Open Thread

What’s on your mind?

Comments

[Dr. Ed 2]

Is Donald Trump going to be the next James Buchanan?

For those unfamiliar with US history, James Buchanan was the last US president before the Civil War. He was unable or unwilling to deal with notification which spiraled out of control as the Whig Party self-destructed of the issue of slavery. Abraham Lincoln then came out of the new Republican Party, which was the anti-slavery wing of the old Whig Party.

Nullification became succession and then the siege of Fort Sumpter.

Is history repeating itself?

[Roger S]

Minnesota is acting as if it wants to secede.

[Commenter_XY]

History does not repeat. It rhymes. The only consistent thing here is Team D once again has brought the country to the brink of civil war, just as before.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Justice Jackson Brown is a product of Harvard University, having both her undergraduate and law degree from Harvard.

To those who say that they’re always will be a Harvard, I like to point out that 30 to 40 years from now she will be the example of the Harvard education.

And that, circa 1950, the Pennsylvania Railroad was the most prestigious railroad in the country if not world, with the New York Central being a close second. Two decades later, the Penn Central will implode in the biggest bankruptcy that the country had yet seen.

Just sayin….

[hobie]

Since the 20th century, Harvard has historically been a Jewish institution. Your hatred towards it smacks of antisemitic, Marxist, terrorist, AWFUL tranny-ism. [Whew! Lord it's hard to keep up with all the childish pejoratives these days]

[Dr. Ed 2]

“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”

[LexAquilia]

Epstein paid for Jazz Jennings trans surgery.
That's weird.

[Roger S]

Harvard has so much money that it should be safe for decades.

[hobie]

[White House responds that Trump was joking about cancelling the election, even though he re-tweeted that he was serious]

Reporter: "Are you saying the president finds the idea of cancelling elections...funny?"
Karoline Leavitt: "Andrew, were you in the room? No, you weren't. I was in the room. I heard the conversation."

[hobie]

[Later on Fox, discussing the reporter and his question]

MAGA Guest [laughing]: "That guy is from the Independent. A British paper. And he is actually a weenie. I'm hopin' that gets back to him." [general laughter from the panel]

Jesse Watters: "That guy is such a nerd! People like that...I mean, that's why we hate the media. They are just nerds! Lighten up!!!"

[bloocow2]

It's not funny in the slightest. But "anything to make people angry" is basically the motto of this administration, so look forward to another 3 years of it.

[hobie]

Australia is full of Australian hayseeds. So how come they don't behave like our hayseeds?

[Commenter_XY]

https://www.timesofisrael.com/sydney-nurses-plead-not-guilty-for-viral-video-threatening-to-kill-israeli-patients/

AussieTrash's compatriots behave just like Leftist antisemites.

[bloocow2]

Ehhh, I think quite a few of them do. They just have less access to guns.

I can't see what Commenter XY posted. I'm sure it was something nice.

[hobie]

He called you an antisemite. Here in America, it's what everyone is called...including Jews!

[Commenter_XY]

I stated AussieTrash's compatriots, on trial, behave just like Leftist antisemites. You don't need to lie, Arthur.

As for AussieTrash itself, I don't know.

[bloocow2]

Wow, I'm honoured to receive this title! Especially since I haven't talked about Jewish people on here as far as I can remember! (though I do recall complaining about Frank saying something antisemitic)

Though it doesn't feel like such an exclusive club if everyone is a member.

[hobie]

"Though it doesn't feel like such an exclusive club if everyone is a member."

Getting labeled an antisemite is not easy. You have to work at it. You can wear a trench coat, disparage the Jewish faith of Jew lawyers, praise Hitler in Young Republican group chats, disparage George Soros, talk about Jewish space lasers, hire a bunch of neo-Nazis at Turning Point (per the ADL), claim you have a 'Nazi streak' (Paul Ingrassia), invite Nick Fuentes for dinner at Mar a Lago, call Jews 'shylocks' on the campaign trail, hang Nazi symbols in your congressional office...well, you get the picture.

And even with all that...nah, not an antisemite. But you, sir, whatever the fuck you did, it must have been a doozy!

[Malika la Maize]

For some folks like XY all that < not enough slavish support for whatever Israel does.

[Commenter_XY]

What is the likelihood that photo voter ID will be required in the 2028 election?

