Open Thread July 9 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 092026
 

Yesterday, after the resumption of hostilities in the Persian Gulf, Wajeeh described our so-called President as being surrounded by three drama queens (whom he named) – and hilarity ensued. This part of the conversation started at or just after the 30 minute mark, and took just a few minutes, so if anyone wants a good laugh, you can find it and it waon’t take much of your time. Unlike YouTube, I can’t set it to start there, but the timeline is easy to manipulate. Also, I did watch “The Last Class.” After some thought, I think maybe the way to say this is: Robert Reich is the most compact giant who ever existed. He has another movie coming out, and showed a trailer – although I think it’s still in progress – which is appropriate – because the title is “The Work in Progress.” In another also, Graham Platner withdrew his campaign fir the Senate. I have just two words – Al Franken. I’m not trying to say what you probably think I am. I am trying to say that when an aspersion involves money (like cheating on taxes, or embezzlement, or grift) or other types of immorality, we investigate. When an aspersion involves sex we just lose our minds.

Good Grief. Apparently, stupidity, or death wish, or delusion, or all three, or God knows what, is color-blind. “Christian nationalism” is bad enough, but we’re not up against just Christian nationalism, we’re up against White Christian nationalism. Any black (or darker than a brown paper bag) person who buys into that has to be suicidal.

If I were a Black woman in Florida, I would absolutlely fear for my life if a white man started to argue with me. Which is probably why she was carrying in th first place. If we had the statistics of how many people in the US have been killed in arguments over parking spaces, it would probably surprise you. I am confident that Stand Your Ground applies. And equally confident that no court in Florida will accept it from a Black woman. We shall see.

Archived from The Lever. Every time the present regime comes up with a new and innocuous sounding name for a project, it’s a bad sign. This “Task Force” is no exception.

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Open Thread July 8 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 082026
 

Yesterday, I heard something very disheartening from Malcolm Nance’s warcast – and all three agreed – that the MSM in Europe is parroting Russian talking points as much as ours are. The latest is that Russia is claiming their current strikes are retaliatory (when they’ve been doing the same thing since 2022 – or maybe even 2014.) What’s going on with global oil prices is also not pretty. It is currently artificially low (so keep your tank filled – maybe even some full containers on hand). But we are closer and closer to a real worldwide shortage, and the pricing won’t matter much when there isn’t any to be had. Oh, and in case you were wondering why the Orange Ogre is whining about Greenland again – it could be because, after he bribed or threatened FIFA into lifting a suspension they had imposed on the biggest bully on our team, Belgium beat us anyway – and Denmark was rooting for Belgium.

This is a Substack video – in which Glenn Kirschner is PISSED to the point of 37 minutes and “legal terms” such as “shitshow,” “assclowns”, “grabass” as well as addressing Todd Blanche as “sport.” I don’t really expect anyone to watch it, but, being Substack, there is a transcipt.

I doubt this will surprise anyone here. And it appears to me that most of this increase is initiated by the Papaya Palatine personally. (My apologize to papayas, which alleviate nausea rather than initiating it.)

To me this undersells the contributions of African Americans to the American Republic. IIRC, the first American killed in the Revolution was Crispus Attucks – a Black man, Many more Black men fought for the Union in the Civil War – and in World Wars I and II – and since. And Black women too – if not allowed to fight with arms, by caring for the wounded, gathering intelligence, dealing with mail, breaking codes, and more than I can think of. But I get it – the authors here are more interested in putting together an effecive playbook for a better future than in remembering the past. And they are right. An effective playbook is needed. And so is the will to use it – in people of all colors.

Just as there are decent and kind people in red states – there are monsters in blue states. Washington may be blue – but it still has monsters like these. I’m inclined to hope they are all in debt for the rest of their sorry lives paying for the $17 million they owe – plus interest. Including the school employees.

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Open Thread July 6 2026

 Posted by at 6:06 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 062026
 

Yesterday, Trinette was out of town for the holiday weekend, so I didn’t have to be up to welcome her, and slept longer than usual. According to Malcolm’s warcast, Marco Rubio announced that any nation which attended the funeral of Ali Khamenei (the father of the current imam, Muchtaba Khamenei) at any level which receives any kind of aid from the US will have that aid cut off. The Canteloupe Caligula himself said that he coul not understand – was completely baffled – that anyone would shed tears for Khamenei. What a display of sea-bottom-level pettiness combined with rock hard obtuseness of actual human beings. Also on that cast was a picture alleged to show the chief suspect to have put the algae in the Reflecting Pool. I entered it as a replacement for the normal featured image. The cast was cut short on account of audio issues, but they started a second one, primarily to answer questions, but added a bit of additional news, including the fact that the US is in negoiations to, among other things, move US Middle East Central Command from Qatar to Israel. Hoo boy, is that ever going to divide us more than we are already!

