The First Step to Oceania, or a Case of Larceny on a Grand Scale?

 An attempt to take over a part of a NATO member state by another NATO member state would be a political disaster. it would end the world as we know it...

Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland

The problem being, of course, is that might be exactly what Donald Trump wants. At this moment in time it sure seems like it. Indeed, it increasingly looks like Trump is attempting to divide up the world into three super states controlled by three presidents for life. You know, like the world envisioned by George Orwell in his novel, "1984." Trump gets Oceania. Putin runs Eurasia. While Xi controls Eastasia. That's right, three happy Presidents for life owning their respective parts of the globe.

There are some catches to that grand plan, however. No one else on this blue ball, with the possible exceptions of Xi and Putin, want any part of it. That includes every NATO ally, the Ukrainians, the island nation of Taiwan, certainly the Japanese, the South Koreans, and probably the North Koreans. We can also throw in everyone south of the Rio Grande and south of the equator in the Pacific. In fact, the vast majority of Americans think the idea stinks. 

El Donald, while remaining insistent on carrying out his first step to create Oceania--the takeover of Greenland, by force, if necessary--has been met with fierce domestic resistance. CNN commissioned a poll conducted by SSBS. It found 75% of Americans oppose a takeover of Greenland, while 25% think it's a keen idea. Among democrats and independents who lean toward voting democratic, 94% are opposed to a takeover. Close to 80% of independents who say they don't lean toward either party were opposed to it. Knowing Trump, he'll probably write off those numbers to mass Trump Derangement Syndrome. The number which might grab his attention though, are the 50% of republicans and republican leaning independents who are also against any sort of takeover.

That's a lot of, as Mr. Trump likes to describe internal party opposition, RINOs. No matter what he calls them, the anti-invasion sentiments run deep. Yesterday Nebraska republican Congressman, Don Bacon said in an interview that if the President orders American troops to invade Greenland, "It would be the end of his presidency." Bacon added, he would, "Lean toward voting to impeach Trump," if he gave the order. 

After meeting with American Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lars Rasmussen described the talks as, "frank"--which is diplomatese for, we got into a big ass argument. According to Rasmussen the end result was, "We agreed to disagree." By the time press conference was over, Rasmussen basically told the media, Americans have had military bases in Greenland before and they're welcome to have them there again. But there is no way in hell America will, "own," Greenland. Greenlandic Foreign Minister, Vivian Motzfeldt told the press simply, "We don't want to be owned by the United States." 

As these words are being typed, the Danes have begun sending troops to Greenland. The French, Germans, British, and Swedes have also sent either small units, or military officers to serve as observers and liaisons. 

Earlier this week, Donald Trump--a well-known congenital liar--said, "Greenland is covered with Chinese and Russian ships all over the place." Sweden's Minister of Defense, Pal Jonson dismissed the claim as, "an exaggeration." Greenlandic authorities insist it has been well over 10 years since anyone there has seen a Chinese war ship. 

However, it might not matter. All this jabber about national security and Russia and China might be just a cover for another, far more Trumpian motivation. After all, the initial reason for the Venezuelan intervention was drug trafficking. Then it was removing Maduro because he was a socialist son of a bitch who had facilitated, "the killing of millions." By the time Maduro landed in New York we all knew the truth. Trump never cared about the drugs, or who was running the day-to-day shit in Venezuela. (He let Maduro's VP stay in office, even though she's as much of a socialist as he is.) In the end, it was just about the oil. They had it and Trump wanted it.

Now it turns out, Greenland could contain vast reserves of unexploited rare earth minerals. The sort of stuff the tech manufacturers need to keep pushing out their magical electronic devices. The Sort of stuff China currently has a lock on. It all could be worth billions to someone who controls the island--someone who doesn't mind fucking up its environment forever by extracting it. 

Why yes, that does sound like just the type of job for our man, Donald J. Trump. It not only adds to his fabulous wealth, but it also has the happy benefit of diverting everyone's attention away from the Epstein miasma and the continuing nightmare in Minneapolis. 

Well, you never know with Don Trump. Creating a geopolitical dystopia and committing larceny on a grand scale are both within the scope of his talents. Let's face it, even though the guy is as crazy as a bed bug on acid, one way or the other, he usually gets whatever he wants. And, as we've learned, he always wants more. It's the nature of this particular beast. 

