This picture of Craggy Gardens in the Blue Ridge Mountains was posted by M Meerkat (@kackbro.bsky.social) here.
"NYT's Embarrassing Anti-DSA Meltdown: Democratic Socialists of America candidates won several Democratic primaries for Congress and the state legislature in New York. Seven months into his term, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's favorability has increased to 58% of New Yorkers, with only 26% disapproving—which, as the Guardian (7/12/26) pointed out, is 'better than the Democratic Party as a whole.' For establishment Democrats—and the corporate centrist press who love them—this is a crisis moment. The New York Times (e.g., 6/16/25) has been vocal about its desire to keep DSA-backed candidates out of office, especially Mamdani. The recent momentum for DSA inspired the paper to publish a news story (7/19/26) that painted DSA's pro-tenant, pro-worker, tax-the-rich platform not as a threat to the monied class, but as the project of white gentrifiers suppressing Black and Latino electoral power. This seems entirely laughable at the first read. In New York City, most of DSA's congressional nominees and backed candidates are people of color; of the nine DSA state lawmakers currently serving in New York, eight of them are either Black, Latino or Asian. The co-chair of New York City DSA, Gustavo Gordillo, is Peruvian American, and Susan Kang, who often comments from the DSA perspective on Spectrum News NY1, is Korean American."
And then El-Sayed won in Michigan and suddenly Neera Tanden and James Carville forgot all about Vote Blue No Matter Who and we had "Democratic" pundits all over the TV trashing those nominees all to hell and threatening to leave the party. And of course, "The Moronic Bullshit of the Third Way: Friends, The statements seem as belligerent as Pete Hegseth on a bad hair day. 'We are preparing for the next war that is coming,' says Jonathan Cowan. Cowan is president of Third Way, described by The New York Times as a 'leading centrist Democratic group.' Cowan's Third Way is preparing a $15 million war chest to 'discredit democratic socialism.' Pointing to Dr. Abdul El-Sayed's victory in the Michigan Senate primary last week, Cowan warns that 'it is deeply troubling to see radical, far-left candidates winning in places that are potential presidential swing states.' Well, I find it deeply troubling that faux centrist groups are declaring war on progressives in the pages of The New York Times, without the Times revealing who they really are. If you bother to look at the funding sources of Third Way — those that have been made public, that is (Third Way is structured as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization that's not legally required to publicly disclose its donors) — you'll find a Star Wars cantina of billionaire megadonors, Fortune 500 CEOs, corporate dark money bundlers, and giant corporations. Odd that The New York Times chooses to describe Third Way as a 'leading Democratic centrist group' without revealing that it's simply a Trojan Horse for corporate America." The "radical, far-left" ideas they're talking about are supported by 56%-90% of the population. Some of them are even supported by more than half of Republican voters. But Third Way is never going to support those things.
"Nicaragua Banned US-Backed Coup Leaders From Elections, and Corporate Media Lost It: Nicaragua Banned US-Backed Coup Leaders From Elections, and Corporate Media Lost It" What he said: "There will be no elections like that again here—no more elections through which they can try cheating their way to government or cheat their way to taking power. We need to create laws that will put up a wall, a barrier, against the coup-plotters, against those who are traitors to their country. And no matter how much money the Yankees give them, they won't succeed!" But "Even for casual observers, it was clear that the head of the Nicaraguan government was proposing restrictions on candidates funded and directed by a hostile foreign power situated in the US. But in corporate newsrooms across the country, editors pounced on the phrase 'there will be no elections.' Quoting the president's statement completely out of context, The New York Times shrieked that Daniel Ortega planned to abolish elections completely, strengthening his 'authoritarian grip' on the country. A headline in business journal Bloomberg blared: 'Nicaragua's Dictatorship Should Be Marco Rubio's Next Problem.' Right on cue, Rubio issued a statement accusing the Nicaraguan government of 'thwarting the basic tenets of our democratic hemisphere.'"
