Revenge of the Curds

Over the weekend, I visited the WWII Museum in New Orleans. The examples of leadership, unity, strategy, and deep alliance building you see in that museum stand in such sharp contrast to this American moment, dominated by what I described last week as the Trump Doctrine, which combines amorality and incompetence to empower enemies and betray allies, as it dilutes American power in a Dunning-Kruger stew of bluster, arrogance, and stupidity. It’s hard to imagine FDR feuding with an ally over a lie he told about a photo request or interrupting negotiations led by an already in-over-his-head vice president with threats to start bombing again. “If it works out, I’m going to take the credit,” Mr. Trump said of the peace deal last week. “If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD.” Not exactly the day of infamy speech there. As Vance Leads Iran Negotiations, Trump Creates Disruptions in His Path.

+ So far, we’re getting conflicting details from Iran and the US when it comes to control of the Strait, frozen Iranian assets, and nuclear inspections. So basically everything. Here’s the latest from the NYT.

+ All Trump’s bluster aside, it’s hard to envision an outcome in which Iran’s monstrous regime isn’t more monstrous moving forward. NYT (Gift Article): Iranian Singer Sentenced to 74 Lashes for Performing Without Hijab.

The seriousness of the Iran disaster and the damage it (along with much else) has done to America’s global standing is somehow sharing headlines with the president passing the buck for his Reflecting Pool clown show onto imaginary vandals. “‘They put, somebody said, fertilizer in the water,’ Mr. Trump said. ‘If you put fertilizer in the water, you get algae. But somebody said they might have put fertilizer. They did something to create the algae.'” Trump on the Shabby Condition of the Reflecting Pool: Not My Fault. It’s worth noting that even Narcissus himself didn’t f-ck up the reflecting pool.

“If you’re remotely soccer-aware, you’d already heard of the majesty of a Leo Messi-led Argentina, the artistry of a Kylian Mbappé-led France, the relentlessness of an Erling Haaland-led Norway. But until you see those nations, and those stars, in action, you can’t really comprehend how amazing they truly are. America is now getting the full Messi-Mbappé-Haaland experience, and it’s every bit as astounding as we’ve been told. How lucky are we to get to see generational glory play out right in front of us?” The Big 3 are somehow delivering more than anybody could have imagined.

+ “The two mid-half pauses for hydration (and advertisements) have been met with increasingly loud boos from crowds who are frustrated at FIFA turning matches into de facto four-quarter affairs. And the best way to get them to stop booing is, apparently, to get them to start singing.” The not-so-silent war being fought in World Cup stadiums: Stadium DJs vs. hydration break boos.

+ “For fans and players, [hydration breaks are] not worth much at all, and have engendered complaints they break up the flow of the game and topple decades of strategy.” For Fox Sports, they’re worth a lot. A whole lot.

+ “Human annotators in Brazil, Cambodia, and the Philippines are tracking every movement in the football tournament for teams, broadcasters, and the betting industry.” The AI-powered World Cup runs on thousands of data workers.

Fake Dues: “In his videos, George Makihara appears to have a lucrative side hustle making bets on Polymarket. In January, the college student posted a video that showed him winning $100,000 on a wager that President Trump would publicly say the word ‘McDonald’s’ that month. The bet was one of 145 that Makihara appeared to place on Polymarket’s website between January and mid-May, based on his videos—bets adding up to almost $410,000. But none of those bets were real.” WSJ (Gift Article): They Looked Like They Were Getting Rich on Polymarket—but None of It Was Real. Pay attention to who the prediction markets are targeting: “Makihara, who declined to comment, is one of dozens of mostly college-age creators Polymarket paid to film themselves making fake trades and sometimes scoring fake wins.”

+ Lettuce Try Again: “Six Prime Ministers have now resigned since the Brexit vote, in 2016. The sight of the lectern being carried out onto Downing Street, followed by the short, poignant farewell address, has taken on a ritual familiarity, with each departure colored by particular dismay.” The New Yorker: The Torture Chamber of British Politics Crushes Its Latest Prime Minister. And from TNR: Ten Years After Brexit, Every Grim Prediction Has More Than Come True.

+ Dread Nought Decision: A SCOTUS obsessed with religious rights appears to have limits. Color us shocked. “The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against a devout Rastafarian who sought damages after Louisiana prison officials cut his dreadlocks despite his claim that it violated his religious rights … The ruling saw the conservative majority depart from its regular support for religious claims, although recent high-profile wins tended to involve conservative Christians.”

+ Eifel Towering Inferno: The European heat waves are getting hotter, coming earlier, and arriving in places not used to them. Forty drown in France as people seek relief from Europe’s heatwave.

+ Behind the Scenes: “Mr. Davis worked to develop his business instincts — and his ear — by studying the Billboard charts and analyzing what made a song a hit. He came to believe in the power of what he called contemporary music: the unabashedly commercial pop that results when a record executive plays matchmaker in the studio, connecting the right singers with the right material.” The studying paid off. NYT (Gift Article): Clive Davis, Hitmaking Titan of the Music Industry, Dies at 94. And, the absolutely great TV director James Burrows (Taxi, Cheers, Will and Grace) died at 85.

+ Real Company, Meme Stock: “SpaceX is obviously not Dogecoin. Its rocket business is a genuine success story, as is Starlink. But the company’s appeal, particularly in the face of setbacks, is also reliant on a combination of story and Musk’s own image in ways that are not necessarily connected to reality. Musk has frequently set unrealistic timelines for projects, including putting a spacecraft on Mars by 2018.” Charlie Warzel in The Atlantic (Gift Article): The Myth of SpaceX.

+ It’s Never Too Late To Stop: “While divorce rates have been dropping across age groups in recent years, the exception to that trend is among Americans ages 65 and up. The reasons are complicated, but it’s becoming clear that some Gen Xers and baby boomers are increasingly unwilling to stay in what sociologists call ’empty shell marriages.'”

“For most of human history, the threats our nervous system processed were local. A neighbouring tribe. A drought. The illness of a child we personally knew. Information about distant places would barely arrive, and if it did, it was mainly irrelevant. In 2026, the same neurological system is being asked to absorb a war in one region, a financial shock in another, a climate disaster in a third and a violent crime in a fourth, all before lunchtime.” Why 40 per cent of people are avoiding the news. OK, OK, so I’m pushing a product no one wants. Maybe there’s a workaround. Or at least a reach-around. Apparently, newsletters are The Hot New Place for Singles.