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A meaningful commentary on quarantine, this is not.

A week after a trade deadline the Yankees blew badly, you can squint and see their way to carving a path through the American League. First and foremost, that would depend on the same thing it depended on before: a healthy Aaron Judge, a healthy Cody Bellinger and, if you want to be even more...

The Fed Is Failing Its Mandate, But It Could Change Soon

Authored by Daniel Lacalle,

The Federal Reserve’s legal mandate is clear. It must focus on stable prices and maximum employment. In the past five years, the Fed has failed on both. Inflation remains materially above the 2 percent target, reaching a decade-high 25% cumulative inflation in the 2021-2025 period, while restrictive monetary conditions have been limited to rate hikes, which weigh most heavily on the small and medium-sized firms that generate most of net employment growth.

This failure was not merely a matter of missing a forecast but a policy framework that became narrative-driven rather than data-dependent. The Fed spent much of 2025 moving between concerns about inflation from tariffs based on ideology and a growing admission of weakness in the labor market. However, it continued to treat interest rates as its overwhelmingly dominant instrument. That is a poor policy mix when the problem of persistent inflation was caused by excessive government spending. Kritzman, at MIT Sloan, concluded that “mathematically, the overwhelming driver of that burst of inflation in 2022 was federal spending, not the supply chain.” However, the Fed’s policy was directed at penalizing the private sector while incentivizing large government deficit spending.

The Fed defines price stability as inflation running at 2 percent, measured by the PCE price index. That goal was still unmet at the end of 2025. Headline PCE inflation rose 2.9 percent year over year in December, while core PCE inflation was 3.0 percent. Both headline and core inflation increased 0.4 percent in that month alone. This is not price stability. It is persistent erosion of household purchasing power. A family does not suffer the inflation target in a Federal Open Market Committee statement but significantly higher price increases than those reflected in CPI at the supermarket, the gas station, rent payment, and utility bills. The fact that inflation has slowed from its 2022 peak does not mean the inflation problem has gone away. Prices remain permanently higher after years of monetary and fiscal excess, and the cumulative loss of purchasing power remains embedded in household budgets.

The Fed’s narrative during 2025 frequently focused on temporary factors, inexistent tariff effects, labor-market rebalancing, and the expected path of core inflation. Some of those factors mattered. But the larger error was to ignore the monetary and fiscal origins of the inflation shock. Inflation did not appear suddenly. It was the consequence of an extraordinary expansion of money, liquidity, and deficit-financed spending in 2021 through 2024.

The United States ran enormous fiscal deficits even after the pandemic emergency had passed. Government spending grew aggressively, while the central bank’s earlier asset-purchase programs absorbed a large volume of government and mortgage debt. The result was a policy mix in which fiscal expansion was incentivized and monetary discipline was inexistent.

The Fed was not a brake on fiscal excess. It was an enabler.

Quantitative easing and the expansion of the central-bank balance sheet created the perception that all public deficits could be financed at artificially low cost without consequences. That illusion encouraged Yellen and Biden to treat debt issuance as painless and made it easier to sustain spending levels that exceeded the productive capacity of the economy. Yellen’s reckless decision to refinance most maturities with short-term bonds proves this. She was clearly expecting more easing in 2025 after the unnecessary rate cuts announced in the middle of the election campaign.

Money supply growth, deficit spending, and ultra-low policy rates were not small mistakes or isolated events created by an emergency. Together they created too much unproductive demand relative to available supply. When supply chains normalized and energy prices fell, some disinflation followed, but the excess monetary and fiscal impulse had already lifted the general price level and distorted the allocation of capital. Furthermore, the overall inflation continued to rise even when energy prices fell below 2022 levels and supply chain costs dropped to pre-COVID-era prices, proving that monetary and fiscal excess, not a supply shock, was the main cause.

