(click on images to enlarge)
(Michael de Adder, caglecartoons.com, Canada)
(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com, Canada)
(Matt Wuerker, Politico)
(Rick McKee, caglecartoons.com)
(Steve Sack, stevesack.substack.com)
(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)
(Kevin Kallaugher, The Economist, UK)
(Sean Delonas, caglecartoons.com)
(Matt Davies, Newsday)
(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
(John Cole, TennesseeLookout.com)
(Nick Anderson, The Contrarian)
(Mo Welch, The New Yorker)
NBC News' Sahil Kapur delves into the false promise of a magical thinking "Republican epiphany" after the corrupt and vindictive Malignant Fascist lost in 2020. He and Trumpism not only returned in 2024, but they promised revenge for those that tried to hold them accountable for their crimes:
"Seven years ago, on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, Joe Biden boldly proclaimed that Republicans would have an 'epiphany' after they lost the 2020 election — they would move on from President Donald Trump and work cooperatively with Democrats.
Many Democrats bought into it then. But after Trump stormed back into the White House with a popular-vote win and an Electoral College thumping four years later, Democratic voters are abandoning that vision in favor of a more combative style of politics.
'Every elected official who believed that has either retired, lost or is about to lose,' said Democratic strategist Rebecca Katz, who named her firm Fight Agency after the GOP sweep in 2024.
At a campaign stop on May 14, 2019, Biden told voters, 'The thing that will fundamentally change with Donald Trump out of the White House — not a joke — is you will see an epiphany occur among many of my Republican friends.' [ed.: they were never really your "friends," Joe, as you eventually found out]
The Republican epiphany “did not happen,” Democratic pollster Anna Greenberg deadpanned in an interview.
Contrary to Biden’s prediction, she said, 'in the 2020 election, it’s pretty clear that a big part of the why Trump lost was because of his handling of Covid. It was not necessarily a rejection of Trump or Trumpism. And I think that’s partly what we see in 2024 — is that there were folks who never actually rejected that.'
Democratic voter attitudes rapidly shifted to seeking a confrontational posture toward the GOP, similar to what Republican voters had demanded of their party since 2009." (our emphasis)
Biden brought with him into the White House people of a like mind, trusting MAGAts to turn from their cult and embrace compromise, not seeing who they were dealing with. People like the timid and ineffective Attorney General Merrick Garland, who declined to act with any sense of urgency over the January 6 seditious conspiracy until Congress stepped forward and showed him the way nearly 2 years after the riot. He then stepped back and let Special Counsel Jack Smith take the heat, and now he's with a prestigious law firm in D.C. still flying under the radar.
There must be a reckoning with the remaining Dem believers in an epiphany among Republicans of the kind that Biden imagined. That's started with grass roots rejection of a number of "centrist / establishment" Dems during the current primary season (Platner vs. Mills in Maine) at the State and local level. After what we've seen, we can't afford to trust the MAGA movement / cult to do anything but undermine democracy and try to create a one-party system.
(photo: Should have watched your back)
Epstein files way past due --
BREAKING: The DOJ is now 146 days overdue in releasing the Epstein files.
— Hopeful in AZ (@shimanti.bsky.social) May 15, 2026 at 12:01 AM
Trump's China misadventure --
Not a day goes by that Trump is not an international embarrassment and disgrace. After Xi gets up from the table, criminal conman Trump shames himself by opening Xi's personal notebook.
— Bill Madden (@maddenifico.bsky.social) May 15, 2026 at 11:46 AM
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A national embarrassment.
— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) May 14, 2026 at 9:17 PM
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Trump goes to China, rants about Chinese food, agrees with Xi that America is in decline, Xi convinces Trump to let Chinese nationals buy US farmland, and then Trump leaves, visibly struggling to get up the stairs to Air Force One. A global embarrassment.
— CITIZENS AGAINST TYRANNY (@aspectratios.bsky.social) May 15, 2026 at 12:11 PM
The Chinese think Trump is an idiot. There is nothing to add.
