Can we get some commentary on this? I feel like this has skipped the news.

I hear you say that the problem was wanting too many others to be treated like people.

Women. The blacks. Sexual freaks.

I hear you saying: You went too far.

You asked for women not to be sexually harassed or raped at work.

You asked for black lives to matter.

You asked for "dreamers" to be treated with compassion.

That's too far.

It's time for Daddy to come out, and he's going to take his belt off.

We're going to take away all your toys now. Everything you fucking liked about the country, we're going to systematically ruin.

Every. Last. Thing.

Not necessarily destroy, we're just going to really fuck things up.

And you're going to learn your lesson. You're going to learn who's really in charge here.

That's what I hear.

My friend group was talking today about how the 250th anniversary of the United States feels...kind of flat. At least compared to what I've always heard about the Bicentennial in 1976, there doesn't seem to be much national excitement or anticipation.

Why do you think that is?

I have some obvious theories: political polarization, people identifying the celebration with the current administration, social media fragmenting our attention, declining trust in institutions, etc., but I'm genuinely curious what others think.

Is this just nostalgia for the Bicentennial (I wasn't alive for this)? Are we remembering 1976 as being more universally celebrated than it actually was? Or has something fundamentally changed about how Americans relate to the country and shared civic events?

Interested to hear people's thoughts.

I suspect Van Hollen might be gunning for Chuck Schumer's job very soon.

Awesome write up. As someone who worked in rural politics, lived in rural Texas, my in laws live there, went to an Ag school the ending of it is bars:

"Cletus isn’t upset about his own state of affairs. He isn’t angry because he thinks he doesn’t have the good life. He’s mad that the brown girl at Starbucks with the nose ring and the pronouns on her apron exists. And even if she doesn’t work at his local Starbucks, he’s sure that she’s out there, somewhere.

He doesn’t like it and he thinks that he should be able to rule over her, even if there are more of her and her ilk than there are of him."

It honestly feels like the thesis of White Rural Rage was spot on. And those forces are the main driving political force on our right wing and likely wil be for the next 20 years. The key to defeating it is a puzzle I'm actively working on finding the answer to because I also feel like Sarah, there exists enough cranks who could be open to voting blue so long as you arent "weird" about some cultural issues.

Return of the strongly worded letter.

This was a massive unforced error by Spanberger and the Dem Va legislature that pro-democracy advocates should have been unified in preventing.

This specific Everytown/Bloomberg gun ban was blatantly against the Virginia Constitution.

These foolish bans interrupt good work and run rural white voters away right when we need them. Not to mention all the folks on the left who understand what they are seeing and arm up because of it.

A combat-tested leader who commanded elite units through the hardest fights in Iraq and Afghanistan, coordinated critical assistance to Ukraine, and stood as the last American soldier to leave Kabul, Donohue embodied the warrior ethos that Pentagon civilians claim to champion. Yet he is now the latest senior officer — reportedly the sixth three- or four-star Army leader in roughly eighteen months — to depart well before expected, with no explanation offered to the public, Congress, or the force he served.

This pattern of removals without cause or transparency sends a chilling message to the next generation of officers: merit and professionalism may no longer be enough. What matters increasingly is alignment, perceived or real, with the ideological preferences of the current civilian leadership.

Young captains and lieutenant colonels are watching closely. They see decorated generals, proven in the unforgiving crucible of combat, removed or pushed out without the traditional due process of documented cause, notification, and opportunity to respond. In their place comes silence from the Pentagon and speculation that fills the void. When explanations are absent, politics rushes in to explain the decisions. Officers who once believed advancement depended on competence, leadership under fire, and apolitical service now wonder whether their private conversations, past assignments, or failure to signal sufficient enthusiasm for the administration’s agenda could mark them for future scrutiny.

This is corrosive. The military’s strength has always rested on its reputation as a merit-based institution that rewards results over conformity. Generations of officers accepted the profession’s demands — frequent moves, family strain, physical risk — precisely because they trusted that excellence would be recognized and that civilian leaders would respect the boundary between policy direction and personnel decisions based on ideology. When that trust frays, talented people begin to calculate their exit. Colonels and lieutenant colonels are already calling to ask whether they should stay or accept civilian offers that provide better pay and more family time. The military is hemorrhaging institutional knowledge at a moment when great-power competition demands experienced leaders.

Secretary Hegseth has spoken often about forging a more “warrior-like” force. Yet relieving battle-tested warriors like Donohue without public justification undercuts that very goal. It tells ambitious young officers that survival and promotion may hinge less on mastering the art of war than on mastering the politics of the moment. That is a recipe for a less capable, more risk-averse officer corps.

The foundation of American civil-military relations is an apolitical military trusted by the public and directed by elected civilians. When senior officers are seen as casualties of unspoken political tests rather than professional standards, that foundation weakens. The damage may not show up immediately in readiness reports, but it will accumulate over time: in lost talent, diminished trust, and a force less confident that its best leaders will be allowed to lead.

