Thursday, April 16, 2026

Leaderlyship

Well, Yup:
“I was standing in front of my parked car on I-684 cutting the penis out of a road killed raccoon, thinking about how weird some of my family members have turned out to be,” the bizarre journal entry reads, according to the Post.

In the passage, Kennedy was mourning his tumultuous relationships with his brother, Douglas Kennedy, and cousin, Bobby Shriver.

“My kids waited patiently in the car,” Kennedy wrote.

He later told People magazine that he took the raccoon’s genitals so he could “study them later,” according to the new book.
It all starts at the top.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump has stated that following today’s announced ceasefire, he will be inviting the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, to the White House for the “first meaningful talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983.”
Israeli government ministers were “outraged” by today’s announced ceasefire with Lebanon, which was revealed on TruthSocial by U.S. President Donald J. Trump who gave Israel’s consent to the ceasefire before it could be approved by the Israeli Security Cabinet, according to i24NEWS.
Trump counts it as the 10th war he’s settled.
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Their Own Petar

 Trump’s ballroom is halted again. And again, Trump’s lawyers did it to themselves:

For the reasons that follow, I will further clarify and amend my Order to stop only above-ground construction of the planned ballroom. My Amended Order does not, however, stop below-ground construction of national security facilities, work necessary to provide for presidential security, and construction necessary to protect and secure the White House and the construction site itself.

First, limiting the scope of the injunction to above-ground construction directly addresses the National Trust's irreparable harm, which stems from the above-ground, visible construction of the ballroom. See Mem. Op. at 29-32; see also PI. 's Mem. in Supp. of Prelim. Inj. [Dkt. #51-1] at 24-25 ("[T]he National Trust has never requested ... that the Court enjoin construction of a bunker. The National Trust is simply requesting that the Court enjoin construction of the Ballroom."). My Order barring above-ground construction provides "complete relief' to the National Trust, while minimizing the "burden[]" to Defendants through the safety-and-security exception. See Trump v. CASA, Inc., 606 U.S. 831,852 (2025) (quoting Califano v. Yamasaki, 442 U.S. 682, 702 (1979)).

Second, the injunction excludes only below-ground construction because, throughout this case, Defendants raised discrete national security concerns about construction of underground elements. Early on, Defendants argued that "security concerns . . . warrant[ ed] permitting the current below-grade construction to continue." Defs.' TRO Opp'n [Dkt. #15-1] at 27; see also TRO Hr'g Tr. [Dkt. #18] at 20:22-24 ("[T]he below-ground work that's occurring now has nothing to do with Plaintiff's asserted aesthetic injury, and that work must continue for national security reasons."). Specifically, Defendants indicated that national security-related facilities are being constructed below ground. See, e.g., Defs.' Suppl. Br. [Dkt. #30] at 41 (referencing a "security bunker" and stating that "an injunction halting construction would endanger national security"). The exception for underground national security facilities does not include the proposed ballroom because Defendants themselves distinguished between below-ground and above-ground construction, stating that "the below-surface work is driven by national security concerns independent of the above-grade construction." Defs.' Suppl. Br. at 39 4 Case 1:25-cv-04316-RJL Document 72 Filed 04/16/26 Page 5 of 10 (emphasis added); see also Deel. of Professional Engineer [Dkt. #30-4] at i15 (referencing the "national security concerns with aspects of the below grade structure"). Defendants also repeatedly represented that the project's below-ground elements do not "lock in" the design of the above-ground ballroom. Defs.' Suppl. Br. at 4; see also Defs.' Mot. to Modify Schedule [Dkt. #22] i1 4; Defs.' Mot. to Stay [Dkt. #39] at 2; cf Deel. of John Stanwich ("Stanwich Deel.") [Dkt. #14-6] i1 21 (noting the below-ground elements could be "constructed as planned while the above grade design is finalized").
Kind of hard to argue the ballroom is an integral part of the security construction below ground when you say the two are completely separate projects. One if the arguments for the ballroom being a part of the secure structure below? It will have bulletproof glass.

Seriously. That’s part of the argument made to the court. Which is probably true, but whether the ballroom can be built, or not, is up to Congress.

Now let’s talk about authorizing that stupid arch….
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The Fuller Context Of This Is Worth Noting

Pope Leo XIV: Jesus told us, blessed are the peacemakers. But woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, or political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth. Yes, my dear sisters and brothers, you who hunger and thirst for justice, who are poor, merciful, meek, and pure of heart—you who have wept. You are the light of the world.
And are the children of God.

