Trump Has Already Won

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 16, 2026 · 5:39 PM PDT

2026/03/16 · 17:39

No, not in the sense that he won the war with Iran. The US is likely to lose there, much as we lost in Vietnam, and for much the same reason — asymmetrical warfare, which Trump does not understand. Nor is he winning the economic war, or the political war, and certainly not the moral war. Trump is winning the only war that really matters to a narcissist: the war to remake the world in his image.

John B. Judis argues somewhat along these lines in his NOTUS column this morning: Trump as Alexander the Great: A Theory That Explains Iran (And Everything Else):

Trump himself may soon be disgraced, but he and his administration have set in motion long-term changes that are going to be with us for the foreseeable future. Trump, it is increasingly clear, is a figure of enormous historical significance who is reshaping America and the globe in ways that will not easily be undone by Democratic wins in future elections.

Judis calls on Hegel’s analysis of historical trends to make his point (though not in the direction Hegel may have been hoping the world would go):

Trump may or may not have fully understood what he was doing, but he did, clearly and correctly, sense that the world was at a turning point, which he encapsulated in his promise to “make America great again.” . . .

Trump’s break with neoliberalism and liberal internationalism perfectly fits Hegel’s profile of the world-historical individual standing at the center of a transition from one era to another. So do his character and leadership. He didn’t merely appear to act out of a “morbid craving” for power and glory; that is at the center of his being.

There is an eternal argument among historians over whether the times makes the man or the man makes the times. My position is that it is a combination of both, though one side is often weightier than the other. In this case, I think the times were ripe for a person like Trump. David French makes this point in his NYT op-ed today: We Have Reached End-Stage Polarization :

Does anyone think a healthy nation with a healthy political culture would elect a man like Donald Trump not once, but twice?

He explains:

We’ve known for a long time that America is deeply polarized, and we’ve known the problem is only getting worse. . . . This approach is profoundly dangerous to our republic. The American constitutional system is, at its heart, a dispute-resolution mechanism. It takes all the differences and divisions inherent in a continent-sized multiethnic, multifaith democracy and channels them into a political system marked by checks and balances and firewalls against tyranny. . . .

But hatred puts this system to its most severe test — a test we’ve faced over and over again. It is relatively easy to support the civil rights of people you like (even if you disagree with them). It is profoundly difficult to support the civil rights of people you hate.

Into this cauldron plunged Trump. He began his 2016 campaign with hatred — blaming Mexicans for crime in that infamous escalator ride (that he was riding it down was in itself an unintended signal). Since then, he has continuously poured oil on troubled fires, as it were. There is no bigotry too extreme, no discomfort too petty, no disagreement too minor, for him to seize on and make worse.

This, I contend, makes Trump different from the precious personages that Judis cites as Hegel’s models: Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon. This much is true:

Trump, like Hegel’s world-historical individuals, has ignored or repudiated “sacred interests” including the Constitution and its checks and balances. . . . [His] willingness to defy law and morality, and to pursue power and glory relentlessly, has been integral to world-historical individuals — and to their ability to detonate outworn ideas and institutions.

Trump may, as Judis hopes, shortly self-destruct. Not only is he old and in poor mental and physical health, he is acting far more recklessly than Alexander’s campaign in India, Caesar at the Rubicon, Napoleon thrashing through the snow toward Moscow. But those rulers, for all their faults, their greed, their destruction of lawful order, did not act with the sheer malice, the cruelty for the fun of it — Trump Talks Hitting Iran ‘for Fun’ as Admin Criticized Over Tone — that Trump and his hirelings display at every moment.

That is the mark Trump is really making on the world. And the world is molding itself to fit. Stopping that, reversing that, will take a lot more than just beating him back at the ballot box. It will take generations of hard work to restore the ideals of Hegel’s Enlightenment era: civility, human rights, the use of reason to settle disputes, and yes: diversity, equity, and inclusion. We were making progress; Trump has set that progress back.

He did not do that singlehandedly; he has had lots of help, lots of backing. He did not make the fractured world that French describes; he took advantage of it and widened the fractures into chasms. Repairing the world will also mean fighting back against those who egged him on, who bribed him to do what he wanted to do anyway, who plan to continue to remake the world in Trump’s image once he is gone.

That is the challenge we face in the world Trump is leaving us.

Home alone, wife still MAGA, my town is riven... so I just have too many thoughts, ya know?

Chuck Walters

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 16, 2026 · 5:39 PM PDT

2026/03/16 · 17:39

I’ve been bereft ever since this war started. I was the same way when Gulf War I started, then more so for Desert Storm, then even worse for Ukraine…. and now this… which we started. We were supposed to be the good guys, weren’t we?

Aren’t we now the “rogue nation”?

I was seven years old when my paternal grandfather died. He was a veteran of World War I, and what I remember about those early years when we drove to the old coal patch town where my grandfather lived, were the VFW parades, and the Memorial Day and Veterans Day rituals. The attitude -- if a seven year old can be said to have such thoughts, or maybe it’s a now near-60 year-old man imagining his seven-year-old self in those idyllic days of ignorance — was a feeling that,

”...because our elders and ancestors fought these wars, we were victorious, and now we’re gonna be OK.”

Now — at the same time, in 1974 when he died, two hours away my home was next door to a house with two sons who went to Viet Nam. The family across the street had a VW bug in the garage that was up on blocks, for the same reason. I knew that there were wars going on. I knew that when the son of the family next door came back, he was …. well, a seven-year-old kid doesn’t know what a “thousand yard stare” is, but he knew that when Bobby came back, that’s what he had.

________________

What I was thinking today…. when people say “we have to fight them over there, so that we do not have to fight them over here!” …. doesn’t seem like whenever we get done fighting “over there”, that we still, nevertheless, always find a reason to fight amongst ourselves right here? What I was thinking…. it was about that cute/not really cartoon about the two hunters, or runners --- there are many themes — desperately running out in front of and fleeing a charging bear:

The one says, breathlessly, to the other, ”I don’t know if I can outrun a bear, can you?”

and of course the second says, ”I don’t have to outrun a bear. I just have to outrun you.”

Isn’t that just the pure essence of unregulated capitalism?
____________________

What seems to have changed since I was a kid, whether it’s me getting fifty years older, or the country now fifty years in the wake of Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Bush, and now this twisted orange puppet of Putin who thinks like Marge Schott:

”Hitler was OK at first, he just went too far.”

Marge Schott lost her ownership of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team for that remark.

This crew running our country now seems to have gathered enough followers to get back into office for having said pretty much the same thing — although not always out loud — since they lost in 2020. So who really changed? Were they more crafty? Was the propaganda more effective? Or were we more desperate and gullible, and as we were running from the charging bear, the latent need to see someone else take the fall so that we can claim our own superiority as we step over them…. was that always within us all along?

In the hearts and minds of too many among us, I fear it was the latter. So the lesson seems to be (the one we are not learning) is that it only takes just a push to force economic challenges … push people back down Maslow’s pyramid of of motivation to their primitive survival instincts …to awaken the dark side among too many. And who better suited to create economic mayhem than the people who already have all the money, of course.

That’s really all Trump did; or whatever mass of moneyed interests that finance his puppet figurehead operation. Two things, in essence, are all they need to say, and repeat —

”I know who causes all your problems, and together ‘we’ will go after ‘them’, ‘those people,’ the others’.”

follow up occasionally with subtle reminders,

”Those people are still out there, you know… they’re right behind you, and gaining on you.”

__________________________

I look around, and what scares me is not so much Trump et al, or the new breed of “we’ll get it right this time” fascists who are seeking office. What chills my blood and brings me to the dark space — the thing that the therapists say makes me “not conducive to therapy” — is just how many people who were always among us who love this blood sport barbarism as an economic theory. “WE” will just eat “THEM” because “THOSE PEOPLE” are not worthy,

These are not warrior people. The people who scare me are .. well, my wife. People who used to be pretty boring and never said much. But now they are onboard with this thing; they don’t know anything about economics, but they just know that if they other guy falls down, he’s easier to step over than to outrun. So that has become their strategy for their own success: They don’t have to be great, the other guy just has to be worse: either so he falls down, and they step over him — or they see “them”, “those people”, “the others” always as the demon in the shadows, the bear always to be outrun...faster, faster, faster.

_____________

I notice that among the science-minded, evolution by natural selection is accepted as the most likely explanation for how life evolved on this planet. In simple terms, in colloquial language, we used to simply say “dog eat dog”, “survival of the fittest”, “only the strong survive,” “eat or be eaten.” We used to talk about those ideas as a dystopian nightmare where the shadows loom large, the fear never subsides, and everyone sleeps with one eye open. That is a horrible place, to be sure.

Yet there is this weird thought that I have which I don’t see spoken about among many of us, and to me, it seems to be right there in out in the open — albeit unsaid:

Capitalism is really just a man-made system of evaluating the worth of people and things.

