Manufactured outrage works because it forces everyone else to argue about the distraction while the real story keeps moving underneath it.
And there’s a lot they would rather we not look at: profiteering from the presidency, a war going badly, sailors without adequate supplies, attacks on a free press, a slowing economy, and a national debt that just passed $40 trillion.
The Epstein files are the stinky bright red sock that keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the laundry basket. It doesn't get washed because it would stain so much else in the basket.
Lady Emsworth, I also can't help wondering if Natalie met Donnie on one of Trump's excursions with Epstein. She is the right age. Inquiring minds want to know!
Hey, Ruth. Jay Kuo wrote a bio of her. He doesn't cite sources, but I think he's pretty credible. Scroll down til you get to the heading, "That young, beautiful woman." According to Jay, she got her start being in Trump's orbit in 2019 while on Fox News.
Lynell, I read the article and it was interesting, letting a person with little to no experience manipulate the president is appalling. I had wondered how Trum got so much BS onto his social media platform, and now I know. I knew he couldn't come up with the videos, pictures, and rants he posted because he has little talent at anything, but his bimbette seems to have some knowledge of that area and how to print out and post stuff. I do wonder who she is really working for. I get it that she is obsessed with Trump, which is hard to believe because he has nothing to commend himself to anyone, but she is infatuated to the point of leaving love letters or rather obsession letters.
WE (note the caps) have to bring it to the top. The BIG NEWS today is that Epstein Survivors’ $320 Million FBI Negligence Lawsuit Moves Closer to Surviving Dismissal
"U.S. Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe issued a report Tuesday recommending that U.S. District Judge David S. Leibowitz allow the case to proceed for now and permit 90 days of limited discovery."
Discovery should include all the DOJ files + a lot undisclosed by Patel et al.
Ooh, yuck, I had better go do my laundry LOL! I think I have a couple of those stinky bright red socks, except mine are yellow boxers and I won't go into anymore detail right now...
Unfortunately, all the merchandise at the Epstein Store suffers from planned obsolescence. This is simply because the clientele's mental age is stagnant at 18 yet the client's body continues to naturally deteriorate. As the clientele ages out, they become increasingly oblivious to the obvious age discrepancy of the "arm candy" they purchase.
Shopping at Jeff's now defunct "Fountain of Youth Store" was sort of a perverse brand loyalty.
"As everyone knows" Melania traded all her "pretty years" and is awaiting the payout at the end of her no work no show contract, surely thankful her duties have been usurped.
Thank you to your continued attention to this "matter." (Minimise Attention To Trump Epstein Relationship)
Wouldn't it be nice if we could hang stinky red sock on the brim of every one of those stinky red hats - until the owner promised to listen to some REAL news? I refer to The Guardian and the Times and the Independent - US media seems to have been subsumed by trump. Not forgetting several EXCELLENT substacks, of course.
Katie Phang reported quite a lot of breaking news about the Epstein files yesterday. There were rulings to release proceedings of the grand jury in the Ghislaine Maxwell case to the DOJ asking for a dismissal in a case brought by Epstein survivors who are suing the government because the FBI did not investigate their allegations over the last 15 years. The DOJ is claiming that the survivors waited to long to file. And there were handwritten notes from the missing FBI interviews that were leaked.
The Jay Kuo article makes it clear that Natalie Harp has a real case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. She clearly is mentally ill and is a security risk. What is unclear is what this says about Trump's mental state--whether this is a narcissist feeding his ego by relishing the adulation and abject subservience of this woman, or whether he is the more needy of the pair and she is a sop to keep him occupied while others are now fully in charge of the decision-making in the administration.
What also got submerged by the flood yesterday were the rising tensions in Europe and NATO responses to Russian provocations in multiple countries along the Russian and Belarusian border and the buildup of Russian forces in Kaliningrad. There were also reports that Iran was contemplating expanding into offensive attacks on bases in Europe that have been supporting US forces involved in the Iran War.
