Skeets of the Day

 

Operation Epic Epstein Fury: now a blockade and diplomatic failure--

“.. Trump wants a quick fix. The reality is, this mission is difficult to execute alone and likely unsustainable over the medium to long-term,” said Dana Stroul, a former senior Pentagon official .. @militarytimes.bsky.social www.militarytimes.com/news/pentago...

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) April 13, 2026 at 8:52 AM

Trump lured the Iranians to the bargaining table under false pretenses, telling them their 10 point plan would be the basis for negotiation only to try to impose his own wishlist as the basis. Then he violated the ceasefire with a blockade, itself an act of war. Nobody will ever trust us again.

— Lindsay Beyerstein (@beyerstein.bsky.social) April 13, 2026 at 8:00 AM

 

"All of Trump’s weaknesses as a negotiator are now on display: His refusal to comprehend the substance, his childish understanding of the nature of power, his inability to grasp the perspective of his opponents, and his belief that anything can be accomplished with sufficient threats and violence."

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— Susan McPherson (@susanmcp.bsky.social) April 13, 2026 at 8:56 AM

 

Insane, narcissistic blasphemy by the Malignant Fascist --

He is delusional. He is demented. He is crazy. He does not care about religion or you. In the past 24 hours he lashed out at The Pope and posted this. If you are elected, a business CEO, or a voter and you enabled this to the American Presidency, today is a great day to move on and stop him.

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— Fred Guttenberg (@fredguttenberg.bsky.social) April 13, 2026 at 8:17 AM

 

Even his cultists on Truth Social aren’t thrilled with this one from the demented megalomaniac.

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) April 13, 2026 at 6:32 AM

Pope Leo responds to the MF -- 

Trump is messing with the wrong guy.

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— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf.bsky.social) April 13, 2026 at 8:19 AM

 

Pope Leo: "I'm not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the Church works for." "We are not politicans. We do not look at foreign policy from the same perspective that he may have."

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— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) April 13, 2026 at 7:55 AM

Autocrat and MF pal Orban goes down in humiliating defeat in Hungary -- 

Viktor Orban accomplished so much of what the Trump movement wants to accomplish here he ruled for 16 years and rewrote the rules in his favor and still, they threw him out and you know what? they did it by voting don’t let anyone tell you voting doesn’t matter

— Micah (@rincewind.run) April 12, 2026 at 3:47 PM

 

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

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— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum.bsky.social) April 13, 2026 at 6:49 AM

J(unior) D(dictator) Vance's golden touch, and a welcome home  -- 

Vance has really got that global magic touch. Shown in diff ways with: -Booed out of visiting anywhere in Greenland except US military base -Pope Francis, RIP -Pope Leo, declines his invite to visit DC -Orban -Iran "deal" What a guy.

— James Fallows (@jfallows.bsky.social) April 12, 2026 at 3:40 PM

After unsuccessful negotiations with Iran, Vice President JD Vance returns to the US and appears genuinely touched to see the love of his life there waiting to welcome him home. (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait for it) #JDVance #Iran

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— Paulley Ticks (@tomadelsbach.bsky.social) April 12, 2026 at 11:29 PM

 

Buh-bye. Guess we didn't know you after all -- 

Done. wapo.st/3Qiry6u

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— Wajahat Ali (@wajali.bsky.social) April 12, 2026 at 9:03 PM

The MF's sleepless, raging nights a sign of his demented mind -- 

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— George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 (@gtconway.bsky.social) April 13, 2026 at 8:34 AM

 Make America Swollen Again: Eat Those Bees! --

Swollen RFK Jr. Warns Americans Not Eating Enough Bees

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— The Onion (@theonion.com) April 12, 2026 at 12:00 PM

 

Today's Tomorrow Cartoon

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The Malignant Fascist's insanity and instability are growing daily as his poll numbers drop in reaction to the war on Iran, the struggling economy and more. The corporate media plays its part in sane washing him, Dems issue feeble responses, as the corruption and self-dealing rage on. We know that he'll have some new outrage the next day, and the next. As a malignant narcissist, he demands that the spotlight always be on him.

