Thursday, April 30, 2026
Housekeeping
Mills Out
I've avoided getting sucked into the Platner discourse, as my beautiful mind is already occupied by too many things, but Schumer recruiting Mills was an obviously ridiculous step.
Gov. Janet Mills of Maine, the Democratic establishment’s choice to run for the Senate seat long held by Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, suspended her campaign on Thursday, saying she no longer had the financial resources to compete against Graham Platner, a progressive political newcomer.
Her exit paves the way for Mr. Platner, an oysterman who has led her in polls, to become the Democratic nominee in one of the most important Senate races in the country.
Strait Flushed
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
The Stonk Mystery
Oil prices soar, stocks keep going up, or at least stay flat.
Yes they're down a bit today, now, but hardly panic selling.
Leaf Eaters
Continuing to address military culture, Cao said the services needed “meat eaters” instead of “leaf eaters.”
At Least The War Is Over
The Peak Comeback Kid Column
It was David Broder rooting for his boy, Bush, in 2007.
It may seem perverse to suggest that, at the very moment the House of Representatives is repudiating his policy in Iraq, President Bush is poised for a political comeback. But don't be astonished if that is the case.
He gave the game away about what motivated the column:
He has been far more accessible — and responsive — to the press and public, holding any number of one-on-one interviews, both on and off the record, leading up to Wednesday's televised news conference. And he has been more candid in his responses than in the past.
Journalists got their special treat - a candid off the record talk with the preznit! - and what could be more compelling than that!
Newsworthy
You would think insane unhinged rants by the president - in this case on the flagship public affairs/news show! - would be newsworthy, but instead it is always something to be smoothed over and hidden.
CBS News’s 60 Minutes cut out large portions of its interview with President Trump in which he rambled about his ballroom, how hot his Secret Service agents are, and how the No Kings protests are just like the Ku Klux Klan.
An analysis by Decoding Fox News revealed that many portions of the interview, which took place Sunday following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, simply never made it to air.
As has been the case since I have been blogging, other top journalists are strangely quiet on clearly indefensible practices by their colleagues.
That's one aspect of the news ecosystem that I think has become worse over the years. There used to be more "internal" media criticism. Much of it was bad, of course, but there was at least some insider reflection on what was happening.
Now there are plenty of critical voices (good!) but they are all outside the room, not in it, making it easier to just ignore them.
TNR (linked) used to be inside the room, when it was right-wing-masquerading-as-center-left, and now it isn't. Funny how things work.
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Popularity and The Press
L
WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's approval rating fell to the lowest level of his current term, as Americans increasingly soured on his handling of the cost of living and an unpopular war with Iran, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The four-day poll completed on Monday showed 34% of Americans approve of Trump's performance in the White House, down from 36% in a prior Reuters/Ipsos survey, which was conducted from April 15 to 20.
The Only Thing Americans Care About
Gasoline prices in the United States rose on Tuesday to their highest level in four years as peace talks between the United States and Iran appeared at an impasse.Of course if they come down soon enough, they'll remember how that nasty Biden caused them to jump in the first place. Such are swing voters.
The average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.18, according to the AAA motor club. The price at the pump has not been that high since April 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. Tuesday’s jump of 1.6 percent was the highest percentage increase in more than a month.
Georgetown Law's Finest
The connection between Barry Jr. and Cole Allen is an exercise left to the reader.
I'm sure this will be defended because it's a "joke" which "references" when Obama said, "If I had a son, he could have looked like Trayvon Martin." But what's the joke? WHAT'S THE JOKE, MOTHERFUCKER???
It's just proving Obama's point, of course.
It Is 2006... It is 2026...
Criticism of the White House press and their annual dinner has been going on for decades. The criticisms remain basically the same, even as the details change somewhat:
They are the highest paid and most celebrated journalists, even though their journalism is entirely access journalism which produces no genuine scoops. Whoever sucks up the most gets the press releases first.
They identify with the people and the institutions they cover. It is "we" not "us and them." They are on Team White House, and they rise and fall together.
They are quite defensive of the people they cover, both because of access reasons and in the same way that I can criticize Philadelphia but you had better fucking not. Their home, not yours.
They tend to be incredibly thin skinned about their own work, of course.
As journalists at the top of the food chain - salaries, status, fame - they are often quite dismissive of "lesser" journalists. You know, the ones with actual "scoops" which they are often unable to read or remember.
Access journalism includes a lot of "save it for the book" stuff. Aside from the obvious, a problem with failing to publish what you know is that you end up talking and writing around it. "Peter Hegseth says [lie which is refuted in my book out in 18 months]." It's a version of "catch and kill." Tell journalists the truth but embargo it. They have to pretend they don't know it.
They often run cover for their sources. Way too obvious case: Maggie Haberman with Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
For various reasons, these tendencies are much worse and less hidden during Republican administrations. Arguably this is mostly because Republican administrations are "better" at manipulating them, better at their care and feeding (and corrective punishments at times), and not because of ideological affinity, but that is not preferable!
