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

Samantha Gets a Zero, Mel Gets Put on Leave, and Joe Gets Caught in the Middle

 A little while back college student, Samantha Fulnecky wrote an essay which was supposed to critique an article regarding gender roles in today's society. Fulnecky, who grew up in and later just outside Springfield, MO. Ms. Fulnecky's paper reads as if it is a sermon, best suited for a pulpit in a fundamentalist Christian church. So much so, if she was attending, let's say, Liberty University she would have probably received an outstanding grade, despite some serious grammatical and syntax issues.

Unfortunately, Samantha Fulnecky isn't attending Liberty, or any other Christian fundamentalist institution. She is enrolled at the University of Oklahoma. Her essay was written for a mid-level (She's a Jr.) psychology class, which, the last time we looked, is still considered a science. The highest score possible on the paper was 25 points. Hers received a 0.

Samantha Fulnecky immediately filed a, "discrimination," complaint with the university. She claimed, and still does, she was failed solely because she expressed her religious beliefs. Her instructor, Mel Curth wrote, in part, that he had failed her because her paper relied entirely on, "personal theology and not empirical evidence." 

It's easy to see where Curth was coming from. Ms. Fulnecky had included in her paper a line which read, "Society is pushing the lie that there are multiple genders and everyone should be whatever they want to be is demonic and severely harms American youth." At another point she wrote that blurring gender lines is, "...detrimental to society because it puts people, further from God's original plan for humans." She also threw in the term, "Satanic," at another juncture. Obviously, that's her opinion and belief, but hardly scientific evidence for the argument.   

In response to Fulnecky's complaint the university put Curth on administrative leave. Everyone from FOX News to the Turning Point USA OU chapter threw their support behind her. Demonstrations, both pro and con were held on campus. Predictably, the internet lit up with comments, criticisms, and attacks. In other words, people who had previously never heard of Samantha Fulnecky, Mel Curth, and maybe even the subject of psychology went nuts. 

Back home in Springfield, Samantha's mom, Kristi rose to her defense. It turns out she isn't a stranger to political and religious controversy. Mrs. Fulneck is a lawyer who once defended a guy named, Joeseph Quaglin. He got 12 years for his part in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. She also defended Jared Owens who participated in the attack. The charges against him were dropped. During the COVID pandemic she sued a Missouri health provider. Her client was upset about having to read about COVID precautions before accessing the company's virtual care site. The suit was thrown out. 

In addition to her courtroom adventures, Kristi Fulnecky served on the Springfield city council, where she made a name for herself by demanding a sign saying, "In God We Trust," hang in the council chambers. Well, that and being accused of operating an unlicensed business in the town while sitting on the council. In response she publicly complained everyone else serving in Springfield was, "liberal." She also ran for mayor but was defeated. Ultimately, she resigned from the council when her family moved to a place outside the city limits. 

At least we know Samantha comes by her martyr's syndrome honestly. Plus, we have a hint of where she gets her taste for hell raising when things don't go her way.

Actually, the biggest loser in all this is a guy named Joseph Harroz Jr. He is the President of the University of Oklahoma and would much rather be out fundraising and cheerleading for the school's football team right now. Instead, he is dealing with this shit. President Harroz now finds himself in a Kobayashi Maru style no-win scenario. There is no way he can placate both sides. By the time it is over he will be loudly condemned by either far-right politicians and Christian fundamentalists or the academic community and the political left.

Thanks to the MAGAverse and WOKE militants, any middle position has gone the way of the Stegosaurus.   

Meanwhile, Samantha Fulnecky is doing her part to tamp down the hullabaloo. She has appeared on social media in an attempt to explain her views on gender identification. She is telling anyone who will listen, she didn't mean Trans and gay people are in of themselves, "demonic." No, not at all. She simply believes the idea that gay and trans people are acceptable in society, is "demonic." 

Ah. Thanks for clearing that up, Samantha. We're sure your mother is proud.

12-9-25

Imaginary Somali Gangs and Donald Trump's Notion of Garbage

 Last month, Donald Trump had this to say about Congresswoman, Ilhan Omar (D-MN), "When I see somebody like Ilhan Omar, who I don't know at all, but I always watch her--for years I've watched her--complain about our Constitution, how she's treated badly, our Constitution, the United States of America  is a bad place, hates everybody, hates Jewish people, hates everybody. And I think she is she is an incompetent person. She's a real terrible person." 

The Congresswoman was born in Somalia. She immigrated to the United States--presumably not on her own--when she was eight years old. She is a naturalized American citizen and part of what some call, "the progressive wing," of the democratic party. That puts her politics further to the left than most democrats, who Trump doesn't like to begin with. So, it really isn't surprising he considers her, "a real terrible person."  

That breathless screed last month, however, was just the beginning. This week, as teams of ICE agents moved into Minneapolis to eradicate what has been described as, roaming gangs of illegal Somalian immigrants terrorizing the citizens of Minnesota, (read white people) Mr. Trump went further. Way further. He went full unabashed White Nationalist further.

At a cabinet meeting Donald Trump addressed the media, saying among other things, "...we're going the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country. Ilhan Omar is garbage. She's garbage. Her friends are garbage. These (Somalians) aren't people who work. They aren't people who say, 'Let's go, come on, let's make this place great.' These are people who do nothing but complain." Then he added, "When they come from hell and complain and do nothing but bitch, we don't want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it." Just to make sure everyone knew exactly what he was saying, Trump added, "Somalia stinks and we don't want them in our country. I can say that about other countries too." 

Ah yes, quite Presidential.

According to the AP there are approximately 116,520 Somalian immigrants living in the United States. Of that number, 64,354 live in Minnesota. They make up 1.12% of the state's population. The vast majority of them, like Ilhan Omar, are naturalized U.S. citizens.

There aren't now and never have been any reports of Somalian, "gangs," terrorizing anyone in Minnesota, or anywhere else. The only real scandal to come out of the community was a welfare/charity scam--something the Trump family has some experience with since they are banned from running charities in New York because of past, let's say, financial irregularities. Charges were brought against 78 defendants and so far, there have been 59 convictions. The AP reports the investigation remains ongoing.

Congresswoman Omar represents Minnesota's 5th district, which is located mainly in Minneapolis. Wikipedia says the ethnic demographics break down is right at 60% white, 17.1% black, 10.1% Hispanic, 6.1% Asian, with other groups under 2% each. In other words, while diverse, it is still heavily Anglo European. In the last election Ilhan Omar won over 56% of the vote in the democratic primary. In the general election, against a republican, she pulled in 74.4% of the vote. That's a lot of people, or as Donald Trump describes them, garbage, who think Ms. Omar is indeed, competent and not a terrible person.

It certainly doesn't sound like anyone in Minneapolis is being, "terrorized," by Somali gangs. Who knows? Maybe in Donald Trump's head they are but just don't realize it. After all, these are citizens of a state which elected Tim Walz as Governor--a man Trump (always the silver-tongued orator) recently described as being, "seriously retarded." 

At this point it is easy to think Trump's family history of brute racism and run-away dementia have finally caught up with him. Let's face it, when you spin so far out of control, someone like Nick Fuentes is taking credit for inspiring your words, things do feel like they've gone off pier. Now, even the whole, Haitians are eating pets in Ohio thing, seems tame by comparison. 

In the end it doesn't matter if Donald Trump truly believes what he said the other day, or if he was just making a crude bid to shore up his political base. The end result in either case should make any decent person utterly reject both him and those who believe in what he says. It is all not just unamerican, it is inhuman. It would have made, Herr Himmler proud.

12-5-25

Whiskey Pete, Scourge of the Caribbean and His Boss, Irony Impaired Donald

 On September 2nd this year there was an open boat in the waters off the coast of Trinidad in the Caribbean Sea. Reports indicate there were possibly 11 people aboard the vessel. No one really knows for sure what those people were doing on the, "ship," or where it was headed. All we can be sure of is that the location that day put it 630 miles away from the American territory of Puerto Rico and 1,762 miles from the United States mainland. Two distances which seem pretty daunting for an open boat with an unknown amount of fuel and cargo.

Secretary of Defense/War Pete Hegseth apparently had no doubts about where the boat was headed, or what it was carrying. According to Hegseth, Trump, and other in the administration all these open boats on the seas are hauling drugs and they are headed here.  With that in mind, reports say Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order instructing Admiral Frank M. Bradley to, "Kill everybody." 

Either a missile, or drone was launched and, the 11-man boat went "boom!" The whole awful event, thanks to military technology was shown live on screen.

It was at that point things went, as the movie line said, "All Medieval." Not to mention murky. It turned out the attack had left two visible survivors. What happened next depends on which unnamed source you believe. The first says, Hegseth, who was watching, personally ordered a second strike. Another claimed Bradley did it all on his own--ultimately following Whiskey Pete's initial instructions. No matter what the case, a second strike took out the two people left. That would be took out as in killed. As one observer put it, "It was the modern-day equivalent of machine-gunning helpless combatants floating in the water."

