Balloon Juice - Open Threads Archives

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

by Anne Laurie| September 17, 20255:54 am| 384 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Proud to Be A Democrat, Republican Stupidity, Republican Venality

Democrat Xp Lee wins race to succeed Melissa Hortman, restoring Minnesota House tie www.mprnews.org/story/2025/0… #uspolitics #minnesota

[image or embed]

— fiberwoman15.bsky.social (@fiberwoman15.bsky.social) September 17, 2025 at 3:44 AM

===

BREAKING: Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate, says he’ll seek a third term as Minnesota’s governor.

[image or embed]

— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) September 16, 2025 at 9:23 AM

===

The shape of politics in the US right now is increasingly that the media, political and economic elites are allied with the Trump regime against the actual people of the country who hate it

[image or embed]

— mtsw (@mtsw.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 1:19 PM

===

NEW: Attorney General Pam Bondi has now appeared to walk back comments promising to target broadly defined “hate speech” following the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, after facing significant backlash from both conservative and liberal circles over her threat to curb free speech.

[image or embed]

— Politico (@politico.com) September 16, 2025 at 12:49 PM

===

according to an immigration attorney representing several arrested workers, ICE agents chose to arrest the Korean workers to fulfill the quota of 3,000 daily immigrant arrests set by Stephen Miller www.forbes.com/sites/stuart…

[image or embed]

— Catherine Rampell (@crampell.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 10:42 PM

===

> @cnbc.com ????

[image or embed]

— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 6:13 PM

Wednesday Morning Open ThreadPost + Comments (384)

Late Night Open Thread: Guarding DC

by Anne Laurie| September 17, 20251:52 am| 32 Comments

This post is in: Military, Open Threads, Trumpery

A man in Washington, DC, plays the Imperial March from Star Wars while following patrolling soldiers. One of the soldiers threatens to call the police.

[image or embed]

— Raider (@iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social) September 14, 2025 at 2:23 PM

===

Resistance to Trump’s D.C. crackdown is taking many forms Residents want solutions to crime, but many who live here say aggressive federal law enforcement tactics threaten civil rights and instill a sense of fear, not safety.
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202…

[image or embed]

— Linda💙🌊🆘🐕🐿️🕊️🇺🇦 (@lindaworkerbee.bsky.social) September 6, 2025 at 8:26 PM

This article is mostly about resistance to ICE, but the National Guard soldiers have become collateral damage. Long piece, but worth reading the whole thing. [Gift link]

… Opponents of what they see as an authoritarian clampdown on the city are embracing impromptu demonstrations, including ringing bells in the masked faces of law enforcement, scribbling signs to warn drivers about ICE checkpoints, bombarding social media with footage of arrests, and employing art and humor to build consensus — and momentum.

A few small organized protests have taken place, and a march planned for Saturday is expected to draw several thousand people. But in the past several weeks nothing has approached the size and scale of the enormous demonstrations aimed at Trump during his first administration, including the Women’s March and the weeks of racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd.

That’s partly by design, say activists who have been wary of calling for large demonstrations against Trump’s crackdown because of safety concerns and uncertainty about whether a peaceful protest will be met with force and widespread arrests. And, they say, because smaller efforts can be more fruitful right now.

“If a single massive protest could get could get rid of this man, it would have happened already, right? And so we have to think of different things,” said Alex Dodds, co-founder of Free DC, an organization formed earlier this year to protect home rule. “What fixes this is sustained resistance and noncooperation with people who are attempting to use our government, which belongs to us, to harm our communities and to harm us.”…

show full post on front page

Some of it is spontaneous: Residents filming and jeering at masked ICE agents making arrests or manning roadblocks in their neighborhoods, commuters yelling at National Guard troops ordered into the District by Trump, crowds heckling Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Union Station and telling them to “get out of my city!”

