Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Trump Is Delusional And Listens To Our Enemies

I think he did it twice.
Putin and Trump spoke by phone for 90+ mins, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said. Putin said he’s ready to declare a Victory Day ceasefire; Trump supported it and said a Ukraine deal is “close.”

Ushakov said Trump also viewed Russia’s recent Easter ceasefire positively. At Trump’s request, Putin described the front line as Russia holding the initiative and pushing back Ukrainian forces, and reiterated that Moscow’s goals would be achieved—preferably via talks.

Putin added that a settlement would require Zelensky to accept previously outlined terms. This was their 12th call since Trump’s return to the WH in early 2025.

Ushakov also said Putin noted Russia has transferred 20K+ bodies to Kyiv since the start of 2025, receiving just over 500 in return.

Separately, Putin expressed support for Trump following the April 25 assassination attempt in D.C. and condemned political violence. He also warned of “serious consequences” if the U.S. and Israel take military action against Iran, calling a ground op “unacceptable.”
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White Man’s Privilege Burden

BlueSky:

Alito authoring opinion saying fixing a racial gerrymander is also racist and then musing, 2 hours later, during oral argument about Trump's racist effort to end humanitarian protections against deportation for Haitians, about how he doesn't like dividing up people by race

I loathe this man so much
So say we all. 

BlueSky:
The court has simply recreated the pre-Brown world in allowing racial discrimination across a broad number fields as long as it is “facially neutral,” gutting the Reconstruction Amendments in the process.
BlueSky:
The "reactionary colorblindess" of the right-wing justices has reached its logical conclusion in finding that it is racist NOT to let Louisiana—and any other state for that matter—discriminate on the basis of race in voting.
Happy 250th, America. The more things change, the more they remain the same. It would be racist to do otherwise. The Sinister Six said so today.

The racism is the point. It always has been.
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A Dianne Feinstein Moment

(Reading the responses to this, I feel I have to explain that if any Trump nominee agrees with reality and the historical record, their nomination will be withdrawn before the hearing can end.)
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The Leader Of The Free World

U.S. President Donald J. Trump has told Axios that he's going to keep Iran under a naval blockade until the regime agrees to a deal that addresses U.S. concerns about its nuclear program, rejecting an Iranian proposal to first open the Strait of Hormuz and lift the blockade, while postponing potential nuclear talks between Iran and the United States.
During today’s phone call, Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed President Trump’s decision to extend the ceasefire with Iran, while warning of “extremely harmful consequences” if Israel and the United States resumed strikes against the Islamic Republic, according to the Russian state-run news agency TASS.
Are these things connected? Well, certainly in some way.

And Trump’s idea of negotiating is: “Fuck the world economy! Fuck the U.S. economy!”? Gonna keep this up until we get back to the agreement Obama had? Well, he’s a great man, right?
(It’s an interesting premise, but, in the end, not much of an analysis. Of course Trump thinks he’s one of the seminal figures of history. What else is new?)
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The Point Is, To Agree With Me

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in his opening remarks this morning in front of the House Armed Services Committee for the administration’s requested $1.5 trillion defense budget in 2027, attacked members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, for not supporting the ongoing war against Iran:

“President Trump, unlike other presidents, has had the courage to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon, and he's ironclad in that. We have the best negotiator in the world driving that deal. The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless, and defeatist words of Congressional Democrats and some Republicans two months in, I remind you, two months in to a conflict. Lest I remind you, and my generation understands how long we were in Iraq, how long we were in Afghanistan, how long we were in Vietnam. Two months in on an existential fight for the safety of the American people, Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb. We are proud of this undertaking. I am proud that President Trump was have the courage to do it and I look forward to sharing more about what our troops have accomplished. So I thank you again for the opportunity to address this committee. I ask that God would continue to watch over our troops in harm's way. And those that have fallen are always in our memory, and we fight to ensure their legacy. Look forward to answering the questions of this committee.”
HEGSETH: Their nuclear facilities have been obliterated

SMITH: Whoa whoa whoa whoa. We had to start this war, you just said, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat. Now you're saying it was completely obliterated?

