Serial Killers

I suppose he gets less respectful deference than he used to, but for a long time Lindsey Graham was one of the Serious Foreign Policy Guys that would show up on 3 Sunday shows every week, simultaneously, to explain to the dazzled host that, once again, the only serious option is to Kill'em All.

The top Republican senator has urged Trump to “hurt” Iran until it agrees to US terms in nuclear negations, including launching attacks on its energy sites.

Graham’s call came despite international law prohibiting attacks on sites considered essential for civilians.

“The energy infrastructure is their soft under belly,” he told the NBC broadcaster. “If you go back to the fight, I’d put energy on top of the list.”

Just as not all people who work with children are pedophiles, not all people in top government are serial killers. But if you did want to kill as many people as possible, wouldn't you aim to position yourself high in government, somewhere?

Similarly, if you were really into genocide, wouldn't you consider cleverly make your brand "genocide is bad" while positioning yourself to faciliate global atrocities?

Warfighters

I don't know the truth of this or precisely what happened, of course, but this kind of operation doesn't exactly fall under Hegseth's view of what the military should be focusing on.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it (IRGC) has intercepted US-made weapons which were being transported into Iran by northern Iraqi counter-revolutionary groups, according to the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars.

The groups were "hit in the Kurdistan province", where a large amount of weapons and ammunition were discovered and confiscated, the IRGC said.

The IRGC accused the group moving the weapons of working on behalf of the US and Israel.

The US is yet to comment officially on the specific Iranian claims but Donald Trump said in April that the US sought to arm Iranian protesters earlier this year, while saying the weapons largely fell into the hands of Iran's Kurds.

I'm not saying this happened (if it did, as described) because Hegseth fired everybody who wasn't focusing only on being A Real Tough Dude (and white), but it could have!

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A Perfect Plan

Everybody agrees.

Two months after Donald Trump announced that the US would provide insurance to ships seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz, the programme has not provided a single dollar of cover.

The scheme never got off the ground, according to insurance brokers, as it did not fulfil all the requirements needed for ships transiting the strait and was tied to a US naval escort for vessels, which has not been established.

Hey it got major headlines and writeups and the stock market went ZOOM so who can say whether the journalism on this was good or bad.

Perfect

You could ask him about anything he has said - or even something completely made up that you claimed he said - and he would answer this way.

Trump on saying he doesn't think about Americans' financial situation: "It's a perfect statement. I'll make it again. Everybody agrees."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 15, 2026 at 11:24 PM

Ah, well, nevertheless

Bill Cassidy goes out in shame.

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We Interviewed Some People Who Agree With Trump And Discovered They Agree With Trump

An ongoing multimedia extravaganza.

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Genuine slacker Saturday, as I have to drive somewhere.

America's Worst Democratic Governor

Jared Polis

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America's Worst University

Cornell University.

Cornell just released this statement from its committee of Trustees investigating the incident where the President ran over a student's foot with his car. The statement extols the President and blames the students.

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— Dan Hirschman (@asociologist.bsky.social) May 15, 2026 at 3:20 PM

The Professionals

Bari's kids are continuing to do great.

After failing to secure a visa to broadcast from Beijing, Tony Dokoupil was also forced out of his backup location in Taiwan, Status has learned, adding to an embarrassing series of events for the Bari Weiss-led network.

"We"

Trump complains he can't brag about the Iran War because of the "little man with the $4 gasoline": "I don't want to say we're making a fortune ... because if I say it, they're going to say, 'He forgets about the little man with the $4 gasoline.'"

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— FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) May 15, 2026 at 2:46 AM

Republicans Will Do Liberal Things, But Conservatively

Dem legislators have occasionally been able to (though not rreally in the age of Trump) get some Republicans to sign on to some liberalish things, though too often by making those things overly bureaucratic, privatized, punitive, and means-tested.  

Still the idea that the Republican party would ever embrace these things wholeheartedly is always nonsense.

This particular one was especially ridiculous.  ONCE WE OUTLAW ABORTION, WE WILL THEN BE IN FAVOR OF HELPING WITH CHILDCARE.  

Centrists are always imagining that there are nonexistent deals on the table, but this one was nonsensical.

Where In The World

Can I go to this place with no cameras?

Members of Mr. Kean’s team were seated conspicuously in the third row, watching as the Democrats took turns weighing in on their boss’s mysterious absence. Afterward, his chief of staff, Dan Scharfenberger, reiterated a now familiar explanation.

“He’s dealing with a personal health condition, and he’ll be back soon,” Mr. Scharfenberger said in an interview.

When pressed on the nature of the health condition and why Mr. Kean had not been seen in New Jersey or in Washington, Mr. Scharfenberger said, “There’s no cameras where Tom is.”

Gone for 2 months. 

I don't think we need regular medical updates of every member of Congress, but missing for 2 months is an issue in itself.

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Failson Friday.