Aram Zucker-Scharff posted a thread this morning asking why so many Americans “are vaguely angry but not pointed at anything.”

He ends by wondering why we haven’t already seen more Luigis Mangione, and “if there isn't a percolating streak of political violence, in the grand American tradition, just slightly under-heated and waiting to explode.” The answer to the first question is that it takes several months and a good deal of despair for most people to work their way up to political assassination, and the answer to the second is a very clear “yes.”

Even Truth Social users and Trump superfans were deeply creeped out by Tuesday’s Trump Gaza AI slop video, and Josh Marshall had already started to spot signs of a backlash brewing last week, as Elon’s chainsaw sinks into MAGA heartwood and the few GOP representatives willing to appear in front of constituents were savaged by angry crowds of their own voters who can’t understand why a trashy racist South African billionaire is indiscriminately firing poor people in deep red districts:

Meanwhile in the Washington Post, Hallie Lieberman reported that transgender Americans are getting strapped, and I have personally heard from several committed gun-control leftists that they’re also looking into firearm safety classes. John Herrman made it clear that the DOGE government workforce cuts and the “AI-Fueled Plan to Fire Everybody” in the rest of American business are all one “ecstatic project:”

Layoff morning arrived a couple weeks ago for Ryleigh Cooper, a 24 year old U.S. Forest Service employee and Trump voter in rural Michigan, who believed Trump when he said that he’d make IVF free and that he wouldn’t pursue the mass government workforce cuts promised by Project 2025, both of which turned out to be lies, like all of his campaign promises except the ones about hurting trans people and immigrants. Cooper is one of “some 30,000 federal workers [who] have been given notice since Elon Musk’s DOGE began its work in January, of a workforce of 2 million,” according to Will Peischel in New York Magazine, and who are soon to be joined by a “Termination Spree” of Defense Department civilian employees and an unknown number yet to be cut across the federal workforce in further reductions in force planned from now through the Fall. “If you think this is bad, wait for the ripples,” wrote Brian Barrett.

In a nation awash with easy access to high powered weapons, is it a good idea for Trump and Musk to make enemies of tens or hundreds of thousands of people who are fanatically motivated by the ideals of public service and suddenly have an abundance of free time, a furious sense of betrayal, dim employment prospects in a rapidly worsening economy, and a very recent example of a lone gunman assassin who was widely hailed as a folk hero? Who can say.

Today in Good News: Brian Stelter tweeted that “CBS anchor Gayle King is going on a Blue Origin space launch this spring with an all-female crew (also including Lauren Sanchez and Katy Perry).” 🤞! In the Intercept, which I guess still exists, Matt Sledge found that a cut to a Social Security Administration IT services contract that DOGE claimed had saved $232 million only saved about half a million dollars. In the race between Musk’s malice and his incompetence, it’s still far from clear which side is winning. And Hamilton Nolan connected Musk’s wealth and power with Tesla’s absolutely deranged stock value, which is one of the very few levers of influence available to the public right now:

I would never suggest that current Tesla owners who regret their purchase should simply park their car on a public street and set it on fire, blaming “woke anarchists” and collecting the insurance payout, but it would undeniably be a tidy solution to several different problems at once.

There’s a stacked movie props auction next month, including a ghost trap from Ghostbusters, Mr. Fusion from Back to the Future, Winona Ryder’s dress from Edward Scissorhands, and a lot more.

Today in Non-Governmental Bad News: “Just Asking Questions About the Transes” Atlantic writer Helen Lewis profiled sex “““““““researcher””””””” Aella, and you’ll never believe what kind of opinions don’t really get mentioned. Humanity’s self-destructive but overpowering drive to kiss bats may have led to another novel zoonotic infection outbreak in Congo. 431 cases and 53 deaths so far, and it’s definitely not Ebola or Marburg. Sorry, this was supposed to be N-G.B.N. but oops we just fired all the virus hunters, so let’s hear those hopes and prayers everyone.

Today in Tabs: Play Pong on 240 browser tabs.

Today in Crabs: Don’t misuse carcinization to justify eugenics, writes Joanna Wolfe.

Today’s Song: Frightened Rabbit, “The Modern Leper”

Man, I envy how good Tom Scocca is at blogging.