Mightier than the Sword

Avatar photoby

Attribution: Upholding the First Amendment by Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News, NY

True,—This!
Beneath the rule of men entirely great
The pen is mightier than the sword. Behold
The arch-enchanters wand!— itself a nothing!—
But taking sorcery from the master-hand
To paralyse the Cæsars—and to strike
The loud earth breathless!—Take away the sword—

States can be saved without it!

[Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1839]

💬 Add your voice: Comment on today’s post
Share

98 thoughts on “Mightier than the Sword”


  1. Feeling so irate, can’t escalate.

    The return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” drew huge ratings, the mystery of the United Nations escalator continues to fascinate the public, President Trump is ardently campaigning for the Nobel Peace Prize, and a California woman is in deep trouble after her dog allegedly voted in two recent elections


  2. Jordan Klepper covers how Putin’s f**kboi antics pushed Trump into Ukraine’s arms, while Grace Kuhlenschmidt and the rest of MAGA unravel a sick plot to prank the president in a conspiracy that starts at the bottom of a malfunctioning U.N. escalator and goes all the way to the top.

  3. other news not so funny
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/white-house-to-pursue-mass-firings-if-government-shuts-down/

    WASHINGTON—The White House’s budget office directed federal agencies to draw up plans to permanently reduce their workforces if there is a government shutdown next week, raising the specter of mass firings on top of the customary furloughs during a lapse in funding.
    The new memo sent by Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought sharply raises the stakes for funding talks and increases the pressure on Senate Democrats, who are demanding that Republicans restore hundreds of billions of dollars in healthcare spending as a condition of their support for keeping the government funded.
    If no bipartisan agreement is reached, the government would shut down at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Republicans are insisting that their seven-week stopgap spending plan funding the government through late November is the only one on the table, and there are no meetings planned between President Trump and Democrats before the month’s end.
    The OMB memo instructs agencies to design reduction-in-force plans for employees who work for programs that have no current funding and have no outside funding source, and that are “not consistent with the President’s priorities.” This would be in addition to any temporary furloughs that happen during a government shutdown.
    The memo from Vought says that any cuts made after the funding deadline would be permanent. [continues]

    other words for “nice little government you got here. too bad if anything happens to it”

  5. Of course he wants them arrested:

    It’s amazing that Melania and I didn’t fall forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps, face first. It was only that we were each holding the handrail tightly or, it would have been a disaster. This was absolutely sabotage, as noted by a day’s earlier “post” in The London Times that said UN workers “joked about turning off an escalator.” The people that did it should be arrested!

    Donald J. Trump
    @realDonaldTrump

  6. especially for you, pogeaux, in case you missed this one:
    https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/09/tom-homan-bribe-cash/

    Sure, Let’s Try Bribes!
    If taxpayers want to influence policy, maybe this is our only option.
    By Alexandra Petri

    If we’re going through the federal budget in search of areas to cut, I would maybe cut the budget line where we pay Tom Homan $50,000 in cash, consequence-free, to demonstrate that he is susceptible to bribes. I would cut that before the pediatric-cancer research, personally.

    Just to explain what happened: Last year Tom Homan, the border czar, was allegedly recorded accepting $50,000 in cash in a bag (specifically, a bag from CAVA, the Mediterranean fast-casual chain) from undercover FBI agents posing as government contractors in a sting operation, in which Homan intimated that he would now try to steer DHS contracts their way. And then they … let him hang onto the cash, to see what he would do with it. Maybe nothing! Maybe report it to the IRS in a really scrupulous way!
    [continues]

  7. Thanks, Pat. I haven’t seen it but will go read it. After seeing a few really good pieces from the Atlantic last week I subscribed to their digital access. I’m no criminal attorney but the coverage I’ve seen of that sure struck me as sounding like bribery. Seeing Alexandra’s treatment should be a fun ride.

  8. The Petri piece on Homan continues:

    When the Trump administration took over, it dropped the case. FBI Director Kash Patel even said that there was “no evidence of wrongdoing.” Homan also denies doing anything wrong. Remember, a wad of money in a weird bag intended for food only looks like a bribe, as a City Hall adviser recently explained. In its proper cultural context, handing someone $50,000 in a CAVA bag is actually a way of saying, “You seem like a man of unimpeachable integrity, and I respect you so much”—and it would be rude to refuse it.