The government’s and Fed’s responses made the error worse. Instead of controlling spending and understanding the fiscal source of persistent inflation, using the balance sheet more forcefully, the government increased public spending by 2 trillion above the emergency levels of the COVID-era, and the Fed placed the burden of restrictive policy on private sector borrowers. Families with credit cards, first-time homebuyers, small businesses, and entrepreneurs became the transmission mechanism of monetary policy.

Small firms are the backbone of the U.S. labor market. Businesses with fewer than 250 employees account for more than 51 percent of net job creation and generate 58 percent of net private-sector employment growth from the first quarter of 2023 through the end of 2025.

Small businesses do not finance investments like large listed corporations, issuing bonds, syndicated loans, or share issuances. Small businesses need bank credit, using variable-rate loans, personal guarantees, commercial-property lending, and retained earnings.

The Fed’s restrictive policy hits the productive economy hardest. A large company with a strong balance sheet can delay expansion. A small business with a refinancing need will stop hiring, cut inventories, postpone equipment purchases, or close altogether.

NFIB data shows that the average short-term loan rate paid by small-business borrowers was 8.4 percent in December 2025. Only 25 percent of owners reported borrowing regularly, a historically low share.  

By keeping liquidity elevated, enabling government excess, and hiking rates, the Fed has made borrowing costs prohibitive and often nonexistent for small businesses (SMEs). For many banks it became safer and more profitable to hoard government debt than to lend to families and businesses.

SME credit constraints accelerate employment losses, accounting for roughly one-third of the aggregate employment response to monetary-policy shocks. Thus, the central bank cannot claim to support maximum employment while maintaining a framework that punishes the firms responsible for most of the job creation.

The Fed’s own institutional analysis recognized that policy remained contractionary even after rate reductions, with the federal funds rate above the neutral level. Therefore, monetary policy was still restrictive while inflation was not being driven by an overheated private economy.

There is no compelling case for maintaining a punitive rate stance when private-sector credit creation is weak, hiring is slowing, and the inflation impulse is increasingly concentrated in transitory categories such as energy or government-driven cost pressures. The correct question is not whether inflation is above target. It is what is causing it.

As inflation comes from excessive government spending, debt monetization, or a temporary energy shock that is fading, higher rates do nothing to solve the source of the problem. As such, it gives the impression of a restrictive, inflation-control-focused policy but it is very far from the stated intention. The Fed was exceedingly accommodative when it came to bloating the size of government in the economy and aggressively hawkish against the private productive sector. Therefore, rate hikes simply crushed investment and consumption in sectors that did not create the inflation.

This is the massive policy mistake at the heart of the Fed’s 2021-2025 approach. It tried to cure inflation through higher borrowing costs while leaving the balance-sheet channel underused and allowing fiscal dominance to remain unchallenged. The Fed was trying to cure obesity in the system by starving the part of the economy that was already thin.

Interest rates are a blunt instrument, similar to using a cannon to swat flies. They affect every borrower, but their damage is greatest for households and smaller firms. The balance sheet is a more direct tool for removing excess liquidity, reducing monetary distortions, and restoring discipline to governments and financial markets.

The Fed did reduce securities holdings by around $2.2 trillion from June 2022. However, in October 2025, it announced that securities runoff would cease from December 1, even though its balance sheet remained extraordinarily large by historical standards. That decision sent the wrong signal. It suggested that the Fed was more willing to preserve the sovereign debt bubble and manage short-term market corrections than to implement monetary normalization. The Fed’s balance sheet has never returned to normal. It simply declines for a short period of time, only to rise again.

The Fed should have accelerated the balance-sheet reduction in a transparent and predictable manner instead of delaying it, allowing Treasury and mortgage-backed securities to roll off more rapidly, thus reducing excess money in the system. Powell and the Fed should have made clear that monetary policy cannot serve as a permanent buyer of government debt. They did the opposite.

That framework would reduce excess liquidity without forcing the entire adjustment onto entrepreneurs and working families. Furthermore, it would also create pressure for greater fiscal discipline, because government borrowing would face a more realistic market price.

