Sure Ted

I suppose if Republicans believe he's the candidate who best "owns the libs" he'd have some chance.

Ted Cruz’s not-so-secret White House dreams have gotten JD Vance’s attention and annoyed Trump allies

Happy Hour Lunch

Get happy. Eat

It's Gonna Be Great

I have no idea about the State Fair specifically, but generally the lack of any sense that the 250th is a Big Deal is quite surprising, even with Trump in charge.

The Trump administration’s 16-day-long Great American State Fair has begun, offering visitors to the National Mall in Washington, DC, the chance to visit pavilions showcasing every US state and territory.

President Donald Trump first teased the project, a modern World’s Fair, on the campaign trail in 2023. Three years later, the project has come to life, with military flyovers, movie screenings and a giant 110-foot Ferris wheel on the packed schedule. Trump’s stamp will be evident, including a scaled-down replica of Trump’s proposed 250-foot “triumphal arch.”

The Big Tent

You can argue James Carville doesn't matter, not entirely incorrectly, but he does represent the views of Professional Democrats much more than  I do.  More than that, he can get a NYT piece out tomorrow if he wants to in order to further push whatever point he is trying to make.

A Big Tent that can't handle three lefty House backbenchers, including a Jewish guy who isn't Israel-supportive enough entirely because he isn't Israel-supportive enough, isn't a very big tent.  

“But I’m done,” he continued. “I’m not in that f*cking political party. I am totally comfortable in a political party that spends time questioning the policies of the government of Israel. In fact, I’m enthusiastic about that. I don’t want to be in a political party that denies the right of the state of Israel to exist. That’s just not– I just can’t do that.”

The "denies the right of the state of Israel to exist" deflection is silly no matter who it is invoked for, applying some strange Israel-specific framework and exception while asserting it is other people who have embraced double standards, but I don't think any of these people have done that. And even if they have, it isn't the "party," it's a couple (likely) backbenchers.

People get annoyed to me for criticizing the Democrats, but on one side is assholes on the internet like me and some small donor/activists movements, and on other side is, you know, EVERYBODY ELSE WITH POWER. Those people are tugging one way constantly.  They have newspaper columns and TV slots. Their views are often little more than "I SHOULD GET WHAT I WANT" even though what they want has little more substance than "my network and faction should be in control."

It isn't only about Israel, but as for Israel, the Dem leadership and their media outriders are extremely out of touch with their own voters, and I don't know how they imagine that can persist.

Vote Blue No Matter Who Update

Will his fundraising text messages stop?

I’m Done, I’m Not in That F*cking Political Party’: James Carville Freaks Out After Progressives Win Big in Democratic Primaries

Clarifying what the "big tent" has always meant:

“Lady, I ain’t in the same party as you,” Carville said. “I’m sorry. I’m just not. And I actually do think it’s time for Democrats to talk the ‘s’ word: schism. I really do. Everybody’s always said, ‘No, no. We’re a coalition. We’re a big tent. And there’s just some sh*t I can’t be in the same tent with.”

Carville then insisted that despite winning their Democratic primaries, “these people are not Democrats.” He then suggested that establishment Democrats “negotiate the terms of a schism” with democratic socialists in the party. 

Don't be 3rd party spoilers, work within the party, run in primaries, be a part of our big tent.

[3 incumbents get ousted]

FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU GO BACK TO RUSSIA, COMMIE SCUM

Morning

Time to make the donuts!

Happy Hour

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Sure, Whatever, Man

I know House Dems won't get involved in primaries against incumbents, but they do get involved in primaries against incumbents in the Senate!  There is no adhered to principle here! The mayor of New York does not work for you! He does not have to agree with your primary picks!

Asked if Mamdani’s endorsements were making him “enemies” with Democrats in Washington, D.C., Jeffries told CNN that he and Mamdani “strongly” disagreed over his primary picks ahead of Election Day.

Now, according to Jeffries, the mayor has serious “work to do in terms of the conversations that he’s going to have with members of Congress moving forward.”

Jeffries had one skill: kissing up to Pelosi. That's it! He went far on that! 

"Our Volunteers"

People not on the payroll are not, in any sense, yours.

An amusing thing about Harrison is he has run for precisely one public office lost.

Whose Dream

I know the answer is "because he's a Kennedy, duh" but can we have some journalist reflection about why this guy got so much coverage.

Schlossberg’s Defeat Dampens Dream of a Renewed Camelot

Lol:

And in an age in which Democrats have often played catch-up with Republicans online, Mr. Schlossberg had a vibrant social media presence, presenting an oddball and decidedly opinionated persona that drew attention whenever he posted.

He came in 3rd with 11%!

Having the name "Kennedy" should not guarantee you national media coverage if you run for office!

 

A Really Expensive Way To Do Very LIttle

A lot of "AI" use is like this.

Consulting giant Accenture is trying to figure out how to stop non-technical workers from blowing through companies’ AI token budget on trivial tasks like converting PDFs to presentation slides, according to leaked audio obtained by 404 Media. Across the industry Accenture is seeing “soaring token spend,” according to the audio.

