walz @VanJones68 @DemConvention @MichiganDems @TheDemocrats @PodSaveAmerica @jonlovett https://t.co/EIdsArZ0sk

— Nikki Vinckier (@nikkivinck) August 18, 2024

Saturday Night Palate Cleanser: <em> ‘Kamala Harris Yard Signs Trigger Snit… ‘</em>Post + Comments (112)

War for Ukraine Day 920: The Attacks on Kharkiv Continue While the Butcher’s Bill from Yesterday Is Being Tallied

by Adam L Silverman|  August 31, 20247:51 pm| 17 Comments

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

Painting by NEIVANMADE. It has a white background an in the center are Soldiers in green doing air defense by firing at incoming Russian missiles in the upper right. The missiles are red and yellow. In the upper left, written in green, is the text: "SAVE THE BRAVEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!" Below the Soldiers, also written in green, is "SUPPORT FOR KHARKIV"

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Two quick housekeeping notes. The first is that Rosie is still going great. Thank you all for the good thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and donations.

Second, despite a fair amount of sleep, I’m still fried. So, just the basics again tonight.

This is the tally of last night’s drone swarm attack:

Today we are saying goodby to the summer-2024 in Kyiv. last night was sleepless but strange. Out of russian-iranian 52 drones 24 were intercepted, 25 vanished, 2 returned to russia, 1 went to Belarus. Now thinking about summer-2025. Kyiv was beautiful today just like life itself! pic.twitter.com/NY0XBDmiTS

— Andrei Kurkov (@AKurkov) August 31, 2024

Today, the death toll in Kharkiv from yesterday’s glide bomb attacks has been revised upwards.

Six killed in Russian bombardment on Kharkiv, including 18-year-old Nika, a talented artist with big dreams, and 14-year-old Sofia. 97 injured, 22 of them kids. This is the cost Ukraine pays while waiting for the ban to be lifted, as deadly bombs keep falling. pic.twitter.com/gDcgOSlTIi

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) August 31, 2024

And new victims were added to the genocidal tally.

This russian strike on Kharkiv outskirts today killed two and injured 11 people. https://t.co/HCRHdJ66Te pic.twitter.com/fKIzYJzkEC

— Kate from Kharkiv (@BohuslavskaKate) August 31, 2024

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

show full post on front page

We Need the Abilities to Really and Fully Protect Ukraine and Ukrainians – Address by the President

31 August 2024 – 20:42

Dear Ukrainians!
Today in Kharkiv, the clearing of rubble on the sites hit by Russian bombs continues. In total, yesterday’s strikes took the lives of six people in Kharkiv. My condolences to their families and friends.

Ninety-seven people were injured; all of them were provided with the necessary assistance. And this is just in Kharkiv, and this is just one day of Russian strikes.

Since this morning, Russian terrorists have also been bombing the Sumy region with guided aerial bombs, and again the Kharkiv region. And this terror can be effectively stopped only in one way: by strikes on Russian military airfields, on their bases, on the logistics of Russian terror. And most importantly, it is possible. We talk about it every day with our partners. We convince them. We present arguments.

These days, our Ukrainian delegation is working in Washington: the First Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, representatives of the General Staff, and the Head of the Office. There have been meetings at various levels, and among the primary issues for us is the long-range capability of our Defense Forces, the ability to prevent all this terror that our Kharkiv and other our cities, many, so many communities of Ukraine are forced to go through.

Clearing the Ukrainian skies of Russian guided aerial bombs is a strong step to force Russia to seek an end to the war and a just peace. Ukrainian representatives provided all the necessary information, all the necessary details to our partners. And I appeal to the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany: we need the abilities to really and fully protect Ukraine and Ukrainians. We require both: permissions for long-range use, and your long-range shells and missiles. Vital decisions – exactly the ones that can influence events in the right way – cannot be postponed.

We are also talking with our partners about air defense – about systems, we need so much, especially now, before the school year starts, to provide more security for our Ukrainian children in schools, for our cities, for our energy sector. After all, we have the agreements with you, on air defense and on missiles for air defense systems. It is important to implement everything as soon as possible. We are working even harder these days for such news – about additional air defense systems.

I want to thank everyone in the world who is helping! And I thank all the friends of Ukraine who do not keep silent about this Russian terror, who react to all these strikes, who spread the truth about this war and urge the world to be more decisive and therefore more effective in defending Ukraine against Russia.

