QOTD -- Recognizing The Urgency Of The Moment

 

"...The VRA was eliminated not because it was no longer necessary, but because it had succeeded in challenging power structures. A court that will do this will eliminate other programs designed to make America more democratic and more fair.

"The political scientist Jon Ladd responded to the decision by suggesting we should adjust our expectation that any pro-democracy agendas would be deemed constitutional. If Democrats were able to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, or a national gerrymandering ban, would the Supreme Court allow such policies? Would the Court find a way to block proportional representation? Would they allow the extension of statehood to DC or Puerto Rico?

"One of the great cautionary tales of American politics is that Roosevelt’s effort at court packing, which is seen as a dangerous overreach. But today, the conditions are different. 'The Supreme Court itself has shown itself to be the enemy of democracy' according to legal scholar Rick Hasen.

"Under these conditions, court reform becomes a logical solution. (For a contrary view Steve Vladeck argues that Congress can still make the Supreme Court accountable). It would require more Democrats and more of the general public to buy into the notion that defending democracy requires radical action.

"But when the opponents of democracy are radical, the defense has to be clear-eyed. We look at countries like Brazil and South Korea, where leaders have been imprisoned for anti-democratic actions, or Hungary, where there is a purge of Orbanists from government. They recognize the urgency of their moment. Do we?..." -- Don Moynihan, in his "Can We Still Govern?" Substack, on the recent Callais decision and the importance of recognizing the reactionary forces we face and confronting them with the sense of urgency that's required.

 

Skeets Of The Day

 

Operation Epic Epstein Fury / brace for impact, MAGAts, "gatekeepers" --

 

24. Harry Enten said that's the highest percentage of people from within one's party to blame a president for the rising price of gas. Summer is coming. Prices will go higher, as will Trump's rate of disapproval. In the fall, the Republicans had better brace for impact.

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— The Editorial Board (@editorialboard.bsky.social) May 4, 2026 at 8:51 AM

 

It's striking that the war against Iran is so unpopular, when the corporate/state media (FOX, CBS, WAPO, etc.) are fluffing the war non-stop with a series of "experts" going on about how crucial and successful it's been. People are seeing what's happening despite their gate keepers' efforts

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— Paul Bland (@fpbland.bsky.social) May 4, 2026 at 7:35 AM

 

Sham SCOTUS' sham VRA arguments --

 

John Roberts and his gang keep twisting themselves into pretzels to pretend the Supreme Court isn’t systematically favoring whites and Republicans over Black voters and Democrats. Trump keeps coming along like a wrecking ball with a bullhorn demonstrating what a sham the court is

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— Stephen Wolf (@stephenwolf.bsky.social) May 4, 2026 at 8:10 AM

 

... and the sick MAGAt fucks it enables --

 

I'm genuinely not sure how we come back from this level of delusion. I know there's always been loons in political office but I dunno... this feels like something we don't come back from as a society.

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— Zach D Roberts (@zdroberts.bsky.social) May 3, 2026 at 8:51 PM

 

Dumbass threatening us with a good time --

Sen. Ron Johnson: "Democrats want to turn America into a one party nation. They'll turn DC and Puerto Rico into states. They'll nationalize our elections -- automatic registration, mail in balloting. So we need to stop them."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 4, 2026 at 8:35 AM

 

Giuliani --

 

sure hope he didn't accidentally go to Mount Sinai Total Landscaping

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— Jamison Foser (@jamisonfoser.bsky.social) May 3, 2026 at 7:09 PM

 

Rudy Giuliani, I'll always remember how you put the nypd counterterrorism office in the twin towers so you could be closer to you mistress so on 9/11 itself you had no place to coordinate a response, causing the deaths of hundreds of firefighters.

— Walter Mondial (@dabenner.bsky.social) May 3, 2026 at 7:39 PM

 

President Trump is correct that Rudy Giuliani’s deranged advocacy for overturning the 2020 election is the most important aspect of his career and should be the focus when he departs this world.

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— Matthew Gertz (@mattgertz.bsky.social) May 4, 2026 at 7:30 AM

 

Trump's vanity presidency --

 

America has suffered ignorant presidents, corrupt presidents, and incompetent presidents. Trump is all of these, yet something far worse: He’s the first president to view the presidency not as a sacred public obligation, but as a personal vanity project designed solely to serve himself.

