This November, there will be many of names on ballots in all 50 states and not one of them will be Donald J. Trump. Nevertheless, the election will be a referendum on the chaos he has unleashed since his return to the White House, from his demolition of the East Wing, devastation of USAID and subversion of the Justice Department, to his costly tariffs, impetuous attack on Iran and cruel war on immigrants.
If this were a simple thumbs up or thumbs down vote on his presidency, Trump would surely lose, but it will not be that simple. Ballots will be cast in an electoral system where far too many districts are gerrymandered to achieve a preordained outcome, and where more weight is given to votes in small conservative states than to votes cast in larger, more liberal states.
Those imbalances will make it imperative that the vote to put a check on Trump’s power is massive. These midterms will decide whether the Trump years end with a petulant whimper or a frightening roar.
[David Horsey’s Substack is a reader-supported publication.]
from Nate Silver How popular is Donald Trump?
The latest on Trump’s approval rating
Updated July 30, 2026
After rebounding slightly earlier in the month, Donald Trump’s net approval rating has now hit a new second term low of -20.6. His disapproval rating is dangerously close to breaking 60 percent, while just 21 percent of Americans strongly approve of the job he’s doing.
At this point in Trump’s first term, his net approval rating was 9.3 points higher at -11.3. In fact, Trump’s net approval rating is now lower than at any point in his first term. Back then, he bottomed out at -19 after January 6th. -EMD, 7/30/26
Nate also about The latest on the generic ballot
Updated July 30, 2026
Democrats have lost some of their lead on the generic congressional ballot. After it peaked at D +7.1 in early June, it dropped down to D +5.9. But after a string of excellent polls over the past week, Democrats are back up to D +6.4.
Here’s a sampling of the latest releases:
The Argument/Verasight: D +8
Emerson: D +11
Fox News: D +7
Clarity: D +10
Quinnipiac: D +7
If these kinds of numbers continue, Democrats should be back where they were in June in no time. -EMD, 7/30/26
Attribution: TRUMP BRANDED SECURE VOTER BALLOT by Chris Weyant
meanwhile, a musical interlude from the raging grannies’ latest
Jul 29, 2026 #raginggrannies #democracy #elections
We Raging Grannies of Tuolumne & Calaveras have a message to the officials we elected who aren’t representing us. Come election time, we won’t forget that betrayal. We are joining forces to vote you out and replace you with someone who will truly represent us and defend our rights, our democracy.
Side note: We dressed in black in honor of Johnny Cash.
Those Stinkin’ Liars
Tune: The Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash)
Lyrics: Rikki Cohn, RGTC
Democracy is a fragile thing
We trusted folks with the light it brings
They forsake their oath for their own desires
Betrayed us all, those stinkin’ liars
Chorus
They’ll fall hard, those rotten stinkin’ liars
They’ll go down, down, down
As the truth rises higher
And we’ll vote them out
Those stinkin’ liars, those stinkin’ liars
(Interlude with kazoos)
Chorus
They’ll fall hard, those rotten stinkin’ liars
They’ll go down, down, down
As the truth rises higher
And we’ll vote them out
Those stinkin’ liars, those stinkin’ liars
Our rights in shreds. It’s plain to see
Gonna take us all. And strong we’ll be
Stop the hate. Join hand in hand
For the good of all across this land
Chorus (x2)
They’ll fall hard, those rotten stinkin’ liars
They’ll go down, down, down
As the truth rises higher
And we’ll vote them out
Those stinkin’ liars, those stinkin’ liars
Generic ballot numbers are identical to Trump’s first midterm in 2018, when House Democrats netted 41 seats.
An amazing thing about generic ballot numbers right now is Democrats are no more popular than Republicans, yet more people say they’ll vote for them.
In other words Democrats are getting the votes of people who actually don’t like them. That’s how much they hateTrump!
The DOJ thought they could protect Donald Trump from the unredacted Epstein files. Judge Emmet Sullivan just called their bluff.
I love that Repugz are terrified of what Dumbass is gonna do if he shows up at their midterm convention.
Dems can do more with a few well-placed Bernie/AOC rallies to get folks fired up to vote than having a midterm convention.
Anon – Liz also lost the primary because Clyburn endorsed Biden. I still voted for her in the primary despite Clyburn. He’s so old that he endorsed Hayley Stevens. Is AOC the new kingmaker? Is Mamdani the new kingmaker?
Mandela Barnes, the former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, dropped out of the Democratic primary for governor on Thursday, upending the high-stakes contest less than two weeks before the 11 August election.
Barnes announced the decision in a video posted on social media, saying he no longer saw a viable path to the nomination, as democratic socialist Francesca Hong surged ahead with a commanding lead.
America’s data center backlash refuses to stick cleanly to partisan boundaries, with opposition to data center buildout nearly as high among Republicans as it is among Democrats. In his first major TV ad, Lawrence took aim at “tech billionaires” who he said want to turn Michigan’s farms into data centers that will “jack up our energy bills and ruin our home values.”
The Department of Justice intervened in a lawsuit against xAI, saying they should not have to conform to the Clean Air Act—because Grok, which xAI powers, is being used to bomb Iran. “That’s the logic,” Pearson said. “Violate the Clean Air Act, allow the pollution to kill American citizens because we’re killing people overseas with this technology.”
“I think people see that the ruling class is united behind this plan to push data centers in our communities,” Lawrence said. “That’s a place that you can fight from.”
Ivy, I’m having trouble believing that Bama has lost its mind and is likely to elect Tuberville over Doug. Jesus H. Christ, it’s as bad or worse than West Virginia. Hard to believe that’s even a thing.
Pog, I would be surprised if they did. It takes a Roy Moore-like deficit of character to make Alabama Repubs not toe the party line. Bad as he is, Tubby is not bad enough.
PS: Governor of Alabama is a job that takes no effort. Everything is decided for them.*
* if they are Republican
Lt. Turd, Dan Patrick, holds the most powerful office in Texas.
DNC says “Fuck You” to Maine Democrats
From the Bangor Daily News
National Democrats who wanted state Sen. Joe Baldacci of Bangor to face Republican former Gov. Paul LePage in a race for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District rallied behind State Auditor Matt Dunlap after he won the June primary.
With less than 100 days before Election Day, that support for Dunlap hasn’t yet come with some of the same funding and attention as other competitive races in the Democratic race to take the House. At the same time, LePage has been tabbed by prognosticators as the favorite.
*****
This is me (Nash) speaking again…
I firmly believe that the DNC and the establishment Dems in Congress would rather lose the mid–terms and remain in the minority, than see the progressive wing of the party grow in numbers and power.
Pissed off at Maine Democratic voters for being too progressive, the establishment Dems are going to give up a House seat to teach us a lesson. That is more important to them than winning a majority in the House
The establishment assholes who run the DNC are still angry at Maine Democratic voters for rallying behind Platner and then Jackson for the Senate race against Collins. The establishment Dems inside the beltway favored Governor Janet Mills, who is DEEPLY unpopular with Maine Democrats for vetoing many progressive bills put on her desk by the Maine legislature which is dominated by Democrats.
So…what is he DNC doing to keep control for Maine’s 2nd House district? NOTHING. Because, again, the establishment Democrats’ favored candidate (Baldacci) was defeated in the primary by a progressive (Dunlap.)
I think the establishment Dems in Congress secretly want to avoid being forced to vote to impeach Trump if they win a majority in the House. Their selfish political calculation is that impeachment would distract them from their normal activities, which are focused on fund raising from corporations and billionaires. And, they think “We won’t have enough votes in the Senate to convict Trump, so why bother?”
It’s Freaky Friday at the Diner today. Bring your favorite spit-take, 11-Noon ET…
Ya know, Nash, if you spent half the venom you direct at your fellow Democrats toward the Republicans it would be an amazing f*cking election.
But you won’t, It is always more fun to tear stuff up than take the time to build.
Jack
Ivy, I saw a poll yesterday that showed Tuber up by 15 points over Doug. And there’s some legitimate question as I hear it about whether the Tub lives in AL or FL (although I don’t think even Tommy is stupid enough not to have that covered)
If you are not following Stacy Abrams on substack You should be. (Link here)
Look into her archives, all spring she has done a series of essays on how to organize and accomplish something. They are good reads. Rather than sitting around and complaining she plans and works hard. Boots on the ground campaigning.
Jack
today’s meme…
Today in the Diner… Epstein Files Unredacted & Trump Dumps Todd Blanche
Donald Trump dumps Todd Blanche to save his tax slush fund while Katie Fang forces unredacted Epstein files to the judge.
We are paying attention to the absurdities today, starting with the sudden panic over Iran supposedly hacking water systems in small towns like Plymouth and Maple Plain, Minnesota. It sounds like classic fear mongering while the real scandals unfold in plain sight. Take Donald Trump quietly maneuvering to drop Todd Blanche, a clear desperation move to protect his cop beater slush fund and secure tax audit immunity for his family.
Meanwhile, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is sounding the alarm on that slush fund, though Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer remain frustratingly quiet. At least Katie Fang is getting results, forcing unredacted Epstein files, including emails about a torture video and an FBI interview with Katie Johnson, straight to the judge. Wrap that up with Sid Miller battling data centers in Texas over grid failures, and it is just another peaceful day at the diner.
00:00 Intro
03:30 Iran Hacks Minnesota Water Systems
12:53 Tim Cook and Apple Tariff Refunds
18:08 Trump Dumps Todd Blanche
21:50 Katie Fang Unredacts Epstein Files
26:14 Rand Paul Attacks Doctor Fauci
34:13 Blue Apple Produce Storage Secrets
44:28 Trump Gold Statues at Memorial Bridge
51:34 Jon Ossoff and Sherrod Brown Polling
57:43 Sid Miller Fights Texas Data Centers
— Human Prompted and Edited. Machine Drafted. (Gemini Pro)
Nash – You’re absolutely correct about the DNC and corporate Dems.
Folks need to stop thinking of them as Republican opposition, because even on the things where it doesn’t appear they are aligned they sure do work with Republicans to push stuff through.
Need six Dems to vote with Repugz for section 219 of the NDAA so that some Republicans can vote against and not look like they are “Israel First” ti their MAGAt constituents? Sure thing.
This is just the best ad for Abdul by showing Stevens for who she is!
