Somebody needs this right now 🐶 pic.twitter.com/InslAdSKrs
— TG (@TG22110) August 30, 2022
- Our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit sees a pattern in Vladimir Putin’s art of persuasion. He gets pushy around windows.
- tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors responds to the Republican hand flutters as President Biden makes a speech with 2 Marines in the distant background: tengrain provides an accurate translation.
- It isn’t only Republicans. A few other pundits scold Biden for having a couple of Marines in the distance. Unprecedented!
Margaret Philpot has a good memoryHey @CNN pic.twitter.com/dVIbLu74yL
— Margaret and Helen 🌎 (@HelenPhilpot) September 2, 2022
- And we do have this:
1/2: In 2020, Trump called Democrats "fascists" in '20 while surrounded by military officials.
No one remembers it bc Dems didn't feel threatened by his false claim.
Today, MAGA Republicans are angry at President Biden for a similar remark. Because they know it's true. pic.twitter.com/ran6LASOys
— Matthew Sheffield (@mattsheffield) September 2, 2022
- Attorney Imani Gandy is skepical of the skepticism:
It’s really dumb watching republicans pretend like Joe Biden is some radical. People who legit tried to overthrow the government are complaining that he’s breaking norms. Stop it. It’s so dumb
— ⚓️Imani Two-Kitchens Gandy⚓️ (@AngryBlackLady) September 2, 2022
- Republicans who popularized the Let’s Go Brandon euphemism for the nudge, nudge, wink, wink obscenity aimed at the President are horrified that he urges unity while criticizing fascism.
North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz responds sensibly:Decent people don't want unity with fascists.
Take your shame and shove it.https://t.co/hGhe8xpP4F
— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) September 2, 2022
- Frances Langum points to a Biden critic complaining because the President has blatantly urged people to vote. That makes it political.
- It gets even worse!
US Senator Lindsey Graham said there will be "rioting in the streets" if trump is prosecuted.
I'm not a law expert, but doesn't that count as incitement?
— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) August 29, 2022
In the Borowitz Report Lindsay Graham warns that Biden’s pro-democracy rhetoric could lead to voting in the streets.
- President Biden’s speech is about unity but he says MAGA folk are fascist-lite. Republicans are mad as hell about that! He just smeared half the country!
Vixen Strangely at Strangely Blogged looks at the speech again and says Just a darn minute, citizens!.
Best part for me was near the beginning:
He did not smear all Republicans, and in fact went out of his way to say he didn’t even think the violence-inclined MAGAs were the majority of their party–
And I perused the response on Twitter and elsewhere and heard the sound of a million or so hurt dogs being very, very hit. NO! They want to believe he just demonized HALF THE WHOLE COUNTRY. And this means WAR!!!!!
- Professor PZ Myers didn’t think President Biden’s speech was all that great, with talk of a nation’s soul and us being the greatest nation and so on. But he did think it useful to remind us of the obvious: that MAGA Republicans don’t much care for democracy.
I like the way the good professor winds it up with an oh-by-the-way:
Fox News put the speech on their channel, only they titled it “Biden attacks his fellow Americans during Philadelphia speech”. They shouldn’t object, since attacking fellow Americans, like Democrats and gay and trans folk and poor people and minorities and immigrants, is their stock in trade.
Because, of course they did, and they do.
- News Corpse quotes sections of President Biden’s speech and then quotes what Mr Trump says Biden said and, son-of-a-biscuit, they don’t at all match.
How about that!
- Julian Sanchez reacts to the reactions to the speech:
They’ll say the optics are bad or that it’s divisive and insulting to Trump worshippers… too skittish or captured to acknowledge the essential claim is true, but barred by some vestigial scrap of conscience from outright denying it.
— Julian Sanchez (@normative) September 2, 2022
- Hackwhackers gets to the nub of the problem with the missing Mar-a-Lago documents.
I also have a thought or two:THIS is disturbing.