Please consider supporting Tom's work by going here,

Trump's Blasphemous Posting

Not long after he attacked Pope Leo for urging peace, and rejecting war mongers, along with "the delusion of omnipotence," the mentally ill Malignant Fascist posted a sacrilegious, AI-generated portrait of him self as Jesus, healing a sick man. The vile portrait also had military aircraft and personnel in the background, endorsing his reckless war of choice on Iran. On MS Now this morning, Jonathan Lemire remarked: 

“I think Trump's not used to, he's not used to sharing the stage with anyone. And Pope Leo has been a very quiet figure in his first month in the Vatican. That has now changed.” 

Guest Jim VandeHei added: 

“Watch the numbers. The trajectory is not great for Donald Trump. He's losing young Americans. He's losing Hispanics. He's losing all of the MAGA podcasters with the biggest audiences. Yes, he still has his mesmerizing hold over the base. But little by little, he's starting to lose that coalition, that new coalition that brought Republicans into power. It's the reason they think they're going to lose the House, and they now think there's a 50/50 chance they lose the Senate.” (our emphasis)

The MF's profane outburst against Iran on Easter Sunday caused some in the right-wing bubble to criticize the MF, including Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Green, Alex Jones and Megyn Kelly, which in turn prompted the MF to attack them.

The MF is clearly mentally ill, exhibiting sign of dementia on top of his untreated extreme narcissistic personality disorder. It's long past 25th Amendment time as the U.S. moves into uncharted territory in its war on Iran, while the MF portrays himself as Jesus, but his loyal sycophantic cultists around him will never let that happen because he's truly their "Jesus".

Trump's Dangerous Blockade Plan

 

Fresh off of the lame and unqualified Vice President's floundering at the ceasefire talks with Iran in Islamabad, the crazed and confused Malignant Fascist is imposing a blockade of Iranian ports. Iran has threatened to attack the ports of the U.S.'s Persian Gulf states as well as U.S. military facilities there. From the Associated Press:

"The U.S. military announced it will begin a blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas on Monday, as President Donald Trump sought to pressure Iran in a move that risks driving oil prices even higher and renewing the war. The announcement set the stage for a showdown, as Iran immediately responded with threats on all ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

'Security in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is either for everyone or for NO ONE,' the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported Monday. 'NO PORT in the region will be safe,' according to a statement from the Iranian military and the Revolutionary Guards.

U.S. Central Command announced the blockade would begin on Monday at 10 a.m. EDT, or 5:30 p.m. in Iran, and would be 'enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf (Persian Gulf) and Gulf of Oman.' CENTCOM said it would still allow ships traveling between non-Iranian ports to transit the strait, a step down from the president’s earlier threat to blockade the entire strait." (our emphasis)

The MF's plan will not only provoke Iran to attack oil facilities in the region, but will impact nations like China and India which import from Iran. Oil prices will surge as violence escalates. Additionally, ships carrying food and medicine to Iran would also be impacted by the MF's escalation. It promises to be a destructive escalation by a flailing and reckless MF. 

(photo: Halden Krog/EPA/Ritzau Scanpix)

Another Note To Hackwackers Readers

 

Again, FYI folks:

During the next 2 weeks, half of the Hackwhackers staff will be away, and the other half will be hosting family and performing other Springtime activities.  Consequently, some regular features (e.g., "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly," "Across the Universe," multiple daily cartoons) will also be "away," and the volume of posts will be somewhat less than usual.  We're fully back the week of April 27.

"Thank you for your attention to this matter."

 

Hungarian Elections and the MAGAt Influence [UPDATED]

 

Hungarian authoritarian Kremlin stooge Viktor Orban is facing election, and from all indictions he's not doing well, despite a last minute push from J(unior) D(ictator)Vance to endorse his candidacy. From Salon.com:

"Orbán has ruled Hungary for 16 uninterrupted years, for most of that time with an unassailable legislative supermajority. As reporters have told us endlessly over the past decade or so, he was 'Trump before Trump,' and the truism is at least partly accurate.

