Running On Empty

I've long been mildly curious about just how well our military is actually capable of defending the country. We do have a global military empire, of sorts, but do we actually have plans to stop the Canadian invasion and occupation of Buffalo?

I get that we have many tools for punishing anybody who would do such a thing, or at least we did until recently, but do we have a mobilization plan?

President Donald Trump’s frustration over the Iran war boiled over at Camp David last week, where he demanded answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on why he had apparently been misled on extreme munitions shortages that now threaten to limit military options with Iran, two people familiar with the exchange told The Washington Post.

...

Back at Camp David, as he was confronted by Trump over the bare weapons stockpile, Hegseth defended himself and blamed his deputy, Stephen Feinberg, for the shortages and for not ensuring Trump was fully apprised of the issue, both persons familiar said. The exchange underscored Trump’s increasing frustration with his defense secretary, who was one of the biggest early advocates for taking military action against Iran, convincing Trump it would be a quick and relatively easy win, according to multiple officials.

But he came from central casting!

I always thought that last bit was funny. I mean I get that Pete was Trump's friend in the television set, and he always loves those people, but he's more "central casting for very low budget military action movie hero" not "central casting for Secretary of Defense."

The latter is more Gene Hackman than Temu Steven Seagal.

Feinberg is a billionaire so I suspect he will have his revenge one day.

Morning

Theremin Thursday

Happy Hour

get happy

Classy

 Let's see if the "Democratic Strategist" cable news/consultant crowd can behave.

Putting your hand up to participate in democracy is no easy thing. Thank you for running, Congresswoman. Looking forward to uniting this fall to beat Mike Rogers. Because what unites us is so much bigger than what divides us. https://t.co/JbWmLPPDGZ

— Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (@AbdulElSayed) August 5, 2026

Neoconned

It's a shame Lindsey Graham isn't alive to see what his life's work has come to.

Aug 5 (Reuters) - The United ​States has ‌removed counterterrorism ​sanctions ​from two aircraft ⁠and ​three airlines ​with links to ​Iran's ​Islamic Revolutionary Guard ‌Corps, ⁠according to details posted ​to ​the ⁠U.S. ​Treasury Department's ​website ⁠on Wednesday. 

The dream was always Iran, with Iraq being the starting place, and they got what they wanted!

Every Minute

Dunno why the market wasn't thrilled.

Ever the hype man, Musk suggested thinking of SpaceX’s satellites as robots, given that “they’re autonomous and don’t need servicing.” In the not-so-distant future, Musk mused, robots will be used to scale manufacturing on the moon. From there, moon-based robots will enable SpaceX to build a mass accelerator with solar production. Even Musk admitted it all sounded “totally nuts” but claimed that it could lead the company to scale to 1,000x the economy of Earth. From there, factories will be built and robots “will be helpful with that,” Musk added.

“It sounds super sci-fi right now, but it’s going to happen,” he said. 

At least reporting on Musk is a bit more skeptical than it used to be, even though his promises actually aren't more ridiculous! 

Maestro Musk

SpaceX went up about 10% yesterday in anticipation of the earnings call, and prompted crashed 10% again.

Elon's running out of bullshit.

Vote Blue No Matter Who

El-Sayed was much closer than recent polls had him  - perhaps (perhaps not!) because it was an open primary - but he does win.

I look forward (not really) to completely objective and normal coverage of his general election campaign. Anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigotry runs deep in our political-media culture, as does strong opposition to anyone who doesn't recite the current approved lines about supporting Israel. 

I always hope to be positively surprised, but I expect some really nasty shit, including "friendly" fire.

Morning

Time to embrace Sharia Law.

Happy Hour

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Donald Trump Is The Least Interesting Man In The World

Or at least we all ran out of insightful things to say about him about 9 years ago.  We can't always predict his next step, but we know exactly what motivates him.

The truth about all narcissists is that once you get beyond whatever surface charm they have  - and like many ageing narcissists, Trump has little of that left - they are extremely boring people.

