News Media: Malicious or Hopelessly Incompetent?

It’s a terrible time to be a news consumer.

You never know whether members of the press are lying or just plain stupid.

Malicious, hopelessly incompetent, or a witches’ brew of both. Take your pick.

Consider “lobstergate,” one of the more achingly absurd so-called controversies in recent years. This episode begins with a report from the watchdog group OpenTheBooks, which found that in the fourth quarter of 2025, the Pentagon spent an estimated $6.9 million on lobster tails, $2 million on Alaskan king crab, and $15.1 million on ribeye steaks.

Now, if you’ve served in the U.S. armed forces or know someone who has, you understand all too well what those food purchases are about.

American mess halls often treat servicemen to special meals, usually right before deployments or other tough assignments, as a morale booster.1 Those special meals? Lobster, ribeye, or crab.

“It’s been a tell since at least World War II for garrisoned troops,” Marine veteran and former Daily Caller editor-in-chief Geoffrey Ingersoll explained. “They come into the chow hall. There’s steaming, often poorly cooked, sometimes even boiled, ribeye. Mass-produced lobster tail basically devoid of flavor beside it. Huge signal that some tribulation is coming. Either you’re about to get hazed or shot at, one of the two. So leadership wants bellies full and morale high.”