Other events are planned and repeated: Every night at 8 p.m. in various parts of the city, residents gather on street corners, meet in parks or stand on front porches banging pots and pans to show their opposition. People hold signs and wave flags at weekly demonstrations along the District’s major thoroughfares. On Labor Day, protesters raised a large sign reading “Due Process for All” on a bridge over the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. Mobile billboards driven around the city bear messages such as “Why are you hiding your face? Public servants should face the public.”…

In every quadrant of the city, posters, stickers and graffiti blast Trump’s law enforcement surge in D.C. as a threat to liberty and urge residents not to comply. The text on one poster, with images of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson below, reads, “This is the government the founders warned us about.” Another proclaims “In DC, we want ICE out of our community. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.” A stylized poster showing the Constitution with a fist superimposed on it reads, “Defend the Constitution From All Enemies Both Foreign and Domestic.”…

While residents want crime and lawless behavior to be addressed in the city, they are overwhelmingly critical of the Trump administration’s approach, according to a Washington Post poll. Eighty percent of D.C. residents oppose Trump’s executive order to federalize law enforcement in the city, with about 7 in 10 opposing it “strongly.”…

National Guard documents accidentally sent to The Washington Post, show troops felt “shame” over Trump-ordered D.C. deployments. The report highlighted unclear objectives, demoralizing tasks, and public disapproval, raising concerns about politicizing military forces
www.techdirt.com/2025/09/12/n…

[image or embed]

— Isabel Santos (@isabelsantos.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 6:02 AM

Tim Cushing, at TechDirt — “National Guard Accidentally Sends Evidence Of Troop Disillusionment To The Washington Post”:

This news — you know, the stuff that shows National Guard troops aren’t exactly happy to be expendable pieces in Trump revenge schemes — is unsurprising. No one signed up for this, but Donald Trump and a bunch of suck-ups scattered across a handful of red states have made Trump’s War on DC the new day-to-day operation for troops who’d probably rather be doing anything else than this.

And what exactly is “this?” Well, it’s all sorts of things. Some of “this” is standing idly by while law enforcement officers do law enforcement work. Some of “this” is sleeping on floors, defecating in Humvees, being the constant gardener you never wished to see in the world, and not knowing if you’re actually going to get your next paycheck, much less the pension you’ve been drilling for.

While previous reports of widespread discontent have been mostly hearsay contributed by anonymous troops and officers, this one comes straight from the US military. Yeah, the Department of War is just as sloppy as the guy running it — the one who decided it was okay to share war plans with family members and family members’ acquaintances…

…Not for public consumption, however, is an internal “media roll up” that analyzes the tone of news stories and social media posts about the National Guard’s presence and activities in Washington. […]
“Trending videos show residents reacting with alarm and indignation,” a summary from Friday said. “One segment features a local [resident]describing the Guard’s presence as leveraging fear, not security — highlighting widespread discomfort with what many perceive as a show of force.”

A National Guard official acknowledged the documents are authentic but downplayed their sensitivity, saying the assessments are intended for internal use and were inadvertently emailed to The Post last week…

That’s the sort of unforced error that has been the calling card of the military under Pete Hegseth’s “leadership.” A guy who loves photo ops and fawning interviews more than he likes actually doing his job isn’t an anomaly in the Trump administration. It’s the other thing: emblematic…

… If the military was careless enough to send this to a Washington Post email address, it has likely made the same mistake elsewhere. We’ll see if any other news agency speaks up now that the Post has gone on record with this. Or maybe we’ll discover months or years from now that this was actually a deliberate leak, but one that had to be sternly denied lest Hegseth and the man he owes this unearned position to decide it’s time to bring back summary executions for consorting with the enemy.

That’s the more remarkable part of this report. The rest of it just adds to what we have already assumed and that has been buttressed by a handful of anonymous National Guard members. All of this sucks, and very few troops are fully supportive of invading US cities just to make Trump feel even more powerful…

Saying mean things to Donald Trump is not a RICO predicate act. Even YELLING at Donald Trump is not a RICO predicate act.

[image or embed]

— Stand With Chicago Hat (@kenwhite.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 9:58 PM

/2 Also: if you suggest that shouting at the President in a restaurant is RICO, you are (1) completely without shame or self-respect, and (2) believe, probably accurately, that your chosen audience is made up of total morons.

— Stand With Chicago Hat (@kenwhite.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 10:11 PM

===

Also the president, vice president, secretary of state and defense went into an unsecured location. Much bigger problem than "he got yelled at"

[image or embed]

— Schnorkles O'Bork (@schnorkles.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 10:06 PM

Late Night Open Thread: Guarding DCPost + Comments (32)

War for Ukraine Day 1,300: A Brief Tuesday Night Update

by Adam L Silverman| September 16, 20258:08 pm| 10 Comments

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

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

I have had an exceedingly long, unpleasant, and draining Friday through last night. Things are fine now, but it was very exhausting and, ultimately, unnecessary except for the toxic individual in the middle of it all. I’ve now extricated myself from all of it, but am a bit wiped out, so I’m just going to run through the basics tonight.

