rotaborn

@JonahDispatch How was Hungary not a competitive authoritarian state? I know you’ve contempt for The Bulwark but this no-paywall piece is a pretty thorough argument that you really underplay it. thebulwark.com/p/its-not-enou…

Yes, claims of Orban’s authoritarianism were sometimes exaggerated. But he was moving in that direction. And claims he was corrupt were not exaggerated at all. thedispatch.com/article/hungar…

@bendreyfuss Wait. Is your issue the subtitles or the foreign stories? (I’m no gauge bc I’ve been using subtitles for most TV/streaming because either I’m aging rapidly, my set-up is shit, or sound production has gone to hell.)

I’m happy that other countries have their own film/tv industries. Everyone on earth deserves to see stories in their native tongue. But don’t try to trick me into watching them. Let me set a filter for “I’m not evolved enough for foreign language shows. Sue me”

This website is filled with dirty racists who love to cry about bullshit but ironically they never talk about the one thing that brings out the xenophobia in me: Netflix trying to trick me into watching foreign language productions.

@jbarro Very thoughtless of you; he’s allowing 15-20% of the population to sleep much better at night.

Anyone without a religious background still understands the religious imagery. It's so insulting to all of our intelligence that we've had to spend 11 fucking years engaging the world's stupidest lies from this man

@michaeldweiss Won’t compare to what we’ll see in January 2029, if Trump fails to do sufficiently widespread pardons.

Peter Magyar told reporters today that the outgoing Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó, who had disappeared since yesterday's election, has resurfaced at the Foreign Ministry today and is shredding documents related to sanctions: telex.hu/belfold/2026/0…

@JeremiahDJohns @ezraklein @ThirdWayTweet @jonfavs There was so little MSM attention/meaningful reaction to Vance’s post liberal beliefs after he joined the ticket, I stopped believing the political class truly cares abt authoritarianism/liberal democracy. A 2nd Trump term universally recognized as a disaster won’t change it.

Piker acts conciliatory on these large shows, then goes back to his own viewers to slobber up authoritarians and scream about how Democrats are evil. Still - I would welcome the news that Piker was voting blue, and telling his followers to do the same. But he should not be a leader, he should not be coddled on friendly interview shows, and his views show not be glossed over.

There's something missing from the Hasan Piker discourse. Hasan's fans and critics often overlook the most troubling fact about him. The core problem with Hasan Piker is that, on a fundamental level, he doesn't believe in liberal democracy. x.com/CNLiberalism/s…

@SethAMandel You cite a poll that was at least 3-4 months after 10/7 to say there was no immediate bump in sympathy. It’s also ridiculous to say the only way to keep support was to let Iran/proxies “get away with” the attacks. You seem incapable of a good faith argument or nuanced thinking.

I think the fact that there was no sympathy after Oct. 7 for Israel to even squander was the real shock, and it makes a lot of the 'advice' it got afterwards from abroad seem in bad faith.

Israel is facing an unusually difficult challenge to its image in America. The question, then, becomes: what would it cost Israel to maintain its popularity? Could Israel plausibly live in safety and security while also keeping Americans' sympathy? commentary.org/seth-mandel/wh…

@bendreyfuss I very much appreciate @SonnyBunch but I also enjoy him getting tweaked. Good job!

Gonna spend an extra dollar to rent this movie rather than buy it because I don’t like being tied down by possessions

@JonahDispatch “Dragged” isn’t the right verb but this reporting makes it seem highly likely they convinced him to do it. 🎁 link. nytimes.com/2026/04/07/us/…

I just think it’s amazing that there are still people who think Trump was strong armed into this war. People dragged into a war against their will don’t get all jazzed about threatening to destroy a civilization.

@davidfrum You increasingly equate criticism of Israel with antisemitism, to the degree that it’s really hard to take this type of observation seriously. You could be right! But I’m not going to be persuaded by you.

One of the more remarkable trends of the past 4 years has been the almost total disappearance of environmentalism from left-wing consciousness, and its replacement by various forms of anti-Judaism as the defining test of who is "progressive" and who is not.

I see more and more high-profile progressive accounts doing what I predicted in February.

