Abundantly Clear

It was instantly obvious  that "Abundance" hijacked lefty urbanism to put a friendlier face on evil rich guy bullshit.

According to Zack Rosen, founder of California YIMBY and the Abundance Network, the problem with politics is Americans being too involved. Bemoaning the rise of small-dollar political donations in fundraising documents leaked to the Prospect, Rosen is blunt: “Small dollar internet fundraising makes politics dumber.” Rosen misses what he considers to be a bygone era of elite dominance. Lamenting the current state of democratized influence, Rosen says “the old gatekeepers were political professionals who could count cards; small dollar donors today are amateurs yanking the handles of ActBlue slot machines.” 

This sentiment is laid out in substantial detail, filling 31 pages across two separate documents obtained by the Prospect. In an email exchange, Rosen confirmed the documents’ legitimacy.  

Rosen and his allies have no need for small-dollar donations or mass-membership politics: They come to do political battle with $260 million annually (yes, each year!) from billionaire benefactors, one document asserts. This “Abundance Capital Stack” is being deployed to organize in all 50 states and consists of a $120 million annual commitment from ex-hedge fund manager and current Meta board member John Arnold, $40 million from Facebook/Meta co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, and $100 million from Steve Ballmer, the L.A. Clippers owner and former Microsoft executive. Ballmer, who is currently embroiled in a scandal surrounding alleged off-book pay for NBA star Kawhi Leonard, was not previously known as a funder of the abundance movement.

What do you have against building more houses, Atrios? How dare you criticize our selfless movement. 

The War Is Bad, But Ending It Is Worse

Some Dems just can't help themselves.

Morning

Thirsty Thursday

Thursday Night

Rock on.

Happy Hour

Get happy.

The Man Has A Point

Trump endorses Iran having ballistic missiles: "I'm saying that if other countries have them, it's a little unfair for them not to have some"

[image or embed]

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) June 17, 2026 at 8:14 PM

Imagining all of Official Washington (including the press) completely exploding if anyone but Trump said this.

Afternoon

Busy with life.

Hometown Paper

It is funny, but probably it is better if everyone pretends it is a wonderful deal to keep our very special president happy.

Otherwise the lovebombs will be replaced with bombbombs

Operation Blame Vance

The praise Trump/blame Vance plan doesn't make any sense but it is funny.

The Last Person Who Has Sat On Him

No deal with President Deals is actually a deal

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France, June 17 (Reuters) - U.S President Donald Trump said on Wednesday ​that the memorandum of ‌understanding on Iran was not final, and that he could resume ​a bombing campaign if ​he did not like it.

"It's ⁠a memorandum of understanding. And ​if I don't like it, ​we'll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs on their head. If ​I don't like it, ​if they don't behave, we'll go right ‌back ⁠to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head, OK?" said Trump, ​at the ​G7 ⁠summit in France.

Morning

Wacky Wednesday 

Southland Tales (2006)

Sorry I doubted you, Kash.

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. (KABC) -- Two men from Riverside County were arrested in connection with an alleged plot targeting the "UFC Freedom 250" fights at the White House, Eyewitness News has learned.

...

The alleged plot came to light after Proper's mother overheard conversations on encrypted chats and phone calls and contacted police, according to court documents.

Happy Hour

Get happy

JD's Deal

I am curious how the MAGAverse will both praise Trump for the "deal" while pinning likely failure on Vance.

At Least The War Is Over

A lot depends on whether Bibi behaves (unlikely) and how serious Iran is about Israel not attacking Lebanon (I have absolutely no idea).

I realize this is Captain Obvious level commentary, but I write it to highlight the fact that a lot might depend on an American president telling Israel to knock it the fuck off.

Speaking of Kash

Seems worrying!

FBI Director Kash Patel may have authorized taxpayer-funded special payments to his inner circle of FBI executives and agents on his protective detail, according to the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

“We have been receiving troubling reports that you may be using part of the budget of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a personal slush fund to make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in unlawful ‘bonus’ payments to loyalist MAGA henchmen who have engaged in misconduct,” says a letter from Rep. Jamie Raskin to Patel, obtained exclusively by MS NOW.

When Dems take over, people will scream about "partisan witch hunts" if ever anyone tries tries to prosecute anyone who has engaged to obvious illegal corruption. If they listen, this will keep getting worse and worse.

