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 · 3h 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."

A lot of words to say “we screwed over the American people with our illegal tariffs scheme, again.” The costs of tariffs were born by consumers but the rebate will go to the shareholders. It is just theft. Worst economy for workers by choice.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 19h ago

Bessent: "Here at the Treasury, I had $168 billion of tariff revenues that we're gonna have to refund. So when the Democrats scream, "Oh, the refunds should go back to the American people!', well, the American people had it, it was in the Treasury and it was paying down the debt."

Just a note that @jbendery.bsky.social is 100% worth following. Always finds stories like these that matter, and yet are a bit under the radar.

Jen Bendery@jbendery.bsky.social · 3h ago

Former J6 federal prosecutors are begging senators -- mostly GOPers, but a handful of Dems are in there, too -- to stop confirming election deniers to lifetime federal courts seats. “Please stop poisoning our courts." www.huffpost.com/entry/live-u...

The Reflecting Pool saga is a perfect diorama of how right-wing media turns Trump’s fantasies into public reality, and then tries to quietly conceal the wreckage once the facts catch up.

Jeanine Pirro's Reflecting Pool reckoning

The former Fox News star couldn't sustain Trump's fantasy. Her downfall is classic MAGA tale

salon.com

Susan Collins announcing she'll vote against a controversial nominee is basically the moment it becomes clear that nominee will be confirmed. It means Thune has enough votes to confirm, and thus, Collins gets a pass to look independent.

I'm in Spain right now and the people I'm talking to are *furious* with the lack of EU solidarity. Few now believe the EU would defend them if they were attacked by Morocco. I'll be discussing the implications of this in a Substack Live with @julienhoez.eu today at 🇪🇺4pm 🇬🇧3pm 🇺🇸10am

LIVE SOON: Live from Spain and Brussels: why EU leaders don't want to know what's behind the Ceuta crisis

Starting Aug 5 at 10:00 AM EDT

open.substack.com

Today everyone — EVERYONE — should take a moment and read Ray Bradbury's four-page short story from 1950.

Rebecca R Helm@rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 20h ago

Today is the day the story There Will Come Soft Rain is set. An amazing and heartbreaking work of fiction for our modern age. Read it here:

I have no stories like this. I visited Madison with my cousin and a friend over a weekend, thought it seemed like a cool place, never talked to anyone from UW.

Kevin Cantú@killerswan.bsky.social · 2d ago

I remember when another kid and I chose Iowa State we met at an engineering summer camp and had a ball doing brainy stuff then Nebraska (UNL) had an event where they talked to us about engineering and then took us to a football game

Okay! So hello. My name is Allison Gill. For the last 9 years, you’ve known me as Mueller, She Wrote. I used to have to be anonymous. But not anymore. So, hello world!

Allison Gill@muellershewrote.com · 2d ago

Changed my name from Mueller, She Wrote to my actual name, Allison Gill. Hoping I can get my blue check back. @joshpetri.bsky.team can you help?

This is COVID policy in 2026. bsky.app/profile/melo...

Melody Schreiber@melodyschreiber.com · 2d ago

“Without this, people become homeless. They lose their income. They lose their stability. Whatever tiny safety net they had is gone,” @shannonrosa.bsky.social said. “It’s just cruel.” My latest: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

We disgrace ourselves as a nation each and every day Donald Trump remains in office. The drafters of the United States Constitution provided a remedy for a criminally insane president like the one we have—impeachment and removal ...

"How China Won the Iran War" by Paul Krugman. And there's this stick in the eye: "When future historians write about this tale of self-immolation, they may well do so in Mandarin."

Mmm. Distracted driving is an offense for which a driver can be ticketed, but I am not aware of distracted walking being ticketable, esp a walker on a sidewalk. Walkers in crosswalks, marked or unmarked, as long as the crosswalks are not controlled by traffic lights, have the right of way. 📖🚶🎧👨‍🦯

Prof Dynarski@dynarski.bsky.social · 2d ago

As I veer across the sidewalk, trying to avoid a walker reading her phone, I suddenly recall that as a child I would walk Somerville streets reading a book

No one ever had to spend $175M on librarian misconduct settlements Not even when we drank that Dallas bar out of tequila

sara@saract.bsky.social · 3d ago

we're on pace to spend something like 5x the total public library budget on misconduct settlements alone. do we think that number will go up or down with 1,000 more officers? you cannot propose this kind of stuff and be taken seriously as a "fiscally responsible" candidate

lidar just peeled back the amazon canopy, revealing hundreds of ancient sites and a civilization that could've housed 3 million people. they found 396 new geoglyphs, and scientists estimate 24,000-30,000 more earthworks are still hidden. just astounding.