Monday, April 27, 2026
As Long As What Happens Is Funny
I have probably been a bit flippant lately, as I'm not especially optimistic that anything good is going to happen in the next few months. At best we can get some stuff which is funny. You know, something like the humiliation of Kash Patel.
Developments like that aren't likely to actually improve anything, but at least we can laugh a bit.
Awkward
“We see how courageously and heroically the Iranian people are fighting for their independence and sovereignty,” Putin told Araghchi saying he hoped they can get through what he called a “difficult period” and peace will prevail.
“For our part we will do everything that serves your interests and the interests of all the peoples of the region to ensure that peace is achieved as quickly as possible,” he added.
Russia has offered to mediate to try to help restore calm to the Middle East following US and Israeli strikes, which Moscow has strongly condemned.
Some Are Held For Charity And Some For Fancy Dress
Enrage Him
Insult his binky.
dems should start ripping the ballroom just to keep him distracted, say the renderings are tacky and itll be the only thing he talks about for a week
— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew.bsky.social) April 27, 2026 at 4:21 PM
'MAHA Moms'
But the Trump administration has since ordered more domestic production of the chemical, backed away from suggestions it may be harmful, and thrown its support behind Bayer by arguing that it is up to the Environmental Protection Agency, not the courts, to decide the safety and risks of agricultural chemicals.The positions on glyphosate have sparked tension between traditional conservatives and the MAHA voters who argue they provided pivotal votes to secure Trump’s 2024 win.
If you guys did provide the pivotal votes, I hope you're proud of yourselves.
At Least The War Is Over
A new attack on the rituals that define US democracy
Sunday, April 26, 2026
Winning
I don't know what happens next, but this is probably true no matter what!
“We will by no means return the Strait of Hormuz to its previous state, because this is an order from the Leader of the Islamic Revolution”, Ali Nikzad, second deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament, told the semi-official Mehr News Agency.
If the US somehow takes control, "we" will start charging.
"Heated Rhetoric"
BASH: You and your fellow Democrats have used some heated rhetoric against the president. Do you think twice about that when something like that happens? RASKIN: What rhetoric do you have in mind? BASH: That he's terrible for this country and so on and so forth
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 26, 2026 at 2:55 PM
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Observing Me Observing You
One of Bari's dullards:
Point those cameras at what you're looking at, not at yourself looking at it!
Saturday, April 25, 2026
Current Status
The Strait of Hormuz remains largely empty of merchant ships, with only a few Tehran-linked vessels moving through the waterway, following a tense week that saw Iranian gunboat attacks and tanker interceptions by the US Navy.
As of Saturday morning, observable traffic was down to only two very small fuel carriers and one tiny coastal cargo ship, all with ties to Tehran, leaving the Persian Gulf through the crucial waterway, vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. No ships were observed on their way in.
FIELD TRIP CANCELLED
Moral Clarity
I have never actually understood what the intended meaning of it is, if any, beyond "killing people I hate is moral, akshually, and you are immoral if you disagree."
Happy White House Correspondents' Dinner Day
But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the Decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know - fiction!The good ones are mostly the ones whose names you don't know, the ones whose work goes mostly ignored by their own colleagues who have the access journalism jobs that makes them famous. The investigative stuff, the genuine scoops from lower level whistleblowers, the actual reportng about corruption and similar - that isn't their job! It is sill to expect it from them.
That doesn't mean you have to respect what they do, of course, just understand that they are doing their jobs! Jake Tapper made some defiant pocket squares. He's very proud of them.
Friday, April 24, 2026
Well That Will Fix Everything
Leavitt: "The vice president is on standby and will be willing to dispatch to Pakistan if we feel it's a necessary use of his time"
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 24, 2026 at 6:21 PM
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Gambling On War
A US special forces soldier involved in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was arrested and charged for allegedly betting on that operation, netting him $400,000 in profits.
Event Horizon
Our pundits and political journalists are no longer able to fathom a situation in which "moving left" is good advice to anyone.
How Abusers Thrive
The former U.S. ambassador to NATO is urging British and European politicians not to alienate Donald Trump by criticizing his administration’s handling of the Iran war and its fallout.
"Seemed Questionable"
Donald Trump has again said that the US has “total control over the strait of Hormuz”, adding that Iran’s leadership was so hobbled by infighting that it was unclear who was in charge.The answer is "all of them" but in which proportions, when?
But the US president’s claim seemed questionable in the face of the seizure of two container ships by Iranian commandos and a US report warning it could take six months to clear the strait of mines.
Thursday, April 23, 2026
TMZ Era
I think a lot of people in D.C. are very circumspect about the fact that the Senate is full of people who are way too old to be there, including Mitch McConnell,” said one reporter. “He has people guiding him around, he can’t really answer questions — it’s really striking, and I feel like a lot of people are very hands off with that. TMZ is not going to be hands off.”
My first visit to the Capitol was about 3 days before 9/11. A friend was a Senate staffer. Had the full tour. Bumped into Strom and Jesse and their entourages. Those guys were already dead.