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— Susan McPherson (@susanmcp.bsky.social) May 4, 2026 at 8:30 AM

 

Putin's shaky presidency --

 

BREAKING: Unprecedented security measures have been instituted in the Kremlin in recent weeks as Vladimir Putin anticipates a possible coup or assassination attempt — including a drone strike from within. That's according to a European intelligence agency.

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— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) May 4, 2026 at 8:48 AM

 

Do the math, sheeple! --

 

"Over the next three months, we’ll release the equivalent of 1.4 million barrels of oil per day. That should more than offset the 14.5 million barrels per day that we’ve removed from the market. Trust us, the math works."

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— McSweeney's (@mcsweeneys.net) May 4, 2026 at 8:15 AM

 

 

Giuliani Hospitalized

 

Rudy "Toot Toot" Giuliani, 81, former New York Mayor turned disgraced henchman for the mentally unstable Malignant Fascist, was hospitalized Sunday in "critical but stable condition" for an undisclosed ailment. The man who was at the center of the MF's first impeachment over an extortion call to Ukraine's President Zelenskyy, seeking dirt on Joe Biden in return for release of weapons already slated for Ukraine, has apparently been in declining health recently. From the Associated Press:

"Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is hospitalized in critical but stable condition, his spokesperson said Sunday, days after the Republican hoarsely told his talk show audience that his voice was 'a little under the weather.'

The spokesperson, Ted Goodman, didn’t say what sent Giuliani, 81, to the hospital, how long he’s been there or what his prognosis is. [snip]

Giuliani coughed as he began his nightly online show 'America’s Mayor Live' on Friday. As he spoke, he sounded more raspy than usual. Before launching into a commentary on the Iran war, he remarked: 'My voice is a little under the weather, so I won’t be able to speak as loudly as I usually do, but I’ll get closer to the microphone.'”

To our non-medically trained eye, it looks like pneumonia. Giuliani was one of the MF's most ardent purveyors of the false charge that the 2020 election was stolen by Joe Biden, a "big lie" that led to the violent seditionist riot on January 6, 2021 at the Capitol resulting in roughly 140 police injured and led to the deaths of five more.  Right after the 2020 election, Giuliani was mocked for holding a press conference at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping company in Pennsylvania to question the results of the voting in Pennsylvania, just as the AP announced Biden as the winner.  The event was a screw up, meant to be scheduled at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia near where the ballots from Philadelphia were being recounted.  Giuliani was also roundly mocked in 2021 for an appearance in the "Borat Subsequent Movie" film, when he thought he was being propositioned by Borat's "daughter" and ended up reaching in his pants as he lay on a bed.  Almost three years ago, the Associated Press profiled the downfall of Giuliani by attaching his fate to the MF's; his eventual obit should be a cut and past of this article.

Of course, the MF is using Giuliani's medical emergency to try to score points by associating his illness with Dems who challenged his lies about the 2020 election and more.  Shameless and entirely in character.

(photo: Leaking hair dye, Giuliani at a press conference. AP)

 

Today's Tomorrow Cartoon

 

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The dynamic MAGAt duo of bug- eyed FBI Director Kashyap "Kash No Credit" Patel and sinister white nationalist goblin Stephen Miller are featured by Tom, espousing the crackpot notions of their cult leader. They've even persuaded the White House Correspondents Association to hire a magician to entertain the self-important, cynical, and knee-bending "journalists" at their rescheduled ugly person prom. 

Please consider supporting Tom's work by going here.

 

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

Six months ahead of the November midterm elections, the Republican Party faces a deteriorating political climate, with Americans broadly dissatisfied with President Donald Trump’s leadership on the Iran war and other key issues and an electorate in which Democrats are significantly more motivated to vote, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll.

Trump’s approval on economic issues, which were critical to his political comeback in 2024, has fallen since he launched the Iran war in late February.

Americans disapprove of his handling of the situation with Iran by 66 percent to 33 percent. His rating on the economy has declined by seven points, to 34 percent, as gas prices have spiked. His approval rating on inflation has fallen five points in that time to 27 percent and his lowest rating comes on perceptions of his handling of the general cost of living, with 23 percent approving vs. 76 percent disapproving.

