Absurdity that is the midterm elections...
Michigan Senate hopeful Dr. Abdul El-Sayed was asked a simple question. Does he disavow the Muslim Brotherhood.
I was hesitant to post the whole transcript, but I think it's worth it in the long run.
Tommy: Would you answer? I'm asking you a simple question.
Abdul El-Sayed: You give me your name. I'll answer the question.
Tommy: Okay. Tommy.
Abdul El-Sayed: Hi, Tommy. How are you?
Tommy: I'm great.
Abdul El-Sayed: Do you know what the Constitution of the United States is?
Tommy: I have one simple question. Will you disavow the Muslim Brotherhood?
Abdul El-Sayed: Yeah, absolutely. But I want to ask the question that you're asking. Why are you asking the question?
Tommy: Well, because they're a terrorist group.
Abdul El-Sayed: Okay. No. No. But what are you implying? Do you assume that I wouldn't?
Tommy: Yes.
Abdul El-Sayed: Why not?
Tommy: Because I have not heard you disavow them yet.
Abdul El-Sayed: Have you disavowed them? I haven't heard you disavow them yet.
Tommy: I dis...
Abdul El-Sayed: Do you? Great. But here's the thing about it. You're asking the question because implicitly you assume that I'll have dual loyalties. Right? You assume that somehow I wouldn't disavow or that I'll have some higher order allegiance than to the Constitution. Correct, Tommy? Is that what you imply?
Tommy: Yes.
Abdul El-Sayed: Why would you think that about me?
Tommy: Because I have not heard you dis...
Abdul El-Sayed: No. No. No. No. Why would you actually think that about me?
Tommy: Because I have not heard you dis...
Abdul El-Sayed: But I just did. But why would you actually think that? Why would you? Why?
Have you asked everybody in your life if they disavow me?
Tommy: I have not.
Abdul El-Sayed: So why are you asking me?
Tommy: Because I have not heard you...
Abdul El-Sayed: No. No. No. Answer the question, Tommy. Everybody knows the answer to it. Answer the question.
All right. So, let me just tell you. Let me just tell you.
I'm going to swear and oath to the Constitution of the United States. And that constitution guarantees us all the right to practice whatever faith we want or no faith at all.
And now you assume, you assume, Tommy, that because I am Muslim that somehow I would have some allegiance to something that is not our constitution. That's your assumption that's implicit in the question.
And what's interesting to me is that this is not the first time people have asked those kinds of questions because do you know who John F. Kennedy is?
Do you know who that is, Tommy?
Tommy: I do.
Abdul El-Sayed: All right. Uh, do you know what he was asked as the first possible Catholic president of the United States? What did they ask him?
You don't remember? You should read history. Tell me when he ran for president, he was asked whether or not he was going to have allegiance to the pope at the Vatican because of course he's Catholic.
And his answer famously was that he was not running to be a Catholic president, and he was running to be president and happened to be Catholic.
I'm not running and...
So you know it's important I think because you would ask this question in a way that suggests that somehow our constitution shouldn't be the thing that all of us bear allegiance to. And I'm just telling you that for me that constitution is the guiding light.
It guarantees me the right to pray as I choose to pray or not pray at all. Guarantees you the right to pray as you choose to pray or not pray at all.
Now tell me, I'm going to ask you about your faith. Are you a man of faith?
Tommy: I am.
Abdul El-Sayed: What faith do you practice?
Tommy: I am a Christian.
Abdul El-Sayed: You're a Christian? Do you... No, no. I mean, it's a good question. Look at it. Do you live by Christian doctrine?
Tommy: I would say so. Yes.
Abdul El-Sayed: Good. And you try as hard as you can to live by Christian doctrine, right?
Tommy: Yes.
Abdul El-Sayed: Do you think I have to live by Christian doctrine? Do you?
It's up to me, right? Why? Why is it up to me?
Tommy: Because we have free will, right?
Abdul El-Sayed: Free will. And also in this country, what else do we have? What else do we have, Tom?
No, I mean, you're asking me about my allegiance to the Constitution. It's the Constitution, my guy. We have a constitution and that constitution guarantees you the right to live by your faith and guarantees me the right to do the same.
