Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Second rate reporter says what?

Optimism opens the door to great things.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

We still have time to mess this up!

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

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

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

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

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Reality always gets a vote in the end.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

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Late Night Open Thread: Witch-Finder Comer Balked of His Epstein Victims

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Trump admin better-placed than courts to release Epstein files, judge says reut.rs/4mqjZWH

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— Reuters (@reuters.com) August 20, 2025 at 3:40 PM

Following up on WaterGirl’s post… Pig-faced head of the Department of Just-Us Justice has been touting a Friday release of the ‘important’ Epstein files — namely, a small portion redacting all Republican-connected references, but not any however-peripheral mention of a Democrat. As with so many of the GOP’s Big Reveals, that’s not gonna happen:

A U.S. judge said on Wednesday that the Trump administration is in a better position than federal courts to release materials that would satisfy public curiosity about the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein‘s sex trafficking case.

In rejecting the Justice Department’s bid to unseal records from the grand jury that indicted Epstein in 2019, Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Richard Berman wrote that the 70-odd pages of materials the grand jury saw paled in comparison to the 100,000 pages the government has from its Epstein investigation but is not releasing.

The judge said the bid to persuade him to unseal the records was an apparent distraction from the Justice Department’s decision in July not to release its files and directly cited another judge’s decision earlier this month not to release similar materials from the grand jury that indicted Epstein’s longtime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell…

Berman’s decision came as President Donald Trump has faced criticism from his conservative base of supporters and congressional Democrats over the Justice Department’s decision not to release the files from its Epstein investigation.

Trump, a Republican, had campaigned for a second term in 2024 with promises to make public Epstein-related files, and accused Democrats of covering up the truth. But in July, the Justice Department declined to release any more material from its investigation of the case and said a previously touted Epstein client list did not exist, angering Trump’s supporters.

To try to quell the discontent, Trump in July instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek court approval for the release of grand jury material from Epstein’s case.

Evidence seen and heard by grand juries, which operate behind closed doors to prevent interference in criminal investigations, cannot be released without a judge’s approval…

The grand jury that indicted Epstein heard from just one witness, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and saw a PowerPoint presentation and call logs, Berman wrote.

On Aug. 11, a different Manhattan-based judge, Paul Engelmayer, denied the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury testimony and exhibits from Maxwell’s case, writing that the material was duplicative of public testimony at her 2021 trial. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence following her conviction for recruiting underage girls for Epstein.

“A member of the public, appreciating that the Maxwell grand jury materials do not contribute anything to public knowledge, might conclude that the Government’s motion for their unsealing was aimed not at ‘transparency’ but at diversion – aimed not at full disclosure but at the illusion of such,” Engelmayer wrote…

UPDATE: House Oversight Ranking Member Robert Garcia is calling for Chairman Comer to "release the full, unedited transcript" of ex-Trump AG Bill Barr's closed-door deposition on the Epstein case because, according to Garcia, "Barr could not clear President Trump of wrongdoing."

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 4:41 PM

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Whoa! Epstein Epstein Epstein

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Let Epstein bring them all down.  (My prayer to the universe.)

Something something favors the brave. Or the bold.  Maybe both!  (This is definitely both.)

🚨 BREAKING:

Republicans are lashing out at the creators of this new ad.

They’re TERRIFIED.

It must have struck a nerve. Maybe they don’t like being outed as pedophile-protectors.

You know what to do: SPREAD THIS EVERYWHERE!

#ReleaseAllTheEpsteinFiles

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— Nick Knudsen (@nickknudsenus.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 12:53 PM

Devastating new Epstein ad drops

h/t Jackie

No, the issues surrounding the cover-up of the Epstein files will not go away, and influencers on the blue side are now gearing up for a Fall that will see how the GOP Congress handles the void. To that end, the Progress Action Fund has just dropped what has to be the most devastating Epstein ad imaginable, and did so with vulnerable GOP House members in mind. But what is most noteworthy about the ad/video below is that it expressly uses a teen girl – a kid – disturbed in her sleep by an old man, the “Republican” congressman operating on behalf of “the president.” Anyone interested in seeing something resembling justice in this matter must retain a focus on the victims; this isn’t a “political” hunt, just a demand for answers and accountability for what happened to kids. Thus, it is entirely appropriate that this video includes a kid – sleeping in her bed, scared.