Capitalism operates, at it’s core, just like Darwinian evolution by natural selection:

Eat or be eaten, only the strong survive. There are no points for second place.

Isn’t it odd that the religious fundamentalists who scoff at evolution (“I didn’t come from no monkey!” — a phrase that only proves they are determined not to understand what evolution by natural selection actually is) — — are the same ones who are bipolar enough to embrace the same paradigm with enthusiasm and puritanical devotion as an economic model?

We see nature as harsh and barbaric, and we celebrate the modern world that has given us free time and leisure, because we (at least we used to) appreciate that we’re not always hunting or providing sustenance and maintenance just to survive. We like the thought that we only have to run from dinosaurs and bears when we’re in a movie theater. But then, in our not-so-wise wisdom, we went and invented economics. Mortal men thought this stuff up — mankind’s invention of it's own volition… this wasn’t a diktat sent down to us by a nefarious race of space aliens that zapped our brains with cosmic rays and made us bloodthirsty zombies; we invented this… humans did. We could make life as comfortable as we choose — but we don’t. The greatest fear among conservatives is laziness, sloth. So they invent these imagined demons, and the lions and tigers and bears, OH MY! who are always chasing us, to keep us from getting lazy.

But now it looks just like we are all just gladiators in the coliseum, and the oligarchs have an unlimited supply of lions. (I keep hearing “Send In The Clowns”, but it’s a Stephen King clown, with a balloon and a storm drain, then there’s a commercial interruption, “NOW, WITH MORE LIONS!”)
Now it’s just blood sport, and they build bigger stadiums with luxury skyboxes so the oligarchs that engineered this spectacle for their own amusement don’t even have to tolerate the other fans who pay the bills. I wonder if the gladiators who lost to the lions are ground up in the patê on their saltines.

Nature was harsh, and we used our big brains and opposable thumbs to create a more benign and noble space. We created a shelter, which we called civilization, where Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs” actually has a chance to see us achieve self-actualization, once we got beyond mere sustenance and survival. We conjured up the ideas of safety, leisure, and comfort out of our own ingenuity and determination.

And then we went and devolved back to a system of evaluating the relative worth of one another which has become as brutal and unforgiving as any world with dinosaurs, charging bears, or the perennial alligator under the back deck that eats all the neighborhood pets, and why our kids can’t go out in the yard anymore. We invented economics — and we call it ‘natural forces’ — that is more horrible than anything our nightmares could ever dream up.

If there is a god, he can’t be impressed.

Whether we were given the big brain and opposable thumbs by a creator, or we evolved them from the atoms and void, from the primordial slime, what a betrayal of either ideas to sit here and watch this barbarism, and say we must not stop it.

Donnie Threatens NATO: Demands: Help Us Or Else!

LaFeminista

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 16, 2026 · 5:39 PM PDT

2026/03/16 · 17:39

UPDATE: Monday, Mar 16, 2026 · 9:06:05 AM +00:00 · LaFeminista

YouTube Video

Ah, the 21st century.

Dear Despot.

You know, Donnie, coalitions are best built before you act, and it is not as if you did not have time beforehand. Moving your deadly toys around took plenty of time for diplomatic action; we are not at your command

This has been a decreasing resort ever since 9-11 and the subsequent disaster that was Afghanistan. Each successive war this century has had less and less international support; also, the reasons for these American wars have become increasingly full of holes.

Once upon a time, the US went to the UN to argue its case, even though it was full of holes and lies. Remember the shaking of the yellow vial incident? The one war where you had a chance at a coalition, you have tacitly supported the aggressor, because your eyes gleamed with the victim's minerals. Are they full of the rainbow glistening from sweet oil now? How original.

I know you have not only threatened NATO but most of the world, China included. Seriously? China holds at least 140 days of oil stocks and can no doubt be topped up by its ally, Russia.

I know we are up faecal creek, but we still have half a paddle, and no doubt our leaders will, at some point, reluctantly bend the knee; however, it hardly augers well for the future.

So who are your allies now? A war criminal?

I do hope Americans will slowly undo the damage you, Donnie, have done, but it's going to take a very long time, and there is always the threat of another Prince arising.

A Morning Muse

Evening Shade-- Resistance Rising-- Monday, March 16th, 2026

kraigo

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 16, 2026 · 5:39 PM PDT

2026/03/16 · 17:39

WELCOME

TO THE EVENING SHADE

A SANCTUARY OF SANITY AFTER A LONG HARD DAY OF FIGHTING FASCISM

YOU WILL FIND in the DIARIES a LOT of POLITICS

(Or NOT As the CASE MAY BE)

AND EVEN MORE CRITTERS

THE PERSON who MAKES the FIRST COMMENT WILL GET TWO CRITTERS

EVERY PERSON WHO COMMENTS WILL GET A CRITTER

RULES IN THE DIARY

WHEN YOU FIND SOMETHING in the DIARY that you LIKE

YOU CAN REPOST IT AS COMMENT in the DIARY

=====================

INDIVISIBLE CALENDAR OF RESISTANCE EFFORTS

50501: MORE RESISTANCE

======================

PostingADiary

CritterHerding

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Admin note: 2thanks didn’t update his DK6 migration notes yesterday, he repeated his previous one. Rather than taking up the space to do even that, I’ll refer you to last Monday’s Evening Shade for details.

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YouTube Video

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I’m not finding much of interest tonight. It could just be my state of mind, or my sources. I slipped in a couple of regional stories, because I enjoy them.

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ms.now

Team Trump gives away the game with its crusade against media coverage of the Iran war

As the second week of the war in Iran neared its end, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth held a press briefing that reminded everyone that the former Fox News host is simply in over his head. The beleaguered Pentagon chief peddled tiresome cliches, struggled with important questions, sidestepped inquiries about U.S. casualties and generally acted as if the key to successful combat operations is chest-thumping rhetoric.

But most important, Hegseth devoted much of his Friday briefing to chastising journalists for covering the war in Iran in ways the administration didn’t like — including whining about on-screen chyrons that used the same language and phrasing that the Defense Department had used in the preceding days.

A day later, a different controversial figure in the administration went considerably further. MS NOW reported:

President Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission chairman is threatening to revoke the licenses of news broadcasters over their coverage of the Iran war.

Brendan Carr, the head of the agency, warned broadcast news organizations on Saturday to ‘correct course,’ following the president’s rants over news coverage of his war with Iran, including stories about U.S. aircraft tankers sustaining damage in a strike.

In a social media message that neglected to refer to any specific media outlets or real-world examples, Carr wrote, “Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions — also known as the fake news — have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.” ✂️

But stepping back, there’s another element to this that’s worth keeping in mind as the third week of the war advances: When wars are going well, administrations tend not to find it necessary to whine incessantly about media coverage and threaten independent news organizations.

If Trump and his team were feeling confident and optimistic about the mission and its objectives, the president and his acolytes probably wouldn’t be engaged in the kind of hysterical press complaints we’re seeing now.

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NBC News

Poll: Israel's standing plummets among Democrats, fueling primaries on the left

American voters’ feelings on Israel and the Palestinian territories have shifted dramatically in recent years, in a sea change that is transforming the Democratic Party and shaping its primaries.

A new NBC News poll underscores the depths of the shift. More registered voters view Israel negatively than positively, a change from a few years ago. The change has been especially pronounced among independents and Democrats, fueling divided congressional primaries in 2026 and potentially shaping the party’s 2028 presidential contest.

When asked whether their sympathies lie more with Israelis or Palestinians, 40% of registered voters say they side more with the Palestinians, while 39% choose the Israelis. The split stood at 45% for Israelis and 13% for Palestinians when NBC News asked the question more than a decade ago, in November 2013. ✂️

I’m not against Jewish people and I believe that the Jews should have a homeland, but can’t we all just agree that Bibi is fucking evil? That is not antisemitic.

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The Independent (UK)

Afghan who fought with US special forces dies in ICE custody as Trump on track for deadliest year of detention in more than two decades

An Afghan man who fought with U.S. forces and was legally evacuated to the U.S. after the fall of Kabul died this week within a day of being arrested by federal immigration officers in Texas, according to his family.

The reported death would be at least the 24th in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody this fiscal year, which began in October. The administration is on track for the deadliest year in ICE detention in more than two decades.

Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, was preparing to drive his kids to school in the Dallas area on Friday when agents in unmarked vehicles allegedly surrounded him and arrested him in front of his children.

Later that day, the former Afghan special forces soldier contacted family members from ICE custody to say he wasn’t feeling well, they said. Around 11:45pm on Friday night, he was allegedly admitted to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. Around noon the following day, family members said they were informed he had died.

“It’s unacceptable,” Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac, an advocacy group that’s been in touch with Paktyawal’s family, said in an interview with The Independent. ✂️

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I know pretty much nothing about The Dropkick Murphys, but I’m inclined to like them.

