Last Day of June Forum
Steven L. Taylor
·
Monday, June 30, 2025
·
33 comments
OTB relies on its readers to support it. Please consider helping by becoming a monthly contributor through Patreon or making a one-time contribution via PayPal. Thanks for your consideration.
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a retired Professor of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
Follow Steven on
Twitter and/or
BlueSky.
Thom Tillis denounces GOP megabill’s Medicaid cuts in fiery speech
Why, oh why, are these politicians “brave” only after there is no cost to them.
I hope this is more of Trump BS but…
Trump Said He OK’d Iran’s Plan to Strike Al Udeid. His Top Military Adviser Said Troops There Fended Off Missiles.
If true, Trump intentionally left 44 soldiers in harm’s way to operate the Patriot missile batteries.
2 minutes ‘to succeed or fail’: 44 US soldiers stayed at Al Udeid to intercept Iran’s missile barrage
On the other hand, I could expect this from Trump, a mentally damaged sociopath.
Texas capital murder case attempts to severely punish abortion pill use by treating a fetus as a person
I have to admit, all the implications of this case makes me queasy. A heinous crime that the boyfriend committed and should be punished. What is the alternative charge? Assault? Seems inadequate.
After going though the thread on Tuberville I find it utterly galling the way they like to rag on big cities. These cities are literally the economic engine of the US’s prosperity. The largest 50 city MSA’s contains a third of the population and a full 50% of GDP.
Red states would be Rwanda without these population centers. Red states generally rely on these cites for everything relating to their livelihood. We can buy food anywhere and probably cheaper. We subsidize agriculture for reasons of national security, not because it’s more cost effective. For all there caterwauling about people getting federal benefit’s most red states would collapse without federal money. I would guess that red states (other then TX FL) are more “socialist” in fact then blue states.
If the US had to relay on red states we wouldn’t even be able to fund the Military. If we ran the government like a business most Red states would get fired.
Sen. John Cornyn looks to overcome Paxton primary challenge by embracing Trump
Cornyn is toast. His Trump groveling is making him weaker by the day. Our adulterous, indicted felon of an Attorney General will crush Cornyn. I have no confidence the Texas electorate will ever come to their senses.
@Scott:
The crime is not because the fetus has rights, the crime is in denying a wanted pregnancy. As far as I know even the SC hasn’t weighed in on the status of a fetus’ rights, although it does enjoy treating the fetus as having rights even thought the constitution uses the phrase “person born” when talking about citizenship.
This is the problem with “Original Intent” is that for some things they just hand wave away things like corporate personhood, the expansion of peacetime armies, the devolvement of automatic weapons, campaign finance and cite modern advancements as a reason to subvert the plan language of the constriction. Yet when it come to, for example, the rights of women, republican reactionaries are more then happy to apply the standards of 18th century founders to bind us to a standard that is wholly out of step with modernity.
Original Intent is a not an objective standard. It cover for imposing a morality that is out of step and largely rejected by the people presently.
@Scott: Time will tell, but I am actually encouraged that Tillis has preemptively stepped off the merry-go-round by announcing his intention not to run again, thus denying Trump his go-to leverage. Maybe Tillis will be the Murkowski or Collins who actually votes his concerns. But, like I said, only time will tell.
Hello from Miami Airport. Dear Wife and I will be departing for the British Virgin Islands aka EIS airport code shortly after 10 this morning. Our American Airlines flight* is on time and at the moment we’re spending time in the Admirals Club near gate D30.
We arrived at MIA early. If traffic isn’t bad, you can make the trip from Boynton Beach to MIA in an hour. Of course early morning weekday traffic can be unpredictable so we left lots of time just in case.
Elizabeth drove us to MIA. She and her family operaste a auto and limousine service. 25 years ago DW and I rode with Elizabeth or her husband Michael. Last year were pleasantly surprised to learn they were still in business. Elizabeth mostly runs** the company office these days. So today was the first time in ages we saw one another in person.
If you don’t know, three airports are within an hour hour drive from my home. Palm Beach aka PBI, Fort Lauderdale aka FLL, and Miami. PBI is the most convenient but also has the least international or nonstop services of the three. Depending on where I am traveling, the airport I will do it in and out of will vary. When DW and I went to Australia a year ago, we flew from Mia, my fall 2024 book tour from PBI, and when going to Seattle this May for our Alaskan cruise, out of FLL.
I’m ready for this trip. The BVI
are on Atlantic Standard Time but because of Daylight Savings Time are currently on the same time as Florida.
The currency for the BVI is the American dollar not the British pound
You do however drive on the left side of the road down there.
The purpose of the trip is to research the islands for an upcoming book. I have prepared a list of the things I want to learn and visit.
A storm system may hit Florida on the 4th of July. The condo DW and I own is battened down just in case.
As I’m unsure if I’m going to be checking in during the next week, I want to wish everyone a happy 4th of July.
*An Embraer 175 jet. American is the only airline I know with scheduled jet service into EIS.
**- Two of her children, plus Michael, do most of the driving.
@Rick DeMent: I’ve remarked in several online forums in response to comments from Georgia dissing Atlanta: Without Atlanta, Georgia would be Alabama.
@Rick DeMent: ” republican reactionaries are more then happy to apply the standards of 18th century founders to bind us to a standard that is wholly out of step with modernity.” Add in that 18th century claptrap about “A well regulated militia…” that Scalia et al. were so happy to erase from the second amendment so the mentally unstable could own and brandish AR 15s.
