It’s rare these days that I see a new product and think, this is really cool, but seriously, this is really cool:
“Meet the Slate Truck, a sub-$20,000 (after federal incentives) electric vehicle that enters production next year. It only seats two yet has a bed big enough to hold a sheet of plywood. It only does 150 miles on a charge, only comes in gray, and the only way to listen to music while driving is if you bring along your phone and a Bluetooth speaker. It is the bare minimum of what a modern car can be, and yet it’s taken three years of development to get to this point.”
So far, so bland, but it’s designed to be customized. So while it doesn’t itself come with a screen, or, you know, paint, you can add one yourself, wrap it in whatever color you want, and pick from a bunch of aftermarket devices to soup it up. It’s the IBM PC approach to electric vehicles instead of the highly-curated Apple approach. I’m into it, with one caveat: I want to hear more about how safe it is.
It sounds like that might be okay:
“Slate’s head of engineering, Eric Keipper, says they’re targeting a 5-Star Safety Rating from the federal government’s New Car Assessment Program. Slate is also aiming for a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.”
I want more of this. EVs are often twice the price or more, keeping them out of reach of regular people. I’ve driven one for several years, and they’re genuinely better cars: more performant, easier to maintain, with a smaller environmental footprint. Bringing the price down while increasing the number of options feels like an exciting way to shake up the market, and exactly the kind of thing I’d want to buy into.
Of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating – so let’s see what happens when it hits the road next year.
About the Tea Party, the direction the Republican Party took during the Obama administration, and then of Trump first riding down the escalator to announce his candidacy:
“If you saw in any of this a threat to liberal democracy writ large, much less one that could actually succeed, you were looked at with the kind of caution usually reserved for the guy screaming about aliens on the subway.”
And yet, of course, it got a lot worse.
The proposal here is simple:
“I propose we promote a simple rule for these uncertain times: Those who saw the danger coming should be listened to, those who dismissed us should be dismissed. Which is to say that those of us who were right should actively highlight that fact as part of our argument for our perspective. People just starting to pay attention now will not have the bandwidth to parse a dozen frameworks, or work backwards through a decade of bitter tit-for-tat arguments. What they might ask—what would be very sensible and reasonable of them to ask—is who saw this coming?”
Because you could see it coming, and it was even easy to see, if you shook yourself out of a complacent view that America’s institutions were impermeable, that its ideals were real and enduring, and that there was no way to overcome the norms, checks, and balances that had been in place for generations.
What this piece doesn’t quite mention but is also worth talking about: there are communities for whom those norms, checks, and balances have never worked, and they were sounding the alarm more clearly than anyone else. They could see it. Of course they could see it. So it’s not just about listening to leftists and activists and people who have been considered to be on the political fringe, but also people of color, queer communities, and the historically oppressed. They know this all rather well.
If they weren’t so pathetic, you might could possibly be sad for some MAGAts. Take Juanita Broaddrick as an example, whose entire national profile is built upon debunked claims she was raped by Bill Clinton in the 1970s and who is now a full-fledged lying MAGAt.
After Canada’s Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre distanced himself from Donald Trump, Broaddrick claimed he would lose the election because Canada loved Trump so much, which didn’t make any sense.
If Canadians loved Trump so much, then why did they just elect Liberal Mark Carney to become their new Prime Minister? That’s like denying Trump’s current favorability numbers. They suck.
There’s also the fact that Trump lost this election for the Conservatives. The Conservatives were ahead by double digits when Trump entered office last January, then he started barking at Canada, waged a tariff war, and repeatedly insulted them by claiming they should be America’s 51st state.
If Donald Trump had kept his mouth shut and had waited at least 100 days for his stupid tariff war, Poilievre would be Prime Minister today.
Yesterday, thanks to Donald Trump, Canadian Liberals won. Trump is now internationally toxic. Everything Trump touches…dies. Super Bowl champion running back Sequon Barkley played golf with Trump a few days ago, and now I expect his knees to give out during the preseason. Trump is poison. I would tell you to ask Elon, but he hasn’t figured it out yet.
Pierre didn’t just lose his race for Prime Minister, he also lost his seat in parliament. (snip-MORE)
A four-year old cancer patient deported by Ann Telnaes
The boy and his sister, both U.S. citizens, were deported to Honduras with their undocumented mother Read on Substack
I was reading this on MPS; clicked through on the Blueshy link, read those photos, then saw “Capitol Protest”, which led to the above Substack note, which is actually pertinent to our interests, especially after reading this on MPS.