The "institutionalists" need to accept they let all their beloved institutions become corrupt. It is on them!

Do These People Have Names

Will we ever learn them?

The FBI foiled an alleged plot to attack Sunday’s UFC fight at the White House, FBI Director Kash Patel said Tuesday morning in a post on X.

“On June 10, FBI and our law enforcement partners became aware of a potential threat to the UFC America 250 event in Washington, D.C. involving individuals outside of the National Capital Region — and thanks to the rapid action of this FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multi-state operation, multiple individuals are now in custody and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold,” Patel said in the post.

Very Bad Man, Bibi

College students have been expelled for less.

Israel's fighting Hezbollah for too long, and too many people are being killed. You don't have to knock down an apartment house every time you're looking for somebody because there's a lot of people in those apartment houses and they're not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you," the president said.

I know you should never hand it to Trump,  but I will say he has a better sense than some DC people that war involves killing people, even if he doesn't much care usually.

Morning

Tepid tuesday

Happy Hour

Get happy

Afternoon

 Busy as I often am these days.

Enshittification

Roku UIs (either the sticks or installed TV software) are the only ones that don't make me want to Elvis my the TV.

On Monday Fox announced it would acquire Roku for $160 per share in a cash-and-stock transaction. Fox plans to fund the cash portion of the deal with a combination of cash on hand and new debt. The company said it obtained a $12 billion loan for the transaction.

They want to control the streaming pipes, of course, which is of greater concern than my UI experience. 

Unconditional Surrender

I am not optimistic that any "deal" will stick - Netanyahu and the insane Iran hawks who still dominate the Professional Republicans of DC will make sure of that even if Trump was in some sense willing. 

I am confident that our media will never quite portray that any "deal" will be an absolutely humiliating loss, with the war setting US crass interests back significantly.

Setting back crass US interests significantly is not necessarily bad, depending on your perspective.

President Deals

Not much of an agreement then (and for other reasons). 

Israeli officials said the country is not bound by the U.S.-Iran agreement to end its fight with Hezbollah or to pull its forces out of Lebanon. President Trump, Pakistani mediators and Iran said the deal includes a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

Morning

Maudlin Monday

Sunday Night

Enjoy

Southland Tales (2006)

 

Oh No

 

At Least The War Is Over

If Iran sticks with its insistence that any deal involves Israel not bombing Beirut/Lebanon, Israel will violate it instantly.

...and

Iran says 'no point' in US talks after Beirut strike, casting doubt on deal

Are You Suggesting A General Lack Of Respect For Standard Security Protocols

I don’t know if is is true or just an attempt to criminalize leakers, but I do not think anyone should be surprised if Trumpers do not respect protocols.

Top White House officials believe New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan obtained audio recordings of Situation Room meetings for their forthcoming book, "Regime Change."

Why it matters: Such a taped leak would be a shocking breach of one of the most secure settings on Earth. Independent recording devices in the Situation Room are forbidden.

Nor do I think journalists should pretend to be surprised.

 

Morning

Sunday funday

At Least The War Is Over

It looks like Trump is planning to announce a nonexistent deal with fake details for his birthday bug party.

Cheering For Bugs

You can do it, little guys.

The biggest threat to Donald Trump’s lavish UFC birthday bash may not be a lawsuit, a heatwave, or Americans outraged by the spectacle at the White House.

It might be the bugs.

Afternoon

Busy

At Least The War Is Over

More talk of imminent deals, along with more belligerence.

Even I occasionally buy into the idea that "this time" it is real.

I suspect there is no way to make a deal without various hawks and Israel calling him a big loser.

Morning

Slacker Saturday 

Happy Hour

Get happy

Ah, Well, Nevertheless

It was worth it anyway

 

The newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool seems unable to escape an old haunt: algae blooming in the shallow water.

Thin layers of algae floated on the World War II Memorial side of the pool Friday morning, even after workers were seen cleaning out algae from the bottom of the pool Wednesday.

Dow Soars On Bullshit, Other Bullshit

Lunch

eat

I Can't Believe Trump Went After Someone Who Actually Mattered

Meeeeeeeeeee

If he would do that to me, he would do that to anybody,” Mr. Cornyn said. “There’s never going to be good enough for him, other than 100 percent, you know, slavish adherence to whatever he wants. But obviously that’s not what the senator’s role is supposed to be, especially in terms of checks and balances.”