Waiting for Trump and Hegseth to complain that His Holiness is talking about them, and they don’t like it.
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We Won The War?

Iran’s new national security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr's views "were so extreme that one of his subordinates—Qassem Soleimani, the notorious Quds Force leader later killed by the U.S.—temporarily quit in protest."

WSJ: Iran’s Regime Has Changed—for the Worse The U.S.-Israeli attack fast-tracked the ascent of hard-liners and apocalyptic religious followers
Funny. That’s what we got. 

By the way, climate change is a hoax:
Texas is not a lot better off.  This is fine. And speaking of the elites and Jesus in the temple:
“The U.S. government has abruptly decided to end more than 60 years of relationship with Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Miami,” Wenkski wrote. ‘The Archdiocese of Miami’s services for unaccompanied minors have been recognized for their excellence and have served as a model for other agencies throughout the country.’”
Well, you know: Didn’t Jesus say that? I’m pretty sure he did. Somewhere in Ezekiel, I think….🤔 
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The Last Redoubt Of The Criminally Incompetent

Hegseth: To the American media—I just can't help but notice the endless stream of garbage, the relentlessly negative coverage you cannot resist peddling. Sometimes it's hard to figure out what side some of you are actually on. It's incredibly unpatriotic.

Jesus entered a synagogue and healed a man with a withered hand. The Pharisees came to watch. As the scripture reads, they were there to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath so that they might accuse Him.

You see, the Pharisees — the so-called and self-appointed elites of their time — were there to witness, to write everything down, and to report. But their hearts were hardened, even though they witnessed a literal miracle. It didn’t matter to them. They were only there to explain away the goodness in pursuit of their agenda. As the passage ends, the Pharisees went out and immediately held a council against him, plotting how they might destroy him.

Our press are like these Pharisees
Now, in that analogy, who is Jesus? Trump? Hegseth? The DOD? America?
Wow this is embarrassing! Pete Hegseth quoted a fake Bible verse from Pulp Fiction at a Pentagon speech and prayer session yesterday.

The prayer was an adaptation of the monologue delivered by Samuel L. Jackson’s character. In the movie, the character falsely attributes it to Ezekiel 25:17 before a killing, saying:

“The path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of camaraderie and duty, shepherd the lost through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother. And you will know my call sign is Sandy 1 when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”
No, that’s not Ezekiel 25:17. And I’m pretty sure Tarantino knew that:
“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men,” says Jackson in the movie. “Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”

Tarantino himself poached the fake Bible verse from the 1970s Japanese martial arts movie Bodyguard Kiba.
And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.
Ezekiel 25:17.

Or does Hegseth think he’s a prophet of God?
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Vague And Glittering Generalities

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Wednesday delivered a televised broadside against progressivism, a political philosophy he described as an existential threat to America and the principles that founded it 250 years ago.
Which were, ironically, radically progressive at the time. (And why are we chained to the "principles" of 250 years ago? Isn’t that the whole argument of the Declaration of Independence? That we aren’t chained to the principles of the past?)
“Progressivism seeks to replace the basic premises of the Declaration of Independence and hence our form of government,” Thomas said in a speech at the University of Texas Austin Law School pegged to the nation’s upcoming milestone birthday.
A piece of propaganda meant to incite a revolution against the established government.
A spirit of “cynicism, rejection, hostility and animus” toward America -- by Americans -- has taken hold, Thomas said in remarks carried live on CSPAN.

Thomas, the Supreme Court’s senior conservative member, spoke broadly, not referencing specific contemporary events or political figures to make his case. But his comments come at a critical time for the sharply divided country and the Court.

He said that the values enshrined in the 1776 Declaration of Independence have “fallen out of favor” among Americans -- a trend perpetrated, he argued, by “intellectuals” and the nation’s colleges and universities.
People smarter than him?
Thomas also said he believes many people no longer believe “all men are created equal” and deserving of “unalienable rights” protected by a limited government.

“[Progressivism] holds that our rights and our dignities come not from God, but from government,” he said. “It requires of the people a subservience and weakness incompatible with a constitution premised on the transcendent origin of our rights.”
The "principles" of 250 years ago held that Thomas was, at best, 3/5ths of a person. And that solely for the apportionment of political power in the legislature. "Progressivism" changed that.
Thomas said Washington has been overrun by elected and appointed officials who lack commitment to “righteous cause, to traditional morality, to national defense, to free enterprise, to religious piety or to the original meaning of the Constitution.”
The pre-13th Amendment Constitution?
“They recast themselves as Institutionalists, pragmatists or thoughtful moderates, all as a way of justifying their failures to themselves, their consciences, and their country,” he said.