Some of those missing documents identify people taking deadly risks to get vital information to us.Documents that can get those people,
and their families,
killed.Who has them now?https://t.co/K0YunNFTu2
— Burr Deming (@BurrLand01) September 2, 2022
- Trumpists spot the problem with the DoJ visual presentation of classified folders: they are there for all the world to see. Aren’t they supposed to be classified?
M. Bouffant at Web of Evil helps them out with obvious reassurances. But not before kicking them around a bit.
- The Propaganda Professor takes a look at the spinning spins of rapidly adopted, examined, and discarded narratives by conservatives as more details are revealed about hyper classified documents in TrumpVille.
- In Letters from an American, historian Heather Cox Richardson reviews overlapping Trump defenses each of which contain more unintentional self-incrimination.
He does have the right to remain silent. Right?
- Dave Columbo and Laura High take a look at the continuing unequal battle between the Affidavit and Goliath:
@davecolumbo “Don’t Do What Donnie Don’t Does” ##news##breaking##maralago##maralagoraid##democrats##democrat##democratsoftiktok##politics##politicaltiktok##political##fy##fyp##foryou##foryoupage ♬ original sound – Dave Columbo - At The Onion, Mr Trump offers his latest defense: the top secret documents had been in his family for generations.
- CalicoJack in The Psy of Life wonders why professional Republicans sell their souls, and why ordinary citizens can be convinced to vote for them. Fortunately, he gains insight from an ex-true believer, Tim Miller. Jack shares those insights with us.
- Green Eagle does not yet believe we have turned things around, but does see some glimmer of hope in Alaska.
- So was the unexpected Democratic victory, downing poor Sarah Palin, due to the particulars in the race or to more general Democratic momentum? The Palmer Report goes more forest than trees, putting the felling of Palin in a wider context of other unexpected Democratic victories.
Included: specifics of individual close races in November, and a bit of helpful advice for Democrats.
- It’s midterm and the in party is Democratic, so Republicans will be taking Congress. Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger says maybe not, and he has the poll numbers, front, back, and sideways.
- Dave Dubya distills the November election to one question each voter must address.
- At The Moderate Voice Associate Professor Ian Anson of the University of Maryland argues that most voters think they know more than they actually know about politics, and that political overconfidence endangers democracy. Voters stand a chance of making bad decisions.
My favorite sentence:
And those who believe themselves to be political experts often dismiss the guidance of real experts.
Presumably those political experts include Associate Professor Ian Anson. Of Maryland University.
Whom most Americans would see as a hopeless academic ass.
Well, we do live in a democracy of sorts, right?
I suspect I’m part of the majority on this one.
- driftglass has a confession dating back to the presidential election of 1980.
- Tommy Christopher watches as the crew of Morning Joe have some fun at the inspiring prose of Kevin McCarthy: The electric cord of liberty still sparks in our hearts.
I especially appreciate one artful response:“The leather hood of freedom.”
“The cat o’ nine tails of justice.”
“The nipple clamps of prosperity.” https://t.co/N6mSLVRvyw— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) September 1, 2022
- Iron Knee at Political Irony tries to find the words as Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) attacks Anthony Fauci by accidentally stomping all over Mr Trump.
- Scotties Playtime takes us to a suicide hotline specializing in keeping LGBTQ kids alive. The hotline is targeted by a hate group who floods the lines with fake calls for urgent help.
Nice
- I can testify: Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson can do disagreement just fine. He is a skilled and honorable debate antagonist.
I should know. He and I oppose each other from time to time.
This one may have learned he would be better off arguing honestly, rather than just trying to tick James off.
Republicans are so upset with President Biden's speech tonight that some of them are contemplating storming the Capitol and threatening to overturn the 2020 election by force.
— James Wigderson (@jwigderson) September 2, 2022
Do you know what "totalitarian" means? Or was that just some Johnson-esque word salad you picked up from talk radio?
