The Political Press Corps Still Does Not Understand What the Epstein Files Mean for MAGA

Posted on June 11, 2026 by mikethemadbiologist

Or maybe they’re just afraid to say it. Yesterday, the NY Times ran a palace intrigue story about the Trump administration’s attempt to manage the fallout from the Epstein files. It’s clearly informed by Vice-President Vance’s people, but it’s still pretty interesting.

But it’s clear from reading the story that the NY Times reporters along with the political press corps in general seems either unable or unwilling to understand that the Epstein Files are not (just) a ‘sex scandal’ that could topple Trump, but a load-bearing structure for conspiracist MAGA ideology. Throughout the entire story, which is about how they really did not manage the Epstein files well, there is no attempt to explain at all why this scandal mattered to the faithful and other scandals, like being an adjudicated rapist, did not.

The reporters never really broach why the Epstein Files are so important to MAGA et alia. There are some hints, in that NY Times British crossword clue style, where they imply Vance, Patel, and Bogino are true-believer conspiracists, so unlike the other members of the Trump administration, they understand what the Epstein Files mean to MAGA and the Republican faithful.

In 2026, if you’re covering the Epstein files and you can’t explain to your readers that the Epstein files, which to the Republican base are just the latest iteration of QAnon-Comet Ping Pong conspiracies, offer meaning and (pseduo)explanation for the Republican faithful, then you really are failing to inform your readers.

Whether this is a lack of understanding or an unwillingness to present the unvarnished truth is left as an exercise for the reader.

Posted in Conservatives, News Media | Leave a comment

Links 6/10/26

Posted on June 10, 2026 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science:

Treemble: a graphical tool to generate Newick strings from phylogenetic tree images
A scientist’s search for dragons and damsels
Project Debug: Why Google wants to release 32 million lab-bred mosquitoes in California and Florida
Hospitals See Diseases Resurge as Vaccinations Decline. Doctors nationwide are encountering more children with whooping cough, bacterial infections and other serious illnesses, as well as more adults refusing tetanus shots.
HHS Refuses to Say What an Anti-Vaccine Activist Is Doing at the Agency
White House Seeks to Impose Political Test on Billions in Federal Grants
As Ebola Spreads, Scientists Race to Find Vaccines and Treatments

Other:

Tom Steyer for California
Nearly 6 in 10 DC-Area Rental Listings Are Offering a Concessions (the economy is bad here)
Mikie Sherrill’s state police riot in Newark is a national disgrace
Pogroms, American Style: The Trump administration’s attack on immigrants isn’t about rule of law, crime or jobs. It’s racism and sadism all the way down
The Case for Climate Champion Tom Steyer in the California Governor’s Race
I Didn’t Want To Go To My Party Anyway
Hackers Simply Asked Meta AI to Give Them Access to High-Profile Instagram Accounts. It Worked
Exorbitant cost of ‘partner investment’ revealed for UFC White House event
Gad Saad Is Very Mad That His Books Are Bad and Sad
Apple Is Officially Coming for Meta’s Privacy-Invading Lunch With Its Own Smart Glasses in Late 2027
AIPAC didn’t fund Connie Chan. Here’s what actually happened.
How Elon Musk Killed Hundreds of Thousands of People
The Democratic Party’s Internal Machinery Is Breaking Its Brand
There is no art to Trump’s Iran deal
Putin on the Fritz
Trump’s latest move to restrict voting rights
‘Lobotomized’: Character.AI Is Showing What AI Enshittification Looks Like
Trump’s big beautiful income tax dodge
What Is the Current US Healthcare Situation?
How Anthropic used AI ethics slop to play the pope and eclipse OpenAI
The NBA’s Newest, Cheapest Owner Shows How Billionaires Ruin Sports
Sometimes Stopping Extremism Means Getting Your Hands Dirty
I rode Elon Musk’s Vegas Loop, the worst transit system on Earth
Inference Is Unlikely to Ever Be a Low Marginal Cost Operational Node, & the Other Reasons Why the Anthropic and OpenAI IPOs Ought to Fail
Woman held by ICE for 25 days, despite citizenship claim, gets a U.S. passport
Cultural Wasteland
We Sued ICE to Get Its Spyware Contract. The Agency Is Redacting Essentially Everything
Utility bills in D.C. are rising. Here’s what to know.
Trump’s Insurrectionist Slush Fund ‘Dead for Now’ Amid Furious Public Backlash: “If Trump and Republicans are truly abandoning this corrupt scheme, they should have zero problem banning it in law,” said US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The DOJ came after Daily Kos. Here’s the full story.

