General Stupidity

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.

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)

As most of y’all surely know, the post title is a quote from 20th century prophet Deep Throat, also known as FBI Associate Director Mark Felt, of Watergate fame. Mr. Throat’s warning resonates more than half a century later as we endure rule by fool.

That sentence occurred to me repeatedly as I read excerpts of the Epstein files. Lots of these guys, including Epstein himself, come across as blithering idiots. Elizabeth Spiers wrote about this phenomenon at “The Nation” in a piece titled Epstein Class Clowns. Here’s an excerpt:

The files are full of these men spouting theories about population decline, the supposed inferiority of non-white people, and what rights women should and shouldn’t have. These theories are bigoted and evil, but they are also—and I mention this again for a reason—very, very dumb. Epstein and Musk both believed that they are, as white men, genetically superior and tried to (or did) impregnate large numbers of women because they wanted to spread their supposedly superior DNA far and wide in order to create a more intelligent population. This is a childlike understanding of genetics, population sciences, and probably the female reproductive system…

There is nothing wrong with not understanding things that aren’t in your field of expertise; as Socrates said, the origin of true wisdom is acknowledging that “I know that I know nothing.” But these particular know-nothings are a far cry from Socrates. Instead of learning more in a spirit of humility, their typical response when confronted with evidence that their store of knowledge is thin wasn’t to consult with actual experts; rather, it was to assume the experts whose facts and research contradict their theories are wrong and that anything can be learned simply by thinking from first principles. (This is why Elon Musk dreams of colonies on Mars and NASA scientists do not: They have already thought through the problem a lot more, and actually understand the science.)

The crappy thinking that pervades all of this would be innocuous if the complacent know-nothings in question were just 20-year-olds posting on Reddit boards. But these people influence major policy decisions, allocate money on our behalf whether we like it or not, and are responsible politically for where we are now—at the precipice of utter democratic collapse and bringing back measles.

Yep. As Spiers notes, the oligarchs and academics surrounding Epstein may be talented or even brilliant in specific areas. But because they are too arrogant to know what they don’t know and far too pompous and self-important to listen to others who do know what they’re talking about, well, here we are.

The same is true of Epstein associate Donald Trump, who is dumb as a post in most ways but has an undeniable talent for self-promotion and mirroring an audience’s grievances. And now that braying ass is president. Again.

***

But you know who’s really, really, really dumb, according to the New York Times yesterday and also the Wall Street Journal? Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), that’s who. Like the Times, the Journal rendered every “um” and “uh” in AOC’s (admittedly awkward) answer to a question about U.S. policy toward China and Taiwan. The Journal added commentary:

The soliloquy is especially impressive because Ms. Ocasio-Cortez could have taken cover under the fact that U.S. policy is to decline to answer the question.

But that would require understanding the concept of “strategic ambiguity” toward the island of 23 million free people. It’s nice to hear that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez wants to “make sure that we never get to that point,” though deterrence demands military power and the willingness to use it, not “economic research” and “global positions,” whatever those are.

Mr. Trump is no great communicator of America’s vital interest in a free Pacific, but he understands deterrence at an instinctual level. Voters may not like the frenetic Trump show, but they know that China under the Communist Party is a hostile power. Democrats will continue to lose elections if they appear not to recognize the world’s threats.

To this, I say fuck you, The Editorial Board. It’s fair to criticize AOC’s response to that or any other question. It’s fair to disagree with her on policy, approach, whatever.

But basically shouting “dumb commie lady” at AOC while fluffing the demented orange bully’s “instinctual” understanding of “deterrence”? Fuck off with that noise.

***

Lastly, this was exquisitely choreographed, and I found it deeply moving.

Wow.

[image or embed]

— Nash Is Here For It (@nashishereforit.bsky.social) February 16, 2026 at 10:59 PM

Good to know art still happens at the Kennedy Center despite the hostile takeover of Tacky Engulf & Devour, Inc. According to comments on Bluesky, the dancers are from The First Amendment Troop, which is on Instagram here.

Open thread!

“These are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand” (part infinity)Post + Comments (187)