From Vanity Fair, 2/20/25, excerpt from All or Nothing, Michael Wolff’s chronicle of the 2024 campaign.
"Curiously, there was little supposition that Natalie might be the “bit on the side.” That issue, for a man who had spent most of his adult years in open, proud, undaunted, and, in repeated accusations, predatory pursuit of women, had been largely expunged as a possibility. Since the first year in the White House, when Trump’s sex life was a persistent mystery or puzzle, it had drifted off or flatlined. No one said it. No one would ever say it—of all things, you did not tread into personal territory with Donald Trump. But he was, if you had to draw the obvious conclusion, post-sex. “He replaced it with politics. There’s a liberal dilemma: Would they rather he preyed on women or on the country?” remarked an amused Steve Bannon in the waning years of the first Trump presidency."
No matter how hard I try, the rage at the current regime keeps getting stronger -- and is beginning to border on hate (a strong negative emotion I attempt to avoid: "When you hate, the only person that is suffering is you because most of the people you hate don’t know it and the rest don't care." Medgar Evers) but the news won't let the rage subside.
> "The Department of Defense is introducing a course centered on Western civilization and Christianity this fall in the schools it operates for military families, part of an effort by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth [sic] to redirect the education system toward patriotic values and classical learning.
[...]
... it includes suggested lesson plans created in partnership with Hillsdale College ...
* There is no valid reason why DoD schools should be promoting Christianity in a course on Western civilization. There is no mention of Judaism's effect on civilization, and only mentions Islam as a threat.
* Instilling patriotism is not a bad thing in and of itself, but promoting a sick chauvinism is not teaching patriotism; it pushes a twisted idea of one's place in the country and in the world.
* There's no fucking way to justify or rationalize conflating Western civilization with Christianity.
* Any "suggested lesson plans created in partnership with Hillsdale College" is guaranteed to be racist, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-liberalism, and condemns any religion that isn't American Evangelicalism or Christian nationalism.
-----
"A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Arkansas’ 2023 law restricting access to library materials can go into effect, three years after a judge blocked two sections of the law on First Amendment grounds.
* The law in question does not define either "obscene" nor "harmful to minors,” so the decisions are based on the personal opinions of those that are small minded in the local gubmint.
* Oh, and the three judge panel that overruled earlier court decisions?
> "Colloton was appointed to the court in 2003 by then-President George W. Bush and has been chief judge since 2024. President Donald Trump [sic] appointed the panel’s other two judges, Ralph Erickson and L. Steven Grasz, in 2017." ibid
The lying liars lying about the situation aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln from within the current regime think nothing of denigrating our military and their families if what's being said casts a bad light on the administration.
> "Naval families with loved ones deployed for months on US warships amid the Iran war have reacted with fury to Donald Trump [sic] and the defense secretary Pete Hegseth’s [sic] dismissal of their concerns about the extreme pressures and dire conditions they are enduring.
[...]
They spoke of insufficient nourishment that has led to close relatives losing 20-30lb in weight since they were sent to the Middle East five months ago [NB: this references the USS Tripoli], leaving one sailor “emaciated”, according to his mother. They spoke also of low-quality drinking water and scarce mental health counseling and support despite the intense burden of being at sea for months on end without making land." https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/16/navy-families-denounce-trump-hegseth
The sister of one of the people on the Lincoln put it like this:
> “I grew up in a United States where you have to be very respectful of the military, as they’re making the ultimate sacrifice and protecting their country, and now you have the commander-in-chief and defense secretary dismissing their experiences and calling them liars." ibid
If I had to choose who was lying it wouldn't be difficult; no one in the regime has an even passing acquaintance with the truth.
Turnip taught me to actually HATE for the first time in my life. I have gotten angry at people. Disliked people. But never actively hated them until Turnip. That door is never gonna close now.
Let’s be honest, if Biden’s wife slapped his hand away multiple times in public and was now traveling everywhere with a young pretty aid it would be a huge fucking scandal. We would never hear the end of it.
