Slava Ukraini

Plus: Trump's Taco, Burrito, Tamale, and Tequila Economy

By definition, the fog of war distorts and obscures reality, so it sometimes takes a few days to fully take the measure of something as audacious and brilliant as what we just saw.

In one of the most extraordinary military operations in history, Ukraine just rewrote the rules of modern warfare; reminded us of its extraordinary resilience and defiance; and delivered a substantive as well as symbolic defeat to Vladimir Putin — and to all the princes, principalities, and orcs allied with him.

“Trump said we don’t have the cards ,” one Ukrainian aide observed. “This shows we do have the cards, and we can play them.”

And, damn, did they, sending an unmistakable message deep into Russia’s dark heart. This attack of the swarming drones came as a complete shock — neither the Kremlin, nor their allies in the White House had any clue it was coming — but the comparisons to Pearl Harbor are singularly inapt. This was not an unprovoked attack. The Russian bombers had been raining death on Ukrainian civilians; the West had failed to provide sufficient air defenses. So the Ukrainians took it upon themselves — and left much of Putin’s armada of death in ruins.

• Ukraine's drone attack on Russian warplanes was a serious blow to the Kremlin's strategic arsenal

• Ukraine’s Stunning Assault Roils Russia’s Global Military Strategy

• Putin’s Whole Trump Strategy Is in Tatters After Epic Drone Humiliation

• Ukraine's massive drone attack deep inside Russia lays bare Putin's vulnerability

source: Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

Writes Jay Nordlinger: “I don't know whether Ukraine will be able to survive. Whether the Ukrainians will be able to keep their independence, their country, their freedom. But their effort to do so has been one of the most valiant and admirable things I have ever seen. What an example they have set.”

Slava Ukraini!

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Bannon’s lament

One measure of Ukraine’s stunning success? The keening and wailing from the fetid recesses of MAGA: “Steve Bannon Calls on Trump to ‘Pull All Support’ for Ukraine After Drone Blitz on Russians”.

MAGA firebrand Steve Bannon called on President Donald Trump to condemn Ukraine’s weekend drone attack on Russian airbases and “pull all support” after reports that the White House was not informed in advance of the offensive….

Speaking to Human Events senior editor Jack Posobiec on Monday’s episode of The War Room, Bannon blasted Ukraine’s attack as “irresponsible” and accused Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) of pushing conflict with Russia behind Trump’s back.

“[If no one informed Trump] then the White House has to condemn this immediately and pull all support and tell Lindsey Graham to come home or we are going to put you under arrest when you come home. You’re stirring it up. Lindsey Graham’s over there saying: ‘Hey, forget Trump. I got the House and the Senate. We’re going to pass it. You’re going to see something in a couple of days.’ Remember that? He’s stirring it up over there. He’s telling me they got backing.

“If they did not give us a heads up on this, full stop, no minerals deal, walk away from all of it. They’re irresponsible. They’re dragging us into a kinetic third world war. As we said, us – we’re getting dragged in now. Or the deep state is driving us in there. Either of these are not good.”

Sad.

Legal Karma Update

Vis the WSJ: “The Law Firms That Appeased Trump—and Angered Their Clients’

Support for the law firms that didn’t make deals has been growing inside the offices of corporate executives.

At least 11 big companies are moving work away from law firms that settled with the administration or are giving—or intend to give—more business to firms that have been targeted but refused to strike deals, according to general counsels at those companies and other people familiar with those decisions.

Among them are technology giant Oracle, investment bank Morgan Stanley, an airline and a pharmaceutical company. Microsoft expressed reservations about working with a firm that struck a deal, and another such firm stopped representing McDonald’s in a case a few months before a scheduled trial.

[And now for my favorite sentence of the day]:

In interviews, general counsels expressed concern about whether they could trust law firms that struck deals to fight for them in court and in negotiating big deals if they weren’t willing to stand up for themselves against Trump. The general counsel of a manufacturer of medical supplies said that if firms facing White House pressure “don’t have a hard line,” they don’t have any line at all.

Exit take: I’m sorry, I’ve run out of ways to say fuq these Quislings.

Today in AYKM?

Via Reuters: “FEMA staff baffled after head said he was unaware of US hurricane season, sources say.”

Staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency were left baffled on Monday after the head of the U.S. disaster agency said he had not been aware the country has a hurricane season, according to four sources familiar with the situation.

The remark was made during a briefing by David Richardson, who has led FEMA since early May.

Exit take: “It was not clear to staff whether he meant it literally, as a joke, or in some other context.” The story of our times, my friends.

Justin Wolfers: Tacos, Burritos, Tamales, and Tequila

On today’s “To the Contrary” Podcast, Economist Justin Wolfers joins me to unpack the economic whiplash of Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again trade wars, explaining why the president's tariff policies are more than just political theater—they’re rewriting the rules of international trade. In a lively, metaphor-rich conversation, Wolfer explores the constitutional implications of executive overreach, the fragility of global trust, and why bad policy still sticks even after walk-backs. Also on the menu: toxic masculinity, burrito economics, and why we might all be cheering for the churro.

You can watch or listen right here or on YouTube / Listen (and subscribe) on Apple/ Spotify / iHeart / RSS Feed.

Some highlights:

The professor explains burritos….

How international trade is like a marriage…

Tuesday dogs

I’m visiting Maryland today and hanging out with my buddy Zeke.

Meanwhile, another shot of Saturday night in Wisconsin.

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