US Politics September 2023 - education-getting, income-having, Bible-readin church-goin MOTHERF*****

sigh

good morning!

Will the DeSantis campaign survive the month?

Probably, but why not ask anyway

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/-ron-desantis-super-pac-ends-door-knocking-nevada-super-tuesday-states-rcna102645

It appears that the Never Back Down PAC is backing down

hell of a campaign: https://www.thedailybeast.com/republican-president-candidate-ron-desantis-is-afraid-of-questions-from-15-year-old-quinn-mitchell

Quinn Mitchell has seen at least 35 presidential candidates in person since 2019, when he first started showing up at New Hampshire primary events to ask them questions.

Not a single one of them had ever treated the now-15-year-old as if he were a threat—until Ron DeSantis came to town.

It all started with a straightforward question. In June, when DeSantis stopped for a town hall event in Hollis, Mitchell raised his hand in the crowd.

“Do you believe that Trump violated the peaceful transfer of power,” the teenager asked the governor, “a key principle of American democracy that we must uphold?”

DeSantis dodged the question and said Americans shouldn’t get stuck in the past, but not before remarking—in a somewhat impressed, incredulous tone—on Mitchell’s age. “Are you in high school?” the governor asked.

The moment went viral, with DeSantis’ non-answer encapsulating how even Donald Trump’s lead primary rival could not bring himself to acknowledge the former president’s efforts to undo the 2020 election. CNN even played it during an interview with Chris Christie to tee up a question to the Trump foe.

For Mitchell, however, the exchange kicked off a series of events that deeply rattled him and his family.

Speaking about it for the first time in an interview with The Daily Beast, Mitchell says that he was grabbed and physically intimidated by DeSantis security at two subsequent campaign stops, where the candidate’s staffers also monitored him in a way he perceived as hostile.

The experience, Mitchell said, was “horrifying” and amounted to “intimidation.”

At a Fourth of July parade DeSantis attended, Mitchell was swarmed by security and physically restrained after a brief interaction with the governor—with his private security contractors even demanding Mitchell stay put until they said so.

With his mother alarmed, the situation escalated to such a degree that the candidate’s wife, Casey, spoke directly with her—but to suggest her son was being dishonest about what happened, according to Mitchell.

Then, at an August 19 event—where Mitchell was tailed closely by two security guards—an attendee told The Daily Beast they saw a staffer for DeSantis’ super PAC, Never Back Down, take a photo of the teenager on Snapchat before typing out an ominous caption: “Got our kid.”

So if I understand correctly the Never Back Down PAC is actually running the DeSantis campaign, which is technically against the law. But the PAC gets around the no coordination rules by setting up websites and putting up stuff for the DeSantis to read rather than emailing it to them, which is how reporters got ahold of the debate prep notes.

bob dylan prophesied the rise of this formidable teen

Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out

!! Walking out of courtroom after sentencing, Proud Boy Domenic Pezzola lifts his fist and yells "TRUMP WON"

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) September 1, 2023

Nearly in tears, Pezzola minutes earlier told the judge he'd given up politics

(Judge was no longer in courtroom when Pezzola made the outburst)

Pezzola had just been sentenced to 10 years in prison

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) September 1, 2023

obv they treated the kid horribly but this kis is a young sociopath in training

i don't know, that might actually make sense for him, on some level. it's very low probability but there is a non-zero chance that there's some sort of coup or attempt at an 'uprising' in the US in the next 10-30 years (i know, bleak, sorry, probably won't happen, or it's inevitable, or it doesn't matter, whatever is the least pessimistic thing to think), and in that scenario he becomes a hero for sticking for his man trump all the way to the end

now, you know I am against the carceral state and prisons and violence within prisons as we know it, but there is a non-zero chance he gets shivved in the next 0-18 years and we don't have to think about him sticking for his man trump all the way to the end

the tales of probability: an investigation into the wilderness of the imagination

the future is vast and unknowable!

His reaction is reminiscent of that of the women in the Manson family.

the future is vast and unknowable!

the answer to "what is mitch mcconnell thinking about in the void?"

Any member of a violent street fighting cadre trying to overthrow an election violently should be jailed. I don't know what kind of restorative justice or rehabilitation would suffice in this instance as a deterrent.

Wiki scrub-up!

The source of these concerns are changes made by an editor with the screen name “Jhofferman,” who has disclosed that he was paid by Ramaswamy to make alterations to the page.

According to the article’s version history, the editor removed lines about Ramaswamy’s receipt of a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans in 2011. Paul Soros was the older brother of billionaire funder of leftist causes George Soros...

The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, per its website, was founded by the couple “to assist young New Americans at critical points in their education", which they felt was an unmet need.

Vivek’s political career DOA, he’s got the Soros stink

The Deep State Manchurian Candidate

that doesn’t sound like bootstraps, either

handouts from a soros
i know, i know - it’s serious

I am excited to announce that I will be running for the 2024 President of the United States Of America on behalf of the Libertarian party 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/GRDTgYRT7K

— Chris Fronzak (@FRONZ1LLA) September 4, 2023

Yeah, this guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLYoJgbybes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O6tfXwRN8I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS6_lDdLxDU

Pennsylvania is key for Biden. Democrats there say the party is in shambles.
It’s not just the presidential race at stake. A major state Supreme Court race is this year...and a key Senate race next year.

Wait, yr telling me that a member of a Philadelphia political dynasty is corrupt and dysfunctional? I’m shocked, positively shocked.

This may fall under IT/email. However, the right-wing outrage machine was fed one of my current email addresses. The GMail spam filter usually catches them; occasionally I try to unsubscribe but it doesn't make much of a reduction in the flood. Does anyone know of any "creative" ways to mess with the parties behind these emails?

Not "creative" but unsubscribing & marking as spam is the direct way. If you can determine who their email service provider is, you may be able to reach out to them and let them know their customer is sending you unsolicited emails.

The problem with political emails is that they are protected speech in the USA, so its dicey for service providers to take any independent actions that limit them. If your service provider lets you authorize them to block them or segregate them into a spam bin on your behalf, then they can implement that. As for unsubscribing, that's up to the sender to honor your request. For unscrupulous senders all it does is verify your address is active.

I made the mistake of giving Jon Tester $20 and now I am being deluged with some of the worst email subject lines in the history of written English.

The problem with political emails is that they are protected speech in the USA, so its dicey for service providers to take any independent actions that limit them.

No. Anti-spam laws are strict, and more importantly spam complaints can be traced back to the email service provider and damage their overall sending reputation. Any ESP worth their salt will have terms of use that prohibit sending emails to people who didn't grant permission to be added to a mailing list. Email is not like other communication channels (e.g. text messages) which are not regulated in the same way.

Granted, many political organizations may be using providers that explicitly cater to political emails and don't crack down on spam as much. But you can still mark their emails as spam and Gmail will start blocking the sender if they get enough complaints.

Yeah, speaking as someone who runs a subscription email newsletter, the regulations are really strict. I have readers all the time who accidentally unsubscribe from the email (unfortunately easy to do) and the only way they be added back is if I send them a resubscribe link and they confirm it. I can't just add back someone who unsubscribed, even if they send me an email requesting it.

only way they CAN be added back...

You know Enrique Tarrio is fucked when his *defense* tells the judge his sentence shouldn't be more than 15 years. I bet he's real proud now.

A panel of federal judges rejected Alabama’s latest congressional map on Tuesday, ruling that a new map needed to be drawn because Republican lawmakers had failed to comply with orders to create a second majority-Black district or something “close to it.”

In a sharp rebuke, the judges ordered that the new map be independently drawn, taking the responsibility away from the Republican-controlled legislature while chastising state officials who “ultimately did not even nurture the ambition to provide the required remedy.”

The legislature had hastily pushed through a revised map in July after a surprise Supreme Court ruling found that Alabama’s existing map violated a landmark civil rights law by undercutting the power of the state’s Black voters. The revised map, approved over the objections of Democrats, increased the percentage of Black voters in one of the state’s six majority-white congressional districts to about 40 percent, from about 30 percent.

Trump judges too.

That old three-fifths math still sticking around

Tarrio gets 22 years. Good riddance.

bye, fucker

This fucking piece of shit, a Miamian.

The kind of sentence Hitler should have had for the Beer Hall Putsch

holy fuck

That Alabama map was such a fuck you. Republican legislatures are completely unhinged, they don't give a fuck, they'll pass any old thing they want. So that even all these Republican judges are going, uh, tone it down there fellas. (Not ALL the Republican judges, obviously. Some of them are batshit too.)

Retain power at all costs is the mantra.

Because they know that if they lose it, they'll never get it back.

Even sympathetic judges don't like their orders being ignored.

Meanwhile my state rep of Tennessee Three fame announced yesterday she's running against Marsha Blackburn for Senate next year. Blackburn has responded with a website that is kind of the definition of "don't threaten me with a good time": https://www.radicalgloria.com/

Obviously a long shot to actually win the race — Blackburn won by 11 points in 2018 — but I think it's a smart move by Gloria and the state party to capitalize on the celebrity of the Tennessee Three. She'll be able to raise a ton of money for her own campaign but also for other Dems in TN, and in general it will be the highest-profile statewide race the Democrats have managed in years.

Also just nice to see the state party really embrace and get behind an outspoken progressive on a statewide ballot instead of pretending they can win by running milquetoast moderates.

Pretty real

Spoken like guy who tried to take another man’s pants off in front of children. https://t.co/6URv6vusq8

— Rep. Gloria Johnson (@VoteGloriaJ) September 5, 2023

"When they go low, we go down low."

lol yeah that Faison guy famously had a meltdown at a referee at a high school basketball game and did indeed try to pull the ref's pants down on the court. It was all filmed, of course.

(he's a member of the GOP House leadership team, naturally)

an unsuccessful pantsing

How Marsha Blackburn ended up in the Senate is baffling to me. She's stupid and vicious, and, well, never mind, I just answered my own question.

Read that as “Failson”

^^^^could be an important campaign nickname

someone was joking the other day about starting a band called Rhonda Santis, and although everyone laughed i couldn't help but think it would be a long-expired reference by the time any music actually got performed, and desantis is just on his way out.

i wonder if he fucked up badly enough to lose his florida gig too?