    That’s right! Just because someone accepts a bag of cash to steer contracts a certain way doesn’t mean he has done anything wrong. Donald Trump didn’t get where he is today by refusing to take money from people. What, you’re supposed to discriminate against money just because it’s in cash in a CAVA bag, rather than in the form of someone buying your special novelty crypto coin?
    […]
    Love it.

  9. On your mighty pen theme PatD here is a chilling piece by an Atlantic staff writer. Gift Link.

    “The blurred line between democracy and autocracy is an important feature of modern authoritarianism. How do we know when we’ve crossed it? These sorts of regimes have constitutions, but the teeth are missing. Elections take place, but they’re no longer truly fair or free—the party in power controls the electoral machinery, and if the results aren’t desirable, they’ll be challenged and likely overturned. To keep their jobs, civil servants have to prove not their competence but their personal loyalty to the leader. Independent government officers—prosecutors, inspectors general, federal commissioners, central bankers—are fired and their positions handed to flunkies. The legislature, in the hands of the ruling party, becomes a rubber stamp for the executive. Courts still hear cases, but judges are appointed for their political views, not their expertise, and their opinions, cloaked in neutral-sounding legal terms, predictably give the leader what he wants, endorsing his most illiberal policies and immunizing him from accountability. The rule of law amounts to favors for friends and persecution for enemies. The separation of powers turns out to be a paper-thin gentleman’s agreement. There are no meaningful checks on the leader’s power.”

  12. Americas Zombie Democracy

    We are living in an authoritarian state.

    It didn’t feel that way this morning, when I took my dog for his usual walk in the park and dew from the grass glittered on my boots in the rising sunlight. It doesn’t feel that way when you’re ordering an iced mocha latte at Starbucks or watching the Patriots lose to the Steelers. The persistent normality of daily life is disorienting, even paralyzing. Yet it’s true. (more at link)

  14. https://www.cracked.com/article_36079_how-comedy-helped-bring-down-joe-mccarthy-and-the-hollywood-black-list.html

    Ball, Loeb and Chaplin are just three of the funny people whose careers were marred by political gossip-mongering. But ironically, it was comedy of the early 1950s that may have helped hasten the downfall of McCarthy and his baseless accusations of subverting mom, apple pie and the rest. After all, what better way to deflate a pompous ass than to subject him to public ridicule? One of the first voices with the nerve to take on McCarthy was, unsurprisingly, Mad Magazine.

    The Mad parody not only called out McCarthy for his dishonesty but also shone a light on how the emerging medium of television “allowed the rabble-rouser to rule the national stage,” according to The Nation.

    Soon, comics of all stripes were joining the mockery parade. Stan Freberg and Daws Butler created “Point of Order,” a parody of McCarthy’s bombastic catchphrase during his televised hearings. The legal eagles at Capitol, Freberg’s record label, were nervous and called Freberg in for a chat. When asked whether he had ever belonged to any group that might cause trouble, Freberg admitted, “I am, and have been for a long time, a card-carrying member of… the Little Orphan Annie Fan Club of America.” The lawyers were reportedly not amused.

    The Canadian Broadcasting Company radio network brought the laughs with The Investigator, whose lead character was clearly satirizing McCarthy. The show had a fan in President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who reportedly enjoyed chuckling at the recording during cabinet meetings.

    Groucho Marx and Red Skelton took their shots at McCarthy, too, but you knew you were really losing points with conservative America when Bob Hope joined in. During a Christmas special, Hope joked that Santa Claus let McCarthy know he was going to wear his red suit despite the Red Scare.

  15. Christmas is three months away. This is the year to starve corporations. Not buying this year. Not even coffee cards. Not anything new and unnecessary.

    Sending cards (USPS must be saved), making arts and crafts with what I already have, making food, a little cash for the youngs who won’t understand (when they spend it, banks get no fees).

    Billionaires and their congressional puppets have been extremely naughty.

    Starve the beast.

    The 2nd Wave!
    BLACK OUT THE SYSTEM
    November 25th – December 2nd
    Thanksgiving Week
    Black Friday
    Cyber Monday

  18. A map that shows why ABC caved. Sinclair and Nexstar may own 25% of ABC affiliates but they don’t reach 25% of ABC watchers. They are broadcasting to a lot of vacant land.

