At the end, Heather notes Donald posing with King Charles -- White House caption: "Two Kings."
Let's look a bit further, at some remarkable words the UK’s King Charles reminded his former colonials at the U.S. Congress.
He said, "Words matter."
So, if indeed words matter, I'd like to take the opportunity to ask: why do all still call the DOJ by its former aptly honorable name, the Department of Justice?
All know it’s abandoned its honor. Today instead it follows only wannabe U.S. monarch Donald’s campaigns for his vengeful retributions. It covers up the years’-long rape, pedophilia, and worse by his billionaire pals. It protects its own cold-blooded murderers of Renée Good and Alex Pretti. It rewards convicted criminals such as Ghislaine Maxwell for her lying to protect fellow criminal Donald. It lets the drunken Kash Patel fly his girlfriend in U.S. taxpayer funded jets.
Why don’t we acknowledge King Charles’ decency? Why don’t media outlets vary other terms for what’s now only a department of continuous obscenity?
About the Department of Just Us and James Comey: Heather is right, "86 means to get rid of something". The normal and legal way to get rid of a president is by impeachment. That should be all that Comey needs to say.
Why in hell were democrats so stupid to allow this is anyone’s guess. We stumbled and tripped. We surrendered our democracy to nincompoops and this has opened the destruction of the world. Why? I sometimes think the Democratic Party went wrong when they opened up primaries to allow the voters to decide the candidate. I know it’s counterintuitive but if party bosses mostly picked candidates that likely had good leadership ability and viability at the polls, we might have had more democratic continuity. We would have a Supreme Court populated by those looking out for the interests of the people.
Sometimes when the wagon isn’t broken, stop trying to fix it.
So you want to stop the practice of allowing voters to pick candidates? Isn't that functionally un-democratic? I don't want party bosses picking for me.
I agree. More the case, both parties have structural flaws with their foundations and buildings can't stand on weak foundations. Washington speak is not American speak. When political leaders have the best benefits in the world, they lose a core understanding of the struggle Americans are enduring. It goes beyond words and empathy, it is the lack of personal struggle.
Your point sounds good, but in practice what tends to happen -- maybe in both parties -- is this: people with more extreme views tend to vote in primaries, so we end up with candidates who are increasingly less electable in the general.
Laurie, as a retired teacher, I can tell you that our children do want to know things, particularly about our history and how we got to be where we are. I read our Declaration of Independence and Constitution with some 7th and 8th graders last year and they really enjoyed it and had great questions, the most important one, "did Trump ever READ the Constitution?" We do need civics classes, but it is going to take a state-wide pronouncement in each state to get that subject reintroduced and some good classes for teachers to teach it with excitement and weight with some humor and fun tossed in regularly.
Agreed, basic civics, history and critical thinking skills. A vote for Trump is proof, IMO, that that person does not think critically. A Trump voter admitted to me the other day that I was right - about Trump. I asked: 'You knew that he tried and failed at an insurrection on 1-6-2021. What did you think he would do if he gained even more power?" No response. No critical thinking skills.
"Why in hell were democrats so stupid to allow this is anyone’s guess." What an incredibly unhelpful and oversimplified assessment of our current situation!
Bill, I also thouight about the fact that before primaries the likes of a trump could never have been elected. The level of distruction that Americans voted for. Will we ever recover?
The problem boils down to the level of education in the general electorate. The lack of critical thinking skills, the lack of ability to suss out the truth of a thing from basic principles. So many just want to be spoon fed. They believe what they are told and don't question their beliefs. In other words, they can think, but they don't think about their thinking.
If we want self-governance to work, we need to heal our society. We need to stop abusing so many of our babies, as such abuse, left unhealed, leads to life-long emotional and physical disability. Then we need to educate our kids to be able to think and analyze for themselves, to be able to analyze data and ascertain the reliability of the data, and to question the veracity of their conclusions.
We have a big job ahead if we're to turn this disaster around.
Good Grief! Another freakin’ committee to add another layer between VOTERS and candidates? It’s bad enuf that we have the antiquated electoral college. No! Just no!
"the government announced ..."(no, the Administration did) "
Fox "News" (no such thing)
"mainstream media" (corporate media)"
so many...
Words are POWERFUL, and the RICH know how to subvert them, usually by paying massive amounts to PR agents and academics from their bottomless coffers... to hone their Often Subtle goal post moving, reality blurring, divisive, hate mongering and of course, Orwellian,
Destruction of our minds.
Attack REPUBLICANS as a whole. They march in Lockstep.
Attack Democrats Individually, when they truly deserve it.
Like Swalwell, who is a predator.
(btw he was ousted days. Repo Gonzales was Protected for 2 yrs)
We can investigate a possible Cover Up of Swalwell
AFTER WE WIN.
*Why don't Dems vote often enough? Because the very thing that makes them Democrats
- normal, human empathy -
also makes them Mad when they see suffering continue or worsen.
Mad not just at the politicians they blame, but also at Themselves,
for electing the people who aren't doing enough for those who need it.
Dem voters say things like "I could never vote for them because":
they voted for that budget that cut ____;
they voted against that bill.
they said ____ instead of _____.
they funded the DOD.
" " new oil leases.
" " a pipeline.
" " the police.
" " the farm bill that included glyphosate.
" " a group that bombed a Yemeni school bus
a genocide.
Each of those votes are true. Democrats have been funding Oil & the Military Industrial Complex (same same) since it began its exponential growth after WWII.
Their districts and states became dependent on those jobs, even before the Repo Robert's Court passed Citizens United to unleash corruption of elections by the Haves (all according to The Mandate.)
Republicans have been funding the same MIC, AND destroying, piece by piece, all the checks and balances built by Democrats,
to restrain it,
for even Longer. They've been trying to get rid of the great New Deal programs set up by FDR, Eleanor and Frances Perkins since the 1933 failed Wall St. Putsch.
Republicans are Owned by War Barons, multiple generations, growing their exclusive, secretive clubs. The Bohemian Grove. Opus Dei. The CIA. Skull & Bones. The Family. ALEC. Heritage Foundation. The Kochtopus and its hundreds of astroturfed think tanks, moms groups, Log Cabin Republicans, militias, Christian Organizations, ... So Much Money to Spend.
Yes, the DNC was outspent, out thinked, out played. Often bought.
Beyond just DINOs like Manchin, Sinema, Fetterman, Cuellar, ... it's a long history... Because where does the money flow?
To the Republicans. So how do Democrats survive at All?
"Compromise" - beyond what politics demands.
And Dem Voters much too often, and because they are Manipulated into splintered groups, vote on An Issue.
My line was always abortion, but that was easy because I never had to vote for the "less evil" Republican. Or a Cuellar.
Democrats too often vote from Their Heart. Their Own Personal Angst.
This Does Not Serve The Greater GOOD. Never has. Never will.
A vote is a Chess Move, not a Valentine.
I saw that somewhere, and I believe it bears repeating. Because the angst of our tax dollars being used to Bomb Babies is not new to me. I was born in 1960.
My first serious attempt at a drawing was of "the napalm girl."
I've lost count of the number of times I've had to hold my nose, and break my own heart, to vote for the lesser Evil.
(I moved to Topanga, CA, and Still my progressive candidates in state and fed offices lose. But I can at least Vote for them. This June, probably not.
Katie Porter is the ONLY woman now running for CA Gov. The Only candidate Not taking $$ from a pac, or corporation. The only all around Progressive candidate (Steyer may be great on Climate Change, but so is Porter. Steyer is Very Old, and way to accustomed to wielding power like a CEO, Not a Governor. One of Becerra was an "also ran" and was barely campaigning. One of first donations was from Chevron...) So who did the DNC give the Swalwell money & Limelight to? Beccerra.
Porter once snapped at a staffer and dropped an F bomb. She always walked away from an obnoxious reporter.
GOP, DNC, corporate media, all the Banksters like Dimon who'd been impaled on her white board, and probably Swalwell and Steyer, plus a slew of putii/kim/xi bots,
canceled her over and Over and it has never been missing from the comments on instagram Whenever her name is mentioned.
Because the Warligarchy, the Broligarchy, Fears Strong Women more than any thing on earth.
And when the EVIL is From the RIGHT, even tho it has captured some DEMS in the middle, I simply cannot stop shouting
VOTE BLUE!
or if you're Sure they can win against a Fascist,
better than Blue.
*I have NEVER wanted to pay taxes, in 50 years, because I Always Knew that the income taxes (not incl. SS, EDD or Medicare)
Most Americans were justifiably Enraged and Disgusted by Democrats who continued voting for More Offensive Weapons to Israel after the white phosphorus (produced by Bayer, btw) and Bunker Bombs were dropped on civilians, children, over and over.
But did anyone hear "Why are ALL the REPUBLICANS who Control Congress Asking for Even More Funding for Israel?
NO. We Always Turn the Firing Squad on Ourselves.
ugh. I've obviously gone on too long again.
I predict that the Warligarchy, and Israel, will once again win in November, because
Perfection is the enemy of progress.
And sadly there seems to be an immutable connection between Empathy and a belief in the Lie of Perfection.
A king had to fly in to explain democracy to us. Charles — hereditary monarch, not one vote ever cast in his name — stood before a Congress busy handing its power away and reminded them, with impeccable courtesy, what they swore to protect. A man who inherited his throne. The only adult in the room. The room didn't notice.
Harvey, one of the interesting comments on his speech came from one of my husband's Lakota cousins who refers to British monarchs as Colonizers and generally has no use for them. Much to my amazement, she liked his speech and complimented him. Also I bet that Ds in the room noticed what he was saying.
Jay- Jay, I'm sure there were some squirming in their seats as King Charles III was speaking. Somebody had to have locked up the turnip's phone & computer to keep him from making stupid remarks about Charles.
As HCR pointed out in her chat this past Thursday, and as it is common knowledge, King Charles III is passionate about the environment and climate change. I just wonder whether he had any private conversations with the Trumpster about that.
I customarily agree with you, Linda - but the Kings and Queens of the UK have no real political power -- sure, they have influence - but they are not the government. They are a cultural artifact that many people are extraordinarily fond of. I lived in England and Wales for 10+ years and saw and felt that. They are also a huge tourist draw. Totally anachronistic I agree but King Charles has done many good things for the country and any comparison with Trump and Trump's ambitions is a big stretch in my view.
lauriemcf, I agree with your view. I am an Anglophile and see many memes from England on a daily basis. Right now many speak of missing ERII among other things. One of them also posted the menu for the state dinner. I was glad to note one of the wines was from Oregon. I might also add that the Brits tried to end the monarchy once and we know how that went.
Royalty has a place in a society that uses it and has used it for centuries. Today, in most countries with royalty, a royal family brings together a society that would otherwise be torn apart, as in America.
NO KINGS means NO KINGS! I am against the concept of monarchy, and if it truly brings together a society, which I do not believe it does, then more's the pity. It has no place in an egalitarian society. Read "America Last" by Jacob Heilbrunn and see how through the last century those who were in love with the monarchies of other countries also embraced their fascists. It is elitist, and as such has no place in the USA. I am in a country that got rid of their monarchy. While there are those who still use titles such as prince, it confers no legal status on them. They are just clinging to a relic of the past.
Okay. And I would agree, royalty doesn't work for Americans. But it does work for other societies and cultures. And no, those who respect a monarch as a symbol of their culture do not embrace fascists. If the people of these societies want a monarch, why should you deny it to them? Those who don't want one can, in almost all cases, be free of a monarchy. Look at how Australia and Canada conduct their daily lives.
Julius I agree with you, monarchy has evolved to the point where it represents continuity and years of learning. I think both the visit of Charles to Canada last year and this visit to US now demonstrates the value of that. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater concept. I don’t think absolute monarchy as it was has any place in the modern world (eg Saudi, Qatar, UAE). Any form of absolute power is something to be resisted too (Russia, behaviour of current US administration etc).
The problem in 18th century America wasn't the king. It was that the colonizers who were massively murdering the local people weren't represented in the British parliament and therefore had no say over what taxes their parliament would impose on them.
The problem had never anything to do with kind or no king. It was a problem of "taxation without representation".
Linda, yes, your current country "got rid of their monarchy" but was also witness to the rise of the most treacherous dictator in the 20th century. Are you so certain that it couldn't happen again? Because after watching the rise of the Le Pens in France over the past 25 years, I am not so certain.
Linda, I posted my comment before reading any this morning, and you and I seem to be the only ones (thus far) that are not royalty fans.
I am SO SICK of the "tourist" argument for continuing to support a bunch of (imho) inbred rich people who have inherited their enormous wealth and status merely because of the penis they were shot out of. The Taj Mahal is a tourist attraction which brings in plenty of visitors, but (correct this ignorance if I am wrong) NOBODY is going there to see it because of the resident.
Absurd. The UK is a constitutional democracy, so "the people" voted FOR a monarchy. As do many other modern Western democracies.
And look, the US is not a monarchy but a republic, and it's in the US that things are going terribly wrong today, with fascism being installed, while in the UK, democracy continues to thrive.
The problem in the US is the incredibly high political illiteracy of its citizens, both left and right.
Exactly. It's also why many democracies never allow citizens to vote in the primaries in the first place. It's the party leaders who know who truly has the capacity to govern, quite often, while citizens, especially in today's consumerist and hyperindividualistic climate, tend to vote for anyone who comes across as "charismatic".
Charisma is NOT a required quality in an outstanding leader. Competence, interest in studying complex issues and their history, the ability to negotiate compromises diplomatically, and a strong moral compass are key qualities.
Anyone who wants to can create a pro-republic political party, and with enough support from the people, change the Constitution and abolish the monarchy. Until now, no one was interested in doing so.
The end of the absolutist monarchy in the UK was already launched in the Middle Ages with the Magna Carta. This is why the UK had quite a powerful legislative branch of government already in the 18th century. It's just that the colonizers of the Americas never had any official representation, which obviously, over time, couldn't but become a problem.
Linda, as lauriemcf notes, I almost always agree with you, and I partially agree with your comment here. I am perplexed by the apparent universal public approval of Charles as some exemplar of morality. The public has a short memory.
Charles cheated on Diana with Camilla for the entirety of his marriage to Diana, which caused her no end of anguish, and indirectly, the premature end of her life. He is no more virtuous than his brother. Whatever good deeds he has done are likely self-imposed penance for his wrongs.
As regards the wealth of the Royal Family, I think it's a stretch to say it was "stolen." As described in the linked overview, the royals receive a grant funded by taxes, but it is earmarked for official purposes, and the British subjects know what they're paying for. No doubt, some support the expenditure and some don't, but it doesn't constitute theft. I would gladly pay for maintenance of powerless royalty if I could claw back the wasted money on congressional perks, ICE and obscenely bloated military spending.
As for whether monarchy is a good or bad idea, it depends on the nature of the monarchy. Wikipedia lists five kinds of monarchies, and most of them seem pretty benign to me. I would suggest that some even seem to be far superior to the messy democracy we struggle with. For example, the people who live in the Scandinavian monarchies are perennially the happiest people in the world.
True (but not that would take much, and that is not a slam on King Charles). It was nice to see his more relaxed human side.
And I will officially object to renaming the "Department of War". That implies overt aggressiveness of the US as a country (which I sincerely want to revert to its soon-to-be new normal goodness, which seeks peace, not war) and then there is, of course, the fiscally insane amount of money that name change would cost...and much better sense to spend on healthcare, public education, and addressing food insecurity.
bitchybitchybitchy, you are so right about the king's education and intelligence. It is more significant than all of the Trumplicans put together and that is truly sad! Some of them are supposed to have college educations. I wonder how many of them paid others to write their papers and take tests for them as Donald Trump did.
Not as long as his speech writers are employed at the pleasure of his Non Royal, Non Highness, Trump. He likes to be surrounded by the mediocre. His administration is a bastion of Affirmative action for not so bright, full of themselves, mediocre, rich White mostly men.
Trump personifies malignant metastasis of ego, kind of like a methamphetamine high; his self-appreciation reduced to subjugation of others. "My name is DONALD TRUMP, King or Kings. Look on my gilded Ballroom ye mighty, and despair."
In the last picture I saw, it looked more like a crater than a shelter and much less a ballroom. Let us hope it stays that way until someone sane is in the White House again.
Lincoln, a master of memorable oratory from when Republican meant "pro-republic" took a dim view of kings, though he acknowledged that the struggle between those who favor an egalitarian society and those who favor (for whatever reasons) a top-down, stratified society would continue. We still watch societies drift from one to the other. Sustainable freedom takes a lot of ongoing work, physically and emotionally.
Good lord! If you read the full transcript of Nora Odonalds recent interview with Trump you see exposed the incoherent ramblings and ravings of a complete madman.
His followers in Congress should be tasked with trying to defend and make sense of the demented responses their POTUS made to the attempt to have a reasonable conversation with the man they have supported and who has the codes for nuclear bombs.
They do, Susan, in a book called "Tuesday," by David Wiesner, 1991.
It begins "Tuesday evening, around eight," when flying frogs begin their entrance to some small town. Continues all night. And by morning, the frogs return to nature.
And then, at the very end, "Next Tuesday, 7:58 p.m.," come the flying pigs.
He’s okay. The majority in the UK still support the Royal Family so we’re all stuck with them for the time being, but they’re looking increasingly anachronistic in the 21st Century. At least he has some dignity and doesn’t show us up too badly when abroad. The RF are hypocrites though, and they represent a privileged elite minority. Charles took far too long to deal with Andrew and one of Epstein’s best buddies Sarah Ferguson, so f**k them for that alone.
MLM, no British monarch was more concerned about the morale of her subjects than Elizabeth. Her philosophy was that publicly acknowledging scandal within the royal family would cause harm to national pride. She exercised her sovereign authority to prevent scandal when she could, but when members of the royal family went rogue, she thought it best to conceal the indiscretion for the good of the nation. One could dispute her methods, but not her motivation.
I was so pleasantly surprised by his address to congress. I was listening to it with Zev Shalev and Dean Brundell out of Canada. They played the entire speech! Both myself, the hosts were blown away by his elegant and polite way of pointing out everything that is wrong with this country ! Thank you King C for most likely being THE ONLY human, Donnie would allow out of his oval office and speak to Congress. It was like a breath of fresh air!
His Royal Highness's visit is a de facto Royal endorsement of man convicted of 34 felonies, digital rape, misuse of a Charitable Funds, and, if our Justice system hadn't been honed as a weapon of the wealthy and powerful, extortion of a foreign leader for personal gain, inciting an insurrection, stealing state secrets, multiple obstructions of justice, RICO election interference,
and worst of all,
sex trafficking of minors and along with decades of pedophilia.
Interestingly, along with the HRH's own brother, the excrable Andrew, for whom he has provided Royal protection for years, finally bowing to undeniable FACTS instead of Believing and Respecting The Survivors Brave Enough To Speak Out Against the Royal Family for DECADES.
King Charles is legitimizing the lifelong criminal who now rules the formerly United States of America on behalf of the Fascist Capitalist Class. He is dining at the home of the very same Warligarchy that nearly wiped out Great Britain during his mother's reign.
Just like his Uncle, disgraced King Edward the VIII, dined with Hitler.
May he meet the same sad end as Edward and Wallis.
King Charles’s speech to Congress was more presidential than anything they’ve experienced under this administration.
Zev Shalev in his Substack states:
“Donald Trump was left to watch the whole thing from the White House, unmentioned even once. Whether he grasped the speech’s carefully coded critique is anyone’s guess.
But it was the speech we’d all longed for — one denied by Trump’s mob-land version of democratic government.
The King took no direct shots — he’s too smart for that — instead grounding his speech in the founding documents his nation bequeathed to America at our founding.
He cited Magna Carta. He named the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances. He invoked the Declaration of Rights of 1689, the Bill of Rights of 1791, and the Spirit of 1776. He reminded Congress that America’s founding principle came from a fundamental disagreement with Britain — a disagreement that forged a lasting partnership.”
Many are unaware that, in addition to being no dummy, the 7th great-grandson (or whatever) of George III possesses a sense of humor that You Know Who could never understand, let alone grasp. During the 50th Jubilee of his mother's reign, Dame Edna Everage in full-court lavender suddenly strode into the Royal Box at Albert Hall, taking her seat next to Camilla and Charles. As BBC cameras rolled, an usher tapped her on the shoulder sternly and motioned for the exit door. Dame Edna stood up and announced to the world — "they found me a better seat." Prince Charles can be seen nearly asphyxiating from laughter.
The European democracies are all madly trying to figure out how to handle a U.S. gone totally berserk, fascist, racist, agog to the oligarchs, social media predators, armaments sources for mass murderers (yes, Netanyahu, Mohammed bin Salman), & our dear standardized testers, too.
He’s not just doing something stupid, everything he’s doing is stupid, and that has been the case ever since he took the oath of office with his hand pointedly not touching the Bible held by his 3rd wife, perhaps he was afraid his hand would catch on fire.
Oh, I didn't mean our British friends were sticking by Trump as he was being stupid, I meant they were sticking by us when we did something stupid in electing Trump. True friends will hope we will see the error in our ways and do better next time.
He’s an ambassador for Britain. And so far as king, like his mother before him, he’s done a pretty good job representing the country. Trump has been attacking the UK on and off and apparently it is good relations to send the king over to awe trump who fancies himself a king too.
I’d love to have the questioned answered…why the hell are Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in negotiations with Iran? I think the Iranians would like to know that too. Or why were they in Russia and Israel.
I’d add that he is also subject to the rule of law under Magna Carta (which he mentioned in his speech).
Yesterday, the interest on the national debt, which has increased by over $4 trillion under Trump and his Republican cadre of fools and sycophants, went over $1 trillion a year. We used to talk about government spending in millions and then billions and now it's trillions.
When was the last time you heard a Republican politician mention the national debt? Congress refuses to increase taxes to pay for their wild-ass spending and they are more than happy to pay $60 billion plus for Trump's big fuck-up in the Middle East.
Too bad Trump is more TOFU than TACO for everyone on the planet.
"We used to talk about government spending in millions and then billions and now it's trillions."
This is not government spending, in the sense that the government is paying for something it receives in return. This trillion a year is just debt service - paying interest on stuff we already bought but couldn't pay for then, and still can't pay for now.
This trillion dollars is money for nothing. Money we can't spend today on healthcare, education, social services, scientific research, defense or any of the other things the government still needs to buy today. And until we can start paying that down, by collecting more revenue in taxes or cutting current spending, it will continue to get worse.
In addition to running the treasury >as if< it was his personal checking account, he's also running the treasury >the same way< he runs his personal checking account. No bills are real until the collection agency camps out on the lawn and his lawyers can't make them go away. Till then there's always the chance he can slime his way out of paying those bills forever.
Unfortunately we can't bully our creditors the way he bullied his contractors. At some point we won't be able to carry forward the balance due, and the rest of the world will label us as the deadbeats we are becoming, and stop funding our lifestyle-beyond-our-means.
The next three years, during which Trump continues to spend like a sailor on leave, will be bad ones for our economy. The next three decades, in which we may be dealing with the consequences of national bankruptcy, will be far worse.
Indeed. Another day in Trumpland means another satire...
In a normal country, an armed security breach near the president might lead to questions about intelligence failures, Secret Service readiness, or political violence. In Trump’s America, it leads naturally to the obvious conclusion: submit a facilities request.
The problem, we are told, is not that the government is unstable. It is that the instability has been occurring in rooms of inadequate grandeur.
This is the administration’s most efficient policy innovation yet: every crisis is now a construction issue. Security failure? Ballroom. Legal problem? Ballroom. Congressional dysfunction? Ballroom. Foreign policy embarrassment? Ballroom. The republic is on fire, but first, we need to know whether the sprinkler system coordinates with the gold leaf.
You almost have to admire the bureaucratic nerve. A man gets arrested with weapons near the White House, and somehow the lesson is not “tighten security.” It is “expand the event space.” Somewhere, a contractor just became a homeland security expert.
This is not government by law. It is government by change order.
The genius of the ballroom theory is that it solves nothing while absorbing everything. It gives donors a project, loyalists a talking point, and cable news something shiny to debate while the actual machinery of democracy grinds along like a shopping cart with one bad wheel.
Naturally, taxpayers are invited to participate, by which I mean pay. Because if Americans can’t afford health care, child care, or groceries, they can at least enjoy the spiritual privilege of financing a room they will never enter.
The Founders worried about tyranny, faction, corruption, and executive overreach. Their mistake was assuming despotism would arrive with soldiers.
They did not imagine it would arrive with a floor plan, a press release, and a solemn legal theory that national survival depends on improved banquet logistics.
Lindsey Graham is simply boiling with states' rights rage after reading your sensible post. Pearls have been clutched, black lace fans have been whipped out, smelling salts and a fainting couch have been called for. Yes, it's that serious....
Charles is not that decent. Really if you look at his covering up for his brother until it was forced on them, and staying in the monarchy, a ridiculously outdated institution I am not so bowed by his graciousness. NO KINGS means NO KINGS!
But no one here was no. 1 in line for the throne and heir apparent to lead the Church of England. He should be held to a higher standard. The Crown is worth a billion dollars + or -. That should come with responsibility and consequences.
I don't know Linda, I am inclined to cut him a bit of slack bc on the Andrew thing. I have never been in the position of defending a corrupt family member and can't say honestly what I would do. I hope I would do the right thing-not sure though. And ultimately he did do the right thing. Judging a person's whole life on an act does not seem fair to me.
I can cut him slack as a family member, but not as a Monarch. I am not judging Charles's whole life on that act, I am judging him on what I know about his life. His abominable treatment of his first wife is a case in point.
Absolutely, Phil. And we should acknowledge that James Comey’s reminder, “ …it’s really important that all of us remember this is not who we are as a country…” hits the bullseye. As much as it pains us to see Trump’s face on coins and postage stamps and his ridiculous, self-serving arch and ballroom and all the rest, we may, as a nation, ultimately need to embrace all these disgusting tributes as humble reminders of how far off course we have wandered from our commitment to the Rule of Law and Justice and our pursuit of a more perfect union.
Phil, Oooo! I like the new, more honest title for the old DOJ, the Department of Continuous Obscenity (DCO). That is truly what it has become. I blame our Baby Donnie who is scared and angered by nearly everything, but also the Republicans and some Democrats in the Senate who saw fit to saddle this nation with ignoramuses, sycophants, even destroyers to critical offices, not only in the DCO, but also throughout our government. Shame on them all!
Firstly, it was not TWO KINGS but rather one genuine KING and one genuine BOOB. As for the DOJ, perhaps we should remove the curve at the bottom or J making into an I for Department of Injustice.
What a mess trump is making of a once good if not perfect country. And he just goes on. But if my tax money goes to fund the gD ballroom I believe I will begin not filing ever again. I will put the money in escrow until sanity returns.
Debby, I don't know. When I saw Corporal Couchf****r and Little Johnson stand up and applaud, I was stunned. He just eviscerated them and all they could do was stand and clap.
Pamela-How ironic that the DOJ was founded after the Civil War to protect Black people and those who wanted to pursue “justice for all” from the violence and lawlessness perpetrated by the KKK.
Even after J. Edgar Hoover’s actions to undermine Civil Rights, this DOJ is the worst ever-it’s lawless as they take orders from their malicious and self appointed king.
If nothing else, Charles reminded us of the story, the due process, the originality of the work…as I read about Donny-John and his clowns. What is missed by the punditry is the lack of prior thoughtful process…it’s always “blow it out your ass” and then clean up the mess…why are we not talking about the demolition of the East Wing which was on top of the secure basement. I know, it’s just their typical distraction, the gold spray-painted thing with a clear case of ‘Column Envy’…count them. No process, no rules, not any smart people working hard to do the right thing, and do it well. I guess they decided that the stairs to nowhere was a “bridge too far” so they drew in a door. This is stupid!
This is so Donny! He has no process, no people, no plan…Iran is the perfect example! No actual idea of what he is fucking doing! Certainly HegsDeath has no idea…like shooting boats in the Caribbean. ‘’Why? Because we can!”
Tear up the prior agreement before you have something better because you are a racist!!! Fuck it up and blame others…’You’re fired!’
And of course at the ‘Celebration of the First Amendment’ dinner, someone perhaps forget to fill out the form, to declare they required a high level of security because it was a high level of security event.
Phil, I was just thinking about the name DOJ this week and how we needed a different name. I see Barbara has an excellent option which I will start using with kudos to her.
Phil, personally, I am not a fan of a monarchy. I absolutely would not curtesy to any other person simply because of the vagina they emerged from. If anything, I feel a bit sorry for them, as it seems to be a curse to be born into a life of constant scrutiny.
That being said, I wondered WHAT all Charles knows about Epstein, and wish he would have blurted it out in front of all of those Congress assembled! Here I go falling right into the trap of conspiracy theories, but to oust his brother, he must have had some pretty damning information! And still, and still--he and his wife fly across the pond to have tea parties and sumptuous banquets with this fool. Besides both men having cheated on their wives in common, they share knowledge--knowledge which apparently is valuable enough to bring the entire world economy to its knees!
B.L.U.F. (bottom-line, up-front):¿Why not indict Trump and his merry gangsters in the homes of American citizens across America?🤔
Minority Leader, Representative Jeffries, has actively discouraged talk of impeachment should the Democratic Party re-assume legislative powers, The suggested document would issue on 21jun26, the two hundred, thirty-sevent anniversay of New Hampshire ratifying the "Constitution" as the ninth state.✍️
That document would be a Senate Resolution, bound to be defeated, modelled after the two-hundred, fifty year old 'Declaration of Independence'. It would open with a flourish, but not quite invoke the right of revolution cited by Messrs Locke and Jefferson that inspired the timeless prose of our original vision-&-mission statement.🗽
Then, again similar to the 'Declaration', cite in emotive detail (i.e., neither legalese nor polemic), all of the President's wrong-doing. This new resolution-as-declaration would not call for revolution but express a vote of 'no confidence' in Trump, Vance, the Cabinet, and selected other officials (e.g., Brendan Carr, perhaps Alito, Thomas, Roberts et al.).⚖️
Below is a reply, which replicates my comment posted a few minutes ago. Right now, I feel like we are watching the outflow of the receding tide of the failing, now flailing, dash toward dictatorship that has passed its peak. One should keep in mind, however, that the ebb is good news, but the water remains very dirty and poisonous.😱
General: "Mr Secretary, that order contradicts my oath to the Constitution." 🤔
Hegseth: "¡You're fired!
Admiral: "Sir, that order violates international laws of war." 😳
Hegseth: "¡You're fired!"
Commandant: "¿Do you ever say anything besides, '¡You're fired!'?" 🖕
Hegseth: "Yeah, ¡you're soooo totally fired!"
Now that the craven quislings in Congress have provided for paramilitary funding for several years through a legislative legerdemain, this ballet from 1932 captures the mood of our day. 😱
Apologies, Phil, I posted the lead post twice in error. I deleted the one without the reply. In any case, this gives the chance to write how delighted I am to see you at the top of the "pecking" order today -- another foolish pun from the benighted states of Amerika.
The part of shooting story that didn’t make sense from the beginning is that how could a man with a shotgun who “got off a shot and hit an officer”, would not be alive today. He likely would have died in a hail of gunfire. The inconsistencies in reporting this shooting event are very worrisome.
On a brighter note, the Trump passports will be for DC only, so they say. Ironically, Trump supporters on the whole are not big on flying anyway, they’re more into building bunkers and prepping.
"The inconsistencies in reporting this shooting event are very worrisome". Yes, I agree. If the shooter was on a different floor altogether, and witnesses heard gunshots right outside the door to the ballroom, who could have fired those shots? The alleged assassin?
Meanwhile, at least two murderous ICE thugs remain free and unaccounted for, probably many more than that. Why hasn't the (In)Justice Department charged any of them with murder? And why has Kristi Noem gotten away with grifting at least $220 million from the Federal government?
To charge the ballroom shooter so quickly and not any of the ICE and CBP thugs for, well any crimes, is insulting to all Americans.
Garrett Graff had a newsletter about the " Shooting" yesterday. It 's worth reading. Graff points out that the evidence shows that the so called "assassin" never got off a single shot! The shots the guests all heard were fired by secret service officers - one who accidentally shot a fellow secret service member, who fortunately was wearing a protective vest, and another shot fired by the injured agent at the so called assassin, who was quickly taken down on the floor and hogtied.
It is tempting to go there, but don't. Those are tense, rapidly evolving circumstances, and I am willing to bet that none of those SS agents had thought through someone armed to the hilt barging through their perimeter.
I believe the investigation is still ongoing; what I have read this morning is that the only SSA who fired their weapon was the one who was shot. Ballistics evidence is still being analyzed.
"none of those SS agents had thought through someone armed to the hilt barging through their perimeter."
Isn't that their entire job? Observe, assess, secure, check everything, then check it again and again, especially in unfamiliar surroundings and buildings that aren't hardened for top level security.
Bingo! When an assailant fires at federal officers they shoot back- to kill. It was playacting to manipulate us. How can a man cross the country armed like he was on a train without being stopped?
Because they don't put people through the same screening on trains the way they do at airports. Why do you THINK he took a train, to enjoy the scenery?
There's a lot of goofy conspiratorying here on this Newsletter that makes no sense. A deranged, Ted Kaczynski-style lunatic with gun, knives, etc. made a dash through a security area in a hotel that has never been as heavily guarded as it should be. And yes, Secret Service agents can miss their target -- or perhaps it was a warning first.
We all get that the whole thing felt staged, given the country and the politics we live in. That does not mean it was.
Michael didn't say it was. The uniformed Secret Service agent was shot by one of the Gang That Can't Shoot Straight, aka the contemporary Trumpified Secret Service. Rick Wilson spotted it this morning, and by mid-afternoon people in Maladministration II were admitting that's the case.
TC, that's my opinion as well, but I haven't been able to find any good reporting on it. What I found was that all SSA weapons had been examined and reportedly the only agent who fired is the one who shot at the suspect.
But then, that is them investigating themselves, so...
Knowing this regime and knowing state regime media, we’re unlikely to ever know the truth about the circumstances of the shooting, however that doesn’t make people who ask questions and point out inconsistencies conspiracy theorists - seekers of the truth, interested enquirers, curious observers, people challenging propaganda, people intelligent enough to spot gaslighting and lies - all of these would be far more appropriate descriptions than ‘goofy’.
Asking questions is one thing. Leaping from questions to conclusions that ignore the obvious confusion of the moment in lightning speed is another. Occam and his razor shouldn't be afterthoughts. Incompetence generally explains more than does conspiracy.
First of all, he does not appear to be a “lunatic.”He appears to be a man so outraged at this president that he couldn’t take it any longer. There are countless people in this country that feel similarly.
Yes, that's what the Unabomber said too. Please spare me the justifications for a nut with a shotgun, pistol and several knives running through a Secret Service security barrier.
My point is that this guy was a productive member of society before this event. The Unabomber was an outcast from society who lived alone in the woods.
I get that about security, not being as tight on trained as it is on airplanes, but he was carrying a lot of stuff. Could he have taken the gun apart and put it in a duffel bag? Or does a rifle not do that?
ICTT, weird that they host the president in a hotel where guests In the hotel have access to him. Did the guests who checked in the days previous to the dinner pass background checks every single time they left or entered their rooms? I don't get it.
Yes. SWAT mission in an area where radio didn’t work. Very abbreviated, entry deviated from their plan, sniper saw “an ember”, then noted “ember is extinguished”, then saw a man with a rifle coming towards where entry was supposed to approach, and shot our entry sergeant. They both survived the incident.
Sometimes plans go awry. DT doesn’t care. You know what the most fake part of that attempted assassination was? That the Secret Service agents did not keep him covered up on the ground, but they let him jump up waving his fist in the air! That is totally unreal.
My passport is in process of being renewed, and I have to say that I got a stomach cramp when I heard that the Orange Felon was going to put his hideous face on passports. Thankfully, mine is not going through the DC office…at least I don’t think so.
If it should show up with this monster’s face on it, I will return it until they fix this travesty.
"Trump supporters....they're more into building bunkers and prepping."
Would that make them libertarian? If that's the case, why do they still support Republicans who are all about deficit spending and building an army of brown shirt thugs?
Having lived and practiced in Boston, NYC, Georgia, Louisiana and Florida and from what I can tell republicans, are very into collecting guns (duh) and then their friends get them into prepping. Many homes have bunkers but you won’t know it and likely most if their neighbors do not for obvious reasons. It’s ridiculous how many people are just waiting for something like a leftist takeover. Many are quite paranoid.
Mike- You describe two of my childhood MAGA friends to a tee. They are both peppers with many guns and knives. They both have left the city and live in the boonies on farms in the midwest. One of them is almost off the grid with both solar and wind power while the other hasn't made the leap-yet!
And again, you are correct them and their spouses are quite paranoid. A few years ago a convicted murderer escaped from the state pen about 30 miles from one of them. They got their guns loaded and within a stones throw, just in case he chose their out of the way farm to hold up in.
And many of the oligarchs have entire compounds with full time staff just in case of the "leftist takeover" you mention.
My wife and I have been watching the "Off the grid" series. It's been very educational as well as entertaining. I have to admire people with absolutely no experience in building, putting together some very nice homes off the grid.
We're on season nine I think and there have been some truly amazing self contained homes all across the country and even a few house boats.
My favorite part of them show is watching people make the same mistakes we have made over the years when building. The one common link between all of the shows is the weather bites them in the butt -- time and again.
Hint: If you watch the show and want to play a drinking game, choose the word "snow, winter, or rain." And make sure you don't have to drive when it's over.
I have come to believe that "getting rid of the deficit" was never anything but code for "cut all programs that help working class and the poor and funnel all that money to the obscenely wealthy."
I'm just gonna take a wild guess here...you weren't in law enforcement.
The idea that in that setting there would have been a hail of gunfire is just wrong. Or that there would be inconsistencies in an initial report is somehow evidence of a conspiracy is odd in itself.
Noting unheard of or especially suspicious about a zealot with an agenda of victimhood shooting a place up in America.
Why would anyone find this suspicious in the USA? we should be used to this by now.
One theory of why the gunman wasn't killed that makes some sense to me, is that there were a lot of other people around and security used restraint in firing to reduce risk of killing uninvolved people. The takedown by tackle worked.
"The Atlantic published a piece...indicating that Vice President J.D. Vance is distancing himself from the Iran debacle, in this case by questioning whether Hegseth is providing Trump accurate information about the war..."
It's hard to distance yourself from a debacle you've previously velcroed your face to.
This is something every one in Guilty Donald's administration and particularly the inner members of his gang should keep in mind: "That Trump Stank won't wash off."
I'm waiting for the sleepwalking scene in Macbeth, portrayed by Lindsey Graham, mumbling "yet here's a spot...all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand..."
ugh I just heard it in my head in that awful voice of his haha Almost makes me want to whip up an AI meme of it - but I haven't touched the stuff and I'm not going to start now.
Groveling scumbags without honor or shame performing mumbo-jumbo legal pirouettes to entertain an audience of ONE alone. Joined by Melanomia playing her part in the Greek chorus of mice, fobbing herself off as Miss Morality (“vhee take humor very seriously and vhee are not amused vhen comedians speak the troot”).
Arresting Jim Comey is only about the dumbest performative indictment I have ever heard of. They'll be lucky if the judge doesn't burst out laughing when these bungholes describe those ghastly, tell-tale seashells on a deserted beach that clearly spell out “REDRUM! REDRUM!” in the mirror — obviously a secret pro-assassination message. 🤪
This afternoon, Todd Blanche toddled onto a stage muttering nonsense in front of a lectern. Had he strutted out wearing pink hot pants, holding a ginormous portrait of You Know while tonguing a lollipop in front of it, it would have been more honest.
This ridiculous case right out of Monty Python's Flying Circus will be dismissed of course, but not before spending time and money to fight it — which is the whole point. And it's yet-one-more squirrel-squirrel diversion from these peoples' increasingly desperate attempts to run away from their own malicious fuckupery as fast as they can.
Hi It's Come To This, wow are you on it today! You gave me my first belly laugh on this day of dismal news. That Todd Blanche visual was too much! I needed that badly.
I am often reminded of The Parliament of Silly Walking as well as "The Larch" when considering this so-called "government" with which we are currently saddled. Also, "Run awayyyy...."
Blanche glared at everyone during that press conference to show his serious fierceness. I want to know HOW that indictment materialized—did the presenters whip up a grandiose story about “8647” writ in seashells, of all the menacing things, or was the grand jury composed of chimpanzees? Oh wait. I volunteer at our zoo. Chimps are smarter than that.
Don’t know which district in North Carolina assembled this grand jury to indict Comey, but as a native of this State I am not surprised. There are areas of this State that are black holes of intelligence, it is the kind of place that you do not even stop for gas, just pass through as quickly as possible….and you had better not be a POC.
Resource below to easily contact all of Congress - Be LOUD. We deserve better 💔🤍💙
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) to contact members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly.
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
It is curious that the agent injured in this incident - hit but wearing a "ballistic" vest - is reported to have drawn his gun and fired five times at Mr. Allen. Mr. Allen fell to the ground and was arrested, but wasn't shot. So was the agent firing that gun a terrible shot, or firing warning shots, or shooting at something else, or too rattled to be effective, or what?
I'm still hung-up on how the alleged shooter was charged within a couple of days for attempted assassination and Renee Good's and Alex Pretty's murderers apparently have immunity and are still OTJ. That is majorly insulting.
And what is happening with the Epstein Files. Why hasn't Blanche, Trump and Melania been called to give a deposition?
The fact that the White House authorised the publication of Cole Allen's manifesto against usual practice shows that Trump and the Republicans want to max out on this incident. In fact, the seriousness of the threat to Trump's life was perhaps undermined by the fact that he appears to have been allowed to watch the commotion in the room from behind the curtains.
I haven't heard anything about the injuries of the agent - he was supposedly at the hospital but released very soon afterwards. What were those injuries that he has suffered? Also - wouldn't there be traces of the projectile in the agent's vest which would lead to the gun from which the shot was fired?
Allen said in his manifesto that he would only load with buckshot - if true, it should be easy to know immediately if he fired the shot that hit the agent or not.
"buckshot"; exactly. If that is what Allen had loaded in his gun and he pulled the trigger, it should be easy to see on the vest. Would buckshot go through a bullet-proof vest?
I assume that one still can take quite a hit with a bullet-proof vest, but that the injury is unlikely to be serious, though rifles are now sold to the public that can penetrate body armor.
It is not uncommon in an officer involved shooting for the officer who is hit to go to the hospital for a medical check, nor is it uncommon for officers who shoot their weapons where someone is injured or killed to be transported for blood draws. (personal experience in civilian law enforcement on at least a half dozen OIS investigations).
<sidebar> This apparently excludes ICE agents who kill protesters or shoot vehicle operators after ICE rams their vehicles.
It's not like the movies. A ballistic vest (usually) will stop a bullet, but the kinetic energy has to go somewhere. It usually results in heavy bruising, possible broken ribs, and soft tissue/organ damage. So yeah, a hospital visit is warranted.
Getting hit by a round while wearing a ballistic ("bulletproof") vest isn't like Hollywood. The kinetic energy of the rou d has to go somewhere. The vest spreads it over a wide area of the body. It usually causes heavy bruising, can break ribs, and do organ damage. A hospital visit is warranted. He may have been checked over and sent home to recover.
I don't know of there would be traces of the round on the vest. It sounds possible. If he did get hit by one of the other agents, do you really think the regime would tell us? It doesn't play as well in the whole story as "the perp shot an agent."
“Everything Trump touches dies” is an often stated truism about the guy. What seems most clear at this point is that the United States will collapse without technically dying before Trump leaves office. God help us all.
"Yesterday Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and others jumped in front of the cameras to present a bill to appropriate $400 million of taxpayer money to build the ballroom. "
Wait, didn't somebody tell Senator Pittypat that the Louis XIV-Third Reich ballroom was supposed to be paid for entirely by outside donors? Or that the magic ballroom only holds 999 guests, whereas the Hinkley Hilton holds hundreds more? There's no coatroom at the White House large enough to accommodate a bubble wand, crinoline hoop skirts and accompanying taffeta wardrobe.
But, but, he says every president for 150 years has wanted it. The ballroom. And as for that arch.. But what about the swimming-pool blue of the reflecting pool? His taste is (fortunately) inimitable. I looked at that picture of him with King Charles in the Oval Office with paintings all over the walls and that incredible clutter of "gold" STUFF. I can see the King describing it to his family when he gets home - with his sense of humour - and everyone falling about with laughter. Did you notice his little crack about the changes to the East Wing since his last visit? Got a great laugh from the Congress.
"Initially expected to seat 650, in September Trump said this had been revised upward to 900,[18] and in October he said it would be able to hold 999 people..."
From Wikipedia. [Kim, Seung Min (October 16, 2025). "WATCH: Trump hosts dinner for donors to $250 million White House ballroom project". PBS Newshour. Associated Press. Retrieved October 17, 2025]
You literally couldn't make shit like this up even if you wanted to.
