The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for September, 2026

So far in 2026, I've presented four out-of-cycle special awards* for ass clownery, and such is the lunacy level of this misbegotten year that I was ready to present a fifth before deciding that few people deserve a special award of any type less than the characters I have chosen for today's recognition of the depths of their ass clownery.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the award for

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for September, 2026

is shared by

U.S. Treasury Secretary

Scott Bessent

and

Director of the National Economic Council

Kevin Hassett

It's hard to believe that I missed presenting an Ass Clown Award to Mr. Bessent for this long, but his towering level of incompetent ass clownery has up to now been eclipsed by that of superstars like Pete Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr**. And as the cheerful Igor to Mr Bessent's Frankenstein, Mr Hassett has done his best to convince you and I that what we are seeing and experiencing is not real.

Let me say before we go on that you could put everything I know about economics in your navel and still have room for a herd of elephants and a brass band. But even I, struggling as I do to keep more digits to the left than to the right of the decimal point in my battered and bleeding checkbook, can see that the current regime is economically incompetent.

You may recall that The Economist, in a special report issued in October of 2024 , declared that the U.S. economy was "the envy of the world" and had "left other rich countries in the dust." Then, in November of 2024, Der Furor was elected. Now, a mere two years later, that enviable economy is in ruins, demolished by the economic illiteracy of Der Furor and the incompetence of men like Scott Bessent and Kevin Hassett. 

Here is  a list of Scott Bessent’s wrong predictions and/or promises that didn’t happen, compiled by MeidasTouch:

February 5, 2025: Long-term interest rates would come down as Trump’s economic policies took effect;

Spring 2025: The federal deficit would move toward 3% of GDP;

Spring 2025: Trump’s policies would produce roughly 3% sustained real GDP growth;

July 8, 2025: The U.S. would collect well over $300 billion in tariff revenue in 2025;

September 1, 2025: The Supreme Court would uphold Trump’s emergency tariffs;

September 7, 2025: The economy would see a “substantial acceleration” in Q4 2025; 

December 7–16, 2025: 2025 would finish with 3% to 3.5% real GDP growth;

December 16, 2025: Inflation would see a substantial drop in the first six months of 2026;

February 20, 2026: The economy could grow at least 3.5% in 2026; 

April 14, 2026: 2026 GDP growth could easily exceed 3% or 3.5%; 

April 14, 2026: Core inflation was falling and the Federal Reserve would need to cut interest rates;

April 14, 2026: Trump’s tariffs could be restored to their previous levels by the beginning of July;

June 2026: Again maintained that 2026 growth could reach roughly 3% to 3.5%;

2025–26: Lower energy prices, fiscal restraint and Trump’s policies would bring down long-term Treasury yields;

2025–26: Faster growth and tariff revenue would materially improve the federal deficit;

And finally,

September 5, 2026: Oil could eventually fall to $40–$50 per barrel after the Iran war ends. The economy is now “in the liftoff phase.”

I hope his crystal ball is still under warranty. Obviously, no cabinet secretary is ever right 100% of the time. They work with the best information they can get to make the best decisions they can. But Mr Bessent seems to be unusually poor at prognostication, despite his access to the full information resources of the federal government***. 

And lest we forget, at the recent meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers, Mr. Bessent astonishingly blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil facilities, rather than the U.S. invasion of Iran and subsequent strangling of the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab, for high energy prices. 

Kevin Hassett has been the primary porcine cosmetologist of the administration, happily slathering large quantities of lipstick on the economic pig bred by Der Furor and the GOP's fiscal policies, such as they are. His cheerful, smiling face is a staple on news broadcasts, backstopping Mr Bessent's assurance that what we are seeing with our own eyes is not what is really happening with the economy. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the award for the September 2026 Left-Cheek Ass Clown is presented to Scott Bessent and Kevin Hassett. In special recognition of their stewardship of the once-booming economy, each man also receives the Poop of Distinction in Gold.

Good luck with your ability to afford the next two years.

Have a good day and come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday salute to man's best friend. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* To the Arc de Trump, former Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Department of Justice, and Secretary of Defense (not War) Pete Hegseth.

** Both of them previous Ass Clown Award Winners - Mr Hegseth eight times (three of them shared) and Mr Kennedy three times.

