Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

So many bastards, so little time.

Keep the Immigrants and deport the fascists!

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

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

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

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

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

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

To the privileged, equality seems like oppression.

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

In after Baud. Damn.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

That meeting sounds like a shotgun wedding between a shitshow and a clusterfuck.

Come on, man.

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

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Clearly Got Over Being Weird, Didn’t They?

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Clearly Got Over Being Weird, Didn't They?

This is an attempt to criticize a law that Walz signed mandating free tampons in boys’ and girls’ bathrooms in Minnesota schools.  It’s more shitty anti-trans bigotry, since the possibility that an AFAB school kid would use the mens’ room just makes their head spin.

Of course, the notion that some poor kid would take a couple of tampons home to mom because it’s the 29th and her period started before her paycheck hit the bank isn’t something that those panty-sniffing assholes would think of.

Also, just in case you think Walz can’t get pissed when he needs to, here’s a clip where the football coach came out:

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This Is Now A Walz-stan Account

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Here is the first ad:

VP Harris is speaking 5:30/4:30/3:30 and whatever time it is for those slackers on the West Coast have (I kid, 2:30)

If I’m around I’ll put up a link, but her YouTube channel is…wait for it….Kamala Harris  and it will be streamed there.  And yes, I’m a little spicy today – very little sleep and hopped up on Walz excitement vibes.

This entire thread is worth the read.  I started it last night, but there is more now.

Okay, I’ll stop now.

Open thread

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Walz!

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Well, it turns out we can have two nice things in the span of less than a month.

I wrote a piece on Walz the other day from the perspective of someone who had a lot of the same similar life experiences.  Rather than repeating that, I want to tell a story about common decency and thoughtfulness.

The other day we were in Grand Forks, ND, which is right across the river from Minnesota.  It’s about an hour six hours north of Mankato, where Walz and his wife taught, and it’s very near MN-01, the district he represented.  Walking into a Walmart there, I saw this:

Walz!

It’s just a bit of kindness that doesn’t cost anyone anything.  So why not?   I posted this on Bluesky the other day and someone told me that this is something that’s at the manager’s discretion.

I am so not surprised that a Walmart in Grand Forks would do this.  Yeah, there are some Trump signs and other asshole signifiers, but overall this group of people likes to think of themselves as good people who are kind and helpful to their neighbors.  Only weirdos would oppose turning off the music, TVs and cleaning machines in the morning at Walmart so people who are sensitive to noise can shop in peace.

Being kind, and, frankly, shaming those who are unkind, is Tim Walz’ superpower.  He’s a guy that does all the things that people in the upper midwest do (hunt, fish, shoot skeet, eat corn dogs, etc.), but he’s also someone who isn’t embarrassed to promote an agenda of kindness on a one-vote margin in the Minnesota legislature.

This is a winning pick and it’s a pick that’s going to make the Republicans shit themselves.  He looks the stereotype, and he’s anything but.    He’s a national guard veteran: everyone from where Walz is from knows that the multiple guard deployments in the middle east were brutal. He’s a football coach and social studies teacher, which is a hilarious cliche, but he also agreed to be the advisor for the gay/straight student alliance at his school in 1999.

Finally, and this is incredible:  Walz is the first Democratic VP pick since 1964 who didn’t go to law school.

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread: *Never* Stop Believing

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Moved up to the top of page again, because I thought y’all would want to know: Megan McArglebargle is very disappointed in Kamala Harris!
Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Never Stop Believing

We’re (okay, I’m) still allowed a favorite for a few more hours, though…

ETA: Psych!

show full post on front page

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Hopeful Dawn Open Thread: Magdi Jacobs on Social Media Tactics

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Hopeful Dawn Open Thread: Magdi Jacobs on Social Media Tactics 1

(Jack Ohman via GoComics.com)

I’m really bad at social media (twitter & BlueSky) myself — I’m not a fast reader, and tend to treat them as ‘places I mine for blog aggregation’ — but per Ms. Jacobs’ suggestions, I’m gonna work on at least reposting more often:

1. It’s fine to disagree w/ Dems from now until #EDay; That said, plz do so respectfully & kindly. The media thrives on Democratic discord. Every time Democrats/Leftists/etc engage in ferocious debate online, editors contact people like me to write Op-Eds. This drives coverage.

