Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

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

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

“Alexa, change the president.”

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Find someone who loves you the way trump and maga love traitors.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

We will not go back.

The world has changed, and neither one recognizes it.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

We still have time to mess this up!

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Late Night Open Thread

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A remarkably disheartening thing is you get the sense there are a handful of genuine historic fork in the road moments of what kind of country we want in our lifetime, and I still can’t shake how much during the height of Covid we had a decision of what lessons we’d all take from it and what…

— Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 2:26 PM

…policies and actions we’d start preferring, and it was not just the commanding heights and elite who faced with the opportunity to try to achieve a more caring, just society in the long run replied “nah, no, thanks” (which they were always gonna do), it was so so many average working class and…

…middle class people who made the call

You can get into all kinds of reasons why and why the normal, hard working american is so often beaten down and been shown for decades why they (allegedly) can’t have a less bloodthirsty society, to the point we may actually believe it. But it’s still disheartening

We had the chance. We — and do I mean practically All of us — simply refused it

My personal opinion is that ‘lockdowns’ (such as they were) and masking deprived America’s aspiring oligarchs of their chance to harass workers lower down on the economic scale (waiters, clerks, cleaners) and women (why aren’t you smiling, lady?). Most prominent and vocal among the complainers, of course, were the petty bourgeois small business owners & their media minions…

I remember a politician saying, “I’ve heard masking only protects other people”, as a reason to not mask. And I knew we were in trouble.

— seosamh.bsky.social (@seosamh.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 3:09 PM

They were stacking bodies up in refrigerated trucks and now people are just either pretending it never happened or blaming vaccines.

— Lil Flonase (@lilflonase.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 2:28 PM

I was thinking about that today because I remember when the hospital ship was docked in the Hudson River because NYC hospitals were overflowing. Morgue trucks were stacked up behind every hospital. Everyone seemed to know someone who died of COVID.
We seem to have memory-holed ALL OF IT.

— NOW WHAT? (@mraulston.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 2:34 PM

I hear that from a lot of folks – mostly from the right who still believe they were mandated by libs to wear masks outside, stay inside, forced to get vaccinated! None of which happened. And on the middle and left, who magine that it was just a cold and we overreacted. A million people died. wtf?

— JD (@djbackward.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 2:43 PM

We didn’t learn anything from covid. I was in Singapore when the pandemic started, and they immediately applied lessons from the early oughts SARS epidemic.
It was so disheartening to then turn around and listen to Trump suggesting drinking bleach. And we said yeah more of that.

— TiredTeacher (@txteacher.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 2:42 PM

3,000 Americans died on 9/11 and we invaded two countries and created vast new government agencies to protect the country and surveil the citizens
At the height of COVID, 3,000 Americans were dying EVERY DAY & we were told wearing masks in Home Depot & online classes were crimes against humanity

— * There Are Bot (@diogeneslamp.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 3:12 PM

COVID was conservatives announcing that they will never sacrifice anything for anyone else, not even to save the life of their own grandmas
Sandy Hook/Uvalde was conservatives announcing we must sacrifice everything, even our children, for them and for their right to a large personal arsenal

— * There Are Bot (@diogeneslamp.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 3:24 PM

There’s a very widespread assumption that any action undertaken for the common good is a scam designed to help African Americans at the expense of whites. This underlying prejudice is then wrapped up in verbiage about freedom and socialism.

— Welsh rarebit (@welshrarebit.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 3:17 PM

The right-wing version is that it didn't happen because "things like that don't happen to people like US" and the left (which you see too much on here) is that "if only Biden FELT HARDER about Covid it would have gone away"

— Anti-Drug Talking Urinal Cake (@disgolfelysium.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 4:46 PM

After everything we saw, every Republican senator except Mitch McConnell voted to confirm the deranged sadist RFK Jr.
That’s not just failing to learn. That’s an agenda. That’s actively seeking the deaths of other Americans.
Don’t underestimate the role of eugenics in the thinking of the GOP.

— Mark (@mrkdrm.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 4:33 PM

Late Night Open ThreadPost + Comments (6)

War for Ukraine Day 1,459: Russian Terrorism in Lviv & Russia’s Butcher’s Bill from Last Night

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A black and white cartoon with Popeye the Sailor Man facing forward and to the left. His word bubble says "I Yam Disgustipated"

Quick Rosie update: She had another really good day. We went for a real walk, though only .86 of a mile. She did great. At one point she was jogging along, which I think is partially because the temperature has been dropping from the leading edge of the cold front coming through. Thank you all again for the good thoughts, well wishes, and prayers.

