Skeets Of The Day

 

Buh-bye Putin plant Tulsi --

 

BREAKING: The White House forced US intelligence official Tulsi Gabbard to resign from her post, a person familiar with the matter said. Gabbard posted her resignation letter on X reut.rs/3PxKi24

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— Reuters (@reuters.com) May 22, 2026 at 1:35 PM

 

Operation Epic Epstein Fury / endgame is surrender / "Iran your gas prices up" --

 

"On the present trajectory, Iran will emerge from the conflict many times stronger and more influential than it was before the war. It will exercise leverage with dozens of the richest nations in the world." From Robert Kagan, @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

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— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 3:56 AM

 

SPOTTED in rural Tennessee: “Iran your gas prices up” sticker⛽️

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 9:27 AM

 

Consumer sentiment never this low before --

We have *never* before seen consumer sentiment this low.

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— Justin Wolfers (@justinwolfers.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 10:20 AM

 

Cratering poll numbers --

 

Trump absolutely cratering in new Fox poll: 29-71 on economy 24-76 on inflation He's underwater among whites *and* rural voters (!) Among independents he's at 24 percent (!!) On the pod, @jamescdownie.bsky.social is good on the collapse of the Trump coalition: newrepublic.com/article/2108...

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— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 7:31 AM

 

The message --

 

Sen. Ossoff: I am running in Georgia against two Trump lackeys who would be voting for this ballroom and this insurrectionist slush fund. They're pro-war, they're pro-tariff, they're pro-cutting healthcare.

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— Headquarters (@headquartersnews.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 2:03 PM

 

The"flirting" stage is past, dammit;  get ready to move --

Democrats Flirt with Radical Reforms Needed to Dethrone Supreme Court talkingpointsmemo.com/news/democra...

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— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 9:26 AM

 

Support voting rights, support Southern Blue --

🚨 THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT SHALL RISE AGAIN! Become a *RECURRING* supporter of all 9 Southern state Democratic parties at once! #Blue26 secure.actblue.com/donate/vrast...

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— Charles Gaba ✡️ (@charlesgaba.com) May 22, 2026 at 9:41 AM

 

Most.  Corrupt.  Regime.  Ever.  --

 

Here's how the corruption works: Thursday: RJ Reynolds donates $5M to Trump Saturday: Trump invites RJR execs to Mar a Lago; execs ask to loosen regs on flavored vapes; Trump calls up RFK Jr. and tells him to change it Friday: FDA changes the policy

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— Chris Murphy (@chrismurphyct.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 1:21 PM

 

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges (ret.) on Ukraine in NATO;  hunting Russians -- 

HODGES: Eventually Ukraine will be invited to join NATO, people will wake up and realize that we'll get better the day Ukrainians are members. Ukraine is best military in Europe. Ukraine is becoming net security exporter. Ukraine's going to be heart of European defense industry.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 9:11 AM

 

Recently, Ukraine has been systematically hunting Russian logistics in occupied territories, destroying supply routes, vehicles, and military equipment deeper behind the front line. More and more videos are showing the same thing: Russia’s rear is no longer safe.

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— SAINT JAVELIN (@saintjavelin.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 9:06 AM

 

MAGAt Republican values / a father's love --

Trump can find time to golf but not to go to Donny Jr’s wedding www.nytimes.com/2026/05/21/u...

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— Elizabeth Spiers (@espiers.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 7:59 AM

 

Once more with feeling (Happy Friday!) --

Stephen Colbert wrapped up The Late Show with this joyful performance of 'Hello, Goodbye' with Sir Paul McCartney Crew and audience join them onstage, then McCartney switched the lights out at The Ed Sullivan Theater, where The Beatles performed on the same stage in 1964 Thank you Mr Colbert 👏 👏 👏

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— Ian Johnson (@mrianjohnson.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 8:52 AM

 

 

Weekend Music -- Memorial Day

 

Monday is Memorial Day in America, a day we remember those service men and women in all wars who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.  We gratefully honor their service.  

Eighty-one years ago in World War II we saw the defeat of fascism and militarism.  But as we have sadly learned, this is a struggle that didn't end in 1945.  It continues to the present day all over the world...  and most disturbing to us, in our own country.  It would be an appropriate way to honor the memory of those who died in this struggle by defeating fascism once again in our time.