1-16-26

Uninvestable in Venezuela: The Acting Presidente's Plan Hits a Snag as Sights are Set on Greenland

 If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela, today it's uninvestable.

Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil

Last night Jon Stewart told his audience Donald Trump, had edited his Wikipedia page by adding to it the title, "Acting President of Venezuela." Stewart was wrong. What had happened was some merry prankster had created a fake Wikipedia page saying Trump was that country's Acting President. Just because it was a hoax though, didn't mean Trump thought it was a bad idea. The fake page caught his eye and Mr. Trump took a screen shot of it, then posted it on his favorite social media platform--which is probably why Stewart got things wrong. 

Now, let's get back to the not so enthusiastic oil execs. Reports are ConocoPhillips CEO, Ryan Lance told the Acting President of Venezuela his company was the largest non-sovereign Venezuelan credit holder. Lance wanted assurances the entire debt would be restructured along with the nation's energy system. Trump's answer to him was, "We're not going to look at what people lost in the past because that was their fault." 

Nice people skills there, El Presidente. 

He also let everyone know how he felt about ExxonMobil by saying, "I'll probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I didn't like their response. They're playing too cute." That's right, baby. No one gets a cut unless Donald J. Trump says so. Woods went on to explain why ExxonMobil was being so "cute," about jumping into Venezuela this way: "We've had our assets seized twice," he said, "and so you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require pretty significant changes from what we've historically seen there." 

Meanwhile, down on the streets of Venezuela heavily armed militias units have begun to set up roadblocks and check points. Their intent isn't really known right now, even by the nation's Acting President. In fact, the situation is so fluid and volatile, United States citizens have been ordered to immediately leave the country. Maybe another reason ExxonMobil is being, "too cute." It's also an indication that if the Acting President is going to accomplish a single one of his stated goals, he is going to have to put tens of thousands of American troops in harms way in Venezuela. If he thinks otherwise, he has eaten the brown acid. And if he does deploy the American military en masse, he has just committed the United States to another endless quagmire of guerilla warfare.     

This same weekend--the guy is a busy bee--Trump the Conqueror addressed his fixation on Greenland. He told members of the media, "We don't want Russia or China going to Greenland, which if we don't take Greenland--you're going to have Russia or China as your next-door neighbor. That's not going to happen. I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way." The hard way, being the armed takeover of an ally's sovereign territory and the ultimate destruction of NATO. 

Perhaps it should also be mentioned, the Acting President of Venezuela is obviously unfamiliar with world geography. If he would just take a glance at a global map, he would realize Russia is already a next-door neighbor of this quickly dissolving republic. Only the 60 miles of the Bering Strait separate Russia and Alaska, which, the last time we looked, is part of the United States. 

Well, what do you expect from a man who, when asked if there are limits to his global power responded, "Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It's the only thing that can stop me."

How reassuring. Just ask Stormy Daniels, E. Jean Carroll, and all those suckers who bought into the Trump University scam what they think of Donald Trump's morality and mind. 

Back home, while all this was happening, reinforced squads of ICE agents continued their rampage through the streets of Minneapolis. Their most current shouted warning to protesters and the press since the murder of Renee Good has been, "Haven't you learned anything?" In other words, we killed her and by God, we'll kill you too. And we will get away with it. 

Yes, it is chaos and madness on so many fronts it's hard to keep up with it all. Think not? Hey, the new White House web site which claims the January 6th rioters were actually peaceful and patriotic protesters who were attacked by the D.C. police, didn't even make the cut. 

In the novel, 1984, George Orwell wrote, "The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." 

And that's where we are at in America. Right now. 

1-13-26

Murder Most Foul in Minneapolis

 The woman gunned down by ICE agents in Minneapolis yesterday was, Renee Nicole Good. According to a report by the BBC she was a 37-year-old who had been married twice. Her second husband, Tim Macklin, who she had hosted a podcast with, died in 2023. She was the mother of three children, the youngest six years old. While an undergrad student she won an award from the Academy of American Poets in 2020 for her work. When asked, she described herself as a poet and writer. Her chief hobby was playing the guitar.  She was raised in Colorado Springs and had moved from Kansas City to Minneapolis less than a year ago. She was a natural born citizen of the United States of America.