*But they never say why so many folks are desperate enough to flee home. I’d like to see even one racist, MAGAt walk twenty miles a day for a week, only the good and water you can carry or scrounge up, no cash or credit cards, but knowing they have a home to go back to at the end of it. Climate change and war, all byproducts of capitalism are to blame, but which to what degree, the article doesn’t say. They never focus on why. They don’t want you to think about why.
Spain deployed its armed forces and additional police to restore order in Ceuta, which sits on the Strait of Gibraltar at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea and has been a Spanish possession since 1580.
About 60,000 migrants have crossed from Morocco into Spain’s tiny Ceuta territory in the past 24 hours, Ceuta’s president said Friday, a figure that is equivalent to 70% of the population of the city in North Africa.
But roughly half of them have already made their way back voluntarily, the Spanish government said, after the sudden arrival of so many migrants triggered chaos and a humanitarian crisis.
Meanwhile, migrants from Morocco also attempted to cross into Melilla, Spain’s other territory at the tip of North Africa, where they clashed with police.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Ceuta on Friday and condemned the border breach, which he described as “a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity.”
Sánchez blamed human smugglers for the crisis, saying they “deceive so many young people and ultimately lead many of them to their deaths,” whether in the ocean or in the autonomous city.
Friday afternoon, most migrants were trying to leave Ceuta given the dire conditions there.
Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers, described the situation as a “serious humanitarian crisis,” saying thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children, were left sleeping in parks and on sidewalks, while others roamed the streets aimlessly.
I read Stacy Abrams inspiring pep talk and get all optimistic. Then I read the comments here and it is 1972 all over again. *sigh*
The Democrats are so screwed and like usual they will do it to themselves.
In an ordinary off year election it wouldn’t be a real problem. But Trump and company changes everything.
Jack
The Michigan primary in 5 days will tell us a lot about which way this is headed Jack
Don’t get discouraged, just don’t get complacent. As “Ted Lasso’s” Roy Kent said, “Don’t you dare settle for fine.”
The DNC pushed hard for Cuomo against Mamdani. Mamdani won, and his successes have been a nightmare for the DNC. The illusion that we can’t have better, that we can’t have nice things has been broken.
We didn’t get far when Dems were in charge. Now, why is that? Why wouldn’t we get universal healthcare, free college, and why wouldn’t abortion have been codified when they had the chance? The corporation needs to sustain itself; it’s parasitic.
“We ordered 250 Escalades. That’s how we look sharp in those cavalcades, you know,” Trump said during a rambling, hour-long address at a General Motors facility in Michigan. We look sharp in those Escalades. Our guys are very spoiled. They’re very spoiled. They like the Escalade. So do I.”
I’d like to think I would look sharp in an Escalade. But, like most people in the US, I cannot afford one: especially if, as seems likely, the White House orders the armored version of the SUV, which can cost more than $300,000. And then, of course, I’d have to fill the 24-gallon gas tank.
The symbolism of Trump’s gesture, his fiddling with car specifications while Rome burns, is consistent with his Lucille Bluth-like behavior in recent weeks. He’s dismissed “affordability” as a term concocted by Democratic political consultants to criticize his presidency, introduced a new round of tariffs likely to push up prices, and refused to sign a rare bipartisan housing bill.
The administration and cryptocurrency industry groups say, if passed, the law would bring regulatory certainty to the digital currency industry and ensure the sharing of information about illicit activity with law enforcement. At the urging of Democrats, the White House agreed to new ethics provisions that ban government officials, including Trump, from issuing new digital currency.
Some critics, though, are focused on a part of the bill that allows Trump to keep benefiting from his cryptocurrency ventures, including $TRUMP memecoin, which was launched days before he took office. The proposed legislation wouldn’t prohibit those earnings. Those lawmakers also say the bill includes “loopholes” that leave room for Trump to enter new ventures and does not include an enforcement mechanism if he is found to be in violation in the restrictions that are included in the legislation.
Supporters of the bill are hopeful it can pass before the Senate recess in August, but Senate leaders have warned about challenges ahead.
I don’t care what kind of Democrats are on the ballot in November… I’m voting for them and them only. And yes… I’m voting. I one time told CBob that I would crawl across a glass strewn floor in order to vote…. that still stands.
*They are literally giving Dumbass a ring his minions can kiss.
Dozens of diamonds spell out two giant letter T’s next to the Stars and Stripes and “1776” and “2026.” Dozens more frame the numbers 45 and 47 in the shape of Superman’s logo. A diamond-winged eagle carries a ruby shield and clutches an olive branch of emeralds, below a radiant “250” and atop the phrase “250 YEARS USA” etched in 18-karat gold.
All told, 321 diamonds, 56 sapphires, 13 emeralds and six rubies encrust the watch-sized gold ring presented this week to Bill White, the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, to give to U.S. President Donald Trump.
“A very special thank you to my friends from Antwerp for the magnificent Freedom 250 ring,” Trump said in a prerecorded video message during an event marking America’s 250th birthday in Brussels.
Isidore Mörsel, president of the Antwerp World Diamond Center, or AWDC, gifted the ring on behalf of the centuries-old diamond community in the Belgian port city, a central node in the worldwide trade of the precious stones that found itself struggling last year under the weight of Trump’s sweeping trade war.
“May this ring serve as a lasting reminder that true partnership, like the finest natural diamonds, are formed under pressure, endure the test of time, and shine brightest when built on trust,” Mörsel said. The ring’s interior is engraved with the phrase “Crafted in Antwerp for Donald John Trump.”
In dollar terms, the ring’s value pales beside gifts like the $400 million plane donated by Qatar that Trump ordered converted into a new Air Force One. But it’s a glitzy window into the role that ostentatious – and almost always gilded — gifts are playing by those seeking to curry favor with the U.S. president.
A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, said Thursday that the ring has not been presented to Trump yet.
The gift comes months after Belgium’s diamond industry won the removal of U.S. tariffs on diamond imports. In September, AWDC said it had “succeeded in securing a zero percent import tariff” on Antwerp’s annual export of more than $2 billion of polished diamonds to the U.S. A spokesperson for the group said on Thursday that the AWDC provided “input” to the European Commission as it negotiated with Trump on a broad deal on tariffs in 2025, but did not itself lobby the administration.
U.S. presidents have considerable discretion to accept gifts from domestic and foreign sources and may determine themselves whether a gift was meant for them personally or the nation. The exception is those from foreign governments, which are prohibited by the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution without congressional assent, though presidents could use personal funds to reimburse the Treasury for the full value of an official gift if they wish to retain it.
Personal gifts are also supposed to be registered on the president’s annual financial disclosure. Trump’s 2025 disclosure, released this week, revealed a $250,000 gift of a sculpture depicting his triumphal gesture after surviving a 2024 assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and tickets to 10 sporting events, including 10 to the upcoming World Cup final in New Jersey from FIFA’s Gianni Infantino, valued at a collective $15,000.
Four U.S. ethics experts told The Associated Press that Trump has broken with decades-old custom in the White House to avoid accepting such gifts.
Welp, I’m taking a break the rest of the day. Trump is now saying that Minnesota sabotaged themselves. I just fucking give up!
Gutenberg Press has the books that make me wonder if they are part of what programmed Donny Dumbass.
…follows the adventures of a young baron named Wilhelm Heinrich Sebastian von Troomp, also known as Baron Trump…
“He began his travels at an incredibly early age, and filled his castle with such strange objects picked up here and there in the far away corners of the world, that the simple-minded peasantry came to look upon him as half bigwig and half magician—hence the vigrowth of the many myths and fanciful stories concerning this indefatigable globe-trotter.”
“According to the learned Don Fum’s manuscript, the portals to the World within a World were situated somewhere in Northern Russia…”
“When I assured the Happy Forgetter that he need have no fear as to the wisdom of the choice, he gave a start of almost horror at the information; for you must know, dear friends, that the Happy Forgetter has more dread of knowledge than we have of ignorance.”
*Hmmm, “I love the uneducated.” “You’ll only have to vote for me once.” Weird.
Rand Paul is an ass but an ophthalmologist is a real doctor.
Ophthalmologist (Medical Doctor, M.D. or D.O.)
Role: Acts as a medical and surgical specialist for complex eye diseases and procedures.
Education: Completes a four-year undergraduate degree, four years of medical school, a medical internship, and a multi-year residency in ophthalmology (totaling 12 to 14 years of training).
Services: Provides full-service medical eye care, diagnoses and treats all eye diseases, prescribes corrective lenses, and performs delicate eye surgeries (such as for cataracts or LASIK).
An optometrist is not an MD or DO
Ah, the ron paul family is from Pittsburgh, makes sense now
all that coal byproduct
yeah, guess what we’re not doing if we are re-litigating the lockdown
Holding Trump to account for his administration’s continuing crimes
even the political coverage of Rand Paul’s dog and pony show was absurd
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate(s) of 2026 will be announced on Friday, 9 October, with the award ceremony taking place on 10 December in Oslo, Norway.
*Just take a break, but don’t give up. The ☮️ 🏆 announcement comes before the midterms! Ha! If Dumbass is still topside, he will be seething with all sorts of ugly feelings.
Paul reportedly had certification from the American Board of Ophthalmology – a recognized group – before letting it lapse in favor of certification from the board he heads.
Paul’s claim that he is a “board-certified” ophthalmologist is tied to his certification by the National Board of Ophthalmology.
Yet that’s a group that Paul himself founded in 1999; he also serves as its head.
The organization that works with the American Medical Association to approve specialty boards of this nature, as the Courier-Journal notes, is called the American Board of Medical Specialties. And it does not recognize Paul’s group.
Paul says he formed his board out of frustration that the American Board of Ophthalmology forced doctors certified after 1992 to be recertified every decade.
“I thought this was hypocritical and unjust for the older ophthalmologists to exempt themselves from the recertification exam,” he writes. “… Is it fair that the ophthalmologist down the street can claim board certification, without renewing it, but that a younger ophthalmologist, who passed the same boards, is disallowed?”
*I ain’t buying it.
loved practicing medicine so much he went into politics
Ken Paxton unveils economic plan centered on tax breaks in U.S. Senate race
The Republican attorney general is starting a tour next week to promote the plan, which would create new housing and healthcare tax write-offs.
While Paxton’s plan aims to increase the amount of money households can keep through tax deductions, Talarico’s is more focused on cracking down on billionaires and corporate interests.
Talarico’s economic and tax plan also includes expanding the child tax credit. But beyond that, he’s proposing to raise taxes on billionaires and corporations and close loopholes that benefit both.
