Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

Stay strong, because they are weak.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

How stupid are these people?

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

Fucking consultants! (of the political variety)

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Finding joy where we can, and muddling through where we can’t.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

When we show up, we win.

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Trump-Musk

Line Goes Up…

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Until it doesn’t.

I confess to a bit of schadenfreude at today’s Bitcoin news.

An almost 14% drop today to bring the mathy-equivalent of Beanie Babies down to below where it was when Trump took office.

Krugman has thoughtsKrugman has thoughts:

…today’s price action shouldn’t change your view about Bitcoin’s usefulness or lack thereof. If, like me, you consider the whole thing a delusion — BTC isn’t a medium of exchange, nor is it a reliable store of value — then you already knew that and the fact that we seem to be having a Wile E. Coyote moment isn’t information about the fundamentals. (There are no fundamentals.)

Line Goes Up…

And more thoughts:

….everyone who bought Bitcoin in the belief that Trump would make Bitcoin greater than ever has lost money, in many cases a lot of money. So this is another case of ETTD: everything Trump touches dies.

Exactly so. As Krugman goes on to say, this means there’s a political angle.  t of Trump’s most motivated supporters are now gonna have to lick some wounds. Quite possibly deep ones if the rout continues.

For some reason, I find myself unmoved by their plight.

This thread: it is as open as a SPAC IPO is for the next tranche of rubes.

Image: Victor Dubreuil, Barrels of Money,Barrels of Money, 1910 or earlier.

 

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Water Boys (Open Thread)

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Adam touched on this last night, but I think it bears repeating. Not that anyone who’s paying attention needs it, but yesterday we got confirmation straight from the horse’s ass that the President of the United States has been running interference for Vladimir Putin:

Post from Donald Trump's Truth Social account that reads: "What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!"

It’s shameful because no U.S. president should be caping for a blood-gargling sociopath like Putin, ever. It’s stupid because though the dim bulb doesn’t realize it, Trump just confirmed the worse suspicions aroused by his consistently sycophantic behavior toward Putin.

On top of that, Trump hurling the toys out of his pram above scans as impotent whining because that’s what it is. The self-described dealmaker who alone could fix it got nothing from Putin, and he tried so hard, hence the tantrum

He got nothing for the repulsive attempt to bully Zelensky in the Oval Office. He got nothing after sending a clueless toady to frame a “peace deal” that was a giveaway to the Russian dictator.

After all that, Trump got nothing from Putin on Ukraine except further escalations that indiscriminately murder Ukrainian civilians while making Trump look weak and pathetic on the world stage. Because he is.

***

Speaking of water boys, the Bezos Post caught up with Trump’s top campaign donor, Elon Musk, who was back in Texas yesterday to preside over another rapid unscheduled disassembly.  The Post says Musk “appeared reflective,” but he sounded as whiny as Trump.

STARBASE, Tex. — Elon Musk, returning to SpaceX on Tuesday for a test flight of his Starship spacecraft, said in an interview that slashing the size of federal government proved far tougher than he expected and lamented the intense criticism leveled at the U.S. DOGE Service, which he has led…

He said repercussions over DOGE cuts had been severe. “DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything,” he said. “So, like, something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it.”

He also expressed dismay over the reputational hit his companies took: “People were burning Teslas. Why would you do that? That’s really uncool.”

Boo-fucking-hoo. But no one should buy the walk-back:

Eager to demonstrate that his attention is now rededicated to his companies, Musk returned here ahead of a test flight Tuesday of Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket and a key part of NASA’s plan to return to the moon and Musk’s quest to send people to Mars…

Gone was the Dark MAGA cap, the black blazer, the belligerence toward his perceived foes in Congress and the Washington press corps. For now, there will be no more Cabinet meetings or unsuccessful forays into political races…

Even so, he vowed that his work with the U.S. DOGE Service was not done. He said he plans to focus DOGE’s efforts on improving the federal bureaucracy’s computer systems, a less-controversial goal than taking a chainsaw to the workforce.

That goal might be a good deal more controversial than the Post currently deems if people understood that “improving the federal bureaucracy’s computer systems” entails giving unvetted DOGE chuds an opportunity to exfiltrate everyone’s personal data and place it in the hands of a group of ultra-rich weirdos who are building a dystopian panopticon.

So while Trump is looking weak and pathetic on the world stage and his benefactor is feigning a butt-hurt retreat to his companies, the billionaire weirdos are creating a domestic surveillance system that will live on when Trump is Cheeto dust. Unless we stop them. Can we? Fuckifino.

***

To end on a more positive note, I saw this cool Roseate Spoonbill a couple of days ago.

Pink bird in a tree festooned with Spanish moss

Not a great pic because it was across the river, but I was happy to see it. This morning, I saw two massive alligators swimming upriver. They were so big they left a wake as they swam — my guess is they were at least 10-footers, maybe more.

I also saw a marsh bunny scampering around the vegetation at the water’s edge. No pic because the dogs spotted it too, and they are allowed to bark at rodents, so their furious woofing and snarls sent poor bunny careening into the thicker brush — away from the gators.

Open thread.

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The Guy Who Uses His Mugshot As His Favored Likeness Is Not Having a Good Week

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Happy to say that I don’t recognize any of the people in the “all star panel part of this image.

This poll was from 2 weeks ago, and you know he’s lost ground since then!

But okay, this is a comparison at the 100-day mark, so these numbers stand.

What has the orange menace and his cohorts been up to?

Here are the first 10 I came up with, I’m sure you can add more!

