Meme Dump

I Didn't Say It ...

Billy & Janice Crystal, Albert & Kimberly Brooks, Martin Short, Alan & Robin Zweibel, Larry David & Ashley Underwood, Marc Shaiman & Lou Mirabal, Barry & Diana Levinson, James Costos & Michael Smith, on the loss of Rob and Michele Reiner:

“Going to the movies in a dark theater filled with strangers having a common experience, laughing, crying, screaming in fear, or watching an intense drama unfold is still an unforgettable thrill. Tell us a story audiences demand of us. Absorbing all he had learned from his father Carl and his mentor Norman Lear, Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, he became a master storyteller. There is no other director who has his range. From comedy to drama to ‘mockumentary’ to documentary he was always at the top of his game. He charmed audiences. They trusted him. They lined up to see his films. His comedic touch was beyond compare, his love of getting the music of the dialogue just right, and his sharpening of the edge of a drama was simply elegant. For the actors, he loved them. For the writers he made them better. His greatest gift was freedom. If you had an idea, he listened, he brought you into the process. They always felt they were working as a team. To be in his hands as a film maker was a privilege but that is only part of his legacy. Rob was also a passionate, brave citizen, who not only cared for this country he loved, he did everything he could to make it better and with his loving wife Michele, he had the perfect partner. Strong and determined, Michele and Rob Reiner devoted a great deal of their lives for the betterment of our fellow citizens... They were a special force together—dynamic, unselfish and inspiring. We were their friends, and we will miss them forever. There is a line from one of Rob’s favorite films, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ ‘Each man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?’ You have no idea.”

I don’t know why these deaths hit me so hard; I know neither one of these people. But I think they fought a good fight for all of us, stood up to the worst of us, to try to make the world better for us.

And perhaps we should all be doing more of that.

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Zohran Mamdani, Mayor of New York Cityin response to the shooting at Brown University:

“Two people were killed this evening at Brown University by a gunman who remains at large. Eight others are injured, fighting for their lives in a nearby hospital. This senseless violence—once considered unfathomable—has become nauseatingly normal to all of us across our nation. Tonight, on the eve of the anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, we find ourselves in mourning once again. The epidemic of gun violence stretches across America. We reckon with it when we step into our houses of worship and out onto our streets, when we drop our children off at kindergarten and when we fear if those children, now grown, will be safe on campus. But unlike so many other epidemics, we possess the cure. We have the power to eradicate this suffering from our lives if we so choose. I send my deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and to the Brown and Providence communities, who are wrestling with a grief that will feel familiar to far too many others. May we never allow ourselves to grow numb to this pain, and let us rededicate ourselves to the enduring work of ending the scourge of gun violence in our nation.”

Perhaps we should be like Australia, where their mass shooting was not done with assault weapons for if it had been many more would be dead or injured.

Let’s end the United States of Guns and start with assault weapons and vote out any politician who utters that bull shit line, “Now is not the time.”

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Jack Smith, attorney who has served in the United States Department of Justice, in his opening statement before the House Judiciary Committee, during a private deposition:

“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that [Cankles] engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power. I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to [Cankles] political association, activities, beliefs or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. We took actions based on that the facts and the law required—the very lesson I learned early in my career as a prosecutor.”

Okay, so then let’s vote out the GOP and let the Democrats get back to the business of punishing a traitorous criminal for what he tried to do, and is doing now, to this country.

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Jimmy Kimmel, talk show host and friend of Rob & Michele Reiner:

“I know from my personal interactions with Rob Reiner that he would want us to keep pointing out the loathsome atrocities that continue to ooze out of this sick and irresponsible man’s mouth. So we’re going to do that over and over again until the rest of us wake up.”

Be like Rob and Michele and stand up for America before there is no America left to stand for.

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Jon Stewart, comedian, writer, producer, director, actor, political commentator and host of The Daily Show, on Cankles’ real constituents:

“For those of you who were wondering, during this delightful first year of his presidency, who the ‘you’ was that he was going to work so tirelessly for it turns out he is for you, if you are a personal friend, if you donated a lot of money, or if you enriched his meme coin businesses, or you enriched his son’s crypto coin businesses, or of you beat up police officers on his behalf, or if you bought him a plane, or if you probably promised not to reveal anything incriminating about him. Those are the yous it turns out he was for. And if you’re one of those yous, life’s pretty sweet. But for the rest of us, we’re on the outside. And I can only guess what the view is that we’re going to enjoy.”

He isn’t for you, at all. And neither is the GOP.

Vote them all out.

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I Didn't Say It ...

Jimmy Kimmel, on his show once Disney caved to a boycott and allowed him to return to TV:

“In an attempt to silence its critics, our government has resorted to threatening the livelihoods of journalists, talk show hosts, artists, creatives, and entertainers across the board. Our leader celebrates people losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke. This runs counter to the values our nation was built upon, and our Constitution guarantees. A government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn’t like is anti-American … our government cannot be allowed to control what we do and do not say on television. [But] he tried his best to cancel me. Instead he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly. He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this now."

Jimmy Kimmel, taking zero prisoners and giving zero fucks.

Resist. Stand up. Speak up. Protest. Boycott.

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Joy Reid, on JD Couchfucker getting into Yale because of DEI:

“JD Vance got into Yale because they were tired of white men from New York … from all the elite schools. They wanted an Appalachian white. That’s how that man got into Yale, I promise you … That’s also Affirmative Action and DEI policies.”

She ain’t wrong … and the CouchFucker knows it.

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Tiffany Haddish, comedian and actor, taking down The Felon on Jimmy Kimmel Live! a few weeks back:

"I, Tiffany Sarah Cornelia Haddish am running for President of the United States of America. That is right. I've got all the qualifications to be president … I'm rich. I've been arrested a few times and I always say crazy shit. And I have a vision for this country that will blow your mind … My fellow Americans, when I'm president all profiles on dating sites must include your credit score. If you can't handle your business you ain't touching my business. Under a Haddish presidency, every Subway sandwich shop will now carry pastrami sandwiches dammit! Just the way the Founding Fathers wanted it to be. They intended it that way. I will issue an executive order allowing people to pay their taxes with old gift cards. We're gonna run this country, this government, like a company and that company is Sizzler. You can use your old coupons. I also will make it a crime to show up on time to a dinner party. Who in the hell is walking into my house at 6 o'clock for a 6 o'clock dinner. White people, that's who. I'm moving the capital from Washington, D.C. to Hankinson, North Dakota. Don't worry, I've been to Hankinson before, there are buffalos everywhere. Best buffalo pastrami sandwiches you ever had. Instead of elevator small talk, let's do elevator big talk. Quick: tell me about your divorce before the doors open! And finally, I'm getting rid of those little robots that deliver food. In my America, robots will only be used for sex stuff. No more STDs y'all! And my campaign is built around a very simple idea. America: mind your own damn business. Doesn't that sound nice? Doesn't that sound good? Yeah. If you want to join my movement post on social media with the hashtag #WeMindOurOwnDamnBusiness. We’ve had an actor as president, a reality host president, but now it’s time to elect a comedian. Finally, a president who’s funny on purpose, most of the time. Who's with me?"

I’m not sure Haddish is Presidential but I really like the We Mind Our Own Damn Business label!

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Hunter Doohan, Wednesday actor, opening up about feeling like he had to “hide” his sexual orientation early on in his career.

“It was the first time I’d done a network test [for the Showtime drama Your Honor] and they were really scrutinizing [so] I hid pictures of [my partner and I] on my Instagram, archived them. [I remember] I was at lunch one time with Bryan [Cranston, his costar] and I said, ‘Grace called again,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, she’s my friend Grace.’ And he’s like, ‘Oh, just a friend?’ and I thought, ‘Oh God… I’ve been out for eight years and I have to come out of the closet again.’ That was so unsettling and awful. I was like, ‘I’m never going to do that for a role again.'  ... [And now] I’m so lucky to be living in a time where that doesn’t feel as much of a limitation ... I would love to play a queer character, not for the sake of it being queer ... I’ve auditioned for a bunch but haven’t gotten cast as them. But that’ll come and I’ll find a great script. I’m just grateful for the queer actors before me and just queer people in general who have paved the way for me to be able to have this privilege of being able to play these characters.”

