Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
Open thread!
I am pairing this with the JeffreyW story from Raven that is going up at noon so we can keep that thread about BJ peeps and have another place to talk about whatever.
So here you go. Have at it!
Saturday Afternoon Football and More Open ThreadPost + Comments (59)
Quiet night. Looks like no Cole post tonight unless this post from me brings him out, which would be just fine with me.
I’m about to head to bed, but thought I would put up a post before I do.
We can talk about anything you want, but I’ll get you started with 3 bits of good news from the courts.
VICTORY: In a major victory for voting rights, the Arizona Court of Appeals has rejected a lawsuit brought by right-wing groups and the Arizona Republican Party that sought to limit how election officials verify mail-in ballot signatures. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/…
— Marc Elias (@marcelias.bsky.social) August 27, 2025 at 8:02 PM
I think this is different from the one above it, but I haven’t clicked through enough to be sure.
🚨BREAKING: Arizona Court of Appeals REJECTS right wing challenge to Arizona’s signature matching process. Another VICTORY for my law firm’s clients and the voters of Arizona. www.democracydocket.com/cases/arizon…
— Marc Elias (@marcelias.bsky.social) August 27, 2025 at 7:48 PM
I love how bold Marc Elias is with his contempt.
Apparently Trump just figured out that the Utah court struck down the gerrymandered congressional map and reinstated the citizen-led redistricting reforms.
If he subscribed to Democracy Docket he would have learned about this on Monday. Don’t make the same mistake sign-up now. hubs.ly/Q03jcjqP0
— Marc Elias (@marcelias.bsky.social) August 27, 2025 at 7:20 PM
We all knew about Utah yesterday, of course, but the gold guy, with all the king’s horses and all the king’s men, had no clue until today.
What was your favorite news today?
Totally open thread!
Midday over here on the Island. I finally officially close on my house this coming Tuesday, so I am off to the local version of Home Depot to get some new paint for the front door, as a little symbol of my transition from tenant to owner. The door is currently red; I’m thinking a golden yellow would be nice (my house is brick).
I was in the vicinity of the not-Home Depot yesterday, and had a classic Other People’s Cats moment when I cut through a back street to avoid some construction:
“Keep moving and mind your business, lady ape,” is what tabby there is obviously saying. Sound advice in any situation, really.
Open thread, with a preference for hearing about weekend plans. (I’m writing up my podcast episode on Herodotus and meeting a friend for Thai).
NOTE: Gonna leave this post pinned at the top for a bit so different “shifts” see it and no repetition is necessary. In the interim, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I am and will continue reading every comment with laughter and tears and appreciation. I’ll have more to say about that later. But new content will be under this post as it’s published, and you should scroll down and read it and discuss the events of the day. After all, that’s why we’re here. :-)
I’ve been meaning to post a health update but approached the task with trepidation because I wasn’t sure how to start — it’s a lot. Since I tend toward annoying flippancy in fraught situations, let’s go with a good news/bad news format.
The good news is I’m likely to live long enough to vote AGAINST Trump (and whichever horrifying toady he horks up as running mate) and to vote FOR Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, reproductive freedom for Florida women and recreational pot for adults.
The bad news is maybe not because I’ve recently been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. The median survival time for people with my diagnosis is less than two years.
Bummer!
In the morning thread, I complained a lot about having to drink black coffee because I ran out of half-and-half and milk, and many agreed it was a tragic situation. I ransacked my well-stocked hurricane-country pantry in a fruitless search for canned milk, sweetened condensed milk or any plausible dairy-like product.
I even checked the freezer for ice cream. The only dairy I could find in the house was cheese, and that obviously wouldn’t do. So I choked down two cups of vile black coffee.
It delivered caffeine adequately, I guess. But I still didn’t feel right. So a while ago, I went downstairs to our enclosed game room (it’s a stilt house) to see if there was an RC cola in the downstairs fridge, aka, the beer fridge. There was. And there was also half a pint of heavy whipping cream!
Fuuuuck! I’d forgotten all about that!
I’d stashed it there more than a week ago when my sister and I returned from our aunt’s birthday party with a cooler containing several craft beers (our rural relations won’t touch the stuff), plus the leftover heavy whipping cream I’d brought along to make a pie topping at the party.
