At The Eleventh Hour

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Attribution: Remembrance: Canada and USA military ties by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Ontario, Canada

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Attribution: Thanks to Veterans by Dave Granlund, PoliticalCartoons.com

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133 thoughts on “At The Eleventh Hour”

  1. at the eleventh hour of our democracy, it’s important to also remember those who fought to establish it and why

    Acclaimed documentarian Ken Burns shares lesser-known stories from the Revolutionary War era and argues that some lessons from George Washington’s time still resonate today. “The American Revolution” premieres this Sunday on PBS.

  2. in the meantime, Seth on what’s happened so far

    Seth addresses eight Senate Democrats breaking from party leadership, Trump posting a photo of the White House’s updated interior and more in his monologue for Monday, November 10, before taking a closer look at Senate Democrats caving to end the government shutdown despite big wins.

  3. https://www.theguardian.com/

    The Senate on Monday approved a funding package that is expected to bring to a close the longest government shutdown in US history, after a coalition of Democrats broke from their party and voted with Republicans, in a move that has enraged many in their caucus.

    The vote passed in a 60-40 tally, with seven Democrats and one independent joining all Republicans to approve a compromise deal that would fund most federal agencies through January. The agreement, which next goes to the House of Representatives, does not directly address the expiring tax credits for healthcare premiums, the issue at the center of the 40-day stalemate between Democrats and Republicans, though the Senate majority leader John Thune has promised a Senate vote later this year on the subsidies.

    Donald Trump has already expressed support for the deal, and Speaker Mike Johnson has urged members of the House – which has been on an extended recess since the shutdown began – to return in preparation for a vote and a swift delivery to the president’s desk.

    The legislation extends government funding at current levels through January 2026 along with three year-long provisions that will fund programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the USDA and FDA, and legislative branch operations. The continuing resolution also includes language to stop mass federal firings and reverse dismissals that occurred during the shutdown – prohibiting additional reductions until the end of January – and guarantees back pay to workers who have spent weeks without paychecks.

    Speaking from the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he would abide by the terms of the deal, including provisions reinstating federal workers who had received reductions-in-force notice.
    [continues]

  5. Yesterday Trump teased emergency powers to ignore the Supreme Court on tariffs.
    If everything’s an emergency, nothing’s Democracy.

    🎥 Now in the Plain Thoughts playlist →

  6. Apparently, young men like this image of “masculinity”.

    Gavin Newsom winning with young male voters according to polling pitting him against JD Vance
    Democratic governor Gavin Newsom is leading JD Vance among young male voters, according to a new poll over a hypothetical 2028 presidential battle.

    Republican pollster League of American Workers/TIPP found the Californian governor is making headway with young men, following the demographic’s well-documented support for President Donald Trump in 2024.

    It comes after rumors that Vice President Vance is the GOP faithful’s chosen successor to Trump to run for the top job in 2028. When asked about his possible successors on Air Force One in late October, Trump named Vance for the presidency and Marco Rubio for his VP, describing the slate as “unstoppable”.
    But according to the poll, young male voters would prefer Trump’s outspoken critic, Newsom, to occupy the White House.

  8. I knew democrats were bound for a super loss at the very point they started backbiting Biden. It’s plain history. Every time —Every Time—the democrats jack around with a democrat incumbent—pure and simple—WE LOSE.
    We have lost every single race where that has been the democrats’ go-to strategy. It has resulted in a gop win every time.
    Pure and simple history.
    If democrats had piled on massive support for our old and cognitively declining President the same way the republicans did for THEIR old and fragile candidate we could have won. Instead we wound up with two total losers while the Republicans’ old and dementia’d candidate waltzed into the White House.
    Sometimes democrats just make me sick, like the 8 absolute morons who joined the gop to help them out of the hole they dug for themselves.
    LUNACY

    Being stupid jerkinpoles is the order of any given day; every time democrats are offered the chance to be that, that is their choice.

    Get the old bastards out of the party NOW and turn it over to the ones who are AWAKE to the current state of our democracy.

    Democrats’ 8 quisling candy-ass senators?

    OUT NOW

    or lose some more and more and even more of our democracy.

  12. Sturg – Six of the weasels aren’t up for reelection & two are retiring, so none of them give a flying F. Also, they give cover to the Dems who are happy that someone else caved, so a lot more of them don’t actually care that this happened.

    They waited until after the elections on Tuesday, so folks wouldn’t be too pissed at Dems to show up and vote for them, and if some of them understood that Mamdani was absolutely going to win, I think they would’ve caved last week.

    Most Dems in the US Congress are terrified of young progressives. Terrified. Their lashing out against progressivism is extinction burst.

    Jamie – Newsom will need to have a male running mate (Mark Kelly?) with military experience. Then, he should do what Mamdani is doing, with a female transition team. Two penises on the ticket will have to be the Trojan horse to get a lot of women into cabinet positions.