Doohan married his partner Fielder Jewett in 2022, just after Wednesday dropped on Netflix; and the ceremony was officiated by his Your Honor co-star Bryan Cranston.

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Jon Stewart, The Daily Show, demanding that we fight the Fascist:

“I just want to say this to [Cankles] defenders. You don’t have to bend over backwards trying to make [his] authoritarian power grabs seem like the rule of law. He does not give a fuck anymore. He’s saying it straight up. [He’s] saying the people like dictators. [He] is saying I hate my opponents and I want them punished. And [Cankles] is saying I’ll use all the levers of government at my disposal to accomplish that goal. So you can get on board with that and say I’m with that or you can join the rest of us and fight like hell for this constitutional republic.”

Again, the comedians are leading the charge; we haven’t gotten a lot of politicians to stand up, and we certainly cannot rely on the media, so We The People need to fight and yell and scream and boycott and march.

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I Didn't Say It ...

Stephen Colbert, on his first show back after CBS canceled his show as, perhaps, a favor and/or a bribe to The Felon:

“Folks, I’m gonna go ahead and say it: Cancel culture has gone too far. Over the weekend, it sunk in that they’re killing off our show. But they made one mistake: They left me alive. On Friday [The Felon] posted, ‘I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.’ How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go fuck yourself.”

This is not a good look for CBS or Paramount, both who stand to lose a lot of money when advertisers bail their programming; Paramount+ is already losing subscribers.

And Colbert isn’t going anywhere; he still has a voice and can find a new platform anywhere to keep up his monologues about The Felon.

And we’ll be listening.

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Jon Stewart, railing against CBS for canceling Stephen Colbert's "Late Show."

“The fact that CBS didn’t try to save their number one-rated network late-night franchise that’s been on the air for over three decades is part of what’s making everybody wonder, was this purely financial? Or maybe the path of least resistance for your $8 billion merger was killing a show that you know rankled a fragile and vengeful president, so insecure, suffering terribly from a case of chronic penis insufficiency. Look, I understand the corporate fear. I understand the fear that you and your advertisers have with $8 billion at stake. But understand this, truly, the shows that you now seek to cancel, censor and control, a not insignificant portion of that $8 billion value came from those fucking shows ... This is not the moment to give in. I’m not giving in. I’m not going anywhere. I think."

Stewart has zero fucks to give and will also keep this story alive about a powerful media conglomerate trying to silence Free Speech.

And he, too, will survive.

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Sandra Oh, appearing this week on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert:

“Can I just start by saying something that I feel like probably everyone here and everyone who is so supportive outside wants to say—that I am so sorry and saddened and properly outraged for the cancellation of late night here. Not only for yourself and for this entire family who are here, but for what it means for what it is of where we are in our culture and what it means for free speech. So I just want to say sorry, and also if I can have your hand … [and] to CBS and Paramount, a plague on both of your houses.”

One day the tide will turn and CBS and Paramount will suffer for their goose-stepping along with a lunatic for some extra coins.

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Jasmine Crockett, Democrat Texas Representative, on the Texas GOP’s scheme to gerrymander the state and disenfranchise minority voters en masse:

"So first of all it hasn't quite been said, clearly that Texas has always been found to be intentionally discriminatory and so I want y'all to understand the makeup of my state. The state is a majority-minority state. And what this legislature historically has done is what they plan to do again, it's to dilute the voices of people of color in order to make sure that they can get to where they're trying to go. We saw this Department of Justice decided to put out a letter and what did they do? We only have four seats that are represented by Black folk where the vast majority of the people that get to decide who they have represent them are Black. They decided to attack three of the four seats that we have in this state. They decided to go after a Latina. They are specifically deciding to splinter the communities of common interest as well as just blatantly say, 'we are going to dilute minority voices.' So we know that the courts ever since we've had a Voting Rights Act have always found this state to be intentionally discriminatory. That is what they are going to do. So I need people of color to understand that this scheme of the Republicans has consistently been to make sure that they mute our voices so that they can go ahead and have an oversized say in this. So I fully anticipate that's exactly where they're going with this map. It's the only way to do it," she said. "We didn't understand how we got to the map that they gave us last time because that state was grown by 95% people of color. They went out of their way to make sure that we got zero new seats for people of color. So that's exactly what they're going to do this time."

