Evangelicals and the Sin of Empathy

 On Inauguration Day 2025--after democrats didn't storm the capitol in an attempt to overturn an election they lost--Mariann Budde, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington spoke at an interfaith prayer meeting at the Washington National Cathedral. With President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance sitting in the front row she talked about the importance and value of empathy. Bishop Budde asked Trump and Vance to show mercy to, "vulnerable and fearful communities," such as gays and undocumented immigrants 

Now comes word, via the HuffPost, of a poll taken by a D.C. based group known as the Public Religion Research Institute, (PRRI). It found 84% of Democrats, 70% of Independents, and 53% of republicans feel empathy is positive foundation for society 

Hey, who wouldn't, right? Well how about Protestant Evangelical Christians? The PRRI poll discovered only 42% of Protestant Evangelicals think empathy is a good thing, while 54% believe in their heart of Christian hearts it could be a danger to society in general and specifically to the republic. That's right. The same people who love to praise Jesus and tell us we have to accept him to get to heaven don't really think that whole, feed the hungry and clothe the naked thing he preached is good for America and Americans. 

As the HuffPost notes, this revelation really shouldn't surprise anyone. It reports that shortly after Bishop Budde spoke that day, a guy named Ben Garrett went viral on social media when he posted a photo of the Bishop and wrote, "Do not commit the sin of empathy. This snake is God's enemy and yours too. She hates God and His people. You need to properly hate in response. She is not merely deceived but a deceiver. Your eye shall not pity." 

The HuffPost reports Garrett is a Deacon of an unnamed church in Utah. With a little digging we find Garrett is a 2008 graduate of the University of Mississippi. He began his career and remains a, writer, analyst, and commentator on Ol' Miss football and basketball. He even worked for a bit at FOX Sports and USA Today. Besides covering Rebel football and basketball, Garrett is listed as the Pastor of Refuge Church in Ogden, Utah. He also co-hosts a podcast (doesn't everyone these days) titled, "Haunted Cosmos." One source says, "the podcast explores high Strangeness from a biblical worldview..." 

   Okay, so Ben Garrett isn't exactly Martin Luther, but who is?

The anti-empathy movement didn't just start with Trump 2.0. In its poll report PRRI says in 2019, Reverend Joe Rigney wrote about, "The enticing sin of empathy." The Reverand's main concern was that, "Satan corrupts through compassion." Rigney is the former head of The Bethlehem Seminary in Minneapolis. He resigned in 2023 because of, "a divergence of views between he and the Seminary's governing board on the issue of Christian Nationalism." According to Religion News Service Bethlehem Seminary is an outgrowth of Bethlehem Baptist Church in the Twin Cities. 

This is all wrapped up in the spiritual schizophrenia of Evangelicals. On the one hand they praise the name of Jesus Christ but then ignore his teachings and go right back to the God of the Old Testament who doesn't urge His followers to forgive their enemies, but rather to massacre them. Or as, Franklin Graham put it in a Christmas sermon at the Pentagon, "We know that God loves. But did you know God also hates? Did you know God is also a God of war?" (A quick note to Franklin--according to Homer, Ares, the Greek god of war, backed the Trojans who lost.)  

Of course, it isn't just Evangelical pastors and theologians who don't think much of empathy. Elon Musk went on, "The Joe Rogan Experience," and told the host, "The fundamental weakness of Western Civilization is empathy, the empathy exploit. They're exploiting a bug in Western Civilization, which is the empathy response." It's unclear if he told Rogan this before, or after he gutted USAID with Donald Trump's approval. (Musk called USAID a criminal organization beyond repair.) It was an act that moved Bill Gates to say, "The world's richest man is killing the world's poorest children." 

Yeah Bill, but at least ol' Elon didn't fall prey to, "the fundamental weakness of Western Civilization."'

 I have never claimed to be a theologian and I never will. However, I do consider myself a Christian, although one who is constantly appalled that the title, as it were, has been appropriated by Evangelicals. (Like the good Bishop I'm an Episcopalian.) After seeing the PRRI poll I do have one thing to say though to all those so out there who are so dubious of empathy. 

"Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."

Matthew 7:15

Oh, and something my wife told me a long time ago, "It's God's job to judge people. Our job is to love them." 

Amen to that, now please pass the scotch.

10-27-26

Revisiting the Lost Girls Fifteen Years Later

 Fifteen years ago, three young women in the Oklahoma City area died violent deaths within in a single month that spanned early October and early November. First, on October 13th, the partially dismembered body of 19-year-old Carina Saunders was found in an empty lot behind a suburban Bethany, OK grocery store. Second, on October 28th, Kelsey Bransby, also 19 was found shot in her southwest OKC apartment. Then finally, on November 9th, 17-year-old, Alina Fitzpatrick's nude body was discovered in far eastern Oklahoma City. At the time, while trying to be grimly witty, I dubbed it, "The Autumn of the Lost Girls. "

The death of Ms. Saunders garnered the most press for a couple of reasons. It was the most spectacularly gruesome of the three. Indeed, nothing gets the public engaged like decapitation, missing hands and feet, and a back story which includes an attractive young woman sinking into the dark world of drugs, possible sex trafficking, and savage street gang violence. Not to mention that the Bethany Police Department, who took the lead in the case had decided to conduct their investigation on the front page of the daily newspaper and on the six o'clock news of every television outlet in town. 

The names of witnesses and potential witnesses became public knowledge almost as fast as the Bethany cops talked to them. Rumors and clues grew into lurid urban myth, and the names of suspects came and went. By the time the OSBI--itself not exactly the FBI of Inspector Erskine--was handed the investigation, witnesses were recanting and suspects were being released due to a shocking lack of real evidence. It didn't take long for all of them to head for parts unknown. To this day there is a $50,000 reward for information leading to the unknown killer, or killers of Carina Saunders.

Kelsey Bransby's death resulted from a druggy get together with her friends, Danielle Cooley and Cole Hopper. While stoned, Hopper was fooling around with a handgun when he, accidently shot Ms. Bransby in the face. Instead of sticking around to help, both Hopper and Cooley fled the apartment, leaving their, "friend," to bleed out. In 2024, Cooley, who had previously been listed at the Taft, OK women's facility, was doing time at a DOC locale Oklahoma City. She had been popped once again, this time down in McClain County, and her release date is unknown.

Hopper has been in and out ever since the shooting. In 2024 he stole an RV from a lot in OKC where he had once worked, then led police on a 10-mile chase through Oklahoma City before running the RV off into a drainage ditch. His most recent arrest earned him the dubious title of Career Felon.  The media's list of his crimes began with manslaughter. Kelsey Bransby's name wasn't mentioned.

Alina Fitzpatrick disappeared on November 4h. Her parents immediately reported her missing. (Unlike Saunders' family, who didn't say anything for close to two weeks after she went into the wind.) Her nude body was found on November 9th in a lot by a woman and her adult son who were there taking a look at some land the mother owned. Her body had fresh scrapes and bruises, but, as the OKC police later said, none of them were serious enough to cause her death. There was also what has been described as the remains of a gag stuffed in her mouth. In addition, the state medical examiner discovered an amount of meth in her body that might or might not have proven fatal for a woman her size and age. Her cause of death is officially listed as, "undetermined." The OKC police do not classify it as a homicide, but rather as suspicious. 

One source close to the investigation said the police consider Alina Fitzpatrick's death an overdose and have, "little confidence," it will ever be solved. A few years ago, an anonymous comment in this blog claimed the cops knew who killed Alina Fitzpatrick and that person was in jail on other charges. The comment remains unsubstantiated. 

If they had lived Carina Saunders and Kelsy Bransby would both be 34 years old. Although given her lifestyle the odds of Saunders making it out of her 20s seem remote. (Her family claims she had dreams of becoming an opera singer. Friends said she had bragged about becoming a porn star.) Of the three, Alina Fitzpatrick seemed the most likely to have survived into her 30s and become successful one way or the other. Although, in truth, even she had apparently started teasing fate. (The night she vanished, she was dropped off by friends at an unnamed apartment complex halfway across town from her home. Her phone was turned off a short time later. She had also been complaining of recently receiving disturbing calls from a mysterious man and talked about changing her number.) This year she would have been 32. 

I have been asked why I keep revisiting that terrible autumn. I have no clear answer for it. Perhaps it's because all this occurred right as I started this blog and I was as transfixed as everyone else by the series of ghastly murders--for a few weeks there was talk this burg had a genuine serial killer on its hands. Carina Saunders and Kelsey Brandsby were in in the same high school together, although there was no evidence they ever hung out, or even knew each other. The police were quick to snuff out the theory and Cole Hopper and Danielle Cooley proved them right to do so. 

Maybe I knew that everyone, except families and friends, would soon forget about all about the three victims and the cruel circumstances of their deaths. Americans, after all, like our horror real, but over with quickly. We can probably thank 24-hour news cycles for aiding and abetting our utter lack of an attention span, but it goes beyond that. Most of the time we just get bored of the same crime and names and want to move on to new outrages. Maybe I'm just one of those fading romantics who think, Hey, we need to remember the deaths of these women because we need to remember they existed. No matter how flawed, they were here. They were part of us.

Or as, John Donne put it so eloquently, although decidedly un-PC, a long time ago: 

Any man's death diminishes me, 

Because I am involved with mankind,

And therefore never send to know for who the bell tolls; 

It tolls for thee.  

10-23-26

Desperation, Crude Denigration, and Over the Top Fear Mongering on the GOP Campaign Trail

 Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Thomas P. Tip O'Neill once said, "All politics is local." Donald Trump and the wholly owned subsidiary of The Trump Organization, known as the American republican party, don't really adhere to O'Neill's adage. To them it's more like, "All politics is personal." In other words, rather than tell voters what they have done and will do to improve their lives, it is preferable to call the opposition all sorts of derogatory names and scare the beejeezus out of the base with absolutely crazy shit. 

