Fifteen minutes before the President announced he was pausing strikes on Iran, somebody moved $500 million in oil futures. Somebody knew. Somebody told them. Or somebody is them.
New piece ↓
open.substack.com/pub/adamkinz...
Berkeley bought this land more than 50 years ago using redevelopment funds and did nothing with it. It offered it multiple times to not-for-profit groups, non of which acquired it. Now the city will sell it to a private party, subsequent to an unsolicited cash offer. I wish I had thought of that.
President urges Iran to start peace negotiations by releasing non-existent, AI-generated women some rando posted about on X
No, because as my colleague pointed out today, they are going to flood the zone with leak takes to crowd out any engagement with the substance
SCOOP --> Paramount, Meta, and X are refusing to say what happened to their huge contributions to Trump's presidential library after Sen Elizabeth Warren raised questions about its fund getting dissolved. Ds say tens of millions remain unaccounted for.
Details here:
newrepublic.com/article/2092...
Articles about Jared Kushner's diplomatic role with Iran that mention Kushner has received billions from the Saudi government (2/28-4/19):
NYT: 5 of 58
WashPost: 1 of 43
WSJ: 0 of 40
AP: 0 of 26
CNN Wire: 0 of 18
NY Post: 0 of 17
Chicago Tribune: 0 of 4
LA Times: 0 of 4
Boston Globe: 0 of 2
WOW: A stunning new report in the WSJ reveals that military advisers intentionally excluded Donald Trump from the command room during the recent high-stakes operation to extract a downed U.S. airman in Iran, because they feared his erratic behavior could jeopardize the mission. 1/
When a pro-democracy, pro-republic coalition takes control again in Washington, Judgment Fund reform needs to be on the agenda. Now that Trump has shown how the Fund can be used as a massive tool of corruption, there's no going back to relying on norms of restraint.
“I am choosing to return home as planned to continue my career as a woman scholar without losing more time to the state-imposed violence and hostility I have experienced in the United States – all for nothing more than co-signing an op-ed advocating for Palestinian rights."
yeah, i think political work needs to be done to connect vance directly to people like orban. "vance wants to rule over you like you're a slave
NEW: The 2-1 majority ruled that Boasberg's orders to block deportations to CECOT were too ambiguous — and his subsequent inquiry too invasive — to allow the contempt proceedings to continue.
Majority: Rao (Trump), Walker (Trump)
Dissent: Childs (Biden)
www.politico.com/news/2026/04...
HOW 3 TRUMP-APPOINTED JUDGES HAVE STOPPED JUDGE BOASBERG FROM PROBING POSSIBLE CRIMINAL CONTEMPT FOR 363 DAYS Apr 16 Judge Boasberg finds probable cause to believe criminal contempt was committed, but gives govt a chance to “purge” the contempt Apr 17 Govt petitions for stay and mandamus (a type of emergency appeal) Apr 18 Trump-appointed Judges Katsas & Rao impose an “administrative” stay. Judge Pillard dissents. Such stays, which provide no reasoning & are unappealable, are only supposed to last a week or so, if that. But this one lasts 112 days. Jun 24 Former DOJ atty Erez Reuveni unveils whistleblower letter alleging that on 3/14/25 then Principal Asst DAG Emil Bove told DOJ attys they might have to say “fuck you” to judges—the day before DOJ & DHS failed to follow Boasberg’s order to turn CECOT-bound planes around. Aug 8 Katsas & Rao each grant mandamus, though neither joins the other’s theory. Pillard dissents. Aug 29 Same panel stays its own ruling and reinstates the administrative stay pending resolution of petition for rehearing en banc.
Nov 14 Petition for rehearing en banc is denied, but administrative stay is dissolved. Six of 11 judges explain, in statements, that Boasberg can resume fact-finding for possible contempt because changes on the ground have rendered Rao’s theory of mandamus inoperative. Dec 8 Judge Boasberg sets evidentiary hearing on contempt for Dec. 15 Dec 12 Govt petitions for second mandamus Dec 12 New administrative stay entered by Trump-appointed Judges Rao & Walker. Judge Childs dissents. 2026 Apr 14 Judge Rao and Walker grant mandamus; Judge Childs dissents. Second administrative stay lasted 123 days. Total delay since Judge Boasberg’s order so far: 363 days.
