Category Archives: Uncategorized

NAKED POLITICS AND ITS REPULSIVE FIELD

Many Americans have an innate sense of fairness, and are often repulsed when politicians attempt to manipulate the system in a manner that might be considered improper. When I saw this in WaPo,

Supreme Court clears path for Louisiana to redraw map in redistricting fight

with this content

… I had to wonder how many moderate Republicans and independents will, in reaction to naked Republican power-hoarding, withdraw their support from extremist candidates and either not participate, or protest-vote for independents or even Democrats. This may stir up non-participating voters as well, as neighbors and family add this element to their attempts to bring those non-participants out to vote.

Backfire? Maybe, maybe not. It’s a difficult consequence to predict, and perhaps obviated by the gerrymandering that stirs it up.

You! You Don’t Have The Defiance!

Some Democrats are dissatisfied with Senator Schumer’s (D-NY) party leadership, according to this MS NOW report:

Schumer first recruited [former Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown] to run for the Senate two decades ago, and the former senator remains the party’s strongest prospect in a state where Democrats have long struggled. His nomination reflects Schumer’s calculated strategy of backing candidates with proven crossover appeal, such as former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.

But that cautious formula has sparked blowback from progressives who argue that Schumer has misread the political moment.

Schumer “has an idea of what voters want that’s stuck in 1996,” Amanda Litman, co-founder of the progressive group Run For Something, told NOTUS, adding that he is “deeply removed from the anger that people feel.”

It’s an aphorism that the power-hungry blow up things in order to get the attention that’ll let them scale the heights, and accusing your party leadership of being ineffective is certainly one way to boom things.

But is it justified? Senator Schumer, in alliance with Speaker Pelosi (D-CA), beat the crap out of President Trump in his first term; since then, Speaker Pelosi resigned as Speaker, and has announced her retirement from the House at the end of this term. Part of her power came from being Speaker, so if the Democrats can continue a well-documented rally of special elections into the November general election, Schumer should be able to ally himself with presumed Speaker Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Such an alliance, as natural as it sounds, can be unusual, as Senators often see themselves as apart from their brethren in the House. Some Founding Fathers even based the governmental structure they developed on that prediction.

But Schumer may have limitations:

The limits of Schumer’s approach were on display last week in Maine. Gov. Janet Mills, whom Schumer recruited to challenge Sen. Susan Collins, dropped out of the primary after failing to keep pace with the fundraising of populist newcomer Graham Platner. It was a stinging defeat for the Democratic establishment, which had hoped Mills’ executive experience would neutralize Platner’s grassroots momentum.

The question is whether this is an unbreachable wall, or a mistake suggesting a problem in his judgment that can be corrected. The latter is one of the features of being an adult.

On the other side of the equation are the progressives yammering for power, as embodied by Litman, from the above quote. Long-time readers are well-aware that I view the strategy of transgender advocates to advance their cause to be profoundly flawed, contributing to the Republican victory of 2024, and creating a group of independents who view the Democrats and the left with deep, if not always perceptive, skepticism. Since then, it’s not been clear to me that progressives recognized and corrected their mistake; nor do Democrats, although Governor Newsom (D-CA) and Rep Moulton (D-MA) have made noises that at least indicate some awareness of this sinkhole of a blunder.

Add to that a progressive inclination towards being a purist, much like the far-right, and I have doubts about the judgment of progressives. I could be wrong, sure, but that’s how I’m reading this today.

Following in their Footsteps

The sand is about a foot deep and conceals many creatures that want to nip at your heels. Run.

• This is not a good look for a Senate candidate:
  

  Republican U.S. Senate candidate Royce White is subject to a no-contact order after a Minnesota judge ruled there was credible evidence of threats of harm toward his ex-wife and one of two children they have together.

  In court filings, White is accused of making numerous threats and being both physically and verbally abusive toward his former partner and their teenaged son. He refutes the allegations and is appealing judicial findings in the case, telling MPR News on Thursday the order is a “substantial miscarriage of justice” and “excessively punitive.” [MPR News]

  It being Minnesota, Mr. White (R), no relation, had little chance of beating either Lt Governor Flanagan (D) or Rep Craig (D), who I perceive to be the leading Democratic candidates, assuming he’d won his primary – and that’s no sure thing. Now his chances are even less. Primaries are Aug 11. Minnesota GOP Chairman Alex Plechash might be well-advised to focus on the gubernatorial race, which features Minnesota House Speaker Lisa DeMuth (R) and may be winnable due to Governor Walz’s (D) ill-handling of the fraud in food assistance, and ignore the Senate race, which lacks distinguished names on the GOP side.

  There’s also a bad look for MPR News here. Refutes is emphatically not the right word, since no evidence is offered, nor court order cited; denies, or a synonym, is the appropriate word. Hire back your copy-editors, management, they make you look smart!