"Pinochet-era soldier jailed for killing folk singer Víctor Jara 53 years ago: Nelson Haase Mazzei was sentenced for murdering Jara in 2023, but fled from authorities in Chile [...] Jara, a singer and leftwing activist, was arrested in Santiago, the capital of Chile, on 11 September 1973, the day after Gen Augusto Pinochet's bloody US-backed coup to depose the socialist president, Salvador Allende." Many people believe that Jara's death was one of the events that finally caused his good friend Phil Ochs to take his own life. But I doubt many will find peace knowing they've finally caught this guy.
"Legal Challenge Promised After GOP-Controlled FCC Lifts TV Ownership Limits, Allowing Trump Allies to 'Swallow Up Stations': A press freedom group says it plans to take the GOP-controlled Federal Communications Commission to court after it voted along party lines on Thursday to enact a rule that could allow a small number of media conglomerates to consolidate even more control over local news stations. In a 2-1 vote, the FCC eliminated a 22-year-old rule that prohibited a single company from owning stations that reach more than 39% of American households, replacing it with a rule allowing the FCC to make decisions on a case-by-case basis. [...] The FCC's lone Democrat and dissenting vote, Anna Gomez, argued that the move would not benefit local broadcasters so much as it would benefit the national conglomerates seeking to buy them up."
"Unpublished DNC Autopsy Chapter Criticized 'Self-Enriching' Party Operatives: 'There are too many people who have become generationally wealthy off politics and drive too much of the decision-making within the ecosystem.' The New York Times on Monday published what it described as a 'missing chapter' of the Democratic National Committee's widely criticized 'autopsy' of the 2024 presidential election. The chapter, titled 'What Happened in 2024' and provided to the Times by Democratic strategist Paul Rivera, offers criticisms of party consultants who are 'self-enriching' and out of touch with the concerns of ordinary voters. Specifically, the chapter questions whether Democratic politicians and operatives have a grasp on the economic realities facing most Americans, while calling for 'a fundamental re-evaluation' of whether Democrats 'really understand the wants and needs of voters.'"
I chuckled when Atrios pointed out this "Good Cop/Bad Cop" routine between Netanyahu and BenGivr. I like the way the AJC wants to pretend that Israel's National Security Minister has nothing to do with Israel's policies whenever he publicly spews deranged, genocidal hate orders. It's almost like no one in the government is responsible for what happens in Israel.
RIP: "Dolly Parton, music star, actor and beloved figure who spanned generations, dies at 80 of cancer: 'After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,' her publicist, Marcel Pariseau, said in a statement Tuesday. Known for her curvy physique, massive blond wigs and skin-tight outfits that served her self-deprecating wit, she was among the most beloved personalities in music and beyond — the rare celebrity whose appeal transcended generations, geography and politics." There was mourning everywhere, but the web was alive with uplifting tributes to this woman who absolutely everyone loved. (Even Jerry Garcia once named her as his favorite female singer.) I've never been a big country fan, but anyone who had a soul loved Dolly. My favorite tribute was this clip from a local TV station: "A whole lot of celebrities are loved. Dolly Parton loved you back."
RIP: "Shelley Fabares, Star of The Donna Reed Show and Coach, Dies at 82: The baby-boomer icon had a No. 1 hit with "Johnny Angel," co-starred in three Elvis movies and was married to M*A*S*H actor Mike Farrell. Shelley Fabares, the wholesome daughter on The Donna Reed Show who went on to star opposite Elvis Presley in three movies and as Craig T. Nelson's independent wife on Coach, has died. She was 82. Fabares died Saturday in Los Angeles after a brief illness, her family announced. Survivors include her husband, M*A*S*H actor Mike Farrell, whom she married in 1984." My mother loved Donna Reed so we grew up with Shelly Fabares and Paul Peterson, of course.