Morning

FRIDAY

Happy Hour

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Long Sleepy Joe

We all know who is to blame - the guy who hasn't been president for 18 months. 

The producer price index, a measure of final demand costs, increased a seasonally adjusted 1.1% on the month, putting the 12-month wholesale inflation rate at 6.5%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a monthly move of 0.7%.

The annual headline inflation rate was the highest since November 2022. The monthly gain matched the April increase.

As soon as the war is over, everything is going to be great. Let me check on that.. .

War Off

Trump claiming Iran strikes off but whatever

Where's My ZIRP

The other part is that Trump I was the great era of relative prosperity AND near zero interest rates and people loved that.

You might have noticed that interest rates did not magically come down due to Mr. Trump's genius policies.

Prats

David Wallace-Wells in the NYT:

For the last few weeks, since the campaign’s one debate with all three candidates, it was easy for a casual observer to think that Pratt was in the lead, given how his candidacy came across on X, podcasts or even cable news, each of which treated the former reality-show villain as a political phenomenon rewiring the partisan landscape of L.A., saying the unsayable about local governance and social disorder and forging a new coalition of voters too fed up with the status quo to stay in their ideological lanes.

X, podcasts, or even cable news, or, THE NEW YORK FUCKING TIMES:

They ran many more articles. Not all coverage was fluffy, but the point is they COVERED him. 

They ran just one centered on Nithya Raman, who took the spot he was "supposed" to take.

I Didn't Know There Were 22 Medical Specialties

I suppose that's not really true, but I would have a hard time coming up with 20!

President Donald Trump appears to have set a new bar: 22 medical specialists assessed him as part of his latest checkup, according to a medical report recently released by the White House.

That figure is nearly double the number of specialists who assessed Trump for his past medical checkups as president, according to a review of publicly available statements by Trump’s doctors.

At Least The War Is Over

 Yet again.

Morning

Thursday again

Wednesday Evening

I have been/am very busy with life stuff (no that is not a euphemism for vacation) recently so bear with me!

It Didn't Have To Be This Way

I know it is a bit ridiculous to ponder "what if Trump, but good" and I don't mean that precisely, but the basic truth is that every Republican president has the weight of the news media behind them and all they have to do is not fuck *everything* up.  Simple path to being very popular.

They can do horrible Republican things - even horrible Trump things - as long as they show enough restraint to not break absolutely everything.

None of them managed.

Yes Saint Reagan won re-election in a landslide, but he wasn't a very popular president (nor very unpopular, mostly) except for the real Americans in the Beltway who worshipped him.  Over the years we've had a lot of dishonest coverage referring to the fact that he left office as a very popular president, but that is based on his lame duck polling which tapped into some sympathetic nostalgia for the senile old bastard.

Clinton versus the Gipper.

At Least The War Is Over

TRUMP: We're gonna be attacking Iran, and attacking them very hard. REPORTER: Resuming bombing? TRUMP: Yeah. We are.

[image or embed]

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 10 June 2026 at 11:52

De-escalation

The messages, they are mixed.

Oh No Not Our Big Beautiful Boaters

No group is entirely monolithic, but boat guys are Trump guys.

Damn You Sleepy Joe

Why does he keep doing this.

Annual inflation rose to a three-year-high of 4.2% in May, underscoring how elevated energy prices are rippling through the US economy, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

How is this holding up: 

“I firmly believe that nothing is more transient than a supply shock, and we can, we can look through that, because before the Iranian conflict began, core inflation was coming down,” Bessent told CNBC’s Joe Kernen from the sidelines of President Donald Trump’s summit with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. “So I think core inflation will continue coming down.”

That hasn’t been the recent trend, however.

Separate readings this week showed that consumer prices jumped 0.6% in April — and still rose 0.4% even when focusing on core costs that exclude food and energy. Twelve-month inflation stood at 3.8% for inflation and 2.8% for core.

Similarly, wholesale prices, a better indication of pipeline pressures, soared 1.4%, putting the 12-month level at 6%, the highest since late 2022. The inflation shock showed up in import and export prices as well, which also posted their highest levels in about four years.

That was from March. 

