Given the longstanding right-wing scam economy milking the conservative rank-and-file for every spare dollar they've got, this is definitely a growth area for entrepreneurs with a Grok account and a dream
www.wired.com/story/ai-gen...
The kids are all "Who is this guy and why are you laughing at him," and they're not going to believe this but he was once the biggest star in TV news
I'm not saying Dems are going to take this race, but keep in mind that 2018 was the highest midterm turnout in a century, and people are even madder now. There's a strong possibility of an absolutely epic blowout up and down the ballot that sweeps in lots of races we never through were competitive.
This is a little more personal than what I usually post; the death of Paul Waldman - artist, bodybuilder, character - prompted me to think about my teenage self and the twisted politics of manhood.
paulwaldman.substack.com/p/rip-to-the...
If you present me with a series of allegations supported by multiple sources and I reply "Nuh-uh," you are legally barred from publishing your story, that's just how it works, I am a law-knowing guy
Finally watched "The Apprentice" (not without flaws, but Sebastian Stan's performance is fantastic), and based on that, clearly the answer is for The Atlantic to countersue Kash Patel for $5 billion for defamation because he impugned their journalistic integrity.
At this point, Republicans in tight races might be asking themselves, "Does Trump WANT us to lose?"
My latest at Public Notice, on how difficult he's making life for his party:
www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-midt...
By this I don't mean "old people can't have interesting ideas," it's just that by this point I'm pretty sure we've heard everything George Will has to say about anything.
I would very much like my career to continue for a good long while, but if a media organization is still paying me to write columns (or have my assistants write them) when I'm 85 years old, as George Will is, something will have gone very wrong with the news industry
Remember when super-terrific dealmaker Donald Trump was going to use his super-terrific dealmaking skills to convince Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons, what ever happened to that
www.cnbc.com/2026/04/19/n...
Clancy Brown is the chaotic evil version of Ron Perlman, who is chaotic good, and though each of them has been in like 5,000 movies, apparently they've never been in a live action movie together because no movie could contain them both.
Clarence Thomas is wrong: rights don't come from God, they come from government. God doesn't give you due process, freedom of speech, or even freedom of religion; only government, and only democracy, does that.
My latest at MSNOW: www.ms.now/opinion/clar...
RIP to my namesake, who combined the soul of an artist with sick washboard abs before it was cool:
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/a...
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What the Grandma is supposed to communicate So yes, Republicans and the conservative media machine celebrating Simmons are using her to exaggerate the effects of the no-tax-on-tips provision, which will help only a sliver of the population and give even them only modest benefits. The larger point they’re trying to make, just as they did with Joe the Plumber and many other avatars, is this: Republicans are for working people. Which is one of the most important messages the GOP must continually communicate, because when your party is so singularly devoted to the interests of the economic elite, you have to find ways to convince voters to ignore the truth of who your real constituents are.
If you have a friend who is not wealthy and still votes Republican, point them towards the latest from @paulwaldman.bsky.social:
"The Trouble With the 'DoorDash Grandma' - and All Republican Reg'lar Folk Avatars"
paulwaldman.substack.com/p/the-troubl...
Here is an excerpt.
Genuinely funny that Sonia Sotomayor issued a public apology today for her mild criticism of a conservative colleague on a specific, substantive issue, and then a few hours later Clarence Thomas picked up a mic and was like ALL LIBERALS ARE AMERICA-HATING COWARDS
What's in evidence here is that Vought, along with the entire Trump administration, just completely rejects the idea that Congress has any role at all to play in governing. It's an annoyance to be bowled over, swatted away, or ignored, in no way the legitimate representative of the people.
Yes, the story of the DoorDash Grandma and her fictional $11,000 tax break doesn’t add up. But that’s only part of the deception at work.
paulwaldman.substack.com/p/the-troubl...
Is there a name for the genre of knowingly-ironic-yet-sincere pop that says "Yes this is kinda silly and we're sort of mocking it but we also love it now here are some impossibly catchy hooks"? TMBG, Fountains of Wayne, XTC, etc? Maybe Elvis Costello too. What's it called?
For me, a big “aha” moment in law school was when I realized that every year, the handful of normal, median-ish guys (they were all guys) who would land huge clerkships seemingly out of nowhere were all officers in the student FedSoc chapter
This may be the most Kevin Hassett thing Kevin Hassett has ever said
“How many lawyers would you hire that were penniless? How many doctors would you hire that didn’t go to medical school?” said Issa, explaining why anyone who isn't a multimillionaire is too much of a loser to serve in Congress.
And yes, that's an actual quote.
Grifters shocked to learn that when they joined grift with family of grifters they would wind up getting grifted
It's a short list. Maybe Nikki Haley? But she has no chance with the base.
The fact that he feels the need to lie about this rather than boasting about it or saying "You can't take a joke" shows that he was seriously disturbed by the reaction of people in his own base
It was a tough week for JD Vance, failing to help Viktor Orban and failing to negotiate peace with Iran. So when do we stop judging him just on his potential?
paulwaldman.substack.com/p/perhaps-it...
JD may have been the one on the scene, but the failed Iran negotiation was a Trump operation from top to bottom.
He is truly the world's worst negotiator.
My latest at Public Notice, including some fun quotes from The Art of the Deal:
www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-fail...
Every time Zuck appears in public it's an absolute PR disaster, yet he keeps saying "I should be the one to do this product launch" and you have to conclude that every time, his lackeys say "That was terrific, sir! Nobody noticed when the AI glasses fell off your face and you pooped your pants!"
"JD Vance Is Still a Compelling Political Savant Who Speaks Directly to America's Disaffected Working Class," from the people who brought you "Is Hillary Clinton Likeable Enough?"
