Whiskey Pete announced that flu vaccines would no longer be mandatory. Life aboard the big boats is going to be great.
I do believe that (most) Americans have no idea what the flu is, thinking it is just a bad cold. A bad cold is just a cold. The flu is fucking nasty and debilitating and possibly deadly.
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Totally
I think part of the story of 2020 is Trump increasingly losing his mind as Covid failed to obey his regular decrees.Trump: "We totally control the strait, just so you understand. For all the fake news out there."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 21, 2026 at 1:37 PM
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He has less mind to lose, now.
Fake Laws
Years ago, some economists, and lawyers and judges pretending they were economists, convinced everybody that because antitrust laws violated the truly sacred higher laws of economics, they were actually fake laws.
Emails released on Monday by California’s attorney general show Amazon allegedly colluding with other companies to raise the prices of pet treats, khaki pants, eyedrops and other products sold online.According to a newly unsealed court filing released by attorney general Rob Bonta, Amazon employees have repeatedly worked with vendors using its platform to push retail vendors including Walmart and Chewyto set higher prices collectively.
Monday, April 20, 2026
Can They Both Lose
In any case, this could very funny.
April 20 (Reuters) - FBI Director Kash Patel filed a defamation lawsuit against the Atlantic and its reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick following the publication of an article on Friday alleging the director had a drinking problem that could pose a threat to national security.
They're Not Wrong
The Art Of The Deal was, always, Trump not actually sticking with the terms of his deals (paying people). You're a sucker if you do! That's his whole thing!
Some version of "we'll make a deal and then, when they have let their guard down, bomb the shit out of them" is the plan, whether or not such a plan is workable in any sense.Irans foreign ministry spokesperson says Iran has no plans for a second round of negotiations as the United States is not serious about pursuing any diplomatic process after its violated the ceasefire a number of times
— Saul Staniforth (@saulstaniforth.bsky.social) April 20, 2026 at 9:30 AM
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Seems Bad
All above my pay grade, but...
When the war in Iran started on Feb. 28, Asia expected to see serious, gradual impacts from losing access to a huge portion of the world’s oil and gas. But the conflict’s economic and social impacts have hit the region harder and faster than officials and experts expected.
Many countries across the Asia-Pacific are experiencing sudden jolts of disruption that they are struggling to manage, with some comparing the crisis’s breakdowns and scope to the Covid pandemic.
Even if there is a peace deal soon, the future of this industrious region that has driven global economic growth for decades will likely include months of canceled flights, surging food prices, factory pauses, delayed shipments and empty shelves for products long considered quick and easy to buy worldwide: plastic bags, instant noodles, vaccines, syringes, lipstick, microchips and sportswear.
My possibly incorrect mental model of all of these things is that the system is incredibly resilient right up until it isn't.
There's extra stuff in the warehouse until suddenly it's all gone.
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
Poped
Doesn't this guy know he's supposed to be yelling at John Kerry about abortion.
Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth. #ApostolicJourney #Cameroon https://t.co/bKteFZ3iWE
— Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex) April 16, 2026
Off The Trump Train
You don't have to hand it to her, but she does have lines.
For years, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy enjoyed leverage as the right-wing leader who could bridge the gap between Europe and President Trump.What is with this first sentence, though? "For years." Meloni wasn't PM until 2022. The New York Times made no mention of her relationship with Trump (broadly defined) during his first term.
This week, though, she seems to have decided that Mr. Trump is a bridge too far.
After suffering major political setbacks because of her association with Mr. Trump, who is deeply unpopular in Italy and seen as the cause of rising gas prices, Ms. Meloni seized on an opportunity to extricate herself from a relationship that had grown domestically and internationally poisonous. After Mr. Trump launched a broadside on Monday against Pope Leo XIV, Ms. Meloni rallied to the American pontiff’s defense, saying, “I find President Trump’s remarks about the Holy Father unacceptable.”
Mr. Trump, clearly jilted, lashed out at Ms. Meloni, saying in an interview with an Italian newspaper on Tuesday that he hadn’t talked to her “in a long time,” was vexed by her lack of participation in the war in Iran and was “shocked by her,” adding, “I thought she was brave, but I was wrong.” He responded to her “unacceptable” criticism by snapping, “She’s the one who’s unacceptable.” On Wednesday, he added in a television interview that with Italy, “we do not have the same relationship.”
DeTrumpify
It isn't the most important thing in itself, perhaps, but any Dem presidential wannabee who isn't willing to take a wrecking ball - and willing to pledge to do so - to Trump's various monuments to himself is unlikely to move beyond the "look forward, not backward" ethos that is the cause of many of our current problems.
The Commission of Fine Arts, which is filled with Mr. Trump’s appointees, is scheduled on Thursday to consider Mr. Trump’s plan to build a 250-foot arch on the other side of the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial.A good first "official act" to put in terms John Roberts can appreciate.
