Puccini’s operatic “Nessun dorma” ends with a triumphant proclamation: “vincerò,” or “I will win!”

They should have played something from Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, wherein a tacky American scumbag travels to an island to engage in child prostitution.

I also have to wonder if James Donald Bowman here remembers that Trump sent a violent crowd to hang his last VP. It’s a disposable job for scapegoats.

I came here to rolly eyes at exactly the same line.

In the 2004 Osama bin Laden video, he vividly and explicitly describes where he got his primary motivation for the attack. This was his vengeance for the carnage he saw in the media coverage of the Israeli siege of Beirut, in the 1982 Lebanon War, where Israel was helped by the United States. Other motivations were published in the 2002 Letter to the American People, in which he said that al-Qaeda’s motives for the attacks included American support for attacking Muslims in Somalia, supporting Russian atrocities against Muslims in Chechnya, supporting the Indian oppression against Muslims in Kashmir, condoning the 1982 massacres in Lebanon, the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia, US support of Israel, and sanctions against Iraq. Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri asserted that Israeli repression of Palestinians during the Second Intifada was the immediate cause that forced Al-Qaeda to launch the September 11 attacks.

Thank the gods that police can now use big tech to harass people instead of relying on their teensy little brains. I bet their metrics have improved significantly.

The vice president’s pose as an enforcer of chivalry and rectitude in our politics is ludicrous on its face, given his apologetics for Donald Trump’s nonstop vicious personal smears. But this episode is of interest for another reason: El-Sayed’s stance articulates a bigger point about Vance’s craven compromises with the MAGA coalition’s racist and white nationalist elements that is 100 percent correct.

This is a great piece.

Many privately admit they’re stuck in an uncomfortable spot: By running too far from Trump, Republicans risk alienating the MAGA faithful or the president himself, whose super PAC is sitting on more than $400 million they desperately need deployed to help them win key races. But if the candidates keep Trump close, they could be dragged down by the president, as the unpopular war in Iran has increased costs for Americans across the country.

That’s his grift money though. No way he spends it on someone else.

Black’s lawsuit argues the subpoenas exceed the committee’s authority by seeking private information unrelated to Epstein or any legitimate legislative purpose. It asks a federal judge to declare the subpoenas invalid and prevent the committee from enforcing them.

“The Committee is on a fishing expedition that oversteps its authority and completely ignores its responsibility,” Black’s attorney, Susan Estrich, said in a statement. “This is no longer about finding the truth about Epstein. It is about trying to destroy Mr. Black.”

He sounds desperate. Congress has the inherent power to investigate anything because of it’s oversight role.

(Used this article because of the paywall)

Not to get all “no true Scotsman” here, but if you don’t want to tax billionaires until they’re not billionaires anymore then you’re not even close to being on the left in my book.

I have to agree with cast iron pans, especially old ones. They’re versatile, durable, and I don’t have to worry about Teflon flaking off.

I’ve heard carbon steel is great too, but I love the properties of cast iron so I don’t feel the need to get anything else.

It’s a fun series. It doesn’t take itself very seriously at all, but it has a lot of heart.

If you go in expecting a cheesy time then it’s great.

A VGHS gif in the wild? Nice.

Paxton isn’t going to debate Talarico, I guarantee it.

He’s more chickenshit than a henhouse full of lettuce.

Christian Nationalists are the most insufferable blowhards you’ll ever regret meeting.

He must hate people with fit legs?

I loved the game partly because of the lack of fast travel, which is not my usual attitude for an open-world game.

They made it actually interesting to get around and fun to figure out how to proceed after a hard won fight.

It’s strange to me that people would find that inconvenient, because it seems to be half the point of the game.

We have tons of people who want to live in the US. Birth rates are not an issue unless you only want white children.

Ted Cruz doesn’t support democratic elections in the US, why would anyone trust that pigfucker saying that he supports them elsewhere?

He tried to overthrow the duly elected government.

He beat Cuomo by 10 points. That’s a significant victory.

They care very much about social hierarchy, and the idea that someone would try to refuse their role sickens them.

It’s the conservative social contract: they accept that their betters can tell them what to do and how to live so long as they get that privilege over those who are inferior to them.

Gender is an incredibly important part of this hierarchy, and everyone must fit into the box they were born into. Jumping one’s station, rejecting privilege, or outright refusing to play their game infuriates them.

Ironic coming from a guy who just showed his ass.