Today I spoke with the Commander-in-Chief. The Pokrovsk direction faces the highest number of assaults. The situation is also difficult in the Kramatorsk, Toretsk, and Kupyansk directions. Nearly two hundred battles are being fought daily along the entire front. And the most important thing now is to inflict maximum losses on the occupier and to respond to all Russian strikes.

We also discussed with the Commander-in-Chief the details of our offensive operations – active actions in the Kursk region. We continue to replenish the exchange fund for Ukraine and push the war into Russian territory. The resilience of each of our units, the precision of our warriors and the strong decisions of our partners are equally crucial. I thank all our combat brigades!

Glory to Ukraine!

The cost:

“If I don’t go, and someone else won’t go, the Russians will soon be running our yard.”

Oleksii Tyrpak is a Ukrainian serviceman of Roma origin, a scout from Zakarpattia with the call sign “Angel.” He joined the AFU as a volunteer at the beginning of the full-scale war when he… pic.twitter.com/HnXnZCuBFB

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 30, 2024

“If I don’t go, and someone else won’t go, the Russians will soon be running our yard.”

Oleksii Tyrpak is a Ukrainian serviceman of Roma origin, a scout from Zakarpattia with the call sign “Angel.” He joined the AFU as a volunteer at the beginning of the full-scale war when he was 24 years old. Despite being wounded numerous times, he returned to the battlefield every time. However, during a combat mission at the beginning of 2024, Oleksii died in the Donetsk region.

Eternal memory to Ukrainian Hero

📹: Suspilne

Can anyone provide a credible reason why Ukraine can’t use Western-supplied weapons to defend itself and stop fighter jets from launching 500-kilo bombs on residential buildings in Kharkiv and other cities? Discussed why this is crucial on CNN. pic.twitter.com/JfX4mlnqmN

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) August 31, 2024

At least 20 victims are in serious condition. Some of them had their limbs amputated.

— Kyiv. The City of Courage (@Kyiv) August 30, 2024

Just so everyone is aware, three days after noted strategic jenyuz Jake Sullivan met with his Chinese counterpart to lower the temperature in the region, the PRC Coast Guard rammed another Filipino ship in Filipino waters.

This afternoon, the Chinese Coast Guard vessel deliberately rammed and collided with the BRP Teresa Magbanua three times, despite no provocation from the Philippine Coast Guard. pic.twitter.com/jYnrXKpY3W

— Jay Tarriela (@jaytaryela) August 31, 2024

Dude’s got to go. In fact, we’d be better off if all of Biden’s senior natsec appointments were shown the door immediately.

Six more Israeli hostages were returned today. Dead. They were reportedly alive as of six days ago. Last night, Bibi rammed a new policy through the Israeli cabinet that the IDF will occupy the Philedelphi corridor indefinitely. The lone dissenting vote was Defense Minister Gallant’s. This new policy guarantees the ceasefire negotiations are dead and any attempts at this point are just kabuki. When asked about it, Biden said:

Biden told reporters the IDF is still working on identifying the bodies that were found in Gaza. “It’s time this war ended”, he said. Biden added he is “still optimistic” about the Gaza hostage and ceasefire talks and said “We think we can close the deal, they’ve all said they…

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) August 31, 2024

Biden told reporters the IDF is still working on identifying the bodies that were found in Gaza. “It’s time this war ended”, he said. Biden added he is “still optimistic” about the Gaza hostage and ceasefire talks and said “We think we can close the deal, they’ve all said they agree on the principles”

We’d probably be better off if Biden went too.

In that vein, the Georgian Legion has a message for VP Harris:

with all due respect, Madam Vice President, we hope your ‘balls’ are bigger than the fear of ‘escalation’ https://t.co/Yi2aW6j3p7

— Georgian Legion (@georgian_legion) August 30, 2024

It should be noted that today is a celebration day not only for the military but also for civilian aviation in Ukraine.

It will take many years, if not decades for Ukraine to recover from the deadly aftermath of the Russian war… our airports lay in ruins.

Of course, the day… pic.twitter.com/KhGVvq5Wvg

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) August 31, 2024

Here’s the full text of both tweets in the thread:

Happy Ukrainian Air Force Day.

These are sad days for this branch of service and us all, but we remember and are incredibly proud of all the extraordinary things that our Air Force has demonstrated in this war.

Facing such an overwhelmingly superior enemy, having as little as they got to fight with… and yet still fighting hard with honor and opening new chapters in the history of modern warfare, against all odds.

Frankly, I don’t think it will be a huge overstatement if we call Ukraine the world’s most experienced and masterful air defense force.

