Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

This fight is for everything.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

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

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Dear legacy media: you are not here to influence outcomes and policies you find desirable.

T R E 4 5 O N

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

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

White supremacy is terrorism.

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

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

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

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

Not all heroes wear capes.

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

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

When I was faster i was always behind.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

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TGIFriday Morning Open Thread: What A Year This Week Has Been…

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… And it ain’t over yet!
 

The Third Reich didn't last 1,000 years.
Pinochet was ousted with a referendum.
And the US isn't exactly dealing with the smartest, most competent fascists.
Those of you insisting that 2025 is forever need to read a book, touch grass, go to therapy, anything other than trying to make others quit.

— Nicholas Grossman (@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social) September 18, 2025 at 11:02 AM

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trump is at his second-lowest approval rating across both terms and we're not even through the first year of this term, and, just to emphasize it again, *they have no plan to turn any of it around*. everything's getting worse pretty quickly and they're sephiroth posting to each other

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) September 18, 2025 at 4:38 PM

these guys are not popular, they are getting much more unpopular very quickly, and they have absolutely no plan to turn any of it around. i'm not even sure they are aware that they need to, which is not a mistake a more competent regime would make.

— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) September 18, 2025 at 4:36 PM

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there is no fever to break. i’m sure absolute monarchs of europe thought the “fever would break” over the ideals of religious tolerance and government by consent of the governed but not withstanding fits and starts it’s around.
trumpism is here to stay. may not kill it but keep trying.

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— not an art thief (@famousartthief.bsky.social) September 18, 2025 at 9:25 PM

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This is the biggest attack on free speech since the McCarthy era but it also has significantly less popular consensus behind it than the second Red Scare. It's being done on behalf of a minority faction led by the most unpopular president in modern history. Organizing against this can win.

— Jeet Heer (@jeetheer.bsky.social) September 18, 2025 at 10:21 AM

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Reminder: before you go full-on defeatist about the rule of law, keep in mind it remains often effective on a micro-level. It’s on the macro- that the FedSoc types have killed it. Hard work and good lawyering can make a difference for regular people — though not always, and not all of them.

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— Disney Surrenders Hat (@kenwhite.bsky.social) September 18, 2025 at 1:24 PM

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Note sender:

IS EPSTEIN THE REAL REASON TRUMP HAD KIMMEL CANCELED?!

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— Chuck Schumer (@schumer.senate.gov) September 18, 2025 at 4:38 PM

TGIFriday Morning Open Thread: What A Year This Week Has Been…Post + Comments (297)

Late Night Open Thread: Everything That Rises Must Converge

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I thought "space x cocaine" was just a euphemism for ketamine

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— Goatlady 🐐 (@wolvendaughter.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 7:27 PM

Yeah, I was pretty dubious too…

An Australian pilot has been killed after his plane carrying almost 200kg of cocaine wrapped in fake SpaceX packaging crashed into a sugarcane field in Brazil, local media reported.

Authorities said the pilot was found dead outside the aircraft after it crashed in Coruripe, an area on Brazil’s tropical coastline, according to G1 Globo…

Local media said between 180kg and 195kg of cocaine was found in the aircraft. More than 187 packets of cocaine were found with what appeared to be fake SpaceX packaging – a company run by billionaire Elon Musk.

The drugs were taken to the Integrated Public Security Centre in Coruripe, according to local media. Federal police did not say where the plane took off from or where it was headed, according to G1, but the aircraft was carrying extra fuel tanks, which raised suspicion that the plane was travelling a long distance…

It is believed that the aircraft was using Alagoas as a stopover on an international drug trafficking route, Em Tempo Noticias said. Investigations are also looking into whether the pilot was familiar with air routes within Brazil.

The plane was registered to Zambia, according to the Daily Mail, although it had been operating in Brazil for at least two years. No flight details were recorded…

Space X can't even keep their cocaine from crashing!