— James Wigderson (@jwigderson) September 2, 2022
I notice you didn't answer my question as you hide behind an alias in your mother's basement.
— James Wigderson (@jwigderson) September 3, 2022
- In The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser, one of my Christian brethren is awfully angry at atheist Bruce for his misleading post about him. Bruce is a dishonest angry bigot. Seems he quoted my brother-in-Christ at length, in context, without commentary. Near as I can determine, Bruce was wrong because he proposed a hasty generalization about my knowledge of atheists based on just one article.
- The Strategic Studies Book Club analyzes how ancient Rome successfully defended its borders for centuries and why success eventually turned to failure.
- In Nan’s Notebook, NASA will launch today on an exciting trip to the moon that may be a springboard to Mars. Nan is remarkably unimpressed.
- In Happiness Between Tails da-AL takes a look at what she calls the Supergirl Syndrome. The idea is that the mantra of have-it-all becomes a chant of inadequacy. If you don’t have it all, there is something wrong with you. It is a guest blog introduced with da-AL’s reactions and hesitations.
I am reminded of a performance by singer-satirist Tom Lehrer over half a century ago:
It has been a nervous year, and people have begun to feel like a Christian Scientist with appendicitis.
I suppose there is a hidden danger in any positive thinking regimen. Lindsay Sealey has 5 suggestions to help young women recover a healthier perspective.
- Infidel753 does not much care for the new spinoff of Lord of the Rings, Amazon’s The Rings of Power, and likes even less dismissive responses to criticism.
- @whiskeywhistle98 finds a singularly unfortunate choice for a spokeperson:
@whiskeywhistle98 #stitch with @studentbleachers ahh…..Maybe just sit this one out…#tiktokmom #fyp #foryourpage #nope ♬ original sound – @Whiskeywhistle98- - Reductress explains the horror of saying you’re sorry, then discovering you are not immediately forgiven.
- YellowDog Granny explains why you should clean your room.
- SilverAppleQueen finds a flower.
A few tweets I thought worthy:
What did Obama do that Republicans hated him so much?
— 🇺🇸🌊Wendy Democrat Patriot🇺🇸🌊 (@wendy_resists) August 27, 2022
— Tremont23 (@CTerp23) August 27, 2022
No comment on the continual lowering gas price? Voting against blocking gas price gouging?
Against veterans care?
Against women’s rights?
Against voter rights?
No comment as to why Russia sanctioned all Democrats and ZERO Republicans? pic.twitter.com/Hl7D8N5Sj9
— MiamiSunBunny 🌎❤️🇺🇦 (@SparkleWorld2) August 1, 2022
I hope y’all realize that President Biden is the most progressive @POTUS of the modern era, periodt.
— Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) August 28, 2022
Last year, CIA warned its stations about “a troubling number of informants being captured or killed.” Trump Inquiry Fueled in Part by Concern Over Intelligence Sources – The New York Times https://t.co/UWuwhoVJmR
— Frank Figliuzzi (@FrankFigliuzzi1) August 27, 2022
But her emails!" That's all they've got. They can't defend what Trump has done. So instead they go on Fox News and say things like, "The FBI never investigated Hillary!" Are you kidding me with this?? Hillary has been investigated probably more than any other American politician.
— Mindy Fischer Writer (@mindys4Biden) August 28, 2022
This is pure gold 👇🏼
— kathy wise 😷 (@kathy1wise) August 28, 2022
Woman carrying fetus without a skull to seek abortion in another state following Louisiana ban
@POTUS https://t.co/mjt44cuo4X— mama T 💙 (@momof4boysss) August 29, 2022
😁😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/j2hajJ0Yi3
— 🇨🇦Becky Lil Maple Leaf 🍁of Love 😍 (@Bec2Yeg) August 25, 2022
There is a middle school in Southlake named after George Dawson. The grandson of a slave, he learned to read at 98 and co-wrote a book about his life’s journey when he was 103 years old.