As Hungarian journalist Ivan L. Nagy puts it, Orbán has survived and prospered through an ingenious pattern of 'shadowboxing' against an ever-shifting cast of 'make-believe enemies,' telling the conservative and nationalistic elements of the Hungarian public that only he can save them from dark-skinned immigrants, European bureaucrats, meddling American liberals, the globalist plots of Hungarian-born George Soros, LGBTQ activists, 'gender ideology' and wokeness. It isn’t entirely fair to say he built his regime on veiled or coded racism, antisemitism, misogyny, homophobia and trans panic; for the most part, it wasn’t coded at all. [snip]

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, Orbán’s principal target has been Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is supposedly in league with Brussels apparatchiks and other sinister forces (all of them more or less identified as Jewish) in a conspiracy against the Hungarian economy, heterosexual marriage and so on. None of that has any logical coherence, but do I need to explain to Americans under the second Trump administration how little that matters?"   (our emphasis0

Orban has been long been doing the Kremlin's bidding for years, and is war criminal Putin's staunchest ally in the West. He represents a strain in European politics of anti-Semitism and exclusion that fits with the Kremlin's underlying philosophy. The Trump regime has been working to elect their authoritarian allyy. But he's unpopular at home, given his inability to control prices and his obvious subordination to his backer in Moscow. In other words, his similarity to the unfit and corrupt Malignant Fascist. We'll see if the equally corrupt and beholden to Moscow Orban is finally tossed out, or whether he'll cheat his way back and give the MAGAts the incentive to do the same here.

UPDATE: Orban defeated in a landslide election, giving the Trump-Vance regime a decisive blow.

(photo: Losers. Evan Vucci—Getty Images)

Sunday Reflection

 

"Prayer teaches us how to act.  In prayer, our limited human possibilities are joined to the infinite possibilities of God.  Thoughts, words and deeds then break the demonic cycle of evil and are placed at the service of the Kingdom of God.  A Kingdom in which there is no sword, no drone, no vengeance, no trivialization of evil, no unjust profit, but only dignity, understanding and forgiveness." 

"It is here that we find protection from the delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us, and which is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive. Even the holy name of God is drawn into conversations about death." 

“Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life,” -- excerpts from Pope Leo XIV's evening prayer yesterday, addressing without naming the unhinged Malignant Fascist and his war criminal flunky Whiskey Pete Hegseth, over their belligerent, genocidal and blasphemous statements toward Iran. Sadly for humanity, these two sick and violent sociopaths won't heed the Pontiff's words, and many many innocent people will die from their actions. 

SNL: The U.S. and the U.K.

 

Melanoma Melania Trump's strangely timed claim of innocence in the Epstein - Trump scandal last week prompted both Saturday Night Live in the U.S. and the U.K. to focus on it in their cold opens, in an  example of the Streisand Effect. Great imitations of the sorry MAGAts on both sides of the Pond, and an indication that the world is getting on the same page with mocking these corrupt and dishonest hacks.

Today's Cartoons

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(Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Jeff Danziger, The Rutland Herald)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Matt Wuerker, Andrews McMeel Syndicate)

QOTD: Buyer's Remorse

Robert Kuttner, writing in The American Prospect, about the right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Bibi "Bomb Bomb" Netanyahu's successful effort to convince the unfit, violent and ignorant Malignant Fascist that the war on Iran would be simple, successful and over quickly:

"This week, The New York Times published a detailed investigative piece on the key meeting on February 11 in the White House Situation Room, where Netanyahu, joined by Mossad director David Barnea speaking on a screen, made the case for war, supposedly based on deep Mossad intelligence.

