Ukraine update: Losing this war is destroying the Russian 'mythos,' and could destroy Russia

This week, more of Russia’s most advanced tanks (or at least, the most advanced tanks that have ever done more than participate in parades), showed...

Cheers and Jeers: Thursday

It’s Not Nice to Point and Laugh But in this instance, via Media Matters, I’ll make an exception: With Herschel Walker’s runoff defeat, it’s...

Congress won't protect voting rights in must-pass legislation, but will protect Ginni Thomas

One of the big must-pass bills of the end-of-year legislative rush is likely to pass in the House Thursday, and will stand as a testament to shoddy...

House passes marriage equality law, protecting it from the radical Trump-packed Supreme Court

The U.S. House of Representatives has joined with the U.S. Senate in declaring that every marriage between two people of whatever religion or race...

Cartoon: The Three Musk-eteers

Volume 4 of The Complete Tom the Dancing Bug!  TOM THE DANCING BUG: ALL-MIGHTY COMICS!   Books currently being personalized, signed, sketched in,...

The anti-Trump coalition not only held in 2022, it grew

With the successful reelection of Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Democrats capped an extraordinary cycle—gaining a true majority in...

Dark Biden strikes again, securing the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russian prison

Dark Biden has struck again. This time with the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner, held in a Russian prison for months on drug charges. Griner...

McCarthy doesn't understand what the debt ceiling is. Democrats can't let him get anywhere near it

Would-be House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is making who knows what promises to who knows whom to try to get the 218 votes he’ll need to secure the...

Adam Schiff says that Trump could face charges of criminal conspiracy to obstruct Congress

Earlier this week, Committee Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson told reporters that the House select committee on Jan. 6 would be making criminal referrals...

GOP civil war against McCarthy spills over into fight over plum committee chair jobs

The GOP civil war over Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become Speaker of the House next month has spilled over into skirmishes among members angling for...

Florida lawmaker behind infamous ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill indicted on fraudulent PPP loan charges

Republican Florida Rep. Joe Harding was all too quick to insert his alleged good Christian values on the state’s LGBTQ students and their...

Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: And now...the road ahead

We begin today with Ronald Brownstein of The Atlantic saying that Senator Warnock’s win in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race probably bodes well for...

Cartoon: Ye new guy

AIDS activists broke the 'conspiracy of silence,' breathing life into a movement for love

(Author’s note: Some elements of the following article use citations taken from my book, Don’t Tell Me To Wait: How the fight for gay rights...

DOJ recommends that Trump's legal team be held in contempt over holding onto classified documents

The Department of Justice has asked District Court Judge Beryl Howell to hold “Trump’s office” in contempt over refusals to comply with a May...

Natural gas is 'green energy' to Ohio Republicans desperate to boost fossil fuels

The Ohio State Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that includes broadening the definition of “green energy” to include natural gas. All seven...

Donald Trump hosts QAnon fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago because of course he does

It was nearly a month ago that Donald Trump, who orchestrated an attempted coup rather than abide the results of a United States election,...

Cry me a river: Right-wing group whines that 'intolerant leftist mob' wouldn't serve them dinner

Here’s the right-wing Christian movement and mindset in a nutshell: This week, they have been at the Supreme Court arguing that Christians should...

Signs suggest domestic terrorism in North Carolina power outage, but motivations still unknown

Whoever it was that shot up two power substations in rural Moore County, North Carolina, on Saturday—and so far, investigators do not appear to...

Nearly all House Republicans opposed bill preventing the unjust deportation of immigrant veterans

Nearly all House Republicans voted against U.S. military service members on Wednesday, with just three members of that caucus joining House...

Midterm results and continued polls show we should invest in asylum system, not further restrict it

Under pressure to act on immigration during the lame duck session, bipartisan senators have reportedly been discussing a possible proposal that...

Doug Ducey's shipping container 'wall' is a joke that's causing real harm to protected animals

There is an ugly border wall that in recent months has been going up in portions of Arizona that isn’t even an actual wall at all, but instead a...

German authorities arrest dozens of far-right extremists who plotted to overthrow government

The rise of right-wing extremism isn’t just an American phenomenon, of course: It’s been a mounting global issue, especially in Europe in recent...

Loud white woman lawmaker from Georgia thinks she could have gotten Herschel Walker elected

The reasons Herschel Walker lost the Georgia Senate race are many, and most have to do with the man himself. Not campaigning with Georgia Rep....