Thomas called on Americans to stand up for their principles and endure personal "sacrifices," if necessary, to preserve the nation's democracy.
You go first, by paying back all the gifts and benefits your rich white friends have given you.
“In my view, we must find in ourselves that same level of courage that the signers of the Declaration have so that we can do for our future what they did for theirs,” he said.
Pretty sure we have. You just don’t like it. You want to keep all the benefits you’ve acquired, and tell the rest of us, who aren’t shielded from the consequences of our corruption and guaranteed lifetime employment, to “sacrifice” for your vague hand-waving complaints about people who aren’t you.
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Wednesday, April 15, 2026

“Why Is This So Hard To Understand?”

The WSJ editorial board asks:
“The President is angry that Mr. Powell hasn’t cut interest rates more. But Mr. Powell alone doesn’t set rates, so firing him won’t necessarily get the President what he wants," wrote the board. "The best way to replace Mr. Powell is to drop the pretextual Justice investigation and get Mr. Warsh confirmed. Why is this so hard for the President to understand?"
Let’s see: Trump doesn’t understand that Tillis is a Senator until January. And unless Warsh is approved by then, Powell is Acting Chair through the end of the year.

Trump also doesn’t understand Powell’s term on the board runs until 2028. His answer to Bartiromo indicates he thinks she means Powell keeps the chairmanship past May.

He also thinks, again, that the Fed is a sole proprietorship, run by the person “in charge.” He can’t seem to understand that a committee sets the interest rate, and the chair is the public face who announces Board policy. 

Which answers the Editorial Board’s final question. Why doesn’t Trump understand any of this? Because Trump is an idiot.
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Living In The World’s Largest Glass House

Um....Trump? E. Jean Carroll?  Epstein? “Grab.’em by the pussy”? Owning the “Miss Teen USA” contest so he could wander the dressing room at will? Any of this ring a bell?🔔 
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I’m Just Enjoying…

Father John Lydon on Pope Leo: in Peru, we lived together during a time of terrorism and an authoritarian government, and violations of human rights. And he was in the main plaza of our city gathering signatures in defense of human rights, in the plaza surrounded by government buildings.

So this is not somebody who just woke up and decided, well, now is the time to speak about human rights. This is part of his identity…

He's going to continue to speak up based on the moral principles of the church, because that's what he was elected to do. That's what all the popes are supposed to do
... this national discussion (such as it is) about life and death, and morality and Christianity.
Yes, he really said that.

Yesterday Vice President JD Vance criticized Pope Leo XIV for not knowing enough theology: "I think it's very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology ... If you’re going to opine on matters of theology, you’ve got to be careful, you’ve got to make sure it’s anchored in the truth," he said, at a Turning Point conference.

One of the many, many, ironies about that statement is that it came in response to Pope Leo's comments about war and peace and, specifically, the concept of "just war," which originated with St. Augustine. As many have already noted, when the Vice President was making his comments, Pope Leo XIV, a member of the Augustinian Order, and twice Prior General of the Augustinians before his election as Pope, was visiting the hometown of St. Augustine, then called "Hippo," now in Annaba, a town in modern-day Algeria. For good measure, Pope Leo XIV, the man critiqued for insufficient theological education, earned not only a master's degree in divinity, but also licentiate and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

JD Vance's recent conversion to Catholicism is beside the point, because many converts are of course not only highly intelligent (and learned in theology) but faithful and energetic Catholics. We rejoice over everyone entering the church.

What most of us do not rejoice over, however, is a deadly combination of inaccuracy and hubris. Pace, Vice President Vance, but the current war in Iran is not a just war under Catholic doctrine. You can hear that from church leaders from across the theological spectrum, from Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the head of the military vicariate and former head of the @USCCB , to Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington who holds doctorates in both theology and political science. You can look all that up online. Suffice to say, the Vice President doesn't seem to understand the tenets of just war.

Nor does he seem to understand the fundamental position of the church, which is for peace. "War is always a defeat for humanity," as St. John Paul II said. If that authority isn't enough, then turn to Jesus who said, "Blessed are the peacemakers," not "Blessed are the warmongers." And after the Resurrection, the Risen Christ says to the frightened disciples not "Vengeance is mine" but "Peace be with you."

Incidentally, the day before, the Vice President said that the Pope (and the Vatican) should stick to teaching about morality, also seeming to forget that war and peace are profoundly moral issues.