W. was hardly a deep and complex person, but he had more layers than Trump. No I am not handing it to W. He was a fucking horrible president and I am mad "no one" remembers that. But he wasn't entirely empty.

Michigan Primary Day

Assuming El-Sayed wins, it's a big moment for the Sensible Centrists. Do they (many) continue their racist campaign against him, or embrace the Vote Blue No Matter Who ethos?

I expect they'll tone it down but spend months doing the "more in sorrow than in anger, I'm here to report that he just won't be able to win the general election with this latest misstep, which I will amplify on every channel..." dance.

You Fucked Up! You Trusted Us!

Someone forgot to tell Americans that FIFA is clownishly corrupt.

According to four executives at U.S. host city committees, all of whom asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships, FIFA management repeatedly assured the cities they would receive the same $1 million contribution towards legacy, despite no public statement ever being made by the organization.

The World Cup host cities in the U.S. were Seattle, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York/New Jersey, Miami and Boston.

The four executives said this promise was made verbally by members of FIFA’s senior management, and reiterated to cities in meetings, but it has not been paid, meaning several cities are now asking FIFA staff for updates on the payments.

Warfighting

People mock Pete Hegseth, but if were are out of missiles then turning the troops into High T Supersoldiers is the best option.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Army has used up much of its stockpile of highly accurate long-range missiles during its five-month war with Iran, according to three people familiar with the data, raising concerns about the military's ​readiness for future conflicts.

The missiles are principally the Army's surface-to-surface weapons, known as Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM). The U.S. has used "virtually all" of these weapons, according to two of the sources.

At Least The War Is Over

And I mean it this time!

War talks: President Donald Trump said it’s Iran’s “last chance” to sign a deal with the United States, after again calling off strikes and promising to continue talks. He also claimed talks between the US and Iran would start Monday and that a Strait of Hormuz deal was in place, but Iran has denied any negotiations are ongoing.

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Taco Tuesday

Happy Hour

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Small Pleasures

The replacements are usually worse, but one small joy we get is Trump humiliating his lickspittles.

President Donald Trump is considering removing Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, over a Justice Department conclusion that problems with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool stemmed from a flawed renovation rather than vandalism, two people familiar with his thinking told CNN.

No she doesn't get any credit for doing the right thing here. She had no choice. 

On The Trump Train

I can't claim that nobody has benefitted from their relationship with Trump, but many get burned, especially the ones who are confident they won't.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino wants the Trump administration to help keep him in office and has scheduled private talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio Monday amid growing pressure to resign over his scheme to sell off the World Cup to Josh Kushner’s private equity firm, The Post has learned.

Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed Infantino will hold a call with America’s top diplomat just after 9 a.m. ET.

“He wanted to get online with the secretary and talk about how soccer can be a form of soft power for America,” said one insider briefed on the matter. “But we all know that it is about job protection. It is not about anything else at this point.”

Maybe this will work out for him, but even with the Kusher connection, I suspect Trump has already forgotten him. 

I Do Love The Free Market

Not that the fossil fuel industry has ever been that.

WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump again called ‌on oil companies to lower gasoline prices for U.S. consumers on Monday, chiding Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab Chief Executive Mike Wirth for not crediting his administration's efforts to help the oil industry.

Trump took issue with Wirth ​a day after the CEO was interviewed on the Fox News program "Sunday ​Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo."

"The only thing he conveniently forgot to mention ⁠is that, without the genius, foresight, strength, and stability, of the TRUMP Administration, the ​Oil Industry, and our Country itself, would be DEAD!" Trump wrote on his Truth ​Social platform. "As an example, they threw Mike and Chevron out of Venezuela, but now they're back, far bigger and stronger than ever before, expecting to make a fortune!"

"That goes for other Oil Companies as ​well ... and get your consumer (retail!) Oil Prices DOWN, NOW!" Trump wrote.

I hate how expensive things are at the oil station, that place where I buy retail oil.