DHS head, Kristi Noem claimed she committed an act of, "domestic terrorism.," While Donald Trump wrote she had, "viciously run over," an ICE agent." Secretary Noem and the President have a problem though. The whole deadly nightmare was clearly shown on the phone cam of a bystander. When watching it, it becomes painfully obvious, to anyone with a brain, Noem's act of terrorism looked a lot more like a panicked woman just trying to get the fuck out of the way. And when it comes to Trump's assertion Ms. Good viciously ran over anyone, is, as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey put it, "bullshit." 

Also caught on tape was a person at the scene who identified himself as a doctor, asking agents to let him administer first aid to her. The agents refuse his offer, while offering no aid themselves. They tell the man they have medics on the way. When, they do arrive, reportedly 15 minutes later, they force the EMTs to park a block away, then refuse to let them bring in a stretcher for the victim. As one witness said, "They had to carry her out like a sack of potatoes." 

In short, the ICE agents, including the highly ambulatory one who was allegedly run over, allowed Renee Good to bleed out at the scene. Then their bosses, from the top down, did everything they could to paint their victim as a radical left terrorist, hell bent on killing federal authorities. 

This is what happens when you put a bunch of ill-trained street thugs in uniform and give them guns. One can't help but think many of the recent ICE recruits didn't join to serve their country so much as to get a chance to carry those guns and break heads whenever they want. It is a suspicion borne out by the observation of one former law enforcement official who, after he saw the tape, said, "The man (the agent who was the shooter) obviously couldn't handle a stressful situation and should have never been allowed to carry a weapon." Other former federal agents and police officials have noted they were all trained to "Never try to block a car by standing in front of it." Although to be honest, to many observers it didn't appear the guy was ever fully in front of Ms. Good's vehicle. 

It is time to admit that Donald Trump and his administration has gone totally rogue. The President and his lackies have turned ICE the Border Patrol, and elements of the DOJ into his personal para-military of Donald J. Trump. Congress is riddled with cowards and Trump sycophants who have allowed him to run completely amok. We are to the point the Department of Justice is flat out ignoring judicial orders. They did so this past weekend when another Epstein file deadline was, "missed". (An event many media outlets initially skipped past because they were too busy covering El Don's oil driven adventure in Venezuela.) 

Indeed, it looks as if Kash Patel, Pam Bondi, and Trump have realized court orders are unenforceable if the DOJ decides not to enforce them. It's an easy choice to make when the DOJ and their boss are on the receiving end of those orders. Especially when a majority of congress is willing to let them get away with anything and everything.

Yesterday, Mayor Frey not only said the excuses for killing were, "bullshit," his message to the ICE agents roaming the city streets was blunt and angry. He told them to, "Get the fuck out of Minneapolis." Then he added, "We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety and you are doing exactly the opposite." 

He was absolutely right. Unfortunately for the twin cities, Minnesota and the nation as a whole, as long as monsters like Don Trump, Stephen Miller, and the rest are calling the shots, ICE isn't going anywhere. 

Well, other than, someday soon, your living room.

1-8-26

It Isn't the Drugs, or Democracy: It's the Oil

 No, it wasn't about the drugs. It was never about the drugs. We knew that when Donald Trump pardoned former Honduran President, Juan Orlando Hernandez who had been convicted of smuggling 400 tons of cocaine into the United States. When it happened we all knew it wasn't because Hernandez was innocent, despite what Trump said to the media. It was because the guy was arrested and convicted by the Joe Biden administration and Donald Trump is completely obsessed with erasing everything Biden and Barack Obama did while they were in office. 

It wasn't because Nicolas Maduro lost a legal election then stayed in office by refusing to recognize the results. Although one could see where that might rub Brother Don the wrong way--Maduro succeeded where Trump failed. No, it wasn't for the noble cause of democracy. If it was, Trump, Rubio, and the rest wouldn't let Maduro's fellow socialist, Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez help run the country. He certainly wouldn't have dismissed opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado as a, "nice lady," but who "lacks respect," in her country. (She might also be another sore spot for El Donald. Machado won that Nobel Peace Prize he had quite publicly coveted.)