Because yeah, good luck repelling the largest missile attacks in modern history with a handful of old S-300s, PATRIOTs, IRIS-Ts, SAMP/Ts, and NASAMS. And good luck having obsolete MiGs and Su-27s and combating Russia’s attempts to enforce its air domination.

Moreover, it’s remarkable that the Ukrainian Air Force manages to weasel its way out of its critical shortcomings and successfully adapts to using Western-provided advanced munitions with decades-old Soviet machines—and moreover, masters new advanced weaponry within months to use it on battlefields on the go.

And:

It should be noted that today is a celebration day not only for the military but also for civilian aviation in Ukraine.

It will take many years, if not decades for Ukraine to recover from the deadly aftermath of the Russian war… our airports lay in ruins.

Of course, the day when we see civilian aircraft roaring in our skies again will be the happiest day of our lives.

The Kursk cross border offensive:

BIGCATS unit going through Sudzha checkpoint towards Russia on 30 August. The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to transfer military personnel to Kursk region.https://t.co/fXlCP6JAeS pic.twitter.com/jABsxw4ve9

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) August 31, 2024

Fourth documented captured Russian T-80BVM obr.2022 in Sudzha area, Kursk region.https://t.co/LJPtMHhwc4 https://t.co/quFVObj6N4 pic.twitter.com/qJuefrx4Xu

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) August 31, 2024

Destroyed column of Russian equipment that was supposed to build a pontoon crossing over the Seym River near the village of Zvannoe, Kursk region. pic.twitter.com/TXMYxgtU8D

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) August 31, 2024

Kyiv:

Interception of Shahed kamikaze drone in Kyiv this morning pic.twitter.com/8Z7B303CSe

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) August 31, 2024

Pokrovsk:

THE RUSSIANS: Oh, we so cherish the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, don’t ban it.

ALSO, THE RUSSIANS: burning down the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God church in their attempt to occupy Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast. This church is affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church. pic.twitter.com/IGFK9NZIyl

— Kyiv. The City of Courage (@Kyiv) August 30, 2024

Novoselovka Pervaya, Donetsk Oblast:

Novoselovka Pervaya, Donetsk region.

This is the footage of the strike mentioned earlier. Video came from a Russian serviceman and shows the result of the attack by the Ukrainian FPV drone. The EW didn’t help. https://t.co/LNA5PhQhrO pic.twitter.com/vxA5yUIrxw

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) August 31, 2024

Kharkiv:

WARNING!! WARNING!! GRAPHIC CONTENT!! WARNING!! WARNING!!

The family of the 14-year-old girl who died in a Russian airstrike in Kharkiv had just begun to recover from another loss — the girl’s father had previously gone missing in the Donetsk area, her relative Olga told Ukrainian media ‘Suspilne.’

In the video, the girl’s mother is… pic.twitter.com/NCqZXL7jv0

— Ihor Lachenkov (@igorlachenkov) August 31, 2024

The family of the 14-year-old girl who died in a Russian airstrike in Kharkiv had just begun to recover from another loss — the girl’s father had previously gone missing in the Donetsk area, her relative Olga told Ukrainian media ‘Suspilne.’

In the video, the girl’s mother is sitting on a bench, in complete shock and tears, after the loss of her only child. At the time of the attack, the schoolgirl was sitting on a bench near a children playground.

In the picture is a photo of the deceased girl with her head torn apart by the explosion of a russian bomb. On the right are mocking comments from cheering russians.

russians — are not human in any form or way. They are nothing more than sick, twisted animals, bringing pain and suffering and collectively supporting Z-war — a war against the civilized world.

don’t look away pic.twitter.com/aqp2TZyfFo

— Georgian Legion (@georgian_legion) August 31, 2024

ALL CLEAR!!!!

18 year old artist Nika Kozhushko was killed by @russia‘s glide bomb in Kharkiv. We must help Ukraine protect herself 🫀 pic.twitter.com/fmFXpBYwuD

— Georgian Legion (@georgian_legion) August 31, 2024

Kharkiv is still mourning people who were killed in yesterday’s airstrike as russia steals more lives.

Two were kille, and seven more were injured as a result of today’s russian attack on Cherkasy Lozova, Kharkiv region, according to local authorities.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@BohuslavskaKate) August 31, 2024

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron.

There are no new Patron tweets or videos today. Here is some adjacent material from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

Fully equipped and ready for work.

📷: @DPSU_ua pic.twitter.com/wj1rMLUmvC

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) August 31, 2024

Open thread!