Vote Kat and Demi this St Patrick’s Day, March 17th!

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— Kat Abughazaleh (@katmabu.bsky.social) March 16, 2026 at 1:56 PM

Kat got Ilhan Omar’s endorsement as well.

Deeply honored and grateful to have the support of Rep. Ilhan Omar, a leader who has never been afraid to put justice, humanity, and the truth ahead of political convenience. Her courage has helped blaze the path for so many of us.

[image or embed]
— Kat Abughazaleh (@katmabu.bsky.social) March 16, 2026 at 11:45 AM

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Politico

Trump warns NATO (again) of ‘very bad future’ if allies don’t secure Strait of Hormuz

U.S. President Donald Trump warned NATO allies they face a “very bad future” if they refuse to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, pressing Europe to support an American effort to reopen the key maritime corridor.

In an interview with the Financial Times published Sunday, Trump said countries benefiting from oil shipments through the Gulf should help safeguard the waterway.

The U.S. and Israel launched a war on Iran late last month, triggered regional retaliation from Tehran. The Iranian regime has moved to close the Strait of Hormuz in response, driving up oil prices around the world and aiming to create massive economic pressure on Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fold.

“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump said. “If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.” ✂️

It seems like only last week that iDJT mocked the UK for offering help “after the war had been won”. Now he’s reduced to threatening and begging. Pretty pathetic.

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Europeans when asked to unblock the Strait of Hormuz:

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— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social) March 16, 2026 at 1:48 PM

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CBS News

Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino to retire from federal service, sources say

Outspoken Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino is retiring from federal service at the end of this month, after being pulled away from a high-profile role leading immigration raids in major U.S. cities, two sources directly familiar with his decision told CBS News on Monday.

Over the past years, Bovino, a longtime Border Patrol official, has been serving as the chief patrol agent of the El Centro sector along the California-Mexico border. But he quickly became a leading public face of the Trump administration's aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration after he was deployed to cities across the U.S., to oversee sweeping and often controversial immigration raids.

Bovino and his team of green-uniformed Border Patrol agents were dispatched first to the Los Angeles area in June of last year. There, they conducted immigration arrest operations that sparked local outcry, including at Home Depot parking lots. ✂️

I know for damned sure that Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and likely Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison have investigations going on around him. I’d be amazed if Illinois didn’t as well. Here’s wishing him the most stressful retirement of all retirements ever.

In a tribute to the high, high standards that CBS News is upholding now, the article listed Markwayne Mullen as being a senator from Arkansas. He’s from Oklahoma. This is what CBS news is now.

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TRUMP: We had one who was very ill. Looked like he wasn't going to make it. You want to mention his name?
MIKE JOHNSON: Neal Dunn of Florida had real health challenges
T: His diagnosis was he'd be dead by June
J: Ok, that wasn't public. *audience groans* It was grim is what I was going to say

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 16, 2026 at 12:51 PM

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ms.now

Trump gives Putin’s Russia a pass on assisting Iran during U.S. war

It’s been about nine days since multiple news organizations, including MS NOW, reported that Russia provided Iran with information that could help it strike American targets. One U.S. official told MS NOW point-blank, “Russia is providing intelligence help to Iran.”

There’s no longer any real doubt about whether the reporting is accurate. Iranian officials have publicly confirmed Russia’s “military cooperation,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz acknowledged Russia’s wartime “strategic partnership” with Iran and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a matter-of-fact sort of way that Russia “is providing intelligence to Iran to better attack and kill American troops.”

The question is less about whether Russia has assisted Iran and more about what Donald Trump intends to do about it. ✂️

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Oh

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 8:09 PM

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Idaho Capital Sun

Nearly $200M federal rural health grant in limbo in Idaho Legislature

Idaho was awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding this summer to improve rural health care, but exactly how the state will use that money remains a debate among state lawmakers.

Meanwhile, leaders at Idaho’s rural hospitals are increasingly concerned the state may lose out on the money as those hospitals face critical needs for new equipment or other infrastructure upgrades.

“They’re extremely frustrated and extremely concerned,” Idaho Hospital Association Vice President Toni Lawson told the Idaho Capital Sun.

As part of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act approved by Congress in July, Idaho was awarded nearly $930 million to use over five years as part of the federal $50 billion Rural Health Transformation program to support rural health care access and affordability. The first year’s worth of grants must be awarded by Oct. 30, or the state will have to return the money.

There are two competing bills in the Idaho Legislature to create a legislative task force to direct those grants. To use the money, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare will need the state budget-writing committee to provide the “spending authority,” or permission to do so. ✂️

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Ohio Capital Journal

Report urges Ohio lawmakers to nix data center tax breaks and require them to build their own power

Research and advocacy nonprofit Innovation Ohio is urging state lawmakers to take a harder line with data centers.

A new report calls for an end to tax breaks and new protections ensuring infrastructure costs aren’t shifted to residential customers. But the fundamental problem, the progressive policy group contends, is a mismatch between energy supply and demand.

To ease that strain, Innovation Ohio urges lawmakers to make data center developers build their own power instead of relying on the public grid.

“Some of the richest companies in the world are using Ohio’s electric grid like an unlimited power outlet while taxpayers pick up the tab,” Innovation Ohio President Michael McGovern said.

“We are literally paying companies to plug massive electricity demands into our grid, then asking families to cover the cost. That’s a bad deal for Ohio taxpayers.” ✂️

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I saw this magnificent beast on the hills yesterday, and there was something about its face markings that made me think of Brave Heart! "You may take our wool, but you will never take our freedom!" Any sheep experts identify the breed? #photographyoftheday #photography #sheep

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— Paula Hammond (@writerpaula.bsky.social) March 16, 2026 at 2:31 AM

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The Left Wing Echo Chamber

Tigerupjp gave me this:

Today, an Atlantic reporter punctured Pete Hegseth and Sam Altman's lies. The Pentagon wants AI for mass surveillance of Americans. Anthropic refused. ChatGPT complied. BOYCOTT NOW.

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— QuitGPT (@quitgpt.bsky.social) March 1, 2026 at 7:03 PM

He added this Instagram post that won’t embed.

quitgpt

If anyone has a diary of theirs that they’d like promoted, please drop a comment (preferably with a link) in the previous night’s Shade. Hopefully the next Shade will include a promotional link for you.

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Today is…*

*Attributions to WineRev refer to his entries in this morning’s G&G in the GNR

Birthdays

James Madison (1751-1836) - The 4th President of the U.S.

WineRev:

1751 Port Conway, Virginia Birth of James Madison, scholar, politician, President. Author of the US Constitution. Shortest US President (4’ 11”). Elected to 2 terms as President (1809-1817). War of 1812 occurred on his watch. Went so badly the New England states held a Secession Convention to get out of such a loser country. (Decided not to do it, BUT left an example others would take up 45 years later.) Great friends with Thomas Jefferson, neighbor as well to James Monroe. Many letters and long conversations between them trying to figure out how to abolish slavery without wrecking the economy of half the country (and their own genteel, slave-holding lifestyle.) While the British example under PM Grey occurred in those days, the three Virginians apparently decided either the political will or the money needed to buy out the slave owners (as the UK had done) were just not there in the US.

Georg Ohm (1789-1854) - German physicist and mathematician (Ohm's law), born in Erlangen, Bavaria.

V=IR (voltage = amperage * resistance), a building block of all of electronics.

Rebecca Cole (1846-1922) - The second Black woman to become a doctor in the U.S.

Henny Youngman (1906-1998) - American comedian and violinist ("Take my wife ... please"), born in London, England

I tried to find something to post for him. Funny, but he’s got such an eastern accent that I had a hard time understanding the jokes.

Alexander S. Wiener (1907-1976) - Physician known for his work in immunohematology (Rh factor in blood).

Jerry Lewis (1926-2017) - Famous comedian.

(8:39)

YouTube Video

Chuck Woolery (1941-2024) - Game show host and original host of Wheel of Fortune.

Erik Estrada (1949-Still Living) - Actor fondly remembered for his role as "Ponch" in the tv series CHiPs.

Nancy Wilson (1954-Still Living) - rock guitarist (Heart - "Baracuda"; "What About Love"), born in San Francisco, California

Mark Carney (1965-Still Living) - 24th Prime Minister of Canada.

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Events

1802 - The first U.S. Military Academy opens at West Point.

WineRev:

1802 Washington DC This day President Jefferson signs a bill creating the first United States Military Academy. It would be housed at a stone fort on the Hudson River from the American Revolution called West Point. Cadets had to be able to handle college level academic work and would be nominated by Representatives and Senators for admission. Opened for drill and classes July 4^th, 1802.

1827 - The Freedom's Journal becomes the first printed newspaper owned and operated by African Americans begins publishing in NY City.