According to the Times, Netanyahu claimed four benefits. 'Iran’s ballistic missile program could be destroyed in a few weeks. The regime would be so weakened that it could not choke off the Strait of Hormuz.' The risk that Iran could harm U.S. interests in neighboring Gulf countries was assessed as minimal. And street protests would resume and create conditions for regime change.

John Ratcliffe, the CIA director, described the Mossad claims as 'farcical.' According to the Times, Trump then asked Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for his view.

Gen. Caine replied: 'Sir, this is, in my experience, standard operating procedure for the Israelis. They oversell, and their plans are not always well-developed. They know they need us, and that’s why they’re hard-selling.'

Despite these warnings, which proved prescient, Trump was all in. One can only imagine the buyer’s remorse that Trump feels now.

Just as Bibi pushed Trump into making war based on false premises, he now wants the war to continue as long as possible. His corruption trial resumes Saturday. Elections must be held by October, and despite his multiple wars, Netanyahu’s governing coalition has consistently been well behind in polls." (our emphasis)

The MF has said nary a word about Bibi's deceptive sales job, perhaps because he's too busy figuring out a scheme to make money off of a peace deal with Iran, which the Israeli leader would oppose before Iran is reduced to rubble. Bibi's joined by the sinister, murdering  Crown Prince Mohammed bin "Bone Saw" Salman of Saudi Arabia and others with that position. With friends like these.....

(photo: He sold me a lemon, and I don't know how to make lemonade)

Skeets of the Day

 

Operation Epic Epstein Fury: unfrozen assets, mines, more --

UPDATE, Islamabad, 18:30hrs: Negotiations continue to determine if negotiations can begin. A ceasefire continues & no-one has ceased fire. The Strait is open & closed; it is mine-free & mines are being cleared by the US Navy. Iran’s unfrozen assets are frozen. The regime remains changed & stable.

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— News Eye (@newseye.bsky.social) April 11, 2026 at 9:41 AM

 

remember the obama "pallets of cash for Iran" thing? lol

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— Sky Marchini (@sky.skymarchini.net) April 10, 2026 at 4:08 PM

Trump went from “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” to this.

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) April 11, 2026 at 5:58 AM

 

Because it was difficult to track the small boats deploying the mines, the United States is uncertain precisely how many Iran has placed in the strait or where they are located.- NYT

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— Shipwreck (@shipwreck75.bsky.social) April 10, 2026 at 7:35 PM

 

"they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways" Those feel like... pretty solid cards?

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— Rory Johnston (@roryjohnston.bsky.social) April 10, 2026 at 3:33 PM

The Swalwell scandal -- 

The details in here are horrifying but needed to be made public. Please take care while reading.

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— Marisa Kabas (@marisakabas.bsky.social) April 10, 2026 at 5:07 PM

Welp

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— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona.bsky.social) April 10, 2026 at 10:05 PM

 

There is no place in our country or the Democratic Party for those who abuse women and girls. I stand with the courageous survivor who shared her story. Congressman Swalwell must leave the Governor’s race immediately.

— Robert Garcia (@robertgarcia.bsky.social) April 10, 2026 at 7:14 PM

Melanoma Melania's "Sgt. Schultz" defense: she knows nothing! -- 

“To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell.” Suuuurrre, lady 🥴

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— Space Karen (@spacekaren2.bsky.social) April 10, 2026 at 3:36 PM

Making America sick again, RFK, Jr.'s unhinged plan -- 

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— jamelle (@jamellebouie.net) April 11, 2026 at 5:16 AM

 Massive anti-urban rally in Hungary. Kick the Putin asset out! --

This is the massive turnout for last night’s “anti regime” concert in Heroes Square, Budapest, ahead of tomorrow’s crucial Hungarian elections. Tens of thousands chanted “Russians go home”. #Orban

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— Mark Chadbourn (@chadbourn.bsky.social) April 11, 2026 at 7:06 AM

The Onion gets to the point --

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— The Onion (@theonion.com) April 10, 2026 at 3:30 PM

 

CA Governor Primary Just Got Worse

 

California gubernatorial candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell is facing an existential political crisis after several women accused him of sexual assault and misconduct. Swalwell, who was the leading Dem candidate in a crowded field, is denying the allegations, but endorsers are withdrawing support and staff is abandoning his campaign. From CNN:

"A former staffer of Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate for California governor, says that the congressman raped her when she was heavily intoxicated and left her bruised and bleeding, an allegation Swalwell strongly denies.

