as noted yesterday, Trump has now come around to treating an Iranian toll system covering the Strait of Hormuz as a given. Hard to overstate the level of strategic failure. US started the war purely as a war of choice and ends up dramatically empowering Iran and given the Iranian govt big wins.

Bill Grueskin@bgrueskin.bsky.social · 13h ago

Reuters: Iran wants fees of 5%-7% of the price of cargo from ships using the strait; Oman wants 3%. "Making fees voluntary, at least nominally, could be a way out of the impasse, although an implied threat of Iranian attacks could mean shippers would be ​unlikely to risk transit without paying."

I have been saying for YEARS that all actual conservatives have fled (many now "blue-dog" Dems/adjacent) and all that is left is a party of radical arsonists.

Julian Sanchez@normative.bsky.social · yesterday

This is a weird form of gaslighting MAGA is very fond of: They act like the preservation of core American traditions and norms that have been around for centuries is actually some wacky novelty. I guess because they want to pose as “conservatives” rather than the radicals they are.

Just passed a sign for “The Black Mirror Experience.” Baby we’re living in it

However horrible you think the Tate brothers are, I promise, it's worse than that. It's insane that Dems aren't making a bigger deal of the GOP embracing these grotesque monsters.

The Tate Brothers' Should Be The Trumps' Second Epstein Scandal

The truth is much worse than most people realize, and they knew a lot of it.

offmessage.net

Most current Democratic leadership is from safe Dem areas like NYC and SF, and so they (and their staff) never learned how and why to attack. Instead, they focus their attention on intra-party disputes, where nice-guy disagreements are necessary. That doesn't work against Republican bloodsport.

David Roberts@volts.wtf · 4d ago

However horrible you think the Tate brothers are, I promise, it's worse than that. It's insane that Dems aren't making a bigger deal of the GOP embracing these grotesque monsters.

He cites users' ability to mute & block folks as a positive, which is good. It's also why right wing chuds thankfully can't get a foothold here - b/c they violate community norms & get nuclear blocked out of normal people's timelines. Bluesky isn't a *liberal* bubble - it's a *decency* bubble.

The Verge@theverge.com · 2d ago

Bluesky's new CEO Toni Schneider on the platform's reputation for being a liberal bubble: "Yes, we definitely want that to change. It is already changing. It certainly wasn’t designed to attract one specific group of people."

Set aside that Juicebox Jeanine is Trump's friend, who talked him into pardoning her ex. The US Attorney, who should NEVER have contact w/WH at all, was just in the WH for hours, not defending rule of law, but proving her loyalty v. Burgum. Reason enough Blanche shouldn't be confirmed.

Two things are true: 1) Donald Trump is a monster who I don't think should EVER have been elected president. 2) Even if this was "MY President" I would honestly want them G.O.N.E. - it would be dangerous enough to have someone already this demented who wasn't also a narcissist/psychopath.🤷‍♀️

Bobby Silverman@robertsilverman.bsky.social · 2d ago

He's losing words. Anyone with a parent or loved one suffering from dementia will recognize this pattern. Wen he says "moving cameras," it's because he can't recall the word "videos" and so he's stating the component parts as best he can. E.g., a "camera" is involved and the images are "moving"

This is devastating

Allison Gill@muellershewrote.com · 2d ago

BREAKING: EXCLUSIVE: Five months ago, we learned that ICE seized drawings and letters from children in the Dilley ICE concentration camp. I sued under the Freedom of Information Act. Today, I got responsive documents. www.muellershewrote.com/p/breaking-e...

Good Lord

The New York Times@nytimes.com · 3d ago

Breaking News: Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, the two Republican senators who threatened to block Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general, now say they support it.

Heed the warning.

Honestly, silver lining to GC not getting the nomination and continuing campaign mode is we get top shelf content back.

George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸@gtconway.bsky.social · 5d ago

It’s kind of awesomely appropriate that they waited until happy hour on Friday to sign Judge Box O’Wine’s name to this and file it

I don’t think even many of those who have come to recognize Donald Trump's extreme narcissism and his sociopathy have any idea how dangerous this phase of his pathology is. When malignant narcissists go down, they try to take as many people as they can with them.

Wow, he's doing THAT thing. Good luck, bro. 🤦‍♀️

The Bulwark@thebulwark.com · 4d ago

Rep. Max Miller: "My former wife has claimed that during a custody exchange at my home that day, I assaulted her…If I had assaulted her, would she have offered to cook me dinner six days later?"

a republican congressman allegedly broke his two-year-old daughter's collarbone and he somehow hasn't been run out of congress. there really is no bridge too far for these ghouls.