1867 — Joseph Lister first outlines the discovery of antiseptic surgery in an article in "The Lancet"

WineRev:

1867 London, UK Dr. Joseph Lister already has become famous for introducing the use of anesthetics for surgery. Painless surgery is a huge breakthrough (and came in time for our Civil War, so having a patient “bite the bullet” against the pain became the exception, not the rule.) This day he publishes another advance in “The Lancet” medical journal (still being published) where Lister outlines his description and process of antiseptic surgery. While it would still be another 20 years before Pasteur pinned down the source of infection to germs and bacteria, Lister’s methods were resulting in far fewer post-operative infections, so he, and medical science, were on the right track. All of us 150 years later are very grateful (and even alive) because of his work.

It made me wonder if Listerine was named for him. It turns out IT WAS!!!

1870 - Hiram R. Revels makes the first official speech by an African American in the U.S. Senate.

1883 - Susan Hayhurst becomes first woman in the U.S. to graduate from a pharmacy college.

WineRev:

1883 Philadelphia, PA Susan Hayhurst is on the faculty of the Pennsylvania Women’s College of Medicine in Philadelphia, training women to become doctors. Hayhurst teaches pharmacology there, but like many professions, she learned about it via the apprenticing approach. Lately Pennsylvania as established the School of Pharmacology, one of the first of its kind in the US, also in Philadelphia. Ms. Hayhurst wants to upgrade her knowledge and one of the pharmacy professors lets her sit in on his lectures. She does likewise with other professors. Although the School does not admit women they don’t kick her out, so she keeps taking classes, passing exams and writing papers. On this day, Ms. Hayhurst graduates, along with 149 fellow students, all male. She becomes the 1st US woman graduate of a pharmacy college.

1926 - Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket at Auburn, Massachusetts.

WineRev:

1926 Auburn, Massachusetts OK, you’ve heard of Sally Ride, and Voyager 2, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, Yuri Gagarin, Sputnik, Cape Canaveral and maybe even V-2, Von Braun and Peenemunde. But all those came later. Our reach for the stars started here, in Massachusetts. On this day Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, with a couple instruments that note it reached an altitude of 184 feet. Proof of concept; guidance, control, orbital mechanics will all need to be worked out, but today is WHY all those eventually become important. (You wonder what the neighbors thought….)

1934 - Congress passes the Migratory Bird Conservation Act.

1968 - Sen. Robert F. Kennedy of New York announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

WineRev:

1968 Washington DC The War is still on in Vietnam. There are riots in the streets, rock and roll music, hippies, a growing peace movement, the stirrings of the “Silent Majority.” President Lyndon Johnson has put through an immense legislative agenda under the banner of the Great Society, but Vietnam is a curse upon his Presidency. He chooses to run for re-election but in the New Hampshire primary, Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy, while losing, registers a shocking 42% against a sitting President. On this day, 58 years ago (for those of us getting old) Senator Robert F. Kennedy decides to join the presidential race. Left-side Democrats choose up sides and in 3 weeks LBJ quits the race. And then….. well, some of us still remember with a catch in our throats, “the dream will never die.” May we keep the flame of hope burning…..

1984 - William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, was kidnapped by Hezbollah militants; he would be tortured by his captors and killed in 1985.

1988 - Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. (Iron Contra).

1995 - Mississippi formally ratifies the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution and becomes the last state to abolition of slavery.

===

National Panda Day

Giant pandas are big fluffy balls of fun and one of the most universally loved animals around, so it’s no wonder they have their own special day!

Yet due to habitat loss and fragmentation, pandas are sadly considered to be a vulnerable species and require dedicated conservation to preserve their numbers. National Panda Day is dedicated to celebrating these quirky creatures and spreading awareness of the threats they face in order to encourage efforts to protect them.

Robert Goddard Day

Robert Goddard Day is celebrated on March 16 every year. It is a day to celebrate the great mind of Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard and his achievements. He is known as the father of American rocketry and the space age. Dr. Goddard discovered the technology and created the first liquid-fueled rocket in 1926. The success of his test is considered a milestone in the space age. His achievement is of the same importance as the invention of the Wright brothers in testing the first flight. He conducted the test from Auburn, Massachusetts, earning him the title “the father of modern rocket propulsion.”

National Freedom of Information Day

Observed during Sunshine Week – so named for journalists in Florida, the Sunshine State, trying to prevent legislators from making public records more difficult to request – this is a day for the public and journalists to discuss their rights to public records.

Sunshine Week is in March to coincide with the birthday of President James Madison, an advocate for open government records.

From The American Presidency Project, Proclamation 5447—Freedom of Information Day, 1986, “March 16 is the anniversary of the birth of James Madison, our fourth President and one of the principal figures in the Constitutional Convention. Madison eloquently expressed the guarantees in the Bill of Rights, in particular in the freedoms of religion, speech, and of the press protected by the First Amendment. He understood the value of information in a democratic society, as well as the importance of its free and open dissemination. He believed that through the interaction of the Government and its citizens, facilitated by a free press and open access to information, the Government could be most responsive to the people it serves. Surely the American experience has proved him right.

“This year [1986] marks the twentieth anniversary of the enactment by the Federal government of the Freedom of Information Act [1966]. On President Madison's birthday, it is particularly fitting that we recognize the value of reasonable access to information in our political process.” - Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America.

Black Press Day

Black Press Day celebrates the rich tradition of African American journalism. This day recognizes the essential role Black newspapers play in amplifying voices that mainstream media often overlook.

It honors the bold efforts of early Black journalists who founded publications to challenge stereotypes and report on issues that deeply affected their communities.

National Vaccination Day (India)

National Vaccination Day is observed every year on March 16. The day conveys the importance of vaccination and its role in public health. On this day in 1995, the first dose of the oral polio vaccine was given in India. Vaccination or immunization is the most effective prevention method of highly infectious diseases. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), “immunization is a proven tool for controlling and eliminating life-threatening infectious diseases.” Vaccination is crucial to improving public health and life expectancy standards and elevating social and economic impact at the community and national levels.

On the anniversary of RFK announcing his presidential run, no less.

NATIONAL CURL CRUSH DAY

We’ve all done it, flipped through a magazine or scrolled through social media, and secretly wished our hair was different. In fact, 75%* have wished for a different texture and 82%* of women admit to curl envy. That’s why the time is now to flip the script and start crushing on your own curls. National Curl Crush Day on March 16th is a day that’s all about you and every single one of your bouncy, zigzagged curls and coils.

===

Tomorrow Is…

St. Patrick’s Day

There’s a really good synopsis in the link, but I won’t take it away from Girasol tomorrow.

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(3:45) Happy birthday, Nancy!

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The Shade is open. As always, the value is in the comments.

Kitchen Table Kibitzing ~ 3.16.26

ZenTrainer

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 16, 2026 · 5:39 PM PDT

2026/03/16 · 17:39

My show of the last few weeks has been Hart of Dixie. What a show. Seems like something between Virgin River and the Gilmore Girls. Some of the actors are even the same. There are a lot of actors you’ll recognize in this show.

The lead character is totally unlikable; her shorts are inappropriately short and the 5-inch heels she parades around in are ridiculous. Even the sound of her voice is irritating and yet I found myself rooting for her.

TheRailSplitter

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 16, 2026 · 5:39 PM PDT

2026/03/16 · 17:39

Sometimes I just want to share something that’s a little inspirational.

Many, probably most, people these days have not seen The Great Dictator. But it’s more timely than ever because, as always, history repeats itself. At the end of the film, Chaplin’s character has switched places with a dictator and takes the opportunity to present an alternative speech to the troops.

As draft-dodging, “soldiers are suckers and losers” Trump sends troops off to die and kills for the sake of his narcissistic malevolence, we have Chaplin’s appeal to soldiers not to serve men who treat them like cattle. As our would-be tech overlords work to create an AI-powered surveillance dystopia, using tech to harm humanity rather than help, we have Chaplin’s denunciation of machine men with machine minds. One could go on making parallels to what’s happening today, how appropriate many of Chaplin’s words would be in our present situation, but viewers will see those connections themselves.

It’s one of cinema’s finest, most heartfelt speeches, and we all need to take it to heart today and remember our struggles aren’t new, and hopelessness and despair aren’t new. We’re fighting the same fight our ancestors fought; they fought, they won. So can we.

A link to the speech and a transcript is here.

Also posting the transcript directly below:

I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone - if possible - Jew, Gentile - black man - white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness - not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost…

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men - cries out for universal brotherhood - for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world - millions of despairing men, women, and little children - victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.

To those who can hear me, I say - do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish…

Soldiers! don’t give yourselves to brutes - men who despise you - enslave you - who regiment your lives - tell you what to do - what to think and what to feel! Who drill you - diet you - treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men - machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate - the unloved and the unnatural! Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!

In the 17th Chapter of St Luke it is written: “the Kingdom of God is within man” - not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people have the power - the power to create machines. The power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.

Then - in the name of democracy - let us use that power - let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world - a decent world that will give men a chance to work - that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfil that promise. They never will!

Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world - to do away with national barriers - to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness. Soldiers! in the name of democracy, let us all unite!

Of Con Artists, Broken Dreams and Ghost Towns

CorpFlunky

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 16, 2026 · 5:39 PM PDT

2026/03/16 · 17:39

Lake Tuendae, an oasis in Zzyzx off I-15. — Oasis in Zzyzx, off I-15, in the Mojave National Preserve near Baker, California.

If you’ve ever driven between LA and Vegas, you might have wondered about an exit near Baker called Zzyzx. Well, as you suspected, there’s a story behind that.

The Con Artist

Curtis Howard Springer was a con man who sold miracle cures in the midwest in the 1930s. To expand his operation, he bought “mining” rights on public lands in the Mojave Desert in California. With the help of destitute laborers from Los Angeles, he built an oasis at a Native American spring on the edge of Soda Lake, the white mineral flats in the background above. He named his desert retreat Zzyzx: the ‘last word’ in healthcare. Styling himself both a medical doctor and a minister—despite his 9th grade education—he started a radio program to sell his cure-alls.

Antediluvian Herb Tea
Hollywood Pep Cocktail
Nerve Cell Food

The Con

His 15 minute radio infomercial pitch sounded soothing and wholesome, with choral background music perfect for rural Christian radio programs. Many complex ailments resulted from lack of simple nutrients. On his “20,000 acre healthcare resort”, his staff prepared all-natural remedies in powder form as a delicious dietary supplement that could be added to any kind of food or drink. He invited folks to send a small ‘donation’ for a two month supply and to visit Zzyzx, his remote desert oasis, to soak in a mineral bath or seek further treatment.

While an ex-employee later admitted that the main formula was 10% crust from Soda Lake and 90% epsom salt—a bath additive & laxative—, soon the small desert rail stop near Baker California was bustling with mailed requests and shipments of cheap salty powder. The radio infomercials aired across the country for decades, and many folks drove out into the desert, some staying for weeks, placing their faith in the Reverend Dr Springer, PhD.

The Collapse

While extremely popular through the 1940s and 1950s, there was a slow decline in the 1960s as hippies started popularizing bean sprouts, brown rice, carrot juice, organic vegetables, seaweed, skim milk and tofu, as actually healthy dietary alternatives to the high sugar, highly processed food sold by major corporations.

Then the IRS investigated Mr Springer for tax evasion. And then the FDA charged him with false advertising. And, despite letting Springer occupy and falsely claim to own 20,000 acres of our public land for over 30 years, the Bureau of Land Management eventually disputed Mr Springer’s “mining claim”. After serving a too brief stint in jail, Springer retired to Las Vegas.

The Victims

While traveling through the Mojave Desert recently, I stopped to charge at a casino in 29 Palms, near Joshua Tree. Inside for a sandwich and a freshly squeezed orange juice, as a retired analyst I categorized all the customers at the slot machines. The most obvious difference between them and the general public was how many folks had health problems. I saw more canes, hearing aids, nebulizers, oxygen compressors, scooters and walkers than you would in an average hospital hallway. Unlike the flashily dressed smiling young folk in casino commercials, the customer here moved very slowly and looked quite sad. The staff members invariably asked their customers how they were feeling and wished them luck. If they were feeling poorly, they could continue playing at the bar or visit the pot store in the parking lot.

While I don’t know much about Springer’s victims, I suppose being fearful of imminent mortality makes folks desperate for a miracle.

The Commonalities of Cons

Springer’s radio show was similar to Father Coughlin before him and James Dobson after him. Coughlin had a widespread following through the 1930s among Catholics, and his show had a strong undercurrent of antisemitism and pro-Nazism, until the FBI shut him down in 1942. I first heard Dobson’s radio show on Armed Forces radio in Japan in the late 1980s. While much of the program was benign palaver, you could hear the homophobic undertones and hateful ultraconservative views, disguised as homey homilies.

First, right wing actors have long been better at both leveraging low-cost media and targeting rural religious folk for both cons and conservative causes. Simple, gullible, less-educated folk are more susceptible to a sugar-coated scam than cynical college-educated city-dwellers.

Second, the most popular conmen are not real experts. They position themselves as closely to their listeners as possible, just having ‘a few friendly messages’ to share on topics they agree on. Rather than sounding any smarter than their listeners, the goal is to sound the same—to be your friend or your bro—, so they don’t need much expertise for that.

Third, con artists dress up their deception or hate in righteousness, appealing to religious beliefs or ‘moral’ indignation to hide their manipulative message from their target audience. They lie. But they sound just like your neighbor, repeating commonly held mistaken beliefs, except they do it intentionally, from a careful script.

Fourth, our government lets these liars stay on the air for decades, despite demonstrating corrosive behavior daily, allowing the damage to accumulate until long after it is undeniable.

Of Broken Dreams and Ghost Towns

Trump supporter / junkyard owner in desert mining ‘ghost’ town — “Round the decay/ Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare/ The lone and level sands stretch far away.” —Shelley

The Mojave Desert is strewn with ghost towns, and each has a story. There’s something seductive about the desert that offers the freedom to achieve your dream, at a very low cost. And after the dream inevitably breaks into dust, their efforts leave nostalgic roadside monuments to warn passers by of their folly.

A southern California chicken restaurant magnate bought the whole whistle stop town of Amboy on Ebay, and his Japanese American son dutifully keeps Roy’s Cafe open, despite his lack of licenses to sell cigarettes, liquor or lottery tickets.

A deserted, tumbleweed-choked, I-15 overpass market still promotes “Ron Paul’s RevoLution”—with “evoL” signifying “Love”—an echo of Senator Rand Paul’s father’s oft repeated campaign promise that if only we abolished the Federal Reserve the economy would be grand!

Of Fables

Some of the stories are more fables than fact. Calico’s ‘ghost town’ replays gunfights at noon, an ersatz Tombstone.

My favorite Mojave ghost town is entirely fictional. A German director was driving by and saw an old café on Route 66. He wrote and directed an English language film there loosely based on Carson McCullers’ Ballad of a Sad Cafe. His twist on the story was to update it with the story of Aladdin, with a gold colored coffee pot as the lamp and a stout German lady named Jasmin as the genie, who grants the wishes of an artist, an innkeeper and her pianist son.

The director temporarily renamed the cafe for his film, but an entrepreneur later bought the cafe and restored it as a tourist attraction. Since the film Bagdad Cafe was popular in Europe, busloads of French tourists still visit on their way to Vegas. More of a cult classic film in the US, Jean Stapleton and Whoopi Goldberg starred in an ill-fated TV version in the late 1980s. But the TV adaptation missed the atmospheric desert emptiness, the loneliness and sad miscommunication of the film and stopped after only a few episodes. You may remember Jevetta Steele’s theme song for the film below.

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Bagdad Cafe on Route 66. — The 1987 film Bagdad Cafe was filmed here in the desert on historic Route 66.

Searching for the Moral on Route 66

The centennial of Route 66 is coming this November. Sadly, the lady who bought the Bagdad Cafe over 25 years ago died last month. She didn’t make much money, but her funeral was well attended. The cafe is still open, although, as in the beginning of the film, they were serving neither coffee nor food. Since the movie is almost 30 years old now, I’m not sure if the cafe will make it to the centennial.

But that’s the funny thing about dreams. Sometimes there’s an unrealistic hope that some folks just refuse to let die. Route 66 is a nostalgic boulevard of broken dreams and Americana, as “it winds from Chicago to LA/ over 2,000 miles all the way”.

Con artists love using nostalgia: “Make America Great Again”. Marks often pine for their youth and misremember the facts. ‘Oh, if you just follow this one weird trick, you’ll recapture your mythical youth’.

But artists and dreamers love nostalgia too. There are lessons among our regrets and losses. The film Bagdad Cafe explores our inability to understand each other, especially across racial and cultural boundaries, and the film is sympathetic to people who’ve loved and lost. But the moral, obviously, is to make an effort to communicate, to understand each other, to have empathy, and to make the best of our situations, even when all we have is each other.

Realizing our mistakes, even too late, still helps. Zzyzx is focused on education now, especially solar energy and the Mohave tui chub, a small fish which was inadvertently saved from extinction in Mr Springer’s oasis. Our public lands are set aside to protect nature and share it with future generations, not for the enrichment of selfish, entitled and greedy conmen.

Whither Now?

Con artists have come a long way in the past 50 years, but all cons crash eventually. When I see all the ruin that Trump is leaving in his wake, I wonder what will be left behind. Some more ghost towns for sure.

Will the red-hatted rubes regret their votes?
Will the political pendulum swing back towards sanity?
Will any dishonest media outlets be held accountable for their lies and hate?
Will healthcare be saved from quacks?
Will truth and justice once again be the American way?
Will the tired, poor and huddled masses, yearning to be free, be welcome once again?
Will there be time to save more of America and our world from turning into desert or being submerged into the sea?

