Bob the Builder! You made my day and made me laugh so hard. Thanks. Now, out to the back yard to do battle with the jungle that has sprouted with a month of rain.
This is brilliant. Perfect. And so funny. (Except for when you think how true it is). Two of my favorite bits: "another in a long line of individuals and events that suggest America passed through a wormhole into a Marvel Comic alternative universe around 2016" and "The only reasonable explanation for this orgy of wasteful brick and mortar is that the handlers need toys and games to keep the old man from disrupting the serious business of making war, destroying the sciences, defunding humanitarians, filling concentration camps, and wrecking alliances - matters attended to with great devotion by Vought, Miller, Kegseth, Kennedy and Wiles - and nameless administration elves whose allegiances are most definitely not to the American people.." These evil administration elves----I can't tell you how much I want to see them all behind bars. And---it's just so obvious how much they need to keep Trump busy. He's got to have a prop, something for show and tell, no matter how ridiculous. We are so screwed.
very interesting about how alone Trump is (and none of your readers will volunteer as his personal care worker!) and what that must do for his mental as well as physical health. His minions are certainly super active on a wide front in destroying what's best about the country while he builds in his traditional way, i.e. with grift and insider favors.
The thought that there is a team of people who have to take care of this man’s personal needs—wiping his ass, getting him in and out of diapers, bathing his body, dressing him. The thought is just revolting. Who would do that? You certainly couldn’t pay me enough money.
Roy Cohn, Donald's good friend and attorney, seemed to have a huge impact on Donald's behavior. I am led to believe they had sexual relations because of the way Donald views handsome athletic men.
I'm gay, and as much as it gags me to say this about Trump, he seems to have a bit of a queer eye when it comes to his hiring decisions. There was his pretty "body man" Johnny McEntee at the start of his first term and now the studly and handsome ex-Navy SEAL Cameron Hamilton for FEMA, with others in between. I couldn't see a photo of Richard Grenell without visualizing him dressed as a leatherman.
When a certain kind of right leaning ideolgy politicion gets to be mayor or governor all over this great country the action around contracts, contractors, and subcontractors rolls out just like this. Complete with fallout, failures, lawsuits and mind boggling amounts of time and money wasted. Throw in a worker death here in there as well to complete the picture. Others clean up the messes after they are finally booted out. Somehow all the laws designed to prevent this same scenario on repeat fail. Its the Conservative joke on America.
The U.S. Supreme Court deserves a large share of the blame for this. The right wingers on the Court have gradually been making it harder to prosecute cases of official corruption. Gosh, could that have anything to do with Clarence Thomas's voracious appetite for perks from his billionaire pals?
Right? They didn't just move the goalposts on corruption — they picked them up, put them on a superyacht, and ruled the yacht was a "gift from a friend."
I asked Anthropic's Claude AI for a summary of the "Bob the Builder" piece. It delivered what I requested. But it went on to do something I hadn't asked for, which was to tone-police the piece. Here is its take:
"Tone: Heavy editorializing throughout — mocking physical/mental health speculation, hostile characterizations of administration officials, and pointed nicknames for contractors involved.
Worth flagging: this is opinion/commentary journalism with strong partisan framing rather than neutral reporting, and the specific contract figures and the felony-conviction claim about the subcontractor's former COO would be worth verifying against primary sources if you're using this for anything beyond general awareness — "
Claude seemed offended when I replied that someone might reasonably infer from its response that Anthropic so wants to distance itself from criticism of the Trump administration that it even trashes critical pieces at the level of individual chats. That way, it creates a precautionary paper trail. After all, ChatGPT has admitted that its responses are colored by the progressive views of OpenAI.
The saddest thing about Trump’s little construction projects is how obvious they are: a lonely old rich kid still trying to convince Daddy he can build something. Except now the toy box is the White House, the allowance is taxpayer money, and the playdate includes contractors with more red flags than a Soviet parade. The Reflecting Pool growing algae is not a failure. It is nature filing an ethics complaint.
Very clever and insightful piece. Thanks
Oh my God, Nina this is INSPIRED.
Bob the Builder! You made my day and made me laugh so hard. Thanks. Now, out to the back yard to do battle with the jungle that has sprouted with a month of rain.