Indeed! In fact, at the Press Club dinner, he was very absorbed in the party game by the "mentalist"(??) who was predicting the name of Karoline Leavitt's baby.
ICYMI: on 4/28/26 Charlie Sykes of To the Contrary interviewed Anne Applebaum (Pulitzer Prize winning historian and author of “Autocracy Inc.” and “Twilight of Democracy”. https://substack.com/@sykescharlie/note/p-195681989?r=1d2cea&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action. They discussed Trump’s authoritarianism, how Hungary overcame Viktor Orban, how Poland regained democracy in 2023, Pope Leo, the effect of Trump’s Iran war on the European countries and their relationship to the U.S., and many other topics. Anne Applebaum lives in Poland at least half of the time because she is married to a Polish government minister and thus has an intimate knowledge of European politics.
UPDATE: Anne Applebaum, historian, journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner for her book “Gulag”, author of “Autocracy, Inc.”, “Twilight of Democracy”and seven other books was interviewed 4/28/26 on the subject of the recent Hungarian elections by Sean Wilentz, professor of history at Princeton University and Sidney Blumenthal, American journalist, Abraham Lincoln scholar, and former aide to President Clinton on Legal AF/Meidastouch:
They discussed the importance of the defeat of Orban’s illiberal democracy, and Orban’s methods of taking over a government which he shared with Trump and his administration and with the world. The Trump and Orban regimes were in bed together with numerous U.S. officials visiting Hungary and J D Vance and Rubio openly campaigning for Orban in the election. There was a strong Hungarian connection to Russia with Orban serving as a spokesman for Russia in EU meetings and sharing documents from the meetings with Sergei Lavrov (to the consternation of the other members of the EU) Russian Foreign Minister. Orban’s defeat has unlocked EU aid for Ukraine which Orban was blocking. Trump Administration commercial relations with Russia have been revealed. Kushner and Witkoff have apparently failed in all their negotiations most likely from ineptitude but also because they were functioning as “klepto-diplomats”. Applebaum feels that all 21st century autocracies - in contrast to 20th century autocracies - are kleptocracies. The corruption involves the reordering of the state for the financial benefit of the rulers.
Anne Applebaum lives in Poland at least half of the time because she is married to a Polish government minister and thus has an intimate knowledge of European politics.
On 4/28/26 Charlie Sykes of To the Contrary also interviewed Anne Applebaum: https://substack.com/@sykescharlie/note/p-195681989?r=1d2cea&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action They discussed Trump’s authoritarianism, how Hungary overcame Viktor Orban, how Poland regained democracy in 2023, Pope Leo, the effect of Trump’s Iran war on the European countries and their relationship to the U.S., and many other topics which were different from those discussed with Blumenthal and Wilentz of LegalAF.
Sebastian Gorka since before the first administration settled in and his wife may be involved. There were many people and incidences ten and eleven years ago that really bothered me. It’s taken such along time for all of the machinations to be seen.
He would never admit it, but he is getting the message. Even with his obvious mental incapacity, he still recognizes any slight to his warped ego. He is showing his desperation as a result of understanding that he is a sick joke to the entire world.
I heard that it’s only passports procured in DC that will have Trump’s photo. I hope that’s true, because I just mailed in my application for renewal, and I don’t want to have to look at him!
It's a "limited" number (based on the no-doubt incredible demand for a picture of Grumpy Cat trying to fob himself off as Winston Churchill in fake-gold brocade) available at the Washington DC Passport Agency ONLY if you want them. Hey, they'll be selling like pancakes....Right.
Assure you that nobody in Washington DC (maybe save for Karoline Spokesbarbie) will be standing in line for that particular bit of pornography.
I suppose, Susan, that using a black Sharpie to obscure his face is a no-no in passport land. I, too, would not want to carry his visage around in any form!
Same with me. Did it online. Easy peasy. Would not use the mails for anything. Took me five days to get a letter from my accountant. I really think the Post Office is already unreliable.
"Two Kings" on the White House website? If King Charles is a reader of the WH website, which I doubt, he might sue Trump for defamation. Except that he's not on that level.
What an exhibition at that dinner! the uneducated ignoramus and the educated aristocrat.
While they put Trump's face on $1 coins, gold commemorative coins, and national park passes, why not put his face on sidewalks all over the country, where there are sidewalks that is? That would motivate people to go out and get their steps in.
The vindictiveness is on full display - again - with this latest Comey attack. They must know there's no way he'll be convicted, but he'll still have to pay to defend himself. I guess they figure if they can't jail him they'll bankrupt him. None of this should be happening. I also think it wouldn't be happening if Comey hadn't tilted the 2016 election by reviving the Hillary Clinton email "scandal" 2 weeks before the election. If there hadn't been a Trump I there couldn't have been an emboldened Trump 2.
As Trump delegitimizes every branch and bureau of the Executive Branch, one wonders how all the pieces could be put back together again. What if they can’t? Isn‘t that the point?
We have more than just a mess on two aisles. Might have to built a containment dome like the one over Chernobyl 4 to keep the slop from further contaminating us. Contemplating the half-life of Trump 45 and 47 makes one shudder...
Security experts familiar with the Secret Service point out that when the President is in danger, the goal is to get him/her away from the White House as soon as possible. The enemy would automatically pick that site to attack. . ( The Brits did that in the War of 1812.) Building a bunker under the big ugly ballroom goes against sound practice. Remember George W. Bush flew around in an airplane when the news of 9/11 broke. He was kept away from the White House.
There's an entire contingency plan for continuity of government during catastrophic events and unexpected disasters although Trump and the regime might not have the sense to use it or do in their own inept way.
Especially during something like a nuclear attack, Air Force One is designed to keep the president airborne and functional. It's not the usual Air Force One, but the E-4B Nightwatch known as the "doomsday plane," a militarized Boeing 747 designed specifically for nuclear war survival, and as a mobile command and control operations center. Supposedly, it can stay airborne for days at a time and designed for long-term endurance in the air since it can be refueled in flight.
There also used to be an underground bunker for Congress within the Greenbrier hotel in West Virginia. There is obviously something like it now but the Greenbrier Bunker was decommissioned in 1992 after the program was exposed by The Washington Post.
I think you’re right about that…I was going from what I remembered and a bit of what Wikipedia said. I saw something about the Cold War era lair in bedded within that West Virginia mountain years ago and it was very interesting.
It was supposed to be able to survive a nuclear attack on Wash. DC and maybe the area around the Greenbriar, that's what I remember anyhow. If they no longer plan on using it, it's probably because 20 min. after launch they are on target, there won't be time to go anywhere except below ground wherever you happen to be, and even if you were to survive you would come up into a radioactive wasteland and be poisoned long before you could escape that area.
It’s a lot of fantasyland type thinking really. Any nuclear attack on the U.S. would be followed by nuclear strikes by us, which would result in the mutually assured destruction scenario that any sane person never wants to see or even imagine.
Air Force One is supposed to be up in the air with missiles whizzing by, fighter jets trying to shoot it down, nuclear warheads raining down, mushroom clouds, radiation and a destroyed wasteland below.
Really hope nothing like that ever happens to this planet and all its inhabitants. Hopefully humans will finally find some way of peaceful coexistence and never use or get rid of these nuclear weapon stockpiles.
At the end, Heather notes Donald posing with King Charles -- White House caption: "Two Kings."
Let's look a bit further, at some remarkable words the UK’s King Charles reminded his former colonials at the U.S. Congress.
He said, "Words matter."
So, if indeed words matter, I'd like to take the opportunity to ask: why do all still call the DOJ by its former aptly honorable name, the Department of Justice?
All know it’s abandoned its honor. Today instead it follows only wannabe U.S. monarch Donald’s campaigns for his vengeful retributions. It covers up the years’-long rape, pedophilia, and worse by his billionaire pals. It protects its own cold-blooded murderers of Renée Good and Alex Pretti. It rewards convicted criminals such as Ghislaine Maxwell for her lying to protect fellow criminal Donald. It lets the drunken Kash Patel fly his girlfriend in U.S. taxpayer funded jets.
Why don’t we acknowledge King Charles’ decency? Why don’t media outlets vary other terms for what’s now only a department of continuous obscenity?
Phil, I’ve taken to calling it the “Department of Just Us”…represents the entitled, connected, (some) elected and, no doubt, wealthy.
Nice and apt Barbara.
Love it, Barbara.
Will try to use it, acknowledging you as its source.
Phil, hmmm! let's see how that scans DOJU. It sounds as disgusting as the department now is.
Depends on the pronunciation. "Do Joe" is one. "Due Jue" is another. Or perhaps "Doo Joo" (a kindergarten epithet referring to diaper contents.)
Ally House, I like your last definition for the department. It is so appropriate!
Nice one, Barbara 👏🏼
About the Department of Just Us and James Comey: Heather is right, "86 means to get rid of something". The normal and legal way to get rid of a president is by impeachment. That should be all that Comey needs to say.
Or the 25th Amendment. It does not refer to killing something or someone, just removing it.
"Just Us" - good one
Or how about “Department of Injustice.”
That's how I think of it.
Just like the “GOP” now stands for “God’s Offal Party”.
Good one … but eliminating the possessive ‘God’s’ Offal Party,
— it’s not God’s … but certainly A ‘God-Offal Party!
You are right, of course. The possessive is from their own perspective. They think they are God's party.
Morning, Barbara!
I'm going to have to use your straightforward, and oh so apropos moniker for DOJ sans attribution 🤣
Perfect description Barbara..
Perfect. Good one.
Me too
Barbara, excellent. Thank you.
The "Department of Justice for Trump"
Thank you, Barbara! That is perfect.
King Charles is awesome—his speech to Congress was right on, and he has a great sense of humor!
King Charles is better educated than Trump and his entire cabinet, not to mention the GOP members of Congress.
Perhaps the sum of the whole damned party, at least on things that matter,
"For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other.” - Thom Paine
Yes!
Why in hell were democrats so stupid to allow this is anyone’s guess. We stumbled and tripped. We surrendered our democracy to nincompoops and this has opened the destruction of the world. Why? I sometimes think the Democratic Party went wrong when they opened up primaries to allow the voters to decide the candidate. I know it’s counterintuitive but if party bosses mostly picked candidates that likely had good leadership ability and viability at the polls, we might have had more democratic continuity. We would have a Supreme Court populated by those looking out for the interests of the people.
Sometimes when the wagon isn’t broken, stop trying to fix it.
So you want to stop the practice of allowing voters to pick candidates? Isn't that functionally un-democratic? I don't want party bosses picking for me.
I agree. More the case, both parties have structural flaws with their foundations and buildings can't stand on weak foundations. Washington speak is not American speak. When political leaders have the best benefits in the world, they lose a core understanding of the struggle Americans are enduring. It goes beyond words and empathy, it is the lack of personal struggle.
Your point sounds good, but in practice what tends to happen -- maybe in both parties -- is this: people with more extreme views tend to vote in primaries, so we end up with candidates who are increasingly less electable in the general.
Yes but it hasn’t worked so well has it.
Trump is at least 4 kings short of a full deck
But he's sure that slapping his likeness on coins, passports, and signs around Washington will restore his greatness - wink wink.
The only cards he’s playing with are jokers.
No, the problem is that we stopped educating our people in basic civics. Oh and the capitalist oligarchs made sure that it didn't happen.
Laurie, as a retired teacher, I can tell you that our children do want to know things, particularly about our history and how we got to be where we are. I read our Declaration of Independence and Constitution with some 7th and 8th graders last year and they really enjoyed it and had great questions, the most important one, "did Trump ever READ the Constitution?" We do need civics classes, but it is going to take a state-wide pronouncement in each state to get that subject reintroduced and some good classes for teachers to teach it with excitement and weight with some humor and fun tossed in regularly.
We need to remedy this on a national basis, but meanwhile schools and states can do it.
Agreed, basic civics, history and critical thinking skills. A vote for Trump is proof, IMO, that that person does not think critically. A Trump voter admitted to me the other day that I was right - about Trump. I asked: 'You knew that he tried and failed at an insurrection on 1-6-2021. What did you think he would do if he gained even more power?" No response. No critical thinking skills.
"Why in hell were democrats so stupid to allow this is anyone’s guess." What an incredibly unhelpful and oversimplified assessment of our current situation!
Bill, I also thouight about the fact that before primaries the likes of a trump could never have been elected. The level of distruction that Americans voted for. Will we ever recover?
death by a thousand cuts, Bill. Think Lewis Powell Memo.
....Milton Friedman, Reaganism, De-Regulation, Jack Welch / shareholder primacy, Federalist Society, Scalia / Presidential power, corporate personhood / courts, Bush v Gore, Thomas & Alito, John Roberts, Citizen's United, VRA, Mitch McConnell, Presidential immunity....OUCH!
The problem boils down to the level of education in the general electorate. The lack of critical thinking skills, the lack of ability to suss out the truth of a thing from basic principles. So many just want to be spoon fed. They believe what they are told and don't question their beliefs. In other words, they can think, but they don't think about their thinking.
If we want self-governance to work, we need to heal our society. We need to stop abusing so many of our babies, as such abuse, left unhealed, leads to life-long emotional and physical disability. Then we need to educate our kids to be able to think and analyze for themselves, to be able to analyze data and ascertain the reliability of the data, and to question the veracity of their conclusions.
We have a big job ahead if we're to turn this disaster around.
There will always be some people that keeps their hands over their ears & say "blah, blah, blah" to any talk of needing an education about our system.
Uh... allow what... ?
Good Grief! Another freakin’ committee to add another layer between VOTERS and candidates? It’s bad enuf that we have the antiquated electoral college. No! Just no!
Blaming this decades long neo-fash Republican corporate coup on Democrats is what REPUBLICANS do. I've had it with that.
It's like when a farce of an "attempted assassination" happens and KKK Leavitt blames "Democrats spewing hate."
It's like antisemitism coming out of the woodwork during Trump's first reign,
and antisemitism Skyrocketing after
Israel's Immediate War Crimes against Palestinians,
children, hospitals, double taps ...
that rising (and terrible) Antisemitism
ALL being blamed on peaceful student protestors.
Protests led by Jewish students and faculty,
along With the handful of Palestinian students & scholars
who have made it here against all odds.
You say Democrats "let this happen"? WTH? OK, let's say your fiction is truth. How?
1) By ATTACKING other Democrats over and over Like You Just Did.
(the circular firing squad is our greatest enemy)
2) By repeatedly allowing Perfection to Be The Enemy of Progress
3) By being too young and distracted, too unable to take time from work & family, too ________??? to VOTE in the midterms?
4) too doggedly single issue oriented to see the Big Picture*
4) and by internalizing the creeping world view and neurolinguistic programming of the Warligarchy (which runs the GOP & media)
ie
"school choice" "right to life" "right to work"
"free markets" "job creators" "vouchers" "pro-life"
"violent protestors" "anti-police"
"Congress passed..." (when it was only REP voted)
"the government announced ..."(no, the Administration did) "
Fox "News" (no such thing)
"mainstream media" (corporate media)"
so many...
Words are POWERFUL, and the RICH know how to subvert them, usually by paying massive amounts to PR agents and academics from their bottomless coffers... to hone their Often Subtle goal post moving, reality blurring, divisive, hate mongering and of course, Orwellian,
Destruction of our minds.
Attack REPUBLICANS as a whole. They march in Lockstep.
Attack Democrats Individually, when they truly deserve it.
Like Swalwell, who is a predator.
(btw he was ousted days. Repo Gonzales was Protected for 2 yrs)
We can investigate a possible Cover Up of Swalwell
AFTER WE WIN.
*Why don't Dems vote often enough? Because the very thing that makes them Democrats
- normal, human empathy -
also makes them Mad when they see suffering continue or worsen.
Mad not just at the politicians they blame, but also at Themselves,
for electing the people who aren't doing enough for those who need it.
Dem voters say things like "I could never vote for them because":
they voted for that budget that cut ____;
they voted against that bill.
they said ____ instead of _____.
they funded the DOD.
" " new oil leases.
" " a pipeline.
" " the police.
" " the farm bill that included glyphosate.
" " a group that bombed a Yemeni school bus
a genocide.
Each of those votes are true. Democrats have been funding Oil & the Military Industrial Complex (same same) since it began its exponential growth after WWII.
Their districts and states became dependent on those jobs, even before the Repo Robert's Court passed Citizens United to unleash corruption of elections by the Haves (all according to The Mandate.)
Republicans have been funding the same MIC, AND destroying, piece by piece, all the checks and balances built by Democrats,
to restrain it,
for even Longer. They've been trying to get rid of the great New Deal programs set up by FDR, Eleanor and Frances Perkins since the 1933 failed Wall St. Putsch.
Republicans are Owned by War Barons, multiple generations, growing their exclusive, secretive clubs. The Bohemian Grove. Opus Dei. The CIA. Skull & Bones. The Family. ALEC. Heritage Foundation. The Kochtopus and its hundreds of astroturfed think tanks, moms groups, Log Cabin Republicans, militias, Christian Organizations, ... So Much Money to Spend.
Yes, the DNC was outspent, out thinked, out played. Often bought.
Beyond just DINOs like Manchin, Sinema, Fetterman, Cuellar, ... it's a long history... Because where does the money flow?
To the Republicans. So how do Democrats survive at All?
"Compromise" - beyond what politics demands.
And Dem Voters much too often, and because they are Manipulated into splintered groups, vote on An Issue.
My line was always abortion, but that was easy because I never had to vote for the "less evil" Republican. Or a Cuellar.
Democrats too often vote from Their Heart. Their Own Personal Angst.
This Does Not Serve The Greater GOOD. Never has. Never will.
A vote is a Chess Move, not a Valentine.
I saw that somewhere, and I believe it bears repeating. Because the angst of our tax dollars being used to Bomb Babies is not new to me. I was born in 1960.
My first serious attempt at a drawing was of "the napalm girl."
I've lost count of the number of times I've had to hold my nose, and break my own heart, to vote for the lesser Evil.
(I moved to Topanga, CA, and Still my progressive candidates in state and fed offices lose. But I can at least Vote for them. This June, probably not.
Katie Porter is the ONLY woman now running for CA Gov. The Only candidate Not taking $$ from a pac, or corporation. The only all around Progressive candidate (Steyer may be great on Climate Change, but so is Porter. Steyer is Very Old, and way to accustomed to wielding power like a CEO, Not a Governor. One of Becerra was an "also ran" and was barely campaigning. One of first donations was from Chevron...) So who did the DNC give the Swalwell money & Limelight to? Beccerra.
Porter once snapped at a staffer and dropped an F bomb. She always walked away from an obnoxious reporter.
GOP, DNC, corporate media, all the Banksters like Dimon who'd been impaled on her white board, and probably Swalwell and Steyer, plus a slew of putii/kim/xi bots,
canceled her over and Over and it has never been missing from the comments on instagram Whenever her name is mentioned.
Because the Warligarchy, the Broligarchy, Fears Strong Women more than any thing on earth.
And when the EVIL is From the RIGHT, even tho it has captured some DEMS in the middle, I simply cannot stop shouting
VOTE BLUE!
or if you're Sure they can win against a Fascist,
better than Blue.
*I have NEVER wanted to pay taxes, in 50 years, because I Always Knew that the income taxes (not incl. SS, EDD or Medicare)
Most Americans were justifiably Enraged and Disgusted by Democrats who continued voting for More Offensive Weapons to Israel after the white phosphorus (produced by Bayer, btw) and Bunker Bombs were dropped on civilians, children, over and over.
But did anyone hear "Why are ALL the REPUBLICANS who Control Congress Asking for Even More Funding for Israel?
NO. We Always Turn the Firing Squad on Ourselves.
ugh. I've obviously gone on too long again.
I predict that the Warligarchy, and Israel, will once again win in November, because
Perfection is the enemy of progress.
And sadly there seems to be an immutable connection between Empathy and a belief in the Lie of Perfection.
Considering the "party bosses" we have right now, Bill? As in Schumer, Jeffries and our fantastic DNC head, Ken Martin? That's their dream!
A king had to fly in to explain democracy to us. Charles — hereditary monarch, not one vote ever cast in his name — stood before a Congress busy handing its power away and reminded them, with impeccable courtesy, what they swore to protect. A man who inherited his throne. The only adult in the room. The room didn't notice.
Very well said.
Harvey, one of the interesting comments on his speech came from one of my husband's Lakota cousins who refers to British monarchs as Colonizers and generally has no use for them. Much to my amazement, she liked his speech and complimented him. Also I bet that Ds in the room noticed what he was saying.
There were no "No Kings" protests with Charles' appearance.
We noticed though Harvey.
the GOP likely did notice, but could not acknowledge that they had,
— lest the Toddler-in-Chief explode in a tantrum!
Jay- Jay, I'm sure there were some squirming in their seats as King Charles III was speaking. Somebody had to have locked up the turnip's phone & computer to keep him from making stupid remarks about Charles.
Bravo!!
As HCR pointed out in her chat this past Thursday, and as it is common knowledge, King Charles III is passionate about the environment and climate change. I just wonder whether he had any private conversations with the Trumpster about that.
Talking to that moron about anything but his stupid ballroom is like pissing up a rope....
Barbara, LOL. I now have a mental picture of that comment.
Ah, my Dad's favorite saying. Thank you for posting it.
:-) :-) :-) Barbara!
Interesting visual Barbara!
Thirty years ago, twenty years ago, Charles looked like a kook for being an environmentalist. Now he looks like a civilized man.
Would like to 'overhear what was said during their private meeting.
He was raised with lots of money, stolen from the British people. Honestly, NO KINGS means NO KINGS! Honor would have him ending the monarchy.
I customarily agree with you, Linda - but the Kings and Queens of the UK have no real political power -- sure, they have influence - but they are not the government. They are a cultural artifact that many people are extraordinarily fond of. I lived in England and Wales for 10+ years and saw and felt that. They are also a huge tourist draw. Totally anachronistic I agree but King Charles has done many good things for the country and any comparison with Trump and Trump's ambitions is a big stretch in my view.
I agree!
lauriemcf, I agree with your view. I am an Anglophile and see many memes from England on a daily basis. Right now many speak of missing ERII among other things. One of them also posted the menu for the state dinner. I was glad to note one of the wines was from Oregon. I might also add that the Brits tried to end the monarchy once and we know how that went.
She was a wonderful queen, but after last night, I think he’s pretty wonderful too!
Royalty has a place in a society that uses it and has used it for centuries. Today, in most countries with royalty, a royal family brings together a society that would otherwise be torn apart, as in America.
NO KINGS means NO KINGS! I am against the concept of monarchy, and if it truly brings together a society, which I do not believe it does, then more's the pity. It has no place in an egalitarian society. Read "America Last" by Jacob Heilbrunn and see how through the last century those who were in love with the monarchies of other countries also embraced their fascists. It is elitist, and as such has no place in the USA. I am in a country that got rid of their monarchy. While there are those who still use titles such as prince, it confers no legal status on them. They are just clinging to a relic of the past.
Okay. And I would agree, royalty doesn't work for Americans. But it does work for other societies and cultures. And no, those who respect a monarch as a symbol of their culture do not embrace fascists. If the people of these societies want a monarch, why should you deny it to them? Those who don't want one can, in almost all cases, be free of a monarchy. Look at how Australia and Canada conduct their daily lives.
Julius I agree with you, monarchy has evolved to the point where it represents continuity and years of learning. I think both the visit of Charles to Canada last year and this visit to US now demonstrates the value of that. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater concept. I don’t think absolute monarchy as it was has any place in the modern world (eg Saudi, Qatar, UAE). Any form of absolute power is something to be resisted too (Russia, behaviour of current US administration etc).
But the modern British monarchy is not anything like the monarchies referred to.
There is something to be said for a ceremonial tradition that unites a people.
The problem in 18th century America wasn't the king. It was that the colonizers who were massively murdering the local people weren't represented in the British parliament and therefore had no say over what taxes their parliament would impose on them.
The problem had never anything to do with kind or no king. It was a problem of "taxation without representation".
Linda, yes, your current country "got rid of their monarchy" but was also witness to the rise of the most treacherous dictator in the 20th century. Are you so certain that it couldn't happen again? Because after watching the rise of the Le Pens in France over the past 25 years, I am not so certain.
Linda, I posted my comment before reading any this morning, and you and I seem to be the only ones (thus far) that are not royalty fans.
I am SO SICK of the "tourist" argument for continuing to support a bunch of (imho) inbred rich people who have inherited their enormous wealth and status merely because of the penis they were shot out of. The Taj Mahal is a tourist attraction which brings in plenty of visitors, but (correct this ignorance if I am wrong) NOBODY is going there to see it because of the resident.
Absurd. The UK is a constitutional democracy, so "the people" voted FOR a monarchy. As do many other modern Western democracies.
And look, the US is not a monarchy but a republic, and it's in the US that things are going terribly wrong today, with fascism being installed, while in the UK, democracy continues to thrive.
The problem in the US is the incredibly high political illiteracy of its citizens, both left and right.
"...incredibly high political illiteracy of its citizens..." Yes, absolutely! Also why our current primary system isn't working very well, either.
Exactly. It's also why many democracies never allow citizens to vote in the primaries in the first place. It's the party leaders who know who truly has the capacity to govern, quite often, while citizens, especially in today's consumerist and hyperindividualistic climate, tend to vote for anyone who comes across as "charismatic".
Charisma is NOT a required quality in an outstanding leader. Competence, interest in studying complex issues and their history, the ability to negotiate compromises diplomatically, and a strong moral compass are key qualities.
As far as I am aware, there has never been a plebiscite on the monarchy in the UK. The dimunition of its powers has come over many hundreds of years.
Anyone who wants to can create a pro-republic political party, and with enough support from the people, change the Constitution and abolish the monarchy. Until now, no one was interested in doing so.
The end of the absolutist monarchy in the UK was already launched in the Middle Ages with the Magna Carta. This is why the UK had quite a powerful legislative branch of government already in the 18th century. It's just that the colonizers of the Americas never had any official representation, which obviously, over time, couldn't but become a problem.
The monarch reigns but does not rule.
Our king wants to rule...world of difference.
Look to the three other BE frontier countries...we should have stuck it out.
Ours not only wants to both reign and rule -- he midnight trash tweets.
I always preferred the No Dictators to No Kings...but what do I know.
Linda, as lauriemcf notes, I almost always agree with you, and I partially agree with your comment here. I am perplexed by the apparent universal public approval of Charles as some exemplar of morality. The public has a short memory.
Charles cheated on Diana with Camilla for the entirety of his marriage to Diana, which caused her no end of anguish, and indirectly, the premature end of her life. He is no more virtuous than his brother. Whatever good deeds he has done are likely self-imposed penance for his wrongs.
As regards the wealth of the Royal Family, I think it's a stretch to say it was "stolen." As described in the linked overview, the royals receive a grant funded by taxes, but it is earmarked for official purposes, and the British subjects know what they're paying for. No doubt, some support the expenditure and some don't, but it doesn't constitute theft. I would gladly pay for maintenance of powerless royalty if I could claw back the wasted money on congressional perks, ICE and obscenely bloated military spending.
https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/royal-finances
As for whether monarchy is a good or bad idea, it depends on the nature of the monarchy. Wikipedia lists five kinds of monarchies, and most of them seem pretty benign to me. I would suggest that some even seem to be far superior to the messy democracy we struggle with. For example, the people who live in the Scandinavian monarchies are perennially the happiest people in the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_monarchies
Not much in life is black or white.
True (but not that would take much, and that is not a slam on King Charles). It was nice to see his more relaxed human side.
And I will officially object to renaming the "Department of War". That implies overt aggressiveness of the US as a country (which I sincerely want to revert to its soon-to-be new normal goodness, which seeks peace, not war) and then there is, of course, the fiscally insane amount of money that name change would cost...and much better sense to spend on healthcare, public education, and addressing food insecurity.
Who isn't. My old cat that passed last year was better educated.
Kitty. Kitty.
bitchybitchybitchy, you are so right about the king's education and intelligence. It is more significant than all of the Trumplicans put together and that is truly sad! Some of them are supposed to have college educations. I wonder how many of them paid others to write their papers and take tests for them as Donald Trump did.
Ruth, AI probably did their work for free.
And, "bitchybitchybitchy," 2/3 of the Long Dong Clarence court.
The king presenting the lunch bell from the submarine HMS TRUMP to Trump was a nice touch! Someone please shoot me!
And especially ironic given there is not enough food for our troops.
Plus he served in his country's military.
Will we ever hear a coherent awesome speech from the fake king?
Not as long as his speech writers are employed at the pleasure of his Non Royal, Non Highness, Trump. He likes to be surrounded by the mediocre. His administration is a bastion of Affirmative action for not so bright, full of themselves, mediocre, rich White mostly men.
Trump personifies malignant metastasis of ego, kind of like a methamphetamine high; his self-appreciation reduced to subjugation of others. "My name is DONALD TRUMP, King or Kings. Look on my gilded Ballroom ye mighty, and despair."
In the last picture I saw, it looked more like a crater than a shelter and much less a ballroom. Let us hope it stays that way until someone sane is in the White House again.
https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2025/photos-of-the-white-houses-east-wing-then-and-now/#62f5814c84-1
It is an atrocity. It's called "The People's House". We hold the deed.
No more DEI but plenty of WEI (White, Entitled and Incompetent).
Wake up America-we’re being punked by men and women who don’t care about us, the nation’s stated ideals or world peace.
A rhetorical question.
I was thinking the same thing. J L. Contrast how the MSM treated every success during the Biden administration vs Trump's.
Biden delivered some of the best Presidential speeches in the past 100 years and received little credit. Trump, has never delivered a top speech.
Progress was made in almost every department of the government and the economy and all the Republicans can do is criticize.
Lincoln, a master of memorable oratory from when Republican meant "pro-republic" took a dim view of kings, though he acknowledged that the struggle between those who favor an egalitarian society and those who favor (for whatever reasons) a top-down, stratified society would continue. We still watch societies drift from one to the other. Sustainable freedom takes a lot of ongoing work, physically and emotionally.