In fact, Trump is so disinterested in democracy for Venezuela, reports are the name of Edmundo Gonzalez, the guy who actually beat Maduro in the election, didn't even come up during the discussion of who should be running things for the U.S. in Venezuela. (Hey, Trump and his MAGA loyalists aren't really enamored with democracy here, why should they be in South America?}

Yes, for those who remained in doubt about what the snatch and grab of Nicolas Maduro was all about it was hammered home during the Saturday morning presser. As MS Now's Ali Velshi pointed out, during the press conference, Donald Trump mentioned drugs--the charges used as the pretense to arrest Maduro in the first place--five, or six times. However, he mentioned oil over 25 times. That's right, baby, to paraphrase the theme song, "Black gold, Venezuelan tea." Barrels of it, thousands upon tens of thousands of barrels of it--something, not coincidently, Honduras doesn't have.

In the end, Donald Trump and his billionaire donors don't give a rat's ass about the drugs, or who is running Venezuela, or how. All they care about is getting their hands on all that oil. The whole affair is reminiscent of a line from one of the late Mike McQuay's novels. The protagonist faces the corporate villain who tells him, "Son, the meek might inherit the earth, but not until we're done with it." 

Of course, as history teaches us--but we never seem to learn--it is a lot easier to bring down a regime than it is to establish and run a new one. Trump's idea seems to be, although no one is sure at the moment, is to run Venezuela sans Maduro by committee. Right now, the committee consists of Rubio, Secretary of Defense/War, Pete Hegseth, and the somewhat reluctant Delcy Rodriguez. Where the Venezuelan military and the fabled militia/gangs fit in all this is still unknown, even to Trump, who always promises more than he can deliver when it comes to foreign policy. 

What we do know is Trump's oil driven Venezuelan adventure undercuts any U.S. argument against Russian and Chinese imperialist expansion. Let's face it, if parts, or all of South America is fair game for U.S. ambitions (not to mention Greenland) why shouldn't Ukraine and the Baltic States be fair game for Russia's? And why shouldn't everyplace in the East and South China Seas, including Taiwan be the same for China? 

Who knows? Maybe Trump and his pals just don't care about those other places. When it comes to Ukraine there is some evidence to support that notion. Hell, maybe a global triumvirate is what the old bastard has been shooting for all along. Trump, Putin, and Xi--the 21st century's three amigos.

Nicolas Maduro and his wife currently reside in a federal lockup in Brooklyn, NY. They are both there because the paperwork says drugs. What they are really there for, however, is they wouldn't give up the oil. So, Donald Trump decided to take it.

In other words, when Trump's donors demanded it, he showed them the money. Whether he can deliver it though, remains to be seen. Don't trust just me. Trust history. Before this is over it's going to get a lot more complicated and costly.  

1-5-26

76

Beware of Promising What You Can Deliver, but Really Don't Want to

 Not quite a year into the second Donald Trump presidency (It certainly seems a lot longer than that doesn't it?) a few things have become abundantly clear. First, Trump has no respect, or need for the legislative branch of government. Second, his lies and hypocrisy have become so loathsomely routine it feels like no one even notices anymore. Third, when it comes to comes to interior design, the man's tastes can only be described as that of a coked-up New Orleans pimp. And finally, no matter how much he wants it to, the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein just won't go away.

According to Ballotpedia, since January 20th of this year he has signed, 225 executive orders. In addition, he has issued 56 memoranda, and 114 proclamations. In comparison, during his first term in office, Trump signed 220 in four years. Of course, that was back when there were people around him who actually believed in the U.S. government and the separation of powers. This time he has made sure everyone in the administration is loyal to him, not the Constitution. The more slavish their devotion the better. 

Hey, what do you expect from a man who bills himself as a Christian President, but refused to place his hand on the bible when he was sworn in? (Who knows? Maybe he thought he'd burst into flames if he touched it.) 

Indeed, once he found out the congressional republican majority was riddled with cowards and sycophants who wouldn't challenge him on anything--well, almost anything--he has run wild. Besides turning an entire federal agency into a gang of unrestrained street thugs, the man is now claiming affordability, the issue he drove home last November is now a democratic hoax. A couple of days ago, after meeting with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy he told the media a solution to the war was, "complicated," and couldn't be achieved in a day. No one in the gathered media even bothered to bring up his oft repeated 2024 campaign promises to end the conflict, "within 24 hours." The attitude seemed to be, why worry about old news? 

