Let them eat reflecting pools

[via]

Radley Balko sums up the new, even dumber and crueler Gilded Age:

It sometimes feels like we're living in a ridiculously exaggerated folk tale with wildly implausible villains. For example, as the president takes billions for himself and his family and *coats his things in gold,* the soldiers fighting his war can't get toothpaste, hot water, or a clean toilet.

[image or embed]— Radley Balko (@radleybalko.bsky.social) August 7, 2026 at 10:20 AM

"The world's richest man, a trillionaire who paid people to vote for the president and encouraged people to hurt refugees and burn their homes, also caused hundreds of thousands of children to die because he thought it would be cool and funny."— Radley Balko (@radleybalko.bsky.social) August 7, 2026 at 10:26 AM

From the linked story about Hegsethian logistics:

Moldy showers. Food shortages. Sailors running out of toothpaste, deodorant and soap.

Families of the sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are sounding the alarm that their loved ones are so exhausted they fear it could lead to deadly mistakes, as the carrier enters its ninth month at sea and its fifth consecutive month of combat operations against Iran.

MS NOW spoke to a dozen family members who say they are extremely concerned with the morale, safety and conditions on the ship. They described a crew straining under the demands of an unexpectedly long deployment, as President Donald Trump continues to extend his military campaign against Iran with no clear end in sight. 

The families told MS NOW there is no indication of when their loved ones are going to return home, as the routine seven-month deployment for the 5,000-plus crew members appears to have been extended for a second time. Three family members agreed to make their names public, while others spoke on the condition of anonymity because of concerns the military would retaliate against their loved ones on the ship. 

Most sailors are working excruciatingly long shifts, and depending on their job, some are rarely getting a day off, family members told MS NOW. One father, who is a Navy veteran, said his son described seeing holes that have worn through the Lincoln’s flight deck. 

I can’t believe someone who made attacking Gold Star parents a point of his first campaign would treat the troops this way!

In related news, a D.C. Circuit panel has blocked construction of Trump’s illegal and tacky ballroom over a Neomi Rao Supreme Court audition.