Thanks so much, Georgia, for, once again, helping us keep focus on what the administration Should be addressing. The Republican Senate is responsible for the ongoing unlawful actions of the DOJ and FBI re Epstein files and a multitude of cover-up's for Trump. And what about the U.S. Treasury? Are we waiting for an economic collapse? It happened in China. In today's NYT, article on life imprisonment of head of Evergrande real estate mogul. Will we ever see Trump and his criminal fan club behind bars???
This is Putin's wet dream. I wonder if even he expected the level of decline and incapacity the orange cocksplat would display at this point in Round 2 of the "let's see how much I can get away with" game.
Yes, the WH will be feeling grateful to Jon Ossoff with Ellie Leonard's revelations regarding Trump and a 13/14/15 year old girl landing in the last 24 hours.
The general rule is: when right-wing propaganda begins to blame a Democrat for even just vaguely hinting at an affair, it means that they are covering up something much worse than affairs with consenting adults, horrible things THEY committed themselves - again and again.
But nothing has been covered up. We know about Trump's close relationship with Epstein. We know about his share dealing and self-enrichment enterprises which become more and more brazen. We know his economic policies are failing. We know he has no idea of how to end the war with Iran.
First of all, you narrow it down to Trump and don't mention the GOP. That's the most important form of cover-up. The GOP hired him as their clown in chief so that their own actions would not be studied or mentioned by us at all anymore. Instead, we all develop TDS.
Secondly, when it comes to "we the people", only one third knows about the state of the union right now. Another third has become so cynical and/or politically illiterate that they just don't care to inform themselves, and the last third has been brainwashed by GOP media for more than two decades now, so they're stuck in their "alternative facts" bubble.
It sounds like you haven't been keeping up with the legal developments. It's understandable, I had to drop out for a while as I couldn't keep up with the evolving political, geopolitical, and sex trafficking aspects but having started paying attention again since Katie Phang's suit, boy oh boy ...
EUWDTB, you are so right about the Republican severe hypocrisy related to sexual misconduct. I honestly don't understand how so many people can ignore that since it is right "in your face" really often!
Mike Johnson is actually supporting Max Miller who has been credibly accused of spousal and child abuse -- he simply doesn't care what Miller did -- which, if true, is horrific.
Ossoff "Trump is making millions in stock trading. He is not interested in a war he started. He is building a billion dollar ballroom on tax dollars. You are broke. It's obvious he doesn't care. He flies around with Natalie"
MAGA "Oh! Oh! Oh! - He said he flies around with Natalie!"
Exactly! They cannot and do not want to think about the rest. They are so twisted and broken as people it is amazing to think that they even still are alive.
I think Heather was rather arguing the reverse -- they've brought attention to something President Donnie Diapers doesn't want us to see. Once you make it clear to people that there's "nothing to see here at all, nope, no sirree Bob, heavens to Betsy, absolutely not!" they tend to wonder what ELSE is going on you don't want them to see.
Personally, the first thing I noticed was just how much Miss Kew-Pie Natalie Barbie Binky looks just like Ivanka.....koinkidink?
That has also been discussed. See this piece by Jeff Tiedrich where he shows a gif of Trump getting handsy with Ivanka and she looks like she is really experienced in fending off his unwanted advances without totally knocking him down.
I about fell off my chair when I read that Maggie Haberman referred to Harp as being a "binky" for Trump. First thing I thought was she must have gotten the word "binky" from Jeff Tiedrich.
"Binky" is terrific and I see that it's now trending more than "human printer" as a nickname for Natalie. Very effective. Jeff Tiedrich has a wonderful turn of phrase!
Linda, Republicans can't manage to deal with the real issues. They use all their campaign money pumping out lies, insults, deceptions, and gaslighting. I bet few Republicans in Congress have any idea what the American people actually need or want or even care. The Repubs have spent all their time trying to find ways to deceive and gaslight the people and have honed their skills at lying, cheating, and stealing from the American people. It's too bad so many Americans choose not to pay attention to what is being done to them and all of us. They have been carefully groomed to blame Democrats or immigrants, or the woke, or leftists, or communists or something for their woes, so, of course those woes never get better for them, almost as though they need to suffer for a bunch of whiny white toddler-men who care for nothing and no one but themselves and raking in the bucks from their MAGA cult members.
