May 20, 2026
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?
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.
You're Not Under-Babied
This gang of fuckwad fascists sounds more like proto-Handmaid's Tale every day.
May 19, 2026
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.
Amanda Tuesday
Here's that story on inflation:
- 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.
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.
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