What Not To Do

Instead of all this "alpha male bullshit", sign up for a little therapy - or maybe just get a hug.

Purposely making yourself suffer - paying somebody to make you suffer - mainly teaches you how to make others suffer.

There's a very unsettling trend that's been going on for quite a while now. The notion that you can't be a "real man" if you don't know how to do things that can destroy everything and everybody around you.

I was raised to build things up, not burn them down.

Erika Jordan

68% of low-wage earners are victims of wage theft every week.

Belle

Daddy State Awareness

• The Daddy State lies as a means of demonstrating power.
• The lies have practically nothing to do with the subject of the lies.
• Lying about everything creates chaos, which helps condition us to stop thinking, and look to them for "guidance".
• Once we're totally dependent on them, we'll accept the premise that they can do anything they want.

The goal is to destroy our ability

to experience reality directly,

so they can dictate reality to us.

Bullshit Explained

I don't know how these pricks get up every day and look themselves in the mirror.

Erika Jordan

A How-To video.

1. Google "Ballot Initiative Process [your state]"
2. Write the law
3. File it with your state's Secretary Of State
4. Collect signatures
5. Turn in the signature sheets

Amanda's Friday

Another One Bites The Dust

And still, Trump-backed Republicans have fared pretty well so far.

GOP Rep. Andy Ogles ousted in Tennessee primary

His loss makes him the second Donald Trump-endorsed candidate to lose a primary this week.

Tennessee GOP Rep. Andy Ogles was ousted by a Republican challenger on Thursday, a blow to President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson who tried to boost his campaign in the final days.

Former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher won the GOP primary for the 5th District after outraising Ogles, receiving a late endorsement from GOP Gov. Bill Lee and seeing a flood of outside money on his behalf from a renewable energy super PAC.

What the hell's up with a Republican getting help from Green Energy?

Ultimately, that spending, coupled with a newly redrawn district that forced Ogles to reach new voters, helped end his reelection bid. Ogles has also faced a number of controversies since he was first elected in 2022.

He deleted a homophobic social media post that was denounced by members of his own party in June, and he drew severe backlash for another post in which he said “Muslims don’t belong in American society.” In 2024, the FBI searched Ogles’ phone during an investigation into campaign finance records, which came after a watchdog group filed an ethics complaint into his use of campaign funds. And in 2023, he faced scrutiny for false claims about his resume.

Ogles’ loss makes him the second Trump-endorsed candidate to lose a primary this week, after a Michigan House candidate who had the president’s backing fell to a challenger who had already dropped out.

Hatcher will face the Democratic mayor of Columbia, Tennessee, Chaz Molder, in November. Molder has posted strong fundraising hauls, while Hatcher will basically be starting from scratch.

But Republicans redrew the seat to favor Trump by 23 points after the Supreme Court severely limited the Voting Rights Act earlier this year, leaving Hatcher as the front-runner.

All the Trump-Backed Candidates Who Have Lost Races in 2026

President Donald Trump's endorsement has remained one of the Republican Party's most sought-after political prizes during the 2026 election cycle, helping the vast majority of his preferred candidates secure victories in GOP primaries.

However, his winning streak suffered a setback on Thursday when Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee lost the Republican primary for the state's newly redrawn 5th Congressional District.

During Trump's first term, from 2017 to 2021, Ballotpedia tracked 305 endorsements. In 2026 alone, the president has made 312 primary endorsements, with 97 percent of his endorsed candidates winning their primaries through early July, according to the elections tracker.

Ogles lost to former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher despite receiving Trump's endorsement, becoming one of only a small number of candidates backed by the president to lose at the ballot box this year.

Trump-Backed Losses in 2026

Andy Ogles
Ogles entered the race with Trump's support after establishing himself as one of the president's closest allies in Congress. Trump has described the Tennessee congressman as "a Conservative Warrior."

Hatcher, who was backed by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, ultimately prevailed in the closely watched contest following the state's congressional redistricting.

Amir Hassan
Two days before Ogles' defeat, Trump-backed congressional candidate Amir Hassan lost the Republican primary in Michigan's 8th District to Thomas J. Smith.

The result surprised many observers because Smith had suspended his campaign weeks before Election Day but remained on the ballot, ultimately winning with 50.4 percent of the vote. Hassan, who had received Trump's endorsement in July, finished well behind Smith with 33.2 percent.

The upset represented one of the most unexpected defeats for a Trump-endorsed House candidate this cycle.

Phil Berger
North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger suffered one of the earliest high-profile defeats of the 2026 primary season when he lost the Republican nomination for the state's 26th Senate District to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.

Berger has been one of the state's most influential Republican lawmakers for more than a decade.

Burt Jones
Georgia Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones lost the Republican gubernatorial runoff in June, a significant setback for the president in a contest viewed as a test of his influence in the battleground state.

Brenda Wilson
Brenda Wilson, a Vigo County Council member, ran for election to the Indiana Senate to represent District 38 but lost in the Republican primary on May 5.

Bruce Borders
Fellow Indiana Republican Bruce Borders, who has held his seat in the state's House of Representative since 2014, also failed to win renomination.

The longtime state representative, who previously served in the Indiana House from 2004 to 2012, was another early casualty among Trump's endorsed candidates.