She is so young that one almost objects to using a child in such a scheme at all. But that is sort of the point; this young girl is about the exact same age as the kids that Epstein raped and offered up to others. Perhaps unforgivably, it takes having it pushed in front of one’s face over and over to truly appreciate the situation’s outrageousness.

Outrage is the most appropriate word here, and there is enough to go around to involve both the GOP House members (Speaker Mike Johnson et. al.) and “the president.” There is no hemming and hawing about the ultimate purpose behind the cover-up; it is to protect Trump, and that’s it. If the ad were not devastating enough, the ending – telling the girl that she is going back to the island, serves as just another reminder that every day that goes by with justice denied simply prolongs their suffering at the hands of a society that doesn’t care enough to look at it too closely.

So this is just what was needed. It should flood screens across the country, and fingers should point directly at those who are carrying the most water for Trump, that being Johnson and his friend James Comer. They need to explain themselves. Ads like this are awfully tough to ignore.

.

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War for Ukraine Day 1,274: If This Is What a Peace Process Looks Like, Ukraine Is Better Off at War

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Painting by NEIVANMADE. It has a white background an in the center are Soldiers in green doing air defense by firing at incoming Russian missiles in the upper right. The missiles are red and yellow. In the upper left, written in green, is the text: "SAVE THE BRAVEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!" Below the Soldiers, also written in green, is "SUPPORT FOR KHARKIV"

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Here’s the butcher’s bill from Russia’s attack last night:

574 drones.
40 missiles.
Last night, russia carried out another combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine, hitting
Lviv, Zakarpattia, Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, Volyn, Cherkasy and Zaporizhzhia. Once again, the terrorist state proves they don’t want peace at all.

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— UNITED24 (@u24.gov.ua) August 21, 2025 at 4:38 AM

A powerful “signal of peace” from Russia.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 4:54 AM

Here’s Ukraine’s air defense tally from last night:

Visualization of Russia’s massive night attack: at least 4 “Kinzhal” missiles on Rivne region, 2 “Zircons” from occupied Crimea, up to 12 “Kalibrs,” Kh-101s from Tu-95MS/Tu-160 bombers, and ~350 Shahed attack drones.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 4:14 AM

Ukrainian air defenses are still achieving shoot-down rates of about 95% for both missiles and drones. But as fascist Russia is now sending many more drones, more are getting through: If, when it was 100 drones, ~5 would reach their targets, now, when it is 500 or 600, some 25 to 30 get through.

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— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 2:44 AM

This situation is largely a result of the Biden administration’s foolish and failed “escalation management” policy, which withheld longer-range weapons and even prohibited Ukraine from striking deep into Russia. This allowed Russia to build up drone production mostly unhindered.

— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 2:56 AM

The result of Russia’s combined missile, glide bomb, and drone attack last night seems to have had an effect on Trump.

It sounds like an announcement of a Ukrainian attack on Russia 👀

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 10:01 AM

Trying to actually parse what Trump is saying or posting a lot of the time is difficult, frustrating, and often fruitless. I do not think, as some have, that this is Trump giving Ukraine the blessing to go on the attack. Nor do I think it is an indication that he’s suddenly going to send them long range weapons. It may mean that he’ll lift the restrictions on the US made weapons or weapons containing US components being used for longer range strikes. Here too, like so many things, we’ll have to wait and see what happens. Unfortunately, he’s likely to change his mind again the next time he speaks to the Vice President of a Thousand Names who seems to genuinely despise Ukraine and the Ukrainians.

Especially given the most recent reporting on Putin’s demands: (emphasis mine)

MOSCOW, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Vladimir Putin is demanding that Ukraine give up all of the eastern Donbas region, renounce ambitions to join NATO, remain neutral and keep Western troops out of the country, three sources familiar with top-level Kremlin thinking told Reuters.

The Russian president met Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday for the first Russia-U.S. summit in more than four years and spent almost all of their three-hour closed meeting discussing what a compromise on Ukraine might look like, according to the sources who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Speaking afterwards beside Trump, Putin said the meeting would hopefully open up the road to peace in Ukraine – but neither leader gave specifics about what they discussed.