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Links 6/9/26

Posted on June 9, 2026 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science:

White House proposes new rules giving political appointees final approval on research grants
There is an earlier opioid alarm than 50 deaths in Tennessee
Cats could help scientists better understand human cancer, study says
An experimental GLP-1 pushes the limits of weight loss. There are risks.
Mpox cases in Boston are on the rise despite a national decline
Ebola outbreaks are always challenging. The Trump administration made the job harder.
Astronomers finally solve Saturn’s decades-long spin mystery

Other:

Don’t Call It Project 2029 If It’s Not A Fighting Document
How Trump Got His Tacky Arch Approved
With Smithsonian under scrutiny, its leader curates a complex history show
Notes From an ICE Chaser
Spanberger removes Virginia Tech rector, citing ethics concerns
Court Says Trump Can’t Name The Kennedy Center After Himself
After escaping a big tax, these colleges are giving the money to students
Tipping culture is out of control. The World Cup might offer a fix.
Netanyahu and Israel Owe Obama an Apology
Boys don’t need looksmaxxers and alpha males. They need men who show up.
Israel’s Solution to the Gaza Problem Is Well Underway
Why are so many arena and stadium tours getting canceled? Blame ‘blue dot fever.’
Netanyahu Won’t Stop Spitting in American Jews’ Faces
How I Became An Itinerant Cat Tutor
If You Take the Weasel Job Then You Must Be the Weasel
After 40 Years, The Guys Who Made ‘Heavy Metal Parking Lot’ Are Almost Famous
Jared Polis a free-speech martyr? More like a sucker
Bari Weiss Hires Credulous Dope To Run ’60 Minutes’
Trump Attacks Innocent Woman in 722-Word Vanity Project Tantrum
The New York Jets Will Now Try Being “AI-First”
REPUBLICANS ARE EXTREMIST WEIRDOS AND DEMOCRATS SHOULD SAY THAT EVERY DAY
The SpaceX IPO is great for Elon Musk and terrible for you
Zohran Mamdani Gets It. Abigail Spanberger Does Not. The New York City mayor has spent the beginning of his term delivering on one promise after another. The Virginia governor, meanwhile, has been busy vetoing progressive legislation.
The Feeling of Control Slipping Away. AI is causing a crisis of agency.
I Run a Summer Camp. I Can Tell You Right Now That You’re Ruining Your Kid’s Summer.
After 18-year run, DC’s Capital Weather Gang spins off from the Post
Trump Administration Sees Striking Exodus of Legal Talent
D.C. Cannabis Operators Say a New Tax Could Push a Fragile Market Over the Edge
How AI Broke the Entry-Level Job
No one to answer the phone: What a missing $150 million means for domestic violence services

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DOGE Screwed Us on Screwworm

Posted on June 9, 2026 by mikethemadbiologist

Because USAID didn’t fund abortion, as Republicans claim, but it did fund screwworm prevention programs (boldface mine):

The 5,300 grants and programs killed in the Trump administration’s cuts to the U.S. Agency of International Development include U.S.-funded animal disease monitoring projects operated by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

A list of terminated programs sent to Congress this week and obtained by Agri-Pulse includes $250 million that went to projects housed under the FAO’s Global Health Security Program.

Among the GHS projects killed were some dedicated to monitoring and containing avian flu and New World Screwworm in Central America, monitoring avian flu outbreaks in Asia and improving the detection of new strains, and efforts to combat swine fever, according to a person familiar with the situation granted anonymity to speak frankly.

