Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s possible to be a liberal firebrand without crapping on the party.

“They all knew.”

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

There are times when telling just part of the truth is effectively a lie.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Text STOP to opt out of updates on war plans.

This blog will pay for itself.

The lights are all blinking red.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

When I was faster i was always behind.

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

Fight them, without becoming them!

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

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Libraries are for everybody, or they’re for no one.

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— James Felix Black (@tft.io) March 8, 2026 at 7:03 PM


Tuesday Morning Open Thread 26

“I’ve been consuming nothing but trash, so I thought I’d brush up on the classics.”

— carbonoperator (@carbonoperator.bsky.social) March 8, 2026 at 8:07 PM

******

This disgusting shit doesn’t belong in American society.
And Republicans who support it don’t belong in Congress.

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— Katherine Clark (@whipkclark.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 11:24 AM

Instead of lowering prices for you, Republicans are busy dreaming up new ways to make the rich even richer.
Here’s their latest idea: sidestepping Congress to hand another giant tax cut to the top 1%.

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— Elizabeth Warren (@warren.senate.gov) March 9, 2026 at 7:25 PM

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202…

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— Elizabeth Warren (@warren.senate.gov) March 9, 2026 at 7:25 PM


Always a wise move to make Ted Cruz the face of the GOP’s latest outrageous ask:

… Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) will send a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday urging him to use executive authority to reduce some of the taxes paid on capital gains — a change that would lower the tax burden on Americans selling stocks, businesses, homes and other assets, according to a copy obtained by The Washington Post ahead of its release. The senators argue the administration does not need congressional approval to make the shift, although some conservative legal experts and Treasury officials have disagreed with that conclusion in the past…

The plan pushed by Cruz and Scott has been sought by conservatives for many years. Under current law, an investor who bought $100 worth of stock in 1990 and sold it today for $300 would currently owe capital gains taxes on the full $200 in profit. But the $100 investment in 1990 would be worth roughly $230 in today’s dollars after accounting for inflation. Under the Cruz-Scott proposal, the investor would only owe taxes on that $70, rather than the full $200. That is why the proposal is known as “indexing capital gains for inflation.”…

The proposal, however, faces significant legal and political headwinds. A 1992 opinion by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded that Treasury does not have the authority to make such a change unilaterally — and that it would require an act of Congress. Any executive action along these lines would likely face immediate legal challenges.

Critics also argue that the benefits would flow overwhelmingly to the wealthy. The Penn Wharton Budget Model found during Trump’s first term that the top 1 percent of income earners would receive roughly 86 percent of the benefits from indexing capital gains to inflation, while the bottom 80 percent of earners would receive just 1 percent…

government small enough to fit inside every child's bedroom and pick out their clothes every school day

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— Henry (@henrythedog.bsky.social) March 10, 2026 at 12:46 AM

A high-powered Chicago law firm announced a plan Monday to push for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate and potentially charge the agents who carried out Operation Midway Blitz.
@sophiesherry.bsky.social reports: chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/0…

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— Jon Seidel (@jonseidel.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 10:01 PM

BREAKING: Alexander Butterfield, the Richard Nixon aide who disclosed the Watergate tapes, dies at 99.

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— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) March 9, 2026 at 3:51 PM

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On The Road – Elma – International Garden Tour Part 1

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Elma

One of the things I like to do, when I travel, is to visit botanical gardens. I went back through my travel photo archive for some pictures to share. The first part is a visit to Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands. This trip was with the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association in 2008. It was a river boat tour of Holland and Belgium and the garden visit was an excursion. Although the distance from place to place in the Netherlands is insignificant by American standards, the traffic made for a long bus ride.

On The Road - Elma - International Garden Tour Part 1 9
Netherlands

It was raining when we arrived.

 

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Late Night Open Thread: Ave Atque Vale, Troops

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$6.9 million of lobster tail in a month????? What would you even do with that much lobster

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— Amanda Katz (@katzish.bsky.social) March 10, 2026 at 12:38 AM

Surf & turf is the classic meal they serve when they’re about to tell you your deployment has been extended so…

— tawdryhepburn9.bsky.social (@tawdryhepburn9.bsky.social) March 10, 2026 at 12:42 AM

“Surf and turf before the storm“

But seriously, it’s not that they had any actual plans…

The Pentagon spent more money in September—the end of the 2025 fiscal year—than it had in any other year since 2008. But a good chunk of the budget wasn’t used for anything that could be considered a pertinent military expense.