Indeed, fear and hate are much easier sells than explaining policy and detailing paths forward, especially when you really don't give a rat's ass about anyone but yourself. And let's face it, when you've screwed the pooch as epically as Trump and his band of sycophants have, talking about what you've actually done seems a tad counterproductive. 

This past Saturday organizers put together another round of, "No Kings Day," protests nationwide. On Saturday there were 3,000 No Kings rallies held across all 50 states. While there weren't any official head counts, most estimates put the total number of people participating in the millions. However, the numbers didn't matter to the right-wing propaganda machine at FOX News. On the program, "The Big Weekend Show," panelists were more interested of the demographics of the protesters. FOX contributor and New York Post columnist, Miranda Devine said, "All you have is really baby boomers who are reliving their misspent youth as hippies and protesters, and they have nothing better to do, clearly." 

Then Devine added, "And maybe they don't have any relationships with their grandchildren and children, or maybe they never had children. They just seem like demented elderly people who are very angry and the one thing that really drives them is their complete and utter hatred of Donald Trump." As a coda, Devine described the protests themselves as a, "very ugly look." 

Another panelist, Toni Lahren declared, "Does that really get out the vote when you see a bunch of geriatric grandparents out there with signs about how much they hate Donald Trump?" Lahren's final analysis was, "I know this gets some people out--the people who have not a lot of friends and they need to have something to do on a Saturday."

That's pretty bold, not to mention, ironic talk coming from people defending an 80-year-old guy who looks and sounds pretty fucking demented himself a lot of the time. 

From there we go to a rally in Kansas meant to bolster the struggling campaign of incumbent republican Senator, Roger Marshall. Donald J. Trump, the Big Kahuna himself told the crowd, "If you want to see what is at stake in this election just look at what is happening in France--a once great nation that is being conquered, looted, and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists, and communists who hate Christianity." Then to make sure the rubes were able to connect the dots he told rally-goers, "When you see burning steeples and raging fires in France just remember that is what the radical democrats want to do to America." 

It might be worth noting a couple of things here. First, Marshall's opponent, Adam Hamilton is the senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in a Kansas City suburb--not exactly a typical hangout of jihadists and communists. Second, Kansans might elect a democrat to the U.S. Senate for the first time in over 90 years thanks to the whole, politics is local thing. 

This past Friday, the President told a crowd in Georgia, "I mean we have five states where your child goes off to school as Tim and comes back as Tammy three or four days later. It's true. And teachers--somebody makes a decision." He then said, "Can you imagine? They don't even need approval. It's sick. You'll have five--I think Minnesota and some others--I think its five or six states. You know that, right?"

Anna Arkin of the Minnesota Department of Education told the media the accusation was, "Unequivocally false," although she shouldn't have had to. CNN reports the White House has never provided a single example of such a thing happening and that when asked for proof, other right-wing organizations refused to even respond.  The philosophy, one supposes, being, hey, all we have to do is say it, we don't have to prove it.   

  Yes, the electorate ready to make its decision in two weeks and the Trump owned GOP reeks of desperation. Obviously, they've decided it's time to fall back on the tried and true--crude denigration and over the top fear mongering. Well, why not?  God only knows, it has worked before. 

All of which leads us to another quote from old Tip--one which the GOP and Donald Trump have learned the hard way. "It's easier to run for office than it is to run the office."

Amen, brother.

10-20-26

The American Horror Show Visits Bend, Oregon

 Yesterday out in Bend, Oregon somewhere between 400 and 450 students showed up for classes at Silver Rail Elementary School. A little after one pm so did a 16-year-old kid armed with what is currently being described as a long gun. The type of long gun hasn't been specified yet, although one outlet described it as being a shotgun. Whatever the case, the intruder, faced with locked doors, used his weapon to shoot his way inside. he killed three students, aged 5, 8, and 11 and a teacher. In addition, he shot another student and teacher who are both listed as critically wounded. The gunman was then killed by a man variously being called a bystander and Good Samaritan. 

Does any of that horror show sound familiar? It should. According to Education Week as of Oct. 5th there had been 24 school shootings in the United States. CNN, on the other hand claims that through Sept. 23rd there had been 42. (It keeps changing slightly, depending on the talking head.) The reason for the difference is gruesomely simple. Education Week's stat includes shootings in K-12 schools and only those in which children were either killed or wounded. CNN counts not just Ki-12, but also college campuses and shooting incidents that didn't actually kill or wound anybody. 

So, pick the size of your nightmare, America--it is, all yours no matter which you choose. 

As always, in the immediate aftermath the details are few and far between. (There is a news conference scheduled for this afternoon which will provide a few more, but probably not any definitive answers on why--well, other than the shooter was nuts.) The only things we know right now about the killer are his age and that he lived in Bend. Neither of those two things are surprising. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were seniors at Columbine High School when they opened fire. Nikolas Cruz was 19 when he began pulling the trigger at Marjory Stone Douglas in Parkland, FL. Salvador Ramos was 18 in Uvalde, TX.  Adam Lanza, the oldest of the gruesome bunch, was 20 when he showed up at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT. All of them were locals. 

All we know about the, "Good Samaritan," at the moment, other than he might be a student's dad, is he followed the shooter into the school and killed him. with a handgun. Although, on second thought, one supposes that does prove he is a lot braver than all those fat bellied Texas cops who stood around outside Robb Elementary in Uvalde while young Mr. Ramos continued his murder spree. 

Since it is illegal for a 16-year-old to buy a long gun in Oregon it is safe to assume the killer either stole the murder weapon or one his parents owned it. And since it is the 21st century we can also assume he left some sort of digital record of his grievances either real or imagined and possibly his plans. Unless, like Adam Lanza, he anticipated an electronic search and destroyed the hard drives on his devices. In any event the media has said a search of his home began last night. 

What comes next will be a continuation of post tragedy behavior that's predictable, politically driven, and amazingly short lived. In America our outrage and horror are real but never lasts long. We generally have the attention span and patience of gnats. Some on the left will scream about all the guns. Many on the right will point to the thread bare NRA adage, "Only a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun," and say it was proven at Silver Rail Elementary. Even though in this case the good guy didn't immediately stop the bad guy. That's right, while many may celebrate the abbreviated body count, others are burying their dead babies and beloved family member.  The heroism displayed doesn't ease their pain. Nothing anyone says, has done or will do can.

The truth is that the guns aren't going away. There are simply too many of them and the pro-gun lobby is too strong. The trouble is crazy people aren't going away either. The big question is, how do we keep the two apart. If someone has a suggestion, please put it on the table immediately. And while you do I have second question. Would all the gun aficionados out there who like to cite the second amendment as they oppose any sort of gun ownership restrictions please tell me--exactly which, "well regulated militia," do you serve with? 

10-16-26

Kimberly Guilfoyle's Lesson on the Calvera Principle

 Here are some things we know about Kimberly Guilfoyle. First, the suddenly former U.S. Ambassador to Greece prefers her men to be both rich and famous. She was married to Gavin Newsom for five years, the last two while he was Mayor of San Francisco. She then married the CEO of what has been described as am interior and production design company named, Eric Villency. (Not a name readily recognized which probably explains why it only lasted three years.) Later, she was Donald Trump Jr's main squeeze and fiancée for six. 

Second, she likes to spend money. Anyone who can rack up a $100,000 debt on an American Express Card, apparently without a clue how she is going to pay for it, must. 

Third, when it comes to corruption, she is about as subtle as one of those, Nigerian dudes on the prowl for your bank account number. 

According to various reports, prior to her confirmation hearing in the Senate last year, Guilfoyle contacted Kentucky attorney, Eric Deters pleading with him to cover the 100 grand tab. The Wall Street Journal reports one message read in part, "Honey please I need you to get this done for me today." Deters' initial response was, "I can't do this without getting a divorce." Proving she probably really did owe the money Guilfoyle told him, "You could send it there. It won't show up anywhere if you wire the money to American Express that's all that will show. Please." 

The Washington Times writes Ms. Guilfoyle promised Deters, among other things, to use her connection in the Trump administration to help with the issues he was having with the IRS and the Department of Justice. In addition, she was willing to make sure Deters had access to senior Trump officials on other matters. Other reports say Deters not only wanted help with the tax problems but also wanted her to score him a spot on Tucker Carlson's podcast and to send a song he had written to Kid Rock. Kimberly Guilfoyle's lawyer vehemently denied practically everything Deters has said.  However, there is no denying the message she sent to Deters which in part read, "...one of my guys, Julio is meeting with Billy and or Faulkner for IRS. I can get you in for a meeting on the matter we discussed please get back to me ASAP." 

Once in Greece, the new American Ambassador is reported to have hooked up one way, or another with a Greek lobbyist, Christos Marafatsos. He was at so many high-level meetings with her some foreign officials thought he was her chief of staff.  

All this broke because of Eric Deters. After a series of messages to Guilfoyle wanting to know why she hadn't come through for him--on anything--she responded that he needed to stop writing about their deal, or it would get her fired. Deters then went what is commonly referred to as ape shit. He ran straight to the national media, raging publicly about Guilfoyle's personal treachery. 

The end of the sordid little saga didn't take long. The story broke last week and earlier today it was reported the White House had made Kimberly Guilfoyle the offer she couldn't refuse. Seemingly within minutes she had resigned.

In the original version of the film, The Magnificent Seven, the Mexican bandit, Calvera tells a story about how he once robbed a bank in Texas. "The American government sent, a whole army to get me. A whole army. One little bank. In Texas only Texans can rob banks." The same principle is applicable here. In Trumpistan only Trumps can brazenly sell access to Trump stuff. 

Well, hey, we don't want to sink into anarchy, do we?

10-13-26

Yvonne St. Cyr Wants Her Money Back

Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild.

A tweet by President Donald J. Trump, December 19th, 2020.

