Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Everybody saw this coming.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

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

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

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

This fight is for everything.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

The lights are all blinking red.

“But what about the lurkers?”

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

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

You cannot shame the shameless.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

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

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Keep the Immigrants and deport the fascists!

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Live Free or Die Like a Bug on a Windshield

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I hope I’m not the only one who is glad to see the Iowa/New Hampshire lock on early nominating contests start to loosen.  Big shout out to the organizers of the write-in campaign, by the way, since they denied the worthless political press their “Joe Biden isn’t popular with Democrats” story by giving him a bigger win than Trump.  Fuck the New Hampshire Democratic Party for holding this primary.  There’s no reason they deserve to be first every year, and Biden did the right thing by not participating.

Speaking of the useless, worthless, lazy political press, I’m going to love the anxiety that’s going to accompany the 2028 primary season.  These fuckers might have to go out and actually write a story that isn’t a mad-lib version of what’s been written for decades about New Hampshire and Iowa.  This herd of sheep has a huge problem whenever they have to do something original, and when South Carolina or Nevada or some other state is first, they’re in dire danger of having to write about an issue or two instead of what they’re serving in some diner in Nashua.  I’m sure they’ll find some simple prop to occupy their minds, but at least they’ll have to look.

Finally, following up on Betty’s post about DeSantis earlier today, it strikes me that one of Bootsie’s main problems is that he’s such a fucking cowardly splitter.  Is he supporting Trump or not?  In his concession speech, he endorsed Trump.  Now he’s out shitting all over him.  The dude is already short and has fewer social skills than bag of used diapers, but he’s also a both-ways Charlie.  It’s obvious he hates Trump, but he’s too much of a chickenshit to do anything but act like the kid who kisses the bully’s ass when he’s around, then talks shit about him when he’s gone.  And we all hate that kid.

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This Is a Big Joe Biden Deal

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BREAKING: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has ADVANCED legislation to SEIZE Russian assets to fund Ukraine.

Everything is impossible. Until it isn’t.

(The Hill)

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced legislation Wednesday to allow the U.S. to seize frozen Russian assets to pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction.

The top Democrat and Republican on the panel were confident that Senate leadership viewed the legislation, called the REPO Act, as a priority for passage amid stalled efforts to deliver on further assistance for Ukraine.

“Leadership’s committed to move this as quickly as it can. It very well could be a caboose on a bill that goes through here quickly,” said Sen. James E. Risch (R-Idaho), the ranking member of the committee and sponsor of the REPO Act.

If signed into law, the legislation would mark the first time the U.S. has seized foreign assets of a country it is not at war with. Lawmakers said the Biden administration is supportive of the bill.

“They want to have this in their toolkit,” said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chair of the committee.

An administration official told The Hill that “Generally speaking, we are supportive of having domestic legislative authorities that will give us flexibility as we continue to discuss with partners and allies on how best to cease Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and ensure Russia pays for the damage it has caused.”

The official continued, “We are also engaged in active conversations with our allies and partners, including the G7, to ensure we are all coordinated in making Russia pay.”

Cardin succeeded in passing his amendment to the bill in the committee meeting, an effort to address what he said are concerns around challenges in American courts to the U.S. government seizure of another foreign government’s assets and not draw out the process.

“I think it’s naive to think there won’t be legal challenges. … The amendment that I was able to get in will shorten any legal challenge,” Cardin said.

“What this allows, the administration to get those issues resolved early in the process and therefore can move forward with this tool. And it also gives our partners around the world confidence that we’re on a sound legal basis when we move forward.”

The U.S. holds about $5 billion to $6 billion in Russian central bank assets that it froze in February 2022 following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s launch of a full-scale invasion into Ukraine.

The action was taken in coordination with partners in Europe, Canada and Japan, with total frozen Russian central bank assets held overseas said to amount to about $300 billion.

Group of Seven (G7) nations, the priority bloc supporting Ukraine, has yet to come to a consensus on using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s reconstruction. But the U.S. move on cementing language and passing legislation is viewed as a priority step in getting other countries on board.

Baked into the text is for the executive branch to certify to Congress that it is coordinating with G7 partners and others on working together on the seizure of Russian assets for Ukraine’s reconstruction.

“The body of the bill itself is very clear about the need for multilateral action not just with G7 — it also mentions Australia and a couple other areas where there are Russian assets,” Cardin said.

“So it only works if we can get those who have the largest amounts of Russian assets to work with us. That is made very clearly in the body of the bill.”

Cardin said the priority issue is for the Senate to follow through passing President Biden’s National Security Supplemental, which is to include $60 billion for Ukraine but is held up over negotiations on changes to U.S. immigration policy.

