Balloon Juice - Open Threads Archives

Late Night Open Thread: Dark (Dork) Humors

by Anne Laurie| May 1, 20242:13 am| 39 Comments

And scattered about… were the Martians – dead! Slain by the putrefactive and disease bacteria against which their systems were unprepared; slain, after all man’s devices had failed, by the humblest things that God, in his wisdom, has put upon this earth. (HG Wells, 1897) pic.twitter.com/92hphFg4wV

— Alistair Coleman (@alistaircoleman) April 29, 2024

John Wilkes Boothe: vicious cycle as several generations of maltreated peacocks belonging to the Romanovs. Recently ousted as Chairman of Project Veritas. https://t.co/4P5mHQLhDY

— zeddy (@Zeddary) April 30, 2024

In a great bit of NASA oral history, flight director Jay Greene recalls the Shuttle flight that then-congressman Bill Nelson finagled himself onto. Nelson of course is now NASA Administrator. pic.twitter.com/Zbglqvo1Ct

— Pinboard (@Pinboard) April 22, 2024

“Why are these bollard things, anyway?!?”

It’s the ‘gotta get the car rewrapped’ for me. She’s hitting everything all the time. GTA cars go longer without damage. https://t.co/tGC3rherCc

— zeddy (@Zeddary) April 21, 2024

Late Night Open Thread: Dark (Dork) HumorsPost + Comments (39)

Repub Venality Open Thread: If Bill Barr Were Capable of Shame…

by Anne Laurie| April 30, 20249:33 pm| 57 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Republican Venality, Trump Crime Cartel

The crime party, folks. https://t.co/LknTMA5rWT

— SK Media???? (@SpaghettiKozak) April 27, 2024

… He’d never have outlived his part in the Iran-Contra GOP insurgency, much less his second AG stint under TFG. Bill Barr’s lifelong career has been using ‘the Law’ to hide bodies, not all of them metaphorical, for the Republican Party. He’s not gonna give up that gig at this late stage, at least while he sees the glimmer of a chance that he and his fellows will get to rewrite whatever history exists after a second Trump stint in the Oval Office.

William Barr endorsed Donald Trump but didn’t use his name, saying, ‘I will vote the Republican ticket.’ Trump demands total submission and wrote a Truth Social post mocking Barr — who failed to produce evidence of election fraud — as fat. https://t.co/UcYvSqa5jy

— Intelligencer (@intelligencer) April 25, 2024

Jon Chait, at NYMag — “Donald Trump Snatches Final Shred of William Barr’s Dignity“:

Barr’s place in the Trump firmament is peculiar and unique in a way that challenges the expectations of both men. The universe of Trump officials is broadly sorted by its levels of complicity. At the high end of the scale are those officials who went to work for Trump to limit the damage he could do to the country (James Mattis, John Kelly) and who became despised deep-state traitors. At the bottom end are those who enlisted willingly in his most criminal and authoritarian schemes (Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon) and who left as MAGA heroes.

Barr defies the scale. He enthusiastically supported Trump’s efforts to pervert the Justice Department into a tool of personal abuse (which Barr justified on the basis of his constitutional theory that presidents should properly exert direct control over the operations of the entire bureaucracy, including law enforcement). Barr bought Trump’s idea that he was the victim of a vast deep-state plot and threw himself into the task of rewriting the department into a machine to protect the president and investigate his enemies. His sole request was that Trump allow him to maintain the appearance of propriety by abstaining from public demands that Barr prosecute certain targets and let go certain allies.

