Starlink Go Boom

No idea what is causing this, but it would be "funny" if they were all little time bombs.

SpaceX says it lost contact with a Starlink satellite after suffering an “anomaly.” SpaceX isn’t saying exactly what happened, but space-tracking company Leo Labs says it “immediately detected tens of objects in the vicinity” of Starlink 34343 after the event.

...

SpaceX suffered a similar episode in December when it suddenly lost communications with a satellite that also seemingly exploded. That incident occurred just a week after a near miss with a Chinese satellite.

Get Elon To Fix It

I bet it would be trivial to egg him on to claim he could.

After 16 years and $8 billion, the military’s new GPS software still doesn’t work

“It’s a very stressing program. We are still considering how to ensure we move forward.”

Critics

Well okay then.

Critics say the law will do exactly what everyone says it will do, explicitly, with no argument from the people proudly enacting the law.

Please Unshit My Bed

Nasty allies, not cleaning up my shit.

I'm scared to mock this, even here on this little blog that our fine president likely does not read, as calling losing the open strait a victory is probably better than the alternative. Let him declare victory and go home.

Trump Tells Aides He’s Willing to End War Without Reopening Hormuz

Administration officials assess that forcing the waterway back open would mean extending the military mission

He's bored now.

In recent days, Trump and his aides assessed that a mission to pry open the chokepoint would push the conflict beyond his timeline of four to six weeks. He decided that the U.S. should achieve its main goals of hobbling Iran’s navy and its missile stocks and wind down current hostilities while pressuring Tehran diplomatically to resume the free flow of trade. If that fails, Washington would press allies in Europe and the Gulf to take the lead on reopening the strait, the officials said.

I am still betting on a ground invasion/etc and that Trump isn't really ready to declare a loss a victory, but we will see!

Hegseth on when US objectives will be achieved: "He said four to six weeks, six to eight weeks, three weeks -- it could by any particular number. It will be the president's determination."

[image or embed]

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 31, 2026 at 1:39 PM

I hope Pete's having fun.

Morning

Tantalizing Tuesday.

Happy Hour

get happy

Jsrael

Just funny slang, no need to interrogate further, NYT..

Just outside the hall, 20-somethings in rumpled suits were gathered in clusters, debating the merits of a ground invasion in Iran, the conservative backlash against those who were "J-pilled" (far-right slang for skepticism of Israeli influence), the backbreaking costs of American life, and what they saw as the slow demise of the Trump era.

Imagine the coverage if left wing genocide opponents said they were "J-pilled."

Afternoon

 I got nothin'

Pony Territory

I can't remember where I drew the line so many years ago, but <35 sounds right.

A new national University of Massachusetts Amherst Poll finds President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 33%, the lowest rating of his second term in office. The poll of 1,000 respondents, conducted March 20-25, finds Trump’s approval down five points from July 2025 and 11 points lower than last April.

Never Heard Of Her

Trump respects crooks, but he also hates not being included in the scam.

Investigators searched the office of a Federal Emergency Management Agency contractor as they investigate a network of aides former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and adviser Corey Lewandowski seeded throughout the DHS during their turbulent tenure, according to people familiar with the matter.

...

Another prong of the probe into Voorhies: her compensation. FEMA officials have been unable to locate her contract and investigators are still seeking it, according to people familiar with the matter. Senior FEMA officials were told that Voorhies was getting paid as much as $19,000 a week, some of the people said, which would amount to roughly $1 million a year.

That's *his* money!

The point of the first sentence is that all justice depends largely on who Trump will and won't pardon, an extremely corrupt thing that the NYT finds endless euphemisms for.

Sure Why Not

I guess you just gotta stick a Russian flag on your ship to get through the Cuba embargo.

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — President Donald Trump on Sunday night said he has “no problem” with a Russian oil tanker off the coast of Cuba delivering relief to the island, which has been brought to its knees by a U.S. oil blockade.

“We have a tanker out there. We don’t mind having somebody get a boatload because they need… they have to survive,” Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington.

What are we doing?

Obviously it's good if Trump decides that Rubio's embargo is bad, actually, but...

More Big Beautiful Boats, Sir, As A Tribute To You

There are definitely advisers trying to talk him down (and others doing the opposite).

Trump Says Iran Agreed to Allow 20 More Ships of Oil Through Strait of Hormuz

The president, speaking to reporters on Air Force One, cast the permission as a “sign of respect.” He also asserted that the United States had already achieved “regime change” in Iran.

Morning

Magnificent Monday.

Sunday Evening

Not that bombing has stopped, but I suppose I was wrong that there would be a major escalation in Iran this weekend.

Mommy He's Threatening to Hit Me Back

Not great!

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned it may retaliate against American university campuses in the Middle East, claiming that recent U.S. and Israeli strikes have damaged two Iranian universities.

The group said U.S.-affiliated campuses in the region could become “legitimate targets” unless Washington formally condemns the attacks on Iranian schools by noon on Monday, according to a statement first reported by Fars news agency, which is closely associated with the Guard, and picked up by other media.

Sunday Afternoon

Enjoy

War On War Off War On

Presumably the Pentagon prepares for lots of things, so I have no idea if this means we are tripling down or not.

I suspect we are!

Morning

Slacker Saturday.

Touching Grass

I do try to do more weekending than I used to. Obviously this "job" allows for some flexibility, but over the years (largely because of the phones) I have become worse at disconnecting and I need to do that sometimes!

Also I'm old now. Need to pursue some hobbies.

So Many Big Beautiful Boats Of Oil

It sounds like some of his advisors were feeding him nonsense to try to talk him down a bit. Oh, sir, they've gifted you with many big beautiful boats.

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday that Iran allowed ten oil tankers flying the Pakistani flag through the Strait of Hormuz in the passing week.

No evidence to support this claim has been found. According to available information, only one tanker flying a Pakistani flag went through the strait – almost two weeks ago, in a widely reported incident.