I did a double-take thinking this was Bob Balaban delivering an Oscar-level performance of an intellectual milquetoast.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3h ago

😮 Trump's nominees are the most pathetic men in the world 😮 During a hearing, Blumenthal made Trump nominees squirm by asking them who won the 2020 election -- a question they refuse to answer -- but then Schiff upped the ante by asking them *who won the 2016 election.* Here's a supercut:

“...Trump has now passed from being a stubborn narcissist to a cocooned authoritarian.” Concise and insightful, Nichols provides essential reading once again.

Tom Nichols@radiofreetom.bsky.social · 23h ago

The war in Iran has shown that Trump’s inability to perceive reality has become truly dangerous. Iran is a disaster, but Trump’s irrationality could create other, even more perilous situations. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

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 · 6h 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."

This piece by Jeff Yang (aka @originalsp.in) was so satisfying to edit. It covers different aspects of The Odyssey and contextualizes them as examples of political filmmaking through allegory—the tale of a 21st century empire reeling from karmic blowback. www.rogerebert.com/features/the...

The People from the Sea: How "The Odyssey" is About America

A reading of Christopher Nolan's blockbuster as a commentary on the current state of America.

rogerebert.com

Have Donald Trump run their country for a couple of years

This thread is quite something! Go ahead and check it out. Treat yo’self to a good laugh.

Helen Kennedy@helenkennedy.com · 2d ago

Whatever Pirro's ridiculous shenanigans of recent years, nothing will ever top her being the star of my very favorite political flameout:

The incredible thing is Republicans really thought reliving the nightmare Covid days would reflect well on their flailing POTUS? Like we wouldn’t go back and notice horrible leadership pathologies from then are repeating now?

Definitely, Support your local charming, independent spot. I hate seeing a place like that close, and half the comments are along the lines of "such a shame, the last time I was there I think it was 2007"

crazy, sherrie, spooky, hilarious ⚽@citizenrobot.bsky.social · 3d ago

Drove to Van Nuys to pay our last respects to a Licorice Pizza shooting location. If you love old diners, support them while you can! ♥️

I am 100% serious when I tell you that every time I look at Gen AI slop imagery, a distinctive scent wafts into my brain. Like, a very hot car interior with a hint of spilled beer and massive amounts of chemical "air freshener".

What do you mean July is over? We haven't even resolved the Mitch McConnell plotline. Who the fuck is even writing this show?

I think this is true and the story about BTS at Heritage underscored it. I can't see how sanity can return to the party.

Better Things Are Possible@internethippo.bsky.social · 6d ago

One drum I keep beating is that the Trumpification of the Republican Party is irreversible. Even after he's gone it will be exclusively cranks, charlatans, and malevolent antisocial goons. "It was always like that"-it wasn't! It's gotten steadily, measurably worse, and he was the nail in the coffin

Rapidly becoming convinced that one major immediate impact of AI diffusion is a massive uptick in the sophistication and scale of scams and hacks. Seeing it everywhere.

Trump II: Revenge, redecorating, remuneration.

The other day at the grocery store I told a woman I loved her cute green shoes, which matched her cute green top, and her whole face lit up and she told me the story of how she bought them Giving another woman a compliment is a great way to get a little serotonin boost btw

cait (and adonis)@cait.bsky.social · 6d ago

yesterday a lady told me my blue dress was such a good color on me and I was like cool, I would die for you. I would follow you into battle and throw myself on a grenade

If you enjoyed this thread, consider pre-ordering The Ring Cycle, a book-length conversation between myself and @odienator.bsky.social that discusses every Rocky and Creed movie and constructs a fifty-year history of race, class, and masculinity in the United States. mzs.press/PRE-ORDER-SI...

PRE-ORDER SIGNED The Ring Cycle: Rocky, Creed, and the American Experiment by Matt Zoller Seitz and Odie Henderson (Paperback, NEW)

The new upcoming release from the MZS.press imprint! The great friends and critics collaborating for the first time. Slated for release August 2026!!!! Yes ya'll it's in the works! Cover art is tempor...

mzs.press

Matt Zoller Seitz@mattzollerseitz.bsky.social · 2w ago

Mickey: You know what you are? Rocky: No, what? Mickey: A tomato. Rocky: A tomato? Mickey: Yeah, and I'm running a business here, not a goddamn soup kitchen.

I'm old enough to remember when polio put my friends into iron lungs. We dutifully lined up at school to get vaccinated. We eradicated the disease. We protected the common good and saved lives. What RFK Jr. is doing to public health in America is a disgrace.

We shouldn't get inured to just how cartoonishly corrupt this administration is.

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.

This could be a game changer.

umsonst.bsky.social@umsonst.bsky.social · last wk.

Nice! #solutions

Senate Poised to Once Again Collapse Into Chaos Over SAVE Act  talkingpointsmemo.com/news/senate-...

Senate Poised to Once Again Collapse Into Chaos Over SAVE Act

President Donald Trump on Monday morning called on Senate Majority Leader John...

talkingpointsmemo.com

Megan Romer has just proven herself to be a complete fool who went on FOX and abetted their efforts to caricature the DSA.

It's too early to assess just how much damage this insufferable idiot has caused us. The DSA is NOT the DNC and this person has hurt the party and given the GOP endless ads. I am fucking FURIOUS.

Christopher Webb@cwebbonline.com · last wk.

EVERY DEMOCRAT NEEDS TO SEE THIS. DSA co-chair Megan Romer laid out the organization’s platform. Now I’ve got to ask: will they be held accountable when they can’t get these policies enacted, just like Democrats in general? 🧵

Harvest Gathered In. 20°C and early sunshine. Hares on the hill.

I wish when Musk "predicts" money won't matter someone would ask him why he's not giving any of his away.

Sometimes he ducks into threads that have nothing to do with him, hurls a lightning bolt that burns someone to a pile of ash, and leaves

scha·den·freu·de@blisterpearl.bsky.social · last wk.

and then Andrew Tate closed replies 😂

Thank you Sydney! Special thanks to the Australian Skeptics for being amazing hosts. We had a wonderful time with wonderful people! Here are some pictures from the weekend (courtesy of Craig Shearer)

In which we answer the burning question: Does the HBO series ROME hold up?

Shelf Space, and Revisiting "Rome"

Sorry, Kevin McKidd, you're 0-2 for likable dudes.

drinkswithbroads.substack.com

In this issue of the Weekender … I wrote about the politics of nostalgia and exhaustion over being told everything is in decline. @hunterw.bsky.social has some thoughts for what Dems can do with a new wave of voters. Also: Bad Posts, trivia, and more!

Are Politicians Ready to Stop Turning Back the Clock?

talkingpointsmemo.com

Found a 👑 🐝!

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w ago

Bees, explained by my daughter

This details some of the OTHER costs laid out in NYT article on the Flying Bribery Palace.

Bruce Korb 🇺🇦 ✍️⧖ 💉🥄😷@b-korb.bsky.social · 2w ago

OK. After reading that article, instead of it being a gift of: $400,000,000 from Qatar, plus $940,000,000 from the Air Force, it is closer to $1,940,000,000 in Air Force expenses all of this to be gifted to the tRUmp "library" in two years. Almost the level of grift as in the crypto stuff.