Kevin Warsh offers an opportunity for a needed change in focus and approach. He recognizes that the Fed has two major instruments, interest rates and the balance sheet, and that they do not affect the economy equally. Warsh has argued that balance-sheet policy disproportionately benefits holders of financial assets, while rate policy reaches broadly across the real economy. He has supported a smaller balance sheet alongside lower interest rates, rather than treating rate hikes as the automatic and only answer to every inflation concern. This would make price stability and maximum employment easier to achieve.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 07:20

Legendary Mets sportscaster Howie Rose is leaving behind a living, breathing legacy after four decades behind the mic in the form of a tiny but brave golden pooch.

Meta released a new artificial intelligence model Monday as CEO Mark Zuckerberg called on Washington to lower barriers for US open-source developers to help them beat Chinese rivals.

Unruly Alaska Airlines passengers allegedly threatened to take over a plane just as it was about to depart Miami, shocking ATC audio reveals.

These Restaurant Chains Won The Social Media War For Gen Z's Attention

Millennials and Generation Z spend a disproportionate amount of time on social media, swiping left, right, up, and down, making growth in interactions an increasingly important measure of brand relevance. For restaurant chains seeking to attract younger consumers, social media platforms have become critical advertising tools for building brand awareness and, ultimately, converting that attention into restaurant visits or online orders through viral campaigns.

In a review of which U.S. restaurant chains won over younger generations in the second-quarter social media wars, UBS equity research analyst Dennis Geiger, who specializes in the U.S. restaurant industry, said McDonald's, Starbucks, and KFC dominated restaurant engagement on Instagram, while Wendy's, Chipotle, and several casual-dining chains recorded some of the strongest growth.

The restaurant chains that won social media advertising wars in 2Q:

Social media trends indicate rising momentum for select QSRs & casual diners

Using UBS Evidence Lab's Instagram (> Access dataset) and TikTok (> Access dataset) data, we assessed how brands performed on social media platforms in 2Q26. We analyzed followers, posts, and interactions to better understand brand visibility, sentiment, and consumer reactions to recent brand developments. We believe that brands with strong online communities and committed followers are better positioned to drive visit frequency and improve consumer interaction, supported by research indicating a correlation between views and traffic. Select QSR brands delivered strong Instagram interactions and likes growth y/y in 2Q26, including: Chipotle, McDonald's, Starbucks and Wendy's. Several casual dining brands also posted strong y/y TikTok follower growth, including LongHorn (+167%), Applebees (+103%), and Outback (75%), among the leaders.

Recent earnings commentary highlights benefit of effective social media

Social media is increasingly relevant for connecting with customers, building brand affinity and driving visits. Several restaurants highlighted effective social media strategy and contribution in recent earnings calls, including: CAKE, CMG SBUX, CBRL, CAVA, SHAK, SG, BROS, WING, & YUM, among others. Brands highlight social media as a lever to expand the reach at the top of the marketing funnel, stay culturally relevant (ie world cup, viral trends), engage directly with consumers, and maximize awareness for strategic initiatives (events, promotions, partnerships). Several brands have also gained significant attention from user-generated content and word-of-mouth across social media which might not be reflected in the brands' own account metrics. In 2Q26, several brands had viral moments online including: 1) Cheesecake Factory's Linda's Chocolate Cake, Eggroll sampler, and Chicken Costoletta 'menu hack' went viral and contributed to strong sales results for the brand, w/ CAKE's own social media content playing into these trends; 2) 'My ___ Order' video trend for Taco Bell (YUM), SBUX, CMG, WING, and WEN; 3) continued popularity of the Chili's (EAT) Triple Dipper cheese pull trend; and 4) user- generated content for new menu items at Taco Bell, SG, & SHAK.