RIP: Rosie the Riveter AKA "Beloved 'Rosie' Jeanne Gibson dies at 100: Previously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, Gibson was a trailblazer for women's rights PINOLE — World War II 'Rosie' Jeanne Gibson, a National Parks ambassador who spent her final years in the Bay Area highlighting the contributions of women during wartime and encouraging little girls to fight for what they deserve, died Wednesday. She was 100. The Pinole resident, who welded war ships as a teenager and detailed her story nearly every Friday for the past few years at the Rosie the Riveter World War II Homefront National Historical Park in Richmond, died of congenital heart failure while surrounded by loved ones."
Dean Baker, "Biden Family Grift vs. Trump Family Grift: Let's Do the Numbers: And it's not even close. If anyone is wondering, I did not forget to put the Biden numbers on the graph. They are just too small to be visible next to the Trump graft numbers. Most people recognize that Donald Trump and his kids are stealing from us with both hands every day. But they are not as outraged as they should be because most have the view that everyone does it. While I will never defend the Democrats as paragons of honesty (what the hell are those crypto contributions?), they are not in the same ballpark as Trump and his crew."
"Hard data and context are missing in Minnesota's overblown fraud furor: Trump's claims that this state is an outlier when it comes to fraud don't hold up, and the politicized attacks must not go unchallenged. [...] None of these sputtering Minnesota bashers are calling for criminal investigations, cutting off federal funding, or issuing any public criticism whatsoever of the governors or attorneys general in Florida, Texas or Arizona — not Trump, not Dr. Oz and not Vice President and “Fraud Czar” JD Vance. Nobody in the Trump orbit is advancing the “staggering” fraud in South Florida and other red states as the most important reason to sweep all the Democratic incumbents out of office. Trump and MAGA candidates are calling for precisely these things in Minnesota." This article is a helpful place to start if you've been wondering what the Minnesota fraud Republicans have been raving about is really based on, and how it compares to fraud in other states. And it's still nothing compared to fraud across the US in the private sector.
"DHS's abuse of power in Minnesota was even worse than we knew: When the Department of Justice indicted 15 Minnesotans earlier this summer, it was painfully clear that this was a cobbled-together mess, a transparent attempt to criminalize dissent. But boy, we didn't know the half of it. Now, thanks to those defendants prying loose some discovery from the government, we know just how far the administration is willing to go — and it's really, really grim, even by Trumpian standards. The indictment itself was jaw-dropping for how it strung together objectively legal, nonviolent actions like organizing protests or tracking ICE vehicles, somehow hoping if they stacked up enough of those, it magically added up to illegal antifa violence. What we didn't know at the time, though, was that the administration had engaged in utterly unprecedented surveillance in service of its theory that somehow everyone in Minnesota was engaged in a vast criminal conspiracy to make ICE thugs feel sad. As part of these efforts, the government also demanded multiple years of records from trade unions and nonprofit groups for what it said was a financial investigation into 'domestic terrorist financing.' [...] This isn't just meant to stop liberals from dissenting or engaging in anti-ICE activism. It's meant to deprive people of vital connections, like their churches and union halls. The administration is making every interaction liberals and leftists have a fretful one, always shadowed by the worry that it will lead to criminal charges."
Chicago School economists were all wrong, and you can see that by watching The Simpsons. Or this video: "We Are Living Under Mr Burns."
Mel Brooks, Antifascist Filmmaker: Now 100 years old, the legendary comedy director has lampooned and skewered racists, and his work holds up better than most 'politically incorrect' humor. [...] Humor, for Brooks, has always been a kind of weapon. 'The angrier he is, the funnier he is,' his improv partner and best pal Carl Reiner said. 'He will say things you can't believe, but you realize it's the absolute truth.'"
"David Graeber on the Extreme 'Centre': 'It strikes me that what's called the moderates are the most immoderate people possible' Previously unreleased video of David Graeber talking about liberalism. Originally filmed at the start of 2020. We planned to make a dedicated film on the subject with David upon his return to London. We release this video with the blessing of his beloved wife Nika." (It's just a few minutes but always worth hearing him.)
The Insect Trust added music to these lyrics from Thomas Pynchon's V, "The Eyes of a New York Woman"