Thursday, October 15, 2026

Happy Hour

Late start

Some People Say That There's A Woman To Blame

Well, Trump does. Every time.

According to Politico, President Donald Trump has been calling up friends and allies to inquire whether it’s time for him to sack his longest-serving chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and replace her with a fresh face atop the White House totem pole.

Citing four sources with direct knowledge of the president’s conversations, the outlet reported that Trump has been floating several names for a successor to Wiles, the veteran Florida political operative who is the first woman to serve in the chief of staff position.

He reportedly has found no shortage of people willing to encourage him to dump his loyal aide overboard, with one GOP operative noting that Wiles has “burned a lot of people” in her time leading Trump’s administration.

A Republican elected official whose views have been solicited by the president said he has mused about elevating Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller or bringing in New York Yankees executive Randy Levine to run things as his top aide. 

Not that I feel sorry for any of these people, but it is a pattern. 



Sad Pete Hegseth

The thrill was going to last him a week, at least.

US President Donald Trump has called off plans to stream the Fort Hood attacker's execution by firing squad.

As criticism over the public display has mounted, Trump said on Thursday that "many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die".

As I said yesterday, Trump does maintain enough sense to know that there was no way that would come across well, even to most of the people who would be inclined to enjoy such a thing. 

Sure Why Not

 "We must do something, this is something" reasoning is incredibly dangerous when the only perceived options are reaching for bigger and bigger hammers (bombs).

Another US official noted that when the military plans, it develops a menu of options for policymakers that range from the high-end to low-end. Higher-end targets, including those that are located deep underground, require bigger bombs, and the MOAB is the biggest, the official added.

...

But there are questions around whether the MOAB would be an effective munition to use against Iran’s nuclear facilities and other sites that are located deep underground. While the GPS-guided bomb is capable of destroying an area equivalent to nine city blocks, it likely lacks the capability to penetrate deep enough under the surface to destroy the suspected nuclear facilities at Pickaxe, which is believed to be fortified by layers of granite, and other remaining Iranian nuclear sites, sources said.

You can blow up stuff and kill people, but Iran is a very big country. Hell, most countries, even small ones, are very big countries relative to the scale of damage that non-nuclear missiles and bombs can do. 

But we must do something! Dropping a big bomb is something!

Likely Van Jones will get on TV and inform us, after dropping some MOABs, that, once again, Donald Trump has become president on this day.

On The Trump Train

Working out for every eager participant in the Trump agenda.
Oct 14 (Reuters) - Oil giant Saudi Aramco's (2223.SE), opens new tab headquarters in Dhahran suffered extensive damage in an ​attack on Tuesday, with a fire spreading across ‌several floors, three people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Much is above my pay grade, in that I don't know how to unshit Trump's bed, but I do know that he will regularly shit the bed of his closest partners and leave the unshitting to them.

Unpopular

From the Economist.


 
Purely vibes-based, of course, but do we feel like press coverage reflected the relative popularity of Trump and Biden?

Biden wasn't especially popular after his first year or so, but Trump has never been popular!

Not the best labeled graph, but you get the idea.

Morning

 Thriller Thursday

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Happy Hour

get happy

Nothing But Grift

More sideshows to amuse us. 

  • Former Trump attorney Alina Habba told the president that another one of his top advisers — former Kennedy Center leader Ric Grenell — failed to deposit a multimillion-dollar donation that her billionaire husband made to the center a year ago, according to four senior administration officials and three insiders briefed on the controversy. 
  • Grenell denied the accusations as "absurd" and a "lie."
  • Habba and her husband, Turhan Mildon, declined to comment through a spokesperson.
Place your bets: who wins this battle? Keep in mind that the winner isn't neccessarily the correct side, just the side that Trump likes more

Welp

FANNIE MAE sees higher mortgage rates through the end of this year and into 2027. Sees 30-year fixed at 7.4% for Q4 and 7.5% for all of next year. (via @dianaolick.bsky.social) @cnbc.com

— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) 14 October 2026 at 16:45

Pay Me

She wants wingnut welfare tenure, of course.

