Coffee Talk with Tiff

September 1, 2026 1:25 pm EDT Tiff Coffee Talk with Tiff 0
Image credit: AI-generated illustration created with ChatGPT

It’s Tuesday…

Shitshow’s public schedule for…

CNBC News (08/31/2026):

President Donald Trump will meet Tuesday with U.S. refiners and fuel distributors as his administration looks for ways to expand domestic refining capacity and bring down gasoline prices, according to a White House official.

The meeting will include Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, National Energy Dominance Council Executive Director Jarrod Agen and representatives from small, medium and large refiners and distributors, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the meeting hasn’t been announced.

“President Trump is laser-focused on ensuring his successful energy dominance agenda translates into the most cost savings possible at the pump for consumers,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement.

CNBC News (08/31/2026).

Executive Time (including the end of August)

I’m not fact-checking the Hollywood bullshit. Not after I learned about this morning…

There is no transcript.

Fox News (08/31/2026):

The Small Business Administration is bringing a celebrity panel to Washington next month to judge five entrepreneurs competing for a share of a $1 million prize pool, Fox News Digital has exclusively learned.

“As our nation marks its 250th anniversary, the SBA is celebrating America’s legacy of free enterprise through the Million Dollar Pitch Competition—a historic live event showcasing the essential contributions of America’s small businesses,” SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler told Fox News Digital.

Entrepreneurs from across the nation submitted their ideas earlier this year, leaving five finalists to participate in a live pitch competition in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18.

Rapper Nicki Minaj, entrepreneur and private equity fund manager Grant Cardone, co-founder of Airbnb and U.S. Chief Design Office Joe Gebbia will judge the final competition. Award-winning actor Dean Cain will host the event, Fox News Digital has exclusively learned.

Fox News (08/31/2026).

SBA announced the event in May of this year. Allegedly, the money comes from Clover Network, INC.

Elect a reality TV star and get more reality TV…

Governor Pritzker has not responded to Puddle begging for him to call so he can send in his goons to harm citizens.

If you are like me, I had no idea what Senator he was talking about. Luckily, I can still Google even though it’s AI sucks…

None of the second post is true.

Speaking of Iran…

I waited on this story because it felt like there was more to the story…

Washington Post (08/30/2026):

Several U.S. military leaders have advised Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that prolonging large-scale operations against Iran is unsustainable and risks weakening their ability to confront threats elsewhere, including the U.S. homeland, according to people familiar with a recent assessment prepared for the Pentagon chief.

The warnings — detailed for Hegseth by the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force and the four-star commanders overseeing U.S. operations throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America — appear in the Aug. 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book (SDOB), these people said. They described the assessment to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity because the document is classified.

Washington Post (08/30/2026).

Late yesterday it was announced that the Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was leaving his post.

The Atlantic (08/31/2026):

During a White House meeting last week, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll brought his concerns about the future of the Army under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directly to President Trump—a sign of how far tensions between the two Pentagon leaders had escalated, and of the dysfunction inside the building, four people familiar with the conversation told us.

Trump was surprised when Driscoll told him how many generals and other top officers had been fired, pushed out, or passed over for promotion under Hegseth, one of the people said. Driscoll argued that the Army could not transform itself the way it needs to, because of the departure of so many leaders, this person said, adding that Trump expressed concern about the deep cuts to the Army’s senior leadership. Driscoll informed the president of his intention to resign—and by today, Driscoll was on his way out.

Hegseth’s purge of the military has been so dramatic that with Driscoll gone, the military’s largest service is left without a top civilian leader, a Senate-confirmed top general, a confirmed Army general in charge of operations, or a confirmed commander of Army troops in Europe. Because of all the firings across the service over the past year, the Army, with more than 450,000 active-duty soldiers positioned across the globe, has fewer generals than at any point in recent history. Driscoll’s personal appeal to Trump just days before his exit was the most direct articulation of high-level concerns among Pentagon leaders about the strains facing the force—including Hegseth’s intervention in Army personnel decisions and the mounting demands of the Iran war.

[snip]

Driscoll’s departure puts the Pentagon even more firmly under the control of Hegseth and his MAGA agenda. Driscoll is a confidant of Vice President Vance, a relationship that gave him access to the West Wing, and at times Driscoll served as a counterweight to Hegseth’s impulses, but only up to a point. Some current and former defense officials told us they believe Driscoll’s enmity toward Hegseth actually had the unintended consequence of broadening the purge of the uniformed ranks. And yet Driscoll’s departure, which had been expected for months, and the prospect that he will be replaced by someone more politically aligned with Hegseth are already raising fears inside the Army. “What happens then? Generational damage,” a defense official told us.