A roundup of the joy (and jokes) celebrating Raphael Warnock's victory over Herschel Walker

Last night, Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Republican candidate Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff election. It was predicted, and it came...

Need health insurance? Are you in luck!

The clock is ticking down for enrolling in an Affordable Care Act plan if you need coverage starting Jan. 1. In most states the deadline is Dec....

Freight rail companies just rolled over workers. Up next, Chicago area communities and commuters

Congress averted a rail strike last week, leaving thousands of workers with zero paid sick leave in an industry that demands they work up to...

Trump's attorneys claim to have searched Trump properties and found no classified docs ... again

Lawyers for Donald Trump have reportedly completed a search of the Trump National Golf Club at Bedminster, New Jersey, and Trump Tower in New York...

51 is a magic number for Senate Democrats, and the country

There are many, many reasons to celebrate Rev. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s victory Tuesday. The first is that Georgia will be represented by an...

Keep an eye on your rearview mirror, McCarthy. Scalise might be coming for you

Hoo boy, this is not the voice of confidence in a leader. A month ago, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), told Fox News that he was fully supporting his...

'I don't care': Pro-Trump Senators take on McConnell's erstwhile iron grip

It's not just the House GOP, folks, Senate Republicans are also in disarray as a right-wing faction works to assert its will on the caucus. That...

Trump teased a run for months, announced his candidacy—and then hid in his room, former aide says

I think we all know why former President Donald Trump is running again in 2024: to keep his ass out of jail. Trump is dogged by indictments and...

Ukraine update: Every now and then, TIME gets it right. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Person of the Year

You know that today’s update has to start with this: TIME's 2022 Person of the Year: Volodymyr Zelensky and the spirit of Ukraine #TIMEPOY...

Now that he’s out, let’s be truthful: Walker was a giant embarrassment for Black Americans

Of all the possible candidates the Republicans could have run, why did they choose Herschel Walker? But before we armchair debate that question,...

Furious Fox and the Mystery of the Missing Republican Votes

Furious Fox had a problem. Fox wanted his Republican Party to win All The Elections, but somebody has been going around telling Republican voters...

Want to keep on winning? We have the chance for a huge flip in Virginia next month

Are you still pumped about last night’s thunderous win in Georgia? I sure am! And you better believe I’m not tired of winning. In fact, I’m...

Cheers and Jeers: Wednesday

Top 6 Reasons to Sign Up for Health Insurance at  healthcare.gov  T oday 6.  You only have eight days left  to sign up for coverage starting...

Abbreviated pundit roundup: A rainy night in Georgia—yet again

Jeremy Collins/Esquire:  My God, Herschel Walker, What Have You Become? Herschel Walker is a pioneer in American politics. But here in the Walker...

The energy from California’s first offshore floating wind turbines could power 1.5 million homes

As of this writing, the total amount of bids for California’s first-ever offshore wind lease areas hit more than half a billion dollars. Later...

Conservative columnist explains why the GOP is so obsessed with Hunter Biden: Guilt over Trump

For seven long years, Republicans have serially debased themselves at the altar of Donald Trump—a ramshackle shrine that isn’t as ornate and gold...

Politico 'both sides' democracy in Supreme Court case that could throw 2024 to the insurrectionists

The normalization of the radical far right and illegitimate Supreme Court majority continues over at Politico this day, which provides a preview...

Cartoon: Height of folly

Bolton says Trump’s post on the Constitution is ‘disqualifying’—so he’s considering a run in 2024

John Bolton, former national security adviser to ex-President Donald Trump, slammed comments made by his former boss recently that call for the ...

Pennsylvania detention facility long at center of community protests to lose ICE contract in January

The Biden administration is ending the federal immigration contract for a Pennsylvania facility that for years detained migrant families under...

Bipartisan senators drafting immigration 'framework' that would protect DACA recipients

Young undocumented immigrants have been urgently calling on lawmakers in the current congressional term to come up with a deal before Republicans...

International Energy Agency predicts more renewables will power the world than coal by 2025

The renewables boom appears headed into overdrive. A recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) brings rosy news for the industry,...

305 counts for Club Q nightclub shooting suspect, including hate crimes, murder of 5 people

The suspect accused of shooting five and injuring 19 people at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, last month was charged with 305...

Jan. 6 committee expects to issue criminal referrals, as DOJ subpoenas officials leaned on by Trump

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson indicated that the House select committee on Jan. 6 will be making criminal...

The GOP civil war heats up in testy Tuesday meeting

Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy’s wild ride to the speakership promises only to get bumpier. He’s not backing down from having a floor...

