DMC

Trump comparing the Iran strikes to Hiroshima and Nagasaki today is...something.

I honestly don't see how you can watch that interview and not understand it was a clear platform for Mamdani and Lander to make it clear that the Jewish, Muslim, and all other communities in New York City can all work together -- and that there's absolutely nothing wrong with supporting the first serious Muslim candidate for NYC mayor. If Mamdani can't handle the softball questions Colbert gave him, he's gonna have a hell of a time in the general election when he still has to contend with Adams, the crazy GOP nominee Sliwa, and quite possibly still Cuomo depending on what he decides over the next couple of weeks. There's a lot wrong with the Democratic Party right now. And the "establishment" has a lot to answer for - Jeffries "not taking a look at" the current War Powers Resolution, for instance. But this type of purity testing via quibbling over the type of or wording of questions is another main issue with the party. That interview was a great example of how the party should unite and move forward.

Colbert's show certainly got toned down and more corporatized when he moved from Comedy Central to CBS. Duh. That's why I've never watched it and frankly never planned once it was announced he was replacing Letterman. But that doesn't mean Colbert's political views have changed - nor where he fails on the spectrum of the Democratic Party. Him having Mamdani and Lander on the night before election day should frankly make that clear in and of itself.

We don't get to choose what voters care about - nor what idiotic smears are going to gain traction. All candidates can do is explain why those attacks are baseless and why they're the best candidate for the job. Which is exactly what Colbert gave Mamdani the opportunity to do with that interview.

Heh, while I agree with you, this was actually mentioned in Colbert's questioning. Tel Aviv has the largest Jewish population of any city in the world. New York is second.

It’s really not. Fact is it was a major issue raised throughout the campaign. It sucks that’s the case, but that ain’t Colbert’s fault. Him ignoring it - and not giving Mamdani the opportunity to address it - actually would have been worse. I haven’t watched Colbert other than clips since he got the CBS show, but it’s absurd to group him in with “establishment” Dems.

Well, credit where credit is due - they did well to draft Tatum and Brown, and frankly more impressively found Pritchard and Hauser (who went undrafted). But, ya know, the first two were really high picks. They have the 28th pick this year, and as long as Brown and White stay healthy I doubt they’ll get a top ten pick next year unless they luck out with the lottery.

Cuomo certainly got a good amount of “establishment” support, which is just fucking ridiculous at this point. But I have no idea what that Colbert interview has to do with it. First off, Colbert had Mamdani and Lander on - giving them a platform while NOT giving one to Cuomo. Second, while Colbert did ask both of them “does Israel have a right to exist,” it wasn’t the first question. Moreover, Colbert was clearly giving Mamdani an opportunity to address the antisemitism concerns head on - of which he did, and got applause from the crowd, and got Lander (who is Jewish) to back him up. Here’s the interview - if you wanna actually watch it instead of some dude on his phone while he’s apparently looking for a bus stop or something.

Brown was the Republican nominee for this seat in 2014. Presumably he’ll be viewed much less as a carpetbagger now, especially since he’s remained active in NH politics since. Not that it matters. Barring some huge scandal or something, Pappas will easily beat him, particularly in this climate.

And Cuomo concedes, it's over.

Yeah the seven point edge with most votes counted is an outstanding initial result. Incredibly unlikely Cuomo can overcome that during the ranked-choice rounds. Very impressive victory for Mamdani.

Yeah a lot of outlets have been casting doubts on level of success/destruction. He went off on them this morning on the White House lawn and on his little social media thing too. Just wanted to clarify that was before this report.

Smartass.

CNN didn't publish the scoop until about four this afternoon. The White House - namely Leavitt - has responded to the report, but I don't believe Trump personally has done so yet.

While I disagree with the action, I would not vote to remove Trump from office based on the Iran strikes either. Notable progressives Ro Khanna and Jamie Raskin voted to table the motion.

CNN got a hold of a leaked DIA preliminary assessment on the strikes on Saturday that is not encouraging:

I have to imagine the Blazers are planning on putting Holiday up for auction at next year's deadline to contending teams? Otherwise that trade makes fucking zero sense for them. As for Porzingis, well, at least for him he's only got next year left on his contract.

Celtics trade Holiday and now Porzingis to get under the second apron. Getting Simons for Holiday (not bad) and now some dude Georges Niang. I'm sure Tatum's injury didn't help, but this sounds like more the effect of new ownership not willing to pay the tax. Still, pretty good job by Boston in finding teams in order to save all that money/salary obligation.

Heh. So, I'm wondering based on the thread title, does this mean you're going to change your username to "The Spockydog?" And if so, may I suggest you add another "g" like Snoop, so you're the muthafucking D-O-Double G. Anyway, since I neglected to say it earlier, glad you're back and congrats on all the success!

Yeah that was the point of the joke. I'm not sure how it will work vis-a-vis the Nixon example where Kissinger played the straight man.

Heh. Nixon famously had Kissinger to play off of with the madman strategy. Trump has...I dunno, basic common sense?

Just saw the snap poll from CNN/SSRS on the Iran strikes. 56 Americans disapprove, 44 approve. Independents at 60 disapprove, 40 approve. @Maithanet, remember a few days ago when I speculated if there was a 2 to 1 split in favor among the "don't knows" upon a strike, approval would still be underwater 45/55. Not trying to brag, just pretty remarkable that's nearly exactly these results.

You didn't miss much. Everything's all good!

This was indeed struck down by MacDonough. However, All-World douche Mike Lee is not backing down yet: The Hill now has a comprehensive list of all the provisions struck down in the initial Byrd Bath. Another odious provision that got axed was effectively extorting federal workers into agreeing to become "at-will" employees by increasing the contribution rate to the retirement system for civil servants that refuse to do so. Like Lee's efforts above though, it's not quite over yet. The GOP still has the opportunity to alter these provisions and try again in order to get them through. That being said, the amount of good MacDonough has done through negative policymaking over the last five days is rather historic - textbook-worthy for dorks on the legislative process like me. Let's just hope Thune sticks to his pledge not to fire and/or overrule MacDonough. For some of these - e.g. striking down aspects of the SNAP cuts - I think he readily will simply because they actually make the bill easier to get to 50 votes in the Senate - and when the House GOP whines about it he can be like "hey, my hands are tied."

Well, your views led you to extremely bad predictions about Musk joining the Trump administration, and you did so among people that were biased to disagree with you. So, something was off there too.