At Least The War Is Over

Going well.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed attacks on United States military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan in retaliation for US strikes on Iranian ports and islands in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement carried by state media on Wednesday, the IRGC said it launched drone attacks on the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and the Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait, as well as a long-range missile strike on an airbase in Azraq, Jordan.

But, Atrios, you can't take what the IRGC says at face value! Yes, true, but I have some bad news about Pete Hegseth's Pentagon. 

Morning

Wacky Wednesday

Happy Hour

Get happy

Screwed

Heckuva job, Elon.

New York — The screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite and longtime foe of American ranchers, is back in US cattle after decades.

The US Department of Agriculture confirmed at least three infected cattle Texas this week. The beef industry has already been grappling with the smallest cattle herd in 75 years due to prolonged droughts.

The early months of Trump II were especially enraging, in part because of Dem (not all) politicians talking about DOGE as if it could be a force for good.

War Off War On

 

The American Dream

I have been curious about what they expected to find here.

But since arriving in the US, Afrikaners – largely the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of Dutch settlers and French Huguenots – have faced major challenges, in large part due to policies aimed at immigrants and enacted by the White House and Ohio’s Republican-run legislature.

Last June, Ohio introduced new driving license rules for lawful residents who are not citizens or green card holders.

They include the requirement for all applicants to complete eight hours of lessons through a designated driving school, 24 hours of classroom work and 50 hours of driving with a licensed adult before being able to take a driving exam. The cost of fulfilling these requirements is estimated at about $500 and could take up to nine months, when in the past it took a matter of weeks.

I am a "ban cars" guy and this is insane.

Headlines Every Time

The problem with all (good) fact checking type reporting is that the other reporters wake up every day with their minds wiped, putting the new claim/lie in the headlines and first paragraphs.

Including the period before the ceasefire, he’s done it at least 37 times. That’s the number of times he’s said directly — in social media posts, public appearances and phone calls with the media — that a deal was nigh or claimed Iran was desperate to cut one.

At Least The War Is Over

Or maybe it's infrastructure week.

United States President Donald Trump has said that a deal between Israel and Iran is imminent, and that the two will leave each other alone for at least a week.

He told reporters late on Monday that the US was “in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal”.

Morning

 Taco Tuesday

Happy Hour

Get happy

Afternoon

Busy with life stuff

Badass

Elissa Slotkin is working on the important issues.

But those rules don’t go far enough for Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) or Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), who are introducing the Protecting America from Chinese Cars Act. Should it pass, the bill would ban connected cars built or designed in China (and other adversarial nations like Russia) from entering the country, including any connected cars built elsewhere by a Chinese company or by any firm in which Chinese companies own more than 15 percent.

I do find it funny that the usual centrist dipshits were setting her up to be The Next Big Thing before realizing she is dumber than dogshit.

Trivially easy for Canada or even just Ontario to retaliate.

I have some bad news for people who are pretending to be frightened of Chinese computer chips.

At Least The War Is Over

Few pleasures in politics these days, but it is funny when Trump makes horrible people eat shit, even if only temporarily.

Bringing The Fun

No idea how this doesn't cause fans to miss half the game.

Screwed

Funny how they all know they have to suggest Sleepy Joe is to blame.

Well before the first U.S. detection of New World ​Screwworm, since February of 2025, USDA has worked around the clock with our state, local, industry, and ranchers on the ground. The secretary herself made four trips to South Texas, more than anywhere else in the country," a USDA spokesperson told Reuters. "The idea that this department has not been transparent is absurd and does not match what ranchers are telling the department and our partners directly."

Sleepy Joe gave the cows citizenship!

Rollins blamed the spread of screwworm toward the U.S.-Mexico border on “the open-border policies of the last administration and the resulting illicit cattle movement” in a separate social media post an hour before Wednesday’s press conference. 

The Decider

Bibi didn't really agree. 

"He won’t have any choice," Trump told the Financial Times , over the phone. "I call the shots. I call all the shots. He [Netanyahu] doesn’t call the shots." 

Trump told Axios earlier that he was going to ask Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iran for the latest attack to make sure the three sides could salvage a deal. 

Trump told the Financial Times that the latest strikes have not had "any impact on the deal".

Mr. Trump, sir, he is making you look weak and foolish. 

“Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.’ President DONALD J. TRUMP,” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Monday.

In a phone call Sunday, Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold off launching a retaliatory attack on Iran, according to a US official.

