Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

So fucking stupid, and still doing a tremendous amount of damage.

In my day, never was longer.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

Bark louder, little dog.

You cannot love your country only when you win.

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

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

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

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

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

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

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

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

“In this country American means white. everybody else has to hyphenate.”

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

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

Keep the Immigrants and deport the fascists!

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

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

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

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One Down (Open Thread)

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From NBC News — a clown car occupant disembarks:

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez ended his long shot presidential bid Tuesday after failing to qualify for the first Republican primary debate in Milwaukee. He is the first GOP candidate to drop out of the race.

“Running for President of the United States has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Suarez wrote in a lengthy statement on his X account. “While I have decided to suspend my campaign for President, my commitment to making this a better nation for every American remains.”

On the stump in early voting states, Suarez honed his message on his economic and policing record in Miami, railing against the “defund the police” movement and highlighting his family’s history migrating from Cuba to the United States.

Maybe Burgum will call it a day next to spend more time with his Achilles tendon injury bootie. Or maybe he’ll hang in there as an excuse to get out of whichever Dakota he runs and campaign in places like Nevada and South Carolina during the chilly months.

Speaking of lost causes, over at The Daily Beast, Never Trumper Matt Lewis is trying to will the Nikki Haley campaign into relevance:

Is it time for Republicans to take Nikki Haley seriously? (NO! — ed.)

According to a new Emerson College Polling survey, “Haley saw the largest increase in support among Republican candidates, jumping 5 points from 2 percent to 7 percent” following last week’s debate.

She vaulted from 2% to 7% — watch out, world!

Open thread.

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‘Moms’ Gone Wild (Open Thread)

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An essay in Slate by education professor Adam Laats briefly examines the history of conservative “mom” activists in public schools and points out some parallels between today’s Moms for Liberty extremists and their ideological foremothers. It’s eye-opening, but one comforting takeaway is that it usually doesn’t end well for the organizations founded by political operatives masquerading as crusading moms.

Some of the past schoolboard screechers and book banners were familiar to me, like the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Others were state-level activists I wasn’t aware of, but it sure seems like Moms for Liberty copy-pasted from their rhetorical playbooks. A few examples from the essay:

In 1963, one DAR member in Mississippi humiliated the group with her violent opposition to a widely used children’s book… (that) told cheerful moral stories about cute baby animals, as when Bobby Squirrel discovered he could get a nut just by asking for one. One local DAR leader, though, accused the book of spreading subversive socialism by teaching children, like Bobby Squirrel, to expect a “collective welfare system.”

(Norma) Gabler had become a national powerhouse in the 1960s by blocking history textbooks and forcing publishers to tell a more conservative story. Though Gabler always called herself just a “Texas homemaker” or “Longview housewife,” she ran a staff of eight, combing through textbook copy to sniff out progressive content.

By the 1970s, Alice Moore…attracted huge support, seemingly overnight… Once on the school board of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Moore ignited a dramatic boycott of a new series of textbooks. She inflamed conservative opinion nationwide by claiming that the books trampled on parents’ rights. Moore warned that the new books would force white kids into feeling guilt and anguish about America’s racism.

Moore’s campaign in particular carries a warning for the Repub political operatives currently doing business as Moms for Liberty. Her campaign spiraled out of control and resulted in a string of assaults, fire-bombings and assassination attempts, which triggered a normie backlash:

Moore disavowed the violence, but she couldn’t escape the fact that her rhetoric had directly caused it. Similarly, when the Ku Klux Klan rolled into town to support the boycott, Moore insisted she had nothing to do with their campaign. She also said she had nothing to do with the burning cross outside the school district’s headquarters in 1975, and it seems very likely she was telling the truth. Yet when the Klan’s local leader articulated his vision for public schools, his language was the same as Moore’s. Just like Alice Moore, the Klan promised to “return patriotism and Christianity to our schools.” They claimed to be joining the national campaign to stop “the breakdown of morals among our children.”

Alice Moore denounced it all, but the damage was done. The boycott—now indelibly associated with the Klan—fizzled. A student march in favor of the controversial books attracted thousands of supporters. The books remained in schools, though parents had to sign a permission slip for a few of the titles.

Laats points out that Moms for Liberty members have allied with militant wingnut goons like the Proud Boys, approvingly quoted Hitler in a chapter newsletter, exposed themselves to mockery with idiotic book ban proposals and have been convicted of harassment for threatening opponents.

As Laats says, this is a recurring phenomenon. But I think it’s especially unfortunate that Repub operatives in Florida ginned up the latest astroturf rebellion to capitalize on political opposition to pandemic safety measures. Learning losses are real, and now the overburdened schools that are trying to claw back progress are saddled with the extra burden of dealing with screaming lunatics at schoolboard meetings.

Laat implies a backlash is inevitable. The only question is how bad things will have to get before public sentiment prompts the extremists to slink back under their rocks. In the Trump era of shock-jock politics, it’s unclear where that floor is.

Open thread.

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread: A Democrat, I Am Still Proud to Be

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We interrupt our regularly scheduled broadcast…


Stay safe, Florida jackals!

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Late Night Open Thread: Kevin McQarthy Tries to Bribe His Tantrum Caucus

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Just oooone little spending patch, and then y’all get a nice big bowl of impeachment kabuki theatre! Kev can’t even get all the Freedumb Carcass members on board with skipping an inquiry vote, so he’s resorting to promising them all more face time on the teevee.