Instagram engagement increased y/y for select QSR brands in 2Q

• Chipotle's interaction growth (54%) likely reflects posts for the brand's free entrees promo during the NBA Finals, 'Wear a Soccer Jersey' BOGO, Father's Day, National Burrito Day, Chipotle Honey Chicken, and Jarritos partnership.
• Wendy's interaction growth (162%) is likely from posts for the return of the Sweet and Sour sauce, Minions & Monsters menu, Ice Spice Spicy Chicken Sandwich campaign, merch and rewards drops, the Cookie Dough Frosty Fusion, the Wendy's look-alike contest, and the new Chief Tasting Officer.
• McDonald's interaction growth (45%) is likely from posts for KPop Demon Hunters collaboration, Stranger Things Tales from '85 Happy Meal, new beverage lineup, Nike Book 2 shoe collaboration, and the world cup meal w/ collectible cup and happy meal (Squishmallows).
• Starbucks' interaction growth (43%) likely reflects posts for the new energy refresher lineup, Unicorn Frappuccino at Coachella, S'mores Frappuccino return, Devil Wears Prada 2 collaboration, new flavors (mango cream, tropical butterfly refresher, iced horchata, blue coconut), and world cup beverage sleeves.
• Jack in the Box's interaction growth (31%) is likely from posts for Smashed Jack Sliders & Hot Ones Munchie Meals, April fools, and collectible pins.
• Wingstop's interaction growth (25%) is likely from posts for April Fool's, new Citrus Mojo flavor, Wrestlemania collab, Wingstop Hot Box, PopUp Bagels collab, Club Wingstop, and new chamoy sauce collab with Tajin.
• Sweetgreen's interaction growth (13%) is likely from posts for the wrap lineup, summer menu, chicken sesame crunch, and partnerships with influencers.

Instagram engagement increased across select casual-fine dining brands in 2Q

• LongHorn's interaction growth (26%) is likely from posts for the Steak Master Series, Father's Day, and consistent food posts.
• Applebee's interaction growth (17%) is likely from posts for $15.99 all-you-can-eat deal, Busch Light Apple re-release (i.e. BApplebees), 2 for $25 deal, Father's Day Dollarita deal, Poolio with Don Julio drink, and posts about Applebee's | IHOP dual-brand locations.
• Chili's interaction growth (2%) is likely from posts for Margarita of the Month, Chili's Food Court collab with Trisha Paytas, Spire Motor Sports collaboration, Triple Dipper, and skillet cookie + molten chocolate cake menu hack.
• Cheddar's interaction growth (170%) is likely from posts for NASCAR sponsorship and partnerships with influencers.

Other notable Instagram/TikTok takeaways from analysis (data inside):

1. The Instagram total interactions leaderboard includes MCD, KFC, SBUX, Burger King (QSR), Taco Bell (YUM), BROS, CMG.
2. The TikTok total followers leaderboard includes MCD, Burger King (QSR), KFC (YUM), DPZ, SBUX, Taco Bell (YUM), CMG, WING.
3. Brands with the most Instagram follower growth in 2Q include PLAY, BROS, CMG, Popeyes (QSR), and CAVA.
4. Brands with the most TikTok follower growth in 2Q include Cheddar's (DRI), LongHorn (DRI), Applebee's (DIN), Popeyes (QSR), and Outback (BLMN).
5. DPZ's June interaction growth (89%) is from posts for a 50% off LTO, world cup videos showcasing DPZ menu items around the world, and the new slice sauce.
6. Outback Steakhouse's June interaction growth (137%) is from posts for Father's Day, Aussie JAWSsie drink w/ hammerhead shark, their Propa Good Steak, joint posts with influencers, world cup, and the Down Under Trio.
7. LongHorn's 167% TikTok follower growth in 2Q could be attributed to strong interactions across the brand's Steak Master Series posts and consistent food posts.
8. Applebee's 103% 2Q26 TikTok follower growth can be attributed to strong interactions on posts for Busch Light Apple and value deals (incl. 2 for $25, all-you-can-eat for $15.99).
9. 2Q26 Instagram interactions were down y/y for Olive Garden (-78%) and Cava (-63%) due to lapping of viral posts from 2Q25.