The initial official explanation for the second attack was it took place to clear the water of debris which could be a danger to other ships in the area. The more cynical among us recognized the second strike for what it really was--the elimination of witnesses. Hey, you can't claim you weren't transporting drugs if you're dead can you. 

Some began talking about the commission of war crimes. Such behavior does seem to fly in the face of the U.S. military's Law of War Manual. According to the New Republic, the manual prohibits, "declaring no quarter, or conducting operations on the basis that there shall be no survivors." The rule is there, no doubt, so we can continue to call ourselves the good guys--you know, the type who don't machine gun helpless people in the water.

Other analysts have maintained the attacks themselves and now this gruesome act, cannot be called war crimes, because legally there isn't a war. Not yet anyway. They say that since there isn't a war, only one term can be applied to what happened on September 2nd. That term is, Murder. 

Meanwhile, Donald Trump says Pete Hegseth told him, "I did not order the death of those two men," and he believes him. A little bit later, White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt told the media one of the Secretary's subordinates was the one responsible for what amounted to, the kill shot.

Trump has claimed he started all this deadly crazed shit to shut down the drug traffic from Venezuela. Everyone with a brain knows that's a cover story. What the Donald really wants is to somehow get rid of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. He has even claimed Maduro is a member of a vast drug cartel which is intentionally poisoning the population of the United States with drugs for political and social purposes. Even to the point of--and you knew this had to be coming--sending Venezuelan gang members and other monstrous deviants to the U.S. as immigrants. 

Yesterday, Donald Trump didn't do anything to dissuade those who subscribe to the narco-terrorism as a cover for forced regime change theory. It's kind of hard to do that when you issue a pardon for a guy named Juan Orlando Hernandez. Mr. Hernandez is the former President of Honduras and a current guest in the Federal Prison System. After his second term in 2022 he was extradited to the United States and in March of 2024 he was convicted, by a jury, of conspiring to smuggle 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S. 

On Air Force One, the irony impaired Mr. Trump--the man behind the accusations against Maduro and the commander in chief of a military blowing up boats willy nilly in the Caribbean without any proof of criminal activity--told reporters the reason he pardoned Hernandez was this. "Many of the people of Honduras said it was a Biden setup. He was the president of the country, and they basically said he was a drug dealer. because he was the president of the country. And they said it was a Biden administration setup and I looked at the facts, and I agreed with them." At another point Mr. Trump said of Hernandez, "He was treated very harshly and unfairly."

Should someone tell him, or should we wait to see if he figures out the brute insanity of that statement on his own?

Ladies and gentlemen, while we ponder the question, the bar is open.

12-2-25

Mental and Physical Deterioration and the State of Greater Trumpistan

 According to Wikipedia, U.S. Senator, Mark Kelly (D-AZ) flew 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm as a naval aviator. In addition, he either piloted, or commanded four space shuttle missions as a NASA astronaut. During his naval service, Senator Kelly was awarded two Defense Superior Service medals, one Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, four Air Medals with Combat V, two Navy Commendation medals--one with the combat V, one Navy Achievement medal, two Southwest Asia Service medals, one Navy Expeditionary medal, and two Sea Service Deployment ribbons. He has also received a NASA Distinguished Service medal. 

The short version of all that is, the guy is a fucking hero. Mark Kelly not only has, The Right Stuff, he is, The Right Stuff.

A little while ago Kelly and five other members of Congress--all of them veterans of the military, or intelligence services--posted a video reminding military personnel that under the Uniform Code of Military Justice they had the right and the duty to refuse orders that are constitutionally illegal. The word, disobey was not mentioned and nothing they said was new, or revolutionary.   

Right wing hacks, Donald Trump chief among them, immediately went what can best be described as ape shit. Trump accused the six of sedition. He called them traitors. He reminded everybody the penalty for sedition is death. He even reposted a tweet from a follower which said, "Hang them. George Washington would." Right on cue, Kelly and the rest began to be inundated with anonymous death threats. 

Then on November 24th an, "official," and lengthy message showed up on social media from Pete Hegseth's Department of War. (Department of Defense wasn't macho enough for Trump.) It read in part, "The Department of War has received serious allegations of misconduct against Captain Mark Kelly USN (Ret.) In accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. S 688, and other applicable regulations, a thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court martial proceedings or administrative measures." Further on the message there was a warning to all military retirees that they can be still be charged in military court if they also speak out.

In other words, the Secretary of War--Defense--whatever, is threatening to put an American hero on trial. To do so he will be using regulations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice as an excuse. The reason will be because--that's right--Mark Kelly and the others cited parts of the very same Uniform Code of Military Justice--parts Hegseth and his keeper, Donald Trump don't like. 

Welcome to MAGA world.

It doesn't stop with Kelly (Who learned of his possible recall and court martial by hearing about the post.). The other five elected members of congress, Representatives, Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio, Chrissey Houlahan, and Senator Elissa Slotkin have all been told the FBI wants to, "interview," them. Although we probably haven't gone that far yet, if I was one of them, I'd insist on an interview in a public place located on a ground floor. After all, it's never too early to start being careful. 

So what we have here are six sitting members of the United States Congress being investigated by the DOJ--besides all the Hegseth mumbo jumbo, the FBI wants to talk to Kelly also--for exercising their right of free speech. Not to mention simply making a point, which MSN noted, is, " grounded in longstanding military law." 

We also have a President who is showing obvious signs of mental and physical deterioration that is desperately attempting to turn the American Republic into an autocratic state. A Greater Trumpistan if you will.

Donald Trump has never respected the institution of democracy, and he has certainly never understood the need for it. He has also always been an amoral narcissist of the most dangerous sort. Now, since he has surrounded himself with the sort of toadies who holed up with Herr Hitler in the bunker during the last days of WWII, he is completely untethered from any sense of constitutional restraint. Couple that with an old man who is, let's say, a tad off the normal GPS routes the rest of us follow and the end game here could be very bleak and dark indeed.  

Yes, it might not matter if republicans are finally starting to rebel against his policies and his grip on their souls. It might not even matter if the democrats win control of the House next year. 

None of it might matter, because it might be too late. As Jon Stewart observed, "He isn't building that big ballroom at the White House for the next guy."

11-26-25

To Follow Orders, or Not to Follow Orders, That is the Video

 A couple of days ago a video showed up on social media that featured U.S. House members, Chris DeLuzio, Chrissey Houlahan, Maggie Goodlander, and Jason Crow. U.S. Senators Elisa Slotkin and Mark Kelly were also involved. All six have a couple of things in common. First, they are all democrats. Second, they all either served in the military, or the federal intelligence community before being elected to office.   

The gist of the video, which addressed current members of the American military and intelligence services was, " You can refuse illegal orders." They drove their point home even further by adding, "You must refuse illegal orders." You know, the ones that violate the Constitution, the document everyone has sworn to support and defend. Those admonishments, by the way, aren't anything new. No one who has ever worn an American uniform has ever sworn to support and defend anything else, including Commander in Chiefs. 

There are two United States military oaths for enlisted men. Both open with the line about supporting and defending the Constitution. Further on it varies slightly depending on enlistment in the National Guard, or the regular military.  The full-time military oath reads in part, "I will obey the orders of the President of the Untired States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice." The oath for the National Guard says. "I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the Governor (of whichever state) and the officers appointed over me, according to law and regulations." 

In addition, members of the military--and presumably intel services--are taught that, "following orders," is not a defense for committing illegal acts. We pretty much ruled that out immediately after the end of World War II when hundreds, if not thousands of Germans used it to justify their participation in the mass murders of Jews, Gypsies, Gays, and anyone else deemed an enemy of the state. To put it simply, just because Herr Himmler told you to do it, didn't mean you should.

To many of us, the video seems like a reasonable reminder. Especially given the President, Donald Trump is threatening to occupy American cities with not just units of the National Guard, but members of the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard--acts he claims he can do whenever he wants no matter what the courts say. (Even the resurgent white nationalist, Oath Keepers want in on this action. Recently founder Stewart Rhodes said, "Right now, under federal statutes, President Trump can call us up as the militia if he sees it necessary.")

The reaction to the video from the right edge has been a tad hostile. Displays of faux horror and outrage are common. Words like dangerous, irresponsible, and treasonous have been bandied about. Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson was quoted as saying, "...I will say unequivocally that it was a wildly inappropriate thing for so called leaders of congress to do to encourage young troops to disobey orders." (No one in the video encouraged troops to, "disobey," orders, but why quibble over details.)

None of Johnson's ire, or anyone else's for that matter, compared to the reaction from the White House though. 

What we saw in response to the video from the President of the United States was unhinged madness. He first posted, "Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!!LOCK THEM UP???" Later he reposted a message from a follower which simply said, "HANG THEM." Later still, he wrote, "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR. Punishable by DEATH!" Finally, the President reposted a series of comments from users on his forum, Truth Social. Among those he included posts that claimed the video was an act of insurrection. and another demanding the democrats be, "indicted." 

