Friday, October 17, 2025

Joke Line

"What's Joe Klein been up to?" asked nobody. Promoted by longtime cuomocrat operative Melissa DeRosa as "the legendary Joe Klein."
We continued to talk when he became Bill Clinton’s HUD Secretary and I admired his practical turn of mind: “Mario asks why, I ask how,” he once said. We lost touch after I left New York Magazine and began to write for national publications, so I didn’t follow his time as governor very closely—although he did some things that improved my life markedly, like transforming LaGuardia Airport from a near-slum to a state-of-the-art masterpiece. He was brought down by MeToo# allegations; I don’t know whether they had substance or not, but I do know that at a certain point MeToo became a disaster for the Democratic Party—the presumption of male guilt fit too neatly into the toxic male meme that came to dominate the over-feminated progressives. Over time, it cast an electoral pall over the Democrats for many men, especially young ones…of all ethnicities, as we saw in 2024.

It is time for Democrats to move away from that—and electing Andrew Cuomo mayor of New York would be a step in the right direction
. More important, he would be a mayor who concentrated on the “how” of politics, the practical steps that need to be taken—constantly—to keep New York City afloat. This is in sharp contrast to Zohran Mamdani who is the candidate of kindergarten “whys.” Like, why don’t we have state-run grocery stores? (Because a great middle class grew out of New York’s family owned fruit stands and butcher shops and dry goods stores and bodegas, which still could use some love from the municipal government—all small businesses could, a reality that too often eludes Democrats.)
I don't know if he was a good governor, or anything about the allegations, really, but it's time we stop listening to those silly bitches.

Joe is 79.

How Do People Afford This Shit

I do not know how people who live in "one car per driving age adult" areas manage at all.
The average price of a new car was $50,080 in September, marking the first time the going rate of a passenger vehicle has exceeded $50,000, according to a press release from Kelley Blue Book.
It's one thing to have built an environment where most households will own a car, it's another to have built one, as we have so many places, where adults cannot function without their own individual car.

I'm Not Going To Be The Fall Guy

 Time to get out.

Buddies Of Big Balls

Nobody could have predicted.

A group of hackers from the Com, a loose-knit community behind some of the most significant data breaches in recent years, have posted the names and personal information of hundreds of government officials, including people working for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“I want my MONEY MEXICO,” a user of the Scattered LAPSUS$ Hunters Telegram channel, which is a combination of a series of other hacking group names associated with the Com, posted on Thursday. The message was referencing a claim from the DHS that Mexican cartels have begun offering thousands of dollars for doxing agents. The U.S. government has not provided any evidence for this claim.

One doesn't have to be fans of DHS and ICE guys to get that the existence of  massive data breaches being wielded by assholes is a bit concerning.

Sure Why Not

I know that a lot is going on, but our collective political press who, despite their claims, have no problem getting outraged about something, could pick at least one thing, even a stupid one. Have some pride!
Trump met Putin in Alaska in August, which ended without the ceasefire Trump had said Putin needed to agree to. It is unclear why Budapest was chosen as the location for the next meeting.

...

In response to HuffPost’s query about who suggested Budapest, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded, “Your mom did,” and White House communications director Steven Cheung replied: “Your mom.”
Or at least not treat them as trusted sources. I doubt any of them have the skills of Sarah Sanders with MagHabs, but I am sure they make nice behind the scenes, somewhat.

They made no secret of their contempt for Karine Jean-Pierre.

My Robot Brain Is Frying

John Bolton indicted... but of course it was a politically motivated action that wouldn't have happened otherwise... but also maybe he deserves it... also he's John Bolton?
John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser-turned-adversary, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Maryland on Thursday.

Bolton, the third high-profile Trump political enemy to be indicted in less than a month, now faces eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information.

Essentially, prosecutors say, Bolton kept — and shared with family members — digital diaries of his activities that included all kinds of classified material from when he was national security adviser.

According to the indictment, Bolton shared “more than a thousand pages” of “diary-like entries” “that contained information classified up to the TOP SECRET” level.
Daisy...

Morning

Fancy Friday.

Thursday, October 16, 2025

Thursday Evening

enjoy

Accelerationism

I have never been an accelerationist, but I admit various scenarios of "fuckups so mighty they cannot be ignored" are increasingly appealing.

That doesn't mean we should wish for them, other than stock market crashes. Those are easily reversible, generally.

Liars

The issue of journalists not dealing with prominent liars well is not a new one, but the we are at the point where "these fuckers are lying again" should be the presumption. God bless the fact checkers, but we are way beyond any individual story or even a pattern. They just lie constantly! About everything!
A dramatic voiceover video shared by the White House and US President Donald Trump claims to show immigration agents responding to the "mess" in Chicago as the Republican seeks to justify deploying National Guard troops to the Democrat-run city. But an AFP investigation found that the video is littered with outdated footage highlighting drug busts, arrests and deportation raids in other states, including Florida, Texas, South Carolina and Nebraska.

Pass The Buck

For awhile I thought that even if AI is the useless bust I think it is, the data centers would have some productive use, at least. There was something there! But learning that the GPUs don't necessarily last very long...
As is often the case in the AI industry, Nvidia came to the rescue, announcing a $100 billion investment in OpenAI. Now OpenAI has the money to send to Oracle to build data centers, which Oracle will fill with Nvidia GPUs. So wait—is Nvidia just paying itself?

Lunch

Shop while you eat! (Ad, I get a commission).

Remembering Unity

The Kids won't remember gems like these
ONE MONTH from The Anniversary, I'm thinking another 9/11 would help America.

What kind of a sick bastard would write such a thing?

A bastard so sick of how splintered we are politically - thanks mainly to our ineptitude in Iraq - that we have forgotten who the enemy is.

It is not Bush and it is not Hillary and it is not Daily Kos or Bill O'Reilly or Giuliani or Barack. It is global terrorists who use Islam to justify their hideous sins, including blowing up women and children.

...

If it is to be, then let it be. It will take another attack on the homeland to quell the chattering of chipmunks and to restore America's righteous rage and singular purpose to prevail.

Unity

I think it is a dumb concept, no matter who invokes it, but this is extra "hilarious" given the constant stream of rhetoric from top Republican figures.

Exaggerated Wink Dot Gif

Why would the police need to be involved when it would be, at worst, a bad prank (we all know it was not a prank) and not anything resembling a crime.
U.S. Capitol Police were called about an American flag altered to include a swastika and displayed inside the office of Rep. Dave Taylor (R-Ohio), his spokesperson said.
Yes I understand that the police were called so everyone can pretend it's something that it isn't, but it doesn't even make sense at that level.

Morning

Thirsty Thurday.

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Wednesday Evening

 Enjoy

Come All Ye Nazis

Good job everybody who got enraged by Free Palestine signs.
The proposals also advise Mr. Trump to prioritize Europeans who have been “targeted for peaceful expression of views online such as opposition to mass migration or support for ‘populist’ political parties.”

That appeared to be a reference to the European far-right political party Alternative for Germany, whose leaders have trivialized the Holocaust, revived Nazi slogans and denigrated foreigners. Vice President JD Vance has criticized Germany for trying to suppress the views of the group, which is known as the AfD.

More Thread

 One of those days

Lunch

busy with some things