— scipionow.bsky.social (@scipionow.bsky.social) May 15, 2026 at 11:49 AM
Operation Epic Epstein Fury / leave it to daddy --
Speaker Ken Doll says the non-war is over and the opening of the Strait won't be a war either, so he and his fellow eunuchs won't be bothering President Daddy while he's busy working.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) May 15, 2026 at 10:37 AM
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The fraud is under your nose, JD --
shot // chaser
— Connor Ewing (@cmewing.bsky.social) May 15, 2026 at 10:55 AM
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Ballrooms vs. classrooms --
Turns out, schools are way cheaper than ballrooms...
— Biggie (@biggienotsmalls.bsky.social) May 15, 2026 at 6:20 AM
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NEW: The Senate parliamentarian has rejected major provisions in the GOP's reconciliation package -- aka the $72B spending bill for ICE + Trump's ballroom. These bits now need 60 vs 51 votes to pass: *ALL CBP funding *Funds for initial screenings of unaccompanied migrant kids *$2.5B for DHS
— Jen Bendery (@jbendery.bsky.social) May 14, 2026 at 8:45 PM
"Gym" Jordan's short term memory loss --
KAITLAN COLLINS: “What about Trump’s promise to lower gas prices?” JIM JORDAN: “That’s life.” COLLINS: “If someone’s paying more for⛽️, saying ‘that’s life’ might not make them feel better.” JORDAN: “Those are your words, not mine.” COLLINS: “No you said that. Just now.”😬
— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) May 14, 2026 at 10:19 PM
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Gender fluid in our Golden Age --
Does he think cisgender is “six genders”?
— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.com) May 15, 2026 at 11:16 AM
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Trump hearing "cisgender" and thinking its "six genders" then getting all mad about it, thus forcing other Republicans to agree that the libs are now demanding there be six genders, is a perfect encapsulation of our Golden Age of Dickishness and Stupidity.
— Rex Huppke (@rexhuppke.bsky.social) May 15, 2026 at 11:56 AM
Get yours now! (Happy Friday!) --
🤣😂🤣👏👏👏👇
— 🇨🇦 Tom [redacted]🍁📎 (@tntnle.bsky.social) May 12, 2026 at 7:50 PM
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Former Tom Petty guitarist and songwriter Mike Campbell and his band The Dirty Knobs have a new single, "No Regrets," to go along with their new album, "Mission of Mercy." He's keeping the Petty flame alive. Hope you enjoy.
Dear Struggling, Law-Abiding American Taxpayers:
President Donald Trump is expected to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service in exchange for the creation of a $1.7 billion fund to compensate allies who claim they were wrongfully targeted by the Biden administration, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The commission overseeing the compensation fund would have the total authority to hand out approximately $1.7 billion in taxpayer funds to settle claims brought by anyone who alleges they were harmed by the Biden administration's "weaponization" of the legal system, including the nearly 1,600 individuals charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack as well as potentially entities associated with President Trump himself.
While the settlement is expected to be agreed upon in the coming days, sources caution that the final terms will not be set until they are officially announced.
In addition to a public apology from the IRS, the compensation fund is believed to be the main condition for Trump to drop a series of legal actions he filed against the federal government, including the $10 billion lawsuit related to the 2019 leak of his tax returns as well as $230 million in legal claims related to the 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago estate and the Russia collusion investigation he faced during his first term in office, sources familiar with the ongoing deliberations said. The settlement terms are expected to prohibit Trump from directly receiving payments related to those three legal claims; however, entities associated with Trump are not explicitly barred from filing additional claims, sources said. [snip]
The proposed fund -- which could face significant legal hurdles -- would draw money from the Treasury Department's Judgment Fund, a permanent appropriation used by the federal government to pay court judgments and settlements, sources said.