Trump’s overall approval now stands at 37 percent, largely the same as the 39 percent figure in February. But his disapproval has reached 62 percent, the highest of his two terms in office. Among Republicans, Trump’s approval has held steady at 85 percent, but his ratings among Republican-leaning independents have reached a new low of 56 percent. His approval rating stands at 25 percent among independents overall. [snip]

The president’s weak approval ratings put the Republicans’ slender House majority in grave danger and now threaten their Senate majority as well. Among registered voters, Democrats hold a five-point advantage on the question of which party people favor in House elections. That is up from a two-point edge in February and October...

Polls six months from an election are all showing pretty much the same historically bad result.  The Malignant Fascist and his MAGAt party is running out of time fast.  But polls are just polls, as we keep saying. We need to translate those numbers into votes on Election Day into a Blue Wave so overwhelming that no one can deny it.

The bad:

The United States will launch an effort on Monday to “guide” stranded ships from the Iran-gripped Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said, giving few details about what could be a sweeping attempt to help hundreds of vessels and some 20,000 seafarers. Iran quickly denounced it as a ceasefire violation.

Trump said in a social media post on Sunday that “neutral and innocent” countries have been affected by the Iran war, and “we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business.”

“Project Freedom” would begin on Monday morning in the Middle East, Trump said, adding that his representatives are having discussions with Iran that could lead to something “very positive for all.”

U.S. Central Command said the initiative would involve guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and 15,000 service members. The Pentagon did not immediately answer questions about how they would be deployed...

Keep escalating, your bumbling moron.  Endanger more American lives, and the lives of others desperately trying to find that off ramp you won't find through your increasingly erratic actions.  And those polls (see above) that you and your spineless party/ cult look at with terror aren't likely to improve.  Iran has the cards (as you like to put it) and they know it.  And so do our far smarter allies and the rest of the world.  (It's being reported this morning that a U.S. warship was hit by Iranian missiles, although denials came swiftly from the U.S.)

The ugly: 

Misinformation from top health officials in the Trump administration has created a “crisis of public trust” – and Congress should conduct oversight hearings and possibly impeach officials such as Robert F Kennedy Jr, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to a recently released report.

Experts say that officials in the past year have focused intently on both vaccines and autism, including efforts to connect autism to the use of acetaminophen (frequently sold as Tylenol) during pregnancy, despite growing evidence of no link, and replacing all members of the federal autism committee with advisers who have anti-vaccine and pseudoscientific histories.

The first meeting of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) was abruptly postponed in March and rescheduled for Tuesday, the same day the report was published by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD).

The report includes a timeline of all HHS actions taken in the first year of the second Trump administration. Such changes have been “harmful to its mission” and “detrimental to the autistic community”, such as widespread layoffs, reductions in force and terminations, cutting autism research by about $31m, and removing warnings about dangerous and unproven autism treatments from the website of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at ASAN.

“When you look at it, one thing after another, you can really realize how overwhelming it has been for those of us who are in the autism trenches trying to combat this misinformation and stigmatizing language and these bad decisions, as well as how dedicated this government is to spreading misinformation and to pursuing policies that damage public health,” Gross said...

Of all the destructive things the Malignant Fascist has done to weaken, impoverish, and sicken America, letting this loon and his pseudo-science acolytes control the U.S. health system is among the worst.  He deserves to be impeached, at the very least, but will likely end up escaping accountability for his actions if the history of this regime so far is a guide.

Across The Universe, Cont.

 

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From NASA/ ESA, April 30, 2026: In this ESA/Hubble Picture of the Month, a spiral galaxy glittering with star clusters is the centre of attention. NGC 3137 is located 53 million light-years away in the constellation Antlia (The Air Pump). As a nearby spiral galaxy, this target offers astronomers an excellent opportunity to study the cycle of stellar birth and death, as well as giving researchers a glimpse of a galactic system similar to our own.