“We gotta get this supplemental done. Ukraine has to have it. It’s a matter of survival,” Cardin said, adding that the REPO bill is a way to impose more pressure on Russia to remove its troops and “accepting responsibility for the damages that they’ve caused.”

I’m not saying this will happen tomorrow, but clearly steps are being taken to make this possible.

Open thread.

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Sunshine State Fault Lines (Open Thread)

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I figured after DeSantis’s embarrassing defeat at the (tiny orange) hands of Donald Trump, the governor would roll over, piddle on his own belly and meekly rejoin the MAGA pack to salvage his future in Repub politics. He endorsed Trump and dissed Haley on the way out, which fit that pattern.

But now fault lines are spidering out across the peninsula, exposing fissures that separate House Don from House Ron. Consider the fate of an absurd bill a MAGA sycophant in the statehouse forwarded this week to put Florida taxpayers on the hook for $5 million in legal fees for Trump. John posted about it yesterday.

Signaling a crack in the alliance, DeSantis vowed to veto the bill, embarrassing Florida’s ambitious elected “CFO” Jimmy Patronis, who had enthusiastically touted it hours before as a “Florida Freedom Fighters Fund” that could also allegedly benefit DeSantis. The bill was quietly withdrawn.

Also yesterday, on a wingnut radio program, DeSantis threw cold water on Trump’s glorious victory in the Iowa caucuses and said straight-up that Trump has an enthusiasm problem: (WaPo)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that Donald Trump’s commanding victory in Iowa should be “a huge warning sign” for Republicans, comments critical of the former president’s influence on the party that come just days after DeSantis dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump.

Speaking on the “Steve Deace Show,” DeSantis warned that the low turnout for the Iowa caucuses was reflective of conservatives who are expressing their discontent with Trump by staying away from the polls. He said his team found Iowa Republicans who caucused in 2016 but who were refusing to do so again in 2024.

“They were conservative but they did not want to see Trump nominated again, but they had basically been told that it was inevitable, that it was over, so why even bother?” DeSantis said. “And they just totally dropped out of the process.”

Election interference!

That turnout problem could get worse, DeSantis said. “In each contest, those voters that had checked out, I think that percentage will grow and those are the voters you need to be competitive.”

“And I think they’re just like, you know what? ‘We’re doing this again?’ and they’re checked out. So it’s a huge warning sign for Republicans, nationally, based on what we saw in Iowa…”

DeSantis sounded a note of caution in his comments Tuesday: “When I have people come up to me who voted for Reagan and … have been conservative their whole life, [who] say that they don’t want to vote for Trump again, that’s a problem. So he’s got to figure out a way to solve that. I think there’s an enthusiasm problem overall.”

The squinty fascist prick is probably right about the enthusiasm problem. Lots of us called it when the de facto incumbent Trump failed to pick up de facto incumbent-levels of support in Iowa and again in New Hampshire.

But what’s DeSantis’s angle? Is it just sour grapes because Iowa voters resoundingly rejected DeSantis? If so, the timing is odd because Trump started making conciliatory mouth-noises when DeSantis dropped out and endorsed Trump. So why pick another fight with The Beast?

My guess is DeSantis believes Joe Biden will defeat Trump (again), and DeSantis is positioning himself to be the party’s post-Trump savior after a loss (again). So, the 2028 strategy is a modification of the 2024 approach, the change being that DeSantis won’t have to run against Trump in the primary next time.

However, I wouldn’t bet the farm on that. If Orange Sauron loses in 2024 and is still alive and unincarcerated in 2028, he might claim two elections in a row were stolen and run again. Would anyone put it past him?

Open thread.

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Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: New Hampshire in the Rear View Mirror

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Remember, folks — sharing is caring!

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Tuesday Evening Open Thread

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Did someone force the House Oversight Committee to release the transcript of the testimony of Kevin Morris?  (Yahoo News)

The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday released the transcript of the testimony of Kevin Morris, a friend of and attorney for Hunter Biden, and his statements undercut everything Republicans have said about the embattled first son.

Morris is a high-powered entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles who met Hunter at a 2019 presidential fundraiser for his father, Joe Biden. Morris has loaned Hunter nearly $5 million in the years since. He testified about his relationship with Hunter in a closed-door committee hearing last week.

Initially, Oversight Chair James Comer just released a list of paraphrased highlights from Morris’s testimony. Comer claimed that Morris informally loaned Hunter the money and does not expect to be repaid until after the 2024 election—or possibly ever. But the transcript shows this couldn’t be further from the truth.

