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notalwaysright_feed) wrote2025-08-26 01:00 am
Read Berry Uninformed
Me: "What can I get you?"
Customer: *Cheerfully.* "Surprise me!"
Me: "Well, we have a lot of flavors and toppings, maybe—"
Customer: "—You pick!"
Read Berry Uninformed
dailykos_feed) wrote2025-08-26 12:01 amPresident Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi are a dream team when it comes to trying to violate Americans’ right to free speech.
Bondi claims to have figured out a way to prosecute people for burning the U.S. flag without violating Texas v. Johnson, the 1989 Supreme Court decision that ruled flag burning is protected under the First Amendment.
“We will do that without running afoul of the First Amendment,” she said.
Oh, okay, as long as you say so.
Generally, criminalizing speech that the Supreme Court has said is protected by the First Amendment … runs afoul of the First Amendment. But since both Trump and Bondi think they are the smartest people in the room, let’s entertain the logic in his dumb executive order, issued on Monday, that would put people in jail for desecrating the American flag.
Trump and Bondi are not going to prosecute flag burning as such. Instead, they will prosecute people for desecrating the flag if they decide it is likely to incite some additional imminent lawless action, because the Supreme Court has never held that that is protected. As if Bondi remembered for one moment she is the most powerful lawyer in the country, she slapped one citation in here to back this up—to the Supreme Court case that ruled it was protected. Good luck figuring out what she’s trying to say here.
They will also prosecute people for flag burning if it discriminates against American citizens or violates their civil rights. It is exhausting to keep explaining to the attorney general of the United States that protected First Amendment expression cannot, by its nature, violate someone’s civil rights. But hey, what about those immigrants who burn it, huh??
“American Flag burning is also used by groups of foreign nationals as a calculated act to intimidate and threaten violence against Americans because of their nationality and place of birth,” Trump’s order claimed.
See above and go read the flag-burning case you read in law school, Pam. In throwing out Texas’s law criminalizing flag burning, the Supreme Court basically told people to stop being such pussies:
We are fortified in today's conclusion by our conviction that forbidding criminal punishment for conduct such as Johnson's will not endanger the special role played by our flag or the feelings it inspires. To paraphrase Justice Holmes, we submit that nobody can suppose that this one gesture of an unknown man will change our Nation's attitude towards its flag.
All of this is red meat for Trump’s base, but it’s also just a way to attack immigrants. Per his order, “The Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting within their respective authorities, shall deny, prohibit, terminate, or revoke visas, residence permits, naturalization proceedings, and other immigration benefits, or seek removal from the United States, pursuant to Federal law … whenever there has been an appropriate determination that foreign nationals have engaged in American Flag-desecration activity under circumstances that permit the exercise of such remedies pursuant to Federal law.”
What exactly is the definition of “American Flag-desecration activity” for which you could be rendered to prison? Who can say! But to be perfectly frank, we do know what it looks like to disrespect the flag in a profound way that wounds our country as a whole: The Jan. 6, 2021, insurrectionists, who were whipped into a froth at Trump’s behest, used the American flag to attack law enforcement. Got your desecration right here, pal.
No matter how Trump phrases it, he cannot create a criminal cause of action out of thin air. If conservatives want this so bad, get Congress to pass it and get your conservative pals on the Supreme Court to rule it constitutional.
Though the executive order tried to be vaguely crafted enough to imply that they wouldn’t prosecute unless the desecration violated some other underlying law, Trump couldn’t even keep it together for the duration of the signing ceremony.
“You burn a flag, you get one year in jail,” he said. “You don't get 10 years. You don't get one month. You get one year in jail. And it goes on your record, and you will see flag burning stopping immediately.”
If Bondi can illegally arrest and try to prosecute someone by pretending this executive order is a law, the administration might get lucky. None of the Supreme Court justices who decided the flag case remain on the bench. Who knows—with this crop of conservatives who believe the only speech that should be protected is anything that offends their tiny conservative Christian eyeballs, Trump might have a shot.
dailykos_feed) wrote2025-08-25 11:59 pmdailykos_feed) wrote2025-08-25 11:30 pmIn his continuing embrace of toxic masculinity, President Donald Trump supported the idea on Monday of changing the name of the Department of Defense to the “Department of War.”
The suggestion came up during Trump’s rambling speech to reporters in the Oval Office as he signed an executive order meant to restrict free expression by outlawing flag burning.
Trump said the current department name “didn’t sound good,” and he praised the name of a preceding agency, the Department of War, citing its usage during American victories in World Wars I and II. He said the Department of War “had a stronger sound” and that Department of Defense “sounded bad.”
“Defense? I don’t want to be defense only. We want defense, but we want offense too,” he added.
