The Saddest of Ferris Wheels - American Politics, July 2026

Here we go, 250 more!!

https://www.wlky.com/article/mitch-mcconnell-hospital-condition-louisville-kentucky/71768553

https://newrepublic.com/post/212595/mitch-mcconnell-found-unconscious-rushed-hospital

I managed to miss this back on June 14. And the Washington Post was already dead to me, but...way to piss on the Watergate legacy, Bezos!

From the old thread

Tomorrow we can open a new thread. If only it were as easy to move past the shitstorm called the Trump Administration, the 119th Congress, and the Supreme Court.

In Indian traditions, Saṃsāra refers to the cycle of life, suffering, death, and rebirth, from which we are all trying to escape. It is compared to a "cycle of aimless drifting, wandering or mundane existence."

Saṃsāra is contrasted with nirvana, a state of bliss in which the enlightened soul gains release from the cycle of torment that imprisons most of us.

It is often depicted, in religious imagery, as a wheel.

Rather like, dare I say, a Ferris wheel.

was inspired by this headline: A storm, overpriced food and a sad ferris wheel: inside Trump’s dreadful state fair

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/01/donald-trump-great-american-state-fair

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFx298i-FOc

https://preview.redd.it/i-thought-this-was-a-ferris-wheel-for-years-just-now-v0-pacxk64altbg1.jpeg

how is this gonna work... they can't just admit they lost

The Justice Department on Tuesday directed its staff to bring fraud charges in alleged cases of birth tourism as a response to their loss in the birthright citizenship ruling from the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

In the wake of the 6-3 ruling, a memo from the Justice Department’s office of the deputy attorney general said all criminal division staff should “prioritize the investigation and prosecution of birth tourism schemes.”

Don't there have to be laws against "birth tourism" before you can prosecute them?

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1812

S.1812 - Ban Birth Tourism Act 119th Congress (2025-2026)

Sponsor: Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN] (Introduced 05/20/2025)
Committees: Senate - Judiciary
Latest Action: Senate - 05/20/2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Doesn't seem to have passed

the golden boy brett kavanaugh will be pleased to revisit!

There are.

https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/birth-tourism-trump

I did hear about a place in Southern California where they were doing this (mostly women from China) but it was for a weird reason: so their kids could pay resident tuition at colleges! Like in 18 years... pretty crazy foresight

That should have said xp, but there are statutes in place that the government has used to prosecute “birth tourism.”

We should all go to the Dallas GOP convention in Sept... I don't think you have to be a delegate, you can just get your freak on

I don't want to get my hopes up, but an 80 year old man with numerous documented health problems and many secret health problems is promising to give a two-hour speech in 107 degree heat next week...

if it happens on July 4th the world may run out of fireworks

ive still never heard how citizenship would be determined birthright is dead but then i’ve not read much about it. anyone know)

https://medium.com/prismnpen/to-the-trans-girl-who-just-lost-at-the-supreme-court-so-did-i-26-years-ago-cb1603082d46

More of this please:

Dave Weigel: “When Fox News is booking you and covering you, might that be for the same reason Republican PACs spend to help progressive candidates? That they see you as easier to beat?”

Abdul El-Sayed: “It’s amazing to me how deeply they’re misjudging this. I’m like: You have never fought a counterpuncher. The number of times I’m gonna define and redefine Mike Rogers! We’re talking about an anti-charismatic old school politician who doesn’t even know what he believes, except for he wants to make himself rich off of the rest of us. You know what I’m gonna do to that man? By the time I’m done, his best friends are gonna look at him and think what I think, say what I say. I’m gonna define him into eternity. Good, help me beat the crap out of you. Little parts of your vestiges — politically — are gonna be scattered all over the state of Michigan, never to be seen again. You say “Mike Rogers,” it’ll be like: “Remember when Abdul just completely demolished that man’s political future?” By the time I’m done with him, people are going to be calling him Five Dollar Rogers.”

Weigel: “Why five dollars?”

El-Sayed: “Because of $5 gas and how he’ll do whatever you want him to do for five bucks.”

Ugh . Per NY Times ICE is upping arrests now but trying to do so without chaos and headlines of the past . But the new sweep has involved the arrest of a Nigerian nun based in South Texas which has gotten attention today.

Federal immigration officials have detained more than 10,000 people in the last five days, a major surge that has stemmed from a push within Immigration and Customs Enforcement to increase arrest rates.