This is why I keep saying we must be vocal and show our displeasure with companies that pull back out of fear. We must voice it also with our money. I used to shop Target, but until they reverse their polices I won’t spend a dime in any of their stores. I know you can search and there are websites that show pro-LGBTQ+ stores and those who betrayed the LGBTQ+. But the right learned from the protests and tactics used by the LGBTQ+ in the past. We were vocal, we were loud, we worked both behind the scenes with companies and we made it clear we have disposable money to shop. A lot of gay people still do. Hugs
Murray is a Forbes news reporter covering entertainment trends.
Nearly two-fifths of corporations plan on scaling back engagement for LGBTQ Pride Month this June, an uptick from the same survey last year, while another two-fifths said their support would remain unchanged, according to a survey of corporate executives by Gravity Research, as some LGBTQ Pride organizations nationwide report fewer corporate sponsorships than past years.
Some Pride organizations have reported corporate donors have scaled back funding this year. (Photo … More
Getty Images
Key Facts
Of the 49 executives surveyed from Fortune 1000 companies, those who said they were pulling back on Pride support cited pressure from conservative activists and President Donald Trump, who has signed executive orders gutting diversity, equity and inclusion and targeting the transgender community.
Of the 39% of companies who said they would reduce Pride Month engagement this year, 43% said they would reduce external shows of support, which includes having a visual presence at or financially sponsoring Pride marches, offering a Pride merchandise line, updating social media branding and partnering with influencers for Pride-themed sponsorships.
Fewer respondents, 19%, said their decreased engagement for Pride would be internal, including internal communication with employees about commitments to equality and offering employee resource groups.
About 41% of the companies surveyed said their support for Pride will remain unchanged this year, while the rest responded “don’t know” or “haven’t decided.”
Last year just 9% of companies told Gravity Research last year they would alter their Pride Month engagement plans.
Crucial Quote
Gravity Research president Luke Hartig told Forbes the survey “reveals just how dramatically the cultural and political tides have turned,”stating two-fifths of companies scaling back Pride Month engagement “would’ve been unthinkable just five years ago.” Hartig said, though, “most are holding firm internally, continuing to show up for LGBTQ+ employees and allies via events, partnerships with ERGs, and reiterating workplace inclusion.”
What Did Corporate Leaders Say About Reducing Pride Month Engagement?
One corporate leader told Gravity Research their company would reduce their acknowledgement of Pride Month on social media to “minimize public visibility that could trigger attention.” An unnamed corporate executive at a Fortune 500 consumer staples company told Gravity Research it has “reduced risk across all heritage month events” by “focusing internally and doing what’s right for our people and not necessarily shouting to the world about it.” Some executives told Gravity Research they are preparing talking points in response to their Pride Month activities, including one financial executive, who said their company has provided HR employees with prepared responses for employees who question its Pride Month support. The financial executive also said their company is planning to take a “more conservative approach to how we are acknowledging Pride month on our social media channels.”
Surprising Fact
Business-to-consumer companies (71%) are more likely than business-to-business companies (53%) to prepare for Pride Month-related backlash, Gravity Research reported, which it says shows “increased public pressure and threat of consumer backlash.”
Which Pride Organizations Have Lost Corporate Sponsors?
Some of the United States’ biggest Pride organizations have said corporate sponsors pulled back financial support this year. Anheuser-Busch, the alcoholic beverage company that battled a wave of conservative backlash in 2023 over a partnership between Bud Light and transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, declined to support St. Louis Pride in 2025 after more than 30 years of sponsorship, St. Louis Pride said in an Instagram post. San Francisco Pride organizers told Forbes Anheuser-Busch also declined to support the organization this year, as did previous sponsors Comcast and alcoholic beverage company Diageo, representing a loss of $200,000 in corporate sponsorship funding. Pride Houston’s board of directors told Forbes some corporate sponsors reduced support by as much as 75%, totaling $100,000 in lost funds. Chris Piedmont, media director for NYC Pride, told Forbes some corporate sponsors have scaled back budgets, though he did not name specific companies. The loss of funding has led some organizations to turn to crowdfunding, including St. Louis Pride and Twin Cities Pride in Minnesota, which cut ties with Target after the company walked back its diversity, equity and inclusion measures in January.
Key Background
Some companies have faced backlash among conservative activists in recent years for their support for LGBTQ pride, notably Bud Light, which lost its spot as the top beer in the United States after facing a consumer boycott over its partnership with Mulvaney. Within about a month of the Bud Light boycott, which began in April 2023, Bud Light’s sales were down 26% compared to the year prior. Other companies that faced online attacks and boycotts included Nike, which also partnered with Mulvaney in 2023, and Target, which sparked outrage for selling a swimsuit marketed for trans women. In response to backlash, Target removed some of its LGBTQ pride items from stores. Target has faced renewed boycotts in recent weeks after it joined a wave of companies walking back diversity, equity and inclusion standards, angering critics who viewed the company as a longtime LGBTQ ally. Target’s foot traffic in stores has been down year-over-year for 11 straight weeks, beginning with the week after it dropped DEI commitments in January, Retail Brew reported.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth went off on the acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff amid a search for a leaker at the Pentagon, according to a report published Thursday in The Wall Street Journal.
