The stupidity continues

I want to start with Anne Applebaum's complete takedown of right-wingers who say Victor Orbán accepting defeat "proves" he wasn't an autocrat:

Yes, Orbán did lose. But he lost after sixteen years in power. During those sixteen years he did terrible damage to Hungarian culture, the Hungarian economy and Hungarian society. Orbán stayed in power by changing the constitution, altering the voting system, capturing the state bureaucracy, taking over courts and universities, and enriching his family and friends (about which more below). Some of those friends bought up much of the private media, which they still control.

In order to win against him, Péter Magyar had to spend a year and half building a nationwide social movement. He endured constant harassment. His phone was tapped. His girlfriend, who turned out to be an agent for the ruling party, made secret sex tapes and leaked them to the prime minister’s campaign. His party’s database was hacked by state operatives. State television and radio would not interview him. Instead, they lied about him, repeatedly. Grotesque smears were invented, designed to make him seem both crazy and cruel. Among other things, he was accused of killing and roasting the family dog (a claim repeated by Rod Dreher, one of the Americans on the Hungarian government payroll, as Cathy Young points out).

In other words, it really is a big deal Orbán lost, but it's not the end of the fight, either in Hungary or here. Orbán will almost certainly try to regain power in the next election, and he will almost certainly undermine the elected government of his country at every step. These guys never truly give up, because all they care about is getting enough power to rob the people blind. This is merely a strategic retreat.

Meanwhile:

• Paul Krugman explains how Kevin Warsh, the OAFPOTUS's nominee for Federal Reserve Chair, is a sock puppet who can't even admit that Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
• Virginia voters passed a temporary redistricting referendum that could result in 5 more Democratic House members next year.
• Adam Kinzinger, who got redistricted out of the House twice, congratulates Virginia on answering Texas for breaking the rules.
• Is New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani a Communist? Is he a left-wing radical? Or maybe he's just a doofus?
• The UK Parliament has banned tobacco for anyone born after 2008, which I think might have some enforcement challenges.

And my body still thinks it's under grand assault from...something. It doesn't care. And it does not feel great.