We floated Rhonda Santis on here a few months ago but it was deemed bad and wrong.

xp Dems'd presumably have to run someone other than Charlie Crist, for starters

SOTO, OR GTFO

SOTOMENTUM

Clinton Tyree is tanned, rested and ready.

WHO LET THE SOTOGS OUT

i'd buy a zine of interviews with people who got RBG tattoos after she died

https://i.imgur.com/VE3TnE9.png

Forever 666

the executive of my department has an RBG travel mug. god, why cant i just quit my job and mass produce dumb shit that stupid people want to buy?

If you will it, it is no dream.

dumb shit? mugs are very useful things! I use one every day.

A survey of media coverage over the past 24 hours shows that the extraordinary RICO indictment of over 60 protestors opposing the creation of a “police training” facility in Atlanta has been met with conspicuous silence by several major media outlets, namely MSNBC, CNN, The Washington Post, CBS News, ABC News, and NBC News.

From Adam Johnson substack

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/09/06/atlanta-cop-city-rico-racketeering-indictment/

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/us/cop-city-atlanta-indictment.html
https://apnews.com/article/atlanta-cop-city-protests-rico-charges-3177a63ac1bd31a1594bed6584e9f330
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/61-indicted-racketeering-charges-georgia-stop-cop-city-movement-rcna103561
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/06/us/cop-city-protesters-indicted-rico/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66732274

I think when people say things like that what they really mean is "It's not blowing up my timeline." Which it probably isn't, because it's a somewhat esoteric local issue as far as most of the country/world is concerned. (I mean, I think it's big important news because of the clearly dangerous use of RICO to try to shut down a protest movement. But I'm not surprised most people don't find it gripping.)

He mentioned no Washington Post article in email sent earlier today, and Washington Post article got posted today possibly after his email

Very odd that a substack writer who mostly comments on media was able to get his piece up a few minutes before the outlets who probably had to contact sources and such

President Joe Biden’s Interior Department on Wednesday will cancel oil drilling leases that the Trump administration sold in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, according to two people knowledge of the plan.

feels like this back & forth has been happening my entire adult life

We floated Rhonda Santis on here a few months ago but it was deemed bad and wrong.

― Beyond Goo and Evol (President Keyes), Wednesday, September 6, 2023 11:16 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

lol I see a band is coming to Madison that is called "Ritt Momney", wtf is this trend

do people really think DeSantis has no political future? kinda seems that way right now but I won't get my hopes up.

Rauner isn’t the only former mega-DeSantis donor who’s refused to open his wallet for DeSantis. Of the 50 donors who gave at least $160,000 in the years leading up to his 2022 reelection campaign, only 16 — less than a third — provided funds to the super PAC Never Back Down...

Big donors seem to recognize that he's a big pile of dogshit

How did anyone think a guy who started his guvner campaign with a commercial about being a stan for Trump was going to beat Trump?

could maybe see talking yourself into it when DeSantis won re-election by 15 points in 2022 and all the Trumpy folks massively underperformed, but yea even then a lot of political writers I trust were saying this guy was absolutely gonna flounder on the national stage

do people really think DeSantis has no political future? kinda seems that way right now but I won't get my hopes up.

― frogbs,

FOX commentator or Little League coach.

kissing hands and shaking babies is not his forte

Pretty certain he would absolutely crumble in the face of two baseball parents demanding to know why their kid was benched.

Rondell Santis

there's a two-part Behind the Bastards episode on him that just came out, haven't listened to the 2nd part yet but the 1st was pretty revealing. paints the guy as being ambitious and smart but also aloof in some very specific ways. one part that stuck out was him recounting his first job in his book, where apparently he became a conservative upon learning he had to buy OSHA approved work boots to become an electrician's assistant and considered that government overreach. you know, despite having proper boots actually being a really big deal if you want to not be electrocuted and that really what he should be mad about is his boss not providing them for him. the implication was he knows all this obviously but also is just retconning his whole story as grounds for a Presidential run (including referring to Yale as a socialist breeding ground - Yale!!)

also covered the torture stuff, god I hope all that comes out and becomes a bigger story

Too late!

several xxxps, but SWEET JEEBUS MELMO do I hate that thing where people are saying "the media isn't covering this" and then they link to freaking CNN or NYT or the Washington Post.

I actually like that phrase b/c it immediately tells you someone isn't worth listening to

think what they actually mean is "I didn't see it on Twitter or Reddit"

I've learned that Adam Johnson, while <on our side> employs the same rhetorical techniques, as, say Taibbi

Adam Johnson is fucking tedious tbh

yeah one of those journalists I instantly ignore, the list of which is getting longer every year

Wonder how this works for Texas women... if they travel to another country rather than another state:

Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled to federally decriminalize abortion on Wednesday, finding that the current ban on the procedure is unconstitutional.

“The First Chamber of the Court ruled that the legal system that penalizes abortion in the Federal Criminal Code is unconstitutional, since it violates the human rights of women and people with the capacity to gestate,” the Supreme Court said on social media.

Clearly, the next right-wing priority will be a border wall between the United States and Mexi-- WAIT A MINUTE

What's the stop Planned Parenthood from setting up new clinics in Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Juarez, etc.?

it’s a US organization (two, really in that the action/lobbying fund has solicited more donations despite their failures) and not a licensed mexican medical practitioner network

the contraction and consolidation of PP across the midwest was already a catastrophe before recent years. to some extent, Plan B being otc along with some other landmark changes seemed to change things

my man

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) had some blunt words for Republicans who are pushing to impeach President Joe Biden: It’ll bite you in next year’s elections.

“Go ahead. Do it, I dare you,” Fetterman said during an interview with a handful of reporters in his Capitol Hill office on Wednesday. “If you can find the votes, go ahead, because you’re going to lose. It’s a loser.”

“It would just be like a big circle jerk on the fringe right,” the senator added. “Sometimes you just gotta call their bullshit. If they’re going to threaten, then let’s see it.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-impeachment-john-fetterman_n_64f8df8de4b0d44852edd611

more of that, please

ask and you shall receive https://www.businessinsider.com/john-fetterman-jd-vance-silly-performance-mask-mandates-rail-safety-2023-9

oldie fetterman that i missed

On NBC, John Fetterman was asked about Trump’s legal challenges.

“The president can sue a ham sandwich. He can send a thousand lawyers to Pennsylvania, but it’s not going to change...the fact of the matter is that every one of these ballots in play that’s going to be counted today, for the rest of the day, has been lawfully received, and going to be counted, and they’re all going to skew in Joe Biden’s favor," Fetterman said.

I like bald-sexy Fetterman.

it violates the human rights of women and people with the capacity to gestate

damn welcome to the resistance, mexico supreme court

JOEMENTUM

And same-sex marriage will still be available there when SCOTUS inevitably overturns Obergefell

Good morning

Haley has been talking about a blind "Democratic strategist" quote about her electability for weeks - this poll showing her leading Biden outside MOE will probably replace that, much more useful https://t.co/58NRlPmTZu

— David Weigel (@daveweigel) September 7, 2023

that poll Kornacki is referring to does uhhh not seem accurate

ban polls imo

One thing I would say is very accurate: Ramaswamy truly is that unlikeable

A note, based on the number of comments I'm seeing about the GOP "oversample" in the CNN/SSRS poll: It doesn't mean what many are assuming here -- that the numbers above reflect a heavily/ridiculously slanted pro-GOP pool. In this case, the oversample....

— Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki) September 7, 2023

xp

538 gives SSRS a C+

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/pollster-ratings/
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/pollster-ratings/ssrs/

with about a 2.5 point "bias" toward overestimating democrats

CNN poll still relying on 1200 old people with landlines.

Who are also far more likely to vote than kids, et al

state polls much more useful than national polls, but not at this point of the race. state polls come early 2024 muhc more useful in painting electoral map

I mean I don't think I'm in denial here, the GOP has been doing poorly in every recent election, the economy/job market is doing fine, Trump has been indicted 4 times, there's no way that's accurate

its also still 2023 so I assume these polls are meaningless anyway

xposts those of us who don't have X accounts can't read the rest of that thread.

exactly xpost

IMO we should only post links to websites that hide their articles behind paywalls

In this economy?

Help the aged crumbling trad media.

we need more phone photos of screens showing articles posted behind paywalls

here we go, here's the internet in 2023, now we don't have to pay for anything

https://i.imgur.com/GpAaORf.jpg

that's right my screen is dirty. i can't clean it because of inflation

IMO we should only post links to websites that hide their articles behind paywalls

― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Thursday, September 7, 2023 10:42 AM (twenty-four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

https://12ft.io/ is a great resource imho

when you bypass a paywall, you are entering COMMUNISM

that's Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism, sir

I am afraid I cannot endorse the use of 12ft, as the existence of the Atlantic and Wall Street Journal paywalls have been great boons to civilization and human understanding. Reading that shit makes you stupider, and anything that makes it more difficult is good.

I just tried using 12ft on an NYT story and it said "disabled for nyt" so pbbbbttttthhh

https://archive.ph tbh

my chromebook has a pretty decent paywall bypasser that just looks at recently archived versions of the article.

love u boo

DeSantis explodes at man who blames him in racist mass shooting in Jacksonville: “That is nonsense!”

story tk pic.twitter.com/Rva1uqoUYc

— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) September 7, 2023

That man was Baker acted!

I thought that might mean some kind of crisis actor, but it's a reference to a law that...zzzzzzz

https://www.looper.com/img/gallery/the-top-doctor-who-stories-of-the-tom-baker-era/intro-1610408422.jpg

I just tried using 12ft on an NYT story and it said "disabled for nyt" so pbbbbttttthhh

― I Wanna Find an ILXor That'll Flag My Last Post Till I Have To Go (WmC), Thursday, September 7, 2023 11:41 AM (eighteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I use it to read the Kenosha News! Lolsobbbbppppthhhh

Here’s a good primer on how DeSantis has been lucky despite having no political or social skills: https://open.substack.com/pub/ettingermentum/p/ron-desantis-was-always-doomed-to

pron desantis lol

lmao

I don’t give a damn about polls at this point. There is no campaign yet.

— Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) September 7, 2023

Trigger warning if this asshole makes you want to punch someone:

Me: "Did you not make 750,000 dollars?"
Vivek Ramaswamy: "Not at the time I had applied for the [Soros] scholarship."
Me: "Yes you did Vivek. This is awkward for you because you did. I've got the tax returns in front of my face."#receipts

New clip 😉👇🏽pic.twitter.com/xkFSwIeCne

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) September 7, 2023

"If"? "Someone"?

I meant punch someone other than him that might be standing near you, just in case this sends you flailing in rage.

Hasan is MSNBC's best interrogator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqLjBJPi1Jw

12ft worked reliably most everywhere for a long time but lots of places are finding ways of keeping it from working.

It doesn't work on WaPo which is really annoying since I don't want to pay them any money. I do pay NYT already but I do that primarily for access to their cooking site.

Peter Navarro (what an asshole *that* guy is) unanimous contempt of congress guilty verdict is in. Granted, his defense barely made a defense, and fellow guilty congressional scofflaw Steve Bannon has yet to face justice. But still.

lol Navarro's lawyer called his client's loss "an important step in the direction of a successful appeal." That's one way of looking at it.

NYT and WaPo can be read by disabling javascript.

Archive.ph is the best way to circumvent paywalls that I've found. For a while, I used Pocket, but it doesn't work with some sites.

Is this “yo, Joe Biden is super OLD, dawg” week in the media or something

It doesn’t help to have Mitch glitching out

Glitch McConnell

Lil' Glitchy McConnell

pelosi's passing the torch on to the next generation sometime in the future, for now running for re-election in 2024

does that have a big impact when she is no longer in a leadership position?

Presumably she's around to unofficially whip

nah, i'm just kinda lightly burning her. i guess she'll hold onto the house seat as long as humanly possible, feinstein/mcconnell style

she also seems far more lucid than a lot of other politicians in her age bracket

jfc sounds awesome

this sucks, but it's perhaps a sign that she thinks dems are going to retake the house in 2024.

I was about to post the same thing.

Jeffries will be speaker, though.

"Unofficially whip"... sounds kinky

Pelosi is a big fundraiser for the party, regardless of whether she's handing over leadership (which she is).

Pelosi is a big fundraiser for both parties.

Republicans will assuredly demonize any prominent Democrat leader and then use that to fundraise. The more effective the leader, the more the Republicans will insist they are Satan incarnate. Pelosi just fills that slot atm.

Hey, I got no prob with it, they can waste all the time they want calling her the devil. Speaking of time wasters, the Mike Lindell deposition footage in here is absolute gold:

I keep tabs on a lot of the lawsuits filed after the 2020 election. Yesterday, I noticed a new filing in former Dominion exec Eric Coomer's defamation suit against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

Coomer filed a motion for sanctions against Lindell, because Lindell has been… pic.twitter.com/N80tzSlmPB

— Chris Dehghanpoor • chrisd9r.bsky.social (@chrisd9r) September 8, 2023

I managed to get through a couple of those video clips -- winning sanctions against that gibbering asshole will be pretty easy imo.

I did appreciate it as a preview of what could befall Trump. Even setting aside the combative self-defeating bluster, what seemed to irritate him the most was just having to be there to answer questions. It doesn't matter how much money you have, you have limited time, and fighting off several civil and criminal lawsuits at once takes up a lot of your time.

I watched too many of those. I don't know how I'll sleep at night without a my pillow

No luck for Meadows.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/09/joe-biden-2024-election

well this is kinda fucked up

https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe9d3cdf4-1c01-491c-9588-3f380bfb2cbf_1232x942.png

the NYT wrote a long story about it. No surprise.

We’re a few years away from Republicans going full Khmer Rouge Year Zero and murdering people who have glasses

Make America Blind Again

Looking forward to Blue Oyster Cult becoming relevant again with the "(Don't Fear) The Reader" public service announcement campaign.

The "If Books Could Kill" guys just reviewed God and Man at Yale by WF Buckley Jr. It's surprising (not really) how little the conservative gripe against higher education has changed since then. It really boils down to, "They are teaching ideas that do not conform exactly to mine."

The other thing is that the anti-intellectualism of the fascist (that’s what conservatives are to me now, sorry not sorry) campaign against universities is that it is coming at a time of crisis for universities that has little to do with any of their gripes with the university. But because the university is in crisis, they can claim that as a mantle for destroying the university.

(Fwiw, the crisis in universities is caused by the current labor market, a population collapse in college-age students, and an increasing reliance on third-party educational models within the university system).

blech, i am tired, apologies for grammar in that post

Hofstadter is rolling over in his grave

(Not at your grammar, tabes, xp et al)

(Fwiw, the crisis in universities is caused by the current labor market, a population collapse in college-age students, and an increasing reliance on third-party educational models within the university system).

And also by fairly large drops in public funding of public universities since the '80s, which fueled the tuition run-ups and concomitant rises in student loan debt etc.

Yeah, but I sort of take that as a given at this juncture— like many things , the affordability crisis in public education is one caused by conservatives, which then allows them to conveniently claim the ineffectiveness (due to cost) of public education

What I have seen in my lifetime is universities adopting a for-profit business model as the preferred way for them to prosper.

Highly, highly recommend this entire 7-minute interview with a MAGA lady who's a City Council member in Franklin, Tenn., and is currently running for mayor. She posted an IG shot of a big group of (quite attractive) women who she claimed were some kind of Executive Women's Group from Franklin who are supporting her. But lots of women in the photo say they don't know she is, they don't support her, they don't live in Tennessee and the photo was taken in Chicago in 2016 when they were all brought together for a fashion shoot. Anyway, it's ... quite something. Her campaign manager is a treat, too.

https://x.com/NC5PhilWilliams/status/1701353220725932042?s=20

The resulting news story is here: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/appalled-women-say-maga-mayoral-candidate-ripped-off-their-images-to-claim-them-as-supporters

Oh, here's the embedded tweet:

MUST WATCH: This call from @HansonforMayor - asking about the pic she posted of "supporters" who say they don't know her - is one of the more unusual phone calls I've ever received.
Franklin, Tennessee, this is one of your candidates for mayor. (Details in story below.) https://t.co/WcG4lcPrG3 pic.twitter.com/ZMBscTk5gh

— Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) September 11, 2023

Talk about the brazen post-truth era ...

I love his glance at the camera when she says they’re running a “highbrow campaign.”

Franklin isn’t quite a podunk town either, it’s the county seat of the wealthiest county in the state, home to Marsha Blackburn, our governor, and bunches of batshit crazy millionaires.

Yeah I love that she says “highbrow” twice and both times you can tell she’s reaching for another word but can’t find it.

You know the Constitution tells us we can lie on social media

Also some great Karen-ing where she starts accusing him of stalking them

I know, in like 15 seconds they invent this entire scenario where he's going to be following her to every brunch and peeping over the buffet.

... good morning?

I am directing our House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Over the past several months, House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct—a culture of corruption. https://t.co/3uoDlUB3Sy

— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) September 12, 2023

yes!

Impeached for raising a failson

Today is the day Joe Biden won re-election

https://x.com/atrupar/status/1701626938882756693?s=20

that's hot stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B6ck7O6BBU

this Senate hearing is truly beyond parody pic.twitter.com/YTG1KsImF5

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 12, 2023

amazing

Please allow me to enter into the public record these explicit passages that should not be made available in a public library for fear someone might discover them. Also, check out the unit on Hunter Biden, let's show America the guy's shameful bits while we investigate his father in hopes of finding some evidence to justify investigating him.

well there's a clip that's going to live in online infamy for the next 3 decades

strong Sen. Tankerbell energy there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m9Fv9O6AnU

What are the odds that Senator Kennedy is big time into pegging?

Cool, more wasted taxpayer money!

Wasn't there a New Yorker profile of Kennedy (for some reason) that implied/stated the hokum was all a cynical act?

i've long thought that he was a contender for the dumbest person in congress. i don't think it's an act. somehow he got a law degree, so he must have a lot of perseverance, but there is absolutely nothing going on up there

yeah he acts like a country bumpkin but I believe he's ivy league edumacated

the real cynics are the white voters in mississippi who keep voting a permanently drunk sober guy into office

Wasn't there a New Yorker profile of Kennedy (for some reason) that implied/stated the hokum was all a cynical act?

From Wikipedia:

Kennedy was born in Centreville, Mississippi, and raised in Zachary, Louisiana. He graduated from Zachary High School as co-valedictorian in 1969. He then attended Vanderbilt University, where his interdepartmental major was in political science, philosophy and economics. He graduated magna cum laude.

At Vanderbilt, Kennedy was elected president of his senior class and named to Phi Beta Kappa. He received a Juris Doctor in 1977 from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was an executive editor of the Virginia Law Review and elected to the Order of the Coif. In 1979, he earned a Bachelor of Civil Law degree with first class honours from Oxford University, where he was a member of Magdalen College and studied under Rupert Cross and John H.C. Morris.

Yeah, Kennedy went to Vanderbilt and UVA, but the point still stands. I think politics has done more to damage the reputation of an Ivy League education than just about anything else. Ted Cruz (Princeton and Harvard), Josh Hawley (Stanford and Yale), DeSantis (Harvard and Yale), etc. I believe Trump's cabinet had more Harvard grads than Obama's.

https://x.com/calltoactivism/status/1701653088002527700?s=46

Yeah, Kennedy went to Vanderbilt and UVA, but the point still stands.

He went to Oxford! That's not Oxford, Mississippi. The Foghorn Leghorn act is easily one of the phoniest things in a legislative body made up almost entirely of phonies.

And speaking of phony performative bullshit...Fetterman has exactly the right response to Kevin McCarthy.

.@SenFettermanPA reacts to Speaker McCarthy moving forward with a House impeachment inquiry into POTUS…

(Just watch) pic.twitter.com/jg3aeyDW7F

— Liz Brown-Kaiser (@lizbrownkaiser) September 12, 2023

"He graduated magna cum laude"

ban this filth!

Biden's "impeachment" making the rounds today, though as expected the media isn't putting in their headlines that it's based on basically nothing

Fetterman rules. It's like, that is who I assume Trump supporters see in their mind, They Live style.