But Mr. Trump’s push to build the giant arch — more than quadrupling its size from original plans — has alienated early proponents of the project, classical architects and veterans groups who say it will diminish nearby Arlington Cemetery.
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Well Okay Then
Mr. Trump, sir, if you wish to drink some herbicides I have some more recommendations.
Donald Trump defended his consumption of diet soda by suggesting it might help prevent cancer, according to recent comments shared by Mehmet Oz in an interview with Donald Trump Jr.
The remarks have even prompted some doctors to remind the public that, no, diet soda will not do anything to prevent cancer.
“Your dad argues that diet soda is good for him because it kills grass – if poured on grass – so, therefore, it must kill cancer cells inside the body,” Oz said on Triggered with Don Jr, the president’s eldest son’s podcast.
Just War
That there is "just war doctrine" does not mean it is being followed, obviously. The chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine:Mike Johnson on the Pope: "If you wade into political waters, you should expect some political response & the Pope has received some. Frankly I was taken a bit aback by him saying something about 'those who engage in war, Jesus doesn't hear their prayers' or something. There's 'just war' doctrine.'"
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 15, 2026 at 4:00 PM
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“For over a thousand years, the Catholic Church has taught just war theory and it is that long tradition the Holy Father carefully references in his comments on war. A constant tenet of that thousand-year tradition is a nation can only legitimately take up the sword ‘in self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2308). That is, to be a just war it must be a defense against another who actively wages war, which is what the Holy Father actually said: ‘He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.’ “When Pope Leo XIV speaks as supreme pastor of the universal Church, he is not merely offering opinions on theology, he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ. The consistent teaching of the Church is insistent that all people of good will must pray and work toward lasting peace while avoiding the evils and injustices that accompany all wars.”Not my theological dispute, but it is funny how these guys (republicans) are just dumbasses.
Pope-A-Dope
Trump rarely has a filter, but I am slightly curious about what is motivating JD to pick a fight with Pope Bob. Not that it has to make sense to me, but how does it make sense to him?
It's Us, Yes We're Back Again
Do we think there's even the notion of a plan here, or are they just following the random 3AM brain eruptions of the sundowning Mad King.
The Pentagon is sending thousands of additional troops into the Middle East in the coming days, as the Trump administration attempts to pressure Iran into a deal that could end the weeks-long conflict there while considering the possibility of additional strikes or ground operations if a fragile ceasefire does not hold, U.S. officials said.
Schism
Very public converts (not all converts) have just decided they've found the religion which conveniently tells them God is behind everything they do, and in the case of some Catholic converts, that they certainly know better than the Pope.
It's just very funny because he is a recent convert lecturing the Pope about Catholicism. Also because he's a dumbass.
Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that Pope Leo XIV should “be careful” when he talks about theology, rebuking the pontiff over his criticisms of U.S. foreign policy.I actually think treating the Pope like a political actor when he is being one is fine. I don't think religious figures should be entitled to automatic deference and respect. And, hey, if Vance breaks that taboo a bit, good for him.
It's just very funny because he is a recent convert lecturing the Pope about Catholicism. Also because he's a dumbass.
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Corrupt Systems
One problem with corruption (very broadly defined), is that once it becomes entrenched in any institution, corrupt people make sure to push noncorrupt people out. One can't have any pesky whistleblowing dogooders around, even in the Political Party For Doing Good, as they might get in the way of everybody getting rich. The bad people push out the good people.
I'm not always a perfect judge of character, and sadly I've found that "being more cynical" is the best defense against getting conned by people, but it is often not too hard to look at the people in politics and guess which ones are not, actually, primarily in it for the Do Gooding.
In early April, Stephanie Cutter, a former senior adviser to the 2024 Harris campaign and former Obama deputy campaign manager, was announced as a policy adviser for the prediction market firm Kalshi, where she will presumably work alongside Kalshi’s strategic adviser, Donald Trump Jr. In addition to her new gig, Kalshi has hired Precision Strategies, the communications firm Cutter co-founded, where she currently works as managing partner. Precision Strategies will help bolster the quasi-gambling firm’s presence in Washington as lawmakers become increasingly skeptical of the prediction markets industry. So far, so revolving door.
...
Cutter is not the first prominent Democratic insider to have moved from selling cryptocurrency to peddling prediction markets. Sean Patrick Maloney, the former DCCC chair, recently launched a prediction markets trade group that is backed by Kalshi. David Plouffe, Cutter’s former colleague on the Obama and Harris campaigns and at Precision Strategies, might also be interested in joining the effort. He has previously advised both Coinbase and Binance. Perhaps the most shameless sellout of the Obama presidency, former principal deputy solicitor general Neal Katyal, is also working on behalf of Kalshi.Everybody's gotta eat, but I'm pretty sure Cutter has enough cash to eat well for the rest of her life.