That book has now been banned from the middle school that bears his name. https://t.co/DUyA0YLuaJ pic.twitter.com/DktNI10Ybm
— Southlake Together (@Southlake4All) August 22, 2022
"…it’s hilarious to hear Republicans behave like wilting précieuses after the Trumpian outbursts of the last six years." https://t.co/EDNlX1YzpF
— James Wigderson (@jwigderson) August 30, 2022
3 years ago Republicans were questioning Arizona Representative Eric Descheenie’s immigration status. The man’s from the Navajo Nation — Are MAGA white people really that dumb? pic.twitter.com/YGS5me2Pzc
— Lakota Man (@LakotaMan1) August 30, 2022
The clouds in the sky shifted from pure white to darkest black.
A chill wind sliced through the bones of all assembled.
The change in weather, sunny and bright just moments before, heralded his arrival.
Dark Brandon had landed. And there would be no more malarkey. https://t.co/LX6xpjAQyw
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) August 30, 2022
One of the first things that popped into my mind on news that Gorbachev has died is this Pizza Hut commercial he filmed in Red Square in the late 90s.https://t.co/dA1rgXPRso
— Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) August 30, 2022
Just because you "think" you declassified top secret documents doesn't mean you can treat it like a hurricane victim in Puerto Rico. Smh. pic.twitter.com/1MuM5COgZ1
— TᕼE ᗷᖇOᗯᑎ ᒪᗩᑎTEᖇᑎ: ᵀʰʳᵒʷ ᵀʳᵘᵐᵖ ⁱⁿ ᴾʳⁱˢᵒⁿ (@CovfefeDistant) August 31, 2022
Dear Texas:
My Jewish grandmother survived the Holocaust but the rest of her family didn’t. She told me that the Nazis gained power by banning books that challenged their ideology and promotion of propaganda. I find it chilling that you choose to ban a Diary of the holocaust.— Sara Spector (@Miriam2626) August 20, 2022
“Authoritarian parties have two essential features in common, in history and around the world. They do not accept results of democratic elections when they lose, and they embrace political violence as legitimate.”
Jamie Raskin closing statement @RepRaskinpic.twitter.com/UamrE0jPjo https://t.co/paH2s4RVns
— Adam Rifkin 🐼🌻 (@ifindkarma) July 13, 2022
So, help me out here, the F your feelings crowd doesn’t want their kids reading the Diary of Anne Frank, because they’re afraid — it may hurt their feelings?
— Lakota Man (@LakotaMan1) August 18, 2022
And I’m allowed a few of my own:
Well, that settles it.https://t.co/WyAjSFZSc0
— Burr Deming (@BurrLand01) August 30, 2022
Another GOP talking point goes down.https://t.co/y58mt3UKyR
— Burr Deming (@BurrLand01) August 30, 2022
The filing provides evidence that Trump and his team not only didn’t hand over all classified materials, but actively sought to conceal them by misleading the FBI.https://t.co/wFNme4hrx1
— Burr Deming (@BurrLand01) September 1, 2022
Did I get this right?
FL voters passed rule: felons can vote once they served time
– DeSantis got legislat to pass matrix of rules
– DeSantis had his admin issue voter IDs for 20 felons, told them to vote
– DeSantis had them arrested for violating ruleshttps://t.co/ypzFncgvov— Burr Deming (@BurrLand01) September 2, 2022
Rans, Rand, Rand. Freedom?
What is with your weird Putin infatuation? https://t.co/AqA4Efkj7u— Burr Deming (@BurrLand01) September 2, 2022
– Podcasts –
tx for another roundup of info I wish we all knew. grateful to be included among them. bravo to your,
“I am reminded of a performance by singer-satirist Tom Lehrer over half a century ago:
It has been a nervous year, and people have begun to feel like a Christian Scientist with appendicitis.”
wishing you a great week, my friend