Instagram Analysis - 2Q26

The big takeaway is that one viral social media campaign can capture younger consumers' attention and instantly translate online engagement into a surge in restaurant traffic and delivery orders. 

Really seems like Olive Garden's social media team needs a revamp. 

Professional subscribers can find more consumer trends here at our new Marketdesk.ai portal. It's just one search away. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 06:55

President Trump insisted Sunday evening that former Olympian David Hearn vandalized the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool earlier this summer, days after castigating DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro for dropping the case against the ex-athlete. “A National Park Service [NPS] career employee, a highly credible witness, saw David Hearn (ActBlue) in broad daylight vandalize...

The Canadian-born actress, who battled multiple sclerosis, died on Wednesday “surrounded by family physically and spiritually."

The Canadian-born actress, who battled multiple sclerosis, died on Wednesday “surrounded by family physically and spiritually."

Bitcoin 'Red Team' Says AI Is Finding 100s Of Critical Exploits Across Core Projects

Authored by Jason Nelson via Decrypto.co,

A volunteer security initiative says it used frontier AI models to scan 150 Bitcoin repositories and found more than a dozen vulnerabilities as developers increasingly use artificial intelligence to audit blockchains.

In a post on X earlier this week, AnchorWatch CEO Rob Hamilton said the group has spent about $20,000 on AI services while building a "Bitcoin red team" platform.

“We have been working around the clock, with ~$20,000 of spend up to this point across different services,” he wrote.

“Funding is secured, I appreciate all the gestures for donations but it is not necessary. The bill is taken care of.”

A red team refers to cybersecurity professionals who test software from an attacker's perspective, probing for vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

According to Hamilton, the Bitcoin red team uses Kimi K3 alongside OpenAI’s GPT Sol, Anthropic’s Claude Fable and Opus models, and Z.ai’s GLM 5.2 to identify vulnerabilities and generate supporting documentation.

“We also have been connected with OpenAI for some help so I could manage getting the Cyber Harness running as well,” he wrote.

“It's a much more expensive scan, but well worth it for load-bearing portions of the Bitcoin ecosystem and has already yielded good results.”

Pseudonymous Bitcoin developer Calle said the initiative has built multiple AI-powered review systems targeting wallets, cryptographic libraries, infrastructure, and other Bitcoin projects.

"We're averaging on the order of one critical exploit per hour per person,” Calle wrote on X.

“We've reported critical vulnerabilities to several projects in the last 12 hours. Thankfully, this is a very expensive exercise. We're burning through $10,000 per day."

According to Calle, in the first 29.8 hours of its operation, its team has found 4,962 potential issues across 390 projects.

As many as 720 of them are considered high- or critical-level issues.

So far, 21.4% of findings have been able to be reproduced. 

The team did not disclose which projects were affected or provide details of the vulnerabilities.

The announcement comes as AI is playing a growing role in finding security flaws across the crypto industry.

Earlier this year, researchers using Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.8 uncovered a four-year-old flaw in Zcash that could have allowed attackers to create unlimited counterfeit ZEC. In August, Coinkite said it believes attackers used AI to identify the Coldcard wallet vulnerability, while Bitcoin bridge Boltz suspended its swap service after saying attackers were using AI to identify vulnerabilities faster than its team could patch them.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 06:30

It is not difficult, these days, to see the neo-communist flipside of “Democratic Socialists” — once they find power. NYC Democratic Socialists (NYC-DSA) hold a rally, marking the start of their campaign to tax the rich, in New York City on Sunday, November 16, 2025. Indeed, the more the ossified Democratic Party claims that its...

A joke gone wrong has ignited a diplomatic storm, and the Prime Minister’s own words are now being picked apart. Watch the clip here.