Trump, characteristically, refused to grant Barr this fig leaf. Barr, characteristically, gave Trump what he wanted anyway…

Barr’s whole strategy since leaving the administration has been to reframe his service as a strategic effort to advance conservative-movement principles. Barr called Trump unfit and incompetent and pushed Republicans to choose a more effective nominee. His grounds for opposing Trump always pointed toward an eventual reconciliation, though. He opposed his former boss not on the grounds of being an authoritarian but on the grounds of being too ineffective…

He really is ghastly, and not much different from the evangelicals who think Trump is somehow God's instrument. https://t.co/7lJDzgsr6E

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) April 27, 2024

show full post on front page

Repub Venality Open Thread: If Bill Barr Were Capable of Shame…Post + Comments (57)

First Night: Home Sweet Home!

by WaterGirl| April 30, 20248:14 pm| 46 Comments

This post is in: Celebrating Jackals, Open Threads

“Is this Heaven?”

” ~~No, it’s Iowa.~~” “No, it’s Maine.”

~~First night in her new home~~. It’s home for a month until MomSense moves into the “new to her” house.

Greetings from the lake. It’s a cold and rainy evening but the lake looks so peaceful.

We closed on the sale of my house today and I’m so relieved.

This is home for now.

MomSense

Congratulations, MomSense!

First Night: Home Sweet Home!Post + Comments (46)

War for Ukraine Day 798: Another Day that Ends in Day Means Russian Again Bombards Kharkiv & Other Parts of Ukraine

by Adam L Silverman| April 30, 20247:51 pm| 26 Comments

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

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

A brief Rosie update: She is much improved over yesterday and the weekend. The medication to stimulate her appetite is helping, though we’re feeding her multiple smaller meals a day for right now so as not to overdue it all at once. Thank you all again for the good thoughts, well wishes, and for those of you praying, that too.

Before we dive in, I want to briefly touch on a lively discussion from the comments that happened either last night or the night before. Someone mentioned and referenced a source that the US had provided what it determined Ukraine needed, not what Ukraine wanted. I have no doubt that reporting is true. But it shows a flaw in the Biden administration’s strategy in regard to Ukraine. The US’s understanding of war, the doctrines and concepts that serve as the foundation for that understanding, are based on how the US military would fight an interstate war. It assumes something between air superiority and air dominance. It assumes the ability to spend days degraded the enemies capabilities on the ground from the air and the sea before the Land component begins its operations in a theater that has been shaped to fully enable American Land Power. A great deal of this American way of war influences NATO’s understanding and way of war because of the US’s dominance of the alliance. None of this is the Ukrainian understanding or way of war. The Biden nat-sec team’s mirroring of America’s understanding and way of war onto Ukraine is a failure of strategic understanding. The Ukrainian have been developing their own understanding and way of war since 2014. One that works for them given who their adversary is and what their own advantages and limitations are. It may be that it is not that the Ukrainians just want something, but that based on their understanding and way of war they know that they need it.

The Russians once again unloaded on Kharkiv today:

Russia strikes again in Kharkiv's city center with gliding bombs, the second assault in a row in daylight. At least one killed and several injuries. This is pure intimidation, with zero military purpose pic.twitter.com/BJCDaskVZZ

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) April 30, 2024

Russian forces launched two guided aerial bombs at Kharkiv, killing a 25-year-old man, a railroad worker, and wounding eight other civilians.

The attack caused damage to civilian infrastructure, garages, an educational institution, and an administrative building. pic.twitter.com/JFk622AK39

— Iryna Voichuk (@IrynaVoichuk) April 30, 2024

UPD. One civilian was killed and seven were injured in russian arial attack on Kharkiv, the mayor reported. Rescue efforts are ongoing.

— Iryna Voichuk (@IrynaVoichuk) April 30, 2024

They also unloaded on Odesa again:

⚡️Russian missile attack on Odesa kills 3, injures 3.