That tone and content is the type of shit you'd expect out of Adolf during his last days in the Berlin bunker. It is rabid lunacy so far out there it begins to morph into dark surrealism.

So much so, when I read the messages, I immediately flashed to the ventriloquist/comedian, Jeff Dunham. One of the characters in Dunham's act is a skeletal dummy named, Achmed, the dead terrorist.  

Yes, that's right, Donald John Trump, President of the United States, has lost every last one of his marbles. He has become the embodiment of a ventriloquist's prop--a ghoulish caricature of a human being whose tag line is, "Silence! I kill you!"  

Three plus years to go. Fuck. 

11-21-25

Cracks in the Red Wall as the President Goes All TACO

 As I said on Friday night abord Air Force One to the Fake News Media, House Republicans should  vote to release the Epstein Files, because we have nothing to hide, and it's time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent  Victory on the Democrat "Shutdown."

First sentence from a Donald Trump social media post regarding the DOJ's file on the late Jeffrey Epstein.

Well, no one will ever accuse Donald Trump of being the king of simple sentences, but we all have to admit that when it comes to the random use of caps, the man is an absolute prince. Beyond literary style what we see here is a rage filled tactical retreat. For the first time Trump's bullying, cajoling, and outright lies didn't work with republican lawmakers. The President was facing abject defeat in the House of Representatives, so, suddenly, in his words later in that message, "I DON'T CARE!" 

Oh, really? 

Just last week Trump attacked republican Congressman Thomas Massie, a co-sponsor of the Epstein discharge petition, on social media, saying in part, did he, "...get married already??? Boy that was quick!" (Massie's first wife died suddenly in June, 2024.) The President ended the post by writing, "His wife will soon find out that she's stuck with a LOSER!" In another social media message Mr. Trump claimed only, only very bad or stupid republicans would vote to release the files. When Marjorie Taylor Greene refused to back off supporting the house petition, Brother Don began calling her, "Marjorie Traitor Greene."  

That's a lot of anger for someone who doesn't care.

Trump's sudden change of heart doesn't mean the files will actually be released. There are, let's say, other options. First, once the House approves, the measure becomes a legislative bill which must pass the Senate and be signed into law by the President. It's unclear at this moment if the republican controlled Senate will even consider voting on it. If they do, they can propose amendments and changes--something House Speaker, Mike Johnson practically begged them to do this morning. If there are changes the altered bill goes back to the House and the whole Mobius strip of American law making begins in earnest. When and if there is a final bill, Donald Trump has to sign off on it. He said he would, but the man just proved himself to be bipolar at best, so who knows.  

Finally, Trump has the DOJ stopgap. Last week he ordered the Department of Justice to investigate democrats, past and present, who were hooked up with Epstein. Attorney General Pam Bondi can stop the entire process by saying the files can't be released because of the, "ongoing active investigation." 

Meanwhile others have taken a different tact. Defense attorney, Alan Dershowitz, who hung out with Epstein--he admitted he got massages from some of the girls, but insisted he, "always kept my shorts on."--claimed Epstein's only conviction stemmed from paying for sex with a, "17 year, 10-month-old," girl. 

Then there was FOX News/podcast personality, Meagan Kelly. She told her online audience she had talked with a confidant of Epstein who told her, "That in his view, Epstein was not a pedophile...he was into the barely legal type. Like, he liked 15-year-old girls. I'm just giving you the facts that he wasn't into, like, eight-year-olds."

Ah, so there were some limits to all the depravity. Apparently, however, in that world, once a girl hit puberty, no matter what her age, she became--how should we say it--fair game.

Hopefully, Ms. Kelly and her source will excuse us if we all aren't as reassured by such steadfast moral restraint as they seemed to be. Not to mention Mr. Dershowitz's age technicality.        

This morning, as MSNOW and CNN covered a news conference on the Capitol steps held by victims of Jeffrey Epstein, At the same time, FOX News was reporting the success of ICE raids in Charlotte, NC and running clips of alleged, "narco-terrorist," boats being blown up off the coast of Venezuela. Last night, FOX host, Sean Hannity focused on the bureaucratic snafus holding up the rebuilding of burned-out homes in California. In other words, on FOX, the Epstein affair isn't an after-thought, it isn't any kind of thought at all.

There is no telling where this will end up. There are too many variables, too many potential roadblocks. However, we have now seen the first real cracks in the solid red, MAGA wall. And we've watched the President, when faced with his first legislative defeat during his second term, go all TACO just like he did on some of his tariffs. 

Suddenly the prospect of the guy coming irreparably unglued seems like a distinct possibility. In fact, while it might just be wishful thinking, ladies and gentlemen, from here it feels like, Donald Trump, his administration, and perhaps the entire MAGA cult have started to circle the drain.   

    

11-18-25

Donald Trump Running Scared as the Cheer and Pom Squad Defects

 The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they'll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they've done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects. Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.

The opening two sentences of a November 12th, 2025 social media post sent by Donald Trump, President of the United States and former chum of convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.

Included in that number of, "very bad, or stupid," republicans is Lauren Boebert R-CO, Nancy Mace R-SC, and Marjorie Taylor Greene R-GA. All, former leaders of the Team Trump Cheer and Pom Squad.

According to multiple sources Boebert, who has supported the release of the entire DOJ file on Epstein and his activities, was invited to a little chat with top administration officials in the White House Situation Room. That would be the same place where the President monitors top secret military operations, like that late night visit Seal Team 6 made to Osama bin Laden's house. The purpose of the official purpose of the meeting with Boebert remains vague, however there is no denying, Donald Trump wants her to change her vote on the motion to release the files. Although Trump didn't personally attend--perhaps he was receiving some mysterious, yet vital hormone therapy--he and Boebert spoke on the phone during the meeting.

According to a report on MSN Mace and the President have been playing, "phone tag," the last day, or so as he tries to convince her not to support the release. The report claims she sent Trump a direct message on Wednesday explaining exactly why she was supporting the release. MSN says she ended the message by writing, "I will NEVER abandon other survivors." 

Apparently Marjorie Taylor Greene isn't either. Of course, her break with Trump began during the shutdown when she realized her own kid's healthcare costs were going to skyrocket thanks the President's policies. She also might have other motives. Speaking about Greene's sudden swerve to the left, mass shooting survivor turned democratic activist, David Hogg said simply, "She's running for President." 

Rumors are that more than a few House republicans are ready to jump ship when it comes to the Epstein files. It doesn't take much to figure out why. Let's face it, it is tough to justify a vote that hides the crimes of a run amok child sex trafficker. With re-election now less than a year away is that really a hill worth defending? Not to mention, it has finally dawned on many of these clowns that sooner rather than later, Donald Trump will no longer be the Ring Master. The guy is constitutionally barred from running again and by 2028 he'll be 82 years old for God's sake. By then he will resemble a melted lump of cheddar cheese.

Donald Trump started this whole mess. During the 2024 Presidential campaign he promised he would release the Epstein files. Looking back on it now, it feels like he did so, just to make a part of his base happy--that part which is the direct descendent of the now deceased QANON. That part which desperately wants to nail all those wildly rich, famous, and decadent fuckers who they are convinced were committing unspeakable crimes without any worry of being caught. It is that part of the MAGA verse who wanted to bring down everyone from British Royalty to Hollywood elites, and Bill and (hopefully) Hillary by God Clinton. It never dawned on any of them their boy, Donnie would also be in the mix.

Trump knew he was though. It's why he tried to sweep the whole thing under the rug earlier this year by in effect saying, "Keep moving, nothing to see here. Well at least nothing I want you to see.

In one of the Epstein emails recently released, he writes to Ghislaine Maxwell, "I want you to realize that that dog that hasn't barked is Trump. (The redacted name of a victim) spent hours at my house with him, he has never been mentioned." Maxwell replied, "I have been thinking about that..."

I bet she was--and still is. No wonder Ms. Maxwell currently resides in a minimum-security federal prison, despite her status as a convicted sex offender. Reports are she routinely receives her meals via room service and at times is allowed to play with puppies.  

The DOJ file on Jeffrey Epstein is massive. It is so massive it is unclear if Donald Trump even knows its full content. What is clear, however, is Donald Trump thinks he knows what is there. And--what he thinks is there, scares the living shit out of him.

11-14-25

Cold Facts on the Cold Case of Alina Fitzpatrick

 These are the cold facts of a cold case. A shade over 14 years ago, on November 4th, 2011, Alina Fitzpatrick went missing. She was a student in the Putnam City School District which is located on the west side of Oklahoma City. Her body was found in an empty lot in far eastern Oklahoma City on November 9th. She was discovered nude with a gag stuffed in her mouth. She also had suffered recent bruises, cuts, and contusions--signs of a beating. Later, an autopsy showed her body had a level of meth in it which, could be considered toxic. In other words, her death might or might not have been caused by an overdose. To this day, her official cause of death remains, "undetermined." Alina Fitzpatrick was 17 years old when she was killed.