I know this isn't news, but I do kind of enjoy how conservatives so reliably do exactly the things they (mostly falsely) accuse libs of. Like, Clarence Thomas is the single worst example of the kind of blatant tokenism that conservatives pretend affirmative action is/was about. And impeaching/prosecuting political opponents for purely political purposes is not what the scandals around either Nixon or Trump were about, but very much what the impeachment of Clinton and investigation of Biden is about.

Whether or not Kennedy is cosplaying, having a law degree from an Ivy is no guarantee you aren’t dumb as a box of rocks though. These institutions exist to launder the idiot kids of the ruling class into our new idiot ruling class.

yeah, in the UK we have got used to the idea that little rich brats who get educated in elite institutions are more often than not, thick as fucking pigshit.

In America we love our elites.

well I wasn't suggesting that, but more commenting on the incredulity that someone who graduated from such fine institutions could be so thick and therefore it must be an act.

"Leah Hallway" my new display name

That Franklin interview is absolutely wild!

"Leah Hallway" i am CRYING

store brand Loleatta Holloway IMO

"Is that...." incredulously... "spelled H A L L W A Y?"

also her friend called you eight times. Jenna... Jennersonden

No we can't call her now, she's probably at work

campaign fibs are exactly what the First Amendment was created to protect

I love how the campaign manager can't decide if she's doing an interview or just berating this guy. she keeps switching back and forth between the two poles

The (anonymous) senator said even if the House did vote to impeach Biden after an inquiry, there is no way the Senate, controlled by Democrats, would vote to convict.

“Fortunately, it’ll be dispensed with fairly quickly if they ever send articles of impeachment over to us,” the GOP senator said. “We know how this is going to end. It just creates tumult within the conference. I can see it already how people are going to react when they send a message over if they go that far.”

not sure what the plan is here, other than McCarthy just trying to preserve his speakership.. but by all means, have at it

Probably Romney.

There was some insider talk that McCarthy is doing this to secure enough batshit votes to avoid a shutdown, which is probably why Gaetz is going off.

What a dealmaker!

reaching across the aisle in style

"I want to go on record that I proudly voted for this doomed time-wasting failure!"

lol @ fetterman

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/lauren-boebert-removed-beetlejuice-buell-theatre-denver/

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts says it had to remove two guests from "Beetlejuice" at the Buell Theatre for violating theater policies.

It won't say who it kicked out but Boebert says she was one of those people, tweeting "It's true, I did thoroughly enjoy the AMAZING Beetlejuice at the Buell Theatre and I plead guilty to laughing and singing too loud!"

I read she was kicked out for vaping and causing a disturbance. In the CCTV video of her being escorted out of the video you can vaguely lipread a bunch of "Don't you know who I am?"

Lauren Boebert, well-known patron of the Denver arts community

In the CCTV video of her being escorted out of the video you can vaguely lipread a bunch of "Don't you know who I am?"

lmfao

“I do, sadly.”

Yeah, it's pretty clear everyone knows who she is, and is loving that she's leaving.

If you look in a mirror and say "Boebertjuice" three times, her ex-husband appears and shows you his dick.

Heckler: “Leave and get the fuck out of our country and get the fuck out of Iowa!”

2024 GOP candidate Mike Pence: “Thank you. I’m going to put him down as a maybe.” pic.twitter.com/lMTaeRSwjP

— The Recount (@therecount) September 13, 2023

Crack comic timing, that one.

Romney not running for re-election, you know they will elect someone 100x worse

are they 100x worse if they vote with Republicans 100% of the time vs 90%?

it's Utah, they're going to elect the exact same sort of dude as Romney for the next 10,000 years

The other Utah senator is actually a LOT worse than Romney. Maybe not 100x, but Lee is terrible.

Speaking of the Rom-man:

Mitt Romney sent this text to Mitch McConnell on Jan. 2, 2021:

"In case you have not heard this, I just got a call from Angus King, who said that he had spoken with a senior official at the Pentagon who reports that they are seeing very disturbing social media traffic regarding…

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 13, 2023

Romney sends his text: “In case you have not heard this, I just got a call from Angus King, who said that he had spoken with a senior official at the Pentagon who reports that they are seeing very disturbing social media traffic regarding the protests planned on the 6th. There are calls to burn down your home, Mitch; to smuggle guns into DC, and to storm the Capitol. I hope that sufficient security plans are in place, but I am concerned that the instigator—the President—is the one who commands the reinforcements the DC and Capitol police might require.”

McConnell never responds.

you know they will elect someone 100x worse

IDK, Utah's a weird place... there's the crazy 'sovereign citizen' cowboy LDS kooks, vs. the mild, polite SLC LDS suburbanites... doesn't SLC have a gay mayor or something like that?

Anyway, Senate is state-wide, so the population centers will decide who it is

Mormons, get breeding, stat!

Mormons can be a real mixed bag that fall outside the usual evangelical tropes... Romney knew he was in no real danger when he voted to impeach Trump, the Mormons weren't crazy about orange man

Romney's been as decent a senator as I could've expected from Utah; in their context he looks like Frank Church.

Entire Atlantic article is interesting:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/11/mitt-romney-retiring-senate-trump-mcconnell/675306/

Salt Lake City is a weird place, surprisingly diverse, lots of immigrants, an omnipresent religious group that somehow doesn't totally stifle secularism. But the Mormon church, like Romney himself, often says one thing but votes the other way. Some of the most friendly, empathetic, welcoming people I have ever known have been Mormons, but I suspect the more traditionally liberal among them lapse and leave.

On the day of my first visit, he showed me his freezer, which was full of salmon fillets that had been given to him by Lisa Murkowski, the senator from Alaska. He didn’t especially like salmon but found that if he put it on a hamburger bun and smothered it in ketchup, it made for a serviceable meal.

I know he's not really from Utah, but this seems so Utah. He probably microwaved the salmon too.

he could have just re-gifted it, but it's good to have extra salmon on hand for the End Times

https://i.imgur.com/yfp0vhe.png

“Biden is unable to lead on important matters and Trump is unwilling to lead on important matters,” Romney said.

This moron.

agree that confirms he is a moron

xp Pic shows them in between fighting over scoops of ketchup gelato.

There’s something very morbidly funny about the fact that towards the end of his Senate career, Romney preferred to work with colleagues he saw as sincerely insane over those who were cynically faking insanity pic.twitter.com/oymvrXKgRI

— Armand Domalewski (@ArmandDoma) September 13, 2023

NEVER FORGET

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and the state’s surgeon general are warning residents under age 65 against the new covid-19 booster, going against the advice of federal health officials who have recommended the shots.

In a call live-streamed on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo repeated comments made in a live event last week in Jacksonville, Fla., and argued there isn’t enough evidence that the booster’s benefits outweigh any risks. “I will not stand by and let the FDA and CDC use healthy Floridians as guinea pigs for new booster shots that have not been proven to be safe or effective,” DeSantis said in a statement after the call with Ladapo and other doctors, which opened with the title “No way FDA.”

--

president jenny mccarthy

Dr. Ron DeSantis

"As for you old timers who disproportionately vote for us, knock yourselves dead maybe why not."

Hunter Biden indicted on three federal gun charges

....charging him both with failing to disclose drug use when seeking to buy a weapon, resulting in two separate charges, as well as for unlawful possession of a firearm while addicted to a controlled substance.

such bullshit charges... I guess that's all they got

Months ago I saw somebody suggest that he plans to fight this charge on second amendment grounds. Right wing minds will explode.

All he needed to do was shoot a BLM protester and he'd be a right wing hero.

'the right to bear arms while totally strung out on gambler's dust shall not be infringed'

Yeah, I'm thinking how much traction will this get with a typical wing nut, I mean that gun is his God-given right!

Make him more of a hero, if nothing else.

also... it's based on the premise that an addict objectively knows he's an addict, which in my experience is not all that common.. "I got my shit together now, I've been clean for three days, time to buy a 9mm" is probably a more likely scenario

who hasn't done that for his country, I ask

I only feel safe in this country if Hunter is armed. his name is Hunter for god's sake.

I don't think Republicans will have any problem divorcing this indictment from the 2nd amendment in their minds. They might think it's bullshit that he had to fill out a federal form to buy a gun in the first place, but the fact that he lied on the form and has been known to smoke crack is enough to raise their performative outrage. It's like Bill Clinton's blowjob. They go after the lie on legal grounds and then publicize the hell out of the reason for the lie to garner public shaming on moral grounds. The legality of it only matters to them in as far as it hurts his dad's chances at reelection.

I mean, the guy's first name is HUNTER

Never forget that today's conservatives' only value is expedience. They won't have any issue condemning this dude for doing something that a non-negligible number of them have also likely done.

OTM. If you think there aren't conservatives out there addicted to both drugs and weapons purchases, think again. This is only their anger du jour because it's Biden's son.

Can't wait for the next editorial from a middle-aged or senior white man arguing that Biden should dump Harris from the ticket because she doesn't energize voters or add anything.

The lines this morning at @_HamptonU. @VP launches her “Fight For Our Freedoms” college tour today.

GO PIRATES!! ⚓️💙🤍 pic.twitter.com/YtqmVOG5t9

— Lilián Sánchez (@LilianSanchez46) September 14, 2023

Ooooohhh, this must drive their legislature absolutely batty

Planned Parenthoods in Wisconsin will resume abortions on Monday 18 September, the organization announced on Thursday, after a prolonged legal battle over a Wisconsin 19th-century abortion law that has blocked abortions across the state.

The announcement that abortions will resume at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin clinics in Milwaukee and Madison comes months after a judge ruled that a 1849 law does not apply to what she called “consensual abortions”. Instead, the law bans people from committing feticide, or killing a fetus, usually “by assaulting and battering the mother”, the Dane county judge Diane Schlipper wrote in her July ruling.

“There is no such thing as an ‘1849 Abortion Ban’ in Wisconsin,” Schlipper ruled.

xpost

Yeah I mean, I am not a Kamala stan but I feel like the prevailing "Kamala is super unpopular" take never gets around to asking WHY the highest-ranking Black female officeholder in American history gets such low likability marks in polls. It's just taken as a given that she's "not relatable" or whatever.