Texas's MAGA Governor Greg Abbott has expanded the legislative agenda for an upcoming special session that begins on July 21st to ram through new redistricting. The seats are Democratically held and are largely Hispanic and Black but Texas Republicans want to break them up, redraw them, and dilute them so that they're more likely to swing red. Thankfully, Democrats aren't taking this fascist power grab lying down. On Friday, ten Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill in Texas called the "Anti-Rigging Act of 2025." It would end mid-decade redistricting unless such action is specifically mandated by a court order.

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Jack Schlossberg, hottie and JFK's only grandson, going after Republicans for trying to rename the Kennedy Center's Opera House after First Lady Nude Model Melanie:

"A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces—but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers. JFK believed the arts made our country great and could be our most effective weapon in the fight for civil rights and against authoritarian governments around the world. He took political heat for it at the time—for inviting Black artists to the White House, like the Staples Singers. For supporting Black Americans like Harry Belafonte and James Baldwin on global tours to showcase the best of our society. Pablo Casals, a symbol of resistance to fascism, played for President Kennedy. Yo-yo Ma did too … when he was just 6 years old. Robert Frost performed at JFK’s inaugural. The Mona Lisa came and visited the White House. The [Felon] Administration stands for freedom of oppression, not expression. He uses his awesome powers to suppress free expression and instill fear. But this isn’t about the arts. [The Felon] is obsessed with being bigger than JFK, with minimizing the many heroes of our past, as if that elevates him. It doesn’t. But there’s hope—art lasts forever, and no one can change what JFK and our shared history stands for."

The effort to rename the opera house after the Slovenian Hooker is a blatant attempt on the part of the GOP to kiss some fat gelatinous ass. It's especially pathetic given the fact that Melanie, other than posing nekkid and lying flat on her back with her heels to the heavens while a serial predator, rapist and pedophile, schtupped her, has not a single real accomplishment to her name; she is just the cowardly, greedy woman who enabled her husband's fascism for a few coins and a New York penthouse.

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I Didn't Say It ...

Chris Van Hollen, US Senator from Maryland, blasting Secretary of State Little Marco Rubio to his face in a floor speech:

“We didn’t always agree, but I believe we shared some common values: a belief in defending democracy and human rights abroad, and honoring the Constitution at home. That’s why I voted to confirm you. I believed you would stand up for those principles. You haven’t. You’ve done the opposite … I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State.”

I think Little Marco thought his appointment as Secretary of State would be a stepping stone to the presidency but his goose-stepping along with a fascist regime—much like his parents escaped from when they fled Cuba—has sealed his fate.

This is as far as Little Marco goes.

Good.

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Bryan Cranston, actor, on The Felon’s mental health:

“I’ve stopped worrying about the president’s sanity. He’s not sane. And the realization of his illness doesn’t fill me with anger, but with profound sadness. What I now worry about is the sanity of anyone who can support this deeply troubled man to lead our country.”

Sadly, I think the insanity of those in the GOP and the cultists will never go away because ignorance is bliss.

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Ketanji Brown Jackson, Supreme Court Justice, on Birthright Citizenship:

"Your arguments seem to turn our justice system—in my view at least—into a ‘catch me if you can’ regime from the standpoint of the executive; where everybody has to have a lawyer and file a lawsuit in order for the government to stop violating people’s rights. Let’s assume for the purpose of this that you are wrong about the merits. That the government is not allowed to do this under the Constitution. Yet, it seems to me that your argument is, ‘We get to keep on doing it until everyone who is potentially harmed by it figures out how to file a lawsuit and hire a lawyer.’ I don’t understand how that ir remotely consistent with the law.”

