Get happy
Wednesday, June 03, 2026
Congratulations On Scoring That Big Interview
I appreciate that it isn't precisely the same as just letting your network/show's interview subjects write down the name on a piece of paper, but how, exactly, do we think journalists often score those big interviews?
The broader system of access journalism does not provide incentives for tough scrutiny by the Names, the star journalists.
Maybe 60 Minutes was, for various reasons, more unlike that than other outlets, but it probably didn't seem weird to Bari at all to do that!
I Am Retroactively Modifying This Blog's TOS
Every reader owes me $1000.
Tesla has retroactively modified “Full Self-Driving” purchase agreements to add “supervised” language that did not exist when owners originally bought the product. In some cases, the original documents have been made entirely inaccessible.
Electrek has confirmed the issue with multiple owners. The contracts in question were signed between 2016 and early 2024, when Tesla sold the package as “Full Self-Driving Capability” — with no mention of “supervised” and the implicit promise of unsupervised autonomy.
Fairly Quickly
I have to admit that his optimism isn't entirely insane. Predictions about the effects of the closure were much more catastrophic than we are currently seeing. That could change!
Everyone said it was going to be $300, $400 a barrel, it’s 98 dollars a barrel but that’s not a big price to pay if you look at the possibility of them having a nuclear weapon,” he said.
...
He even said it’s possible the US naval blockade around the waterway will remain in place through Labor Day — Monday, Sept. 7 — meaning a full summer of elevated fuel prices and likely harm to Republicans in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
“I don’t know. I mean, I think it could be [closed through Labor Day], but I think it’s unlikely. I think that we’ll have it. I think this will resolve itself fairly quickly,” he said.
Solidarity
There are journalists and journalism worth defending, but I learned long ago that there is little point in wasting an effort defending American journalism broadly as other journalists rarely show solidarity for each other.
You see that every time Trump insults a reporter for a question and the next one doesn't respond by repeating the question.
I am sure Pelley has plenty of money and will be fine, but while the gossip will be covered, that CBS is completely corrupt will not be remembered on an ongoing basis.
For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified. To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them. Recently, politicians have been invited to choose correspondents for interviews on the broadcast. Giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how this is done,” he added. “Finally, incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc. In a case involving one of my stories, the entire program came within 19 minutes of not getting on the air at all.”
Journalists refused to acknowledge what Fox News was for years - oh sure the opinion stuff is over the top but their news people are good, claimed people who never watched the network - and they certainly won't do any different for CBS.
Tuesday, June 02, 2026
It's Iran Deal Week, Again
Will the press ever stop reporting on imminent deals as real things. Will THE MARKETS ever stop soaring?
Trump can't manifest reality without a lot of help, which he gets. The question is whethere there will be a coyote falling event.
Kavanaugh Stops
I can believe Kavanaugh is dumb enough not to have understood this would be the result, but he can find a way to fix it any time if he wishes.
Woman held by ICE for 25 days, despite U.S. citizenship claim, gets a passport
Attorneys for Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales had presented a Maryland birth certificate and other documents as proof of her U.S. citizenship.
"Evil Foreigners"
That is pretty funny.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says 24 commercial vessels have passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the past day.
These ships obtained permission and coordinated with the IRGC navy, Iran’s state-owned broadcaster IRIB reported.
“Intelligent control of the Strait of Hormuz will be carried out with authority, and evil foreigners will have no place in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” the IRGC said in a statement.
Cultural Wasteland
This is a complete vibes-based post, but as a longtime observer of The Discourse, it seems that anything other than low culture has largely been driven from it? And I am not opposed to low culture, but maybe it is a problem if it is the only thing.
What I mean is that once upon a time, the chattering classes would exhibit their general familiarity with new novels or plays, maybe the occasional art exhibit. They would at least skim the NYT book section to stay current. That kind of thing.
I am not asserting that there was some past golden age of deep engagement by our supposed public intellectuals, but they at least seemed to fake it more. It was what people of a certain class did for "dinner party chat."
Again, all vibes here, but that seems to be missing?
It is not unrelated to the eager embrace of the MAGA CULTURAL TAKEOVER we were promised.
Mr. Trump, Sir, Bibi Is Making You Look Bad
Trump only ever does the right thing (occasionally) for the wrong reasons. Maybe he won't appreciate being humiliated by his Israeli counterpart!
United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that Hezbollah and Israel have agreed to halt hostilities in a major de-escalation effort after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday.
Netanyahu’s office on Monday said attacks on Beirut would proceed if Hezbollah continued attacks on Israeli cities, while military operations in southern Lebanon would continue as “planned”.
It seems Trump set the line at Beirut, but that doesn’t really solve the little Iran issue.
Trump's people have continued the Biden practice of telling Axios how mad they are at Netanyahu. That, without consequences, gets silly very quickly!
Monday, June 01, 2026
Have Some Passwords
I suspect we are going to have so many "AI"-related security issues. Aside from allowing for password theft, I am quite sure they are eating lots of sensitive private data and just making it accessible to public queries.
I Didn’t Want To Go To My Party Anyway
I admit I am a bit curious about why they couldn't get anyone for Trump's party. Or, maybe, I think others should be a bit curious.
It wasn't that long ago that we were assured that there would be a full MAGA conquest of the culture. Some performers object for personal political reasons, but others have decided that it would be brand poison.
Why would Trump association be brand poison with all those MAGAs lining up to spend money?
About That Deal
I am starting to think we can always take Trump at his word about what is happening
...er I meant can't. I blame airplane wifi.
Is It Too Late To Get In On This
Could've helped the retirement fund.
At least $2 million in settlements has been agreed to after employees and other critics were fired or penalized over their posts about Charlie Kirk following his killing.
It was brief, but that was maybe the most absurd period of all. Kudos to The Kids who took over the internet with Charlie memes and highlighted what a joke the efforts to canonize him were.
Lie Back And Think Of Donams
Stock futures up!
The US carried out what it said was “self-defense” strikes in Iran over the weekend – as President Donald Trump sent back changes to a proposed deal to extend the existing ceasefire in the region and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The weekend strikes in Iran targeted Iranian radar and command and control sites and were a response to “aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a US MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters,” US Central Command said Sunday night.
“US fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defenses, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters,” Central Command said.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have struck a US air base used to launch an attack on a telecommunications tower on Iran’s Sirik Island, according to a statement carried by several Iranian state-run news outlets.
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