A lot of shit going on in Wisconsin right now. Planned Parenthood can resume business, but the GOP is trying to impeach the newly elected (and majority-deciding) Dem Supreme Court justice, and they just fired (probably illegally) the top nonpartisan election official, who as I understand is pretty well liked ... except by election deniers. Plus the GOP tried to get the (Dem) gov to approve some shitty compromise gerrymandered election map before the court has a chance to clean it up. Fucking GOP, buncha assholes

re: the Hunter Biden second amendment thing, it's obviously trolling on the right wing side? people want to put more restrictions on gun buying/ownership and they're trotting out one of the obvious things that would be restricted to do a stupid "oh, but it's ok when your guy does it?" thing to make liberals look like hypocrites

Government shutdown in t-minus 16 days.

Instead of crying about how I dress, how about you get your shit together and do your job, bud? https://t.co/97vQMURDZX

— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) September 14, 2023

Gaetz's classic I-done-shit-in-ma-pants expression

"the evidence against joe biden is so overwhelming, we can't even show it to you"

I keep thinking Gettr is Grindr

Is Wisconsin still something of a GOP lab state for seeing just how fast and how far they can radicalize a swing state?

The evidence speaks for itself, and it will have to

xpost From my vantage WI seems to be maybe tilting back to blue, or at least more purple, a proper swing state, with the radical GOP factions doing their best to stop it from going the way of Michigan or Minnesota. I mean, they have a Dem governor, one Dem senator, the supreme court just went blue with overwhelming support, etc. This all seems like the state GOP doing all it can to try and fuck things up, short of actually winning.

I want to put a bet on the first act of violence to take place on the capitol floor in 170 years is not lauren bobert shooting her own foot off but Fetterman dropping the people's elbow on gaetz

one can hope

prefer the former tbh

Too bad Hunter is Joe’sson. He’d make a perfect GOP Congressman.

Is Wisconsin still something of a GOP lab state for seeing just how fast and how far they can radicalize a swing state?

― 50 Best Fellas (Eric H.), Thursday, September 14, 2023 4:05 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

As a relatively recent transplant to the Badger state, there is a definite feeling the end of R dominance is possible and perhaps approaching. Josh mentioned the statewide offices the Ds hold and the Supreme Court victory. I would also say the grassroots of left/liberal ppl have slowly built back since the losses of the early Walker era. His failures (Foxconn chief among them) provided the spark.

Also the Rs are acting like cornered animals right now and there's no guarantee they won't survive by destroying even more.

Manitowoc, which I used to live in, was definitely fairly conservative (though we've always had Dem mayors), but I'm now in a place about 20 miles south and it's way different. especially downtown which is like its own little Madison

Kenosha has a slowly reviving downtown too. D mayors, local reps etc but the broader county is much more red.

Is Wisconsin still something of a GOP lab state for seeing just how fast and how far they can radicalize a swing state?

― 50 Best Fellas (Eric H.), Thursday, September 14, 2023 4:05 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Depends what you mean. If "radicalize a swing state" means "make it a state that votes fairly strongly Republican at the state level" like Florida or Texas, then no, that hasn't happened. If "radicalize a swing state" means "make it a state administered by right-wing principles in the service of right-wing goals DESPITE the votes of the people who live there," then, yeah, they're true innovators (though as we're seeing right now this process is in no way waterproof.) Not just this nonsense now but e.g. the practice of various agency board members appointed by Republicans simply refusing to vacate their seats at the end of their terms, and the GOP-run Supreme Court declaring they have the legal authority to vote on policy because the GOP-run state senate refuses to confirm their appointed successor.

otm

may have mentioned this in another thread, but my uncle is one of those asshole WI GOP legislators working on this.

xpost From my vantage WI seems to be maybe tilting back to blue, or at least more purple, a proper swing state,

The idea that Wisconsin, a state whose Democratic governor is enjoying his second term, where the GOP has won one presidential race in decades and that by a tiny margin, and where there's only been one Republican senator in the last 30 years (and that guy just managed to almost lose as an incumbent to a 32-year-old black progressive) was ever RED is just not it. It is and HAS BEEN a purple state, which people outside think is red because a ridiculous gerrymander has created a legislature that can act as it pleases without fear of political consequences from the majority of Wisconsinites.

Sorry if I sound mad about this or something.

100% correct and I can't think of any Wisconsin R who's particularly liked here. everyone pretty much knows what they're up to.

If "radicalize a swing state" means "make it a state administered by right-wing principles in the service of right-wing goals DESPITE the votes of the people who live there," then, yeah, they're true innovators (though as we're seeing right now this process is in no way waterproof.) Not just this nonsense now but e.g. the practice of various agency board members appointed by Republicans simply refusing to vacate their seats at the end of their terms, and the GOP-run Supreme Court declaring they have the legal authority to vote on policy because the GOP-run state senate refuses to confirm their appointed successor.

And I apologize if any Minnesota smug crept in there; I am reasonably certain DFL is going to pay a price for their last term here

NEW: GOP Rep Lauren Boebert denied vaping during a Denver Center for the Performing Arts musical before being kicked out Sunday. @Marshall9News got the video. Take a look. #copolitics pic.twitter.com/VtT67Vn4L9

— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) September 15, 2023

This is like some kind of hat trick of trashiness

Isn't Wisconsin where the state legislature is trying to impeach the new Supreme Court justice before she decides a single case or does, well, anything?

yeah but she looks shifty

Boebert video reminds me of the time I politely asked a couple next to me at a movie if they could be a little quieter. They were completely wasted. The guy was like "oh, sorry" and his girlfriend was shoving him and telling him to fight me. This was a theater where you could get food/drinks delivered to your seats, and the poor wait staff had to nearly shake them to wake them up to pay the bill after the movie ended because they were passed the hell out

Was this couple also Boebert and her dude?

Yeah, I've also sat next to the Pelosis at the movies.

Were they drunk too?

btw the kicker is that this was on valentines day and the movie was Deadpool

"oh, I can go to the movies alone tonight and I'm sure this one won't be busy because it's not really a couples movie"

ten minutes later:
"I have made a critical mistake"

😖

Isn't Wisconsin where the state legislature is trying to impeach the new Supreme Court justice before she decides a single case or does, well, anything?

― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, September 15, 2023 2:57 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

There is a lot of talk, but so far no action, about this. At least one R Assembly member has come out against it. The real devious fuckery is they want to impeach but not try her, so her seat will not be able to be filled by appointment by the governor, who is a D.

Texas AG and genuine criminal Ken Paxton acquitted on all charges in his impeachment trial.

I just saw that. Cleared by the state Senate. I am shocked, shocked.

I believe the criminal indictments are still pending.

I have been told many times that Texas has laws, but I remain unconvinced.

They do have one, the law of the boot on the neck.

I'm weirdly surprised by this even though I shouldn't be. What a bunch of bullshit.

https://x.com/atrupar/status/1703403198067732940?s=46&t=z1egexpHAtHcPPxgbp4Hrw

"I have been told many times that Texas has laws, but I remain unconvinced.'

This story seems like something out of a Billy Jack movie.

https://www.insider.com/coffee-city-texas-speed-trap-shuts-down-entire-police-force-2023-9

if you want to see some truly nutty townlines, google maps Coffee City

There is a region of wackadoodle fly-by-night municipalities in St. Louis County (Mo.) near the airport.

Places where, like, the mayor is also the chief of police, and happens to also own a strip club, and the city council is made up of his two brothers and a dog.

Anyway my ex-brother-in-law got into serious legal trouble in one of these places - drunk driving, totaled car.

But by the time he was supposed to show up to court the town's government had dissolved in acrimony, the two people who ran the town weren't on speaking terms, and all record of the case had somehow vanished.

Will Hunter go to prison ?https://t.co/NszkOpKUQV

— Alan Dershowitz (@AlanDersh) September 18, 2023

who's Will Hunter

Matt Damon?

https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1703767304813641728/AVGFz7V-?format=jpg&name=large

He looks like a South Park or Rick and Morty character or something like that. California Raisin?

Anyway, this story was really well written, I thought, and heartbreaking. Should be a gift link:

https://wapo.st/45SQq7V

Her students reported her for a lesson on race. Can she trust them again?

Mary Wood’s school reprimanded her for teaching a book by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Now she hopes her bond with students can survive South Carolina’s politics.

"Class, some of your had a problem with our last book. I hope you like our new text better."

https://yesterdaysmuse.cdn.bibliopolis.com/pictures/2312507.jpg?auto=webp&v=1644904725

Dershowitz' mouth indistinguishable from an asshole

https://static1.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/pan-s-labyrinth-guillermo-del-toro.jpg?q=50&fit=contain&w=480&h=&dpr=1.5

Dershowitz' mouth indistinguishable from an asshole

― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm

hey now I've fucked plenty of puckier mouths

I don't try to make too much fun of anyone's appearance, but I'm often reminded that our species only very recently got to get that fucking old

Calling all teen girls!

I dress like you predict https://t.co/TDScsGCi2k

— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) September 18, 2023

God, I hope he stays healthy (Fetterman, not Dershowitz)

If shitting on nate silver is what fetterman has to do for his mental health then i think nate-o is just going to have to accept that

Short shameful confession: Right now this Federal government contractor would welcome a government shutdown. But this definitely falls under "Be Careful What You Wish For."

https://i.imgur.com/Oqa0Aly.gif

Given his current trajectory, I'm half expecting Nate Silver to show up on Trump's legal team.

It's pretty fun to watch Fetterman joyfully murk these people who have been calling him Brain Dead for the past year

keep in mind these people think he's a body double because he uhhh....grew a moustache

I like Fetterman but that's kind of a weak burn -- predicting is in fact the thing that Silver is authentically good at, and should probably have stuck to!

i have no idea what equivalences are also lemme interpret this poll 4 u

I like Fetterman but that's kind of a weak burn -- predicting is in fact the thing that Silver is authentically good at, and should probably have stuck to!

paywalled

that Fetterman tweet is very odd tbh

tbf I think Fetterman was getting really sick of seeing the false equivalencies between his clothing and Boebert's whole thing, at least he responded in a kinda funny way

It's all very moist in DC right now:

Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) lamented the time that he said was being wasted over a proposal that the Senate is almost certain to dramatically change. House Freedom Caucus members and other hard-right holdouts were focusing too much on the initial part of the budget negotiations, he said.