Yes, by the 19th of December in 2020 the ceiling was crashing down all around Donald Trump. He had lost the Presidential election a little over a month before and he simply couldn't accept it. He and some of his state level stooges were shopping for a judge who would overturn the election or at least gum up the works so badly there would be utter chaos. Advisors from outside the administration were urging him to seize voting machines and ballots, but his Justice Department would have none of it. Plots to send, "alternate electors," from states he lost were feeble and awash in confusion. His proposal for a second election, a Presidential mulligan as it were, was met with widespread derision. Plus, the Vice President, Mike Pence was balking at tanking the electoral college final tabulation.   

Increasingly, it appeared the only course of action available to Trump was to have his supporters take to the streets on the day of the certification to strong arm both Congress and Pence to overturn the results. 

On the 6th, prior to the violence, Trump told a rowdy crowd of supporters, "...you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong." One of his attorneys, former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, went further. He told the crowd, "Let's have trial by combat."  

Somewhere in the crowd listening to all this was a woman from Idaho named, Yvonne St. Cyr. The tweets and speeches inspired her so much, that she, along with assorted Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, the QAnon Shaman, and other like-minded fans of Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building. It has been reported she entered the building through a broken window. While it is unclear if she was the one who actually broke it out, there is a clear photo of her attempting to help a fellow insurrectionist get in through the empty window frame.   

Thanks to her own phone photos and those of others she was later arrested. She was found guilty of two felony counts of civil disorder and according to NBC News, "several misdemeanors." However, before her sentencing she took to her Facebook live stream and predicted it would never get that far, because "The truth will come out." She also told her audience, "This shit's going to blow up. So just keep watching Tucker (Carlson), keep speaking the truth, keep talking about the corruption, keep sharing, and we will bring the system down." Then, presumably much to her dismay and surprise, the judge gave her 30 months in the slammer, 36 months of supervised probation, and ordered her to pay $2,000 in restitution. 

During her sentencing hearing Ms. St Cyr reminded everyone she had taken an oath to defend the Constitution as a member of the military. In addition, she used her difficult upbringing, and radio frequencies to explain her state of mind and one supposes politics. Then she cited her spiritual journey while insisting the election had been stolen. You know, the normal MAGA stuff. She also accused the judge of hating Donald Trump because, "he wasn't part of the system." She ran on so long--NBC reported her rambling statement lasted 45 minutes--the judge finally told her to, "wrap it up." 

Like everyone else involved in what can accurately called a violent attempt to overthrow a Presidential election and therefore the government of the United States, St. Cyr was pardoned by Donald Trump. One report said that by then she had spent a month in federal prison. 

Well, it turns out a pardon isn't good enough for Yvonne St. Cyr. She also wants her fucking two grand back. This past Tuesday she appeared in a taped interview with the Daily Show's Jordan Klepper.  After admitting she had taken an active part in the attack Klepper looked at her, then said, "And you want your money back? First insurrection's free right? I think that's in the Constitution." 

Undeterred by Klepper's sarcasm St. Cyr claimed the rioters were the real victims on January 6th, saying the aftereffects of the insurrection have been, "devastating."  to her and others. It turns out she isn't the only one who wants a payday. Klepper's report says an unspecified number of insurrectionists are suing the feds, accusing the government of excessive police force. Their claims add up to over $18 million in taxpayer money. 

Despite St. Cyr live streaming from inside the Capitol, at one point she claimed the only reason the government knew she was in the building was because of the, "deep state." She complained that the phone service outside the Capitol was sketchy and also blamed the lack of coverage on the, you guessed it, "deep state."  She said no when Klepper asked her if she wanted to storm the Capitol once more, "for old time's sake," adding that she had changed. Although apparently not that much. When he asked her if she would do it all over again, despite all the alleged pain and suffering, she replied, "Absolutely." 

She also had a warning for Jordan Klepper, who has made a career of, let's say sardonically, interviewing MAGA types. "We will be compensated," she told him. "We will be vindicated. And you will feel like an ass for this interview someday." 

Maybe or maybe not. However, at the moment, that sounds like pretty bold talk from a woman, who once told her internet audience she would never do jail time because, "The spirit has assured me that isn't going to happen." 

10-8-26     

J.D. Vance Rehabs Tricky Dick

 For those of you, like Vice President J.D. Vance, who weren't alive during the Presidency of Richard Nixon, let's have a very brief history lesson. He initially won the White House in 1968. By 1972, when he was running for re-election, his man, Henry Kissinger, was negotiating an end to the war in Vietnam and he had visited the Chinese mainland, ending over two decades of icy silence between the two nations. On the other hand, he was also dressing the ceremonial White House guards in uniforms straight out of the movie, "Prisoner of Zenda," and adding names to, "an enemies list." In addition, he had become obsessed with rooting out people who leaked information to the media and democrats. When the New York Times and later the Washington Post published what was known as the, "Pentagon Papers," Mr. Nixon went wild with rage, even though most of what was exposed happened before he assumed office.

In June of 1972 a group of people who were quickly tied to his re-election campaign were busted in the Watergate complex in Washington D.C. They were attempting to install illegal wiretaps and steal documents at the offices of the Democratic National Committee. It turned out Nixon had previously ordered the FBI to bug other organizations and individuals, but the Bureau had refused because the courts wouldn't allow it. Despite denying any connection to break in, evidence continued to mount that not only was his campaign involved, but so were senior White House staffers and the President himself. 

By August of 1974 the walls were closing in. The list of wrongdoing, bribes, payoffs, and outright criminal behavior was overwhelming. Richard M. Nixon was going to be impeached, convicted, and removed from office. He met with a group of republican Senators, among them the uber right wing, Barry Goldwater. They told him in no uncertain terms he was fucked. On August 9, 1974, Richard M. Nixon became the only President of the United States to resign from office. He was later pardoned of any and all crimes by his successor Gerald Ford and never appeared in court or spent a day in jail. 

Ever since, Dick Nixon has been considered the most corrupt President in American history. 

Last Thursday, J.D. Vance, the current Vice President of the United States, told us we had it all wrong. Speaking at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, CA, Vance said Nixon's Presidency might be, "Enjoying a renaissance and deservedly so." He also claimed that if the Watergate scandal occurred today, "It would be like a 12-hour news story and the idea it took down a Presidency is crazy." 

Then Vance said, "If you look at the story of how the deep state took down Richard Nixon, it's not all that different from what the same groups of people, the same institutions tried to do to Donald Trump in the first Trump administration." 

There it is. It wasn't Nixon's crimes that got him, it was the deep state before it was known as the deep state. It was a conspiracy before conspiracies became more common than snowflakes in Nome. (In 1972--1974 the only widespread conspiracy was who killed John Kennedy.) It was, in fact--despite all those republicans at that meeting--a cabal of radical liberals who caused the downfall. 

Then, J.D. Vance took it one step beyond. " A young Senator, Vice President writes some bestselling books, is hated by the media. It kind of sounds like J.D. Vance. I've always liked Richard Nixon." 

Wait. What? Did a sitting Vice President, a man on the national political stage, who has his eyes on the White House in a scant two years, just compare himself favorably to Richard Nixon, then say he always liked him? Why yes, he had. 

Add them all together and Vance's remarks become the most audacious re-write of recent history since Tucker Carlson claimed the January 6th capitol rioters were nothing more than a bunch of peaceful tourists. Well, either that, or all the acid we dropped in the 60's and 70's finally caught up to us. 

The proverbial weird part is that J. D. Vance may be right about some of it. Trump's in-your-face felonies and authoritarian ambitions makes Nixon's enemies list feel almost naive. Indeed, compared to Donald Trump's proudly overt corruption, Dick Nixon looks like a two-bit teen-aged punk armed with nothing more than can of spray paint. And given the scope of the high crimes and misdemeanors being committed these days, the Watergate break in might well last only a single 12-hour news cycle in 2026.

That doesn't make Richard Nixon innocent, or a victim of some deep state conspiracy. It was a different era. Nixon had followers, Trump has a cult. Nixon was dealing with GOP Senators and House members, who might have been willing to stand behind him to a point, but they weren't a bunch of rank cowards who were terrified of him. Most importantly, republican politicians back in those days ultimately believed in the Constitution and laws of the United States. They actually took their oaths seriously. The grab bag of assholes in congress now, consider the Constitution and law to be whatever Donald Trump says it is--no questions asked. 

J.D. Vance was wrong. Richard Nixon was a crook. It's just that Donald Trump is so spectacularly evil, nowadays ol' Tricky Dick seems downright quaint. 

10-5-26

Eric Schmitt and El Gaffe Grande

 Eric Schmitt was born in suburban St. Louis. After high school he attended Truman State University (Home of the Bulldogs). He then got his law degree from St. Louis University (Go Billikens). And yes, team nicknames are important here, trust me. 

 In 2005 Eric Schmiitt began his political career as a city alderman in Glendale, Missouri. Schmitt rose quickly through the GOP ranks, entering the Missouri state senate in 2009. By 2017 he was the state Treasurer, then in 2019 he became the Missouri state Attorney General. That's when he started to make a name for himself in MAGA world. 

As Attorney General he filed a lawsuit attempting to invalidate the Affordable Care Act. According to Wikipedia, after voters approved an amendment to the state constitution expanding Medicaid coverage, Schmitt argued in front of the Missouri Supreme Court that the republican controlled legislature and GOP Governor could legally refuse go along with expansion. You can't get any more Trumpian than that. In fact, it might have been the exact moment that Eric Schmitt became a genuine made MAGA guy.

To cement his image, during the Covid-19 pandemic Schmitt filed lawsuits against St. Louis County who was trying to implement restrictions on indoor dining and crowd sizes. One of the suits challenged a county wide mask mandate. When the pandemic really began to spin out of control Schmit's office filed a suit against the Chinese government and the Chinese communist party for, among other things, lying about how deadly the disease actually was. After using up $12,000 of the state's money to translate the paperwork into Chinese the federal court dismissed the case. Around the same time, he was going after the reds in Beijing, his office was also suing local school districts and Jefferson County, MO over mask requirements. 