"We're Here To Destroy The White Race": Democratic Socialist Of America Hero Declares War On West

Marxist streamer Hasan Piker has emerged as an increasingly visible, if unofficial, spokesman for the Democratic Socialists of America's rapidly expanding political action network. He campaigned for Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong while cultivating close ties with socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

From an electoral-risk perspective, Piker is becoming a liability for Democrats. His far-left, anti-American rhetoric provides Republicans with what we called "a gift" last week. Even Hillary Clinton warned on Friday that the GOP's "anti-communist messaging is very effective."

💥NEW: Hillary Clinton: "It's not just about Michigan — but the Republican messaging is: 'communist, socialist.' It's gonna be a VERY effective attack." pic.twitter.com/PS6ObKoZli

— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) August 7, 2026

The Democratic Party's failure to formally denounce Piker and distance itself from his agenda...

Piker calls on his followers to "kill capitalists":

Hasan Piker calls on his followers to kill capitalists:

“Yeah kill them! KiII those motherfuckers and murder those motherfuckers in the streets. Let the streets soak in their fucking red capitalist blood, dude.”

Democrats are campaigning with him. pic.twitter.com/YiZxGgRkgc

— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) April 9, 2026

Piker: "We want more immigrants to come into your countries and then they're gonna f**k your sisters and then your daughters. We're here to destroy the White Race, Bitch."

Hasan Piker says he wants to FLOOD illegals into the United States so they can "f*ck your sisters and daughters" to "destroy the white race"

I am demanding the Democratic Party voice PUBLICLY that they denounce Hasan Piker's comments.

If they don't, let this post be proof…

— Jack (@jackunheard) August 7, 2026

Piker: "Overall, my favorite flag is Hezbollah." 

Hasan Piker, sitting at a table with an LGBTQ+ flag, says: “Overall, my favorite flag is Hezbollah.”

He’s actively campaigning with Democrat senate and gubernatorial candidates. pic.twitter.com/9QrtKqMKnl

— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) August 4, 2026

Piker: "America deserved 9/11. I do not support the United States of America." 

Hasan Piker: “America deserved 9/11. I do not support the United States of America.”

Currently campaigning with Abdul El-Seyed. pic.twitter.com/LDjizrQgVN

— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) August 4, 2026

Piker: "I don't have any sort of patriotism in my heart for America."

Hasan Piker: "I don't have any sort of patriotism in my heart for America."

This is the same guy who praises Communist China every chance he gets, and he's now the face Bernie, AOC, and El-Sayed want fronting the Democrat Party. Scary stuff. 😳 pic.twitter.com/Dr4enTuIhC

— 🇺🇸 David J. Urban 🇺🇸 (@DavidJUrban) August 7, 2026

...deserves considerable scrutiny.

🚨 Hasan Piker quotes:

✅ America deserved 9/11

✅ Go back to Auschwitz

✅ Let the streets run red with capitalist blood

✅ Racist comments about blacks and Asians

✅ Supports China, Russia, Cuba

✅ Supports Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis

— 🇺🇸 Jason Curtis Anderson (@JCAndersonNYC) August 8, 2026

Piker's close proximity to DSA-aligned candidates, combined with anti-American rhetoric and revolutionary Marxism that is hostile to America's political and capitalist system, has federal investigators examining the possibility that revolutionary activity is being supported by foreign subversion networks:

• Hasan Piker Says Quiet Part Out Loud, Maps Radical Left NGO Network To China-Based Marxist Financier
• Feds Subpoena Hasan Piker, CodePink Cofounder Over "Humanitarian" Trip To Communist Cuba
• Feds Nab Alleged Member Of "Sprawling" Cuban Communist Subversion Network Linked To Hasan Piker's Havana Trip
• "Americans Deserve To Know": State Dept. Report Details Cuban Espionage, Subversion, And Role In Rise Of Far Left

Piker is becoming such a liability for America's left that a potential inflection point may have been reached.