For his part, Pope Leo was focused yesterday on his spiritual father, St. Augustine. After what seemed like an emotional visit to Hippo, he celebrated Mass at the Basilica of St. Augustine in Annaba. During his homily he said, "The primary task of pastors as ministers of the Gospel is therefore to bear witness to God before the world with one heart and one soul, not permitting our concerns to lead us astray through fear, nor trends to undermine us through compromise."

Amen. Let's all continue to pray for the Holy Father as he works for peace.
Ignorance does make people more sure of their erroneous opinions.
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For The Peanut Gallery

I don’t even know what this legislation is, but it has no chance of becoming law before 2027 (so it’s what the kids call “performative”). And if it did become law and was used against Trump, you’d still have the Rube Goldberg mechanism of the 25th to contend with.

Does this law purport to amend the 25th, by the way?

Whatever it does, if it’s used against Trump, he can sue and get it before the Supremes. That will keep the question of  “Who IS the President?” alive and well for months. And to what end?

If you strike at a king, you’d better kill him. Performances close out of town; or only do matinee business. If you can’t use the impeachment power of Art. II and remove Trump, fuck it. Use the Art. I powers of Congress to strangle him with his own entrails; metaphorically speaking.

He’s already a lame duck. Make it so.
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On The Topic Of “Lanes”

Mike Johnson says the Pope had it coming: "A religious leader can say anything they want, but obviously if you wade into political waters, you should expect some political response and I think the Pope has received some of that. Frankly I was taken a bit aback by him saying something about 'those who engage in war, Jesus doesn't hear their prayers' or something. There's something called the 'just war' doctrine.'"
Oh, I’m pretty sure Jesus does hear the prayers of those who engage in war. They just don’t like the answer:
It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism … on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun … nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory which stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener. …

Sunday morning came — next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were there, their young faces alight with martial dreams — visions of the stern advance, the gathering momentum, the rushing charge, the flashing sabers, the flight of the foe, the tumult, the enveloping smoke, the fierce pursuit, the surrender! Then home from the war, bronzed heroes, welcomed, adored, submerged in golden seas of glory! … The service proceeded; a war chapter from the Old Testament was read; the first prayer was said …

…

Then came the “long” prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and beautiful language. The burden of its supplication was, that an ever-merciful and benignant Father of us all would watch over our noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work….

An aged stranger entered and moved with slow and noiseless step up the main aisle, his eyes fixed upon the minister, his long body clothed in a robe that reached to his feet, his head bare, his white hair descending in a frothy cataract to his shoulders, his seamy face unnaturally pale, pale even to ghastliness. … he ascended to the preacher’s side and stood there waiting. …

The stranger touched his arm, motioned him to step aside — which the startled minister did — and took his place. During some moments he surveyed the spellbound audience with solemn eyes, in which burned an uncanny light; then in a deep voice he said:

“I come from the Throne — bearing a message from Almighty God!” …

“God’s servant and yours has prayed his prayer. Has he paused and taken thought? Is it one prayer? No, it is two — one uttered, the other not. Both have reached the ear of Him Who heareth all supplications, the spoken and the unspoken. Ponder this — keep it in mind. If you would beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware! lest without intent you invoke a curse upon a neighbor at the same time. If you pray for the blessing of rain upon your crop which needs it, by that act you are possibly praying for a curse upon some neighbor’s crop which may not need rain and can be injured by it.

“You have heard your servant’s prayer — the uttered part of it. I am commissioned of God to put into words the other part of it — that part which the pastor — and also you in your hearts — fervently prayed silently. And ignorantly and unthinkingly? God grant that it was so! You heard these words: ‘Grant us the victory, O Lord our God!’ … When you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results which follow victory–must follow it, cannot help but follow it. Upon the listening spirit of God fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen!

“O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle — be Thou near them! With them — in spirit — we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it — for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.

(After a pause.) “Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits!”

It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said.
Trump’s wars are no less imperialistic than the foreign wars in Twain’s time.

Stay in your lane, Mr. Speaker. “Just war” does not mean “[only] war.”
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Reality Is A Fungible Commodity

He’s not the only one for whom reality is a simple construct:
Another hearty “fuck you” to @NPR for airing the Israeli ambassador saying that they are working on liberating the Lebanese people from Iran.

Let me be crystal clear; the only country bombing Lebanon for the last two years is Israel. The only country forcibly displacing over a million people is Israel. The only country killing children, paramedics and journalists is Israel. The only country committing egregious acts of ecocide with white phosphorus is Israel. The only soldiers who have threatened me and my colleagues for telling the truth are Israeli soldiers.