  19. Barbara Walters doc on ABC tonight. Hope they keep the clip of her interview with SFB taking him to the woodshed.

    ABC gonna keep letting Kimmel host Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

  21. BiD
    Until his contract runs out.
    Another thing I suspect is Kimmel has a smart agent who put some mean penalty causes in his contract. Public opinion just doesn’t explain the total cave by ABC. It was costing them some serious money somewhere.

    Jack

  34. So far I have not seen anyone point out the importance of stupid and the moving stairs. He has almost no brain power, no thinking ability and real big comprehension of the world. A typical scenario is something happens that is not scripted for him earlier. A reporter asks a real question, he stops. An escelator quits moving, he stops. He stops while going through the three by five cards of standard answers to find the correct one, or the “I don’t know him, must be coffee guy”. The stairs are in front of him, no answers in the cards. When the woman paid to be an escort at events starts walking up then it is “follow that bottom”, he is a sexual predator after all.

    He cannot respond if it is not already rehearsed. He is not capable of responding to unexpected events. It is way beyond time to get rid of him.

  35. The escalator was Antifa.

    The teleprompter was Antifa.

    The bucket of water thrown on the Wicked Witch of the West was Antifa.

  36. This is the year to starve corporations. Not buying this year. Not even coffee cards. Not anything new and

    good luck with that, everyone else is hooked on hypercapitalism

    wealth is so concentrated now the rich don’t even need the middle class

    if you find that offensive, don’t blame me

  37. meanwhile, the middle class has no survival skills anymore. They can’t fix their own cars. They can’t fix their own houses. They don’t know how to cook. They don’t know how to grow food. They don’t know how to hunt. They don’t know how to do a goddamn thing except their job

    they also don’t own a goddamn thing so they are at the mercy of the wealth-hoarders

    and they’re all so stupid now because they don’t read

    goose is cooked

  38. Things seniors have to anticipate. The insurance deduction will rise over 11% from $185 to $206. The SS COLA hasn’t been announced, but it probably won’t help much once that $21 kick in the head is covered.

  40. Dems are worried about a government shutdown, but that’s what’s needed to get Repugz back to the table.

    Also, there’s an exclusion rule that Dems need to demand because Repugz will just depend on Adolf whining to SCOTUS and undoing negotiations. All appropriations, tariffs, and taxes need to be protect from SCOTUS via the exclusion rule.

    Some of the stuff in the Big, Ugly Law 🐂 takes hold before the midterms, so some of this might get rolled back…although some of the bastards are banking on (illegal) pocket rescissions to screw over their constituents even more.

  43. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2025/09/24/political-fight-brews-around-adelita-grijalva-swearing-in/86333122007/

    As the House’s GOP leaders have kept quiet on the matter, a prominent Democrat has accused Republicans of “talking about delaying” Grijalva’s swearing-in.

    *Mike Johnson has his orders. Don’t swear in the Dem Rep from AZ, to hold off voting on Massie’s discharge petition about releasing the EPSTEIN files!

    The decision has high political stakes for Johnson.

    Grijalva’s presence would add pressure to the ongoing government funding fight, and she is expected to be the majority-making signature on a highly watched resolution that would force President Donald Trump’s administration to release federal files on Epstein, whose controversies have loomed over the president for months.

    Democrats, meanwhile, have already begun putting public pressure on Johnson.

    The ongoing government shutdown fight adds yet another layer of uncertainty.

    On Election Night, Grijalva told reporters that she expects to be sworn in the day the U.S. House returns for voting.

    That timeline, too, is rife with unknowns: Johnson has signaled he does not plan to bring the House in from recess before a Sept. 30 government shutdown deadline, but his plans could change depending on how House leaders choose to navigate the brinkmanship over a government shutdown.

  46. trump is the distraction from your society being stolen from under your feet

    look at all the effort and energy wasted on him. Imagine what could’ve been done with that energy.

  47. this doesn’t seem like it’ll end well:

    NYT: Unusual meeting: Top U.S. military officials stationed around the world have been summoned to Virginia by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for a meeting next week, four U.S. officials said, but the reason has not been disclosed. The large number of generals who could be in attendance, including those working in active conflict zones, is without recent precedent, officials said.