And the reality of it is this. I'm never going to tell you what faith you can or can't practice. I want to protect your right to practice your faith as you choose as a Christian man.
Is that it seems like you don't want to protect my right to practice as I choose to.
[Cheering]
I'm going to ask you, do you disavow any attempt to read any religious doctrine into the laws of our country?
Tommy: I do not.
Abdul El-Sayed: You don't disavow that.
So I think it's you who needs to understand the constitution, not me.
[Cheering]
KayBeeStew YouTube shitty auto transcript. 10/18/2026. Exchange happened during a townhall in Caro, Michigan on 10/17/2026.
The right-wing echo chamber is basically trying to spin this as El-Sayed not disavowing the Muslim Brotherhood. Now, I've seen the reports that Tommy is a paid activist. I give no fucks about that.
I do, in fact, give fucks about the gaslighting right, who are attempting to pretend that El-Sayed implied he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood but never actually did.
Sidebar:
I used an app to transcribe the above clip. It was shitty, but I have to use what resources I have available for free, cause well, I'm not rich.
The clip as Buzz heard it:
So he said yes sure, challenge the voter and said the voter only asked him because he's lost. So Hassan Piker, who really came to the state, he had him here multiple times, five different events, took him to college campuses. This guy is full of hate and vitriol, not only for Jewish Americans, for black Americans, you listen to his comments. This guy is as vial as they come. He has said he was excited about his answer because he did not disobey the most and brother. He didn't disobey it. He goes on this word salad trying to get around the crowd. He said he said sure, yes. Dana, listen. I'm not sure why the virus is so eager to protect this. Conversation. And it's ideology. So he's. So he's.
I would normally clean it up before sharing. but not today.
So, Rogers claims in the clip that because Hasan Piker "has said he was excited about his answer because he did not disavow the Muslim Brotherhood".
I cleaned it up because I went to google to see if Piker actually said that. I found no evidence that he did. I got this response from Gemini (that's google's AI):
Right...
I went to ChatGPT with my shitty little Buzz transcript. I asked it who was Rogers speaking about...
Then I shared with it what Gemini had said
Our next exchange...
CNN Transcript of the video shared:
BASH: So he said, "Yes, sure," challenged the voter and said the voter only asked him because he's a Muslim.
ROGERS: No.
(LAUGHTER)
ROGERS: So, Hasan Piker, who really came to the state, he had him here multiple times, five different events, took him to college campuses, and this guy is full of hate and vitriol, not only for Jewish Americans, but for black Americans.
You listen to his comments, this guy is as vile as they come. He has said he was excited about his answer because he did not disavow the Muslim Brother -- he didn't disavow it. He goes on this word salad trying to get around the fact that he can't do it.
BASH: He said -- he did -- he did say -- he said, "Sure, yes."
ROGERS: No, that's not true. Dana, listen...
(CROSSTALK)
BASH: I don't want to debate with you.
ROGERS: I don't know why the press is so eager for him -- to protect this guy.
BASH: Congressman, I just want to be factual.
ROGERS: And it is. It's an ideology.
BASH: I want to be factual. He said, "Yes, sure."
CNN. 10/18/2026.
Later, CNN Anchor Laura Coats said:
COATES: Now, Mike Rogers is not satisfied with his answer. He's on CNN today to say just as much.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGERS: You listen to his comments. This guy is as vile as they come. He has said he -- was excited about his answer because he did not disavow the Muslim Brother. He didn't disavow it. He goes on this word salad, trying to get around the fact --
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: He said -- he did say --
ROGERS: -- that he can't do it.
BASH: He said sure, yes.
ROGERS: No, that's not true. Dana, listen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COATES: Now, just to be clear, he began talking about that he felt that Piker did not -- was happy that he did not disavow Brotherhood. Not a comment directly related to of course El-Sayed.
CNN. 10/18/2026.
Tiff Talk:
This is what happens when you use AI to make things go faster. It doesn't. I started down this rabbit hole over 30 minutes ago. And some may ask, why fight with the AI?
Google is a search engine. Its AI, Gemini, provides users with AI overviews. In this case, that overview was wrong.