• Kansas may, or may not, suddenly have a race on its hands. Entering into a Democratic primary mostly made up of inexperienced names of no familiarity, with the exceptions of state Senator Patrick Schmidt (D) and city council (Wellington) member Michael Soetaert (D), comes the Rev. Adam Hamilton:
  

  The pastor of the largest United Methodist Church in the U.S. launched a campaign Thursday for the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Kansas, upending the race in a normally Republican state as the GOP’s small majority seems less secure than it was a year ago.

  The Rev. Adam Hamilton enters the race as a potentially formidable candidate, though it appears likely that at least a few of the eight other, lesser-known Democrats who previously launched campaigns would remain in the Aug. 4 primary. The winner will face incumbent Republican Roger Marshall, who aligned himself closely with President Donald Trump in his first run for the Senate in 2020. [AP]

  Rev Hamilton has no experience with electoral office, but he does have this:

  Hamilton, 61, has a national following among mainline Protestants, and he’s built his Church of the Resurrection over the past 35 years in the Kansas City area with about 22,000 members — giving him a base from which to tap volunteers and donors.

  Unless he has a poor local reputation, I expect he’ll win the primary. If he can also win the support of Kansas Democrats, he’ll have a shot against Senator Marshall (R), who will bear the burden of being an avid Trump supporter. Kansas has had a Democratic governor for a while, and that may give an added boost to the Democrats, assuming Gov Kelly (D) doesn’t commit an unforced error. The combination of a Democratic governor (her On The Issues summation is unavailable, but captions as Moderate Liberal) and a cleric who seems unlikely to be a lefty extremist may play very well against Senator Marshall (R), rated as a Hard-Core Conservative, if Kansas voters disapprove of the circus playing out in our Nation’s capital.

  Looking at FiftyPlusOne, I see a poll by Tavern Research, an unfamiliar pollster, so their result showing Rev Hamilton leading Senator Marshall is untrustworthy at present. It does suggest Rev Hamilton at least has a chance.

• Speaking of Senator Schumer’s party leadership – it’s up in the intro section, I’ll wait while you look – it seems a candidate for the to-be-open Michigan Senate seat thinks Schumer’s endorsement is a disastrous burden to bear:
  

  … Michigan Senate hopeful Mallory McMorrow pivoted to social media to remind voters of her defiance, noting she was “the only candidate in this race” who said she would not support Schumer as Democratic leader. The Michigan state senator is currently locked in a brutal three-way primary against former health official Abdul El-Sayed and the Schumer-backed Rep. Haley Stevens. [MS NOW]

  I have to wonder how many voters pay attention to party leaders, although I suppose President Trump is a larger than life leader for a lot of voters. The problem for politicians, and folks in many others walks of life, is that their circle includes many that are just like them. Soon enough, something that is significant to them and their group, but insignificant to others, leaks out because they forget they’re not necessarily talking to their group. Social media being what it is, and the fact that it’s quoted, suggests this wasn’t a private communication, but of a public character. So this announcement may have little impact.

  In other news, former Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) has endorsed Rep Stevens.

  Recall that Emerson College, on the last report, had Stevens down by 9 points. Will this continue? The Michigan primary is 4 Aug.

• In Kentucky, Rep Andy Barr (R-KY) has received President Trump’s endorsement, and receiver of Elon Musk’s largess, Nate Morris, has dropped out of the Republican primary. The name Musk is not magical. Will Trump’s name be a drag on Barr? Maybe not in Kentucky.

  Primaries are 19 May. Barr should win his primary. In the Democratic primary, Charles Booker was last reported to have a lead, but polls are scarce.

• Emerson College has a poll out showing Massachusetts Senator Markey (D) has a 37% – 32% lead over Rep Moulton (D). It appears progressives’ allergy to Moulton doesn’t apply to all likely Democratic primary voters, and I’m surprised Senator Markey’s in trouble, as incumbents are rarely in trouble, and Senator Markey is not, to best of my knowledge, plagued by crippling scandals. In the last report I noted University of New Hampshire Polling gave Markey a comfortable lead, which was 46% – 33%. Has the passage of less than a month changed voter preferences that much? Or has one of these highly respected pollsters made a mistake?
• Last Tuesday the winners of their primaries in Ohio were former Senator Sherrod Brown (D) and incumbent Senator Jon Husted (R). The latter, unopposed, gathered nearly twice as many votes as did the former. Democrats were bored with the contest? Sherrod took nearly 90% of the ballots, so there’s little question that he’s the selection. But can he win after this paltry primary turnout?
• In Georgia two polls by dubious or unknown pollsters agree that Rep Collins (R) leads by around 10 points in the Republican primary, but Undecided is still a larger percentage of the likely primary voters.
• A University of Houston poll is giving AG Paxton (R) a 48% – 45% lead over incumbent Senator Cornyn (R) in the Texas Republican primary run-off. Such a tight race must be giving President Trump the night sweats, as he has yet to bestow an endorsement. Democratic nominee James Talarico probably feels he can beat either one the Republicans.
• In Virginia Public Sentiment Institute suggests that Senator Warner (D) will easily defeat any of the Republicans registered in the primary. Problem is, I have no idea who Public Sentiment Institute might be.
• Finally, this message from Lauren Egan of The Bulwark sounds quite unlikely:
  

  THE MERE SUGGESTION that Democrats could win the Mississippi Senate race this cycle can produce dismissive eyerolls. (Trust me, I’ve seen it often enough from my editor.)

  But as I’ve been talking with party officials and operatives over the past few months, no race is as regularly mentioned, or elicits as much excitement, as this one. They argue that circumstances are converging to flip a state that Donald Trump won by a 23-point margin: There is a charismatic Democrat [Scott Colom] at the top of the ticket, the state’s large black population is being mobilized, and there is a generationally weak Republican incumbent. As longtime Democratic strategist James Carville, who lives part-time along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, put it to me: “It would take a unique set of circumstances, but we just might be operating under a unique set of circumstances.”

  Uh huh. My last known relative living in Mississippi died almost a decade ago, and I’ve not visited since I was a kid, so I’m not really qualified to judge the atmosphere down there. Show me a respectable poll. And keep that mad humidity OFF of me.

A DREADED WORD

There’s a word, lethal to majority political parties, that’ll cause their balloons to deflate with a hideous racket. It’s being noised about by a traditional American corporation:

Whirlpool has a word for what’s happening to its business. Two, actually, and both of them are “recession.”

On the company’s first-quarter earnings call Wednesday, CEO Marc Bitzer and North America president Juan Carlos Puente both reached for the same term to describe what the war in Iran has done to U.S. appliance demand. Industry shipments fell 7.4% in the first quarter, with March alone plunging 10%. “This level of industry decline is similar to what we have observed during the global financial crisis and even higher than during other recessionary periods,” Bitzer told analysts.

Puente, describing the segment’s results, said the North America business experienced “recession-level industry contractions, with discretionary demand down approximately 15%.” [Fortune via yahoo!finance]

This adds to the pressure on Republican politicians, on the ballot or not. This is especially so because, unlike many recessions that are difficult to trace, or are due to legislative actions best blamed on a small group of legislators, this one is due to the actions of the American President and his legislative allies who, being unprepared amateurs who thought the job of President and/or legislator will be easy, instead are discovering governance, unlike being critics as many were beforehand, is bloody hard.

Will the American electorate give them the benefit of the doubt and not punish the Republicans?

I doubt it. The current crop of critics, regardless of political position or lack thereof, has not failed to make its critiques of President Trump’s actions heard, whether it’s to call tariffs a domestic tax, predict mass layoffs of Federal workers will lead to government inefficiency, bombing Iran will run counter to the goals of the President, or any of a host of other actions. The Republicans have repeatedly backed him, too, and that makes them …

CULPABLE.

Yes, the Democrats do have a collection of problems. Much like the Republicans, they seem to have lost their guidebook to how democracies work, anointing Kamala Harris in, admittedly, a bad circumstance, lying vociferously concerning President Biden’s mental health (again, kudos to former Rep Dean Phillips (D-MN) for trying to get the word out), and using vicious bullying tactics when advocating for the transgender, rather than following American tradition by starting a debate on the subject.

But the Democrats also have a lot of competency when it comes to American governance, even if some of their policies are questionable. This makes them a logical, if distasteful, choice, and I think many Americans will make that choice.

I just recalled that I promised to give the name of the shop that built my new computer, who I managed to sweet talk into installing Fedora rather than Windows – your mileage may vary, it’s not an advertised service – and that name is … Computer Repair & Services, located in Stillwater, MN, and other locations in Wisconsin. While I can’t speak to longevity, so far Fedora’s run well, with just one hang involving BOINC, and they installed various packages for me.

My only complaint is that running public computing is problematic because doing so activates a loud fan, and I don’t have this box hiding in a server room, it’s sitting on a shelf next to me. I’ve been working with them on this question.

Relevantly, this mail came in a few minutes ago, from which I will clip:

We’re reaching out today to let you know that we’ll have a price increase on June 1st.

Our prices will increase 10-13% on products and services, and there will be a 3% credit card fee on every transaction moving forward. You might notice a difference the next time you do business with us, so we wanted to share the exact reasons why:

The expansion of AI data centers has spiked hardware and component costs by roughly 15% in many cases.Additionally, RAM prices have more than doubled, and computer prices have risen by 30% since 2025.

If you’re looking for a computer beyond standard configurations, or soon will be, and are price-sensitive, you might wish to reach out sooner rather than later.

I’ve noticed there’s not much news on Ukraine these days, what with our provincial concerns taking priority, and I’ve been neglecting my primary source of Ukraine news due to a burned out computer, work, surgeries, and Spring popping.

But not former Representative, column writer, and MS NOW television host Joe Scarborough (R-FL, but now an independent, I believe), he’s keeping up.

And in perhaps the most surreal twist of this still-unfolding historical drama, it was Zelenskyy on social media yesterday who assured the frightened Russian defense minister that Kyiv would not attack Moscow during its annual World War II victory parades held today and tomorrow in the Russian capital.

Zelenskyy does, in fact, have many cards left to play against Putin.

And recently, through true grit and technological superiority, Ukrainians have drawn an inside straight while Trump is left dealing with a strait of another kind — one keeping U.S. troops in Iran far longer than the commander in chief anticipated.

Putin and Trump thought they would easily prevail in quick wars against overmatched opponents. What they didn’t count on was a technological revolution in asymmetric warfare that has radically shifted power dynamics on the global stage — and left Putin’s dream of military success on the ash heap of history.

It’s all about evolutionary pressures, baby. Place a species or a society under harsh, existential pressure, and it’s evolve to survive that pressure, or die. Too much pressure and it dies; too little, and it survives with no changes. But in a specific range, enough change can occur, and the speed at which species can change sometimes surprises evolutionary biologists; societies can often change even faster.

The United States is not under existential threat from Iran, and so the speed and clarity of evolutionary change doesn’t happen. Oh, it changes – lessons of static technology leading to disaster abound throughout history. Society, in its military and other sectors, can change. But the power structures of an unthreatened society tend to freeze societies in their successful forms, right up until they’re not successful anymore, and sometimes beyond.

Iran sees itself under existential threat, or more properly its government does, and it’s burdened with a self-perception of being a Great Power, and has been so burdened for centuries. Therefore, it’s been on the lookout for military advances which may not have been adopted, yet, by the United States.

And the Ukraine is also under existential threat of a very immediate sort, and, having been part of the Soviet Union, does not want to be part of Russia, as that result in disaster for the Ukrainian people. But Russia? Well, they seem to be driving themselves towards an existential crisis; such are the results of arrogant leaders, like President Putin.

When I came out of law school in 2006, DOJ's prestige was such that liberal and conservative graduates alike would have gladly stepped over their friends' dead bodies to get a position there.Trump has ruined it now to the point they're having to bribe new graduates to apply.

— Bradley P. Moss (@bradmossesq.bsky.social) 2026-05-05T16:10:13.469Z

When I came out of law school in 2006, DOJ’s prestige was such that liberal and conservative graduates alike would have gladly stepped over their friends’ dead bodies to get a position there.

Trump has ruined it now to the point they’re having to bribe new graduates to apply.

Another signal that the work resulting from Trump decrees is unjust.

But it’s also important to note that a good boss can overcome a poor work environment, and the lack of willing attorneys even in the face of signing bonuses suggests former AG Bondi and Acting AG Blanche do not measure up to even the low bar set by former AG William Barr or Jeff Sessions, much less former AG Garland.

In a word, Bondi and Blanche suck. Whatever their other skills might be, leadership is not one of them. Much like the President for whom they chose to work.

And that’s really on Trump.

The entrails continue to fall from the ceiling, although some might argue that’s the wrong location. However, another special election has the lefty political world chattering as Chedrick Greene (D-MI) won a special election to the Michigan Senate on Tuesday, 5 May, winning 22,403 votes to Jason Tunney’s (R-MI) 14,303 votes, or 60% to 38.3%, a 22.7 point margin. For comparison, in the 2022 election, Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet had 53.4% to Annette Glenn’s (R-MI) 46.6%, or a 6.8 point margin.

But the real nattering is improvement over 2024, where Steve Benen notes:

In a district that Kamala Harris won by a single percentage point in 2024, Greene prevailed by 19 points.

It is nattering, as Trump is well-known to not have strong influence, or long coat-tails as it was once known, if he’s not personally on the ballot; this renders analysis using Greene’s opponent, Tunney, as a proxy for Trump, and Republicans in general, a dubious project.

However, it is also true that Trump won’t be on the ballot in November, and the leap from a near 7 point margin in 2022 to 22+ points has some significance, even if it is a special election. It indicates a lack of excitement on the part of Republican voters, although that may be more for Tunney than for the dreadful results and dishonest projects in which Republicans seem to be engaged.

In the end, what to make of it is up to where your thumb is on the scale.

Yes, it’s very silly. And NSFW.

Secretary of State has announced Operation Epic Fury is over.

• Status of war: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Operation Epic Fury — launched in February against Iran — has ended, and the US is focused on a new operation to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump has not ruled out resuming a bombing campaign if necessary. [CNN]

Well, maybe. The Administration seems confused:

• Ceasefire ongoing: US military action during the ceasefire is a “defensive operation,” Rubio said. Earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said “the ceasefire is not over,” and Trump also did not specify what would constitute a ceasefire violation.

• In the Strait of Hormuz: Iran launched a new system to govern maritime traffic through the critical waterway, according to state-run media. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also issued a renewed warning to ships intending to transit the strait.

Wars typically cease when one side surrenders to the other, gets rubbed out, the attackers are driven off, or other similar resolution. That hasn’t really happened here, yet, has it? Especially in view of this:

• In the Strait of Hormuz: Iran launched a new system to govern maritime traffic through the critical waterway, according to state-run media. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also issued a renewed warning to ships intending to transit the strait.

Uh huh. Sorting out who’s controlling the Strait of Hormuz will not constitute the end of the war.

My guess is that we’ll withdraw, with Trump tootling his cracked horn about how he won the war and who needs a conditional surrender, anyways, even if he did demand it at the start? Another loss for him, in reality, but a lot of people will tootle with him, because, hey, it’s the only way for them to retain their new-found status.

Meanwhile:

I just noticed a post on UMB referencing a picture didn’t actually show the picture, but on reload it did. Not much I can do about it, but reloading is easy.

I have absolutely no intention of trying to document an appreciable fraction of the amateur hour theatrics of the arrogant twerps currently in power, but an occasional, instructive example will help me blow off steam. Here’s The New York Times reporting on one instance:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday defended his decisions to fire or sideline nearly 30 generals and admirals over the past year with little explanation by falsely comparing his record to that of President Barack Obama.

“I would also note that under Barack Obama, 197 general officers were removed,” Mr. Hegseth said in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. “So this is not something specific to this administration.”

The number Mr. Hegseth gave has no basis in fact. It originated with an unsigned 2018 editorial in Investor’s Business Daily, which cites the right-wing news site “Breitbart.com’s Facebook page” as its source.

Mr. Hegseth’s actions to fire senior military leaders are without precedent in recent decades and have come with little explanation. On Wednesday, lawmakers pressed him to justify his decisions, including his move this month to remove Gen. Randy A. George, the Army chief of staff.

Seems slightly out of focus? Such is the world on some days.

Sourcing from editorials, signed or unsigned, is pure amateur hour; of course, it does provide cover for a SecDef whose actions, while his privilege, may have little defense among adults. They can be read as contemptuous of current command due to adherence to Geneva Convention rules, or sexism, or even racism.

Of course, the more institutional memory and good examples are eliminated, the less effective of a military. Any American, vet or not, should find the the erratic and undefended actions of Hegseth disturbing and worth questioning closely.

Indicia:

1. a postal marking used rather than a stamp or a regular cancellation on each item in a large shipment of prepaid mail.
2. Often
   1. a printed message or instruction, especially one stamped on a package.
      an indicium of “bulk mail.”
   2. an indication or token. [Dictionary.com]

Noted in “DOJ rushed indictment of SPLC, according to whistleblower reports,” Ken Dilanian, MS NOW:

Former federal fraud prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, an MS NOW contributor, said the case “bears none of the indicia” of normal Justice Department charging review and called the theory “exceedingly far-fetched.”

I understand it’s supposed to get warmer, nation-wide.

I wouldn’t normally continue to cover the acquisition of Paramount by SkyDance, but this is intriguing:

Paramount has filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission asking the regulator to allow foreign investors to hold more than 25% of the company’s equity and/or voting interests following the completion of the merger and to allow certain foreign entities to hold more than 5% of equity and/or voting interests in Class B stock.

In the filing, Paramount Global said that following the completion of the merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, which has been approved by the FCC and shareholders, the combined company would be 49.5% owned by foreign companies and that Middle Eastern investors would hold 38.5% of the company’s equity.

Those Middle Eastern investors include Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (15.1% equity stake), the United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund (12.8% equity) and the Qatar Investment Authority (10.6% equity). [tvtech]

Here’s what catches my attention, after admitting to no expertise in this industry, Federal laws and rules applicable, nor in the games the mega-rich play among themselves.

• The presumption upon ties to the Administration to secure special treatment that may not be available to their competitors. These ties are not obvious, but this article from The Guardian suggests a confirmation they exist:
  

  Senior White House officials have discussed internally their preference for Paramount Skydance to acquire Warner Bros Discovery in recent weeks, and one official has discussed potential programming changes at CNN with Larry Ellison, the largest shareholder of Paramount.The discussions, according to people familiar with the matter, come as Paramount portrays itself as the best bid for Warner Bros Discovery, after the company announced last month it was open to offers, because it would have an easier time getting through regulatory review.

• Why do Middle East mega-rich have an interest in a media corporation? To make more money? Could be. For amusement? Sure. But it could be something more, now couldn’t it? I’ve written, somewhere, about the free press has, in essence, an undiscussed foundational assumption that it has society’s best interests at heart; a media controlled by malicious interests is like throwing sugar into your gas tank. Fox News will be used by some as an example of the consequences of a dishonest media, and it’s worth an examination.
• Could the powers controlling SkyDance looking at a cash problem? We can point at Larry Ellison and proclaim him a multi-billionaire, but this is not a pile of cash in the bank; it’s an estimate of the value of his investments, and investments have to be liquidated if they’re needed elsewhere. Are the owners of SkyDance so financially stressed that they want to bring in other investors to spread the risk? Is the risk considered that high?
• Or is this part of a competition taking place in the mega-rich arena? What does this mean?

Yeah, I’m not mega-rich, nor am I interested in being such; consequently, I really do not know the answer to the above. Watching this should prove enlightening. Or horrifying. Whichever.

You read something like this …

THE STATE DEPARTMENT IS CLOSE TO FINALIZING a radical redesign of the U.S. passport to include a picture of President Donald Trump, The Bulwark has learned from two sources with knowledge of the redesign, including one who shared images currently under consideration.

The redesign is ostensibly part of a larger celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence. It comes as the Treasury Department prepares to produce coins featuring Trump’s image—both a controversial $1 coin in general circulation1 and an “as large as possible” commemorative gold coin—and as the National Park Service emblazons Trump’s face on its park passes. Both of those redesigns were justified as being part of the 250th anniversary celebration.

According to the images of the passport redesign provided to The Bulwark, the inside cover of the new State Department-issued document will feature a scowling Trump—taken from his second inaugural portrait—superimposed over the Declaration of Independence, as well as the president’s signature in gold. [The Bulwark]

… and I can’t help thinking it’s deeply reminiscent of Chad Bauman’s piece on then-candidate Trump’s behavior following the 2020 Election, which I’ve cited before:

The most virtuous and effective act in prosperity theology is positive confession, in which one claims and expresses gratitude to God for the health and wealth one expects to enjoy—even if it seems implausible one’s expectations will be realized. The most sinful act, accordingly, is sometimes called “negative confession”; that is, admitting failure, ill health, poverty, or disappointment. In prosperity theology, words matter; “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). Those who lay claim to victory actualize it, while those who admit defeat find themselves hopelessly entrenched in it. [Religion Dispatches]

It’s very much a magical incantation, and so I read the passport story – Trump is trying to catch the divinities’ attention so he can sit at the head table.

Or maybe I’m wrong. I’ll defer to Bauman concerning the plausibility of his assertions, while noting that religious mania and pathological narcissism can be hard to distinguish based simply on analysis of outstanding symptoms.

A question that has come up in Congressional hearings on Trump nominees of late is, I swear, Are you a sock puppet of President Trump?

So odd.

But I think we know the answer for Acting AG Todd Blanche:

I knew the admin was scraping the bottom of the barrel for legal talent, but dear God. This reads like someone just transcribed Trump muttering incoherently and filed it in court.

— Julian Sanchez (@normative.bsky.social) 2026-04-28T12:59:25.020Z

He must have cut and paste a note he received from the President. I wonder if he understands he’s ruining the balance of his career?

But I am reminded of the rumors concerning former Secretary Noem, and her ambitions to move into the Oval Office. Could Blanche be having some spectacular dreams for his future?

My favorite so far.

And a reminder of what we’re not missing.

It hasn’t been two weeks since I last remarked on Trump Media & Technology Group Corp and its stock market representative, DJT, but there’s news.

First, company CEO Devin Nunes, formerly Rep (R-CA) and infamous cow-suer, is now former CEO:

Trump Media & Technology Group (NASDAQ:DJT) is shaking up leadership at a time when its business is under growing pressure and investors are feeling the impact.

Shares of the company have fallen around 67% (1) since their rise ahead of the November 2024 election, wiping out more than $6 billion in market value and raising new questions about the future of its core platform, Truth Social. Going back to the early 2022 performance of the shell company that brought Trump Media public, shares have plunged by around 90% (2).

Devin Nunes (3) is departing from his role as CEO after four years, with longtime digital media executive Kevin McGurn stepping in on an interim basis. The company did not give a reason for the change or say when a permanent replacement will be named. [moneywise via yahoo! finance]

The company will try to spin this as a positive, as will any company, but the important fact is the fall in capitalization. In the case of Nunes, he probably faced the impossible task of trying to satisfy the avarice and ambitions of President Trump with an inadequate service that was initially priced by the stock market unrealistically. While he’s never seemed all that bright, I could have some sympathy for him. He could just be a rat jumping off the burning ship.

Next, the Trump family’s memecoin, $TRUMP, has fallen apart. Ja’han Jones of MS NOW notes the President is taking time away from his busy schedule managing a war to … pump it up.

For the second time in a year, President Donald Trump met with cryptocurrency investors who have poured money into his beleaguered and brazenly unethical meme coin scheme.

At an event on Saturday marketed as the “most exclusive crypto and business conference in the world,” Trump addressed the 297 largest investors in his self-enriching, eponymous digital currency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. That the president squeezed in some crypto-related hype ahead of his appearance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that night shows the extent to which Trump has prioritized money-making crypto ventures in his second term.

Ahead of Saturday’s conference, Ars Technica reported on the issues swirling around Trump’s meme coin, including suspicions of insider trading and a 93% drop in value from last year that’s led to billions of dollars in investor losses.

Or, rather, try to pump it up. There is no discernible pop from the effort, much less a stable rise in value.

Source: CoinMarketCap

Compared to Bitcoin … which is over $76K/coin as of this writing. That may be well off Bitcoin’s high, but it’s also moved off its low substantially. Politico notes

“Nobody likes it,” said Morten Christensen, a crypto investor who still plans to attend the Mar-a-Lago event and was at the 2025 dinner. “People are losing on the coin, and they are vocal. They are the people on Twitter like, ‘Fuck this coin’ or ‘It’s a scam.’ And they’re right, basically.”

Launched just days before his inauguration, Trump’s memecoin is overwhelmingly held by two entities: an affiliate of the Trump Organization and a company run by Bill Zanker, a longtime Trump business partner. Both collect fees on the memecoin’s trading, according to its website.

Memecoins are a highly volatile type of crypto token that generally have no inherent value and trade based on online fervor. The tokens have struggled for much of the last year, amid a broad crypto market sell-off. But Trump’s other recent ventures haven’t fared much better.

A scam and and scammer scammer and his scam – my apologies if my reader is a Trump supporter, but that’s how I read the President’s behavior. So how is DJT doing today?

Down from the last report of $10.26/sh, nearly 11%.

Pile on top of that the fact that he’s not achieving his Trump’s War goals, including unconditional surrender, and his domestic policies have fallen to unprecedented levels of public disapproval, and we may see DJT fall well below a billion dollar capitalization. However, depending on that to the extent of going short on DJT is not something I would do. His boasting and blustering, bombastic and ignorant as it may be, can move markets.

Make no mistake, any of these alone are hardly worthy of worry. CEOs are always leaving and joining other companies, for instance. But Trump Media & Technology Group Corp, with its weak offerings, dubious investments, and doubtful plans, seems like a high risk play.

I’ve been half-watching CNN and other media today as I worked and attended to other things, and so I’ve noted reporting on the alleged wannabe Presidential assassin’s social media writings, note to family members, etc, if in passing, but it’s all sounded very convincing as to the authenticity of the incident.

And then I see something like this:

Two hours after the shooting, Trump, still dressed in his tuxedo and standing alongside multiple members of his Cabinet in the White House press briefing room, said his plans for the 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which is currently tied up in litigation, must move forward.

“It’s drone-proof, it’s bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom,” Trump said. “That’s why [the] Secret Service, that’s why the military are demanding it.” …

But according to Trump, building his ballroom is the panacea for stopping those who want to do him, or any president, harm. [MS NOW]

And all my intuition, ready to be convinced by the reporting, reverts back to Hollywood script. And then notes how well this can play into Trump’s egotistical need to build a ballroom to replace the East Wing.

Yeah, yeah, I’m sure this isn’t a conspiracy.

But the circumstantial evidence is startling.

Maybe I need more startle-reflex therapy.

Remember the Administration’s gold card proposal, wherein for $5 million a wannabe immigrant could have immediate citizenship? How’s that going?

President Donald Trump’s “gold card” visa, where a foreigner can shell out at least $1 million to legally live and work in the U.S., has been approved for one person, said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Thursday — appearing to fall a bit short of an earlier claim.

After it launched in December, Lutnick said that the government had sold $1.3 billion “worth” in just several days, as Trump stood by holding up the gilded ticket and said, “essentially it’s the green card on steroids.”

Lutnick did not address the apparent discrepancy in an exchange with a congresswoman at Thursday’s committee hearing. [AP]

That’s what I’d call a commentary on the desirability of the United States as a permanent home under the Republicans.

Buff:

• noun, informal
  a person who knows a lot about and is very interested in a particular subject:
  a computer/opera/film buff
• adjective
  of a pale, yellowish-brown colour:
  a buff envelope
  
• adjective
  If a man is buff, he has a body that is a good shape, and looks as if he has done a lot of exercise:
  He was spotted on the beach looking extremely buff.
• verb
  To rub an object made of metal, wood, or leather in order to make it shine, using a soft, dry cloth
• [etc] [Cambridge Dictionary]

I wonder if younger readers know this meaning of buff, seeing as I hadn’t run across it myself in decades. Noted in this Stephen Colbert / Pete Buttigieg half-interview.

Pete continues to impress as a guest.

This story is not in what’s said, but what’s implied:

A new Fox News poll found Democrats have the edge over Republicans on economic issues for the first time since 2010.

The survey, released Wednesday, found that 52 percent of respondents think Democrats would do a better job on the economy, while 48 percent backed Republicans on the issue.

The last time Fox News recorded a Democratic edge on the economy, it was May 2010 — as the country was emerging from the Great Recession. Since then, the outlet had conducted 10 polls on the subject until the latest one, with the GOP holding the advantage on each and holding as high as a 15-point edge on the economy in January 2022 and February 2023. [The Hill]

What’s important here?