Stonks
The evidence that investors are overlooking the implications of the current situation is piling up. The war’s end is no longer the point at which things will return to something approaching normal. U.S. inflation was at 3.3 percent last month and is expected to rise further, and the second-order effects on goods that are derived from fossil fuels or rely on energy—in the latter case, all of them—haven’t even hit yet. Diesel and jet fuel, the heavy transportation fuels, are rising faster than gasoline. There are trucking costs and fertilizer costs and plastic and aluminum packaging costs, all of which will spark more core inflation, which hasn’t budged much relative to more volatile benchmarks like energy.
Then there’s the impact on capital flows coming from the Persian Gulf. The major Gulf states are in no position right now to invest, which had hitherto propped up projects and asset managers globally. Losing Gulf state capital might be a bigger deal than losing their oil. The fact that the U.S. is considering a bailout of the United Arab Emirates is a terrible sign.
Redistricting
Oh No They Fired Brownie
Navy Secretary John Phelan will leave the Trump administration “effective immediately,” the Pentagon announced Wednesday, marking the latest departure of a top defense official this year.Just sounds like basic office politics stuff, with Hegseth hating him.
It probably doesn't matter much that he was fired, but it does matter that it doesn't matter, if that makes sense. The guy in charge of the Navy shouldn't be so easily dispsensable at this particular moment.
Elder Care
US Democratic Rep. David Scott, who represented Georgia’s 13th Congressional District, has died at 80 years old.They don't want to retire because even the very rich ones can't really purchase the kind of "care" that their staffers will provide for them, at least not if they didn't already have longtime personal staffers.
There used to be regular mini scandals about staffers doing personal duties for their bosses. I'm sure there is an enforced omerta now as so many offices are like this.
Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Nobody Knows This
In 2003, the mighty Florida orange industry produced 242 million boxes of fruit, with 90 pounds of oranges per box, most of which went on to become orange juice. Now, not even 25 years later, the United States Department of Agriculture was forecasting a pitiful 12 million boxes of oranges, the least in more than 100 years, the worst year since last. A decline of more than 95 percent.
Sure Why Not
But over the last six months, Mr. Musk has shifted SpaceX’s priorities. Though the tech mogul once forecast that humans would take off for Mars as early as 2024, he has de-emphasized reaching the planet.
Instead, SpaceX on Tuesday said it had struck a deal with the artificial intelligence start-up Cursor that could result in its acquiring the young company for $60 billion. And Mr. Musk, 54, has proposed other moonshots that could drive more attention and investment to SpaceX as it prepares for one of the largest-ever initial public offerings.
Among his pronouncements are A.I. data centers that could orbit Earth, moon-based factories and an A.I. chip manufacturing plant, all of which will contribute to a utopian future where humans never have to work, he has said.
Mommy He Hit Me Back
Still it was good to see them overcome their normal timidity and actually respond. Republicans and much of the media don't consider this to be fair, as Dems are not supposed to behave that way.
Warfighting
The US military has significantly depleted its stockpile of key missiles during the war with Iran and created a “near-term risk” of running out of ammunition in a future conflict should one arise in the next few years, according to experts and three people familiar with recent internal Defense Department stockpile assessments.If it is true, or even trueish, then the question should not be "how much more money does the Pentagon need" but "what the fuck do we spend all that money on."
Over the last seven weeks of war, the US military has expended at least 45% of its stockpile of Precision Strike Missiles; at least half of its inventory of THAAD missiles, which are designed to intercept ballistic missiles; and nearly 50% of its stockpile of Patriot air defense interceptor missiles, according to a new analysis conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Those numbers closely align with classified Pentagon data about US stockpiles, according to the sources familiar with the assessment.
The Mysteries Of Stonks
Open For Business
Iran’s navy on Wednesday said it had seized two container ships in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, shortly after the U.S. extended the ceasefire and as diplomats seek to bring the countries together for peace talks.
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Never Post
Some Trump officials privately acknowledged to CNN that the president’s public commentary has been detrimental to talks, noting the sensitivity of the negotiations and the Iranians’ deep mistrust of the US. Compounding matters: American officials suspect there is a divide between Iran’s negotiating team, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, leading to questions about who can ultimately sign off on a deal.
“The Iranians didn’t appreciate POTUS negotiating through social media and making it appear as if they had signed off on issues they hadn’t yet agreed to, and ones that aren’t popular with their people back home,” one person familiar with the talks told CNN, adding that the Iranians are particularly concerned about appearing to look weak.
America's superdiplomat, JD Vance, has postponed his trip to Islamabad.
Warfighters
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.
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
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
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
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?
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
It's Us, Yes We're Back Again
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
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
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.
This Is Not The Way
Deals
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
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
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
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
JD Vance, You Are Our Only Hope
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
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!
It's also quite funny that people still try to use that tactic against The Left, even now.
A bunch of big meanies!
More Like 5K Peace Talks, Amirite???
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."
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
Whatever, Gramps
Always The Ones You Most Suspect
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
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
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
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
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?
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
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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