That's right, no matter how the medical examiner, or more importantly the OKC Police chose to name it, or investigate it, Alina Fitzpatrick was killed--as in murdered. 

There were signs things were going sideways in Alina Fitzpatrick's life before she disappeared. She had recently dropped out of Putnam City North High School and enrolled in the Putnam City Virtual Learning School. She had said she was being bullied. It was an accusation the school district denied or at least claimed they had no record of. She had also complained she had begun to receive, "strange," calls on her cell phone. Friends said she was talking about changing her number. It is unclear if she ever did. 

On the night she went missing she was dropped off near the intersection of NW 23rd and Western Ave. Reports are she was headed to a nearby apartment complex. No one knows, or at least publicly says they know, if she ever got there or not. Later that evening her phone was turned off. The next day she was reported missing. 

At the time the city was consumed by the gruesome murder of Carina Saunders. Most of her dismembered body had been found in a duffle bag in an empty lot six miles due west of where Alina was last seen. Thanks to the Bethany Police, who were investigating that case, local news outlets were rife with wild, lurid rumors and the names of potential suspects and witnesses. The discovery of Alina Fitzpatrick's nude and abused body on November 9th--which would have normally shocked the town--barely made a ripple in comparison. 

Weeks later, after the state ME finally released the lab results from Alina's autopsy, the investigation pretty much ground to a halt. On January 20th, 2012, OKCPD spokesperson, Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow told the media, "Officers are keeping a file on the case, but are not currently investigating her death as a homicide."

Or, to put it another way. We're busy with other stuff, but if you hear anything, call us. 

Days later, Bryan Dean, who was a reporter for, "The Oklahoman," questioned Wardlow's seemingly dismissive attitude toward the case. OKC Police Captain, Dexter Nelson responded with what then and now looks like a dance number from the musical, "Chicago." He told Dean, "Homicide is just a legal term. It gives us legal grounds to prosecute someone. We are still investigating it as a suspicious death. You investigate them the same way." Then Nelson went on to say, "The contusions and cuts and bruises were not enough to cause death." Finally, perhaps as a concession to Dean--his wife was friends with Alina's mother--Nelson admitted, "It is obviously unlikely she overdosed naked on the side of the road." (Nelson failed to mention it was also, "unlikely," she voluntarily gagged herself before doing so.)

That January 29th, 2012, understatement is, as far as I know, the last time the OKCPD officially commented on the murder of Alina Fitzpatrick. 

In an email, Dean said, "The police consider it an overdose and they have little confidence it will ever be solved." 

Years later an anonymous comment on this blog claimed the authorities knew who did it, and the person was in jail on other charges. It's unknown if the poster was telling the truth or just blowing smoke. 

If Alina Fitzpatrick had survived she would be 31 now. Of course, if she really was slipping down the rabbit hole of hard drugs she might not have made it this far on her own. And maybe neither has her killer, or killers. Let's face it, longevity isn't a hallmark of meth fueled lifestyles, either using, or selling.

Whatever the case, no one deserves the end Alina suffered from both her killer and the police who were supposed to provide her and her family justice.

Tragically though, as some say in a different context, "Out here it might be cruel, but it damn sure ain't unusual."

sic vita est

11-10-25

A Bad Night for the Great Gatsby Party

 No, the roof didn't cave in on Donald Trump's MAGA/republican party in last night's odd year elections. However, it is safe to say the timbers overhead began to creak and groan ominously. While statewide elections were few and far between the democrats won each and every one--by a lot. 

Even in Maine, a measure to require voter ID's and restrict absentee ballots failed by 30 plus %. Another, calling for a red flag law on gun ownership won by nearly 27%. For those wondering, the 2020 census showed the state of Maine's population is 61.6% white alone. 12.4% black alone, 18.7% Hispanic alone, and 6% Asian alone. 10.2% belong to two races, or more. Those aren't exactly the numbers which would typically indicate the state is a hot bed of what House Speaker Mike Johnson describes as, radical left, Marxist, Antifa types.

In Virginia democrats won the gubernatorial election by 14.6%. Up in New Jersey, despite people like Sean Hannity predicting a GOP win, democrats carried the governor's race by 13%. Both Mikie Sherill in NJ and Abagail Spanberger in VA ran against MAGA backed candidates. NJ republican, Jack Ciattarelli, now a three-time loser for that office, had been lauded by Donald Trump himself as being, "Pure MAGA."  

Then in California the only thing on the ballot was Proposition 50. It was and is, democratic Governor, Gavin Newsom's response to the Trump inspired gerrymandering plan to fix the 2026 congressional elections. In places like Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina republican controlled legislatures are arbitrarily redrawing congressional districts, hoping to increase the number of seats held by those, "Pure MAGA's. Prop 50 asked the people of California to allow their democratically controlled legislature to do the same. 

The reaction from the Trump administration was as expected. The day early voting began on the issue, the President posted, "The Unconstitutional Redistricting Vote in California is a GIANT SCAM in that the entire process, in particular the voting itself, is RIGGED. All Mail-in Ballots where the Republicans in that State are Shut Out is under very serious legal and criminal review. STAY TUNED!" Not long after that Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt posted, "There is blatant FRAUD with their mail-in voting system. FRAUDULENT ballots are being mailed in under the names of other people and illegal aliens! There are COUNTLESS examples. And we are looking into executive action." 

Newsom's response was to describe Trump's post as the, "rambling of an old man that knows he's going to LOSE." As for Leavitt's, "there are COUNTLESS examples," she was right--sort of. No one has counted a single case of fraud, at least not yet. The general public and media seemed t shrug off Trump's rant with a collective yawn. When the Big Orange Guy saw the reaction, he dropped it completely. Yesterday, Prop 50 passed by 25 plus %. It appears the majority, in California anyway, believes voter approval of redistricting is just as constitutional as unendorsed legislative redistricting. 

The DOJ's half assed attempt at voter intimidation in NJ and CA looked to have no effect. While some paranoids (Here's looking at you, self) thought there was a real possibility of squads of ICE and Border Patrol agents kicking ass and taking names at polling stations, it never happened. Maybe because in both states, local poll monitors were there to monitor, not voting, but the federal monitors. Or maybe it was a trial run to test the waters before the big show in 2026. If it was the results couldn't have been encouraging to Brother Don, or his band of authoritarian kleptocrats. 

It didn't help that on the Saturday before the election--the same night 42 million Americans were losing government subsidized food assistance and millions more were finding out the cost of their health care was skyrocketing--Trump threw his crowd a wildly decadent, "Great Gatsby," party at Mar a Lago. It featured balloons, champagne, 1920's costumes, and even shapely girls lounging in rotating oversized champagne glasses. The invitation read, "A little party never killed anyone." That line moved Jon Stewart to ask, "Did anyone there even read the book? The party did kill someone. In fact, it killed two someone's."  He went on to describe the glittering soiree as a, "Marie Antoinette," moment.

Finally, there was the New York City mayoral election. Zohran Mamdani won a four-way election by gathering 50.4% of the vote. His closest competitor was democrat, running as independent, Andrew Cuomo who received 41.6% of the vote. The republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa managed a mere 7.1%. Trump, knowing Sliwa had about as much of a chance as Custer at the Little Big Horn, endorsed Cuomo at the last minute.  

Actually, republicans, including Trump, might consider Mamdani's victory as sort of a sub rosa win for them when it comes to next year's congressional elections. They will be able to claim the democrats are all headed so far left they aren't even democrats anymore, but rather like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, raving socialists. Or, as Sean Hannity likes to put it, Communists. Not to mention, in Mamdani's case, a socialist who is also a Muslim. He is, at least in their minds, the perfect wet dream of an opponent. It doesn't matter that he is the mayor of a single U.S. city and his policies and decisions won't have a thing to do with the vast majority of Americans. It doesn't even matter he will not be on a single ballot anywhere next year. He's a fucking socialist/communist/Muslim son of a bitch out to destroy America and in his spare time make us all convert to Islam. 

Think not? Just wait for it.

Last night Donald Trump went on social media and wrote, "TRUMP WASN'T ON THE BALLOT AND SHUTDOWN WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT." He was probably right. Without the 79-year-old Donald Trump on the ballot the whole despicable MAGA sales pitch quickly falls apart. And, thanks to the shutdown, the public is turning against the GOP once again and not the democrats. 

Well, let's face it, the Mango Mussolini might be able to shoot someone in the middle of 5th Ave. and get away with it. However, no one gets a free pass when they take food off the tables of 42 million Americans while raising the cost of health care beyond reach. 

There are some things you just can't lie your way out of. 