*** Which are, thanks to the work of DOGE and the sycophantic nullities seeded throughout the government by Der Furor, far less accurate and complete than they used to be.

Thursday Trees

Welcome back to the temporary home of Mike's Thursday Trees! Since we're halfway through September, we need to enjoy them in the wild now, before those leaves come down, as they've already started here in NoVa.

This week, if Pisa can have its Leaning Tower, we can have our Leaning Trees ...

1 - 

2 - 

3 - I'd watch my step if I were you ...

4 - 

5 - I think this one's my favorite for the week ...

6 - 

7 - 

8 - 

9 - 

10 - 

And that's it for this week's collection of leaning trees - I hope you enjoyed it.

Have a good day and come back tomorrow for the announcement of September's Left-Cheek Ass Clown. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

Extinction-Level Events

You've probably seen the building hysteria in some circles about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI). Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, recently suggested that there was a 10% chance that uncontrolled AI could cause human extinction by the end of the decade*, and other AI moguls have called for a global slowdown in AI development ... even going so far as to - gasp! - ask for government regulation of the industry**. 

Personally, I think that uncontrolled natural stupidity (see, MAGA) is a far greater threat than uncontrolled AI, but I understand the potential dangers.

Threats to humanity from uncontrolled technology are a staple of science fiction, going back at least as far as the classic 1966 novel "Colossus" by D.F. Jones, later filmed as "Colossus: The Forbin Project." The story looked at the unforeseen consequences of turning control of the United States' nuclear weapons to a dispassionate computer (Colossus) that would eliminate the chance that human fears and emotions could lead to war. Things go off the rails when Colossus discovers it has a Soviet equivalent named "Guardian." The two begin to talk and ... well ... let's just say it doesn't go well for humanity ...

A year later, Harlan Ellison wrote the terrifying sci-fi/horror story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" ...

The Terminator film franchise which began in 1984 is the most recent variation on the theme, envisioning a future world dominated by sentient machines (some with thick Austrian German accents) seeking to eliminate all humans ...

So, how big a threat is AI? I see it as a threat in varying degrees on several levels. 

First is its voracious appetite for data, which has led to the rapid spread of giant "data centers" across the country. This might not, by itself, be a "threat," as it has certainly led to huge employment gains for the construction firms, skilled electrical workers, and electronic equipment suppliers needed to build and outfit the facilities. But, as we have seen, these centers gobble up land, need vast amounts of increasingly-scarce water for cooling, send electricity costs for local consumers soaring, and tend to produce a level of noise that can pose a health threat. The growing pushback from many localities indicates that the potential danger is being recognized.

Second, the use of AI tools in education threatens a dumbing-down of students who find that they can just let ChatGPT or Claude or some other AI tool do their research, write their papers, and spare them the trouble of thought that detracts from time available for gaming or other recreational activities. When the AI tools help to find useful information the student can use, they are no more problematic than the old-fashioned literature review people of my generation learned to do in our pursuit of advanced degrees. But when the tools do the research and the thinking, students don't learn ... they parrot.

Related to this is the negative impact of AI on the creative process***. The use of AI tools to "create" derivative works based on the work of writers and artists are a topic of growing legal concern, even if they are not yet an extinction-level event for human creativity. 

Third is the economic impact, which is evident on several levels. First, employers are learning that many entry-level white-collar and clerical jobs can be done more cheaply (after initial investment) by AI, potentially eliminating many of the lower-level jobs that were once entries into the corporate world. Second, the enormous amounts of money being spent on data centers and supporting equipment and software mean less money available for smaller businesses. Also, the tax breaks offered by many communities to attract data centers increase the tax burden on individuals and other businesses.

Next is the threat that everyone is worrying about at the moment - the use of AI tools to develop terrible weapons, and the ability of advanced AI tools to approach sentience and compete with, if not physically threaten humans (cue the Terminator theme). While there's legitimate disagreement about how serious this threat actually is, it's certainly not negligible, and needs to be taken seriously. What compounds this threat is that no one is actually taking it seriously: not the AI industry, which fears being placed at a competitive disadvantage by slowing down and thinking the risks through; not Congress, which is taking nothing seriously; and not the consumers who are enamored of the latest shiny object.

So, riddle me this, Batman: just how real a threat is AI?

Bilbo's short answer: in the medium term, a moderate threat to our existence as a species. In the short term, not nearly as dangerous as an unhinged and uncontrolled president is to the existence of our democracy.

Have a good day. Let's fix the immediate problem first, then the sci-fi one.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* Spoiler: that's only four years away.

** The competition is too intense and there's too much money to be made for the companies to regulate themselves.

*** Full disclosure: I have written a short novel which is posted to a creative/derivative fiction website (contact me if you're interested in reading a horror story based on the work of H. P. Lovecraft). In writing my story, I used ChatGPT to generate a few illustrations. 

Unfulfilled Wishes

I've always wanted to own a tank. 

If you've been reading this blog long enough, you may recall that I wrote about this back in April of 2008, when I noted with envy that a Michigan university student had built a 1/2 scale operational model of a World War II German panzer that cost about $2000 to build, had a three-cylinder diesel engine that produced a maximum speed of 20 mph, and was equipped with an air cannon that fired golf balls and empty Red Bull cans.

How cool is that?

If some genie popped out of a bottle and offered me a wish, I might ask for a German Leopard 2, which is pretty intimidating ...

Or, to be a Buy American patriot, I might ask for one of those M1A2 Abrams beasts used by the U.S. Army, at least until Secretary of Defense (not War) Pete Hegseth decides they have to be retooled to run on high-proof testosterone ...

Either one would do for a leisurely commute down the commuter hell of Interstate 95, or to contend for a prime parking place at Costco on a Saturday afternoon.

My current chariot is a 2022 Toyota Avalon hybrid, a fine machine to be sure, with marvelous gas mileage (no small thing nowadays) but not something with which to command respect (if not fear) in Northern Virginia traffic.

I thought about the whole tank thing again when I saw this recent post from the Babylon Bee ...

I'm at the age where the DMV is starting to suspiciously ask for things like proof I can actually see and react to external stimuli before renewing my driver's license. I'm not sure how they'd react if I'd ask for an endorsement to drive a tank, too.

I don't think I'll ever get my tank. Even the most die-hard Second Amendment crazies aren't pushing for tank ownership rights, although perhaps they'll get to it after they manage to convince the Supreme Court to approve personal ownership of flamethrowers, armed drones, artillery, and tactical nuclear weapons.  

I'll wait. Not patiently, but I'll wait.

Because I really want my tank.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Monday Mountains

We need something lofty to admire in the wake of the buffoonery of last week's GOP deification of Der Furor, so it's time to bring on the mountains ...

1 - I don't care what Der Furor thinks - "Denali" is a much better name for this majestic mountain than "Mount McKinley" ...

2 -

3 - 

4 - 

5 - a twofer: Mount Adams in front of Mount Rainier ...

6 - Patagonia ...

7 - the Peruvian Andes ...

8 - a beautiful Swiss valley ...

9 - The Horns, Torres del Paine, Chile ...

10 - Wyoming vista with eagle ...

I don't know about you, but I needed that.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Poetry Sunday

I don't need to tell you that we live in troubled times. As I wrote in last Friday's post, we are living in a world shaped by decisions quickly made in fear after events that - in retrospect - wiser people might have foreseen. There are other warnings around us now, and we're ignoring those, too ...

The Problem with Early Warnings

by Charles Rafferty

People don't like to leave a party 

unless the house is actually 

on fire. Even then, if the flames 

are far enough away to be pretty, they'll finish 

their drink, take one more pass 

at the hors d'oeuvres.

How things happen has always been 

unclear. Hurricanes begin 

in a place where no one lives.

Agents of the government start 

to wear masks. Fascism is 

a word my neighbors won't use 

yet. They are following

the law, they say, and the sirens 

are coming for someone else.

Have a good day. Try not to ignore the warning signs slowly creeping up around around you, however comfortable it is to do so ... and be sure to take your worries to the ballot box in November.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo 

Cartoon Saturday

I think we need to go back to having the news delivered by a town crier, as it usually makes us cry, anyhow.

The Republican Party held a two-day deification rally for Der Furor in Dallas, thinly disguised as a midterm convention, at which Der Furor promised a $5000 payment to every American, but only if the Republicans win* ... he also said that people who don't vote (presumably for Republicans) will literally go to Hell; in a major toughening of its stance toward Israel, the United Kingdom banned trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, accusing "settler terrorists" of carrying out ethnic cleansing of Palestinians; Der Furor's departure from Washington for his deification rally in Dallas on Wednesday was delayed when, prior to takeoff, an emergency slide accidentally deployed from his Qatari-gifted flying palace; and as Halloween approaches, the Brachs Candy company plans to introduce a new seasonal perfume that smells like candy corn.