I used a second AI to confirm that the first one was wrong. But it was also wrong.
All that is to say, AI is not super or intelligent. It's a tool. A tool that still needs to be fact-checked.
Also, it's worth noting that neither AI could find evidence that Hasan Piker was excited that El-Sayed did not disavow the Muslim Brotherhood.
Didn't even last half a Scaramucci.
How it started...
10/09/2026:
10/11/2026:
How it went...
10/16/2026:
Shortly before 1 p.m., Katie Zacharia was seated behind her new desk in the West Wing, in a cramped office with only a handful of personal touches: a white orchid, a curling iron, a pair of heels tucked away on a shelf next to a cosmetic bag. The new White House press secretary was telling The Wall Street Journal about her plans for the role.
Then Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the president, knocked on her door. “JD wanted to chat with us real quick,” Miller said, referring to the vice president.
As Zacharia left the room, President Trump walked to his new helipad, where he recalled a conversation he had with her earlier in the day: “I said, ‘Is this for you Katie? Because honestly, you don’t need this,’” he told reporters, adding of her decision to accept the role, “Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider.”
Zacharia never returned—to the interview, or the job.
[snip]
Zacharia’s attempts to defend herself during back-to-back appearances on Fox News had been similarly rocky—commentators on the conservative news channel, often complimentary of the administration, let Zacharia know she was off to a rough start. The president agreed, telling aides that Zacharia wasn’t talented, according to a person who heard his remarks.
But in her office earlier Friday before her ouster became public, Zacharia projected calm as she touted her close relationship with the president. “That’s what matters,” she said. “There are no staffing changes that are happening,” she said of her plans for that team. “I’m trying to keep everyone cohesive.”
Less than an hour later, Zacharia was out.
The Wall Street Journal. 10/16/2026.
No worries about her being bitter over her firing. She took to Twitter to thank Puddle for allowing her to work for him, even though she didn't last a Scaramucci.
President Trump is a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man. I wish more Americans appreciated him. No one will ever make America great the way he has and continues to. It was an honor to work for him. https://t.co/Tp4NizrhE2
— Katie Zacharia (@KatieZacharia) October 17, 2026
For those unfamiliar, a Scaramucci equals 11 days. That's how long Anthony Scaramucci lasted as Puddle 1.0's White House communications director.
We now have a new unit of measurement: the Zacharia. It equals five days or less.
Remaking DC into Puddle's Image...
Puddle announced his plans to destroy the East Potomac Golf Links in DC.
10/18/2026:
10/19/2026:
ICYMI:
I admit to sleeping on this because at this point it seems until judges decide to hold people accountable for not following their orders, we are just spinning our wheels.
However, since Puddle has passive-aggressively decided to weigh in on this court battle, I went a-googling this morning...
It's our old friend Steve Vladeck who abandoned me, I mean Twitter for bluer skies...
Anyway, he wrote a Substack that basically sums up the fight between the D.C. Preservation League and two regular golfers, Alex Dickson and Dave Roberts, and the fuckery that is our government.
Here is the gist of issue today...
In February 2026, the D.C. Preservation League and two regular golfers, Alex Dickson and Dave Roberts, sued the Department of the Interior, the Park Service, Secretary Burgum, and acting Park Service Director Jessica Bowron in the D.C. federal district court.
[snip]
In other words, while receiving briefing and developing the record on the plaintiffs’ substantive claims, the only specific demand Reyes imposed on the government was to provide notice before any especially significant maintenance work on the course was undertaken (including the removal of more than 10 trees)—so that she could then decide if more coercive relief was appropriate before the work was performed. And as I hope this summary makes clear, there was no ambiguity about any of this. Indeed, my count of the record as of the beginning of this month identifies more than ten different instances over the course of the litigation in which the plaintiffs asked Judge Reyes for some kind of interim relief—and she denied all of them.
That’s where things stood two weeks ago, when the Department of the Interior apparently decided to fully consider and approve the tree removal plan in just five days—from October 5 to 9 (a bit ironic given the timeline the Supreme Court thought the Fourth Circuit couldn’t impose on the FCC). It notified the plaintiffs only at 4:55 p.m. on the Friday before the holiday weekend, and crews appear to have cut down about 430 trees the next day.