The arrangement would be an unprecedented use of taxpayer dollars with little oversight. Under the terms of the potential settlement agreement, President Trump would have the authority to remove members of the commission running the fund without cause, and the commission would be under no obligation to disclose its procedures or decision-making process for awarding more than a billion dollars, the sources said.
The proposed creation of the compensation fund has led some administration officials to raise ethical concerns about the arrangement -- stemming not only from Trump suing his own government but also having control of an entity that can freely hand out $1.7 billion to his allies. When asked about his legal claims last year, Trump acknowledged the lawsuit "sort of looks bad," but claimed he would donate any money he receives from the claims to charity. [snip]
While the exact terms of the settlement are still being finalized, sources have described the proposed compensation fund as a hybrid between a victim compensation fund -- similar to the civil claims process that followed the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill -- and a truth-and-reconciliation-style commission. Examples of truth and reconciliation commissions in other countries include governmental acknowledgment of wrongdoing related to apartheid in South Africa and Canada's Indian residential school system.
Over the last year, the Justice Department has utilized a so-called "Weaponization Working Group" to examine what it has described as abuses of power by the Biden administration, identifying cases of alleged anti-conservative and anti-Christian bias -- claims that are disputed by former officials.
Trump's proposed commission is expected to be composed of five members who would issue monetary awards based on a majority vote, and the process for awarding money and the identities of the recipient could be kept private, according to sources.
Any remaining funds would be turned back over to the government shortly before Trump leaves office, sources said. (our emphasis)
A Justice Department that's been turned into the Malignant Fascist's personal law firm is about to agree to this "unprecedented use of taxpayer dollars with little oversight" to reward the insurrectionists, extremists, scoundrels, sycophants, and other bottom-feeding remnants of the MF's cult who broke the law and trashed the Constitution. We remain skeptical that the "significant legal hurdles" faced by the arrangement will be enough to keep the MF and his lackeys at DOJ from pulling this off. The "ballroom Republicans" in Congress certainly won't stand in the way. The self-dealing corruption of the MF becomes more normalized by our institutions every day.
(Image: the MF with potential beneficiaries of his slush fund)
Last night, the soon-to-be-gone-but-not-forgotten Stephen Colbert had hilarious takes about the Malignant Fascist's visit to China, Xi's dominance handshake with the MF's "five-day-old banana hand," CBS News' China trip fail, Chinese robots, the unexpected effects of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and more. Also, catch David Letterman's guest appearances during the show here, here, and here (the last segment involving "the wanton destruction of CBS property," something many of us have fantasized about in the past year).
(click on images to enlarge)
(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
(Drew Sheneman, The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ)
(Dave Granlund, politicalcartoons.com)
(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)
(John Cole, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
(Dale Cummings, caglecartoons.com, Canada)
(Paul Duginski, caglecartoons.com)
(Kevin Necessary, kevinnecessary.substack.com)
(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)
(Joe Heller, hellertoon.com)
(Ivan Ehlers, ivanehlers.com)
Operation Epic Epstein Fury Files: worsening Iran fiasco, China winning, Navy broke--
Trump's Iran fiasco worsening: *Officials leaking Trump hasn't destroyed Iran military *Allies running from admission he's not concerned with people's finances *GOP Senators breaking *Polls cratering On the pod @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social nails all these dynamics: newrepublic.com/article/2104...
— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) May 14, 2026 at 7:37 AM
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*IRAN ALLOWING CHINESE SHIPS TO PASS STRAIT SINCE LAST NIGHT *IRAN'S SEMI-OFFICIAL FARS NEWS CITES INFORMED SOURCE
— George Pearkes (@peark.es) May 14, 2026 at 6:26 AM
US Navy could run out of money by July, top officer warns - https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-navy/2026/05/13/us-navy-could-run-out-of-money-by-july-top-officer-warns/
— Defense News (@defensenews-poster.bsky.social) May 13, 2026 at 4:38 PM
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Are taxpayers about to be hit with Trump grift for billions? --
Of all Trump’s kleptocracy schemes, the most shameless may be his legal claims against the same executive branch he oversees. Now, a settlement is in the works for his $10B lawsuit against the IRS. The result would drop any IRS audits of Trump, his family, or his businesses. trib.al/W2mDNtC
— The New Republic (@newrepublic.com) May 14, 2026 at 10:39 AM
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Bibi "Bomb Bomb" Netanyahu thanks CBS' awful Bari Weiss for bowing to his demands --
"Israel to Bari Weiss: 'Thank You'" The CBS News editor-in-chief let Netanyahu choose who would interview him. Plus, the pro-Israel pressure campaign against the New York Times’s Nick Kristof falls flat. This week's Ragebait media column from Zeteo:
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan.bsky.social) May 13, 2026 at 6:01 PM
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The clueless Malignant Fascist doesn't think about Americans' financial woes (or Beltway media either) --
INBOX: “Today @ofthebraveusa.bsky.social Home of the Brave launched a brand-new $200K billboard campaign bringing the following message to eight cities across the country: Trump is focused on his ballroom. Not your gas prices. Not your grocery prices. Not your healthcare. Not you."
— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) May 14, 2026 at 8:33 AM
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Trump saying he doesn’t care about Americans isn’t a gaffe to the beltway press because they don’t give a shit either.
— Sam Youngman (@samyoungman.bsky.social) May 13, 2026 at 9:22 AM
In the same press gaggle, Trump said he doubled the size of his ballroom and he doesn’t care about Americans’ financial situations. I am begging the media — act like Obama or Biden did this shit and cover it the way you would have then.
— Adam Parkhomenko (@adamparkhomenko.bsky.social) May 12, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Things that go "BOOM" in Russia. Keep hitting them hard, Ukraine! --
🔥NEW: A huge Russian oil refinery in Perm has fully halted operations after a Ukrainian drone strike, Reuters reports. It’s the latest in Ukraine’s deep strikes on Russian oil infrastructure. Lukoil’s Permnefteorgsintez — Russia’s 7th-largest refinery — processed 12.6 million tons of crude in 2024.
— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) May 13, 2026 at 5:57 PM
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Zuck's "pervert glasses" say so much about him and the tech bro culture --
BAN THE PERVERT GLASSES
— Katie Martin (@katie0martin.ft.com) May 13, 2026 at 9:44 AM
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The gift that keeps on giving --
After Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One in China, he is presented with his very own 13-year-old Asian girl to take back home with him as a welcoming gift. #DonaldTrump #China
— Paulley Ticks (@tomadelsbach.bsky.social) May 13, 2026 at 4:52 PM
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Nobel laureate Paul Krugman writes in his Substack on the craven and weakened Malignant Fascist's junket to China, and how it shows his humiliation:
"One of Donald Trump’s signature claims is that Joe Biden made America a 'laughing stock', and that he has made us great again and respected around the world.
Yet this is the opposite of the truth. As a result of Trump’s petulant, self-destructive policies, much of the world now holds him and America as a whole in contempt. As the New York Times reported just before Trump’s visit to Beijing, the Chinese now talk routinely about 'American decline,' and describe Trump as 'an accelerator of American decay.'
To be clear, China has many significant problems of its own. It faces a demographic crisis: Its working age population has been shrinking for more than a decade. Its economy is deeply unbalanced, relying on unsustainable trade surpluses and unproductive investment to make up for inadequate consumer spending. Its economic growth is slowing. It suffers from high youth unemployment. Discontent is rising, held in check by autocratic, police-state measures.
But despite China’s domestic troubles, in geopolitical terms China is on the ascendant. Trump’s visit to Beijing is a field trip by a failing, flailing would-be autocrat pleading with a real strongman, who leads a much more serious country, to bail him out of the mess he’s made." (our emphasis)
Please read his entire piece for an understanding of what the MF has done to put China in the ascendancy, as we decline on his watch.
