Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I thought we were promised Infrastructure Week

Technically true, but collectively nonsense.

Not all heroes wear capes.

This Blog Goes to 11…

No one could have predicted…

All your base are belong to Tunch.

Just a few bad apples.

Yes we did.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Naturally gregarious and alpha

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

The Math Demands It!

This is a big f—–g deal.

An army of rabid, anonymous commenters

Screw the Judean People’s Front. Splitters.

This blog will pay for itself.

Mission Accomplished!

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

Women: They Get Shit Done

Wetsuit optional.

Militantly superior in their own minds…

Too inconsequential to be sued

Gastritis Broke My Calculator

It’s a tarp!

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Women's Rights

Thursday Morning Open Thread

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Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders — excuse me, Sanders *supporters* — attack Joe Biden for using the word ‘adjustments’, which is the same term Sanders used, regarding Social Security funding.

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Election Year Open Thread: What A Coincidence, Guys!

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The media starts talking about Warren’s sterling debate performance, and suddenly it occurs to her competitors that she could very well be a useful second banana…

Still looking for the offer from Buttigieg’s team, but maybe he’s young enough not to automatically assume that any woman would automatically be flattered to be offered a job as his backup. Because Bernie and Biden both have the feeble, misogynistic ‘in my day’ excuse. Unlike, I suspect, the Bernie / Biden staffers who thought it would be smart marketing to put it out there at this point in the race…

Clownshow Mike, demonstrating their ‘rationale’:

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Some Of Our Government Still Works For Us

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The National Archives has an exhibit on suffrage and women’s protests. A big photo of the Women’s March greets visitors. But some things are missing. Criticism of Trump is blurred out. References to women’s anatomy (OMG vagina!) are blurred out.

Let’s hear from the reporter.

Historians and museum curators have been unanimous in saying that the National Archives should not be in the business of altering documents. Most of us can recognize that, just from that sentence.

The National Archives listened!

Kudos to the National Archives!

And open thread!

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Saturday Morning Open Thread: Let This Be A Good Omen

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… Clinton appeared at the press tour in support of the Hulu four-part documentary series “Hillary,” which details the former U.S. Senator and Secretary of State’s time on the 2016 Presidential campaign trail through never-before-seen footage. The series also features interviews with Bill and Chelsea Clinton, as well as friends and journalists.

She fielded a range of questions from the audience, including what she feels the most important message of the series will ultimately be.

“I think the most important message is we are…in a real struggle with a form of politics that is incredibly negative, exclusive, mean-spirited, and its going to be up to every voter, not only people who vote in Democratic primaries to recognize that this is no ordinary time,” she said. “This is an election that will have such profound impact so take your vote seriously. And for the Democratic voters, try to vote for the person you think is most likely to win because at the end of the day that is what will matter. And not just the popular vote, but the electoral college too.”…

“It wasn’t so long ago that we actually had a President that we didn’t have to worry every morning when we woke up about what was going to happen that day, or what crazy tweet would threaten war or some other awful outcome,” she said.

“You can disagree with the facts, but there are facts,” she continued. “You can choose not to vaccinate your children but there are facts. You can choose not to believe in climate change, but there are facts. And somehow we’ve got to shoulder that responsibility not only at a political leadership level but literally at the citizen, activist, concerned human being level.”

 
Elsewhere, the end of the beginning.…

… The deadline for voting is still over a month away. But the chance to participate in the state’s first presidential primary since 1992 — and cast a ballot before first-in-the-nation contests have their say — was enough to motivate some voters to brave frigid temperatures and a looming snowstorm to show support for their candidate of choice.

“We can’t afford to wait,” said Sean Duckworth, a Joe Biden supporter who attended an early vote rally for a range of Democratic candidates in Ramsey County. “We need change now, and he’s the person who is best able to do it, so I’m here to vote for him.”