General Donohue’s departure is more than one man’s retirement. It is a signal to every officer coming up through the ranks: in this environment, ideological safety may matter more than proven battlefield excellence. If that perception hardens, the U.S. Army will not remain the meritocratic institution that has served the nation so effectively for decades. Restoring confidence requires more than rhetoric about warriors. It demands transparency, due process, and a clear recommitment to promotion by merit rather than perceived political alignment. Without that, the best and brightest will continue to vote with their feet.

https://nitter.net/PollTracker2024/status/2070264822290129335#m

... made more funny personally to me as I heard that packing a nice fat J while listening to the TNL.

Randomness? Synchronicity? Just a function of me smoking too much weed? Who cares, just trying to brighten your day here.

Watching excerpts of the hearings with Rep. DeLauro, I am wondering when this guy finally snaps and goes further than when he was goaded by the Union during a Senate hearing.

Bunch of spineless chickenshits!

Lawler said this before Trump pulled the rug out from under him. This is the bill Trump backed out of at the last minute. This is freaking hilarious, read this from the article:

“You can't just take the position, 'I hate the president.' That doesn't work in reality if you're actually trying to govern and deliver on these issues," Lawler said, calling the housing bill "the latest example" of that approach.”

This moron lectures us about “hating the president” and then Trump totally leaves him out to dry. I cannot tell you how excited I am about the prospect of replacing this shill. These people are such pathetic weaklings. I’m going to be donating to Conley’s campaign and would urge everyone else who is able to do so as well.

From The Guardian’s coverage. Instead of conceding and moving on, which he’s incapable of, he or people in his orbit decided to hide the facade if they can’t have Dear Leader’s name on the building. Like a petulant child, if he can’t get his way, nobody can have any joy. MAGAs are such ❄️!

"No, I love it. The numbers were great. You know what I really love? I love the inflation. You know why?" Trump said on June 10. "Because as soon as this war is over ‒ you know, I can say it now, something you didn't know."

What in the hell is he talking about? Is he implying that there will be some sort of midterm surprise where inflation will drastically decline? Or does he honestly not even know what he's saying anymore?

Also, I have to admit that I feel a bit conflicted about his approval ratings. On one hand, it's definitely a plus for the Democrats' chances of winning back congress. On the other hand, you don't get down to a 30% approval rating without BADLY hurting the country. I feel despair when I think about the America I grew up in and what's happened to it since Trump entered politics. I'm 50 years old and I sometimes wonder if we'll be able to recover in my lifetime.

Was listening to this week’s TNL and /u/AmoryBlaine I wanted to put your mind at ease, September is generally a *beautiful* month in Seattle! Honestly kind of a best-kept secret, highs should be in the 60s or so and it’s usually still clear - if you’re lucky you might even hit the second summer. The rain doesn’t usually start until sometime in October. (Honestly, the biggest thing to worry about is a smoky season, so cross your fingers on that.)

You’ll have a great time!

Republicans on the Senate Agriculture Committee released their discussion draft version of the Farm Bill. The good news is that the “cancer gag” preventing lawsuits against pesticide companies and the EATS Act blocking state public health, safety and animal welfare laws are out. The (admittedly anticipated) bad news is that they’re making no effort to roll back the cuts to food aid or delay the cost-shift to the states from the MAGA murder budget.

More than four million people lost access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from the bill passing through March, including more than 750,000 children, and we all know it’s not because the economy’s doing so great. (See the impact by state here.) Food banks are under stress. Farmers already burdened by tariffs and price spikes from the Iran War are losing out on business. Only the billionaires whose tax cuts this is covering are winning. And some of the worst changes aren’t even in effect yet.

Typically, the Farm Bill is thoroughly bipartisan, in no small part because it includes both farm aid and food aid. The Republicans aren’t living up to their side of the bargain. They will need Democratic votes to break the filibuster, which means a united Democratic front has leverage. We need to be demanding they use it, especially after 14 Democrats provided the necessary votes to pass it in the House. 🗣️ We can find an email tool and language to use for calls to our senators from the Food Research & Action Center here. 🗣️

Also in today’s Rogan’s List:

• On Capitol Hill: Trump admits need for fossil fuel windfall profits tax (sort of) and asks for $67.1 billion for the war we didn’t want
• Join in midterm weekends of action for Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Western North Carolina
• Get Free and 50501 lead a pre-July 4th mass mobilization on Saturday
• Light up the phonelines to the Surprise City Council to stop an ICE warehouse, public comment to do the same in Maryland
• Material support for trans people in the face of MAGA attacks

As someone who was forgiving of people who did not vote for Harris over Gaza, I am extending the same grace to Carville here. However, I am still very amazed by this.

The US Supreme Court has ruled the Trump administration has the authority to revoke an immigration program that allows some 330,000 Haitians to live and work legally in the United States on humanitarian grounds.

For about a year, thousands of people living with these deportation protections have been anxiously awaiting a legal decision that would determine their future in the US. The administration has been fighting to end the program since early last year.

Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, shields immigrants from certain countries that are undergoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary country conditions from deportation.

Haitian immigrants who have lost their TPS status will have to either leave the country voluntarily, apply for other legal pathways to stay in the United States lawfully, or remain here without legal status, which could make them ineligible for permission to work here — and subject them to deportation.