— pcrritesgood.bsky.social (@pcrritesgood.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 5:21 PM

But the story has been sufficiently widespread that Snopes has been forced to take an interest — “Unpacking reports of SpaceX-branded cocaine found in Brazilian plane crash”:

… Users on social media platforms such as Facebook (archived), X (archived), YouTube and Instagram (archived) shared the claims, further purporting the crash site suggested the flight path was along a known drug-trafficking route. The popularity of the rumors led Snopes readers to email us, questioning the veracity of the claim.

We have opted not to give this claim a rating as Snopes was unable to verify any of the reports first-hand. We’ve reached out to SpaceX and the Alagoas Civil Police — law enforcement authorities in the state where Coruripe is located — for comment and will update this article if we hear back…

On Sept. 15, a report by Australian news outlet news.com.au said the pilot was identified as an Australian man from the state of Victoria. The pilot was further identified as 46-year-old Australian businessman Timothy James Clark, according to The Daily Mail…

Snopes was unable to independently verify these reports but will update this article if more information becomes available.

Space-X Cocaine: "It's safer than our rockets."

— Kevin (@ckstoopkid.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 4:40 PM

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Here’s One Way to Up the Ante

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I hope we see a ton more of this.

Squeeze them with cancelled subscriptions and threaten their bottom line because talented people won’t work with Disney until Jimmy Kimmel returns to the air.

Emmy Award winning producer Damon Lindelof announced his boycott of Disney.

This is soft of lazing writing because they equate this declaration to refuse to work on shows with Disney until Kimmel returns to the air with people who have “criticized the decision”.  Damon Lindelof is putting his money where his mouth is.

The others mentioned?  Not so much.  Still, I’ll take the criticism, but what we need more than that is concrete action, like Lindelof’s.  Let’s see if anyone else jumps on the “refuse to work with Disney” train.

The creator of acclaimed television shows Lost, The Leftovers, and Watchmen said that he won’t work with Disney until Jimmy Kimmel’s show returns to the air.

“I was shocked, saddened and infuriated by yesterday’s suspension and look forward to it being lifted soon,” Damon Lindelof wrote a day after Disney announced that it would pre-empt Kimmel’s show after comments he made about the MAGA reaction to Charlie Kirk’s death prompted threats from FCC Chair Brendan Carr.

“If it isn’t, I can’t in good conscience work for the company that imposed it,” the three-time Emmy Winner continued. “If you’re about to fire up in my comments, just ask yourself if you know the difference between hate speech and a joke.”

That group even includes several prominent right-leaning comedians.

Andrew Schulz, who hosts the popular Flagrant podcast and interviewed Trump during the 2024 campaign, criticized the decision to suspend Kimmel and suggested that conservatives were not practicing what they preach when it comes to “cancel culture.”

“Right: Cancel culture is wrong! Unless you cancel the shows of our political opponents, then we’ll celebrate it,” Schulz wrote on his Instagram story on Thursday.

I have been finding it interesting that they “suspended until further notice”, which I think is more cowardly than cancelling.  I’m guessing that cancelling would mean they would have to make some sort of large pay-out, and maybe with “suspension for cause” they aren’t on the hook for $$.  Does anyone know?

Better article from Deadline

Hollywood was shellshocked Wednesday when, hours before Kimmel was set to start filming last night’s show, it was “preempted indefinitely” in an effort to tamp down controversy after FCC chairman Brendan Carr called the comedian and late-night host’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer “some of the sickest conduct possible” and threatened that the regulatory agency could take action against Disney in response.

Hours after Carr’s comments, Nexstar, the largest station group in the country (which also currently has business before the FCC as it attempts to acquire rival company Tegna, a bid that would see Nexstar far exceed federally imposed limits on local broadcast station ownership), said that it was dropping Kimmel’s show from is ABC affiliates for the “foreseeable future.” Sinclair Broadcast Group followed. Shortly after Nexstar’s announcement, ABC said that it was pulling Kimmel’s show indefinitely.

Deadline understands that the call was made by Disney top exec Dana Walden and CEO Bob Iger, a decision that has led to widespread outcry and spurred a protest outside of the studio lot in Burbank, California, Thursday morning.

