Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mutthaz out there…
Now that guy sure is talented.
Let’s get on with the cartoons:
I see Trump must have been holding this grudge against Sesame Street for a long time:
Y’all be safe out there, this is an open thread.
peej
Carissa
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dakinikat
ecocatwoman
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Mama Lopez
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quixote
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Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Memeorandum Crooks and Liars Democracy NOW The UK Guardian
The Sky Dancing banner headline uses a snippet from a work by artist Tashi Mannox called 'Rainbow Study'. The work is described as a" study of typical Tibetan rainbow clouds, that feature in Thanka painting, temple decoration and silk brocades". dakinikat was immediately drawn to the image when trying to find stylized Tibetan Clouds to represent Sky Dancing. It is probably because Tashi's practice is similar to her own. His updated take on the clouds that fill the collection of traditional thankas is quite special.
You can find his work at his website by clicking on his logo below. He is also a calligraphy artist that uses important vajrayana syllables. We encourage you to visit his on line studio.
Sky Dancing 
gift link:
It’s a good day to remember our mothers because they still live in our hearts and minds.
Happy Mother’s Day to our Mothers!
Emoluments Clause any one?
https://www.threads.com/@frank.figliuzzi/post/DJhXKAmuf7s
Aside from the law violations here, it will take months for the US government to dismantle this plane to TRY and find the embedded bugs and trackers. Trust me: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/11/us/politics/trump-qatar-jet-gift-air-force-one.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GU8.Ke-y.uXQpkXRl01QC&smid=url-share
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-qatar-gift/?link_source=ta_thread_link&taid=682101dd6ac33700011441fc
“First off, this is what we call a bribe,” Wilson began. “It’s not a gift, it’s a bribe, this is a bribe. This is a very, very expensive 740 7-8, it’s a very fancy plane.”
“In fact, the reason, I think that Qatar has been so smart about this is the interior decorating style.,” he continued. “It looks like Saddam and Liberace’s decorators got together and said, let’s make a flying brothel that will appeal to Donald Trump.”
“It is the most vulgar thing you’ve ever seen in your life, he added, “But that is his –– this is a bribe. This is not a gift, it’s not a, it’s not a loan, it’s not a deal –– it’s a bribe. And you need to, I mean, we need to just recognize how transactional and corrupt this is.”
Even Loomer is pissed:
https://www.threads.com/@ronaldfilipkowski/post/DJh1c6ZRIhg
FEMA looking for new leader after acting administrator fired
Federal Emergency Management Agency acting administrator Cameron Hamilton was fired one day after telling members of Congress he did not think it would be in the public’s best interest to eliminate FEMA.
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/fema-looking-for-new-leader-after-acting-administrator-fired/1773231
We’re all fucked down here on the Gulf that’s for certain
“Sec of Education (????) Linda McMahon and the Trump administration gave schools 10 days to gut their equity programs or lose funding. One superintendent responded with a letter so clear, so bold, and so unapologetically righteous, it deserves to be read in full. PLEASE READ, to see if this makes sense to you. The author of this is a school superintendent who wants to stay anonymous (I can think of several reasons).
April 8, 2025
To Whom It May (Unfortunately) Concern at the U.S. Department of Education:
Thank you for your April 3 memorandum, which I read several times — not because it was legally persuasive, but because I kept checking to see if it was satire. Alas, it appears you are serious.
You’ve asked me, as superintendent of a public school district, to sign a “certification” declaring that we are not violating federal civil rights law — by, apparently, acknowledging that civil rights issues still exist. You cite Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, then proceed to argue that offering targeted support to historically marginalized students is somehow discriminatory.
That’s not just legally incoherent — it’s a philosophical Möbius strip of bad faith.
Let me see if I understand your logic:
If we acknowledge racial disparities, that’s racism.
If we help English learners catch up, that’s favoritism.
If we give a disabled child a reading aide, we’re denying someone else the chance to struggle equally.
And if we train teachers to understand bias, we’re indoctrinating them — but if we train them to ignore it, we’re “restoring neutrality”?
How convenient that your sudden concern for “equal treatment” seems to apply only when it’s used to silence conversations about race, identity, or inequality.