I don't know about Accenture, but I'm sure there are lots of companies that are incredibly stingy with things like "office supplies" and "printer paper" that are currently letting their workers spend 500 bucks to maybe simplify mundane and unimportant tasks slightly.

Landerslide

There were a few "haha Mamdani's going to be a big loser when all his people lose" hopium pieces and well.

Mamdani Allies Sweep House Primaries in Big Night for Left-Wing Democrats

Mayor Zohran Mamdani backed Darializa Avila Chevalier, who beat Representative Adriano Espaillat, and Brad Lander, who ousted Representative Dan Goldman.

Goldman is such a piece of shit. This is hilarious.

Jaime Harrison (former DNC chair) is madmad about something but I don't even know what.

I say this with no ill will or animosity: if you hate the Democratic Party, then please don’t run for our nomination. Don’t use our resources. Don’t rely on our volunteers. Don’t use our infrastructure. Don’t ask Democrats to invest their time, money, and energy in your campaign.

— Jaime Harrison (@jaimeharrison.bsky.social) June 24, 2026 at 12:58 AM

Pete's Buying A Round Of Shots

Amazing. 

"Our new policy is simple: If you, an American warrior entrusted to defend this nation, believe that the flu vaccine is in your best interest, then you are free to take it; you should. But we will not force you," Hegseth said in April.

 

Even so, the services have already been given exceptions to Hegseth's policy according to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell in a statement provided to ABC News. As part of those exceptions to the policy, the Army, Navy and Air Force are once again requiring flu shots for basic trainees, according to officials.

"Even so" is a funny way to begin that paragraph.

Morning

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Cope

I don't think this is entirely crazy, in that either it's true or the Trumpers (if not Trump himself) are telling it to people to keep them on board.

Something has made Lindsey Graham call off his armed coup!

A Most Excellent Victory, Sir

I know the usual refrain is "what if this was a Democratic president..." but actually this goes beyond that. This really is WHAT IF THIS WAS ANY PRESIDENT BUT TRUMP?

The "foreign policy" community, the blob, the bipartisan collection of arms dealers, former generals, spooks, ex spooks, journalist assets, Harvard educated State Department psychos, tough guy politicians, corrupt "think tanks," and all their easily manipulated (willing to be) journalists would be having an absolute shit fit.  Ted Koppel would start a new nightly TV show.

Since the signing of the interim agreement last week, the Americans have said that money will be released to Iran as the country hits certain benchmarks – that the US will unfreeze certain funds and give access to the international banking system and international markets.

But what has happened over the last 24-48 hours has been hugely significant because it is a reversal of US policy – sanctions on the Iranian oil industry.

For many, many years, the Iranians managed to sell the oil despite the sanctions, but at a huge discount. That’s because countries were concerned about being on the wrong side of US sanctions.

Now, Iran can sell the oil at full price, which will bring hundreds of millions of dollars into the Iranian economy. This is a huge change, but the Americans insist the Iranians still have to meet those benchmarks if other sanctions are to be lifted.

I know you don't have to hand it to Trump, but managing to pull off effectively surrendering to Iran without Lindsey Graham personally leading an armed coup against him requires skills of some sort.

Can't Stop Won't Stop

It doesn't much matter if Iran "cares" about Lebanon or sees Israel's actions as providing a useful opportunity for them for other issues, but as long as they stick to those concerns, Bibi is going to keep doing this until someone makes him stop.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah says Israeli forces opened fire on civilians with assault weapons in southern Lebanon calling the deadly attack a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire.

What Are You Going To Do About It

An interesting question is why the Trumpers decided they did kinda, sorta, have to pretend to listen to judges. I'm not saying they follow all their orders perfectly, but they did seem to climb down from their initial "fuck you, make me" bravado they began Trump II with.

WASHINGTON — New photos of the Kennedy Center show President Donald Trump’s name has been taken down from the building’s facade after a monthslong court battle and the recent addition of a tarp blocking public viewing of the removed signage.

I suspect they've had communications with the Supremos who informed them they have to play along, some, or they'd revoke some of the permission slips.  That implies they feel they need to listen to the Supremos, of course, but when mom and dad let you do 90% of what you want, it's smart to overlook the other 10% instead of throwing a tantrum. 

We Can't Say Who It is, HOWEVER...

 The writers do keep coming up with new plotlines. I'll give them that.

WASHINGTON — Millions of Americans with obesity are eagerly awaiting a powerful new drug from Eli Lilly called retatrutide, which has demonstrated bariatric-surgery levels of weight loss. Some aren’t even waiting for approval from the Food and Drug Administration, instead racing to acquire it through sketchy means.

But STAT has learned that Eli Lilly and the FDA have allowed one person to gain access to the drug through the FDA’s “compassionate use” program, a pathway that gives patients with serious and immediately life-threatening medical issues access to experimental treatments. 

This person was a 79-year-old man at the time the request was made in April, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Those sources, who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisals, said it drew the interest of top health officials, suggesting the person receiving this drug was well connected.

Hopefully this unapproved drug doesn't have any unfortunate side effects, like toxic flatulence, criminal stupidity, or sudden agonizing death syndrome.