There is another protest scheduled for Thursday afternoon outside of Kimmel’s studio in Hollywood.

Here’s what Jimmy Kimmel actually said, in case you haven’t seen it.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it. In between the finger-pointing, there was, uh, grieving on Friday − the White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism, but on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this,” Kimmel said before the show aired a clip of Trump answering a question about Kirk from a reporter.

In the video, a reporter asked how Trump is holding up after the Kirk news. He said, “I think very good. By the way, right there, you see all the trucks. They just started construction of the new ballroom for the White House, which is something they’ve been trying to get, as you know, for 150 years, and it’s going to be a beauty.”
After the video played, Kimmel said, “Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction. Demolition, construction. This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend; this is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?”

Update:  According to Newsweek,

Jimmy Kimmel Off Air: Host Meeting With Disney Execs Tonight To Discuss Show Future—Report

Jimmy Kimmel is meeting with Walt Disney Co. executives this evening to discuss the future of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, according to Bloomberg.

The talks will focus on whether there’s a path for Kimmel’s late-night show to return to air after it was suspended indefinitely on Wednesday, amid pressure from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Brendan Carr, the outlet reports, citing three sources.

Carr publicly criticized Kimmel’s remarks about the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and even suggested regulatory consequences. Kimmel had criticized MAGA figures for politicizing Kirk’s death, prompting outrage from conservative activists.

That meeting was set for tonight.  If they try to get him to agree to be nice to the resident of 1600, and be nice in everything he says about Kirk, I hope Kimmel tells them to pound sand.

Update 2:

Sinclair to air Charlie Kirk tribute during the Jimmy Kimmel time slot.

Shortly after ABC’s suspension, Sinclair, the nation’s largest ABC affiliate group, announced it would air a special in remembrance of Kirk on Friday, September 19, during the Jimmy Kimmel Live! time slot. The special will also air across all Sinclair stations this weekend. In addition, Sinclair is offering the special to all ABC affiliates across the country.
The group stated it will not lift its suspension of the show on its stations until “formal discussions are held with ABC regarding the network’s commitment to professionalism and accountability.” Sinclair has also called on Kimmel to issue a direct apology to the Kirk family.

“Mr. Kimmel’s remarks were inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country,” Sinclair vice chairman Jason Smith said in a statement. “We believe broadcasters have a responsibility to educate and elevate respectful, constructive dialogue in our communities. We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr’s remarks today and this incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks.”

Fuckers.

Open thread.

Here’s One Way to Up the AntePost + Comments (61)

War for Ukraine Day 1,302: A Brief Thursday Night Update

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A black and white cartoon with Popeye the Sailor Man facing forward and to the left. His word bubble says "I Yam Disgustipated"

Just going to do a brief Thursday night update and run through the basics.

The cost:

Nearly 11,000 Ukrainian children from occupied territories were taken to russian “re-education” camps in 2025 for militarization and erasing their identity.

How isn’t that genocide?

Via United24.

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— Olena Halushka (@halushka.bsky.social) September 18, 2025 at 12:42 PM

The President of Ukraine met with fighters taking part in the Dobropillia counteroffensive operation.
t.me/c/1377735387…

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) September 18, 2025 at 2:42 PM

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

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JB Pritzker – Again! – Says What Needs to be Said, Does What Needs to be Done

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JB Pritzker Is An Inspiration

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has called for boycotts and protests against broadcast outlets that are tied to Wednesday’s decision by the Walt Disney Co. and its ABC network to indefinitely suspend comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s nightly talk show, including against WGN’s television and radio stations and ABC-7 in Chicago.

.

A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the President doesn’t like what they say.

This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.

All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.

— Governor JB Pritzker (@govpritzker.illinois.gov) September 17, 2025 at 6:22 PM

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This is the playbook, folks.

If you’re not paying attention now and doing something about it, then you’re going to have to sit down the rest of your life because democracy is being taken away.

Do not be quiet in this moment.