Agency leaders in recent days ordered top ICE officials to focus more of their officers’ efforts on picking up immigrants they want to deport, according to documents obtained by The New York Times and interviews with federal officials. ICE officers have arrested people at check-ins, with immigration authorities, during traffic stops and on the street. The push has apparently yielded results, with recent arrest numbers roughly doubling from the 1,000 picked up each day earlier this year.

s. Markwayne Mullin, the homeland security secretary, pledged to mount a quieter enforcement campaign following the chaos of a monthlong operation in Minnesota, where federal officers killed two U.S. citizens.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/us/politics/ice-immigrant-arrests-surge.html

Yeah, there was a big operation the next county over from us a few weeks ago where they grabbed more than 100 people in a couple of days. It's completely terrified the local immigrant communities. But they were trying to keep it all pretty low-key, it only became news because local immigrants and advocate groups started spreading the word.

There's an Albania barber down the street from me that was picked up a week or so ago and sent to a detention center in ... Brazil, Indiana? He reportedly came over in 2005 with a fake visa and/or Italian passport, and was allegedly ruled to be deported back in 2008, but skipped. His wife is a US citizen and they have an 8 year old kid. There's a statement from ICE that breaks the record for the number of times it sneeringly invokes "criminal illegal." It's a fucked up situation exacerbated by a complete lack of empathy from assholes that would treat him like shit no matter his status.

That’s the thing, Trump and the Republicans kept saying they would deport everyone, the media kept saying “oh, he only means the criminals”. Tom Homan himself literally said “they’re ALL criminals”.

good morning!

Was glad to see in video clips that there were a number of folks with cowbells, drums, and more outside Malcolm X Park in DC at 8:45 am this morning where Hegseth and Stephen Miller were doing a thank you to a huge number of National Guards standing there. In video clips I have seen you can hear the noise from outside the blocked off park (called Meridian Hill Park by some) while Hegseth is speaking and he then calls the protesters ingrates. The National Guards who stand around DC doing nothing most of the time but looking at their phones cost taxpayers a million dollars a day. Miller referred to them as symbols of the virtues of "Civilization" . I had only heard that Hegseth was gonna be there late last night when I saw on Instagram some flyers about the protest. Malcolm X Park's water fountains that had been actually planned for repair for quite awhile have recently been fixed (via a National Park chosen contractor not a Trump one) and so are working fine and provide a better backdrop. Its disconcerting that Hegseth and Miller and company went to this park that is not down on the mall and is known better and used largely by locals and not tourists and politicians for its Sunday drummers circle, occasional house music events, a Fugazi show, and just hanging out

Florida continues its race to the bottom of humanity

Immigration advocates in Florida have decried a “cruel and harmful” new rule by education officials aligned to hard-right Republican governor Ron DeSantis to ban undocumented students from state colleges and universities.

The Florida board of education voted on Tuesday to bar access to its 28 state-funded institutions to anybody not a US citizen or “lawfully present” in the country. It follows Florida’s move last year to strip discounted in-state tuition rates for certain immigrant students.

Its disconcerting that Hegseth and Miller and company went to this park

It was a show of impunity, that they could come into a neighborhood take over a park named after Malcolm X and do whatever they wanted there. The message: we are the overlords here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/1ulpfy8/stage_falling_apart_at_great_american_state_fair

if it happens on July 4th the world may run out of fireworks

― frogbs, Wednesday, July 1, 2026 6:09 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

I think about this a lot, especially when I need a pick-me-up: while none of us will ever have the wealth or power of Trump, Elon, et al, it should comfort all of us to know that the response to our demise will not be the deafening sound of champagne corks being popped simultaneously all over the world

they're actually charging that olympic canoeist with a felony count of touching the peeled, floating pool paint

soon to be another L for Jeanine Pirro

They'll get about as far with that as the sandwich-throwing felony count.

well the story is that it's the vandals' fault, not the shitty no-bid contractor or the motorcade that drove across the curing paint

so he'll serve the purpose of supporting the lie until we've forgotten about this whole fiasco

xp why did they design the stage to look like a guillotine

They misread the guillotine order...

Musicology Duck went to the Fourth in DC so we didn’t have to:

https://bsky.app/profile/musicologyduck.bsky.social

NB i live only a couple miles from the fireworks and barely heard anything.

Musicology Duck went to the Fourth in DC so we didn’t have to

did anything interesting happen there which we should read about

sorry, no quite uneventful but everyone gets wet

ideal situation for the duck at least

Is Mitch McConnell dead?

The idea that he's in a coma and on life support in order to avoid calling a special election to fill his seat feels 100% on the nose.

Was Mitch ever truly alive?

Lizards are alive, so I'm thinking it's within reason to say Mitch was, too.