Morning

Messy Monday

Happy Hour

get happy

Bari's Kids

Free Press "reporter" explains why none of these dipshits ever travel.

If people want to travel because they think it would be cool to see this or that thing, that’s fine, but the idea that people are learning anything novel or valuable from these experiences is absurd. In order to learn anything that isn’t already on Wikipedia or repeated on a…

— River Page (@river_is_nice) June 4, 2026

We All Went To School Near Boston

If this really is an important subject for ongoing public discussion by people and for the benefit of people with no stake in the answer, then Harvard and our broader HE system should be nationalized.

Banana-fana-fo-Fari

Back when she was at the NYT, gross old white recently retired and near to retirement at Times journalists would assemble like Sexpest Voltron to defend Bari whenever she was criticized.

So, the story goes through screenings. It’s very well received. There are notes as always and we do rewrites as always. But this is on a very tight deadline. It’s Sunday; we’re going on the air that night. And in the case of stories that are, as we say, crashing, our deadline on Sunday is noon. So, we work on all of these things. We get the piece approved by everyone. And about four hours after our deadline, Bari Weiss sends an email to my boss, Tanya Simon. Two of the things in the email include, can we make the protesters look more violent? Now, I’m paraphrasing. I don’t have the quote, but that’s what was communicated to me. And the other thing, Renee Good’s car. You need to describe her as driving toward the officer.

This is not what you see on the video. On the video, you see the officer standing slightly off the front of the car. And you clearly see Ms. Good’s wheels turned completely as far as they will go, away from the officer. But he shoots her in the head, kills her, and says something about her that I can’t repeat in polite company.

A certain type of man is very susceptible to a certain type of (then) young brownnoser. They are all probably in love with their chatbots now. 

Morning

Sunday funday

Saturday Evening

Enjoy

Is It Irresponsible To Speculate? It Would Be Irresponsible Not To

I am sure the journalist excuse for not covering Trump's health is that they are working extremely hard to source the story but everyone is tightlipped.

I don't think you need sources to plainly describe what you see. And we all know that there is only selective aversion to speculating.

At Least The War Is Over

For better or for worse (likely much worse, to be honest), George Bush didn't get bored of his war for years.

Tehran, Iran — A potential peace deal between the United States and Iran hinges on the Trump administration agreeing to release $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, a top Iranian official told CNN on Friday, warning that the US would “enter into a dark corridor” should it resume fighting.

Lunch

busy with some weekending

Morning

slacker saturday

Happy Hour

get happy

America's Worse Democratic Congresswoman

Debbie Wasserman Schultz

She Looks Fantastic In Her Crop Top But Suffers From Crippling Self-doubt

We can debate what precisely Bari's job was supposed to be, but making everybody look ridiculous was probably not part of the plan. Paywalled, but the gist:

Uh oh. The head of CBS Entertainment is privately warning that the Bari Weiss train wreck is inflicting significant damage on the broader CBS brand. And shes not alone. Inside Paramount, "some believe she should be relieved of her duties." The scoop in @status.news www.status.news/p/60-minutes...

[image or embed]

— Jon Passantino (@passantino.bsky.social) June 5, 2026 at 2:02 PM

Some think her job was just to destroy it, but that doesn't make much sense. That's easy to do! Click cancel!

More likely she was supposed to MAGAfy it, but there are plenty of hardcore uncut MAGA outlets. To do propaganda for the existing CBS news audience you have to do it quietly and subtly, with a bit of skill. Not what you get from a dimbulb narcissist.

Nobody Could Have Predicted

I suppose I did, basically.

The return of screwworm comes after the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, launched by the Trump administration, last year cut funding for a project dedicated to monitoring and containing New World screwworm in Central America.

The funding was axed days before the U.S. ended a temporary suspension of cattle imports from Mexico, meaning livestock was allowed to cross the border without any of the monitoring previously funded by the U.S. Agency of International Development (USAID).

"Why are we wasting money on worms in Central America. Is it because of woke?"

He Never Had Any Idea What That Would Mean

He probably could've obtained a new "deal" that Fox News could've sold as being 7 billion percent better than Obama's deal if he didn't start a war first, but either way he never had any idea what that would look like.