In November 2022, the people of Missouri elected Eric Schmitt to the U.S. Senate by a little over 13 points. To paraphrase a lyric, his future was so bright he had to were shades. (Reports say the optimism in his camp was so prevalent he had even begun jockeying for the second spot on a J.D. Vance Presidential ticket) 

Then, early this week, things went, let's say, a tad awry. 

During the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting the Senator from Missouri appeared to be attempting to establish some sort of conspiracy between Special Persecutor, Jack Smith and Fulton County DA Fani Willis. Smith had been investigating Donald Trump and the entire January 6th coup attempt while at the same time Willis was investigating Trump's not so subtle effort to alter the 2020 election outcome in Georgia. No one is sure how serious Schmitt was about some nefarious collusion between the two--although we know MAGA loves conspiracies, well, except when they implicate Trump. The real reason for the line of questioning seemed to be to catch Jack Smith in a lie. In some quarters this is known as suborning perjury, a felony that will get you five years in the joint. 

Schmitt asked Smith if he had been in Atlanta during the investigations. Smith told the Committee he might have gone through Atlanta's airport while flying back and forth from Wahington to Florida. Schmitt, who had already called the Special Prosecutor a dirtbag, smiled slightly. Then he asked something along the lines of, "Would it surprise you, if we have proof, you were in Atlanta at an Atlanta Hawks game? " Smith was bewildered. One of Schmitt's aides rose with a large poster board showing Smith's texts about having tickets to a Hawks game. There was a problem though. Schmitt and his band of merry pranksters either didn't notice, or didn't care that while the texts mentioned Hawks, none specifically said the Atlanta Hawks, or referred to the city of Atlanta.   

During the ensuing uproar Smith said he did remember going to an Iowa-Maryland woman's basketball game, "around that time." That game was played in College Park, MD and featured then collegiate women's basketball superstar, Catlin Clark. Minnesota democratic Senator Amy Klobachar immediately jumped in to remind everyone Clark's Iowa team was known as the Hawkeyes. What she didn't mention, probably because she didn't have to, is that many times people shorten Hawkeyes into just Hawks. A little later observers noted the seat and row numbers Smith talked about don't exist in Atlanta's State Farm Arena, home of the NBA Hawks. In addition, Smith was accompanied by a couple of U.S. marshals to the game, and the Marshal service had a record of their whereabouts.   

It was a fuck up worthy of a Saturday Night Live bit. Everybody scrambled to cover their asses. When initially confronted about the mistake, Schmitt told TMZ only, "It's my job to ask the question." The implication being it was his staff who screwed the pooch and his only mistake was to believe them. Later he tried to laugh it off by saying, "Who knew Jack Smith was a Caitlin Clark fan?" He also tried to excuse the mistake by insisting the Hawks-Warriors game was the only NBA game being played that night. Actually, there were six NBA games played on the date in question, but by then a lie that lame was minor enough to be shrugged off. Judiciary Committee staffers began claiming they had warned Schmitt's staff the texts were, "unvetted." Others said the White House had provided the flawed information to Schmitt's people. 

Despite the epic goof the right-wing media and online hacks proclaimed the day was a resounding indictment of Jack Smith. Sean Hannity congratulated Schmitt on social media, but then quickly deleted it. Later on his FOX show he praised republican committee members by name, without mentioning Schmitt, for exposing Smith's abuse of power. Others in the online MAGA media simply ignored El Gaffe Grande and told their followers, numbering far too many, Jack Smith had perjured himself. 

Not everyone was trying to sweep the disaster under the rug though. An editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch read in part, "Wrong teams, wrong league, wrong state." It went on to say the whole episode   was, "a loony right-wing conspiracy based on some misunderstood text messages. Falsely accuse a prosecutor of perjury; call him a villain and total dirtbag--and then stand by that playground pejorative even after the whole thing turned out to be a lazy mistake made by Schmitt and his staff..." 

 All that, of course, is the nature of the MAGA beast. Never say you're sorry or admit a mistake. Plow on to the next set of outrageous lies as fast as you can with the firm belief the truth can't catch up and, most importantly, the rubes will buy it all.

I tell you, Herr Goebbels would be proud.

10-2-26

The List of Donald Trump's Political Contributors Just Got Really Long

 It is being reported that the Donald Trump political campaign war chest started off the year 2026 with $300 million. That's not counting the PAC money his fabulously well-to-do pals have kicked in. It is strictly donations from individuals and various entities. In addition, it is estimated Donald Trump, and his family have pocketed not quite $4 billion since his second inauguration. Now, we all know the dollar isn't worth as much as it used to be, even a year ago, but still, that's a lot of fucking money. 

All of which begs a question. Why are the taxpayers, you and me, paying for the latest round of pro Trump political ads running on television? Has that crazed old coot come up with a scheme to embezzle the campaign funds? Is the family fortune stashed somewhere hard to get offshore?  Are the reports of the profits vastly overstated? Or has he gone all Scrooge McDuck and is just so cheap and greedy he'd rather stick us with the tab than pay for them himself? Let's face it, he does have a history of walking into places like ice cream parlors and promising to pay for everyone's meal, then skipping out on the bill. 

Well, according to a White House spokesperson the ads aren't ads at all. "These public service announcements are about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad. The ads are educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country." Later, another White House toady claimed, "The PSAs are clearly not political. The President is not on the ballot, and the ads don't have a call to action." 

What one of them does have is a stern-faced Donald Trump walking down a hall while in the background one of his old speeches is playing. In it he is telling a crowd, "We will cast out the Communists, Marxists, and Fascists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake news media, and we will liberate America from these villains once and for all." 

For those who might have just experienced a dis-orienting moment of Deja vu, no, you aren't going a little off the mental hygene beaten path.  In January 2024, during his third run at the White House, the same video showed up on Trump's Truth Social account. The last six seconds of the original ad contained Trump's campaign logo and a phone number to text in your contribution info. In the new version that was replaced with a message saying, "Paid for by the U.S. government." 

In another, "PSA," Trump denounces communism and socialism while a rolling texts brags about his administration's accomplishments, including, "reigniting American manufacturing." The music used in the ad is a song by JMSN called, "Love Me."  As always, Trump's people failed to get permission to use the song. JMSN, aka, Christian Berishaj, had his lawyers immediately demand that not only the ad be pulled at once, but that Trump and his people never use the song or any of his, "intellectual property," again. 

Yet another ad shows Trump at Mount Rushmore telling the audience, "Never before has any nation celebrated so magnificent a triumph as this one." Not to be a critic, but to the casual onlooker it isn't clear if he was talking about the sculptures, or himself.      

The ads began running on FOX and Newsmax. By this weekend, USA Today reports they appeared on several college and NFL games, FOX News Sunday, and even Saturday Night Live. All of it happening less than 40 days ahead of a midterm election that is skewing heavily toward the democrats.  

Ah yes, clearly not political. 

Senate majority leader, John Thune is quoted by CNN as saying, "It's a great message. I like the message, but it shouldn't have been paid for with taxpayer dollars." Texas lame duck Senator--thank you Donald Trump--John Cornyn was asked if the ads were political. His response was, "It's not even a close question." Democratic Congressman, Jamie Raskin was a tad blunter. On social media he wrote, in part, "It may be a felony..." CNN also quoted one former Trump, "campaign official," who said airing the ads at taxpayer expense was, "Dumb, dumb, dumb beyond belief. These guys are all gonna get subpoenaed. It's gonna be bad." 

While that remains to be seen (Screw John Gotti, Trump is the real Teflon Don) we do know that as far too many of us struggle to buy groceries and fuel, the President of the United States just made us all contributors to his current political campaign--whether we wanted to or not.

But hey, that's what Klepto-Autocrats do. 

9-29-26

Chock Full O' Nuts and Crooks

 You can say a lot of things about the republican party, but you'll never be able to deny that when it comes to finding corrupt and downright bat shit crazy candidates, they know how to do it. Obviously, American democrats can and have done it too--Graham Platner up in Maine comes to mind--but republicans have it honed into a real science.

We all know about the Texas GOP senatorial nominee, Ken Paxton. He is a man so wildly corrupt that when he was serving as the state's Attorney General his own staff ratted him out to the FBI. When there was a move to impeach him from that office, it didn't come from the democrats, but republicans themselves. 

Now word comes that in a 2022 interview he spoke about the Uvalde, TX mass shooting which killed 19 students and two teachers. Paxton was asked by radio host/pastor, Trey Graham what he would say to the parents of all those murdered children to comfort them. His response was, "I would just have to say, if I had the opportunity to talk to the people I'd have to say, look there's always a plan. I believe God has a plan. Life is short no matter what it is. And certainly, we're not going to make sense of, you know, a young child being shot and killed way before their life expectancy."

Ah yes, comforting indeed Mr. Attorney General. 

Out in Colorado, the republican nominee for governor is, Victor Marx. Raw Story reports Mr. Marx recently called for 21 days of fasting and prayer to, "shift ideologies before election day." Not his ideology mind you, but that of his opponent, Phil Weiser and his supporters. Mr. Marx (Has anyone else noticed the irony here? A MAGA republican named, Marx.) claimed, "The election will be determined by prayer." He also says, "It (the election) is a spiritual battle against the forces of wickedness." Raw Story notes, Marx has previously claimed he was, "forced to commit a murder when he was a child," although he has never said who, when, or where. In addition, the candidate maintains he has literally fought with, "demons and supernatural creatures," while performing missionary work. It remains unclear what mode of mortal combat it was. You know, was it guns, knives, or bare knuckles? Maybe karate, or even bull whips, ala Indiana Jones. 

Whatever the case, Raw Story also reports Marx isn't the first MAGA gubernatorial candidate to try praying his way into office. In 2022, Pennsylvania republican, Doug Mastriano urged his supporters to fast and pray for 40 days prior to the election. Previously he had publicly prayed for MAGA to "seize the power," right before Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6th. That didn't work out, at least the way it was originally planned, and Josh Shapiro became Governor of Pennsylvania. So, make of it what you will. 

