u/TheGrandExquisitor

FYI, on what the reality is. Useful against the redditors flooding in to victim blame in the Cornell 7 case.

Hey, all. Recently bought a home on 10 acres, with half of it wooded. Have a nice fireplace and a fire pit. My dad even passed on his maul and axe. Lots of opportunities for wood here, as I have more than a few trees that need to be taken down.

Have one problem though.

No place to split the logs.

I've always split wood on a big stump or section of tree. As one does. But, I don't have a good stump or big enough tree section to use. I really need something to raise the wood up and to absorb the blow when I split the wood without destroying the blade (the ground here is basically all glacial till and very rocky.)

Solutions? Suggestions?

Reuters buried the lede on this, but read on. Hegseth wants women in the military treated for "hypo sexuality." In other words, "low sex drive." If they are deemed to have it, they get testosterone. No kidding. Please read the *whole* article. This is insane.

Basically, saying no to sex with a man (likely your commander or the Secretary of Douchiness,) can get testosterone forced on you.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pentagon-temporarily-rescinding-guidance-testosterone-screening-us-troops-2026-09-03/

Anyone else in NY, or really any non-Maine state, getting inundated with ads for the Maine Senate race?

Like, WTF? I've never even lived there, but Spotify and Disney+ think I do.

OK, so I need some water plants for my pond, and it seems a waste to buy things online that just grow here in the wild. I am wondering if it is legal for me to snag some aquatic plants from any public spaces. Anyone know? Also locations would be nice too.

So, every big bill, it seems a handful of Dems vote GOP. The recent defense bill is a good example. Several Dems switched sides to support it, even though it basically embedded the IDF into our defense systems.

This happens a lot. In fact, it is known that Schumer and other party leaders have okayed this kind of thing if an official thinks it will help them retain their seat.

Conversely, the GOP tends to vote in lock step. Even the recent "defections," during the AG hearings only happened because two incumbents were lame ducks and had nothing to lose. Even then, they ended up confirming Blanche.

Meanwhile, Progressives and others on the Left keep getting told "Vote Blue No Matter Who," even if it means electing a Fetterman or Manchin type.

Question - Would Dems be seen in a better light if they were more united like the GOP? Less weak. Less chaotic? And shouldn't Dems in office be told "blue no matter who," and not allowed to switch sides?

So, every big bill, it seems a handful of Dems vote GOP. The recent defense bill is a good example. Several Dems switched sides to support it, even though it basically embedded the IDF into our defense systems.

This happens a lot. In fact, it is known that Schumer and other party leaders have okayed this kind of thing if an official thinks it will help them retain their seat.

Conversely, the GOP tends to vote in lock step. Even the recent "defections," during the AG hearings only happened because two incumbents were lame ducks and had nothing to lose. Even then, they ended up confirming Blanche.

Meanwhile, Progressives and others on the Left keep getting told "Vote Blue No Matter Who," even if it means electing a Fetterman or Manchin type.

Question - Would Dems be seen in a better light if they were more united like the GOP? Less weak. Less chaotic? And shouldn't Dems in office be told "blue no matter who," and not allowed to switch sides?

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is being ridiculed after warning against the dangers posed by billionaire presidents, failing to consider that his criticisms might also apply to his ally Donald Trump.

Guesting on Sean Hannity's Fox News show Tuesday, the GOP senator warned against the dangers posed by the "radical left" following the recent successes of democratic socialist candidates in state elections, most spectacularly Mayor Zohran Mamdani's triumphant run for City Hall in New York last year.

"Mamdani is not a socialist, he is a Marxist, he is a full-on communist," Cruz told Hannity. "The [Democratic Socialists of America] candidates that he supported, that won in New York, are full-on communists. The DSA candidates who won in Colorado are full-on communists."

The senator, who is of Cuban heritage, went on to claim that his father Rafael Cruz had been imprisoned and tortured by Fidel Castro's revolutionaries and declared: "Violence is part of the plan. That's not a bug – it is a feature. It is the objective.

"This is who the communists are. The radical left is perfectly fine with using violence to attack its enemies."

After attacking leftist "idiots," whom he claimed had celebrated the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by getting tattoos of his accused killer Luigi Mangione, Cruz pivoted to attacking authoritarian leaders who enrich themselves in high office.

"You know who does own a pied-a-terre?" he asked. "That would be Comrade Mamdani, who has a palatial estate in Uganda. But that's always the case.

"Castro was a billionaire. Putin is a billionaire. The leaders of communist regimes are always rich. They steal and rob from those they govern."

Brandon Richards, a staffer for California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, was one of many to respond to a clip of Cruz's remarks circulating on X by marveling at his failure to spot their wider ramifications.

"Cancun Cruz not self aware enough to realize what he just admitted about Trump…," he wrote, referring to the senator by an unwanted nickname he acquired after going on vacation while his state was in crisis in February 2021.

"Donald Trump made more money in the last year and a half than in his entire life," said Missouri congressional candidate Fred Wellman. "What is that called Ted Cruz?"

"Think about it for 10 more seconds bud," advised Rolling Stone reporter Nikki McCann Ramirez.

Cruz's attack could be interpreted as the latest implicit acknowledgement of Republican anxiety over November's midterms, which they are widely expected to lose as a consequence of Trump's languishing approval ratings.

His caution to voters against being enticed by the left came a night after Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert hosted a show on OAN in which she claimed the U.S. electoral system remains vulnerable to fraud, a talking point the president has revived in recent weeks, presumably anticipating defeat and preparing to challenge that outcome.

A politician whom commentators have long taken a particular delight in mocking, Cruz has been regularly scorned over his loyal support for Trump – a man who labelled him "Lyin' Ted" and publicly insulted his wife Heidi when the two men were rivals for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016.

He has also been derided for spending more time on his podcast than governing and for being unable to answer elementary questions about Iran while lobbying for greater U.S. military aggression against the country.

I always hear that Leftists and Progressives are the reason Trump won. Paul Begalia was on NPR and claimed that every presidential election lost in the last two decades was because that group of voters didn't vote Dem.

What proof of this is there? Also, why could the reason not be bad campaigns and a failure to get non-voters on board?

Asking respectfully.

So, McConnell is obviously dead/unable to do his job. Beshear doesn't seem to want to do the obvious thing and call an election to either force proof of life, or to send state troopers to DC to verify McConnell is still alive.

Just a few weeks ago, Gov Polis commuted the sentence of the only MAGA official to get convicted of vote tampering. She did less than a year as I recall. She immediately doubled down on her lies about the election within 24 hours.

Do you think this makes the Dems look weak overall? They seem to be playing off of some of outdated playbook that focuses on manners and being appropriate than on actually doing what needs to be done to protect citizens from fraud and deception.

Probably will get me banned from the sub and Reddit, but since we now know it isn't a crime for a bunch of people to take unscheduled tours of DC landmarks on that particular day, should anyone opposed to Trump plan to meet up so a tour can happen, should Trump decide to stay put? We could all graciously offer to help him move. He is old. Maybe he will have trouble with carrying the boxes.