  13. Craig – Some controllers called in “sick.”

    Recommending a $10k bonus does not allocate funds.

    Maybe it’s a carrot to keep others from calling in sick?

    Why not just ground private planes and let commercial traffic fly unencumbered by the trashy rich and their privilege?

  14. There are no “independents”.
    Anyone who isn’t a MAGAt is a Democrat, whether they like it or not. Anyone claiming to be an independent is just full of crap. (And stupid as well)

  15. Patd…
    Remembering those that died while fighting is Memorial Day. Today is about honoring all those who are still alive and served.

  16. New reports say Ghislaine Maxwell is “working on” a pardon and enjoying “shocking” privileges behind bars — and that Donald Trump hasn’t ruled out a pardon.

    A former prison insider claims Maxwell received “room service,” warden assistance, and other VIP perks while serving time for aiding Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking network. Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign is testing public reaction to the idea of freeing her altogether.

    These stories raise the same question: what message does it send if power and privilege can rewrite accountability itself?

    Watch these latest stories plus our full investigation in THE EPSTEIN FILES 🕵️ What They Don’t Want You Asking →

  17. What disturbs me is using people for political pawns. There are a lot of our fellow citizens who are truly hurting right now not only because of the shutdown… but also because of inflation.

    I also help put on a free community dinner on Monday nights in the basement of the local church. We are seeing more and more people coming because they are in need of help.

    I am a Democrat because I believe in helping people.

  19. We HAD a real president, but he wasn’t perfect so of course he had to be publicly humiliated and kicked to the curb.
    Yeah ok he was this and he was that and he should have stepped down blah blah blah….know what else he was?

    HE WAS A WINNER.

    Even with a female vice-president, He was a winner right up until the fucking democrats made him a loser.

  21. He should never have debated Sturg, and none of this would have happened. I always thought he should say Trump is a lying criminal not worthy of debating. Then they could have kept his bad days hidden.

  22. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo/shutdown-deal-lets-gop-senators-personally-sue-over-jack-smith-probe

    Tucked into a spending bill that is part of the deal to end the government shutdown is a provision that would allow GOP senators to personally sue the federal government for as much as $500,000 over Special Counsel Jack Smith’s lawful search of their phone records, according to the NYT.

    As part of his Jan. 6 investigation, Smith properly subpoenaed the toll records of some GOP members of Congress.

    District Judge James Boasberg of D.C. approved measures that barred phone providers from notifying lawmakers that their data from around Jan. 6 was requested as part of the investigation, Politico notes. The provision in the bill imposes new restrictions that would require senators to receive notice of their records being sought and bars judges from preventing that notice unless the senator is under criminal investigation.

    Most controversially, the provision in the bill retroactively allows senators targeted by Smith to sue the federal government, the NYT reports: “Because the provision is retroactive to 2022, it would appear to make eligible the eight lawmakers whose phone records were subpoenaed by investigators for Mr. Smith as he examined efforts by Donald J. Trump to obstruct the results of the 2020 presidential election.”

  23. He did what he did.
    He was still the incumbent who had WON.
    He should have had full and unwavering support. (The debate was a Sham…..a total set-up to make him fail. The Dems could absolutely have MESSAGED that but instead their lower lips began to quiver and they proceeded down the path of ignominious LOSS)
    You know, SUPPORT. Like the gop did when they SUPPORTED their doddering old insurrectionist fool. Know why they supported him? Because they would rather win with a doddering old fascist than LOSE to a couple of great dem candidates.

  24. POTUS Joe had been ill right before the debate. He needed rest. There was no hiding anything. He always had a speech impediment.

    FDT!

    Bless POTUS Joe!

    -> Fetterman on The View now. FJF!

  25. One I’ve shared before: I never learned the name of the old man who some might think oddly invited six-year-old me and my same-age cousin into his house to “show us something.” What he showed us was his collection of personal artifacts, his uniform, and other memorabilia from his service in the Spanish American War and he told us his story. Even then that war was largely forgotten, overshadowed by the two world wars and the Korean that followed. He might as well have been a veteran of the American Revolution. I thought he was the oldest man in the world, but now I realize he was likely only about 70. This encounter inspired my life-long respect and reverence for the people who serve our country in uniform. It is possible the time we spent listening and learning was also a service in return to an old soldier. Repeating one’s story and having it heard is the main therapy for PTSD.

  26. Dems really screwed up if they thought getting a vote in mid-December to put Repugz on the record against ACA so they can do well in the midterms was a good idea. Dems put themselves on record as NOT FIGHTING FOR THEIR CONSTITUENTS! Dumbasses!!!

  27. Fetterman’s ass. He won his election and everyone is like “oh, cool, he’s wearing shorts and a hoodie.”
    And then later everyone realizes that this fool is out there wearing shorts and a hoodie.
    Get him the fork OUT.
    He can wear his boneheaded clown suit on the back nine.