He's 100% dead, and we are being fucked over by the lack of clarity.

everone likes think that it’s an evil prez who ends up a living head in a jar, but not me. it’s instead a moriarty like mcconnell in the glass.

hi mitch— yah, i got you figgered you rat bastard

If he's a corpse on ice the hospital is required to fill in a death certificate and file it. otoh, he could be brain dead and intubated to the hilt, but if there's a heart beat, they can pretend he's alive and on the road to recovery.

David Morris, a journalist and author, also appeared to endorse the theory with a brutal jab at McConnell and his legacy.

“Mitch McConnell remaining technically alive for an extra three weeks because of a manipulative procedural maneuver is exactly how he would have wanted to go out,” Morris wrote in a social media post on X.

lol

(jerk off motion)

and the networks don’t have “licenses” anyway

their local affiliates do, but they don't make network-level decisions

NPR: The new https://www.npr.org/2026/07/17/nx-s1-5897380/trump-coin-face-laws-treasury-250 Trump coin doesn't just buck norms. Experts say it also breaks laws.

“The law prohibits, currently, on currency, the likeness of any person — not just the president — who is alive," said Jeremy Paul, a professor and former dean at Northeastern University School of Law who specializes in constitutional law.

Ok hear me out- I’ve got an elegant solution to this dilemma

That's been covered here and elsewhere, but a mere federal statute could be overridden by a bill in Congress allowing an exception. Also noteworthy in other news of Trump's lawbreaking, the emoluments clause of the US Constitution is being broken almost daily and the fucking courts can't even figure out who has standing in order to challenge it.

I mean it was a joke but maybe it was already made

I thought it a v funny post, epistantophus

i also chuckled

me three

Man, when he (not epistantophus) croaks, it's going to be like Lindsey Graham Day x a million. People are going to stay home from work, there's going to be dancing in the street and there will be a handful of losers on CNN calling for decorum only to be drowned out by the sound of Kool & the Gang. And then they will call us all monsters and they will try to have a big PPV funeral, and no one will show up beyond his rogue's gallery menagerie who are all distracted by the declining value of their crypto wallets and where they are going to bum private plane rides in the foreseeable future.

lol I’m glad you clarified

They also just named an interstate bridge for Trump a few counties over from me.

And whatever the coin law says, it wouldn't hurt to double down on it. I think a popular thing for Congress to do if/when we get another Democratic president would be to pass really strict laws saying you can't name any federal property, issue coins, build monuments or anything else for a sitting president. And if Republicans for some reason balked at it, the Democratic president could put forth a list of things they are going to name for themselves, starting with the Grand Canyon.

I would love to see some Democrats willing to take advantage of some of these loopholes and weak points in the system that Republicans have been finding and exploiting lately. If only so that the loopholes will somehow quickly get closed when that becomes a possibility.

The ability to do stuff like that will be decided by the Supreme Court on a case-by-case basis depending on what party is in charge. Democrats will not get any traction until they find the votes and willpower to completely rebuild the court.

Why Seth Bodnar sucks

no nazi tattoos?

Two of the Democratic Senate contenders in Maine have dropped out of the race, clearing the path for Troy Jackson to clinch the nomination next weekend.

That’s good, at least from the limited amount I’ve read about him. Seems like a solid candidate.

How Politico describes him:

A progressive 5th generation logger from the far-northern corner of Allagash, Maine, Jackson has had a long career in organizing progressive activists and ties to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who had endorsed him in his gubernatorial race earlier this year.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/19/troy-jackson-likely-maine-senate-nominee-platner-01004490

He seems like the obvious candidate, I hope he will not implode, he appears to have support of the Democratic Party in Maine

Similar to Platner he is a former Republican, then Independent, then Democrat. Maybe people in Maine like that?

It's partly just the trajectory of a red state going blue, I think.

A New York sculptor spent $100,000 to make a Charlie Kirk statue that no one wants to buy.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/20/sculptor-charlie-kirk-statue-new-york

Sergio Furnari, originally from Italy, had hoped the statue of the deceased far-right activist, which he intends to display in Times Square, would raise “millions” of dollars. Instead, he said he has been inundated by messages from people saying they intend to urinate on the sculpture.

To add injury to insult, Furnari recently broke his foot working on the statue, after tripping over a roll of tape in his studio.

“Is it cursed? Maybe. I don’t know,” he told The Guardian.

Old n busted: Piss Christ

The new hotness: Piss Charlie

lol that did not in any way cost $100,000

It looks like the head was sculpted in some way, and the hands, but everything else seems to be clothes covered in resin, with a toy microphone or something. Maybe the head was taken from a mold and adapted to look like Charlie?