However, getting back, if only briefly, to our demon slayer, Victor Marx. It is also being reported that the candidate attempted to get around election finance laws by operating a campaign merchandise store through a shell company. It's an act most Colorado experts say is completely illegal. Raw Story says Marx is considered so far out there, some GOP state party officials have resigned rather than support him. 

Finally, we get to Maine Senator, Susan Collins. She has been in the Senate for three decades. She has gained a reputation for moaning and groaning about Donald Trump's crazed policies, but then, in the end, almost always voting for them. Now we might know why. 

On Tuesday ProPublica reported that early in her 2020 re-election bid she was losing in the fundraising department and behind in the polls. The gist of the story is that in exchange for a bunch hefty donations from the executives of a Hawaii based defense contractor, Navatek, Collins made sure the company was awarded millions in DOD contracts. In some quarters this is known as, "pay for play." in others it's known as bribery.  

Collins vehemently denies the allegations and has called it, "clearly a political hit job." The Senator's chief of staff called the allegations, "categorically false." ProPublica stands by the story and maintains Navatek CEO Martin Kao met with a Collins campaign fundraiser and agreed to write out a check in exchange for multi-million-dollar contracts steered their way.  The outlet has a photo of a sizable check made out to a pro-Collins PAC from a company called, "Society of Young Women Scientists and Engineers LLC." The Society was created in November 2019. The Hawaii Department of Commerce lists the, "registered agent," of the company as, you guessed it, Martin Kao. 

The FBI admits it investigated the allegations when they first surfaced in 2020, but after finding nothing dropped it. What they didn't say is that they didn't decide there was nothing until 2025, when Donald Trump began his second term and ordered the case closed. He then made sure all the agents involved were fired--one supposes just to be on the safe side. 

While no one can be sure if there is a connection between Trump's intervention and Collins' bizarre voting record, we do know that when Donald J. Trump does you a favor, he fully expects it to be repaid, with interest. Hey, he might not be a mobster in the traditional sense, but he certainly likes to act like one.     

And that, ladies and gentlemen, sums up the entire 21st century American republican party. From top to bottom, Chock full O' Nuts and Crooks--and sometimes they're both at the same time.

9-25-26

Natalie Harp Pushes the Old Geezer's Big Fat Button

 First things first. A lot of old men are easily triggered when things don't go their way. They have spent decades on this blue ball and when failure strikes it is particularly maddening because they know deep down, they have an ever-shrinking amount of time to, as they say, fight again another day. There are other reasons of course. They mostly fall under the headings of, "things I wanted to do, but never got to," and, "why do I have to take a leak every 45 minutes?" Add them all up and you get what might be called, "the grumpy old man syndrome." 

For the most part this behavior, while a pain in the ass for those stuck having to deal with an old man, is harmless enough. That's because most crotchety old geezers aren't the President of the United States of America. However, as we are all too aware, Donald Trump is and when he goes into an old guy snit it isn't just the family, friends, and nurses he screws with, it's the nation and whole world. 

All of which might explain why Mr. Trump, who was a tad out there even in his prime, has been in a really bad mood the last few days. First, you have the whole mail-in ballot thing. The Supreme Court voted not just no on his postal service election interference scheme, they voted resoundingly NO! It is the only way to describe a 7-2 decision, especially when you thought you owned five of those seven Justices who voted against what you wanted. 

Then there was Kevin Walsh, the chair of the Federal Reserve. Trump appointed him in May and as with all Trump appointees we can assume the Donald expected him to be totally loyal. However, last week instead, of lowering interest rates, like Trump wanted, Walsh raised them by a quarter of one percentage point. The reason cited for the hike was, "stubbornly high inflation," a subject the President wants everyone to be oblivious to in his, "great economy."

The news about the Kennedy Center hasn't gone well either. It has been so frustrating for Trump that he even said he'd tear the building down unless his name went on it out front. It was a threat that lands somewhere between, "If you don't let me play quarterback, I'll take my ball and go home," and, "Make me your partner and I can guarantee this beautiful business of yours won't burn down." According to the Daily Beast, at a recent meeting in the Oval Office the President went off on staff members because they hadn't "publicly praised his attempts to overhaul the Kennedy Center." In fact, the report went on to say that during the meeting Brother Don complained that he wasn't being, "publicly thanked enough by key figures in his administration," for everything he has done. 

Now that's an old man tantrum if there ever was one.

Finally, last week, into this maelstrom of senile rage, frustration, and self-pity stepped, Natalie Harp. To begin with it is hard to explain her presence anywhere near the White House, much less within constant arm's reach of the President. Does she remind Don Trump of the salad days when he used to appear on Howard Stern's show. You know, bragging he was just as brave as any of those guys fighting in Vietnam because of all the unprotected sex he had with strange women? Is she some sort of weird female version of Grigori Rasputin? Whichever the case, she has Trump's ear, not to mention the eyes and maniacal smile of a women capable of boiling bunnies. According to reports, last week, Ms. Harp showed El Don clips of coverage and a graphic from Politico that pushed his big old fat button. 

Within hours the President of the United States summarily banned Politico, MS Now, and CNN from the White House. There were a number of reasons given for the ban, but in the end what they all added up to was, "They keep saying bad things about me."

The three news organizations immediately sued and others, including FOX are boycotting White House coverage, at least for now. Trump, meanwhile, is threatening to ban the New York Times, Washington Post and others for their negative coverage of, well, pretty much everything he says and does. When the President showed up at the U.N. today, he was confronted by a CNN reporter asking him pointed questions about the war with Iran. Trump, seemingly surprised, said something along the lines of, "What are you doing here?" The reporter, Kaitlin Collins responded, "The U.N. invited us, sir."

Oops, a flaw in the plan.

Not to worry though, when it comes to the actual grounds of the White House, our man, Don has promised an alternative to Collins and the rest of her gang of radical leftists. It's extended White House, "news," coverage over Trump TV on the internet. No one is sure if Natalie Harp will be able to pull herself away from the President long enough to provide commentary on current events there. However, we can be assured, that no matter who is doing the reporting, the, "news," will be to Donald Trump's liking and all things will be coming up trimmed in gold and smelling like roses. That's right ladies and gentlemen, as far as this President, is concerned the only news fit to read, hear, and see is news that makes him look good. 

Hey, the first amendment says congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech and the press. It doesn't say Donald John Trump can't.

9-22-26

Charles Haywood: Shampoo, Conditioner, Gel, and Ultra-Right-Wing Politics

 Charles Haywood is a false prophet...and he is infiltrating everything.

Glenn Beck, conservative commentator

 

According to Wikipedia Charles Haywood graduated from the University of Chicago with a law degree, plus a degree from the school of business. In 2005 he founded a company in Indianapolis, called Mansfield-King which manufactured shampoo, hair conditioner, and gels. Apparently, they sold a lot of it. By 2018 the company's reported revenue was well over $34 million. The predicted revenue for 2020 was $50 million, but Haywood sold the place for what we can assume was a boatload of money. 

So, Charlie, now flush with cash, decides to get involved in politics. And not just your run of the mill politics. He named his personal political philosophy, Foundationalism. According to Foundationalism and Charles Haywood the current system of government in the United States is headed for collapse and should be replaced with an authoritarian regime. Haywood doesn't say he wants to run that regime, however he has expressed the desire to become a, "warlord, of an armed patronage network." 

Wikipedia also says the same year he sold his hair care company Charles Haywood founded a quasi-fraternal organization named, the, "Society for American Civic Renewal," or SACR. Since it is fraternal, it is a male only group and membership is by invitation only. The Guardian reports it currently has four, "lodges," three in Idaho and one in Dallas. 

SACR's website says the society wants to, "build thriving communities of free citizens who will rebuild the frontier-conquering spirit of America." They also want to, "counter and conquer the poison of those who rule today," and reject, "modernist philosophies and heresies." At least one of their members, Charlie Haywood himself, steadfastly opposes careers for women and believes women in the workforce should be socially ostracized. In addition, Wikipedia says Haywood, "blames mixed sex education for a lack of male masculinity." 

The Society's logo, which they call, "the mark,"--and you know where this is going don't you--is meant to, in the site's words, "evoke two versions of the Cross used in early Christianity: Saint Peter's Cross and the Anchor Cross."  

That's right, baby--give me some of that old time white/Christian nationalism.

Then, once again, comes the weird part. Charles Haywood, thanks to his big bucks, is a major donor to the Claremont Foundation. in fact, according to conservative commentator and writer, Erick Erickson things have gotten so cozy between Haywood and the Foundation, its current President and CFO are both members of SACR. For those not familiar with right-wing organizations, the Claremont Foundation was created in 1979 as a conservative think tank. It became an early supporter and defender of one Donald J. Trump. The Daily Beast has said it's responsible for, "having done more than any other organization to build a philosophical case for Trump's brand of conservatism." According to Wikipedia the foundation has played significant roles in the Trump administrations and in 2019 Trump awarded it the National Humanities Medal.

In 2020 when the shit hit the fan, John Eastman was a major player in trying to get the election overturned. He is a senior fellow at the Claremont Foundation. (Our pal, Charlie Haywood called the January 6th insurrection an electoral justice protest, but hey, what else would you expect from a guy who has openly admired the way Augusto Pinochet and Francisco Franco dealt with leftists.) 

Erickson wrote an essay accusing Haywood of helping to fund a group that is slowly working its way into different conservative think tanks and church organizations. Wikipedia notes that besides founding SACR and donating to Claremont, Haywood bankrolls The American Conservative magazine. In 2021 he put together what he calls American Moment. It is an organization which recruits, help train, then place jr. staffers in the administration and congress. It then had and one supposes still does have the full backing of none other than J.D. Vance.

To paraphrase an old line, well, isn't that all just special. 