The megalomaniacal and lawless Malignant Fascist's $1 billion golden ballroom public funding request is in serious trouble in the House, The Hill reports:
"House Republicans are split over the White House’s proposal to allocate $1 billion in security funding for a new White House ballroom and other Secret Service priorities.
GOP lawmakers are looking to include the money in a second reconciliation package focused on funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol operations.
But some moderates have raised concerns that ballroom security should instead be financed through private donations — as President Trump has vowed the ballroom itself will be — arguing the expenditure would be difficult to justify to voters and could undercut Republicans’ broader economic message at a time when inflation, grocery prices and gas costs are through the roof.Adding the ballroom security funding to the package, which Republicans aim to pass using a process that would require only GOP votes, could also complicate and potentially delay its path forward. Trump has said he wants the legislation on his desk by June 1, and the House is scheduled to be out of town the last week of May, leaving Republicans with a little more than a week to finalize and pass the measure." (our emphasis)
As retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) commented, "I can tell you it's not playing well on Main Street." Not when families are struggling with high food and gas prices as a result of the MF's war in Iran and his vindictive tariffs, among other blunders.
Also in the Senate, NBC News reports that the billion dollar price tag, when voters are angry about affordability, has some MAGAt Senators nervous, and Dems pushing to eliminate it:
"After they got a private briefing Tuesday, Senate Republicans remained torn over whether to spend $1 billion in taxpayer funds on President Donald Trump’s ballroom project. [snip]
Some GOP senators emerged from the meeting unconvinced or at least wanting more information before they decide.
'I still got some more questions, and they’re going to send us more information,' said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., usually a reliable vote for Trump. 'I’m undecided.'
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he still has 'a lot' of questions for the White House about the spending plan. 'One of the biggest concerns on our side is adding to the deficit,' he said."
The Dems, referring to their counterparts as "Ballroom Republicans," and looking forward to a vote that would show their voters who they really care about, are in a good position as the mid-terms approach. They've asked the Senate parliamentarian to rule on the ballroom provision's inclusion in the Homeland Security bill. Expect the ballroom-obsessed MF to fight it out. Stay tuned.
The irreplaceable Stephen Colbert got into the delusional Malignant Fascist's junket to meet the man who replaced him as world leader, China's Xi, bringing along the usual tech bro fascists (Musk, Tim "Apple" and more), "Hormuz Nuz You Can Uz", as well as the Pentagon renaming the Iran war as "Operation Sledgehammer" to avoid accountability to the War Powers Act. He also covered the economy in "the poop chute," and finished up addressing the new "fad" of ballmaxxing. We're in the last week of Late Night, so we're going heavy on Stephen these next days.
"... The Times highlighted a recent report from a Beijing think tank affiliated with Renmin University, which sardonically thanked the American president for having done so much to weaken his own country.
"The report called Trump an 'accelerator of American political decay,' with the U.S. sliding toward polarization, institutional dysfunction and even 'Latin American-style instability.'
"And consider the evidence: The Republican arrives in China not just as an erratic figure doing lasting harm to the United States’ global stature, but as a weakened leader at home. It is not lost on officials in Beijing that Trump is an unpopular president, struggling to deal with domestic economic tumult, a failed tariff agenda and an unnecessary war that hasn’t gone according to plan, and whose political party is likely to suffer significant losses in the fall.
"It’s not exactly a position of strength..." -- Steve Benen, MaddowBlog, on why the Chinese (and other rival nations) are quite happy that the easily manipulated moron Malignant Fascist is President. The election of the MF twice has often been described as national suicide, and the Chinese and others are only too happy to watch and smile.