You need to make people horribly cynical first. Through neofascist propaganda. Then you keep them in their "alternative facts" bubble through constant new, fabricated outrage and hatred.
So what do we do in the meantime? We cultivate TDS...
EUWDTB, so many of the MAGAs have Trump Derangement Syndrome and have it bad! They seem to have come to terms with it, though, so it doesn't bother them that they can no longer distinguish the truth from the massive Trumpian lies. They don't notice that they no longer think about our democracy with any kind of pride, only pride in their Baby Donnie whom they have been so carefully groomed to believe is god on earth. TDS is a serious condition that those who have it don't want cured; without it, they would have nothing!
MAGA is less than half of those who vote for the GOP, however. Poll after poll shows that many/most GOP voters don't like Trump at all. But they are victim of something SO much more important: decades of GOP fake news. So they're convinced that everyone is corrupt, that Democrats are evil, and therefore see voting for the GOP and Trump as the best option among only bad options available...
In the meantime, all WE focus on and talk about is Trump. We should be talking about the GOP and the current installation of fascism instead... IF we want to save democracy, that is.
And not JUST on a national level, either. The cleansing needs to be on a state and local level, as well. Trust me, I speak from THE Most Corrupt State of Ohio, which gives me legal standing!
Ruth, the Democrats response to the MAGA freakout shows how easily manipulated the Democrats are. A better response would be along the lines: Senator Ossoff observed that the president is not interested in doing his job. He golfs and trades stocks. He had a gifted plane insecurely retrofitted. The senator did not mention the president exploding the deficit, losing his war or murdering boaters off South America, and profiting on his office. Likewise, despite the conniptions of gutter-minded commentators, the senator did not impugn the character of Ms. Harp.
That's never the right question. The question is: who passed the BILLS and executive orders that CAUSED this massive increase?
Fact is: not Biden or the Democrats. It is and has always been the GOP.
The biggest driver of the massive debt increase is the Trump 2016 tax cuts. Before that, it was the G.W. Bush tax cuts and the Iraq war.
When "we the people" finally wake up and vote for Democrats again, they have to clean up the mess the GOP left behind. That, unfortunately, costs money too. But those aren't creating any STRUCTURAL debt (= debt that cannot but increase, regardless of what the next president does), these are merely temporary deficit increases, and Democrats only pass them in response to a disaster (the 2008 Big Recession, and then Covid).
All new legislation Democrats pass always applies (since Clinton) the "pay-as-you-go" rule. That means that any new bill has to include a measure that makes sure that it is paid for and won't increase the debt.
When the GOP takes over control of DC again, the first thing they've been doing and continue to do is dropping that rule.
EUWDTB, there has been considerable research to show that there is a huge difference between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to spending and increasing the debt. Republicans far outdo Democrats no matter who is president. If the average American, though were asked which party's presidents increased the debt most, I bet most would say Democrats. That's because Republicans somehow constantly get a pass because they give the people teensy tax breaks for short periods and make a huge deal about it while giving corporations and the super rich in general huge tax cuts, then they cut programs that actually make life possible for a lot of struggling families and individuals. It really is a scam, a massive theft by Republicans and their oligarchic buddies, with a few Democrats here and there thrown in.
Yeah, but unfortunately Biden gets at least partial credit for that one too. And he deserves his share, although he did have the pandemic as an almost reasonable excuse, sigh. However, this Iran war is going to make that budget growth look downright mild if it keeps up.
Oh c'mon, he signed the $1.9 TRILLION dollar American Rescue Plan of 2021 to help recovery after the pandemic. I'm NOT saying it was wrong or bad, but it was DEFINITELY a HUGE contributor to the increased federal deficit.
He also added student loan relief for another $200 billion.
I personally DO NOT believe that additional federal debt is an awful thing. I just think that if you are going to attack Trump for increasing the debt, at least be fair and attribute that which was Biden's responsibility to him.