A name change will have to go through Congress and can’t just be based on Trump’s whims, similar to his ongoing claim that the Gulf of Mexico is the “Gulf of America.”
Of course, contrary to Trump’s characterization, the United States has initiated multiple wars around the world since it established the Department of Defense in 1947. The usage of “defense” in the moniker didn’t prevent the launch of wars in Afghanistan or Iraq, for instance, and it didn’t prevent Trump from initiating air strikes against Iran, either.
The rhetoric is the latest example of Republican leaders attempting to assert a false machismo. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been one of the most notorious promoters of this, arguing that the department he leads should be about warfighting and little else.
The Department of Defense was established by the 1947 National Security Act, which was passed in the wake of World War II, a global conflict where millions died under leadership—most notably in fascist Germany, Italy, and Japan—that expressed Trump-style ideals about machismo.
The National Security Act intended to streamline and formalize the organization of America’s military, consolidating leadership under the secretary of defense. The secretary—in theory—works as an expression of the president’s ultimate control of the armed forces, making it clear that in America the military is civilian-led and subordinate to the civilian leadership.
Trump is part of the Republican tradition of joyfully bombing people, particularly if they are brown-skinned, and he has often shunned the role of a strong defense in ensuring global peace. Yet, at the same time that he is so concerned with saber-rattling, he continues to undermine the troops, both active duty and veteran.
His administration has worked to undercut the ability of the Department of Veteran Affairs to respond to veteran health care needs. And Trump derides active-duty troops and has described real injuries they have received in combat situations on his watch as merely “headaches.” Trump has reportedly referred to deceased military heroes as “suckers” and “losers.”
Just last week, Trump called himself a “war hero,” effectively mocking true heroes who have served in combat in multiple war theaters. Of course, he never served, instead using his family’s wealth as a path to avoiding military service during the Vietnam War.
Renaming the department to a more aggressive moniker won’t undo what Trump has said and done, but the point was always to look like a tough guy.
dailykos_feed) wrote2025-08-25 09:01 pmA daily roundup of the best stories and cartoons by Daily Kos staff and contributors to keep you in the know.
Governor slaps down Trump's threat to invade another Black-led city
It’s past time to push back on the president’s racist nonsense.
Trump gets a ridiculous badge for turning DC into a police state
Another tacky trinket to decorate his gaudy Oval Office.
Looks like small-government GOPers are all in on … the government buying stakes in private businesses?
Cartoon: ICE's suspect sketch kit
There’s light brown, brown, and darker brown for variety.
Trump's Silicon Valley buddies are about to crash
Couldn’t happen to a more deserving bunch.
Despite bribes and payoffs, Trump demands more from TV networks
He won’t stop until they all call for him to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
snopes_feed) wrote2025-08-26 12:09 amsnopes_feed) wrote2025-08-26 12:01 amsnopes_feed) wrote2025-08-26 12:00 amsnopes_feed) wrote2025-08-25 11:50 pmnotalwaysright_feed) wrote2025-08-26 12:00 amRead The Only Thing That’s High Are My Standards
Senior Paralegal: "Hey, can you go grab some Coke for the rest of us?"
They hold out some money, like… quite a lot!
Me: "Sure… uh, what kind? Diet? Zero? Cherry?"
They all burst out laughing.
Senior Paralegal: "No… we… uh. We mean the other kind."
icanhascheezburger_feed) wrote2025-08-25 04:00 pmFifteen years ago, this family adopted two shelter kitties despite knowing one of their parents was allergic. At the time, it seemed manageable. Visits were infrequent, no kids to handle, and the cats filled the home with purrsonality. The parent has never truly warmed up, annually reminding everyone of the feline faux-paw. This week, after the grandkids' sleepover triggered a sneeze-fest, a dramatic message arrived: "Can't you just get rid of the cats?"
To be fair, the furmiliy has bent over backward, lint-rolling like Olympic champions, furoiusly vacuuming, locking cats away, and even investing in air filters. Sometimes the parent reacts, sometimes not, even without meds. Interestingly, when siblings had cats, no whiskers of blame were directed their way. And when a supposedly "hypoallergenic" attic cat moved in, the parent mysteriously had zero reactions. Suspicious? Fur sure.
Now, rehoming is on the table, but these cats have been an emotional lifeline, especially during postpartum struggles. The new plan? Try science-backed kibble to reduce allergens. In the end, the cats are clearly more than pets. They're family. Would keeping them really make this pawrent the villain?
