Will’s Attempt to Criticize Trump’s Foreign Policy Takes a Turn

Come for the shots fired at the cabinet, stay for the weird digression.

Kakistocracy Update

A minor, yet telling, example of the intellectual maturity of this administration.

abstract image with silhouettes of all different people abstract image with silhouettes of all different people

The Revolution Will Not Be Happening

The public is much less concerned than you are.

The Elephant is the traditional symbol for the Republican party. The Donkey is the traditional symbol for the Democratic party. The Elephant is the traditional symbol for the Republican party. The Donkey is the traditional symbol for the Democratic party.

Competitive Authoritarianism

A four-pronged test.

Trump’s Message to Generals and Admirals

A long and unusual speech has implications for civil-military relations.

Bizarre Conspiracies: USAID Edition

People are weird.

The free high-resolution photo of statue, lantern, ceramic, toy, material, ornament, sculpture, art, thinker, figurine, clay, carving, handicraft, thoughts, ceramics, the head of the, the figurine, worry , taken with an Canon PowerShot SX40 HS 03/02 2017 The picture taken with 5.0mm, f/2.7s, 1/20s, ISO 1000 The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required. The free high-resolution photo of statue, lantern, ceramic, toy, material, ornament, sculpture, art, thinker, figurine, clay, carving, handicraft, thoughts, ceramics, the head of the, the figurine, worry , taken with an Canon PowerShot SX40 HS 03/02 2017 The picture taken with 5.0mm, f/2.7s, 1/20s, ISO 1000 The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required.

Messy Reflections On The Assassination Of A Political Opponent

To be fully human requires living with and in sometimes unresolvable contradictions

Surprise is a Luxury We Can No Longer Afford

If President Trump sends unwanted military force into American cities, the one thing we should not act is surprised.

Our Cancel Culture King

There’s a vast difference between someone getting dogpiled on social media and the most powerful man in the world using the machinery of the state to eliminate dissent.

Trump’s National Security Non-Process

A very different way to run a railroad.

Democratic Holdovers in an Undemocratic System

Town hall meetings are a relic of a different age.

Beyond Parody

If any other president…

Don’t Let Trump Distract you from the Epstein Matter…

…but don’t let the Epstein matter distract you from everything else Trump is doing.

caricature of Vladimir Putin caricature of Vladimir Putin

Putin Summit Yields Nothing

The artless deal.

A Very Good Week For Putin

The Russian autocrat may be on the verge of getting what he wants.

Hiroshima Bombing’s 80th Anniversary

The last survivors want us to remember the horrors of nuclear war.

Tariffs are Magic!

Trump’s One Weird Trick to end the war in Ukraine.

President Donald Trump thanks the crowd after remarks at the Salute to America Celebration, Thursday, July 3, 2025, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. President Donald Trump thanks the crowd after remarks at the Salute to America Celebration, Thursday, July 3, 2025, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa.

Trump Applies Madman Theory For Real

An unusual diplomatic approach.

Checking in on The List

Where are we with my concerns about the Trump administration?

Why Might Iran Want a Nuke?

Is dropping it on Israel the most likely reason?

Israel-Iran War: What’s the End State?

Thinking about possible outcomes.

The free high-resolution photo of wood, play, monument, statue, product, sad, sculpture, art, thinker, bronze, carving, patience, holzfigur, consider, bronze sculpture, question mark, at a loss , taken with an unknown camera 02/07 2017 The picture taken with The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required. The free high-resolution photo of wood, play, monument, statue, product, sad, sculpture, art, thinker, bronze, carving, patience, holzfigur, consider, bronze sculpture, question mark, at a loss , taken with an unknown camera 02/07 2017 The picture taken with The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required.

A Couple of Observations Relevant to Iran

Not really posts, but hey, here they are anyway.