11-5-25

Icing Elections in California and New Jersey, Erasing January 6th, and Nobel Fantasies

 A week ago the U.S. Department of Justice released this statement regarding elections on November 4th scheduled in California, New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City. "Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and the Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity. We will commit the resources necessary to ensure the American people will get the fair, free, and transparent elections they deserve."

At the same time the DOJ said it would send election "monitors," to Passaic County, NJ and also to, Kern, Riverside, Fresno, Orange, and Los Angeles Counties in CA. 

While everyone in the nation is, or at least should be in favor of, "fair, free, and transparent," elections some of us might be forgiven for becoming a little suspicious of the DOJ's deployment of, "monitors," to specific locales in blue states during off, off year state elections. Let's face it, other than caterwauling about election fraud in 2020, which they have never proven, this administration's main election focus has been to rig upcoming ones. How else can you describe the dismantling of the voting rights act piece by piece and a campaign of congressional district gerrymandering so openly criminal and undemocratic it even makes guys like Viktor Orban blush?

So, other than transparency, what could be afoot here? Well, for one thing, Passaic County's population is now 44% Hispanic, Kern County 54.9%, Fresno 53%, Riverside 49%, and Los Angeles County is 48%. And while Orange County's Hispanic population is 34% another 21 plus % is Asian. You think Stephen Miller's boys might be interested in who shows up at the polls in all those places? Hey, what better way to goose those arrest numbers that have been lacking. Not only that, but there is the added benefit of suppressing the total number of voters which is always a good thing for republicans. (Or it could end up that just the threat of ICE and Border Patrol at polling locations will scare away scads of potential voters.)

However, if Miller's SA does show up to take names and kick ass the shock and horror show effect will be enough to cause millions to question if their right to vote is worth the risk. Indeed, on Tuesday, just chuck them all in ICE detention centers for a couple of days without any sort of due process. Fuck with not just their heads, but everyone's. Meanwhile, if they do resist both Miller and Trump will be able to claim the, "radical left," is committing election day violence. You can almost hear El Donald addressing the troops before he sends them into hostile strongholds like, Bakersfield, Paterson, and Anaheim: The enemy from within has attacked. The use of excessive violence is not only authorized but encouraged!

  Granted, paranoia might be involved here, but even the most naively optimistic among us must admit there has been some awfully strange shit going on lately.

You know--like those two Assistant U.S. Attorneys who were put on indefinite administrative leave the other day. Carlos Valdiva and Samuel White were pulled off a case involving, Taylor Tranto who was one of the January 6th rioters pardoned by Donald Trump. Not long after he walked free, Taranto was busted near Barack Obama's house. (He had the address thanks to Trump, who posted it on his social media account.) Taranto was armed to the teeth and had been publishing online threats. In a pre-sentencing memo Valdiva and White had included a line about the January 6th attack which said it was carried out by, "thousands of people comprising a mob of rioters." It didn't even take 24 hours for them both to get sacked and the memo to disappear. from court records. When a replacement memo was filed there wasn't any mention of January 6th.

 Then on October 7th the Swedish Royal Academy of Science awarded the Nobel Prize in physics to John Clarke, Michael Devoret, and John Martinis. Thursday Donald Trump reposted this message from his Secretary of Energy, Chris Write. The Secretary wrote, "A former Lawrence Berkeley National Lab scientist won the Nonel Prize in physics for work in Quantum Physics. Quantum computing, along with AI, and Fusion are the three signature Trump science efforts. Trump 47 racks up his first Nobel Prize!" 

 Clarke was the only one of the three to ever work at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. He is British. The experiments the three men won for were designed and performed during 1984 and 1985. 

Obviously when re-writing history one has to act quickly, ruthlessly, and with fanciful panache. It clearly isn't a job for the meek.

But then neither is making sure this country is always run by right wing white guys. 

10-31-25

Sort of Looking Bad

 I have a lawsuit that was doing very well, and when I became President I said, "I'm sort of suing myself. ." I don't know, how do you settle the lawsuit, I'll say give me X dollars, and I don't know what to do with the lawsuit. It sort of looks bad, I'm suing myself, right?

Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America speaking about punitive compensation he is currently seeking from the federal government--the same federal government he is chief executive of. 

Sort of looks bad? One supposes the single most openly corrupt act ever attempted by an American President could be interpreted as, sort of looking bad, although many might consider the observation an understatement of epic proportions. You know, rather like Clyde Barrow saying that knocking over all those banks, sort of looked bad.  

Of course, $230 million, which is the settlement figure being bandied about in the media, is a score bigger than anything ol' Clyde could have ever dreamed of. However, no one has ever accused Donald Trump of thinking small when it comes to scams, or in this case an outright heist. It is what differentiates him from the small time grifters and punks.

This all stems form investigations into Trump's 2016 election campaign, the attempted overturn of the 2020 election, and those classified documents he valued so highly they were stowed away in a spare bathroom. Mr. Trump claims the investigations were malicious political prosecutions directed by the either Joe Biden himself, or dark forces within his administration. (Depending on Trump's mood, on any given day Mr. Biden is either a master criminal--a combination of Vito Corleone and Professor Moriarty, or a senile old man completely controlled by those around him.) He will never acknowledge the Trumpian brand of politics and sense of morality makes Richard Nixon seem like some two-bit teenage vandal. 

The President's lies are so common hardly anyone notices them anymore. Even his, "I'm sort of suing myself," statement is misleading. He isn't suing himself at all. He, as President won't have to pay out anything to himself. That $230 million is coming directly from the American taxpayers. All that needs to happen for the payoff to be successful is either, Deputy Attorney General Todd Bianche, or Associate Attorney General Sam Woodward to give their okay. For those with short memories, Bianche represented Mr. Trump during the investigation of the January 6th insurrection and the documents case. Woodward defended Trump's loyal valet and co-defendant, Walt Nauta in the documents prosecution. 

Some might call such a happy coincidence a conflict of interest. However, no matter how anyone describes it, we all have to agree, the fix is in.

 In order to distract attention away from Trump's broad day light shakedown republicans have begun howling about Biden weaponizing the justice department after taking office. The allegation is the DOJ looked into January 2021 phone records of some GOP senators. This is proof, they say--well, at least Sean Hannity and Ted Cruz say--Biden was attempting to persecute political opposition.

What Hannity and Cruz didn't say, and they want everyone to forget, is that the attempted takeover of the capitol building was the last desperate act to alter the results of the 2020 election. In the months leading up to it all kinds of behind-the-scenes chicanery was taking place. Indeed, it's easy to remember the Proud Boys and others jammed into the hallways chanting things like "Nancy, come out and play," and "Hang Mike Pence." Many forget that prior to the violence, republicans were gathering in back rooms nationwide, naming, "alternate, " electors while lobbying senators to postpone the certification of the national election. Some of those senators were so dedicated to delaying the constitutional process they continued to argue the certification should be put off even after they had run for their lives just hours before. 

After January 6th, taking a look at who certain senators talked to during those chaotic weeks seems pretty reasonable. 

It's the old, yeah, yeah, you did that, so don't bitch about us doing this gambit. That is straight out of Joe Goebbels playbook. But, hey, you've got to say something though, right? After all it's tough to justify your guy looting $230 million from the treasury for personal gain even during the best of times. Right now, it's damn near impossible since his legislation is jacking up the cost of health care and causing a government shut down--one that is about to cut off food assistance to school kids and families in need. It is pretty much the 21st century equivalent of, "Let them eat cake."

Donald Trump told members of the media, "I'm not looking for money. I'd give it to charity or something." 

"Or something," being the key phrase in that statement. Remember this is the same man who at the beginning of the 2016 Presidential campaign told us, "I'm so rich I probably won't even ask for donations." 

Donald Trump lied then. He is lying now. He will lie tomorrow. It is the nature of this peculiar beast. And unlike anything he says, that's the truth.

10-24-25

Apocalypse Not Now: The No Kings Day Protests

 The democrat party's main constituency is made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals.

Karoline Leavitt, United States White House Press Secretary

I encourage you to watch--we call it the hate America Rally--that'll happen Saturday. Let's see who shows up for that. I bet ya see pro-Hamas supporters, I bet you see Antifa-types, I bet ya see the Marxists in full display. The people who don't want to stand and defend the foundational truths of this republic.

United States Representative, Mike Johnson, U.S. Speaker of the House and second in line of Presidential succession. 

Well...fuck. I had no idea I have been a lifelong member of such a dangerous terrorist/alien/criminal organization. I will admit I am an anti-fascist, which is what antifa stands for. However, in my defense, I learned to be this way from my father, who fought the bastards in WWII. 

Be that as it may, on Saturday, Oct. 18th, 2025 many republicans and MAGA types were predicting an apocalypse of sort to occur all across the land. So much so, Virginia Governor, Glenn Youngkin and Texas Governor, Greg Abbott had units of their respective National Guards at the ready to crack down on the expected violence. (Abbott said he had heard those Antifa-types were planning to run amok in Austin. He didn't say who he heard it from, perhaps not wanting to reveal sensitive intelligence sources.) 