HEGSETH: They had not given up their *ambitions*

SMITH: So Operation Midnight Hammer accomplished nothing of substance

HEGSETH: You're missing the point
And don’t make false equivalations!
Hegseth attacks Garamendi: "You stain the troops when you call this a quagmire two months in, handing propaganda to our enemies. Shame on you. Don't say I support the troops on one hand, and then a two-month mission is a quagmire. That's a false equivalation [sic]. Who are you cheering for here?"
(The wrong lesson from Vietnam: that we lost the war because we stopped “supporting the troops.” When “supporting the troop” actually means not sending them into pointless wars.)

(And this ain’t “Peter Pan,” Tinkerbelle. Clapping louder won’t make everything okay. Ye gods and little fishes, they are bad at this!)
"Why don’t you support the troops and quit asking do many gol-durned questions?” High gas prices support the troops!
Hegseth is asked if he considered the risk of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz ahead of time

Moulton: Did you consider this risk?

Hegseth: Of course, this department has looked at all aspects of this risk.

Moulton: And why did this department send the only minesweepers we had in the gulf to Singapore weeks before the war started.

Hegseth: We have lots of capabilities that you may or may not aware of at the classified level.
And yet, here we are.
Hegseth dismisses concerns over the Strait of Hormuz being closed because the US blockaded Iran’s blockade

Moulton: So they blockaded us, and then we blockaded their blockade—that's like if President Madison had said, well, the British just burned down Washington, but don't worry, we're going to burn it down as well.
Best analogy I’ve heard so far.
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I Wish I Could Say I Was Surprised

Professor Vladeck:
Second (and last) #SCOTUS ruling is the big one, Louisiana v. Callais.

For a 6-3 majority (Rs v. Ds), Justice Alito purports to narrow the ability of states to draw majority-minority districts as a remedy for race-based vote dilution, but, per Kagan's dissent, comes pretty close to gutting the VRA:
From that dissent:
"I dissent because Congress elected otherwise. I dissent because the Court betrays its duty to faithfully implement the great statute Congress wrote. I dissent because the Court’s decision will set back the foundational right Congress granted of racial equality in electoral opportunity. I dissent."
The 15th amendment, along with the 13th and 14th, were meant to provide some repairs to the fabric of a country that institutionalized racism.

At least we got rid of slavery.  But equal protection of laws still means “white people first,” and the 15th amendment is still the red headed stepchild, to which the Roberts Court has said again: “Nice try,”

It may be in the constitution, but that doesn’t mean we have to inconvenience white people over it.
... what the majority does today is to impose the Callais requirements. At their base, all those requirements have the same function: They force a vote-dilution plaintiff to prove that a State adopted an election rule with racially discriminatory intent. On the majority’s view, a rule diluting minority votes—even making them count for nothing—poses no problem if motivated by “nonracial factors.” Ante, at 24. So a State has free rein to “use traditional districting factors” even when they minimize or cancel out minority votes. Ibid. And yet more practically important, a State may (so says the majority) draw districts for any political purpose, including for a purely “partisan purpose[]”—that is, to increase one party’s electoral strength—no matter their racial effects. Ante, at 25. For that reason, the majority insists, a [VRA] Section 2 plaintiff has "a special burden to overcome."
Kagan, J., dissenting.

None dare call it “white man’s burden.” After all, discrimination against white people is the real race problem in America. That’s why the struggle to maintain this racist system is such a difficult one, and requires so much justification.

I can read every word of Alito’s opinion, and understand his argument. That’s the problem: I understand his argument.

I leave the legal riposte to the good Professor:
LULAC makes Callais worse:

Justice Alito's Callais opinion purports to preserve claims in which there's evidence of racially discriminatory intent.

But this is the same Court that simply waved its hands at a district court's *detailed* factual findings of exactly such evidence in the Texas case.
It’s almost as damning as what I said. Because it’s not the first time Alito and the majority have ignored the facts in favor of the outcome.
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4 A.M.?

He’s not up at that hour because he only needs 2 hours sleep in 24. Or because a crisis demanded his attention ( where was his attention, in that case?).

I, too, have seen dementia patients lose the ability to sleep, except from exhaustion. But they were much more clearly incapacitated, so the question is: is Trump’s problem psychological, or physiological? Organic, or emotional? Both, and a little bit of neither?

Whatever it is, in anyone else, you’d take away the keys and get them a caretaker. At a bare minimum.

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AI Imagery Is Cheap, Too

Or, this got out:
In recent meetings, including a Monday discussion in the Situation Room, Trump opted to continue squeezing Iran’s economy and oil exports by preventing shipping to and from its ports," according to the report. "He assessed that his other options—resume bombing or walk away from the conflict—carried more risk than maintaining the blockade, officials said."

"Yet continuing the blockade also prolongs a conflict that has driven up gas prices, hurt Trump’s poll numbers and further darkened Republicans’ prospects in the midterm elections," it continued. "It has also caused the lowest number of transits through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began."
He hasn’t resumed bombing yet. Why start now? Much more in character to just make himself look sillier.
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Translation:

Disney has just responded to the FCC's unprecedented challenge to its ABC station licenses:

"We have received the Federal Communications Commission’s order initiating an accelerated review of the licenses held by ABC’s owned television stations. ABC and its stations have a long record of operating in full compliance with FCC rules and serving their local communities with trusted news, emergency information, and public‑interest programming. We are confident that record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels. Our focus remains, as always, on serving viewers in the local communities where our stations operate."
"We’ve seen your lawyers. You don’t have the cards.” 🃏 

(No, I don’t give a wet snap about Disney and their broadcast licenses. But the FCC thinks they can challenge those licenses based on Disney employment practices that the FCC says are “DEI.” This makes as much sense as indicting Comey for taking pictures of sea shells.🐚)
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Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Exit Ramp

Trump had to have someone explain that one to him. That one, too. Gonna build that exit ramp all by himself.
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Todd Blanche Is Aware Of The 5th Amendment, Right?

"... with the defendant himself”? 8647 Popehat:
/5 As we wait to see the indictment I am interested to see whether they are smart enough to evade First Amendment analysis by just reciting the elements and not describing the “threat.”
(First Amendment protects all but a “true threat.” Whuch is why Secret Service investigate first, and seek indictments later.)

If I was more familiar with Federal Criminal Procedure, I’d start a pool on how soon after Comey enters a plea, that this gets dismissed. I’m sure it can be measured in Scaramuccis. Because they just don’t know how not to make this worse:
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One King…

According to Reuters, citing two U.S. officials with knowledge on the matter, agencies within the U.S. intelligence community have been given the direction of assessing the likelihood that Iranian decision-makers will react adversely if U.S. President Donald J. Trump declares a “unilateral” victory and moves to pull back from previous commitments to a conflict with the Persian nation.
One putz.
According to a release from U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott and earlier reporting by the Bulwark, the U.S. is set to release limited numbers of new U.S. passports with the visage of U.S. President Donald J. Trump to commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary.
Because Trump “got” the 250th. It’s his, and you can’t take it away from him.

The candidate in 2028 who promises to replace all such passports free of charge, will have my vote.

One king, too:
King Charles: The Christian faith is a firm anchor and daily inspiration that guides us not only personally—

*applause*

King Charles: Guides us not only personally, but together as members of our community. Having devoted a large part of my life to interfaith relationships and—

*applause*
Now we know why Trump was in the residence angry tweeting at Iran and Germany during this speech. Leave the humor to the cat. You’re an official government outlet, not Jimmy Kimmel. Now, he’s funny!
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Nothing To See Here

After that motion to dissolve the ballroom injunction, who’s surprised? Yes, it should be treated with the seriousness it deserves. Or the Nora O’Donnell response.
Impeaching Trump leaves his DOJ behind. There are better ways. The Tl;dr/paywall solution:
U.S. President Donald J. Trump has told advisers he is not satisfied with Iran’s latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the Iran War, which calls on the United States to lift its ongoing blockade and postpones nuclear talks till after the conflict is over, according to multiple people briefed on discussions in the White House Situation Room who spoke to The New York Times.
So what is Trump going to do about it? Besides subtweet the German Chancellor…. Same thing he’s gonna do about gas prices, IOW.
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Or….

Or... Or... The King is otherwise occupied, and Trump is bored.
Trump: "The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! If Iran had a Nuclear Weapon, the whole World would be held hostage. I am doing something with Iran, right now, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago. No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise! President DONALD J. TRUMP"
I was going to say it’s all about distraction. But it’s all about ego. Trump is always the superhero the world has been waiting for. Or so he thinks. It’s really rather remarkable how he’s come to resemble Wilson Fisk in the Disney+ version of “Daredevil,” or Homelander in the Prime version of “The Boys.” I can’t tell how much of that is happenstance, and how much is enemy action. But it is clear Trump thinks he, alone, is saving the world, and his authority, alone, should be supreme. Because how else is the world going to be saved?

And there our present troubles start.

It won’t be enough to remove Trump. I prefer the method of metaphorically emasculating him. Congress has the whip hand; it’s time they started using it. Congress can assert authority over the Supremes, directly (court size, jurisdiction, responsibilities), or indirectly (repeal presidential “immunity” with a Constitutional Amendment.). They may need to do all that to rein in the Imperial Presidency they’ve allowed to flourish. With the demise of political parties (they no longer control who gets access to their nominating process), the inevitable end of what FDR started, is Trump. If we, the people, through the Congress we directly elect, don’t insist on reforms now, even removing Trump from office is barely a Band Aid on this suppurating sore on the body politic. We need some post-Civil War equivalent amendments, and we need to assert the vox populi hand in the iron fist of government.

We won’t solve all our problems; but we can’t let it go on like this, or expect the absence of Trump to be the cure for what got us here.

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Yes, I Am Enjoying This Far More Than Should Be Allowed In Public

I want to see Cornyn or Paxton call for funding the ballroom in the general election. Hell, I just wanna see ‘em asked about it. Scott is making sense. This won’t last long. Or it’s a sign of the End Times. 👹
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The Sickness Unto Death

Well, we know Charles is ill. 😷 

About Trump, we must all become Kremlinologists. 
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🪩

I can’t confirm the size of the Home Court at the Obama Center, which is designed to be a community space, but it sure don’t sound like coincidence:
A consortium led by Clark Construction was awarded the US$200M contract in August 2025. In September, with plans for the ballroom still not submitted, commission chair Will Scharf clarified during a public meeting of the NCPC that the approval process is only required for construction, not demolition or site preparation work. Initially expected to seat 650, in September Trump said this had been revised upward to 900, and in October he said it would be able to hold 999 people.
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It Just Gets Dumber…

 … and dumber. The penultimate paragraph:

Even if that space cannot be conjured with a finger snap, the injunction “inevitably extends the time during which” the ballroom remains unavailable, and “the President’s residence remains less secure.” National Trust, 2026 WL 980554, at *7 (Rao, J., dissenting). “Every additional day of White House vulnerability harms the government.” Id. That is so, because every additional day of court-manufactured delay is yet another day that the lives of the President, his family, his Cabinet, and his staff, and those of future Presidents, are being subject to avoidable hazard. If any other President had the ability, foresight, or talents necessary, to build this ballroom, which will be one of the greatest, safest, and most secure structures of its kind anywhere in the World, there would never have been a lawsuit. But, because it is DONALD J. TRUMP, a highly successful real estate developer, who has abilities that others don’t, especially those who assume the Office of President, this frivolous and meritless lawsuit was filed. Again, it’s called TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. On top of everything else, this project is a gift to our Country from President Trump, and other Donors. It is free of charge to the American Taxpayer. Who could ever object to that?
Yes, it’s all one paragraph. No, that’s not the entire paragraph.
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“Three Generations Of Imbeciles Is Enough!”

 Oh, wait, that’s not what they told the court:

They were asked by the United States Military not to bring this suit because of the Top Secret nature of the important facility being built. They were shown detailed plans and specifications of this knitted, unified, and cohesive structure by Top Officers and Leaders in both the Military and Secret Service. But this did not deter them because they suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, commonly referred to as TDS, as noted by Democrat Senator John Fetterman, of Pennsylvania, and are represented by the lawyer for Barack Hussein Obama, Gregory Craig. The lower section of the building does not work without the upper section and, likewise, the upper section of the building does not work without the lower. It is all one highly integrated unit! As an example, one venting system, one electrical system, one plumbing system, one security system, one air conditioning and heating system, one elevator connector and, very importantly, one structural steel and enforced concrete system — and more. Even the bullet proof windows and glass, and the heavy steel, drone proof roof, protect what is below. With such a facility, it would have been impossible for an attack like that which took place last Saturday evening in D.C. when an attempted assassin, armed with a shotgun, pistol, and knives, charged through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton in an attempt to assassinate President Donald J. Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and members of the President’s Cabinet and senior staff, during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The Secret Service fortunately neutralized the assassin before he could reach the ballroom. However, Saturday’s narrow miss—which marks the third assassination attempt on President Trump since 2024—confirms what should have already been obvious: Presidents need a secure space for large events, that currently does not exist in Washington, D.C., and this Court’s injunction stalling this Project cannot defensibly continue, for the sake of the safety of President Trump, future Presidents, and their families, Cabinets, and staff. Defendants thus request that this Court issue an indicative ruling under Rule 62.1 that it will dissolve its injunction. Three assassination attempts—including the attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, where an assassin’s bullet hit the President’s ear—is enough. There is absolutely no argument that a woman walking her dog in the vicinity of the White House has STANDING to stop such a desperately needed structure for the people of the United States of America, as it will provide Presidents, current and future, a secure space to do their jobs. The day after this assassination attempt, Defendants asked the Trust whether they oppose this motion and still seek to stop this Project by continuing their dangerous lawsuit. The “Trust” refused to heed their request, and responded that it opposes this motion.
I was right: he wants to take the ballroom with him wherever he goes.
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It’s Always Worse Than You Think

Trump’s DOJ just filed what may be the most deranged written Motion ever. It reads more like a Truth Social post dictated by Trump himself. What an embarrassment.

The Motion is filled with inappropriate personal insults. It literally calls the National Trust for Historic Preservation name “FAKE” and says the group is “very bad for our Country.” It accuses them of suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and frames their lawyer as “the lawyer for Barack Hussein Obama.”

This is an actual line from the filing: “because it is DONALD J. TRUMP, a highly successful real estate developer, who has abilities that others don't, especially those who assume the Office of President, this frivolous and meritless lawsuit was filed.”

This is how the Department of Justice is writing now?

Then comes the opportunism. The filing leans heavily on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner incident and uses it to push Trump’s long-standing obsession with building a ballroom. Instead of addressing what went wrong, it argues that none of this would have happened if Trump’s project already existed.

They claim “bipartisan support” because of support from…John Fetterman.

The lawsuit also claims at multiple points the ballroom won’t cost taxpayers anything—something we now know to be false.

Every DOJ lawyer who put their name on this should be ashamed. And it should be a major scandal that it appears that Donald Trump is the one who actually wrote this. So much for DOJ independence.
Seriously.
“The National Trust for Historic Preservation” is a beautiful name, but even their name is FAKE because when they add the words “in the United States” to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, it makes it sound like a Governmental Agency, which it is not. In fact, the United States refused to continue funding it in 2005 because they strongly disagreed with their mission and objectives. They are very bad for our Country. They stop many projects that are worthy, and hurt many others. In this case, they are trying to stop one that is vital to our National Security, and the Safety of all Presidents of the United States, both current and future, their families, staff, and Cabinet members.
The opening lines. Pam Bondi was a Chinese wall.
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But Go On, Fund That $400 Million Ballroom

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Just Leaving This Right Here

And he seems nice: Can’t imagine why he thought it was okay to say that….
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Monday, April 27, 2026

Let’s See How Far They Go

Please put it to a vote. Maybe use reconciliation. Push it through as “budget neutral.” Maybe cut Medicare and Medicaid some more? See if you can get it past the Senate Parliamentarian. I mean, nobody’s gonna hold it against you, right? The people don’t blame the GOP for the lines at the airports? Or for ICE. Or rising costs, rising on the back of gas prices going up because Trump thought Iran would be a pushover; and now he’s too bored with Iran to even talk tough about them.

So, yeah, give him a ballroom. I’m sure it’ll pass easily. And nobody will notice that Congress can’t get anything done, except to service the whims of one of the least popular presidents in history.

Pass the bill, so the Democrats can order its destruction in 2027. Hell, they can even campaign on it. One more example of Trump’s corruption, and his waste, fraud, and abuse. Maybe get Paxton (or Cornyn, who knows?) to support it, so Talarico can beat either of them like a drum. If he wasn’t going to already.
See? The campaign ads write themselves.

(I really can’t believe the Republicans are this stupid. Still, as we’ve seen, anything is possible.)

UPDATE: Lawrence O’Donnell reports the ballroom Trump wants to build, would hold 1/4 the number of people at the Washington Hilton for the WHCD that had to be canceled. So please, please, please, GOP, I’m begging you. Insist on this ballroom being built, even as the evidence of what a wasteful vanity project it is, continues to mount. Do it! 😈

(The Hilton ballroom, btw, held 2600 people for that dinner.)
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You Wouldn’t Know It, But There’s A War Going On. AND An International Economic Crisis

German Chancellor Merz: It is quite obvious that the Americans have absolutely no coherent strategy whatsoever.

And the fundamental problem with these kinds of conflicts is always the same: it is not enough to simply get yourself in—you must also figure out how to get yourself out.

We witnessed that reality quite painfully in Afghanistan over the course of 20 long years. We saw the exact same thing happen in Iraq.

So this entire situation, as I have mentioned previously, is at the very least ill-considered. I do not see, at this present moment, what strategic exit the Americans are choosing—especially since the Iranians are either negotiating very skillfully, or just as effectively, refusing to negotiate at all.

Making the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave empty-handed—there is a sense that a whole nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, particularly the Revolutionary Guards.

As Europeans, we have extended an offer to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz once hostilities come to an end. We have also offered to deploy specialized minesweepers from Germany to clear the strait, which appears to have been mined.

But first, the fighting must stop.

And right now, I do not see how that is achievable in the short term. The Iranians are proving stronger than initially expected, and the Americans do not appear to have a convincing or coherent strategy for negotiations.

This is a complex and very difficult situation.

(Translated from German)
Merz: As far as Iran is concerned, yes, I have become disillusioned with that by now. And that is simply because the United States of America and Israel had assumed right at the beginning that this problem would be solved within a few days.

And today we have to realize that it has not been solved.

That is why we on the European side also want to make a diplomatic effort to find a solution. I have pointed out that for some time now, diplomatic efforts towards Iran have been taking place again from Germany as well.

We are coordinating closely with the American side on this, but we also state that we have our own European ideas on how to reach a solution to the conflict. I hope we succeed, but I am not sure.

(Translated from German)
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PUT THE LEGISLATION ON THE FLOOR!

YOU’RE THE FUCKING SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE! Get the bill through the House if it means that much to you! Sure, people can’t afford groceries or gas, but the President who caused that needs a huge, ugly ballroom! Put the bill on the floor now! In time for the midterms! Is the President going to travel in this ballroom wherever he goes?
Blanche: "Many people in this room have done it as well. They're just as guilty as a lot of people on X. When you have reporters, when you have media just being overly critical and calling the president horrible names for no reason and without evidence, it shouldn't surprise us that this type of rhetoric takes place."
"Rhetoric”? Or “violence”? Wait, is aphasia contagious? Is it spreading through the Administration? That sounds like very poor time management. And they’re still going to find a way to fuck it up.
Q: You mentioned you think Allen fired at least one shot, but it doesn't say that in the affidavit. Can you explain the discharging of weapons charge?

BLANCHE: I'm the acting AG. I'm not on the ground doing the investigation, so I'm telling you what I've been told and if that information changes I'm sure we'll let you know
See? Probably not getting enough sleep. So he is going to take his ballroom around the country with him? Or isn’t the argument now that with a ballroom, Trump can hunker down at the White House?
Yeah, that’s clearly the argument. Except when he’s at MAL. Or playing golf. ⛳️ 

I’m just gonna add this, because “rhetoric” is the new Beltway black:
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Old Guy Humor

I remember when each of them said it. What can I say?
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Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 🤑

Introduce the legislation and shepherd it through Congress. The court opinion makes it clear that’s the way to go. And while you’re at it, make the funding transparent, so Trump can’t pocket the “donations” (a/k/a bribes).
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When Clients Take The Wheel

Trump cannot be safe outside the White House fortress (which is what it is) because Reagan was shot 40 years ago. But Trump can go to rallies (despite being shot at one), and can go to MAL as it suits him, and party there; or even play golf (despite a would be shooter being apprehended at one); but he can’t party outside a vanity project on White House grounds because… the Secret Service did their job?*

About as coherent as this:
Trump: "What happens is that line explodes from within. Both mechanically and in the earth, something happens where it just explodes and they say they only have about 3 days left before that happens. And when it explodes, you can never rebuild it the way it is. It's a very powerful thing that takes place sort of having to do with nature."
He always sounds like someone tried to explain quantum mechanics to a dog. 

He’s the dog.

*As much as they were allowed to:
I’m not interested in more conspiracy theories. But as this reads, Markwayne Mullin was supposed to make the declaration of a “National Security Event” with most of the Cabinet there. Did he know that? Was he told not to? Was he incompetent, and the rest of the Administration as clueless as well? Is there another reason?

Inquiring minds want to know.
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Sunday, April 26, 2026

Brave, Brave Sir Robin

He really wanted that salad.
“PS,” Allen said in the manifesto, “Ok now that all the sappy stuff is done, what the hell is the Secret Service doing? … No damn security. Not in transport. Not in the hotel. Not in the event.” He said that if he had been an Iranian agent, he could have brought in a machine gun, which he referred to as “Ma Deuce,” and no one would have noticed.
And yet, while he reportedly got off several shots, he was apprehended without law enforcement firing a shot. That was then; this is now:
O'DONNELL: In his manifesto, he wrote that 'I'm no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.' What's your reaction?

TRUMP: I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you're horrible people. I'm not a rapist. I didn't rape anybody. I'm not a pedophile. Excuse me. You read that crap from a sick person. I was totally exonerated. You should be ashamed of yourself, reading that. You're a disgrace.
What a difference a day makes. Isn’t everything about Trump?  That’s sure what it looks like. Probably not, then; but it should.
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“Something A Random Nut Does”

About that “random nut:”
The New York Post claimed Sunday to have obtained a copy of a manifesto written by the suspected shooter who disrupted the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (WHCD) Saturday night, in which the gunman names every Trump administration official as a target – except for one, and without explanation as to the lone exclusion.

The suspected gunman was soon identified as 31-year-old California resident Cole Allen, who police said had rushed through a Secret Service checkpoint at the event bearing a shotgun, a handgun and several knives. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche later said Allen was believed to be targeting Trump administration officials.