So, as has been a tradition with us, we're recognizing Memorial Day with "Beneath the Southern Cross," part of the original Richard Rodgers soundtrack for the NBC "Victory at Sea" World War II documentary series from the early 1950s.  The title refers to the constellation Crux (or Southern Cross) easily visible in the South Pacific.  The RCA Victor Orchestra led by Robert Russell Bennett performs the song, also familiarly known as "No Other Love Have I."  Have a safe and memorable weekend.

"Paying To Court The Mad King"

 

From Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, writing on his Substack platform today, commenting on Wednesday's CNBC interview of Amazon mega billionaire weenie Jeff Bezos, in which he lauded the Malignant Fascist and defended low taxes for his Epstein class cohort:

"Last year Bezos and other tech billionaires evidently believed that they could insulate themselves from criticism — and secure their wealth against both taxation and regulation — by allying themselves tightly with Donald Trump. Notably, Amazon, along with Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft is one of the companies paying for Trump’s grotesque ballroom.

But Trump is now exploring new frontiers in presidential unpopularity, and Republicans are facing a wave of public revulsion so strong that it will probably overwhelm even their strenuous efforts to rig the midterm elections.

So paying court to the mad king isn’t looking like the smart political move Bezos and his ilk thought it was. How, then, can they defend themselves against the threat of taxes and regulations that might make them slightly less rich?

Well, Bezos evidently thought that the threat to his billions was sufficiently important to justify going on CNBC to lecture the rest of us about the evils of taxation — but not sufficiently important for him to learn a few facts first.

Somehow, I don’t think this new political strategy will work."  (our emphasis)

The public revulsion that Republicans are facing is increasingly being applied to the mega billionaires / Epstein class as income inequality and rising inflation hit the middle and working class families, thanks to their cult leader's destructive policies.  Krugman cites chapter and verse where Bezos' self-serving "facts" are bogus and misleading.  Pushback like this on the false statements of tech bros and their enablers needs to happen regularly and forcefully.

BONUS:  It's no surprise that Bezos is cheap when it comes to charity. Moneywise reports that he's only given 2% of his wealth to charitable causes, and he hasn't signed the Giving Pledge to give his fortune to philanthropic causes. That's in contrast to his former wife, Mackenzie Scott, who's given far more of her wealth to charity.

He also paid zero taxes in 2007 and 2011.

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Colbert's Finale

 

ICYMI, here's Stephen Colbert's emotional goodbye, then his final "Late Show" monologue, punctuated by some guest cameos, and then the very special musical performances to close out the show's run and the end, for now, of the use of the historic Ed Sullivan Theater (where the Beatles performed) as a performing venue.

 

You can check out the final episode playlist here for other segments.

See you down the road, Stephen, dog willing.

 

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Nick Anderson, The Contrarian)

(Ed Wexler, caglecartoons.com)

(Mike Smith, Las Vegas Sun)

(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com, Canada)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(Paul Duginski, caglecartoons.com)

(Rick McKee, caglecartoons.com)

(Michael de Adder, Toronto Globe and Mail, Canada)

(John Cole, TennesseeLookout.com)

 (Ruben Bolling, gocomics.com)

(Jeff Koterba, gocomics.com)

(Ivan Ehlers, @ivan_ehlers)

Meme Of The Day

 

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 (h/t democraticunderground.com)

Skeets Of The Day

 

Operation Cuban Epstein Distraction: another "excursion" aimed at Cuba? --

Nimitz Aircraft Carrier Enters Caribbean as Trump Pressures Cuba “the administration intends to use the Nimitz, and its wing of fighter jets, as a show of force, not as a platform for major military operations” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/u...

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— Shipwreck (@shipwreck75.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 7:40 AM

The Malignant Fascist's illegal Thug Fund likely beneficiaries. Oh hell no.  -- 

Todd Blanche believes that the rioters who beat cops and smeared feces on the walls of the Capitol are "good people" who should be compensated for their services to Donald Trump.

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— Scott Horton (@robertscotthorton.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 8:46 AM

 

Trump's administration announced the creation of a $1.776 billion fund for Americans deemed to be victims of political "weaponization” and Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants want their share. Enrique Tarrio, the Proud Boys leader sentenced ‌to 22 years for seditious conspiracy, hopes to get $2-5 million.

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— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 7:04 AM

 

You will be paying her with your tax dollars. Brought to you by the Republican Party.