My father worked the night shift much of his life, and when he got home, he'd watch a little TV to wind down before bed. He kept the sound very low because I slept in the next room.
For me, waking to the low murmur of the TV was reassuring. It meant "daddy's home," and I usually went right back to sleep.
*sigh* 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆
Shasta county, hotbed of US election denialism movement, set to appoint ex-Colorado clerk who served prison term
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/17/election-denier-tina-peters-shasta-county
That Harp chick probably has a shrine in her house to PAB made out of his used diapers.
Dammit, +3 Shackle of Wellness! Why you always on me to burn some calories? Jeez. I'll get on my bike in a minute.
Singer Belinda Carlisle is 68 years old today. Here she is fronting the Go-Go's with a live performance of "We've Got The Beat":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f55KlPe81Yw
Here she is in 1988 performing "Heaven Is A Place On Earth":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-TLKdAlTiM
Fine beyond fine.
The two reactionary idiots did not show up to this school board meeting. I'd hope that it's the start of a trend, but I doubt we'll be that lucky.
From Vanity Fair, 2/20/25, excerpt from All or Nothing, Michael Wolff’s chronicle of the 2024 campaign.
"Curiously, there was little supposition that Natalie might be the “bit on the side.” That issue, for a man who had spent most of his adult years in open, proud, undaunted, and, in repeated accusations, predatory pursuit of women, had been largely expunged as a possibility. Since the first year in the White House, when Trump’s sex life was a persistent mystery or puzzle, it had drifted off or flatlined. No one said it. No one would ever say it—of all things, you did not tread into personal territory with Donald Trump. But he was, if you had to draw the obvious conclusion, post-sex. “He replaced it with politics. There’s a liberal dilemma: Would they rather he preyed on women or on the country?” remarked an amused Steve Bannon in the waning years of the first Trump presidency."
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/on-the-trail-with-trumps-inner-circle-of-suck-ups
No matter how hard I try, the rage at the current regime keeps getting stronger -- and is beginning to border on hate (a strong negative emotion I attempt to avoid: "When you hate, the only person that is suffering is you because most of the people you hate don’t know it and the rest don't care." Medgar Evers) but the news won't let the rage subside.
> "The Department of Defense is introducing a course centered on Western civilization and Christianity this fall in the schools it operates for military families, part of an effort by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth [sic] to redirect the education system toward patriotic values and classical learning.
[...]
... it includes suggested lesson plans created in partnership with Hillsdale College ...
[...]
Historians and educators who reviewed excerpts of the text told The Associated Press it depicts points throughout history in misleading ways, representing Western civilization and Christianity as one and the same and casting Islam as a threat to both." https://apnews.com/article/defense-department-school-classical-hegseth-c29537087c0dbf3271cf293a9b17053f
* There is no valid reason why DoD schools should be promoting Christianity in a course on Western civilization. There is no mention of Judaism's effect on civilization, and only mentions Islam as a threat.
* Instilling patriotism is not a bad thing in and of itself, but promoting a sick chauvinism is not teaching patriotism; it pushes a twisted idea of one's place in the country and in the world.
* There's no fucking way to justify or rationalize conflating Western civilization with Christianity.
* Any "suggested lesson plans created in partnership with Hillsdale College" is guaranteed to be racist, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-liberalism, and condemns any religion that isn't American Evangelicalism or Christian nationalism.
-----
"A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Arkansas’ 2023 law restricting access to library materials can go into effect, three years after a judge blocked two sections of the law on First Amendment grounds.
[...]
The two sections create criminal liability for librarians who distribute content that some consider “obscene” or “harmful to minors,” and give city and county governing bodies the final say over library content." https://arkansasadvocate.com/2026/07/30/appeals-court-allows-arkansas-to-enforce-law-restricting-library-materials/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
* Book banners rule!
* The law in question does not define either "obscene" nor "harmful to minors,” so the decisions are based on the personal opinions of those that are small minded in the local gubmint.
* Oh, and the three judge panel that overruled earlier court decisions?