The Defense Department burned through $93 billion that month alone, signing checks left and right in order to dry up its congressionally allocated budget, according to a recent analysis by the government watchdog Open the Books…

Some of the frivolous September purchases made under Secretary Pete Hegseth’s stewardship include a $98,329 Steinway & Sons grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff’s home, $5.3 million for Apple devices such as the new iPad, and an astronomical amount of shellfish, including $2 million for Alaskan king crab and $6.9 million worth of lobster tail. (Lobster tail is apparently a favorite of Hegseth’s Pentagon—the department spent more than $7.4 million total on the luxury item in March, May, June, and October.)…

One of the largest bulk expenditures was just for furniture, for which the Pentagon decided to shell out $225 million. That included $12,000 for fruit basket stands, and checks totaling more than $60,000 for Herman Miller recliners. All in all, the agency spent more on furniture in 2025 than it had in over a decade.

In the last five days of September alone, the department blew through $50.1 billion on just grants and contracts. For context, only nine other countries spend that much on the entirety of their defense budget per year. It’s also more than the total military budgets of Canada and Mexico combined…

Why does one get the feeling that ‘fruit basket stands’ is a code for ‘Hegseth’s personal alcohol allowance’?

Late Night Open Thread: Ave Atque Vale, TroopsPost + Comments (47)

War for Ukraine Day 1,474: With Friends Like These

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A black and white cartoon of Popeye's face/head. He is facing to the viewer's left. His right eye is squinted shut and his pipe is sticking out of the right side of his mouth. The speech bubble reads "I yam disgustipated".

It’s been a long day, the time change is kicking my dupa, so I’m just going to run through the basics again tonight.

The cost:

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that today, during an air battle while carrying out a mission, Hero of Ukraine and commander of the 39th Tactical Aviation Brigade, Oleksandr Dovhach, was killed.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 12:21 PM

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Dovhach carried out hundreds of combat sorties and took part in battles for the Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions, as well as for Snake Island.

Eternal memory.

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 12:21 PM

With friends like these:

Trump announced lifting of some oil sanctions on Russia.

The SAME DAY we send OUR soldiers to defend YOUR bases with weapons developed at the cost of Ukrainian lives, you let those who killed them rebuild their cash reserves so they can kill more of us.

FUCKING UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

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— Maria Drutska (@mariadrutska.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 7:07 PM

Russia continues killing Ukrainians every day and is still fighting to erase us as a state. Easing russian oil sanctions now directly finances their war against Ukraine, including their tactics of terror of civilians: bombing apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, hunting people with drones,

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 3:57 PM

destroying civilian infrastructure in the dead of winter, stealing thousands of children and much more.

— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 3:57 PM

There’s a direct line between Trump and his natsec team not only having no issue with Putin and Russia constantly attacking Ukrainian civilians and civilian facilities, but blaming the Ukrainians for these genocidal war crimes and what we’re seeing with the targeting in Iran.

Zelenskyy announced that the US-Ukraine-Russia meeting scheduled for this week is being postponed due to the situation in Iran.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 3:52 PM

Imagine that.

Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has received 11 requests from countries neighboring Iran, European states, and the United States for help in countering “Shahed” drones.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 10:09 AM

President Zelenskyy did not make an address today. Or, if he did, it has not been posted on the presidential website. He and First Lady Zelenska presented the 2026 Taras Shevchenko Prize. There’s no video posted, but here’s the write up:

President and First Lady Took Part in the 65th Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine Award Ceremony

9 March 2026 – 22:28

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska took part in the ceremony presenting the 2026 Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine.

This year the Shevchenko Prize has expanded, and the number of nominations has increased to 13 for the first time in its history. The nominations “Creative Curatorship of Cultural and Artistic Projects,” “Photography,” and “Design” were added. The nomination “Literature” was replaced by “Prose” and “Poetry,” while the musical field was expanded with the nomination “Concert and Performing Arts.” The corresponding decree was signed by the President of Ukraine in July 2025, and today the first laureates received the prizes in these nominations.