'I was pushing him off of me, saying no,' the woman told CNN of the incident, which she said happened in 2024 after she had stopped working in Swalwell’s office. 'He didn’t stop.'

She said it was the second time Swalwell had nonconsensual sexual contact with her while she was drunk. In 2019, when she was still working for him, she said she woke up naked with him in a hotel room after a night of heavy drinking. She said she had no memory of what happened but could feel physically that they’d had sexual contact.

Three other women who spoke with CNN also alleged various kinds of sexual misconduct by the Democratic congressman – including Swalwell sending them unsolicited explicit messages or nude photos."

Swalwell has been a leading and effective critic of the deranged and unfit Malignant Fascist, and was one of the leaders in the effort to impeach the MF in his first term. He's also been a vocal supporter of of victims of sexual assault, which make these claims particularly troubling. CNN's coverage continues:

"CNN found corroboration for key elements of each of the women’s claims, including the former staffer who said she was sexually assaulted. Two family members and a friend said in interviews with CNN that she told them about the alleged 2024 assault in the following days, and CNN also reviewed text messages she sent two friends describing her allegations at the same time. “I was sexually assaulted on Thursday,” she wrote to one of her friends, adding: “By Eric.”

The woman also shared medical records related to her receiving STD and pregnancy testing after the alleged assault."

There are more disturbing details of abuse attributed to Swalwell, often involving heavy drinking. 

There has been pressure by the California Democratic Party for their candidates to self-assess their chances of winning the primary, with the hope that some will voluntarily withdraw before the June primary. Swalwell wasn't thought to be one who needed to, but these credible allegations have upended his candidacy and likely his career.

 

Jean Smart's Tours the "Hacks" Set

 

The wonderful Jean Smart takes Architectural Digest on a tour of the season 5 set of "Hacks", with great visuals and a playful sense of humor. Enjoy.

Today's Cartoons

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 (Michael de Adder, caglecartoons.com)

(Kevin Kallaugher, The Economist)

(Joey Weatherford, Tribune Content Agency)

(Michael Ramirez, Las Vegas Review-Journal)

(Ted Rall, Rall.com)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz. substack.com

(Drew Sheneman, The Star-Ledger)

QOTD: Time to Abandon Ship

 

William "Bloody Bill" Kristol, an early Never Trumper, neocon philosopher and regular antagonist of the mentally ill and reckless Malignant Fascist, has these observations on Melanoma Melania Trump's strange speech yesterday trying to absolve herself -- but not her corrupt husband -- from the taint of the Epstein-Trump scandal:

"Melania is perhaps not a deep thinker, but she’s no fool. Since immigrating to the United States three decades ago, Melania Knauss has done well for herself. She’s shown that she has a shrewd sense of how to operate in her adopted country. She’s risen to the top, while mostly avoiding being directly engulfed in all the scandals that have raged around her.

And now she seems to think that the man to whom she hitched herself may be going down. She’s trying to arrange not to go down with him.

She presumably doesn’t think her husband can be induced to become one of those 'prominent male executives' who resigns from his powerful position. But she knows that he can be removed from it. Isn’t Melania signaling others in the Trump administration and her husband’s supporters in Congress that it’s time to abandon ship, that it’s time to remove him from office?

It should not have taken Melania Trump, acting in her own self-interest, to spur this action. Others should have come to this conclusion based on a judgment of what’s necessary for the well-being of the nation. But one welcomes any helping hand in our current drama."  (our emphasis)

We're less sanguine about the effect of Trump's speech, but better late than never, better a little than nothing.  

(photo: Trump to bff Epstein: "she's hot")