In the most detailed Russian-based reporting to date on Putin’s offer at the summit, Reuters was able to outline the contours of what the Kremlin would like to see in a possible peace deal to end a war that has killed and injured hundreds of thousands of people.

In essence, the Russian sources said, Putin has compromised on territorial demands he laid out in June 2024, which required Kyiv to cede the entirety of the four provinces Moscow claims as part of Russia: Dontesk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine – which make up the Donbas – plus Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south.

Kyiv rejected those terms as tantamount to surrender.

In his new proposal, the Russian president has stuck to his demand that Ukraine completely withdraw from the parts of the Donbas it still controls, according to the three sources. In return, though, Moscow would halt the current front lines in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, they added.

Russia controls about 88% of the Donbas and 73% of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, according to U.S. estimates and open-source data.

Moscow is also willing to hand over the small parts of the Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk regions of Ukraine it controls as part of a possible deal, the sources said.

Putin is sticking, too, to his previous demands that Ukraine give up its NATO ambitions and for a legally binding pledge from the U.S.-led military alliance that it will not expand further eastwards, as well as for limits on the Ukrainian army and an agreement that no Western troops will be deployed on the ground in Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force, the sources said.

More at the link.

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

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Open Thread: Texas Democrats, Doing Their Considerable Best

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Just In: The Republican led Texas House approved a new congressional map giving Republicans five more U.S. House seats, despite Democratic claims it’s a racially discriminatory effort to sway next year’s midterms.

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— Texas Tribune (@texastribune.org) August 20, 2025 at 7:27 PM

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Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier is suing over "illegal confinement" after Republicans locked her in the state Capitol for refusing police surveillance

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— Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 3:29 PM

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Texas State Rep. Nicole Collier spent the night on the House floor after refusing to agree ‘to round-the-clock monitoring by state troopers’ www.keranews.org/texas-news/2…

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— Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 8:26 AM

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Rep. Gene Wu, ..stayed on the House floor with Collier throughout the night, occasionally livestreaming for the caucus’ account on X. He had signed so he could go spend time with his family.., but when Collier asked him to stick around, he agreed ..he plans to stay with her as long as she’s there.

— Kim (@kimoco.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 4:07 PM

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Just to be clear, Texas State Rep. Nicole Collier is not holding some kind of sit-in protest. She is literally locked in the State Capitol against her will.

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— The Briefing with Jen Psaki (@briefingwithpsaki.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 10:10 PM

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Open Thread: Say Naught But Good of the Dead…

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James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family and one of the most influential voices in the conservative evangelical movement, has died at age 89

— David S. Bernstein (@dbernstein.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 9:21 AM

Per the Blogmaster’s rule: James Dobson just made the world a slightly better place.

he will be confined to a blanket and a hundred toddlers will beat him with wooden spoons any time he steps off of it for all eternity.

— Michan Connor (@michanconnor.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 10:37 AM

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… More than 1,000 quote-skeets on this, and I’ve never seen so many ways to celebrate

— David S. Bernstein (@dbernstein.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 10:32 AM

Open Thread: Say Naught But Good of the Dead…Post + Comments (68)

All that and a bag of chips…

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Soon-to-be-former New York Mayor Eric Adams’ administration and campaign seem to be staffed entirely with stacks of corruption in trench coats, but this latest incident is remarkable even for that collection of crooks. After an Adams campaign event, Winnie Greco, advisor to the mayor, handed reporter Katie Honan of THE CITY a half-eaten bag of chips with an envelop of money inside, apparently as a bribe of some sort?

Greco and Honan walked to the Whole Foods next door. While inside the store, Greco handed Honan the opened bag of chips with the top crumpled closed. Honan, thinking it was an offer of a light snack, told Greco more than once she could not accept the chips, but Greco insisted that she keep them.

The two parted ways. Before entering a nearby subway station, Honan opened the bag and discovered a red envelope inside stuffed with cash, at least one $100 bill and several $20 bills. The reporter then called Greco and told her she could not accept the money and asked if she was still nearby so she could give it back. Greco said she’d left the area. Honan told her she had to take the money back, and Greco said they could meet at some point in Chinatown.

The reporter then texted Greco, “I can’t take this, when can I give it back to you?” She did not get a response.

In an interview later Wednesday, THE CITY asked Greco what her intention was in handing money to the reporter. In response, she said she’d made “a mistake” and apologized over and over.