"I’m not saying that Democrats should be like Trump, and blithely ignore debt and deficits. They should by all means push for tax hikes on high incomes, close loopholes exploited by multinational corporations, strengthen IRS enforcement, and more. This could make a big difference: As Jared Bernstein and Bobby Kogan have shown, our deficit would be far more manageable if first Bush, then Trump, hadn’t rammed through tax cuts that hugely favored high-income Americans:"
What has also doubled is Treasury buy-backs of its own long-term bonds, bonds that had much lower yields being bought back at a much higher price - just to stabilise a very nervous bond market.
They're having to borrow yet more money to finance these buy-backs when the deficit is already larger than the military budget.
New Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, said that he wanted markets to decide for themselves when he announced the end of the Fed's forward-looking reports - and that's what they've just gone and done!
Trump's comments yesterday on interest rates show that he is already getting fed up with his new Fed chair as the economic outlook worsens, despite all the "good numbers".
The $4 billion-worth of Treasury buybacks of long-term bonds are going to run from Sept 9 to Nov 4. It's not a coincidence that the program will end the day after the Nov elections. Treasury Secy Bessent is hoping it will be enough to keep the bond market from melting down (i.e., interest rates blowing up) before the election, which, if that were to happen, would further reduce Republican chances to hold onto power in Congress. For a very good description of the growing role (and danger) that hedge funds are playing in the bond market (Bessent was a hedge fund guy), see: https://www.northerntrust.com/united-states/insights-research/asset-servicing/a-suite/insights-hub/hedge-funds-as-the-new-marginal-buyer-of-us-treasuries
"profiteering from the presidency" this line alone should be really focused in the government make it such that any president who chooses to serve shall not ever be doing so, maybe freeze their assets during their term? Idk...just a starting thought.
That would be terrible. You shouldn't have your assets frozen when you decide to run for office to help your country. That's nuts.
I would prefer to see what most Presidents have done voluntarily: any major assets would be placed into a blind trust to be managed by a person designated by the President (or whoever's assets they are) or by a standard financial business company that manages assets for its clients. There should be no permissible communications between the client and the company managing the assets.
That has been custom for most Presidents and it should be standard for Presidents, Senators, Representatives, cabinet officers and subofficers and judges. You shouldn't have to pay a price to be in office (which freezing assets would cost people) but you shouldn't be able to manipulate your assets and the market while you are in office either.
Perhaps not, but at the very least all senior politicians should be required to disclose their assets - in full, blind trust and all. How can you ever hope to restore trust in your politics unless you get a grip on this habit of people using high office to enrich themselves?
I have NO PROBLEM with requiring full disclosure. I think that going into politics is an agreement with the people: I will be trustworthy if you trust me. Disclosure of all financial issues is essential for the people to have that trust. That doesn't stop you from having your assets used to grow your own wealth, which, at least as long as this country is capitalistic, is important, but you shouldn't be able to do it yourself because you are inherently in a conflict of interest. So a blind trust is the ideal thing.
There are a lot of real stories and this is absolutely one of them. The President of the United States must be accompanied by a woman who feeds him positive stories and tweets so he can cope with daily life and she has no security clearance, access to sensitive documents and an unprofessional and seemingly obsessive attachment to him. And, all of this whilst he is in obvious and serious cognitive decline and at war with one of the US's most significant enemies. No wonder the WH Comms team and the right wing social media machine went into overdrive trying to ensure that voters' minds went to sexual infidelity rather than national security.
I think all the protestations about what Ossoff said about simply traveling with her are going to feed more speculation about the nature of their relationship than anything else. The GOP doth protest too much.
Yes, they must be feeling desperate to have miscalculated so badly. American voters haven't been troubled by Trump's marital infidelities or his sexual violence. If they'd left it alone, it might have blown over. Ossoff's team was very smart to set up the WH the way it did. And, Trump responding to the question about Natalie and ballroom with look how beautifully I've decorated the Oval Office ... 😄
It appears; the circus has grown to more than 3 rings. The clown star at the center, now, is further from the ceremonially supposed "master of ceremonies" for which he was elected, than he has ever been. It will be quite the show when the tent collapses.
Now's the time to invoke the "pay no attention to that man (or woman as the case may be) behind the curtain," Kelli. We must make sure that the story of Trump's failed presidency is...the story. Your post is a great start toward that.