I don’t know, so let me know what you think in the comments. Thanks for reading.

Ukraine Invasion Day 1,481: UKR advances near Slovyansk and in Kostyantynivka

annieli

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 16, 2026 · 5:39 PM PDT

2026/03/16 · 17:39

3rd Assault Brigade's Ruptor UGV platoon

Russian forces continued long-range drone strikes against Ukraine overnight on March 14 to 15.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 97 Shahed, Gerbera, and Italmas-type drones, of which about 70 were Shaheds, from the directions of Bryansk, Kursk, and Oryol Cities; Millerovo, Rostov Oblast; and occupied Hvardiiske, Crimea.[63] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 90 Russian drones, that five Russian drones struck five locations, and that fragments of downed drones hit two locations. Ukrainian officials reported that Russian drones struck a checkpoint, transport infrastructure, and energy infrastructure in Chernihiv Oblast; a passenger locomotive near Novoselytsya, Sumy Oblast; and civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv City and Oblast.[64]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on March 15 that Russian forces struck Ukraine with about 1,770 long-range strike drones, over 1,530 guided glide bombs, and about 86 missiles including over 20 ballistic missiles in the past week (since about March 8).[65] Zaporizhia Oblast Military Administration Head Ivan Fedorov reported that Ukrainian air defenses intercept about 78 percent of Russian drones, likely referring to the area near Zaporizhzhia City.[66]

understandingwar.org/...

Russia launched 97 Shahed, Gerber, Italmas, and other drones at Ukraine overnight from Bryansk, Orel, Kursk, Millerovo, and Russian-occupied Crimea. Ukraine's air defense shoots down or suppresses 90. Five drones hit five locations

Ukrainian forces likely struck Russian oil and energy infrastructure overnight on March 14 to 15. Geolocated footage published on March 14 shows a fire at the Tikhoretsk oil pumping station in Krasnodar Krai.[9] Krasnodar Krai authorities claimed on March 15 that debris from downed Ukrainian drones caused the fire at the Tikhoretsk oil pumping station.[10] Ukrainian forces most recently struck the Tikhoretsk oil pumping station on the night of March 11 to 12.[11] Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov acknowledged that Ukrainian strikes damaged energy infrastructure in Belgorod City, causing power outages.[12]

understandingwar.org/...

The Ukrainian company UFORCE has developed a fixed-wing kamikaze drone called "Bucha" with a flight range of up to 200 kilometers and a warhead weighing 5.5 kg. It is expected that the price could be approximately $10,000–12,000.

France will reportedly send Ukraine the newest version of the SAMP/T NG anti-aircraft missile system for battlefield testing against Russian ballistic missiles. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on March 14 that France will give Ukraine an unspecified number of the newest version of the SAMP/T NG anti-aircraft missile system at an unspecified time in 2026 for Ukraine to test against Russian ballistic missiles.[1] Zelensky noted that he and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed that Ukraine will be the first country to receive the systems if the system proves itself effective at intercepting ballistic missiles. Russia’s continued use of strike packages that increasingly use ballistic missiles highlights the critical importance of Western assistance in bolstering Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, particularly with air defense systems that can counter Russian ballistic missiles.[2]

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Last October, Ukrainian special operations forces reportedly struck a Russian warship—a corvette armed with land-attack cruise missiles. The operation targeted the ship on an inland waterway.

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Key Takeaways

France reportedly will send Ukraine the newest version of the SAMP/T NG anti-aircraft missile system for battlefield testing against Russian ballistic missiles.

A Russian milblogger claimed that some units in the Russian military are forcing their servicemembers to delete Telegram, contradicting some Russian officials’ statements that the Russian military would be allowed to continue using Telegram to support combat operations.

Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Slovyansk and in Kostyantynivka. Russian forces recently advanced in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area.

Ukrainian forces struck Russian oil and energy infrastructure. Russian forces launched 97 drones against Ukraine, including in Chernihiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv oblasts.

https://t.co/ENt7lvyTw5

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Germany completes training for over 600 Ukrainian soldiers on RCH 155 wheeled self-propelled howitzers, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced at the Artillery School in Idar-Oberstein. Ukraine is the first customer worldwide to order the RCH 155 system. #Ukraine

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— NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) Mar 15, 2026 at 1:46 PM

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**General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine**
*Operational update as of 10:00 PM on March 15, 2026, regarding the Russian invasion*

A total of 154 combat engagements have taken place since the start of this day.
Defense forces continue to halt the enemy, eliminate personnel, and deplete the occupiers’ combat potential by inflicting systematic fire damage.
The enemy carried out 74 airstrikes, dropping 212 guided bombs. Additionally, they deployed 3,917 kamikaze drones and fired 2,572 rounds at populated areas and our troops’ positions.

- In the Northern Slobozhanshchyna and Kursk directions, the enemy attacked our defenders’ positions twice today, carried out two airstrikes, dropped four aerial bombs, and fired 88 rounds at our troops’ positions and populated areas, including two using multiple launch rocket systems.

- In the Southern Slobozhansky direction, the enemy launched a single assault on the fortifications of our units near the settlement of Vilcha.

- In the Kupiansky direction, the enemy launched two attacks toward Novoosynove and Hlushevka.

- In the Lyman direction, Ukrainian soldiers repelled five attacks by the occupiers toward the settlements of Dibrova, Lyman, and Drobysheve.

- In the Sloviansk direction, the enemy attempted to advance 13 times in the areas of the settlements of Yampil, Zakytne, and Platonivka, as well as toward the settlements of Ozerne, Riznykivka, and Rai-Oleksandrivka. Two firefights are ongoing.

- In the Kramatorsk sector, the enemy attacked the positions of our defenders twice in the Stupochok area.

- In the Kostiantynivka sector, the occupiers launched 21 assaults today on the positions of our defenders in the direction of Kostiantynivka, Illinivka, and Novopavlivka, as well as in the areas around the settlements of Pleshchiivka, Berestok, and Rusyn Yar. One engagement is still ongoing.

- In the Pokrovsk direction, the enemy carried out 35 attacks. The occupiers attempted to advance toward the settlements of Vilne, Novooleksandrivka, Shevchenko, Toretske, Bilytske, and Novoshakhove, as well as in the areas of the settlements of Zatyshok, Nikanorivka, Kotlyne, Novomykolaivka, Udachne, Novopidhorodne, Myrnohrad, Rodynske, Molodetske, and Filiya. Five assault operations are ongoing.

According to preliminary estimates, 27 occupiers were eliminated and 20 wounded in this sector today; one piece of specialized equipment was destroyed, three enemy vehicles were damaged, and four personnel shelters were destroyed. A total of 72 UAVs of various types were destroyed or neutralized.

- In the Oleksandrivka sector, the occupiers attempted to improve their position 12 times, attacking in the areas of the settlements of Zelenyi Hai, Oleksandrohrad, Kalynivske, Berezove, Ternove, Pershotravneve, Novomykolaivka, Zlagoda, and toward Verbove. In addition, Ivanivka, Gavrylivka, Prosyana, Kolomiitsy, Pokrovske, and Orly were subjected to enemy airstrikes.

- In the Huliaipole sector, the occupiers carried out 20 attacks: in the Huliaipole area and toward Zaliznychne, Varvarivka, Sviatopetrivka, Olenokostiantynivka, and Charivne. The enemy carried out airstrikes on the areas surrounding the settlements of Charivne, Huliaipilske, Kopani, Myrne, Vozdvyzhivka, Verkhnia Tersa, Novoselivka, and Barvinivka.

- In the Orikhiv sector, the enemy launched one offensive operation toward Pavlivka. Orikhiv and Veselyanka came under airstrikes.

- In the Dnipro sector, no enemy offensive operations were recorded. Mykilske and Lvove were subjected to enemy airstrikes.

- In other sectors, there were no significant changes in the situation.

Let’s defeat the enemy and bring our Victory closer!
Glory to Ukraine!

understandingwar.org/...

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Another gift from Trump to his pal Putin. This enables the Russians to continue killing long suffering, Ukrainian civilians. Of course, Trump’s reckless war against Iran is his greatest gift to the Russian war criminal.

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— Rep. Lloyd Doggett (@doggett.house.gov) Mar 15, 2026 at 1:17 PM

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Trump has spent Sunday calling for the death penalty for reporters covering his war in Iran in a negative manner.

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Q: Do you have a comment on the six service members who passed?

TRUMP: *ignoring question* Go ahead. Who else? pic.twitter.com/ld1naiBW7G
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 16, 2026

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Russian stuff blowing up: Ukrainian drone swarm targets Moscow

quaoar

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 16, 2026 · 5:39 PM PDT

2026/03/16 · 17:39

The rocky coastline between Novy Svet and Sudak in Crimea.