(click on images to enlarge)
(Monte Wolverton, caglecartoons.com)
(Paul Duginski, caglecartoons.com)
(Pedro Molina, Tribune Content Agency)
(Drew Sheneman, Tribune Content Agency)
(Nick Anderson, The Contrarian)
(David Rowe, Financial Review, Australia)
(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
(Lalo Alcaraz, LA Weekly)
(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
(Matt Davies, Newsday)
(Avi Steinberg, The New Yorker)
Operation Epic Epstein Fury / a "decimated" lie --
“Decimated,” according to Trump and Hegseth. Iran still has 70% of the missiles it had before the war. Plus 90% of its launch sites along the Strait of Hormuz and underground missile launch & storage facilities nationwide. And 70% of its mobile launchers. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/u...
— Kurt Andersen (@kurtandersen.bsky.social) May 12, 2026 at 6:35 PM
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The Epstein survivors hearing yesterday --
The Epstein investigation is proof we have a two-tier justice system: one for the wealthy & well-connected and one for survivors. Oversight Democrats took our investigation to Palm Beach where many of the horrific crimes—and failures of justice—took place. We will not stop pursuing accountability.
— Rep. Summer Lee (@repsummerlee.bsky.social) May 12, 2026 at 3:00 PM
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Ghislaine Maxwell must never receive a pardon or clemency. Today, at a hearing with Epstein survivors, I made clear that Maxwell has shown no remorse and taken no accountability for her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse network.
— Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (@congressmanraja.bsky.social) May 12, 2026 at 1:50 PM
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Can we do something to make the Chinese keep him and his corrupt crime family? --
"There's Elon in the back there. You can see Eric Trump. There's Jensen Huang."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 13, 2026 at 8:18 AM
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This is simply bonkers. The White House is in active discussions with DOJ about settling Trump's lawsuit against the IRS in his favor, *precisely because* a judge might soon throw it out. WH apparently wants DOJ to agree to "settle" the lawsuit *before* that happens. Utter insanity.
— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) May 13, 2026 at 11:35 AM
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“.. while a company linked to him and the US president’s family explores a deal with a Chinese chipmaker that American lawmakers have warned is connected to the ruling Communist Party.” @financialtimes.com www.ft.com/content/8fc4...
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) May 13, 2026 at 12:58 PM
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It's a battery, Secretary Bugwit --
BURGUM: When the sun goes down, solar produces zero electricity HUFFMAN: I want to enter into the record this amazing new technology that apparently the secretary is unaware of -- it's a battery
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 13, 2026 at 11:05 AM
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Another dangerous incompetent in Trump's kakistocracy --
"Gorka is a mediocrity who holds a job for which he is not qualified. The poor quality of this putative strategy is a reminder of what happens when unserious people are asked to undertake a serious job." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
— Tom Nichols (@radiofreetom.bsky.social) May 13, 2026 at 11:07 AM
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A tale of two Presidents --
Biden’s exit economy vs. Trump’s economy today. Jobs: Biden higher Unemployment: Biden lower Inflation: Biden lower GDP growth: Biden higher Gas prices: Biden lower Cocaine use: Don Jr. higher
— BPV (@pvpower.energy) May 13, 2026 at 11:22 AM
Desiccated prune Rep. Virginia Foxx (MAGA-NC) humiliates 10-year-old --
virgnia foxx is one of those low key members who has been abjectly horrible her entire time in office. a total degenerate.
— jamelle (@jamellebouie.net) May 12, 2026 at 10:29 PM
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Toxic Trump Tower scrapped. Sad! --
Plans to build Australia’s first Trump Tower have been scrapped just three months after it was announced, with the local developer saying the Trump brand has become “toxic.” “Let’s just say that with the Iran war and everything else, the Trump brand was increasingly unpopular in Australia.”
— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) May 13, 2026 at 10:59 AM
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A couple of weeks ago, we featured the title track of Paul McCartney's new album "The Boys of Dungeon Lane," a nostalgic work that looks back on the days of his youth in Liverpool that helped form his sensibilities. "Home To Us" from that album is a duet with fellow Beatle Ringo Starr. The song clearly has a Beatlesque quality to it, and more specifically McCartney's style. Enjoy.