… In recent weeks, McCarthy has privately told Republicans he plans to pursue an impeachment inquiry into Biden and hopes to start the process by the end of September, according to multiple GOP sources familiar with the conversations. While McCarthy has already publicly threatened to launch an inquiry if allegations from IRS whistleblowers hold up or if the Biden administration does not cooperate with requests related to House Republicans’ Hunter Biden probe, sources say that McCarthy has sent even stronger signals about his intentions behind closed doors.

But leadership recognizes that the entire House Republican conference is not yet sold on the politically risky idea of impeachment. That’s why one of the biggest lingering questions – and something Republicans have been discussing in recent weeks – is whether they would need to hold a floor vote to formally authorize their inquiry, sources say. There is no constitutional requirement that they do so, and Republicans do not currently have the 218 votes needed to open an impeachment inquiry.

Skipping the formal vote, which would be a tough one for many of the party’s more vulnerable and moderate members, would allow Republicans to get the ball rolling on an inquiry while giving leadership more time to convince the rest of the conference to get on board with impeachment. During former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, House Democrats ended up voting to both formalize their inquiry and set parameters for the process after initially holding off on doing so amid divisions within their ranks.

“I don’t believe that a vote of the House is required to open an impeachment inquiry,” GOP Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who supports a Biden impeachment and sits on the House Judiciary Committee, told CNN.

Another factor that could complicate the fall timeline for an impeachment inquiry: Government funding expires at the end of September. McCarthy has already signaled they will need a short-term spending patch to keep the government’s lights on, which hardline conservatives have balked at.

Officially moving ahead with an impeachment inquiry could help keep angry conservatives off McCarthy’s back. And the speaker himself has linked the two issues publicly, warning that a government shutdown could hinder House Republicans’ ability to continue their investigations into the Biden administration – a direct appeal to his right flank, and a sign of all the competing pressures that the speaker is facing.

“If we shut down, all of government shuts down. Investigations and everything else,” McCarthy said Sunday on Fox News…

GOP Colorado Rep. Ken Buck, a member of the hardline Freedom Caucus who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, has previously accused McCarthy of engaging in “impeachment theater.”

And one GOP lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak more freely, offered an even blunter assessment: “There’s no evidence that Joe Biden got money, or that Joe Biden, you know, agreed to do something so that Hunter could get money. There’s just no evidence of that. And they can’t impeach without that evidence. And I don’t I don’t think the evidence exists.” …

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I Am On Pins and Needles Open Thread

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Maybe it’s crazy, but I am on pins and needles, waiting to hear whether Mark Meadows is allowed to move his case to federal court, with the next step being asking for immunity because he was “just doing his job as a public official”.   I think if they don’t move the case to federal court, he has less room to go for immunity, and get it.  In GA?  I don’t think so!

Anyone here see it like I do?  Or differently?  Either way, I’d like to hear it.  Gut feelings are fine, but maybe I’m reading too much into it.

To me, it seems like this will be the bellwether for whether this kind of bullshit will pass for legal arguments and will fly in these coup cases.

Here’s a Threadreader link where Ryan Goodman tears apart his (Mark Meadows) testimony today. You don’t need twitter to be able to read a Threadreader version.

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https://twitter.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/1696223460412797144?s=20

I think I”m gonna start a calendar so we can know when the various dates are coming up

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Okay, Pop Quiz.

 

I Am On Pins and Needles Open Thread 1

Do these guys look alike?

Do you know who the guy on the left is?

Maybe this will help?

(I’m not sure whether I’m supposed to say who put the two images together (above) so I’m hoping he will chime in with a comment to let me know.)  Permission granted: JWR!

I Am On Pins and Needles Open Thread

I think the mug shot is the new Rorschach test.  If you see that and think hot damn, my guy looks awesome – then, well let’s just say you may not be the poster person for good mental health.

Totally open thread.

 

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War for Ukraine Day 551: Another Day Another Russian Bombardment

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(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Quick housekeeping note: Everything that can be prepped to get the house ready is done. I’ve got some cooking to do tonight. Tomorrow by noon I’ll make the call to stay or evacuate down to my brother and sister in laws depending on how the models firm up over night. They’ve been tracking farther west all day. Which is good for us. However, I’m pooped from working outside all day to get things prepped, so tonight’s update is going to be brief.

The Russians opened up on the Ukrainians again overnight.

On the night of August 28, russian terrorists attacked Ukraine with 4 Kalibr cruise missiles and two Kh-59 guided aviation missiles. The air defense systems destroyed 4 out of 6 targets. Unfortunately, there was a direct hit on an oil refinery in the town of Hoholeve in the Poltava region, which was operating during the night shift. Currently, there are reports of 2 casualties and 5 injured.

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

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All The Hottest Stars Are In LA – Cat Bleg

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A friend of my family recently had Covid and has had a really rough recovery. She’s going into a long-term care facility, and her two kitties need a new home.
Zoey and Lucy are a bonded pair, about 3.5 – 4 months old. They have been dewormed and gotten their first round of shots; they will need round 2 and to be spayed when they are old enough. They are very sweet and playful.
I currently have a cat who will not tolerate any other felines, so I can’t take them. I’m hoping the jackaltariat can help me find the perfect home for these cuties.

Hola, Juicers! We have 2 lovely ladies in LA that need a new home. I’m gonna let friend of the blog, Maxim, tell you all about Zoey and Lucy.

As you can see, these two starlets are lovely, talented and perfectly worthy of gracing the firmament of your home. Please reach out to us here at the Juicy Blog Council and let us know. I know this place is the best non-animal charity site possible to get things done for animals so, have at it, Jackals. – RM

 

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