US Politics, August 2024 -- "Unburdened By a Has-Been"

i mean there are tons of wild turkeys here too but there are lots of woods here so they hide out. lots of bears too. big wild cats. moose. but i never see them. i've never seen a moose!

there are wild turkeys all over the east bay area. they hang out in super market parking lots. they are cool until they fucking stand in front of your car and refuse to move and then they are annoying

and the beak shall inherit the earth.

Here we go?:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -At least five U.S. personnel were injured in an attack against a military base in Iraq on Monday, U.S. officials told Reuters, as the Middle East braced for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies following last week's killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
...It was unclear whether the attack was linked to threats by Iran to retaliate over the killings.

On Wednesday, Iran said the U.S. bears responsibility in the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran because of its support for Israel.

The U.S. officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said one of the wounded Americans was seriously injured. The casualty count was based on initial reports which could still change, they said.

...Last week the U.S. carried out a strike in Iraq against individuals U.S. officials said were militants getting ready to launch drones and posed a threat to U.S. and coalition forces.

...A rare ally of both the U.S. and Iran, Iraq hosts 2,500 U.S. troops and has Iran-backed militias linked to its security forces. It has witnessed escalating tit-for-tat attacks since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October.

Iraq wants troops from the U.S.-led military coalition to begin withdrawing in September and to formally end the coalition's work by September 2025, Iraqi sources have said, with some U.S. forces likely to remain in a newly negotiated advisory capacity.

Biden has been signalling the best he can that he has zero appetite for a wider war and desperately wants a ceasefire asap before such any such expansion of the war gets out of hand, so in a crazy way, Iran may be safer targeting US troops in Iraq than targeting Israel. The Imams may be calculating that an low intensity attack on US troops in Iraq will be satisfactorily face-saving and rob the crazies in Bibi's cabinet from having an excuse for massive escalation. I guess we'll see.

betting markets flipping to Walz...

how long was the flip away from him after the morning flip to him?

gdi: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/illinois-governor-approves-business-friendly-overhaul-biometric-privacy-law-2024-08-05/

that sounds bad

Biden has been signalling the best he can that he has zero appetite for a wider war and desperately wants a ceasefire asap

... By giving Israel billions of dollars in weapons and military support to murder tens of thousands indiscriminately... including the head negotiator for said ceasefire?? Ok

Trust the plan.

Former Speaker Pelosi says she doesn't think campaign against Shapiro as VP stems from antisemitism.

"I think it's probably more about policy. But the decision will be made by our candidate for POTUS... I think that it would be better if they weighed in more privately." pic.twitter.com/E7oveUtVul

— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) August 5, 2024

let's hope so!

Walz seems like he will be such an effective foil for Vance.

my hunch is that KH already decided on Walz a few days ago but wanted Shapiro to be thought of as one of two finalists to soften the blow for AIPAC-adjacent donors.

Aw shit! The VP pick just leaked!

https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-1240w,f_auto,q_auto:best/msnbc/Components/Photos/040706/040706_nypost_6a.jpg

lol

jeez I haven't thought about Gephardt in a good long while

Trump Fans Furious Over His “Coward” Decision on Kamala Debate

Donald Trump’s own right-wing social media venture, Truth Social, seemingly turned against him as users got #TrumpIsACoward to trend over the weekend.

https://newrepublic.com/post/184540/donald-trump-fans-kamala-harris-debate

i have no idea if that is even true. i'd like to think it is.

he definitely needs the roar of the grease paint, the smell of the crowd

It's a clean machine, like we haven't quite seen before:

Ziklag appears to be the first coordinated effort to get wealthy donors to fund an overtly Christian nationalist agenda, according to historians, legal experts and other people familiar with the group. “It shows that this idea isn’t being dismissed as fringe in the way that it might have been in the past,” said Mary Ziegler, a legal historian and University of California, Davis law professor.
...One theology promoted by Christian nationalist leaders is the Seven Mountain Mandate. Each mountain represents a major industry or a sphere of public life: arts and media, business, church, education, family, government, and science and technology. Ziklag’s goal, the documents say, is to “take dominion over the Seven Mountains,” funding Christian projects or installing devout Christians in leadership positions to reshape each mountain in a godly way.
...The Seven Mountains theology signals a break from Christian fundamentalists such as Jerry Falwell Sr. and Pat Robertson. In the 1980s and ’90s, Falwell’s Moral Majority focused on working within the democratic process to mobilize evangelical voters and elect politicians with a Christian worldview.

The Seven Mountains theology embraces a different, less democratic approach to gaining power. “If the Moral Majority is about galvanizing the voters, the Seven Mountains is a revolutionary model: You need to conquer these mountains and let change flow down from the top,” said Matthew Taylor, a senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies and an expert on Christian nationalism. “It’s an outlined program for Christian supremacy.”
...Watchtower, aimed at galvanizing voters around the issues of “parental rights” and opposition to transgender rights and policies supporting health care for trans people.

In a member briefing video, one of Ziklag’s spiritual advisers outlined a plan to “deliver swing states” by using an anti-transgender message to motivate conservative voters who are exhausted with Trump.

a strategy document that lays out Ziklag’s 30-year vision

Let’s hope these creeps never learn that their anti-trans stuff is an electoral loser

seems people are losing their appetite for it which is really for the best, leave those kids alone

On Monday, Protect Kids Colorado announced at a sparsely attended press conference that all its anti-transgender ballot initiatives failed to meet the signature requirements to appear on the 2024 ballot. The initiatives included a forced outing bill and a transgender sports ban, as well as previously failed measures such as banning gender-affirming care for trans youth. Colorado joins a series of states where anti-trans ballot initiatives have failed to meet the ballot signature requirements, indicating potential fatigue on the issue among conservative voters.

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/every-colorado-anti-trans-ballot

Does the Google thing give KH more votes? Do people even care if Google is a monopoly?

Seven Mountains strategy has been well known since one of its proponents was chosen as John McCain’s running mate in 2008.

Good discussion of Seven Mountains in this very good podcast about school politics and transgender kids in a Texas district:

https://www.nbcnews.com/grapevine-podcast

https://i.imgur.com/Hcez8Nq.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/QwPtM52.jpeg

WALZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!

ITS OFFICIAL!

Ope, pass the hotdish!

yes!

I was looking at Polymarket and it just jumped from 85% to 98% in real time

Where is it confirmed? Haven’t seen it yet.

yeah what? Morning shows carrying on as usual.

CNN is reporting it here: https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/kamala-harris-trump-election-08-06-24/index.html

NBC: Harris has decided on a running mate

lol

it's all over this thing called Twitter

will miss him, but thank God it's not Shapiro

also congrats to Peggy Flanagan, the first Native American governor in the US!

https://www.nativenewsonline.net/currents/how-minnesota-lt-gov-peggy-flanagan-may-become-first-native-american-a-state-governor

Minnesota Public Radio reporting

Yep seeing it now.

I’m about to take off on a 7-hour flight, I look forward to 1,000 hot(dish) takes on my arrival.

Love it!

Vikings 2024-25 Super Bowl Champs confirmed

lol

HELL YES

good pick vibes are high

If he’s picked he should do clips like this every day for America. pic.twitter.com/A0wrt2qqSk

— Albie🩸🦷🤝🥥🌴 (@AlbieBrian) August 5, 2024

Walz will "ground" Harris

He talks like a football coach

He has midwestern realness

god, I hate cable news

omg that headlight thing