US attack on Iran nearly two weeks on

 

I have a guess answer:  Shipping companies don't want to try to make the run, so there's no client to escort.

I wonder if he said that on Fox News.  I'm sure MAGA is willing to suffer.

Newt is still alive?!  He happens to be right about this.

I'm sure MAGA is willing to suffer.

I was living in San Francisco at the time.  We were limited to either odd or even days to even go the gas station depending on the number on our car licenses, and then we had to wait in very long lines, burning gas while we waited.  People were often in bad moods.

UPDATE 07:14 pm:

Somewhere I heard 150.  I guess that could be considered approximately 140.

The dead and wounded would like a word.

UPDATE 03/12/2026:

I'm shocked.

One day they''ll go too far even for MAGA

 You might well have thought he already has, but you'd be wrong.

In so many words...

 

Not an exact quote, but essentially that is what he said.

Trump's going to announce that the Nobel Prize is fake and stupid and then create a prize (with more gold) that he always wins.

Bet.

Of course the main reason he wants the prize so badly is because Obama got it (undeservedly, I think).  Also, he likes prizes.  

They only bring attention to the fact that he didn't get it by dwelling on it so much.  Brilliant strategy, keep telling everyone what a failure the guy is.

And...priming the idea that the prize is stupid...

The rest of the story...

UPDATE 09:01 am:  Oh shit!

Where will Rubio be sent as ambassador?  Venezuela maybe?

Rick Scott will get some choice words, and a primary opponent, but he can't be stripped of his job.

UPDATE 10/11/2025:

Not great.

They don't think things through

 

You heard the man.

Scott's constituents probably aren't all as stupid as he is.

A roster of idiots

source

“I ran for leader with one mission: to fundamentally change how the Senate operates and upend the status quo so we can actually start representing the voters who put us here. When I announced, I said that we are in a moment where we need dramatic change. The voters confirmed that last week when they elected President Trump and Republicans took the majority in both chambers of Congress with a clear mandate,” [Rick Scott] said in a statement after losing the vote for Senate majority leader.

He added, “While it isn’t the result we hoped for, I will do everything possible to make sure John Thune is successful in accomplishing President Trump’s agenda. I would also like to thank John Cornyn for running a great race.”

[...]

Thune has served as Senate Republican whip, the No. 2-ranking position in the Senate GOP leadership, since 2019, and largely managed operation of the Senate floor since McConnell suffered a concussion from a fall in 2023.

He received 29 votes, to Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) 24. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) had been knocked out of the running on an earlier ballot.

  The Hill

Is Ted Cruz the only Republican Senator less liked than Rick Scott?

Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) [faced] a barrage of opposition from Trump allies ranging from Tucker Carlson to Sean Hannity.

[...]

Hard-line conservatives are abandoning their plan to nominate a challenger to Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) bid for the gavel during Wednesday’s internal House GOP elections, opting for a different protest strategy to showcase resistance to his leadership, two sources familiar with the matter told The Hill.

The plan B being plotted by the House Freedom Caucus would involve forcing a secret, recorded vote on Johnson’s nomination, according to the sources, who were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive internal deliberations.

Because Johnson is running unopposed, the conference could nominate him for the top job by voice vote, which Republicans did in 2016 to give former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) the nod. Hard-liners, however, want to force a recorded vote — and avoid a voice vote — to make their reservations regarding Johnson’s leadership clear. One of the sources said members would have the ability to write in a candidate if they wanted to.

The strategy is a change from Tuesday afternoon, when conservatives were discussing plans to nominate an alternative candidate to Johnson for Speaker during Wednesday’s internal GOP elections. Those on the right flank were discussing whom to nominate. One source told The Hill three people were prepared to throw their hat in the ring.

  The Hill

Trump backs the Christo-fascist Johnson.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 01:24 pm:

Thune has never gotten along with Trump. He called on Trump to drop out of the race when the Access Hollywood tape broke in 2016. He was harshly critical of Trump in the wake of J6 - so much so that Trump endorsed Thune’s primary opponent in 2022. Thune then returned the favor by endorsing Tim Scott in the presidential primary against Trump. When asked if he would support Trump if he was the nominee, Thune refused to answer, saying only “I hope we will have better options.”

Thune had the backing of his mentor Mitch McConnell.

  Meidas Touch

I heard someone say that in the battle between Trump/Scott and McConnell/Thune you should bet on McConnell. I didn't think so. I would have lost.  Gladly.

John Cornyn was also in the race, which threatened to split the establishment vote, allowing MAGA challenger Rick Scott to make it into the runoff. But it was not to be as Scott finished 3rd on the first ballot, then Thune narrowly defeated Cornyn in the final vote.