“We have things to be proud of. We have people to be proud of. And the Shevchenko Prize proves this. Every year it takes place despite the war, despite everything. And despite everything, every year there are new deserving laureates. This award has not become a formality, and in every sense of the word it is growing – there are more nominations, more remarkable works, more reasons to be proud of our art and our creators,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

The Head of State noted that this year the Shevchenko Prize is special not only because we mark its anniversary – 65 years – but also because the ceremony is taking place at a time of very powerful emotions that unite all of Ukraine.

“What a difficult and long winter it was. And we overcame it. How much we all longed for this spring. And finally the warmth has come – and these feelings that Ukraine made it, that Ukraine preserved itself, that Ukraine endured. I want to thank our warriors – thank you,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

According to the President, spring is also coming to Ukrainian culture and art, which are interesting to millions, stylish, modern, fashionable, vibrant, and dynamic.

“And when today Ukrainian music unites all our people – on the frontline, across the entire country – when it is impossible to get tickets to our Ukrainian theaters and there are lines at museums, at our exhibitions, for our Ukrainian books, all of this is very inspiring,” the Head of State emphasized.

Yevhen Nyshchuk, Chairman of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine Committee, noted that today art is becoming an important means of psychological support and helps society process the experience of war. That is why expanding the nominations corresponds to the challenges of today.

“This is truly very important. Because the new directions that have appeared, alongside those traditionally established in the canonical perception, are extremely relevant precisely in wartime,” Yevhen Nyshchuk said.

For the first time, the Taras Shevchenko National Prize in the nomination “Photography” was awarded to photographer Olena Hrom for the photo project Stolen Spring.

In another new nomination – “Creative Curatorship of Cultural and Artistic Projects” – the award for the exhibition project “Alla Horska. Boryviter” was received by the curators of this exhibition Tetiana Hauk, Olena Hrozovska, Mykhailo Kulivnyk, Kateryna Lisova, and the exhibition designer Daria Podoltseva. Another winner in this nomination for the cultural and artistic project “30×30. Contemporary Ukrainian Art” was its curator, art critic Valeriy Sakharuk.

Conductor, artistic director of the P. Maiboroda Academic Choir of Ukrainian Radio Yulia Tkach received the country’s highest creative award in the “Concert and Performing Arts” nomination for the media project “One Step to Victory,” artistic cycles “Figures,” “Meeting of Eras,” concert programs, and archival recordings from 2020–2025.

Diplomat, writer, and scholar Yuri Shcherbak became a laureate of the Shevchenko Prize in the “Prose” nomination for the book of summaries and prophecies “Dead Memory. Voices and Cries,” and writer Pavlo Beliansky for the novel “To Fight Cannot Retreat.”

The award in the “Publicism and Journalism” nomination was received by writer and journalist Oleh Kryshtopa for the documentary novel “Radio ‘Aphrodite’.”

In the nomination “Literary Studies and Art Criticism,” the prize was awarded to art historian Olesia Avramenko for her popular scholarly works on art from the author’s Accent series – three books: “Bilokur,” “Prykhodko,” “Tistol.” In the same nomination, film critic, film scholar, and screenwriter Serhiy Trymbach received the prize for the book “Ivan Mykolaichuk. Mysteries of Fate.”

Director Oksana Dmitrieva was the winner in the “Theater Arts” nomination for the performances “Vertep,” “Mons Giraffe” of the Kharkiv State Academic Puppet Theater named after V. A. Afanasiev, “The Tempest” of the Maria Zankovetska National Academic Ukrainian Drama Theater, “Medea” of the Ivan Franko Ivano-Frankivsk National Academic Theater.

The National Prize in the “Cinematic Arts” nomination was received by the scriptwriter and director of the film “U Are the Universe” Pavlo Ostrykov.

The laureate of the award in the “Decorative and Applied Arts” nomination for a series of artistic works of Ukrainian glass from the art project “Born in Fire” was the master of artistic glass Ihor Matsiievskyi.

In the “Visual Arts” nomination, sculptor Nazar Bilyk received the award for creating the “Memorial to Ukrainian Intelligence Officers,” a series of sculptures “Disturbed Space,” “Alloy.”

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Monday Night Open Thread

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So the Straits of Hormuz are closed, the entire global economy is threatened, countries are launching missiles in every which direction, but because the face-painted war-criming clown said ‘I think we are about done here, trust me I have a plan’ the DOW closed up 230+ points.

Our entire fucking economy, from top to bottom, is a shamtastic fucking scam based on the fucking vibes of a couple thousand coked up brokers on Wall Street and their geriatric billionaire bosses. We’re all on a rollercoaster with no fucking say in the matter and no idea if there are tracks up ahead.

