Sunday, May 03, 2026
America's Worst Democratic Governor
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro secretly helped a Republican state treasurer's 2024 reelection bid after the official's Democratic opponent had criticized Shapiro as a potential VP pick, a close Shapiro ally said last week.
At Least The War Is Over
The new proposal calls for guarantees against future attacks, a withdrawal of US forces from around Iran, the release of frozen Iranian assets worth billions of dollars and the lifting of sanctions, war reparations, ending all hostilities, including in Lebanon, and “a new mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz”.
Iran, which was also attacked by the US and Israel last June, wants a guarantee against future aggression. Israel has previously targeted Iranian nuclear scientists and run campaigns to sabotage its nuclear sites.
Tehran also wants its right to uranium enrichment guaranteed as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), but Trump has made the nuclear issue a “red line”. Iran wants decades of sanctions, which have devastated its economy, to be lifted as part of any deal. The navigation through the strait and demands for war reparations are other sticking points in the talks.
Mommy He Punched Me Back
Peace proposal: US President Donald Trump said he can’t imagine a new peace plan from Iran he will review “would be acceptable” adding they have not yet paid “a big enough price for what they have done.” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the room for US decision-making “has narrowed.”
Saturday, May 02, 2026
Running On Empty
I know this just means we will increase the defense budget by another eleventy zillion dollars (some Dems will oppose, some will support with a frowny face), but that doesn't mean they can make new flying death machines especially quickly.
The Trump administration has authorized more than $8.6 billion in emergency arms sales to partners in the Middle East as negotiations to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran remained at an impasse.
It was unclear when the weapons would arrive in the region, since it takes years to build large quantities of defensive interceptors and other types of munitions. The slow pace of production has become an acute concern in Washington, and any such weapons that American arms companies make for other countries mean less for the United States. Some Pentagon officials have expressed anxiety about diminishing U.S. stockpiles.
Dead Malls
It might actually be a good indicator of Russia's economic problems, but it's still funny as "dead malls" have been a major US phenomenon since the Great Recession and before.
What a deserted mall in Moscow says about Russia’s economic woes
The piece even says other some other malls are fine!
Lucky Them
Whatever sense the various post-war arrangements made once upon a time, I do think that the advantages of having US troops stationed in your country are not exactly clear.
Pentagon officials said on Friday that they were pulling 5,000 troops from Germany and would redeploy them to the United States and other posts overseas.
Down to 2022 levels so this is hardly a major change, anyway.
It is funny that this is because of Merz, because he was the one who, on day one, told everyone not to criticize Trump over Iran. When his cunning plan didn't work so well he flipped entirely.
Earlier this week, Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said Iran had “humiliated” the United States, and he questioned how Mr. Trump planned to end the conflict.
“The Americans obviously have no strategy,” Mr. Merz said.
Merz obviously has Smartest Boy In The Room syndrome, a sign of which is people who do a 180 degree turn on their views without acknowledging any of the people who were right to begin with, or, presumably, listening to them the next time. Give this man an Atlantic column!
Friday, May 01, 2026
It's Tariff Week, Again
How Is He Doing
This car-hating hippie does find rising gas prices somewhat pleasing (yes, I know they impose real additional costs on people who can't afford them, but so do so many other things people don't obsess about as much), and also a hilarious tribute to the energy and industrial and military policies of our greatest president.
At Least The War Is Over
And we won, and we obtained many spoils.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is arguing that the war in Iran has already ended because of the ceasefire that began in early April, an interpretation that would allow the White House to avoid the need to seek congressional approval.
The Catturd2 Presidency
President Donald Trump says ABC had “better” fire Jimmy Kimmel soon, in his latest broadside against the network and its popular late-night comedian.