GET YOUR WEEKLY HIT OF WHISKERED PURRFECTION - SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER!
icanhascheezburger_feed) wrote2025-08-25 03:00 pmCats are the true champions of waking up on the wrong side of the bed. One minute, they're adorable, purring machines of fluff and charm; the next, they're plotting your demise over something as trivial as a slightly tilted food bowl. Mornings are particularly perilous. Attempt to pet a grumpy cat too early, and you might find yourself facing the wrath of a tiny paw swipe or a pointed glare that could curdle milk. Their tail flicks are Morse code for, "Do not disturb… unless you want consequences."
It's not personal. It's just cats catting. Breakfast arrived three seconds late? Catastrophe. A sunbeam shifted by an inch? World-ending injustice. The slightest disruption to their meticulously curated nap schedule can unleash a storm of huffs, grumbles, and dramatic sprints across the room. Yet, even at their grumpiest, there's an undeniable charm. You can't stay mad at a cat whose whiskers twitch with irritation and then curl into your lap five minutes later, purring like nothing happened.
GET YOUR WEEKLY HIT OF WHISKERED PURRFECTION - SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER!
notalwaysright_feed) wrote2025-08-25 11:00 pmRead You Can Lose The Game But Don’t Lose Your Cool
Customer: "Yeah, I want a refund for my season ticket!"
Me: "I’m sorry to hear that. Could you tell me what the issue is?"
Customer: "The issue? The issue is they keep losing! We haven’t won a home game in weeks!"
dailykos_feed) wrote2025-08-25 10:30 pmMonday brought back-to-back bad news from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., what with the Health and Human Services secretary helming a possible plan to ban the COVID vaccine and the mercurial, jeans-loving, worm-brained mess of a man getting authority over who gets kicked off of Medicare.
Y I K E S.
The Daily Beast is reporting that Kennedy and President Donald Trump are cooking up a plan to MAHA, or Make America Healthy Again, by banning the COVID-19 vaccine. Yes, ban. Not just refuse to authorize it for certain subgroups, such as children—he did that a while ago. Nor is it a defunding of a certain type of drug technology, which Kennedy has already done. This one is the whole kit and caboodle.
Kennedy, an anti-vaccine conspiracist who has as much medical training as a pet rock, has been pushing a 2022 study showing serious adverse effects from taking mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Sure, that study was largely discredited for a host of reasons, including methodological flaws, biased data, and overlooking public health impacts. But that won’t stop Mr. MAHA.
Related | RFK Jr. is so mad that real doctors don’t have to listen to him
Not only will Kennedy Make Covid Great Again, his unhinged anti-vax views may result in manufacturers of other vaccines leaving the market too. One of Kennedy’s proposed strategies to force vaccine makers out of business is to decimate the federal vaccine injury compensation program, which is used to pay claims alleging an injury from a vaccine. That program provides a level of certainty and protection to drug manufacturers so that conspiracy nuts like Kennedy can’t bankrupt them with nonsense claims.
So, good luck to all of us in figuring out whether we can slip into Canada or Mexico or fly to Europe or whatever, just to get a booster shot.
Not content to oversee what will no doubt be waves of illness and death if—well, when, really—COVID takes hold again, Kennedy is also apparently set to wield decision-making authority over who gets kicked off of Medicare
Did we mention Kennedy’s distinct lack of medical training?
Nevertheless, he apparently gets to determine if someone is “medically frail” and therefore not subject to the new work requirement embedded in Trump’s beloved One Big Beautiful Bill. Hey, Kennedy’s got to be able to kick a lot of people off the Medicaid rolls to hit the planned $911 billion cut to the federally subsidized health insurance program. Mr. MAHA to the rescue!
Of course, most people on Medicaid do already work. A Congressional Budget Office study of one of the predecessors to the disastrous budget bill showed that this work requirement would indeed cut Medicaid spending but would not result in increased employment. For one thing, according to a recent study from KFF, almost 3 in 10 people on Medicaid were not working because of school attendance, illness or disability, or caregiving duties, which makes them exempt under previous policies.
The KFF study found that, while a relatively small portion of existing Medicaid enrollees would be affected, many more enrollees who would remain eligible would be at risk of losing coverage because of the administrative burden and red tape related to reporting requirements.
Stripping us of necessary medical interventions, forcing people with disabilities off of Medicaid: Kennedy is a one-man wrecking crew.
icanhascheezburger_feed) wrote2025-08-25 02:00 pmCats disappearing is not a totally uncommon thing. For some feline pawrents it is part and parcel of their day to day lives with their cat children. But what happens when your cat child goes off for a few days to get a taste of the wild and comes home with a different pawsonality?