2. Put winning the election above social media clout. This involves not trying to be cool by dragging other Democrats (or possible Dem voters). It also involves not overly curating your twitter feed. RT Cringe. RT Democrats saying good things. This matters…

3. While you commit to *not* arguing, at least in a hostile way w/ Dems, commit to trying to argue w/ conservatives. Don’t just drag them (tho dragging is good), try to argue with them. Make a debate with conservatives blow up online so much that editors contact writers to do an OpEd

4. If it’s too hard to try to argue w/ a conservative, & I agree this may be the case, commit to not just dragging them, but also to finding joy in doing so *w/ others,* a la “Weird.” We’ve never done something like “weird” before. It was great. Gave us joy/strength; put them on defensive.

5. Just as you commit to RTing great things–including cringe things–about Democrats, commit to RTing every single negative thing you see about Trump. Trump has *massively* benefited from an almost 9 month media blackout. As well as normalization. Pierce through this.

That’s about it, for now. The goals are these: Deprive media of Dem Discord. Give them other debates to cover. Spread joy. Create the perception of *strength* in numbers by liking & RTing every Good Democratic tweet. Reject over-curating your account. RT @KamalaHQ in particular.

One last thing, though. I’m not trying to reignite Biden-Drop-Out debates, b/c I am delighted by how things have turned out. But I do want to note something for explanatory purposes: Post-June-Debate, many Black Democrats tried, valorously, to make “Black Jobs” trend.

This worked, to some extent, but “Black Jobs” seemed to get drowned out by Dem discord over everything else. Imagine if things had gone differently. Either Biden performed better or our social media focus had just been different. “Black Jobs” would have hurt Trump quite a bit.

Now, look at this Simone Biles Tweet. So many likes + RTs. I saw it & immediately looked at the “numbers” for the tweet. The “numbers” made me so happy, but also made me think, “I don’t have to RT that, b/c everyone has seen it.” WRONG, Magdi. I should have RT’d it!

Hopeful Dawn Open Thread: Magdi Jacobs on Social Media Tactics

Why? Again, b/c numbers matter. 1.3 million likes? Amazing. What if it got to 2 million likes. Or 200K RTs? That’s strength. Strength in our joyful coalition. Strength in our patriotism. And strength in mocking the bad ideas of the other side.

From now until EDay, focus all your negativity on our opponents. Put Trump under the spotlight. All while finding joy in our coalition. Practice respect in our disagreements. Reject clout. Reject anti-cringe. Reject over-curation. Give Kamala Harris GREAT social media numbers…

All negativity towards other Dems, all motivation to be the “most right,” the “knowiest of all,” etc, throw that all out the window. If someone does it to you, don’t respond. They are injecting necessary negativity into the discourse. Which is why Russian trolls imitate them!

Let’s just say we’re done with all that. It’s not the right way to behave in a coalition. Mute it out. Joyfully.

P.S. I’m also going to try to QT things more often that I love w/ simple messages, like, for example, “I love this!” Typically I might feel a bit embarrassed, like why do my followers need to know what I love? Shouldn’t I think of something smart to say? We should reject this.

Just. . . be open to tweeting your love. To sharing it with your followers so that they can share their love back. We can be excited and happy and hopeful together. I truly believe that this is how we win this election.

Or, at the very least, it will keep us all saner over the coming hectic months.

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Words for me to keep in mind for tomorrow

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I thought I’d check in with (fake) jack Smith before I head to bed this evening.  Not sorry I did!

Jack E. Smith ⚖️

@7Veritas4

Whoever her pick is, here are some things to keep in mind:

– You all have your favorites. She has been meticulous (and discreet) in the selection process for a reason. She’ll need all of them to campaign and win in November.

– Some of you will be disappointed when your favorite isn’t selected. That’s ok. Don’t have a tantrum about it.

– Remember the assignment. We’re in this to preserve democracy, not convince each other why we’re right about who Kamala Harris should’ve picked as her running mate.

Okay, so the first two were kinda preachy, but I found the third one to be an excellent reminder.

Republicans don’t need our help trashing the VP choice.  If I were Kamala, I would be choosing someone I connected with rather than someone who could bring in this constituency or that one.  Barack chose well, and Joe chose well, so I suspect Kamala will likewise choose the person she wants to be the last person in the room with her.  Who am I to judge who that person is for her?

When I used to interview folks for positions in the IT group I managed, one of the interview questions went something like “Can you tell us about a time where you complied with a policy with which you didn’t agree?”  It was never a good sign when the person couldn’t come up with something, or did come up with a situation, but spent the whole time telling us why he was right.

Cole has a category called stream of consciousness, I guess that’s the one I should have used for this rambling post.

Open thread.

 

 

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