  28. No Biden was not a good president
    The fact that Trump is in the Whitehouse and not in prison is on Biden.
    Biden’s refusal to reverse Trumps tariffs caused economic problems and inflation.
    His administrations total inability to explain to the American people what he was doing lead to the belief that he had done nothing.
    He couldn’t even do a simple “stay the course, it is working” statement or use the ‘bully pulpit “.
    His over the top military support of the Israeli attack on Gaza showed how out of touch he was with the Democratic base, even the Jewish Democrats.
    Plus it took the attention and money that Ukraine needed and Ukraine is where the real action is, not the middle east.
    He was getting frail and he knew it but put his ego over country.
    Biden totally fucked up when he didn’t do a victory lap and walk on out the door
    But worse, the Democratic party/political advisors totally fuck up too.
    Biden’s advisors and Harris’s advisors need to be placed in political purgatory and never run another important campaign.

    Jack

  30. Yes, Biden fucked up ROYALLY making Garland the AG, and more. (He was full of flaws..) No doubt about that. That was a totally moronic fuck-up for the ages.
    I believe that had Trump gone away then Biden would have withdrawn as well. But when the Orange stayed on, the old politically astute war horse felt it necessary to beat him again and that he was the only one who was able to do that. I don’t think that was “ego” so much as it was to Biden a political necessity. He KNEW that Kamala could not win even if she’d had 4 years to try.

    Ok, that’s my 4 cents.

  31. Nineteen-Seventy-Six, I returned to sort of civilian life. I was on the U.S. Air Force Ready Reserve for two more years. I was in a specialty that was understaffed and if anything happened I would be recalled. I already mentioned the idiocy of Ford, Cheney and the Pentagon planning on returning to Vietnam. There were other issues, such as North Korea, Russia and the Soviet Union, and other places. Any of which could go hot and I end up back in green fatigues.

    I like the label Veteran. Happy Veterans Day

  32. In my generation I consider the real veterans to be those who actually served in Vietnam. The rest of us who were in some type of military outfit which never went to the jungle, we served, but mostly we served by going to the movies and chasing girls, etc. You know, Chuck Berry’s I’m so glad I’m living in the USAand all that. The guys who stepped down in the jungle—all of them are who veteran’s day is for to me. In my generation.

  33. Thank you for your service BB.

    I miss trips to the VA with Dad hearing everyone working there say that to the vets, religiously. They were obviously trained in that, but it was still genuine.

  37. Big thank you to all who serve, particularly our Mixers Bronc and Stur.

    My family goes back to serving in the Revolutionary war from Virginia. My dad passed along his love of the Army to my son who did his 20 years in Germany and then the Middle East. He followed that up with 20 years Civil Service shepherding Strykers at McChord. Now retired, he’s joined up with the local VFW. It is definitely a lifestyle.

  39. Trump 2.0 is Biden’s fault

    The idiot literally rolled out a red carpet for the fascist

    That’s his legacy now because he couldn’t let go of power gracefully

    terrible lieutenants too geez

    his cabinet was a who’s who of “who’s that??”*

    *would have gotten stolen if I wrote that four years ago

  40. whskyjack says:
    November 11, 2025 at 11:37 am

    I agree with every single word Jack wrote there, concise and accurate

  41. Anondah…..I agree with your 1:30 pm
    But when I say he should have been supported I didn’t mean because he was great, competent, or anything resembling that only that he was THERE and to get him out would result in a loss.

    ❇️(Which it did)❇️

    Bear in mind that The gop with their support elected a complete asshole who tried to overthrow the government by force.

    We could easily have elected our OWN doddering old fool.

    Biden knew one big main thing: Kamala could never beat him, not with all the fools in town on HIS side. Not Hillary—not Kamala….

  42. words can’t express how mad I was at Biden when I heard him yammer “we beat Medicare” in that debate

    I knew in that moment, there was nothing I could say to any peers in support of him that wouldn’t be laughable

    eff that guy

  43. I d didn’t mean because he was great, only that he was THERE and to get him out would result in a loss.

    not enough people think like you especially younger people- I don’t know what to tell you beyond that

    I tried that logic with some of them and guess how it went? honestly, it went how it should’ve went- I was told to shut the fuck up because it’s anti-democratic logic

  44. The popular wisdom is that he dropped out because Pelosi was about to encourage Democrat reps to “run against him” if he stayed in, because his polling was in the low 30s

    The low 30s is abysmal. he fucked up

  45. they like to say a healthy democracy is predicated upon a informed electorate

    This electorate is informed by misinformation, video games, Instagram reels, and football

    Your arguments makes sense in a different era

  46. and Biden spent his whole term with that Kumbaya unity bullshit while I was peeling stickers of him off of gas pumps and driving past cars with “fuck Joe and the ho” bumper stickers

    The guy was in fantasyland

    installed no bulwarks either before or after the election, tantamount to criminal negligence, if you ask me

  47. If we are going to continue to operate within a two party system and elections are legitimate then Democrats are going to have to find a way to message nationally in a way that appeals to racist whites and misogynist men (and misogynistic women!). You can’t win a national election in this country without some of them.