"Sustainable freedom," right you are, J L. To me, that means all of us people need to be involved
Good lord! If you read the full transcript of Nora Odonalds recent interview with Trump you see exposed the incoherent ramblings and ravings of a complete madman.
His followers in Congress should be tasked with trying to defend and make sense of the demented responses their POTUS made to the attempt to have a reasonable conversation with the man they have supported and who has the codes for nuclear bombs.
Will pigs ever fly?
They do, Susan, in a book called "Tuesday," by David Wiesner, 1991.
It begins "Tuesday evening, around eight," when flying frogs begin their entrance to some small town. Continues all night. And by morning, the frogs return to nature.
And then, at the very end, "Next Tuesday, 7:58 p.m.," come the flying pigs.
No.
Of course not.
Marli, that will never happen even if he has a lobotomy
No.
He’s okay. The majority in the UK still support the Royal Family so we’re all stuck with them for the time being, but they’re looking increasingly anachronistic in the 21st Century. At least he has some dignity and doesn’t show us up too badly when abroad. The RF are hypocrites though, and they represent a privileged elite minority. Charles took far too long to deal with Andrew and one of Epstein’s best buddies Sarah Ferguson, so f**k them for that alone.
But at least he did. If I’m correct (and I might not be), Charles’s mother did not.
MLM, no British monarch was more concerned about the morale of her subjects than Elizabeth. Her philosophy was that publicly acknowledging scandal within the royal family would cause harm to national pride. She exercised her sovereign authority to prevent scandal when she could, but when members of the royal family went rogue, she thought it best to conceal the indiscretion for the good of the nation. One could dispute her methods, but not her motivation.
Or his speech writer does.
I was so pleasantly surprised by his address to congress. I was listening to it with Zev Shalev and Dean Brundell out of Canada. They played the entire speech! Both myself, the hosts were blown away by his elegant and polite way of pointing out everything that is wrong with this country ! Thank you King C for most likely being THE ONLY human, Donnie would allow out of his oval office and speak to Congress. It was like a breath of fresh air!
That part about the British burning down the WH must have stung (if Don was still awake)
His eyes were open, his mind was shut off. No surprise there....
His Royal Highness's visit is a de facto Royal endorsement of man convicted of 34 felonies, digital rape, misuse of a Charitable Funds, and, if our Justice system hadn't been honed as a weapon of the wealthy and powerful, extortion of a foreign leader for personal gain, inciting an insurrection, stealing state secrets, multiple obstructions of justice, RICO election interference,
and worst of all,
sex trafficking of minors and along with decades of pedophilia.
Interestingly, along with the HRH's own brother, the excrable Andrew, for whom he has provided Royal protection for years, finally bowing to undeniable FACTS instead of Believing and Respecting The Survivors Brave Enough To Speak Out Against the Royal Family for DECADES.
King Charles is legitimizing the lifelong criminal who now rules the formerly United States of America on behalf of the Fascist Capitalist Class. He is dining at the home of the very same Warligarchy that nearly wiped out Great Britain during his mother's reign.
Just like his Uncle, disgraced King Edward the VIII, dined with Hitler.
May he meet the same sad end as Edward and Wallis.
Edward was another sociopathic opportunist, and British and US intelligence services knew it. Thank goodness he abdicated. Charlie's Mother's reign?
King Charles’s speech to Congress was more presidential than anything they’ve experienced under this administration.
Zev Shalev in his Substack states:
“Donald Trump was left to watch the whole thing from the White House, unmentioned even once. Whether he grasped the speech’s carefully coded critique is anyone’s guess.
But it was the speech we’d all longed for — one denied by Trump’s mob-land version of democratic government.
The King took no direct shots — he’s too smart for that — instead grounding his speech in the founding documents his nation bequeathed to America at our founding.
He cited Magna Carta. He named the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances. He invoked the Declaration of Rights of 1689, the Bill of Rights of 1791, and the Spirit of 1776. He reminded Congress that America’s founding principle came from a fundamental disagreement with Britain — a disagreement that forged a lasting partnership.”
-Zev Shalev
Many are unaware that, in addition to being no dummy, the 7th great-grandson (or whatever) of George III possesses a sense of humor that You Know Who could never understand, let alone grasp. During the 50th Jubilee of his mother's reign, Dame Edna Everage in full-court lavender suddenly strode into the Royal Box at Albert Hall, taking her seat next to Camilla and Charles. As BBC cameras rolled, an usher tapped her on the shoulder sternly and motioned for the exit door. Dame Edna stood up and announced to the world — "they found me a better seat." Prince Charles can be seen nearly asphyxiating from laughter.
Never heard that story, ICTT. I laughed out loud. Dame Edna Everage was a global treasure. I still watch her on YouTube.
But I'm still puzzled as to why King Charles was even here.
To deliver the speech he delivered, progwoman.
The European democracies are all madly trying to figure out how to handle a U.S. gone totally berserk, fascist, racist, agog to the oligarchs, social media predators, armaments sources for mass murderers (yes, Netanyahu, Mohammed bin Salman), & our dear standardized testers, too.
Any cards they may use, they should.
Because true friends don't abandon you when you do something stupid.
(Like electing Trump)
He’s not just doing something stupid, everything he’s doing is stupid, and that has been the case ever since he took the oath of office with his hand pointedly not touching the Bible held by his 3rd wife, perhaps he was afraid his hand would catch on fire.
Oh, I didn't mean our British friends were sticking by Trump as he was being stupid, I meant they were sticking by us when we did something stupid in electing Trump. True friends will hope we will see the error in our ways and do better next time.
I edited for clarification, thanks.
Nice sentiment. But even a true friend may back off if the president you elected tries to destroy them.
Agreed. I'm sure many would like to tell us to just piss off.
He’s an ambassador for Britain. And so far as king, like his mother before him, he’s done a pretty good job representing the country. Trump has been attacking the UK on and off and apparently it is good relations to send the king over to awe trump who fancies himself a king too.
I’d love to have the questioned answered…why the hell are Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in negotiations with Iran? I think the Iranians would like to know that too. Or why were they in Russia and Israel.
I’d add that he is also subject to the rule of law under Magna Carta (which he mentioned in his speech).
And King Charles is a gentleman. I would leave my kids alone in a room with him.
Marj, are you suspecting that that the scumbag president is not trustworthy?
He denies being a pedophile after all. That should make you regain full confidence in his sense of honor, respect and decency.....yeah, right.
Ricardo, I saw someone post, "In honor of the king's visit, I'm spelling it pædophile this week."
It's just another way to call the scumbag what he really is. Thanks Dale 😃
Kings are kings, and we don’t value kings in America. That is foundational to our identity.
Yesterday, the interest on the national debt, which has increased by over $4 trillion under Trump and his Republican cadre of fools and sycophants, went over $1 trillion a year. We used to talk about government spending in millions and then billions and now it's trillions.
When was the last time you heard a Republican politician mention the national debt? Congress refuses to increase taxes to pay for their wild-ass spending and they are more than happy to pay $60 billion plus for Trump's big fuck-up in the Middle East.
Too bad Trump is more TOFU than TACO for everyone on the planet.
As HCR points out "Trump is desperate for a win."
As always, Trump is spending other people's money with abandon.
"We used to talk about government spending in millions and then billions and now it's trillions."
This is not government spending, in the sense that the government is paying for something it receives in return. This trillion a year is just debt service - paying interest on stuff we already bought but couldn't pay for then, and still can't pay for now.
This trillion dollars is money for nothing. Money we can't spend today on healthcare, education, social services, scientific research, defense or any of the other things the government still needs to buy today. And until we can start paying that down, by collecting more revenue in taxes or cutting current spending, it will continue to get worse.
In addition to running the treasury >as if< it was his personal checking account, he's also running the treasury >the same way< he runs his personal checking account. No bills are real until the collection agency camps out on the lawn and his lawyers can't make them go away. Till then there's always the chance he can slime his way out of paying those bills forever.
Unfortunately we can't bully our creditors the way he bullied his contractors. At some point we won't be able to carry forward the balance due, and the rest of the world will label us as the deadbeats we are becoming, and stop funding our lifestyle-beyond-our-means.
The next three years, during which Trump continues to spend like a sailor on leave, will be bad ones for our economy. The next three decades, in which we may be dealing with the consequences of national bankruptcy, will be far worse.
Indeed. Another day in Trumpland means another satire...
In a normal country, an armed security breach near the president might lead to questions about intelligence failures, Secret Service readiness, or political violence. In Trump’s America, it leads naturally to the obvious conclusion: submit a facilities request.
The problem, we are told, is not that the government is unstable. It is that the instability has been occurring in rooms of inadequate grandeur.
This is the administration’s most efficient policy innovation yet: every crisis is now a construction issue. Security failure? Ballroom. Legal problem? Ballroom. Congressional dysfunction? Ballroom. Foreign policy embarrassment? Ballroom. The republic is on fire, but first, we need to know whether the sprinkler system coordinates with the gold leaf.
You almost have to admire the bureaucratic nerve. A man gets arrested with weapons near the White House, and somehow the lesson is not “tighten security.” It is “expand the event space.” Somewhere, a contractor just became a homeland security expert.
This is not government by law. It is government by change order.
The genius of the ballroom theory is that it solves nothing while absorbing everything. It gives donors a project, loyalists a talking point, and cable news something shiny to debate while the actual machinery of democracy grinds along like a shopping cart with one bad wheel.
Naturally, taxpayers are invited to participate, by which I mean pay. Because if Americans can’t afford health care, child care, or groceries, they can at least enjoy the spiritual privilege of financing a room they will never enter.
The Founders worried about tyranny, faction, corruption, and executive overreach. Their mistake was assuming despotism would arrive with soldiers.
They did not imagine it would arrive with a floor plan, a press release, and a solemn legal theory that national survival depends on improved banquet logistics.
Lindsey Graham is simply boiling with states' rights rage after reading your sensible post. Pearls have been clutched, black lace fans have been whipped out, smelling salts and a fainting couch have been called for. Yes, it's that serious....
Did someone say "fainting couch?" JD Vance is on it!
...
...
No, literally. He's on it. ICTT, cover your eyes. You don't want to see this.
HEH! HEH! HEH! "a fainting couch....." !!
Michael, I (again) applaud your use of language. "...national survival depends on improved banquet logistics". Bravo, sir!
Thank you Michael. I look forward to your writing.
hello!
I fear, Michael, you have insufficiently stressed the needs for gold leaf and gilt.
Charles is not that decent. Really if you look at his covering up for his brother until it was forced on them, and staying in the monarchy, a ridiculously outdated institution I am not so bowed by his graciousness. NO KINGS means NO KINGS!
He also refused to meet with survivors of his brother's and others' crimes.
And wasn't he married and divorced from someone named Diana? I'm assuming the way Charles was depicted in "The Crown" was accurate.
Because no one here has ever made a poor decision.
But no one here was no. 1 in line for the throne and heir apparent to lead the Church of England. He should be held to a higher standard. The Crown is worth a billion dollars + or -. That should come with responsibility and consequences.
Curious, by your standard is staying married to woman you don't love, and who doesn't love you preferable to divorce?
And you take TV shows as being accurate depictions of history and people?
Just wondering here.
Agree. The best outcome would be for Mountbatten to be charged, convicted and sent to prison.
I don't know Linda, I am inclined to cut him a bit of slack bc on the Andrew thing. I have never been in the position of defending a corrupt family member and can't say honestly what I would do. I hope I would do the right thing-not sure though. And ultimately he did do the right thing. Judging a person's whole life on an act does not seem fair to me.
I can cut him slack as a family member, but not as a Monarch. I am not judging Charles's whole life on that act, I am judging him on what I know about his life. His abominable treatment of his first wife is a case in point.
Absolutely, Phil. And we should acknowledge that James Comey’s reminder, “ …it’s really important that all of us remember this is not who we are as a country…” hits the bullseye. As much as it pains us to see Trump’s face on coins and postage stamps and his ridiculous, self-serving arch and ballroom and all the rest, we may, as a nation, ultimately need to embrace all these disgusting tributes as humble reminders of how far off course we have wandered from our commitment to the Rule of Law and Justice and our pursuit of a more perfect union.
Phil, Oooo! I like the new, more honest title for the old DOJ, the Department of Continuous Obscenity (DCO). That is truly what it has become. I blame our Baby Donnie who is scared and angered by nearly everything, but also the Republicans and some Democrats in the Senate who saw fit to saddle this nation with ignoramuses, sycophants, even destroyers to critical offices, not only in the DCO, but also throughout our government. Shame on them all!
Firstly, it was not TWO KINGS but rather one genuine KING and one genuine BOOB. As for the DOJ, perhaps we should remove the curve at the bottom or J making into an I for Department of Injustice.
What a mess trump is making of a once good if not perfect country. And he just goes on. But if my tax money goes to fund the gD ballroom I believe I will begin not filing ever again. I will put the money in escrow until sanity returns.
I so resisted filing taxes this year I gave the accountant my stuff late. I made it perfectly clear late filing was fine with me. Still not done.
It's been reported that Congress gave King Charles a standing ovation following his speech. What does that say?
That they haven’t heard a sensible speech since Jan 20, 2025? Or even a coherent sentence?
Debby, I don't know. When I saw Corporal Couchf****r and Little Johnson stand up and applaud, I was stunned. He just eviscerated them and all they could do was stand and clap.
Watch the video, it was really interesting.
what about the Department of Retribution?
Pamela-How ironic that the DOJ was founded after the Civil War to protect Black people and those who wanted to pursue “justice for all” from the violence and lawlessness perpetrated by the KKK.
Even after J. Edgar Hoover’s actions to undermine Civil Rights, this DOJ is the worst ever-it’s lawless as they take orders from their malicious and self appointed king.
Well said Phil.
If nothing else, Charles reminded us of the story, the due process, the originality of the work…as I read about Donny-John and his clowns. What is missed by the punditry is the lack of prior thoughtful process…it’s always “blow it out your ass” and then clean up the mess…why are we not talking about the demolition of the East Wing which was on top of the secure basement. I know, it’s just their typical distraction, the gold spray-painted thing with a clear case of ‘Column Envy’…count them. No process, no rules, not any smart people working hard to do the right thing, and do it well. I guess they decided that the stairs to nowhere was a “bridge too far” so they drew in a door. This is stupid!
This is so Donny! He has no process, no people, no plan…Iran is the perfect example! No actual idea of what he is fucking doing! Certainly HegsDeath has no idea…like shooting boats in the Caribbean. ‘’Why? Because we can!”
Tear up the prior agreement before you have something better because you are a racist!!! Fuck it up and blame others…’You’re fired!’
And of course at the ‘Celebration of the First Amendment’ dinner, someone perhaps forget to fill out the form, to declare they required a high level of security because it was a high level of security event.
More distraction…
Phil, I was just thinking about the name DOJ this week and how we needed a different name. I see Barbara has an excellent option which I will start using with kudos to her.
Phil, personally, I am not a fan of a monarchy. I absolutely would not curtesy to any other person simply because of the vagina they emerged from. If anything, I feel a bit sorry for them, as it seems to be a curse to be born into a life of constant scrutiny.