The Russians unloaded on Kharkiv earlier today.

Kharkiv at this very moment! Russia has just struck the city with drones!

[image or embed]

— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 4:00 AM

Footage shows the moment of a deliberate russian drone strike on the building of the pharmaceutical university in Kharkiv. At least four civilians are reported injured.

Russia, of course, claims it struck a “logistics hub for Western weapons.” Classic Kremlin playbook.

[image or embed]

— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 7:46 AM

With the speed and trajectory you’d think it’s a cruise missile, but no it’s a new shahed variation

— Mira of Kyiv 🇺🇦 (@reshetz.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 7:32 AM

Kharkiv, this morning. Several russian drones struck the city. One hit a building belonging to Kharkiv Pharmaceutical University, injuring passersby.

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 7:23 AM

Drone view of the consequences of russian drone strike on Kharkiv Pharmaceutical University this morning 😞

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 8:08 AM

President Zelenskyy did an interview with Sky News.

“He got the meeting with the U.S. President that he wanted. He should have taken a step back, stopped. Instead, he got de-isolation.” — Zelenskyy.
t.me/c/1377735387…

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 2:57 AM

Here’s the video:

Here is his daily address. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

show full post on front page

Russia Harbors No Friendly Intentions – And That Is Putting It Mildly – Address by the President

16 September 2025 – 20:20

I wish you good health, fellow Ukrainians!

Briefly about today. In Zaporizhzhia, assistance continues to be provided to people affected last night by Russian strikes. As of this time, 20 people have sought medical care. Among them are four children. Tragically, one person has been killed by this Russian strike. My condolences. In Kharkiv, there was a brutal strike on the city center: on the buildings of the National University of Pharmacy. A deliberate strike – specifically aimed at this educational institution. There are casualties in Kherson due to shelling. A significant number of Russian drone strikes have hit the Zaporizhzhia region, as well as the Donetsk, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Sumy regions. Every single day, Russian terror continues, and every single day, the Russians reject the possibility of ending this war – of ceasing fire and truly talking about peace. We in Ukraine have responded positively to all proposals from the United States and President Trump to end all these attacks and killings. Ukraine has also proactively put forward various formats to bring the war to an end. It is Putin alone who is interested in these killings. Every day, this war remains solely his war – the war of Russia alone. And we expect the world to draw conclusions from this. Especially after the drone incursion into Poland – a country that is extremely important for the security of all of Europe. A country that so highly respects America and President Trump. And it is crucial that Europe truly understands: when it comes to Russia, it is not about one neighbor or another – it is about everyone. Otherwise, Russia will draw its own conclusions and will only expand the war, and not necessarily against Ukraine alone.

Today, the Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine reported. Primarily about the situation in Russia’s fuel sector after our long-range sanctions. I thank the Ukrainian drone operators for their precision; I also thank our producers of both our drones and our missiles. It feels like the Ukrainian industry is stepping up its pace. There was also a report on the intentions of the Russian leadership, including with regard to other countries. Russia harbors no friendly intentions – and that is putting it mildly. The system there is being restructured to enable war at any moment and against any opponent. This can only be countered by sanctions, strong global sanctions, and by our long-range capabilities.

And one more thing.

There was a report from the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Yuliia Svyrydenko. On our resilience, our development. It is important that job creation in Ukraine is on the rise. I thank every business, every active regional and community leader. We also discussed new support programs, support for employment in Ukraine, and attracting specialists. There was a report on the budget parameters for next year. I instructed that all social obligations of our state be fully met and that support for people be increased. Next year, we will raise teachers’ salaries; we will raise scholarships for Ukrainian students. The resources for this are in place. Overall, education spending for the year will increase by 66 billion hryvnias. The healthcare budget will also be increased. And we will launch an extremely important program of health checkups – medical examinations so that people can know what they need and receive it as early as possible, and moreover, fully covered by the state. Government officials will present all the details.

I want to thank all those who stand with us, who stand with Ukraine! I thank everyone who fights for our state, everyone who works for Ukraine and for Ukrainians.

Glory to Ukraine!

