Default position: gutter racism

NEWS: Trump's Advisors Worry About the President's Temperament and Discipline, Trump Warns of "Disaster" for Republicans, and More Good morning everyone.

"Trump’s own advisers are now signaling they don’t trust him to stay disciplined enough to close a deal with Iran, especially as his repeated off-message comments have actively undermined negotiations"
No kidding...
(mind the auto-play link):
open.substack.com/pub/aaronpar...

The Ohio Republican Party Has Built a Laboratory of Autocracy In the heavily gerrymandered Buckeye State, the GOP-controlled legislature rules without fear of voters, and it’s hard at work dismantling democracy.

"Ohio, which was once a swing state, has become a cautionary tale for what happens when gerrymandering touches off a lawmaking race to the extremes"
Need to fix that.
"Ohio secretary of state seat happens to be up for statewide election this year"
Vote blue, Buckeyes!
newrepublic.com/article/2087...

Oh, for fuck's sake:

The Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket Secrets Have Been Spilled The leaked memos from a 2016 EPA case expose the spurious reasoning behind one of the justices’ most consequential decisions of the past decade.

"Roberts pressured the other justices to lean heavily in favor of the oil and gas industry...even as the court’s liberal justices warned that it was an unprecedented and unjustified expansion of the court’s powers"
I never want to hear the BS about judicial restraint:
newrepublic.com/article/2092...

This Scammer Used an AI-Generated MAGA Girl to Grift ‘Super Dumb’ Men A med student says he’s made thousands of dollars selling photos and videos of a young conservative woman he created using generative tools. He’s not alone.

“Democrats know that it’s AI slop, so they don’t engage as much.” (Sam’s explanation for why MAGA influencer accounts work is blunt: “The MAGA crowd is made up of dumb people—like, super dumb people. And they fall for it.”)
---
Not surprised:
www.wired.com/story/ai-gen...

Patel Hopes to Look Sober by Scheduling Joint Appearance With Hegseth “I need to hold a press conference with Pete after he’s been on an epic bender,” Patel reportedly told his staff.

FBI Director Kash Patel is hoping to seem sober by scheduling a joint appearance with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth...
“I need to hold a press conference with Pete after he’s been on an epic bender...If you can’t find him, get Jeanine Pirro.”
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
open.substack.com/pub/borowitz...

"I have no problem attacking a man who wrote that American slavery was mutually harmonious...that's you...who proudly says he wants to do away with the 19th Amendment...I wish you would be a better Christian--I wish you would open up the Bible...but instead, you've used Jesus"
👏👏👏👏👏

He has risen... US debt, prices, inflation - Trump depicted as Jesus

Thanks to @roberthubbell.skystack.xyz and an unknown protester in Bend, Oregon, for this gem:

a man is sitting in front of a sign that says `` is this supposed to make sense '' . ALT: a man is sitting in front of a sign that says `` is this supposed to make sense '' .

GOP Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia shared a rather interesting take on the skyrocketing gas prices created by President Donald Trump’s war in Iran on Friday.
“Gas prices matter...So pay me now or pay me later. Invest in your marriage now or face a divorce later.”
www.dailykos.com/stories/2026...

The Terrifying Convergence of Fetal Personhood Laws and Abortion Bans A Georgia woman was charged with murder for an alleged abortion. “Fetal personhood” laws may be as much to blame as the state’s abortion ban.

“As long as ‘fetal personhood’ exists...there is a tension between who the government must protect, who gets to decide what happens to that pregnancy, who gets to make the health care decisions"
And women will get the short end of the stick:
newrepublic.com/article/2092...

Throwing Kashyap Against the Wall Following a damning exposé, Kash Patel is suing The Atlantic for defamation. That’s a spectacularly bad idea.

"Patel would have to persuade a judge or jury that The Atlantic’s 26-plus sources—current agents, former officials, DOJ staff, White House staff, and hospitality workers who served him drinks at a private club—independently fabricated the same story"
Highly unlikely
open.substack.com/pub/statusku...

This Is What You Voted For | Anti-Trump Folk Protest Song | MAGA Wake-Up Call YouTube video by The Resistance

Catchy! And sadly relevant:
youtu.be/tb_s1ZGTMaM?...

🩸🩸🩸 I'm going to post this video every day so we never forget what the 34x POS convicted felon who incites political violence, adjudicated rapist & pedophile Trump did on J6 🩸🩸🩸

THIS IS WHAT AN INSURRECTION LOOKS LIKE ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Commonwealth Court rules the state constitution includes a fundamental right to abortion • Pennsylvania Capital-Star Susan Frietsche, of the Women’s Law Project, said the Medicaid coverage exclusion was the single largest barrier to abortion access in Pa.

This is a wonderful decision for Pennsylvania! And calling abortion a fundamental right is a satisfying slap in the face to the extremists on the Supreme Court.

In 2022, SpaceX was charged with illegally firing workers who spoke out against Elon Musk.

Then, Elon Musk helped elect Donald Trump, and Trump's labor board dropped the charges.

Was this a political favor? I'm pressing for answers.

Rep. Nancy Mace introduces measure to expel fellow Republican Cory Mills from Congress Mills, who is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee in connection with allegations including sexual and financial misconduct, has denied wrongdoing.

"Mills is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee...Mace is also under investigation by the Ethics Committee"
You can't make this stuff up:
www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

“but consumers may still be stuck with higher prices…Indeed, as taxpayers, they may be responsible for the interest that accrues each day the government does not process refund…companies don’t have a legal obligation to pass any of that money on to the consumers who paid higher prices”
🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

www.theguardian.com Pennsylvania court strikes down ban on use of Medicaid funds for abortions

Pennsylvania court strikes down ban on use of Medicaid funds for abortions #TheGuardian

Donald Trump is stuck in “no man’s land” on Iran—he doesn't want to commit to war, but he's also unwilling to make the concessions needed for a deal.

So instead, it’s delay after delay—“two weeks, two weeks”—as the crisis grows more dangerous.

Timeline cleanse:

“It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

- Harry Truman

As Trump proves often, the reverse of this is also true.

It’s amazing how much you can fuck things up when the only thing you care about is getting the credit.

DJT...

“top aides concocted official events to facilitate her personal travel plans”
Not to mention her pervert husband, who inexplicably isn’t mentioned in the Politico story:

www.cnbc.com/2026/02/19/l...

“a share of merch sales” — including from the aforementioned rainbow shirt — will “go to the Sandy Hook families, which will be the first time they get any money since they filed this lawsuit eight years ago,” citing the legal fees of the defamation lawsuit.
—

Much worse, in fact:

“Top House Democrat Jim Himes..,
‘What I learned tonight was that Republicans don’t talk to each other,” Himes said. “They sure as hell don’t talk to us — but they don’t even talk to each other’”
In fairness, I don’t want to talk to MAGA Republicans either:

Tomorrow’s the day #Virginia