NGC 3137 is of particular interest to astronomers because it travels through space with a group of galaxies that is thought to be similar to the Local Group, the galaxy group that contains the Milky Way. Similar to the Local Group, the NGC 3175 group contains two large spiral galaxies: NGC 3137 and NGC 3175, which Hubble has also observed. In the Local Group, the largest members are the Milky Way galaxy and Andromeda, another spiral galaxy. In addition to two large spiral galaxies, both groups also contain a number of smaller dwarf galaxies, although it’s not yet known how many of these tiny companions the NGC 3175 group has; researchers have found more than 500 dwarf galaxy candidates. By studying this nearby galaxy group, astronomers can learn about the dynamics of our own galactic home.

NGC 3137 is revealed in fantastic detail by Hubble. This image is crafted from observations in six different colour bands, creating a view that highlights several facets of this beautiful spiral. The galaxy’s centre, which is encircled by a network of fine, dusty clouds, hosts a black hole estimated to be 60 million times more massive than the Sun. NGC 3137 is highly inclined from our point of view, giving a unique perspective on its loose, feathery spiral structure. A couple of photobombing Milky Way stars and a smattering of far more distant background galaxies complete the image.

As stunning as each of these features may be, it’s the galaxy’s brilliant star clusters that steal the show. The galaxy is peppered with dense clusters of bright blue stars and glowing red gas clouds, which signal the presence of hot, young stars still encased in their birth nebulae.

Unsurprisingly, these star clusters are exactly what has drawn Hubble’s keen eye. Researchers are using Hubble to carry out an observing programme (#17502; PI: D. Thilker) focusing on star clusters in 55 nearby galaxies. The data collected will help astronomers identify star clusters and the glowing nebulae that surround them, providing a way to measure the ages of stars in galaxies like NGC 3137. These observations give an in-depth view of stellar life in spiral galaxies, from the young stars still in the process of forming to the ancient stellar populations that grew up in the early years of their galactic hosts.

The PHANGS-HST programme for which these observations were taken is part of a larger effort by some of the most powerful observatories on (and around) Earth. Hubble contributes greatly to this massive undertaking, which combines data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA). Together, Hubble’s powerful optical and ultraviolet capabilities, Webb’s sensitive infrared eyes, and ALMA’s broad network of radio dishes bring us an unmatched view of star formation in the local Universe.

[Image Description: A spiral galaxy seen close up and tilted at an angle, so that its disc fills the view from corner to corner. Its disc is yellow near to the centre and pale blue farther out, showing cooler and hotter stars, respectively. Thin brown clouds of dust, glowing pink spots of star formation, and sparkling blue patches filled with star clusters swirl through the galaxy. Behind it, small orange dots are very distant galaxies.]

Credit:  ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker and the PHANGS-HST Team

Today's Cartoons

 

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(Matt Davies, Newsday)

(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Mike Konopacki, The Capital Times, Madison,WI)

(Ed Wexler, caglecartoons.com)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Dennis Goris, @dennisgoris)

(Garry Trudeau, gocomics.com)

(Michael de Adder, caglecartoons.com, Canada)

(David Rowe, Financial Review, Australia;  context here)

(Steve Sack, stevesack.substack.com)

(Jon Adams, @citycyclops)

Sunday Reflection: Shhh

"Shh. Listen to the sounds that surround you. Notice the pitches, the volume, the timbre, the many lines of counterpoint. As light taught Monet to paint, the earth may be teaching you music." Singer, composer, and activist Pete Seeger, (5/9/1919 - 1/27/2014), from his book "How Can I Keep from Singing" (1981).

Seeger's career spanned decades, from his part in The Weavers ("Good Night Irene") to his seminal role in the folk music revival of the '50s and '60s.  He wrote or co-wrote some of the most cherished songs of the period, including "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine," "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?", "Gotta Travel On," and "If I Had A Hammer," as well as his popular adaptations of other songs like "Turn, Turn, Turn," "Guantnamera," "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," and the civil right anthem "We Shall Overcome."  He supported environmental and anti-war causes his entire life, from a leftist perspective, stemming from his union activities from the 1930s and involvement in the Communist Party until 1949.

 

Dementia Don's Further Descent Into Madness, Cont.

 

Here's some of what the super-focused "President of the United States" has posted in the last 24 hours on his failing web site:

Never has the mental instability and puerility of a person occupying the Office of President been on public display so persistently, with the media and even much of the opposition sanewashing this madness.