Two days ago, Joel Borkert, a deputy coordinator for the State Department's Bureau of Counter Terrorism told a House subcommittee that left-wing extremism was one of the top three threats to American security. When asked about right-wing extremism by Florida Congressman, Jared Moskowitz, it took a full three minutes of prodding before Borkert would admit that such a thing even existed.

And now, we know why.

9-18-26

When it Comes to the AI Apocalypse, Donald Trump Says Full Speed Ahead

 There is this 27-year-old guy named Jacob Coxon who spent two plus years working for OpenAI. Eary this year he moved over to Anthropic which is another AI developer. The Wall Street Journal reported the reason Coxon made the move was because Anthropic's reputation for safety was better. Not worker safety in the labs, mind you, but in the AI models they are building. Apparently that reputation was undeserved--at least in Jacob Coxon's mind. When he quit last week he wrote a post on social media, which in part read, "Neither company (OpenAI and Anthropic) is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives." 

In another post, Coxon wrote, "The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade." 

That would be the end of this decade. As in the next four years. 

Some might think that seems a little, let's say, overwrought. So, what do other Anthropic employees say--the ones who are still there and haven't quit in a frantic alarmist huff? Evan Hubinger, Anthropic's lead in alignment science is far more optimistic. He told the media the chance of AI wiping out all of humanity in the next decade is only a little more than 10%. Hubinger says the main problem is that Anthropic can't figure out a way to keep a superintelligent system, "aligned," with what human beings want out of it. Another Anthropic developer, Samuel Marks, claims the longer a person works in research labs, the more frightened of AI he, or she becomes. 

Yahoo News reports over 1,000 AI researchers have signed a statement saying they want, "global coordination," on a way to stop AI if it begins to spin out of control. Proving Samuel Marks right, the Wall Street Journal reports, OpenAI lead scientist, Jakub Pachocki wants a, "coordinated AI slowdown backed by government rules." 

People have grown so alarmed--this anxiety was already bubbling, Coxon and the rest just popped the cork on the bottle--now even AI corporate CEOs are advocating for an industry wide development slowdown due to, "safety concerns."   

There is one guy though who isn't buying into all this caution shit. That's right, our man in the White House, Donald Trump wants, full speed ahead on AI. The other day, after being told by OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman things needed to slow down, the President told everyone, in no uncertain terms, where he stands on the issue. On social media he wrote, "The only control or guardrails that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ) PRESIDENT and the U.S.A. has that in spades. We already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies. There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one happy about it is China. WHOEVER WINS AI WINS! We are leading over China, and all others, and will continue to do so. Conspiracy Theorists, Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers, BEWARE!"

While no one, not even Claude, is familiar with the term, "Treasonists," it didn't take long for one of Trump's congressional lap dogs to pick up on his lead. Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson told CNN, "If Congress races in and does some sort of emergency session to try to regulate AI, we will lose this race to China. And that is a threat to every single American. So, we've got to have a chance. We got to have steady hands at the wheel." 

 It is unclear at this time if the Speaker understands that when the Titanic slammed into the iceberg, the general consensus was that the hands at the wheel were steady, but the fucking boat was going too fast.  

So, here we are. Everyone involved in AI development--from the ones actually programming it to those in top management--say we need to at least slow things down until we are sure of what is happening. Or, we need to have the government regulate the bejeezus out of it, so it doesn't turn into a real-life version of Skynet. But, the President of the United States and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who don't know squat about AI, say we don't need anything to keep it under control except Donald Trump's brain.

Is it just me, or does anyone else see the flaw in this plan?

9-15-26

Kevin Stitt and Jeff Starling: The Big Men on Oklahoma's Nuclear Campus

 Back here in Oklahoma, republican Governor, Kevin Stitt is all fired up. Even though he can't run for the seat again thanks to term limits, he has decided he is going to leave his lasting mark on the state. According to reports the U.S. Department of Energy is looking for a place to build what it calls, a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus, or, NLIC. Stitt has made a big push for it and now Oklahoma, along with Utah, Idaho, Tennessee, and Louisiana is a finalist for the grand prize. 

One might reasonably ask, just what is a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus. The Department of Energy's short answer is that it is a center which will fabricate, enrich, and reprocess nuclear fuel. Oh, and dispose of the waste. That would be the sort of waste that can remain dangerously toxic for over 100,000 years, depending on the isotopes involved. 

Oops. No wonder the No wonder the DOE is only considering red states. They're the only ones crazy enough to actually want anything that includes a nuclear waste dump. 

Look at Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment, Jeff Starling, they aren't worried about that shit. Starling breathlessly told one media outlet, "One campus could attract $50 billion worth of investment with capital investment, tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer state and local taxes, tax revenue generated for the state and localities, and then also 25,000 jobs." In other words, the state will rake in a lot of money and there will be more new jobs than people living in places like Wewoka, so don't dwell on that whole waste disposal thing. Besides, none of us will be alive in 100,000 years anyway. 

Since the campus will deploy, "advanced nuclear reactors," there will be the opportunity to greatly increase the production of electric power. Governor Stitt believes all that power production will open up a whole new business opportunity--the construction of nearby data centers. You know, the type of things that use up more than half the water the entire Oklahoma City metro area (17 communities) does in a day. But hey, at least we won't crash the grid. 

There hasn't been any specific site in Oklahoma picked out yet. In fact, at least one report says Stitt would prefer the campus to be scattered among various communities rather than build one colossal complex that is the home to everything. Of course, that still leaves the question of who gets the disposal site, which is the equivalent of the, "Let's Make a Deal," door that, instead of a new car, reveals giant chickens laying the square eggs that glow green. 

Even Kevin Stitt and his boys admit there will be push back from some communities and the tribal nations, not to mention national screaming liberal environmental groups. The plan is to work with the University of Oklahoma to conduct opinion research. In addition, there are also plans in the works to hold town halls and meetings with tribal leaders in order to be, "transparent," about the process. 

What they already know is that research shows four out of five Americans prefer radioactive waste buried underground, the deeper the better, rather than on the surface. In addition, they want it buried close to where it it's processed. They really don't like it hauled around in trucks, or trains that come through their towns. 

While Kevin Stitt and Jeff Starling make their cheery, Chamber of Commerce style pitches, for those of a certain age it sounds eerily familiar.  We still remember all the promises of great jobs and new energy opportunities made by the now non-existent Kerr-McGee Corporation decades ago. They built a nuclear facility just south of Crescent, OK which was decommissioned in 1975. 51 years later crews are still up there, cleaning radioactive material out of the local groundwater. 

Oklahoma City's ABC affiliate reporter, Chantelle Navarro mentioned the Crescent nightmare to Starling who seemingly became incensed. He responded, "First of all, we'll never negotiate away Oklahoma's safety or environmental protections. That will never happen. The other thing is the nuclear industry today is not the nuclear industry 50 years ago. Right? Nuclear reactors themselves are much, much safer. They're advanced small modular reactors." 

Yes, nothing goes wrong these days--well, until it does. It's called, Murphy's Law and no human, or technology in the world can render it null and void. Beyond that, Mr. Secretary--given the Rah-Rah attitude you and the Governor are displaying--when you say you'll never negotiate away Oklahoma's safety and environmental protections, it sounds suspiciously like you already have.

9-8-26

Treasonous Scum, More Biden Excuses, a Vacancy in the Pentagon, and an Armchair Diagnosis From a Shrink

 For the treasonous SCUM that refuses to accurately report on our Military Operation in Iran, we have virtually unlimited amounts of Mid to High Grade Ammunition, far more than we could ever use for this, or any other war(which is highly unlikely!), that could improbably take place. In addition, we are producing Munitions at levels never seen before.

The opening two lines of a recent social media post written by Donald Trump--or maybe Natalie Harp, who knows any more. 

Indeed, who are these scum--these communist sons of bitches? Well, one of the reports Donald Trump was responding to came from The Wall Street Journal. You know, one of the papers owned by Rupert Murdoch, a man who could be described with some accuracy as the, Anti-George Soros.  Last week it reported that the Iran war has depleted, "stocks of key weapons, including Patriot interceptors and other precision-guided munitions. According to the Journal this has raised the concerns of Pentagon officials over the military's readiness to respond to potential conflicts in other areas of the world. 

Then there was a report by Reuters which said the DOD just awarded a new $22.9 billion contract to Raytheon to up its production of Tomahawk missiles from 60 to over 1,000. The increase was directly linked to the supply of Tomahawks dwindling to dangerous levels thanks to the war in Iran. 

Nor to worry though, our man in the White House says all is well, but just in case it isn't. as always, Donald Trump has an excuse. In the same post he wrote, "Also let it be known, that the Biden Administration gave far more Munitions away to Ukraine, at no cost to them, whatsoever, than we have used in Iran. Hundreds of billions of Dollars was given to Ukraine and NATO, free of charge that Europe would have paid for..."

Yeah, Don, but Russia invaded Ukraine.  The war in Iran started only because of your hubris and apparently a smooth con job run by Benjamin Netanyahu. 

As all of this is happening the Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll quit, although CNN reports the resignation has more to do with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth than it does with Trump's war of choice. According to CNN Driscoll believes Hegseth is, "...damaging the Army's efforts to adapt to the modern battlefield." The report says Hegseth (who always keeps his wife close by, because the rumors are she is the only one who can keep him off the sauce) is too focused on culture wars for Driscoll's tastes. In addition, Driscoll was also upset by Hegseth's willingness to get rid of experienced officers just because they don't agree with his vision of what the Army should look like. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Henry Abraham went on a radio show hosted by Dean Obeidallah Wednesday. Abraham is a psychiatrist who admits he hasn't personally examined Donald Trump but says he watches and listens to him carefully. Back in April of this year Abraham, along with other shrinks, signed an open letter saying that Donald Trump should be removed from office because he is mentally unfit. Obeidallah asked him if Trump's condition had changed since the letter was published. The response was, " Yeah, if anything it's worse."