[snip]
All of this led to the drama that has since received media attention. Reyes held an extraordinary four-hour hearing on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and issued a temporary restraining order (that she has since extended) barring the removal of any more trees. In last Monday’s hearing, Reyes told the government’s lawyers that they had “lost credibility” through their behavior, and was heated in her questioning not just of the Justice Department’s representatives, but of the government witnesses during the hearing (one of whom participated via a cell phone from his car). Another hearing, with witnesses who weren’t available last Monday, is set for later today.
[snip]
In essence, the government’s motion to disqualify Judge Reyes asks her to answer for the consequences of its conduct. For months, Reyes gave the administration the benefit of the doubt. She declined to enter an injunction because she wanted “to trust that people are acting in good faith,” and she relied on repeated assurances that no plans had been approved for the course. The government then approved a tree-removal plan within five days, and it told the court only at 4:55 p.m. on the Friday before a holiday weekend—only to now complain that Judge Reyes dared to call witnesses to an emergency hearing on that very federal holiday.
Nothing about the future of the Republic turns on whether East Potomac becomes a championship course or continues to operate as an affordable muni course. But that’s precisely why all of this is so revealing. When the stakes are this low, there’s no national-security rationale or sweeping policy interest to explain away the government’s litigation conduct. And the conduct speaks for itself: months of assurances that nothing was imminent, followed by a five-day approval and a notice at the close of business on a Friday before a holiday weekend, followed, once the court pushed back and sought to get to the bottom of the government’s behavior, by a motion accusing the judge of “histrionics” and “animus” rather than a defense (or appeal) on the merits, or even any attempt at an explanation for the government’s shady behavior.
Steve Vladeck substack. 10/19/2026.
I agree with this: "Nothing about the future of the Republic turns on whether East Potomac becomes a championship course or continues to operate as an affordable muni course."
But even he recognizes the bigger picture here...
Ultimately, the problem this imbroglio illustrates isn’t that the administration loses in the district courts; it’s that it increasingly seems to treat district courts less as coequal actors whose role it must respect than as obstacles to be outrun and then delegitimized when they catch up. If that’s how the government behaves in a dispute over a few hundred trees on Hains Point, it’s worth asking how it behaves when the stakes are actually high—and whether the appellate courts (including the Supreme Court) should keep that behavior in mind when the government asks them to review what the district courts have done.
Steve Vladeck substack. 10/19/2026.
Give it read, it includes other court happenings before it drives into the golf course nonsense.
The hearing has already started. We will try to cover it tomorrow...
Foreign Policy Fuckery
Friday night, the White House shared the details of how they plan to fuck Ukraine by waiving sanctions under the month-old H.R. 5334, the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, just days before they were set to take effect.
The waiver isn't much of surprise considering Puddle announced...
10/09/2026:
He lied about...
10/11/2026:
He copped with the criticism...
10/12/2026
10/12/2026:
10/18/2026:
Speaking of Iran...
Fuckstick Too said his thanks in video.
President Trump, my friend Donald - thank you for your extraordinary endorsement. Israel has never had a greater friend in the White House. Together we will never let Iran's regime get nuclear weapons. Thank you for your clarity, courage and unwavering support. @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/GqaOVB74Dj
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 18, 2026
Fuckstick Too:
President Trump, my dear friend Donald, I'm so honored and humbled by your extraordinary endorsement. I could say, and that's easy. There's never been a greater friend of Israel in the White House that's in understatement, not by the long shot.
But I think America has been fortunate to have a leader of conviction, of clarity, of courage, who faces down this threat to America and to Israel. Those who chant death to Israel, death to America, this violent murderous dictatorship in Tehran that wants to acquire nuclear weapons and the means to deliver it to every American city.
You understand that. And you're not set back by internal criticism. You're focused, laser-focused on the task of removing the threat from this current generation of Americans from all future generations. You've shown remarkable consistency and remarkable leadership.