Watch Jan. 6 heroes and families snub McConnell and McCarthy at Congressional gold medal ceremony

On Tuesday, the Washington, D.C., police and other law enforcement connected to defending the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, received Congressional gold...

Indonesia bans sex outside of marriage, following the U.S. toward religious authoritarianism

Tuesday, Indonesia’s Parliament unanimously approved a new criminal code that makes sex outside of marriage illegal and punishable with up to a...

Cartoon: Keefa-pa-Looza

Climate concerns are once again getting voters to the polls—this time for Sen. Raphael Warnock

The Environmental Voter Project (EVP) is seeing what many climate change activists and groups are seeing in Georgia: a chance for climate-first...

Georgia voters go to the polls to finalize the balance of power in the Senate

Voters in Georgia—the ones who didn’t already vote early—are heading to the polls today, Tuesday, December 6, to decide the final breakdown of...

Ukraine update: Russia is shocked—shocked—to find that people might actually shoot back

On Monday, at least two Russian airbases came under attack, with planes and infrastructure suffering significant damage. One of the bases...

Abbreviated pundit roundup: Georgia Senate runoff

We begin today’s roundup with analysis of the runoff election in Georgia, with analysis by Sam Brodey at The Daily Beast: If holding the Senate...

Extremists appear emboldened to show up armed to LGBTQ events around the country

Last month’s mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ club—or more precisely, the mainstream right’s “they had it coming” response—seems...

Cheers and Jeers: Tuesday

Energize An Ally Tuesday I  need you to make a huge donation today. But not money. I just need you to send positive “Big-D” vibes to damn...

Republicans continue to fail the democracy test: Do they support Trump or the U.S. Constitution?

After three consecutive dismal election cycles, Republicans still can't bring themselves to break with perennial loser Donald Trump even after his...

Citing 'extraordinary' conditions, DHS expands and extends temporary relief for Haitian immigrants

With a deadline approaching in just hours, the Biden administration on Monday announced that it will expand and extend Temporary Protected Status...

Sen. John Kennedy warns Georgians against 'high IQ' people, enthusiastically endorses Walker

Set apart from the genuinely gormless goofballs trying to turn our country into a colossal evangelical megachurch with self-serve Slushie machines...

Raphael Warnock wins re-election in Georgia, giving Democrats an outright Senate majority

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock won a full six-year term by defeating Republican Herschel Walker in Tuesday’s runoff in Georgia, a victory that...

Rupert Murdoch will be deposed next week in billion-dollar Big Lie defamation lawsuit

The Big Lie is first a foremost … a lie. The fact that the MAGA-world, with the cowardly complicity of the entire Republican Party, believes it...

Los Angeles City Council unanimously passes ban on new oil wells, will phase out old ones

The Los Angeles City Council last week voted unanimously to ban new oil wells in the city and phase out old oil wells by 2042. Companies have 20...

Even as Ye’s meltdown gets him suspended from Twitter, neo-Nazis like Anglin are creeping back in

Kanye West’s bizarre meltdown on Thursday—first, when he repeatedly praised Adolf Hitler and German Nazis in a bizarre interview on Alex...

Supreme Court hears another pro-bigotry, anti-LGBTQ case and again proves its illegitimacy

The U.S. Supreme Court heard another culture war case Monday, one that pits marriage equality against bigotry, and they’re calling it a “free...

House caucus chairs say lawmakers 'must not let this year end' without protecting DACA recipients

The clock is ticking until Republicans take a slim control of the House of Representatives, where Kevin McCarthy has been campaigning for speaker...

Watch this: Giuliani testifies before legal ethics board over role pumping Trump's election lies

Former President Donald Trump’s lapdog Rudy Giuliani, who had his license to practice law in New York suspended already, goes before a board on...

Gov. DeSantis suspended a state attorney for being 'woke.' Here's what his lawyers think that means

Attorneys for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis desperately worked to convince a federal judge Thursday that their client, the governor of Florida,...

Initial research confirms hate speech skyrocketing on Twitter ... and you ain't seen nothing yet

The numbers are now coming in. Elon Musk’s quest to turn his newly owned social media platform into a welcome haven for Nazis, bigots,...

Ukraine update: Russia can't quit Bakhmut, as Ukrainian air defenses stymie latest missile barrage

For an overview of the active front, click here. For my Sunday piece on Ukrainian offensive options as the ground freezes, click here.  Meanwhile,...

