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Jeff Tiedrich's avatar

I chose not to write about Texas. I think what the Democrats did is admirable, but will ultimately fail — because they'll have to return to Texas eventually. I think all they did was delay the inevitable.

I will, however, be happy to be wrong about this.

but I think the real solution is to fight fire with fire, and for Democrat governors to gerrymander their own states to the point where elected Republicans cease to exist.

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Jeff Tiedrich's avatar

NY Gov Kathy Hochul agrees with me. this could be worth writing about tomorrow.

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lvlilmkjje2d

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Elizabeth Schulz's avatar

AND JB Pritzker is giving Texas Dems FREE rooms in the Hotel HE owns for the duration of their stays outside Texas. Now that's the way to put your money where your mouth is. I like this guy.

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Linda Weide's avatar

He is my governor. He does not draw a salary, and he funds other candidates.

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Doreen Dalesandro's avatar

Again, WOW!

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celeste k.'s avatar

I was hoping Kamala Harris would choose him as her running mate at the time. I'm hoping this man will run for President. He cares about the country and all it's residents, and only became Governor to 'fix' things that needed to be fixed. He would be an excellent Commander-in-Chief.

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Doreen Dalesandro's avatar

Wow😀 I'm beginning to like Governor Pritzer more and more! I know he said he will be running for a third term as governor, but, Elizabeth, do you think he will throw his hat in the ring for president?

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Elizabeth Schulz's avatar

Doreen: I've been thinking that for a while now, although he insists he still wants to remain as Governor. I'd think he might just play the long game: continue being a GREAT governor, build more good will with ALL of the people, then run when the time feels right, perhaps after a woman president, unless there's a move afoot to draft him? He's become more and more likeable.

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Doreen Dalesandro's avatar

Elizabeth, I doubt there will be a woman president in my lifetime 😕 There are way too many misogynists in this country😡 I did, of course, vote for Kamala and Hillary, both of whom I thought were SO much more qualified than agent orange. It wasn't even a contest. While I most certainly will vote for a qualified woman, I just feel she will be unelectable😟 I think Pete Buttigieg is so well qualified: he is brilliant, he speaks eloquently, he doesn't take crap from interviewers. I would love to see him get elected. But, again, there are way too many homophobes in this country.😟 The prejudices here bite the big one😡

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Denise Donaldson's avatar

He's a hero, no question about it.

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Valerie's avatar

This is SO GREAT!!!!! If TX goes thru with this ALL blue states need to gerrymander the SHIT out of their states. Get in the mud & fight dirty. We have no choice at this point.

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Judy Luchsinger's avatar

Blue states need to do it no matter what the GOP does.

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Bob Bowden's avatar

And the next Dem President needs to strongman the GOP into permanent oblivion, unless they can win a future election without their giant privileged wealthy thumb on the scale, as has always been the case in the Electoral College-biased U.S.

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shee-rah's avatar

What we really need is election of the President and Vice President by popular vote on a national basis, eliminating the Electoral College once and for all. This would not affect the House because the Representatives would still be elected by districts, which could be Gerrymandered.

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A.J. Madison's avatar

That Dem Strongman running for President will have to start with knocking some sense into the DNC. They're way too comfortable with just being leaders and sometimes winning, sometimes losing. According to Mr. Elephant in the Room (Rick Wilson), they're attending conferences with their political consultants showing them big foil deck after foil deck and believing their own bullshit that all they need do is not shit the bed (unlike their Repub peers) and they'll win majorities in 2026. IMHO, uh, fuck no morons. America has been looking for a strong leader since 2016, and we're such idiots that many of us took a wild ass lying POS racist, misogynist, homophobe to be a strong leader. Some of them still don't get that he's enabling multiple genocides, some inside our own country, destroying not just own economy for a couple of paltry million dollar bribes, but the world economy. Oh, if we don't get a handle on green house gases, to use a phrase, "Katie Bar The Door" in the coming hurricane seasons.

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Lisa Tantillo's avatar

The days of "strongly worded letters" MUST be over!

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Doreen Dalesandro's avatar

I agree "twelve hundred, thirteen hundred, fourteen hundred, fifteen hundred percent. I don’t mean fifty percent. I mean fourteen, fifteen hundred percent.”

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Elizabeth Schulz's avatar

Doreen: I know. I've long since known he was the dumbest fuckwit around, but THIS bullshit spewing is taking the cake. HOW COULD any kid in grade school hear this and think: 'oh this makes perfect sense; I just learned about 1500% from my Math teacher this week'? SURELY even some of the magats are waking up if their kids are 'doing the math'?

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Elizabeth Schulz's avatar

Yes! THIS was one of Kathy Hochul's points. She said she hadn't originally planned to do this but the gops were leaving Blue State Governors no choice. Frankly, if States such as California and New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Connecticut, etc. did this - they'd throw the magas into a world of hurt and confusion, but of course then they'd (as usual) turn it against democrats with frump's ever-growing twisting of the truth. Are we ready for that fight and the lies which will come with? I know I am. I think THIS is the time for Democratic Governors who are all in to just do it with US backing them up 100%. I wouldn't call it 'fighting dirty', merely fighting on an even playing field. If they don't like it, they shouldn't have begun this fucking war.

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Abigail Norling's avatar

Yes PLEASE! I really want to see the dems start fighting fire with fire, not with a limp noodle!

AND did anyone else notice the woman in the pink outfit laughing openly as the rump cheated???

