Losing My Perspicacity, October 24, 2025

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Good morning and Happy Friday! Thanks for starting your day with me.

So a lot of things happened yesterday, news-wise. I guess we’ll start with the White House, which is now missing its entire East Wing thanks to Donald Trump. Despite Trump saying that his planned ballroom would not “interfere with the current building” over the summer, the ballroom, which will be nearly double the size of the entire White House, has definitely “interfered with the current building,” as it’s been basically cut in half. It’s the first major change to the White House in 80 years.

From this image, you can see where the East Wing used to be. It’s that giant beige patch right next to the White House.

It’s not surprising that Trump saw the East Wing as his to do with what he pleased. After all, the East Wing has long been the province of the First Ladies, and we know how Trump treats the women who enter his orbit: They’re either good for leering at and hitting on, or they’re “nasty,” “low-IQ,” and worthless.

I can’t even begin to unpack what this says about Trump’s attitude towards his own distant and rarely present First Lady. The East Wing is also where the White House Christmas decorations displays were traditionally located. This was the East Wing in December of 2024.

If you’re wondering how Trump was allowed to get away with bulldozing a piece of property that belongs to the American people, it appears that no one tried to stop him. As I always say, it’s amazing how much of our democracy was based on people not intentionally being assholes. A Virginia attorney tried to file a lawsuit to stop the demolition, but in an email exchange yesterday afternoon, he told me his efforts were “too little and too late.”

Okay, you might say, but there are bigger things happening in America right now than the destruction of half the White House: SNAP benefits are about to expire; the federal government has been shut down; thousands are poised to lose their access to healthcare; and ICE is invading US cities.

You’ll be shocked to learn that Trump seems disinterested in all of those things.

What the hell does he need a ballroom for, anyway? I can’t imagine he can dance. What’s he going to do, rent it out for events? Anyway, this impending monstrosity is going to be 9,000 square feet and, I would bet, gaudy as all hell.

Before we get to the rest of the news, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to Losing My Perspicacity, which takes several hours each day to put together, in addition to the time it takes to do original reporting and the toll staying on top of this news cycle takes on one’s mental health. As the Trump administration replaces tested reporters with right-wing influencers, independent journalism is more important than ever, and a robust, sustainable independent media is essential to the survival of our democracy. I’m asking you to invest in journalism. And, as always, clicking on the link below helps offset the cost of using beehiiv.

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Today: ICE recruits aren’t just “athletically allergic,” they’re stupid, too; Jack Smith will testify before the American people or not at all; Why I screamed when I saw the NBA gambling story; and The High Note.

Here we go.

ICE recruits aren’t only unathletic, they’re also dumb

Earlier this week, I shared a story reporting that one-third of ICE recruits can’t pass the basic physical fitness requirements, which consist of 15 pushups, 32 situps, and a 1.5-mile run in 14 minutes. I’m 90 percent sure the Presidential Physical Fitness Test in high school was more grueling than that, but hey! Not everyone is cut out to be an athlete.

Now, it turns out that PE isn’t the only place ICE recruits are strugglin — a lot of their brains don’t work, either. In the rush to get ICE agents into the field to justify their massive budget and meet Trump’s promise to deport more immigrants than ever before, recruits have shown up for training without full vetting, like passing a criminal background check or submitting to drug testing.

Worse, half of them can’t pass an open-book test on basic American law:

Keep in mind that ICE salaries range from $50,000 - $90,000 per year for new recruits, with a possible $50,000 signing bonus and student loan forgiveness.

Jack Smith will testify before the American people or not at all

Special prosecutor Jack Smith has responded to Jim Jordan and Chuck Grassley’s demand that he testify before Congress about his office’s investigation into Donald Trump with a demand of his own: An open and public hearing.

Here’s a link to the full letter Smith sent to congressional judiciary committees. God, I hope they agree to it, not only because it allows the American people to see Smith for themselves, but because Smith is internationally regarded as a brilliant prosecutor. I would pay a lot to watch him reduce Jim Jordan to the clown he is in front of the entire country. Oh please, we so deserve this after the 10 months we’ve had.