> "Colloton was appointed to the court in 2003 by then-President George W. Bush and has been chief judge since 2024. President Donald Trump [sic] appointed the panel’s other two judges, Ralph Erickson and L. Steven Grasz, in 2017." ibid
(see also: https://pen.org/book-bans/ and https://www.ala.org/bbooks/book-ban-data)
-----
The lying liars lying about the situation aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln from within the current regime think nothing of denigrating our military and their families if what's being said casts a bad light on the administration.
> "Naval families with loved ones deployed for months on US warships amid the Iran war have reacted with fury to Donald Trump [sic] and the defense secretary Pete Hegseth’s [sic] dismissal of their concerns about the extreme pressures and dire conditions they are enduring.
[...]
They spoke of insufficient nourishment that has led to close relatives losing 20-30lb in weight since they were sent to the Middle East five months ago [NB: this references the USS Tripoli], leaving one sailor “emaciated”, according to his mother. They spoke also of low-quality drinking water and scarce mental health counseling and support despite the intense burden of being at sea for months on end without making land." https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/16/navy-families-denounce-trump-hegseth
The sister of one of the people on the Lincoln put it like this:
> “I grew up in a United States where you have to be very respectful of the military, as they’re making the ultimate sacrifice and protecting their country, and now you have the commander-in-chief and defense secretary dismissing their experiences and calling them liars." ibid
If I had to choose who was lying it wouldn't be difficult; no one in the regime has an even passing acquaintance with the truth.
fnord
Turnip taught me to actually HATE for the first time in my life. I have gotten angry at people. Disliked people. But never actively hated them until Turnip. That door is never gonna close now.
This is bad news for the Arkansas literacy rate
The sound of one brain cell clapping
Aaron Rupar
@atrupar.com
Fox News graphic claims falsely that the average price of gas one year ago was $4.13, lower than it is right now. It was actually $3.14!
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mtc76i2rt52a
fox knows that it's viewers will accept this as truth.
pi gas!
The "Orwellianness"! It burns!
Let’s be honest, if Biden’s wife slapped his hand away multiple times in public and was now traveling everywhere with a young pretty aid it would be a huge fucking scandal. We would never hear the end of it.
Biden's wife actually loves him so they had to make up other stories about him instead.
That's PINK EYE Herman.
Hi Wonkets. Here is your evening Zelenskyy. Domestic for once, lest we forget Ukraine is a libertarian paradise of a sorts https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/vazhlivo-shob-dosvidcheni-komandiri-otrimuvali-bilshe-spromo-105857
SOFT CLOTH HAND JOBS INCLUDED
Trump says Kim Jong-un has responded to his overtures when asked about scaling back US drills with South Korea
“He wrote me the most beautiful love letters…”
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Let me count the ways
That I can fuck you
H/T to the Wonker who referred to Steven Cheung as Temu Odd-Job the other day
Who else remembers padding down the stairs at two in the morning to get a glass of kitchen water -- because bathroom water sucked *feh*! -- and passing the tee vee with the old Indian Head test pattern on and turning the set off, only to have Dad in his recliner go "Zznork! Hey! I was watchin' that"! https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/RCA_Indian_Head_Test_Pattern.svg/1280px-RCA_Indian_Head_Test_Pattern.svg.png?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail
My father worked the night shift much of his life, and when he got home, he'd watch a little TV to wind down before bed. He kept the sound very low because I slept in the next room.
For me, waking to the low murmur of the TV was reassuring. It meant "daddy's home," and I usually went right back to sleep.
It's fascinating that EVERYTHING in that test pattern had a specific purpose.
Even the colored bar test pattern was carefully and deliberately designed.
https://www.tvcameramuseum.org/rca/tk1b/pix/rca2f21data1954.pdf
Evan, Evan, Evan!
😂😂😂
When evil is stupidly stupid, you are so great at pointing it out!
*snerk* https://bsky.app/profile/blue-rosary52.bsky.social/post/3mtcq2rziks2s
🚨 My opinion…
I think Melania HIRED Natalie. 🙂
Sacrificial zinc
If true, unsurprising.