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) May 20, 2026 at 10:47 PM

Ebola, the Malignant Fascist, evil Musk, and eugenicist RFK, Jr.  -- 

Trump and Musk’s profoundly evil decision to cut off U.S. aid is now making an Ebola outbreak in the DRC much worse. The world will live to regret the cruelty and stupidity of Trump, Musk, their flunkies, and the scumbags and fools in the U.S. who voted them in.

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— Faine Greenwood (@faineg.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 7:47 AM

He doesn’t care because he is a eugenicist. For him it is “survival of the fittest”. It’s about culling the population. It’s necropolitics.

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— Oni Blackstock, MD MHS (@oniblackstock.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 6:55 AM

 

Trouble for the MF's $1 billion golden ballroom / dictator bunker  --

(Punchbowl) - Senate Republicans are preparing to buck President Donald Trump on two of his long-running obsessions: the White House ballroom project and the “weaponization” of federal agencies against his allies. @punchbowlnews.bsky.social punchbowl.news/article/sena...

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 7:02 AM

 

He’s going to barricade himself in there after he refuses to leave office in 2029. Bookmark this

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— Rachel Bitecofer (@rachelbitecofer.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 12:39 PM

MF's poll numbers cratering, independents reject him by huge margin --

Trump absolutely cratering in new Quinnipiac poll of registered voters: 33-64 on economy 66% oppose $1 billion for ballroom And Trump is underwater among independents on economy by a staggering 43 points, 27-70 (!!) On the pod, we dig deep into all these numbers: newrepublic.com/article/2107...

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— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 9:24 AM

The despicable Gov. Polis censured by Colorado Dems -- 

This is the best news this month. Proud of these Dems. Polis is a fucking clown and deserves to be treated like one. There should be no room in this party for fascist enablers. Take them all out. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/u...

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— Jodi Jacobson (@jljacobson.bsky.social) May 20, 2026 at 11:08 PM

World Cup cancellations in U.S. mount.  Fire Trump ass-kisser Gianni Infantino  -- 

you know how badly you have to fuck up to throw a WORLD CUP and have nobody come?

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— Micah (@rincewind.run) May 20, 2026 at 8:21 PM

Last show tonight with the irreplaceable Stephen Colbert.  Turn off CBS / Paramount for good -- 

Kimmel told viewers not to watch CBS again after Colbert’s run ends.

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— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 1:20 AM

Classy! -- 

Spotted at Mar-a-Lago…

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— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes.bsky.social) May 20, 2026 at 5:20 PM

 

 

Quotes Of The Day -- Breaking Containment

 

"... The CDC benefited from ears on the ground during that [Ebola] outbreak, which began in late 2013 and grew to more than 28,000 cases and 11,000 deaths. Some were CDC staff, others were contractors or physicians at partner organizations like USAID.  [snip]

"But last year, DOGE took a wrecking ball to that network. USAID was shut down practically overnight, which led to Ebola-prevention funding being “accidentally” canceled, as Elon Musk cavalierly noted. Musk at the time claimed it had been restored, but ultimately the health infrastructure was dismantled. Meanwhile, the CDC faced its own steep cuts and the U.S. — which had long been the WHO’s top funder — withdrew from the organization entirely.

"While it’s too early to directly blame those cuts for the late detection of the current outbreak, one thing is certain: The decimation of USAID and the U.S.’ exit from the WHO will make containing the spread much more difficult..." -- Lisa Jarvis, Bloomberg News, on why "Containing Ebola Is Hard. The U.S. Made It Worse."

 ____________________

 

“But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States….”

-Section 4, 14th Amendment

"... It is by now widely understood that the 14^th Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship, and protection from state interference with citizenship rights. The Amendment incorporates the concept of equality – racial equality – into our Constitution for the first time. In so doing the 14^th brings our Constitution into harmony with the core principle of the Declaration of Independence that 'all men are created equal.' The drafting and ratification of the 14^th Amendment constituted a stunningly ambitious act of constitutional repair and reconciliation.

But the Amendment does even more. For the first time, our Constitution confronted head-on the destructive forces that live in the DNA of our country that had been laid bare by the Civil War. The powerful force of white supremacist ideology would have to be cabined. But those founders recognized something else – that the strain of insurrection that led to secession and the creation of the Confederacy continued to run strong throughout the South, and it too would need to be disabled.