JNS reports that the University of Washington has decided to cancel a scheduled Piker event. This taxpayer-funded institution offers extensive coursework shaped by Marxist, feminist, and other far-left frameworks while placing limited emphasis on capitalism. If even one of America's most progressive universities now views Piker as a liability, it may signal the beginning of a broader retreat from America-hating communists who spread hateful and violent rhetoric among America's youth.

"I'm happy that the University of Washington, for literally the first time ever, has made the correct decision to not have an America-hating communist spread his hatred and terrible ideology to young people at our taxpayer-funded universities," Travis Couture, a Republican state representative, told JNS.

"Obviously universities are a place for First Amendment free speech, but someone who said that America deserves 9/11 and that capitalist blood should spill in the street should not be someone we are promoting with our tax dollars," Couture said.

"Every elected official and taxpayer-funded organization should be asked to condemn socialism, communism and Democratic Socialists of America people like Hasan Piker," Couture told JNS. "If they will not condemn those people, actions and extreme ideology, then they should be disqualified from serving the people of Washington state."

The cancellation suggests that his political toxicity may now outweigh his usefulness in mobilizing socialist and Marxist candidates who campaign on positions that denounce America and capitalism and are deeply unpopular with mainstream voters.

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 06:11

Experiencing homelessness is deadly, especially for New Yorkers who are substance abusers.

Scorching temperatures can be especially dangerous for kids — and the warning signs aren’t always obvious. Wellness Editor Carly Stern talks with pediatrician Ayala Wegman of Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone about the red flags every parent should know, plus the simple mistakes that can turn a hot day into an emergency. From hydration...

Mayor Zohran Mamdani may be an ideologue, but he’s also what Niccolò Machiavelli deemed “a sensible man”: One who will “will base his power on what he controls.” NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani holds a security briefing on August 7, 2026. And he’s using his time in office to exert greater control over city institutions —...

Ball infuriated Trump AI officials last month after claiming that the White House should create “regulatory risk” -- or new rules imposing consequences on US firms -- to discourage use of Chinese AI models.

"Chuds" Rejoice As Woke Video Game Studio Bethesda Crushed By Mass Layoffs

From around 2014 through 2023 nearly every aspect of western pop culture from movies to television to comic books to video games to marketing was invaded by what seemed like a highly coordinated horde of far-left activists.  This subversive coup in entertainment launched what many now refer to as the "woke era" in western politics, giving birth to the infamous concepts of "cancel culture" and "DEI".  

The movement was incredibly well supported with billions in funding through ESG lending and government subsidies.  Politicians protected them from legal consequences and helped to censor their opponents.  Mainstream journalists lavished them with praise and ran propaganda to tear down critics. 

NGOs funneled easy cash into any organization that declared its fealty to the progressive multicultural agenda.  True beleivers were planted into every level of every media industry.  Those companies that did not immediately comply were extorted into conformity with threats of mob harassment, accusations of "bigotry" and potential boycotts. 

    

Numerous corporations fully embraced and enabled the spread of the woke mind virus.  Even though the political left often claims they are "fighting against the elitist class", their entire movement owes its existence to corporate and government support.

The battle against the woke takeover had been bubbling under the surface for many years as a rebellion was waged by a small but scrappy alternative media.  However, at that time, the public was largely unaware of the psy-op that was targeting them.  There was nowhere near enough popular momentum to stop the coup.  All the political left had to do was deny that any such an agenda existed.  It was "all in people's heads" and a product of "conspiracy theory." 

Then, leftist activists hijacked video games and video game journalism, injected the industry with woke messaging and pissing off millions of gamers.  After that, everything changed. 

"Gamergate" was born and the anti-feminist, anti-DEI movement exploded like wildfire.  What Gamergate accomplished, mainly, was forcing the issue into the mainstream and forcing the establishment media to acknowledge that a coordinated invasion was taking place.  Journalists went from denying the existence of the agenda to openly defending the agenda as a good thing. 