Russian forces attacked the southern port city of Odesa with ballistic missiles the night of April 30, killing three people and wounding three others, regional Governor Oleh Kiper reported.https://t.co/ElwbQUXzbs

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 30, 2024

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

show full post on front page

Today, First of All, we Express our Gratitude to Every Warrior of the State Border Guard Service – Address by the President

30 April 2024 – 20:35

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

Today, first of all, we express our gratitude to every warrior of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. It’s their professional holiday today. We are talking about thousands of qualified warriors, really brave people, who are not only protecting our state border, but also fighting at the frontline together with the entire Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine, even in the hottest directions… And they are fighting with true heroism. I thank each soldier, sergeant, officer and general of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, all the units that destroy the occupier and protect our communities in the border area from Russian terrorists. Each destroyed Russian subversive group, each repelled Russian assault is a step closer to the day when even the madmen in the Kremlin will realize that they are not able to break Ukraine’s spirit. And now I want to praise the units and the warriors of our State Border Guard Service of Ukraine who have shown their best in combat during these days and weeks. Luhansk Border Guard Detachment, the “Revenge” Offensive Guard Brigade, and especially Sergeant Anton Kyrylov, Senior Sergeant Vasyl Luskiv and Senior Lieutenant Serhiy Nezhovorov. Thank you, guys! Donetsk Border Guard Detachment: Soldiers Yaroslav Fedorenko and Denys Yablinskyi, and Senior Soldier Oleh Zimirskyi. Thank you! The south of our country — the warriors of the Kherson Border Guard Detachment: Soldier Serhiy Trotsenko, Sergeant Yuriy Shvets, and Senior Sergeant Anton Kanivets. Thank you! Berdyansk Border Guard Detachment — especially Sergeant Dmytro Manuilov and Senior Lieutenant Serhiy Peretyatko. Well done! Our Border Guard warriors from the Sea Guard units. Thank you all! And special thanks go to Sailor Artem Nazarenko, Senior Sailor Valeriy Lutsenko, Chief Petty Officer Yuriy Petryk, and Lieutenant Anton Konuchenko. Also, Chernihiv Border Guard Detachment, the warriors of which are fighting in the Novopavlivka direction — and doing it quite effectively. Soldier Anatoliy Romanchenko, Staff Sergeant Kostiantyn Melnychuk, and Chief Sergeant Denys Bortnyi. I thank you, guys, and all your brothers-in-arms for your bravery! Earlier yesterday, I also signed several decrees regarding the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and its warriors. I awarded the titles of Hero of Ukraine to Master Sergeant Oleh Pryshnevskyi and Lieutenant Colonel Dmytro Oleksiuk. Thank you, guys! I also signed a decree on awarding two hundred and seventy-one border guards with state awards — the Cross of Military Merit and various orders. Furthermore, I signed the law of Ukraine on increasing the staffing of the State Border Guard Service — this way the state recognizes your efficiency, warriors, in protecting Ukraine, our independence, and the lives of our people. The truly effective structures of the Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine deserve to be expanded and their experience should be shared with other units of our army.

Throughout the day, there were many meetings on military topics — the situation at the front, the occupier’s offensive and our actions — both to disrupt Russia’s plans and to achieve our goals. The Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, presented a report, and we also discussed with the Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov the deliveries of weapons and the communication with partners. We need a significant speed-up of deliveries to strengthen the capabilities of our soldiers tangibly. It is not Russian air bombs and assault operations that should dominate the frontline, but our Ukrainian initiative — our air defense, our artillery, our drones. We are solving this partially due to our production and to everyone who helps the Defense Forces. We have achieved particular results regarding the matter of drones — I am grateful to everyone who works for this cause, who produces drones, who trains operators, who provides everything we need. I thank each of our partners who now are really doing everything they can to strengthen our position. We are really counting on the promptness of the U.S. deliveries. These are the deliveries that should be felt in the destroyed logistics of the occupiers, in their fear to deploy in any part of the occupied territory, and in our strength — in strength, that should prove itself in the Pokrovsk direction, as well as in the Kurakhove, Siversk, Lyman, and Kupyansk directions… In the south of our country. Everywhere where Russia is pushing and where we have to push it back. And also everywhere where new strike threats may arise.

And one more thing for today.

The Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal delivered a report. We discussed the details of the supply of weapons and ammunition and the relevant work with partners. The Prime Minister reported on the negotiations in this regard — on the implementation of decisions. In particular, I would like to thank the Government and the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic personally for accelerating the implementation of the artillery initiative. We also discussed in detail today the preparations for the first Peace Summit, including the work with the countries of the Global South — government officials, our diplomats, the Office of the President — we all work together to ensure that as many leaders and nations as possible have the opportunity to prove themselves while working for peace. We also discussed the efforts regarding the European direction — the preparation for the decisions we expect in June, the actual start of negotiations on Ukraine’s membership in the European Union. These are the really necessary things, and everything is ready on our side.

I thank everyone who fights and works for our country and people! I thank everyone in the world who stands with Ukraine! I thank everyone who helps — on time and in the right way to win.

Glory to Ukraine!

⚡️Zelensky: Aid delivery has to speed up for Ukraine to 'disrupt Russian plans.'

Zelensky held a day of meetings on the situation on the front lines on April 30, calling for Western allies to speed up deliveries of critically needed military aid.https://t.co/yHzsZtJcDY

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 30, 2024

The US:

The U.S. continues to encourage other countries to provide Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on April 30.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 30, 2024

From The Kyiv Independent:

The U.S. continues to encourage other countries to provide Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on April 30.

Ukraine has asked international partners to deliver more air defense in the wake of an increase in Russian strikes targeting energy infrastructure since March. U.S.-made Patriot systems are highly effective at intercepting Russia’s ballistic and cruise missiles.

“There are countries that have Patriots, and so what we’re doing is continuing to engage those countries,” Austin said.

Austin said he had talked “to the leaders of several countries” over the last two weeks, “encouraging them to give up more capability or provide more capability.”

Germany announced on April 13 that it would provide Kyiv with an additional Patriot system. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz then called on other NATO allies to do the same.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded that Poland could not give up the Patriot system installed at Rzeszow airport in southeastern Poland, as it is a key logistics hub for defense aid deliveries into Ukraine.

Greek media reported on April 22 that Athens planned to send at least one Patriot system to Ukraine, but Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ruled this out in an interview on April 25.

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles then announced on April 26 that Spain would send Patriot anti-aircraft missiles to Kyiv.

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine needs 25 Patriots to protect the country from Russian attacks, but Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he is for now focused on securing seven to protect Ukraine’s largest cities.

The US has fifteen Patriot battalions. Each of these battalions has four Patriot batteries. The Army has requested funding for two more of these battalions. Right now the US has 60 Patriot batteries. And while some are definitely needed in the Middle East to protect US Forces deployed there, you’d think we’d be able to spare a few.

Or we could just send these:

⚡️Israel to mothball its Patriots, fate of systems badly needed by Ukraine unknown.

Israel did not say what would happen to the systems after they're retired.https://t.co/WDyCasriKa

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 30, 2024

The Kyiv Independent has the details:

The Israeli Air Force will mothball its Patriot air defense systems within two months as it moves to replace them with its own more advanced air defense equipment, the country’s defense ministry announced on April 30.

According to media reports, Israel is thought to have eight U.S.-produced Patriot systems that currently work alongside its own air defenses, most famously the Iron Dome, a short-range interceptor designed to shoot down rockets, mortars, and drones.

It also deploys the David’s Sling system, designed to shoot down medium-range projectiles, and the Arrow, a long-range system designed to intercept ballistic missiles.

All were put to their biggest test yet earlier this month when Iran fired 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles at Israel, almost all of which were intercepted and destroyed.

Israel will from now on rely on the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the Arrow for its air defenses, rendering its Patriots – in use by the country since 1991 – obsolete.

The country’s defense ministry did not say what would happen to the systems after they’re retired but Ukraine has for months now been asking for more Patriots to bolster the country’s air defenses in the face of escalating Russian aerial attacks.

The Kyiv Independent asked Ukraine’s Defense Ministry if they had requested the mothballed Patriots but had not received a response at the time of publication.

