58 thoughts on “WHAT ABOUT NEWSOM?”

  1. reposting Trail friend BiD’s comment last thread at 11:31 pm:

    Gavin Newsom: “When they go low, we go to hell”

    (Newsom’s California redistricting proposal has a 22-point polling advantage)

    @GovKathyHochul
    Game on.

    @BarackObama
    X.com
    Over the long term, we shouldn’t have political gerrymandering in America, just a fair fight between Republicans and Democrats based on who’s got better ideas. But since Texas is taking direction from a partisan White House and gerrymandering in the middle of a decade to try and maintain the House despite their unpopular policies, I have tremendous respect for how Governor Newsom has approached this. He’s put forward a smart, measured approach in California, designed to address a very particular problem at a very particular moment in time.


  2. “California Governor Gavin Newsom and his team have figured out a very entertaining way to deal with Donald Trump on his own rhetorical level,” says Chris Hayes.

  3. “sickofancy”

    by Recap DB
    South Park Just Went Wild: Trump, Towelie, AI Weed, And The Darkest Twist You Didn’t See Coming
    South Park Trump Episode 3 Recap: Towelie’s Shocking Fate Explained
    South Park Season Recap – Trump, AI Weed, And Towelie’s Dark Ending
    Randy, Trump & Towelie: South Park’s Most Disturbing Episode Yet
    South Park Towelie Returns – And The Ending Is Beyond Dark
    South Park Trump Episode Breakdown: AI, Ketamine, And Satan Twist
    Towelie in DC – South Park Episode 3 Full Recap & Ending Explained
    South Park Trump & Towelie Shocker – Episode 3 Goes Too Far?

    or read at https://www.thewrap.com/south-park-season-27-episode-3-trump-tim-cook-towelie/

    ‘South Park’: Tim Cook and More Oligarchs Suck Up to Trump and Towelie Meets a Dark Fate in DC

    “South Park” brought back Towelie for a traumatic trip to Trump’s militarized Washington, only to meet a dark fate as Tim Cook and other tech and world oligarchs showered the President with gifts for favor.
    Season 27’s Episode 3, titled “Sickofancy,” saw Randy Marsh enlist the help of ChatGPT to help his struggling marijuana farm overcome the financial impact of ICE deporting all his workers. With the help of the AI — and a newfound love for microdosing ketamine — Stan’s dad briefly transforms the farming operation into a tech company, run by himself, his business partner Towelie and “only one Mexican.”
    The financial strain and his overreliance on Chat puts a strain in Randy’s relationship with wife Sharon, accusing him of letting the little “sycophant machine” push him to making the wrong decisions. The action then jumps to DC, where President Trump has an audience with human sycophants of his own.
    “Mr. President, your ideas for the tech industry are so innovative and you definitely do not have a small penis. Please accept this gift on behalf of Apple,” CEO Tim Cook tells Trump before giving him a small gift, which the president turns into a sex toy with Satan.
    Other people assuring the president in the line include Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the Emir of Qatar and Republican Senator Ashley Moody.
    The “South Park” episode clearly pokes fun at people’s overreliance on AI, as Randy and Towelie use the AI to convince an ICE officer to let them into a detention center, and Randy uses it to gain access to the White House for Towelie, secure a gift for the President and schedule a meeting in an attempt to convince him to reclassify marijuana as a permitted substance on the federal level. Even Satan — previously established as Trump’s begrudging lover — sought ChatGPT’s assistance in plotting an escape plan.
    […]
    An epilogue for the episode, parodying a CBS Studios sitcom called “Hey Satan,” then took us back to the White House. After avoiding a NSFW sexcapade with Trump and JD Vance, Satan went into the bathroom for a moment of peace. He heard a faint “Help” and found Towelie, a shell of his former self from overuse — seemingly by Trump.
    Towelie begged him for help in escaping his new role at the White House.
    “There is no escape from this place,” Satan told Towelie, as they were both resigned to their fates and the end credits rolled.
    “South Park” Season 27 will air next Sept. 3 on Comedy Central and stream the next day on Paramount+. Past seasons are now streaming on Paramount+.

  7. Oh goodie, we’re back. For now. Server company gave themselves two days for whatever they’re doing, so we could go wobbly again:

    “Due to platform maintenance Friday, August 22nd through Saturday, August 23rd, you may experience processing delays. Thank you for your patience”

    For backup our YouTube Community Page is always there when needed.
    Keep it handy:

    https://www.youtube.com/@TrailMixLive/posts

  8. May all blue state governors drag tRUMP’s gerrymandering plan to hell!
    And for those who say the rest of the red states will respond in kind…the red states are red states because they already gerrymandered. Texas has 2 million more registered Dems than Republicans. It’s only red because of gerrymandering. Which…is why they are going to be throwing people off of voter roles, and why Orange Adolf wants to end mail-in voting.
    Republicans KNOW they can’t win without cheating. They KNOW mist folks hate their policies. They do not CARE about the folks they are supposed to represent.

  9. I’m with Jamie. Newsom is the most electable; white, Christian, straight male seems to be what the party will run because of all of the bigots out there.

    Personally, I love Pete Buttigieg and Wes Moore and Jon Ossoff…but for all those bigots. Plus, we need Dem governors and senators to stay in place. Hopefully, Ossoff retains his seat.

    I don’t think Kamala has the fight in her to have it stolen, again. (Yes, I believe there was Muskian highjinx going on, but what’s done is done.)

    Nicole Collier from TX will rise up because of the spotlight Adolf Abbott and Dusty Burrows put on her by locking her in the TX House chamber. I’ve been impressed with what I’ve found out about her and how she had handled herself.

    The other person I was impressed with was Representative Ann Johnson. She should be TX next governor. Ann Richards would’ve been proud of her yesterday.

  12. I LOVE Newsom’s tweets… or whatever the hell he’s doing where he writes just like trumpie!

    But for a governor candidate for president… I prefer Illinois’ JB Pritzker.

  15. I love Pritzker, but how does he tell voters that billionaires are stealing your country when he’s a billionaire? Income inequality will ring hollow coming from him, for many.

    There’s the “good billionaire” argument for Pritzker, maybe Taylor Swift, maybe even Mark Cuban as he works to correct drug prices; Warren Buffett doesn’t even seem to be a bad guy. But billionaires shouldn’t exist on paper. (But, one day there will be trillionaires.) It’s too much concentrated power.

  17. I’m with BID in loving Pete Buttigieg. My hope would be that a Democratic POTUS would put him in the cabinet. Given all the languages and brain power, Secretary of State sounds good.

  18. BiD….
    some billionaires are philanthropist…. such as George Soros and Bill Gates.

    Pritztker has enough money to do anything… he’s chosen to do the hard work of taking on the problems of Illinois. I admire that.

  21. The DNC may run us aground, again.
    Four problems, in order:
    1) Feeding off the same teat as Republicans.
    2) Thinking there is safety in the center.
    3) Fear of bigots.
    4) Bigots.

    Overturn Citizens United first chance. If.
    Realize the momentum is left of center; the US is the only industrialized nation without universal healthcare. (When I brought that up last night, that tax dollars should be spent on us and that billionaires should pay more, I got the oddest response. “Everything can’t be free. If it was they wouldn’t have this house.” Huh??)
    The DNC seems freaked out by Mamdani in NYC. Cuomo, won’t take no for an answer and is running in the general despite losing the Dem primary. He has aligned with another sexual assaulter, tRUMP, for support. They should’ve kept David Hogg instead of Ken Martin (who is basically one of Chuck Schumer’s strongly-worded letters in human form); not sure where Hogg goes from here, but we need young, passionate folks. Granted, he had a lot to learn, but he added value to the FNC which continues to falter.

  22. Dream would be Pete as Prez

    VP

    Wes Moore – Sec of Defense

    Beto – Education

    Hope Crockett or AOC get re-elected and one of them is SOTH, if we can take it back.

  23. rr – It depends on their good nature, though. Too much concentrated power. There are so many of them. Their existence is very different than ours, and most do not give AF as long as they can keep what they have. Look at DiCaprio (the do-called environmentalist) building a luxury hotel in Israel and attended the Bezos/Greedbot wedding. Greedbot went to space for a minute with Oprah’s bestie, Gail King, and also went to the Bezos wedding. They travel in a pack, and they are far-removed from the reality of 99.99% of humans. Divest of some assets by doing something for Earth.

  24. Dem’s “ideal candidate” is why they always lose, the “ideal candidate” is always a general election liability, always

    i’ll take who can win

  25. In response to the substantive/performative question re: Dumbass’ military presence in DC, he answers your question. WaPo.

    President Donald Trump said he will join law enforcement officials on D.C. streets Thursday, as his administration continues its effort to exert control over the capital city.

    “I’m going to be going out tonight with the police and with the military, of course,” Trump said in an interview with talk show host Todd Starnes.

    Aside from performing, what’s a 78 year old de-conditioned, morbidly obese idiot in a blue suit doing on the street with police and military? My guess is he drives by in the beast and keeps his fat ass in the back seat – or maybe just puts a ticker in the window that makes is look vaguely like he’ in the car.

  28. https://www.newsweek.com/new-paintings-trump-white-house-2115641

    At least four new paintings of Trump, some of which depict him in heroic poses, have been spotted, alongside a framed photo of a newspaper’s front page of his mugshot, taken after he was indicted on racketeering and related charges in 2023.

    *The paintings are in line with what Gavin’s team is posting. It’s a mirror, MAGAts. It’s just a mirror.

  31. I do like Mayor Pete by the way, but he’s a little dry

    In a perfect world “a little dry” would be a political attribute, but this ain’t no perfect world is it

  32. why did we have to coalesce around someone so old why why why

    why did Biden have to turn the cognitive corner in the middle of his term why why why

    Why didn’t he install any bulwarks why why why

  33. they did Joe dirty

    Joe did us dirty, a lot of this is his fault, did nothing about SCotUS for example and now they’re laughing at his lack of
    temerity

    a failure of imagination we will all pay for

    Great job preserving our institutions long enough for the Trumpers to performatively set them on fire, Biden 😑

    his weakness made targets of Democrats, he goes down in history like a skunk

    which is too bad because he had a moderately successful liberal term

  34. I’d blame Merrick Garland, but blame does no good; learning and doing differently does.

    Gargoyle was the first to get Mar-a-Lago filler face, followed Matt Gaetz, Bezos’ Greedbot, Laura tRUMP, and Gestapo Barbie.
    They know what they are doing is ugly so maybe subconsciously they want to put on a facade to hide it. Doesn’t work.

  35. Ivy – for dobson (focus on the anus) I turn my clergy ID around and offer my kindest thought possible – may he rot in an outhouse pit. I dealt with him and his cult. At least one more gone.

  36. We’re lucky trump is too dull to watch good period dramas, because the interiors of some of THOSE filming locations…

  37. “At least one more gone.”

    BB, my folks here were devoted followers, so the less I say the better. Just that I don’t understand bigotry cloaked in self-righteousness (and self-enrichment.)

  39. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/08/21/judge-strikes-down-alina-habbas-authority-as-us-attorney/

    Ex-Trump attorney Alina Habba’s role as the U.S. attorney in New Jersey is unlawful, a federal judge ruled Thursday, suggesting any prosecutions she’s brought since July are void and striking down the Justice Department’s gambit to keep the longtime Trump ally on as the state’s top prosecutor after a panel of federal judges declined to extend her tenure.

    Pennsylvania Judge Matthew Brann ruled against Habba’s appointment in response to a petition by Julian Giraud Jr. and Julian Giraud III, two criminal defendants being prosecuted in New Jersey, who argued the charges against them should be thrown out because Habba wasn’t lawfully serving as U.S. attorney.

    Trump previously named Habba as the Interim U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, a temporary role that should have expired in July unless the state’s judges voted to keep her on—but when judges voted for her to be replaced instead, the Justice Department responded by firing Habba’s proposed replacement and reinstating Habba as Acting U.S. Attorney.

    The Trump administration used a little-known legal maneuver in order to keep Habba in the role, naming Habba to serve as second-in-command at the U.S. Attorney’s office—which, since there was no one serving as U.S. attorney, then meant she was promoted to the top role by default.

    Brann ruled against this legal maneuvering, writing it is not allowed under federal law and ruling Habba “has exercised the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey without lawful authority since July 1.”

    Brann did not throw out the Girauds’ charges, however, and his ruling doesn’t immediately remove Habba from her role, though the judge disqualified her or anyone under her supervision from overseeing the Girauds’ case, and suggested that any prosecutorial moves she’s made since July 1 should be voided.

    Craig – This is what we were talking about g about with Carolyn last month, and we didn’t know what happened to Desiree.

  42. https://www.npr.org/2025/08/21/g-s1-84146/russia-ukraine-american-factory

    Two Russian cruise missiles slammed into an American electronics factory in a remote corner of far western Ukraine before dawn Thursday, causing extensive damage and more than a dozen injuries, according to Ukrainian officials.

    The attack came as Russia carried out one of its largest airstrikes of the war, firing more than 570 drones and 40 missiles in an overnight barrage, according to the officials.

    In his post on the Telegram messaging app, Zelenskyy called it an “ordinary civilian enterprise, an American investment. They produced such familiar household items as coffee machines.”

    The Ukrainian leader went on to say that the Russian military “delivered this strike as if nothing had changed at all. As if there were no efforts by the world to stop this war.”

    The company that was hit, Flex, produces civilian electronic components and products with more than 100 offices and factories worldwide. The company was founded in the U.S., is listed on NASDAQ, and has headquarters in both Austin, Texas, and Singapore. Flex did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

    Some 600 workers were on the job when the missiles struck before 5 a.m., said Myroslav Biletskyi, head of the regional military administration. Before the attack, they heeded the air raid sirens and took cover in secure areas, he noted, or the casualty toll would have been much higher. He said about one-third of the massive plant burned down.

    “This enterprise exclusively produced household appliances. It never produced any military equipment,” Biletskyi said, adding that Flex had been operating at the site since 2012.