@JonahDispatch Uh, really? People can start out reluctant or opposed to something, be manipulated or pressured, and end up acting over the top in their actions all the time. Just look at the progression of Rs’ support of the President. And, unlike Trump, I don’t think they’re nuts.

@Gpasareus @jpodhoretz How are your first two points in contradiction to the article or what I pointed out? If you think I’m criticizing the military or the mission, you’d benefit from more supple thinking.

@rotaborn @jpodhoretz 1. The airman was successfully extracted. 2. There were no American casualties. 3. You're a moron.

Um what

Is this a new thing? I wonder who writes the descriptions for @Xfinity program descriptions of @billmaher ‘s @RealTimers. I like the show but this is pretty hilarious.

@BilgeEbiri @vjmfilms Nick Cave, The Proposition

@vjmfilms Elvis, WILD AT HEART. Elvis, HONEYMOON IN VEGAS. Elvis, LILO & STITCH. Elvis, PRISCILLA. Elvis, BUBBA HO-TEP.

Half-watching THE LAST PICTURE SHOW on TCM and … has a musician ever dominated a non-musical movie as much as Hank Williams does this one.

@EsotericCD I’m impressed you were able to pull some coherence from this tweet. (I do think Hegseth and his crew are capable of trying anything, however stupid it might be.)

Can't imagine why people would lack confidence in this administration's long-term planning capabilities.

This is a "plumber" operation worth of the Three Stooges: 1.) Hegseth is paranoid about leaks, goes on leak hunt 2.) Idea is to spread rumor to select parties, see who 'bites' in the media, trace the leak backwards 3.) Top lieutenant invents farcically implausible alcohol rumor that would not fool a child 4.) Spreads it while ruinously drunk himself 5.) Also there's a war on

@BreannaMorello Were you drinking when you wrote this?

🚨REPORT🚨 Pete Hegseth’s top aide, Ricky Buria, has been spreading a story that he and Hegseth disguised themselves with hats and sunglasses to sneak out of a Ritz-Carlton hotel for a heavy drinking session involving nearly three bottles of Macallan whisky. The tale, which multiple sources describe as false and reckless, was reportedly planted as a ploy to identify leakers and stir drama within the Trump administration. This has fueled infighting and paranoia in the Pentagon, especially given Hegseth’s recent confirmation as Secretary of War and his public pledge to abstain from alcohol. The media attempted to lie during Hegseth’s confirmation process by claiming he had a drinking problem. SOURCE: NYP My sources have repeatedly told me Buria is and has always been problematic. During a media event, Buria is heard in an interview with @mattgaetz struggling to speak—he appeared to be slurring.

@bendreyfuss @DangerBrooks If it doesn’t have an expiry, and you’re not leaving DC, keep it in your back pocket. Fingers crossed for a pretty, calm spring.

@rotaborn @DangerBrooks No, lol. I tried a reschedule last year but weather ruined it. I have sort of accepted that this money is lost now.

You mean "inherent virtue." "Inherit virtue" is when your dad was in Jaws.

@RadioFreeTom @EsotericCD Like Pluribus, you just failed to take it on its own terms.

@EsotericCD It's horrible. Let a glass of beer dry out over a few days, scrape the bottom, and then put it on a cracker, and that's Vegemite

Has anyone out there had "vegemite" and it is secretly grand? Or is it just as off-putting as it seems?

@EsotericCD As described elsewhere, toast with butter applied after the bread’s cooled a touch so that it doesn’t melt too much. Then spread it *very* thin. It’s like five times more powerful than salt. Have it with decent black leaf tea with milk.

I'll point out that people are responding with things like "it's an umami explosion" and "it tastes like brown bits in the pan after cooking a burger on the range" and "it tastes like cigarette butts" and NONE of this dissuades me. This might actually be a weird taste I like.

@thedispatch A good episode! I was surprised neither @whignewtons nor @DavidAFrench pushed back/asked @GovChristie how Biden & Garland continued the deleterious “wingman” POTUS/AG relationship he said predated (but got worse w/) Trump II. Pretty sure that’d surprise many in the Biden admin!

The Justice Department = A bunch of hypocrites | Former NJ Gov. Chris Christie returns on today's episode of Advisory Opinions