Meanwhile, terrorists like myself were receiving texts inviting us to participate in local protests. The texts also explained that in order to take part we had to pledge to obey a few rules about non-violence. One of them being if we did end up in a confrontation with anyone, we were to do all we could, including walk away to de-escalate the situation.      

Given the situation much of the nation braced for the worst when Saturday morning arrived. Presumably that included members of the current administration, although one has to think many of them, including the Big Man himself, were probably hoping for scenes of widespread violence. Let's face it, nothing justifies the use of the military to control the populace quite like images of masked marauders looting vandalized stores and firebombing police cars. 

Then. even though an estimated seven million people showed up nationwide, the apocalypse remained absent. Over 100,000 protesters marched in New York City and police reported 0 arrests related to the demonstration. Austin cops, despite Governor Abbott's dire premonition, also recorded 0 protester arrests. (Begging the question, was Abbott's source of intel some bored University of Texas sophomore who had downed a couple of Shiner Bocks too many?) 

Coverage of the protests showed hundreds, if not thousands of people carrying American flags. Some wore inflated costumes (a fad which began in the allegedly war-ravaged town of Portland, OR) while many sported hand made signs. When marchers were interviewed most spoke of why they were there, their concerns, their fears for the future of their children and grandchildren given the dark direction the nation had taken. The underlying theme was nearly universal. Those seven million souls were in the streets because Donald Trump and his pals are actually the ones, as Speaker Johnson put it, "not standing to defend the foundational truths of this republic." 

MAGA internet influencers were so flummoxed they were reduced to whining about all the, "old white people," Ted Cruz went from posting, "Look at this No Kings rally--there's considerable evidence that George Soros and his network is behind funding these rallies which may well turn into riots," to reportedly writing, "LOL. Boomers gonna boom."  Others began referring to marchers as members of "Grantifa," taking their cue from tee-shirts a few seniors were wearing.

Donald Trump wasn't in Washington during the protests. He had winged his way to Mar a Lago for a get together with donors. His most noteworthy response was an AI generated video which portrayed him piloting a fighter, ala Tom Cruise in the movie, "Top Gun." Just to make sure we all got the imagery Kenny Loggins' tune, "Danger Zone," blared in the background as the President of the United States dropped a massive payload of liquified feces on No Kings demonstrators marching in city streets below. One internet wag responded to the video by writing, "Donald Trump shitting on American cities. How appropriate."

Tragically, such crude nonsense is what passes for Presidential dignity these days. No wonder Mr. Trump enjoys the reputation he so firmly holds on the world stage.  

It is unclear at this time if all that MAGA pre protest fear mongering was an attempt gear up the public for a massive and violent federal crackdown, or a ham-handed attempt to scare potential marchers, especially those brigades of Grantifas, enough to keep them home. Some have speculated people like Leavitt, Johnson, and the rest now exist in a bubble so disconnected from reality they actually believed what they were saying. As one put it, "They've come to believe their own disinformation is the truth." 

Who knows? All that is certain right now is, millions showed up, hardly anyone was arrested, (The highest count might have been the 12 busted in Denver.) and rather than an apocalypse the whole day more closely resembled what George Conway called it--a lovefest.  

Sic Vita Est

10-20-25

The 14 Year Tragedy of Carina Saunders

 14 years and one day ago Animal Welfare workers were searching for stray cats in a weed choked lot behind a supermarket in Bethany, Oklahoma. The town is a small suburb on the west side of Oklahoma City and at the time it had a police department with 31 officers and detectives. It's unclear whether the Animal Control people found any cats that day. What they did find was a duffle bag which had a stench so bad they immediately called the Bethany cops. 

When the authorities opened it up they found most of the rapidly decomposing remains of Carina Saunders. She had been beheaded and dismembered and while some of her parts were missing--and still are--there was enough there to make the ID within a couple of days. She had been 19 years old and was a 2010 graduate of Mustang High School, another suburb to the south and west of the city. 

The local media, both print and television, ran wild with the story. The metro area had never seen anything like it. It was the sort of lurid nastiness people normally associate with cheap, straight to video, horror films. In other words, pure tabloid gold--the bloody car wreck you can't keep staring at.

It became even more so as the details of Saunders' life and gruesome murder were leaked to the media and public over the next few months. How could you not be darkly fascinated with the emerging tale of a pretty young girl who, within a scant few years, went from wanting to be an opera singer to bragging to pals she was going to be a porn star. One who dived so deep into the nether world of drugs and deadly gangs she had, "Kween of Spades," tattooed across her back. (No, the word Spades wasn't spelled out.)

In the ensuing 14 years since her body was found her family have tried to rehabilitate her reputation and theirs. However, at the time of her death it was quite another story. Initial reports said she was last seen by a cousin getting into a blue, or gray SUV near the intersection of I-40 and Rockwell Ave driven by a gray haired man in his 40's. Days passed with no word, but perhaps because of her history of erratic behavior no one in her family thought to report her missing. That happened only after the cousin received a text message from an unknown person saying she would end up being, "buried next Carina." A screen shot of the text message, surprisingly, given what was going to happen later, wasn't released to the media. In fact, at the time, it seemed to get lost in the shuffle of facts and rumors.   

That didn't mean all kinds of other information didn't appear in the media. The Bethany cops took over the investigation because it was where the body parts were found. They roamed the metro, tracking down witnesses and leads all of which they were more than happy to release to local news outlets. Names of suspects, witnesses, informants, plus rumors of suspected murder sites were all made public. It was, it seemed, a never ending cascade of names and places. 

The most horrifying tidbit that was given to the press was that a video of the actual murder might exist. According to the Bethany PD the murderers made the video, which showed Saunders on a table being tortured and dismembered, in order to intimidate the women they were trafficking. Bethany cops claimed they had talked to a woman who claimed to have seen the first few seconds of the nightmare scene. To prove it they gave her name to the media.

As soon as her name hit the newspaper and airwaves the woman denied ever seeing anything or saying she did. Other witnesses whose names were released to the public were quickly in the wind, heading to parts unknown. The video has since become a terribly dark urban legend. If it ever did exist it and the phone it is supposedly on have surely disappeared long ago. 

One of the first, "persons of interest" was Kyle Savage, but after a search of an apartment in a public housing project his name faded from view. Recently however, it has resurfaced with one report indicating he might be the source of the, "I will bury you next to Carina," text to the cousin. Later, Bethany police charged Luis Ruiz and Jimmy Massey with the murder. It was a move that now seems more out of desperation rather than based on evidence. Witnesses were heading for the hills in droves and hard evidence was scant. The charges against both men were later dropped by the Oklahoma County DA. Ruiz, who spent seven months in the county lock up waiting for trial sued the city of Bethany and settled for $50 grand. 

Eventually the Bethany cops, with some strong urging, gave up the investigation and turned it over to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. By the time the OSBI took over it was as cold as the far side of the moon. 

The new information which has come to light in the last few years has been sparse at best. Carina Saunders apparently had entered rehab a little while before she was killed. Her family says she was happy to be straight again, had attended church with them and was eagerly turning her life around. The evidence isn't as hopeful, or as fanciful. Within a few days of leaving rehab, she jumped off the wagon and began staying at a friend's place. The two of them spent time at the Newcastle Casino parking lot on the far south edge of the metro. Reports are they were--depending on market conditions--alternately trying to score or sell drugs for the friend's mother. (Other reports say dear old Mom is now doing time on unrelated charges.) It turned out the casino parking lot, rather than 23rd and Rockwell, was the last place Carina Saunders was seen. Witnesses claim they saw her ignore the advice of others, then climb into a pickup truck which took her away into the darkness. 

After 14 years it is all the general public knows about her unthinkably cruel death. Other than a few years ago when the OSBI dug up the back yard of a rental property in a fruitless search for clues, the headlines have faded. The case remains open, but there doesn't seem to be even a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Given the nature of their business and lifestyles, the perpetrators may no longer be alive. Even if they are, the odds are they are either in prison or have spent time there since then. The reality of that world is the term, "criminal genius," is an oxymoron. 

Carina Saunders would be 33 years old this year. That's just entering the prime of an opera singer's career, but decidedly on the downhill side for a female porn actress. The fact is if she wasn't there already the only next step for her was the needle. That doesn't mean she deserved to be brutally murdered. It also doesn't mean she didn't deserve to have a chance, no matter how slim, to finally start making choices that would save her life. Instead, someone out there, either alive, or deceased, sadistically prevented her from making those choices. 

This 14 year saga remains a mystery to many, but ultimately, it is an absolute tragedy.

  

10-14-25

Breaking Heads and Hearts in Chicago

 You can say many things about the current Trump administration, but you do have to admit that when it comes to creating absolute chaos, they are real pros. Well, what else should we expect from a guy who used to show up as a guest at WWE wrestling extravaganzas and promises to stage a MMA fight at the White House next year.   