  53. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-nominee-jeremy-carl-demanded-political-opponents-death-before-tweet-purge/

    President Donald Trump’s nominee for a key State Department role deleted a trove of social media posts saying there was no such thing as “peaceful coexistence” with Democrats and that a political enemy should get the death penalty.

    Trump’s pick for assistant secretary of state for international organization, Jeremy Carl, deleted at least 5,000 posts from his account on X, formerly Twitter, at some point before he received the nomination, CNN reported.

    Responding to a 2023 post about the COVID-19 pandemic from Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, he wrote, “If the U.S. were a serious nation, Weingarten would be tried for crimes against America’s children and would get the death penalty.”

    In another, he responded to a Juneteenth post from former Democrat Rep. Cori Bush by saying, “There is no ‘peaceful coexistence’ we are going to have when our opposition is led by people like this. With either win or die.”

    “Dems R the real fascists,” he wrote in another post.

    Carl has been tapped to oversee the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, which shapes U.S. policy at the U.N. and other multilateral bodies. If confirmed, he would manage more than 100 diplomats worldwide.

    *tRUMP’s got a loony bunch of coconuts 🎶

  55. The “No Kings” Oct. 18 Protests: Locations, How To Attend, & More Info

    Where Will the Oct. 18 “No Kings” Protests Be?

    Similar to the previous “No Kings” protests, there are many scheduled events across the country, with multiple locations within each state. The “No Kings” website provides a platform to locate an existing one near you, complete with detailed information on meeting locations and times. If you don’t have a protest near you but you want to participate, you can take the initiative and register your own event! Virtual calls are taking place between now and protest day, covering host preparation, safety protocols, de-escalation training, and more; they can be accessed via the “No Kings” website. More information and updates can also be found on the 50501 social media pages.

  56. https://refusefascism.org/events/the-time-has-come-for-the-fall-of-the-trump-fascist-regime/

    Beginning November 5, the one-year anniversary of Trump’s election, flood DC in nonviolent protest. Surround the White House. Surround the Capitol. Surround the illegitimate fascist-packed Supreme Court. Come back again and again. Across the country, refuse to comply. Every person of conscience, millions of us together, grind the machinery of the fascist regime to a halt.

    *The regime ends with an impeachment and conviction for treason (so the entire lot can be dumped), which starts with MAGAts not voting R in the midterms (or at all).

  57. BB, I got on an escalator once that didn’t work. It wasn’t that hard. And I saw the video – neither he nor Melania was holding on tight to the escalator handrail. He had that confused look and she just started walking upstairs. Another distraction moment.

  58. I’ve been surprised that there haven’t bee more attacks on ICE. If an unmarked van pulls up and a bunch of masked men jump out and grab a member of your family to shove in that van, why wouldn’t someone attack them or at the very least blocking it’s exit while calling the cops to prove they are actually ICE.

  59. Pogeaux – The DC Metro has a few of the longest escalators in the US. Over time those have been replaced as they failed. It can be a very long slog up or a terrifying stumble down! It is amazing how things are when your three D vision is only good for eighteen feet and the way down is very much longer.

  60. Pod Save guys doing such a good job that crumpto feels the need to attack them

    jd stealing my messaging ofc, nothing original about that guy, sociopath alert 🚨

  61. why wouldn’t someone… or at the very least blocking

    because they are in a pack on steroids in body armor, heavily armed and masked with state-vested authority

  62. i venture that $31 billion is going to contractors giving giant meatheads six figures to professionally brutalize and intimidate

    meathead dreamjob

    Uruk-Hai

  63. Bronc,

    As I told Craig the other day, I actually did fall down one of those Metro escalators my second week in DC by catching my heel in the stair groove. It really raked over my shins before the emergency shut off. Found out the hard way why the women all wear tennis shoes and keep their high heels at work.

  67. BB. I’ve really never ridden the DC Metro escalators, but I’ll take your word for it. The Atlanta airport (Hartfield Int’l.) has a few impressive ones that I certainly wouldn’t want to have to walk. The one Dumbass was on looks pretty manageable. The one that didn’t work that I was referring to is a very old one in the Sachs building in midtown Manhattan. the slats and sides are wood and it services a transition that is I’d guess for a 20-24′ room height – and it certainly wasn’t such a deal that I would have walked to the back of the store to find an elevator.