Trump is sending a tariff notice to Mr. Japan. But let’s talk about Biden’s mental acuity.
https://x.com/Acyn/status/1939332910034940047
Many regions of several states have claimed that they want to secede from the state that they are currently a legal part of. I live in Illinois so I will note that the notion that the “New State of Illinois” secede from the rest of Illinois is not going to happen. Citizens who advocate for this proposition almost always say that “it’s in the Constitution.”
When I ask them if they have read the Article and Section of the United States Constitution that mentions the formation of new states they have not. Then I ask them if they have consulted with members of the Illinois General Assembly and the United States Congress (the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives) they say no. When I mention that all the members of the Illinois State and United States Federal Legislatures must vote on the formation of “The New State of Illinois” they admit that they did’t know that either.
This item states “We are seeking a state split according to the procedures provided in Article IV, section three of the U.S. Constitution, following the West Virginia model.” The New State of Illinois
West Virginia seceded from Virginia after the State of Virginia seceded from the United States and joined the Confederacy. Do these dimwits really want the State of Illinois to secede from the Union before “The New State of Illinois” can be formed?
@Rick DeMent: In describing the current Republican agenda and goals, I refer to it as the Alabmafication of the U.S. (Sorry, Dr. Taylor)
@Mister Bluster: Not going to happen but when Texas was annexed into the United States in 1845, the (Joint Resolution of Annexation) explicitly permitted Texas to be divided into as many as five states without requiring a constitutional amendment.
Trump admits he’s ignoring Karoline Leavitt’s warning as he gushes over ‘beautiful’ reporter
President Donald Trump gushed over the “beautiful” White House reporter Hariana Veras, despite his Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt advising him against making such comments
It must very flattering to a woman to have a rapist talk about how beautiful she is. Maybe he can send her some flowers and candy, accompanied by his best bottle of Trump wine.
What a revolting piece of shit he is.
@Lucysfootball:
Yes, but has he tried to grab her by the pussy yet?
@Scott:
Malcolm Gladwell made a very big deal of that some years ago. He made it sound like a simple ballot measure would net five mini-Texas, three of them deep blue.
I felt I was listening to a snake oil salesman.
@CSK: I always thought that Trump believes that his grab them by the pussy remarks are complimentary to women. I also imagine that he’s the sort of guy who thinks catcalling is flattering to women. I knew guys like that, although they weren’t rapists.
Interesting, I literally had no clue that TX at one point could have seriously considered splitting into 5 mini states, however, as Kathy notes, if the majority of mini-states would lean blue that pretty much explains everything as to why TX never seriously pursued going down that path.
@Rick DeMent: Really good post.
@Lucysfootball:
Oh, no doubt. I also believe he’d think the women would feel flattered–and honored and privileged–if he did in fact grab them by the pussy.
@Rick DeMent: I don’t think “fired” is the
rightcorrect symbolic language. They’d be liquidated and closed because of poor match to the company’s business strategy and long range plans.@SC_Birdflyte: On the other hand, maybe the problem with Atlanta is that it makes Georgia too “uppity.” A point to consider; why should Georgia get to think it’s better just because of Atlanta?
The loathsome excrescence who shot and killed 2 Idaho firefighters and critically injured another has been identified as Wess Roley, 20, formerly of Phoenix, AZ.
@Scott:
If a performative strike was the price of truce I can’t damn him too much for that. I suspect the call to leave 44 there to defend the place was a decision made by top brass as much as him due to high confidence they could shoot everything down that the Iranians would devote to a fake strike. They could’ve pulled them out and told Trump nothing until it was over.
What is brain-dead is conducting a kabuki theater op and then publicly describing it as that. Undermines the intent of allowing some face-saving. It’s one of the many things which has lead me to believe the Russians never directly colluded with Trump or tried to Kompromat-blackmail him. An impulsive blabbermouth is unsuitable for a clandestine relationship, and there is no need to compromise a useful idiot.
@CSK: Coeur d’Alene, Idaho attracts the absolute worst. Picture the craziest caricatures the left has of the right, Coeur d’Alene is the one place they’re all true.
@Lucysfootball:
I don’t think you can really know that.
@Fortune: That’s very sad. When I lived in Spokane 30 years ago, Sandpoint was the place where the real crazies lived. And Pend Oreille county across the border in Washington. Coeur d’Alene was still really nice. Even a touch liberal, for Idaho anyway.
Musk has escalated his threats against any GOP lawmaker who votes in favor of Trump’s big, beautiful bill.
@Mister Bluster:
Yeah, here in CA, in the Northern area from Redding north to the Oregon border there has existed, for many years, a secessionist movement. In fact they refer to their region as the state of Jefferson.
Honestly, I would gladly let them annex to Idaho. There is no way I want another low value, low population Red State with 2 malignant senators.
Wow. Bryan Kohberger is pleading guilty, apparently. Evidence against him was pretty damning, from the little that’s been released.
@CSK:
How times change. I can’t quite decide whether he’s sore that his boyfriend dumped him, or that his boyfriend dumped his tax credits and subsidies.
He’s threatening to set up a new party, too. If he tips well enough, I’m sure the Fixer Court will say Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 does not exclude him. It’s ok. He literally has money to burn.
@DK:
He had a choice of copping a plea or facing the death penalty.