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displacedCTYankee's avatar

Doesn't matter to Drumpf, the woman in pink's not his type.

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Lorraine Parish's avatar

Whoever wins the House in 26 will be the ones to certify the 28 presidential election.

Knowing this, the magats will stop at nothing. We have to fucking be ruthless as possible. I would think since our Blue states in general are more populated than red states, we might have the winning edge. Just a guess at this point.

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Leu2500's avatar

Actually, the Congress elected in 2028 will certify the presidential election.

The new Congress will be seated on 1/3/2029. It will count the electoral votes on 1/6/29. & the president will be sworn in on 1/20/29.

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Elizabeth Schulz's avatar

Kathy guested briefly on Rachel Maddow tonight. Told Rachel (and frump) that she too is backing the Texas Dems whom she hosted for breakfast at our NY Governor's Mansion AND will protect and defend them from abbott's 'order for their arrest' (unfuckingbelievable). It's basically a toothless order, issued purely TO force them back into session in Texas with supposedly no criminal accusation behind it, BUT with all of these militarized assholes running around, I'm quite sure they'd be happy to somehow manage to 'accidentally' cause harm or hurt to our Democratic lawmakers, especially the women. Grrr. Rachel wasn't pulling any punches tonight. She said we're here IN this dictatorship with all of the harms being done and we have no other choice but to fight back. I couldn't agree more. To that end, she also laid out just how many legal fights are being waged, many of which most of us didn't know about. GREAT show tonight with lots of good info.

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Chris Craddock's avatar

I live in Texas. We've seen this movie before. And yes, they will fail. Texas has been a fascist one-party state about since dubya won the guvnaship

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Jeff Tiedrich's avatar

Texas got that way from gerrymandering. TX-1 was a Democratic district for 127 consecutive years, from the first day of statehood. then it got gerrymandered and now that moron Louie Gohmert has been TX-1's rep for the last 20 years.

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Mary Greenwald's avatar

Says a whole lots about Texans! Louie Gohmert does not have a functioning brain. Therefore he would not be on a scale that included the designation MORON.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Louis Gohmert doesn’t even make the list of the Terrible Texas Three. Wheels Abbott, Cabo Cruz and the Emissary of Evil, Ken Paxton have done damage to Texas that hasn’t even been felt yet.

Such a proud state being led down the road of ruin and all those proud ‘Murricans ain’t doing shit about it.

Cowboy up?

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Marlene Lerner-Bigley (CA)'s avatar

Gohmert truly is the stupidest person in Congress elected by gerrymandered stupid people, bless them. Wilbur Ross is literally one of those apple dolls whose faces are all shriveled up.

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Susanna J. Sturgis's avatar

OK, but keep in mind that through the end of the 1960s white Southern Democrats were mostly what we now call Republicans. Louie Gohmert would absolutely have been a Democrat before the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of the mid-1960s.

And whatever you say about LBJ, and whatever his (serious) failings in foreign policy, he rose to the occasion when it came to civil rights and "liberty & justice for all."

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Doreen Dalesandro's avatar

I agree with you, Susanna. I don't think LBJ gets enough credit for his work on civil rights

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shee-rah's avatar

And Medicare

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Elizabeth Schulz's avatar

Wasn't that rat-faced little bastid one of those who claimed that rape victims weren't 'really'? OR should 'have just kept her knees closed'? He DID have something utterly vile to say on the subject, that I DO remember, but not which disgusting comment of many was his....I was too busy puking.

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Itsy Bitsy Spider's avatar

Oooeeeeuuuu.

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Itsy Bitsy Spider's avatar

I loved Ann Richards. And Barbara Jordan. Fucking W.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Ann Richard’s tenure was the final act of sanity in an insane Texas government.

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Mary Hall's avatar

"They blame the low-income women for ruining the country because they are staying home with their children and not going out to work. They blame the middle-income women for ruining the country because they go out to work and don't stay home with their children." -- Ann Richards

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Doreen Dalesandro's avatar

For women, it's "you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't" 😡

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Mary Hall's avatar

America Ferrara's epic speech in the Barbie Movie was one for the ages --

"It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong.

"You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people. You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.

"But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.

"I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don't even know."

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Patricia Gomes's avatar

Then they made abortion illegal and want women to have more children.

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Elizabeth Schulz's avatar

Ann Richards was/still is one of MY heroes. Forever and a day.

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Itsy Bitsy Spider's avatar

Yes, I used to work with a lot of Texans in the early ‘90’s. They were all Democrats…and then the W hit the fan.

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Lois Henry's avatar

“Poor George, he can’t help it, he was born with a silver foot in his mouth”

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Doreen Dalesandro's avatar

🤣🤣

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Chris Craddock's avatar

yup. same

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longtimebirdwatcher's avatar

Let's be clear. The republican government of Texas is corrupt, just like the national government of the United States. In general, I think we should describe republicans today as corrupt. I am not referring to John Kasich, a Republican who can work with Democrats, balance the national budget and give us a budget surplus. He is not a republican.

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Elizabeth Schulz's avatar

Not for anything, but I listen to Kasich VERY carefully when he guests on MSNBC and don't like a lot of what he slips into his conversations. Ostensibly he's all 'I'd be a great bi-partisan leader' but then he ALWAYS gets in little nasty digs against either Joe Biden, Kamala Harris or even Barack Obama. NOT appreciated by me at all. While others put him in the category of brave republicans such as Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney, I can't, at least not yet. He still has much to prove to me. YMMV.