  70. ❤️

    Ah, see those were restationed Uruk-Hai, Sauron was putting the expense on Saruman’s books

    That’s where the term “accounting wizardry” came from 🥁

  71. Ringwraiths approved a $31 billion silver and gold package for increased Mithril gate security

    common orcs were like “that seems like a lot” 🤔

  73. The escalator to the top floor of Macy’s in NYC is the old, wooden thing. Not a smooth ride and felt very dodgy.

    The escalator at Dupont Circle felt like I was going into the bowels of hell, but the ease of finding my way through the system and the ride itself were much better than NYC.

    Stay off of NYC subways if I can. Just take a bus up/down the streets and walk the avenues. Much easier.

  75. god how i hated when a kid got their shoelace caught in that escalator. it would shut the whole thing down. cut my eye teeth in that building.

    “Foley’s Department Store, once a Houston institution, is remembered fondly for its escalators, particularly the fast ones in its downtown store. The store was a fixture in the city before it was rebranded as Macy’s in 2006 and the original building demolished in 2013, though the memory of its escalators and other features remains a cherished part of Houston’s history.
    The Foley’s Escalator Legacy
    Speed and Cold: Shoppers often recall the high-speed escalators in the downtown Foley’s, paired with the unusually cold air conditioning.
    A Community Fixture: Foley’s was more than just a store; it was a significant part of Houston’s community, offering fashion, entertainment, and employment before its rebranding.
    Replaced by Macy’s: In 2006, Foley’s nameplates were replaced as part of a nationwide rebranding of former May Company locations.
    Demolition: The original Foley’s downtown building was demolished in 2013, closing a chapter in the city’s history.
    Foley’s History
    Origin: Pat and James Foley opened their Dry Goods Company in 1900, eventually becoming a prominent department store.
    Growth: By 1922, Foley’s was the largest department store in Houston.
    Cultural Impact: For many Houstonians, Foley’s was a beloved institution.”

  79. 🚨 BREAKING: COMEY INDICTED
    Former federal prosecutor Carolyn Adams joins Trail Mix Live to explain why it’s unusual — and risky — for a US Attorney with no trial experience to indict over the objections of career prosecutors.

  82. Why all the military brass in one place

    threats and ultimatums

    a withdrawal from NATO wouldn’t shock me or anybody else paying attention

  90. 📅 LIVE 11 AM ET | TARGETING COMEY
    How to Fight a Vindictive Prosecution
    When does justice cross the line into payback?
    Join The Chat Here
    We break down the Comey indictment — and go deeper with a former federal prosecutor on what counts as selective prosecution, what crosses into vindictive prosecution, and how anyone can fight back when the system gets personal.

  92. https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5522503-grassley-trump-argentina-soybean-farmers/

    Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Thursday American farmers have been overshadowed and outsold by Argentinian soybean production, and he slammed the Trump administration for agreeing to soften the South American country’s economic hardship.

    Why would USA help bail out Argentina while they take American soybean producers’ biggest market???” Grassley wrote in a Thursday post on social platform X.

    *Because Donald J. tRUMP is as dumb as they come, and as crooked.

    We shld use leverage at every turn to help hurting farm economy,” he added, “Family farmers shld be top of mind in negotiations by representatives of USA.”

    In past years, the U.S. has been the No. 1 supplier of soybeans to China, which purchased more than half of all American soybean exports last year.

    U.S. farmers have been hit hard by President Trump’s trade war with Beijing, which resulted in a 20 percent tariff on all American imports.

    JFC, FDT!

    Grassley 2025, if we can get rid of three corrupt idiots. He may be in his 90s, but he’s got his wits about him.

  97. https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-jimmy-kimmel-blackout-could-backfire-on-broadcast-tv-2025-9

    Mark Cuban says Sinclair and Nexstar’s move to drop ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ could ‘backfire’ on broadcast TV

    ***
    https://www.soapcentral.com/shows/shark-tank-mark-cuban-comments-recent-suspension-jimmy-kimmel-live

    Mark Cuban pointed to existing trends where broadcast networks have already moved their premium scripted content to streaming platforms. This shift leaves traditional television with primarily sports, news, and reality programming. Mark Cuban argued that reducing scripted show investments would fundamentally alter the economic structure of broadcast television. He suggested this could create a damaging cycle for the entire industry.

Comments are closed.

Join the Trail Mix

Get an alert when Craig goes live, and the link when our Open Thread heats up.