…The FAO received stop work orders for the programs in late January, which were followed up by termination orders around a month later, a person familiar with the situation said.

The stop work orders went out just days before the United States ended a temporary suspension of cattle imports from Mexico and as officials were working to implement protocols to prevent the spread of New World Screwworm to U.S. herds. Livestock trade across the southern border resumed Feb. 1 with animal inspection and treatment requirements before export.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is now reporting three five cases of screwworm, several of which are 200-400 miles away from the other cases (two are in adjacent counties). That might–note the word might–mean there are more cases of screwworm that we are missing.

Heckuva job, Musky.

Posted in Agriculture, Conservatives | Leave a comment

Links 6/8/26

Posted on June 8, 2026 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science:

Russell Vought is going destroy American Science: Summary of Key Changes in OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule
Strict Monitoring Could Delay Homecoming of Hantavirus Ship Passengers. Trump administration officials want local health authorities to constantly monitor the 18 passengers for another three weeks, a requirement that far exceeds typical protocols. (Bhattacharya’s hypocrisy on display again…)
Misinformation Masterclass: A Wall Street Journal editor packs a pandemic’s worth of confusion into just 102 words
Trump admin shutting key US researchers out of global virus response talks, documents and sources reveal
Language Models Need Sleep
Ebola at the World Cup? Here’s what we should actually worry about
AI general models and the future (?) of bioinformatics research

Other:

Why so much election analysis is basically useless
Blood Money: The Slave Fortune Behind Mayes Middleton’s AG Campaign. Six generations. One unbroken transfer of wealth. From a Louisiana slave plantation to the Republican nomination for Texas Attorney General. (excellent, must-read)
What Exactly Should a Project 2029 Be?
My Wife Disappeared Into El Salvador’s Prison System. When Will She Come Home?
The 40 Most Rage-Inducing Problems in Tech
Republican Rep. Bryan Steil Takes Credit For Funding He Voted Against
Fox News insists on being the villain in another superhero’s story
Pentagon recruiting troops to watch White House UFC fights, memos show
Trump Clears Way for Corporate Tax Dodge Hidden in the Fine Print
Texas School Police Pepper-Sprayed, Tackled and Tasered Students
Two “progressive” super PACs linked to House GOP
How Prediction Markets and Crypto Firms Steamrolled a Watchdog Agency
We Found 430 ICE Street Arrests in the New York Area. More Than 93% Targeted Latinos.
Proposed bill would tax New Yorkers who tap ‘anti-weaponization’ fund at 100%
‘It’s the Jews’: San Diego mosque shooters decried ‘the universal enemy’ in hate-filled manifesto
The Death of the Texas Political Machine That Bush Built
Retired Judges Call Out Trump’s “Unprecedentedly Fraudulent Scheme”
Anti-ICE Protesters Found Guilty in Case That Guts Free Speech Rights
Keystone Kash Sends Agents to Election Officials’ Homes in Key Swing State (but the Trump administration isn’t fascist something something)
DOJ subpoenas Reddit in effort to unmask Trump critics
Why The Filibuster Absolutely Has to Go
Project 2029 sure doesn’t look like an answer to Project 2025
The answer to rightwing sadism is the liberal Christian tradition. It’s why Mike Lee compared James Talarico to Moloch.
The Death of Political Machines: Is Adriano Espaillat the next Joe Crowley?
Trump’s Texas Senate Primary Win Is Going to Backfire Spectacularly
A Colorado UFO watchtower has been waiting for the government to catch up
Tom Steyer Is Prepared to Take On the AI Billionaires
In author’s debut novel, D.C.’s gritty music scene is a main character
Jim Crow Just Suffered a Temporary Setback—in Alabama
This big university system is embracing AI. Students and faculty aren’t all on board

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It Always Has to Be About Trump

Posted on June 8, 2026 by mikethemadbiologist

I realize with everything going on, including the fascist takeover of the U.S., complaining about Trump attending game 3 of the NBA Finals tonight is small change. But it’s really annoying me. It’s going to be bad for some of the fans (the fans who can’t get in traditionally gather outside to watch the game on a big screen–and the Secret Service has banned that). But tonight is likely going to be a great, intense game: it’s essentially do or die for the Spurs, and the first game of the series to be played in front of the rabid New York Knicks fans.