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T L Mills's avatar

I agree with you Ms. Schulz. He hides it well, but Kasich has a streak of rattlesnake on the inside.

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Elizabeth Schulz's avatar

Oooooh. Well-phrased, T.L. That hit me as 'exactaMUNDO'. Wish I'd thought of it. :)

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Denise Donaldson's avatar

He was our governor here in Ohio, and he's definitely not trustworthy. Unless you define trustworthy as always toeing the R party line.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

DeWine is no better! He talks out of both sides of his mouth regularly. He is a smooth liar.

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Denise Donaldson's avatar

Agree completely, Walt. He's slime. I loathe the man.

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Mary Hall's avatar

He is another member of the He-Man Woman Hater's Club.

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longtimebirdwatcher's avatar

I don't know about that. He has twin daughters...

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Mary Hall's avatar

Unfortunately, merely having daughters doesn't make one a supporter of women's rights, e.g. T💩p. Kasich is against abortion rights and as such he DGAF if a woman bleeds out from a miscarriage. He comes off as a moderate, but he is a snake. Do not trust him.

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Rosemary Orlandi's avatar

I listened to him on MSNBC too, and I agree!

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Lorraine Parish's avatar

I can't stand the guy, I mute the sound when he comes on. He's all over the place, just what the fuck does he stand for? A two-faced creep to me.

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longtimebirdwatcher's avatar

I haven't noticed that and I'd say, talk is cheap. I look at what he's done. I'd rather deal with him than t. Remember the 2016 republican convention? I believe it was in Cincinnati. t wouldn't allow him to speak or be on the stage.

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Elizabeth Schulz's avatar

Assuredly he or anyone on this planet would be easier to deal with than megalomaniacal frump, but that wasn't 'my' point specifically. It's that he's gaining quite a bit of popularity among democrats who think 'ok, I could tolerate him as a passable interim republican president' but I get VERY bad vibes from him (and now others here have confirmed I'm not alone). I'm merely an observer who thinks he's playing a different game, that's all - which would mean that he's clearly smarter than frump who can't keep his big yap shut - but then, who isn't? After what we've been through, there'd be no reason whatsoever for us to settle for any 'anti' what we know to be good for We the People. We've lost so many freedoms we took for granted. Would Kasich rush to give them back? Highly doubtful. There will be far too many GOOD choices to settle for someone who comes across as untrustworthy, at least from this side of the aisle. Again, YMMV. I don't know him as a former Governor, only from what I hear him say.

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longtimebirdwatcher's avatar

I wasn't saying that. But if he wants to work on the budget with a Democratic president, I'd say, "be my guest". That how I know him--a balanced national budget and a budget surplus. I haven't seen a republican do this since.

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Chris Craddock's avatar

I don't trust ANY republican these days, regardless of what they may have been in the before-times. Now when they go on camera anywhere, even the "sane republicans(tm)" have to get in nasty digs and at least three lies from the corporate playbook or they won't get asked back. It's the worst kind of ignorant monoculture

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Truer words were never spoken, my friend. After Ann Richard’s, Texas has been a snowball rolling downward towards hell.

Infrastructure crumbling with the crappiest, oldest, least maintained electrical grid since Puerto Rico. Abandoned oil wells spewing methane 24/7/365. Blatant lying about the border creating unnecessary chaos. Gerrymandering is status quo.

The good people of Texas - and there are many - are faced with the same problem that democracy loving people throughout the U.S. face, only on a more local level…stopping a fascist takeover.

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Joe Witkowski's avatar

It’s the Lone Star State, and they never have nor ever will find that Lone Star. Refer to Rick Perry’s grades at Texas A&M.

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Walt Svirsky's avatar

Rick Perry, who famously couldn’t name the 3 federal departments that he wanted shutdown when asked to name them. It was the Department of Energy he couldn’t think of and they later made him the head of that agency! Ignorance, greed and avarice are the prerequisites for membership in Shitler’s cult.

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longtimebirdwatcher's avatar

Yes, I remember it so well. He thought it handled gas and oil...

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Brenda Doherty's avatar

I’m not a fan of Kasich. He never really comes out against Trump. He just nibbles around the edges.

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Denise Donaldson's avatar

Agree. He's always done what R leaders have told him to do. He's NOT a moderate, by any stretch.

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Joan Eisenstodt's avatar

There are few real Republicans left. Kasich may be one. Tillis coulda gone out on an ethical high but didn’t.

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Jayme Wolworth's avatar

Kasich is OK but he would be neutered just like to rest of the GOP with Trump at the helm.

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longtimebirdwatcher's avatar

You know, I was fine when he and Clinton brought us a balanced budget and a budget surplus. I look back at it and think, can't anyone else do this?

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Greg Conners's avatar

People need to stop worrying about Gavin Newsom's hair.

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arne link's avatar

That hair drives Drumpf mad with jealousy. That makes me very happy.

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shee-rah's avatar

What’s wrong with his hair? At least he has hair that’s not wrapped around his head like a turban, a la the current occupant of the WH.

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Greg Conners's avatar

I could only hope for hair like Newsom’s.

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Elizabeth Schulz's avatar

Now that's honesty! I think Gavin has a great head of hair and it does drive frump mad with jealousy. ANY little thing another man has better than him, especially in the looks department (but then, that allows for BILLIONS of men) sends him spiraling. Barack Obama's mere existence - his good looks, charm and CLASS sent orange dunce into a jealous rage long before his damn escalator ride. The failed attempt to birther him AND his jokes at the Correspondent's Dinner (all while that very night they were going after Bin Laden) drove frump insane with resentment and jealousy. That's the key word: he's an envious, jealous toddler-brained moron. THAT is how to take him down if we do it right.