Georgia:

For the 293rd consecutive night, Georgians are out in the streets in 8+ cities. 🇬🇪✊ Rustaveli Avenue is blocked. ✅

[image or embed]

— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudandjakeli.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 1:36 PM

[image or embed]

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 1:55 PM

1/ The Secretary General of Georgian Dream, Kakha Kaladze, accuses the previous U.S. administration of lies and slander over the financial sanctions imposed on Bidzina Ivanishvili, and expresses hope that under the new administration relations will begin a new chapter:

[image or embed]

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 6:25 AM

2/ Kaladze said: “This is all lies, falsehoods, slander. The previous U.S. administration was solely engaged in threats and slander. Every statement they made was based on slander and lies”.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 6:25 AM

3/ “The decision they made regarding Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili is, of course, absurd, false, and nonsense. However, we have high hopes that under the new administration, the attitude will change and relations will begin a new chapter”.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 6:25 AM

4/ The U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed financial sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chairman of Georgian Dream. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has published the decision.

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 6:25 AM

Thank you for your unwavering support.

We really hope to see more sanctions from the coalition of the willing!

www.interpressnews.ge/en/article/1…

[image or embed]

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 8:14 AM

29 Georgian NGOs stand in full solidarity with 🇩🇪 Ambassador Peter Fischer. “At a time when democratic values and Georgia’s European future are under attack, Ambassador Fischer has courageously defended freedom, openness & democracy”. – NGOs write. GD attacks Peter Fisher daily.

[image or embed]

— Publika.ge (@publikage.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 6:17 AM

The State Security Service restricts arrested leader, Levan Khabeishvili from visits, phone calls, and correspondence, claiming he might try to contact people involved in the case and influence witnesses. 1/2

— Anna Gvarishvili (@annagvarish.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 10:44 AM

He’s arrested on charges of offering a bribe to a public official and inciting the overthrow of state authority. 2/2

— Anna Gvarishvili (@annagvarish.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 10:44 AM

Elene Khoshtaria, democratic leader detained for writing “Russian Dream” on GD Mayor Kakha Kaladze’s campaign banner, has rejected legal representation and refuses to attend court hearings, stating that “even minimal participation in this farce is unacceptable.”

✊🏻

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 11:21 AM

Many people have developed an all-or-nothing approach after more than 10 months of daily protests.

Others argue it’s too risky and will cause frustration.

#GeorgiaProtests

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 11:16 AM

All the Georgian people ever wanted was a unified opposition to speak as their legitimate representatives with foreign partners, the repressive apparatus, businesses, and so on. This could organize strikes, rally more foreign support, etc. 1/

[image or embed]

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 7:12 AM

But since some didn’t want to listen to the public will and instead bet on the protests “burning out,” Georgians are now openly consolidating around a revolutionary scenario. 2/

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 7:12 AM

Lelo’s sham local election campaign banner in Tbilisi metro says “Let’s take our cities and country back.”

“Through a revolution,” someone added.

#GeorgiaProtests 3/3.

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 7:12 AM

Estonia:

ERR reports that over the next two years, nearly 40 kilometers of anti-tank ditches will be dug along Estonia’s southeastern border. By the end of 2027, about 600 bunkers are also planned to be built to delay enemy forces.
news.err.ee/1609801725/4…

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 11:18 AM

Belarus:

Chief of the Belarusian General Staff Pavel Muraveyko claims that during the “Zapad-2025” exercises, Russian and Belarusian forces allegedly practiced planning the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons and the deployment of the “Oreshnik” system.
belta.by/society/view…

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 8:55 AM

😵‍💫 Putin personally thanked the invited foreign officers present at the Zapad-2025 exercises in Belarus, including officers from the 🇺🇸United States, 🇹🇷Turkey and 🇭🇺Hungary.

[image or embed]

— MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 12:27 PM

The Kremlin reported that Bangladesh, India, Iran, Burkina Faso, Congo, and Mali participated in the “Zapad-2025” drills.

U.S. observers were also present.

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 12:39 PM

The African countries mentioned are under indirect Russian control that was established by Wagner activities through a series of legitimate front companies in the Sahel. The operation was and is paid for by the Russian GRU.

The US:

👀

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 2:35 PM

“Zelenskyy and Putin hate each other, I will have to take part in the negotiations.” – Trump.

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 11:24 AM

There are no negotiations. None. There have been a series of sham meetings where Ukraine has shown up to demonstrate good faith and Russia has shown up to waste everyone’s time and divert attention from what it is doing day in and day out to Ukraine.

“Zelensky will have to make a deal.” – Trump.

[image or embed]

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 12:19 PM

Not only does Zelenskyy not have to make a deal, but there’s no actual deal to make.

