General reminder of the words of proud son of Virginia, Major-General George H Thomas. The "Rock of Chickamauga". Who, unlike Lee, stayed loyal to the Union. Post-war he had views on 'Lost Cause' and the damage it would do to America, unchecked. A “counterfeit varnish of patriotism” he called it.

Dean Martin, born Dino Paul Crocetti, son of Italian immigrant Gaetano Crocetti Frank Sinatra, son of Italian immigrants Antonino Sinatra and Natalina Garavanta Merry Christmas to everyone except Stephen Miller and his enablers and handlers

Of course you should read everything Doctorow posts, but you should ABSOLUTELY read what he posted today: pluralistic.net/2025/12/16/k...

THREE THE HARD WAY. Soundtrack constantly recaps whatever just happened in case you wander in late.

it is the worst of all worlds. a "unitary *presidency*" insulated from judicial or congressional power and a weak president unable to do the job of governing

thinking more about this: it is highly ironic that at the same time that it serves as a test case for the "unitary executive," this administration is all but being led by two subordinate officials with no immediate political accountability.

#sff The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction that was supposed to come out this last summer is finally out. They got a new publisher and there were growing pains. It contains my novelet 'The Corporate Soul' and Afrofuturist sf from Maurice Broaddus and other cutting edge sf and fantasy.

Good to see two of our stand-up governors standing together on this one. (As they have on many other issues.) @governor.ca.gov just weighed in to similar effect.

she called it

Important to understand this. There's a reasonable chance that your Dem Senator who voted against it and is acting mad now was in on the play. It's the same reason why they scheduled the surrender for AFTER the election this week. They didn't want people pissed at Dems right before an election.

one thing i find crazy-making is the idea that getting rid of the filibuster would make congress a purely majoritarian institution. bicameralism itself is counter-majoritarian! equal state representation is counter-majoritarian! the fact that senate elections are staggered is counter-majoritarian!

i wouldn't be a total glenn youngkin hater if i didn't mention that the results tonight mean that his total tenure amounted to presiding over the destruction — at least for the next few years — of the virginia republican party. lmao.

If the National Guard is really in D.C. to protect federal property, they should probably have been at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. two days ago

At the risk of sounding a little presumptuous: God bless the Pope

Miller is what you would get if an incel somehow managed to impregnate his inflatable fuck-me doll.

If we’re renaming departments and calling the DOD the “Department of War”, we might as well go ahead and make the DOJ the “Department of Revenge”

Luckily, Sinclair has a helpful database of all their stations, so you can see if they're operating in your area and respond accordingly. sbgi.net/tv-stations/

This is an archived government report that found that “Since 1990, far-right extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamist extremists.” It existed yesterday and is gone today.

The “problem” with vaccines? They so effective at preventing deaths that they create generations of people that question whether disease was a problem in the first place because they have never experienced the horrors of a world without vaccines.

These fools are going to kill a lot of people.

Hoping the AI cover controversy won't delay (or worse yet, scuttle) the print release. Any news to share, Johnshirley2024.bluesky.social?

Actual question: It has been only 72 hours since the disastrous puppeteer/puppet show in Anchorage. Has there yet been a background story on how, and by whom, this emergency intervention of *eight* big-time world leaders was pulled together, over a weekend?

Have waited all these years for someone to explain to me why QUIZ SHOW was not a comedy

Graphic designer Joe Caroff passed away yesterday at age 103. Responsible for absolutely legendary posters and typefaces. www.printmag.com/daily-heller...

If you are not on Cory Doctorow's Plura-list, it is time to subscribe

Update: I offered the amendment. Not to refuse acceptance of the Qatari jet; just to prohibit Trump from taking it with him when he leaves office - after the taxpayers spend $1 billion to retrofit it. Failed 14-15. Every single Republican voted to allow Trump to take the jet.

Emil Bove's confirmation was only possible because Democrats caved to a vile right-wing smear campaign of Adeel Mangi, who would have been the first Muslim appeals court judge, when Biden nominated him for the same seat last year. Absolutely disgraceful. Bove's confirmation is on them, too.

Instructions: buy

With Tom Lehrer's passing, I suppose this is a moment to share the story of the prank he played on the National Security Agency, and how it went undiscovered for nearly 60 years.

Not to mention dog chow www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Jeffrey Epstein Is about Trump's Failing Ability to Command Attention www.emptywheel.net/2025/07/13/j...

Trump's gift. "Even if American science becomes gutted. . . science will still survive and thrive in the rest of the world, and we may be witnessing a pivotal moment that leads to the decline of the US and the rise of other scientific and technological national leaders." bigthink.com/starts-with-...

My Parisian operatives spotted an odd graffito on this side of this building. It read " @joequinones.bsky.social Wuz Here"

Heartwarming romantic (and true!) anecdote: my oldest friend's ex-wife asked him to move back east so that they could be together in the same concentration camp.

A look back at my previous covers for the Batman '89: Echoes series by me and @shamm.bsky.social with colors from Leonardo Ito. Final issue out this Wednesday!

Terminus est

Trump's birthday parade and Trump's solid gold toilet: two grotesque extravagances he gets to enjoy in solitude

Yeah, the Post has uncovered damning evidence that Levitsky actually believes in what he says

"There is simply no rationale for the way he has laid waste to scientific research – to those seeking the causes and cures for deadly diseases that afflict the lives of millions of people," writes @dianeravitch.bsky.social dianeravitch.net/2025/06/05/t...

I don't want Newsom to run and I think he's a douchebag but he should declare for 2828 (so should Pritzker) for precisely the reason Trump did. To make any LE activity a campaign stunt.

very fun to read frederick douglass accurately describe the problem with the pardon power in 1867

You want mordant? We got mordant: "I asked Wilentz whether Trump was unique in terms of his destructiveness or if there were presidential precedents. Wilentz replied 'There is no precedent, not even close, unless you consider Jefferson Davis an American president.'" www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/o...

He wants Kimberly Guilfoyle back

For a good time, watch Buckley v. Chomsky: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dvm...

There is not a single congressional district in the U.S. where more than 15% of voters support cuts to Medicaid.

The same kind of folks who spent years complaining about masks that slowed the spread of disease are now wearing masks to facilitate the spread of fascism

His AssHoliness Pope Anus I

Trump's budget: We're cutting your health care and cancer cures to pay to deport your nurse assistant and cancer researcher.

Followup to previous repost:

A thread worth revisiting on a regular basis. Example #1, David Valadao, represents the 22nd congressional district in CA: