Big money! No whammies!

Given the flood of corporate and individual and anonymous money into elections, it seems almost anticlimactic that what laws there are turn out to be easily flouted by those who choose to do so, with few if any repercussions. That's just … discouraging.

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IRS: Toothless. FEC: "Thoroughly Broken."
Government failures mean it's open season for renegade political groups in the 2012 elections.

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***Dave Does the Mastodon

2 days ago

Garlic-Parmesan Melting Potatoes https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/margie/garlic-parmesan-melting-potatoes.html

4 days ago

At the #CUBoulder #Colorado #Shakespeare Festival world premiere of David Davolos' "Friends | Romans | Countrymen," sharing a set with their "Julius Caesar" production.

#csf #theater

4 days ago

Went to The #Odyssey last night. Had a great time seeing an ambitious movie that largely pays off on what it's trying to do. Worth seeing.

#movies #moviereview

https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/2026/07/19/movie-review-the-odyssey-2026.html

6 days ago

Now, all of a sudden, #Trump is concerned about #airquality ? No, he's only concerned about looking like The Biggest Bully on the Block. Also, the biggest idiot.

#fires #climatechange #airpollution #smoke

6 days ago

The #Trump administration has finally come up with an odd rationale for banning #windfarms : they confuse radar, so drones can sneak past them and do drone things, so clearly they are an existential #nationalsecurity risk.

Next up: "You know, when drones fly just above trees in national forests, it confuses radar, so ..."

https://gizmodo.com/pentagon-says-drones-can-hide-in-wind-farms-freezing-155-wind-projects-2000787068

1 week ago

Cheesy Zucchini Casserole https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/margie/cheesy-zucchini-casserole.html

1 week ago

I am not a fancy-talking diplomat or politician, but this sure looks like a shake-down to me -- basically, charging all shipping through the Strait of Hormuz a 20% tariff to pay for the costs of keeping the Strait open which were largely necessitated by Trump's actions in the first place.

Must be nice to have a great big navy to extort people with.

#trump #hormuz #usnavy #iran

2 weeks ago

Strawberries Romanoff https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/margie/strawberries-romanoff.html

2 weeks ago

#Trump continues to fire anyone who's not a zealous supporter or deep-pocket contributor, as enabled by #SCOTUS. In this installment, he's basically emptied out the #ElectionAssistanceCommission leadership. That "independent" agency certifies voting machines, maintains the national mail voter registration form, etc.

Gee, why would he be doing that just a few months before a critical #midterm?

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-terminates-election-assistance-commission-members-2026-07-10/

2 weeks ago

Getting things, and people, and places mixed up is, I speak from experience, a not-so-early sign of some form of #dementia.

Recalling the dictum that everything about Team #Trump, including the boss, is about #projection, it's illuminating how much effort they put into asserting Biden's mental unfitness and how it was being covered up by his cronies and power-mad hangers-on.

https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/trump-mixes-zelenskyy-putin-japan-and-iran

2 weeks ago

A good friend of mine spent several patient minutes explaining, procedurally, how Trump's call could have had no effect on the re-evaluation of #Balogun's red card.

Even granting that, the stench of corruption around both #Trump and #FIFA make even ultimately disproven accusations seem credible.

Ironically, the best thing that happened to the US #Soccer Team was losing the Belgium, as any overall wins would have been tainted by Trump's inappropriate actions.

#worldcup #football

2 weeks ago

"Will no one rid my team of this troublesome Red Card?"

The #Trump claim that he didn't tell #FIFA what to do regarding #Balogun doesn't pass the laugh test. *Making the call* is influencing. As he well knows.

But, then Trump is an entitled brat who exercises power -- hard and soft -- without a care for how it looks, just so long as he gets what he wants.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2026/07/06/trumps-request-before-reprieve-us-star-casts-pall-over-world-cup-match/

3 weeks ago

Blue Cheese and Basil Dip https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/margie/blue-cheese-and-basil-dip.html

3 weeks ago

How incredibly fragile #MikeJohnson 's sense of citizenship must be if folk who look or sound or act differently from him being still considered citizens weakens the meaning of being an American.

Frankly, I find Johnson himself more of an insult to what means for me to be an #Americam #citizen than some kid born here of unlawful immigrants.

"Mike Johnson says Congress should look at birthright citizenship bill" https://share.google/ZHqHXXwROV1ivAmmh

3 weeks ago

The #DearLeader 's plans are, of course, genius, perfect, divinely inspired, so anything that goes wrong must, by definition, be the plotting of the tools of the Great Antifa Satan. QED.

#Trump #ReflectingPool

"Burgum doubles down on blaming vandals for reflecting pool woes - POLITICO"
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/05/burgum-vandals-reflecting-pool-00987197

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