War for Ukraine Day 920: The Attacks on Kharkiv Continue While the Butcher’s Bill from Yesterday Is Being TalliedPost + Comments (17)

Another Day, Another Video of JD Saying Shitty Things

by @heymistermix.com|  August 31, 20244:13 pm| 197 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

Another Day, Another Video of JD Saying Shitty Things
I don’t know if this is even the same video as the one quoted in the story, and I really don’t care enough to find out. They’re all bad.

I wonder how many more of these are going to surface:

Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, said that professional women “choose a path to misery” when they prioritize careers over having children in a September 2021 podcast interview in which he also claimed men in America were “suppressed” in their masculinity.

The Ohio senator and vice-presidential candidate said of women like his classmates at Yale Law School that “pursuing racial or gender equity is like the value system that gives their life meaning … [but] they all find that that value system leads to misery”.

Vance also sideswiped the Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a one-time Somali refugee, claiming she had shown “ingratitude” to America, and that she “would be living in a craphole” had she not moved to the US.

Of Afghans who assisted US troops during the occupation of that country who were now seeking to come to America, Vance asked whether “certain groups of people can successfully become American citizens”, and said those hostile to Minneapolis’s Somali American community “don’t like people getting hatcheted in the street in [their] own community”.

At the same time, Vance claimed that “the left uses racism as a cudgel”, and that he had been a “little too worried” in the past about such accusations because they can be “career-ending” and “destroy a person’s life”.

That was 2021, but a couple of days ago, Vance posted a meme about Miss Teen USA contestant Caitlin Upton, who famously flubbed a question back in 2007, comparing Upton’s performance to how Harris would perform in the CNN interview.

Vance in turn appeared Friday on CNN, dismissed the video of Upton as little more than “a 20-year-old meme” and urged Upton to “laugh it off”.

“Politics has got way too lame,” Vance said to anchor John Berman. “You can have some fun while making an argument to the American people about improving their lives.

“I’m not going to apologize for posting a joke – but I wish the best for Caitlin and hope she’s doing well.”

A meme that reached its sell-by date in 2007 is, according to Vance, “not lame”, and playing off hostility and hatred as “having fun” is just fine.  Unfortunately, his joke is lame and his barely concealed simmering hatred of women isn’t fun, so here we are with yet another post about the worst VP pick in half a century.

Another Day, Another Video of JD Saying Shitty ThingsPost + Comments (197)

Saturday Mid-Day Open Thread

by Betty Cracker|  August 31, 202412:24 pm| 103 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

Felt strong enough to go for a boat ride this week for the first time in ages!

Sky, trees, river

That felt good! Being out there beats watching the river from the porch, though the latter is a favorite activity for sure.

When it comes to health, I believe in science, not woo-woo bullshit. But I do swear by the healing power of nature.

We saw a Black-Crowned Night Heron along the way:

Heron lurking in a swamp

It was the biggest we’d ever seen by a considerable margin. The Victor Wembanyama of BCNHs!

Today we’re having some friends over and watching college football. Georgia vs. Clemson up first (Go Dawgs, I guess), then the main event: Florida vs. Miami.

White Birds, Dark Swamp (Open Thread)

Go Gators!

Open thread!

Saturday Mid-Day Open ThreadPost + Comments (103)

Balloon Juice Peeps are Invited to a Sept 5 Four Directions Event in NYC

by WaterGirl|  August 31, 202410:36 am| 44 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

Zoom With Four Directions Set for Thursday at 7 pm ET

*****

This is the second year in a row that they have offered to fly me to NYC to talk about Balloon Juice at their big event.  It’s so kind of them to offer to do that, and that’s a good indication, I think, of how much Four Directions values us here at Balloon Juice.  So take a bow, everybody.  No, I’m not going; I would have to buy new shoes!  :-)

Also, we have a new Angel match for $1,000!  Matching up to $100 per person, until we hit $1,000.  To count toward the match, tell us about your donation in the comments or send email to WaterGirl.

Because Four Directions found an external match for us, and we have a Balloon Juice Angel, these donations are 4x.


Donate

Open thread!

Balloon Juice Peeps are Invited to a Sept 5 Four Directions Event in NYCPost + Comments (44)

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Readership Capture

by Anne Laurie|  August 31, 20249:12 am| 184 Comments

This post is in: Elections 2024, Kamala Harris for President, Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Readership Capture

With the hats and everything. https://t.co/D4dB9fmoRm

— Jason Karsh (@jkarsh) August 30, 2024

A little wishcasting, as a holiday weekend treat:

Well golly gee I hope the Democrats don't go down this wish list while Mitch is still alive so he's forced to watch all the efforts of his miserable fucking existence unwound and swept away as the last thing he sees on this Earth before Darkness envelopes him.