Talarico also wants to hike the federal minimum wage, repeal Trump’s tariffs, create a federal public health insurance option, expand the low-income housing tax credit and go after corporate landlords who buy up housing stock and artificially raise rents, among other proposals.
Paxton, the Republican nominee, said his plan is intended to “put thousands of dollars back into the pockets of hardworking Texans,” with a focus on write-offs for housing and healthcare costs.
“Washington has made it harder than ever to get ahead, and the American Dream is slipping away as the cost of everything from housing to healthcare rises,” Paxton said in a statement that doubled as the opening message of a new digital ad he narrated. “My agenda is very simple: I believe every Texan should be able to buy a home, raise a family and live a healthy life without struggling to make ends meet.”
Paxton’s plan would create new tax deductions for healthcare, housing and family-related expenses. The tax benefits could be claimed on top of existing deductions, including the standard deduction, and would fall into four pillars.
The first would be a $25,000 deduction for any out-of-pocket medical expense, including premiums, for individuals, with an additional $25,000 per dependent.
Additionally, Paxton wants to create a $5,000 tax deduction to stimulate healthy lifestyle choices. Taxpayers could deduct workout and gym expenses, spending related to nutrition plans, payments for sports activities for dependents, and the cost of GLP-1 weight-loss medications.
On housing, the attorney general is proposing a $50,000 deduction for first-time homebuyers and a $50,000 deduction on down payments for people moving to a new primary residence.
And finally, Paxton aims to make permanent and expand two items from the One, Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The megabill created the “Trump accounts” program, a proposal from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for children under 18. Children are eligible to receive $1,000 in federal seed money for a tax-advantaged savings account created for them. Children are eligible for up to $5,000 per year in annual contributions from family, friends or others, and employers can contribute up to $2,500 for their employees’ children. Trump account beneficiaries cannot withdraw the funds until they turn 18, at which point it functions like an individual retirement account.
He also wants to double the size of the child tax credit, currently worth up to $2,200 per child. Republicans raised the worth of the credit by $200 in the Trump megabill, preventing a scheduled reversion to $1,000, but under Paxton’s plan, the maximum credit would rise to $4,400 — a figure closer to Senate Democrats’ plan.
Democrats temporarily expanded the child tax credit in 2021 to be worth up to $3,600 per child under six, and up to $3,000 for children aged 6 to 17, but that change expired and reverted to $2,000.
Last year, Democrats in the upper chamber proposed raising the value of the tax credit to up to $6,360 for newborns, $4,320 for children aged 1 to 6 and $3,600 for children 6 to 17.
*Hot air from bug-in-a-human-suit, the adulterer Ken Paxton. ps – Folks don’t have extra money to put into that savings account that is tied to the stock market.
*I think this could be tantamount to the EC, but for state constitutional amendments. If sparsely-populated areas of the state don’t agree, St. Louis and KCMO, far from where those rural folks live and may never even visit, can’t get a popular amendment passed.
Missouri proposal would create nation’s toughest standard for citizen-led constitutional amendments
Over the past several years, Missouri voters have amended the state constitution to create abortion rights, legalize marijuana and sports betting and expand Medicaid healthcare coverage for low-income adults.
None of those initiatives would have passed under a ballot measure getting decided by voters Tuesday.
Missouri’s proposed Amendment 4 would make it significantly harder to amend the constitution by requiring citizen initiatives to pass in all eight of the state’s diverse congressional districts instead of by a traditional, simple statewide majority. No other state has such a high standard — or has even asked voters to consider it.
It would be nearly impossible for citizens to participate meaningfully in any sort of direct democracy,” said Hall, who believes other states could try to copy Missouri’s proposal.
Lawmakers seek to rein in citizen initiatives
The Missouri proposal is the culmination of years of attempts by lawmakers in numerous states to raise the bar for citizen-initiated petitions to qualify for the ballot and win voter approval. Some elected officials contend lawmaking is best left to themselves — the people’s representatives — because citizen initiatives lack the vetting that comes from the multistep legislative process of public hearings, debates and revisions.
The effort to curtail citizen initiatives on state ballots comes as President Donald Trump pushes for greater restrictions on who can vote and how ballots are cast, asserting the integrity of elections is at stake.
Republican state Rep. Ed Lewis, who sponsored Missouri’s measure, said he wants to ensure people in all parts of the state have their voices heard. He said activists funded by out-of-state interest groups have run up large majorities in St. Louis and Kansas City to pass controversial initiatives that failed throughout most of the rest of Missouri.
A little detour into history: (Gordon dug thus up)
We stayed in Eleanor Roosevelt’s home building without knowing it. That’s a great piece of trivia from that high school senior trip.
The Park Sheraton you remember is at 202 West 56th Street, corner of 7th Avenue and 55th/56th – today it’s the Park Central Hotel. Big place, 31 floors, 1,250 rooms, five restaurants and the Mermaid Room nightclub.
And Eleanor Roosevelt didn’t just stay there as a guest. She lived there.
Here’s the timeline after FDR died in 1945:
First she moved to an apartment at 29 Washington Square West in Greenwich Village. Then in 1950, she rented suites at the Park Sheraton Hotel and lived here until 1953 when she moved to 211 East 62nd Street.
She actually came back a second time too. When that lease expired in 1958, she returned to the Park Sheraton as she waited for the house she purchased with Edna and David Gurewitsch at 55 East 74th Street to be renovated.
So what you asked about – was it a room or an apartment?
It was suites, plural. Her own staff and visitors described it that way.
She broadcast her daily radio show from there – the announcer would open every day with: “This has been the Eleanor Roosevelt Program, recorded in Mrs. Roosevelt’s living room at the Park Sheraton Hotel on the corner of Fifty-Fifth Street and Seventh Avenue.”
She herself opened with: “How do you do? This is Eleanor Roosevelt speaking… it gives me great pleasure to visit with you as I do each day at this time from my living room atop the Park Sheraton hotel overlooking New York.”
And when she had guests, she gave tours. One day she wrote: “Yesterday the 10 Japanese women who have come to this country under the auspices of the Occupation Forces lunched with me at the Park-Sheraton Hotel. After lunch they all asked to see my apartment and I took them up and showed them my office, our bedrooms.”
So living room, office, bedrooms – a full apartment up top, not a hotel room. Famous guests that kept a suite at the Park Sheraton include Jackie Gleason, Mae West and Eleanor Roosevelt.
And why there in those exact years? She lived in a suite at the Park Central from 1950 to 1953 while she worked as the US Representative to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. That was when she was chairing the committee that had written the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and was pushing it through the UN – which had just moved its headquarters to New York.
So in 1967 you and your classmates were sitting in the same building where, 15 years earlier, Eleanor Roosevelt was doing her daily radio show from her living room, running a UN office out of her apartment, and hosting delegations from around the world.
We just drove by these on the way back from the burbs. Even tackier in person. Maybe they’ll fade (or turn green?)
Trying to learn how to do animation. Click on the Coo for a carrot. Still choppy, but It’s a learning curve.
@RandPaul
Remember: Anthony Fauci was all about
“following the science,” until it came to vaccines. He was all about forcing you into compliance, even though we all knew infection was the best protection.
Chef Joe Gera @redhotnerd
You were vaccinated. Multiple times. How do l know?
Because I cooked an event you attended in early 2022. The venue’s policy was: if you wanted to attend unmasked, you had to be vaccinated (this didn’t stop until April that year at this venue). You also had to RSVP well in advance and provide a negative COVID test before the event. So if you were there, you met those requirements. But by all means, keep bullshit.
For outdoor applications, use gold in the 23kt, 23.5kt and 23.75kt, typically weighing 18–23 grams per 1,000 leaves. Heavier leaf provides better resistance to weather and abrasion. When applied correctly, such high-quality material will maintain its luster and finish for decades, making it a worthwhile investment for enhancing any outdoor space.
24kt Gold leaf is generally to soft for exterior application. Even the addition of a small amount of alloys (like Silver and Copper) can exponetially harden the leaf to make it suitable for exterior environments.
*Those gaudy statues may last, unless Dumbass “knew a guy who could do the job,” and cut corners.
infection was the best protection.
lol what medical school again? cracker jack U?
He said activists funded by out-of-state interest groups have run up large majorities in St. Louis and Kansas City to pass controversial initiatives that failed throughout most of the rest of Missouri.
tyranny of the minority
lol @ paxton’s tax-loophole schemes
we’re toast
“toast” = feudalism
Missouri literally has no fucking culture by the way
“Out of state” lol
*And, we definitely know they labeled the West Wing & the Oval Office in big, gold letters. Ahhh, and he mentions Camp David for medical stuff, too.
Unredacted Epstein horror drops
The judge finally holds the raw emails. Watch panic set in as elite secrets hit the public record.
He wants to make DC as beautiful as he thinks he is. He must have Dorian Gray’s mirror.*
*I know it was a picture.
patd:
That was good music by the Raging Grannies.
It took me a while to figure out the music was from “Ring of Fire.”
That tune sounds nice in a chorus.
Whenever you see a “tax credit” touted, remember if you are low income, you don’t pay taxes or very little and a tax credit doesn’t do you any good at all while your medical, food, child care etc. bills remain the same.
whskjack:
That’s the line the establishment Dems always use to “con” us.
“Let’s not fight” is what street fighters say before they sucker punch you.
blueINdallas: I was not defending the disgusting Rand Paul, just ophthalmology. Some are not aware that optometrists and opticians are not doctors and how important it can be to have a proper eye examination if issues arise.
Dems are in real trouble if Al-Sayed beats Haley after all that establishment expenditure
The hard-left stuff just does not play outside of liberal enclaves
the leftists are as high on their own bullshit as the magas are
thanks zuckerberg! 😭
Great story, Dexter, about Eleanor Roosevelt, and thank you for sharing it. Sent my mind straight to “what about Fala?”, FDR’s faithful Scottie dog who Mrs. Roosevelt bonded with after her husband’s passing. Google supplied the rest of the story. It appears Fala was present for the Japanese visitors’ tour.
Eleanor Roosevelt first rented a suite of rooms at the Park Sheraton Hotel (now known as the Park Central Hotel) in 1950. Yes, Fala did stay there with her. While Val-Kill remained their primary country home, Eleanor frequently brought Fala with her on trips to New York City. In her syndicated “My Day” column on February 25, 1950, she explicitly detailed hosting a luncheon for guests at the hotel and bringing them up to see her apartment, which included “our bedrooms,” referring to the space shared with her beloved dog.“ In 1950, she rented suites at the Park Sheraton Hotel (202 West 56th Street). She lived here until 1953…” — Eleanor Roosevelt (Wikipedia)Timeline of Her StayFirst Stay (1950–1953): She used the Park Sheraton as her primary Manhattan residence and office. This coincided with her historic work shaping the United Nations Committee on Human Rights.Final Months with Fala: Fala spent time with Eleanor at the hotel during the final years of his life until he passed away in April 1952.Second Stay (1958–1959): After her lease on East 62nd Street expired, Eleanor temporarily returned to live at the Park Sheraton for another year while waiting for renovations on her new 74th Street townhouse.
Nash
I see you understand street violence just as well as you do politics.
Hint.
It ain’t like the movies.
Jack
Trump boasts about spending $5M in taxpayer cash to gold-leaf DC statues while regular Americans struggle. I took a walk to see the $5M “Golden Madness” in person. It’s even more hideous in person.
Watch here 👇
50th Anniversary of the night that changed Colorado Bob’s life.
On the night of July 31st, 1976, Colorado’s monsoon season unleashed a torrential burst of rain from a nearly stationary thunderstorms across the Big Thompson Canyon between Estes Park and Loveland. In a matter of hours, more than a foot of rain fell over the area, causing a wall of water to push down the canyon, destroying everything in its wake. That included homes, vehicles and campgrounds. A total of 144 people were killed in one of the deadliest flash floods in Colorado history.
Anon – You do realize that AIPAC kicks the funding out from under Stevens if she’s the nominee, right? Hayley is an “Israel First” candidate. Michiganders might not like that.
So, AIPAC likes her Republican opponent more and funds him, and she gets no grass roots support, either.
Corey, you wanna weigh in on the mindset of Michiganders, in general?
Mortonie – Yes, an ophthalmologist is a real doc. Had to go to one once and his office was in a hospital. I was just pointing out that it seems Rant didn’t want to take the re-certification test so he just started a group and certified himself…and the actual group doesn’t recognize his group. I just thought it was a wacky thing to do, and even wackier for him to think it was OK.
It’s like a restaurateur deciding they don’t want the Health Department inspecting them, so they just create their own inspection group to give themselves an A rating.
Now taxpayers are on the hook for the civil lawsuit that surely follows…
DOJ moves to dismiss Reflecting Pool vandalism charges against David Hearn, says damage due to “botched installation” Federal prosecutors on Friday asked a judge to dismiss an indictment charging former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn with ripping up the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, citing new information that the damage was caused by a “botched installation” by a contractor, not vandalism.
— CBS NEWS
Michelle Obama saying “When they go low, we go high,” was the worst political advice for the moment.
It was a nice thought, but it also came from a place of ‘because we are better than they are.’
That may be true in some instances, but we needed to go low, petty, and dirty…and it’s all hands on deck to do that this time.
Nash is right. If we don’t, Repugz sucker punch us, again.
don’t see how Dems get their shit together with the money so divorced from the base was my point
and there is no “we”
Can the pool guy civilly go after Pirro, too? I mean, she basically convicted him in public.
see? now they make the case for their own slush fund, self-fulfilling
it’s a trap
do appreciate the formal declaration that their boss is a liar.
Moroccans generally migrate to Spain seeking better economic opportunities, escaping regional instability and poverty, and utilising geographic proximity via Spanish enclaves like Ceuta. Recent mass crossings have also been linked by officials to human trafficking networks exploiting legal debates over migrant returns.
However, the ongoing influx of migrants may have been triggered by a recent Supreme Court ruling in Spain. The enclaves maintain a special “border rejection” regime under which migrants can be immediately returned to their countries by Spanish authorities.
Ceuta authorities had previously linked the surge to a Spanish Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that barred authorities from immediately returning migrants who arrive by sea without due process.
The ruling does not apply to migrants who enter Spain by land, including by climbing over the border fence. But some activists in Morocco expressed doubt that the ruling was behind the surge, arguing most migrants would have been unaware of such legal decisions.
Spain is a main point of arrival into Europe for migrants seeking better economic opportunities or an escape from violence in their home countries.
The US/UK news just shows brown folks scrambling; there’s never any context to what they are going through because they just want to sell it as a threat.
The MAGAts are actually trying to defend the $5 million gold leaf in comments to my statue video, but getting pushback. Go flame them if you have a you tube account: GOLDEN MADNESS
Colorado River Water Cuts announced: Trump and the GOP will get the blame for this. They are the “federal government” now. Millions of people who will not be able to water their lawns or fill their swimming pools will be angry and they will blame “the federal government.” They will vote out the party in power.
From the Guardian
The US government released its anxiously awaited plan for how to manage the Colorado river crisis on Friday, outlining cuts in water supplied to California, Arizona and Nevada.
The proposal from the US Bureau of Reclamation spares Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming from facing mandatory cuts, for now. But it is a temporary fix as the states that rely on the river continue to fight over a long-term management plan for the dwindling resource that supplies huge swaths of the western US.
Commerce Dept to demand equity from 7 tech companies as a condition to tap into millions in federal funding
“The Department of Commerce today announced the signing of 7 letters of intent to provide $874 million in federal incentives under the CHIPS and Science Act,” a Wednesday press release noted. “These incentives will support innovative domestic technologies to dramatically increase the performance of the world’s fastest computers, secure domestic supply chains, and strengthen U.S. leadership in the compute supply chain.”
*Hmmm, sounds communist; controlling the means of production.
The CHIPS and Science Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in 2022.
*But this wasn’t part of the CHIPS Act, was it?
The seven companies, which include GlobalFoundries, Kepler, Multibeam Corporation, Extropic, Thintronics, OBSIDIA Semiconductors and Aeluma, “have entered into letters of intent with the Department of Commerce, and there will be further diligence and approval by the Department before final awards are made,” according to the announcement, which is posted on the National Institute of Standards and Technology site. “The Department will receive a minority, non-controlling equity stake in each company as a condition for receiving the funds to enhance the return for the U.S. taxpayer.”
*Running the country like a business, and we know how well that goes if Dumbass is involved.
LOL
Just an observation.
Don’t worry when I do insults you won’t need a question mark.
Jack
It ain’t a good thing to have a megalomaniac as President.
observe there is no “we” BiD
“Let’s not fight”
“When they go low, we go high”
I think that’s what Nash took issue with, because when we aren’t tough, that’s when Republicans play dirty, sucker punch, and win. He’s absolutely correct.
I will add to that:
You’ve gotta be a centrist to win so, “vote blue no matter who” even in the primary.
Fried baloney!
you fine people are not capable going low
Or street fighting
take it as a compliment
I used to say lib Dems had to be as dirty as Republicans and Maga people but seriously you/they are just not good at it
build something positive or support people that do
cause Trump won you lost it’s over
new era
(you dear libdem reader not you BiD)
BiD
Where did you get the idea Nash and I were talking about Republicans?
Nash certainly hasn’t mentioned them and I have only made comments to Nash about his antidemocrat rants today.
Jack
A prominent American think tank has called on President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to formally recognize Spain’s North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla as occupied Moroccan territory, in what would deliver an unprecedented blow to one of the most stubborn and indefensible legacies of European territorial predation still imposed on African soil.
Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), revived a long-circulated fear in far-right circles in Spain. “Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio should right another historical wrong and formally recognize Ceuta and Melilla as occupied Moroccan territory,” he argued.
Rubin branded Spain a state that “remains a colonial power, running colonies across the Strait of Gibraltar on the northern coast of Morocco.” He dismissed any objections or pretense of legitimacy, writing that “neither maps nor history lie.” Indeed, to claim today that Ceuta and Melilla are equal to Madrid or Barcelona is to perpetuate a dangerous lie that international law cannot sustain.
*Holy sh/t! Has the US m/Israel been driving the influx of immigrants from Morocco into two Spanish territories? Punishment for Spain not allowing military bases to be used for operations in the US war against Iran?
Here is Katie Phang’s update on her case, waiting like the rest of us to see what the judge does with the unredacted documents DOJ was forced to produce. kudos to her for bringing this case. My substack on it here.
Losing his shit
Trump railed against Republican senators blocking his nominee for attorney general, lamented the collapse of his proposed $1.8 billion Justice Department payout fund, questioned whether Iran was negotiating a potential ceasefire in good faith and warned that Democrats would open U.S. borders if they won the midterm elections.
I didn’t think you were talking about Republicans, Jack, but about Dems being weak and/or shooting themselves in the foot.
Here is Jon Stewart gently leaning into Mamdani about answering for some of the more radical socialist democratic ideas. He smiles and dodge, keeps pivoting back to fighting for the working class — that’s certainly where Democrats debating each other need to stay together at the end of the day.
Here’s Mamdani’s pivot to the working class message ..
Really wish gubernatorial debate would’ve been two weeks ago; kind of regretting early voting now, except I have to do highway driving to vote on Election Day. Really strange it’s at a different place and out in BFE next Tuesday.
Here’s the full hour, Stewart and Mamdani…
i JUST GOT choosing Texas out of my head and I went to the grocery store and it was on and now it’s back in 😭
Apple pockets a massive corporate refund while everyday consumers foot the bill. See who actually profits.
🍽️From today’s Digital Diner menu
nice catch on Cueta BiD
some people really want a world war eh
It seemed to us that Fox is not reporting the story of the dropped reflecting pool charges to their viewers or readers. But that turned out to be incorrect. According to my goo-goo guru, here’s where if you’re a Fox follower, you can get the whole story…
The story is active on the Fox News website, but it is located under their Sports section rather than the main political homepage. Because David Hearn is a former U.S. Olympic canoeist, Fox News Digital categorized the development as sports-related news.The piece can be found directly on the Fox News Sports Page, titled “Prosecutors move to dismiss felony vandalism case against Olympian David Hearn over reflecting pools.”
Not as splashy as Judge Jeanine’s big press conference.
Both of the areas where Moroccans are trying to get to are actually in colonized areas of North Africa, not Spain/Europe.
Oh, and there’s a strait involved, because we need to mess up all the water ways.
Jewish Voice for Peace Action
@JvpAction
As a Jewish organization proudly backing @AbdulElSayed we’re fed up with @HaleyforMI saying Jews and pro-Israel groups are the same thing. We’re not. And we all deserve someone in office who won’t use Jews and Muslims like a political football.