The paper said Hegseth was “rattled” after word got out last month that the Pentagon was set to briefElon Musk on China, where the Tesla CEO has three factories. President Donald Trumpdenied the report the next day. However, Axios later reported that Trump had canceled the briefing while asking, “What the fuck is Elon doing here?”
During his search for the leaker, Hegseth erupted at Admiral Christopher Grady, who was then the acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
“I’ll hook you up to a f——-g polygraph!” Hegseth shouted at the admiral, the Journal reported, according to two people familiar with the interaction. The secretary demanded proof that Grady was not the source of the Musk leak. Grady was never polygraphed. Hegseth reportedly threatened others with a polygraph test, including Lt. Gen. Doug Sims, the Joint Chiefs director.
The report is just the latest trouble for Hegseth. After a slog of a confirmation fight that ended with the vice president casting the tie-breaking vote, the secretary has only provided his detractors with fodder. Last month, it was revealed that Hegseth shared looming plans for airstrikes in Yemen with more than a dozen administration officials in a Signal group chat. This week, it was reported that he shared the same plans in another chat with his wife, brother, and lawyer. It was also reported that Hegseth set up a makeup studio at the Pentagon to be used ahead of television appearances, which Hegseth denied. Last week, Hegseth lost four staffers amid what one Pentagon official called “chaos” at the department. And on Thursday, the Associated Press reported that Hegseth used “an internet connections that bypassed the Pentagon’s security protocols set up in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer,” according to two sources.
For its report, the Journal said the Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth listens as President Donald Trump meets with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon’s security protocols set up in his office to use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, two people familiar with the line told The Associated Press.
The existence of the unsecured internet connection is the latest revelation about Hegseth’s use of the unclassified app and raises the possibility that sensitive defense information could have been put at risk of potential hacking or surveillance.
Known as a “dirty” internet line by the IT industry, it connects directly to the public internet where the user’s information and the websites accessed do not have the same security filters or protocols that the Pentagon’s secured connections maintain.
Other Pentagon offices have used them, particularly if there’s a need to monitor information or websites that would otherwise be blocked.
But the biggest advantage of using such a line is that the user would not show up as one of the many IP addresses assigned to the Defense Department — essentially the user is masked, according to a senior U.S. official familiar with military network security.
But it also can expose users to hacking and surveillance. A “dirty” line — just like any public internet connection — also may lack the recordkeeping compliance required by federal law, the official said.
All three spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.
A ‘dirty’ internet line to use Signal
The two people familiar with the line said Hegseth had it set up in his office to use the Signal app, which has become a flashpoint following revelations that he posted sensitive details about a military airstrike in two chats that each had more than a dozen people. One of the chats included his wife and brother, while the other included President Donald Trump’s top national security officials.
Asked about Hegseth’s use of Signal in his office, which was first reported by The Washington Post, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the defense secretary’s “use of communications systems and channels is classified.”
“However, we can confirm that the Secretary has never used and does not currently use Signal on his government computer,” Parnell said in a statement.
Trump and other administration officials have given Hegseth their full support. They have blamed employees they say were disgruntled for leaking information to journalists, with Trump saying this week: “It’s just fake news. They just bring up stories.”
“I have 100% confidence in the secretary,” Vice President JD Vance told reporters Wednesday about Hegseth. ”I know the president does and, really, the entire team does.”
Secure ways to communicate at the Pentagon
The Pentagon has a variety of secure ways that enable Hegseth and other military leaders to communicate:
— The Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network can handle the lowest levels of sensitive information. It allows some access to the internet but is firewalled and has levels of cybersecurity that a “dirty” line does not. It cannot handle information labeled as secret.
— The Secure Internet Protocol Router Network is used for secret-level classified information.
— The Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System is for top-secret and secret compartmentalized information, which is some of the highest levels of secrecy, also known as TS/SCI.
Hegseth initially was going to the back area of his office where he could access Wi-Fi to use his devices, one of the people familiar said, and then he requested a line at his desk where he could use his own computer.
That meant at times there were three computers around his desk — a personal computer; another for classified information; and a third for sensitive defense information, both people said.
Because electronic devices are vulnerable to spying, no one is supposed to have them inside the defense secretary’s office. Important offices at the Pentagon have a cabinet or drawer where staff or visitors are required to leave devices.
While Signal offers more protections than standard text messaging, it’s no guarantee of security. Officials also must ensure their hardware and connections are secure, said Theresa Payton, White House chief information officer under President George W. Bush and now CEO of Fortalice Solutions, a cybersecurity firm.
The communications of senior government officials are of keen interest to adversaries like Russia or China, Payton said.