That would suck. https://t.co/CcpAIA6UCZ

— Patrick S. Tomlinson (@stealthygeek) August 31, 2024

Here's a bit of mind blowing info I'd add to this suggestion:

those very capable content creators that attended the 2024 Democratic National Convention are also voters. https://t.co/8vtYKcMBUk

— Ragnarok Lobster 🐺 (@eclecticbrotha) August 30, 2024

show full post on front page

Competition is stiff.

But will be hard to top this as worst headline of the year. pic.twitter.com/5lykl3hBQX

— James Fallows (@JamesFallows) August 30, 2024


Saturday Morning Open Thread: Readership Capture

For the record: @politico is a steaming pile of dog 💩 pic.twitter.com/gfwok2qaLN

— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) August 31, 2024

This November, we have the chance to elect @KamalaHarris and @Tim_Walz – two people who will get up every single day to fight for you. And there’s no time to waste. Make sure you’re registered to vote at https://t.co/NKXRGNgbZX. pic.twitter.com/baqyG7p4Wh

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 30, 2024

Saturday Morning Open Thread: Readership CapturePost + Comments (184)

Late Night Open Thread: Just Another Trump Desecration

by Anne Laurie|  August 31, 20242:35 am| 177 Comments

This post is in: Elections 2024, Open Threads, Republican Venality, Trumpery, Our Failed Media Experiment

Late Night Open Thread:  Just Another Trump Desecration

(Nick Anderson via GoComics.com)

From the reporter who broke the story originally:

Seriously. The Trump campaign said it would release video that would exonerate staffers if people kept reporting that they had berated and shoved an Arlington National Cemetery official who sought to prevent what she said were violations of the law.

It still hasn’t. https://t.co/Pz9IpLRaCu

— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) August 30, 2024

U.S. Army statement confirms NPR @QuilLawrence report of a physical altercation at Arlington: employee “who attempted” to get the Trump campaign to follow the cemetery rules “was abruptly pushed aside.”

The “employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked.” pic.twitter.com/f1iIcTUhXp

— Steve Inskeep (@NPRinskeep) August 29, 2024

Media was fine letting Trump use Arlington Cemetery as a photo op until NPR, to its credit, worked sources to get the story. Trump's team lied about *every relevant fact* of what happened and now the Army's involved. Trump is who he is but the media failures are glaring https://t.co/cXOr7x4t56

— scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) August 29, 2024

And, of course, TFG’s loyal GOP “legislators” were in on the grift all along. Mr. Pierce, at Esquire:

show full post on front page

I hate to keep dwelling on the former president*’s tasteless fiasco at Arlington National Cemetery, but… oh hell, who am I kidding? I’m wallowing in the sumbitch and intend to do so as long as others perseverated on Hillary Rodham Clinton’s server practices. Or as long as there are New Developments. And, yes, there are New Developments, including Speaker Moses’ alleged involvement in greasing the skids for the whole business. From, god help us, The Daily Caller:

Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Michael McCaul explained to the Caller that he was contacted by Gold Star parents Darin Hoover and Kelly Barnett, the parents of SSGT Taylor Hoover. Hoover and Barnett told him that Arlington Cemetery was giving the Gold Star parents of the U.S. service members killed at Abbey Gate a hard time about coordinating a ceremony with Trump on the anniversary of their deaths. McCaul immediately reached out to Johnson to ask for his assistance with the matter and the Caller is told he continued to track it until it was fixed.

Ask yourself why Trump didn’t visit Arlington on the first or second anniversary of the Afghanistan withdrawal. Answer: because he merely wanted to use the cemetery for a political stunt during his presidential campaign

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 30, 2024

🔥@broadcastmike puts to bed any comparison of what Trump did to what others have done in Arlington:

"Trump's campaign went in there specifically to capture imagery of him at graveside in a partisan political act…We're comparing apples and dump trucks here."#TrumpDishonorsUS pic.twitter.com/lOafELkvZS

— VoteVets (@votevets) August 30, 2024

Late Night Open Thread: Just Another Trump DesecrationPost + Comments (177)

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On The Road - UncleEbeneezer - Eastern Sierra Fall Foliage 2024- McGee Creek, CA (Part 7/8) 3
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