And that fucking guy has to show up. We can’t even get three hours of good basketball without seeing his ugly mug. I’m guessing they’re going to go out of their way to keep Trump’s image off of the Madison Garden screens, otherwise the boos are going to rain down (Mayor Mamdani also plans to attend, and while this would never happen, it would be hilarious if they alternated screens between Mamdani and Trump, leading to the ensuing alternating cheers and boos).

Narcissists gonna narcissist, I guess. Though it would be kind of funny if It happened during the game…

Update: Mamdani just announced there will be a watch party in Bryant Park tonight.

Posted in Basketball | Leave a comment

Links 6/7/26

Posted on June 7, 2026 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science:

‘We’re not ready’: US lags on pandemic preparedness after Covid, experts say
An invisible smoke is spreading across US cities – and making people more violent
MIT researchers develop a low-cost technique to get lithium out of rocks
Outdoor lights may be making mosquito season longer
The Long, Sad, And Totally Fucked-Up Tale Of Timmy The Whale’s Trip To Germany
Presidentialist Governance is Incompatible with the American Science Superpower
Suit Says Black Infants Were Subjected to Experimental Vaccine Without Consent. The babies were part of a vaccine trial for a respiratory virus in the 1960s and died shortly after. Their families said they had been unaware of the trial until recently.

Other:

The White House Intervened to Get a $620 Million Deal for a Company Tied to Donald Trump Jr.
McModernslopcore
James Talarico for Senate: Texans deserve better than Ken Paxton’s moral rot
Trump Is Spending Millions to Cover Four Horse Statues in Gold
Trump is too vain ever to admit he lost his war against Iran
Young MC Follows Morris Day in Exiting D.C. ‘Freedom 250’ Festival Over Trump Connection, as C+C Music Factory Weighs Options: ‘The Artists Were Never Told About Any Political Involvement’
Democrats Slap Sh*t Out Of Ugly F*ck Stephen Miller
More workers are raiding their 401(k)s as average balances fall, Fidelity says
AMERICAN DICTATOR? Board Game
D.C. has a mounting backlog of felony court cases. With more than a quarter of judicial seats open, the court system is being stretched to its limits.
Bad news for three of the biggest IPOs in history. Customers are waking up to the recognition that tokens are getting “burned for millions of dollars without any real significant ROI to show for it”
Residents are going to war with D.C.’s mosquitoes. Here’s how you can join them
Trump’s 250-foot arch could snarl D.C. region’s traffic, lawmaker says
The way Metro is going after bus fare evaders may be a nationwide first
See where diesel-powered data center generators are polluting Virginia
Trump’s illegal boat bombings did nothing to stop drug trafficking
Many artists drop out of D.C. concert series for America’s 250th anniversary shortly after lineup announced
Company accidentally spent $500 million on Claude AI in one month after forgetting usage limits
ICE detained over 1,000 people in D.C. last summer. Here is one man’s story
How Courtyard Blocks Promote Social Connection
7 in 10 Americans oppose data centers being built in their communities
The GOP’s Attacks on James Talarico Are Straight Out of the Incel Handbook
The USDA secretary is a dangerous religious zealot like Pete Hegseth
I found a second vote.gov — and it’s registered to the White House
E. Jean Carroll still terrifies Trump
New Study Reveals the Manipulative ‘Dark Patterns’ of AI Chatbots
‘Heil!’: Deer Valley school board member gives Nazi salute during scheduling dispute
Who’s Deranged, Exactly?
He Was Jailed Over a Charlie Kirk Post. The Sheriff Now Owes Him $835,000.
Trump is spiraling

Posted in Lotsa Links | Leave a comment

Links 6/6/26

Posted on June 6, 2026 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science:

