"Karl also interviewed Trump senior economic adviser Kevin Hassett: [...]"
"When Karl was asked about the regime bragging about the stock market highs, while Americans are struggling financially, he [Hassett] said: ..."
Wait, "Karl"? Karl who?
This has me confused. Nowhere in the article is there any other mention of this mysterious person with the mononame "Karl." (Is the entity a "deus ex wonkettia"?)
As the earnings gap between the über rich and the rest of us reaches Mariana Trench depths of disparity its nice to know that silver spoon buffoons like Hassett and Bessent will continue to gaslight the fuck out of their constituents even as the wise among us sharpen their guillotines.
Hassett has passed Ted Cruz for most punchable face in Washington, though Bessett is giving him a close race, The smirks on both their faces when they give bad news for the American people is an open invitation to consequences.
You know I thought I heard a doctor say, sadly, "It's advanced, a case of advanced bessent... he might lose a leg and that's if he survives several 'ectomies'..."
"BURGUM: The Freedom 250 organization is run out of the White House, but it is not a — it's not about the transparency of the donors."
* Gee, I wonder if this might have been a reason that pretty much every musical talent signed for the Fulvous Fuckwad's "Great American State Fair" (a very visible part of Freedom 250) has backed out? I mean, they were told that the event would be apolitical but is chaired by a Dipshit-in-Chief stan with major input by said dipshit.
* Don't sweat the lack of live entertainment, Pres Dementia has changed the concept to another of his trademark rallies. Like with all his others, I expect him to violate copyright laws and play their music anyway.
* The bigger donors don't want transparency, they prefer the donor list be opaque. This way, Jane and John on the street won't know who are the latest to join the Pay to Play Club. People knowing who the assholes are might be deleterious to their net worth due to boycotts of their businesses.
-----
"BASH: You're a leader right there, right?" (The question that led to the above bovine scat.)
"There go the people. I must follow them, for I am their leader." Alexandre Ledru-Rollin
-----
"HASSETT: ... Egg prices are down 85 percent."
I call bovine scat.
> "Comparing the latest retail egg price information available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index (CPI), the average cost for a dozen Grade A eggs in the United States was $2.58 in January 2026, a 48% drop compared with $4.95 in January 2025." [True, the prices are down but nowhere near Hassett's claim.] https://www.usatoday.com/story/grocery/2026/02/13/egg-prices-bird-flu/88591388007/
(Hassett is somewhat correct when it comes to wholesale prices, with some reports saying the price is ~90% less than a year ago, but the shopper in the grocery store isn't paying wholesale and it appears that a large amount of the savings are not being passed along to the consumer.)
-----
"HASSETT: ... Delinquency is different from default"
OK, let's talk default:
* Delinquency Rate (30-90 days late) "About 12.1% of credit card accounts are currently delinquent."
* Severe Defaults (90+ days late) "Lenders recently wrote off an estimated $59 billion in defaulted credit card debt in a single year."
* Household Impact "Nearly 1 in 4 Americans seeking debt relief has an account in collections."
* Income Disparities "Delinquency rises sharply in low-income areas (up to 17.9%) compared to high-income areas (6.0%)" [I don't have default numbers based on income disparity, but I don't think it is any better and likely worse.] (Numbers generated by AI with prompt "average number of people who default credit card debt")
Terry Pratchett wrote: "“When Banks Fail, It Is Seldom Bankers Who Starve." Which is absolutely true; now more than ever. But the full quote is even more on the nose...
“When Banks Fail, It Is Seldom Bankers Who Starve. Your Actions Have Taken Money From Those Who Had Little Enough To Begin With. In A Myriad Small Ways You Have Hastened The Deaths Of Many. You Did Not Know Them. You Did Not See Them Bleed. But You Snatched Bread From Their Mouths And Tore Clothes From Their Backs. For Sport, Mr. Lipvig. For Sport. For The Joy Of The Game."
~Terry Pratchett, Going Postal
The character on the receiving end of this lecture felt shame, something our president, administration toadies, congressional GOP enablers, SCOTUS and oligarchs are completely incapable of.
Surprisingly no, although it sounds like something DEATH would say. No, it is Pump 99, the golem who was assigned, by Lord Vetinari, to be Moist Von LIpvig's parole officer after he was arrested for fraud, hanged, and then assigned to be the new Ankh-Morpork Postmaster General.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I suspect that Hassett and Bessant secretly both wear a specialized helmet + steel mesh faceguard to protect from random punches in the face.
"Karl also interviewed Trump senior economic adviser Kevin Hassett: [...]"
"When Karl was asked about the regime bragging about the stock market highs, while Americans are struggling financially, he [Hassett] said: ..."
Wait, "Karl"? Karl who?
This has me confused. Nowhere in the article is there any other mention of this mysterious person with the mononame "Karl." (Is the entity a "deus ex wonkettia"?)
Karl Marx.
Karl Sagan.
Karl Rockafeller.
Karl O'Brien. Owns the local pub. Serves a wonderful clean, cold pint of Guinness.
Oh, OK. for a minute I thought he was referring to Karling Black Label, who was the source of many of my uncle's quotes.
250 years of colonialism, murder, slavery in the United States and elsewhere distilled into one word and that word is FREEDOM!
"{HASSETT: ...a lot of other things are going down."
