Something Wicked This Way Comes

Trump may be trying to win by losing.

He goes for revenge against Cassidy and Massie, et al, and endorses the weirdest sickest fucks out there on the Flaky Fringey Right.

But since Republicans stand to take it in the shorts and get voted out of 35 or 40 or 50 seats in the House, and maybe 6 or 8 in the Senate, that gives Trump a shit load of losers he can count on to jump up and down screaming "Rigged election!!! Voter fraud!!! We was robbed!!!"

I don't know what all that means in terms of getting things squared away, and winners installed, but delay is Trump's go-to maneuver, and there's not that much 'business time' in government between Nov 3rd and Jan 3rd.

We'll see what we'll see, because the question remains:

Are there still people of honor in the GOP who'll stand up in defense of our little experiment in democratic self-governance?

Mercedes Chandler

Aaron Parnas

Trump wants to pay the J6ers for beating on - and maiming, and killing - cops, taking a dump in the rotunda and then smearing their shit on the walls, and stalking the halls of the Capitol trying to hunt down and kill various lawmakers.

And he intends to tax me for not beating on - and maiming, and killing - cops, taking a dump in the rotunda and smearing my shit on the walls, and then stalking the halls of the Capitol trying to hunt down and kill various lawmakers.

This is the UpsideDown. I want this fucked up circus to leave town yesterday if not sooner.

Live To Party

... and party to live.

Today's Rich

They are now exactly who they've always been.

You're Not Under-Babied

This gang of fuckwad fascists sounds more like proto-Handmaid's Tale every day.

A.I. Is Not Good

Things could change, but for now, and for what little future I can foresee, AI is a trillion-dollar toadie for CEOs who already have oversized egos, but are somehow in need of a little extra dopamine boost.

AI played war games and - surprise surprise - everybody gets a nuke up their ass.

Light Gets Tired?

Amanda Tuesday

Here's that story on inflation:

Inflation rate projected to hit 6% in the second quarter, top economic forecasters say

• The recent surge in inflation is likely to get worse over the next several months, according to a survey Friday from the nation's top economists.
• Consumer price inflation is projected to hit 6% for the second quarter, according to the Survey of Professional Forecasters, compared with 2.7% in the prior survey.
• The survey follows a slew of inflation data showing that prices paid both at the consumer and wholesale levels hit multiyear highs in April.

The recent surge in inflation is likely to get worse over the next several months, according to a survey Friday from the nation's top economists.

Consumer price inflation is projected to hit 6% for the second quarter, according to the Survey of Professional Forecasters, a blue-ribbon group that is polled each quarter by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

In the most recent forecast three months ago, the panel put the expected consumer price index gain at just 2.7%. However, that was just before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks against Iran, hostilities that have sent energy prices soaring while pushing inflation data well past the 2% mark the Fed targets.

For the full year, the panel put the CPI rate at 3.5% for the all-items number and 2.9% for core, which excludes volatile food and energy prices. That's up from estimates of 2.6% for both in the prior survey.

Elevated inflation levels are expected to persist into the third quarter, with headline CPI projected at 3% and core at 2.9%. Both levels are expected to ease by the end of the year, with the fourth quarter at 2.5% and 2.7%, respectively.

Still, the panel doesn't see the Fed hitting its goal well into the future. The 10-year projected annual average is at 2.4%, which the survey notes would be equivalent to 2.22% by the Fed's preferred standard, the personal consumption expenditures price index, a Commerce Department measure.

The PCE inflation rates also are expected to hold well above the Fed's comfort zone, though at not as high a level as the consumer price index, a Bureau of Labor Statistics compilation.

Headline PCE inflation is projected at 4.5% for the second quarter with core at 3.4%, compared with prior estimates of 2.7%.

The survey follows a slew of inflation data showing that prices paid both at the consumer and wholesale levels hit multiyear highs in April. Headline CPI showed inflation at a 3.8% rate, the highest in nearly three years, while the producer price annual inflation rate of 6% was the peak since December 2022.

All of the data comes as Kevin Warsh is set to assume the role of Fed chair. Though Warsh has indicated he would like to see lower interest rates, that is going to be difficult to accomplish with inflation data so high and the general sentiment among his fellow policymakers to keep rates steady with an open mind toward possible rate hikes if inflation worsens.

Elsewhere in the survey, forecasters lowered their outlook for growth in coming quarters. They expect gross domestic product to rise at a 2.1% annualized rate in the second quarter and 2.2% for the full year, the latter down 0.3 percentage point from the prior estimate. Growth is projected to slow further to 1.9% in 2027 before bouncing back above 2% in subsequent years.

The unemployment rate this year is expected to settle around 4.5%, or 0.2 percentage point higher than the current level.

An Oldie

A politician has died and finds himself standing at the pearly gates, where St Peter is waiting.

"I was a little worried I wasn't gonna make it here - looks like good news for me", says the politician.

St Peter replies, "Hold on a minute. We need to make sure you're in the right place, and our god, being a fair god, you have a choice between heaven and hell, so let me show you the alternatives."

The politician joins St Peter in an elevator, and they go down and down and down.

The doors open, and in the distance, the politician sees a beautiful golf course, and in front of the clubhouse, all his old friends and lovers are standing and smiling and waving him over to them. They all eat a lavish supper, and drink vintage champagne, and dance to the best band anybody's ever heard. They skinny dip in the pool, and then pair off and retire to their rooms for a "nightcap" - or two - or three.

As night becomes day, St Peter tells the politician it's time to go check out heaven, so it's back to the elevator, and up they go.

As they arrive, they're surrounded by pleasant happy souls. They relax to beautiful music that seems to come from nowhere in particular, and they engage in stimulating, thought-provoking conversation about everything from the great philosophers to small talk about movies, and cooking, and car repair. They lounge by a lake - some swimming, some fishing, some water skiing, some just napping or reading to themselves. Everyone is happy and contented.

St Peter asks the politician if he's made his decision, and he answers, "Yeah - y'know - this is all really great, but I think I'll take you up on the offer to stay in hell."

Down they go, and when the elevator doors open, the landscape is barren and scorching, and the air stings his eyes and rasps on his throat as he breathes. In the distance, he sees people picking up garbage with their bare hands, as more garbage falls on them from the ugly yellow-brown sky.

The politician is stricken with the worst feeling of dread and despair that anyone's ever experienced. He turns to St Peter and cries, "What's all this? Yesterday it was beautiful - what have you done?"

St Peter steps into the elevator, and as the doors are closing, he says, "Yesterday, we were campaigning - today, you voted."