Inside the White House, Trump oscillated between impatience and theatrical self-confidence. He told advisers repeatedly that he wanted a deal bigger than President Obama’s 2015 nuclear agreement and broader than the initial round of Abraham Accords. He also made clear that he did not want to own the failure of negotiations. The longer the process dragged on, the more the competing impulses pulled him in different directions.

He wanted the conflict over. But he had become irritated by comparisons between the emerging framework and the Obama-era agreement, which set restrictions and time limits on Iran’s nuclear-development program. Administration officials said Trump repeatedly complained that critics were calling his team’s draft agreement a weaker version of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which he had spent years attacking and tore up in his first term.

Trump wanted a way to argue that Iran had accepted terms from him that Obama never managed to extract, aides told us. One potential answer was removing Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium. Trump rejected military options to seize or destroy the material as unnecessarily risky, according to officials familiar with the discussions. Instead, negotiators explored arrangements under which Iran would transfer the uranium to either the U.S. or an acceptable third country, the aides told us. But that idea stalled, too.

Focus Groups

While doing a bit of reading for the previous post, I came aross a page where the New York Times provides all of its "Times Opinion Focus Groups" pieces. It is pretty funny:

'Disappointed,' 'Surprised,' 'Betrayed': 11 Trump Voters on What Has Gone Wrong
Trump voters discuss their disappointment with the presidents second term.

11 Pro-Trump Republican Voters on What They Like So Far and What They Don't
The group discusses the economy, immigration, President Trump's recent actions in Venezuela and more

14 Wellness Voters Talk Parenting, MAHA and Social Media
The group discusses how to parent in line with health and wellness in the age of social media

'They're Just Waiting to Just Get Back on Their Phone': 12 Teachers on What's Changed in Schools
The group discusses artificial intelligence, phones and how students have changed over me

The Economy Still Isn't What These 11 Latino Trump Voters Had in Mind
The group discusses the president's second term so far, focusing on issues such as the economy and immigration.

What Worries 11 Democratic Voters Most About Trump Democrats and What They Want From
The participants discuss what Democrats should do in the face of a second Trump presidency.

How 13 Independent Voters Who Backed Trump Think He Is Doing So Far
The participants discuss how they think Trump's second term is going

How 12 Americans See Life After Watching a Lot of Tik Tok
People who usa TikTok daily talk about why thay love the app, how consuming and addicting social media can be and why they wouldn't want their kids to use

"Where's Our Place in Society?': 12 Men Who Backed Trump Grapple With America
The group discusses the news and podcasts that shape their opinions about America and the wond, what being a man's man means and what they do and don't want Trump to do in office

These 14 Voters Think Trump Has One Mandate Above All, and It's Not About the Economy
The group discusses abortion, Immigration and what Trump should focus on in his second term

Those are all of the ones since the 2024 election. Even "normie Democrats" mostly exist as a character in their heads, people to be talked about, not heard from, let alone The Left.

Thwarted

Elon's plan to make every unwitting retirement fund holder eat his fraud losses has been temporarily thwarted.

S&P Global said on Thursday it was not changing the requirements for entry into its major indices, dealing a setback to Elon Musk’s SpaceX by effectively ruling out a swift entry for the world’s biggest-ever IPO into the benchmark S&P 500 index

Some explanation.

Within weeks of SpaceX going public, millions of Americans are going to own its stock without having chosen to, without having been asked, and at whatever price Elon Musk and his early backers decide is fair.

The shares will simply appear inside the index funds in their 401(k)s, the target-date retirement accounts of teachers and nurses and bus drivers, and the boring tracking products financial advisors push on every middle-class household. The buying will be automatic. Musk sets the price himself, the index funds buy at whatever level he chooses, and when the inevitable correction lands, it lands on people who never knew they owned this company- a danger the American Federation of Teachers is demanding the SEC address.

Morning

Funky friday

Happy Hour

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The Greatest Show On Earth

I think we already knew this, but the Strait is never going to revert to its previous status.

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has waved off the stalled Iran negotiations and the looming midterm elections with a shrug: “I don’t care,” he said during a Cabinet meeting last week. But there is one topic that has his full attention: America’s 250th birthday.

People close to the president say he’s fixated on the flurry of events descending on Washington for the semiquincentennial celebration. He’s throwing himself into construction and renovation projects around the capital, staging a UFC fight at the White House — his idea — and attempting to salvage a botched “Freedom 250” concert series by reimagining it as a political rally.