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longtimebirdwatcher's avatar

Wendy, I read this when you put it out last night and panicked.

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cablecargal's avatar

Better than waking up, reading it, and panicking all day! That is so frightening.

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longtimebirdwatcher's avatar

It really is, isn't it? Who is that cute cat???

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cablecargal's avatar

My baby who crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2018 but I still think about my Rusty often. He was so big and gentle and smart.

We have two feral cats now; they need to be gently handled and it's been hard to get close to one of them. I just miss him so much so I use his picture.

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longtimebirdwatcher's avatar

Oh, I'm sorry. We have our 15 year old part siamese named Otis (born on a dock of the bay) and our two not quite kittens any more. They were born feral but we got them at about eight or ten weeks. They were both the same size then. Now the male is the size of a huge Norwegian forest cat (I can hardly pick him up). He's WiggleB and his much smaller sister is MinnieB. My husband know both the parents and they aren't anything like WiggleB... XXX

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Rosemary Orlandi's avatar

I just skimmed it myself.🤯

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Elizabeth Schulz's avatar

Me too - but I was SO tired when I read it (and meant to pass it on), I dozed off. Probably why I kept jolting awake and am running on empty today. Still have to feed the critters. ANYTHING about that horrific creature miller is bound to get my attention.

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Brenda Doherty's avatar

I agree, Jeff, that the defiance of the Texas Democrats will probably fail, but I admire them for doing it. I’m tired of people complaining the Democrats aren’t doing anything.

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Johanna Park's avatar

I agree! Democrats leaving Texas is pushing back! It brings more much needed attention on gerrymandering. It drags out the process, which republicans use as a tactic all the time. Every little bit helps!

We need to get behind every resistance effort as strongly as we condemn capitulation and inaction.

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Itsy Bitsy Spider's avatar

Yeah, fuck this high road shit, the end often defines the means. And if the good guys don’t win this, it will be the end and a lot harder to return from after 4 years of this crap. Look at Russia.

You can’t bring a knife to a gun fight as we all saw in Raiders…

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Lee Ann Vindasius's avatar

As Governor Hot Wheels pulls the authoritarian card on his Democrats. Get home now! I'll restrict y'all! Piss off, Abbott.

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Itsy Bitsy Spider's avatar

I loved Ann Richards. And Barbara Jordan. Fucking W.

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Victoria Wilson's avatar

Yes.I am with you.Dem states need to gerrymander the hell out of their maps- and do it fast! I live in red Ohio where citizens voted for new maps overwhelmingly just to have our Republican super majority ignore the results of a fair election and leave the old gerrymandered maps in place. Same thing here with reproductive rights. Rs do NOT play by the rules and Dems need to do a bit of sleight-of -hand in order to have any chance at all at voter integrity.

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Denise Donaldson's avatar

As a fellow Ohioan, the R's ignoring the vote for new maps just frosted me. And when the Ohio supreme court threw out the extreme R gerrymandering, the Rs whined to SCOTUS, which effectively nullifed the Ohio court's ruling. If they can't win, they'll cheat, and if cheating doesn't work, they'll just ignore a vote or a ruling.

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Deborah Hunter's avatar

Didn't they or some other state do that before and it just ended up being a publicity stunt. Didn't accomplish anything.

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Elizabeth Schulz's avatar

There IS a method to their 'madness' though. IF abbott calls another 30day session as soon as this one expires (and the Democrats return), they can leave again - and again if it continues, they'll run out of time IN Texas which has a short time span for their voting coming up THIS YEAR (November?) That's the whole point of the Democratic lawmakers trying to prevent those fuckers from gerrymandering every brown and black voter INTO an all-magat district so their votes won't count - or get 'disappeared' in the shuffle.

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Leu2500's avatar

WI

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Linda Weide's avatar

Governor Newsom sent me a solicitation for funds the other evening so that he can do just that in California. I am behind that, and also submitting a bill to end us paying federal taxes. Let our states tax us, we will get something for it.

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Joan Eisenstodt's avatar

Didn’t they do this before or was it another state’s Dems? I was gonna ask if Gov Abbot can, by TX Constitution, and as he’s threatened, just say “poof, you’re out of a job” before I remembered he plays by MAGA “make the rules as you go”.

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KP Johnson Austin, TX's avatar

They've done it twice before in the past 25ish? years.

And...no, Abbott cannot legally put the Dem. legislature out of a job, but he's besties with trump, so trump can make it so with the flourish of a black sharpie on an executive order.

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Leu2500's avatar

WI

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Verbal_Blowtorch's avatar

Love ya, Jeff, but ... "Democratic" governors, not "Democrat" governors. The repugs have been using "Democrat" as an adjective instead, which makes me bristle. I'd hate to see them make 'fetch' happen over here on the left.

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shee-rah's avatar

Then we’ll hit back with kvetch.

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SPW's avatar

I appreciate that more than you know. That seems to be the topic of the day today for literally EVERYONE!

Shoutout to Bryan Taylor Cohen who had a live event last night with Gov. Pritzker and those Dems who went to Illinois. Some had fled to NY. Anyway, they all did an excellent job of explaining the five W’s that today’s corporate media has tossed out of the window.

So back to you, this reader loves everything you write about and if you continue to pick up those areas that, in this pile of constant shit that get short shrift, this life would be much easier. Oh yeah, don’t let your own self get piled on.

