Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

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

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

Let me file that under fuck it.

The lights are all blinking red.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

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

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

I really should read my own blog.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

Books are my comfort food!

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

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

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

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

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

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Open Thread: Lawrence Is Worth A Listen

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This is worth a watch:

There is absolutely no evidence that will convince those “Biden must step down” folks and I just don’t see any point in trying. But there is plenty of evidence that this MSM nonsense is not having the impact they thought it would have – polls remain mostly unaffected, but that could change if we don’t shift the messaging ASAP.  And it’s July people…if inflation continues to dip and the predicted reduction in interest happens in Sept…those polls could change dramatically.

This interview with Ron Klain is pretty straightforward and doesn’t sugarcoat things:

Greg Sargent: So in the current FiveThirtyEight polling averages, Trump leads Biden by 2.2 points nationally, 3.4 points in Pennsylvania, 1.6 points in Wisconsin, and 0.7 points in Michigan. To win, Biden has to take those three Rust Belt states plus Nebraska’s second district at a minimum. And in those averages, Biden trails by a lot more in Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia, up to five points in them. I just want to know, Ron, do you contest that general depiction of the current state of the race? Do you think those numbers are in the ballpark of where things actually stand right now, or not?

Ron Klain: I think they’re in the ballpark, Greg. I think actually the president’s doing a little better than that. I’ve seen other polls that have him leading in some of those battleground states or tied in some of those battleground states. It depends if you do the two-way or the three-way and what your likely voter screen looks like. But look, I’ve said all along, it’s a very close race. And I’m not saying Joe Biden has it in the bag, but I do believe firmly that he is the best Democratic candidate and is the person most likely to beat Trump, having beaten Trump previously.

I think, if we are serious here, we need to stop trying to pushback on the “Biden has to go” bullshit (not happening, and here’s Klain’s take on that):

Ron Klain: Greg, I think that he has to continue to do what he’s doing and do more of it. I think people need to hear his vision for a second term. They need to see that he’s still fighting for them. I think he needs to kind of move forward on some key issues like bringing down costs and continuing to fight kind of the—as he mentioned in the debate—the question of the lingering impacts of the pandemic and corporate greed, continuing to fight those issues and continuing to have a strong progressive economic message, which I think is one thing that unites a lot of those groups you’ve been talking about. Maybe not so much the Trump-disaffected Lincoln Project type people, but for a lot of the other voters in Pennsylvania and Michigan, that economic populism that was successful in the 2020 campaign, I think needs to be brought back with more vigor.

I’ve been talking about that all year long. And look, I think that he is uniquely positioned to do that. And when I hear people talk about him getting out, I mean, the only precedent for that is 1968. And I’ll remind people how 1968 ended. It did not end with the Democrats’ substitute candidate holding on to the White House. It ended with Richard Nixon being our president. So I don’t see why 1968 is anyone’s role model for how the presidential campaign should go.

And instead, pivot all discussions to how unfit Trump is and how dangerous his Project 2025 cabinet would be. Anything else feels like political misconduct.

Looks like the NYT, which may or may not be bleeding subscribers, are trying to pivot.

 

“HE IS DANGEROUS,” the Times declares in all caps. “IN WORD, DEED AND ACTION.”

Whatever you traitorous rag.

I wrote a bit about my experience this week in deep red land if you’re interested.

We have work to do.

Open thread, try to play nice (I know, I know, but I had to try)

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Thursday Morning Open Thread: #RidingWithBiden

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… When is the news conference?
Biden is scheduled to take questions from the White House press corps at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Where is Biden speaking?
Biden will be speaking from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, a short distance from the White House, where many events of the ongoing NATO summit are being held.

What channel is carrying it?
The White House streams much of its live content. Given the attention on this event, television networks could also break away from programming to carry Biden’s remarks live once he starts speaking.

The Associated Press will offer a livestream at apnews.com.

Who will be watching?
Probably a lot of people.

CNN reported that 51 million people watched the Atlanta debate, which was in primetime, while more than 8 million people tuned in to watch Biden’s ABC interview live. If networks break into their daily coverage or cable channels carry it live, that will guarantee a significant number of eyes on Biden…

Biden returns to the campaign trail with a trip to Michigan Friday. He will also do an interview with NBC on Monday.

Michigan:

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Dank Grey Dawn Open Thread: No Pitch Hot and the Devil to Pay

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When my Irish granny used the title phrase, she referred to a much older meaning than the nautical one; there’s a quasi-medieval story that one who makes a deal with the devil will be called down to hell at the worst possible time to heat the tar they don’t have ready to hand in their days of earthly success.

Given the general understanding that every Republican accusation is a projection, perhaps it is worth paying attention to TFG’s actions over the last ten days or so?…

His handlers got him stuffed into a suit — took an hour longer than they planned — gave him a free hand with the bronzer, and guided him up on the stage to perform the greatest hits for his willing-to-be-pleased groupies…

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Wednesday Night Open Thread: James Comer Is Back on His Bullsh*t

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We regret to inform you…

The GOP-led House Oversight Committee subpoenaed three senior White House aides Wednesday, demanding they sit for depositions regarding President Biden’s health, according to letters obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: The subpoenas signal Republicans’ desire to investigate whether some of Biden’s closest aides essentially have hidden the 81-year-old president’s true condition, in a probe that could drag through the Nov. 5 election…

Driving the news: Oversight chair James Comer (R-Ky.) subpoenaed First Lady Jill Biden’s top aide Anthony Bernal, deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, and senior adviser Ashley Williams, according to the letters.