Dr, Abraham citied as red flags the usual suspects. The "tangential speech," "rambling digressions," and "grandiose and delusional beliefs, including posting AI imagery of himself as the Pope, a combat pilot, and Jesus Christ." According to Abraham if airline pilots and neurosurgeons displayed the same symptoms as Donald Trump they wouldn't be allowed anywhere near planes and ORs.   

Abraham, who shared a Nobel Peace Prize back in the 1980's, added, "I think we're in even more danger of Donald Trump using a nuclear weapon in a fit of pique or rage or confusion or poor impulse control than ever before."             

How comforting.

White House spokesperson, Davis Ingle claimed Abrahham is a, "Trump-deranged loser engaging in armchair diagnosis for political purposes." He then said the doc was a "disgrace to the medical profession." Of course, Ingle's job is to say things like that and his Master's degree is in Business Administration. Abraham got his post graduate degree in pediatrics from John Hopkins and served his residency in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. 

Besides, Abraham isn't saying anything different than a lot of us are thinking or saying ourselves. He just has the better credentials--oh and that Nobel Peace Prize Donald Trump tried so hard to buy but couldn't.   

Yes, here we are--waist deep in Iran without a Secretary of the Army, but stuck with a DOD head who is more interested in images than consequences and a Commander in Chief who might be just as nuts as the fictional Air Force General, Jack D. Ripper. 

So, praise the Lord and if there's any left, pass the ammunition.  Hey, who says America isn't great? 

9-4-26

AI Data Centers Say, Feed Us--A Lot

 There are a lot of things Americans don't agree on these days. In fact, many of these disagreements run so deep the prospect of a second Civil War doesn't seem that far-fetched. Of course, some pessimists were also saying the same thing back in the 1960's, but no one actually took the doomsday prediction that seriously.  Then once we got out of Vietnam and ran Nixon out of office, everyone settled down to more reasonable levels of discord. Now, however it feels different. In the 1960's we were all pissed off at each other. Now, we genuinely seem to hate many of our fellow Americans. 

That being said, it is surprising and not just a little refreshing to find an issue that most Americans, no matter their politics, agree on.  It isn't hard to figure out what it is, especially when even the amoral bastards developing it admit it could end life on the planet as we know it.  That's right, even though AI has been described as in what is known as, "the frontier stage," no one trusts it.  Why should we? It feels like every time we turn around there are reports of some AI program creeping out of its, "sandbox," and hacking into a rival system all on its own.

That's just the tip of the AI iceberg though. It isn't what a HAL-9000 might do tomorrow that angers and unites the left and right--at least mostly. It's what it takes to keep AI up and whirring along in their hometowns.  

Indeed, according to an April 2026 Gallup poll, 75% of democrats and 74% of republicans oppose the construction of AI data centers. In an August 2026 RealClearPolitics poll 70% of Americans across the board oppose them. The main concern of those opposing their construction isn't the prospect of AI taking over the world--that came in third. The opposition is rooted more in the here and now, as in the staggering amounts of water and energy being consumed to keep these digital beasts running. 

Copilot Search reports in 2024 data centers in the U.S. ate up 192 terawatt hours of electricity. For those not familiar with the term, a terawatt hour is equal to one trillion of watthours. 192 of them represented 4.7% of all the electricity produced in the United States. Estimates are, that if the AI greed heads get what they want, by 2030--not quite four years from now--data centers will consume up to 15.3% of America's generated electricity. 

Can you say sky rocketing rate hikes? Not to mention possible rolling brown and black outs. 

But wait. As they say on the TV ads, there is more. The same site says a medium-size data center uses up to 110million gallons of water per year to keep it all nice and cool. A hyperscale data center--like the one that is reportedly proposed for Yukon, OK--can use up to 528,000 gallons of water a day. 80% of that water is lost due to evaporation, the other 20% is flushed down the nearest wastewater system.  That sort of usage in this part of the country is simply not sustainable--at least not as long as people are also living here. 

As for the number of jobs added to the community because of a data center, it isn't that many. A medium-sized center typically employs 20 to 30 people. A Hyperscale center employs more, but how many depends on the level of automation and the size of the security staff. In short, any sort of economic growth gained by getting an AI data center next door isn't worth the drain on the power and water resources it creates.

All of which leads us to a rather large and potent case of NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) that unites both political parties. No one wants these things close to them and with the mid-term elections barely two months away they've become a political hot potato. No politician in his or her right mind wants to publicly support their construction. Even the Texas MAGA republican Governor, Greg Abbott is running fast and far from them.   

However, as we all know, there is this one guy who hasn't been his right mind for quite some time. He wants to build the damned things all over the place.  Yesterday, President Donald Trump posted this message on social media: "The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor. If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame." 

Ah yes, that's our man Don--always the diplomat.  

Even Trump's Vice President, J.D. Vance had the brains to acknowledge reality. Yesterday, Vance told the media, "I think probably 99% of the backlash to data centers has come in areas where building a data center means higher utility and electricity for the people on the ground." It is unclear if Mr. Vance understands those, "areas," mean everyone everywhere a data center is built.  But hey, at least he didn't tell millions of American voters, "If you don't embrace data centers, you want to be stupid and broke and it's all your fault," which is exactly what his boss just did. 

Well, what should we expect from a testy old man who has become exasperated by the criticism he constantly gets. After all, he might not have fulfilled all his promises to the millions of rubes who voted for him--or actually any of them--but he certainly has and is to those tech billionaires who sat in the box seats at his second inauguration. 

And let's admit it. To Donald J. Trump, other than himself, they're the only Americans who count.

9-1-26

Going Postal on the Voters

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof, but the Congress at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except for the Places of chusing (sic) Senators. 

Article 1, Section 4, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States of America. 

In other words, the states run all elections and any new federal rules, or regulations effecting elections must come from congress. The President, no matter how much he might want to, doesn't have any constitutional authority to change or regulate elections. That law also goes for the different departments of the executive branch, including the U.S. Postal Service. 

Donald Trump knows that, of course. It's why he tried to bully congress into passing what he called the, "Save America Act." The House did, however the Senate has steadfastly refused to do so. The upper chamber's continued refusal has caused him to--as Kurt Vonnegut once put it--"whirl like a Dervish and speak in Babylonian." 

However, some brilliant legal eagle in the administration (We know it couldn't have been Trump himself) came up with a possible partial work around. Since all absentee ballots have to travel through the mail, just order the postal service to not deliver them. Well, except for Trump's, because he always votes by mail. Or at least he says he does. The man's whole vibe makes it easy to believe he thinks voting itself is beneath him--an act designed for and left to the hoi polloi. Back to the point though. The whole maneuver is meant to gum up the works at the post office. Toss out millions of ballots in order to lower the vote count, reinforce the myth of voter fraud, and discourage people from voting at all. 

Indeed, to be subtle, one must begin to eat away at the foundations first. Lasting kleptocracies aren't built in a day.   

A few days ago, the Supreme Court ruled a lawsuit brought by nearly half the states in the union to stop this postal service boycott of ballot delivery was filed too soon. According to the conservative majority, since the postal service hadn't issued new regulations concerning mail in ballots those states couldn't prove any harm had been done to the voting process. Immediately following the ruling, Postmaster General, David Steiner issued the regulations and surprise, surprise they were everything Donald Trump wanted.  You know, things like pre-election voter lists and envelopes with special bar codes and logos. All of it and more, so postal workers can determine if the ballots are going out to legal voters and presumably coming back from them. 

That's right, if Trump gets his way, the same people who lost our utility payment last month are now going to be in charge of deciding the voter eligibility of tens of millions American citizens. That lost electric bill notwithstanding the postal service has many fine people working for it. However, none of them are trained for this sort of thing and the sheer number of personnel needed for such an endeavor doesn't exist. In short, there is no way they aren't going to fuck this up.

Then last night in Boston, Federal Judge, Indira Talwani ruled the lawsuit by the states, along with some private voting rights groups contending the USPS didn't have the authority to mess with elections would probably succeed.  She slapped a two-week temporary restraining order on the postal department's new voting regulations. 

That 14-day delay is important. Next Friday North Carolina (one of the states suing) begins mailing ballots out to members of the military. The following week other states also start the mail in process. Once the ball starts rolling, as it were, it will be tough to stop without disenfranchising scads of voters and throwing the entire mid-term elections into utter chaos. Although, in truth, to Donald Trump that might work almost as well as not letting millions of people vote in the first place. 

Let's face it, when Donald Trump first entered the White House in January of 2017, he had no clue how the government worked. He seemed perpetually stunned he couldn't do whatever the fuck he wanted to do. He had made the mistake of picking some pros in his administration who reigned him in at times. Some even had the guts to tell him no every now and then. He learned from that. Down in Mar a Lago during the brief exile he plotted to not make the same mistakes again.

The current President's disdain for American democracy is now abetted by a gang of groveling yes-men and women who do and say whatever he wants. At this moment he has gone beyond full bore Benito Mussolini. Between his own delusions and a gaggle of toadies telling him what he wants to hear he is capable of anything. It's doubtful he even believes there will be mass public outrage if he throws an entire American election into complete disarray. The scary part, however, is even if Donald Trump does believe it, at this point, he probably just doesn't give a shit. 

He is, after all, the El Supremo. Hey, just ask him.

8-28-26

Unhealthy Obsessions in the White House

 Okay, the whole Natalie Harp thing just got real creepy really fast. I mean we aren't to the levels of creepy brought to us by Glenn Close in, "Fatal Attraction," and Jessica Walter in, "Play Misty for Me,"--at least not yet. However, it isn't hard to imagine us getting there. After reading the full text of Harp's letters to the President, one analyst said they were more frightening than a death threat. He added, "If someone sent me something like these the first thing I would do is get a restraining order." 

The spectacle began to take a dark turn this past weekend. Someone found a 2023 photo of her desperately chasing after Trump on foot as he and his golf party motor down a golf cart trail. The photo shows the out of office Trump at his Turnberry golf course in the lead followed by two other carts. Then there is Natalie Harp, chugging down the path, arms pumping, eyes squarely on the prize. Behind her are another three or four carts, along with what appears to be a couple of uniformed security guys calmly walking. 