Votes in Minnesota won’t be counted until after the polls close March 3. And some other states, including New Hampshire, have already started accepting absentee ballots for voters who can’t make it out on Election Day. But Minnesota’s election calendar and early voting laws mean the state can “confidently say we’ll be the first state in the country to open up the presidential contest to all eligible voters,” said Secretary of State Steve Simon…

“There’s some kind of special magic to the idea of getting to be one of the first people to cast your vote,” said Mitchell Walstad, a Warren supporter. “I thought it would be kind of fun, to go make a tweet out of it … and have an opportunity to show my support and do it in a loud fashion.”

In Duluth, City Council Member Arik Forsman joined a handful of Klobuchar supporters who showed up at City Hall right as early primary voting opened Friday morning.

“I think she has a really great track record in Minnesota of bridging that rural/urban divide,” Forsman said.

In South St. Paul, two local officials showed up at the polling place early Friday to not only cast ballots for the primary but to symbolically mark the city’s legacy as the first place in the U.S. where women voted after the 19th Amendment went into effect in 1920, officials said…

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Second-Wave Feminism Open Thread: E! R! A! (A Sentimental Cheer)

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Of course, nothing will happen while Trump & McConnell are in charge. That can be changed, too.

(I’m of the conviction that, when it comes to Chief Justice Roberts, one should remember Finley Peter Dunne’s wise words from the last Gilded Age: “The Constitution may or may not follow the flag, but the Supreme Court follows the Election returns.”)

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Wednesday Morning Open Thread: If I Can’t Have My Dream Ticket…

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I didn’t want to promote this before hearing what the KHive (Harris fans) had to say, but there is no more ferocious #KamalaStan than Chris Evans:


Been saying for a while: If I have to ‘settle’ for Liz Warren remaining my senator, a Biden / Harris ticket would be my second choice right now. Each partner lends the other credibility with their respective voter bases, and it gives Harris a running start at the top of the ticket in 2024 / 2028.

But I’ll admit I’d be tickled by a Biden / Klobuchar ticket, too. And after last night, it’s being discussed again:

BIDEN / KLOBUCHAR 2020: DON’T MAKE HER COME DOWN THERE, REPUBS!

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Let’s Add Some Facts

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A new five-year study of women who had abortions has some interesting conclusions:

Starting one week after their abortions and then twice yearly after that, the women were asked about their feelings. The authors said they wondered about stigma and how the women would reflect on their decisions as time passed.

What they found was a surprise: Over time, all emotions, good and bad, faded.

“A really interesting finding is how the intensity of all emotions is so low,” said Corinne Rocca, lead author of the study and a UCSF associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences.

A week after their abortions, about 51 percent of women expressed mostly positive emotions, 17 percent expressed negative emotions and 20 percent said they had none or few. As time went by, the number who felt few or no emotions rose sharply. At the five-year mark, 84 percent reported either primarily positive emotions or none at all, while 6 percent had primarily negative feelings. There was “no evidence” of new negative or positive emotions, the authors said.

Immediately after their abortions, 95 percent of those who agreed to interviews said they had made the right decision. At five years, that percentage increased to 99 percent.

Here are a bunch of other facts from the Guttmacher institute. Two that jump out is that, at the 2014 rate, about 24% of all women will have an abortion by age 45, and in 2017, 39% of all abortions used medication, not surgery.

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Saturday Morning Open Thread: Nevertheless, She Persisted

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… It’s the first time Warren’s orbit has made the electability pitch so overtly. But the campaign has been quietly implementing that strategy since 2018, when Warren raised or donated $11 million to Democratic candidates and began drawing subtle distinctions with Sanders (She described herself as a “capitalist to my bones,” in contrast to Sanders preference for democratic socialism). Warren has also mostly abstained from attacking other Democrats in an attempt not to alienate supporters of other candidates. Her campaign staff reflects the approach, with a mix of officials from Sanders, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s past campaigns.

“She has gone above and beyond to convince establishment types that she is a team player and a Democrat,” said Ian Sams, former national press secretary for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. “I don’t think they see her as a left-wing extremist, and they respect her seriousness and policy chops.”…

Julián Castro sounded like a pundit on Tuesday night when he took the stage in Brooklyn to formally endorse Warren at their first rally together.