Definitely cursed.

Real Team America vibe to it. Just needs the strings added in.

It sometimes feels like Trump is the only one of these sick grifters with the skill/dum-luck to actually get away with the grift.

To add injury to insult, Furnari recently broke his foot working on the statue, after tripping over a roll of tape in his studio.

Italian fascism is not sending its best people.

i wish i could drink that article

so delicious

"Why am I making the statue? The same reason why Michelangelo did the Pietà, or Michelangelo did the David, or Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa."

In desperation, Furnari set up an online fundraising campaign, hoping to raise an initial $150,000, but potentially millions of dollars, which he said would allow him to take the statue on tour. As of Thursday, he had raised $1,400.

Yes, yes, YES

lol that did not in any way cost $100,000

Anyway, in a world where they sold out of those Trump superhero NFTs, eventually some moron is definitely going to buy the thing to stick it to the libs. Or hey, maybe John Oliver will buy it and do something funny with it.

Until then, Furnari is left with a 6ft 4in statue of a renowned racist, which he has spent $100,000 making, and which no one wants to buy. Maybe it is cursed after all.

idk, this feels like a stretch...

It does. The NYT described him as ‘controversial’! How can he be a racist!?

“billionaire interest group foundation (BIG), an arts supporting charitable entity, announced monday that it has purchased the charlie kirk statue for $1 million. BIG said ‘this beautiful piece complements our charitable-tax- benefits mission perfectly, shielding our donors’ immense wealth while bringing joy to lovers of racist christo-fascism. and also making libs sad. big is all about arts-maxxing.’ president trump said monday that the statue will have a pee proof glass enclosure and will be displayed as a new national monument adjacent to the entrance to the supreme court of the united states.”

(Kirk) was known for his racist and bigoted views, using his podcast to claim that “prowling Blacks go around for fun to go target white people” and speculating: “If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like: ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified.’”

Aside from the heaping doses of schadenfreude in that article, it is so damn refreshing to see charlie kirk described matter-of-factly for what he was, without both-sidesing it or making it seem like that's some controversial take. suck it ezra klein

yeah that’s why I give the guardian money

saying you spent $100k on it in news stories makes it easier when you burn your own studio down for the insurance money

lol

praying for a blucifer style outcome

To add injury to insult, Furnari recently broke his foot working on the statue, after tripping over a roll of tape in his studio.

if i were rich i would buy furnari's broken foot, the real human flesh, for $1 million

Some NY Times reporters doing good work and thus, angering Trump administration

Pentagon hid 3 Iranian strikes that wounded dozens of US troops & damaged helicopters only confirming it after the NYT dug it up

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/us/politics/troops-injured-jordan-iran-war.html

The Trump admin sought the phone records of several Times journalists and their relatives — including one reporter's mother — in its effort to unmask the confidential sources who had provided information for articles about the security capabilities of Trump's new Air Force One jet.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/business/media/new-york-times-subpoenas-phone-records.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

I imagine the reporters are wary enough to not have any useful information on their phones, you’d hope these days all those kinds of communications are encrypted and not retained.

Meg likes him

Meghan McCain, the daughter of former Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), said Monday that if the 2028 presidential nominee for the Democrats shares New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s (D) tone about politics, Republicans have a “huge f—ing problem.”

In a post on the social platform X, McCain said that she had tuned into a recent episode of The New York Times’s “The Interview” podcast featuring the New York City mayor, a democratic socialist. She described Mamdani’s tone in the episode as “part folksy everyman, republicans have abandoned the working class and are a bunch of elites without being harsh or conspiratorial.”

Trump imposing massive tarrifs on Canada again for some reason; don't these keep getting ruled illegal?

whenever he says something it becomes possible again, if only just a tiny bit

They're doing "Blame Canada" with the wildfires. Tariff your neighbor while they're on fire.

art of the deal, take advantage of any leverage over your enemy and neighbor to the north

Smuggling all of that uncustomed smoke over the border is a pretty heinous crime.

Lindsey Graham’s little sister has officially decided to run for his empty Senate seat—much to the chagrin of MAGA world.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham Nordone to temporarily fill Graham’s vacancy last week, days after the 71-year-old lawmaker suddenly passed away from a heart issue.

That's from New Republic. Plenty of right wingers in the Republican primary which is August 11.

Pediatrician Dr Annie Andrews is the Dem candidate in the November South Carolina general election for Senate

https://19thnews.org/2026/07/annie-andrews-south-carolina-senate/