This week, as the midterm election season kicks into high gear and Der Furor works hard to engineer his desired outcome, I thought I'd feature a collection of cartoons about the election circus ...

How our yo-yo election system works ...

It's the batty signal ...

One of the most accurate Venn Diagrams I've ever seen ...

Slowly, ever so slowly, the light is starting to dawn ...

The "working hard" part is actually optional, except as it applies to fund-raising ...

Equal time, you know ...

I'd always suspected that this is the way it works ...

This reminds me of the old joke about the preacher who says his church accepts all denominations, but prefers the 50 and the hundred ...

I'd be thinking hard at this point, too ...

I think they probably will ...

And that's it for our tongue-deeply-in-cheek Cartoon Saturday look at the election season. You've gotta laugh, because crying doesn't help.

Be sure you've checked to make sure your voter registration is current, and make sure you plan to vote, whether in-person early, by mail, or in person on election day. The challenge is real - the vote is yours. Do it.

Have a good day and a great weekend, and come back tomorrow for Poetry Sunday, when we consider early warnings. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* A blatantly illegal act under 18 U.S. Code §597: 

"Whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate; and

"Whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote—

"Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."

Too bad we don't have a functioning Justice Department any more.

Remembering 9/11. Or Not.

If you came here for the usual edition of Great Moments in Editing and Signage, I'm sorry. Come back again in two weeks and it'll be here. Today is a day other things need to be said.

I can't believe it's been 25 years since 9/11.

It was a terrible day for thousands of people in New York, Washington, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. I was at work in the Pentagon on that day, but had the good fortune to be at a location in the building well away from Flight 77's point of impact. I was terrified, but unhurt, and my family spent anxious hours wondering if I was alive or not. 

The world changed that day, but in the fear and terror of the moment, we didn't know just how much.

A whole generation has grown up without first-hand experience of what happened on that awful day. The events of 9/11 have faded into irrelevance other than as an excuse for the curtailment of our rights in the name of "national security." Many of today's young people have no idea what happened on that day, who is responsible, what their motivation was, and why it all matters ... 

The events of 9/11 led directly to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and fueled the rise of the angry, vindictive surveillance state presided over by the likes of Der Furor, Stephen Miller, and Tom Homan, and enforced by ICE, a modern-day secret police lavishly funded by a blithely fascist Republican party and protected by Der Furor's personal law firm formerly known as the Department of Justice. 

I hardly recognize the country I loved and served through an Air Force career and later work as a government contractor. The national unity we briefly experienced in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 is a distant memory, if it's remembered at all. The allies who rallied to our side*, many of whom sent troops to fight and die in our pursuit of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, are drawing back in the face of belligerence and crude insults from Der Furor.

I will never forget what happened on 9/11, and how it began the twisted journey to January 6th and the wanton destruction of the nation we used to love. And I will never forgive those who ignore those lessons or, worse, have taken advantage of our national trauma for crass political and economic gain.

We haven't learned a damned thing.

Have a good day. If you were of age on 9/11, never forget what you saw and experienced. If you have come of age since then, educate yourself and learn to recognize ... and fear ... what the country has become.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* Article 5 of the NATO Charter, which which provides for the collective defense of NATO members, has only ever been invoked once - in support of the United States in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Der Furor conveniently ignores this, as he does so much else.

Thursday Trees

It's time once again to draw peace and joy from trees as we crack open the door to the temporary home of Mike's Thursday Trees.

This week, we look not up at the leafy crowns, but down at the twisted artistry of the roots ...

1 - 

2 - 

3 - 

4 - 

5 - 

6 - 

7 - 

8 - 

9 - 

10 - 

I hope you enjoyed this week's collection, after all the time I spent ... rooting ... them out for you.

Have a good day and enjoy the shade. Before long, you'll be complaining about having to rake the leaves.

More thoughts tomorrow, when Great Moments in Editing and Signage takes a brief hiatus so we can remember the terrible day that set us on the road to a terrible present. See you then.

Bilbo