• Fox News polls generally rank highly in terms of accuracy.
• Fox News is best thought of as a conservative news organ, although with some important cracks in the facade, such as making moderate, gay Democrat Pete Buttigieg a frequent guest during the Biden Administration, when he was Secretary of the Department of Transportation.
• The implied trend line is towards the Democrats.

Those readers who know the economy under Democratic management has, for decades, done better than under Republican management, and are shrugging at this story are missing the real point: Most voters make decisions based on personal perceptions, not on research. Nation-wide price research? Stock market valuations?

No.

What are the prices down at the grocery store? How are my stocks or mutual funds doing?

This result suggests the independents, and even parts of the Republican base, are realizing the Republicans really are a pack of fourth-raters.

And they’re led by Mr Amateur-hour himself, President Trump.

So the implied story is that cowering in front of a bully doesn’t appease them, it simply whets their appetite for more. I’ll add that training your voters to disregard such issues as competence, honesty, and credentials in favor of a list of positions on such issues as abortion, transgender, gay marriage, and many others I’ve discussed on this blog will result in voters who’ve lost the facility to assess candidates based on the critical attributes that we want in our leaders, local and national, and this is happening in the Age of Information.

I’ll add that this is a vulnerability no matter whether you lean left or right. Confirmation bias and ego-needs, emotional manipulation and informational deception are devilish tactics, and some folks might be better served ignoring Web-based news sources in favor of a local news source that may be in danger of collapsing, or being bought out.

Are the Republicans capable of recognizing the vast damage inflicted upon them by Donald J. Trump? Or will the Republicans sink into the swamp, being replaced by moderate Republicans flying a new flag?

I’m betting on the latter. It’ll take a few years, probably. But that’s where I’d put my $5.

Amateurism strikes again, I suppose, on this thread concerning the company Anthropic’s moral principles and the lack thereof on the part of the Trump Administration:

An artificial intelligence researcher hired by the Commerce Department to run a key federal technology center lasted just four days on the job before being replaced, according to four people familiar with the situation.

Collin Burns, who previously worked at the AI firm Anthropic, started work Monday at the Center for AI Standards and Innovation but was pushed out Thursday by the White House, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

Officials were concerned about Burns having worked at the AI company, which has fought bitterly with the Trump administration in recent months, according to one of the people and another person. That person said some senior figures at the White House had not been briefed on Burns’s selection in advance, and were concerned about anyone from a major lab being in a position required to work so closely with the industry. [WaPo]

While some may argue that the Administration did the right thing, it’s really nothing more than guilt through association. Like a Mafia organization, Trump didn’t get what he wanted from Anthropic, and so anyone with an association with Anthropic will be made to pay. Defiance of a bully carries a certain charm; Trump’s Administration is trying to make that charm unaffordable.

They won’t win with Anthropic, I’d guess, but the real targets are tomorrow’s vendors, who must be made to understand that they will cater to Trump’s every need, or they face commercial extinction.

Probably not, but emphasis on probably. I’m referring to an apparent attempted assassination of President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner:

Former Senator Kerry has some nasty humor that I wasn’t expecting:

It made me laugh.

While watching, I looked up the former Secretary of State, and he’s the very pinnacle of privilege.

Yet he served in the Navy, front line, took wounds, and won medals. An impressive showing.

“Could be a mummy. Could be full of beetles. The Egyptians had a grotesque sense of humor. One tomb we opened years ago was full of … Play-Doh. We lost three men that day. Why do I keep coming on these expeditions?”
“Because you throw your money away on cursed monkey paws. Now please shut up!”

The Pharaoh’s Curse (1957) is part of the never-ending cauldron of cursed life that are the royal families of Egypt; or, an addition to the legions of deathly curses. British Captain Storm,, stationed in Cairo, is sent to fetch an archaeological team home from its unsanctioned dig in the desert. Hampered by a mysterious Egyptian lady and someone’s sabotage, Captain Storm and his team fight their way through the Arizona desert, at a guess, and arrives just in time to witness the first curse of the game, as the American archaeological team is too avaricious to take the standard-issue warning, from way too long ago, seriously.

Their Egyptian assistant goes down, fights for his life, but fulfills his destiny of becoming a dried up withered husk overnight.

Despite this salutary lesson, Dr. Quentin and his team, not including his wife, who came with Captain Storm, but does little of importance in this story, continue scrabbling about the maze of tunnels, searching for the tomb of Rahateb, and have the profound bad luck of finding it. That costs a life or two, including that of the frantic Dr. Quentin, and the rest finally take the hint and leave with what little dignity is left them.

The cinematography was nice. My Arts Editor loathed what passed for the funerary Egyptian art. The actors tried, but the characters don’t become three dimensional, just dull cardboard. I liked the French artist drawing pictures of the dig site, but not much else. The plot doesn’t really take the role of motivation seriously, and it all becomes a dreary mess.

Don’t bother.