“Another aggravation with me in my own party is that we get caught up in the moment. And we’re not very good at thinking two or three moves from now,” Womack said. “You can’t claim victory on something that has no chance of becoming law. And I have likened it to wetting oneself. … You get a warm feeling that nobody knows.”

Yeah, I don't really get it on a joke level. Assuming it's intended as a burn, is Fetterman saying that he dresses poorly? That Nate Silver predicts casually?

Given his current trajectory, I'm half expecting Nate Silver to show up on Trump's legal team.

― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, September 19, 2023 9:43 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I found this Silver post about his personal politics insightful (if not surprising):
https://www.natesilver.net/p/not-everyone-who-disagrees-with-you

I'm not really interested in the defense of Fetterman's burn, I just thought it was a tossed-off joke implying that Silver predicts like Fetterman is accused of dressing - sloppily and lazily.

I'm pretty sure Fetterman is saying he dresses poorly. He made a similar jab at DeSantis

I dress like he campaigns https://t.co/IXgGmIRNb4

— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) September 18, 2023

It's not that funny, but I do enjoy even the most minor dunks on Silver.

Ron DeSantis, bringing thoughtfulness and dignity back to political discourse.

he's still going

I figure if I take up vaping and grabbing the hog during a live musical, they'll make me a folk hero. https://t.co/Tx6wTbWalJ

— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) September 19, 2023

that one was pretty good.

I was hoping for endless variants on the dress thing

"You play quarterback like I dress"

"You pre-heat your ovens like I dress"

"You give stock advice like I dress"

I kinda want him to never stop dunking on these people, even if it’s only mid-level funny

There was this one too

Thankfully, the nation's lower chamber lives by a higher code of conduct: displaying ding-a-ling pics in public hearings. https://t.co/a4sLQ7nSBL

— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) September 18, 2023

That's a good one.

Also, dunking on MTG for lack of decorum is low-hanging fruit.

Is he the first senator to use the phrase "grabbing the hog"?

"Take Up Vaping and Grabbing The Hog at A Live Musical" for October thread title

XP LBJ probably said it all the time.

https://historicimages.com/cdn/shop/products/RSH04443_1200x.jpg?v=1679497115

I'm hearing "Grabbin' the hog/Grabbin' the hog" in Rob Halford's voice

lol

XP Tommy James for me

Nate Silver’s politics and writing aren’t great!

on the other hand, he's a huge dork

also that!

Harvard Federalist Society:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F6W93nrWkAATymj?format=jpg&name=4096x4096

I have a feeling we will be seeing these faces again.

Coming soon to a Supreme Court near you

Found here. What is the current ILX policy/preference re: Twitter links?

Our board is excited for the year ahead! pic.twitter.com/2ckXfHPep0

— Harvard Federalist Society (@HarvardFedSoc) September 19, 2023

xxp so not gonna happen

very diverse group

One pipe bomb there would make a meaningful improvement in the world.

One of them has an Alito opinion tattooed on his ass

"very diverse group"

Old Money AND new money.

"Some of us didn't get ERAS tickets..."

Democrats regain PA house with single seat special election victory.

Surely they’ll find some way to lose control

Yeah, I saw someone joke that it feels like Dems have regained control of the PA House like five times in the last couple of years.

Tipsy, wtf is going on down there?

Controversial Franklin mayoral candidate Gabrielle Hanson, responding to questions raised by NewsChannel 5, posted a video Tuesday night in which she admitted to an arrest in Dallas in the mid-90s for promoting prostitution.

haha, she was a hooker booker. I had a friend who did that for a few years, then turned her bosses into the IRS when it turned out they withheld money for her taxes in her checks but didn't actually pay it.

cooking the hooker booker books

lol I think Gabrielle Hanson is going to discover she is too nuts even for Williamson County.

She could probably do better running in Sumner County: https://apnews.com/article/election-conspiracies-local-government-religion-republicans-tennessee-758307fb4856c91138c085ad70505841

ha

If those jagoffs in the House stop trying to shut our government down, and fully support Ukraine, then I will save democracy by wearing a suit on the Senate floor next week.

— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) September 20, 2023

we need more Senators willing to call the GOP jagoffs

Lollygaggers

Comments re 'make it a tan suit' OTM

it's kinda crazy to think that if Fetterman had an R next to his name he'd be a star of the republican party

President Biden’s aides have asked that Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, stop posting messages on social media taunting Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to administration officials. https://t.co/SvKpWeNRPc

— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 20, 2023

They need to speak to him in language he'll understand.

"Hey fuckface! Seems like you might still have too many fingers..."

man I love it when the writers start tying up all those storylines in the final season...

Former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson claims Rudy Giuliani groped her on day of attack on Capitol

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/20/politics/cassidy-hutchinson-book-rudy-giuliani/index.html

I wasn’t even vaguely shocked; of course he did.

We’ll see

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/20/bipartisan-mccarthy-bailout-talks-gaining-steam-thanks-to-house-chaos-00117179

so it's like 100% certain that Giuliani was gonna rape Borat's daughter

“This is a disgusting lie against Mayor Rudy Giuliani—a man whose distinguished career in public service includes taking down the Mafia, cleaning up New York City and comforting the nation following September 11th.”

"...and absolutely nothing after that! Seriously, don't look it up...any of it."

Would the gov shutdown have an effect on the trials of DJT? Probs a dumb question but I saw someone suggest that on that awful X site.

Not in Georgia or New York.

Good morning!

Lmao

https://x.com/johnfetterman/status/1704822743139521004?s=46&t=56pvpJvqL5GRtMdLh4N49g

Would DeSantis be doing better in the polls if he campaigned in a vintage Ed Hardy hoodie from 2006

Looking like Dane Cook won’t make him sound like Dane Cook

If New Jersey's turd of senator finally resigned, can the governor just appoint another Democrat?

"Over $480,000 in cash—much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe—was discovered in the home ... Some of the envelopes contained the fingerprints and/or DNA of" co-defendant making alleged bribes.

so New Jersey

xpost Yeah, and Menendez should also resign

As they say, not a good look:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F6oxI-nXQAAoMB1?format=jpg&name=large

did they have Day Day delivering this cash?

I texted my friend about this.

His response: “Yeah, that guy is a stain on the Democrats. Maybe he should change parties.”

My response: “I suspect he may be changing into an orange jumpsuit”

The Dems re-nominated Menendez after the last time he was indicted.

that ended up as a mistrial. he won the primary 2:1 on a miniscule turnout.

funniest outcome would be for Dr. Oz to run for that seat

There's an obvious replacement:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Menendez

Menendez is a sleaze, but he's a sleaze who gets shit done for NJ, and he shows up to all kinds of shit and helps people out. He'll keep winning elections as long as he wants to keep running. I predict jury nullification.

Too bad Paulie Walnuts is no longer with us.

Menendez is a sleaze, but he's a sleaze who gets shit done for NJ, and he shows up to all kinds of shit and helps people out. He'll keep winning elections as long as he wants to keep running. I predict jury nullification.

― read-only (unperson)

A Dem is governor. That's all that mattes.

*matters

From the "couldn't happen to a nicer guy" file, Politico has the knives out for lil' Ron:

‘Waiting for him to drop out’: DeSantis’ influence nosedives in Florida

Interviews with nearly two dozen lobbyists, political consultants and lawmakers revealed that DeSantis’ struggles as a presidential candidate have already eroded his influence in Florida. There is a widespread expectation that his candidacy will end in failure. His standing at home may depend on how long he slogs forward in the presidential campaign — and how he will manage his exit from the race if he eventually drops out.

Now, it may be just a matter of time before Florida Republicans, once unflinchingly loyal, seek distance from DeSantis and his hardball governing methods.

“You don’t get the assumption they are measuring drapes anymore — they are waiting for him to drop out,” one long-time Republican consultant in Tallahassee said of those working for the governor. The consultant, like others quoted in this story, was granted anonymity to freely discuss the sensitive situation.

...

DeSantis is one of Florida’s most powerful governors and has used his influence and sway over the past five years to transform politics in the state, including getting the Republican-controlled Legislature to bow to his agenda.

He reshaped the state’s education system by installing allies in top university positions and pushed legislation that limits how race and gender are taught. He endorsed dozens of K-12 school board candidates in the wake of the pandemic in an effort to help Republicans control all levers of state government. He’s used his power to suspend elected officials, including two Democratic prosecutors, while strong-arming his own party to approve congressional redistricting maps that favored Republicans.

He’s also known for his combative streak, willing to fight major corporations like the Walt Disney Co., Google and the cruise line industry.

But DeSantis’ troubles on the campaign trail have emboldened some in his party who are exhausted by his aggressive tactics. The state party last week rescinded a loyalty pledge that would have obligated the GOP primary candidates to endorse the eventual Republican presidential nominee, a stunning turnaround made at the behest of Trump supporters and against DeSantis’ wishes.

A major lobbyist in Tallahassee said: “There’s no love lost between the Legislature and DeSantis. ... They are faking it. They are waiting long enough to see the king drained of all his power. It’s a slow-motion coup.”

*opens mouth to suggest that florida didn't really have to deal with the man in the first place, if it didn't like him, but thinks better of it because everyone has guns there*

My mom’s idiotically right-wing best friend (lives in The Villages LOL) said a few months ago that she was glad RdS was running for Prez but sad he’d have to leave Florida to do so. Weep no more, lady!

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/-100-matt-gaetz-widely-expected-run-florida-governor-rcna105629

Because things can always get a little worse

Another martini, please.

Hard to think of anyone who exudes more negative charisma than DeSantis, but then Gaetz says "hold my beer."

Dallas mayor switches parties, parrots GOP rhetoric about how Democrats are destroying cities. I don't know this guy, is this a prelude to running for governor?

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/22/dallas-mayor-eric-johnson-republican/

doesn't sound like he's resigning

Indicted Sen. Bob Menendez issues statement saying, “Those behind this campaign simply cannot accept that a first-generation Latino American from humble beginnings could rise to be a U.S. Senator and serve with honor and distinction.” pic.twitter.com/bGDiGmC3y9

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) September 22, 2023

I hope they get to the bottom of who hid all that cash around his house.

"My enemies send me wads of cash. I welcome their hatred."

"the gold bars found in my garage represent not corruption, but a gold standard of integrity and fidelity to the rule of law."