Here are the details of last night’s Russian missile attack on Ukraine.

‼️Consequences of Russia’s massive overnight strike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure: the attack involved drones, ballistic missiles, “Zircon” missiles, and cruise missiles.

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— Maria Drutska (@mariadrutska.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 8:27 AM

▪️ Kyiv: Fires broke out in the capital and surrounding areas, private houses were destroyed. Preliminary reports indicate another strike on the Trypilska Thermal Power Plant.

— Maria Drutska (@mariadrutska.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 8:27 AM

▪️ Kyiv region: Five districts were attacked. One person was killed and one injured. Numerous private homes, garage cooperatives, utility buildings, and warehouses were damaged.

— Maria Drutska (@mariadrutska.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 8:27 AM

▫️ Mykolaiv: Energy and transport infrastructure facilities were damaged – 16,000 consumers are without electricity. A private house and power line were destroyed. No casualties reported.

▫️ Odesa region: Russia struck energy infrastructure facilities with drones, causing large-scale fires.

— Maria Drutska (@mariadrutska.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 8:27 AM

🔹 Dnipropetrovsk region: Around 20 artillery and drone attacks targeted two districts – two people were reported injured.

🔹 Sumy region: A civilian production facility of the company Mondelez in Trostianets was attacked.

— Maria Drutska (@mariadrutska.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 8:27 AM

🔸 Powerful explosions were also reported in Kropyvnytskyi, Kremenchuk, Poltava, Chernihiv region, and Cherkasy region.

🔸 Hits were recorded at 14 locations. Ukrainian air defense intercepted 33 out of 50 missiles and 274 out of 297 drones.

— Maria Drutska (@mariadrutska.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 8:27 AM

Here’s the Ukrainian air defense tally:

Another “missile-heavy” Blitz air raid by fascist Russia, with fewer drones used than was common in 2025.

345 aerial threats detected, 307 intercepted or suppressed.
Missiles fired: 48
Missiles downed: 69% (33/48)
Drones downed: 92% (274/297)
Total targets neutralized: 307.

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— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 4:10 AM

The main directions of the strike were Kyiv region, Odesa region, Kirovohrad region, and Poltava region.

Unfortunately, 14 missiles and 23 attack drones hit 14 locations across the country. Drone debris also fell in 5 additional locations.

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— Maria Drutska (@mariadrutska.bsky.social) February 22, 2026 at 8:05 AM

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

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Sunday Night Open Thread

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Big win by Team USA, and overall a very nice (I thought) Olympics. It was a bit marred by the French nonsense in the skating, and the nonsense about banning the Ukrainian athlete is annoying as hell, and I am sure there were a few other things, but mostly a nice affair. I thought our athletes, without exception, handled themselves superbly in the media, and the remarks made by Eileen Gu, who I consider ours because she is American even though she represents China, reflected a seriousness and depth of thought that eludes most of our elected officers and virtually all of our media, sports media included (I long maintain sports media are better at their jobs than, but I am not so sure these days).

While I am talking about it, I once again would like to remind everyone that at one point in time, Sports Illustrated had some of the finest writing to be found anywhere in America, rivaling Vanity Fair and Playboy and so many others at their respective peaks. It was a weekly ritual for me for decades to rip into the new Sports Illustrated (for whatever reason I feel like it always arrived on Thursday), because the long form pieces were superb. One of my all time favorite pieces was about Rosey Grier, who found himself at the epicenter of so many things that when he was front and center during the OJ Simpson affair, SI wrote a long article titled Forrest Grier. Because the internet is so thoroughly enshittified, the link to SI comes up lost empty.

If you have a good library, they might have some microfiche. Maybe.

***

I was going to write more but Gerald called me while I was writing this and told me that another one of the pine trees fell and took out another large section of my fence and that pretty much makes me want to throw up so I am pretty much over today. There’s what I think is a punk concert going on a couple blocks over so I am going to go sit outside and try not to hate life and see if I am too old to donate plasma.