I am a witness. I have photos and video of all of it. NPR, do better. Your correspondent in Beirut knows what’s actually happening. Let them say it.
Calling it a war crime is anti-Semitic.
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So…God DID Run Out Of Locusts?

Isn’t Trump at the dead center of the “satanic, demonic child-sacrificing monsters being exposed”? And isn’t he exposing the victims instead of the monsters?
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And Sure Enough, It Got Worse

This mindless idiot is the POTUS.
BARTIROMO: You keep saying 'was.' Is this war over?

TRUMP: I think it's close to over, yeah. I view it as very close to over. If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country. And we're not finished. We'll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal.
He’s clinging to that talking point like it was a life preserver.🛟  No, he didn’t see. No, he doesn’t know what it means. 🤦‍♂️ Yeah. Then none of this would have happened. 😵‍💫 A) If Trump could fire Powell, he’d have done it by now.
B) Tillis is a Senator until January, 2027.
C) Trump is a lame duck now.
Nothing is ever Trump’s fault.  EVER! I’m surprised he didn’t mention the beautiful letter again.
Trump: "I had the greatest year, the greatest opening year. I ended 8 wars. The greatest economy ever. But even when you have a great president, they tend to lose the midterms. It doesn't make sense to me. We've had the greatest year in the history of the presidency, first year. We should be given credit."
Reality is in the next room, knocking on the door. (I know small children who don’t whine this much.)
In a post on his Truth Social app, U.S. President Donald J. Trump said that China has agreed not to send weapons to Iran, following reports that China was preparing to send man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) to Iran via a third-party nation. President Trump also highlighted his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping early next month, saying President Xi will give me a big fat hug when I get there.”
Trump told Bartiromo that China wasn’t sending weapons to Iran, but now China has agreed not to send (more?) weapons, and Trump will get what he wants: a hug!

🤦‍♂️
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Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Trump on Iran:
2/6-“They want to make a deal badly”
3/2-“They want to make a deal badly”
3/16-“They want to make a deal badly"
3/24-“They want to make a deal badly”
3/25-“They want to make a deal badly”
4/1-“They want to make a deal badly”
4-13-“They want to make a deal badly”
4/14-“They want to make a deal badly”
During an interview today with ABC News, U.S. President Donald J. Trump stated that he doesn’t believe there will be a need to extend the current ceasefire with Iran, telling Jonathan Karl that a peace deal is coming, “I think you’re going to be watching an amazing two days ahead. I really do.”
Analysts and traders on Polymarket predict that it is unlikely U.S. President Donald J. Trump will decide to end his blockade on the coastal areas of Iran anytime soon, with chances that the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz is lifted by the end of April at only 35%, down 15% since it began on Monday.
"If the United States and the terrorist want to continue its illegal action in the maritime siege and create insecurity for Iranian commercial ships and tankers, this US action will be the prelude to a ceasefire violation, and powerful Iranian armed forces will not allow any export and import in the Persian Gulf region, the Sea of Oman and the Red Sea," according to Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Major General Ali Abdullahi.
So:

No threat to send in troops.
No new bombing campaign.
No sign from Iran of yielding, even as peace talks continue.

That’s as close as he gets.
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Trump Speaks!

Or tries to.
Trump on high oil prices: "They're not up-- I thought, I mean, honestly-- I thought they're be much-- and I was willing to do that, to stop a nuclear weapon to be used against this country or the Middle East, to stop that it was certainly worthwhile being much higher than it is right now. I'm very happy."
Says the only man in the country who doesn’t pay for his own gas.

This will be the only campaign ad a Democrat will need between now and November. In the long run, we’re all dead. Has FoxNews announced one of those since the Biden Administration? Wish in one hand, piss in the other. Which fills up faster? Then they were as stupid as you?
a very confused Trump: "Look at Justice Ginsburg. She was not exactly a young woman. The election was taken. They had a Democrat who could've appointed a liberal justice. About two minutes after the election, she went out." (Ginsburg died in September 2020, when Trump was president.)
Well, what more do you need? We have a State Department; we have multiple intelligence gathering/analyzing agencies. But Trump has a “beautiful letter.” Checkmate, Deep State. Time to write another letter.
BARTIROMO: We just heard from the FBI there was a major cyber attack from China. What response is under consideration?

TRUMP: We do it to them. They do it to us, we do it to them

BARTIROMO: So it's not gonna be addressed?