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Elizabeth Schulz's avatar

Only a tiny wee correction for anyone wanting to look for him on YouTube or with Marc Elias: it's Brian Tyler Cohen. He's absolutely terrific - has been on MY radar for a good 3(?) years now and I've been thrilled to see him being invited as a guest onto MSNBC more and more often. WITH Marc he does a more legal ask and answer show. My sole concern for him now is that he must temper his 'usual' language ;) on mainstream television. He's SO good at it.

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Terri Nighswonger's avatar

Fuck yes!!!!

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Jeff Tiedrich's avatar

programming note: Ms. Spouse would like it to be known that she thinks I spent too much time in this post talking about golf

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Tess's avatar

Well…it’s simply an excellent example of how he cheats in broad daylight…for the disbelievers. And your comments with every other cheating fricken thing he’s done…blends in well! lol

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Ellen H's avatar

100% (or maybe 1500%?)

I have been a golfer for 40+ years, taught by my parents who both golfed into their 70’s. The number one lesson is integrity. If someone cheats at golf, they will cheat at anything. Exhibit A - the “commander in cheat - Cheaty McGolferpants” (Jeff, I love that nickname!)

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Joan Eisenstodt's avatar

Is there, and I a never-golfer ask seriously, a code of ethics or conduct for caddies? An association for the profession as their is for others? If so or not, what’s their obligation?

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Ellen H's avatar

Yes, the rules of golf apply to both player and caddy.

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Joan Eisenstodt's avatar

And is there punishment for caddies not obeying the rules, @Ellen?

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Ellen H's avatar

For a professional, yes. They can lose their right to caddy on the tour. At private clubs like his, the governing board would decide, so in his case, no. As the owner of the club, he can sadly do whatever he wants.

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HI2thDoc's avatar

It's just amazing how his caddies all have such butterfingers and keep having balls slip out of their grasp at opportune times and places.

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longtimebirdwatcher's avatar

Yes, where is Fredo to make a comment about this?

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shee-rah's avatar

Probably golfing with MAGAs.

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Rick Calegari's avatar

Fuckley McCheater still has me cracking up. Hard to think of anything he's ever said or done that doesn't involve bullshit, fraud or something criminal. How those ass kissing dimwits can stand there and let him pull this shit every damn time he hits the links is beyond ridiculous. Would like to see a copy of one of Dear Cheater's scorecards in a newspaper which might actually be worth its weight in popcorn.

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Michael M's avatar

Jeff’s comments about every other cheating thing he’s done are just the Greatest Hits, probably representing way, way, way less than one percent of the cheating he’s done. It’s his brand.

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Linda Weide's avatar

He looks so demented doing it. I say this from having a mother with dementia. People are tricking her all the time and she doesn't even know what she is doing. Trump may not even know. In fact, he has no one looking out for him the way my mom has me, my husband and her sister, and brother--in-law to try to protect her from those around who would like to take advantage of her. My husband has just been trying to straighten out a mess she created financially. I cannot imagine that Melania, or his kids are going to look out for him. They are going to let all of the crooks around him control him and that is that.

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shee-rah's avatar

I sympathize. I had to do an intervention with my father and take away his checkbook. From that point on I managed my parents’ finances and pretty much ran their lives. It’s exhausting, especially when you’re working full time and have your own household to take care of.

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Linda Weide's avatar

Yes shee-rah. I can relate, although right now my husband can relate more, although he is the one that is in charge of things with her and her finances when I am not there. It is why I retired early because it became a full time job after she had a stroke just to get her care, move her into nursing care post rehab, and then into a senior living apartment. Right now I am opening up one household and have to return to the US to close up another as well as move my mother into more sheltered living. It is hardest on my husband because he is in charge right now both financially and with taking her to appointments and things like that. She just told me when I was there in June that she feels good and she will live as long as her mother, who lived to be 99.5. I say, more power to her.

At the same time she is confused because she does not know where she is. Somehow she got out the other day and made it to her sister's house, which is about 7 blocks from where she lives. She was pushing her walker and she fell asleep. We live closer to her by 2 blocks, but she could not remember where we lived. I presume that is because my aunt has lived in her home since the early 1960s, so my mom remembers it. That to me is long term memory working, whereas short-term and active working memory are not working so well.

Anyway, she said she walked 30 blocks and they believed her. I do not. I think it seemed like 30 but was probably 7 or 10 at the most. But, she apparently fell asleep in a chair right away, and my husband picked her up and took her back home.

When people talk about Trump falling asleep all the time, I know that is characteristic of dementia. Another sign that he has it and is just a bewildered old man with a long term memory of wanting to be king, but is increasingly befuddled by the day to day, in the moment. It explains why people like Hegseth are bypassing him on decision making.

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shee-rah's avatar

It’s rough. I definitely sympathize with you. It’s years later, and I still miss my parents. Now my older brother is beginning to have dementia issues at age 82. This is someone who was an Eagle Scout, high school valedictorian, Merit Scholar, had a fellowship for graduate school at Yale in math, taught math at a university for a few years and then was an Oracle programmer for a number of years. I don’t envy his wife. He and his wife live across the country from me, so I can’t offer day-to-day help.

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Linda Weide's avatar

I can imagine. I watch my friends feeling adrift as they lose their parents. I am sorry about your brother.