I'm not always a perfect judge of character, and sadly I've found that "being more cynical" is the best defense against getting conned by people, but it is often not too hard to look at the people in politics and guess which ones are not, actually, primarily in it for the Do Gooding.
I won't claim I have had numerous opportunities to sell out, or that I never had my price for doing so, either, but I am regularly stunned by how easily people transition from supposedly being one of the good guys to working for Evil Corp.
Yes I do think there's something corrupt about being a senior adviser to a Dem presidential candidate while having one eye on your next lucrative gig.
This Is Not The Way
There is not a single voter in America, especially right now, who will be persuaded to take climate change seriously because of its impact on military readiness.
Deals
Seems like a "we'll push our scumbag guy (Swalwell) out if you push your scumbag guy (Gonzales) out" trade, perhaps necessary given the very close House.
I'm glad they resigned and I'm all for pressuring people to resign, but I actually don't like the idea of opening the door to making explusion votes a normal thing.
I'm glad they resigned and I'm all for pressuring people to resign, but I actually don't like the idea of opening the door to making explusion votes a normal thing.
The Smartest Boys In The World
Running this blog all this time has had various impacts on my psyche. I wouldn't say all of the effects have been good! But early on I did learn that plenty of people who were umambiguously "smarter" than me read my blog, and that literally everyone who read my blog was "smarter" (knew more, etc.) about something!
I'm not a supergenius and there are plenty of things I don't know much about.
I don't know how idiots like this get so confident that they are supergeniuses.
I'm not a supergenius and there are plenty of things I don't know much about.
I don't know how idiots like this get so confident that they are supergeniuses.
“Some of the studies are testing new treatment regimens for drug- resistant tuberculosis,” I explained, hoping I could convey the very real danger in terms that would register with this audience. “Thousands of enrolled patients are at risk now that their lifesaving treatment is stopped. But that’s not the only danger. We only have limited options to treat drug- resistant TB. We’re using our antibiotics of last resort in these trials. Interrupting treatment midstream risks the development of new, even more drug-resistant strains that could be untreatable. For an airborne infectious disease, that is a serious national security risk.”Excerpt from Into the Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID.
Adam thought for a moment and then responded, noting that the political appointees at USAID were “not health people.” It would be hard, he surmised, for nonexperts to understand this issue. And so he suggested that we draft a simple, “Barney-style” set of slides to help the political leadership grasp the dangers, referring to the purple dinosaur of children’s television. He recommended that we use the term “Super TB” instead of “drug- resistant TB” to describe the mutations that can develop when treatment is interrupted, because it might be more likely to “catch their attention.”
Adam then made clear that he did not count himself among those po- litical appointees who were not health experts. Though he had no relevant training or experience, he reassured me that he understood the severity of infectious diseases, noting that he had recently read a book about smallpox. Apparently he had watched movies as well.
“One thing I thought of while you were talking,” he added, gesticulating wildly with his hands to conjure the image in his mind. “If you can make one of those maps like they have in Outbreak, where it shows the red growing over time as the disease spreads? You know, like the zombie apocalypse? That would be great, very effective.”
The thought that Adam might have the most health expertise of anyone in the agency’s leadership made me shudder.
Monday, April 13, 2026
Oh No He's Lost Peter Baker
Notable, though of course it takes criticism from conservatives to prompt the piece.
This sort of thing is a little bit overdue. Will it shape coverage going forward, or has Peter just checked the box so that he can deflect criticism later?
As the president threatens to wipe out Iran and attacks the pope, even some former allies and advisers are questioning whether he has grown increasingly unbalanced, describing him as “lunatic” and “clearly insane.”Yes, of course, Peter Baker is just reporting on what is OUT THERE and not expressing an opinion, which is forbidden - he doesn't even vote and makes sure to tell people that! - but it's a choice to do this piece.
This sort of thing is a little bit overdue. Will it shape coverage going forward, or has Peter just checked the box so that he can deflect criticism later?
You're Only Near-Jesus, Sir, Not Real Jesus
I guess Trumpsus was too much for his fans.
Q: Did you post that picture of yourself depicted as Jesus Christ? TRUMP: I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do Red Cross. Only the fake news could come up with that one.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 13, 2026 at 5:44 PM
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The American Pope
I think we have a schism. Is it Pope Bob or Pope Don?
"Pope Leo is WEAK on crime." Murder rate skyrocketing in Vatican City!
JD Vance, You Are Our Only Hope
The fate of the entire galaxy is in your hands.
I suppose if there's a pretty good chance it happens, there's a lot of benefit for your career as a journalist for putting out those beat sweeteners on the Vice President.
There isn't a lot of value to your readers, of course, but they don't matter.
Journalism!!!