Trump’s name is not on the ballot, but the election is all about him
This November, there will be many of names on ballots in all 50 states and not one of them will be Donald J. Trump. Nevertheless, the election will be a referendum on the chaos he has unleashed since his return to the White House, from his demolition of the East Wing, devastation of USAID and subversion of the Justice Department, to his costly tariffs, impetuous attack on Iran and cruel war on immigrants.
If this were a simple thumbs up or thumbs down vote on his presidency, Trump would surely lose, but it will not be that simple. Ballots will be cast in an electoral system where far too many districts are gerrymandered to achieve a preordained outcome, and where more weight is given to votes in small conservative states than to votes cast in larger, more liberal states.
Those imbalances will make it imperative that the vote to put a check on Trump’s power is massive. These midterms will decide whether the Trump years end with a petulant whimper or a frightening roar.
[David Horsey’s Substack is a reader-supported publication.]
from Nate Silver How popular is Donald Trump?
The latest on Trump’s approval rating
Updated July 30, 2026
After rebounding slightly earlier in the month, Donald Trump’s net approval rating has now hit a new second term low of -20.6. His disapproval rating is dangerously close to breaking 60 percent, while just 21 percent of Americans strongly approve of the job he’s doing.
At this point in Trump’s first term, his net approval rating was 9.3 points higher at -11.3. In fact, Trump’s net approval rating is now lower than at any point in his first term. Back then, he bottomed out at -19 after January 6th. -EMD, 7/30/26
Nate also about The latest on the generic ballot
Updated July 30, 2026
Democrats have lost some of their lead on the generic congressional ballot. After it peaked at D +7.1 in early June, it dropped down to D +5.9. But after a string of excellent polls over the past week, Democrats are back up to D +6.4.
Here’s a sampling of the latest releases:
The Argument/Verasight: D +8
Emerson: D +11
Fox News: D +7
Clarity: D +10
Quinnipiac: D +7
If these kinds of numbers continue, Democrats should be back where they were in June in no time. -EMD, 7/30/26
Attribution: TRUMP BRANDED SECURE VOTER BALLOT by Chris Weyant
meanwhile, a musical interlude from the raging grannies’ latest
Jul 29, 2026 #raginggrannies #democracy #elections
We Raging Grannies of Tuolumne & Calaveras have a message to the officials we elected who aren’t representing us. Come election time, we won’t forget that betrayal. We are joining forces to vote you out and replace you with someone who will truly represent us and defend our rights, our democracy.
Side note: We dressed in black in honor of Johnny Cash.
Those Stinkin’ Liars
Tune: The Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash)
Lyrics: Rikki Cohn, RGTC
Democracy is a fragile thing
We trusted folks with the light it brings
They forsake their oath for their own desires
Betrayed us all, those stinkin’ liars
Chorus
They’ll fall hard, those rotten stinkin’ liars
They’ll go down, down, down
As the truth rises higher
And we’ll vote them out
Those stinkin’ liars, those stinkin’ liars
(Interlude with kazoos)
Chorus
They’ll fall hard, those rotten stinkin’ liars
They’ll go down, down, down
As the truth rises higher
And we’ll vote them out
Those stinkin’ liars, those stinkin’ liars
Our rights in shreds. It’s plain to see
Gonna take us all. And strong we’ll be
Stop the hate. Join hand in hand
For the good of all across this land
Chorus (x2)
They’ll fall hard, those rotten stinkin’ liars
They’ll go down, down, down
As the truth rises higher
And we’ll vote them out
Those stinkin’ liars, those stinkin’ liars
Generic ballot numbers are identical to Trump’s first midterm in 2018, when House Democrats netted 41 seats.
An amazing thing about generic ballot numbers right now is Democrats are no more popular than Republicans, yet more people say they’ll vote for them.
In other words Democrats are getting the votes of people who actually don’t like them. That’s how much they hateTrump!
My morning Substack 📙
Some great banned book suggestions from Ryan of The Painted Porch.
I love that Repugz are terrified of what Dumbass is gonna do if he shows up at their midterm convention.
Dems can do more with a few well-placed Bernie/AOC rallies to get folks fired up to vote than having a midterm convention.
Anon – Liz also lost the primary because Clyburn endorsed Biden. I still voted for her in the primary despite Clyburn. He’s so old that he endorsed Hayley Stevens. Is AOC the new kingmaker? Is Mamdani the new kingmaker?
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Our daily Digital Diner podcast airs 11-Noon ET on YouTube. ENTER Chatroom Here. WATCH Current Replay Here.
What is Actually Clicking: July 31, 2026
These are the stories driving the most traffic right now—not necessarily the stories we think you should read, and not always the most recent.
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Justice for iceberg lettuce:
Watch today’s Digital Diner replay 🍽️
From Today’s Guardian
Mandela Barnes, the former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, dropped out of the Democratic primary for governor on Thursday, upending the high-stakes contest less than two weeks before the 11 August election.
Barnes announced the decision in a video posted on social media, saying he no longer saw a viable path to the nomination, as democratic socialist Francesca Hong surged ahead with a commanding lead.
Can Opposing Data Centers Help Progressives Win?
America’s data center backlash refuses to stick cleanly to partisan boundaries, with opposition to data center buildout nearly as high among Republicans as it is among Democrats. In his first major TV ad, Lawrence took aim at “tech billionaires” who he said want to turn Michigan’s farms into data centers that will “jack up our energy bills and ruin our home values.”
The Department of Justice intervened in a lawsuit against xAI, saying they should not have to conform to the Clean Air Act—because Grok, which xAI powers, is being used to bomb Iran. “That’s the logic,” Pearson said. “Violate the Clean Air Act, allow the pollution to kill American citizens because we’re killing people overseas with this technology.”
“I think people see that the ruling class is united behind this plan to push data centers in our communities,” Lawrence said. “That’s a place that you can fight from.”
Pog, I would be surprised if they did. It takes a Roy Moore-like deficit of character to make Alabama Repubs not toe the party line. Bad as he is, Tubby is not bad enough.
PS: Governor of Alabama is a job that takes no effort. Everything is decided for them.*
* if they are Republican
Lt. Turd, Dan Patrick, holds the most powerful office in Texas.
DNC says “Fuck You” to Maine Democrats
From the Bangor Daily News
National Democrats who wanted state Sen. Joe Baldacci of Bangor to face Republican former Gov. Paul LePage in a race for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District rallied behind State Auditor Matt Dunlap after he won the June primary.
With less than 100 days before Election Day, that support for Dunlap hasn’t yet come with some of the same funding and attention as other competitive races in the Democratic race to take the House. At the same time, LePage has been tabbed by prognosticators as the favorite.
*****
This is me (Nash) speaking again…
I firmly believe that the DNC and the establishment Dems in Congress would rather lose the mid–terms and remain in the minority, than see the progressive wing of the party grow in numbers and power.
Pissed off at Maine Democratic voters for being too progressive, the establishment Dems are going to give up a House seat to teach us a lesson. That is more important to them than winning a majority in the House
The establishment assholes who run the DNC are still angry at Maine Democratic voters for rallying behind Platner and then Jackson for the Senate race against Collins. The establishment Dems inside the beltway favored Governor Janet Mills, who is DEEPLY unpopular with Maine Democrats for vetoing many progressive bills put on her desk by the Maine legislature which is dominated by Democrats.
So…what is he DNC doing to keep control for Maine’s 2nd House district? NOTHING. Because, again, the establishment Democrats’ favored candidate (Baldacci) was defeated in the primary by a progressive (Dunlap.)
I think the establishment Dems in Congress secretly want to avoid being forced to vote to impeach Trump if they win a majority in the House. Their selfish political calculation is that impeachment would distract them from their normal activities, which are focused on fund raising from corporations and billionaires. And, they think “We won’t have enough votes in the Senate to convict Trump, so why bother?”
It’s Freaky Friday at the Diner today. Bring your favorite spit-take, 11-Noon ET…
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Ya know, Nash, if you spent half the venom you direct at your fellow Democrats toward the Republicans it would be an amazing f*cking election.
But you won’t, It is always more fun to tear stuff up than take the time to build.
Jack
Ivy, I saw a poll yesterday that showed Tuber up by 15 points over Doug. And there’s some legitimate question as I hear it about whether the Tub lives in AL or FL (although I don’t think even Tommy is stupid enough not to have that covered)
If you are not following Stacy Abrams on substack You should be. (Link here)
Look into her archives, all spring she has done a series of essays on how to organize and accomplish something. They are good reads. Rather than sitting around and complaining she plans and works hard. Boots on the ground campaigning.
Jack
today’s meme…
Today in the Diner…
Epstein Files Unredacted & Trump Dumps Todd Blanche
Donald Trump dumps Todd Blanche to save his tax slush fund while Katie Fang forces unredacted Epstein files to the judge.
We are paying attention to the absurdities today, starting with the sudden panic over Iran supposedly hacking water systems in small towns like Plymouth and Maple Plain, Minnesota. It sounds like classic fear mongering while the real scandals unfold in plain sight. Take Donald Trump quietly maneuvering to drop Todd Blanche, a clear desperation move to protect his cop beater slush fund and secure tax audit immunity for his family.
Meanwhile, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is sounding the alarm on that slush fund, though Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer remain frustratingly quiet. At least Katie Fang is getting results, forcing unredacted Epstein files, including emails about a torture video and an FBI interview with Katie Johnson, straight to the judge. Wrap that up with Sid Miller battling data centers in Texas over grid failures, and it is just another peaceful day at the diner.
Live Chat: https://trailmix.cc/chat
Website: https://trailmix.cc
Alerts: https://trailmix.cc/alerts
00:00 Intro
03:30 Iran Hacks Minnesota Water Systems
12:53 Tim Cook and Apple Tariff Refunds
18:08 Trump Dumps Todd Blanche
21:50 Katie Fang Unredacts Epstein Files
26:14 Rand Paul Attacks Doctor Fauci
34:13 Blue Apple Produce Storage Secrets
44:28 Trump Gold Statues at Memorial Bridge
51:34 Jon Ossoff and Sherrod Brown Polling
57:43 Sid Miller Fights Texas Data Centers
— Human Prompted and Edited. Machine Drafted. (Gemini Pro)
🍽️From today’s Digital Diner menu
Nash – You’re absolutely correct about the DNC and corporate Dems.
Folks need to stop thinking of them as Republican opposition, because even on the things where it doesn’t appear they are aligned they sure do work with Republicans to push stuff through.
Need six Dems to vote with Repugz for section 219 of the NDAA so that some Republicans can vote against and not look like they are “Israel First” ti their MAGAt constituents? Sure thing.
This is just the best ad for Abdul by showing Stevens for who she is!
Voting information from The Heritage Foundation.
meme #2…
https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/eu–migration-spain-ceuta-072251677.html
*But they never say why so many folks are desperate enough to flee home. I’d like to see even one racist, MAGAt walk twenty miles a day for a week, only the good and water you can carry or scrounge up, no cash or credit cards, but knowing they have a home to go back to at the end of it. Climate change and war, all byproducts of capitalism are to blame, but which to what degree, the article doesn’t say. They never focus on why. They don’t want you to think about why.
Spain deployed its armed forces and additional police to restore order in Ceuta, which sits on the Strait of Gibraltar at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea and has been a Spanish possession since 1580.
About 60,000 migrants have crossed from Morocco into Spain’s tiny Ceuta territory in the past 24 hours, Ceuta’s president said Friday, a figure that is equivalent to 70% of the population of the city in North Africa.
But roughly half of them have already made their way back voluntarily, the Spanish government said, after the sudden arrival of so many migrants triggered chaos and a humanitarian crisis.
Meanwhile, migrants from Morocco also attempted to cross into Melilla, Spain’s other territory at the tip of North Africa, where they clashed with police.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Ceuta on Friday and condemned the border breach, which he described as “a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity.”
Sánchez blamed human smugglers for the crisis, saying they “deceive so many young people and ultimately lead many of them to their deaths,” whether in the ocean or in the autonomous city.
Friday afternoon, most migrants were trying to leave Ceuta given the dire conditions there.
Rachid Sbihi, who leads a local workers association representing Civil Guard officers, described the situation as a “serious humanitarian crisis,” saying thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children, were left sleeping in parks and on sidewalks, while others roamed the streets aimlessly.
I read Stacy Abrams inspiring pep talk and get all optimistic. Then I read the comments here and it is 1972 all over again. *sigh*
The Democrats are so screwed and like usual they will do it to themselves.
In an ordinary off year election it wouldn’t be a real problem. But Trump and company changes everything.
Jack
The Michigan primary in 5 days will tell us a lot about which way this is headed Jack
Don’t get discouraged, just don’t get complacent. As “Ted Lasso’s” Roy Kent said, “Don’t you dare settle for fine.”
The DNC pushed hard for Cuomo against Mamdani. Mamdani won, and his successes have been a nightmare for the DNC. The illusion that we can’t have better, that we can’t have nice things has been broken.
We didn’t get far when Dems were in charge. Now, why is that? Why wouldn’t we get universal healthcare, free college, and why wouldn’t abortion have been codified when they had the chance? The corporation needs to sustain itself; it’s parasitic.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/let-them-eat-suvs-trump-110013694.html
“We ordered 250 Escalades. That’s how we look sharp in those cavalcades, you know,” Trump said during a rambling, hour-long address at a General Motors facility in Michigan. We look sharp in those Escalades. Our guys are very spoiled. They’re very spoiled. They like the Escalade. So do I.”
I’d like to think I would look sharp in an Escalade. But, like most people in the US, I cannot afford one: especially if, as seems likely, the White House orders the armored version of the SUV, which can cost more than $300,000. And then, of course, I’d have to fill the 24-gallon gas tank.
The symbolism of Trump’s gesture, his fiddling with car specifications while Rome burns, is consistent with his Lucille Bluth-like behavior in recent weeks. He’s dismissed “affordability” as a term concocted by Democratic political consultants to criticize his presidency, introduced a new round of tariffs likely to push up prices, and refused to sign a rare bipartisan housing bill.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/30/politics/trump-admin-pressures-law-enforcement-groups-to-support-controversial-cryptocurrency-legislation
The administration and cryptocurrency industry groups say, if passed, the law would bring regulatory certainty to the digital currency industry and ensure the sharing of information about illicit activity with law enforcement. At the urging of Democrats, the White House agreed to new ethics provisions that ban government officials, including Trump, from issuing new digital currency.
Some critics, though, are focused on a part of the bill that allows Trump to keep benefiting from his cryptocurrency ventures, including $TRUMP memecoin, which was launched days before he took office. The proposed legislation wouldn’t prohibit those earnings. Those lawmakers also say the bill includes “loopholes” that leave room for Trump to enter new ventures and does not include an enforcement mechanism if he is found to be in violation in the restrictions that are included in the legislation.
Supporters of the bill are hopeful it can pass before the Senate recess in August, but Senate leaders have warned about challenges ahead.
I don’t care what kind of Democrats are on the ballot in November… I’m voting for them and them only. And yes… I’m voting. I one time told CBob that I would crawl across a glass strewn floor in order to vote…. that still stands.
In case anyone needs a reminder…
https://apnews.com/article/antwerp-belgium-diamond-ring-trump-3d23fb3ff8a7bab763dd51880a1987ca
*They are literally giving Dumbass a ring his minions can kiss.
Dozens of diamonds spell out two giant letter T’s next to the Stars and Stripes and “1776” and “2026.” Dozens more frame the numbers 45 and 47 in the shape of Superman’s logo. A diamond-winged eagle carries a ruby shield and clutches an olive branch of emeralds, below a radiant “250” and atop the phrase “250 YEARS USA” etched in 18-karat gold.
All told, 321 diamonds, 56 sapphires, 13 emeralds and six rubies encrust the watch-sized gold ring presented this week to Bill White, the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, to give to U.S. President Donald Trump.
“A very special thank you to my friends from Antwerp for the magnificent Freedom 250 ring,” Trump said in a prerecorded video message during an event marking America’s 250th birthday in Brussels.
Isidore Mörsel, president of the Antwerp World Diamond Center, or AWDC, gifted the ring on behalf of the centuries-old diamond community in the Belgian port city, a central node in the worldwide trade of the precious stones that found itself struggling last year under the weight of Trump’s sweeping trade war.
“May this ring serve as a lasting reminder that true partnership, like the finest natural diamonds, are formed under pressure, endure the test of time, and shine brightest when built on trust,” Mörsel said. The ring’s interior is engraved with the phrase “Crafted in Antwerp for Donald John Trump.”
In dollar terms, the ring’s value pales beside gifts like the $400 million plane donated by Qatar that Trump ordered converted into a new Air Force One. But it’s a glitzy window into the role that ostentatious – and almost always gilded — gifts are playing by those seeking to curry favor with the U.S. president.
A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, said Thursday that the ring has not been presented to Trump yet.
The gift comes months after Belgium’s diamond industry won the removal of U.S. tariffs on diamond imports. In September, AWDC said it had “succeeded in securing a zero percent import tariff” on Antwerp’s annual export of more than $2 billion of polished diamonds to the U.S. A spokesperson for the group said on Thursday that the AWDC provided “input” to the European Commission as it negotiated with Trump on a broad deal on tariffs in 2025, but did not itself lobby the administration.
U.S. presidents have considerable discretion to accept gifts from domestic and foreign sources and may determine themselves whether a gift was meant for them personally or the nation. The exception is those from foreign governments, which are prohibited by the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution without congressional assent, though presidents could use personal funds to reimburse the Treasury for the full value of an official gift if they wish to retain it.
Personal gifts are also supposed to be registered on the president’s annual financial disclosure. Trump’s 2025 disclosure, released this week, revealed a $250,000 gift of a sculpture depicting his triumphal gesture after surviving a 2024 assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and tickets to 10 sporting events, including 10 to the upcoming World Cup final in New Jersey from FIFA’s Gianni Infantino, valued at a collective $15,000.
Four U.S. ethics experts told The Associated Press that Trump has broken with decades-old custom in the White House to avoid accepting such gifts.
Welp, I’m taking a break the rest of the day. Trump is now saying that Minnesota sabotaged themselves. I just fucking give up!
https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.pooDiI4w1C9ntgwMWJ-00QHaHa?w=167&h=180&c=7&r=0&o=7&pid=1.7&rm=3
renee, count me in on that broken glass crawl to vote democratic.
jack, old saying goes again about Dems always snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57426
Gutenberg Press has the books that make me wonder if they are part of what programmed Donny Dumbass.
…follows the adventures of a young baron named Wilhelm Heinrich Sebastian von Troomp, also known as Baron Trump…
“He began his travels at an incredibly early age, and filled his castle with such strange objects picked up here and there in the far away corners of the world, that the simple-minded peasantry came to look upon him as half bigwig and half magician—hence the vigrowth of the many myths and fanciful stories concerning this indefatigable globe-trotter.”
“According to the learned Don Fum’s manuscript, the portals to the World within a World were situated somewhere in Northern Russia…”
“When I assured the Happy Forgetter that he need have no fear as to the wisdom of the choice, he gave a start of almost horror at the information; for you must know, dear friends, that the Happy Forgetter has more dread of knowledge than we have of ignorance.”
*Hmmm, “I love the uneducated.” “You’ll only have to vote for me once.” Weird.
Rand Paul is an ass but an ophthalmologist is a real doctor.
Ophthalmologist (Medical Doctor, M.D. or D.O.)
Role: Acts as a medical and surgical specialist for complex eye diseases and procedures.
Education: Completes a four-year undergraduate degree, four years of medical school, a medical internship, and a multi-year residency in ophthalmology (totaling 12 to 14 years of training).
Services: Provides full-service medical eye care, diagnoses and treats all eye diseases, prescribes corrective lenses, and performs delicate eye surgeries (such as for cataracts or LASIK).
An optometrist is not an MD or DO
Ah, the ron paul family is from Pittsburgh, makes sense now
all that coal byproduct
yeah, guess what we’re not doing if we are re-litigating the lockdown
Holding Trump to account for his administration’s continuing crimes
even the political coverage of Rand Paul’s dog and pony show was absurd
https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/press/press-releases/nominations-for-the-nobel-peace-prize-2026
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate(s) of 2026 will be announced on Friday, 9 October, with the award ceremony taking place on 10 December in Oslo, Norway.
*Just take a break, but don’t give up. The ☮️ 🏆 announcement comes before the midterms! Ha! If Dumbass is still topside, he will be seething with all sorts of ugly feelings.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rand-pauls-addresses-ophthalmology-certification-questions/
*Mortonie – Paul is self-certified.