    The days of those things being automatic disqualifiers are over

  49. I know what I know——Fuck around with the incumbent…..Lose. in November. I’d rather have a chance than a guaranteed loss.

    Nixon…..Reagan….Bush2
    Stump. Which of these things is just like the others?
    lol

  50. It’s fun to pretend our voice matters my good sir, but ain’t a goddamn thing any of us could’ve done about it

    I disagree that Biden could’ve won with full-throated Democrat support. There’s no way to know for sure, but I didn’t see it, incumbency or not

    Kamala ran on his policy by the way, if everything you say is true, she should have won- she represented the incumbent

  51. “Last night’s Senate vote makes it plain. We’re not just fighting Republicans. We’re clearly fighting for better Democrats-the kind who have a backbone, who lead with courage, who do what’s right even when it’s not easy.” -Jane Fonda

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/trump-slams-chuck-schumer-facing-a-revolt-after-8-democrats-vote-to-end-u-s-shutdown/vi-AA1QetcV

    Trump mocked Schumer as “broken” and accused him of abandoning his pro-Israel stance, saying he’s “become a Palestinian.” The backlash follows a vote where eight Democrats sided with Republicans to reopen the government, infuriating progressives. With figures like Ro Khanna and Gavin Newsom demanding new leadership, Schumer faces mounting pressure amid deep divisions within his party.

  52. Here is my take on a bit of intel I got from a long time Schumer pal: From the start Dems set the trap to make Republicans own the health insurance crisis. They knew eventually they’d have to reopen government, once the pain too costly. Only surprise is how easy it was. Trump just wanted a short term “win” so badly he ignored the consequences for the midterms next year. Same way ignoring cost of living worries, and instead fighting the last culture war, cost them the elections last week. Boys in girls bathrooms not such a big deal when your grocery bill spikes and your premium doubles.

  53. you’re also forgetting the few public appearances after that debate where Biden would ramble and mumble about nothing. His candidacy was a joke, incumbent or not

  54. Boys in girls bathrooms not such a big deal when your grocery bill spikes and your premium doubles.

    so your Schumer pal is telling you that my premium is doubled to potentially win some seats in the midterms by the politically incompetent?

    thanks Dems!

    maybe I’ll just watch the world burn and never vote for you again and since I won’t have health insurance, I won’t have to do it for too long you motherfuckers

  55. https://www.snntv.com/politics/ap-politics/ap-speaker-johnson-shuttered-the-house-and-amassed-quiet-power-with-trump/

    After refusing to convene the U.S. House during the government shutdown, Speaker Mike Johnson is recalling lawmakers back into session — and facing an avalanche of pent-up legislative demands from those who have largely been sidelined from governing.

    Hundreds of representatives are preparing to return Wednesday to Washington after a nearly eight-week absence, carrying a torrent of ideas, proposals and frustrations over work that has stalled when the Republican speaker shuttered the House doors nearly two months ago.

    First will be a vote to reopen the government. But that’s just the start. With efforts to release the Jeffrey Epstein files and the swearing in of Arizona’s Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, the unfinished business will pose a fresh test to Johnson’s grip on power and put a renewed focus on his leadership.

    When the House gavels back into session, it will close this remarkable chapter of Johnson’s tenure when he showed himself to be a leader who is quietly, but brazenly, willing to upend institutional norms in pursuit of his broader strategy, even at the risk of diminishing the House itself.

    Rather than use the immense powers of the speaker’s office to forcefully steer the debate in Congress, as a coequal branch of the government on par with the executive and the courts, Johnson simply closed up shop — allowing the House to become unusually deferential, particularly to President Donald Trump.

    When the Senate failed over and over to advance the House bill, more than a dozen times, he refused to enter talks with the other leaders on a compromise. Johnson also encouraged Trump to cancel an initial sit-down with the Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries to avoid a broader negotiation while the government was still closed.

    “People say, why aren’t you negotiating with Schumer and Jeffries? I quite literally have nothing to negotiate,” Johnson said at one point.

    Johnson’s shutdown strategy also largely achieved his goal, forcing Senate Democrats to break ranks and approve the funds to reopen government without the extension of health care subsidies they were demanding to help ease the sticker shock of rising insurance premium costs with the Affordable Care Act.

    Johnson’s approach is seen as one that manages up — he stays close to Trump and says they speak often — and also hammers down, imposing a rigid control over the day-to-day schedule of the House, and its lawmakers.