Sec Def Peter Hegseth Jokes About Afghanistan Allies

Spoiler alert: the joke wasn’t funny

President Donald Trump participates in a press conference with departing DOGE adviser Elon Musk, Friday, May 30, 2025, in the Oval Office. President Donald Trump participates in a press conference with departing DOGE adviser Elon Musk, Friday, May 30, 2025, in the Oval Office.

The Trump-Musk Breakup

The bromance is apparently over.

The free high-resolution photo of wood, play, monument, statue, product, sad, sculpture, art, thinker, bronze, carving, patience, holzfigur, consider, bronze sculpture, question mark, at a loss , taken with an unknown camera 02/07 2017 The picture taken with The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required. The free high-resolution photo of wood, play, monument, statue, product, sad, sculpture, art, thinker, bronze, carving, patience, holzfigur, consider, bronze sculpture, question mark, at a loss , taken with an unknown camera 02/07 2017 The picture taken with The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial applications. Attribution is not required.

Awful Things Are Happening

Terrorism in Colorado. Continued awful violence in Gaza.

Speaking of Human Rights

What Trump and DOGE hath wrought.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks on 'Investing in America', Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in the Cross Hall of the White House. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on 'Investing in America', Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in the Cross Hall of the White House.

Trump: Ending Wars is Hard

Who could have known?

An M1A2 SEP v2 Abrams assigned to Bravo Company, 4th Battalion, 70th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, fires at a target during a zero range at Rodriguez Live-Fire Complex, South Korea, Aug. 5, 2024. The unit is participating in a deployment readiness exercise in support of Operation Pacific Fortitude, which supports long-standing agreements to the Republic of Korea by deploying forces, drawing and transporting equipment to validate unit readiness and the U.S. commitment to the alliance. An M1A2 SEP v2 Abrams assigned to Bravo Company, 4th Battalion, 70th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, fires at a target during a zero range at Rodriguez Live-Fire Complex, South Korea, Aug. 5, 2024. The unit is participating in a deployment readiness exercise in support of Operation Pacific Fortitude, which supports long-standing agreements to the Republic of Korea by deploying forces, drawing and transporting equipment to validate unit readiness and the U.S. commitment to the alliance.

The Army’s ‘New’ China Strategy

The Asia pivot is happening very slowly.

American Exceptionalism

USA! USA! USA!

Israel’s Next Move

Will the Netanyahu government double down on its weakening of Iran?

Did Somebody Say “Dunce”?

The ineptitude is staggering.

A Carnival of Dunces

You know, the meritocracy at work.

The Big Chilling Effect

Our leaders are afraid to lead.

Trump 47 Foreign Policy

It’s still murky but already quite different from the Trump 45 administration’s.

The Great Russia Coincidence

Russia, Russia, Russia?

The Artlessness of the Deal

Applying rational analysis to attitude and instinct.

Navy aircraft carrier with jets Navy aircraft carrier with jets

Norway Cutting Off Fuel to US Navy

A story I thought I’d never see.

What Ukraine Has to Contend With

Trump is spouting Russian talking points.

US Abandons Ukraine, Ruptures Atlantic Alliance

A shocking but completely unsurprising development.

Friedrich Merz (CDU-Parteivorsitzender); Porträt, Einzelbild Friedrich Merz (CDU-Parteivorsitzender); Porträt, Einzelbild

German Election Dominated by Parties of the Right

But a centrist grand coalition will likely govern.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. delivers remarks during a transition ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Aug. 14, 2020. (U.S. Air Force/Eric Dietrich) Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. delivers remarks during a transition ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Aug. 14, 2020. (U.S. Air Force/Eric Dietrich)

Trump Purges Pentagon Leadership

Three members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been fired.

A Note on Ukrainian Elections

Countering Russian (and now American) propaganda.

A Grotesquerie for Our Age

Trump blames Ukraine for being invaded.

Tuesday Tabs

The New World Order

Really, a older, more imperialistic one.

Senate Puts Tulsi Gabbard in Charge of Our State Secrets

The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body is not doing its job.