On Sunday, the Post published what they claimed to be Allen’s manifesto in full, which Allen had sent to family members 10 minutes before the shooting, according to the Post.

“I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,” the suspected shooter wrote in his manifesto, an apparent reference to President Donald Trump, according to the Post.

Allen then went on to name his list of targets, which excluded just one Trump administration official: FBI Director Kash Patel.
As the man said, there’s no accounting for taste. 

Still, “pedophile, rapist, and traitor;” isn’t that the language of Q-Anon? The people who demanded Trump release the Epstein files until he finally promised to? Until he won the election, and suddenly they were a “Democrat hoax”? Mostly because of all the pictures and letters and documentation of a decade long (at least) relationship between Trump and Epstein?

I don’t know who this guy is, but pedophiles in government has been the central obsession of Q-Anon for a decade or so. And Q-Anon was never confused with “the Left.” Well, until it was convenient to do so. Which is now, I guess.

And while Stephen Miller has blamed the Democrats for immigration and non-white people and people who don’t think like Stephen Miller still living here, and said Democrats are trying to replace the “right” white people and destroy America, I’ve yet to hear a prominent Democrat call Trump a pedophile (although he is an adjudicated rapist). So I’m still unclear how Democratic rhetoric led to this “random nut” storming the magnetometer last night.*


*Clearly confusing carefully choreographed action movie sequences with real life, which is somewhat forgivable. Lots of non-“nuts” think possessing a gun makes them the hero of their own action movie, too. Fortunately, few such ever find out how wrong they are. What makes you a nut is thinking you can take on the Secret Service and law enforcement.
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“Jeanine Pirro’s Team Will Prosecute”

In DC federal court, initial appearances tend to happen in early afternoon. 1pm hour

Magistrate judge handles initial appearance. Then the case is placed in the “wheel”… in which a judge is randomly assigned

New arrestees (once they depart hospital, if applicable) go to Central Cell block … a lockup beneath police HQ

For longer term pretrial detention, they’re often held in DC jail.

Federal defenders will be available to serve. (They’re very very good)

Jeanine Pirro’s team will prosecute
Something tells me they’ll fuck this up.
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And God Said:

"Dammit! Missed again!”

(It’s the punchline to an old joke that I can’t remember the set up for, anymore. Which is okay: it was funnier when I was 10, anyway. But the Chief of Protocol for the White House is a not very funny joke, too.)
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Astroturfing

Who do they think they’re influencing? Congress? The courts? Faceless followers who are probably mostly bots, too?

I’m sure the same people persuaded by the White House that inflation is down and gas prices are not high, are persuaded that what Trump needs is a ballroom.
Chip Roy is in the runoff for the GOP nomination to be Texas AG. He ain’t coming back. Who in DC is going to listen to him now? Especially since the ballroom is a Trump vanity project (and there all the GOP’s troubles start), and the shooter was looking for Cabinet members for target practice. Maybe the Cabinet has better things to do than gather in one place for a party?
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I Am NOT Going To Get Tired Of This

"...people." As defined by Stephen Miller.

And that’s just within the last 48 hours. Miller spews this kind of venom every time he gets on camera. He’s Trump’s deputy Chief of staff.  Miller is being paid to literally “generate hate.”

How about we investigate him? Should be easy; just search the FoxNews archives.

Oh, and Todd Blanche has pulled Jordan’s statement like a bad tooth:
So Trump needs a lavish, high security ballroom so his Cabinet can party in a secure location?

This story is going to age like milk.
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All Day Long?

In what, the polls? Which, like the DJIA, are just a marketing device selling the services of the pollsters?  Polls cannot be verified, certified, audited, or recounted, and have no legal authority. And ballots arriving at late hours are a common practice of vote counting. Something Trump never paid attention to, because it never involved him.

The man’s as self-centered as a two year old.

And by the way: thanks.
I paid that much in back of beyond bumfuck Egypt East Texas. So it’s not just a “high state gas tax” thing.

The struggle is real.
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