The US has end use monitoring agreements for every weapon system, weapon, and munition we sell, whether military to military, allow commercial sale to foreign military, or dual use items. As such, since they’re not going to be needing them, maybe the Biden administration might ask Bibi if Israel would please send these to Ukraine.

Also the US:

⚡Trump says he would only continue US aid to Ukraine if Europe 'starts equalizing.'https://t.co/b1vNOv9XM1

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 30, 2024

While Washington's support to Ukraine is worth over $67 billion, European countries combined have allocated over $96 billion for military, humanitarian, and financial support since February 2022, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 30, 2024

Time has the details:

But an insecure NATO is as likely to accrue to Russia’s benefit as it is to America’s. President Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine looks to many in Europe and the U.S. like a test of his broader vision to reconstruct the Soviet empire. Under Biden and a bipartisan Congress, the U.S. has sent more than $100 billion to Ukraine to defend itself. It’s unlikely Trump would extend the same support to Kyiv. After Orban visited Mar-a-Lago in March, he said Trump “wouldn’t give a penny” to Ukraine. “I wouldn’t give unless Europe starts equalizing,” Trump hedges in our interview. “If Europe is not going to pay, why should we pay? They’re much more greatly affected. We have an ocean in between us. They don’t.” (E.U. nations have given more than $100 billion in aid to Ukraine as well.)

You should really take the time and read the whole article/interview.

Latvia:

More good news today!
The government of Latvia has just approved the transfer of NBS anti-aircraft guns, tactical unmanned surveillance systems, as well as other essential material and technical assets to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
We are grateful to our Latvian friends for… https://t.co/ZlAmRoQUVy

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 30, 2024

More good news today!
The government of Latvia has just approved the transfer of NBS anti-aircraft guns, tactical unmanned surveillance systems, as well as other essential material and technical assets to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
We are grateful to our Latvian friends for their unwavering support.
Together, we will win!
🇺🇦🤝🇱🇻

Here’s the machine translation of the two tweets by the Prime Minister of Latvia:

The government has just approved the transfer of NBS anti-aircraft guns, tactical unmanned surveillance systems, as well as other essential material and technical assets to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This will help improve both Ukraine’s air defense and intelligence capabilities. 1/2

With each shipment, we affirm friendship 🇺🇦 to the nation and its fight against the aggressor Russia, which is the biggest threat to world peace and security. Latvia annually allocates 0.25% of GDP to the military support of Ukraine. We will continue to support Ukraine both bilaterally and together with our allies. 2/2

Estonia:

📈 The membership of the Estonian Defence League (Kaitseliit) has surpassed 30,000 volunteers. I.e. more than 2% of 🇪🇪 population voluntarily contributes to the readiness to defend #Estonia! pic.twitter.com/7eriWfVHSJ

— MoD Estonia (@MoD_Estonia) April 30, 2024

Germany:

Great news from our German friends!
Germany provided a new military aid package for Ukraine, which includes:
◾️10 Marder IFVs
◾️Ammunition for Leopard 2
◾️1 Skynex air defense system with ammunition
◾️29,638 rounds ammunitions for Gepard
◾️IRIS-T SLM missiles
◾️1 TRML-4D air… pic.twitter.com/5Ar4k06fZj

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 30, 2024

Great news from our German friends!
Germany provided a new military aid package for Ukraine, which includes:
◾️10 Marder IFVs
◾️Ammunition for Leopard 2
◾️1 Skynex air defense system with ammunition
◾️29,638 rounds ammunitions for Gepard
◾️IRIS-T SLM missiles
◾️1 TRML-4D air surveillance radar
◾️7,500 rounds 155mm ammunition
◾️1 Beaver bridge-laying tank
◾️1 Dachs armored engineer vehicle
◾️9 mine ploughs
◾️1 AMPS self-protection systems for helicopters
◾️60 outboard motors
◾️600 LED lamps
◾️6 M1070 Oshkosh tank transporter tractors
◾️18,000 rounds ammunition 40mm
◾️3,000 RGW 90 man-portable anti-tank weapons
◾️120mm mortar ammunition
◾️1,980 camouflage nets
◾️2,000 ponchos
◾️100,000 first aid kits