Climate Change Deniers "Educating" Judges

 

In the coming months and years, if you wonder why more judges are questioning climate science and siding with the fossil fuel industry, ProPublica has a likely reason: 

"For many months, conservative lawmakers and political operatives have been targeting the scientists and lawyers behind the Climate Judiciary Project, a program meant to educate the courts about climate science, alleging that their effort constitutes a conspiracy to influence federal judges and persuade them to rule against the oil industry.

Now, just as congressional investigators are escalating a formal inquiry into the project, a separate program closely aligned with the fossil fuel industry and free-market conservatives is hosting a symposium for 150 judges in Nashville, Tennessee. The program, run by the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, also aims to educate judges, but in a way that prioritizes American business interests and questions climate science. 

The dueling efforts come as a number of significant lawsuits seeking to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate damages are making their way through the courts and as oil-industry-aligned attacks on climate policies, and the legal arguments supporting them, have been sharply increasing."  (our emphasis)

So what this right-wing program is peddling are the same canards that the fossil fuel industry has spread for five decades, despite overwhelming climate data and research that points to a warming of the climate, perhaps now irreversible.  The fact that the program is run by the "Antonin Scalia School of Law", named after the late, far-right Justice, is a sure sign that the judges are going to get pseudoscience from the fossil fuel industry, rather than facts from an independent, science-based group (say the National Academy of Sciences).  In any event, we're certain that the judges attending are sympathetic to the industry and are looking for "alternative facts" from them to use in environmental cases.

 

Bombed Boobs

 

ICYMI, last night's SNL cold open featured a raging Secretary of Defense War Epic Action Films, Whiskey Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost), and a guest appearance by fellow belligerent drunk, FBI Director  Kash "No Credit" Patel (Aziz Ansari). 

 

As a bonus, here's Jost and Michael Che with part of their "Weekend Update" segment, providing quips on much of the asshatery from the past week.

Today's Cartoons

 

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(David Horsey, The Seattle Times)

(Michael de Adder, caglecartoons.com, Canada)

(Jimmy Margulies, King Features)

 (Chris Britt, Creators.com)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Milt Priggee, caglecartoons.com)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)

(Martin Rowson, The Guardian, UK)

(Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency)

(Randy Bish, @bishtoon)

(David Sipress, @dsipress)

MAGAt Influencer, Jan. 6 Insurrectionists Caught In Human Trafficking Sting

 

No wonder there's such a strong affinity between these slugs and their cult leader:

Florida’s Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd took aim at MAGA influencer and Jan. 6 riot participant Craig Long on Friday after the pro-Trump figure was caught in a human trafficking sting operation.

The sheriff laughed at a press conference that the arrest would provide the influencer with “some content for his social media.”

“Then there's Craig Long we arrested – some of you may recognize him,” Judd said, speaking during a press conference announcing that the sting operation had yielded 266 arrests. 

“He's an influencer, he also owns Craig Long Fitness in Tampa, [Florida] – he was [soliciting]. Did I tell you that he's married? That he's got 125k followers on Instagram, 560k followers on TikTok? Well, I'm gonna give him some content for his social media today.”

According to CBS-affiliate 10 Tampa Bay, Long, 41, was a participant in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and is an influential MAGA influencer and strong supporter of President Donald Trump. He was sentenced to six months in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, but was released after Trump signed a blanket pardon for those who stormed the capitol on his first day back in the White House.

When announcing Long’s arrest, Judd didn’t hold back in criticizing Long for his apparent appreciation for law enforcement.

“He was a previous felon who straightened up – really, what we want to see in life. Now he's an influencer, he moves in big circles, even with the president. This is a photograph of the president and his son not long ago,” Judd said, holding up what appeared to be a photo of Trump with Long.

“We like the fact that he likes the cops – heck, he liked them so much, he got caught up in a sting and got to be rubbing up and real close with the cops. He appreciates law enforcement – well, there you go, he got arrested in a human trafficking sting – influence that for a while.”  (our emphasis)

That's some pretty good (and fair) trolling there, Sheriff!

They also caught fellow January 6 insurrectionist Ryan Yates in the same sting.  Here's the Sheriff holding up his mug shot:

We'll say it again just for emphasis:  the Malignant Fascist and his most devoted cultists represent the lowest form of humanity -- ignorant, violent, predatory sociopaths.