The involvement of Vice President JD Vance had raised hopes around the world that the weekend negotiations in Pakistan would solidify the ceasefire with Iran and put an end to the war within reach.They let you put anything in the newspaper now.
I suppose if there's a pretty good chance it happens, there's a lot of benefit for your career as a journalist for putting out those beat sweeteners on the Vice President.
There isn't a lot of value to your readers, of course, but they don't matter.
Journalism!!!
Sunday, April 12, 2026
If You Wanna Hang Out You've Got To Take Her Out
I'm glad that at this important moment, the President and the Secretary of State (Marco Rubio) and the National Security Adviser (Marco Rubio) and the Viceroy of Venezuela (Marco Rubio) had some time for some fun.
Poor Vance didn't get to have any fun!Secretary of State Marco Rubio at UFC in Miami tonight as diplomatic negotiations with Iran fail (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AFP via Getty)
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 12, 2026 at 3:32 AM
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COUNTDOWN TO MY 24TH BLOGIVERSARY FUNDRAISER - DAY 2!
Surveying the current state of politics, it's quite funny that I used to be criticized for incivility (saying mean things about people who mattered).
It's also quite funny that people still try to use that tactic against The Left, even now.
A bunch of big meanies!
It's also quite funny that people still try to use that tactic against The Left, even now.
A bunch of big meanies!
Thanks to all!
More Like 5K Peace Talks, Amirite???
I did not think that sending JD Vance was a sign that anyone expected success.
...
No agreement: US Vice President JD Vance says no agreement was reached with Iran after marathon talks in Pakistan. Iran would not commit to forgoing a nuclear weapon, Vance said. Iran’s foreign ministry told state media that disagreement over “two, or three” key issues prevented a deal.Though given all of the positive press Vance's people planted, I don't think he was in on the "joke."
...and now Trump says that "we" are blockading the Strait.
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Purging Trump
Any fretting about this is just acknowledging that Dems won't let Interior Secretary Mamdani send the bulldozers and wrecking balls to it in February of 2029.
The White House has unveiled plans for a gold-accented giant victory arch dubbed the "Arc de Trump", that Donald Trump wants built in the nation's capital.
The 250ft (76m) monument, if approved, would be taller than the US Capitol building and the Lincoln Memorial, and feature a golden Lady Liberty-like torch and crown.
Trump's Capitalism
He isn't entirely wrong, of course, but it is very funny that Trump sees capitalism operating entirely as a system in which big companies gouge their customers when they can, and not as some perfectly competitive Econ 101 model.
Whatever, Gramps
I do think the press takes these kinds of pronouncements a bit less seriously now.
Previously there would be front page writeups about WHAT TRUMP MIGHT DO (narrator: but Trump never did any of it).
Always The Ones You Most Suspect
Swalwell has set off my spidey sense for years. Not for this kind of thing, precisely, but generally being a regular bullshitter who threw out red meat (laudable) to cover for being a shithead (not laudable).
A former staffer of Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate for California governor, says that the congressman raped her when she was heavily intoxicated and left her bruised and bleeding, an allegation Swalwell strongly denies.It isn't just this accusation or this woman. There are many allegations.
Friday, April 10, 2026
I Guess Trump Had Better Do Some Unhinged Posts About China
Who knew American hegemony was so fragile.
China has indicated it will halt exports of sulfuric acid from May, hitting metals and fertilizer industries already strained by raw material bottlenecks resulting from the Iran war.
Some sulfuric acid producers in the country recently received notifications about the change, and one large buyer has been told about it by their Chinese supplier, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The ban will cover sulfuric acid that’s a by-product of copper and zinc smelting in China.
Cash Up Front
I have no idea what Iran's strategy is, precisely, but they do know what everybody except DC political reporters know, which is that President Deals does not believe that he is bound by deals.
Fair enough.
Trump’s warning: If a peace deal is not reached this weekend, the US is prepared to renew and intensify strikes on Iran, President Donald Trump warned. Iran’s parliament speaker said the talks cannot start until the US meets two conditions: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets.But, Atrios, surely political reporters understand this too! They just pretend not to, because journalism.
Fair enough.
Vance, Chief Diplomat
I am sure this dumb asshole has the necessary smarts and charm to pull off a miracle.
What Was That About
Washington — First lady Melania Trump on Thursday delivered remarks denying any friendship or relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and she called on Congress to hold a public hearing with Epstein's survivors.
Not Enough Teen Pregnancy
Teen sex and pregnancy were once the great social and moral problems of the country, consequences of our extremely generous welfare state and of course LIBERAL PERMISSIVENESS and FEMINISM. Now apparently teens aren't fucking and getting pregnant enough.
Teens aren't fucking enough, because of woke.