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Victoria Wilson's avatar

Yeah he’d cheat his own mother( probably has in the past)

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Leu2500's avatar

He tried to cheat his siblings out of their inheritance be getting his dad (who had alzheimers & wasn’t competent) to change his will. His sister the judge caught what he was trying to do & prevented it.

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Fastball Fredo's avatar

Jeff, been playing golf a long long time and participated in a number of tournaments, supervised a number of tournaments. If I acted like Yam Yam I would be escorted off the course and probably prohibited from further participation in any other tournaments. These tournaments are based on skill, honesty and honorable play..I don’t see that in any golf setting Donald participates.🤮

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Lynn Van Haren's avatar

Anyone else but Donny would have been escorted off the golf course for cheating

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Lisa K. Obrien's avatar

And how do your MAGA golf buddies square that?

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HI2thDoc's avatar

Yeah, Fredo, bring that up at yer next Lunch With Cult Dumbshits

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KP Johnson Austin, TX's avatar

They look the other way as they've done for everything else. "Oh wonderful! He's won ANOTHER tournament! He's the most deserving and gifted golfer on the planet!!!!"

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Dave Drell's avatar

oh pkeeeeaaaseeee- what do they teach at those colleges nowadays - ASS KISSING 101?

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Donna Marie's avatar

His courses, his rules, his lies. Would you expect more

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Patrick Daniels aka Cromulent1's avatar

Touché Donna!!

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Michael M's avatar

Question about Trump winning all these golf tournaments – is he the only one playing in them, and does he know this?

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Tess's avatar

I was looking forward to your comment Fastball Fredo!!

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longtimebirdwatcher's avatar

Oh, here you are. You should have made the first comment. Aren't you our expert?

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Susan Keefer's avatar

My dad took golf very seriously and he use to say that a person who was a golf cheat couldn’t be trusted with anything!

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Monnina's avatar

I assume that is the whole point for mad King Trump. He is constantly publicly demonstrating that, as he’s in charge, he can get away with doing anything and vice versa. I can not but imagine how his personal military are, so far, stopping him from compulsively pressing the nuclear red button…

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arne link's avatar

Yes, so far...

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Monnina's avatar

Just woke up and if my dreams are anything to go by, it is chaos. I have been preparing myself to accept death and environmental and societal breakdown for a while now. Of an age where it loses its terror but not its emotional attrition.

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HI2thDoc's avatar

Now when he plays golf he will be under intense scrutiny and camera surveillance

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Tama2U's avatar

This is the best part imho. Game ruined. Most of the golfers in this region are MAGAs and I too am wondering how they’re going to square this bc with them, golf is a effing religion.

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Denise Donaldson's avatar

Because mango man is the exception to all rules. The King can do anything, remember.

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Lisa's avatar

It's still true today. My husband and I are both in leagues and everyone knows who the cheaters are and talks shit about them. They are clueless.

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Joan Eisenstodt's avatar

“Talking shit” about them is expected. If they don’t own the course, are they reported to the league? I asked above about caddies and if they are bound by a code of conduct and to whom are they accountable?

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Leu2500's avatar

You mean like Republican senators & their oath of office?

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Louise Pattison's avatar

If your caddie breaks a rule, you (player) get a penalty. But of course rules don't apply to Cheater in Chief so his caddies can do anything.

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Dave Drell's avatar

It’s not really “golf” - it’s closer to

Miniature Golf

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Joan Eisenstodt's avatar

Shaking my head. Well there you go. “It’s my course and my balls and so there.”

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Lisa's avatar

Hey Joan, I wasn't replying to you? It was to the comment of her dad saying that people who cheat in golf aren't to be trusted. And no, in casual leagues, folks just steer clear of them.

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Joan Eisenstodt's avatar

Thanks. Sometimes it’s difficult to discern.

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Charles Austin's avatar

Your Dad was correct.

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Maggie&Lefty's avatar

Somehow, for no fricken reason, I hear the faint notes of Your Cheatin’ Heart warbling in the background 🎶 …

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Greg Conners's avatar

No, no. Do not turn away from the golf-course-as-cauldron-of-fascism theme. There is a reason so many business types spend so much time away from cameras and microphones. Indeed, they are there to improve their "handicaps".

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Wendy OConnor's avatar

I am friends (acquaintances) with a golf pro. He abhors golf cheaters but for some reason can look the other way with shitshispants. Only one reason: cult.

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Wendy🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🌈's avatar

Golf is the sport of my country of origin , sadly fuckhead doesn’t know how to play it

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Alison Parker's avatar

Hey, that's Trump's fault.

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Sharon Hudnall's avatar

With so many witnesses to his championship-quality golf game, this is cheating to appease a demented old fool and prevent him from firing the caddy and throwing his ketchup at the wall. As they did in Scotland, his MAGA media cultists will say Squareblob Spongepants was just testing the green.

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Leu2500's avatar

Trump was cheating like this well before he had dementia

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Sharon Hudnall's avatar

True! But now he does it publicly and Big Media and his cult think it's endearing.

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Diane J's avatar

Ms. Spouse surely knows that Diaper Don and golf are linked together as much as he and lying and cheating.

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longtimebirdwatcher's avatar

Don't forget corruption.

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T L Mills's avatar

It's an just another indication of how very entitled he feels, since he plays (and cheats) in real life the same way he plays (and cheats) at golf. Why does anyone bother to play in the tournament since it seems to permanently tilted in Donnie McCheatsateverything's direction. (never mind, I know; it's all about playing with POTUS--as if that means anything with the senile old fart out to lunch three quarters of the time...)