I flew back upstairs lickety split, brewed some coffee and am now enjoying a properly creamed (overly, even) hot beverage. And all is right with the world.
Open thread!
File this under things I never thought I would see:
Alexander Vindman writing the words Motherfucking traitors.
Contact Scalise.
(202) 225-3015 And contact YOUR Representative to let them know what you think of them not voting to secure our borders and provide aid to allies. https://t.co/HwiytyaeEu pic.twitter.com/Lx76vX6Cis— Alexander S. Vindman ❎ (@AVindman) February 5, 2024
Take a minute to call your representative and tell them what you think of the traitors in the House? When you call, I strongly recommend not using the word motherfucking, in any of its forms. And maybe call that motherfucking traitor, Scalise, too.
Let me be clear: The Senate Border Bill will NOT receive a vote in the House.
Here’s what the people pushing this “deal” aren’t telling you: It accepts 5,000 illegal immigrants a day and gives automatic work permits to asylum recipients—a magnet for more illegal immigration.
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) February 5, 2024
Make calls for the Democratic candidate who could replace the lying sack of shit, Santos.
Flip NY-3 – Tom Suozzi leads in the early polls and will win if we give Tom the resources and volunteers he needs. The election is Feb. 13th and early in person voting has begin so please take an action to help Tom today! If you want to learn more watch my recent interview from last week, and take an action here:
Donate – Learn More – Get Updates – Canvass – Make Calls
IF Tom Suozzi wins, the R margin gets significantly smaller than it will be if he LOSES.
Is there a way to call the White House with feedback, as we can for senators and representatives?
Also, people have been asking about charities to support Ukraine, so I just want to remind you that the Ukraine thermometer is still in the sidebar. The two organizations in the thermometer are World Central Kitchen and Razom for Ukraine – you can choose to donate to just one of them, or both of them.
Remember: it’s not hopeless, and we’re not helpless.
Open thread.
Open Thread and Two Small Things You Can Do TodayPost + Comments (59)
This is an open thread, so talk about whatever you want, but I thought this story was too good not to share.
A few excerpts from a charming L.A.Times article about a very special artist.
Postal Service for the Dead, started by artist Janelle Ketcher, provides the living with a way to physically send letters to those who have exited this realm. The letters are stored, and if so desired, shared with the public. Senders indicate on the back of envelopes if they’d like for the notes to remain sealed or not — leaving them blank means do not open, a heart signifies read but don’t share and a star indicates share. Postal Service for the Dead also functions as a community archive for those who have lost someone, that nation that transcends borders and dimensions, whose language is grief.
Inspired by projects like the wind phone, a disconnected payphone in a garden in Ōtsuchi, Japan, where people can call the deceased, Ketcher decided to just do it herself. She opened a box at a post office in Lincoln Heights and launched an Instagram account. In the year since, dozens of people have sent letters, coming from the West Coast, the Carolinas, Florida, France and beyond.
They include postcards, handwritten notes and homemade collages. There are sweet, nostalgic remembrances, memories of times had and updates on lives lived, but also letters that render the anger, confusion and despair that can accompany the death of a person close to us.
“One big thing with grief,” Ketcher says, “is that even within a family or community unit, everyone could be grieving in a super different way.”
The archive includes letters to family, friends, pets and those who are not physically gone but who are lost in other ways. Most of the letters sent via Postal Service for the Dead have been marked for sharing. Only one letter, sent in an envelope the color of terracotta, was left blank, meaning it will remain sealed and unread.
Writing letters to the dead is a longstanding practice — “A lot of people burn their letters, and that can be really helpful as well,” Ketcher says — but being able to actually send them somewhere holds a mysterious power.
And there’s something appropriate about the Postal Service for the Dead being in Los Angeles. The city’s mythology, a brightly lighted dreamscape with a dark underbelly, makes it the perfect portal between worlds.
Ketcher knows that not everyone believes in an afterlife and that the letters may not be received by their intended recipients.
“I’m just a keeper,” Ketcher says of the letters. “But I do think you can continue a conversation, you can continue a connection, through storytelling.” The artist pauses, and adds, “If you receive a letter from someone you love, there is a bit of magic in that.”
Totally open thread.
L.A. Artist Runs Postal Service for the Dead (Open Thread)Post + Comments (42)