= All three are low-profile but very influential inside the White House, Biden officials have told Axios.

= Comer asked for the aides to respond by July 17 and requested they sit for closed-door interviews later this month.

= He also cited a recent Axios report about Bernal and Tomasini having access to the first family’s residence — a situation that White House residence staff found unusual since political staffers often don’t have such access.

What they’re saying: In each letter, Comer writes that the committee is “concerned” that each official is “one of several White House staffers who have taken it upon themselves to run the country while the President cannot.”…

White House spokesperson Ian Sams said in a statement: “Like everything Congressman Comer has done over the past year, these subpoenas are a baseless political stunt intended for him to get media attention instead of engage in legitimate oversight.”

“His partisan attacks on the president have been discredited, and now he continues to debase the House by weaponizing subpoenas to get headlines instead of seeking information through the proper constitutional process.”

Zoom out: Comer recently helped lead an impeachment inquiry into Biden that included interviewing several members of the president’s family.

The inquiry ultimately fizzled out, however, and Biden wasn’t impeached.

No doubt Comer’s latest attention grab will be the subject of many TFG donation-demanding emails, and probably garner the man some applause at next week’s Milwaukee convention. And that’s the last we’ll hear of it, assuming virtue triumphs come November.

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War for Ukraine Day 868: What Does Underway Actually Mean?

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Painting by NEIVANMADE. The background is black. There is a white cross in a broken window frame. In front of it is a hispital bed with an IV stand falling across it. Wires from a broken monitor on the right are strewn on the floor with a yellow basketball on the right and teddy bear on the left. In the foreground are fragments of a Russian cruise missile, which are red, and have the "Z" war symbol. In the top of the painting in grey is written "Children's Hospital." Below that in red "Is Just Another Target for Russia" is written.

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

A couple of quick housekeeping notes. First, Rosie is still doing very well after her first chemo treatment of round three on Monday. Thank you all for the good thoughts, well wishes, prayers, and donations.

Second, the new router arrived this afternoon. It actually set up without any problems. And I’m back up and running. Despite the old one only being a couple of years old, it is amazingly fast, even with the VPN.

More on the butcher’s bill from the attack on Kyiv on Monday.

“I did not feel [the glass] in my back. But a lot of it was taken out.”

Oleh Holubchenko, a doctor in a blood-stained uniform, whose photo went viral, told about what he experienced during the Russian missile attack on Ohmatdyt children’s hospital.

At the time of the attack, he was performing surgery on the child’s face. He says he heard the explosions and thought the missiles were not flying at the children’s hospital. The device broke down after the hit, and the child was left without ventilation, but the doctors used their wits and saved the little patient.

The child was carried to the shelter right from the operating table. After that, Oleh Holubchenko called his pregnant wife, told her that he was fine, and ran to the shattered toxicology building to clear the rubble with the glass fragments in his back.

He is back at work, saving lives. What an incredible person Oleh is.

📹: TSN

On July 8, five people were killed in the ADONIS clinic as a result of a Russian missile attack on Kyiv.

◾️Svitlana Poplavska was an obstetrician-gynecologist and mother of three children.

◾️Tetiana Sharova was a senior nurse and mother. In 2014, at the beginning of the war, she and her family fled from Donetsk. Her son was in Russian captivity.

◾️Viktor Brahutsa was an ultrasound diagnostics doctor, father of two daughters.

◾️Oksana Korzh was a nurse and mother of two children. Her younger son graduated from school this year, and her older daughter recently gave birth to twins.

◾️Viktoriia Bondarenko was a senior cashier and mother of two children.

Eternal memory. Deepest condolences to the families.

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

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Wednesday Night Open Thread

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Apparently Dr. Ross has chimed in with an op-ed in the NYT, and I have officially given up. Go ahead and replace the incumbent three months before an election. Not like I am gonna vote for a Republican anyway, and my vote will not matter in WV to begin with- I am pretty confident that not ONE candidate I vote for in any other race here will win, so might as well make it a clean sweep.

In other news, we had high winds today, and part of one of my trees broke and is now resting on the power lines:

Wednesday Night Open Thread 7

Wednesday Night Open Thread 8

Because it is on a power line I can’t deal with it myself, so the power company has been notified and is en route with a tree trimming Apparently the universe is aware that I do not get paid in the summer so fuck it, why not make him pay for some tree removal with a credit card that he can then pay off over the fall. We’ll add it to the new roof, new water line, and generator that need to be dealt with in the future.

I wish the fucking thing had fallen on me.

Aside from being devastated about the damage to one of my favorite trees- this was a major shade producer for the front porch- I also now have to decide what to do with what is remaining and whether or not it is safe, so I may have to remove the entire damned thing. I’m sick to my stomach.

The ONLY good thing about it (besides it not taking out the power lines) is that it is late enough in the summer that the nesting birds do not have any babies in it right now. So for that I am thankful.

I am in a foul fucking mood. Think I am going to have an edible and go to bed.

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