Some might wonder if it is the same cat that came home and not an imposter. Others might question if the cat saw something while out in the wide world that shook it to its core. But what this pawrent thinks happened is far more sever and opens up the question of how trusting we should be with letting our cute cat child go of gallivanting in the unknown outside world. Luckily, this story does indeed hold some hope for the future of our feline protagonist, but there are several stories that do not get to enjoy such an ending. So, moral of the story? Maybe put an Air Tag on your cat and collect them after 24 hours outside the home.
GET YOUR WEEKLY HIT OF WHISKERED PURRFECTION - SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER!
notalwaysright_feed) wrote2025-08-25 10:00 pm
Coworker #3: "It literally says 'wine' on the packet! You can’t just hand out alcohol at work!"
Coworker #1: "…They’re gummy candies. They're called 'Wine Gums' but there's no wine in them. They’ve never even been near alcohol."
Coworker #3: "Hmm, you've always been known to enjoy a drink or two [Coworker #1]. I'm not convinced."
dailykos_feed) wrote2025-08-25 09:00 pmKilmar Abrego Garcia was reunited with his family for less than 72 hours before Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained him again, this time with plans to deport him to Uganda.
Now he’s fighting a deportation that his legal team calls a “coordinated effort” by the U.S. government to “punish” him “for fighting back against its unlawful conduct.”
In March, Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador’s notoriously violent CECOT prison despite having temporary protective status in the United States—which the Trump administration admitted was a mistake.
Since then, Abrego Garcia has become a target of the Trump administration. On the eve of his return home to Maryland, he was offered by the Trump team a deportation to Costa Rica, in exchange for admitting to human trafficking and ties to the MS-13 gang.
Denying the plea deal, he now faces deportation to Africa where, upon arrival, he risks being rerouted back to El Salvador. And in Uganda, Abrego Garcia’s legal team says, he also faces danger of persecution and torture.
As of Monday, his team is pushing to stall the deportation, which U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis blocked until she can hold a hearing to determine whether the administration will let him contest his removal to Uganda.
“Regardless of what happens today in my ICE check-in, promise me this, promise me that you will continue to pray, continue to fight, resist and love—not just for me, but for everybody,” Abrego Garcia said to a crowd Monday before reporting to the ICE facility where he was then detained.
The Trump administration’s deportations of immigrants to random countries have continued since the Supreme Court gave the green light again in June. Immigrants from China, Central and South America, and elsewhere are being scattered to foreign prisons in places like Costa Rica, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Cuba.
More so, the Trump administration has bolstered its hefty deportation goals with a massive new multibillion-dollar budget to build detention facilities across the nation.
From Florida’s recently closed “Alligator Alcatraz” to Indiana’s “Speedway Slammer,” President Donald Trump’s goons—like Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and “border czar” Tom Homan—have worked overtime to promote the centers already riddled with abuse and neglect.
Even the podcast giant Joe Rogan, who once seemingly supported Trump’s cause, has slammed his deportation tactics.
“The problem is some of them are good people. Some of them are not gang members,” he said. “Most of them are just people that wanted a better life—most of them. But they have mandates now. And mandates get creepy because then people become numbers.”
icanhascheezburger_feed) wrote2025-08-25 01:00 pmCats are just like toddlers, there we said it. It has been a long time coming, but the truth needed to be put out there. Because no matter how much we might try to ignore it a creature that loves nothing more than pushing boundaries, causing chaos, demanding food, and then going for a nap, is most closely related to a hooman toddler. Which means that the responsibility of making sure that our cat children do not get loose and lay waste to the world outside is on us. And that is the crux of our story today, which essentially tells the tale of a cat/toddler who has a thing for pretending to run away from home. Now usually this charade is over within a few hours, or at worst when the cat gets hungry and hears the sound of treats.
But on this day in particular the cat saw an opportunity to make a great escape, and it went so well that he had no idea what to do with the rest of the 'run away from home' plan. And just like a toddler who quickly realizes that they do not have the ability to buy food and take care of themselves in the outside world, this catto soon came home with his tail between his legs. But not before his pawrents almost lost their minds.
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notalwaysright_feed) wrote2025-08-25 09:30 pmRead Where Two Or More Are Parked In My Name…
The church I grew up going to did not have a parking lot, but it was across the street from a bar and grill restaurant, so we would use theirs. I asked my mother once, feeling awkward while watching people get out of their cars to go to the restaurant, if it was okay that we were parking there. She said it was fine, so I didn't question it.
It was several years before I learned why.
notalwaysright_feed) wrote2025-08-25 09:00 pmRead Aroma Has It
Customer: "I want a refund! This incense tastes terrible!"
I blink, because… well, they’re incense.
Me: "Ma’am… you’re not supposed to eat them."
Customer: "Then what the h*** are you supposed to do with them?!"
Read Aroma Has It