Yes, Donald Trump is the master of plowing ahead. The philosophy being, Keep moving. No lie is too great so long as there is another one following immediately in its wake. In short, don't give them time to think.

The tactic has served Trump well over the years. 

With one exception.

Jeffrey Epstein is the itch Donald J. Trump can't scratch. And it is all his fault. He is the one who made the release of the Epstein files an issue in the first place. Much of that angry mob known as his base might not remember or care he lied about ending the Ukraine war in a day, or that he swore Haitians were running amok eating pets in Ohio. They might even forgive him for telling them, if they want affordability, they should buy their kids fewer toys and pencils. However, what they will not abide is letting the accomplices of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell remain anonymous. 

That's right. Apparently MAGA world will let Donald Trump slide on the lies, economic uncertainty, and the outright corruption, however, when it comes to a conspiracy that actually does exist, by God, no one involved walks away clean, no matter who they are. You promised us, Donald. Now give us the fucking names.

A law was signed by Trump himself which required the DOJ to release the full files by December 19th. The only authorized redactions were the names of victims and other innocent people caught up in the investigation. What has oozed out of the DOJ since then have been documents so heavily edited that in some instances entire pages have been blacked out. Now, according to Pam Bondi's DOJ, nearly a million additional documents have been discovered. The Justice Department estimates it will take weeks to go through them all before their release. 

This is all horse shit. Trump is playing his patented delaying game, hoping the whole thing will somehow go away. He doesn't seem to understand that he created this conspiracy monster--or at least nourished it, gave his blessing as it grew--and now has lost control of it. The idea, of just putting it all out there and getting it over with is apparently so frightening to him he is willing to drag the issue out until perhaps the end of his term.

It all goes to prove one thing. Promising something you can't deliver is one thing. However, promising something you can deliver but really don't want to is another. 

12-30-25

A Deadly Weekend of Chaos, Terror, Tragedy, and Cruel Narcissism

 This past weekend, for reasons none of us will ever truly understand, four different people scattered cross the nation and globe, went utterly insane. Obviously, their insanity didn't just happen overnight. Their minds, as Morrison once sang, "had been squirming like toads," for a long time. In Los Angeles, the crime appeared personal. In Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, it appears pure hatred and perhaps dreams of genocide played a part. Up in Providence, RI, on the Brown University campus--well, who the fuck knows?

At Brown, a short, portly man, described in his 30's walked into the engineering building on Saturday while students were studying for final exams. By the time he made his escape two students had been shot to death and nine were wounded. Within hours of the shooting, police said they had a, "person of interest," in custody. A few hours after the announcement the authorities released the man, saying he wasn't involved. The search continues as everyone in Providence keeps their heads on a swivel.  

At Bondi Beach in the Sydney metro area, members of the Jewish community gathered the first night of Hanukkah, the traditional Festival of Lights. Sajid Akram, 50, and his son, Naveed, 24, also showed up. The elder Akram was described as a resident of Australia, while his son, who had been born there was a citizen. 

While Australia has some of the strictest gun laws in the world--you can't buy a semi-automatic assault style weapon there under any circumstances--apparently there isn't a limit on how many guns a single person can own. The elder Akram legally owned six. Last month, he and his kid made what is now a suspicious trip to the Philippines where ISIS cells are known to operate. On Bondi Beach, by the time it was over, 15 celebrants, aged 10 to mid 80s were dead. Sajid Akram was killed in the shootout, his son, Naveed was wounded and now sits under guard in a Sydney hospital.

Then, on Sunday afternoon, actor/director/political activist Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were found dead in their Brentwood home. The causes of death for both was reported to be stabbing. Their son Nick, who has a history of mental and substance abuse issues, is being held in connection with the murders.  

On Saturday, a scant few hours after the shooting at Brown, Donald Trump posted a message at 5:44 pm, "I have been briefed on the shooting that took place at Brown University in Rhode Island. The FBI is on the scene. The suspect is in custody. God bless the victims and the families of the victims." At 6:03pm he posted, "The Brown University Police reversed their previous statement--The suspect is NOT in custody." 

While he blamed the mistake on campus cops, at least he admitted he got it wrong. However, our man in the gilded Oval Office wasn't done sending out social media posts to the nation and world.