For these reasons, the 14th Amendment did more than guarantee equality. Section 2 of the Amendment contains a provision designed to punish southern states if they attempted to keep Black (men at the time) from voting. Section 3 bars those who participated in insurrection from serving in public office.

Section 4, excerpted above, bars payments to insurrectionists...." -- Sherrilyn Ifill, in "Sherrilyn's Newsletter," on "Trump's Insurrectionist Payout Scheme Violates the 14th Amendment."

Both quotes illustrate the bitter irony of the Malignant Fascist's "Make America Great Again" slogan when, in fact, it's a national suicide movement.

R.I.P. Schlitz 1849-2026

 

Pour one out for a once-iconic American beer:

It’s last call for Schlitz, the beer that made Milwaukee famous.

The Pabst Brewing Co. has confirmed it is ceasing production of the iconic lager that has quenched the thirst of American beer drinkers for 177 years.

“Unfortunately, we have seen continued increases in our costs to store and ship certain products and have had to make the tough choice to place Schlitz Premium on hiatus,” Zac Nadile, Pabst head of brand strategy, said in a statement last month to Milwaukee Magazine.

That means other retro beer brands in what could be called the Pabst portfolio, like bottles of Blatz and Old Milwaukee, will also be harder to find, the magazine reported.

“Any brand or packaging configuration that is put on hiatus is still a cherished part of our history and hopefully our future,” Nadile said. “We continually look for opportunities to bring back beloved brands and customer feedback is important in shaping those discussions.”  [snip]

The demise of a blue-collar beer like Schlitz marks the end of an era.

The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co. was founded in 1849 by a German immigrant who took over a small Milwaukee brewery after marrying the widow of the original owner, August Krug — and renamed the business after himself.

While “The Beer that Made Milwaukee Famous” soon became the Schlitz slogan, it was actually the Great Chicago fire in 1871 that helped turn the brand into a national name, when word spread that the company had been shipping barrels of beer to aid the devastated Windy City.

By the 1950s, Schlitz was the biggest brewery in the United States, and its new advertising slogan declared: “When you’re out of Schlitz, you’re out of beer.”

Budweiser overtook Schlitz that same decade. Then, in 1976, came what became known as the “Schlitz Mistake” — the company changed its recipe to boost profits and alienated legions of loyal customers in the process.

The following year, Schlitz suffered another self-inflicted wound when it greenlit an advertising drive that came to be known as the “Drink Schlitz or I’ll kill you” campaign featuring menacing tough guys responding with threats when asked it they’d consider switching to another beer.

Meanwhile, Schlitz’s bottom line was buffeted by the rise of light beers and changing American tastes, and the lingering perception that it was an uncool beer of the past.

The beleaguered brand even became the unintended victim of a 1991 skit by “Saturday Night Live” called “Schmitts Gay,” which was actually a parody of the macho beer ads put out by some of Schlitz’s competitors.

Schlitz was sold in 1982 to the Stroh Brewery Co., which stopped brewing the beer in Milwaukee. Then Schlitz was sold to Pabst in 1999, which in recent years had brewed it at an Anheuser-Busch plant in Texas.

One last batch of Schlitz will be brewed on Saturday by the Wisconsin Brewing Co. at its facility outside Madison. And they’ll be using the recipe from 1948 when Schlitz, not Budweiser, was the king of beers.

Schlitz deserves to go out with “dignity and respect,” brewmaster Kirby Nelson told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Schlitz was never one of our beers of choice (see "Schlitz Mistake, above), but we wouldn't mind getting a few bottles of that last batch being brewed using the 1948 recipe.  For people of a certain age, the pre-1970's Schlitz will be remembered as a "basic American lager," nothing especially memorable or distinguished, but certainly very drinkable, like a PBR. What happened over the past 50 years is sketched out above and explains the brand's (likely) demise.

But it's a somewhat bittersweet moment -- another iconic American brand that's fading into history, the comments of the brand strategy guy above notwithstanding.  Maybe they could reassess based on what the brewing company making the final batch is doing and find a niche in the market down the road.  But more likely, there's no future for a brand that lost its appeal, its reputation, and its loyal base years ago.

(Photo:  various historic Schlitz bottles in Oconomowoc, WI / Morry Gash/ AP file)

The Penultimate Colbert Show With Andrés And Springsteen

 

Last night's penultimate "Late Show with Stephen Colbert" had Stephen covering the grifty Trump mobile phone, Trump's update on the war in Iran and his revealing remarks about Melon,  TSA's "chickens on a plane," and a well-deserved gift from Late Show viewers to Chef José Andrés.  Bruce Springsteen was also there to perfome "Streets of Minneapolis" and offer some choice comments about Malignant Fascist Trump and the Ellisons.  Doesn't get better.

