An attorney for veteran downstate Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost told the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday that Illinois’ post-election mail-in ballot-counting law created the potential for reputational and financial harm to the congressman and he should be allowed to sue to try to overturn it.

"This is a man who’s suffering dementia." "This is a man who has something stuck in his head. He can’t get it out of his head. He doesn’t read. He doesn’t know anything that’s up to date. It’s just something in the recesses of his brain that is effectuating to have him call out these cities."

We Are Nothing Like the Gestapo.

We Are Nothing Like the Gestapo.

Folks, if ICE shot a pastor in the head with a pepper ball on camera, what do you think they do to people behind closed doors?

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

It’s a very small thing compared to everything else, but there are federal employees who have stayed through 2 rounds of DRP, 5 bullets justifying our jobs, return to work, and now we’re furloughed. The talk of not paying us now is beyond scary. I’m so tired.

The subhed here is a master class in corporate journalism rewarding malfeasance via semantics Bondi didn't valiantly fend something off, she refused to answer legitimate questions before Congress because the answers would be horrifying and politically inconvenient And that's a profile in cowardice

Somebody is an old grumpy face this morning. Wants to snuggle but doesn’t want to be touched. #WhiskersWednesday

“I’m English on my mom’s side and ethnically a kidnapper on my dad’s”

It's not just that they're going to strike down a law against conversion therapy, it's that they're going to do it on behalf of made-up claims from a straw plaintiff who can't honestly show the law affected her at all

"Democrats would be wise to make this snarling, racist, and unhinged character the face of the MAGA party. (Which shouldn’t be too challenging, given the advantage of being true.) "

It's not looking good for DHS's account of yet another shooting theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

3 years, 3 months, 1 week, 5 days, 1 hour, 35 minutes, and 57 seconds ▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 17.85%

This is a REALLY good video that gets into the *specifics* of how AI is degrading our information environment and putting truth further out of reach for the average person / the population as a whole

"While there is a non-zero chance that someone at the Treasury has reason to expect Donald Trump to die soon, the much likelier explanation is that someone ordered this coin either not knowing or not caring that it appears to be against the law."

Pangram last🤓 Failed to QB Monday - my ganglia did not help me find GANGLIA

Okay, this is an alternate spelling, and RAREFY is the standard spelling. I did not know!

twice a year the entire U.S. press becomes a marketing extension of a single billionaire-owned retailer, and nobody in any position of editorial power thinks it's weird or gross

"Bondi’s contemptuousness was designed to send a clear message: You have no power to stop us. Refusal to even entertain the questions of committee Democrats should have been cause for bipartisan scandal. But committee Republicans seemed perfectly uninterested..." open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

A decade after it was written, I find myself pulling out the @cingraham.bsky.social's gerrymandering explanation to help people understand why California’s Prop. 50 is so important to pass. wapo.st/3WfcjeB

The Atlantic is edited by a former Israeli prison camp guard and has a senior columnist/contributor who is accused of writing secret speeches for the Israeli ambassador to the UN. The state of the elite US media when it comes to Palestine. zeteo.com/subscribe

Why would I trust LLM/AI when spell check does stupid things like changing "spelling bee" to "repelling bee" every time I type it?

Nope (I am a day behind)

Sen. DURBIN: Madam Attorney General, it's my job to grill you. Investigation of your agency is part of my responsibility. You may not like the experience, but others have weathered this storm and answered questions in a respectful manner.

The Brutal CBP Assault Tied to the Marimar Martinez Shooting www.emptywheel.net/2025/10/07/t...

NYT reporters try to contact Gazans they've interviewed over the past two years of conflict gift article link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Pan de Azúcar by Federico Herrero, 2014 https://botfrens.com/collections/212/contents/137418

Roses https://www.wikiart.org/en/henri-fantin-latour/roses-1885-1

Hill Street (Day City) https://www.wikiart.org/en/wayne-thiebaud/hill-street-day-city-1981

If I had to guess the artist I don't think Kandinsky would have made the top hundred

On Time Off Time http://www.moma.org/collection/works/134284

Delaware Crossing https://www.wikiart.org/en/frank-stella/delaware-crossing-1967

Paul Jenkins, Phenomena: Junction Red, 1963 https://botfrens.com/collections/14377/contents/1136065

I refuse to let hopelessness prevail. This may just be one essay, by a lawyer few have heard of, in a newsletter read by a fraction of the public. But I will not stay silent. Will you? www.democracydocket.com/opinion/i-re...

Intermission - 1963 https://botfrens.com/collections/173/contents/3103488

"U.S. citizens, immigrants with legal status and children have been among those detained in increasingly brazen and aggressive encounters..." apnews.com/article/chic...

Claim: 10 cars rammed ICE Truth: No cars rammed ICE Claim: She boxed ICE in Truth: ICE boxed her in Claim: She shot a rifle at ICE Truth: She did not have a rifle Claim: ICE returned fire Truth: Only ICE fired Claim: She drove herself to the hospital Truth: Paramedics found her

WIC runs out this week

According to a leaked document detailing Russian losses, the estimated cost of conquest per 100 acres for Russia is: ☑️ $7,300,000 USD ☑️ 11 soldiers killed in action (KIA) ☑️ 19 soldiers wounded in action (WIA) ☑️ 4 soldiers missing in action (MIA)

What is the German word for an overwhelming eagerness to see an unqualified person fail?

we hit 2 billion posts today! 🥳

Best thread of the night

Pritzker is also furious: “Should National Governors Association leadership choose to remain silent, Illinois will have no choice but to withdraw from the organization.”

If you like yelling about misuse of the passive voice, THIS IS IT.

Calvin & his whiskers looks like an angel He’s not He’s puked up his p’tit déj in his dry food bowl

Meanwhile we go live to Chonky Status: Still befuddled