  59. well, I am fucking done. I am not spending the next year or the next two years after that telling anybody how to vote or to vote.

  60. Anon, obviously there aren’t enough Dems to extend the premium tax credits or it’d be done. Dems created it, back when they didn’t need a single Republican vote. Their best option now is to make sure voters know who’s responsible.

  61. purge the party
    shut it down
    we found out
    cuz you fucked around

    you’re not leaders
    in the scrum
    PAC-money sucking
    poli-scum

  63. Dems caught themselves in their own trap.

    Now, it looks like neither party has the back of average Americans, plus Dems look weak and chaotic for giving in after a great election night.

    What will folks remember in 2026 (if they are still alive), that Repugz withheld a vote on ACA or that Dems caved?

    Stupid, stupid Dems.

  64. lol Dems funded a government that literally bashes their head in

    tell me again why I should appreciate that Craig*

    *rhetorical- don’t 😃

  66. Biden left one of those cute notes in the Resolute Desk for Trump before the inauguration. That’s how out of touch he was.

    I guarantee Trump laughed to himself before he crumpled it up and threw it in the trash

  67. Craig – I have zero confidence that Dem messaging will be clear and concise. They spend too much time fighting progressive messaging and standing up for big-money donors.

  69. Curious about the cost of insurance for those not on Medicare. Currently I have $185/month deducted from Social Security. In addition there are copays but not horrible.

    Next year that monthly deduction goes up to $215 only, but that is covered by the COLA even if that doesn’t come anywhere near the real cost of living for seniors.

    What are you non-seniors facing?

  70. Remembering where we were in January of 2021, POTUS Joe said local pharmacies would have access to COVID vaccines by the third week of April & it happened.

    As someone with driving anxiety who could not get to one of those drive-through sites at sports stadium parking lots, I spent many nights checking for vaccine appointments close to me, and crying when I couldn’t get one.

    The tRUMPsky rollout of the vaccine was definitely not “warp speed,” and coupled with the daily disavowing of said vaccine, it was just a relief when POTUS Joe was sworn in.

    He had a big mess to clean up and part of it was the willfully misinformed MAGAts who made sure there was no peace.

  71. In a powerful exchange on the House floor, AOC grilled RFK Jr. on why for-profit insurance giants like United Healthcare—currently under criminal investigation—are set to receive billions more in taxpayer funding through Medicare Advantage programs. This isn’t just about numbers; it’s about accountability, transparency, and the future of healthcare for millions of Americans.

    Watch as AOC demands answers on how $80 billion of taxpayer dollars could be at risk, while RFK Jr. responds in real time. This is a must-watch for anyone concerned about corporate influence on government programs and the integrity of public healthcare.

  75. What bugs me must about the eight Democratic Senate defectors — and that is all we’re talking about here — is how their maneuver distracted rank and file from celebrating what was a stupendous victory last Tuesday.

    And I’m not just talking about blue VA/NJ (although the margins there were historic). Also everything from sheriff-DA-Supreme Court races in Pennsylvania to breaking a decades old supermajority in the Mississippi Legislature, and the first statewide victories in GA since 2019.

    As for health insurance let’s focus on rallying for whatever bill Dem’s write for the guaranteed vote in the Senate next month. Sure we’ll probably lose there but it’s a chance to fight, and get closer to winning back Congress for some leverage to make better deals.

  81. Dems are in the minority. Dems got nothing after so many suffered and supported their fight.

    Repugz are doing what they can to undo the midterms.

    If gerrymandering, voter ID laws, and buying voting machines aren’t enough to ensure they’ll keep the majority, be prepared for an ~emergency~ suspension of elections.

  83. https://chroniclesmagazine.org/web/how-the-cayman-islands-are-propping-up-u-s-debt/

    A small group of Federal Reserve economists raised alarm bells recently with the publication at the Fed’s website of an article showing that our current system depends on a group of shadowy hedge funds in the Cayman Islands lending huge sums of money to the United States government at low interest rates.

    We don’t know who is financing this lending operation or why they are doing it. But the entire federal government, apparently, depends on this money.

    Once the largest purchaser of U.S. government debt, the Chinese, along with other countries, began dumping their holdings some time ago.

    At the same time, the Federal Reserve reversed its seemingly interminable program of buying treasuries under the guise of responding, first, to the 2008 financial crisis and then the 2020 COVID-related financial panic.

    Slowly, but surely, both the Fed and the Chinese offloaded trillions in U.S. government debt at the same time the government ran record deficits—flooding the market with ever more IOUs.

    Basic laws of supply and demand dictate that when supply increases and demand craters, the price of the bond remains … unaffected and stable.

    Not what you’re expecting? Well, that’s what’s happening.

    The economists looked at secondary data to create an estimate of the true size of the Cayman Islands Hedge Funds and concluded the real number is closer to $1.8 trillion as of the end of 2024. What’s more, it’s not clear from the available data why these hedge funds are accumulating treasuries. The economists wrote, “Importantly, this $1.4 trillion gap is not solely attributable to the basis trade.”