That being said, I wondered WHAT all Charles knows about Epstein, and wish he would have blurted it out in front of all of those Congress assembled! Here I go falling right into the trap of conspiracy theories, but to oust his brother, he must have had some pretty damning information! And still, and still--he and his wife fly across the pond to have tea parties and sumptuous banquets with this fool. Besides both men having cheated on their wives in common, they share knowledge--knowledge which apparently is valuable enough to bring the entire world economy to its knees!
This whole thing disgusts me.
Heaven help us.
Phil,
Brilliant points, all. Thank you, good Sir.🫱🏻🫲🏽
B.L.U.F. (bottom-line, up-front):¿Why not indict Trump and his merry gangsters in the homes of American citizens across America?🤔
Minority Leader, Representative Jeffries, has actively discouraged talk of impeachment should the Democratic Party re-assume legislative powers, The suggested document would issue on 21jun26, the two hundred, thirty-sevent anniversay of New Hampshire ratifying the "Constitution" as the ninth state.✍️
That document would be a Senate Resolution, bound to be defeated, modelled after the two-hundred, fifty year old 'Declaration of Independence'. It would open with a flourish, but not quite invoke the right of revolution cited by Messrs Locke and Jefferson that inspired the timeless prose of our original vision-&-mission statement.🗽
Then, again similar to the 'Declaration', cite in emotive detail (i.e., neither legalese nor polemic), all of the President's wrong-doing. This new resolution-as-declaration would not call for revolution but express a vote of 'no confidence' in Trump, Vance, the Cabinet, and selected other officials (e.g., Brendan Carr, perhaps Alito, Thomas, Roberts et al.).⚖️
Below is a reply, which replicates my comment posted a few minutes ago. Right now, I feel like we are watching the outflow of the receding tide of the failing, now flailing, dash toward dictatorship that has passed its peak. One should keep in mind, however, that the ebb is good news, but the water remains very dirty and poisonous.😱
General: "Mr Secretary, that order contradicts my oath to the Constitution." 🤔
Hegseth: "¡You're fired!
Admiral: "Sir, that order violates international laws of war." 😳
Hegseth: "¡You're fired!"
Commandant: "¿Do you ever say anything besides, '¡You're fired!'?" 🖕
Hegseth: "Yeah, ¡you're soooo totally fired!"
Now that the craven quislings in Congress have provided for paramilitary funding for several years through a legislative legerdemain, this ballet from 1932 captures the mood of our day. 😱
https://youtu.be/QxJsITxObU4 (36-37min.vid.)
Culture is optics. 😳
Courage is conformity. 😢
Character is choreography. 💔
Apologies, Phil, I posted the lead post twice in error. I deleted the one without the reply. In any case, this gives the chance to write how delighted I am to see you at the top of the "pecking" order today -- another foolish pun from the benighted states of Amerika.
The part of shooting story that didn’t make sense from the beginning is that how could a man with a shotgun who “got off a shot and hit an officer”, would not be alive today. He likely would have died in a hail of gunfire. The inconsistencies in reporting this shooting event are very worrisome.
On a brighter note, the Trump passports will be for DC only, so they say. Ironically, Trump supporters on the whole are not big on flying anyway, they’re more into building bunkers and prepping.
"The inconsistencies in reporting this shooting event are very worrisome". Yes, I agree. If the shooter was on a different floor altogether, and witnesses heard gunshots right outside the door to the ballroom, who could have fired those shots? The alleged assassin?
Meanwhile, at least two murderous ICE thugs remain free and unaccounted for, probably many more than that. Why hasn't the (In)Justice Department charged any of them with murder? And why has Kristi Noem gotten away with grifting at least $220 million from the Federal government?
To charge the ballroom shooter so quickly and not any of the ICE and CBP thugs for, well any crimes, is insulting to all Americans.
Great point!
And she’s still living in grand government housing.
Is she MLM?
Per either Rachel Maddow or Jen Psaki, she has not yet vacated the USCG Commandant's residence.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fired-but-not-evicted-kristi-noem-reportedly-still-living-in-waterfront-coast-guard-mansion/ar-AA21EVck?ocid=socialshare
I recently read that The ICE officer who killed Renee Good is back in service in a different location. 😡
Shades of abusive priests. SMH
Yeah, sad but true.
Within two weeks of the incident, IIRC. Absolutely disgusting.
Hopefully, someday he will be found guilty of murder 1.
Garrett Graff had a newsletter about the " Shooting" yesterday. It 's worth reading. Graff points out that the evidence shows that the so called "assassin" never got off a single shot! The shots the guests all heard were fired by secret service officers - one who accidentally shot a fellow secret service member, who fortunately was wearing a protective vest, and another shot fired by the injured agent at the so called assassin, who was quickly taken down on the floor and hogtied.
Keystone kops!
It is tempting to go there, but don't. Those are tense, rapidly evolving circumstances, and I am willing to bet that none of those SS agents had thought through someone armed to the hilt barging through their perimeter.
I believe the investigation is still ongoing; what I have read this morning is that the only SSA who fired their weapon was the one who was shot. Ballistics evidence is still being analyzed.
"none of those SS agents had thought through someone armed to the hilt barging through their perimeter."
Isn't that their entire job? Observe, assess, secure, check everything, then check it again and again, especially in unfamiliar surroundings and buildings that aren't hardened for top level security.
I always taught “expect the unexpected”.
Yes, it is indeed their job. Job one, I’d venture to say.
So...9/11 was an inside job? Oswald was a patsy? And how about that faked moon landing?
Please stop, it bad enough MAGA gets into this stuff...Think Occam.
Bingo! When an assailant fires at federal officers they shoot back- to kill. It was playacting to manipulate us. How can a man cross the country armed like he was on a train without being stopped?
Because they don't put people through the same screening on trains the way they do at airports. Why do you THINK he took a train, to enjoy the scenery?
There's a lot of goofy conspiratorying here on this Newsletter that makes no sense. A deranged, Ted Kaczynski-style lunatic with gun, knives, etc. made a dash through a security area in a hotel that has never been as heavily guarded as it should be. And yes, Secret Service agents can miss their target -- or perhaps it was a warning first.
We all get that the whole thing felt staged, given the country and the politics we live in. That does not mean it was.
Michael didn't say it was. The uniformed Secret Service agent was shot by one of the Gang That Can't Shoot Straight, aka the contemporary Trumpified Secret Service. Rick Wilson spotted it this morning, and by mid-afternoon people in Maladministration II were admitting that's the case.
TC, that's my opinion as well, but I haven't been able to find any good reporting on it. What I found was that all SSA weapons had been examined and reportedly the only agent who fired is the one who shot at the suspect.
But then, that is them investigating themselves, so...
Knowing this regime and knowing state regime media, we’re unlikely to ever know the truth about the circumstances of the shooting, however that doesn’t make people who ask questions and point out inconsistencies conspiracy theorists - seekers of the truth, interested enquirers, curious observers, people challenging propaganda, people intelligent enough to spot gaslighting and lies - all of these would be far more appropriate descriptions than ‘goofy’.
Asking questions is one thing. Leaping from questions to conclusions that ignore the obvious confusion of the moment in lightning speed is another. Occam and his razor shouldn't be afterthoughts. Incompetence generally explains more than does conspiracy.
First of all, he does not appear to be a “lunatic.”He appears to be a man so outraged at this president that he couldn’t take it any longer. There are countless people in this country that feel similarly.
Yes, that's what the Unabomber said too. Please spare me the justifications for a nut with a shotgun, pistol and several knives running through a Secret Service security barrier.
My point is that this guy was a productive member of society before this event. The Unabomber was an outcast from society who lived alone in the woods.
I get that about security, not being as tight on trained as it is on airplanes, but he was carrying a lot of stuff. Could he have taken the gun apart and put it in a duffel bag? Or does a rifle not do that?
ICTT, weird that they host the president in a hotel where guests In the hotel have access to him. Did the guests who checked in the days previous to the dinner pass background checks every single time they left or entered their rooms? I don't get it.
Obviously this was staged.
We all know how easy to get the whole groups of people to stage something like this. Just like the moon landing and 9/11.
And how about hiring that guy to voluntarily get shot?
Oh wait...Did you see that picture on You Tube of this event with Elvis in the background?
Don't forget Sandy Hook, Gary!
I really do want to know who shot the SSA. I haven't found any credible reporting.
Friendly fire?
You've been there, it happens. We had a SWAT guy accidently shoot another SWAT member in the leg. Well, he never lived that down.
I'm always amazed at the folks who don't understand these things take time.
Yes. SWAT mission in an area where radio didn’t work. Very abbreviated, entry deviated from their plan, sniper saw “an ember”, then noted “ember is extinguished”, then saw a man with a rifle coming towards where entry was supposed to approach, and shot our entry sergeant. They both survived the incident.
Sometimes plans go awry. DT doesn’t care. You know what the most fake part of that attempted assassination was? That the Secret Service agents did not keep him covered up on the ground, but they let him jump up waving his fist in the air! That is totally unreal.
I'm curious, do you think Butler PA was staged?
And last Saturday?
Yes, I think DT is all about winning no matter the cost.
I also think Trump is about winning, but that doesn't answer the question.
Do you think these events were faked? Both or either?
I'm in NY and recently renewed my passport - and am thankful there is no picture of Trump on it -- or I would have had to get out my sharpie!
My passport is in process of being renewed, and I have to say that I got a stomach cramp when I heard that the Orange Felon was going to put his hideous face on passports. Thankfully, mine is not going through the DC office…at least I don’t think so.
If it should show up with this monster’s face on it, I will return it until they fix this travesty.
"Trump supporters....they're more into building bunkers and prepping."
Would that make them libertarian? If that's the case, why do they still support Republicans who are all about deficit spending and building an army of brown shirt thugs?
Having lived and practiced in Boston, NYC, Georgia, Louisiana and Florida and from what I can tell republicans, are very into collecting guns (duh) and then their friends get them into prepping. Many homes have bunkers but you won’t know it and likely most if their neighbors do not for obvious reasons. It’s ridiculous how many people are just waiting for something like a leftist takeover. Many are quite paranoid.
Mike- You describe two of my childhood MAGA friends to a tee. They are both peppers with many guns and knives. They both have left the city and live in the boonies on farms in the midwest. One of them is almost off the grid with both solar and wind power while the other hasn't made the leap-yet!
And again, you are correct them and their spouses are quite paranoid. A few years ago a convicted murderer escaped from the state pen about 30 miles from one of them. They got their guns loaded and within a stones throw, just in case he chose their out of the way farm to hold up in.
And many of the oligarchs have entire compounds with full time staff just in case of the "leftist takeover" you mention.
GJ-Just what are they afraid of if there’s a “leftist takeover”?
I met preppers in Chicago 40 years ago. They packed up and headed to the mountains out west. I'm not sure how things played out for them.
My wife and I have been watching the "Off the grid" series. It's been very educational as well as entertaining. I have to admire people with absolutely no experience in building, putting together some very nice homes off the grid.
We're on season nine I think and there have been some truly amazing self contained homes all across the country and even a few house boats.
My favorite part of them show is watching people make the same mistakes we have made over the years when building. The one common link between all of the shows is the weather bites them in the butt -- time and again.
Hint: If you watch the show and want to play a drinking game, choose the word "snow, winter, or rain." And make sure you don't have to drive when it's over.
🤣🤣🤣
That sounds like an interesting show. Might have to give it a look.
Like the folks here who think the shooting was staged?
Nuttiness has no party affiliation.
Mike, I agree, but I’d take the ‘quite’ before paranoid out.
Because so-called “libertarians” are as phony as a three dollar bill.
Never met a Libertarian who made any sense. Their arguments on issues are as slippery and stupid as Donnie Demented’s.
I have come to believe that "getting rid of the deficit" was never anything but code for "cut all programs that help working class and the poor and funnel all that money to the obscenely wealthy."
I live for the day his name and image are torn in shame from every possible building, item, or document he defiled.
I'm just gonna take a wild guess here...you weren't in law enforcement.
The idea that in that setting there would have been a hail of gunfire is just wrong. Or that there would be inconsistencies in an initial report is somehow evidence of a conspiracy is odd in itself.
Noting unheard of or especially suspicious about a zealot with an agenda of victimhood shooting a place up in America.
Why would anyone find this suspicious in the USA? we should be used to this by now.
Gary-Unfortunately many people are suspicious because we’ve had to put up with so many lies, so much deceit and so many coverups, including Epstein.
You're right.
"We have met the enemy and he is us" ~Pogo
I really, really want to know who shot the Secret Service agent. In my opinion, that was without a doubt a friendly-fire incident.
And what happened to his clothes, why did he have a Mylar blanket covering his lower half?
One theory of why the gunman wasn't killed that makes some sense to me, is that there were a lot of other people around and security used restraint in firing to reduce risk of killing uninvolved people. The takedown by tackle worked.
I wonder how many of the MAGA have passports, and if not, have the ability to pay for them?
"The Atlantic published a piece...indicating that Vice President J.D. Vance is distancing himself from the Iran debacle, in this case by questioning whether Hegseth is providing Trump accurate information about the war..."
It's hard to distance yourself from a debacle you've previously velcroed your face to.
This is something every one in Guilty Donald's administration and particularly the inner members of his gang should keep in mind: "That Trump Stank won't wash off."
I'm waiting for the sleepwalking scene in Macbeth, portrayed by Lindsey Graham, mumbling "yet here's a spot...all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand..."
ugh I just heard it in my head in that awful voice of his haha Almost makes me want to whip up an AI meme of it - but I haven't touched the stuff and I'm not going to start now.
apologies for polluting your brain....!
“Velcroed your face to.” 😃
Super glued.
Todd Blanche should come and see the dark seashell-spelled messages in MY garden...
https://substack.com/@sylvestercat/p-163787851
Groveling scumbags without honor or shame performing mumbo-jumbo legal pirouettes to entertain an audience of ONE alone. Joined by Melanomia playing her part in the Greek chorus of mice, fobbing herself off as Miss Morality (“vhee take humor very seriously and vhee are not amused vhen comedians speak the troot”).
Arresting Jim Comey is only about the dumbest performative indictment I have ever heard of. They'll be lucky if the judge doesn't burst out laughing when these bungholes describe those ghastly, tell-tale seashells on a deserted beach that clearly spell out “REDRUM! REDRUM!” in the mirror — obviously a secret pro-assassination message. 🤪
This afternoon, Todd Blanche toddled onto a stage muttering nonsense in front of a lectern. Had he strutted out wearing pink hot pants, holding a ginormous portrait of You Know while tonguing a lollipop in front of it, it would have been more honest.
This ridiculous case right out of Monty Python's Flying Circus will be dismissed of course, but not before spending time and money to fight it — which is the whole point. And it's yet-one-more squirrel-squirrel diversion from these peoples' increasingly desperate attempts to run away from their own malicious fuckupery as fast as they can.
Hi It's Come To This, wow are you on it today! You gave me my first belly laugh on this day of dismal news. That Todd Blanche visual was too much! I needed that badly.
your humble servant...
I agree—ICTT is on a roll.
I am often reminded of The Parliament of Silly Walking as well as "The Larch" when considering this so-called "government" with which we are currently saddled. Also, "Run awayyyy...."