(Screenshots via Yahoo News)

Skeets Of The Day

 

How true: the Malignant Fascist confirms what we've all known --

Trump says anyone running for president should take a cognitive exam because you could end being stuck with a moron for years. “I mean, you get a guy who gets in there, he's got a good line of crap. He gets in and all of a sudden you're stuck with a man who's a moron”

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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) May 1, 2026 at 4:49 PM

 

Imagine bragging about constantly being administered dementia tests

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— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona.bsky.social) May 1, 2026 at 6:10 PM

The scams and grifting by the MF and his corrupt family. Dems, tie this to struggling middle class --  

Qatar’s gifted ‘Palace in the Sky’ to go with his ballroom, triumphal arch, crypto billions, Middle East resort deals, corrupt pardons to donors, and an endless list of grifts and scams profiting off the presidency. King Donald ain’t worried about the price of groceries or gas.

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) May 1, 2026 at 4:21 PM

 

Donald Trump has nearly tripled his net worth since being elected president a second time. The Trump family is also taking in billions from foreign governments and profiting off of the presidency itself, violating the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. trib.al/ongt4fe

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— The New Republic (@newrepublic.com) May 1, 2026 at 9:08 PM

 

Trump’s meme coin is a scam to enrich insiders. A couple dozen “whales” made nearly $2 billion soon after launch in early 2025. Then, the coin crashed and lost over $4 billion for over 2 million retail investors—including many everyday Americans. My @morningjoe-msnow.bsky.social Chart.

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— Steve Rattner (@steverattner.bsky.social) May 1, 2026 at 10:46 AM

The MF won't stop his blasphemy about being Jesus. Crickets from "Christian" nationalists -- 

In case you’re wondering, this is a real post.

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— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) May 1, 2026 at 5:20 PM

The MF's petulant reaction to criticism from Germany over his Iran disaster -- 

The man doesn't care about anything or anyone except himself. Weakening America along the way, but the cult will remain loyal to him as he cons them out of all their money. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

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— Wajahat Ali (@wajali.bsky.social) May 1, 2026 at 6:47 PM

 

Trump keeps delivering good news to his handler, Vladimir Putin.

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— Mark Jacob (@markjacob.bsky.social) May 1, 2026 at 7:19 PM

It's Kentucky Derby day --

 

Racehorse Receives Carrot Every Time He Wins $2 Million For Owner

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— The Onion (@theonion.com) May 1, 2026 at 12:00 PM

 

 

QOTD -- A Corrupt And Broken SCOTUS Eliminates The VRA

 

"... Late Wednesday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court — with three of its six-member conservative majority appointed by a racist president who routinely calls Black and brown members of Congress “low IQ” — grabbed that moral arc and twisted so hard that it broke.

"Its 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais — destined to join Dred Scott v. Sandford, Plessy v. Ferguson, and Korematsu v. United States in the SCOTUS hall of shame — struck down a Louisiana congressional map that created a new Black-voter majority district. The majority opinion by conservative firebrand Samuel Alito tried to argue that they were saving the 1965 VRA by destroying it, that political maps like the ones that currently have 23 Black House members from the former Confederacy are essentially racist — because they discriminate against white people.  [snip]

"If a corrupt and broken Supreme Court insists on playing partisan politics, then we need partisan politicians to bring them to heel. Expand the court to 13 justices, impose term limits, and investigate and impeach any justices who broke the laws about gifts or anything else.

"Radical steps? You bet, but the alternative is allowing a kangaroo court to finish the job of dismantling the American Experiment, of turning a dream that became a lie into something worse. We can’t bend the arc of the moral universe until we grab it back from the people who stole it." -- Will Bunch, Philadelphia Inquirer, from a must-read op "SCOTUS Gutting 1965 Voting Rights Act is a Wake-up Call From a Dream."  If we don't get Democrats back into power with the guts, aggressiveness, and vision to do what Bunch calls for, we will lose what's left of our democracy (and it will be gone if the only party standing up for it refuses to take the "radical steps" needed).  While they're at it, we also need a thorough-going reform of the judicial system, including eliminating the ability to shop for judges and streamlining appeals so that justice isn't delayed and justice isn't denied (see Trump, Donald).