Thank you for your steadfast support!
🇺🇦🤝🇩🇪
#StandWithUkraine
@BMVg_Bundeswehr

You may ask, in regard to that Trump interview, doesn’t all this military aid that we document here every time a new announcement is made by a NATO member demonstrate that our NATO allies have stepped up as Trump demands? It would if Trump could be made to believe that what we’re documenting here multiple times a week was actually happening. As I’ve written here before, Trump thinks he knows both the price and value of everything, when, in fact, he doesn’t know the price or value of anything.

Odesa:

https://twitter.com/maria_avdv/status/1785252827209531836

https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/status/1785403120396177527

Russian occupied Crimea:

https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1785287151946506343

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1785343403720409385

Bakhmut front:

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1785407977999970422

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1785319278461190556

Moscow and Rome, Georgia:

https://twitter.com/maria_avdv/status/1785175802901876965

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

There are no new Patron tweets today. So here’s some adjacent material:

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1785360758794031125

Ukrainian Defender Taras found a puppy when he served in Kherson region.

The dog was very naughty as a puppy, so the soldiers named her Kosiak (Mistake). Kosiak grew up near Taras and got very attached to her human.

Then, Taras had to send her to a shelter because he was no longer able to care for her. But he promised they would be together again.

In the video, Taras and Kosiak meet again after being apart for three months. Volunteers brought Kosiak to his home in Ternopil – and another puppy for company! You can see how Taras raises two fingers in the video – he didn’t expect to get two dogs, but he’s happy to take him.

📹: uanimals.official/Instagram

Open thread!

War for Ukraine Day 798: Another Day that Ends in Day Means Russian Again Bombards Kharkiv & Other Parts of UkrainePost + Comments (26)

Sorta Foreign Affairs Open Thread: Welcoming Palestinian Refugees

by Anne Laurie| April 30, 20246:23 pm| 67 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Immigration, Israel, Open Threads

NEWS — The Biden administration is considering bringing certain Palestinians to the U.S. as refugees, a move that would offer a safe haven to some of those fleeing war-torn Gaza, according to internal federal government documents obtained by CBS News.https://t.co/LcqJqwnLqz

— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) April 30, 2024

How many edges can a metaphorical sword have? The whole existence of UNRWA, as I understand it, rests on the theory that Palestinians must never leave their precinct (unlike members of every other displaced group, like three of my four Irish grandparents). And, of course, there is the sad history of American political schizophrenia: Support foreign rebellions, reject refugees from those same rebellions. Per CBS News, “White House considers welcoming some Palestinians from war-torn Gaza as refugees”:

The Biden administration is considering bringing certain Palestinians to the U.S. as refugees, a move that would offer a permanent safe haven to some of those fleeing war-torn Gaza, according to internal federal government documents obtained by CBS News.

In recent weeks, the documents show, senior officials across several federal U.S. agencies have discussed the practicality of different options to resettle Palestinians from Gaza who have immediate family members who are American citizens or permanent residents.

One of those proposals involves using the decades-old United States Refugee Admissions Program to welcome Palestinians with U.S. ties who have managed to escape Gaza and enter neighboring Egypt, according to the inter-agency planning documents.

Top U.S. officials have also discussed getting additional Palestinians out of Gaza and processing them as refugees if they have American relatives, the documents show. The plans would require coordination with Egypt, which has so far refused to welcome large numbers of people from Gaza.

Those who pass a series of eligibility, medical and security screenings would qualify to fly to the U.S. with refugee status, which offers beneficiaries permanent residency, resettlement benefits like housing assistance and a path to American citizenship…

CBS News has reached out to the White House, Department of Homeland Security and State Department for comment.