***

Meanwhile, another banner day for bigots:

Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles is the latest House Republican to make Islamophobic remarks on social media, causing outcry from Democrats and little public response from fellow Republicans.

“Muslims don’t belong in American society,” the Tennessee Republican posted Monday on X. “Pluralism is a lie.”

Ogles, a member of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, has previously called for a “Muslim ban” and plans to propose legislation to ban entry to the U.S. from a set of Muslim-majority countries.

Personally, I would be ok if we let in 400 Muslims for every bigot like Ogles we launch into the sun. Maybe I am just lucky, but every single Muslim I have ever interacted with in person (and because I self-select to go to a lot of places where Muslims congregate, it is far more than you would imagine for a guy from WV) has been in the top echelon of kind, generous, and gentle human beings I have ever met. One of my younger childhood memories was of an Iranian student named Ikram Chaudry at Bethany College, who everyone on campus and in town loved (even though he was a little crazy). He was here from like ’79-83, when Iran was really not in the best way. Fuck Andy Ogles. As someone who doesn’t believe in any of this stuff this religious bigotry is just maddening and infuriating. Judge people by how they treat you, not by a label, you dumb racist fucks.

And now for unelected bigots:

Monday Night Open Thread 42

Enrique Tarrio, a far-right activist and former Proud Boys national chair, posted a photo of himself with Secretary of State Marco Rubio taken at the inaugural “Shield of the Americas” summit in Florida on Saturday.

Tarrio posted the photo on Saturday on the social platform X with a caption that read, in part, “Proud of this Cuban!” He also wrote “down with communism,” in Spanish, an apparent nod to the current Cuban regime, which has been hit with an oil embargo from President Trump.

“With @SecRubio at the Shield of the Americas summit,” he wrote. “By far the President Trumps choices for his cabinet. Proud of this Cuban! Abajo con el comunismo!” Tarrio went on to correct himself, saying, “The best choice by the President* Excuse me.”

Tarrio, who led the white nationalist organization from 2018-21, was sentenced in 2023 to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy following his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump pardoned him and other Jan. 6 rioters last year.

Every single person who ever said a fucking thing about Hillary Clinton’s basket of deplorables remark can go directly to hell, do not pass go.

***

There is now incontrovertible (in my opinion) evidence that it was in fact a US Tomahawk missile, targeted using Claude AI, that killed 110 or more kids:

A US Tomahawk missile hit a military base near a primary school in southern Iran where Iranian authorities said 168 people, including around 110 children, were killed, expert video analysis shows.

A video published yesterday by Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, which BBC Verify has confirmed as authentic, shows a missile moments before it struck an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) base next to the Shajareh Tayebeh primary school in Minab.

BBC Verify has previously established through satellite imagery, verified videos and expert analysis that the area near the school was hit by a series of strikes.

Experts who have seen this latest video, told us the presence of a Tomahawk missile, along with evidence the area was hit with multiple strikes, indicates this was a US operation. Neither Israel nor Iran are known to possess Tomahawks, experts said.

It would also make the scenario of a single Iranian missile hitting the site at the same time and causing such a high reported death toll highly improbable, an expert told BBC Verify.

The only “defense” I have seen is to try to pin the blame on AI, which as far as I am concerned makes this even fucking worse. Like multiple levels of worse. We can not even be arsed to spend a couple man hours ahead of time to do proper target selection. We were under no imminent threat. We were under no fucking threat whatsoever. This was a war we chose to launch, and we couldn’t even fucking try to avoid civilian casualties. And then there is the fact that the only fucking thing they care about are sizzle reels:

NBC’s Richard Engel: “The White House meme campaign is outraging many former US military commanders… they say only someone who has never really seen combat would think it’s a joke and put out material like this.”

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 9:33 AM

It’s a good thing I am an atheist, because otherwise I would say with absolute certainty that every single person over the age of 20 in the US who could have voted in the last election is going to fucking hell for this. This is on us.

***

This is stupid as fuck on a scale that I am honestly surprised it did not come from the GOP:

Sen. Cory Booker, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, told NBC News he’ll introduce a tax bill this week to significantly expand the standard deduction, effectively lowering taxes on low- and middle-income earners.