Kimberly Guilfoyle is threatening to bring the Trump family down with her following her shock ouster this week, insiders say. 

Just gossip, but we can have a bit of fun. 

Bad TV

Gramps still has some sense of what might not be the greatest show on Earth.
President Donald Trump and his advisers are debating whether to call off plans to livestream the firing squad execution of the Fort Hood shooter, with Trump having remarked privately that he did not initially know that Nidal Hasan was paralyzed from the waist down, two sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
...
One of the sources familiar with the discussions pointed to Trump’s deep understanding of imagery as a key reason why he may decide to ditch plans for the livestream. The president has also listened to the argument that a public execution by firing squad could serve as propaganda for foreign adversaries and terrorists to try to paint Hasan as a martyr, a Trump adviser told CNN.

"Deep understanding" that there really isn't any way to make shooting a paralyzed guy look good, even to (most of the)  people who want to see live firing squads.

Men In Good Standing

One wonders what Musk will have to do to make him as unacceptable to Beltway journalists as Hasan Piker is.
Elon Musk has turned on Ukraine by imposing limits on his Starlink devices, Kyiv has claimed.

Advisers to Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that military missions had been scuppered after restrictions were implemented on the critical communications devices without warning.

I mean, if I started posting various Musk quotes as my own then held a fundraiser for a Michigan Senate candidate, Kristin Welker would grill that candidate endlessly about me and those quotes.

Or if I could credibly be painted as a Putin sympathizer.

Musk can fund half the Republican party and take active sides in this conflict and no one says a word to his associates, the entire Republican caucus.

Biden should've seized Musk's company when this happened before.
KYIV - During a pivotal push by Ukraine to retake territory from Russia in late September 2022, Elon Musk gave an order that disrupted the counteroffensive and dented Kyiv’s trust in Starlink, the satellite internet service the billionaire provided early in the war to help Ukraine’s military maintain battlefield connectivity.

America First

Ukraine isn't the only place where being "American" means nothing to the people who run America if it is inconvenient to the people in charge and their policies.
As President Donald Trump and his administration have ratcheted up pressure on Ukraine to stop striking Russian refineries, citing harm to American consumers, they have remained silent on recent Russian strikes on US businesses in Ukraine.

Russia has escalated its attacks on facilities tied to American corporations – and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine writ large – over the past several months.

According to Andy Hunder, the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, Russian missiles and drones have damaged facilities belonging to some of America’s most notable brands, including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, McDonalds and Oreo.
This isn't surprising, but it is interesting that this is the first I am hearing of it.

Morning

Thinking of going to my plastic surgeon (I have one, of course) and asking for Mar-a-Lago face.

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Happy Hour

get happy

How Many Scaramuccis

Maybe we can get another firing for my amusement.

Afternoon

busy with some life things

Then Why Did Trump Fire You

Can't say this:
“My gratitude and respect for President Trump and Secretary Rubio remain unwavering. I am proud of what we accomplished together, and I will always be a loyal supporter of President Trump and his mission to Make America Great Again,” Guilfoyle posted on X.
Paired with this:
“I also want to address the recent allegations against me,” the former Fox News on-air personality wrote.

“These allegations are false, and I intend to vigorously defend my name, my reputation, and my integrity. I have dedicated my professional life to fighting for justice, standing up for what is right, and defending the values that make America exceptional. I will not allow false accusations to define my decades of public service.”
It's an unimportant sideshow, but as I have said, Trump firing people is one of the few pleasures we get.

End of the Road

I do wonder if she has wingnut welfare tenure, or if she's in a bit of trouble here.

Kimberly Guilfoyle has been asked to step down as US ambassador to Greece, after weeks of reports that she sought payment from a Trump donor in exchange for access to administration officials.

I suppose someone has to make sure she keeps her mouth shut.