The Department of Homeland Security launched, "Operation Midway Blitz," in Chicago during the first part of September. Since then, the situation in the Windy City has been, let's say, fluid.  Or, if you prefer, bat shit crazy.  It is exactly the effect Donald Trump, his bizarre and hateful toady, Stephen Miller, and the head of the DHS, Kristi Noem had hoped for. So much so Trump, taking full advantage of the noise, called up National Guard units from as far away as Texas. They really don't have anything to do yet, except stand around outside federal buildings, but hey, sometimes it's the image that counts.

The Blitz has caused Illinois Governer, JD Pritzker and Chicago Mayor, Brandon Johnson to howl in protest. They also launched legal action to block use of the Guard. The whole ICE and Border Patrol thing is a different animal. Tensions have risen so much that the other day, as Border Patrol agents were being surrounded by an angry crowd (they became enraged after the agents shot a woman who allegedly rammed one of government's vehicles with hers) the Chicago PD was ordered to, "stand down." 

After the incident Trump posted on social media that both Pritzker and Johnson should be investigated, arrested, and thrown in jail because they failed to protect his masked band of merry pranksters. At the same time, the police chief of Broadview, IL, a Chicago suburb, accused ICE and Border Patrol agents of indiscriminately gassing civilians and his own officers who were there to do just that. He also claimed the feds were making so many unnecessary calls to his town's 911 system they were clogging the lines and stretching the resources of his department to the breaking point.  

It doesn't help that ICE is currently interpreting Trump's "worst of the worst," promise as meaning anyone walking down the street who even remotely appears Hispanic. Such was the case with a 53-year-old Hispanic woman who was going to the grocery store the other day. She was confronted by ICE agents on the sidewalk who demanded to know if she was a U.S. citizen. She said yes, but they didn't believe her because, you know, dark hair, eyes, and skin, so off she went to an unknown destination. The incident was recorded on video. When her teenaged daughter saw the recording, she began sobbing unconsolably. 

She wasn't the first. When ICE recently raided an apartment building--using Black Hawk helicopters to prove some sort of point--they pulled everyone, children and infants included, out of bed. They had launched the raid in the middle of the night in order to exploit the element of surprise.  Practically every occupant of the building was cuffed and detained, no matter what their status. A statement released by the DHS later claimed, none of the children were hand cuffed and they were later released to relatives or put in state custody. In other words, see, all we did was pull them from their beds, then order them and their parents out on the street at gunpoint, and finally cart Mom and Dad off into the night. How is that cruel? As a parting gift the agents ransacked the apartments, saying they were searching for, "evidence," and broke out more than a few windows, presumably because it's fun.   

Yes, it seems current ICE policy is a slightly less lethal variant of the old saw which first made the rounds during the Vietnam War: "Kill them all and let God sort them out." 

And while that policy might make Donald Trump and Stephen Miller feel like they have big balls it isn't great public relations campaign. Just ask Kristi Noem. The other day she and some of her boys showed up at a Chicago police station and asked if they could come in to use the restroom facilities. They were told in no uncertain terms, absolutely not. 

Now that's the way to tell someone, get out of town.

We all know where this is going. Donald Trump's increasingly unhinged behavior is going to become worse and worse. Instead of trying to reign him in there are people in the administration who are not just enabling him, but encouraging him to push things further. They might not admit it yet, but it's time to understand many of them can be categorized not so much republican, but rather Christian White Nationalists--despite their complete lack of Christianity. 

We are quickly approaching a moment when election results won't matter anymore. If an outcome isn't to their liking they will, just like they did in 2020, scream fraud and attempt, by any means possible, to deny the will of the voters. However, unlike back then, the ultra-right will have an armed paramilitary--and perhaps units of the American Militia--in place to make sure the real insurrection works. 

What we are seeing in Chicago and other locales isn't Constitutional, legal, and it certainly isn't morally justifiable. It's the equivalent of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers turned loose by Trump's regime to break heads and hearts. 

10-9-25

Troops in the Streets and Russ Vought's Grand Plan

 Over the last few days Donald Trump claimed Portland, OR is, "a war zone," and that over the weekend in Chicago 50 people were murdered. In both instances he has used these apocalyptic visions as his reason for sending in National Guard troops. (Which one supposes is better than Pete Hegseth's idea, which was to send the 82nd Airborne into the Windy City--the idea failed because others convinced Hegseth and presumably Trump the resulting publicity would be overwhelmingly negative.

In the, "Portland war zone," this weekend a total of two protesters were arrested. Over the last few months, depending on who is reporting, somewhere between 28 and 36 people have been busted during protests in front of the local ICE office. In Chicago during the same time, 19 people were shot--way too many, but hardly the Battle of the Bulge--two of them fatally. It's unclear where Trump came up with 50, but the odds are he just made it up. Hey, it's a nice round number and high enough to scare the bejeezus out of white people who don't actually live there. 

If the President is successful--both Oregon and Illinois officials have taken the feds to court over the deployments--that would mean, there are units of National Guard troops preparing to occupy two American cities. They are already in a third, Memphis, TN, which is the only place the state's governor has willingly agreed to it. 

All of the cities mentioned have democratic mayors and large minority populations. And all of them, Memphis included, will vote heavily for democratic candidates in 13 months. Unless of course everyone is in a federal prison camp somewhere, locked down due to martial law, or prevented by the United States military to vote for some other reason Trump's authoritarian cabal comes up with. Indeed, when it comes to rigging elections it's best to begin early and strike often.

As Woody Allen once reportedly said, "It isn't paranoia if they really are out to get you." And increasingly to millions of Americans it is it appears they really are out to get us. 

It is doubtful Donald J. Trump came up with this plan. In fact, it is equally doubtful he has plotted out the mass firing of career federal civil servants so they can be replaced by MAGA loyalists. That doesn't mean he isn't fully on board with it--after all, what better way to prove the size of your cock than declaring martial law--but the Mango Mussolini simply doesn't have the eye for detail required for such undertakings. It is even a stretch to think his bellicose and xenophobic hit man Stephen Miller could handle it. (Let's face it the fucker is too weird. Besides he's best at execution, not planning.) Elon Musk might have been the guy, but his ego was too big for Trump to handle. The stage has to be solely Trump's, no other over cooked hams wanted.

No, Donald Trump has needed a surgeon who can slice and dice behind the scenes and who is smart enough to come up with a coherent plan to render Congress impotent while consolidating all power in the Oval Office. It would seem Trump has settled on his Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought. Vought is the primary contributor to the Heritage Foundation's "Project 2025." That would be the same Project 2025 candidate Donald Trump repeatedly denied knowing anything about during the last presidential election. 

Vought and Trump aren't strangers. The Director held the same position during the first Trump administration. Fortunately, back in those innocent days the President was held in relative check by others who actually understood how the American government works. As we all know too well, Brother Don no longer operates with those constraints. As a result, he has unleashed Vought to erase American democracy as we've known it.   

According to a report by MSN since January, Russ Vought has, "Eliminated hundreds of regulations on the environment, health, transportation, and food and worker safety." He has also stopped the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In addition, he is behind the slashing of foreign aid programs and is pushing for even more. Vought is also attempting to set up a legal battle in the courts to challenge congress' power to decide where and how federal money is to be spent. 

The end game is plain to see. Russ Vought, through the cult of Donald Trump wants to make sure a far-right macho man remains in the White House eternally while Congress is reduced to a symbolic body kept around just for old time's sake. Meanwhile all real power flows from the President and the President alone. The rest of us, every man, woman, and child are on our own no matter what calamity befalls us. 

Yes, it may not matter if Donald Trump is suffering simple cognitive decline, or in the throes of full-blown dementia. Thanks to people like Russ Vought the grand plan to perpetuate right wing power is quickly coming together. When Trump does go, the oligarchy will simply plug in a younger model.   

Ladies and gentlemen, unless there is some meaningful political resistance to this right now, we are, quite decidedly, fucked.

10-6-25

The Latest American Monster, the Government Shuts Down, and Slowly Donald Trump Turned, Step by Step, Inch by Inch...

 I swear by God this holy oath: That I shall render unconditional obedience to the Leader of the German Reich and people, Adolf Hitler, supreme commander of the armed forces, and that as a brave soldier I shall at all times be prepared to give my life for this oath.

The oath required of every member of the German military beginning in 1934--commonly referred to as the, "Hitler Oath."

No, we aren't there yet. But let's face it, it feels like every single day during this regime we edge a little closer toward that fateful moment. Or, as the old Three Stooges bit began, "Slowly I turned, step by step, inch by inch..."