Kelli, you have named the background perfectly! However, I think this time people will be spending some time looking into this Natalie-Gate to find out what is really going on. I have had a few moments to consider who and what Natalie is. My first thought was that she could be a Russian operative, groomed and sent in to keep Putin posted on Trump's insanities. Then, I thought she could be working for nearly anyone including corporate bosses, subversive groups around the country hoping she can plant their crazy ideas into Trump's demented brain. The best part is that now, people will be noticing her and what she is doing and will investigate her past, hopefully letting the rest of us know what is really going on in Trumplandia with its newest nursemaid for Baby Donnie.
EXACTLY…the only reason “Natalie” refuses to get the proper ‘Security Clearance’ is because she is as duplicitous as Trump himself…THE PERFECT PAIR…so, Melania should be thinking the “D” word, and I don’t mean ‘Donald’!
The disgust over Trump’s public comment that if Ivanka were not his DAUGHTER, he would 🤮 ‘so do her’🤮 is ringing in my ears today.
Epstein convinced DJT that his every sexual fantasy could be bought, and with enough dirty dollars any crime covered up. Epstein paid the piper, finally, and Trump will too!
Her brother’s interview was revealing. Conservative christian homeschooled. Fixated on Bush, previously. I don’t think she’s nefarious. I think she has a screw loose.
The outrage has always been his playbook. Throwing shit at the wall while grifting anything and everything. I keep wondering when Americans are going to catch on to this administration's main ruse.
But it is curious how the FOX echo chamber keeps on keeping on. There's a whole swath of America that believes their tripe to the exclusion of all evidence. And vilifying a Democrat in Georgia - it's all one could ask for (even if it's fake).
Or to quote the many different sources (M. Twain, G.B Shaw, etc ...) "Arguing with a fool is like wrestling with a pig. All you do is get dirty and the pig enjoys it."
I don't believe that it is a concerted campaign of confected outrage. Conservative media has been desperately waiting for something like this for a pile-on, especially with all the bad vibes coming from the news about Republicans Max Miller and Chuck Edwards to say nothing of the Epstein files saga which rolls on and on. The blizzard of angry comments is what conservative media does.
Think of it like this: you have a president with a very chequered history of really seedy sexual relations with women - E. Jean Carroll, Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal, the Access Hollywood tape and the whole Epstein thing - spending a lot of time with a clearly very troubled young lady who seems bizarrely devoted to him and a snarky comment from a senator is the story you're going with as a distraction from all the other stuff? No, I don't buy this at all.
The conservative media and the White House have made this the story by this absurd pile-on. Does Trump really need this on top of everything else? Of course, conservative media and the White House went straight to adultery as the salacious import of Ossoff's words - after all, it's sort of what Trump does!
As for Ossoff, his comment on X received more than 5 million views and he's must be delighted with all the attention he's receiving.
Trump has said nothing about this after his ugly outburst against Kristen Holmes and yesterday he was back in his happy space.
CLEARLY we are paralytically witnessing a train wreck of a rapidly sundowning president who can hardly maneuver a toy car on a table destroy our country on every level while people who have the power to reign him are not. I shudder as one third of Americans continue to approve of him....
America can rest easier tonight. The president is on the job.
Not necessarily the job involving Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, American sailors, oil shipments, or national security.
Donald Trump is picking trees.
According to Maggie Haberman, seventeen days into the Iran war, Trump was visited at the White House and seemed far more interested in his beautification projects than in the war itself. Instead of maps of the Middle East, he reportedly showed off photographs of maple trees and explained that he was choosing trees for the White House.
He also wanted everyone to know he was good at it.
Finally, a presidential accomplishment nobody can fact-check until October.
Imagine the Situation Room:
“Mr. President, Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz.”
“Red maple?”
“Sir?”
“Beautiful tree. Tremendous tree.”
“Mr. President, commercial shipping through the strait has nearly collapsed.”
“Sugar maple?”
“Sir, this could disrupt the global oil supply.”
“Sugar maples make syrup. Very important industry.”
Somewhere, a four-star general quietly updates his résumé.