— Governor JB Pritzker (@govpritzker.illinois.gov) September 18, 2025 at 11:12 AM

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What’s at stake here is free speech.

Across the board, we’ve seen the Trump administration use the power of government to go after anybody who’s criticized them — and in this case, Jimmy Kimmel.

We need to all stand up and speak out.

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— Governor JB Pritzker (@govpritzker.illinois.gov) September 17, 2025 at 8:54 PM

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I also love this from Chris Murphy.

JB Pritzker – Again! – Says What Needs to be Said, Does What Needs to be Done

It kind of feels like we’re getting to the point of no return.

JB Pritzker – Again! – Says What Needs to be Said, Does What Needs to be DonePost + Comments (141)

Open Thread: Jimmy Kimmel, Free Speech Hero

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So basically Kimmel made Trump look bad by showing that he was more interested in showing off his ballroom than in Kirk's death and now he's banned
This is going to be a really fun country

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— Asha Rangappa (@asharangappa.bsky.social) September 17, 2025 at 11:12 PM

“This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish, okay?”

We don’t always get the heroes we expect, but when the need arises for heroes…

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Also, notice Trump's complaint here – about the news, about Kimmel – IS NOT anything to do with Charlie Kirk.
It's that he was personally criticized.
He's not even hiding it! That's what this is all about. "Are you allowed to criticize the president?"

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— Will Stancil (@whstancil.bsky.social) September 18, 2025 at 2:43 PM

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Republicans spent the last 24 hours trying to justify ABC pulling Kimmel based on reasons other than intimidation and threats from the Trump admin, then Trump goes full Col. Jessup & pisses all over the narrative & admits he ordered the Code Red because Kimmel hurt his feelings.

— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) September 18, 2025 at 2:28 PM

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2. This is also what Jimmy Kimmel said the day that Charlie Kirk was assassinated:

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— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yasharali.bsky.social) September 17, 2025 at 10:08 PM

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Thursday Morning Open Thread: Show Us On the Doll…

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Under Donald Trump’s economy:
Coffee is up 26%
Beef is up 14%
Oranges are up 17%
Bananas are up 6%
Chicken is up 6%
Chocolate Chip Cookies are up 5%
Potato Chips are up 4%
Milk is up 4%
But average worker pay is only up 2%
Trumpflation is eating up your paycheck.

— Elizabeth Warren (@warren.senate.gov) September 16, 2025 at 10:42 AM

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Voters elected Trump to make them rich. A lot of other people didn't get involved because they didn't think the choice mattered that much. There is so much support to be had there in the next few years. Crackdowns are never the end, they are the beginning

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— Chatham Harrison dba TRUMP DELENDUS EST (@chathamharrison.bsky.social) September 17, 2025 at 6:54 PM

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they don't have the capacity to compel obedience by the process of law.
they don't have the capacity to compel obedience by violence.
the only lever by which they can obtain obedience is fear.
do not offer it to them.

— post malone ergo propter malone (@proptermalone.bsky.social) September 17, 2025 at 9:58 PM

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How do people imagine he’d do it? With who? To match what Nazis had w the Brownshirts they’d need over 10m street fighters but they’re having a hard time hiring 10K more ICE agents
Federalism is a thing
He’s very unpopular
We need to think about what they have the capacity to do & fight that

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— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) September 17, 2025 at 11:08 PM

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I am now starting to suspect that people doom posting themselves into saying it doesn't matter that Trump is wildly unpopular because he is going to do a dictatorship are themselves an op. Dictatorships aren't stable by magic, they need people to buy in and go along with them. This matters.

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— lastpositivist.bsky.social (@lastpositivist.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 4:25 PM

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Every accusation a confession, mortgage fraud edition:

tbf Pulte and Bessent have beef, Pulte might very well be who's pushing this story

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— post malone ergo propter malone (@proptermalone.bsky.social) September 17, 2025 at 8:59 AM

Thursday Morning Open Thread: <em>Show Us On the Doll…</em>Post + Comments (332)