Blanche glared at everyone during that press conference to show his serious fierceness. I want to know HOW that indictment materialized—did the presenters whip up a grandiose story about “8647” writ in seashells, of all the menacing things, or was the grand jury composed of chimpanzees? Oh wait. I volunteer at our zoo. Chimps are smarter than that.
Don’t know which district in North Carolina assembled this grand jury to indict Comey, but as a native of this State I am not surprised. There are areas of this State that are black holes of intelligence, it is the kind of place that you do not even stop for gas, just pass through as quickly as possible….and you had better not be a POC.
Well it was the Eastern District of North Carolina. Alina Habba knew she couldn't get a grand jury in Washington DC to do anything but laugh at her.
He looked as scary as a toddler.
What a great idea for my perennial bed! Thanks!
Goodness, reality 🤦♀️
Resource below to easily contact all of Congress - Be LOUD. We deserve better 💔🤍💙
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) to contact members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly.
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
Comments/reactions help keep this bumped ✊
I keep putting
"202-224-3121 Congress Switchboard
Don't know your Congress members?
Just give your zip code to get connected.
Give you name, town and state, and be short and sweet
but state firmly what you want."
Usually not that whole thing. Sometimes just "save it in your contacts."
in comments on social media.
Great job!
We do deserve better! Thank you for this work, Megan.
Thank you, Megan.
It is curious that the agent injured in this incident - hit but wearing a "ballistic" vest - is reported to have drawn his gun and fired five times at Mr. Allen. Mr. Allen fell to the ground and was arrested, but wasn't shot. So was the agent firing that gun a terrible shot, or firing warning shots, or shooting at something else, or too rattled to be effective, or what?
I'm still hung-up on how the alleged shooter was charged within a couple of days for attempted assassination and Renee Good's and Alex Pretty's murderers apparently have immunity and are still OTJ. That is majorly insulting.
And what is happening with the Epstein Files. Why hasn't Blanche, Trump and Melania been called to give a deposition?
The fact that the White House authorised the publication of Cole Allen's manifesto against usual practice shows that Trump and the Republicans want to max out on this incident. In fact, the seriousness of the threat to Trump's life was perhaps undermined by the fact that he appears to have been allowed to watch the commotion in the room from behind the curtains.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8uHNJIVKiZs
Comer said he only wants ‘interviews.’ No one under oath, obviously.
I haven't heard anything about the injuries of the agent - he was supposedly at the hospital but released very soon afterwards. What were those injuries that he has suffered? Also - wouldn't there be traces of the projectile in the agent's vest which would lead to the gun from which the shot was fired?
Allen said in his manifesto that he would only load with buckshot - if true, it should be easy to know immediately if he fired the shot that hit the agent or not.
"buckshot"; exactly. If that is what Allen had loaded in his gun and he pulled the trigger, it should be easy to see on the vest. Would buckshot go through a bullet-proof vest?
I assume that one still can take quite a hit with a bullet-proof vest, but that the injury is unlikely to be serious, though rifles are now sold to the public that can penetrate body armor.
It is not uncommon in an officer involved shooting for the officer who is hit to go to the hospital for a medical check, nor is it uncommon for officers who shoot their weapons where someone is injured or killed to be transported for blood draws. (personal experience in civilian law enforcement on at least a half dozen OIS investigations).
<sidebar> This apparently excludes ICE agents who kill protesters or shoot vehicle operators after ICE rams their vehicles.
It's not like the movies. A ballistic vest (usually) will stop a bullet, but the kinetic energy has to go somewhere. It usually results in heavy bruising, possible broken ribs, and soft tissue/organ damage. So yeah, a hospital visit is warranted.
Getting hit by a round while wearing a ballistic ("bulletproof") vest isn't like Hollywood. The kinetic energy of the rou d has to go somewhere. The vest spreads it over a wide area of the body. It usually causes heavy bruising, can break ribs, and do organ damage. A hospital visit is warranted. He may have been checked over and sent home to recover.
I don't know of there would be traces of the round on the vest. It sounds possible. If he did get hit by one of the other agents, do you really think the regime would tell us? It doesn't play as well in the whole story as "the perp shot an agent."
The modern Secret Service couldn't find its ass with both hands on a clear day with a three hour advance notice.
I do not disagree with your assessment. That is why I am highly suspicious that the shooting of the SSA was a friendly fire event.
I wondered that too.
“Everything Trump touches dies” is an often stated truism about the guy. What seems most clear at this point is that the United States will collapse without technically dying before Trump leaves office. God help us all.
"Yesterday Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and others jumped in front of the cameras to present a bill to appropriate $400 million of taxpayer money to build the ballroom. "
Wait, didn't somebody tell Senator Pittypat that the Louis XIV-Third Reich ballroom was supposed to be paid for entirely by outside donors? Or that the magic ballroom only holds 999 guests, whereas the Hinkley Hilton holds hundreds more? There's no coatroom at the White House large enough to accommodate a bubble wand, crinoline hoop skirts and accompanying taffeta wardrobe.
It’s all part of Trump’s spending spree. He’s going to bankrupt our nation. We don’t need his ballroom or his arch.
But, but, he says every president for 150 years has wanted it. The ballroom. And as for that arch.. But what about the swimming-pool blue of the reflecting pool? His taste is (fortunately) inimitable. I looked at that picture of him with King Charles in the Oval Office with paintings all over the walls and that incredible clutter of "gold" STUFF. I can see the King describing it to his family when he gets home - with his sense of humour - and everyone falling about with laughter. Did you notice his little crack about the changes to the East Wing since his last visit? Got a great laugh from the Congress.
The Oval Office looks like an office for a busy whorehouse.
Thanks MLM - good laugh before coffee.
999? The Devil's number?
"Initially expected to seat 650, in September Trump said this had been revised upward to 900,[18] and in October he said it would be able to hold 999 people..."
From Wikipedia. [Kim, Seung Min (October 16, 2025). "WATCH: Trump hosts dinner for donors to $250 million White House ballroom project". PBS Newshour. Associated Press. Retrieved October 17, 2025]
You literally couldn't make shit like this up even if you wanted to.
Donold is particular about numbers too and in all appearance and actions, an antichrist.
Indeed! In fact, at the Press Club dinner, he was very absorbed in the party game by the "mentalist"(??) who was predicting the name of Karoline Leavitt's baby.
Seems like mentalist guy should have had numbers in mind when KKKaroline 'jokingly' said "shots will be fired"...
Were the baby names Damian or Reagan?
snort snort.... 😜
No, that’s 666, the Mark of the Beast.
Upside down it’s is even more evil, mark of the Donold
Remember the seashells spell REDRUM if you look at them in the mirror.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
👌🐚🙀👻
Cross fingers...
Well, one way or the other, you can't go wrong. Or right.
ICYMI: on 4/28/26 Charlie Sykes of To the Contrary interviewed Anne Applebaum (Pulitzer Prize winning historian and author of “Autocracy Inc.” and “Twilight of Democracy”. https://substack.com/@sykescharlie/note/p-195681989?r=1d2cea&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action. They discussed Trump’s authoritarianism, how Hungary overcame Viktor Orban, how Poland regained democracy in 2023, Pope Leo, the effect of Trump’s Iran war on the European countries and their relationship to the U.S., and many other topics. Anne Applebaum lives in Poland at least half of the time because she is married to a Polish government minister and thus has an intimate knowledge of European politics.
UPDATE: Anne Applebaum, historian, journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner for her book “Gulag”, author of “Autocracy, Inc.”, “Twilight of Democracy”and seven other books was interviewed 4/28/26 on the subject of the recent Hungarian elections by Sean Wilentz, professor of history at Princeton University and Sidney Blumenthal, American journalist, Abraham Lincoln scholar, and former aide to President Clinton on Legal AF/Meidastouch:
https://substack.com/@sykescharlie/note/p-195681989?r=1d2cea&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
They discussed the importance of the defeat of Orban’s illiberal democracy, and Orban’s methods of taking over a government which he shared with Trump and his administration and with the world. The Trump and Orban regimes were in bed together with numerous U.S. officials visiting Hungary and J D Vance and Rubio openly campaigning for Orban in the election. There was a strong Hungarian connection to Russia with Orban serving as a spokesman for Russia in EU meetings and sharing documents from the meetings with Sergei Lavrov (to the consternation of the other members of the EU) Russian Foreign Minister. Orban’s defeat has unlocked EU aid for Ukraine which Orban was blocking. Trump Administration commercial relations with Russia have been revealed. Kushner and Witkoff have apparently failed in all their negotiations most likely from ineptitude but also because they were functioning as “klepto-diplomats”. Applebaum feels that all 21st century autocracies - in contrast to 20th century autocracies - are kleptocracies. The corruption involves the reordering of the state for the financial benefit of the rulers.
Anne Applebaum lives in Poland at least half of the time because she is married to a Polish government minister and thus has an intimate knowledge of European politics.
On 4/28/26 Charlie Sykes of To the Contrary also interviewed Anne Applebaum: https://substack.com/@sykescharlie/note/p-195681989?r=1d2cea&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action They discussed Trump’s authoritarianism, how Hungary overcame Viktor Orban, how Poland regained democracy in 2023, Pope Leo, the effect of Trump’s Iran war on the European countries and their relationship to the U.S., and many other topics which were different from those discussed with Blumenthal and Wilentz of LegalAF.
Sebastian Gorka since before the first administration settled in and his wife may be involved. There were many people and incidences ten and eleven years ago that really bothered me. It’s taken such along time for all of the machinations to be seen.
Sebastian Gorka is a deputy assistant to Trump and authoritarian/MAGA propagandist.
I guess Trump didn’t get the memo millions of Americans sent during the last three “No Kings” rallies.
Let's remind him on May 1.
He probably saw it but didn't "get" it. He's not noted for his subtlety.
He would never admit it, but he is getting the message. Even with his obvious mental incapacity, he still recognizes any slight to his warped ego. He is showing his desperation as a result of understanding that he is a sick joke to the entire world.
I heard that it’s only passports procured in DC that will have Trump’s photo. I hope that’s true, because I just mailed in my application for renewal, and I don’t want to have to look at him!
It's a "limited" number (based on the no-doubt incredible demand for a picture of Grumpy Cat trying to fob himself off as Winston Churchill in fake-gold brocade) available at the Washington DC Passport Agency ONLY if you want them. Hey, they'll be selling like pancakes....Right.
Assure you that nobody in Washington DC (maybe save for Karoline Spokesbarbie) will be standing in line for that particular bit of pornography.
I suppose, Susan, that using a black Sharpie to obscure his face is a no-no in passport land. I, too, would not want to carry his visage around in any form!
It would be delicious to use that passport to vote straight Blue, though. 😉
Last last year it took only 10 days from the submission of the request to renew, with a new uploaded picture, to delivery of my new passport.
Same with me. Did it online. Easy peasy. Would not use the mails for anything. Took me five days to get a letter from my accountant. I really think the Post Office is already unreliable.
I’ve been wondering whether the passport would still be valid if everyone redacted his ugly mug…
That thought has occurred to me!
"Two Kings" on the White House website? If King Charles is a reader of the WH website, which I doubt, he might sue Trump for defamation. Except that he's not on that level.
What an exhibition at that dinner! the uneducated ignoramus and the educated aristocrat.
Tp be fair, just about the lowest bar imaginable. A drugged and drunk King Charles would still sound better than a sober You Know Who.
Still laughing as I try to visualise that.
Caption should be “Alleged Pedophile and Brother of Alleged Pedophile.”
I gotta tell you that my MAGAt friends are laughing at me because the White House did an "epic troll on the libs". I kid you not.
While they put Trump's face on $1 coins, gold commemorative coins, and national park passes, why not put his face on sidewalks all over the country, where there are sidewalks that is? That would motivate people to go out and get their steps in.
If they put his face on urinals I'm gonna end up so dehydrated...
Or enjoying the chance to piss on his face. I pity the poor clean-up crews.
Only if they can put them in the bowls of the toilets in the ladies room. Then we can "double dip", as it were....
The vindictiveness is on full display - again - with this latest Comey attack. They must know there's no way he'll be convicted, but he'll still have to pay to defend himself. I guess they figure if they can't jail him they'll bankrupt him. None of this should be happening. I also think it wouldn't be happening if Comey hadn't tilted the 2016 election by reviving the Hillary Clinton email "scandal" 2 weeks before the election. If there hadn't been a Trump I there couldn't have been an emboldened Trump 2.
I remember
Trump is the sorest winner I’ve ever encountered.
Because Trump knows with every cell in his body that he is, and always has been a loser.
As Trump delegitimizes every branch and bureau of the Executive Branch, one wonders how all the pieces could be put back together again. What if they can’t? Isn‘t that the point?
I think, David, as the lyrics say “a long and winding road”….to clean up the mess on aisle 45 & 47. Sigh.
We have more than just a mess on two aisles. Might have to built a containment dome like the one over Chernobyl 4 to keep the slop from further contaminating us. Contemplating the half-life of Trump 45 and 47 makes one shudder...
Strontium - 90
Security experts familiar with the Secret Service point out that when the President is in danger, the goal is to get him/her away from the White House as soon as possible. The enemy would automatically pick that site to attack. . ( The Brits did that in the War of 1812.) Building a bunker under the big ugly ballroom goes against sound practice. Remember George W. Bush flew around in an airplane when the news of 9/11 broke. He was kept away from the White House.
There's an entire contingency plan for continuity of government during catastrophic events and unexpected disasters although Trump and the regime might not have the sense to use it or do in their own inept way.
Especially during something like a nuclear attack, Air Force One is designed to keep the president airborne and functional. It's not the usual Air Force One, but the E-4B Nightwatch known as the "doomsday plane," a militarized Boeing 747 designed specifically for nuclear war survival, and as a mobile command and control operations center. Supposedly, it can stay airborne for days at a time and designed for long-term endurance in the air since it can be refueled in flight.
There also used to be an underground bunker for Congress within the Greenbrier hotel in West Virginia. There is obviously something like it now but the Greenbrier Bunker was decommissioned in 1992 after the program was exposed by The Washington Post.
I thought that bunker was in the mountain near the Greenbriar and was a big enough complex to house much or the elected federal government.
I think you’re right about that…I was going from what I remembered and a bit of what Wikipedia said. I saw something about the Cold War era lair in bedded within that West Virginia mountain years ago and it was very interesting.
It was supposed to be able to survive a nuclear attack on Wash. DC and maybe the area around the Greenbriar, that's what I remember anyhow. If they no longer plan on using it, it's probably because 20 min. after launch they are on target, there won't be time to go anywhere except below ground wherever you happen to be, and even if you were to survive you would come up into a radioactive wasteland and be poisoned long before you could escape that area.
It’s a lot of fantasyland type thinking really. Any nuclear attack on the U.S. would be followed by nuclear strikes by us, which would result in the mutually assured destruction scenario that any sane person never wants to see or even imagine.
Air Force One is supposed to be up in the air with missiles whizzing by, fighter jets trying to shoot it down, nuclear warheads raining down, mushroom clouds, radiation and a destroyed wasteland below.
Really hope nothing like that ever happens to this planet and all its inhabitants. Hopefully humans will finally find some way of peaceful coexistence and never use or get rid of these nuclear weapon stockpiles.