The internet lit up with sarcastic jabs. One dubbed her, "The human printer sprinter," even though that day she was traveling sans printer. Another called her, "Trump's human binky." All of them ignored the stomach-churning fact this was a woman so utterly terrified of being left behind by Donald Trump she was willing to publicly humiliate herself. She knew it too. One of the released letters was written immediately after that trip to Scotland. Amidst the gushing thanks for allowing her to be there and buying her souvenirs there was an apology. Natalie Harp told Donald Trump she hoped she hadn't embarrassed him by wildly pursuing his cart.     

That was the same year she found herself without a seat in a Trump motorcade headed to a New York City courtroom. After a shouting match, which she lost, rather than chase after it on foot--she was no doubt wearing heels that day--she jumped into the trunk of one of the vehicles.

Michael Wolff, a Trump biographer and host of the podcast, "Inside Trump's Head," says he received the letters, which were electronically sent by Harp, from, "concerned," White House staffers. (Although, given the people in this White House, concerned and jealous might be interchangeable terms.)  Wolff claims the President's wife, Melania refuses to appear with him publicly if Natalie Harp is around. Wolff says it's the main reason their joint public appearances have become rare. By his account they numbered 47, or so last year and 38 this one.

As for the letters themselves, they are peppered with randomly capitalized words (sound familiar?) and filled with sickly sweet devotionals. In addition, there are heavy doses of profuse apologies and self-pity. In short, they are an embarrassing, maudlin, mess. The words and tone come from a woman so frantic to hold on to her dream she has driven herself to the edge of the abyss.

In an August 18th interview with CNN's Erin Burnett, Natalie Harp's brother, Preston said her fixation on the Presidency began when she was 16. She wrote at least one letter to then President George W. Bush during the Iraq war. It's unknown if she ever received a response. He described her job in the administration as Trump's top aide, "Her dream come true finally." He also said her relationship with the President of the United States is, "An unhealthy obsession." 

Oh, you think, Preston? 

You don't need to be a psychiatrist--or even a screenwriter--to see this isn't going to end well. We know it won't for Natalie Harp. The real question is, when she does shatter, how many others will get hit by the flying glass.

8-24-26   

Natalie Harp: Executive Assistant or International Woman of Mystery?

 Symbiotic: relating to or marked by symbiosis: Characterized by living in or being a close physical association (as in mutualism or commensalism) between two or more dissimilar organisms.

Meriam Webster Dictionary

Symbiotic is perhaps the only way to describe the relationship between President Donald Trump and his, "executive assistant," Natalie Harp. Svengali doesn't really apply because that's a one-way sort of deal. Rasputin is also a flawed comparison since the mad monk was credited with healing the Tsar's only son of hemophilia.  He also might have been boinking the Tsarina while the Emperor of Russia was out destroying his army on the Eastern front during WWI.  

No one has ever said Natalie Harp and Big Don are having carnal relations, although GA. Senator Jon Ossoff subtly hinted at it the other day during a campaign rally. While attacking the President, Ossoff said, Trump would rather, "travel with Natalie," than do his job. 

Don does like to keep Natalie Harp close. When the AirForce One switcharoo episode took place in Turkey, the President took Ms. Harp with him on the catering truck to the backup plane. The rest of his aides and media members remained on board what had become the decoy aircraft. Journalist, Alex Isenstadt reported that one night Trump's wife Melania found her in the President's private quarters, "delivering papers." Harp has even been seen accompanying El Donald during his frequent rounds of golf. Because she knows he prefers to read hard copies of nice things said about him on social media and other internet locales, she always carries a portable printer with her. It's a habit that has earned her the nickname, "The human printer." 

Her devotion to the Donald seems to know no bounds. CNN reported she once stowed away in the back of a vehicle in a Trump motorcade so she wouldn't be left behind. Letters from her to the President have included the lines, "You are all matters to me," and "I want to bring you joy." When it comes to Donald Trump, other aides have claimed his unswerving codependence with her began when she decided to stick with him after the failed coup of January 6th 2021.  After he left office, she briefly worked for One America News Network, pushing the myth that Trump was cheated out of the White House in 2020, 

Natalie Harp has been the Big Man's, executive assistant since day one of his second term. One journalist described her as, "Donald Trump's gatekeeper. She also has control of his Truth Social account. It's been reported she is the one who came up with picturing the Obamas as apes in one post. And despite her reported fundamentalist Christian faith, she is the person who decided it would be a good idea to portray Donald Trump as Jesus Christ in another. A second media member claimed she is a, "conduit for and an instant enabler of Trump's impulses.

Ah, young love. (Trust me, to a guy Trump's age, a 35-year-old woman is young.)

All of which brings us to that weird part once again. MS NOW reports that Natalie Harp, the President's gatekeeper, the one aide he took with him off the decoy plane, refused to allow anyone to run a security check on her for over a year. That's right, the woman spending late nights with the President, helping him post social media rants could have been, at least as far as the Secret Service knew, really named, Natasha Fatale. Indeed, instead of graduating from Point Loma Nazarene University she might have gotten her degree from Moscow State--and no, not the Moscow in Idaho. How Don's girl got away with this is unclear.  The network also reported that objections from other aides and security officials finally got so loud, the President had to personally intervene to get her to submit to a background check--which the White House says she passed.  

According to her Wikipedia page, Natalie Harp (no middle name is given, although other sources say it is Joy.) was born sometime in 1991. The month and date aren't listed and no one seems to really know. Wikipedia says her father, who isn't named on the page, committed suicide in 2020. Her mother is not mentioned at all. One assumes her academic career can be verified. Besides graduating from Point Loma Nazarene, the page says she received her MBA from Liberty University. Other than her brief stint with OANN her entire professional life has been directly connected to Donald J. Trump.

Does anyone else think this whole relationship sounds pretty twisted, not to mention a tad suspicious? Are we talking about a woman with an unhealthy fixation on Donald Trump (At the 2020 republican convention she compared her billionaire keeper to Jimmy Stewart's character, George Bailey, in the film, "It's a Wonderful Life.")? Or are we talking about a woman with a murky past who has wormed her way into the President's innermost circle for nefarious purposes? 

Hey, this is the era of Great Conspiracies. Why not have one more to ponder over gin and tonics on hot summer afternoons?   

Rest Easy America. Donald Trump is at the helm, and Natalie Harp is at his side--constantly. I mean really, really constantly.  

8-20-26

The Long Voyage of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln

 A Nation's Strength

The motto of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, CVN-72

Well, if some media reports are true, the nation's strength is in dire need of some, to borrow an ancient line, "pumping up." Or at least more than a little rejuvenation--perhaps even a new trainer in the gym. 

Of course, one can only imagine how draining nine months at sea--over half of it in either in actual combat, or combat alert situations and none of it ashore--can be. Reports of deteriorating morale, dwindling food supplies, and poor sanitation have come from the families of the crew and supposedly some crew members themselves. At least one man has gone overboard, on purpose, while others are said to have attempted to, and still others have told loved ones they are contemplating it.

All this aboard a nuclear-powered behemoth which carries over 5,500 personnel when the air wing is there. It leads one to wonder what the conditions are on the Abraham Lincoln's smaller escort ships. (If the crew on a boat the size of the Lincoln is going nuts, how much fun can the crew on a navy frigate be having?)

The Pentagon has refuted the claims, or at least most of them. Some craziness at sea is always present they say. The crew of the Abraham Lincoln hasn't displayed any more of it than usual.  Not only that, but mental health professionals are always aboard and available to crew members who seek help. In addition, for those in need of spiritual assistance there are chaplains representing various faiths and traditions. There are also TVs in the crew's quarters showing movies and even weight rooms to work out those frustrations and the stress. 

All of which is fine and good, but none of it gets you off that fucking boat. Not even for a day.

I'll be the first to admit, that like the current Commander in Chief, I have no naval experience. However, my son, was deployed twice on the carrier, Theodore Roosevelt during the 1990's. One of his letters home started off with the line, "It was pretty boring until we started bombing." (The Serbians had gone a little funny in their heads back then.) His deployments were six months each. Despite the bombing, they included multiple shore leaves everywhere from Spain, to France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, and the Emirates. Even with those stops, he said by the time the six months had passed, everyone on board was sick and tired of each other. 

When asked about life on a navy ship he recently said, "Some of those guys don't see daylight for a while." He said some of shifts on board, "...are12 hours on, 12 off. Some are eight on and eight off. Divisions are different." He was perplexed by the reports of clogged toilets and moldy showers, saying they always had cleaning and maintenance details working, but then added, "I've been out since '97, that was a lifetime ago." 

The major problem the crew of the Lincoln and her support ships have is that there isn't anywhere in the region they can safely put into. Despite the swaggering braggadocio of the President and his Secretary of Defense/War, Iran's military is still actively blowing shit up all over the place. Any American ship in an area port has made itself a sitting duck. Not only that, but there is no end to the madness in sight. Hegseth is yammering on about an indefinite blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. When asked if the Abraham Lincoln had been deployed for too long, Donald Trump's answer was, "No, no, no. Not nearly long enough." 

Way to boost morale, Mr. President. You should put that on a recruiting poster.

The good news is the George Washington carrier group is on its way to relieve the Lincon's. In other words, despite all the cheery chatter that everything is fine, the Pentagon is admitting the men and women of the Abraham Lincoln need to come home. The bad news is, given the insanity and incompetence of the American Commander in Chief, the crew and flight wing of the George Washington are in for an extended, non-stop, cruise around the Arabian Sea.  

My kid, the old salt that he is, doesn't think some of the things on board the Abraham Lincoln are as bad as the press would have us believe. However, he is sure of one thing. When it comes to a nine-month deployment at sea with limited or no shore leave he said simply, "It would be miserable."

Yes, war is hell. Unless, of course, you're the guy saying, "No, no, no. Not nearly long enough."       

8-17-26