  43. Stamp of approval: Former President Barack Obama backed California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s tit-for-tat redistricting plan, saying the approach was “responsible” and necessary in the face of anti-democratic moves by Republicans, AP’s Meg Kinnard scooped. If Democrats “don’t respond effectively, then this White House and Republican-controlled state governments all across the country, they will not stop, because they do not appear to believe in this idea of an inclusive, expansive democracy,” Obama said at a National Democratic Redistricting Committee fundraiser.
    – Politico

    I approve this message.

  46. A military vehicle in a D.C. National Guard convoy collided with an SUV on Capitol Hill early Wednesday morning, an incident underscoring the uncomfortable relationship between city residents and the federal forces that President Donald Trump has deployed to patrol its streets for the past 10 days. Officials said the driver of the SUV had to be extricated by firefighters and was sent to a nearby hospital with a minor head laceration. Capt. Tinashe T. Machona of the D.C. National Guard said in a statement that the crash is under investigation and that the joint task force overseeing troops in the city “remains committed to the safety of our service members and the public.”

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/08/20/dc-national-guard-crash-suv/

  48. Control of the Senate Could Be Decided in Maine. This Oyster Farmer Is Vying to Unseat Susan Collins.

    Graham Platner, a 40-year-old oyster farmer from Sullivan, Maine (pop. 1,219), announced a bid for the seat of incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins on Tuesday.

    A Marine and Army veteran who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Platner says he’s running his Democratic campaign on a message of economic populism.

    His goal, he says, is to “claw back wealth that was created by the labor and the consumption of working class Americans who have not shared in the riches they helped build.”

    *There’s your mission statement, Dems!

  49. https://www.gao.gov/blog/what-pocket-rescission-and-it-legal

    A pocket rescission occurs when a president asks Congress to rescind (or cancel) funds very close to the end of the fiscal year—so close that the funds expire before they can be used for new obligations.

    A pocket rescission essentially bypasses Congress’s power of the purse.

    Are pocket rescissions legal? No.

    The Impoundment Control Act (ICA) does not provide that authority. If Congress wanted a president to have that authority, it would need to change the law.

  50. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/past-pocket-rescissions-are-not-precedents-for-power-vought-claims

    This summer, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought said he intends to try to permanently cut federal funding without first getting approval from Congress by deploying a tactic he calls a “pocket rescission.”

    *It’s illegally, but they will try and we only have Chuck Schumer looking over his half-glasses disparagingly at Senate Republicans to stop it. Filibuster? Magic minute? IDK what tactics are available.

  51. Today’s Open Mic Dupont Circle
    Our Florida friends Barbara and Heather report on the state painting over the Pulse rainbow crosswalk — overnight, no warning. 🌈
    Jamie asks the question Tallahassee can’t answer: how do you erase the rainbows in the sky?

  53. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-rules-alligator-alcatraz-florida-no-new-detainees-rcna224550

    A federal judge in Miami ruled Thursday that “Alligator Alcatraz,” the contested migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades, can remain operational for now, but it cannot be expanded and no additional detainees can be brought in.

    U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams entered a preliminary injunction to prevent the installation of any additional industrial-style lighting and any site expansion. Her ruling further prevents “bringing any additional persons… who were not already being detained at the site at the time of this order.”

    The ruling was filed late Thursday, allowing the injunction that was requested over National Environmental Policy Act violations.

    Within 60 days, the facility must also remove “all generators, gas, sewage, and other waste and waste receptacles that were installed to support this project,” the 82-page ruling said. It’s unclear how the facility will remain operational if those resources are removed.

    The government must also remove temporary fencing installed to allow Native American tribe members access to the site consistent with the access they had before the facility was erected.

    “So why here? There are runways elsewhere … Why the jetport in this area?” Schweip asked. “Alligator Alcatraz. A name just meant to sound ominous. I would submit, judge, this is just a public relations stunt.”

  54. Ha! Just a trouble making idea.
    that Cross walk is perfect for a bit of Guerrilla activism. 30 seconds and 5 people could have that cross walk repainted back to rainbow. It does take a special paint but it can be bought.
    Then just for fun, spread out through the city, spend the night painting rainbow crosswalks.

    Ah I wish I was younger, There is a perfect cross walk in this town just 2 blocks from me, right by Chic fila. In fact there is enough traffic turning there we could rainbow the whole street just from the tires running through the wet paint. See em paint over that.

    Jack

  55. maybe i’m white trash, or maybe Bob’s Seger’s “Night Moves” is the best song ever recorded

    both can be true i guess

  57. back in my day, we didn’t have all music ever in the palms of our hands always, i try to take advantage of it

    it’s fitting that all of the really cool cultural stuff about the internet now is inevitably ruined by an intentionally intrusive ad

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