In reality, Morris never once mentioned the possibility of forgiving the loans. Instead, he said he has a “100 percent” expectation that Hunter will repay him, and repeatedly states that he and Hunter have a series of promissory notes agreeing the younger Biden will pay back the money.

What’s more, Morris testified that there is a “balloon” on the loans set for after the election. This means that Hunter is currently making low or even no payments but will start making lump repayments in 2025.

The only person who mentions loan forgiveness in the entire interview is Representative Andy Biggs. The Arizona Republican has been a vocal critic of the Biden family, accusing them of criminal wrongdoing. Biggs asked what consequences Hunter would face if he defaulted on these loans.

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I didn’t even know there was a group called Mothers Against Greg Abbott, but there must be because there is a Mothers Against Greg Abbott PAC.

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So eloquent!

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This fellow’s style of communication reminds me of Pete Buttigieg, demolishing right-wing Christianist bullshit.

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They fucking nominated “Ken” but not Barbie or the director?  WTF?  It’s 2024 and women are still not equal.

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This seems important.

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How is John Harwood at predictions?

Open thread.

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War for Ukraine Day 699: Russia Once Again Bombards Civilian Targets in Ukraine

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Screen shot of new artwork by NEIVANMADE. The background is black. In the bottom foreground are grey Ukrainian homes and apartment buildings being bombarded by red Russian missiles with the Special Military Operation "Z" symbol on them. Above the missiles, written in red is the word "Ruzzians". Below the buildings being attacked is the statement "Turns Homes Into Graves".

(Images by NEIVANMADE)

Been a very long day, so this is going to be brief (for me).

Also, late last night/early this morning commenter piece of peace asked:

Adam and commentors, I appreciate receiving knowledge about the conflicts and problems going on in the Middle East, formed with easily-readable explanations.  Otherwise, I’d be tempted to ignore it.  Thank you all.

I will try to do a Mess O Potamia post this weekend. I won’t have time before then. I hope that will be sufficient.

One last housekeeping item. What I’m covering tonight is grim. We may not know the full butcher’s bill for a few days. I’ve chosen not to post a lot of the video and imagery that’s on social media. This includes the animal shelter video. I am asking you all, and for once please just actually comply, DO NOT post links to or embed the nitter links to those types of posts in the comments. Once you’re done with today’s post you’ll know what happened if you didn’t already. You don’t need to subject yourselves and others to even more of it. It is not going to actually help anyone in Ukraine if you force yourselves to watch that stuff if you do not have to.

Russia once again spent the morning bombarding Ukraine.

From this morning:

https://twitter.com/IrynaVoichuk/status/1749650861611970879

https://twitter.com/Euan_MacDonald/status/1749652022435913757

From this afternoon:

https://twitter.com/IrynaVoichuk/status/1749887115175891275

https://twitter.com/K_Loukerenko/status/1749887554713796810

More on this after the jump.

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

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Tuesday Evening Open Thread: The Sportsball Circus

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Don’t pretend to understand football, but I usually find Ray Ratto a good read. From Defector – “The Chiefs Are The NFL’s Traveling Circus”:

… Yes, the Chiefs in all their weird three-ring magnificence have advanced to the penultimate step in their campaign, “How To Make The Most Histrionical Super Bowl Ever.” All they have to do is beat the Baltimore Ravens this coming Sunday to wed the people who obsess over Taylor Swift and her allegedly witchy tendencies, for good and ill, with the people who agree that Jason Kelce is the NFL’s newest and nudest spokesman for everything the Super Bowl in Las Vegas could, should, and would be…

Nobody [else] has bundled-up Taylor Swift evidently invoking timely wind gusts, and nobody has Jason Kelce shotgunning cans of beer like the quality-control elf at the brewery, barging about the suite while dressed in Western New York formalwear: no shirt, pants looped below his waist like Saturn’s saddest ring, and scaring his kids. Not even Jim Harbaugh dressed as a gorilla on the sidelines giving Connor Stalions piggyback rides during the national anthem would beat what the Chiefs will be bringing. CBS even had trouble keeping its Taylor highlights straight, not showing her after Travis Kelce’s second touchdown but showing her after Isiah Pacheco’s, as though she was there to suss out Kansas City’s running game. The network is clearly losing its keen eye on America’s taste for pandering.

But what about the Lions and the lovely story of their long wait to take center stage, you ask. Why can’t they be America’s Team? Please. You haven’t spent enough time in the new post-COVID America if you think a good football story is enough. And that goes for the Ravens and 49ers as well. The three of them just play football, and that’s not the kind of thing America needs in an election year, especially this one.

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