Sid Miller
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller's primary loss was notable because relatively few statewide incumbents backed by Trump have failed to secure another nomination. Miller has served in the role since 2015.

Representative Randy Feenstra of Iowa lost the state's GOP gubernatorial primary in a contest that drew attention as a test of competing Republican factions.

Pamela Evette
While South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette narrowly finished first in the state's Republican gubernatorial primary on June 9, she lost the runoff two weeks later—securing 31.4 percent of the vote to state Attorney General Alan Wilson's 68.6 percent.

Trump had initially endorsed Evette ahead of the primary, but he later issued a dual endorsement for Wilson days before the runoff.

Jon Maples
Earlier this year, Jon Maples ran in a special election to represent District 87—home to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate—in the Florida House of Representatives. Though he won the primary with more than 80 percent of the vote, he ultimately lost the general election by 2.4 percentage points to Democrat Emily Gregory.

Maples is now running in the regular election for District 87, with the Republican primary scheduled for August 18. If he wins, he and Gregory would again face off in November's general election.

Trump's Endorsement Record Remains Strong
Trump has endorsed hundreds of candidates running for congressional, statewide and legislative offices this cycle, and the losses remain the exception rather than the rule.

Still, Ogles' defeat adds another name to the short list of candidates who were unable to convert the president's backing into a nomination victory, providing a reminder that even the Republican Party's most influential endorsement is not a guarantee of success.

Oops

U.S. economy unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs in July

Key Points

• Nonfarm payrolls unexpectedly declined in July, falling by 23,000 amid a drop of 53,000 government jobs and softness in retail, leisure and hospitality, and slower-than-usual growth in healthcare.
• The unemployment rate edged lower to 4.1%, but was due largely to a further decline in those holding jobs or looking for work.
• Worker pay was nearly flat in the month as well, with the 12-month increase in average hourly earnings slipping to 3.2%, the lowest since May 2021.

The U.S. economy saw an unexpected declined in jobs during July while the unemployment rate edged lower, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday in a snapshot that showed a slowing employment picture.

Nonfarm payrolls fell by a seasonally adjusted 23,000 for the month, compared with a downwardly revised 20,000 for June. The Dow Jones consensus forecast had been looking for a gain of 83,000.

At the same time, the unemployment slipped to 4.1% as the labor force participation rate fell further to 61.4%, its lowest in more than five years, another indication that fewer Americans were working or looking for jobs.

In addition to the weak numbers for June and July, the final count for May was revised down to 63,000, or 66,000 lower than the prior estimate. The revised numbers brought the 12-month average down to just 34,000.

“The July employment report solidified that the labor market is not out of the woods quite yet,” said Nicole Bachaud, a labor economist at ZipRecruiter.

The drop was led by a 50,000 decline in local government education and a loss of 19,000 retail jobs. Financial activities also posted a fall of 14,000 and leisure and hospitality lost 40,000, a possible consequence of the World Cup tournament ending.

Healthcare, which has been the leading sector for job creation, rose by 22,000, which was below its 12-month average of 36,000. Construction also saw an increase of 22,000.

Private payrolls did increase for the month, up 30,000 as government jobs declined by 53,000.

While jobs held flat, worker pay also saw virtually no gain during the month. Average hourly earnings increased by just 2 cents, bringing the 12-month average down to 3.2%, below the forecast increase of 3.5% and the lowest since May 2021.

The report comes with Federal Reserve policymakers split on where interest rates should head in an economy where the labor market had been improving from a moribund year in 2025 while inflation has remained well above the central bank’s 2% target.

In recent days, several Fed officials have spoken in favor of raising rates as soon as September if the pace of price increases doesn’t ease. The Federal Open Market Committee last week voted 9-3 to hold its benchmark rate in place.

Following the jobs report, traders shifted their bets on when the Fed might hike. Odds for a move in September fell to 44% and to 58.3% for October, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch gauge of futures prices.

Stock market futures, meanwhile, posted solid gains amid the expectations for a more dovish Fed. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up close to 200 points and Treasury yields plummeted after being around the flatline earlier in the session.

“This morning’s report is a game changer in the sense that all of the recent focus has been on inflation and this report highlights the risks that are embedded in the labor market as well,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management. “Before today, many were expecting that the Fed had no choice but to raise rates in order to fight stubbornly high inflation, because the job market was so strong, but this report shows that isn’t the case.”

Details of the report confirmed the weak headline numbers.

Household employment, which measures the total of people reporting that they are working and is used to calculate the unemployment rate, fell by 87,000. However, the unemployment rate declined because of a decrease of 264,000 in the labor force. Outside of the Covid era, the participation rate is at its lowest since the middle part of 1976.

“While the unemployment rate is falling, that is mostly for the wrong reason—not enough workers,” wrote Bill Adams, chief U.S. economist at Fifth Third Commercial Bank. “Immigration compensated for the aging of the workforce in the first few years of the post-pandemic expansion, but that’s not happening anymore.”

The employment-to-population ratio fell again, slipping to 58.9% for its lowest level since May 2014. An alternative jobless measure that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons held steady at 7.9%.

The problem is the system depends on people staying poor.

Belle

There are 1,461 days in a POTUS term.

1,461

- 564

  897

There's over 60% of Trump's term left to go.

"Trump has been a disaster for the US, and the Republicans in Congress who co-signed for it are to blame."