Before the war, roughly 140 ships a day normally passed through the Strait of Hormuz. On one recent Sunday, just three made the trip.
Three.
But don’t panic.
The maples are coming along beautifully.
Maybe Trump has finally discovered his true calling. Foreign policy is complicated. Landscaping is straightforward. Trees don’t ask follow-up questions, demand congressional approval, or wonder why gasoline costs more.
You can see the appeal.
The Pentagon may need to adjust its briefing strategy.
“Mr. President, we’ve identified three possible targets.”
“Interesting.”
“They’re called Crimson King, October Glory, and Autumn Blaze.”
“Now you’ve got my attention.”
There is something almost perfect about the image because Trump has always treated the presidency like a giant property-management contract. Gold fixtures. Ballrooms. Monuments. Renovations. Branding.
Unfortunately, countries are not resorts.
Wars are not construction projects.
And the Strait of Hormuz cannot be reopened with nicer shrubbery.
So perhaps this should become the unofficial slogan of the administration:
The world may be burning, but have you seen the landscaping?
And over 300 Trump bank accounts closed for money laundering. Corruption like we’ve never seen before. AND THE PEDOPHILE PROTECTING REPUBLICANS ARE SUPPORTING IT!!!!
Let's not let this white house orange crap make us forget about the mistreatment of many thousands of people snatched off our streets without due process, the withheld Epstein Pedo-files, and the mistreatment of our service people on ships and elsewhere.
Right. Do not be distracted from the many truly serious issues for which Trump and his enablers should be held accountable. There are plenty of actual atrocities to focus on.
Sharon, I am hoping we can keep all of the Trumplican misuse of the American people in the forefront. I do believe it is all of a piece with Trump, Miller, Vance, Musk, and a few others orchestrating things, though Trump mostly in the background due to his dementia. Republicans and a few Democrats in Congress as a whole, rubber-stamp the prescribed actions on behalf of Trump and the oligarchs who desperately want to rule this nation. There are the Roberts 6 on the Court, the incompetent but useful cabinet members as well as Republican governors and state legislatures who also blindly support this attack on this nation from within.
They all want power and money and think their oligarchic buddies will let them in on the haul. None of them realize that this insanity/EVIL has been in the works for a half-century and more and it is deep in our lives, only involving a few in number compared to the number of people in our nation.
The way to expose this entire mess could come if all of the Democratic candidates across the country in every level election, would have information like what Jon Osoff presents. The point is to present what the people need and that the candidates honestly want to work for those things and have a real plan. Then, describe a list of the presidential, congressional, judicial, and oligarchic injustices set against the American people and give specific, easy-to-follow examples and the names of those who are participating, particularly those at local, state, or federal-level that people will recognize. Ask questions about a person who would leave department heads on a decoy plane as well as Trumplandia's journalists while he took a woman with no credentials, Natalie Harp with him on the "escape plane." Ask, what kind of person does that or would even consider that? With all these issues listed, candidates can find which work best with which audiences in short videos on social media, in conversations on MSNow and Substack, and on billboards, flyers, bumper stickers, etc., whatever it takes to get the message out to America.
Make sure Epstein is mentioned regularly and that somehow there are efforts to stop investigations of his NM ranch and despite the law, refusal to release the rest of the files, and with impunity.
Senators who voted for Todd Blanche should be identified as the ones who put into office a private lawyer for a corrupt president and he will do as much damage to this nation as he can get away with, so why should we let him get away with anything. Mention with stories what ICE is doing on a regular basis, like not allowing medical treatment for innocents who are incarcerated, then releasing them to "die at home." Show videos of conditions in some of the facilities while describing the horrors through individual stories that people can relate to.
We do have weapons; it is time our Democratic candidates ignore the "oligarchic donors' wishes" and tell the truth and stand for what is right. Most of all they must hold the American people, our democracy, and our constitution as paramount.
Ruth Sheets, every day I am reminded of my thought about the Republicans who refused to accept the results of the 2020 election in November—that they should immediately be OUT OF CONGRESS. It was treason.
Kristen Holmes has identified Natalie Harp as the Truth Anti-Social propagandist of the racist attack on Michelle & Barak as apes.