Back to Ukraine.

Ukrainian sanctions must continue 💪

[image or embed]

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) September 16, 2025 at 10:34 AM

From Reuters:

LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Russia’s oil pipeline monopoly Transneft (TRNF_p.MM), opens new tab has warned producers they may have to cut output following Ukraine’s drone attacks on critical export ports and refineries, three industry sources said on Tuesday.

In a statement on its website, Transneft described the news as “fake” and part of the West’s “information war” against Russia.

Kyiv has stepped up attacks on Russian energy assets since August in a bid to impede Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine and reduce the Kremlin’s revenues as attempts to secure an end to the conflict through peace talks have stalled.

Oil and gas revenues have accounted for between a third and half of Russia’s total federal budget proceeds over the past decade, making the sector the single most important source of financing for the government.

Ukrainian drones have hit at least 10 refineries – cutting Russia’s refining capacity by almost a fifth at one point – and damaged its leading Baltic Sea ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk, Ukrainian military officials and Russian industry sources said.

Russian authorities have not publicly commented on the extent of the damage or its impact on production and exports.

However, Transneft, which handles more than 80% of all the oil extracted in Russia, has in recent days restricted oil firms’ ability to store oil in its pipeline system, two industry sources close to Russian oil firms told Reuters.

Transneft has also warned producers it may have to accept less oil if its infrastructure sustains further damage, the two sources said.

The attacks could force Russia, which accounts for 9% of global oil production, to ultimately cut output, said the two sources and a third source familiar with oil pumping operations.

The three sources asked not to be named due to sensitivity of the issue.

“The appearance of such fake news with reference to some unnamed sources in the Russian fuel and energy complex causes damage to the image of PAO Transneft,” Transneft said in its statement.

“It can only be caused by the attempts to destabilize the situation within the framework of the information war unleashed by the West against the Russian Federation,” it added.

The West has imposed successive waves of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, focusing heavily on its oil and gas sector. But Moscow has managed to re-route most oil exports to Asia, where India and China are its primary buyers.

Last week, Ukrainian drones hit Russia’s biggest oil port of Primorsk for the first time since the war began in 2022, temporarily forcing operations there to shut down.

Primorsk has capacity to export more than 1 million barrels of oil per day, or more than 10% of Russia’s total oil production.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the strikes had inflicted significant damage and called attacks on Russian oil infrastructure “the sanctions that work the fastest”.

Reuters could not verify the extent of the damage from the strikes.

Russia, unlike leading OPEC producer Saudi Arabia, does not have significant capacity to stockpile oil.

Early Voting in Virginia Starts in 3 Days

by WaterGirl| September 16, 20254:00 pm| 28 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Political Action, Politics, Targeted Political Fundraising 2025-26

Early voting in Virginia starts in 3 days!

Can we raise $3,000 for Kimberly Pope Adams by then?

Because our funds are most valuable if they receive them by then.

Donate

It would also be great to raise the funds for Virgil Thornton, but if you can only afford to give to one of them, please consider donating to Good Kim so we can get her over the top this time. She lost by fewer than 50 votes last time!

We have an anonymous Balloon Juice Angel who will match up to $20 per person for each candidate, up to a total of $250.

Just look around you and notice which states are protecting their people right now by passing laws and ensuring their people have access to vaccines, etc. Those are states with Democratic trifectas.

With our help, Virginia can be one of those states!

Early Voting in Virginia Starts in 3 DaysPost + Comments (28)

I thought it was 2025, but it’s apparently 1984

by WaterGirl| September 16, 20251:43 pm| 157 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Politics, The Horrors

We all know that people are losing their jobs, and possibly their careers for criticizing Charlie Kirk, and sometimes for merely quoting Kirk in his own words!

I want to quote parts of this article by Charlie Pierce. The actual title is shown below, but it’s important to not that it shows up as “thought crimes” in the URL itself.

Charlie Kirk’s Assassination Has Taken Us Down a Dark, Orwellian Path (paywalled)

by Charles Pierce

What the hell is going on in this country? If the authoritarian Right wants to make a cult of martyrdom out of an unforgivable act of public murder, it should go ahead and do so. But there is absolutely no reason for them to drag the rest of us into their rituals. Flags at half-staff and threats against local officials who decline to do so? Tributes at major league ballparks? A memorial service at the Kennedy Center? Professors fired over their reactions to the event on social media, most of which paled against the things that Kirk said, as a matter of course, that made him rich and influential.