Dallas mayor switches parties, parrots GOP rhetoric about how Democrats are destroying cities. I don't know this guy, is this a prelude to running for governor?

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/22/dallas-mayor-eric-johnson-republican🕸/

He needs to use the phrase "high-tech lynching."

Something tells me that Menendez's parentage and ethnicity are the main point, but good luck to him for trying to change the subject

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/21/kamala-harris-lead-office-gun-violence-prevention-00117497

lol, gold bars, the guy is a legend!

https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/1652942712.jpg

living the American Dream xpost

Dallas mayor switches parties, parrots GOP rhetoric about how Democrats are destroying cities

"i know I fucked up this city as a democrat, but I promise now that I'm a republican I'll do better" doesn't seem like a very good campaign message

whoa what the fuck is up with her pants? hey there Shakira

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNhriA2xq9E

"My enemies send me wads of cash. I welcome their hatred."

Mrs Menendez should be indicted for those jeans

What a loon

Neguse asks Clay Higgins if he thinks COVID is dangerous. Higgins says “I would put a virus along the lines of the flu far down my list of priorities that I would consider dangerous.” Neguse introduces an article titled “Clay Higgins: Covid almost killed me” pic.twitter.com/6kpAazq3lv

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 22, 2023

Clay Higgins seems like a guy that stared covid in the eye and shot it.

Benny Hill visited the WH?

Accused of man's laughter

Seems to be a thing lately to pretend to be a democrat, get elected and then switch.

One of the dynamics I think is underaddressed is how a lot of big (usually richer) cities are Dem heavy, so that any GOP types have to change party affiliation just to get considered. This happened here in Portland, too.

However, once you get in, local incentives are such that you either can or have to switch affiliations depending on party structures or one’s own ambitions.

It’s one of the many reasons why the vote-captured “blue no matter who” stans ain’t exactly promoting the best thinking.

Kingfish, Republicans in the District of Columbia routinely register as Democrats just to get a say in nominations. In DC the Democratic primary is the de facto election. The general election is an afterthought. And no one gives a single shit about it.

In contrast, Arlington County, Virginia (where I live) is as blue as can be, but the dynamic is different. Local candidates will run as "independent" but everyone knows that "independent" is just a code word for. "Republican." No one is fooled.

Come on lol pic.twitter.com/dLaDPcyziH

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) September 22, 2023

It's the age-old political riddle: which weighs more, a kilo of feathers or a kilo of gold bricks?

Searches for "how much is a kilo of gold worth" trending on Google.

A: A bit less than $62,000 at present.

Bobby if u have to ask

how did this happen to a Democratic Senator and not George Santos

Santos is googling the price of pyrite.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) on law enforcement finding thousands of dollars in cash in his closets:

“For 30 years, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account .. for emergencies and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba.” pic.twitter.com/1au7KwipeO

— The Recount (@therecount) September 25, 2023

smh lol

ok good thing i'm working from home today because that one made me full-on snort and laugh

surely he knows that the fbi can access the records of his personal bank accounts and compare his reported income to his visible spending

Where does one even *get* gold bars?

from the gold store!

https://x.com/merica/status/1706350474541105291?s=20

yeah you can buy gold online.

This guy will be incarcerated and STILL be blabbing this bullshit to anyone who will listen

I thought this was a dull attempt at satire at first, but it's true: Menendez gave $5000 to Fetterman's campaign in 2022, and Fetterman has committed to returning it...in envelopes full of https://www.thedailybeast.com/fetterman-ill-return-bob-menendez-donations-in-cash-envelopes00 bills.

(the dollar substitution strikes again)

NBC News: “The latest NBC News poll finds Rs with a 21-point advantage on which party better handles the economy, with 49% of registered voters picking the GOP and 28% picking Ds.

literally no examples of this being true but feelings

yeah its strange since it's clear the opposite is true, every time Republicans come into power they explode the defecit and crater the economy, and yet the Dems get the blame somehow

idk the DNC maybe should study this

But whenever a Republican is elected the stock market instantly goes up, in anticipation of tax cuts, anti-labor policies etc. It gives people the impression that the GOP is better for the economy.

youd think by now people would understand that all those benefits just go directly to the top with no kickbacks whatsoever to your average GOP voter but somehow these people care more about Elon Musk's finances than their own

Go ahead and try to convince a Trumper that the DJIA has been higher every single day of the Biden presidency than it was at any point under Trump. It's factually true (and, I know, relatively meaningless as an economic indicator), but even if you show them the chart they won't believe it.

I think the decades-old stereotype that Democrats spend recklessly and frivolously, while Republicans are more cautious and pragmatic, still carries a lot of weight. There are cultural values embedded in that belief that are hard for people to shake off.

My statement on Senator Robert Menendez. pic.twitter.com/h7WY9EWwUz

— Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) September 26, 2023

This seems like a big deal, I think?

Hopefully it portends more

Pelosi said last night he needs to step down.

Booker is the junior Senator from the same state, so it's a sign the state party has abandoned Menendez.

Good. I like his argument, too, that public officials should be held to a higher standard for the sake of the public trust, which is the same reason I think it was correct for Al Franken to step down.

It would shock me if this sack of shit resigns. To do so would admit his guilt.

Popehat is arguing that he'll likely hold onto resignation as a card he can play while negotiating his plea bargain.

I prefer when names are not provided for a few posts. Just in case I can identify t

But whenever a Republican is elected the stock market instantly goes up, in anticipation of tax cuts, anti-labor policies etc. It gives people the impression that the GOP is better for the economy.

?

Sorry my phone did that on its own. Unclear what it was thinking. Carry on.

Sorry my phone did that on its own. Unclear what it was thinking. Carry on.

New board description!

First sitting president to stand with striking workers. So which is it, Biden? Are you sitting or standing? Can't even get *that* right, huh?

fox news not reporting biden on the picket line or the FTC suing amazon because they know both are incredibly popular with their viewers.

Trump is gonna have to bust some scab skulls now if he wants to stay competitive in Michigan

My dude hasn’t really been relevant since Ally McBeal went off the air pic.twitter.com/g8xXpoUMuY

— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) September 26, 2023

Love to see Fetterman continue shitposting

Has anyone mentioned that the Supreme Court once again denied Alabama assholes using their BS map?

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused Alabama’s attempt to hold 2024 elections under a new congressional map judged to be an unlawful attempt to diminish the power of the state’s Black voters.

It was the second time in four months that the high court has sided with a three-judge panel that found that Alabama’s legislature probably violated the Voting Rights Act by failing to create a second congressional district where minority voters have a large enough share of the electorate to elect their candidate of choice. The state has seven districts, and its voting population is about 27 percent Black.

The court gave no reason for denying Alabama’s request, as is customary in emergency filings, and there were no noted dissents. But for those challenging the map, the order was seen as a blunt statement that Alabama public officials had not attempted to comply with the court’s earlier order.

Too blatant for Kav.

My mind still blown that an American president went to a picket line.

I saw that today... presumably the new map will be drawn by someone other than the GOP legislature? they had their chance

Nah, they'll get to keep taking swings at it until they find one that is juuuuuust subtle enough.

I saw that today... presumably the new map will be drawn by someone other than the GOP legislature? they had their chance

Odds are 50/50 that Alabama just says, "So send your troops down to enforce your verdict, then. Oh, you don't have any? OK, thanks for playing."

xxp The UAW has still not formally endorsed Biden, I think he wanted to seal the deal

It's worth noting that Trump will be appearing at a non-union parts plant in Detroit tomorrow

UAW may not have formally endorsed Biden, but I just saw a clip of their president absolutely kneecapping Trump.

Fain: I find the pathetic irony that the former president is going to have a rally for union members at a non-union business. His track record speaks for itself. In 2008 during the great recession, he blamed UAW members. pic.twitter.com/APRfKz3UHY

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 26, 2023

If Hank Hill was a militant labor organizer

presumably the new map will be drawn by someone other than the GOP legislature? they had their chance

― Andy the Grasshopper, Tuesday, September 26, 2023 1:57 PM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

yup:

In refusing to intervene, the high court allowed a court-appointed special master’s work to continue. On Monday, he submitted three proposals that would create a second congressional district where Black voters comprise a majority of the voting age population or close to it.

The redrawing of the state’s districts follows a June decision by the Supreme Court in which the state’s congressional map that was drawn to reflect 2020 census results was found to dilute the voting power of the state’s Black residents. The map, which was used in the 2022 midterm elections, had just one majority Black district out of seven seats in a state where Black residents make up more than a quarter of the population.

“This is a victory for all Americans, particularly voters of color, who have fought tirelessly for equal representation as citizens of this nation,” former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said of the decision.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall struck a defiant pose even as he acknowledged a court-drawn map will be “imposed” on the state for use in next year’s elections.

“There should be nothing more offensive to the people of our great state than to be sidelined in 2023 by a view of Alabama that is stuck in 1963,” Marshall, a Republican, said in a lengthy statement. “This racial agenda is pressed by left-wing activists, not just in Alabama, but in any Republican state where it might advantage Democrats.”

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-alabama-black-voters-redistricting-congress-66b1ae2f84a2a1e8352c983e7eb88387

That darn left-wing activist Supreme Court is at it again

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall was arrested at home in a pre-dawn raid for using "advantage" as a verb.

Speaking of activist judiciary, yet another Republican judge finds yet another drag ban unconstitutional: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/26/texas-drag-queen-law-unconstitutional/

i can't stand this stupid racist pos football coach

Why did @SenTuberville vote against the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs?

“I heard some things he talked about, about race and things that he wanted to mix into the military," he told @BloombergTV. "Our military is not an equal opportunity employer." pic.twitter.com/avFStO79Af

— David Gura (@davidgura) September 27, 2023

Golly, if this Alabama guy keeps saying ignorant and racist stuff like he's been saying, I'm going to have no choice but to assume he's an asshole.

Yeah what is he, sidelined in 2023 by a view that is stuck in 1963?

I got my first real klan hood/
Workin' at the A&P/
Wore it till my brains fell out/
Was the summer of '63

What's it like to be a woman in a red state who needs to get an abortion? Josh Barro and Ross Douthat drop by to explain.

— New York Times Pitchbot (@DougJBalloon) September 27, 2023

It sure is shocking that Alabama has a rich white racist senator who made his entire career off of unpaid Black labor.