The NBA basketball gambling story was not news to me

If you haven’t seen it yet, a bombshell dropped yesterday morning about a massive gambling ring that ensnared more than 30 people, including Blazers’ coach Chauncey Billups, the Heat’s Terry Rozier, and former player and Clippers’ coach Damon Jones. The FBI has arrested all three men. Here’s a gift link to the NYT’s coverage. The story involves poker, the mob, and just about every form of betting malfeasance you can think of.

Okay, but Kash Patel isn’t exactly known for his fair and impartial investigations, right? I mean, he does whatever Trump tells him to do, and we all know thatTrump feels little love for the Black community and probably NBA players as well. But I woke up with my phone blowing up over this story — and here’s why.

(Reminder: The Blazers made a big deal about how Becky Hammon was a finalist for their head coaching job in 2021, then went with Billups, despite an ugly sexual assault allegation in his past.)

Despite what the general public thinks, journalists can’t just print whatever they want. Especially when accusing a person of a crime, there are multiple editorial and legal reviews, where reporters lay all their info out on the table and, ultimately, lawyers decide if you get to proceed with the story or not.

Without going into too much detail — because again, legal determined we didn’t have enough to publish the story — I can tell you that we at Deadspin had a part of this story back in 2023. Another reporter and I worked on it feverishly for a week straight, but ultimately, our lawyer wanted assurances we couldn’t provide, so the story died. But I wasn’t shocked to see the headlines yesterday, and I have to believe this investigation began before Patel took office.

Does it suck to know you had something right and couldn’t break it? Yes, but that’s not uncommon. It’s not the first time an outlet with more resources scooped me on something I was working on. But it’s part of the job. What does suck, though? Getting scooped by Kash Patel.

Everything else you missed yesterday

Like I said, yesterday was a crazy news day, with a lot happening. I spent most of the day glued to PACER, reporting updates to various legal cases. So here’s a quick run-down of other newsworthy items:

• NY AG Letitia James filed a Motion to Dismiss the federal charges against her based on 1) the improper appointment of US Attorney Lindsey Halligan (the same Motion Jim Comey filed in his case) and 2) Halligan’s improper disclosure of information in a ridiculous text exchange with Lawfare reporter Anna Bower;

• The Chicago Headline Club (made up of various media outlets and journalists) filed a Notice of Violation of Judge Sara Ellis’ temporary restraining order against ICE, pointing out that Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino tossed tear gas at a crowd “without justification,” and they attached a video of Bovino doing just that. In response, Judge Ellis increased the time the plaintiffs are allowed to depose Bovino to five hours.

• Days after letting disgraced congressman George Soros walk free, Trump pardoned convicted Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty to money laundering while heading up a cryptocurrency exchange in 2023. In what I’m sure is all a coincidence, this happened after Binance got into bed with Trump’s own crypto scheme. When asked about the pardon, Trump seemed not to know much about it.

• The US is now bombing boats in the Pacific based on how many motors they have. The most recent attack makes eight boats we’ve bombed out of the water with little to no evidence of any wrongdoing.

• Trump is opening up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge for drilling.

• Finally, Paul Krugman wrote a banger of a piece yesterday about whether or not rural America is finally turning on Trump.

• By the way, there’s an important hearing in Oregon v. Trump tomorrow morning about whether the second TRO issued by Judge Immergut should be dissolved. I’ll be live-posting about it over on Bluesky.

The High Note

Each Day, I do my best to leave you with a smile on your face, a song in your heart, and the will to fight another day.

I know the news is bleak these days, but would a man arrested for impersonating Sammy Hagar make you feel better about the world?

That’s what dreams are made of, baby. Red sunglasses and margarita mix.

Survive and advance out there today, kids. Don’t let the bastards get you down. And have a great weekend.