After Rob Reiner and his wife were confirmed as the victims in LA, Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, the Commander in Chief, posted a lengthy message to the stunned country. It began, "A sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away together with his wife Michile, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGMENT SYNDROME, sometimes known as TDS." 

The President went on to write, "He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness and with the Golden Age of America upon us like perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!"

How narcissistic and cruel do you have to be to write shit like that? How despicably vindictive and petty? How thoroughly rotten and evil? Sane and decent people will never know. The answers are simply beyond their comprehension.

However, after reading that grotesque post, one thing has become perfectly clear to some of us. If Donald J. Trump isn't the Anti-Christ, he'll do until the real one shows up.

1216-25

The End of the Beginning Starts with the Indiana State Senate

 It is unclear if Donald Trump believes in the now generally accepted constitutional concept of one person, one vote. What is clear, however, is he really doesn't believe in the equal distribution of voters in congressional districts. Faced with a catastrophic loss in next year's election the President wants to make sure republican voters hold solid majorities in as many congressional districts as possible. To that end he is actively pushing for his state level cultists to redraw the districts five years earlier than normal. He sees the polls, or at least his people do. In order to help the GOP remain in control of at least the House of Representatives it doesn't matter how geographically twisted and bizarre the districts become. All that matters is democrats are separated into unconnected political ghettos while GOP loyalists become the majorities. 

This method of what amounts to pre-election rigging was humming along perfectly until this week. Then, like the voyage of the, "unsinkable," Titanic, things went suddenly and horribly wrong. 

The current Indiana House delegation is seven republicans and two democrats. Trump's plan was to, let's say, rearrange, the district map in order to give the GOP a better than 50-50 shot to pick up those democratic seats next fall. The path for this creative political deck stacking went through the Indiana state senate chamber, where republicans hold 40 of the 50 seats.

That's where the grand scheme went sideways. 

Unlike Texas and other locales, republican Senators in Indiana didn't ask how high when the Trump administration told them to jump. Signs of trouble appeared early on as a surprising number of legislators seemed reluctant to go along with the plan. Others objected to it outright, based on their conservative principles. Donald Trump and his pals, never known for their negotiating skills, reacted as you might expect--with all the subtlety of Al Capone's Chicago Southside Gang. After a vote to redistrict the state according to Donald ended up in a tie all manner of threats began to pour in. 

Trump directed a social media post at Indiana Senate president pro tempore, Rodric Bray personally. It read, "Anyone that votes against Redistricting and the SUCCESS of the Republican Party in D.C. will be, I am sure, met with a MAGA Primary in the Spring. Rod Bray and his friends won't be in Politics for long and I will do everything within my power to make sure that they will not hurt the Republican Party and our Country again." 

Others in the senate began to receive bomb threats and swatting attacks at their homes. Then, to remove any lingering doubt about the administration's intentions, the ultra-right Heritage Foundation posted a dark warning on social media. "President Trump has made it clear to Indiana leaders," it began. " If the Indiana Senate fails to pass the map, all federal funding will be stripped from the state. Roads will not be paved. Guard bases will close. Major projects will stop. These are the stakes and every NO vote will be to blame." 

Or, to paraphrase a line from a long-gone TV show, "Vote for Donnie and nobody gets hurt." 

On Monday, republican Indiana Senator spoke on the chamber floor, saying in part, "I fear for this institution, I fear for the state of Indiana, and I fear for all states if we allow intimidation and threats to become the norm." On Thursday, republican Senator, Spencer Deery said, "I, like a supermajority of you do not want to see another democrat Speaker of the House. But that isn't for me to decide and that isn't for anyone in this body to decide either. Living in a free Constitutional republic means we empower voters to make those decisions."

Later, the final vote was 19 yeas and 31 nays. That's right. Even if the 10 democrats in the Indiana Senate had not voted, the measure would have still failed 21 to 19. 

The defeat means that for the first time since the Trump madness gained complete control over the party of Lincoln a significant group of state politicians found not just their courage, but maybe their souls. They recognized a blatant autocratic power grab and in response told the crazy old bastard to go fuck himself. 

No, this isn't the beginning of the end for Donald Trump and his wretched political ambitions. (Redistricting plans are going full speed ahead in Missouri and North Carolina.) However, to quote Winston Churchill, it is, "...perhaps the end of the beginning."  

We can only hope.

12-12-25