Happy Hour

Get happy

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

We are ruled by people who were like my middle school cohort - almost everything you do means you're "gay" (effeminate, not a real man, etc.).

Continuing to address military culture, Cao said the services needed “meat eaters” instead of “leaf eaters.”

A funny thing about getting older is you see the same fads return again and again, with the details and justifications changing.  The usual aesthetic of "meat eating is manly" has been  bolstered by the "keto" and high protein diet fads, especially for wannabe muscleheads.

Aesthetics of masculinity aside, the one bit of diet advice which is likely more important than any other, at least in the context of a typical American diet, is: almost everybody needs to eat more fiber.

Certainly more than none!

At Least The War Is Over

Here in Ye Old Blogosphere, we've long joked that the political press are like 6-year-olds playing soccer, just chasing wherever the ball is kicked, but it's quite funny that a major international military and economic crisis can be largely forgotten because of a minor security incident where they were all assembled.*

*And, yes, a guy with guns - in America! -  who didn't fire a shot (almost certainly) and didn't get through security is an extremely minor security incident, even if the Secret Service started shooting.

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.

Morning

Every single day.

Happy Hour

Get happy

Popularity and The Press

Have the hacks started referring to Trump as "unpopular" yet? I haven't seen it.

Soon he will announce more and more shit and they will treat each bit of vaporware as his comeback kid moment.

L

America's greatest president.

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

I don't think that's true, really, but it probably is true of the generally confused group of "swing voters" that have a big impact on election outcomes.

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.

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.

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.

Georgetown Law's Finest

 The connection between Barry Jr. and Cole Allen is an exercise left to the reader.

Randy's 74. Back in Ye Old Blogosphere Days he was one of the Good Conservatives.

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. 

Sus

 Is he lying, or are they feeding him nonsense to calm him down? 

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!

Morning

 Taco Tuesday.

Happy Hour

Get happy.

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

Also funny, or would be if it all wasn't so consequential.

“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

I don't know why Trump is so obsessed with his ballroom. I do know that a promise to get Godzilla on loan from Japan to stomp the shit out of it as soon as he leaves office is the right response.

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