It's really simple: if you are born in this country you are a citizen and granted all the rights and privileges of citizenship, regardless of the color of your skin, or where your parents came from, or the language you may speak.

It’s that simple, but this racist regime wants to change that Constitutional right.

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Avigail Abarbanel, former Israel Defense Forces [IDF] soldier on why she now stands with the Palestinians:

“I’m not denying at all that Jews were victims throughout history. This would be stupid to deny. My grandparents are Holocaust survivors. [But] I also realized that having been victims doesn’t give us the right to then commit home invasion, to get somebody else kicked off their land and take their land, destroy them and kill them—try to erase their entire civilization.”

I don’t blame the Jewish people, I blame Netanyahu and Israel for the murder and torture of children, for starving people to death in order to steal their land.

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Jon Stewart, comedian and talk show host, on media personalities giving up their Freedom of Speech to a fascist:

“What you’re seeing now is all must pay tribute to the king and the price of peace is different. ABC had to pay $15 million. Bezos had to pay $40 million for a documentary on [Melanie]. The reason why the guy from Sixty Minutes and the reason why the head of CBS News left—it’s not even about the money … Part of the deal is they have to apologize. And in that moment, these people who have built careers on their excellence and their integrity, have to look and go, alright, I hope I have done well enough that I can weather this, but there is no fucking way that I am going to apologize for doing my job the way it’s supposed to be done just because this one guy is offended by it.”

If Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press go, then everything else will follow. Demand more and better from the media; turn off the goose-steppers—and I’m looking at you Jake—who are too afraid to speak up.

Champion journalists like Scott Pelley and Megan Cassella, and a few others, and avoid those that bow down to bullies and little dick-tators.

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Stuart Milk, Harvey Milk’s nephew and Executive Chair of Harvey Milk Foundation, on the report that the Pentagon may rename the USN Ship Harvey Milk:

“We are heartbroken to hear that there is a recommendation at the Pentagon to remove my uncle’s name from the USNS Harvey Milk. I recently had the honor of spending three days and nights aboard the ship with the men and women who serve our country, and I was there as the ship replenished, while underway at sea, the Destroyer Squadron accompanying the USS Gerald Ford in the Atlantic Ocean. The pride that all the men and women on those ships—gay, straight, black, white, Hispanic, commissioned officers and enlisted personnel—all of them, without exception, expressed and relayed to me, was a testament to the American spirit of patriotism and respect for our nation's collective history of growth. Uncle Harvey did not set out to have a US Naval Ship, or anything else, named after him. He did not set out in pursuit of glory or fame. Rather, guided by passion, commitment, and hard work, he did set out to be a messenger of hope for all who had been marginalized and even criminalized, just for being who they authentically were. Harvey Milk was an uncle, a public servant, a son, a veteran, a brother, a teacher, a decorated Naval instructor, and a historic elected official. In the prime of his public service career, he was silenced by another who ultimately tried to erase him. His legacy since that brutal assassination has sustained a message of hope, hope unashamed, hope unafraid, hope that will not be silenced, and hope that simply cannot be erased. My uncle's life story, his service in the Navy, as a teacher, as a Broadway producer, in local government, and in leading a statewide equality campaign, has continued to stir the hope and aspirations of millions across the globe. His legacy has stood as a proud and bright light for the men and women who serve in our nation's military—including those who have served on the USNS Harvey Milk—and a reminder that no barriers of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, or physical infirmity will restrain their human spirit. Harvey Milk's legacy is certainly enhanced and celebrated by a US Naval Ship, however his legacy will not be silenced or diminished by the renaming of that Naval ship. Rather such an action would only serve to prove that Harvey Milk style hope will continue to endure and inspire across the globe, and that neither bullets nor name stripping can stop Harvey's overriding message to us all—when he prophetically anticipated making the ultimate sacrifice: ‘Let the bullets that enter my brain, destroy every closet door’.”