LiDAR Scans Uncover Lost Amazonian Civilization That May Have Housed 3 Million People

Researchers have utilized LiDAR technology to digitally strip away the Amazon rainforest's dense canopy, revealing hundreds of previously unknown archaeological sites. This groundbreaking discovery ch

businesstoday.in

Meaning, has trump turned literally every institution into the trump org and gotten away with literally everything in court? No, obviously not, but he has demonstrated how the power of one guy’s presidency can make an open mockery of the american ideals of accountability for the most powerful. You…

Lincoln assuages Congress with this trope. The UK had in 1834 abolished slavery AND compensated the slave owners. The Royal Navy at high cost to Britain enforced bans on the slave trade on the high seas. Meanwhile, Lincoln proposes but a milquetoast Emancipation (not Abolition). Last best, my ass.

250 to 250@250to250.bsky.social · 3d ago

@hcrichardson.bsky.social is an award-winning historian and the author of Letters from an American. Richardson revisits the Declaration of Independence and the principles of equality and self-government that set America on the road to becoming "the last, best hope of Earth." #WeAreAmerica250

Amen. I was stunned when I first visited Harper's Ferry to learn that Robert E Lee arrested John Brown. Their diametric fates --death to the liberator, clemency for the traitor-enslaver--is a perpetual stain and shame upon the nation.

The United States is at war right now. And this is our commander in chief. From Valley Forge to Bedminster, what a tradition of service and sacrifice.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3d ago

Trump: “The Winning Shot in the Bedminster Club Championship! Thank you very much to all of those who participated. I won with a 70, & am so honored in that, unlike the rest of the field, I’m given very little time to practice, bc I’m focused on many other things. It’s called TALENT, and I have it”

Alas, we have cape-lust. Except Edna.

Mark Copelovitch@mcopelov.bsky.social · 3d ago

People want <individual> political heroes to emerge from a system that has <~zero> institutional mechanisms for that to happen. It's a massive agent-vs-structure problem in American political discourse. Everyone wants the next Obama when the answer is fixing the broken institutions.

Doubthat.

NY Times Pitchbot@nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 3d ago

The Athletic | CBS has indefinitely suspended lead NFL analyst Tony Romo. Will the network tap its newest hire Ross Douthat as his replacement?

One of the most black-pilling things I ever experienced as a sociologist was getting to see in real time just how much everyday life could be changed in 2020-21 and then reactionary fash forces being like “lawl nope” and gleefully making life worse.

Lupita Nihongo@otsumamiboy.blacksky.app · 4d ago

What I hate about COVID downplayers is… you won okay. In the aftermath of humanity coming together to develop the most crucial vaccines of our lifetime & collectively sacrificing to save lives, we are now less safe, less vaccinated & less empathetic than ever. You won ok. Lay down your swords.

They lie about the big stuff. They lie about the small stuff. They lie about having lied. And they act outraged if anyone points it out. We need a fundamental change in how their words are reported, interpreted, and acted on.

Bill Kristol@billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 4d ago

Reflecting Pool lessons: 1. Trump administration lying is routine and pervasive. Nothing they say or do should have a "presumption of regularity." 2. They spend our money to prosecute innocent people. Congress should cut and restrict funds and hold liars accountable. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/u...

Appalling cruelty — and all to fund more tax cuts for the rich.

These third country deportations are among the most evil acts of the Trump administration. They're trying to extrajudicially punish people for seeking asylum, up to and including with death.

Gillian Brockell@gillianbrockell.com · 4d ago

Great reporting from @emilybregel.bsky.social about a gay man who’s been in the US since he was four, imprisoned in a “hotel” in Equatorial Guinea since April. He says he’s being denied soap and toilet paper in retaliation for filing a complaint w African Commission. 1/ tucson.com/news/local/b...

TIL "nocebo" "a detrimental effect on health produced by psychological or psychosomatic factors such as negative expectations of treatment or prognosis." Tyvm New Oxford American Dictionary.

Oh, no...

Gabe Ortíz@tusk81.bsky.social · 4d ago

And if you are still within the sound of my voice Over some radio I just want you to know You were always my only choice

For some of both generations, an antidote for insomnia.

The New York Times@nytimes.com · 4d ago

“The Odyssey” is selling out in all formats at all times of day — including baby-friendly matinees, which are packed with newborns and frazzled parents desperate for some normalcy.

It really really really bugs me how many people simply do not understand what it means when the government tries to convict you even IF THEY FAIL TO DO IT. Do you know how many thousands of dollars in legal fees it costs? You will most likely lose your job. You might lose your home.