Ukraine sent a drone swarm to attack Moscow and Russian authorities are as concerned about people posting video as they are in intercepting the drones.

There is no word that I can find on what might have been hit or whether these drones were decoys.

The largest drone attack on Moscow in 2026 has now lasted more than 24 hours.
Russian authorities have closed multiple airports out of fear of further strikes.
The Kremlin is also cracking down on information. Russians posting videos of the attacks are reportedly being hunted by authorities

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— Shaun Pinner (@shaunpinner.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 8:13 AM

Russians are complaining that what they call the biggest UAV attack on Moscow this year has been running for over 24 hours. 105 drones down, airports restricted, three more inbound.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 9:22 AM

❗️Today, almost the entire day, 🇺🇦Ukrainian drones (most likely decoys) have been flying over 🇷🇺Moscow and the Moscow region

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— 🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@militarynewsua.bsky.social) March 14, 2026 at 12:47 PM

Two more radar stations have been taken out in Crimea.

🔥 Ukraine's General Staff reports strikes on two Russian radar stations and S-400 launcher in Crimea

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— Ukrainska Pravda 🇺🇦 (@pravda.ua) March 15, 2026 at 6:13 AM

A Russian ammo dump in Luhansk was blown up.

Russian missiles and solid rocket fuel detonating in occupied Dovzhansk, Luhansk region.

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— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) March 14, 2026 at 3:52 PM

💥 Russian munitions arsenal destroyed by Ukraine in occupied Luhansk.

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— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko.bsky.social) March 14, 2026 at 5:38 PM

A Greek-flagged tanker was struck as it waited to dock at the port of Novorossisyk.

🇬🇷💥 Greek-flagged vessel was attacked near the Russian port of Novorossiysk in the Black Sea on Saturday morning, — Greek Shipping Minister said.
The crew of 24 sailors - including 10 Greeks, 13 Filipinos and one Romanian - were unharmed. The tanker, which suffered only material damage.

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— Savchenko Volodymyr (@savchenkoua.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 5:40 AM

Ukraine keeps the pressure on Belgorod.

❗️In 🇷🇺Belgorod, the 110 kV Avtoremzavod substation was damaged following a nighttime 🇺🇦Ukrainian missile or drone strike.

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— 🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@militarynewsua.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 5:57 AM

❗️Overnight, as a result of strikes in the city of 🇷🇺Belgorod and the region, the energy infrastructure sustained serious damage. The regional governor confirmed that a significant part of the population was left without electricity, water, and heating.

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— 🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@militarynewsua.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 4:20 AM

Resistance is futile.

🔥😎 A selection of spectacular strikes on enemy manpower by drone operators of the WORMBUSTERS unit of the 414th “Birds of the Magyar” brigade. Pokrovsk direction of the front, Donetsk region.

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— MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 11:22 AM

Another 740 Russians plus 65 cruise missiles.

740 Losers. 1,279,170

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— Malinda (@malinda1.bsky.social) March 14, 2026 at 11:46 PM

⚡️ RUSSIA'S WAR AGAINST UKRAINE — MAR 15, 2026 (1/2)
■ Casualties and equipment losses below average despite a relatively high number of engagements; no confirmed territorial change
■ 65 missiles intercepted yesterday (YTD record)
■ ...
📈 lookerstudio.google.com/s/oEHXfMt_8U0

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— Ragnar Bjartur Gudmundsson 🇺🇦 (@ragnarbjartur.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 3:31 AM

Video has been released of Ukraine’s drone attack on a Russian patrol boat last week.

Video footage of Ukrainian Navy FP-1 drones destroying a Russian Raptor patrol boat. The FP-1 has a range of up to 1,000 km and carries a warhead of up to 105 kg. #Ukraine

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— NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) March 15, 2026 at 9:01 AM

Trump says he doesn’t need any help with drones from Ukraine.

Meanwhile, these fiber-optic drones fly around an American base in Iraq with impunity.

❗️Iran-backed militias have, for the first time since the start of the war, attacked the American “Victory” base in Baghdad (Iraq) using fiber-optic FPV drones.

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— 🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@militarynewsua.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 2:56 AM

🥴Trump once again stated that Ukraine’s help in repelling drone attacks in the Middle East is not needed:
“We don’t need any help. The last person we need help from is Zelenskyy.”

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— 🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@militarynewsua.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 2:02 AM

The arrogance is stupefying.

> Ukrainians had to make a PowerPoint presentation for US officials to articulate the threat of Iranian drones, Americans dismissed it as just “Ukrainian things” but then their 2 collective neurons finally connected after a shahed above a US military base

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— Mira of Kyiv 🇺🇦 (@reshetz.bsky.social) March 10, 2026 at 5:32 PM

Trump has already lost interest in Ukraine.

The US-led peace process in Ukraine is fizzling out because Donald Trump is losing interest in the talks and his war against Iran is easing pressure on Russia, officials say.
@financialtimes.com
www.ft.com/content/c4fa...

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— Christopher Miller (@christopherjm.ft.com) March 15, 2026 at 6:52 AM

This deal would make a great deal of sense, but Trump isn’t interested in deals unless they A.) Line his pockets, or B.) Help Putin.

❗️Ukraine wants to sign a multi-year drone production agreement with the United States worth $35–50 billion, – Zelenskyy.
▪️Ukraine proposed the drone deal to the United States almost a year ago.

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— 🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@militarynewsua.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 4:34 AM

3/▪️We are also ready for the option of joint production. Joint production in the United States would be a 50/50 enterprise. We agree to this;

▪️The split – 50% our engineers, 50% American engineers.

4/And we will have large-scale drone production, and most importantly, these drones will be available for use by both countries: Ukraine and the United States.

Russia is so interested in peace talks that they told French officials to go to hell.

🤨 Russia rejected Europe’s role in Ukraine peace talks with an expletive, FT reports.
A senior aide to Vladimir Putin, Yuri Ushakov reportedly told French officials to “go to hell” when they suggested Europe join negotiations.
🔗 united24media.com/latest-news/...

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— UNITED24 Media (@united24media.com) March 15, 2026 at 8:46 AM

Hungarian citizens step up.

Budapest today sent a clear signal. A sea of citizens filled the streets demanding transparency, the rule of law and a real fight against corruption. At the same time, far fewer people attended Viktor Orbán’s so-called “peace march.” Hungarians are not asking for propaganda or conspiracy theories.

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— European Democrats (@europeandemocrats.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 10:44 AM

France steps up.

🇫🇷🤝🇺🇦Following yesterday’s agreement with Emmanuel Macron, Ukraine will test a new SAMP/T air-defense system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.
👇Read

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— OSINTRadar (@osintradar.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 5:46 AM

After yesterday’s agreement, several preliminary conclusions can be drawn:

Ukraine, alongside Aster 15 interceptors, will begin receiving Aster 30 missile-defense interceptors. These missiles are capable of intercepting ballistic targets at altitudes of up to 22 km and at ranges between 35 and 55 km.

Additionally, Ukraine will receive Ground Fire 300 radar stations designed specifically to track ballistic targets, with a maximum detection range of up to 450 km.

🇺🇦🇫🇷 Ukraine to test new SAMP/T system from France against ballistics, - Zelensky
"The most important and main topic of discussion was Patriot alternative. We will see whether the new SAMP/T systems knock down ballistics. This year we will receive a system that we will test against ballistics."

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— MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 4:17 AM

A Russian blogger (referring to Russia as Laos to avoid trouble with censors) lays out the problems with air defense.

1/ Russia's air defences are doing great, according to Russian warbloggers. However, they say that those of Laos (a synecdoche for Russia, to evade censors) are crippled by shortages of manpower and resources, and an inflexible command and control system.
bsky.app/profile/spec...

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— ChrisO_wiki (@chriso-wiki.bsky.social) March 14, 2026 at 1:59 PM

5/ "So, here are the main problems facing Laos' air defence.

▪️Firstly, a lack of manpower and resources.Given the number of potential enemy targets, covering them all is simply unrealistic.Therefore, sooner or later, an enemy strike will be effective.

6/ "In addition to the insufficient number of air defence systems, there is a pressing problem of reactivating damaged or simply inoperable systems – it turns out that the Laotian systems used imported components [which are no longer available due to sanctions].

7/ "▪️Secondly, the air defence system is site-specific.Given the length of the border, covering it entirely (and even then only tentatively!) is only possible with radar systems, not with air defence systems—they are assigned to specific targets.

8/ "Therefore, if it misses, it misses.The crew commander can, at his own risk, attempt to shoot down the wrong target, but he will be held accountable for misusing a very, very expensive missile.

9/ "Frankly, I don't know how much an anti-aircraft missile costs in Laos, but just for reference, the Russian TOR air defence system fires single-shot missiles in Moscow.

10/ "Of course, the "shoot everything with everything at hand" option is available, but it can only be used with the permission of a General or Admiral, and that permission is traditionally slow.