I'm so old I remember when journalists would happily maintain the fiction that all young Republican staffers and politicians were virgins until marriage, and believed strongly that gross personal hypocrisy never justified contrasting "private" (very public, actually) lives with public proclamations and policy positions.
It is one thing to respect privacy, quite another to just ignore what is in front of you and present a completely fake narrative to the public. I don't mean they should have been dragging low level staffers by name, just that they should not have been maintaining the general facade of fake Christian Conservativism.
Thursday, April 09, 2026
How Dare You Vote Against The Troops
Not that I was a fan - either on the substance or politics - at the time, but I did understand the difficulties of voting against military budgets and war supplementals in the post 9-11 era. I don't think there are actually any such difficulties now.
Trump is unpopular, the war is unpopular, and while they play the press on easy mode, they aren't actually very good at catapulting the propaganda in the way the Bushies were.
Still I do not expect a united front against it. There are hawkish Dems who love war with neocon fervor, more that love giving money to the defense industry, and even more who are just cowards who fail to understand the current moment.
Opposing that and supporting stuff people like should be easy, and yet...
Trump is unpopular, the war is unpopular, and while they play the press on easy mode, they aren't actually very good at catapulting the propaganda in the way the Bushies were.
Still I do not expect a united front against it. There are hawkish Dems who love war with neocon fervor, more that love giving money to the defense industry, and even more who are just cowards who fail to understand the current moment.
Opposing that and supporting stuff people like should be easy, and yet...
Donald Trump’s failed Iran war is at last making the question of his sanity into a first-tier political issue that Republicans can no longer duck. But that’s only the beginning of the political reverberations created by the president’s decaying mental acuity.When the press rediscovers the pressing urgency for deficit cutting, you can laugh and tell them to eat shit.
As Trump blurted out the other day, he believes that the direct costs of the war combined with his unprecedented request for a 44 percent increase in military spending mean that the federal government can no longer afford Medicare. This is of course preposterous—most of the cost of Medicare is financed by the dedicated payroll taxes that workers pay. Trump has also floated cutting Social Security’s disability program, another form of social insurance with a dedicated stream of tax revenue.
Confidently Asserted
In the old days, a google search never promised to give you The Answer. That wasn't what it was for. A search might lead you to some information which could help answer your question, but we all understood that it was caveat lector. It was a search engine, not a definitive answer provider.
The AI "answers" pretend to be that.
The AI "answers" pretend to be that.
Google’s AI Overviews are peddling misinformation on a scale that may be virtually unprecedented in human history.The issue isn't just google, of course. The misinformation peddlers are being emedded into everything, and as they are eating each other's output, they are likely to get worse, not better.
A recent analysis conducted by the AI startup Oumi at the behest of The New York Times found that the AI-generated summaries, which appear above Google search results, are accurate around 91 percent of the time.
In a sense, that may sound like an impressive figure. But here’s an even more impressive one: five trillion. That’s roughly the number of search queries that Google processes every year, translating to tens of millions of wrong answers that the AI Overviews are providing every hour — and hundreds of thousands every minute, the analysis calculated.
Would Whiskey Pete Lie To Us?
And how did this slip through Bari's editing.
Survivors of the deadliest Iranian attack on U.S. forces since the war began have disputed the Pentagon's description of events and said their unit in Kuwait was left dangerously exposed when six service members were killed and more than 20 wounded.
Speaking publicly for the first time, members of the targeted unit offered CBS News a detailed account of the attack and its harrowing aftermath from the perspective of those on the ground.
The members CBS News spoke to disputed the description of events from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who described the drone as a "squirter" — in that it squirted through the defenses of a fortified unit inside Kuwait.
"Painting a picture that 'one squeaked through' is a falsehood," one of the injured soldiers told CBS News. "I want people to know the unit … was unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position."
If I Did It
Mostly behind the paywall, but one of the "leak hunters" is almost certainly the leaker.
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Donald Trump is a Mad King president, perpetually pissed off about seemingly everything. That is always what you like to hear about someone running a major new war that’s killing thousands and affecting millions across multiple continents. But there’s something new that is uniquely enraging him, those who’ve spoken to him recently tell me. In conversations with close aides and advisers, President Trump has loudly demanded to know who in his Cabinet or his team blabbed to New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan for their forthcoming book, Regime Change – including over his reckless decision to launch an illegal war against Iran.
In response to the president’s demands, Trump officials have launched a massive leak hunt within Trumpland and the federal government, multiple Trump advisers say.
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The Era Of The Mad King
Sometimes I have some things to say, but quite often, under Trump, there isn't much more to say other than "this is fucked up." I get the impulse to write longer pieces about things, but I think they generally end up suggesting more complexity than there is.
Trump's particular personality traits are established at this point, and while he isn't entirely predictable, there just isn't anything deeper there. Trump is Trump.
Trump's particular personality traits are established at this point, and while he isn't entirely predictable, there just isn't anything deeper there. Trump is Trump.
Wednesday, April 08, 2026
Mood Ring For Rich People
The MARKETS (stocks and oil) are not yet disturbed by the latest developments. You can decide what that means.
Cease Ceasefire
Apparently the Strait of Hormuz is closed to traffic again. It was nice while it lasted. Thank you, Mr. President.
Ah, Well, Nevertheless
I think Donald forget to consult with Netanyahu.* IRAN'S TASNIM NEWS AGENCY CITING UNNAMED SOURCE: IRAN WILL WITHDRAW FROM CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT IF ATTACK ON LEBANON CONTINUES @reuters.com
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) April 8, 2026 at 3:19 PM
What Did "We" Accomplish
Serial killer Pete Hegseth got to kill more than 170 Iranian schoolgirls, so for him it was all worth it.
His God said he did good, too.
Big Beautiful Deal
Mr. President, sir, only a FIFA Peace Prize winner such as yourself could have made such an incredible deal.
Thank you for bringing peace to the world.
I don't think my response is the right one. You don't have to hand it to him at all, of course. But my response is much better than Senator Murphy's.
There is indeed a deal, of sorts, for the moment, and Murphy is saying that is a bad thing. Not that everything Trump has done has been bad, but that what happened last night is bad, relative to the alternative.
I'm sure if you asked him, "Uh, Chris, did you mean it would have been better for Trump to have bombed the shit out of Iran, as he was promising?" that he would say no. But what the fuck is he saying, then?
Do not encourage him.
Tuesday, April 07, 2026
The Unshitting
A problem is that Trump's desires are basically: everyone says he won, and then everyone shuts up about Iran so he can talk about his ballroom more (roughly). I don't think these demands can be met by reality.
Action, Reaction
There are good and extremely obvious reasons for not breaking laws and taboos about targeting civilian infrastructure. Ah, well nevertheless.
April 7 (Reuters) - Iran on Tuesday attacked a petrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia's Jubail industrial city, located in the Eastern province, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said.
It doesn't take a supergenius military expert to see that those laws/taboos actually favor "us" by delegitimizing acts that we would call terrorism if we weren't doing them ourselves.
Probably will anyway, of course.
How Am I Doing
NPR has learned that hundreds of sailors were evacuated back to the United States from their base in Bahrain after the base was attacked by Iranian missiles and drones. In addition to the base in Bahrain, NPR has learned that there have been evacuations at other U.S. military bases in the region, though the exact details are unknown at this point.
Zito Special - Iranians Welcome A Sweet Nuclear Death Edition
This paragraph was briefly in a BBC report about Iran before people pointed out how insane (and probably fake) it was.
Radin, also in his 20s and living in Tehran, said: "About them hitting energy infrastructure, using an atomic bomb, or levelling Iran. My honest reaction is that I'm OK with all of these.Now it says:
Radin, also in his 20s and living in Tehran, said: "If attacking targets in the country brings down the Islamic Republic, I'm fine with that. Because if the Islamic Republic survives this war, it will stay forever."
The current version is here.
Doing vox pops down at the Ye Olde Pickle Factory, where they all agree being nuked by Donald Trump would be preferable to one more minute of existence.
For posterity, the reporter is Ghoncheh Habibiazad.
...finally added a note
Monday, April 06, 2026
Credit Where Due
Normal editor must have been out for Easter.
Oh No
Not our big beautiful data centers.
Iran threatens ‘complete and utter annihilation’ of OpenAI's $30B Stargate AI data center in Abu Dhabi — regime posts video with satellite imagery of ChatGPT-maker's premier 1GW data center
One Quick Trick
Regularly, Trump berates journalists for the question that they asked. Usually, though not always, it's a woman journalist that he is berating. There is one simple thing that her colleagues can do in response, both to show solidarity and to pursue a line of questioning that Trump doesn't want: just repeat the question.
It doesn't even require being especially savvy. Just repeat the fucking question.
I long ago stopped feeling any need to defend "journalism" because elite political journalists fail to show even minimal solidarity for their colleagues or even to stick up for themselves.
This isn't new. Most of the gang would get mad at anyone being slightly aggressive during the Bush years, too.
Ruined the nice camaraderie they all had. Made things very uncomfortable! They were all good friends, after all. All on the same side, fighting the war on terra together.
On a Saturday evening in late April, the ballroom of the Washington Hilton will feature the annual tradition of reporters dressing up in tuxedos and gowns to mingle, network, and celebrate their profession. But this year, when Donald Trump looks out into the crowd, he might spot some of those attending the White House Correspondents’ Association’s gala sporting unusual accessories: pocket squares and pins with the words of the First Amendment, in a subversive gesture supporting press freedom, reflecting the news media’s consciousness of the perilous moment it’s in, and why....Whether items like pocket squares, tote bags, and phone wallets bearing the text “Congress shall make no law abridging the Freedom of Speech or of the Press”—a hand-drawn design by CNN’s Jake Tapper—rise to the occasion while rubbing elbows with a president who regularly labels journalists “enemies of the people,” will surely be debated. But the effort speaks to the elephant in the room: this is no ordinary WHCD, given the Trump administration’s overt attempts to discredit and undermine the press.