Rand Paul’s Addresses Ophthalmology Certification Questions
Paul reportedly had certification from the American Board of Ophthalmology – a recognized group – before letting it lapse in favor of certification from the board he heads.
Paul’s claim that he is a “board-certified” ophthalmologist is tied to his certification by the National Board of Ophthalmology.
Yet that’s a group that Paul himself founded in 1999; he also serves as its head.
The organization that works with the American Medical Association to approve specialty boards of this nature, as the Courier-Journal notes, is called the American Board of Medical Specialties. And it does not recognize Paul’s group.
Paul says he formed his board out of frustration that the American Board of Ophthalmology forced doctors certified after 1992 to be recertified every decade.
“I thought this was hypocritical and unjust for the older ophthalmologists to exempt themselves from the recertification exam,” he writes. “… Is it fair that the ophthalmologist down the street can claim board certification, without renewing it, but that a younger ophthalmologist, who passed the same boards, is disallowed?”
*I ain’t buying it.
loved practicing medicine so much he went into politics
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/31/texas-ken-paxton-us-senate-race-economic-agenda-tax-deductions/
Ken Paxton unveils economic plan centered on tax breaks in U.S. Senate race
The Republican attorney general is starting a tour next week to promote the plan, which would create new housing and healthcare tax write-offs.
While Paxton’s plan aims to increase the amount of money households can keep through tax deductions, Talarico’s is more focused on cracking down on billionaires and corporate interests.
Talarico’s economic and tax plan also includes expanding the child tax credit. But beyond that, he’s proposing to raise taxes on billionaires and corporations and close loopholes that benefit both.
Talarico also wants to hike the federal minimum wage, repeal Trump’s tariffs, create a federal public health insurance option, expand the low-income housing tax credit and go after corporate landlords who buy up housing stock and artificially raise rents, among other proposals.
Paxton, the Republican nominee, said his plan is intended to “put thousands of dollars back into the pockets of hardworking Texans,” with a focus on write-offs for housing and healthcare costs.
“Washington has made it harder than ever to get ahead, and the American Dream is slipping away as the cost of everything from housing to healthcare rises,” Paxton said in a statement that doubled as the opening message of a new digital ad he narrated. “My agenda is very simple: I believe every Texan should be able to buy a home, raise a family and live a healthy life without struggling to make ends meet.”
Paxton’s plan would create new tax deductions for healthcare, housing and family-related expenses. The tax benefits could be claimed on top of existing deductions, including the standard deduction, and would fall into four pillars.
The first would be a $25,000 deduction for any out-of-pocket medical expense, including premiums, for individuals, with an additional $25,000 per dependent.
Additionally, Paxton wants to create a $5,000 tax deduction to stimulate healthy lifestyle choices. Taxpayers could deduct workout and gym expenses, spending related to nutrition plans, payments for sports activities for dependents, and the cost of GLP-1 weight-loss medications.
On housing, the attorney general is proposing a $50,000 deduction for first-time homebuyers and a $50,000 deduction on down payments for people moving to a new primary residence.
And finally, Paxton aims to make permanent and expand two items from the One, Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The megabill created the “Trump accounts” program, a proposal from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for children under 18. Children are eligible to receive $1,000 in federal seed money for a tax-advantaged savings account created for them. Children are eligible for up to $5,000 per year in annual contributions from family, friends or others, and employers can contribute up to $2,500 for their employees’ children. Trump account beneficiaries cannot withdraw the funds until they turn 18, at which point it functions like an individual retirement account.
He also wants to double the size of the child tax credit, currently worth up to $2,200 per child. Republicans raised the worth of the credit by $200 in the Trump megabill, preventing a scheduled reversion to $1,000, but under Paxton’s plan, the maximum credit would rise to $4,400 — a figure closer to Senate Democrats’ plan.
Democrats temporarily expanded the child tax credit in 2021 to be worth up to $3,600 per child under six, and up to $3,000 for children aged 6 to 17, but that change expired and reverted to $2,000.
Last year, Democrats in the upper chamber proposed raising the value of the tax credit to up to $6,360 for newborns, $4,320 for children aged 1 to 6 and $3,600 for children 6 to 17.
*Hot air from bug-in-a-human-suit, the adulterer Ken Paxton. ps – Folks don’t have extra money to put into that savings account that is tied to the stock market.
HA!
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/missouri-proposal-create-nations-toughest-110026481.html
*I think this could be tantamount to the EC, but for state constitutional amendments. If sparsely-populated areas of the state don’t agree, St. Louis and KCMO, far from where those rural folks live and may never even visit, can’t get a popular amendment passed.
Missouri proposal would create nation’s toughest standard for citizen-led constitutional amendments
Over the past several years, Missouri voters have amended the state constitution to create abortion rights, legalize marijuana and sports betting and expand Medicaid healthcare coverage for low-income adults.
None of those initiatives would have passed under a ballot measure getting decided by voters Tuesday.
Missouri’s proposed Amendment 4 would make it significantly harder to amend the constitution by requiring citizen initiatives to pass in all eight of the state’s diverse congressional districts instead of by a traditional, simple statewide majority. No other state has such a high standard — or has even asked voters to consider it.
It would be nearly impossible for citizens to participate meaningfully in any sort of direct democracy,” said Hall, who believes other states could try to copy Missouri’s proposal.
Lawmakers seek to rein in citizen initiatives
The Missouri proposal is the culmination of years of attempts by lawmakers in numerous states to raise the bar for citizen-initiated petitions to qualify for the ballot and win voter approval. Some elected officials contend lawmaking is best left to themselves — the people’s representatives — because citizen initiatives lack the vetting that comes from the multistep legislative process of public hearings, debates and revisions.
The effort to curtail citizen initiatives on state ballots comes as President Donald Trump pushes for greater restrictions on who can vote and how ballots are cast, asserting the integrity of elections is at stake.
Republican state Rep. Ed Lewis, who sponsored Missouri’s measure, said he wants to ensure people in all parts of the state have their voices heard. He said activists funded by out-of-state interest groups have run up large majorities in St. Louis and Kansas City to pass controversial initiatives that failed throughout most of the rest of Missouri.
A little detour into history: (Gordon dug thus up)
We stayed in Eleanor Roosevelt’s home building without knowing it. That’s a great piece of trivia from that high school senior trip.
The Park Sheraton you remember is at 202 West 56th Street, corner of 7th Avenue and 55th/56th – today it’s the Park Central Hotel. Big place, 31 floors, 1,250 rooms, five restaurants and the Mermaid Room nightclub.
And Eleanor Roosevelt didn’t just stay there as a guest. She lived there.
Here’s the timeline after FDR died in 1945:
First she moved to an apartment at 29 Washington Square West in Greenwich Village. Then in 1950, she rented suites at the Park Sheraton Hotel and lived here until 1953 when she moved to 211 East 62nd Street.
She actually came back a second time too. When that lease expired in 1958, she returned to the Park Sheraton as she waited for the house she purchased with Edna and David Gurewitsch at 55 East 74th Street to be renovated.
So what you asked about – was it a room or an apartment?
It was suites, plural. Her own staff and visitors described it that way.
She broadcast her daily radio show from there – the announcer would open every day with: “This has been the Eleanor Roosevelt Program, recorded in Mrs. Roosevelt’s living room at the Park Sheraton Hotel on the corner of Fifty-Fifth Street and Seventh Avenue.”
She herself opened with: “How do you do? This is Eleanor Roosevelt speaking… it gives me great pleasure to visit with you as I do each day at this time from my living room atop the Park Sheraton hotel overlooking New York.”
And when she had guests, she gave tours. One day she wrote: “Yesterday the 10 Japanese women who have come to this country under the auspices of the Occupation Forces lunched with me at the Park-Sheraton Hotel. After lunch they all asked to see my apartment and I took them up and showed them my office, our bedrooms.”
So living room, office, bedrooms – a full apartment up top, not a hotel room. Famous guests that kept a suite at the Park Sheraton include Jackie Gleason, Mae West and Eleanor Roosevelt.
And why there in those exact years? She lived in a suite at the Park Central from 1950 to 1953 while she worked as the US Representative to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. That was when she was chairing the committee that had written the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and was pushing it through the UN – which had just moved its headquarters to New York.
So in 1967 you and your classmates were sitting in the same building where, 15 years earlier, Eleanor Roosevelt was doing her daily radio show from her living room, running a UN office out of her apartment, and hosting delegations from around the world.
We just drove by these on the way back from the burbs. Even tackier in person. Maybe they’ll fade (or turn green?)
Trying to learn how to do animation. Click on the Coo for a carrot. Still choppy, but It’s a learning curve.
@RandPaul
Remember: Anthony Fauci was all about
“following the science,” until it came to vaccines. He was all about forcing you into compliance, even though we all knew infection was the best protection.
Chef Joe Gera @redhotnerd
You were vaccinated. Multiple times. How do l know?
Because I cooked an event you attended in early 2022. The venue’s policy was: if you wanted to attend unmasked, you had to be vaccinated (this didn’t stop until April that year at this venue). You also had to RSVP well in advance and provide a negative COVID test before the event. So if you were there, you met those requirements. But by all means, keep bullshit.
https://www.gildedplanet.com/exteriorgilding.html
For outdoor applications, use gold in the 23kt, 23.5kt and 23.75kt, typically weighing 18–23 grams per 1,000 leaves. Heavier leaf provides better resistance to weather and abrasion. When applied correctly, such high-quality material will maintain its luster and finish for decades, making it a worthwhile investment for enhancing any outdoor space.
24kt Gold leaf is generally to soft for exterior application. Even the addition of a small amount of alloys (like Silver and Copper) can exponetially harden the leaf to make it suitable for exterior environments.
*Those gaudy statues may last, unless Dumbass “knew a guy who could do the job,” and cut corners.
lol what medical school again? cracker jack U?
tyranny of the minority
lol @ paxton’s tax-loophole schemes
we’re toast
“toast” = feudalism
Missouri literally has no fucking culture by the way
“Out of state” lol
*And, we definitely know they labeled the West Wing & the Oval Office in big, gold letters. Ahhh, and he mentions Camp David for medical stuff, too.
Unredacted Epstein horror drops
🍽️From today’s Digital Diner menu
He wants to make DC as beautiful as he thinks he is. He must have Dorian Gray’s mirror.*
*I know it was a picture.
patd:
That was good music by the Raging Grannies.
It took me a while to figure out the music was from “Ring of Fire.”
That tune sounds nice in a chorus.