[...]It was reported that Trump wanted to endorse Scott, but knew he didn’t have the votes so he didn’t want to back him only to be publicly humiliated. But Musk backed him, along with all the far-right MAGA Senators. The MAGA meltdown after the vote was fun to watch.

Even in Ohio

Maybe Republican voters are starting to see the big picture.

UPDATE 02:28 pm:

And in Florida!

Florida Man

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) issued what he described as a “formal travel advisory for socialists visiting Florida,” on Tuesday, warning that the state was “openly hostile” to socialists and their enablers.

“The state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by Socialists and others who work in the Biden Administration,” Scott, who is also the state’s former governor, said in a press release.

“Let me be clear – any attempts to spread the oppression and poverty that Socialism always brings will be rebuffed by the people of Florida,” he added. “Travelers should be aware that attempts to spread Socialism in north Florida will fail and be met with laughter and mockery.”

  The Hill

Who wants to tell him?

Scott’s statement is a mocking response to recent travel issued by social justice groups declaring Florida an unsafe state for certain minority groups.

Over the weekend, the NAACP issuing a travel advisory warning that Florida has become “hostile to Black Americans” under Gov. Ron DeSantis. The League of United Latin American Citizens (a civil rights organization) and Equality Florida (an LGBTQ rights group) also issued travel warnings in recent weeks.

What happened

Did the State of the Union speech go too well for Biden?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 02/17/2023:

Meanwhile in the Senate

Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley was booted from his perch on the powerful Armed Services Committee last month as retribution for delaying the confirmation of numerous Defense Department nominees last year, and for his role in challenging Mitch McConnell’s hold as the chamber’s top Republican, sources tell CQ Roll Call.

When the Armed Services panel announced its roster last week, Hawley’s name was conspicuously absent from the list — a surprise move that came directly from McConnell’s office.

Hawley’s removal, the circumstances of which have not been previously reported, stemmed in part from his involvement in attempting to postpone the Senate GOP’s leadership elections in November to allow for a long-shot bid from Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to replace McConnell as Republican leader.

  Roll Call

That shot was so long as to be interstellar. Definitely a MAGA move.

Spokespersons for Hawley and McConnell both denied the claim.

Of course they did.

Hawley’s spokesperson said the senator had voluntarily stepped down from Armed Services, which left room for his newly elected colleague from Missouri, Republican Eric Schmitt, to join the committee.

That is simply laughable. Hawley did not voluntarily step down.

In November, Hawley joined Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah and Ted Cruz of Texas in the effort to delay the GOP leadership vote.

“I don’t know why Senate GOP would hold a leadership vote for the next Congress before this election is finished,” Hawley said in a tweet. “We have a runoff in #GASenate — are they saying that doesn’t matter? Don’t disenfranchise @HerschelWalker.”

That's laughable, too.

Earlier this month, Scott blamed McConnell for pulling him and Lee off the Commerce Committee as payback for his bid to replace McConnell.

Now THAT's totally believable.

“I can confirm Senator Hawley’s explanation: He voluntarily gave up his seat on the committee. Any claim to the contrary is false,” said a spokesperson for McConnell.

Bullshit. And reminiscent of McCarthy and Santos claiming Santos voluntarily stepped down from his House committee spots.

“Nobody removed Josh from any committees. Josh decided to remain on the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees, and allowed fellow Missourian Eric Schmitt to take his seat on Armed Services so he could move to the Energy Committee,” said Hawley spokesperson Abigail Marone.

Whatever. I wonder why now and not at the beginning of the new Senate session last month.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

State of the Union sideshow

Mitt Romney had words with George Santos.

MTG treated it as the circus she lives in and creates every day.

“People stand up and clap for the president. I think we can stand up and oppose things he’s saying,” Greene said. “Just like a sports team, right?”

  The Hill

Thus voicing my biggest complaint about American politics today: people treat it like a sporting event instead of the thing that allows them to have a voice in their own government.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said that the Republicans responded appropriately in some areas, such as to Biden’s Social Security comments. But he said that Greene, who stood and pointed at Biden during her jeers, went too far.

“It’s inappropriate because it then can hurt,” Cramer said. “Our brand is moral authority.”

Not for decades, pal.

Apparently, one of the biggest stinks GOP members made was when Biden said some Republicans want to get rid of Medicare and Social Security. (One would expect them to shout the loudest denials there, because it's true.)

I’ve never seen anything like it in a State of the Union speech – they ran at him like a pack of lemmings and, with a wink and a grin, he politely directed them to the cliff.

  USA Today

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

The whole shebang:

Highlights:

UPDATE 10:17 am:

Any time there is a televised event at the House, you can count on Sinema and Greene to be wearing an outfit sure to capture the camera's eye.

UPDATE 02/17/2023: