At Least The War Is Over

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

...and

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

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

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

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

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

Nor do I think journalists should pretend to be surprised.

 

Morning

Sunday funday

At Least The War Is Over

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

Cheering For Bugs

You can do it, little guys.

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

It might be the bugs.

Afternoon

Busy

At Least The War Is Over

More talk of imminent deals, along with more belligerence.

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

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

Morning

Slacker Saturday 

Happy Hour

Get happy

Ah, Well, Nevertheless

It was worth it anyway

 

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

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

Dow Soars On Bullshit, Other Bullshit

Lunch

eat

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

Meeeeeeeeeee

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

Morning

FRIDAY

Happy Hour

Get happy

Long Sleepy Joe

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

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

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

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

War Off

Trump claiming Iran strikes off but whatever

Where's My ZIRP

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

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

Prats

David Wallace-Wells in the NYT:

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

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

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

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

I Didn't Know There Were 22 Medical Specialties

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

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

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