TRUMP: Maria, I'll address things, but it is what it is. China is China.
Whereas Iraq and Cuba are not nuclear powers, so….
Michael Clancy, a Harrisonburg resident who attended a rally hosted by Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, articulated the growing sentiment among GOP voters. Clancy said, "Other than a couple of shows like this with a few people, giving speeches, showing up, there has not been a significant push to offset what the Democrats are doing. It seems like they want to lose the midterms."
Why would that be?
Jolly attributed the disaster to voter frustration, noting, "Voters are telling us and they're telling Republicans what their problems are; Donald Trump and the Republicans are telling voters they're wrong."
Fish rots from the head….
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Tuesday, April 14, 2026

JD/TPUSA at UGa

Back from...? ...you, then. So Democrats teleported themselves back in time to a Waffle House to invent the Epstein files and all those photographs of Epstein and Trump, and all those witnesses?
Q: I am a daughter of legal immigrants… How do we fix the immigration system for people who have been waiting for their green cards for so long?

Vance: I’m marred to the daughter of immigrants. They’re great people. But I also think that when you become an American citizen, one of the responsibilities we must expect of citizens is that you have to think about the best interests of the country and not the country you came from…
Huh? Ask a serious question, get a xenophobic non-sequitur for an answer? Pro tip: I’m pretty sure the Nazis ruined the “God is on our side” meme for the rest of time. God approved? C'mon, JD, you know you want to say it. You missed your shot. How did he think it was going to go?
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And Isn’t That What Really Matters?

Mike Johnson: "I talked to the president about it as soon as I saw it and told him that I don't think it was being received in the same way he intended it. He agreed and he pulled it down. That was the right thing to do. He explained how he saw that and I don't think he thought it was sacrilegious at all."
Not what Trump did, but what he thought he as doing. He is, after all, only a child….

Oh! That’s not what Johnson meant?
Imagine if pigs could fly, and ice cream cones grew on trees, and we all lived on the Big Rock Candy Mountain!! That’s what we should pay attention to!
Sen. Roger Marshall: "The good news, ah, what gas in America right now is $3.14 a gallon on averag-- no no, $4.14 a gallon, forgive me. $4.14 a gallon. In Europe right now it's $7 a gallon. So it's not great, I'm concerned about it. The good news is we're the largest oil producer in the world. Yes, I'm asking Americans to make a short-term sacrifice."
The sacrifice of not living in Europe, where they have universal healthcare and free college education and several months family leave, excellent public transportation, a higher standard of living, better quality of life for more people, and shorter work weeks? And the downside is, you pay more in taxes for gasoline, but the upside is public transport is far better than anything in America?

Huh. 

I’m sorry, you were saying?
So many people so stupid about how oil is an international commodity sold in an international market.
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“War!! What Is It Good For?”

The Real Boss*



*A friendly reminder that the Boss is a Boomer.
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Cosplaying The Boss

 If you think slinging bullshit is doing a great job:

Asked in an interview with NBC News about a communication Trump sent to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi in which he publicly implored her to indict several of his political enemies, Blanche said it was an example of the president being upfront with the American people and making his "high expectations" clear.

"That type of communication from President Trump should make every American happy," Blanche said. "It means that there's an executive, a chief executive, that is making sure every one of his Cabinet members are working as hard as they should."
At serving the chief executive? Where, exactly , is that listed in the presidential duties outlined in Article. II? "Faithfully execute the laws” is not the same thing as “faithfully use the laws to execute your enemies.”
Blanche became the acting head of the Justice Department this month after Trump fired Bondi, in part, because the president was frustrated that she did not have more success in prosecutions of his political foes, NBC News reported.
Yeah, pesky legal system kept getting in the way. Turns out Trump’s authority only extends to a supine Congress, and isn’t recognized by most of the judiciary (the Sinister Six excluded).
He described Trump as "my boss" and said the investigations into Trump’s political enemies were only a small part of the Justice Department's overall work.
The bulk of the DOJ's work now is recruiting enough attorneys to do the job, because too much of DOJ’s work was prosecuting Trump’s political enemies (a little goes a long way ), and convincing the courts that DOJ can be trusted again. Because even the Solicitor General got his ass handed to him in the birthright citizenship arguments, and trial courts are full blown disgusted.
“There is outsized focus” on those probes, “because they involve individuals that the president has had significant issues — for good reason, by the way, within the past that will continue the rest of the time he’s president,” Blanche said.
That you even say that out loud is the most disturbing thing I’ve ever heard from a USAG.
Directing the Justice Department, he said, is "what being the commander in chief is about."
Alright, second most disturbing thing. This one’s worse.
The Justice Department also failed to indict six sitting members of Congress over a social media video that Trump labeled “SEDITIOUS” because it encouraged members of the military and intelligence communities not to obey unlawful orders. Grand jurors rejected the claims.