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Mary Greenwald's avatar

Nah. I love seeing him cheat. Keep it out there in case one of his Besties stumbles onto your post.

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Eva Porter's avatar

lol. That’s the best part.

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Mg's avatar

Gotta laugh, tho, to keep from crying , and the cheater stories make us laugh.... 😂

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longtimebirdwatcher's avatar

No, I'm not even smiling.

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Norma's avatar

🫶 Ms Spouse

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Neal Stiffelman's avatar

People can relate to it, though.

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mary's avatar

Maybe. Always a good idea to agree with Mrs Spouse for the sake of domestic peace and tranquility. But I like how you worked in a plug for your friend's book. Hope it's amusing cause I definitely need a laugh.

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Chris Craddock's avatar

the job description for working in the poopy pants regime is pretty simple:

1. you've got to be a knuckle-dragging right wing (preferably "christian") nutjob

2. you've got to be prepared to starve kids and kick grannies off their healthcare

3. you've got to look seriously into every camera and lie your fucking face off

4. gotta give "dear leader" a solid knob-washing on tv at least once a week

I left off a lot of bad fascist shit to save typing, but does that seem about right?

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MountainBoyMike's avatar

"Fuckley McCheater"...thank you for the laugh when shit just isn't real funny these days...

side note: the best part of my morning is reading Jeff...the worst part of my morning is when I finish reading Jeff

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Colette Hayden Haas's avatar

SAME!!!! So sad..😞 BUT, wasn’t it Scarlet O’Hara who said something like, “ ….there’s always tomorrow “!!! 👍🏻🤷🏼‍♀️

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MountainBoyMike's avatar

and tomorrow will be a brand new newsletter and some brand new laughs!!

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J.R.'s avatar

Me too. Reality bites.

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Lynn Van Haren's avatar

Truth!

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Mary Beth Horsington's avatar

Me too!

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Doreen Dalesandro's avatar

👍👍

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Stephanie Lajeskie's avatar

Donny definitely has a plan to lower drug prices by about four million percent. And he’s going to reveal it in about two weeks.

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Joan Eisenstodt's avatar

As Jeff notes, SOME reporter has to ask. Maybe I’ll write to the Hassett and say here are the prices monthly of my meds. What should I expect to pay at 1500% off?

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shee-rah's avatar

If you are a participant in a clinical drug study, aka guinea pig, they will pay you. In this scenario, your cost is less than zero. But once the drug is on the market, you’re on your own.

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Maggie&Lefty's avatar

Great, would that be about two TACO Tuesdays from tomorrow ? Just asking, ya know?

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HI2thDoc's avatar

Who let Hassett escape from the Keebler Tree?

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Susan Niemann's avatar

HAHA!

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Rosemary Orlandi's avatar

I know ! Every time I see him I want to slap his face....

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Lisa's avatar

He has THE most punchable face.

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Suzn Sez's avatar

Yep, Haslett has one of those faces that make people's fists positively beg to be allowed to fly free.

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Mary Hall's avatar

I came here to say that. I am a life-long peacenik, but I would happily punch that fker.

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Celeste Hardway's avatar

Probably the Keebler elf-in-chief, Holy Mike Johnson!

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Irascible Ink's avatar

😂😂😂

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Charles Austin's avatar

😂😂😂😂

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Karen Hall's avatar

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻😂😂😂

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Kay-El's avatar
2dEdited

1. My generic prescriptions cost me $0. Where the fuck is my 1500% refund Donny?

2. Hassett is taking over Weisselberg’s old job; he’ll be cooking the books for Donny.

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Geoff Anderson's avatar

Math dude here. 1500% of $0 is still $0 :-D

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Kay-El's avatar

Yep!

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Douglas's avatar

yeah....Hassel seemed quite relaxed and more serious.....hes got the job. Good eye Kay

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Joanne Rossmassler Fritz's avatar

My generic prescriptions also cost me $0 and I’ve been on Medicare for five years. But that’s just the four pills I take. I have glaucoma and my eye drops are incredibly expensive, even the generic versions cost a hundred bucks or more — name brand of one would have cost me $1500! My eye doc caught it before I did and changed to generic. Grateful for my eye doctor!

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Kay-El's avatar

Excellent catch. I’ve had a few prescriptions that have turned into OTC and aren’t expensive and I can use my HSA for them if I want.

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Joan Eisenstodt's avatar

I’m envious of your plan. It must not be Medicare or supplemental!

Btw: do those NOT on Medicare think it’s free????

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Kay-El's avatar
2dEdited

It is Medicare, but it’s a Kaiser Advantage plan. I don’t recommend it for everybody, but it works for me.

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Kay-El's avatar

Btw: Yes, they do. No free lunch!!

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Leu2500's avatar

re Oz not knowing what he’s talking about. That was apparent when he shared the video of him buying crudites, salsa & tequila.

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Lisa's avatar

Oh I remember that. Barf. Such a snob, "crudites". It's a vegetable tray.

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Mark Slattery's avatar

Only his cult will be dazzled by his idiotic (and impossible) math skills that promises them a 1500% discount on prescription drugs. They'll be lining up at pharmacies expecting to get a bag of money along with their drugs.

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Lisa K. Obrien's avatar

I, too, would like a big bag of money with my drugs.

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HI2thDoc's avatar

This, apparently, will be a big surprise to the pharmacies

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Sharon Hudnall's avatar

One Trump apologist posted that since drugs are already so expensive, a 15% - 25% increase in prices won't be noticed by consumers. Same with groceries. Americans are getting used to being fucked over.