Following Trump's call to scrap the Constitution, every Republican has one simple question to answer

Republican lawmakers are in evasion mode over Donald Trump’s explicit call to toss out the U.S. Constitution to get him back in the White...

Cheers and Jeers: Monday

It's Morning in America Democrats will focus their energy on lowering gas prices…and reducing inflation…and turbo-boosting economic...

Black grandmother sues Denver detective after SWAT team raided her home thanks to 'Find My' app

People of color—especially Black folks, and especially Black men and Black trans women—face an absolute onslaught of violence from law...

Shady recruiter, plane company named in updated lawsuit challenging Florida's anti-immigrant stunt

Florida’s Ron DeSantis and shady-as-fuck recruiter Perla Huerta have been named to new and updated lawsuits that are challenging the political...

Lyft is reportedly letting religious drivers preach to their riders, and that's not cool

If you held a gun to my head and asked me about my religious beliefs, I’d have to say I’m an agnostic. I don’t believe in God—mostly because...

Warnock campaigns hard in final days before Georgia runoff, while Walker hardly seems to be trying

The day before the Georgia Senate runoff election, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is seen as having the advantage of Republican nominee Herschel...

Musk leaks Twitter documents to pursue his own agenda, making Twitter a more dangerous platform

It's been an eventful weekend in Muskland, and as usual every act boils down to Elon Musk making some new attempt to make Twitter worse. Say what...

Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Impeach Hunter Biden! But don't mention extremism.

Nicholas Grossman/Arc Digital: Another Hyped “Hunter Biden Laptop” Reveal Flops Elon Musk and Matt Taibbi said the "Twitter Files" would show a...

Week four of House GOP's civil war commences with no end in sight

The vote counting is finally all done, and House Republicans have a tiny majority of 222 seats, with Democrats holding 213. This means GOP Leader...

Fuentes gets into food fight at In-N-Out; disses Marjorie Taylor Greene as 'divorced adulterer'

Patrons of an In-N-Out burger joint in Los Angeles are a lot more discerning when it comes to dining with Nazis than a certain disgraced former...

Do you like Donald Trump? Do you like hats? Then have we got a deal for you

Hey, kids. Do you like hats? Do you like Donald Trump? Okay, let's all shut up for a minute and pretend you do. If you're the kind of person who...

Sign the petition: Congress must hold Justice Thomas accountable for flouting ethics rules

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' wife, Ginni Thomas, advocated to overthrow the 2020 election. Meanwhile, Thomas continues to rule on SCOTUS...

Cartoon: Trapped in the stupidverse

As always, if  you find value in this work I do, please consider helping me keep it sustainable by joining my weekly newsletter,  Sparky’s List!...

Massive power outage in North Carolina 'intentional, willful,' may be linked to drag show protesters

Tens of thousands of North Carolinians are without power Monday and under a state of emergency after two substations were reportedly damaged “...

Alito interrupts Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to crack ‘joke’ about Black kids in KKK costumes

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in a case that uses “free speech” and personal religious beliefs as justifications to...

Republican talk show host who says election was 'stolen' investigated for election fraud

A conservative North Georgia talk show host who, like most conservatives, rails against election fraud, has allegedly voted illegally … nine times....

Lying oil companies seek to reverse California law protecting neighborhoods from drilling

In September, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 1137 barring oil drilling within 3,200 feet of dwellings, schools, hospitals, nursing homes,...

Sedition, (alleged) sedition everywhere: A guide to the next Oath Keepers trial starting this week

With the scent of a successful seditious conspiracy conviction for the founder of the Oath Keepers and one of his division leaders still lingering...

Philadelphia Museum of Art workers hope their strike victory can inspire others

Having negotiated a new contract that promises wage increases, affordable health care, paid family leave, and more, workers hope that their efforts...

Why protecting heart health is critical for Black mothers

Black women face compounding risk factors for heart attacks after having children, making preventative, specialized, and early health care a...

AIDS activist Cleve Jones honored with Lifetime of Commitment Award on World AIDS Day

*Daily Kos is re-running the below story in honor of Cleve Jones, AIDS activist and founder of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, who was awarded a Lifetime...

Nuts & Bolts—Inside a Democratic campaign: Leave no stone unturned

Welcome to  Nuts & Bolts ,  a guide to Democratic campaigns. I’ve helped write this series for years using information from campaign managers,...

Right-wing fraudsters must register voters in low-income communities where they suppressed vote

Last we heard from right-wing huckster racists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, they were pleading guilty to 14 counts of fraud in an Ohio courtroom...