Whenever you see a “tax credit” touted, remember if you are low income, you don’t pay taxes or very little and a tax credit doesn’t do you any good at all while your medical, food, child care etc. bills remain the same.
whskjack:
That’s the line the establishment Dems always use to “con” us.
“Let’s not fight” is what street fighters say before they sucker punch you.
blueINdallas: I was not defending the disgusting Rand Paul, just ophthalmology. Some are not aware that optometrists and opticians are not doctors and how important it can be to have a proper eye examination if issues arise.
Dems are in real trouble if Al-Sayed beats Haley after all that establishment expenditure
The hard-left stuff just does not play outside of liberal enclaves
the leftists are as high on their own bullshit as the magas are
thanks zuckerberg! 😭
Great story, Dexter, about Eleanor Roosevelt, and thank you for sharing it. Sent my mind straight to “what about Fala?”, FDR’s faithful Scottie dog who Mrs. Roosevelt bonded with after her husband’s passing. Google supplied the rest of the story. It appears Fala was present for the Japanese visitors’ tour.
Nash
I see you understand street violence just as well as you do politics.
Hint.
It ain’t like the movies.
Jack
Trump boasts about spending $5M in taxpayer cash to gold-leaf DC statues while regular Americans struggle. I took a walk to see the $5M “Golden Madness” in person. It’s even more hideous in person.
Watch here 👇
50th Anniversary of the night that changed Colorado Bob’s life.
IMG_3996
Anon – You do realize that AIPAC kicks the funding out from under Stevens if she’s the nominee, right? Hayley is an “Israel First” candidate. Michiganders might not like that.
So, AIPAC likes her Republican opponent more and funds him, and she gets no grass roots support, either.
Corey, you wanna weigh in on the mindset of Michiganders, in general?
Mortonie – Yes, an ophthalmologist is a real doc. Had to go to one once and his office was in a hospital. I was just pointing out that it seems Rant didn’t want to take the re-certification test so he just started a group and certified himself…and the actual group doesn’t recognize his group. I just thought it was a wacky thing to do, and even wackier for him to think it was OK.
It’s like a restaurateur deciding they don’t want the Health Department inspecting them, so they just create their own inspection group to give themselves an A rating.
Now taxpayers are on the hook for the civil lawsuit that surely follows…
DOJ moves to dismiss Reflecting Pool vandalism charges against David Hearn, says damage due to “botched installation”
Federal prosecutors on Friday asked a judge to dismiss an indictment charging former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn with ripping up the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, citing new information that the damage was caused by a “botched installation” by a contractor, not vandalism.
— CBS NEWS
Michelle Obama saying “When they go low, we go high,” was the worst political advice for the moment.
It was a nice thought, but it also came from a place of ‘because we are better than they are.’
That may be true in some instances, but we needed to go low, petty, and dirty…and it’s all hands on deck to do that this time.
Nash is right. If we don’t, Repugz sucker punch us, again.
don’t see how Dems get their shit together with the money so divorced from the base was my point
and there is no “we”
Can the pool guy civilly go after Pirro, too? I mean, she basically convicted him in public.
see? now they make the case for their own slush fund, self-fulfilling
it’s a trap
do appreciate the formal declaration that their boss is a liar.
https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/world/why-are-moroccans-fleeing-to-spain-supreme-court-ruling-explained-amid-migrant-surge-2026-07-31-1049947
Moroccans generally migrate to Spain seeking better economic opportunities, escaping regional instability and poverty, and utilising geographic proximity via Spanish enclaves like Ceuta. Recent mass crossings have also been linked by officials to human trafficking networks exploiting legal debates over migrant returns.
However, the ongoing influx of migrants may have been triggered by a recent Supreme Court ruling in Spain. The enclaves maintain a special “border rejection” regime under which migrants can be immediately returned to their countries by Spanish authorities.
Ceuta authorities had previously linked the surge to a Spanish Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that barred authorities from immediately returning migrants who arrive by sea without due process.
The ruling does not apply to migrants who enter Spain by land, including by climbing over the border fence. But some activists in Morocco expressed doubt that the ruling was behind the surge, arguing most migrants would have been unaware of such legal decisions.
Spain is a main point of arrival into Europe for migrants seeking better economic opportunities or an escape from violence in their home countries.
The US/UK news just shows brown folks scrambling; there’s never any context to what they are going through because they just want to sell it as a threat.
The MAGAts are actually trying to defend the $5 million gold leaf in comments to my statue video, but getting pushback. Go flame them if you have a you tube account: GOLDEN MADNESS
Colorado River Water Cuts announced: Trump and the GOP will get the blame for this. They are the “federal government” now. Millions of people who will not be able to water their lawns or fill their swimming pools will be angry and they will blame “the federal government.” They will vote out the party in power.
From the Guardian
The US government released its anxiously awaited plan for how to manage the Colorado river crisis on Friday, outlining cuts in water supplied to California, Arizona and Nevada.
The proposal from the US Bureau of Reclamation spares Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming from facing mandatory cuts, for now. But it is a temporary fix as the states that rely on the river continue to fight over a long-term management plan for the dwindling resource that supplies huge swaths of the western US.
whyskyjack: personal insults?
it was a good rib nash, take the hit
like a street fighter 😃
When Dodo goes low, we jump ugly.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/commerce-dept-demand-equity-from-tech-companies-condition-tap-millions-federal-funding
Commerce Dept to demand equity from 7 tech companies as a condition to tap into millions in federal funding
“The Department of Commerce today announced the signing of 7 letters of intent to provide $874 million in federal incentives under the CHIPS and Science Act,” a Wednesday press release noted. “These incentives will support innovative domestic technologies to dramatically increase the performance of the world’s fastest computers, secure domestic supply chains, and strengthen U.S. leadership in the compute supply chain.”
*Hmmm, sounds communist; controlling the means of production.
The CHIPS and Science Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in 2022.
*But this wasn’t part of the CHIPS Act, was it?
The seven companies, which include GlobalFoundries, Kepler, Multibeam Corporation, Extropic, Thintronics, OBSIDIA Semiconductors and Aeluma, “have entered into letters of intent with the Department of Commerce, and there will be further diligence and approval by the Department before final awards are made,” according to the announcement, which is posted on the National Institute of Standards and Technology site. “The Department will receive a minority, non-controlling equity stake in each company as a condition for receiving the funds to enhance the return for the U.S. taxpayer.”
*Running the country like a business, and we know how well that goes if Dumbass is involved.
LOL
Just an observation.
Don’t worry when I do insults you won’t need a question mark.
Jack
It ain’t a good thing to have a megalomaniac as President.
observe there is no “we” BiD
“Let’s not fight”
“When they go low, we go high”
I think that’s what Nash took issue with, because when we aren’t tough, that’s when Republicans play dirty, sucker punch, and win. He’s absolutely correct.
I will add to that:
You’ve gotta be a centrist to win so, “vote blue no matter who” even in the primary.
Fried baloney!
you fine people are not capable going low
Or street fighting
take it as a compliment
I used to say lib Dems had to be as dirty as Republicans and Maga people but seriously you/they are just not good at it
build something positive or support people that do
cause Trump won you lost it’s over
new era
(you dear libdem reader not you BiD)
BiD
Where did you get the idea Nash and I were talking about Republicans?
Nash certainly hasn’t mentioned them and I have only made comments to Nash about his antidemocrat rants today.
Jack
A prominent American think tank has called on President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to formally recognize Spain’s North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla as occupied Moroccan territory, in what would deliver an unprecedented blow to one of the most stubborn and indefensible legacies of European territorial predation still imposed on African soil.
Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), revived a long-circulated fear in far-right circles in Spain. “Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio should right another historical wrong and formally recognize Ceuta and Melilla as occupied Moroccan territory,” he argued.
Rubin branded Spain a state that “remains a colonial power, running colonies across the Strait of Gibraltar on the northern coast of Morocco.” He dismissed any objections or pretense of legitimacy, writing that “neither maps nor history lie.” Indeed, to claim today that Ceuta and Melilla are equal to Madrid or Barcelona is to perpetuate a dangerous lie that international law cannot sustain.
*Holy sh/t! Has the US m/Israel been driving the influx of immigrants from Morocco into two Spanish territories? Punishment for Spain not allowing military bases to be used for operations in the US war against Iran?
Here is Katie Phang’s update on her case, waiting like the rest of us to see what the judge does with the unredacted documents DOJ was forced to produce. kudos to her for bringing this case. My substack on it here.
Losing his shit
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/31/trump-criticizes-cornyn-walz-iranian-leaders-unusual-camp-david-meeting/?
I didn’t think you were talking about Republicans, Jack, but about Dems being weak and/or shooting themselves in the foot.
Here is Jon Stewart gently leaning into Mamdani about answering for some of the more radical socialist democratic ideas. He smiles and dodge, keeps pivoting back to fighting for the working class — that’s certainly where Democrats debating each other need to stay together at the end of the day.
Here’s Mamdani’s pivot to the working class message ..
Really wish gubernatorial debate would’ve been two weeks ago; kind of regretting early voting now, except I have to do highway driving to vote on Election Day. Really strange it’s at a different place and out in BFE next Tuesday.
Here’s the full hour, Stewart and Mamdani…
i JUST GOT choosing Texas out of my head and I went to the grocery store and it was on and now it’s back in 😭
McCarthyism has returned to the United States – and this time it’s even more dangerous | Judith Levine https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/31/mccarthyism-trump-surveillance-red-scare?CMP=share_btn_url
The great tariff con:
🍽️From today’s Digital Diner menu
nice catch on Cueta BiD
some people really want a world war eh
It seemed to us that Fox is not reporting the story of the dropped reflecting pool charges to their viewers or readers. But that turned out to be incorrect. According to my goo-goo guru, here’s where if you’re a Fox follower, you can get the whole story…
Not as splashy as Judge Jeanine’s big press conference.
Both of the areas where Moroccans are trying to get to are actually in colonized areas of North Africa, not Spain/Europe.
Oh, and there’s a strait involved, because we need to mess up all the water ways.
Jewish Voice for Peace Action
@JvpAction
As a Jewish organization proudly backing @AbdulElSayed we’re fed up with @HaleyforMI saying Jews and pro-Israel groups are the same thing. We’re not. And we all deserve someone in office who won’t use Jews and Muslims like a political football.
US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/30/government-map-mislabels-african-countries?CMP=share_btn_url
NEW THREAD by our fearless leader