One game development studio that stood at the forefront of the woke mob and aggressively engaged in the culture war against traditional western storytelling was Bethesda Softworks, a subsidiary of Microsoft.  Once a legendary studio famous for the "Fallout" franchise, the company ultimately reveled in the subversion of their largely straight, male audience and sought to "teach the Chuds a lesson" by destroying everything they held dear. 

Asmongold reacts to Bethesda employees being forced to tear down a memorial for laid off coworkers

"Yesterday's layoffs at Bethesda cut 14 layers of management, we lost dozens of programmers, artists, designers and testers, many of whom worked on BGS for decades"

"Apparently… pic.twitter.com/Df7iygAMXF

— Asmongold Daily (@Asmongold_Daily) July 10, 2026

Simultaneously, Bethesda was engaging in political support for activist projects like Black Lives Matter and LGBT pride.  The virtue signaling was off the charts.  The fight with the studio hit a crescendo with the release of "Starfield", an open world sci-fi game that seemed to focus more on DEI and pronouns than creative storytelling.  The game was meant to be Bethesda's crowing achievement, but it failed due to gamer boycotts.

Starfield, which cost around $400 million to produce, was met with a mediocre reception and within a few months player numbers crashed by 90%.  Evidence suggests the game never actually made a profit.  The ongoing failures of Bethesda contributed to the wider cuts by Microsoft/X Box and studio was hit particularly hard. 

In 2026, the Chuds are rejoicing over the collapse of studios like Bethesda, and rightly so.  Gamers tried to warn them but they refused to listen.   

Last month, Microsoft announced a financial "reset" which led to structural layoffs.  As a result, Bethesda has now fired an estimated 30%-40% of employees with a large number of developers being kicked to the curb.  It should come as no surprise that most of these employees look exactly as you might expect: A gaggle of socialist circus freaks.    

Seeing these former employees all together in one place makes it perfectly clear what caused Bethesda to implode.

Some analysts theorize that the Microsoft culling is actually meant to rectify mistakes from the woke era and purge activist troublemakers from their payroll.  A large number of corporations have been doing the same thing in recent years after realizing there is no market for DEI in media.  Having the faintest smell of social justice propaganda in their products leads to collapsing sales. 

By extension, woke activist employees are notorious for creating problems from thin air and litigating against their employers.  There's really no downside to firing them.    

The delusion these former developers suffer from is embarrassing.  They seem convinced that their projects were financially successful, but if that was the case they would not be losing their jobs en masse.  The event is yet another example of the entitlement mentality that has infected corporate employees today; they treat any firing as if it is a violation of someone's civil rights.  If a worker believes that a company is supposed to value their livelihood above making a profit, that person is not mentally equipped to function in the real world.

Remaining workers at the company staged a mock memorial for their fired comrades, as if they had died in the line of duty.  It's more evidence for why their hands should never come near media content ever again. They should be serving overpriced coffee at Starbucks, not influencing $400 million media projects.

For the conservatives who still don't understand the importance of pop media and video games when it comes to the greater political conflict in the west, just know that it doesn't matter if you don't get it; just know that the political left does get it.  They almost successfully pirated the entire western world by taking control of entertainment media and saturating it with woke indoctrination. 

If it's important to them, it should damn well be important to you.  

Politics is downstream from culture.  Win the culture war, win the west.  It's that simple.  Video games represent the biggest slice of the media industry by far and this is where younger generations are going to congregate and form their collective views.  Luckily, they saw the takeover coming and moved to intercept before it was too late. 

At least greater populist movements are more aligned with the importance of the culture war and what it represents in recent years.  There are still numerous problems with getting everyone on the same page, but compared to a decade ago, the improvement has been dramatic.  The fact that "Get Woke, Go Broke" has become a rule rather than a mantra is a bit of a miracle.    

Tyler Durden Mon, 08/10/2026 - 05:45

A Ukrainian drone attack Monday on the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk killed 12 people and wounded 39 others, authorities in the Tatarstan region said.