If you have been missing John Fugelsang as much as I have, here’s your chance. If not, and if any discussion of any religion at all triggers you, please skip it.

Robert Reich on Democratic primaries. Someone else on Substack who is not an idiot is seriously worried about the result of the Democratic primary in Colorado One. I am not. If it were any other blue district in Colorado, I probably would be. But Colorado 1 contains the University of Colorao Boulder (sometimes jokingly called the People’s Republic of Boulder.) I can’t visualize Democrats there being spooked by the term “Democratic Socialist.”

You can pretty much count on Steve Schmidt to be angry – angry at the Apricot Antichrist, angry at his followers, his de facto slaves, with their poisoned souls – angry at anyone who knows how terrible they are but is not doing enough to oppose them, angry at anyone who is normalizing what’s happening, whether actively or passively. Sometimes angry enough to post a gut punch. This is one. You have been warned.

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Open Thread July 5 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 052026
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Aida, by Giuseppe Verdi. It was commissioned to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal. It’s pretty well known even outside the opera world, so I’ll just stop there. I also listened to Adam Klasfeld’s reading of Justice Brown-Jackson’s “Barbara” opinion (which did finally post with sound), and later, to Malcolm Nance’s reading of parts of the Declaation of Independence. He is the third IIRC generation in his family to be career military, and besides the sirect line, there’s an uncle and his two older brothers. I wasn’t surprised he teared up some. Andy Borowitz has a new book out called Profiles in Ignorance – his column on it may be the longest I’ve seen from him since he came to Substack.

This is less a good news story, and more of a bad stuff overcome story. But it is noteworthy when Congresscritters come together in a bipartisan way to help a constituent (of one of them.)

I apologize for all the ads – I hope the story is worth scrolling through them. (it was to me)

This would be better news if we as a nation were livng up to our founding documents. But it’s also not entirely fair to put that burder on the shoulders of athletes alone.

This is good news to me – it probably doesn’t mean much to anyone else. Yes, it should have been done a long time ago, but Leo’s only been Pope a little over a year. I particularly like that he’s starting at the top, the way it should be.

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Trolling Trump’s “Loserpalooza”

 Posted by at 4:59 pm  Politics
Jul 042026
 

No doubt we’ve all enjoyed mocking DJT’s “Great State Fair” fiasco. And some took the opportunity to rub salt in his wounds with delightful trolling expertly done.

I decided to share a few that I came across that were delightful – and I hope you will feel free to add more in the Comments section.

A good place to start might be with DJT inspecting the construction amidst the scaffolding when the Fair was going up.

(Oops … just some hopeful thinking on my part.)

The whole world is aware that hardly anyone showed up.  Crowd estimates are running between 45 – 47 attendees.

It’s been so dismal that DJT at first decided to take appropriate steps to try to salvage some dignity ..

But when it was painfully obvious that the crowds he fantasized about were never going to show up, he took it up a notch and ditched the whole plan …

Sadly the embarrassment didn’t let up, so DJT ratcheted it up another notch …

Well, the crack White House PR team decided to save the sad situation with their standard MO – LYING!

When it was clear Americans weren’t buying their lies they decided to provide visual proof of the “YUGE” turnout …

But for posterity’s sake, let’s compare DJT’s disaster with other events …

DJT’s Fair vs Pride Parade

DJT vs Obama *

DJT J6 vs DJT July 4th

It’s really going to be hard to pick the most appropriate metaphor for DJT’s 2nd term – but certainly in the running are the  Great Reflecting Pool Debacle …

Of course his lies to try to cover up his Great State Fair FLOP …

Hell, the even the Fair’s stage was literally falling apart …

So, if you came across more – please feel free to share them!

  • I know this one is fake – but couldn’t pass it up.

.

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Open Thread July 4 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Holiday, Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 042026
 

Yesterday, Adam Klasfeld sent a link to his live reading of Justice Brown-Jackson’s concurrence in the birthright citizenship case, which is now scheduled for today at 12:30 pm Eastern. Generally Substack videos are recorded and available after the livestream ends. I certainly hope this one will be, because the opera will be on, and it doesn’t record. Here’s the link:
https://open.substack.com/live-stream/264623

[Update: It did go live but there was no sound. It did record, and still no sound as of 45 minutes after start. It onlt took 4 minutes 20 seconds so if (and I suspect he will) gets the sound fixed I’ll repost]

Update #2: I got several emails, but the last one, which came up at 12:44 my time (2:44 Eastern) and it is a recording. It is longer than the aborted one – it clocks at 33 minutes 21 seconds Link

By all means laugh at the headline – and laugh more at the subhead about how Robert Reich manages to make it valid.

Not trying to make a hero of John Brennan. But it’s pretty obvious he is not the only innocent (at least of what he’s being slammed with) person in the US who will benefit from the precedent this suit if it is victorious, as it certainly ought to be.

The Root here focuses on black communities, which is fine, because it is a black publication. But poor people of any color are affected pretty much equally, and may be even more invisible. This is why our real fight is not so much a political one as an economic one.

I don’t often post Andy Borowitz, because his articles for unpaid subscribers are usually just one-liners. Consider this a bonus post.

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Open Thread July 3 2026

 Posted by at 5:52 am  Blog News, Personal, Religion
Jul 032026
 

Yesterday, as every day since February 28, I watched Malcolm Nance’s “warcast” (or in this case “moolahcast.”) I always keep CC on. At one point Malcolm said, as clear as day, “Strait of Hormuz.” The CC said “straight of hormones.” Does AI have a sense of humor? I would find that absolutely terrifying. The rest of the cast was anything but funny. International oil is curently priced artifically low. We – the US – have been selling from our strategic reserve. We – and the world – can expect to hit tank bottom between July and October . There’s talk of us going into Lebanon to work with the Lebanese and Israeli armies to disarm Hezbollah. This could be Afghanistan all over again, with possibly even worse casualties.

Tomorrow, to celebrate, Adam Klasfeld is going to do a Substack video in which he simply reads aloud the concurring opinion of Justice Jackson in the Birthright Citizenship case. It doesn’t need to be watched live – I almost never watch them live – within an hour after a Substack video ends, a recording of it comes up. I’ll put a link in a comment when it’s available which you are welcome to ignore. Adam says that it is very moving – and that even Justice Roberts’s opinion is moving, but not quite moving enough to read aloud. He intends to start at 1 pm Eastern, so I would think it would be available as a recording by about 3 pm Eastern.

This is Talking Points Memo‘s morning memo from Monday – yes, it’s late – covers a variety of topics and enough of the sections are still accurate that I went ahead with it. Particularly the first one, about the White House Religious Liberty Commission Report.

This story was referenced by Dekleptocracy with no source link, and it took me a while to find a respectable one. I don’t know whether Price has responded – but I would not believe a word from him. He is a Trump**(*) ally.

This is a Substack video from JoJo from Jerz, with blistering mockery of the Apricot Antichrist and his version of a state fair – and his habit of exaggerating crowd size as if it were the size of genitals (which to him it probably is.) You can bring up the full transcript as usual, or read an alternate version (each has something the other doesn’t, but the structure is similar, and there is overlap.) I can’t help loving the way she paints with words to make so vivid what we are all thinking.

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Open Thread July 2 2026

 Posted by at 5:54 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 022026
 

“When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.” – attributed to Jimi Hendrix. Quoted on a banner two people were attempting to fly from the top of the Statue of Liberty. I hope they have survived. I don’t know the whole story as I type – perhaps y’all do by now.

If you know anything about the British Constitution, you know that a King or Queen nactually has far less power than our President – especially this one. The monarch of England, for example, is forbidden by the Constitution to speak publicly about politics. Elizabeth II spent what, over 70 years? – living up to that. I mention this because Robert Reich implies in the video that SCROTUS made our so-called President a King. They did not. They made him into an emperor- or maybe a demigod. An autocrat. A Dictator. But not a King.

This from “We Are The Mighty” is a flashback to World War II which has a happy ending. This quote – “The Nazis took perverse pleasure in trying to destroy anything that their enemies held dear” rings very now to me. Therearestill Nazis – and they are still practicing this.

Archived from the Huff Post. One response to Mike Johnson: “Don’t threaten us with a good time”

I don’t think the subject of this from The Intercept is getting the attention it deserves. Possibly because it doesn’t sound that bad – but the unintended consequences are massive.

sorry the URL is embedded in Paint. But I put it below the image in case you want to read the story and haven’t already seen it.

https://archive.is/ohZGx

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