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Joan Eisenstodt's avatar

I noticed this week with lots of purchases. And my healthcare costs.

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Robert Eckert's avatar

Yeah, how do you think that's going to work out for ya, GOPher?

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shee-rah's avatar

Gullible suckers—all of them.

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Maggie&Lefty's avatar

…under, around and through!

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Leu2500's avatar

It’ll be noticed. Not like we can do much about it tho.

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Dana Jae Labrecque's avatar

Don’t you think we all should be lining up asking that right now?

I mean, how else do we put pressure but to just start stating these things out loud at the pharmacies saying, “well, the president said so and said that it’s already happened,so where’s my drugs and where’s my money?”

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Joan Eisenstodt's avatar

I like our pharmacists too much to do that.

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Dana Jae Labrecque's avatar

Well, there’s that.

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Douglas's avatar

The calculations MUST be right....D went to Wharton...🫡

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Mary Hall's avatar

"DJT was the dumbest GD student I ever had." -- Former Professor Wm. T., Kelly, University of PA, Wharton

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Louise Pattison's avatar

Nope. His supporters don't understand percentages.

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Alison Parker's avatar

I'd be curious to know if there is anything Trump *hasn't* cheated at. If he had the ability to have any interest in another human being and had ever played checkers with one of his grandkids, he probably cheated there, too.

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Paula Dean's avatar

Hey, he's PROUD of his cheating! He thinks it makes him Wicked Smaht! And I suppose he is an expert level cheater, because it's the only way he has ever gotten anything - and we must admit, he's gotten A LOT.

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Dave Drell's avatar

If you cheat at everything (like him) you become rotten to the core- you don’t know right from wrong- you cant properly evaluate anything without looking for an “angle”, and eventually everyone catches on and soon distances themselves fro your corruptness.

Cheater,Liar, Pedophile, —- that’s your

Prince of Darkness, right there in one big mass of blubber & diapers!

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Susan Niemann's avatar

"President Yap Yap" 👏👏👏 He's a miserable waste of oxygen.

And Kevin Hassett looks high all the time...

JFC. The nightmare continues.

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George in Atlanta's avatar

I have a theory about Kevin. I imagine that he pines for the "good old days" when people hated him for being gay. Now, nobody gives a fat shit about that. They hate him because he's turned into a useless mouthpiece for an insane autocrat; he dies a little inside every time I see him. I actually feel for him, until his current mistaken life choice, he actually was some serious shit in economics. Not anymore, though, nobody will let him clean out their ashtrays after this.

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Sharon Hudnall's avatar

The White House Energy Vampire Hassett dropped a full buttload of gaslighitng about those jobs stats.

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Charles Austin's avatar

Nitrous oxide? (That would explain the perpetual smile)

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Marlene Lerner-Bigley (CA)'s avatar

He sure does look higher than a kite! Wonder if he is inhaling nitrous oxide.

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HulitC's avatar
2dEdited

I recently started reading that book Commander in Cheat. The first (2nd?) chapter is about how thump cheats at golf. He cheats at EVERY hole. AND then not only lies about his score, he changes the number (down) with each retelling. “He can’t stand to lose” Some people found this “funny” & continued up play with him because he was “fun to hang out with”.

Subsequent chapters portray a much less “fun personality.”

The man is evil personified.

I haven’t even finished the book yet, but it’s definitely worth reading to better understand what we’re up against. (I’m at the part where he likes to cheat people, communities, etc out of money and lives to sue people just for the fun of it.)

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Babe Paley's avatar

What's funny to me is that when I've ever *bended* some numbers at work or whatever in the past, I never turned around and screamed about how awesome they were--cutting corners usually ends up with the person wanting to move on from "all this" and not draw attention. But "I cheated LOOK AT ME" is such a weird take.

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HulitC's avatar

I gather it’s not “I cheated - look at me”, it’s more “I won, I’m the best - oh you caught me cheating?, so what everyone cheats”

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George in Atlanta's avatar

Jeff. Language!

"...Donny appoints goniffs and scammers..." is an abomination. The proper wording should be

"...Donny appoints goniffs and schlemiels". Those fools couldn't scam their way out of a wet paper bag.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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Dave Drell's avatar

Is he a schlemiel or schlemazel?

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Robert Eckert's avatar

Schlemazels suffer the consequences of a schlemiel's bad moves. Trump never suffers consequences.

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George in Atlanta's avatar

It's context-dependent. Idiots are individuals, so they bring their own unique combination of shit to the party. The lines between them can be fine.

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J.R.'s avatar

🥳😂

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Richard's avatar

My wife and I never watch Sunday morning political shows. Speaking about medications. Both of us are 64 years old and we take prescription medications every day. I’m on three different medications: Blood pressure, Blood thinner and antidepressant for anxiety. We have health insurance and we need to take our medications. The 🍊💩 and his goons want us to be without insurance and medications. We have a message for them: 🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕!

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Margaret MacKenzie's avatar

Kevin Hassett looks like a smarmy character Martin Short would play on SNL (no offense to Martin Short).

And boy, I can’t wait to get paid for taking Lipitor!

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Itsy Bitsy Spider's avatar

Again a LOL morning moment when you said “ how did we Nazi this coming?” thanks, I needed that. I am still reveling in the Samuel Jackson ad for Motherfucking Windfarms.

Ahh, the poetry of it all. See you tomorrow, if the pfas don’t get me first.

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