It is funny that the Iran hawks put their faith in Donald fucking Trump for this. No worries, tho, they will be on your TV selling new and even better wars soon.

Speaking Of Purity

Objecting to bigotry is the kind of purity that has no place in the centrist dream team party.

Rep. Tom Suozzi, who is running against Gov. Kathy Hochul in the Democratic primary for governor, called a controversial new Florida law aimed at discouraging discussions about sexuality and gender in classrooms “reasonable.” Dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law by its opponents, Democrats and LGBTQ activists have rallied against the bill as a discriminatory attempt to prevent any LGBTQ topics from getting discussed.

How Did This Happen

Even RFK JR realized he needed to back off the raw milk craze - it somehow switched to "whole milk" suddenly - because it was going to lead to endless stories like this.

Idaho health officials are investigating how nearly 60 people got sick after drinking raw milk in the past two weeks.

Was it because of woke?

Not Now, Screwworm

You can't necessarily attribute everything to Trump-era incompetence and their general rejection of the basic functions of government, but I suspect it's a contributing factor here!

A flesh-eating parasite that had been kept out of U.S. livestock for decades has been detected in Texas, threatening the nation’s cattle industry and food supply at a time when prices are already high.

The case of New World screwworm was confirmed in a 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, near the U.S.-Mexico border, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said late Wednesday.

"For months" hmmm that doesn't sound like he means Sleepy Joe's USDA. It follows months of warnings from U.S. and Texas agriculture officials and cattle industry leaders, as the pest steadily moved north through Mexico toward the American border.

“For months, the screwworm has advanced rapidly through Mexico in spite of the USDA’s existing gameplan,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said Wednesday, adding that “instead of using every available tool, USDA moved too slowly and relied solely on a partial solution that takes years to fully implement.”

When the Republican Texas Ag Commissioner can't even clearly put the blame where it should belong - on Sleepy Joe! - something important has happened!

Our big beautiful ranchers!

Congratulations On Scoring That Big Interview

I appreciate that it isn't precisely the same as just letting your network/show's interview subjects write down the name on a piece of paper, but how, exactly, do we think journalists often score those big interviews?

The broader system of access journalism does not provide incentives for tough scrutiny by the Names, the star journalists.

Maybe 60 Minutes was, for various reasons, more unlike that than other outlets, but it probably didn't seem weird to Bari at all to do that!

I Am Retroactively Modifying This Blog's TOS

Every reader owes me $1000.

Tesla has retroactively modified “Full Self-Driving” purchase agreements to add “supervised” language that did not exist when owners originally bought the product. In some cases, the original documents have been made entirely inaccessible.

Electrek has confirmed the issue with multiple owners. The contracts in question were signed between 2016 and early 2024, when Tesla sold the package as “Full Self-Driving Capability” — with no mention of “supervised” and the implicit promise of unsupervised autonomy.

Rare Backpedal

I suppose there are still some lines.

"Reprimanded."

Fairly Quickly

I have to admit that his optimism isn't entirely insane.  Predictions about the effects of the closure were much more catastrophic than we are currently seeing. That could change!

Everyone said it was going to be $300, $400 a barrel, it’s 98 dollars a barrel but that’s not a big price to pay if you look at the possibility of them having a nuclear weapon,” he said.

...

He even said it’s possible the US naval blockade around the waterway will remain in place through Labor Day — Monday, Sept. 7 — meaning a full summer of elevated fuel prices and likely harm to Republicans in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

“I don’t know. I mean, I think it could be [closed through Labor Day], but I think it’s unlikely. I think that we’ll have it. I think this will resolve itself fairly quickly,” he said.

Solidarity

There are journalists and journalism worth defending,  but I learned long ago that there is little point in wasting an effort defending American journalism broadly as other journalists rarely show solidarity for each other.

You see that every time Trump insults a reporter for a question and the next one doesn't respond by repeating the question.

I am sure Pelley has plenty of money and will be fine, but while the gossip will be covered, that CBS is completely corrupt will not be remembered on an ongoing basis.

For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified. To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them. Recently, politicians have been invited to choose correspondents for interviews on the broadcast. Giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how this is done,” he added. “Finally, incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc. In a case involving one of my stories, the entire program came within 19 minutes of not getting on the air at all.”