Now, let me say to the American people, if you're worried about today's gas prices, think of what will happen if Iran gets nuclear weapons, something that Donald Trump and I will never allow. And when that happens, when that threat of that regime disappears, gas prices will go down and how.
But only under Trump, it's not going to happen with those who want to accommodate and appease these tyrants, these putchers.
And I have to say that the world has been fortunate. America has been fortunate. America's allies have been fortunate is relevant, has been fortunate. And the Jewish people have been fortunate, who have a leader of such clarity, consistency, conviction, and courage is Donald J. Trump.
Donald, thank you. Thank you for your enduring support. Thank you for your unbelievable leadership. Thank you, friend.
Tiff Talk:
Puddle said "I WANT THIS WAR END!" He could demand that his bestie Putin end it. All Putin has to do is leave Ukraine. But instead, Puddle is siding with Russia...
For example:
On Thursday, Reuters reported that according to sources the "Order to limit Starshield for Ukraine came from inside White House"
The order to limit a satellite system used by Ukraine for battlefield communications and drone operations came from inside the White House, according to two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter.The officials said leaders at the Defense Department received a message that the SpaceX Starshield service for the Ukrainian military needed to be slowed.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not specify who in the White House made the decision or who was responsible for implementing the order. The Pentagon is the biggest customer of Starshield, which is the military-grade version of the Starlink service.
[snip]
The move to temporarily restrict the vital communications system came as President Donald Trump has pressured Kyiv to stop its attacks on Russian refineries, which he has blamed for the soaring energy prices that are denting his Republican Party's prospects in the November midterm elections.
But experts say that surge in energy costs is mainly the result of the US-Israeli war with Iran, which brought Iranian attacks on energy facilities and has largely shut the vital Strait of Hormuz.In response to a request for comment about the order to limit Starshield, a senior US official said: "No such request was ever made by the president."
Reuters. 10/15/2026.
Even his other bestie Bibi said that Russia is helping Iran to harm Israel and American interests.
The Jerusalem Post (10/18/2026):
“Russia’s cooperation with Iran is something that runs counter to its interests, as does the existence of bot networks conducting a campaign against the State of Israel with the most blatant antisemitism imaginable,” Netanyahu said in response to a question from The Jerusalem Post. “We raise all these issues with them, and we do so very clearly,” the prime minister added.
Netanyahu said that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin “speak when necessary.”
[snip]
“My assessment, and I do not want to speak on behalf of others, is that, given the Muslim population within Russia itself, Iran would also seek to turn elements within that population into its agents.
"This is because Iran holds extreme ideological views concerning the conquest of the world, the subjugation of all Muslims to its doctrine, and the imposition of that doctrine on all nonbelievers,” Netanyahu said.
Russia’s growing military cooperation with Iran has emerged as a significant concern for Israel, particularly amid reports that Moscow is helping Tehran strengthen its military capabilities, improve its drone and missile technology, and obtain intelligence that could support attacks against American and allied forces in the Middle East.
The Jerusalem Post (10/18/2026).
In July Reuters reported that: Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drone attacks on CIA facilities in the Gulf have prompted U.S. intelligence analysts to investigate whether Russia assisted by providing targeting information or advanced drone technology, said four people familiar with U.S. intelligence.These people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss national security matters, said U.S. intelligence officials have not yet reached firm conclusions about the possible Russian involvement in the attacks on CIA facilities. But they cited the strikes' effectiveness and apparent precision, as well as Russia's broader technical support for Iran, as possible evidence.
Reuters and other media have reported — and U.S. officials have acknowledged — that Russia has provided targeting and other support for Iran in its strikes on U.S. targets in the Gulf region generally, but the intelligence community's investigation of possible Russian involvement in supporting the CIA facility attacks has not been previously disclosed.At least two CIA sites were struck in March, Reuters and other outlets have reported. One of the facilities was the CIA station in Saudi Arabia, which is located in the U.S. embassy in Riyadh, and a separate site was located in eastern Iraq. Some of the sources said additional CIA sites had been hit, but they did not disclose details.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role. 07/22/2026.
And since Puddle is the President of the United States, he's dragging the rest of us along with him.
Let that sink in.
The United States of America has picked Russia's side.