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Steve Sack, stevesack.substack.com)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Jonathan Brown, caglecartoons.com)

 (Joe Heller, hellertoon.substack.com)

(Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency)

(David Rowe, Financial Review, Australia)

(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(Michael de Adder, Toronto Globe and Mail, Canada)

(Christo Komarnitski, caglecartoons.com, Bulgaria)

(Pedro Molina, Tribune Content Agency)

(Jason Adam Katzenstein, The New Yorker)

NAACP: Black Athletes Should Boycott Southern Jim Crow State Schools

 

Now maybe we're getting somewhere:

The NAACP is calling on Black athletes and fans to boycott the athletic programs of public universities in states that are taking steps that the nation's oldest civil rights group says are restricting Black voting rights.

Launched Tuesday, the "Out of Bounds" campaign urges prospective Black athletes, their families, alumni and fans to "withhold athletic and financial support" from major public universities in states that "have moved to limit, weaken or erase Black voting representation."

If Black athletes participate in the boycott, it could deplete rosters for powerhouse football and basketball programs across the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference.

The NAACP is among groups responding to a wave of gerrymandering in the aftermath of a Supreme Court ruling that winnowed a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Civil rights activists have mobilized across the South to protest redistricting plans by Republican state legislatures that eliminate majority-Black congressional districts after the high court's ruling. Activists have looked for pressure points to dissuade GOP-led states from redistricting maps, including calls for mass protests and economic boycotts.

"Across the South, Black athletes have helped build some of the most profitable college athletic programs in America," said NAACP president Derrick Johnson. Johnson noted that the programs "generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue, national television value, alumni donations, merchandising sales, ticket sales and brand equity -- much of it powered by Black football and basketball talent."

The NAACP's campaign calls out Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and South Carolina as states to boycott, arguing that the athletic programs of those states' flagship universities are especially reliant on Black athletic talent and should protect Black political interests.

"Black athletes should not be asked to generate wealth, prestige, and power for state institutions while those same states strip political power from Black communities," Johnson said.

Black lawmakers themselves are also pressuring athletic leagues to take action against Republican-led states that might redistrict longtime Black members of Congress.

The Congressional Black Caucus on Monday sent a letter to the commissioners of the SEC and ACC athletic conferences, as well as NCAA president Charlie Baker, stating that its members will oppose the SCORE Act, a bill to standardize athletes' contracting rights across the country, unless conference leaders oppose GOP-led redistricting efforts in states that include major conference members.

"The Congressional Black Caucus believes institutions that profit from Black talent and Black communities have a responsibility to stand with those communities when their fundamental rights are under attack," the CBC said. "Silence in the face of injustice is not neutrality -- it is complicity."

If there's anything more sacred to the knobs that vote for MAGAt Republicans in the South, it's sports, especially football.  Having the black athletes that bring glory and cash to the State universities in the States noted above (but why not Tennessee, the first and most egregious Jim Crow state??) not participate in their athletic programs would hit those States where it hurts. Likewise, donors to those schools must withhold their financial support.  It would let them know there's a price to be paid for setting the clock back a hundred years on black voting and representational rights. But the black community (organizations like the NAACP and National Action Network, churches, politicians) needs to work with black athletes and their families to inform, energize, and organize them to look outside of the deep South to achieve their athletic and academic goals.  We'd see how the smirking good ol' boys in those Jim Crow Republican legislatures like that.

Skeets Of The Day

 

The Epstein-Trump files --

 

Release the #Epsteinfiles

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— Bart Aafjes (@bartaafjes68.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 12:27 PM

 

Sen. Jon Ossoff: “Did anyone really think the sexual predator president, who used to party with Jeffrey Epstein, was really going to release the Epstein files?” #EpsteinFiles #TrumpIsOnTheEpsteinList #TrumpisaNationalDisgrace #ReleaseTheEpsteinFiles #TrumpIsUnfitForOffice

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— skypilotbadindian.bsky.social (@skypilotbadindian.bsky.social) May 18, 2026 at 10:51 AM

 

Trump's clueless cult carries out his will --

 

Kentucky U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Republican House primary Tuesday in another test of President Donald Trump’s power over his party after he handpicked challenger and ultimate winner Ed Gallrein to oust the incumbent.