    What is “basis trade?” It’s hard to find a digestible explanation but my own understanding is that it’s comparable to pawn shop lending. If you take your grandmother’s wedding ring to a pawn shop, the dealer lends you money and gives you a ticket. When you come back with the ticket, the money, and a little extra in interest, you get the ring back. A “repo” agreement does something similar with treasuries.

    In other words, vast sums of money are backfilling the demand for U.S. debt preventing a collapse in demand for the treasuries. This is being done in a way that evades official data gathering. It’s not clear who is doing this or why—nor is it clear that anyone could make much money on such an enormous financial venture. Why is the data not showing up in official numbers?

    To whom or what do we owe this support for our staggering debt? It’s hard to think of any explanation other than the buying comes from purchases backed by the Federal Reserve itself.

    Like the bubble leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, it’s difficult to imagine that investors would expose themselves without an implicit or explicit guarantee.

    Under this hypothesis, the Fed is the true counterparty in these offshore investments. It has engineered a way for bond dealers to get rich so long as they warehouse these bonds using borrowed money that’s guaranteed by the Fed through commercial banks. Only the Fed has both the money and the risk tolerance to accommodate this operation.

    The situation is rapidly deteriorating and may come to a head in the coming months. The current path only works if the Fed incentivizes bond purchases faster than inflation and debt service balloons the budget. The minute people realize that the inflation numbers have been set to justify artificially low interest rates, the whole scam could come crashing down like a house of cards.

    We’re closer to that moment than people might think. The official inflation number of 2.9 percent seems to contradict the lived experience of Americans and, as I wrote here, “if real inflation is around 8 percent, interest rates will need to exceed that by at least 2 percent if we are being honest about reality. That would quickly lead to interest payments that exceed all income tax.”

    The fact that the net return on treasuries could be considered negative may explain why gold is becoming the reserve asset of choice as other countries flee the U.S. treasury.

  85. George Strait has cancelled all nyc appearances.
    lol
    Google:
    George Strait’s last ticketed performance in the NYC area appears to have been his “final Northeast show” as part of the “The Cowboy Rides Away” tour in late May or early June 2014

  86. Melania Trump’s early photos surfaced on a 1996 website for A Foreign Affair—a matchmaking company still active today. Evidence suggests a controversial past as an “international bride.”

  87. George Strait has cancelled all nyc appearances.

    Right-wing propaganda networks are in overdrive to make Mamdani a bogeyman

    i’m hearing all sorts of (Islamiphobic) shit i won’t repeat

  88. MAGAts have been fine with pics of Adolf with Arabs when he got a plane from Qatar, and yesterday a guy from Syria who is still on a terrorist watchlist was at the WH. Crickets.

    Here’s something Dems could do: Educate MAGAts about how things work in other countries they won’t be afraid of like Denmark and Sweden and zuh fahzuhlandt (Germany). Explain terms like communism, etc. Talk constantly about how billionaires are the problem.

    It’s income inequality, stupid.

  89. https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/11/10/congress/shutdown-house-return-asap-00644448

    In his remarks to reporters, Johnson said he would officially call members back to the Capitol “at the very moment” the Senate passes the package, which will provide full-year funding for food aid, farm and veterans programs and congressional operations, while extending funding for most other federal departments and agencies through Jan. 30.

    Johnson, who made the rare decision to keep the House out of session for more than 50 days in a bid to persuade Senate Democrats to fold, declared victory in the shutdown during a Monday morning appearance.

    He left without taking questions but later told reporters in the hallway that “I think we will” have the votes to pass the package in the House. On the private call with GOP members, he made clear President Donald Trump wants the package to pass and the government to reopen as soon as possible, the people familiar with the call said.

    Johnson told reporters at his prior appearance that Trump was “very anxious” to reopen the government, suggesting he would ensure fellow Republicans fall in line.

  92. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6547d46ce0be13435001c0ad/t/663d0f02e20d0c66209bb7da/1715277571206/Revised+-+FINAL_ForPublicRelease_SummaryProj2025+by+StopTheCoup2025.pdf

    PROJECT 2025
    Summary and Chapter Breakdown
    We read all 887 pages of the Project 2025 manifesto and have broken it down here for you by chapter to help get your head and hands around the GOP’s draconian vision for America — an unprecedented attack on our democracy and call for autocracy. Read it, share it, and then join us to fight Project 2025.

  94. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehmet_Oz

    The son of Turkish immigrants, Oz was raised in Wilmington, Delaware.

    A dual citizen of the U.S. and Turkey, Oz completed 60 days of mandatory military training in the Turkish Army during the 1980s.