The New Jersey senator’s plan would set the standard deduction at $75,000 for married couples, or $37,500 for individuals. That’s more than double what it is today: $32,200 for couples filing jointly and half that for single filers.

“It’s a simple idea: American households don’t pay taxes on their first $75,000 of earnings,” Booker said in an interview. “It will have a significant impact on the average American in raising their income.”

I do not have the fucking energy to go into how fucking stupid this is. The problem is not that taxes are too high on the middle class, it’s that we’re getting fuck all in return for it. All our tax dollars go to bombing brown people and tax cutes for billionaires and to make banks whole after they do reckless shit and to subsidize fossil fuels. Keep our taxes the same, tax the fucking wealthier more, give us healthcare and all the other good shit every other industrialized nation in the fucking world does and the only reason we don’t is because we’ve convinced the racist poors if we do that only the brown people will get it at their expense.

***

I am in a mood tonight. I am going to go feed the birds.

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Excellent Read: “Gullible, Cynical America”

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Adam Serwer, always worth reading:
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0…

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— Anne Laurie (@annelaurie.bsky.social) March 9, 2026 at 7:28 PM

If nothing we know is true, then anything might be true… Gift link:

Many Americans believe that vaccines are unsafe, but will jab themselves full of performance enhancers. They think seed oils cause chronic disease, but beef tallow is healthy. They’ll say you can’t trust federally insured banks, but you can trust the millionaires who want you to invest in their volatile vaporware crypto tokens. They think food additives are toxic but support an administration removing all restrictions on pumping pollutants into the air and water. They’ll insist that you can’t trust scientists, because they’re part of the conspiracy. The podcaster selling you his special creatine gummies, though? He seems trustworthy.

The coronavirus wasn’t the only epidemic to hit the United States in the past decade. Americans are also facing a bizarre epidemic of gullibility and cynicism—gullicism, if you need a portmanteau—that is drawing people into a world of conspiracism and falsehoods, one where facts are drowned out by a cacophony of extremely loud and wrong voices. Reliable information is both more available and harder to find than ever—and those who spread misinformation have been rewarded with positions of power, platforms they can exploit to further pollute the information environment…

Gullicism creates not just a void but also an opportunity. It creates an ideal business opportunity for snake-oil salesmen to peddle products whose whole appeal is that they’re not scientifically validated. What is ultimately being sold is the feeling that consumers can prove they’re smarter than those snooty experts who think they know everything—and who probably are in on the conspiracy to deprive you of the truth…

Such theories are an example of what Nancy Rosenblum and Russell Muirhead describe in their book A Lot of People Are Saying as “the new conspiracism.” They portray a nation so “disoriented” by nonsense claims that people struggle to determine what is true. The new conspiracism is characterized by the absence of prescriptive solutions—it offers “no notion of what should replace the reviled parties, processes, and agencies of government once covert schemes are revealed.”

But that’s not quite right. What replaces these processes is snake oil: wellness products that cure no one, firearms and freeze-dried food for an inevitable but always delayed apocalypse, volatile digital tokens in exchange for real money. These substitutes provide nothing useful or tangible—only the self-esteem boost that comes from feeling like you understand infectious diseases better than an epidemiologist (or whatever expert told you something you didn’t want to hear). In some cases, the replacement is even worse—between anti-vax lunacy and shots of raw milk in the Oval Office, we appear to have a grand political coalition for returning to the days when people regularly died of diarrhea. You, too, can be a lone, rugged wolf rising above the masses of sheep. (At least until the listeria gets you.)

That’s exactly how the cryptolords and gambling companies and supplement salesmen want you to feel, because if they can sell you that feeling, they can sell you anything at all. That goes for politicians, too…

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Cruel Shoes II

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There’s an insane story in the WSJ about how TeMussolini has a new dementia game. He guesses the shoe size of male appointees and cronies, then has a minion order Florsheim shoes for them in the size he guessed.

He expects giftees to wear the shoes in his presence. Doesn’t always work out so well.

Rubio in too-large shoes

Real Caligula appoints his horse as consul stuff!

I wonder if the shoe recipients hobble around in ill-fitting shoes indefinitely, or do they order the same shoes in the right size and make the switch on the down low?

I hope it’s the former. They deserve cruel shoes.

Open thread.

ETA: Piggy is supposed to give a speech right about now. It will be lies, so I’m not gonna bother watching.

Cruel Shoes IIPost + Comments (141)