Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Victory Is Ours
I don't know what's happening with Iran, but quite obviously Trump has never known either.
Lol:
Lol:
The “present” that US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Iran gave Washington was allowing the safe passage of a number of fuel tankers through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, a senior Arab diplomat and a US official tell The Times of Israel.I'm so old I remember when they had free safe passage all the time (a month ago).
What If We Made The New York Times, But Without Jamelle Bouie
There's been some more sinister tinkering of content at CBS, but fundamentally that is the level of the vision of Bari Weiss.
When Bari Weiss took the reins of CBS News in October, her message was clear: that the public had lost trust in the network and that major change was needed to win viewers back and return it to its glory days. But through a series of actions over her turbulent six-month tenure as editor in chief, it appears the proud anti-woke warrior has instead helped destroy that trust—something that is now laid bare in the network’s rapidly shrinking ratings. Indeed, new ratings data obtained by Status isn’t just bad for Weiss. It is catastrophic.That vision isn't precisely identical to Kinsely-era Slate "contrarianism," but it is fundamentally equivalent. It is the same repackaging of elite conventional wisdom, maybe with the dial turned one notch to the right, as the bold truth-telling contrarianism that has been the staple of media outlets my entire life.
A Lot Going On Here
Are these just piece of shit ships with no quality control processes?
Delivered years late in May 2017, the Ford is the most expensive American warship ever built, at $13.2 billion.
And it’s been sent to sea for an extended deployment that included the conflicts with Venezuela and Iran — despite open questions about how well it would perform in a war.
The concerns around the Ford range from the potentially grave to the mundane, according to a new assessment from the Pentagon testing office, with many issues surfacing after it started combat testing in October 2022.
Among the lingering concerns: there isn’t enough current test data to assess the carrier’s “operational suitability,” or the reliability of several key systems, including its jet launch and recovery system, its radar, its ability to keep operating if hit by enemy fire and its elevators for moving weapons and munitions for warplanes from the hold to the flight deck.
Speaking of Good Republicans
You just explained why they are bad people, Cory, right there in the next sentence.Booker: "There are really good people in the Senate on both sides of the aisle, and I have these private conversations with my colleagues about what's wrong. But they're afraid or unwilling to say these things publicly. And that is the crisis that we're in. It's a crisis of conviction."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 24, 2026 at 6:02 PM
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One politician skill is the ability to somewhat convincingly tell people what they want to hear. It's "funny" that journalists and elected Democrats are the easiest marks for that.
MAGA FLOOR BREACHED
I'd say 36% is about the bottom until you start cutting into the really hardcore Republicans. The poll # on the economy suggests that could happen, soon.
The four-day poll, completed on Monday, showed 36% of Americans approve of Trump's job performance, down from 40% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week.Still I think various 'fever will break, good Republicans in the Senate will step up' fantasies won't happen no matter how low the numbers go. I could be wrong!
...
Americans' views on Trump soured significantly with regard to his stewardship over the economy and the cost of living, as gasoline prices have surged since the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on February 28. Just 25% of respondents approved of Trump's handling of the cost of living, an issue that was at the center of his 2024 presidential election campaign.
Only 29% of the country approves of Trump's economic stewardship, the lowest rating in either of Trump's presidential administrations and lower than any economic approval rating of his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden. Voters' worries about the economy and specifically the rising cost of living were a significant factor in Biden's loss and Trump campaigned on a promise to create a vibrant economy.
I See That Big Wooden Horse Moving Across The Sea
Trumpers are obviously noot good faith negotiators, and Iran can see US deployment actions.
Ok, man, whatever.
Also, lol
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States sent a 15-point plan to Iran for a possible ceasefire, an official said, even as it began to move paratroopers to the Mideast to back up a contingent of Marines heading there on Wednesday. Iran’s military scoffed at the diplomatic effort and launched more attacks on Israel and the Persian Gulf region, including an assault that sparked a fire at Kuwait International Airport.Fool me once, shame on you.
Iranian officials have told the countries trying to mediate peace talks with the U.S. that they have now been tricked twice by President Trump and "we don't want to be fooled again," according to a source with direct knowledge of those discussions.No worries, The New Decider is in charge.
WASHINGTON — Each day since the start of the war in Iran, U.S. military officials compile a video update for President Donald Trump that shows video of the biggest, most successful strikes on Iranian targets over the previous 48 hours, three current U.S. officials and a former U.S. official said.
...
The daily montage typically runs for about two minutes, sometimes longer, the officials said. One described each daily video as a series of clips of “stuff blowing up.”
Reminded me of this:
Lieberman likes expressions of American power. A few years ago, I was in a movie theatre in Washington when I noticed Lieberman and his wife, Hadassah, a few seats down. The film was “Behind Enemy Lines,” in which Owen Wilson plays a U.S. pilot shot down in Bosnia. Whenever the American military scored an onscreen hit, Lieberman pumped his fist and said, “Yeah!” and “All right!”
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Sure Why Not
Trump on Iranian leaders: "They're gonna make a deal. They did something yesterday that was amazing actually. They gave us a present, and it arrived today. It was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money. I'm not gonna tell you what that present is but it was very significant prize"
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 24, 2026 at 6:47 PM
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We're playing both sides, so that we always come out on top
Makes sense to me.
But the Trump administration has struggled to articulate the logic of the “general license” that the Treasury Department issued late Friday. The sanctions exemption allows Iranian oil to be sold to most countries, including the United States, for the next month. The sanctions relief for Iran followed a similar reprieve this month allowing Russian oil that is currently at sea to be sold.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who announced the Iran exemption, described the move as an act of martial artistry.
“In essence, we are jiujitsuing the Iranians,” Mr. Bessent said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program on Sunday. “We are using their own oil against them.”
Also, Mr. Trump, Sir, It Was MBS
Glad we are grouped with, and doing much of the dirty work of, the worst people in the world.
Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been pushing President Trump to continue the war against Iran, arguing that the U.S.-Israeli military campaign presents a “historic opportunity” to remake the Middle East, according to people briefed by American officials on the conversations.
Dems Will Give Trump Anything He Wants, Now
Joke, but members of Congress are lost without their perks.
Apparently just as fed up as the rest of us, Atlanta's Delta Airlines announced this week that it s suspending its stand-alone service for members of Congress until the TSA is fully funded.
"Due to the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta," the statement read. "Next to safety, Delta's No. 1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which mas become increasingly difficult in the current environment."
I Coulda Banged Markie Post
Trump's brain is firmly lodged in 1987, even for things you don't expect!
Appearing a few weeks later at a New Hampshire rotary club event in 1987, Trump sneered at how the Iranian navy — “little runabouts with machine guns” — had held America to ransom. “Why couldn’t we go in there and take some of their oilfields near the coast?” he asked.
The then 41-year-old businessman put it even more starkly in a 1988 interview with the Guardian: “One bullet shot at one of our men or ships, and I’d do a number on Kharg Island. I’d go in and take it.”
Monday, March 23, 2026
Sounds Safe
I do not think you can run LAGUARDIA with one ATC guy.
The unidentified air traffic controller was in charge of both air and ground traffic at the time of the crash. While that's not necessarily out of the ordinary — especially for late-night hours — it should be. It meant that he was in charge of telling both planes in the air, planes on the ground and vehicles on the ground where they needed to go. While ATC Specialists are undoubtedly highly trained, it can certainly become too much for anybody, particularly at really busy airports like LaGuardia.
And How Will They Do That Then
I don't know what Trump believes ICE will be doing at airports, but I think reporters should not headline this obviously unrealistic purpose.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were deployed to airports on Monday to help ease security lines.
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