every time i have to listen to scott bessent speak

The Dem message to Trump should be that if he wants ANYTHING from Congress, he’ll have to stop all the flagrant abuses, and that their legislating will be aimed at protecting the public from rogue government. “Common ground” as an opening bid is a terrible posture. www.offmessage.net/p/hakeem-jef...

We Need To Hear From Jeffries

He needs to be drawing redlines, not signaling compromise. Did he get snookered, or does he really intend to work cooperatively with thieves?

offmessage.net

tl;dw: the job of the dem majority over the next two years, should it materialize, is to make life hell for the white house, not find points of cooperation

What Democrats can learn from Mitch McConnell

YouTube video by Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie

youtube.com

The only meeting Hakeem Jeffries should be having with Jared Kushner is to tell him he’ll be subpoenaed by the House for a corruption investigation on day one of Democratic control of the House. This is just pathetic stuff from the House Dem leader. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/u...

Jeffries and Kushner Meet Privately as Midterm Attacks Fly

President Trump’s son-in-law and the man in line to be speaker of a Democratic-led House discussed how Democrats and the administration could work together.

nytimes.com

To paraphrase @mtsw.bsky.social, it's because they affirmatively like Donald Trump and want to help him succeed

Daniel Gilmore@gilmored85.bsky.social · 2d ago

I continue to be absolutely amazed that the conspiracy theory Jake Tapper & Alex Thompson alleged was happening under Biden—an enfeebled elderly president is being secretly managed by his aides who are hiding his declining health—is actually happening under Trump & theyve mostly just shrugged.

“if we don’t stand up for the free speech of racists, it puts everyone’s free speech in danger.” - guy who only ever talks about free speech when it’s racism

most americans are probably not tracking this story, but fyi the cultural temperature up here around this issue is still best described as “seething” and “intense”

The Associated Press@apnews.com · 3d ago

BREAKING: The U.S. is imposing 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products after last-ditch negotiations failed. Canada promises to match the tax.

"International assassin" always implies the existence of national assassins, or possibly local assassins. Every midsized town has a minor assassin working out of a storefront at the mall between the Cinnabon and the UBreakIFix guy

Yesterday, Aug. 20, was one of the worst days of ICE flights I've seen. -At least 82 ICE flights -At least 15 were removal flights, including Haiti -At least 5 removals were third-country removals (Cameroon, Costa Rica, Liberia, Paraguay, Rwanda) -Plus 1 emergency return for reasons unknown

Everything I know about Hasan Piker I have learned against my will.

I think the platonic ideal of an approval poll is 27/69 so everyone can go “crazification factor, nice”

Everyone should be like this woman

Erin Lockwood@erinkaylockwood.bsky.social · 5d ago

This woman is a hero.

Thank God, this fucked up traffic in the city for no good reason.

Chicago Sun-Times@chicago.suntimes.com · 6d ago

Back in June, the city and NASCAR appeared to be nearing a deal to bring the race back in 2027. But negotiations appeared to dead-end.

Guys, he's so fucking cool

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani@mayor.nyc.gov · last wk.

演出现场见! on.nyc.gov/broadway

If you think you were a token in academia, just wait until you figure out why you are on the anti-woke beat at The Atlantic.

Yo what the hell is going on here 🤣🤣🤣

Sam Woodcock@samwoodcock.eurosky.social · 2w ago

There is so much I going on here

the other reason it is important to do this is that the actual work of rebuilding is going to be hard and expensive and our budget has had several giant holes blown in it you are not going to be able to deliver Medicare for All to the people on January 21, 2029 but you can go after the oligarchs

Faine Greenwood@faineg.bsky.social · 2w ago

imagine a future where *we* appropriate the vicious symbolism of ICE in a merciless crack-down billionaires and the MAGA class: fancy production value videos of bashing down their fancy doors, slapping bags over their spray-tanned heads, black helicopters, shattered ugly gold homewares, etc etc

It’s so telling and pathetic that center right pundits can’t just admit that Biden was a normal president and Trump is profoundly abnormal. Your political party sucks dude! If you were serious about democracy you’d be telling people to vote for Dems, not drawing false equivalencies.