11/ "▪️Third, the personnel, who make all the difference.Staffing even the existing crews with competent specialists is extremely problematic, so often the people at the controls have specific contraindications for such service.

One of Ukraine’s heroes in liberating Kupiansk tells his story.

Junior Lieutenant Andrii Ishchenko is called one of the main heroes of the operation to liberate Kupiansk. He led an assault in the forest on the northern outskirts of the city for five days, destroying Russian forces.

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— Anton Gerashchenko (@antongerashchenko.bsky.social) March 14, 2026 at 3:18 PM

When his group became exhausted,the next unit continued the fight under Andrii's command, completely clearing the area.Andrii was injured&is now undergoing rehabilitation,preparing to return to the 13th NGU Brigade "Khartiia."

Andrii was awarded the title Hero of Ukraine

Rest in peace.

A Russian FPV drone killed a 27-year-old doctor and an emergency medical technician in Kharkiv region. It was a deliberate strike on an ambulance. Another paramedic was injured.
Deepest condolences.

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— Anton Gerashchenko (@antongerashchenko.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 8:37 AM

Kyiv Region 💔 Today in Brovary, Russians killed Andriy Tyshchenko, a father of two🕯
His friend reported a tragedy on his Facebook:
"It is with great sadness that I report the death of my acquaintance and friend, Andriy Tyshchenko, who was killed during the night shelling in Brovary on March 14

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 14, 2026 at 12:46 PM

Models for more than just fashion.

Ukrainian war veteran Kristina Sanina and 2004 World’s Strongest Man champion Vasyl Virastyuk walked the runway at Ukrainian Fashion Week, taking part in the show as models.
Their appearance became a symbolic moment highlighting the strength, resilience, and recognition of Ukrainian veterans 💙💛

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— Meanwhile in Ukraine (@meanwhileua.bsky.social) March 15, 2026 at 4:53 AM

Dad’s home.

Ukraine’s defenders and their doggos — a bond that can’t be broken❤️
This little fella rushed out in joy the very moment she heard her human return home from the front.

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— UNITED24 (@u24.gov.ua) March 14, 2026 at 3:18 PM

PWB Peeps: Moonday Furbutts

The Marti

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 16, 2026 · 5:39 PM PDT

2026/03/16 · 17:39

Happy Moonday, Peeps! Time to gather with the furbutts for a little fun and chat.

A gentle reminder of how we do things:

Do not troll the diary. If you hate pootie diaries, leave now. No harm, no foul.

Please do share pics of your fur kids! If you have health/behavior issues with your pets, feel free to bring it to the community.

Pooties are cats; Woozles are dogs. Birds... are birds! Peeps are people.

Whatever happens in the outer blog STAYS in the outer blog. If you’re having “issues” with another Kossack, keep it “out there.” This is a place to relax and play; please treat it accordingly.

There are some pics we never post: snakes, creepy crawlies, any and all photos that depict or encourage human cruelty toward animals. These are considered “out of bounds” and will not be tolerated. If we alert you to it, please remember that we do have phobic peeps who react strongly to them. If you keep posting banned pics...well then...the Tigress will have to ta

You know what tomorrow is, right?

Wishing you a March full of… 🍀🐾

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— purr.in.ink (@purrinink.bsky.social) February 28, 2026 at 9:56 AM

In case you didn’t know, pooties and woozles are works of art!

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— Ramin Nasibov (@nasibov.me) March 8, 2026 at 2:27 PM

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— Ramin Nasibov (@nasibov.me) March 8, 2026 at 4:18 PM

You come here for the fish, too??

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— Hourly Otters (@otters.hourly.media) March 7, 2026 at 1:17 PM

Got fish?? Hand ‘em over!!

Yes, you have seen this before. Still totes adorbs!

main-qimg-89b8b2f61e8903a7e431fc4f1a454e69.jfif

Oh, dat fayce!!

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— Hourly Foxes (@foxes.hourly.media) February 6, 2026 at 11:30 AM

Got napz?

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— Hourly Foxes (@foxes.hourly.media) February 18, 2026 at 11:47 AM

Tell me a story?

EAP actually died on 7 October 1849, but the sentiment lives on:

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— Papa Woof und Krampus und Bleaken (@papawoof.bsky.social) January 20, 2026 at 2:00 PM

heh

YouTube Video

Partners in….shenanigans!! ☘️☘️☘️☘️

main-qimg-4d88b0708523e0af90c92bb14994bae4.jfif

Meet….Shenanigans!

bafkreiavo2d6svi2hqufpfbhf6clicqnf7xjsh244cgz77ljlqiadvvrjq.jpg

Spring is bustin ‘ out all over!

Plotting shenanigans

Shadow, Spawn of Satin, reclining on HIS bed! Octogre 2024

Just a reminder….

Night night sweet dreamies
When it’s hard to see the good in yourself, lean on the people who love you, they’ll help you remember what you can’t see right now.
We forgive the ones we love so easily, yet we often forget to offer ourselves the same grace.

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— George The Station Cat (@george-station-cat.bsky.social) January 23, 2026 at 3:07 PM

Turmp's Chief of Staff Diagnosed with Breast Cancer

Jvsticia

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 16, 2026 · 5:39 PM PDT

2026/03/16 · 17:39

Susie Wiles, the DarnOlds’ Turmp White House Chief of Staff since before a few wars ago, announced that she has been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. But her prognosis has been deemed as “strong” (I’m guessing by someone quite familiar with how important it is to explain things to the DarnoOlds’ in words of only one or two syllables).

Of course, we all wish Wiles the very best in her journey through cancer treatment, and I’m sure more than one person here will be praying for its positive outcome. No snark; it must be scary, and we’re all human beings.

That said, I have the impression that at some point chemotherapy may be involved, and that chemotherapy often involves a mental state known as “brain fog.” And I can’t help but wonder: if she were to actually try to continue her duties, possibly remotely, how that would affect the visible moderation of his impulsive language-like utterances in public, since she assumed her duties on a few wars ago?

I don’t try to read or listen to his shtick, preferring to depend on the sane-washed sound-bites of the Fake News Media to entertain me with amusing takes on his lunatic pronouncements, just as if he’s a normal president. But the last few days, his mouth-nuggets have had kind of a ...plaintive tone?… sort of a little bit bewildered in spots?

tbh, it’s like he’s trying different combinations of words, and then a few seconds later tries another related but contradictory combination of words. Like he’s waiting for someone to nudge him toward the “more advisable” combination? This is probably only wishful thinking on my part, but it’s like she’s already only sporadically available…

But I’m mostly posting this in the hope that it touches off someone to write more, and more authoritatively, about the headline topic.

White House Blocks Intel Report on Iranian Terror Threat to US?!

Irontortoise

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 16, 2026 · 5:39 PM PDT

2026/03/16 · 17:39

OK, this is not the sort of story I would have ever thought might be broken by the likes of the Daily Mail, but here we are:

A shocking intelligence report that was blocked by the White House warns that Iran could launch waves of terrorist attacks on US soil including assassinations, bombings and stabbings, because of the President's new war, a leaked copy exclusively obtained by the Daily Mail shows. The FBI, Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) were preparing to put out the joint statement last week to state and local authorities alerting them of a heightened threat from Iran, detailing potential methods of attack and encouraging vigilance.

The White House blocked the report from being issued to law enforcement nationwide on Friday after Homeland Security officials flagged the report to them. The move infuriated members of the intelligence community who argued that these bulletins typically are issued without input from the White House to avoid politicizing intel communications. 'They were concerned about the optics of sending anything out,' said a senior DHS official of the White House decision to put a hold on the report, which was primarily authored by the FBI. 'They got their asses handed to them,' the official added of the resulting backlash. The Daily Mail first revealed the Trump administration's efforts to suppress the report on Friday, sparking uproar across America and from prominent figures ranging from conservative commentator Megyn Kelly to former CIA Director John Brennan, now a commentator on liberal MSNOW.

The White House relented days later under mounting pressure and plans to release the report later this week to law enforcement, according to a senior DHS official.

And while there doesn’t appear to be anything particularly earthshaking in this report — particularly in the details any reasonably competent armchair analyst could probably deduce on their own (the finding that Iran would be more likely to retaliate with ‘targeted assassinations’ in the US rather than mass casualty terror attacks is at least somewhat reassuring?), it remains exceedingly curious as to just why the administration didn’t want this report released in a more timely manner.

The FBI believes the regime prefers to use 'radicalized individuals with a variety of ideological backgrounds… with existing US legal status or US access.' Some of the regime's terrorist sympathizers also 'may lack identifiable ties to Iran.' Law enforcement are also warned that 'graphic imagery' and 'news of civilian casualties' from the war could mobilize extremist attacks. On February 28, an American Tomahawk cruise missile struck a girl's school in Iran killing 175 civilians, many of them children.

Yeah, nothing like bombing a girl’s school to help self-radicalize any potential domestic terrorists...

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