Dog is great, still avoids me but likes being around me when I am outside. I just don’t make eye contact. Joelle is making a lot more progress. He’s from a black family and was surrounded by women, and I don’t think he knows what to make of a bearded fat white guy yet.

New Game of Thrones tonight.

Sunday Night Open ThreadPost + Comments (60)

Medium Cool – Let’s Go High Brow Tonight

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Medium Cool is a weekly series related to popular culture, mostly film, TV, and books, with some music and games thrown in. We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.

Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered. We’re here every Sunday at 7 pm.

Let’s go high brow tonight.

Medium Cool – Let's Go High Brow Tonight

Best Onion article ever!

Why Do All These Homosexuals Keep Sucking My Cock?

Ready, set, go!

Link if you can.

In case you are new to Medium Cool, these are not open threads.

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Open Thread: Trump Promoting Jeremy Carl, Professional Bigot

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Behold, the genetic superiority of the master race. bsky.app/profile/chri…
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— Adam Serwer (@adamserwer.bsky.social) February 12, 2026 at 4:27 PM

With any luck, and if GOP Sen. Curtis doesn’t chicken out, Mr. Carl won’t actually get the new job… but the Trump administration is certainly promoting his abhorrent views. Per the NYTimes, “Trump Nominates an Apostle of ‘White Erasure’ for the State Department” [gift link]:

Jeremy Carl, President Trump’s nominee for a senior State Department post, struggled at his confirmation hearing on Thursday to answer what should have been an easy question, since he wrote an entire book about it: What is white identity and why is it under threat?

After nervously rambling about white food and Black food, white music and Black music and white worship styles, Mr. Carl told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that a loss of a dominant white culture is weakening the country. That notion has become an intellectual framework animating much of what has been described as the New Right, and Mr. Carl, who would if confirmed be the assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs, is one of its most prominent proponents.

But Mr. Carl’s halting defense of his theory on “white erasure,” along with previous statements about race and Jews, has put his nomination in danger. A Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee chairman, John Curtis, Republican of Utah, came out in opposition immediately after the hearing was gaveled closed…

On Friday, Mr. Carl defended himself on social media from the accusation that he is a white nationalist. “White culture,” he wrote, “was simply the culture of the overwhelming majority of Americans who lived here” before the 1965 immigration reform “radically transformed American demographics.”…

If confirmed, Mr. Carl would lead outreach to institutions such as the United Nations. He previously served in the first Trump administration’s Department of the Interior after making a name for himself as an international energy expert at Stanford University.

Mr. Carl sits at the intersection of several movements and institutions gaining power and prominence within the Republican Party. He is a proponent of “national conservatism,” a movement that holds that American society lost its moorings when it drifted from a core power structure centered on the Christian white men who founded the nation and instead embraced diversity, multiculturalism and feminism.

He is a fellow at the Claremont Institute, a Trump-aligned research organization that became the intellectual nerve center of the American right…

Mr. Carl has argued that white people should organize as a group to protect their rights.

“White Americans are increasingly second-class citizens in a country their ancestors founded and in which, until recently, they were the overwhelming majority of the population,” he writes in his 2024 book, “The Unprotected Class: How Anti-White Racism Is Tearing America Apart.”

He also accused the Democratic Party of waging an “all-out assault on the rights of white people.” (About 64 percent of the people who voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 were white, compared to Joe Biden’s 61 percent in 2020, according to Pew Research.)…

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Pop Quiz: The Month in Review – One Good, One Bad

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So many good things happening; so many bad things happening.  (It was the best of times, it was the worst of times?)

I am someone who sometimes focuses on the bad things without taking note of the good things.  For instance, if you told me 10 good traits that you think I have, and one bad trait, it’s the bad trait that I will remember the longest.  (Surely there are a handful of people here whose brains are screeching, you don’t have 10 good traits!)  But that’s not the point of the conversation.

I think sometimes we humans can sometimes focus more on the bad things that are happening around us and maybe don’t take time to drink in the good things.  I don’t know about you guys, but I wouldn’t mind a reminder about some of the good~

So I want to challenge everyone who comments to name 1 good thing and 1 bad thing that’s been happening over the last month or so.  Can be personal or political; either is fine.

Pop Quiz: The Month in Review – One Good, One BadPost + Comments (92)