The Wall Street Journal (08/31/2026):

With Driscoll’s departure, the Army will lack top Senate-confirmed civilian or military leaders. Gen. Christopher LaNeve has served as acting chief of the service since Hegseth fired his predecessor, Gen. Randy George. Mike Obadal, the Army undersecretary, would be the highest ranking civilian after Driscoll departs.

[snip]

Last week, Driscoll attended the retirement ceremony at Fort Bragg for Gen. Chris Donahue, who served as the top Army officer in Europe until Hegseth downgraded his position, effectively bringing an end to his military career. 

Donahue’s abrupt departure was presented as part of Hegseth’s broader push to shrink the number of generals and admirals by 10% overall, plus a 20% cut to the number of four-star positions, the Journal reported. 

But lawmakers expressed concern over the departure of a highly regarded officer who led the Delta Force in the fight against Islamic State.

Some Republicans also have pushed back on Hegseth’s preference that LaNeve become the next Army chief of staff, signaling that LaNeve might not get confirmed if nominated. LaNeve’s recent decision to phase out a futuristic Army assault battalion has further fueled congressional concerns about the future direction of the service under his leadership. 

Wall Street Journal (08/31/2026).

To sum up, we’re losing the war of choice, or choice war, however the hell you want to label this mess. Meanwhile, our military brass is being purged to make room for the MAGA faithful, while the Defense Department pays MAGA influencers to spread their bullshit propaganda. Apparently, when the war isn’t going well, the answer is fewer experienced military leaders and more people with ring lights.

The Pentagon has secretly installed several conservative military veterans with large online followings in government roles, declining to disclose their assignments as they amplify Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s viewpoints and attack those who scrutinize the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the matter and corroborating material.

At least some of the influencers have been assigned to civilian roles that could lead to changes in policy, the people familiar with the matter said. Like others, they spoke on thecondition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

[snip]

Those involved include Rob Maness, a retired Air Force colonel, and Kurt Schlichter, a retired Army colonel, people familiar with the matter said. Pentagon records reviewed by The Washington Post show that both have active official government email addresses as of this past week and are assigned to the office of Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. The email addresses include a “.civ” suffix, meaning they are labeled as civilian employees, rather than as military personnel or contractors.

Both served for decades in uniform and, since retiring, have turned from the military to conservative commentary. Maness has more than 135,000 followers on X, while Schlichter has nearly 620,000.

Another retired Army colonel and influencer, Thomas Anderson, was listed in Pentagon records earlier this year with a “.civ” email address and assigned to Tata’s office, according to people familiar with the matter and records reviewed by The Post. An attorney, he writes online under the pen name Cynical Publius and has more than 323,000 followers on X. He was no longer listed in Pentagon records late this past week, the people familiar with the issue said.

Washington Post. 08/30/2026.

Meanwhile, our anti-woke, Fox Entertainment wannabe Defense Secretary is focused like a laser on the issues that matter. You know, assuming the laser is pointed absolutely fucking nowhere useful.

I wish someone would wake his ass up and escort him from the Pentagon.

Still not touching the Hollywood bullshit…

SCOTUS Blog (08/31/2026):

The Supreme Court on Monday granted the Trump administration’s request to allow construction on a new White House ballroom to continue. By a vote of 5-4, the court paused a ruling by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that would have halted above-ground construction of the ballroom project.

In an eight-page, unsigned opinion, the majority emphasized that it was not deciding whether the project was legal. Instead, it stressed, the plaintiff likely lacks a legal right, known as standing, to challenge the project at all.

The court’s decision came 10 days after Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary order, known as an administrative stay, that put the lower court’s ruling on hold to give the justices more time to consider the government’s plea. On Monday, Roberts joined the court’s three Democratic appointees in dissenting. In their view, the construction “is likely unlawful,” and the majority’s decision was “no victory for the separation of powers.”

[snip]

In his six-page dissent, which Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined, Roberts countered that “[a] historic preservationist such as Hoagland can be aesthetically injured in a concrete, particularized way by the transformation of a historic building that she frequently enjoys, just as,” based on prior court precedent, “an environmentalist can sustain a concrete, particularized aesthetic injury from the extinction of a particular animal or the transformation of a particular forest or river that he regularly enjoys.” Roberts ended the opinion by quoting Winston Churchill, who said that “[w]e shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.” “All the more reason,” according to Roberts, “to ensure that those responsible follow the rules in deciding what to tear down and what to build up at the People’s House.”

SCOTUS Blog (08/31/2026).

Here are some other stories I’m waiting on…

Chaos is always the point.

You don’t say. I’m shocked that he oversold something…

Fun times ahead…

😒 Open Thread 🤪

About the opinions in this article…

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About Tiff 3772 Articles
Member of the Free Press who is politically homeless and a political junkie.