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2026/02/03/cnns_enten_83_favor_voter_id_its_not_controversial.html

Answer: >50%

[Brett Bellmore]

Virtually 100% in some states, obviously. Nationally required?

The DNC seems to regard opposing voter ID as one of their existential priorities, (And they have epic party discipline on the few issues they so regard.) so it would have to be accomplished without any Democratic votes, and over the vehement objections of one or more federal judges. So I think you're overly optimistic.

[hobie]

As was made plain earlier, elections are the purview of the states. So make sure your state requires ID.

[Commenter_XY]

Indeed, until Congress legislates. 😉

[hobie]

Or we can just cancel the election all together as has been floated

[Stephen Lathrop]

Election security is more than the voter identity problem. There is also the notably larger—because more heavily incentivized—multiple voting problem. Especially during elections with issues which affect local taxation, folks who own property in more than one voting jurisdiction are often heavily incentivized to vote in more than one of them. That is a much greater goad to vote than any alien considering a false registration has. Real money is at stake, and the relevant election totals are much smaller, making every vote loom larger

Ds should promise to put a stop to that. Make every citizen who registers to vote, and who also owns multiple potential voting addresses, get a certification from the Secretary of State of each state in which such addresses are located. Require under appropriate criminal sanctions that every multi-address owner who registers, show by state certification submissions that they are registered to vote at no more than one address nationwide.

[LexAquilia]

0%.

There is no way Senate Republicans will vote for a law that the people support.

[Sarcastr0]

Link to the poll you want to discuss, not whatever shit media you cook your brain with.

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/08/22/majority-of-americans-continue-to-back-expanded-early-voting-voting-by-mail-voter-id/

"August 22, 2025 - Majority of Americans Continue to Back Expanded Early Voting, Voting by Mail, Voter ID"

Today, 83% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents support no-excuse voting by mail, while 68% of Republicans and Republican leaners oppose it.

Among the most-supported proposals:

Requiring electronic voting machines to print a paper backup of a voter’s ballot (84% in favor)
Requiring all voters to show government-issued photo identification (83%)
Making early, in-person voting available for at least two weeks prior to the election (80%)
Making Election Day a federal holiday (74%)

Of the 10 proposals included in the survey, just two are more opposed by Americans than favored:

52% oppose banning groups from collecting completed ballots from a large number of voters to return them to election officials. (This is sometimes called “ballot harvesting” by opponents of the practice and it is currently illegal in about half of states.)
56% oppose removing people from registration lists if they haven’t voted recently or responded to efforts to confirm their registration and address.

[LexAquilia]

“They’ve already built an infrastructure inside the United States.”

“People don’t realize that right now there are more than a dozen Mexican senators and members of Mexico’s House of Representatives who live in the United States.”

“Their job is to represent Mexicans living here—in the Mexican parliament.”

https://x.com/JesseBWatters/status/2018865850753724789

Remember how everybody on the Left said "reconquista" was a rightwing conspiracy?

Yet another notch on the belt of "last's rightwing conspiracy is this years headline".

[Malika la Maize]

In an interview with Fox News yesterday, Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, threatened gun owners: “You bring a gun into the District, you mark my words, you’re going to jail. I don’t care if you have a license in another district, and I don’t care if you’re a law-abiding gun owner somewhere else. You bring a gun into this District, count on going to jail, and hope you get the gun back.” Her words can’t be squared with recent Supreme Court rulings on the Second Amendment—and the positions her own Department of Justice is taking in other contexts.

https://www.cato.org/blog/us-attorney-jeanine-pirro-threatens-jail-anyone-who-brings-gun-dc

[Sarcastr0]

Federal judge orders release of two men in ICE shooting charged with assaulting immigration agents
The defense attorneys cited photos in challenging the government’s account of when the agent fired a shot that wounded the fleeing suspect.

But then, ICE detained them again, without explanation, after the hearing.

“This re-detention is unconstitutional and they should be immediately released,” according to a petition for habeas corpus filed by the family attorney Brian Clark.
Minnesota’s Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz ruled, almost immediately, that ICE could not move Sosa-Celis and Aljorna out of Minnesota. He gave the federal government until Friday to provide an explanation for their actions.
https://www.startribune.com/mn-venezuelans-released-ice-shooting/601576035