This is brilliant. Perfect. And so funny. (Except for when you think how true it is). Two of my favorite bits: "another in a long line of individuals and events that suggest America passed through a wormhole into a Marvel Comic alternative universe around 2016" and "The only reasonable explanation for this orgy of wasteful brick and mortar is that the handlers need toys and games to keep the old man from disrupting the serious business of making war, destroying the sciences, defunding humanitarians, filling concentration camps, and wrecking alliances - matters attended to with great devotion by Vought, Miller, Kegseth, Kennedy and Wiles - and nameless administration elves whose allegiances are most definitely not to the American people.." These evil administration elves----I can't tell you how much I want to see them all behind bars. And---it's just so obvious how much they need to keep Trump busy. He's got to have a prop, something for show and tell, no matter how ridiculous. We are so screwed.
“The Dow is over 50,000. That’s what we should be talking about. I don’t know why you’re laughing…”
very interesting about how alone Trump is (and none of your readers will volunteer as his personal care worker!) and what that must do for his mental as well as physical health. His minions are certainly super active on a wide front in destroying what's best about the country while he builds in his traditional way, i.e. with grift and insider favors.
The thought that there is a team of people who have to take care of this man’s personal needs—wiping his ass, getting him in and out of diapers, bathing his body, dressing him. The thought is just revolting. Who would do that? You certainly couldn’t pay me enough money.
Roy Cohn, Donald's good friend and attorney, seemed to have a huge impact on Donald's behavior. I am led to believe they had sexual relations because of the way Donald views handsome athletic men.
It is almost as if you had read my mind.
I'm gay, and as much as it gags me to say this about Trump, he seems to have a bit of a queer eye when it comes to his hiring decisions. There was his pretty "body man" Johnny McEntee at the start of his first term and now the studly and handsome ex-Navy SEAL Cameron Hamilton for FEMA, with others in between. I couldn't see a photo of Richard Grenell without visualizing him dressed as a leatherman.
When a certain kind of right leaning ideolgy politicion gets to be mayor or governor all over this great country the action around contracts, contractors, and subcontractors rolls out just like this. Complete with fallout, failures, lawsuits and mind boggling amounts of time and money wasted. Throw in a worker death here in there as well to complete the picture. Others clean up the messes after they are finally booted out. Somehow all the laws designed to prevent this same scenario on repeat fail. Its the Conservative joke on America.
The U.S. Supreme Court deserves a large share of the blame for this. The right wingers on the Court have gradually been making it harder to prosecute cases of official corruption. Gosh, could that have anything to do with Clarence Thomas's voracious appetite for perks from his billionaire pals?
Right? They didn't just move the goalposts on corruption — they picked them up, put them on a superyacht, and ruled the yacht was a "gift from a friend."
"Only he can fix it" turned out not to be the case.
Nice satire salted with excellent truth-telling! Great MAD image!
More please.
I can’t take credit for the image.
One sentence prompt and chat gpt had it up in a few seconds.
I asked Anthropic's Claude AI for a summary of the "Bob the Builder" piece. It delivered what I requested. But it went on to do something I hadn't asked for, which was to tone-police the piece. Here is its take:
"Tone: Heavy editorializing throughout — mocking physical/mental health speculation, hostile characterizations of administration officials, and pointed nicknames for contractors involved.
Worth flagging: this is opinion/commentary journalism with strong partisan framing rather than neutral reporting, and the specific contract figures and the felony-conviction claim about the subcontractor's former COO would be worth verifying against primary sources if you're using this for anything beyond general awareness — "
Claude seemed offended when I replied that someone might reasonably infer from its response that Anthropic so wants to distance itself from criticism of the Trump administration that it even trashes critical pieces at the level of individual chats. That way, it creates a precautionary paper trail. After all, ChatGPT has admitted that its responses are colored by the progressive views of OpenAI.
Funny bc chat gpt made the art for it, with one prompt. And then suggested more satirical and funny options!
Great reporting. It's hard to comment without swearing. Another business man/felon guilty of child sexual abuse. They're coming out of the woodwork.
Coming out of the woodwork implies they were hiding. These guys are on the org chart.
The saddest thing about Trump’s little construction projects is how obvious they are: a lonely old rich kid still trying to convince Daddy he can build something. Except now the toy box is the White House, the allowance is taxpayer money, and the playdate includes contractors with more red flags than a Soviet parade. The Reflecting Pool growing algae is not a failure. It is nature filing an ethics complaint.
💯
He's way more like Chud the Wrecker