These Researchers Would Be in Africa Fighting Ebola—but Trump Cut Their Funding (there is no way this is not, in part, political/ideological)
The Sun Is Undergoing a Mysterious Change and Nobody Knows Why
The Current Crisis: What’s Happening to Science in America
Trump Administration Bans Disease Experts from Speaking to WHO About Growing Ebola Outbreak
Malnourished gray whales of the Eastern North Pacific are in ‘serious trouble’
MIT president: Why so many optimistic scientists are losing heart
Long COVID Persistence and Surveillance Gaps Across 58 US Hospitals

Other:

Trump wants all federal employees to sign NDAs
State Unemployment by Race and Ethnicity
As Trump Politicizes Justice Dept., Prosecutors Struggle With Grand Juries
The Shady Way Trump’s Board of Peace Is Collecting Money
The ‘millionaires tax’ was pitched as a $2 billion revenue source. It’s blown past that, yet again.
Israel Is a State Like Any Other, and Commits Atrocities Like Any Other Would
Elon Musk is about to get richer and more powerful than ever
Students For Trump Co-Founder Arrested On Domestic Violence Charges, Allegedly Yelled “Do You Want To Die Today?” (“When police asked the victim if Fournier had made any threats during the incident, she said he said, “I’ll kill everyone here,” and added that he regularly makes statements of that nature.” He seems nice!)
“Accused”
Americans blame Trump for the cost-of-living crisis. Here’s what they want done about it.
How Phoenix’s ‘Invisible’ Parking Lots Are Making Its Heat Problems Worse
At least $60M from National Park entrance fee fund going toward Trump’s DC projects
Blue Dog Dem Fends Off Maureen Galindo in Wake of Anti-Zionist Tirades
Tom Suozzi Lives at C Street. The New York Democrat kept secret his low-rent lodging at a right-wing Christian townhouse
Trump appointees push $250 banknote with his portrait
The Pentagon Knew Enemies Could Track Troops’ Phones for Years. Now They Are. The US military has long known that cheap fixes could stop location data from exposing its troops. It adopted almost none—and now says adversaries are using the data to target soldiers during a war.
Crypto’s Most Powerful PAC Sends a Warning to Politicians: Resistance Is Futile
Corporations Can Vote in Some Delaware Elections, Judge Says (not a gag)
Why Trump Keeps Getting Rolled in Negotiations
The EU Is Going Through a Trump-Fueled Breakup With Big Tech. France is already moving on from Zoom and Microsoft Teams in favor of homegrown alternatives. Other countries are quickly following suit.
Online Trolls Harassed Her Six-Year-Old. That Was Only the Beginning
Cities Are Covering Flock Cameras With Trash Bags
Milli Vanilli and Morris Day say they won’t perform at Trump-linked Freedom 250’s DC shows
Ebola case shows how Kentucky connects to the rest of the world
Google hates you
AI Investment Bubble Concerns Grow as Big Tech Spending Soars While Revenue Lags Behind Expectations
Is Trump ‘tightening his grip on the GOP’ or sabotaging it?
Editor’s Notes: Reconstruction or Project 2029?
Trump’s war on free speech extends far beyond campus walls
I Tried to Sell My House With a Chatbot (the NYT writer does not seem to understand why the original realtors would lowball the price of his house…)

Posted in Lotsa Links | Leave a comment

Links 6/5/26

Posted on June 5, 2026 by mikethemadbiologist

Links for you. Science:

Galton’s Grandma: The long road to Jaishankar et al
Big Trouble in Little Human Genetic Diffence-Worshipper Land
UNC-Chapel Hill Coronavirus Researcher Ralph Baric to Retire
An epic humble brag
Deadly fungal storms are now sweeping the US – and spreading a disease few doctors recognise
They Cut $2.7 Billion from Medical Research. You’re About to Pay for It.
Why the Ebola and Hantavirus Outbreaks Have Confounded Scientists

Other:

