Sunday, April 19, 2026
I'm Not Like Those Other Crazy Democrats
Elected national Democrats never say any of these things, but many Dem politicians are out there regularly telling people that they do.
It isn't quite the same thing, but there has recently been a coordinated attack from prominent orgs and politicians against streamer Hasan Piker. I don't care about Piker, he can take care of himself, but there was subsequently a poll showing that (of course) most people didn't know who the fuck he was or why any of these politicians were talking about him.
Somehow this was portrayed as vindication of the people who made attacking him an issue. See no one cares about Piker! Right, so why the fuck did you organize a media campaign against him and make it a major campaign issue?
One way to talk like regular folks is stop talking about the dumb shit in the rich donor/centrist dipshist group chat as if regular folks know what the fuck you are talking about.Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear tells Michigan Democrats the party has "let advocacy speak seep into our language." He gives the example of calling inmates the "justice involved population." "If we want to be the party of the people, we've got to talk like we are people," he says.
— Andrew Roth (@roththereporter.bsky.social) April 19, 2026 at 2:23 AM
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It isn't quite the same thing, but there has recently been a coordinated attack from prominent orgs and politicians against streamer Hasan Piker. I don't care about Piker, he can take care of himself, but there was subsequently a poll showing that (of course) most people didn't know who the fuck he was or why any of these politicians were talking about him.
Somehow this was portrayed as vindication of the people who made attacking him an issue. See no one cares about Piker! Right, so why the fuck did you organize a media campaign against him and make it a major campaign issue?
I get why people think hippie punching is helpful (I even think they are correct, sometimes!), but doing this "most National Democrats are out there saying [stuff they aren't saying, nobody knows what you are talking about], and I am a different kind of Democrat "schtick is just clumsy hack shit.
How Long Can This Go On
I'm not capable of judging the veracity of the dire warnings about various shortages which will happen if the Strait remains mostly closed to traffic, but they are pretty dire!
Also as brains have been poisoned on Econ 101, people don't really comprehend that shortages aren't just "oh the prices go up a lot, but everything is good because The Market Clears (smiley face)!"
The unavailability of certain things at (effectively) any price means society begins to collapse. Certainly normal existence begins to fracture. It isn't just "stuff gets more expensive."
President Donald Trump issued a threat to Iran’s government early Sunday morning, writing on Truth Social that it would be his “honor” to direct the U.S. military to target Iranian bridges and power plants if the country did not reach a deal with U.S. negotiators around the Strait of Hormuz.
The president fell back on his threats to target civil infrastructure after it was reported that Iranian forces were refusing passage through the strait over the weekend.
“We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” Trump wrote.
Saturday, April 18, 2026
Still The Mad King
Stonks go down, stonks go up, armageddon approaches.
The U.S. military is preparing in coming days to board Iran-linked oil tankers and seize commercial ships in international waters, according to U.S. officials, expanding its naval crackdown beyond the Middle East.
The planning comes as the Iranian military continues to tighten its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, attacking several commercial vessels on Saturday as it declared the waterway was being “strictly controlled” by Iran. The developments sent shipping companies scrambling a day after Iran’s foreign minister said the strait was fully open to commercial traffic—an announcement that was welcomed by President Trump.
Predictions are hard, especially about the future, but I don't think any of this going to be meaningfully over soon.
So Many Pet Peeves In One Picture
1) Ross Douthat
2) Conservatives, such as Ross Douthat, "teaching" liberals
3) Conservatives, such as Ross Douthat, thinking "we" are dumb enough to imagine any advice is sincere and generously given
4) Almost anyone (occasional exceptions) in the US thinking there are big political lessons to be learned here from events in an entirely different country which they know almost nothing about.
(happy for you ross, not gonna read it).
Ah, Well, Nevertheless
At least insiders made a killing at the dog track.
HORMUZ RESTRICTED: Iranian military officials said this morning that it has reasserted "strict control" over the Strait of Hormuz, citing the continued U.S. blockade of its ports, just one day after declaring the waterway “completely open.”
Friday, April 17, 2026
Stonks Go Down, Stonks Go Up
On one hand, it seems a bit nuts that THE MARKET is putting its faith in Donald Trump to unshit the bed. On the other, it is probably a reasonable bet that Trump will do anything (that he can comprehend) to keep those numbers, which are like his own personal scorecard, up.
The Art of War
If the pictured meal is representative, it is not sustainable. Shitty rations are one thing, but this is a calorie deficit.
Dan F. was alarmed when his daughter, a Marine aboard the USS Tripoli, a warship deployed to fight the Iran war, sent him a photo of a meal served on the ship. A lunch tray, two-thirds empty, carried one small scoop of shredded meat and a single folded tortilla.Gonna rename scurvy Hegseth's Disease.
A picture of a mid-April dinner on the USS Abraham Lincoln, shared by a service member with his family, was similarly unappetizing – a small handful of boiled carrots, a dry meat patty and a gray slab of processed meat.
Thursday, April 16, 2026
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