Let’s talk about our English learners. Would you like us to stop offering translation services during parent-teacher conferences? Should we cancel bilingual support staff to avoid the appearance of “special treatment”? Or would you prefer we just teach all content in English and hope for the best, since acknowledging linguistic barriers now counts as discrimination?
And while we’re at it — what’s your official stance on IEPs? Because last I checked, individualized education plans intentionally give students with disabilities extra support. Should we start removing accommodations to avoid offending the able-bodied majority? Maybe cancel occupational therapy altogether so no one feels left out?
If a student with a learning disability receives extended time on a test, should we now give everyone extended time, even if they don’t need it? Just to keep the playing field sufficiently flat and unthinking?
Your letter paints equity as a threat. But equity is not the threat. It’s the antidote to decades of failure. Equity is what ensures all students have a fair shot. Equity is what makes it possible for a child with a speech impediment to present at the science fair. It’s what helps the nonverbal kindergartner use an AAC device. It’s what gets the newcomer from Ukraine the ESL support she needs without being left behind.
And let’s not skip past the most insulting part of your directive — the ten-day deadline. A national directive sent to thousands of districts with the subtlety of a ransom note, demanding signatures within a week and a half or else you’ll cut funding that supports… wait for it… low-income students, disabled students, and English learners.
Brilliant. Just brilliant. A moral victory for bullies and bureaucrats everywhere.
So no, we will not be signing your “certification.”
We are not interested in joining your theater of compliance.
We are not interested in gutting equity programs that serve actual children in exchange for your political approval.
We are not interested in abandoning our legal, ethical, and educational responsibilities to satisfy your fear of facts.
We are interested in teaching the truth.
We are interested in honoring our students’ identities.
We are interested in building a school system where no child is invisible, and no teacher is punished for caring too much.
And yes — we are prepared to fight this. In the courts. In the press. In the community. In Congress, if need be.
Because this district will not be remembered as the one that folded under pressure.
We will be remembered as the one that stood its ground — not for politics, but for kids.
Sincerely,
District Superintendent
Still Teaching. Still Caring. Still Not Signing.”
Via https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009789314641
Wow am I going to have to discuss tomorrow!
Carrick Ryan
dtoponserSh183748cmfhu6mhlhl7ug9tuu07t0h9233604hl0i261f11286 ·
These men just played Trump…
They found a way to try and drive a wedge between him and Putin.
Yesterday, the leaders of France, Germany, Poland, and the UK gathered in a room with Zelensky. They then made an unscheduled phone call to Trump.
In that call, they disclosed a plan to give Putin an ultimatum: agree to a 30-day ceasefire and begin negotiations for peace, or they would supply Ukraine with overwhelming military support and coordinate additional sanctions that could suffocate a Russian economy finally beginning to show the mortal wounds of economic isolation.
In this call, they convinced Trump that this threat alone would force Putin to the negotiating table.
And they convinced Trump that if this worked… he would get the plaudits.
The truth is, they know Putin doesn’t want peace. As I’ve explained countless times, anyone who actually understands Putin and his geopolitical priorities knows he doesn’t want a democratic Ukraine to survive.
Trump, evidently, has failed to grasp this. He still sees everything as a real estate deal and fails to appreciate the deeper ideological aspirations at play.
He is also notoriously easy to persuade, especially by someone like Macron. Starmer, meanwhile, is Trump’s new best friend after he went along with his charade of a bilateral trade agreement. They’ve been buttering him up this whole time.
Macron, Starmer, Merz, Tusk, and Zelensky appealed to Trump’s vanity and his ignorance… and it looks like it worked.
They managed to get his verbal approval for the ultimatum during the call. And before anyone had the chance to explain the implications to Trump… they announced it. One by one, they gave speeches to the media where they made it absolutely clear that Trump was in on the deal. The USA was party to the ultimatum.
Putin then had to either accept an immediate ceasefire by Monday… or defy Trump.
As expected, before the deadline even came close, Putin rejected the offer outright. Because he does not want peace.
Trump has now effectively sanctioned the European plan for complete and unrestricted support of the Ukrainian military and agreed to cooperate on additional economic sanctions on Russia.
Just like that, the USA appears to be back on Ukraine’s side, and it’s all thanks to an unscheduled phone call.
I don’t know whose plan it was, but it was brilliant.