Nicholas Grossman@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 2w ago

Lie. Biden definitely wasn't "maxxing out" on "illegal immigration." Immigration activists denounced his policy as too draconian, and Dems tried to pass a hawkish immigration bill. Similar point re: Starmer. NYT thinks the op-ed page is for publishing lies, at least if the lies are right-wing. 6/x

I…try to stay out of famous white people’s business, I really do. But y’all have let this man pass as an intellectual for far too long.

Judah Grunstein@judah-grunstein.bsky.social · 3w ago

"I want to touch on what you said: .. the economic challenges facing young people impact men and women. One hundred percent true. But this is the bottom line, and I don’t think we like to admit this: Beyoncé could work at [KFC] and marry Jay-Z. The opposite is not true." I heard the record scratch.

This is true. And the answer is more feminism.

Shin Sudge@sudge.bsky.social · 3w ago

I am aware of course of the wonder of mums and that they quietly hold up society with unpaid labour, but from becoming a dad at 25 it's always been frustrating how we are instantly and confidently relegated to second place without any knowledge of our lives or our roles in our children's lives.

I challenge anyone to find a single (even one!) Michigander who will base their vote on who Fetterman does or does not endorse.

Steven T. Dennis@steventdennis.bsky.social · 3w ago

Fetterman says he will not endorse Mike Rogers even as he slags El-Sayed.

Seconded. It’s wrong on principle, it’s unamerican—we rejected religious tests for office and dual loyalty smears with JFK, Jewish Americans, more—and every minority (especially but not exclusively religious) should recognize it as yet another assertion that only white Christians are real Americans.

ae@aelkus.bsky.social · 3w ago

i really have no patience whatsoever for people who are scared of muslims having elected office

They didn’t lose it - they threw it away

Barb McQuade@barbmcquade.bsky.social · 3w ago

GOP senators have lost the plot.

the intentional abdication by Congress of nearly all of its constitutional responsibilities is at the core of most of our problems as a nation

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w ago

Cornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president"

Remember when the whole country was all excited about USMNT for a couple of weeks before Trump ruined that too? That was so nice. It's ok to take a break!!!!

Erin Biba@erinbiba.bsky.social · 3w ago

There’s a reason we all fucking love watching sports together. It’s a fucking respite from yelling at each other about the horrors. Why not encourage more of that? We can still keep yelling at each other about the horrors. We can also have more variety in the respites.

Ok so this lady says solar panels are getting built on "the most productive farmland" in her area. Which just ain't true at all. It ain't true here in NC either. Where I ALSO hear that talking point over & over again. Smells like astroturf! So let's get the dirt on solar farms & dirt ✨

David Roberts@volts.wtf · 4w ago

I genuinely don't know what to do about this. In our diseased information environment, one MAGA-adjacent "influencer" can do more to shape public opinion than mountains of studies or facts. Where are the pro-clean-energy influencers to counter this shit?

I worked at Disney a while ago. Do you know why theme parks are so safe? Because OOSHA reps can walk the track on any ride at any time and any safety violation they see is a $10,000 fine. Each. Theme parks are not safe because the company cares. They're safe because it's cheaper to comply.

Jon of The North@krauza.bsky.social · 4w ago

Turns out that food companies were only checking their food because the government told them to, which is exactly why we need government regulations.

the corruption number here makes me want to turn into the joker and then, as the joker, turn into a significantly more unhinged joker

Polling USA@usapolling.bsky.social · 4w ago

"Who's better on..." 🔵Women's Rights: D +18 🔵Environment: D +17 🔵Democratic Norms: D +10 🔵Cost of Living: D +4 🟣Political Violence: Even 🟣Wars/Terrorism: Even 🔴AI: R +1 🔴Corruption: R +1 🔴Guns Control: R +3 🔴Immigration: R +5 🔴Crime: R +14 Ipsos / July 26, 2026

Their plan is to say as little as possible and win by default, which in their mind is the safest path that doesn't alienate anyone. This misses the opportunity to galvanize the public around important issues, and then they throw up their hands about how the voters are ignorant and apathetic

Don Moynihan@donmoyn.bsky.social · 4w ago

I do find it amazing that even in this moment, the Dems can't come up with some sort of "Contract for America" like language that offers an alternative to Trump. Maybe they have it, but whatever governing vision they have is lost in the noise.