Blanche said Tuesday the failed investigations showed “that we’re working hard.”
Any other supervisory prosecuting attorney who said that would be shitcanned before the sunset. Trump is stupid enough to think this is just fine.
"It could be that the grand jury just made the wrong decision," he said, speaking broadly about failed indictments. "The grand jurors don't get everything right, just like nobody gets everything right all the time. So some of those, it's a tough case, and some of those were continuing to investigate. You don't have to just take a 'no true bill' from a grand jury and walk away."
I’m pretty sure in some cases the DOJ didn’t; so they racked up a few more  no bills on the same cases. Truly an admirable milestone of doing what Trump demanded: wasting time and money and court resources, on what never should have been pursued in the first place. The legal standards of reasonable suspicion and probable cause exist for a reason; as do grand juries. But while double jeopardy doesn’t attach to a no bill, going before multiple grand juries until you “win” is hardly proof that the system is working the way it should. It’s much more reflects the effort of the chief executive to bend the system to his will.

Tell us, AG Blanche, how’s that working out?
Blanche on Tuesday promised to prioritize what the Trump administration has called the “weaponization” of the Justice Department by Democrats against Trump, his allies and some right-wing groups.
By weaponizing the DOJ against Trump’s he, thereby trying to inoculate their efforts from the same criticism.  The famous legal defense of “HE STARTED IT!,” heard on playgrounds around the country.
But Blanche is expected to run into the same issues as Bondi; subpoenas for the Federal Reserve and Chairman Jerome Powell were blocked by a federal judge, and cases against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey were dismissed by a judge. The Justice Department is, however, weighing whether to try again on Comey, NBC News reported.
Because the statute of limitations shouldn’t stand in the way of Trump punishing his enemies?
Last week, in his first public appearance as acting attorney general, he insisted the Justice Department was not focused on going after Trump’s political enemies.
And since then he’s had a “come to Jesus”? I’m sorry, that should be: “come to Trump cosplaying a Red Cross doctor with miraculous healing powers.”

He is Blanche’ client boss, after all.
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I TOLD YOU IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE EGGS!🥚

🥚🥚🥚!!!!
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Stuck Pig Squeals Loudest

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Ain’t That America?

The most f*cked up aspect of this is the "DoorDash grandma" t-shirt she's wearing, and the implications of this: I checked and this is a pre-organized PR stunt between DoorDash and the White House (they boast about it on their website: https://about.doordash.com/en-us/news/dasher-visits-white-house-to-celebrate-no-tax-on-tips).

The lady - Sharon Simmons, "a grandmother of ten" who has "completed more than 14,000 deliveries" - isn't even from DC, they brought her over from Arkansas as a prop for this.

Think about just how uniquely rotten things need to be in order for this to happen.

She is literally a grandmother relying on gig work because she can't afford healthcare for her husband's stage-3 cancer. She doesn't even get paid a living wage and needs to rely on tips. And as an "independent contractor," she gets no benefits, no healthcare, no retirement.

Which means she is an almost perfect illustration of the failure of the American social contract on almost every level: healthcare, labor rights, retirement, wages, etc. Any decent human being looking at her story - let alone policymakers - should feel only one thing: shame.

Yet DoorDash and the White House looked at this woman and saw a photo op. They flew her from Arkansas, branded her "DoorDash grandma" and used her as a mascot for a tax tweak - no tax on tips - that wouldn't even begin to cover her husband's chemo sessions.

Watching the actual video of her "delivery" to Trump (https://pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-trump-speaks-about-no-tax-on-tips-with-a-doordash-grandma) is almost unreal. Trump opens up by saying, smiling at the camera, "who says it looks staged? It doesn't." They immediately proceed to do a joint press conference to a bunch of journalists who were conveniently standing right there.

None of the questions that follow during the next 15 minutes are related to Simmons' situation who just stands there. Journalists, the President, and cameras all obsessing over culture wars and the actual war in Iran, while the walking embodiment of the country's deepest structural failures - healthcare, labor, retirement - stands silently in a corporate t-shirt, unmentioned and too uncomfortable to confront.
Well, except, it’s a con all the way down: I can’t reach a conclusion on any of this. Is she a grandma? Does she actually drive for Door Dash? Is her husband without medical care? (Why? Where’s Medicare or Medicaid?) Regardless, this crude attempt at…whatever this was, exposes the reality of how the poor are treated (and represented) in Trump’s America. Which we can’t have because, you know, socialism. Or war. Opinions vary. (Even though we established Medicare during the Vietnam War.)
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Monday, April 13, 2026

Pirro Really Wants Bondi’s Old Job

And she remembers the “Central Park Seven.”* The Statue of Liberty with a shield over her face? And wings? I dunno; nothing in that picture makes any damned sense. So...no hurry, then?  Now, I would argue this isn’t a sign Trump is detached from reality. Being a sole proprietor is his reality. He’s never known anything else, except Daddy bailing him out.  He’s always existed as if he’s the only one who matters (and I know a lot of people like that, and they aren’t malignant narcissists), and he’s been able to make that work for him. He’s never had so much as a partner (a real one, a legal partnership where the other party is co-owner and operator). So he’s never understood government, and never will. 