The proposals to resettle certain Palestinians as refugees would mark a shift in longstanding U.S. government policy and practice. Since its inception in 1980, the U.S. refugee program has not resettled Palestinians in large numbers…

The resettlement of Palestinian refugees, even if small in scale, could also garner criticism from Republicans, who have sought to make concerns about immigration and illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border defining issues in November’s elections.

Soon after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas and the start of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, leading Republicans, including presidential candidates, said the U.S. should not welcome Palestinian refugees, claiming that they are antisemitic and potential national security risks.

In recent years, the Biden administration has dramatically increased refugee resettlement, which was slashed to record lows by former President Donald Trump. U.S. officials have set a goal of admitting up to 125,000 refugees in fiscal year 2024, which ends at the end of September.

Sorta Foreign Affairs Open Thread: Welcoming Palestinian RefugeesPost + Comments (67)

Please Don’t Kick the Bison (Open Thread)

by Betty Cracker| April 30, 20245:26 pm| 133 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

I’m not really here today, but it looks like we could use an open thread. Here’s something stupid that doesn’t involve an angry orange jack-o-lantern glowering in a Manhattan court room:

A 40-year-old man from Idaho was arrested at Yellowstone National Park this month after rangers received a report that he had harassed a herd of bison and kicked one of them in the leg.

Clarence Yoder of Idaho Falls is facing charges in federal court for the District of Wyoming for allegedly approaching and disturbing wildlife, being under the influence of alcohol in a park area, and disorderly conduct. Yoder suffered minor injuries in the encounter, and rangers took him to a nearby medical center for treatment before transporting him to Gallatin County Detention Center.

Clarence Yoder of Idaho Falls is a goddamn idiot, and he’s lucky the bison didn’t trample him to death. Why are people so dumb and hateful?

Open thread.

Please Don’t Kick the Bison (Open Thread)Post + Comments (133)

Trump’s NY Criminal Trial, Day 9

by WaterGirl| April 30, 202410:12 am| 446 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Politics, Trump Indictments, Trump’s NY Criminal Trial

It’s Day 5 of the actual trial! Day 9, if you include jury selection.

Best sources of live blogging that I have found.

Mark Sumner at Daily Kos – Live Blogging

Anna Bower at Lawfare – Live Blogging on Twitter (checking for twitter live blogging)

Josh Kovensky at TPM – Live Blogging (no live blogging today)

Judge holds Trump in Contempt, threatens Jail (TPM)

New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan threatened to incarcerate Donald Trump on Tuesday if he continues to flout a gag order imposed to block him and others from attacking witnesses in his criminal case.

Merchan said in an order released Tuesday morning that if Trump continued to violate the judge’s orders, he would “impose incarceratory punishment.”

The threat came as Merchan held Trump in contempt of court, fining him $1,000 per statement for nine social media posts that attacked witnesses in the case.

Merchan made a point in the contempt order of leaving open the possibility that he could send Trump to jail for continuing to violate the order. New York state law limits him to fineing Trump $1,000 per violation; Merchan wrote that such a small monetary amount “will not achieve the desired result in those instances where the contemnor can easily afford such a fine.”

He added that while he would prefer to impose a fine “commensurate with the wealth” of the offender, he lacked that power and would “therefore consider whether in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment.”

Merchan, so far, is only threatening to incarcerate the former and potentially future President. Trump has brazenly flouted the judge’s order over the past several weeks, including in a manner intended to strike directly at the judge. Trump frequently posted about Merchan’s daughter, a fact that Manhattan DA prosecutors drew to Merchan’s attention during a contempt hearing last week.

TRANSCRIPTS OF NY CASES AVAILABLE THE NEXT DAY Link

Emotional support pup and kitty for the occasion.

I’m still interested in the trial, so I’ll put this up again today, but think of it as a general open thread, too.

Trump’s NY Criminal Trial, Day 9Post + Comments (446)

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

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

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

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

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

I really should read my own blog.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

They are not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Republicans do not trust women.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. ~Thomas Jefferson

Is trump is trying to break black America over his knee? signs point to ‘yes’.

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

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

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

This fight is for everything.