The National Security Agency issued a warning earlier this year about concerns that foreign hackers could try to target government officials using Signal. Google also advised caution about Russia-aligned hackers targeting Signal users.
Hegseth’s Signal use is under investigation by the Defense Department’s acting inspector general at the request of the bipartisan leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Hegseth pulled the information about the strike on Yemen’s Houthi militants last month from a secure communications channel used by U.S. Central Command. He has vehemently denied he posted “war plans” or classified information.
But the information Hegseth did post in chats — exact launch times and bomb drop times — would have been classified and could have put service members at risk, multiple current and former military and defense officials have said. The airstrike information was sent before the pilots had launched or safely returned from their mission.
___
AP reporter David Klepper in Washington contributed to this report.
Copp covers the Pentagon and national security for the Associated Press. She has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
I read a theory on Facebook yesterday, which means there was heavy research behind it (sarcasm), that Trump only hired morons because they would provide distractions from all the Trump Fuckery he’s implementing. I think that might be a bonus, but I don’t agree with it.
I think Trump only hires morons, not because they’re morons, but because they’re all sycophants and none will challenge his Trump Fuckery. For the love of God, Kristi Noem even got the Melania hairstyle. I’m kinda shocked JD Vance didn’t get it too.
We’ve gone over the idiot picked from Fox & Friends in the Defense Department, Pete Hegseth, inadvertently leaking classified intel, so let’s discuss the puppy-murdering idiot at Homeland Security.
Kristi Noem had her purse snatched while at Capital Burger in Washington, DC. Surveillance footage showed the suspect purposefully moving close to Noem as he zeroed in on her Gucci bag near her feet.
A source said the thief, dressed in dark clothing, sat down at an empty table next to Noem with his back facing her and used his left foot to slide the bag away. He surveyed the restaurant before eventually picking up the bag, covering it with his jacket, and leaving.
He was a smooth criminal, but ya ain’t gotta be that smooth to steal from a Trump dummy.
Country mouse still has a lot to learn about living in the big city (knock on wood since I’m still in Chicago), and one of the things you should know is to keep your bag in your vision. For example: My backpack, which my iPad, passport, keys, and other items is in right now, is sitting on the chair right across from me in this Starbucks while I write this.
See? No one’s gonna steal my Mocha Frappe either.
So Kristi doesn’t know how to traverse the big city, but what’s her detail’s excuse? While Noem was dining with her family, who still hasn’t alienated her despite the puppy killing, the Secret Service inside the restaurant keeping an eye on things. Well, most things.
The thief managed to swipe Noem’s purse right in from of her, the Secret Service, and every member of those yee-haw fuckers she calls her family. This must be a criminal mastermind. If the government catches him, I suggest they hire him. He can teach the Secret Service how thieves steal from MAGA morons.
But what’s interesting is what was inside Noem’s Gucci bag, as it included a Louis Vuitton Clemence wallet, her driver’s license, medication, apartment keys, passport, DHS access badge, makeup bag, blank checks, and about $3,000 in cash.
Ya know, if a Russian, North Korean, or Chinese spy wanted to access our government, they don’t have to do none of that Tom Cruise Mission Impossible crap. They would just need to snatch Kristi Noem’s purse…or just wait for Pete Hegseth to share classified intel on a chat app, or for Trump to Tweet it or hand it to Russians in the Oval Office.
But what was Kristi doing with $3,000 in cash? Did the thief also steal her pager? Paging Director Dumbass! A DHS spokesgoon said, “Her entire family was in town, including her children and grandchildren – she was using the withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities, and Easter gifts.”
Hey, country mouse. Have you ever heard of a bank card? Even the food trucks in DC take them. Try the Venezuelan food truck by the L’Enfant Metro station. It’s amazeballs.
Sure, we should all keep some cash on us, because you never know, but $3,000 is a bit much. And why is she carrying blank checks? Hardly anyone takes checks anymore, and everyone should be advised not to take checks from Trumpers. Elon’s probably still waiting for Trump’s check to clear for the Tesla he purchased on the White House lawn.
Jonathan Wackrow, a CNN law enforcement analyst and former Secret Service agent, said, “If necessary, the Secret Service will need to make operational changes on how they deal with these types of private events moving forward.” If anything, it’ll be necessary for the Secret Service to adjust and realize they’re guarding very stupid people now, people who aren’t smart enough to keep their stuff in their sight.
Wackrow also said Noem remains “at higher risk for targeted threats, both by foreign and domestic actors, and just her public profile alone makes her a symbolic target.”
Well, she’s a higher target now that everyone knows how stupid she is.
Chicago note: After my deadlines were met yesterday, I was free to go exploring. I got a meatloaf sandwich at a place where the waiters insult you.
Scottie's Playtime 