Originally published at: For Eric Adams, Albania Is the New York Of the Balkans
Hello it’s the weekend. This is The Weekender 
There is a long list of famous and infamous people who can trace their roots to Albania including the pop singer Dua Lipa, Mother Theresa, dictator Enver Hoxha, and the late comedian John Belushi. And now, disgraced former New York City Mayor Eric Adams has joined…
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Today’s Heather and Paul;
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Morning!
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We cannot control what Trump does and does not do. But pointing out how he is a spinless braggart is one of the most effective tactics we have for breaking his hold on his cult or at least convincing them not to go vote for republicans in the future. The men of his base utterly despise what they call “weakness” and a huge reason they have been unwavering in their support of Trump is because of the very carefully created image of him as a very strong man. That image is so seductive to them. A man who never forgets a grudge, who gets revenge on people who slighted him, who never apologizes, and relentlessly belittles and attacks his enemies. Why do you think the "When someone punches Trump he punches back twice as hard” story is so repeated. Boys are taught from birth that backing down is cowardly and being a coward is literally the worst thing a man can be. Trump’s image feeds the desperation of many men extremely effectively. There are many arguments to be had whether that desperation is valid or not or is of their own doing, but nevertheless it is real for them, and Trump figured out exactly how to speak to it. So makine a joke out of how he actually never follows through on his threats if wall street doesn’t like it is absolutely making a big difference. And if you really want to engage in realpolitik - then maybe we should listen to the accerationists a bit and say - hey if Trump is susceptible into being goaded into doing something truly horrendous then maybe just maybe, that’s the only thing that will make the American Frog actually realized he’s sitting on a stove in a pot of water that has been getting hotter for a decade.
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Thank you for not forcing me to mutter, “What’s good about it?” under my breath.
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When it comes to doing something horrendous to U.S. persons I agree. They’re fond of saying “We elected him President” in an attempt to force our collaboration in their malfeasance. In this case he was threatening genocide in fact if not in name against an entire population, that’s a collaboration I want no part of. I prefer to simply call him Felon. It’s not jokey, it’s just the truth. If it enrages MAGA more than Felon, good.
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Meanwhile, back at the negotiations, JayDee gets to broker a peace agreement that makes dear leader look good or suffer his revenge. It’s a lose-lose game for JayDee, who also has to satisfy the actual demands of Iran and no doubt, Bibi and Vlad. Perhaps it’s time for him to get fired from dear leader’s fantasy TeeVee game show, just to keep those ratings up. Har Har Har.
Trump has handed JD Vance his most difficult mission yet
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Brother, I hear that (from this hospital room)
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Like the old San Diego Padres uniforms, Trump is a taco and he should wear it. The alternative of stop saying stupid shit is beyond his little hands.
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Sure, let’s:
Should People Cool It With the Whole ‘TACO’ Thing?
Let’s move to TOFU, as suggested earlier this week. Darned if I can remember or find what it referred to.
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When someone says ‘good morning’ to me, my response is ‘one out of two’.
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‘No one wants to make money off war or people dying, but …’
“I love to gamble,” said Joseph Francia.
Now in his early 30s, Francia counted cards in casinos while studying economics at Berkeley, and spent weekends in Reno, Nevada, playing blackjack. He’s not a thrill-seeking “Yolo” (you only live once) gambler, he said: he likes to bet when he has an edge on the house.
At university, he and a friend decided to collect data from a number of offshore sportsbooks, and start placing arbitrage bets: playing on the discrepancies in odds given by different betting sites.
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They’ll laugh JD right out of the room - they have less respect for him than for the First Felon. I don’t care if Jared is in the room, he may not laugh out loud, but he will snicker.
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Trump Only F*cks Up. Doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but it’s accurate.
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Good morning, Darr. Hope you are ready to get to work and that you will get to go home today! We’re all here rooting for you.
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I’d say he studied gambling at Berkeley, but that may just be my take.
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Hmm. I usually say “Thank you,” or “Good morning back.” The “What’s good about it” is unspoken, or sub vocalized. All those years of training in civility are hard for me to break. Maybe I don’t really want to, I’ll leave it to MAGA.
It’s odd because some of the things MAGA likes to throw at you might be deserved if you responded as desired to their troll. Like “Merry Christmas,” from some Chud wearing a MAGA hat. You don’t say, “And your horse.” You say “Merry Christmas” back with a smile. The look of confusion may be the best present you get.
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We’ll stop using TACO when he stops saying and doing outrageous stunts.
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Other than the horrors of having to stay in a U.S. hospital for only as long as the insurance company will determine based on the recovery periods of similar patients (who were also subjected to curtailed care), how are you this morning.
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Probably today & tomorrow in hospital
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