How 3 Trump-appointed judges have prevented Judge Boasberg from probing top DHS & DOJ officials (including a now fourth Trump-appointed judge, Emil Bove) for possible criminal contempt for 363 days.
Hungary under Orbán was one of the most effective such regimes in the world. Fidesz developed an incredibly sophisticated system for marginalizing the opposition, including controlling 80-90 percent of media.
This @kimlanelaw.bsky.social piece has details. www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/how...
@@realDonaldTrump on TruthSocial: Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about “fear” of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart. I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t! I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country. And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History. Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican. Unfortunately, Leo’s Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me, nor does the fact that he meets with Obama Sympathizers like David Axelrod, a LOSER from the Left, who is one of those who wanted churchgoers and clerics to be arrested. Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church! President DONALD J. TRUMP 3.03k ReTruths 11k Likes 4/12/26, 8:03 PM
@realDonaldTrump on TruthSocial Image of Trump as Jesus 4/12/26
Tonight, President Trump posted a long statement describing the Pope as "weak," "terrible" and "hurting the Catholic Church." He followed it less than an hour later by posting an image of himself as Jesus Christ.
Donald J. Trump 9 0 @realDonald Trump Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about "fear" of the Trump Administration, but doesn't mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart. I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn't! I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don't want a Pope who thinks it's terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country. And I don't want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I'm doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History. Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn't on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican. Unfortunately, Leo's Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me, nor does the fact that he meets with Obama Sympathizers like David Axelrod, a LOSER from the Left, who is one of those who wanted churchgoers and clerics to be arrested. Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It's hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it's hurting the Catholic Church! President DONALD J. TRUMP 935 ReTruths 3.07k Likes Apr 12, 2026, 9:03 PM
Deranged anti-Pope Leo screed from the current president of the U.S.
A Skeptic From the Start Mr. Vance did not want the United States to go to war with Iran. He warned about regional chaos and mass casualties. He worried about depleting the U.S. stock of munitions. He feared betraying the administration’s political base, many of whom backed the president because of his vow not to enter the United States into new wars.
This has so quickly become conventional wisdom that the NYT doesn't even feel the need to attribute it. The original article attributes it to "extensive interviews." Hmmph. And this article makes it sound like Vance made his concerns public, which of course he didn't. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/12/u...
With 45% of the vote in, the Hungarian opposition is projected to cross the 133 seat boundary and gain a supermajority in parliament.
That result would be an absolutely stunning rebuke of Orban and the global right-wing authoritarian project.
every political rag spent the past couple days writing beat sweeteners about Vance the Peacemaker
and, welp
Calvin Duncan, a man imprisoned for 30 years before he was exonerated, won an election in New Orleans promising to fix a judicial system that failed him
Now, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and the GOP-controlled Legislature are racing to eliminate his job before he can be sworn in
Local assemblywoman in his area just pulled endorsement and it appears Nancy Polosi more or less asked him to drop out.
Contemporaneous text messages and STD test results? Credibility level off the charts.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but the very good CNN piece on Swalwell seems to be strongly implying something even-worse than what it explicitly alleges (which is already a career-destroying level of bad) edition.cnn.com/2026/04/10/u...
"he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment"
Dems need to impeach all of them. ALL of them. Block Trump's pardons that way
In fifty years when people look back at the past decade or so, the big world-changing technological innovation won't be the chatbot slop machines, it'll be mRNA.
Also what's with cities that have a "refuge" space that is only on one side of the crosswalk, and refuse to extend an existing median to the other side of said crosswalk. That's not a refuge!
lol remember when Republicans howled in indignation after Obama released $1.7B of frozen Iranian funds and all we got in exchange was a multinational deal to massively curtail its nuclear program?
The ballroom foreign steel story — www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/u... — is huge. It perfectly illustrates why we have virtually every rule involved in government spending and the allocation of power to spend. It's a perfect issue spotter beyond the capacity of professors to imagine.
Chart showing the actual flow rates (black dots), the estimated flow rates using the revised method (blue dot), and the traditional estimation method used since 1940.
This is one of the best illustrations of the recklessly inaccurate flow estimations still primarily used for selecting diameters for water supply piping in multifamily buildings.