The last few days have been an all too familiar reminder of what 21st century America has become. On Sunday a guy rammed his pickup truck into a Latter-Day Saints church in Grand Blanc, MI. The suspect's name is Thomas Jacob Sanford of nearby, Burton. He was well armed--hey it's America, everyone is--and the truck, festooned with two large U.S. flags, was chock full of explosive devices. He set the church on fire and opened up with a semi-automatic rifle. Four members of the congregation were killed and a fifth remains in critical condition. 

In the immediate aftermath of the nightmare social media wags began playing hysteria filled blame games. Those on the right blamed the, "radical left," and those on the left blamed the, "radical right." Donald Trump posted that the mayhem was, "...another attack on Christians..." hinting that it was inspired by left wing rhetoric. Everybody appeared to ignore the obvious (besides the fact liberals don't usually run around in pickup trucks with American flags flying from the bed) that Thomas Sanford belonged to that uniquely American organization known as, "Bat Shit Crazy Guys With Guns." His only known philosophy, at least at this time, is that he considers all Mormons anti-Christs.

Then last night the government of the United States ran out of funding. The main reason, as usual, depended on who you ask. The cost of American health care is the primary sticking point. Democrats say they won't budge, although a few of them already have. Republicans say pretty much what they always say. "If you can't afford decent health care it's not our fault. You should have been born in Europe." The Trumpster is promising massive furloughs of government workers and possible permanent cutbacks, finishing the job his former pal Elon Musk started. The end result being, at least in the President's mildew ridden mind, is he will have the opportunity to consolidate even more power for himself.

Then we come to the Generals and Admirals who were called into a meeting yesterday. These weren't just Pentagon pencil pushers and analysts. They were field commanders, many of them with 20 plus years of combat leadership experience. They sat in silence as Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense--oops, now the Secretary of War (the SOW?)--explained to them that Defense was too woke of a word, that War had the Machismo he was aiming for. 

The Secretary went on to tell them that all the DEI shit was over and done, there would be no more promotions of women, or minorities unless they were uber qualified. That the Department of War wouldn't tolerate fat Admirals, Generals, or NCOs. He told the officers that they and their men wouldn't have to worry about things like accusations of sexual harassment, or war crimes ever again. That's right, a lean, mean, fighting machine unfettered by any sense of morality when it comes to either an enemy, or itself. Oh, and ladies you might want to rethink any idea you might have had about joining this man's armed forces.

The attempted pep rally caused many commentators to wonder aloud why the whole thing couldn't have been done through emails, or other forms of communications. At least one officer reportedly said, "I flew 8,000 miles for this?" 

Then came the Commander in Chief, Donald J. Trump. He was 20 plus minutes late and seemed taken aback that when he was met with stone cold silence. He even commented that he was used to applause. Then he made a joke about anyone who didn't like what he was saying could leave the room. "Of course," he added, "if you do you'll get demoted." The response was a low ripple of what could be described as cynical chuckles. 

Most of Trump's address was the same old campaign bullshit every American has heard before. Biden was bad, he is good. It included the usual meandering side trips--"I like my signature. A lot of people like my signature. I personally sign all your promotions and commissions. I don't use an auto-pen." He droned on about tariffs and at one point even dragged out the bizarre idea Canada should become part of the United States. As he rambled aimlessly the continued lack of vocal approval and applause seemed to drain him. It was as if we were watching him slowly run out of oxygen.    

Finally, he got to it. He told the United States' most experienced combat leaders that they and their troops would have to become "a major part of fighting, "a war from within." He noted that this enemy from within was a problem that had to be taken care of quickly. He speculated that their troops could use places like, San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles for, "training," before being deployed overseas. He was in fact prepping them for a time in the near future when he would order this audience to break the law--to violate an oath which they, unlike him, actually believe in and live by. Every person in that room had to know it.

Anyone who witnessed the deranged spectacle had to also. 

The President of the United States didn't say who exactly the, "enemy within," was, or is. He did say, however they would be harder to identify because they, "don't wear uniforms." One can hazard a guess though. It doesn't take much. All many of us have to do is look in a mirror. 

Step by step, baby, inch by inch...

10-1-25

Bye-Bye Ryan Walters: We Knew You Too Well

 Never one to think of himself as a small fish, Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Schools, went on FOX national news Wednesday night to announce his resignation. That's right baby, when Ryan Walters does something, it has national ramifications--at least in his own mind. 

According to Walters, he is leaving to become CEO of a right-wing non-profit group, The Teacher Freedom Alliance. Exactly how non-profit it actually is remains a little cloudy. The organization isn't quite a year old and hasn't filed any paperwork with either state, or federal agencies.  What is known is it's affiliated with the Freedom Foundation, which describes itself as a, "conservative think tank." In his announcement Walters said one of his main goals as the CEO will be to, "...destroy the teachers unions." He added, "We have seen teachers unions use money and power to corrupt our schools, to undermine our schools."  

Of course, that was one of Walters' main goals while he was Superintendent, although many have argued, with ample evidence, the head of Oklahoma's public schools chief aim was to destroy public education itself. During his term he failed to destroy the teachers' unions, but when it came to corrupting and undermining public schools, he did a bang-up job all by himself. During his watch the state has now fallen to 50th in education out of 51. (The District of Columbia school system is counted in the rankings.) 

Despite his spectacular lack of success as Superintendent--his bible in every classroom order is still unfulfilled and his mandate requiring districts to report the addresses of pre-teen immigrant students was so odious even Oklahoma's ultra conservative governor railed against it--Walters was considered a rising MAGA star, at least locally. Most of his abbreviated stay in office was spent shamelessly indulging himself in what can only be described as over the top, yet decidedly cheap, performance art. However, the man did know how to blow smoke up asses and make a lot of noise. In 21st century American politics those are two indispensable qualities.      

Up until Wednesday night Ryan Walters was considered a serious player in the 2026 Oklahoma gubernatorial race. His name recognition was through the roof and his bi-polar like behavior--he can go from bellicose bully to self-pitying martyr at the drop of a hat--has a genuine Trumpian feel to it. Not to mention in this state if you are a republican, any sort of republican, winning the GOP primary means you are in. There isn't a democrat currently alive in Oklahoma who can win a state-wide race.  

At the moment the highest profile republican candidate for governor is state Attorney General, Genter Drummond. He knew all too well the political threat Walters presented. He has been taking shots at the Superintendent and current Governor, Kevin Stitt for months now. Stitt is term limited so can't run again, but Drummond won't let anyone forget that Stitt appointed Walters as Secretary of Education back in 2020. The Governor has spent much of his time in the intervening years trying to get the beast he set loose on the public school system back in the cage. 

Then in July came the scandal which might have set all this in motion. During a state board of education meeting a TV in Walters' office was on and two members were stunned to see a couple of naked women on the screen. It wasn't the sort of thing expected from a guy who once demanded every student and teacher in Oklahoma watch a video of him praying. ("You may join me, or watch quietly," he told them.) The shit immediately hit the fan. 

An investigation was launched by the Oklahoma City Police, Sheriff's Department and the local DA. Walters called a news conference and claimed the whole thing was a plot hatched by Governor Stitt. That the board members were liars who should resign immediately. That yea, dark forces were out to stop him and his crusade. 

The investigation found that yes, the TV was on and yes there was female nudity, but it wasn't a porn movie per se, and Walters wasn't at fault. The police said the television had been turned on and automatically went to a default channel. Walters, to this day, still claims the board members were lying and any reporting to the contrary is, "false." Questions remained. The main one being, why the fuck is an elected official watching TV in his office first place? Especially one with a default setting to a cable movie channel featuring imported martial art films and nudity.

Yes, it could well have been that loyalty tests for incoming teachers, or asking the state to buy thousands of bibles from a company Donald Trump is invested in. It might have even been the falling test scores, or all the money he spent on out of state PR firms to make him a national figure. However, it wasn't any of that. What might have ended Ryan Walters political ambitions was an Asian made martial arts flick that had one, or two scenes with, nekkid women in them.

Or, maybe it wasn't. In March of this year--four months before the TV debacle--a state legislator accused the Superintendent of ethics abuse. (Not the first time by any means.) The claim was that he improperly used the Department of Education's official letterhead to publicly applaud and endorse that brand new anti-union group, The Teachers Freedom Alliance. Even Genter Drummond didn't think it was anything at the time. He dismissed the complaint out of hand. 

Was that endorsement a coincidence? Given what happened Wednesday it turns out it might have been a job application. Maybe the whole TV thing was just the final straw for Ryan Walters. During his tenure he burned a lot of political bridges. According to many reports practically everyone at the capitol complex hates his guts. Maybe he knew that even if he did become governor, he'd never be able to get anything done. Maybe he simply got tired of working in a place that wouldn't let him do exactly what he wanted when he wanted, someplace where he had to answer to others. Or--and this is my favorite; it's the romantic in me--maybe he is just another con man who knows when the scam has run its course and is blowing town before he gets nailed for good.

In any event, bye-bye Ryan. We knew you too well. 

9-26-25