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— kgnsnews.bsky.social (@kgnsnews.bsky.social) May 20, 2026 at 4:00 AM

 

Republican voters in Kentucky who presumably spent much of 2024 banging on about Epstein just ejected from Congress their own Republican congressman, who helped get the Epstein files out, in order to please the close friend of Epstein, Donald Trump.

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 8:39 PM

 

Arguably the most slam-dunk, lights-out, game over case against Trump was his attempt to steal the 2020 election in Georgia. The Republican most responsible for standing up to Trump to stop the steal just got crushed in the GOP primary for governor.

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— Anthony L. Fisher (@anthonylfisher.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 8:45 PM

 

Please stop calling it a cult, guys.

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— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 8:48 PM

 

Trump on soaring gas prices: "Peanuts" --

 

Trump Blurts Stunning Gas Price Rant Amid Sinking Polls: ‘This is Peanuts!’

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— Mediaite (@mediaite.com) May 20, 2026 at 8:25 AM

 

Most.  Corrupt.  Regime.  Ever. --

 

An American president sues/extorts his own government, then settles with his own justice department to funnel money to his criminal allies. He will go down in history as the president who came up with forms of corruption never contemplated before.

— Rick Stengel (@rickstengel.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 12:22 PM

 

Trump's Personal Attorney Todd Blanche Attempts to Pardon His Boss emptywheel.net/2026/05/20/t...

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— emptywheel (@emptywheel.bsky.social) May 20, 2026 at 6:01 AM

 

I’m not sure why this isn’t being mentioned more, but: IRS policy for 50 years has been that the sitting president & VP get audited every year, in an effort to reassure the public they’re not corruptly abusing the office to enrich themselves.

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— Julian Sanchez (@normative.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 7:56 PM

 

 Feel for the insurrectionists! --

Apparently attempting to murder elected officials and smearing shit on the walls of the Capitol is just “participating in a protest.”

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— The Volatile Mermaid (@ohnoshetwitnt.bsky.social) May 19, 2026 at 3:25 PM

 

Lots of inappropriate sharing on both sides! --

 

Whether it’s Donald Trump stealing $1.7 billion from the treasury to share with his friends or Hillary Clinton using a private email server to share risotto recipes with her friends, there’s plenty of inappropriate sharing on both sides.

— NY Times Pitchbot (@nytpitchbot.bsky.social) May 18, 2026 at 3:27 PM

 

 

Mid-Week Song: Ode To Immigrants

 

Singer / songwriter Steve Earle moved to his adopted New York City some years ago from Nashville and wrote this song in 2007. According to a story in Variety,  Earle was texting Bruce Springsteen around the time that he was performing in Minneapolis in support of the immigrant community, and thought, "Bruce showed up there, and I’m home in New York, like, ‘Get off your ass, Earle!’” The result is a new video featuring that song from almost 20 years ago and filmed documentary-style on the streets of NYC, directed by the great Steve Buscemi.  Enjoy "City of Immigrants."

Senate Passes War Powers Resolution

 

By a 50 - 47 vote, the Senate passed a resolution to force the unstable Malignant Fascist from pursuing his war on Iran without Congressional approval.  In a delicious twist, the winning vote was supplied by Sen. Bill Cassidy, who the MF had campaigned against for reelection, and who will be in office for another 7 months. From NBC News:

"The Senate voted 50-47 on Tuesday to move forward with a resolution to force President Donald Trump to end the war in Iran, a breakthrough for the Democratic-led effort.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who just lost his primary for renomination over the weekend after he faced opposition from Trump, voted 'yes' to advance the measure, the first time he has done so after having repeatedly voted 'no.' [snip]

Introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., the resolution says that 'Congress hereby directs the President to remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force.'”

Maybe Cassidy, now freed from his MAGAt cult cage if he wants to be free, will start to defy the MF on such votes.  Interestingly, two Republican Senators who missed the vote are not on the best of terms with the MF, retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (NC) and Sen. John Cornyn (TX), who the vindictive MF just denied his endorsement for re-election.  

Despite the MF's war being overwhelmingly unpopular, his cult in Congress won't budge on restraining his impulsive actions toward Iran, even as they threaten not only the U.S. economy, but that of the world.