Lewis George leads D.C. mayoral race, but 1 in 4 are undecided, poll finds
Musk Attacks Nyong’o For The Same Reason Hitler Attacked Jewish Art
THAT CONSENT WON’T MANUFACTURE ITSELF
A GOP dirty tricks operation, exposed
Cambridge vote calls for ShotSpotter gunfire detection to be turned off and dismantled within 90 days
Trump will regret endorsing Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate primary
Department of Labor Tells Employees to Report Anyone Prioritizing DEI. An email reminds workers they can report behavior that predates Donald Trump’s second inauguration. One employee tells WIRED it felt like a “reminder to narc on your coworkers.”
Dr. Harry Edwards on the NAACP’s Call to Boycott Gerrymandering States. The 83-year-old sociologist and activist reflects on what is missing in the current effort to organize athletes politically.
Teslas are now telling users that Jews are orchestrating the downfall of society, the Holocaust is fake, and that the Final solution is what’s needed to fix the west
White House proposes NDAs for federal workers to crack down on leaks to journalists
Trump plots to muzzle federal workers’ First Amendment rights
Tired of leaks, the Trump administration wants federal workers to sign NDAs
D.C. Spent $1 Million Hiring Humans to Yell ‘Fire!’ in Government Office
Trump administration proposes NDAs for all federal workers
If enough other companies report the same, the bubble pops.
Andy’s Pizza Owner: “urging the D.C. Council to pass the RESALE Act now, to protect consumers and support the local businesses that make our district the vibrant city that it is.”
Some of Texas’s oldest barbecue joints close as meat prices skyrocket (Trump take brisket)
The Despair of the Professor in the Age of A.I.
Tax Me If You Can. Oligarchs are robbing America blind, and the IRS is powerless to stop them.
Americans Are About to Pay Even More at the Grocery Store (Trump take food)
AI Isn’t Management. Try Explaining That to Matthew Prince. At last we have created the Corporation That Eliminates Middle Managers from classic management text Don’t Eliminate the Middle Managers!
Woman fired by Indiana university over Charlie Kirk post to receive $225,000 settlement
The Hard Truth My Party Needs to Face
Trump is Haunted by Barack Obama
Reflecting Pool Contract Has ‘Inflated’ Profit Margin, Government Analysis Finds
AI Just Isn’t Right. Can AI do fact-checking? A WIRED fact-checker fact-checks.
Three out of five Americans said they had to alter their grocery list because of rising prices, poll finds
The Sucking Up Done In Trump’s Cabinet Meetings Is Unparalleled — And There Are Numbers To Prove It
The media’s desperate search for ‘moderate Nazis’
John Cornyn Lost With His Boots Off
US Law Enforcement Warns of ‘Anti-Tech Extremism’ as AI Hatred Grows

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Another Great Week for D.C. Crime Stats

Posted on June 5, 2026 by mikethemadbiologist

Mostly. The great news is, as of 9am today, D.C. had another week without any homicides, keeping the total for the year at 32*. At this time last year, there had been 68 homicides, and in the surge year of 2023, over the same time period, there had been 97 homicides. Good job, D.C.!

That said, as some asshole with a blog noted a couple days ago, the effect of the National Guard occupation has been to decrease car-related crimes (theft from auto and theft of auto), along with robberies**, but we’re seeing a significant rise in those categories, though they’re still significantly lower than at the same time last year. I haven’t really been able to see an obvious geographic pattern to the rise either. It would not be good if we’re still saddled with an illegitimate Guard occupation that also has lost effectiveness.

We are still on pace for another 33 percent drop in homicides for the third straight year, not that one would know this based on news reporting. Because people’s attitudes about city crime are completely unfounded.

Anyway, here’s to a really good week.

*Three of the 35 murders reported this year actually occurred in other years (e.g., a missing persons case from 2023 turned into a homicide case this year with new evidence).

**In terms of overall violent crime, much of the large decrease in robberies has been erased by the increase in assaults with a dangerous weapon, though I think the latter is largely due to changes in reporting.

Posted in Crime stats, DC | 2 Comments