Of course I can't tell you what any of them are. Now excuse me while I change the subject...
As the earnings gap between the über rich and the rest of us reaches Mariana Trench depths of disparity its nice to know that silver spoon buffoons like Hassett and Bessent will continue to gaslight the fuck out of their constituents even as the wise among us sharpen their guillotines.
although there is a lot to be said for a nice dull guillotine also too.
could letterman and colbert drop kev and lil scoddy from the roof? i'm sure they'd be fine....
Hassett has passed Ted Cruz for most punchable face in Washington, though Bessett is giving him a close race, The smirks on both their faces when they give bad news for the American people is an open invitation to consequences.
Don't forget Nosferatu Miller.
Can I assume by now that no one who isn't paid to watch the Sunday shows is watching the Sunday shows?
A ROLLING LIST OF THINGS I'LL NEVER SAY
1) "Let's move to Florida."
You know I thought I heard a doctor say, sadly, "It's advanced, a case of advanced bessent... he might lose a leg and that's if he survives several 'ectomies'..."
Is that Maria Bartiromo or the catch of the day?
Egg prices are down 85%?!? So a dozen which might have been $5 not long ago is now $0.75?
I don’t think numbers mean what this “Economic Advisor” thinks they mean…
I have a standard rule when it comes to Republicans. Never trust a word they say.
Listen again. He said "Egg Prizes" damn you!
"BURGUM: The Freedom 250 organization is run out of the White House, but it is not a — it's not about the transparency of the donors."
* Gee, I wonder if this might have been a reason that pretty much every musical talent signed for the Fulvous Fuckwad's "Great American State Fair" (a very visible part of Freedom 250) has backed out? I mean, they were told that the event would be apolitical but is chaired by a Dipshit-in-Chief stan with major input by said dipshit.
* Don't sweat the lack of live entertainment, Pres Dementia has changed the concept to another of his trademark rallies. Like with all his others, I expect him to violate copyright laws and play their music anyway.
* The bigger donors don't want transparency, they prefer the donor list be opaque. This way, Jane and John on the street won't know who are the latest to join the Pay to Play Club. People knowing who the assholes are might be deleterious to their net worth due to boycotts of their businesses.
-----
"BASH: You're a leader right there, right?" (The question that led to the above bovine scat.)
"There go the people. I must follow them, for I am their leader." Alexandre Ledru-Rollin
-----
"HASSETT: ... Egg prices are down 85 percent."
I call bovine scat.
> "Comparing the latest retail egg price information available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index (CPI), the average cost for a dozen Grade A eggs in the United States was $2.58 in January 2026, a 48% drop compared with $4.95 in January 2025." [True, the prices are down but nowhere near Hassett's claim.] https://www.usatoday.com/story/grocery/2026/02/13/egg-prices-bird-flu/88591388007/
(Hassett is somewhat correct when it comes to wholesale prices, with some reports saying the price is ~90% less than a year ago, but the shopper in the grocery store isn't paying wholesale and it appears that a large amount of the savings are not being passed along to the consumer.)
-----
"HASSETT: ... Delinquency is different from default"
OK, let's talk default:
* Delinquency Rate (30-90 days late) "About 12.1% of credit card accounts are currently delinquent."
* Severe Defaults (90+ days late) "Lenders recently wrote off an estimated $59 billion in defaulted credit card debt in a single year."
* Household Impact "Nearly 1 in 4 Americans seeking debt relief has an account in collections."
* Income Disparities "Delinquency rises sharply in low-income areas (up to 17.9%) compared to high-income areas (6.0%)" [I don't have default numbers based on income disparity, but I don't think it is any better and likely worse.] (Numbers generated by AI with prompt "average number of people who default credit card debt")
fnord
Terry Pratchett wrote: "“When Banks Fail, It Is Seldom Bankers Who Starve." Which is absolutely true; now more than ever. But the full quote is even more on the nose...
“When Banks Fail, It Is Seldom Bankers Who Starve. Your Actions Have Taken Money From Those Who Had Little Enough To Begin With. In A Myriad Small Ways You Have Hastened The Deaths Of Many. You Did Not Know Them. You Did Not See Them Bleed. But You Snatched Bread From Their Mouths And Tore Clothes From Their Backs. For Sport, Mr. Lipvig. For Sport. For The Joy Of The Game."
~Terry Pratchett, Going Postal
The character on the receiving end of this lecture felt shame, something our president, administration toadies, congressional GOP enablers, SCOTUS and oligarchs are completely incapable of.
Death, right? I love that guy.
Surprisingly no, although it sounds like something DEATH would say. No, it is Pump 99, the golem who was assigned, by Lord Vetinari, to be Moist Von LIpvig's parole officer after he was arrested for fraud, hanged, and then assigned to be the new Ankh-Morpork Postmaster General.
"BARTIROMO: What are you going to do about your perception? The Wall Street Journal describes you as “scandal-plagued.”
PAXTON: The reality is they could say the same thing about Donald Trump."
Well, Paxton...
Duh.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I suspect that Hassett and Bessant secretly both wear a specialized helmet + steel mesh faceguard to protect from random punches in the face.
i'd say they need to start wearing a cup but why bother, nothing to protect or see here, folks
I still can't tell them apart.
0 awareness is Israel