  1. The economy is taking a nosedive and he is blaming his economy on Biden  (good one, now pull the other leg!)
  2. He had to fire his National Security Advisor (and deputy) while in the middle of ongoing military operations.
  3. He set high expectations (prices will be lower on Day 1!) that he couldn’t meet, so the rubber is starting to hit the road.
  4. He lost the election in Canada (oh my god, authoritarianism doesn’t look so great after all!)
  5. He lost the election in Australia (oh my god, authoritarianism doesn’t look so great after all, again!)
  6. His approval rating on immigration is sinking like a stone.
  7. Michael Flynn, considered nearly a saint on the right is the victim of a conspiracy theory that he orchestrated Jan 6 (are we sure that’s a conspiracy theory?)
  8. SCOTUS (okay, SCOTUS -2) signals that they have had enough of his shit.
  9. Federal Judge Beryl Howell’s slaps down attempts to punish law firms critical of his administration.
  10. Looks like the muskrat may be slinking out the side door.
  11. Bonus: he beat his own record for worst job approval!

Tim Sheehy – Unfit for the Senate – Caught in More Lies and Scandals Every Day

He is trashing the place faster than we can clean it up, but it’s also good to look at his losses.

Surely we can pile on some more, right?

 

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Of Tanks and Tanking (Open Thread)

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It’s a bit grubby here in the swamp this morning because our water pump shut down yesterday, so no running water. We found out Thursday the problem doesn’t lie in the pump. It’s either a tank issue or, worse, a problem with the well itself.

Our well and pump guy is coming out again this morning, and I’m hoping the situation can be resolved today by replacing the tank because dirty dishes are piling up, which drives me nuts. Dishes are the only thing I’m a clean freak about.

I also don’t want to have to drive to my dad’s or mother-in-law’s place to take a shower again. I suppose I could wade out into the river and bathe, looking out for gators while soaping up. But that might scandalize the tourists who are hauled by every half hour or so in a giant airboat.

Well, they did pay $50 a head for a “swamp adventure.” Might as well give ’em a show!

We’ve been without power or running water due to hurricanes past, and I agree with my sister, who said she’d rather be without power for a week than lose running water for a day. Fingers crossed for the tank!

***

For me, Rachel Maddow’s show has been a ray of light in this dark, creepy and endlessly maddening authoritarian tunnel we’ve been trudging through for nearly 100 days. In last night’s opener, Maddow reviewed Trump’s poll numbers. They are tanking!

We’re rightly skeptical of polls, but they’re the only data we have. They are important because public opinion is the primary battleground right now.

We need marginal voters who don’t pay attention to politics to turn on Trump and Republicans so that the opposition can regain power before the evil shitheads who are currently in charge permanently entrench themselves. It looks like that’s happening as majorities sour on Trump.

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Are We Sure He’s Not the AntiChrist?

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Are we sure he’s not the Antichrist?  At a minimum, he is certainly the anti-Biden.

Biden worked hard at helping people by reducing student loans.

FFOTUS is out to destroy the people who can’t keep up with their payments.

Oh, so jacking up grocery prices, crashing the stock market, threatening to slash Medicaid & SNAP, and slapping on ridiculous tariffs wasn’t enough?

Now Trump’s coming for your paycheck and your tax refund—just because you fell behind on student loans during a pandemic.

[image or embed]

— Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (@repjasmine.bsky.social) April 22, 2025 at 9:45 AM

I just ordered this car magnet.

Open thread.

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So It Continues, Uncharted Waters Part 2

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In yesterday’s post, linked below, I shared thoughts from Ben Wittes and Marc Elias about Judge Boasberg’s ruling on the illegal kidnapping (my words!) of a legal resident in America.

So It Begins, Uncharted Waters

Today I want to share thoughts from Jay Kuo about the followup ruling from Judge Wilkinson.  (You’ll see his full name below.)

An Opinion for the Ages

There are moments when stories and messages break through the noise, even in a time when chaos agents in the Trump administration have come at us with everything, hoping to flood the zone and overwhelm the public.

Sometimes things just cut through.

The plight of Kilmar Abrego García is one such moment. It has captured the attention of the public in large part because the government admitted it made a mistake but now stubbornly refuses to fix it. Moreover, the Supreme Court ruled against the White House in a 9-0 decision, even if it was mealy mouthed as usual.

Enter Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III (yes, that’s his full, quite Republican name). Judge Wilkinson sits on the Fourth Circuit and is a Reagan appointee. He’s a consistently conservative voice. Like conservative icon Ret. Judge J. Michael Luttig (also of the Fourth Circuit, and also with three names but no Roman numerals), Judge Wilkinson was once on everyone’s short list to replace Justice Antonin Scalia.

He’s not exactly a bleeding heart liberal. And yet, he just shredded Trump.

His opinion yesterday unsurprisingly declined to second guess Judge Paula Xinis’s implementation of SCOTUS’s recent ruling in the Abrego García case. That unanimous opinion had upheld a ruling by Xinis, whom Wilkinson praised as a “fine district judge,” that had directed the government to facilitate the return of Abrego García to the U.S. from a notorious prison in El Salvador.

But it was Wilkinson’s critique of the executive that made lawyers and jurists everywhere stand and cheer.

Kuo is kind enough to quote the ruling section by section, with his reaction, stated in plain English.  I’ve quoted the first 7 chunks in the first 7 comments below, but you really should read the whole thing.

Mostly open thread.

So It Continues, Uncharted Waters Part 2Post + Comments (132)