Fifteen votes. That's how many attempts it took Kevin McCarthy to attain his longtime goal of becoming the Speaker of the House of Representatives. It is the eighth most ballots cast in American history, and the most since before the Civil War. Click here to Tweet this article McCarthy's victory...
Character
The Trump Republican Party is beginning the new year just as one would have expected: With the division, animosity, and chaotic incompetence that has been the hallmark of Donald Trump's brief and abhorrent political career. Click here to Tweet this article The election of the House Speaker is ordinarily a...
I grew up in the 1960s, and verbal memes were significant in my black experience. Conversational shorthand was prevalent, with words like solid, psych’, and even rap having a different meaning then than now. Solid could take on multiple meanings depending on context; it could mean I understand, you are...
I was recently asked; what do you think about the Dave Chappelle controversy? Without explanation, I knew the questioner was referring to his recent Netflix comedy special “The Closer.” I must first confess that I am a big fan of Mr. Chappelle. His now-defunct late-night sketch comedy show, his stand-up,...
This is the sixth set of notes for a reading group on Marx’s Capital, and includes a Volume I refresher for further reading of Volume II. There are links to earlier posts and texts that may be useful. Marx is probably too taken with a kind of scientism by proposing...
If you haven’t seen Netflix’s Squid Game yet—well, what are you waiting for? If anything is a parable for our time, this is it. Too often meteoric cultural phenomena that purport to capture the zeitgeist fail to capture my interest, but this one is different. If you believe, as I...
Oklahoma’s right-wing politicians would like to erase history because that’s what they do, whether it’s the omission of facts or rewriting them to favor those in power. Historical guilt and its associated media effects cooties can’t be part of public school curricula. H.B. 1775 implies that the past prior to 1776...
I took my first shot of the Pfizer vaccine two days after my birthday. I had my second shot 21 days later, and I am well past the two-week waiting period to be considered fully vaccinated. Now that I have reached that milestone, I am ready for the next public...
If you take a moment and listen to the so-called moderate wing of the Republican party, they are as extreme as the rest. This weekend Utah Senator Mitt Romney was roundly booed by members of his party at the Utah GOP convention. The crime that elicited the verbal censure from...
“Dadirri listens and knows, witnesses, feels, empathizes in the pain under the anger, and, if the anger is accompanied by action, seeks to understand the thoughts and feelings behind the action. Dadirri then seeks to find the source of that pain in knowledge-building for a deepening understanding of the more...
The 2020 election showed how Trump was defeated by defections among white women but there remain a sizable number still wedded to supporting white male politicians regardless of their character. Why is it that white women in the United States have often wielded their collective power to support and amplify...
We remain weary about the callow stupidity of the GOP/GQP but we must not patronize or condescend about how superfluous their grievances have been and continue to be. Now that we know more about Trump’s sexual practices, fascist fantasizing seems altogether rote and boring, but certainly redolent of a banality...
The Atlanta spree killings are unfortunately a story with structural similarity to events elsewhere. How do we know that Robert Long wasn’t on his way to Mar-a-Lago when the cops performed a PIT maneuver on him after he killed eight people. Darn hypotheticals of the culture wars. Mar-a-Lago as spa resort...
“The universe has been to them.” (Resident Alien) Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share a virtual kitchen table with other readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by to talk about music, your weather, your garden, or what...
My dogs are pretty loyal. I give them loads of treats, ear scratches, and belly rubs, and in return they look at me adoringly while mostly refraining from pooping in or near my shoes. I could start selling holiday gift baskets stuffed with panda sausage, baby seal tears, and black...
Is Lindsey Graham for real? No, that’s a serious question. Because he looks like a Rankin-Bass Claymation character to me. Lindsey, the misfit Christmas elf who never liked to make toys and forgot to show up for elf practice because his real dream was to loofah Donald Trump’s hide so he’d stop looking...
Received this e-mail from Lt. Governor John Fetterman’s (D. PA) U.S. Senate campaign: Pennsylvania is *clearly superior* to New Jersey: In NFL teams, cheesesteaks, and convenience stores. But as of this week, NJ has something that most states, including PA, do not: Weed. Fully legal weed. ✅ I believe that weed should...
From November 1994 to October 1995, the so-called trial of the century took place. It centered around murder, race, sex, athletics, and hero-worship. America was drawn to it like a badly made tv melodrama. We were subjected to constant tv break-ins, with breathless reporters recounting every gasp, sigh, and eye-roll...
So I know C-SPAN’s whole shtick is to simply report the news without editorial comment, but maybe they could make an exception here and there? Like when a member of one party accuses the entire opposition party of eating babies? Just spitballing here. Watch: x “We need women like [Marjorie Taylor-Greene] in...
Conservatives love to mythologize wealthy people as brave, resolute, patriotic captains of industry who won’t let anything get in the way of their success. At the same time, they also frequently portray the rich as timid little whelps who will instantly grab their balls and go home if anyone tries to pluck...