    As of 2022, Oz identifies as “secular Muslim” and, according to the Associated Press, “has said that the spiritual side of Islam resonates with him more than the religious law side of it.” Oz aligns his personal Muslim religious views with Sufism.

    In a 2012 interview with Henry Louis Gates Jr., Oz said that his father strictly followed Islam, while his mother was a secular Kemalist.

  95. My mom used to see him as a kid with his surgeon dad making hospital rounds.

    My mom spoke highly of Dr. Oz, Sr. She was a private duty nurse for some of his patients.

  96. Armistice Day began as a remembrance of the dead. I guess we’re back to that, if we ever left it. Don’t need to be selling more mattresses.

  98. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kash_Patel

    Kashyap Pramod Patel is the son of Pramod Patel, an Ugandan of Gujarati Indian descent who was among those who faced ethnic persecution and were expelled by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 1972.

    The Patels were originally from the village of Bhadran in the Anand district of Gujarat. Chh Gam Patidar Mandal, an organization in Bhadran, has maintained a vanshavali, or family tree of the Patel family for 18 generations.

    They briefly returned to India while seeking asylum in the United States, the UK, and Canada.

    Patel’s memoir, Government Gangsters (2023), calls for weakening civil service job protections;Trump praised the book as a “roadmap to end the Deep State’s reign”. In September 2024, Patel vowed to close the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the FBI headquarters, “reopen it the next day as a museum of the ‘deep state'”, and “take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals.”He criticized Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter on his podcast, Kash’s Corner, calling him a monopolist who had improper access to data and accrued his wealth through government contracts.

    https://www.distractify.com/p/kash-patel-parents

    ..Patel acknowledged that he was raised Hindu, though his nationality is American because he was, in fact, born in the United States. He shared that he and his parents, along with the rest of his family, regularly attended temple and “prayed at home in our shrine room.” They proudly celebrated major holidays like Navratri and Diwali…

  99. Oz has turned into a grifter, hawking supplements, saying folks don’t need health insurance. He’s an ass.

    Just pointing out that MAGAts (and the DNC contingent) are pretending to flip out about Mamdani being Muslim, but crickets about others.

  100. Let’s see, bash Schumer, bash Joe, bash Democrats. What fun. Let’s see what happens next.

    Soooo, Kid Rock ain’t doing the young Brownshirt halftime show? Awww. And not doing NYC concerts because he’s not singing for Communists or some such nonsense? Funny, pretty sure most performers sing for dollars, but whatdoIknow? Stupid fuck.

  101. shall we sing their praises for handing trumpco a win on a silver platter

    Do you realize Republicans just have to say Democrats put the needy and federal employees through the wringer for no gain?

    Wait what is the spin on how this helps Democrats???

    people are gonna remember this in a year and what? Have warm fuzzies for Dems?

    they will do neither

  104. Democrats won where it counts: Last week at the ballot box. They played a weak hand in Senate politics and made Republicans own the health insurance crisis. I’m damn proud of Democrats. Bring on the Midterms, and let’s beat them there.

  105. Last time Kid Sock played NYC was 2001…..multi performer concert at Madison Square garden to raise money for 9-11 victims. Hmmm. Hasn’t performed in NYC since 24 years ago and he finally gets a gig there and then has to cancel ?
    Gotta hate that.

  106. No, we don’t praise the Dems who didn’t hold the line. But Joe is out of the conversation, except in Dumbass/Repug horseshit corners, and Kamala will be forced to prove herself worthy in 2028, so until then bashing her is gratuitous. But 1/3 of voters hold Dems responsible for the shutdown. In the worst poll for dems over the shutdown 2/3 hold Repugs AND Dumbass responsible. and Less than 2 months from now Repubs are going to vote against extending the ACA subsidies without the shutdown distraction. Oh, and as of tomorrow, Epstein’s back in the conversation. A loss? I don’t know. Let the voters decide.

    BTW, Schumer (and I’m no fan) voted no. I’m a BIG fan of cheap shots, but not against the leaders of our party. I’m not a fan of internecine criticism. But have at.

    Poobah, damn skippy. 😉

  107. yeah, I’m not a homer

    (someone who refrains from any criticism of the home team, even when it’s deserved)

    I’m a voter I’m deciding

    apparently, you didn’t get the email that said “hey asshole get ready for how expensive your health insurance is about to be”

    i’m the asshole

    they erased Obama’s singular achievement and you’re like “hooray great job”

  109. yes, send your money to a bunch of losers next year everybody we’ll get them one of these times or not ever

    maybe everybody’s just a closet accelerationist and I am just out of the loop

  110. If I ever make an album I think I’ll call it
    CHEAP SHOES.
    I like the sound of that.

    Ah…..shout out to Lewis Grizzard?