A "hand-drawn design by CNN’s Jake Tapper!" Take that, Donald!
Sunday, April 05, 2026
Also, The Iraq War Was Good
Bret Stephens, March 12.
Doesn't Matter
I used to scan the Washington Post columnists every day, not because I necessarily cared what the columnists had to say directly, but because they were influential even when (especially when) they were talking nonsense.
Nobody cares anymore.
Saturday, April 04, 2026
Speculation Intensifies
Who knows.
The White House declared a press “lid” at 11:08 AM as President Donald Trump stayed inside with a schedule consisting of “Executive Time” — but no sign of a public briefing on bombshell war developments.
Meritocracy
Great stuff.
I gotta admit the man occasionally has a point.A correction will appear in tomorrow's print edition: "A headline with an article on Friday about President Trump’s threats to leave NATO misstated the full name of the body. It is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, not the North American Treaty Organization."
— NYTimes Communications (@nytimespr.bsky.social) April 3, 2026 at 8:08 PM
If I Fire Everybody Competent That Will Make Me Look Better
Cunning plan.
WASHINGTON — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s “paranoia” about Army Secretary Dan Driscoll taking his job fueled the firing of the Army’s top general, current and former administration officials tell The Post — as a top contender emerges to replace Driscoll if he’s canned next.It's all a bit funny, but a cornered drunk rabid raccoon having the controls of the boom boom machines isn't entirely funny.
Hegseth on Thursday demanded the resignation of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George — Driscoll’s top aide — in the middle of the Iran war for reasons that were not publicly stated.
“This is all driven by the insecurity and paranoia that Pete has developed since Signalgate. Unfortunately, it is stoked by some of his closest aides who should be trying to calm the waters,” an official said, referring to Hegseth’s March 2025 group chat with national security officials that inadvertently included a reporter.
Friday, April 03, 2026
Sensing A Pattern
Don't weep for any of these people, but...
But with the dismissal of Ms. Noem and now Ms. Bondi, that might be changing. His calculus appears to have shifted after the quick confirmation of Markwayne Mullin as Ms. Noem’s replacement. Now, Mr. Trump’s allies see Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the embattled labor secretary, as a potential contender for the next cabinet secretary to be dismissed.
Mr. Trump, We Are Eager To Implement Your Plan If You Tell Us What It Is
Estonia (and NATO) has to come up with its own bed unshitting procedure.
TALLINN — Estonia is willing to help the United States secure the Strait of Hormuz but is unsure what the Trump administration actually wants its NATO allies to do, a top Estonian minister said Wednesday.
They Got What They Wanted
Don't let anyone who made any noises about "DEI" or "critical race theory" or "affirmative action" or whatever the trendy phrase happened to be at the time feign shock at what Hegseth is doing. This is they world the wanted.
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken steps to block or delay promotions for more than a dozen Black and female senior officers across all four branches of the military, some of whom are seen as having been targeted because of their race, gender or perceived affiliation with Biden administration policies or officials, according to nine U.S. officials familiar with the process.Hegseth is just correcting the wrongs that you all said were there. Oh no we meant all those other unqualified black people in key positions, not THOSE ones.
Friends In High Places
What struck me is that this was the closest I have ever heard Donald express genuine sympathy for the struggle of someone else.
In the minutes after his vehicle overturned on a narrow Jupiter Island, Florida, road, Tiger Woods said he was on the phone with President Donald Trump, according to newly released body camera video.I am not saying that this means Donald is human, akshually, but I didn't think he was capable of it at all.
...
“I feel so badly He's got some difficulty. There was an accident, and that's all I know,” Trump said shortly after Woods’ incident. “A very close friend of mine, he's an amazing person, an amazing man. But some difficulty.”
Thursday, April 02, 2026
T(r)olled
The world economy won't collapse if the Strait is tolled, and it is certainly a funny consequence of Trump's actions.
This is new information to Iran. The country had not been monetizing its geographic good fortune of having 20 percent of the world’s oil, 20 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas, and one-third of the world’s nitrogen-based fertilizer pass near its shoreline. Closing the strait was always an implied threat that would result from aggressive action against the nation or its leadership, something known to everyone in the world except Donald Trump, it appears. But the threat was typically closure, and what’s emerging is something quite different. Iran has slowly realized that, unbelievably, it can actually get away with throwing a tollgate across the strait. Thanks to Trump and Israel, Iran has gained immense economic and diplomatic leverage.