They were paid in exposure.

Gee, I wonder where all Menendez's bribe money came from...

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/menendez-singlehandedly-blocked-bipartisan-effort-strengthen-law-regul-rcna117624

Menendez singlehandedly blocked a bipartisan effort to strengthen the law regulating foreign influence in Washington

The New Jersey senator, charged last week with accepting bribes, halted a 2020 proposal fueled by widespread concerns that foreign influence campaigns had successfully infiltrated American politics.

They developed valuable skills!

lol there's another GOP debate tonight? Why?

I did see a joke that the moderator should ask the candidates which of them loves Trump the most. That would be funny, to see them scramble to kiss ass.

They are all hoping he drops dead. Probably the only thing I have in common with them, tbh.

I almost expect Ramaswamy to start juggling kittens or something, anything to draw attention his way

It's so funny because the timing is perfect for them to attack Trump as a con man, crook and liar — since that's literally what a judge just said — but most of them are going to defend him.

The timing is never perfect for a Republican to attack the guy who three quarters of their party (and a higher percentage of primary voters) think is the subject of a witchhunt. They're all just running to either be VP or take over if he dies after a particularly strenuous bowel movement.

Just 11 adults are responsible for 60% of requests of ban books from school libraries nationwide, according to a Washington Post analysis of the 2021-2022 school year. https://t.co/DVi5zJN35S

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) September 28, 2023

I had to stop reading.

oddly, CNN is taking Comer's opening statement live but Fox News (and MSNBC) are not pic.twitter.com/v94j8Qgvlq

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 28, 2023

CNN is doing a great job

And it looks like this Federal government contractor is going to get her wish. As always, be careful what you wish for.

Saw a second of the "impeachment" hearings and it's really like watching kids play pretend.

It’s gonna be a fun 14 months, certainly.

humble request for non-paywalled version of article you posted JiC

Okay, got to it— I also had to stop reading. I don’t usually say such things, but that woman ought to have something terrible happen to her.

I was joking elsewhere that going from “We didn’t read books like this when I was a kid” to “I didn’t like to read as a kid” is reminding me of the alt-right dipshit who went from “We weren’t taught that Abe Lincoln was a republican!” to “I was homeschooled and it was not taught”

Petersen grew up hating books.

Says it all tbh. The rest of the story gives me the feeling she survived some abuse as a kid and her banhappy behavior is a result.

In case this didn’t get shared above, Warren and Markey are on the “resign, Bob” yeah

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/boston/news/robert-bob-menendez-senate-democrat-indictment-elizabeth-warren-resign/

(How “train” became “yeah” I don’t know)

humble request for non-paywalled version of article you posted JiC

― butt dumb tight my boners got boners (the table is the table), Thursday, September 28, 2023 12:13 PM (thirty-seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Gift article: https://wapo.st/3PDersL

Every single thing in that article suggests she wants teens to never learn about sex. Or young adults. Or anyone her age or anyone who falls on either side of her age.

maybe in her eyes sex is the most filthy, degrading & horrific human activity, which we'd all be better off locking away in some deep, dark dungeon and forgetting about forever.

sounds hot

sexy

I'd like to read a book about that dungeon

dungeons and dragbans

*applause*

needs ampersand

https://x.com/Acyn/status/1707450519801798726?s=20

soz

HAHA 😂 the reaction pic.twitter.com/gUvHVii22j

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 28, 2023

Needs more monocle popping out

well I always!

someone earlier pointed out that lady had posted some wacky right-wing stuff on her LinkedIn account as boomers tend to do

everything I've seen from this is Republicans getting clowned over and over but hey "Biden impeachment hearings" is in the news so mission accomplished I guess

Every single thing in that article suggests she wants teens to never learn about sex. Or young adults.

One of the many things that bothers me about current right-wing "protect the children" rhetoric is that they tend to not distinguish at all between the different age groups between 0 and 18. So they'll read some passage and be like, "This is inappropriate for children!" and make it sound like someone is reading All Boys Aren't Blue at kindergarten story time. It also contributes to this infantilization of young people, as if middle-schoolers and high-schoolers aren't fully functional intellectual individuals with a lot of questions and ideas and thoughts of their own but have to kept in bubblewrap right up to their 18th birthday. At which point they are presumably to be hastily married off.

I'm consistently reminded of a MST3K riff from The Creeping Terror, in which two old ladies chaperoning a teen dance party are made by Mike and the 'bots to muse:

"There is just plain no need for sex."
"We'd all be better off without it, dearie."

Omg wow this pic.twitter.com/fnYcAXzcNf

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 28, 2023

SHIT.

You mean SHITTER.

I think stuff like that is the best we can do in competition with how things seem to go down in colorful UK debate/insult club, but I'll take it. And stuff like this:

Moskowitz: As a former director of emergency management, I know a disaster when I see one pic.twitter.com/kKXNli3ByB

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 28, 2023

Another excellent use of a chart highlighting that Trump has 50% of the impeachments and 100% of the Presidential indictments pic.twitter.com/baQBXSzMcR

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 28, 2023

someone earlier pointed out that lady had posted some wacky right-wing stuff on her LinkedIn account as boomers tend to do

This was entered into evidence in the hearing

Krishnamoorthi points out that one of the GOP witnesses recently accused incendiary, conspiratorial right-wing content on her professional LinkedIn account, and displays the posts pic.twitter.com/ybyh1IH6kp

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 28, 2023

(And, sorry, I don't want to be the "look at our guys!" guy, but the GOP is just so comically inept it's well, funny. I'm not really watching this, but the GOP might as well be debating the color of the sky.)

i liked Moskowitz daring them to bring the vote

Similar

Casar: Will members of the oversight committee raise their hands if you believe both Hunter and Trump should be held accountable for any of indictments if convicted?

Democrats: *raises hands*

Republicans: pic.twitter.com/tZ8clpgW3c

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 28, 2023

Jane Curtin is definitely gonna get a call to play O'Connor on SNL this weekend

Woooooooooow.

When you lose Neil Cavuto

Cavuto: For the better part of six hours, I have been following these hearings, talk an hour off to do my fox business show earlier today. I don't know what was achieved… None or the witnesses provided any proof for impeachment pic.twitter.com/i9WSwwxJkE

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 28, 2023

What's funny is that Biden completely seems like one of those dads who would tell their kids "you do the crime, you do the time" as a warning to not break laws, but also completely believe it

goddamn that Jasmine Crockett lady rules

thank you guys for posting these videos. i can’t remember the last time i was so proud of congressional democrats! never maybe??

Must have gotten Bruce Vilanch to punch things up.

Dems did well during 1/6 hearings

who even is this O'Connor lady?

It would be so hilarious if this came to pass

SCOOP: Rep. Jayapal told TPM Thursday that a sizable chunk of the House Dem caucus plans to demand power-sharing concessions from McCarthy if he ultimately needs their votes to save his speakership or keep the government open.https://t.co/09JxP3XMlj

— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) September 28, 2023

Re: power sharing, I would think that would be the key to a solution, because up until now the Democrats have been uniformly unwilling to vote to help keep McCarthy in power against the threats to oust him from the crazy caucus. He is way too craven and beholden to his extreme right wing to accept it though I think

The incident that resulted in U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert being removed from a Denver theater earlier this month for disruptive behavior is starting to result in some real political consequences for the Silt Republican.

That started when Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis publicly announced on social media Wednesday that he is pulling his support for the two-term congresswoman, throwing it behind one of her GOP primary opponents instead, Grand Junction attorney Jeff Hurd.

Davis said it wasn’t any single thing that was the deciding factor in his decision, but said it does relate to Boebert being escorted out of a Denver theater earlier this month during a performance of the musical “Beetlejuice” for being disruptive, vaping in public and taking pictures and videos of the play against theater rules.

Beetlejuicey details ov that night out:
https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/politics/boebert-escorted-out-of-denver-theater/article_b647a474-5251-11ee-b111-178e48498c42.html

Didn't she win her re-election by, like, 100 votes?

yeah it was pretty narrow.

We will only tolerate that kind of behavior from people in safe seats.

it's wild that in the "freest" country in the world you can't jack someone off, or be jacked off, or even jack yourself off, during a performance of Beetlejuice

Freedom's just another word for "not at Beetlejuice"

Just tryna get Beetlejuicy

Sen. Janice Rich, R-Grand Junction, said she was “disappointed” in what Boebert did in the Beetlejuice incident, adding that she, too, is considering the matter and praying to decide what to do.

Heavenly lord, thank you for this bounty of gifts you have bestowed upon us. we are forever in your debt and are working tirelessly to bring ourselves closer to your eternal grace. so anyway, they were performing Beetlejuice and this lady just starts cranking this guy's hog in the seats

Nothin like a good stigmata-job

It was just a misunderstanding! I wasn't trying to jack him off, I was trying to cover him up! But it was in that moment that I suddenly had a truly holy experience and it wound up making him spurt all over!

New Testament doesn't say shit about onanism

“I come not to overturn the old laws, but to the strains of ‘The Whole Being Dead Thing, Pt. 3’”

oh well

BREAKING NEWS: DIANNE FEINSTEIN HAS PASSED AWAY AT 90

PUNCHBOWL NEWS TEXT OUT A FEW MIN AGO

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) September 29, 2023

Will she step down now?

I don’t even really know how to react to this

Relief.

She'll be stuffed and still be wheeled to meetings like Jeremy Bentham.

Does this mean Dems don't control the Senate right now until Newsome can appoint a replacement?

Think of the dress code rules they might pass.

Death is the ultimate government shutdown. Watch your back, Mitch. And Grassley.

It’s still 50-49 for the Dems I think

Freedom's just another word for "not at Beetlejuice"

Massive lol, A+

Newsom has previously said that he would appoint a Black woman to the position if it were vacated, and he would not appoint someone currently running for the seat in 2024 (which rules out Barbara Lee).

Possible candidates: Karen Bass (mayor of LA), London Breed (mayor of SF), Shirley Weber (secretary of state), Malia Cohen (state controller), Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove...

and, of course, Oprah.

It doesn't really make sense for the mayors to leave their positions for an interim seat, so I'm thinking either Waters (as a career capstone) or Weber.