Having won re-election with a GOP majority in both houses, Congress just gave him the reins. Remember when he said all Congress had to do was pass the OBBB, and they wouldn’t have to do anything else? He meant it. He wasn’t being autocratic. He has no concept of government, not even the governance of a corporation (which is NOT like government, no matter what the right wing autocrats say). He just thinks he’s the sole proprietor, so give him all he wants (the OBBB, with a massive budget for ICE so Miller can make all the brown people go away), and leave Trump to do as he pleases.

Yes, that is detached from reality, but it doesn’t have to be explained by dementia (Occam strops his blade in the background). It can be explained by stupidity and ignorance, qualities Trump has had in abundance for all his life. And an overwhelming ego that made him think he could be POTUS. “Man got to know his limitations.” Most of us do, or figure them out by the time we’re 70. Trump didn’t, and thinks he doesn’t have any. That’s not necessarily dementia; but it certainly is a specific kind of ignorance.

Is he suffering from dementia? Probably. That would explain some things. But dementia is tricky, usually seen in hindsight (I see now how my father’s faculties were failing to the brain tumor diagnosed a few weeks before his death. I think I see it going back for years before that, but how do I know?) In matters of failing mental faculties, one size does not fit all (my sister in law died of an organic brain disease. Her “dementia” was radically unlike my father’s, and different again from the church member I knew in Illinois, who died from Alzheimer’s. She knew who I was until the very end. He quickly forgot who his wife was.). Is Trump unable to cope with the responsibilities of the Presidency? Undoubtedly. That’s clear enough, and enough for me to work with.

I was never satisfied with the rump psychological diagnosis of Queeg. He clearly was unfit for his position. But was he mad? Or just broken? Either way, he had no business being a captain. In that sense, Trump is not unlike Nixon; or Queeg. Trump is only going to get worse; but that’s because he’s never going to come to terms with the responsibilities he’s agreed to take on. I suspect most of us couldn’t, either.

And that’s the problem. We recognize that; Trump doesn’t. And never will.



*Ask yer Grandpa! And git offa mah lawn!
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“You Don’t Get To Fuck With The World Economy!”

"Only we can do that!”

“Two can play at that game”? Does he think we’re on the playground? Or in a B movie?
Intruding into a foreign country's election is a good thing? I’m pretty sure when that happens in America, it doesn’t win friends. Also pretty sure there’s a good reason no POTUS or VPOTUS has ever done that before. Or ever will again. But I can think of a lot of Democrats who want you to campaign for their opponents this year. You’re right. Promoting peace and urging people to consider the value of life over death; what was the Pope thinking? Everybody knows, if you don’t agree with Trump, you have to shut up and let him work. Or do whatever he wants to do.  That’s in the Constitution, somewhere.
BAIER: I wonder as a catholic how you consider this picture which a lot of people took as the president posting a picture of himself as Jesus?

VANCE: I think the president was posting a joke and, of course, he took it down because he recognized that a lot of people weren't understanding his humor in that case.
And the punchline was? I’ll hang up and listen…. Oh, one other question: 🙋‍♂️ Why didn’t Trump say he was joking?🙃  He’s explained himself several times; never mentioned he was just kidding.  Unless the President rants about it in writing, and thereafter every time there’s a camera in range. The Pope has already walked away from this; why can’t Trump? (Honestly, does Vance NOT know when to shut up?)
Baier: Is there a next step? Are there more talks coming? Are you leading them?

Vance: That question would be best put to the Iranians. The ball is in their court… This is ultimately why we left Pakistan—because what we figured out is the team there was unable to cut a deal. And they had to go back to Tehran, either from the supreme leader or somebody else to get approval.
And that’s why Trump is blockading the Strait and planning for more bombings? Because the negotiators need to get new instructions? (Does Vance realize he’s not helping? Or is this as good as this Administration gets? Never mind. That was definitely a rhetorical question.)
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