Journalists refused to acknowledge what Fox News was for years - oh sure the opinion stuff is over the top but their news people are good, claimed people who never watched the network - and they certainly won't do any different for CBS. 

Morning

Wacky Wednesday

Happy Hour

Get happy 

It's Iran Deal Week, Again

Will the press ever stop reporting on imminent deals as real things. Will THE MARKETS ever stop soaring?

Trump can't manifest reality without a lot of help, which he gets. The question is whethere there will be a coyote falling event.

Afternoon

Busy with life stuff

Kavanaugh Stops

I can believe Kavanaugh is dumb enough not to have understood this would be the result, but he can find a way to fix it any time if he wishes.

Woman held by ICE for 25 days, despite U.S. citizenship claim, gets a passport

Attorneys for Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales had presented a Maryland birth certificate and other documents as proof of her U.S. citizenship.

"Evil Foreigners"

That is pretty funny.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says 24 commercial vessels have passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the past day.

These ships obtained permission and coordinated with the IRGC navy, Iran’s state-owned broadcaster IRIB reported.

“Intelligent control of the Strait of Hormuz will be carried out with authority, and evil foreigners will have no place in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” the IRGC said in a statement.

Cultural Wasteland

This is a complete vibes-based post, but as a longtime observer of The Discourse, it seems that anything other than low culture has largely been driven from it? And I am not opposed to low culture, but maybe it is a problem if it is the only thing.

What I mean is that once upon a time, the chattering classes would exhibit their general familiarity with new novels or plays, maybe the occasional art exhibit.  They would at least skim the NYT book section to stay current.  That kind of thing.

I am not asserting that there was some past golden age of deep engagement by our supposed public intellectuals, but they at least seemed to fake it more. It was what people of a certain class did for "dinner party chat."

Again, all vibes here, but that seems to be missing?

It is not unrelated to the eager embrace of the MAGA CULTURAL TAKEOVER we were promised.

Mr. Trump, Sir, Bibi Is Making You Look Bad

Trump only ever does the right thing (occasionally) for the wrong reasons. Maybe he won't appreciate being humiliated by his Israeli counterpart!

United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that Hezbollah and Israel have agreed to halt hostilities in a major de-escalation effort after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday.

Netanyahu’s office on Monday said attacks on Beirut would proceed if Hezbollah continued attacks on Israeli cities, while military operations in southern Lebanon would continue as “planned”.

It seems Trump set the line at Beirut, but that doesn’t really solve the little Iran issue. 

Trump's people have continued the Biden practice of telling Axios how mad they are at Netanyahu. That, without consequences, gets silly very quickly!

Happy Hour

 Get happy

Have Some Passwords

I suspect we are going to have so many "AI"-related security issues. Aside from allowing for password theft,  I am quite sure they are eating lots of sensitive private data and just making it accessible to public queries. 

I Didn’t Want To Go To My Party Anyway

I admit I am a bit curious about why they couldn't get anyone for Trump's party. Or, maybe, I think others should be a bit curious.

It wasn't that long ago that we were assured that there would be a full MAGA conquest of the culture. Some performers object for personal political reasons, but others have decided that it would be brand poison.

Why would Trump association be brand poison with all those MAGAs lining up to spend money?

About That Deal

I am starting to think we can always take Trump at his word about what is happening 

...er I meant can't.  I blame airplane wifi.

Is It Too Late To Get In On This

Could've helped the retirement fund.

At least $2 million in settlements has been agreed to after employees and other critics were fired or penalized over their posts about Charlie Kirk following his killing.

It was brief, but that was maybe the most absurd period of all. Kudos to The Kids who took over the internet with Charlie memes and highlighted what a joke the efforts to canonize him were. 

Lie Back And Think Of Donams

 Stock futures up!

The US carried out what it said was “self-defense” strikes in Iran over the weekend – as President Donald Trump sent back changes to a proposed deal to extend the existing ceasefire in the region and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The weekend strikes in Iran targeted Iranian radar and command and control sites and were a response to “aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a US MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters,” US Central Command said Sunday night.

“US fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defenses, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters,” Central Command said.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have struck a US air base used to launch an attack on a telecommunications tower on Iran’s Sirik Island, according to a statement carried by several Iranian state-run news outlets.

Morning

Badass Monday.