Harvey also famously said, ‘You gotta give 'em hope.’

And he did, paving the way for every one of us who came out after to stand up and be out and proud, and to have our own homophobic and transphobic military leaders decide his service, to both the military and the We The People, isn’t worthy of being honored, is sickening.

I did read someone who said you can look at this from the other side: after all these years, Harve’s name, and his work, and his struggle, and his legacy, is front and center again.

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Meme Dump

I Didn't Say It

Jon Stewart, comedian, former “Daily Show” host and activist, taking on Ted Cruz for voting No on the PACT bill, and the subsequent passing of the bill:

"I'm used to lies. I'm used to hypocrisy. I'm used to their cowardice. I'm not used to the cruelty [for a bill] … they had fought for, for more than a decade. The bill that Ted Cruz voted yes on had the exact same funding provisions as the bill he voted no on. It’s the exact same bill. None of this makes any sense. That is just a word salad that he's spewing into his coffee cup on his way to God knows where. All cowards. All of them … I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this situation where people who have already given so much had to fight so hard to get so little. I hope we learned a lesson.”

The bill finally passed this week though these eleven Republicans voted ‘No’: Mitt Romney, Rand Paul, Mike Crapo, James Lankford, Mike Lee, Cynthia Lumis,  James Risch, Richard Shelby, Pat Toomey, Tommy Turberville, Thom Tillis.

Note that Rafael Cruz voted ‘Yes’ this time though not one thing changed about the bill after he voted ‘No’ and then fist-bumped his fellow ReTHUGlicans.

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Whoopi Goldberg, on the passing of pioneering actor Nichelle Nichols who inspired her to appear in ‘Star Trek’:

“Nichelle Nichols was a trailblazer, a heroine, and an extraordinary woman—somebody who inspired millions and millions of people, but who inspired me because I explained when I went to get my gig at ‘Star Trek’ that Nichelle was the first Black person I’d ever seen who made it to the future. She was head of communications. And this show and this woman was the one beacon that said, ‘Yes, we’ll be there.’ And it just made me feel like that was an amazing thing. She helped propel other women to go into space. She was extraordinary and I was lucky enough to spend time with her over the years. She was my friend. She’ll be missed.”

As in many cases, people of color stand on  the shoulders of those who came before them, and help the next generation step up. Nichelle did that for Whoopi, and Whoopi paid it forward.

Rest in Power.

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Joe Scarborough, MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe,’ on that stunning rejection by Kansas voters of an amendment that would have allowed state legislators to ban abortion:

“I think it’s an example a lot of people who identified themselves as pro-life looking at what happened since Roe was overturned. Looking at the extremism, looking at the 10-year-old girl being chased from the state, looking at the Texas attorney general fighting for the right to let mothers die on the operating table, to tear away the protections that the federal government is trying to put in place to protect moms to have a choice whether they die on an operating table or not. You look at all of the extremities, and now again in another Republican state legislature trying to give the right to members of a rapist’s family to sue a rape victim for $20,000 unless she has a forced pregnancy. This is a rapist’s bill of rights that Republicans are passing, a rapists’ bill of rights for forced childbirth on children.”

The vote made Kansas one of the only red states where abortion remains legal after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. And it might just be the first because SCOTUS and the GOP’s rapidly increasing radicalism—Don’t Say Gay, don’t honor police officers, vote against healthcare for vets, ban books, attack drag queens—has pissed off a lot of people on both sides.

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Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader, walking back his expectations about how many Senate seats are likely to flip in the midterm election:

“I think it’s going to be very tight. We have a 50-50 nation. And I think when this Senate race smoke clears, we’re likely to have a very, very close Senate still, with us up slightly or the Democrats up slightly.”

I think Mitch maybe trying to play both sides. We do not have a 50-50 nation; there are more democrats than Republican and when we vote, we win. And the four years terrorist reign  of Thing 45, coupled with this radical SCOTUS, and the GOP’s culture wars on everything that isn’t white and Christian and straight, has angered Democrats and Independents and women and the LGBTQ+ community.

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