“The polling says, well, perhaps that a lot of older voters, go one way, right? And younger voters go another way,” Castro said in implicit references to Biden and Sanders. “You have a preponderance of younger voters that support Elizabeth and older voters that also support Elizabeth. … Elizabeth Warren is the candidate who can unite the entire Democratic Party.” Highlighting that message, the Warren campaign posted that section of Castro’s remarks on social media.

“She’s winning the policy primary, but now she needs to transfer that energy to try to win the electability primary,” said Jared Leopold, a Democratic consultant who worked on Gov. Jay Inslee’s presidential campaign. “Cable news has warped voters’ brains and turned everyone into mini-pundits. That means candidates need to win not just on policy but on process.”…

… [A] poll from The Economist and YouGov this month still showed the potential of Warren’s strategy. Asked whether there are any candidates they would be disappointed to see as the nominee, only 11 percent of voters said they’d be disappointed by Warren, the lowest of any candidate. By contrast, 21 percent said they’d be disappointed by Biden and 16 percent by Sanders. Other polls in recent months have reflected a similar sentiment about Warren.

“When we get into the phase here where it will be about closing the deal with voters and caucusgoers, starting from the largest set of consideration is a good place to be,” said Warren’s chief strategist Joe Rospars in a podcast interview last fall with Democratic strategist David Plouffe. Rospars was referring to the notion of being a candidate whom Democrats were open to voting for, even if they were seriously considering supporting another candidate.

“Elizabeth Warren is at the top of people’s consideration set,” Rospars said, “and the person that the fewest number of people would be disappointed if she’s the nominee.”

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Thursday Morning Open Thread: CRONE POWER

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Here’s what we know so far:

● The U.S. military said no Americans were killed or wounded in the Iranian missile attacks on bases in Iraq early Wednesday.

● U.S. officials said they knew Iranian missiles were coming hours before the attack.

● Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called the attack a “slap in the face” of the United States but said more needed to be done to end the U.S. presence in the region and avenge the death of powerful Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.

● Iraq’s acting prime minister said he was informed of the attack ahead of time.

● Lawmakers left a closed-door briefing with top national security officials divided over whether the strike that killed Soleimani was legally justified, and Pelosi said the House will vote Thursday on a measure to limit Trump’s military actions regarding Iran…

Also in the Power league, a man with professional experience of eldritch horror:

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Wednesday Morning Open Thread: YES QUEEN!

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And too also:


“Wanna find out if I still have those ball bats in my office, boys?”

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A Rapist In Your Path

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I had no idea this was happening in Chile (and, if you watch the video, which is well worth watching, around the world):

A Chilean protest song about rape culture and victim shaming has become a viral anthem for feminists around the world.

Un Violador en Tu Camino – A Rapist in Your Path – was first performed in late November as Chile’s nationwide uprising against social inequality pushed into its second month. […]

According to statistics compiled by the Chilean Network Against Violence Against Women, 42 cases of sexual abuse are reported each day to the police (approximately two every hour). In 2018, only 25.7% of sexual abuse cases resulted in judicial rulings.

“In the Chilean judicial system, stereotypes and biases harm women victims of sexual violence,” said Bárbara Sepúlveda Hales, spokeswoman for the feminist lawyer group Abofem. “In many trials, the life and sexual behavior of the victim is exposed as if it were a justification for the aggression they suffered.”

Again, via AOC’s twitter.

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Lisa Page is done being quiet

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I understand the argument when people say Trump isn’t the worst president ever — or even the worst this century. In terms of body count through pointless military actions and the number of lives ruined through financial malfeasance and mismanagement, Trump doesn’t come close to George W. Bush (yet).

But Trump is in a class by himself in his willingness to recklessly gin up rage against entire groups of people and tell outrageous lies that endanger individuals. He eagerly and often does both for political gain, to get himself off the hook or to paint himself as less sleazy by comparison to others. It’s grotesque and repellent, and, as far as I know, it’s unmatched in US history. In this way, Trump has exposed countless people to crackpots and mobs and has caused death and mayhem, though not at scale…so far.

Two of his favorite targets are former FBI lawyer Lisa Page and agent Peter Strzok. Trump defames them not because they engaged in official misconduct (investigations turned up indiscreet behavior but nothing illegal) but rather because they were critical of Trump in text exchanges, which Trump latched onto as evidence of a “deep state” conspiracy. Trump has relentlessly mocked the two and called for their jailing, just like the tinpot authoritarian he aspires to be.

Trump’s behavior toward Page and Strzok is particularly disgusting to me because they aren’t public figures. The way he leers about “lovely Lisa” and lingers over the word “lovers” when talking about Page and Strzok at his hate rallies is grotesque because no one deserves to have their private business publicly mocked by a foul, degenerate hypocrite like Trump. (It’s also jarring to me because I once found it impossible to imagine Trump using the word “lovers” outside the context of a food order in which it immediately follows the word “meat.”)

Anyway, after remaining silent and hoping in vain that Trump would move on, Page has had enough of the shitgibbon’s shit, as she says in an interview with Molly Jong-Fast in The Daily Beast. Here’s an excerpt where Jong-Fast describes why Page decided to speak out:

I asked her why she was willing to talk now. “Honestly, his demeaning fake orgasm was really the straw that broke the camel’s back,” she says. The president called out her name as he acted out an orgasm in front of thousands of people at a Minneapolis rally on Oct. 11, 2019.

Ugh. That’s just so many shades of fucking cringe.

I hope Ms. Page gets some measure of relief from breaking her silence and highlighting the many ways Trump and his nasty sycophants have subverted our federal law enforcement institutions. The whole interview is worth a read.

Open thread.

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These People Are Certifiably Insane

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When you aren’t donating to your favorite personal weblog, you might consider throwing Planned Parenthood some many, because these fucking anti-abortion lunatics are certified nutjobs:

A bill to ban abortion introduced in the Ohio state legislature requires doctors to “reimplant an ectopic pregnancy” into a woman’s uterus – a procedure that does not exist in medical science – or face charges of “abortion murder”.

This is the second time practising obstetricians and gynecologists have tried to tell the Ohio legislators that the idea is currently medically impossible.

The move comes amid a wave of increasingly severe anti-abortion bills introduced across much of the country as conservative Republican politicians seek to ban abortion and force a legal showdown on abortion with the supreme court.

Fetus fetishists.

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Here It Is (Open Thread)

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I get tired of saying it, so I assume y’all get tired of hearing it, but the presence of the leering misogynist Donald Trump in the Oval Office is a daily, incarnate insult to women, a constant orange beacon that illuminates our second-class citizenship. And it is made all the more unbearable by the complicity of the (overwhelmingly white) women who helped put him there.

This is a truth we confront daily. But sometimes, the base materials that created this hideous aspect of Trumpism come together under pressure to yield a perfect diamond of ignorant, braying sexist bullshit. And here it is:

For those disinclined to watch the clip, Trump is celebrating himself signing the Woman’s Suffrage Centennial Coin Act, which commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote. (The 19th Amendment passed the House in 1919 and was ratified in 1920.)

Trump signed the Woman’s Suffrage Centennial Coin Act next to a woman dressed as a beauty pageant contestant in a tight “suffragette white” sheath dress and sash. Trump wonders aloud why it took so long to get this particular act signed into law — wholly ignorant of the meaning of the word “centennial,” it appears — and credits himself with finally getting it done.

Then Trump asks the Platonic Ideal of the anti-woman Trump woman, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), to give remarks. This clip mercifully spares us Blackburn’s remarks, but we can assume they were embarrassingly obsequious. She may even have credited Trump with giving women the right to vote rather than signing an act creating a commemorative coin 100 years later, who knows.

So, if you see women in your life who are not Marsha Blackburn rage-drinking or punching through plaster walls, this sort of thing might explain it. Open thread!

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Election 2020 Open Thread: Yearning for Their White Dude

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The way we live now…


They’re not racist-racist! It’s just that things have always been a certain way: Iowa was quadrenially important, and presidents were white. We tried experimenting with that last factor, and things went all to hell! Maybe America (not *them*, of course, but all those other voters) just isn’t ready for a(nother) President who isn’t white, and male!

Such a nice young man, that Mayor Pete…

Other candidates are gonna be less oblique, of course, because they’ve got their base locked down already:

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