Today's Quote

The gods that we've made are exactly the gods you'd expect to be made by a species that's about half a chromosome away from being chimpanzee.

--Christopher Hitchins

hat tip = DCRapier, Facebook

Today's Tweet

This one may require a new addition to the Daddy State Awareness Rules - I'll think on it.

1: Warning, heavy speculation below:

The currently unfolding Avenatti story, published by TMZ, has the indicators of reflexive control.

Make up a story, get him arrested, it’s true/false, doesn’t matter.

Reaction from social media: burn Avenatti. pic.twitter.com/wHZZBUGB6D

— Operation Wolverines 🇺🇸 (@OpWolverines) November 15, 2018

Deep Thoughts

The fatter you are, the more attractive the planet finds you.

Today's Tweet

Things change.

BREAKING: Democrat Josh Harder wins election to U.S. House in California's 10th congressional district. #APracecall at 6:20 p.m. PST. @AP election coverage: https://t.co/miEWlbTVZW #Election2018 #CAelection

— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) November 14, 2018

We can stop bitching at "the Democrats" for lacking a "unifying message" and for not presenting some kind of a consolidated agenda.

Fuck that shit.

Stop asking "why did Democrats win?" and start seeing why any individual candidate managed to pull it off given the uphill slog that Republicans have strewn with obstacles for us.

The Dems targeted 8 swing districts with GOP incumbents who've enjoyed large NRA support, ran candidates with strong Gun Safety messages, and they won all of them.

8 for 8. Every. Fucking. Race.

And no, it wasn't just because of the gun thing. There's always a multitude of factors, and voter demographic slices, and and and. But if there's a single overarching take-away, I have to say it was because DNC and the other Dem Party managers were smart and let each candidate go with their strength, and to run to their own constituencies' issues.

Get hip, people. Lock Step is what those other idiots do. We're not them.

It Is Our Lane

EveryTown:

Bottom Line: When it comes to gun violence against women, the United States is the most dangerous country in the developed world. Domestic violence affects millions of women across the country, and guns in the hands of domestic abusers can turn abuse into murder. Indeed, the presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation makes it five times more likely that the woman will be killed. And the deadly mix of guns and domestic violence is exacerbated by America’s weak gun laws: women in the U.S. are 16 times more likely to be shot and killed than are women in other developed nations.

Common sense laws that keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers–by requiring background checks for all gun sales and ensuring that prohibited abusers relinquish guns in their possession–just make sense. And for victims of domestic abuse, it’s a matter of life and death.

My ex shot my dad and me in front of own son. I’ve seen push back on my tweets from gun extremists. Disturbing. But, SO many amazing ppl have shown love & support. This is me leaving hospital w/ throbbing damaged hand. And my son. #ThisISMyLane pic.twitter.com/jsIyXj2EaN

— Kate Ranta (@ravinranta) November 14, 2018

Today's GOP

Hey, Repubs - we're really tired of working our ass off trying to get things squared away just to watch you guys come in and fuck it all up.

Pack your shit and get the fuck outa my government.

Sarah McGregor, Bloomberg:

The U.S. recorded a $100.5 billion budget deficit in October, an increase of about 60 percent from a year earlier, as spending grew twice as fast as revenue.

The deficit widened from $63.2 billion in the same month last year, the department said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. October marks the start of the U.S. fiscal year.

Receipts totaled $252.7 billion last month, up 7 percent from a year earlier, while outlays climbed 18 percent to $353.2 billion, according to the department.

A ballooning U.S. budget shortfall -- fueled by tax cuts, spending hikes and an aging population -- is driving the Treasury Department to raise its long-term debt issuance. Waning support for U.S. government debt from the Fed, combined with President Donald Trump’s deficit-boosting tax cuts, are weighing on the debt load that he inherited from Barack Obama.

In Trump’s first full fiscal year that ended in September, the budget gap grew to $779 billion, the highest level since 2012.

Today's Tweet

Told ya.

Let's summarize Trump's trip to Paris:
- sent rude tweets
- watched a parade
- skipped veterans day
- skipped visiting troops
- skipped meeting veterans
- sat in his hotel
- was mocked by world leaders
- skipped the peace summit
- met Putin
- left earlyhttps://t.co/h5Hg4NfEcr

— John Oberlin (@OMGno2trump) November 12, 2018

He Never Stops

I had to go and listen to the remarks.

"Inarticulate", and leaving normal people wondering "what the president stood for" is part of the plan.

You're not the one who's supposed to hear a message about what he stands for. There are plenty of rubes who heard his message 5-by-5.

At about 1:38 - "It is our duty to preserve the civilization they defended..." 

It never fails. He always makes it sound like "White Nationalism". And I don't think it sounds that way just because I'm listening for it.

Stephen Miller writes this shit for him, and there's no secret about where Mr Miller's head is at.

This Just In

Sources close to SCOTUS are quoting Justice Ginsburg:

"I was going to the break room for some coffee, reading a brief as I walked, and I tripped over the new guy who was passed out drunk in the hallway."

Last Week's Amy

In the midterms this week, Democrats took control of the House of Representatives, picking up between 35–40 seats, in an election dubbed “The Year of the Woman.” A history making 100 plus women will head to the House next session, as Democrats celebrated their upcoming check on Trump for the first time since he took office. As the week ended, senate races in Florida and Arizona and governor races in Florida and Georgia were still undecided, as Trump and his allies stoked false claims of voter fraud and interference by Democrats.

Americans did not get a chance to catch their breath, as the next day Trump took a major step towards ending the Mueller probe, forcing out Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and installing a crony who has been critical of the probe, and talked of starving it of funding to end it. Grassroots activists mobilized with protests nationwide to “Protect Mueller.” Post-election reporting indicated Trump is “depressed” ahead of possible indictments coming soon from the Mueller probe, including possibly of his son, Donald Jr.
Amy Siskind - Week 104

40. A report by the Lexington Herald-Leader found that Kentucky has fewer coal jobs than when Trump took office, shrinking from 6,550 jobs in the first quarter of 2017, to 6,381 this past quarter.

41. On Tuesday, Le Monde reported Dmitri Rybolovlev, the Russian oligarch who purchased a mansion from Trump in 2008, was detained in Monaco, and is under investigation for corruption and influence peddling.

99. On Wednesday, the Trump regime rolled out a rule that will exempt employers from providing insurance coverage for birth controlif it conflicts with their religious or moral beliefs.

100. The rule, which will take effect in 60 days, would roll back an Obama-era birth control rule which required employersmust cover all forms of contraception under Obamacare.

133. On Friday, WSJ reported Federal prosecutors have gathered evidence of Trump’s central role in hush payoffsto Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, which violated campaign-finance laws.

134. In August 2015, as a presidential candidate, Trump met with David Pecker, chief executive of AMI. Pecker offered to use the National Enquirerto buy the silence of womenabout their sexual encounters with Trump.

135. The Journal found that Trump was involved in or briefed on nearly every step of the agreements. He directed deals in phone calls and meetingswith Michael Cohen and others. Cohen, Pecker, and Trump no longer speak.

136. Cohen, who Trump called “my attorney” in April 2018, pleaded guilty to campaign-finance violations. Federal prosecutors who investigated Cohen are now examining businessdealings by the Trump Organization.

146. On Saturday, NYT reported that the 5,600 American troops who were rushed to U.S.-Mexico border by Trump have little electricity, will receive no combat pay, and face holidays away from home.

147. Military morale is an issue. The deployment orders last through mid-December, meaning the troops will miss Thanksgiving, and have little to do beyond providing logistical support, unless Trump declares martial law.