From NBC News:

Even worse, the members of the Cabinet have signed onto the scouring of social-media posts in search of (once) protected speech that they deem disrespectful. Pete Hegseth is leading the way at the DoD. He’s already got one head on his wall.

From USA Today:

Nice to see who’s advising the defense department these days on personnel matters. Unsurprisingly, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has joined the parade, turning the visa process upside down and into even more of a mess than it was before.

Returning to the situation with Karen Attiah, the game was given away with that line about how Attiah’s posts “endangered” her colleagues. That’s the real thing here, isn’t it? To threaten reprisals against thought crimes and then follow through by any means, fair or foul. I’ve lived through how conservatives used the suicide of Vince Foster as a truncheon on the Clinton administration, and before that they used the suicide of a woman named Susan Coleman for the same purpose. That’s how the infamous “Clinton Body Count” was born. Its reach extended all the way to the 2016 murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich, whose corpse was used as a club on Hillary Clinton. So, frankly, coerced conservative demands for respect for the dead ring a little false to me.

I was about to write “scary times”, but it’s worse than that.

Dangerous times. And they are not just dangerous, they are disingenuous. Hell, they are lying liars who lie.

Open thread.

I thought it was 2025, but it’s apparently 1984Post + Comments (157)

Governor Pritzker Says What Has To Be Said

by WaterGirl| September 16, 202510:00 am| 212 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

So proud of our governor.

Political violence and threats are not the answer.

This is a watershed moment — we can choose to stay silent and live in fear, or we can choose to be loud for peace and compassion.

We must work together to stop this crisis, and it should start from the top with the President.

[image or embed]

— Governor JB Pritzker (@govpritzker.illinois.gov) September 15, 2025 at 8:10 PM

Governor Pritzker Says What Has To Be SaidPost + Comments (212)

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Ready for Some Activism?

by Anne Laurie| September 16, 20255:45 am| 221 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Organizing & Resistance, Resistance to Trump

As research transformed the pandemic, HIV receded from public attention. 24 Hours to Save AIDS Research will show what we’ve achieved through federal investments and what’s now at risk. Register bit.ly/45U1keO and join us on YouTube bit.ly/45Qftts. #saveAIDSresearch #HIV #HIVresearch

[image or embed]

— saveaidsresearch.bsky.social (@saveaidsresearch.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 7:42 AM

===

While Jay Bhattacharaya will be delivering the keynote at the National Health Research Forum, we will be handing the mic to the patients most impacted by Trump, RFK Jr., and Jay’s policies.
JOIN US AS WE FIGHT FOR SCIENCE!
#standupforscience
@standupforscience.bsky.social

[image or embed]

— Colette Delawalla (@cdelawalla.bsky.social) September 11, 2025 at 4:23 PM

===

An Orlando restaurant owner has turned 49 parking spots outside her eatery into art spaces. This move is in response to a state mandate removing rainbow-colored crosswalks and other street art in Florida.

[image or embed]

— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) September 15, 2025 at 5:00 PM

===

McDonald’s said Monday it plans to invest $200 million over the next seven years to promote regenerative agriculture practices on cattle ranches.

[image or embed]

— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) September 15, 2025 at 11:00 PM

===

BREAKING: Appeals court rejects Trump's bid to unseat the Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook days ahead of a vote on interest rates.

[image or embed]

— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) September 15, 2025 at 8:25 PM

Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Ready for Some Activism?Post + Comments (221)

WTFGhost on Sunday Night Open Thread (Nov 10, 2025 @ 2:50am)

RaflW on Sunday Night Open Thread (Nov 10, 2025 @ 2:48am)

frosty on Hoping All the Reports of Democratic Caving are Wrong! (Nov 10, 2025 @ 2:34am)

Geminid on Hoping All the Reports of Democratic Caving are Wrong! (Nov 10, 2025 @ 2:27am)

strange visitor (from another planet) on Sunday Night Open Thread (Nov 10, 2025 @ 2:26am)

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

No Kings: Americans standing in the way of bad history saying “Oh, Fuck No!”

Fight them, without becoming them!

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

If you’re gonna whine, it’s time to resign!

Too little, too late, ftfnyt. fuck all the way off.

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

“But what about the lurkers?”

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

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

“A king is only a king if we bow down.” – Rev. William Barber

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

They spent the last eight months firing professionals and replacing them with ideologues.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.