‘Platner on steroids’: Max Miller abuse claims have Republicans silently sweating

The Ohio lawmaker denies the allegations as an Aug. 5 deadline to drop off the ballot approaches.

politico.com

People potentially subject to the nyc pied-à-terre tax are being treated with 1% of the administrative hostility of SNAP and Medicaid applicants, and they’re throwing 100x the fit

This is where we are: amathia. God help us.

The 3 ways stupidity spreads throughout a society | Jonny Thomson

YouTube video by Big Think Clips

youtube.com

We’ve been saying from the start that the contractor was the problem. This is exactly why no-bid contracts are a bad idea. When there’s no real competition or oversight, taxpayers are often the ones left paying for the mistakes.

This is why you dont try to compromise or concede anything to these horrors

JK Rowling centre says Amnesty apology does not solve ‘reputational damage’ — The Independent

Beira’s Place was among organisations labelled ‘anti-rights’ in a briefing document.

apple.news

The GOP is desperately trying to rewrite history, but just a reminder that Donald Trump was president during the lockdowns, and he awarded Fauci a presidential commendation for his work on COVID. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

43% of women surveyed said they experienced unwelcome sexual advances or harassment from a colleague or editor (6% of men). I don’t think most of our industry understands how much impact this has on newsgathering. A predator makes editorial decisions like a predator. www.ire.org/2026/07/30/f...

Female investigative journalists still face sexual harassment and bias, new study finds

By Katrina Michalak, Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, Arizona State University Erin Orr was at the inception of her journalism career in the 1990s, working the business and real estate beat...

ire.org

for any actual public servant, cabinet secretary is the apex of their entire career, you literally cannot go any higher, and all of these people treat it like it’s their side hustle to get the job they *really* want, which is “influencer”

From today's Paul Krugman substack: "(MAGA) know what they want to believe. They fly into paroxysms of rage whenever someone points out that the world isn’t what they want it to be. And they always want to shoot the messenger."

Chelsie Kenyon: ALL OF THAT

ALT: Chelsie Kenyon: ALL OF THAT

static.klipy.com

Two things are often true. In this case: Joyce Carol Oates isn't wrong that Emily Wilson is, at best, ungracious, or, at worst, punching down. Also true: Christopher Nolan is a generational visualist who mistakenly thinks that means he can tell a story well with fully realized characters. YMMV 🤷🏻‍♀️

Weird he can’t bring this kind of energy towards his colleague who is accused of beating up his daughter.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.

Moreno to Fauci: "Who the fuck did you think you were?"

This shows the gap between GOP & Dem. messaging. The Republicans NEVER stop pressing their false narratives. They bang the drums over & over. The Dems make their case & move on. They should have been non-stop pummeling Trump for Covid (and 1/6) for years, never letting anyone forget these sins.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.

Moreno to Fauci: "Who the fuck did you think you were?"

Rand Paul is grilling Dr. Fauci for his work during COVID. Pay attention. This is a really good preview of how the Trump administration will handle THE NEXT PANDEMIC. They won’t handle it. They will ignore it and try to pray it away. Pay attention, folks! Don’t say no one warned you!

This is all a crazy effort to rewrite the past, yes. But what's really terrifying is hearing these people tell us how badly they're going to fuck up the *next* pandemic they're now creating without that nerd Fauci holding them back.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.

Peter Navarro: "I had a million doses of hydroxychloroquine in warehouses as the defense policy coordinator that I was trying to distribute to hospitals. And Fauci got the FDA stop me from doing that."

This is NOT an accident. Authoritarians put incompetents in charge of most things so that loyalty is absolute, the person unable to find an equal position elsewhere. The competent get bought. (It's why Weisselberg was the only performative member of the Trump company.) Mgmt via Dunning-Kruger.

Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social · last wk.

BREAKING: Trump ally Jay Clayton, who has no intelligence experience, has just been confirmed by the Senate to be Director of National Intelligence.

To be fair, Fauci only did that bc hydroxychloroquine has been proven to offer zero anti-viral benefits and potentially catastrophic side effects but something something money you wanted to make..? 🤷‍♀️

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.

Peter Navarro: "I had a million doses of hydroxychloroquine in warehouses as the defense policy coordinator that I was trying to distribute to hospitals. And Fauci got the FDA stop me from doing that."