Things got weirder. Greco said she wasn’t trying to buy goodwill for the campaign, just make a friend (by offering money in a chip bag) and referred the inquiring news hounds to her attorney, Steven Brill.

“I can see how this looks strange,” Brill said. “But I assure you that Winnie’s intent was purely innocent. In the Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude. Winnie is apologetic and embarrassed by any negative impression or confusion this may have caused.”

After THE CITY informed the Adams campaign about the interaction with Greco, campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro said Greco was immediately suspended from the campaign.

“We are shocked by these reports,” Shapiro said. “Winnie Grecco [sic] holds no position in this campaign and has been suspended from all VOLUNTEER campaign-related activities. Mayor Adams had no prior knowledge of this matter. He has always demanded the highest ethical and legal standards, and his sole focus remains on serving the people of New York City with integrity.”

People on Bluesky are having fun with Brill’s attempt to explain it away as a cultural thing. Here’s my contribution to the genre.

I get this because in MY culture, it’s not uncommon to drink lots of malt liquor and hurl live alligators through drive-thru restaurant windows. It’s considered RUDE if the cashier does not accept the reptile. 🐊

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— Betty Cracker of Florida (@bettycrackerfl.bsky.social) August 21, 2025 at 8:00 AM

Open thread!

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HHS: The Calls Are Coming From Inside the House

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Earlier this week, Anne Laurie highlighted the terrorist attack on federal workers at the CDC. The terrorist was hopped up on lies and addled conspiracy theories spread most prominently by the psychotic grifter now in charge of Health & Human Services: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy showed up at the CDC after the attack to inspect his handiwork, gawking at the many bullet holes from more than 500 rounds fired at the complex. An Atlanta cop was murdered by the terrorist, and hundreds of employees were traumatized during the attack.

Trump has said nothing. Maybe he was too busy kissing Putin’s ass to notice. Or maybe he said nothing because the attack fulfills a strategy outlined by his appointee Russell Vought, the Christian nationalist Project 2025 architect who serves as director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Vought vowed to put government employees “in trauma.” Mission accomplished.

Yesterday, hundreds of HHS employees sent a signed letter to RFK Jr., asking the catcher’s mitt-faced crackpot to stop spreading misinformation that puts a target on their backs. ABC News:

More than 750 employees across the Department of Health and Human Services sent a signed letter to members of Congress and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday morning, calling on the secretary to stop spreading misinformation.

The letter states the deadly shooting that occurred at the Atlanta headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Aug. 8 was “not random” and was driven by “politicized rhetoric.” …

In the letter, the employees accused Kennedy of being “complicit in dismantling America’s public health infrastructure” and of “repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information.”

How did Kennedy’s spokesfool respond? With mealy-mouthed pablum about the boss’s commitment to HHS and more lies and hagiography, hallmarks of the most disgraceful administration in U.S. history:

In a statement to ABC News, HHS said, “Secretary Kennedy is standing firmly with CDC employees — both on the ground and across every center — ensuring their safety and well-being remain a top priority. In the wake of this heartbreaking shooting, he traveled to Atlanta to offer his support and reaffirm his deep respect, calling the CDC ‘a shining star among global health agencies.'”

“For the first time in its 70-year history, the mission of HHS is truly resonating with the American people — driven by President Trump and Secretary Kennedy’s bold commitment to Make America Healthy Again,” the statement continued. “Any attempt to conflate widely supported public health reforms with the violence of a suicidal mass shooter is an attempt to politicize a tragedy.”

Fucking ghouls. As if politicizing tragedy isn’t their One and Only Weird Trick!

In the runup to the election, I underestimated the pull of woo. I failed to appreciate the siren song of “do your own research” and the appeal of “hey, let’s eat horse-deworming pills” instead of a getting a vaccine created by scientists to mitigate a deadly virus.

Now we know “wellness” crackpots were an essential part of the Trump 2024 coalition, but the problem is deeper than that. Kennedy is one of the most dangerous members of the hive of scum and villainy Trump calls a cabinet, and yet Kennedy seems to fly under the public radar.

I’m not sure how, but that needs to change. The HHS workers’ letter is a good first step.

Open thread.

ETA: ProPublica just dropped a report on the scale of the destruction at public health agencies. It’s staggering.

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