What's Happening
I am not alleging grand conspiracy here, but my impression is that US domestic news outlets are not exactly emphasizing Iran's attacks on various international targets. You see a bit more coverage in the business press and of course international outlets.
We Won, Or We Think We Did
Reading pieces on Trump and Iran and even the more realistic and skeptical ones still pretend that Trump has "goals" or "objectives" other than "look like a cool character on TV and get praise from people for it."
This is from a NYT email:
President Trump said in a speech that the “core strategic objectives in Iran are nearing completion.” In a 19-minute address, he offered no timeline for ending the conflict, but said the U.S. would hit Iran “extremely hard over the next two to three weeks.”
What are those strategic objectives, anyway? Over the course of the war, Trump’s statements about America’s goals have been wildly inconsistent.
His speech didn’t contain much new, but it seemed to set the stage for Trump to declare an end to the war. Today’s newsletter is about what the U.S. would leave behind in Iran and the Middle East if that happens.
I get that reporters aren't going to write like shitposters, but political journalists have a lot of freedom, generally, in how they cover things. It is a choice not to paint an accurate portrait of the man.
They will argue various things about why critics like me just want them to do Resistance Journalism, but take this from David Sanger:
For more than a decade President Trump has been intently focused on making sure Iran never had the nuclear fuel in hand to build a nuclear weapon. Until this morning, when he told Reuters in an interview, that he didn’t really care because it is “so far underground.”
Is that first sentence even remotely true? You could at least qualify it with a "President Trump has claimed...". We know he ripped up the agreement in his first term because the black president made the agreement, and that doing so made it more likely, not less, that Iran would make more potential fuel.
That's even before we get to the hilarious notion that Trump could possibly be intently focused on much of anything aside from his personal wealth and his TV watching.
If journalistic NORMS let you write that first sentence, which attributes motives to Trump's actions that are at best barely in evidence, you can write a much truer version of it, which would be more like "Trump started a war in Iran so the Trump character gets praised by Fox News hosts."
Whoopsie Doodle
Don't know who specifically is to blame here, but from the DOGE boys to Trump himself, no one in this administration gives any thought to security.
The FBI last week deemed a recent China-linked cyber intrusion into a sensitive agency surveillance system a “major incident,” meaning it poses significant risks to U.S. national security, according to one congressional aide and two U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter.
There is a nontrivial chance someone just flips a switch on the whole Treasury at some point, maybe because some DOGE kid dropped a thumb drive while scoring some ketamine.
Small Pleasures
It's always a reasonable bet that the replacement will be worse - or more competent at doing evil - but it is still fun watching Trump turn on his lickspittles one by one.
President Donald Trump has privately mused about firing his Attorney General Pam Bondi and replacing her with EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Wednesday, April 01, 2026
The Final Frontier
I know he has nothing to do with it (presumably), but anything space-related makes me think of Musk now, and that therefore everything's gonna blow up.
NASA's long-awaited Artemis II mission is set to launch four astronauts on a journey around the moon today. Liftoff is scheduled for 6:24 p.m. ET from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Sure Why Not
I'm not even being snarky in the title. American hegemony has not been all good! Maybe time for something new.
Above my pay grade, but aside from "change is complicated" and "this is the way the world works" I don't see many convincing counterarguments.JUST OUT: Trump has raised with SecState Rubio and other top aides the possibility of withdrawing from NATO if allies don’t help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. officials said.
— Alex Ward (@alexbward) April 1, 2026
He has discussed leaving NATO, or at least potentially finding ways to weaken the U.S. commitment.
Of Course He Did
If you have had a malignant narcissist in your life - and I have - you know it's quite the miracle that Trump left SCOTUS quietly (presumably), instead of somehow making a scene.
Reading The Tea Leaves
Based on the commentary of various SCOTUS watchers, Trump loses the birthright citizenship case 7-2.
I'm still not gonna place a bet on that.
...Trump left in the middle, of course.
I'm still not gonna place a bet on that.
...Trump left in the middle, of course.
Proper Respect
I do hope our glorious president pays proper respect to the Supreme Court justices the only way knows how to do: falling asleep in front of them.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to sit in on Wednesday's Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship, making him the first sitting president to attend oral arguments at the nation's highest court.I try not to think too much about this case. One reason is that I decided wasting bits of my beautiful brain thinking about The Law is about as productive as playing fantasy football. The other is that it is the case that breaks everything, if the Supremos choose to do it.
Running On Air
I suppose I have predicted (not really, but I am pessimistic) 7 of the last 2 US economic crashes, but it is hard to see how stock (and today, oil!) price shifts match current world events and appropriate confidence in the man currently steering the ship.
Maybe the global economy has uncoupled more from oil than I would have thought.
Maybe the global economy has uncoupled more from oil than I would have thought.
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