So this morning, Melania Trump helpfully pointed out to all us plebs who the real victim of the assault on the Capitol is: Melania Trump. That’s no surprise. Trumps are always victims—of the whiniest sort. If Donald Trump ever sincerely took responsibility for anything, I’d start checking random D.C. basements...
Another Trump-Russia participation trophy, because Devin was so stupid he won’t get an indictment until Trump leaves office. x What’s the over/under thar Trump will award himself the Medal? pic.twitter.com/vl1Rzws2Ny— Devin Nunes’ cow 🐮 (@DevinCow) January 4, 2021 Nunes has filed multiple lawsuits characterized as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation...
Congressional Republicans have savagely beclowned themselves throughout the Trump era. I thought the worst degradation would be their refusal to hold Trump accountable during the impeachment trials, but the lickspittles were far from done licking and spittling. According to CNN’s Jake Tapper, at least 140 reality-challenged cowards are planning to...
One of the cardinal sins of commentary writing is not to name-call or insult your readers with invectives. In this case, I am going to purposefully violate the rules, I am not sure how else to label the 126 Republican members of the United States House of Representatives and at...
We are in the world of Dr. Doom, Doc Octopus, and Doctor Strange, as Trumpian ignorance has yet to recede from not recognizing the differences among honorific, honorary, and honor. The WSJ publishes an opinion piece suggesting Dr. Jill Biden stop using the ‘Dr.’ title The Wall Street Journal published an opinion...
There are varying theories on how hypnosis affects the state of mind. Some believe a hypnotic trance is an altered version of one’s being, while others believe it is an altered state of cognizance that allows you to subconsciously role play. I am not sure my explanation makes sense or...
Barr Is Said to Be Weighing Whether to Leave Before Trump’s Term Ends Attorney General William P. Barr is considering stepping down before President Trump’s term ends next month, according to three people familiar with this thinking. One said Mr. Barr could announce his departure before the end of the...
This post in the Anticapitalist Chat supports a group reading of Karl Marx’s Capital Vol 1. #GoodMorningMarx #WeeklyMarx. Not quite this type of commodity, but more like a pork barrel. x “Ah, pork bellies, I knew it.” ~Louis Winthorpe @dan_aykroyd https://t.co/yeVcYIYtqF— Stephen Bates (@batess) December 3, 2020 M. Proudhon has the misfortune of...
Among of the most predictable character traits of the Malignant Mangoface are these: He is petty, he hates being a loser, and he absolutely has to be the center of attention. All of these are prominent in his latest move against President-elect Joe Biden: Trump considering kicking off 2024 run...
Trump celebrated a month and 26 days of asshat amateurism left by having a one minute briefing and taking no questions at the White House, but claiming credit for the stock market record even as he had predicted a crash with a Biden victory. x The First Lady (right) at the...
This fucking guy. I mean, really. CNN: It does not appear President Trump will participate in a side-event at the G20 virtual summit focused on pandemic preparedness. The event — which is due to begin this hour — will feature remarks from the leaders of Germany, France, South Korea and...
We spend a lot of energy on this blog blasting Republican officials for cowardice, for lack of character, for putting party over country. It is only fair, then, to acknowledge the occasional Republican who actually cares about his responsibilities, Ben Raffensperger, a Republican, is the Secretary of State for Georgia....
Will he claim that those five million votes were Californians illegally voting. x “I concede NOTHING!” is not a normal thing for a president to write. But his refusal to concede is meaningless. What matters is that the Presidential Transition Act directs Emily Murphy to ascertain the “apparent” winner and...
Spend any time talking to a Republican and eventually you will hear emotional complaints about the Participation Trophy — trophies given to every kid who participates in Little League or similar games regardless of whether they win. A number of Republicans believe this is destroying the American character. It occurred to...
Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share a virtual kitchen table with other readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by to talk about music, your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper…. Newcomers may notice that...
This story supports a group reading of Karl Marx’s Capital Vol 1. #GoodMorningMarx #WeeklyMarx This covers chapters 14, 15, 16. Chapter 14 will provide further evidence of alienation in the division of labor and manufacturing in the capitalist reorganization of labor. Chapter 15 describes more closely the production process and...
This story supports a group reading of Karl Marx’s Capital Vol 1. #GoodMorningMarx #WeeklyMarx This covers chapters 11-14. Today’s supporting summary is at the very bottom, below the fold. Set against the backdrop of the Luddite uprisings in the Yorkshire textile industry, Charlotte Brontë’s novel Shirley caused a sensation when it...
Biden-Obama speech scheduled at 530pm ET. A Stanford study shows Trump rallies have killed 700 people so far. x YouTube Video Trump remains 10% behind Biden nationally but folks still need to go to the polls. GTFO and VOTE x Former President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are...
If the expected Bluewave rushes over the levee of American politics and washes away the dirt of tyranny; are we looking at a red-secession? If you listen to the massing voices of Republican discontent, war is coming. Story after story is highlighted daily of some Army-surplus-store-toy-soldiers threatening to take to the...