  113. some people see what is some see what could be

    listen, Dems are widely-loathed in the demos they need without my help and it’s not because of anything i said

  114. Some people wish they had gone to fucking Canada when they had the chance.

    Why oh why couldn’t my ancestor have been a Tory and hauled ass to Nova Scotia after the Revolution. Dammitol.

  115. lol yup when that “academic expert on authoritarianism” left the day after the election i had that same emotion

  116. Considering that the GOP are pretty much groveling Trump maggots, we could probably ignore them, split the Dems into Progressive and Conservative parties and run for all offices. Let the people decide which branch they prefer.

    That is pretty much how the Whigs died and the Republicans replaced them as the liberal, anti-slavery party.

  117. I actually got a bit nuts after the election and looked into Canada, but they essentially don’t have a practical retirement visa. I did discover Costa Rica is one of the easiest, but David’s no fan of lizards in the house. And anyway, I’m staying here to fight the bastards. Going to all those protests pumped me up.

  119. I respect the “what could be “ faction, but am in the “what is” camp. Occupational hazard in part. I don’t discount the value of the “what could be” faction of the party. Been a part of it. Your disrespect of the “is” faction is self-destructive. It serves only the Dumbasses. Go for it.

  121. Sturgimacallit,
    Bob, 😎

    BTW I’m watching what I believe is the last iteration of Fleetwood Mac- Live in Boston. 2008 I believe. Crowd of all ages going Nutz over hammer/pulls by LB. Gotta be an analogy in there somewhere.

  122. I was the biggest cheerleader for Kamala and the Democrats when it mattered

    Will go for it, thanks for your permission

    by your logic, the remaining what 39 or 40 other Democratic senators should’ve voted with Republicans right because it’s such a big win

    Unity always right

    your 2028 front runner tweeted the word “pathetic” at Senate Democrats are you going to go chide him?

  123. I was the biggest cheerleader for Kamala and the Democrats when it mattered

    See, common ground in the “is”. I’m staying here in the “is”. You can take care of the “could be”. I’ll be there when it becomes the “is.” I predict we ultimately will remain left of the line between D & R.

  124. These quibbles you enjoy taking up with me are no more productive

    when your argument is “shut up”, it’s not a very good argument

    if I had any influence, Kamala would be president so please don’t ascribe too much importance to my bullshit thank you

  125. One of these days I reckon I orter listen to one of them Fleecewood Max songs.

    Nah, they ok, I just never got bent much in that direction

  126. Shut up isn’t my message. You are taking up with the D’s to be. I’m more interested in the D’s that are, versus the R’s that are. If that’s quibbles, OK. My timeframe is different than yours. Goals are the same, and our approaches aren’t antithetical.

  127. the venwrable Stur-person started a conversation and i participated in it good Sir

    you don’t have to turn the volume up to 11 every time, I appreciate your perspective. It’s least valuable when it’s focused on me, I promise you.

    The Dems lose every one of these stand-offs!!! it’s frustrating ok???? 😭

  128. Sturg, woman I idolized was a huge FM fan when Rumors came out. Her (then) husband was a huge Eagles fan. Same stereo – different vibes. Both megastar bands have finally hit their respective ends. Given the choice, FM gave more in their dotage IMHO. Breathed life into the old stuff (w/ help) & Mick sat in the back smiling ( or whatever that expression was).

  129. everything’s moving really fast now, wait-and-see is not a strategy

    the sound-engineering of “Rumours” is peak

  130. Anon, these are discussions. It’s not personal. You represent a perspective. I appreciate that. If you take my perspective to be adversarial, well, I’ve spent 33 years doing that professionally. Sorry if it spills over. I appreciate your perspective. It was mine in my former life. Ironically in that life in one weekend I got to experience two different aspects of the party that I consider the only one I’d be a member of. I hosted Claude Pepper -then an octogenarian- and his lovely wife for a day after spending the previous night hosting a reception that the featured guest was a senatorial candidate from Connecticut named Joe Biden. I was impressed by the former, not so much the latter. Times changed. I appreciate both in retrospect.

  131. The party is just not viable across broad swathes of the country good sir

    They don’t even bother to run candidates around here

  132. at least two people I know referred to the 2024 election as an “inflection point”:
    me and Biden! 😊

    We were both right, we dun inflected

    It is the bizarre dystopian sci-fi reality you didn’t think would ever happen, it’s here.

    And the tech Bros answer to no one

    The president is going to have a gladiatorial UFC match on White House grounds. That IS happening. This IS the bizarro world

    And the inflection, politically, from what i see, is a center right shift among the general electorate while the more progressive elements of the Dems shift left

    And while I agree on issue with the more progressive elements personally it’s hard for me to square that circle politically

    and you know, Republican economic policies, as they do, will eventually hurt enough people that they’ll lose popular support, but never before has the tech infrastructure been available to manipulate popular opinion and bolster entrenched power, and guess to whom all of those entities swore fealty and guess for whom they manipulated popular opinion in the past

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