CNN: "Harp, a former right-wing television host, who began working for Trump after crediting him with saving her life, Harp has become a main conduit between the president and the outside world, passing along messages from allies and setting up meetings, tapping out Truth Social posts and toting printouts of laudatory articles, all while staying in close physical proximity at all hours of the day."
The manufactured outrage over the mention of "Natalie" is exactly what Heather says: An attempt to change the subject and attack Senator Ossoff. But now we are hearing all the very weird stories about her, while at the same time noting that Melania has all but disappeared, and I can't help being distracted. Natalie sounds certifiably nuts and has assumed great power. Please wake me when this is over.
I’m developing a comedy sketch calling Natalee out in the most nasty way. I do stand up as well. I can’t wait to use it. I can get as graphic as I want. Scenario: Natalee working hard at it while Trump tweets on his social media. Think about it for a moment. Ya tonight at the ELBOW room. I’ll do my new piece.
Bill, be sure to mention Natalie's dashing into the catering truck to escape with her Darling Donnie. That would make a hilarious sketch on Saturday Night Live too!
It might be that travelling in the trunk of Trump's car, crouching with him in a catering truck or chasing after his golf cart hauling a printer didn't really appeal.
'“The word “affair” was never uttered, and yet apparently every single conservative talking head in the world heard it anyway, so what does that tell you?...'"
It tells me Republicans doth protest WAY too much....and think everyone else is just as dumb as they are....methinks.
But please, do stay awake, despite wanting to laugh, go to sleep and engage in projectile vomiting all at the same time. We need all of us alert at the wheel right now.
That appropriately named slimy bastard, Newt Gingrich, has a lot of nerve telling Jon Ossoff to apologize 'for having smeared her' when he's been using aggressive, confrontational, hateful rhetoric for decades. Newt's feigned outrage just falls flat as Ossoff was just exposing the odd nature of Donold and Natalie's strange and inappropriate relationship.
KMD and horhai: to hear from the creepy Newt yesterday, was the worst. Beyond sickening. Gingrich is largely responsible for the mess we’re in with MAGA.
It's Come to This, if the Trumplican crazies hadn't jumped on this tiny mention in Osoff's speech, most of us would just have ignored it. Many people obviously have known about Ms. Natalie for years, but said nothing. This whole thing makes me wonder what her actual role is, exposing someone with "little" experience to so much restricted information so she can whisper in Donnie's ear. I can't help but think of "The Manchurian Candidate." No matter how much the whiners of Trumplandia complain, this is not a small thing and it fits with the rest of the white house corruption.
Oh wait, a thought just hit me! Maybe since Trump is getting so friendly toward Kim of North Korea, our Natalie is working undercover for him. Hmmm!
I disagree. Trump is not smart enough to come up with that on the fly like that. He was genuinely mad because she is his safety binky. They are having an affair. Not important considering everything else but important to see that so we see how Orange Chicken really is!
Now the caterers for the ‘Ballroom’ have their obvious choice of dish to be served at the first ‘ball’…oh 😱…am I allowed to talk about the President’s body parts? Well then, the soup should be ‘Mushroom’, the whine Californian, and the ‘dessert’ a can of whipped cream served on a pillow!
Natalie Harp's current idol was not the first U.S. president she had written letters to, according to her brother (CNN, recent Erin Burnett interview). During the Iraq war, he said she wrote to Dubya, who ignored her.
For the very reasons you mention, this is hardly the story one would want to go with as a mere distraction. All that's actually happened is this has become yet another scandal to go along with all the others afflicting Trump and his failing administration.
Jon Ossoff just gave Democrats a master class in how to seize control of the narrative and, for a change, put Republicans on the defensive. One of Trump’s feral abilities is to dominate control of the news cycle. It was refreshing to see a Democrat on the offense for a change.
What's with the "refreshing" comment? Turn around and you'll see JB Priztker, John Ossoff, Mark Kelly, Elise Slotkin, Pete Buttigieg, Gavin Newsom, James Talarico, and about 27 other Democrats and their grandmothers all doing exactly the same.
There are many excellent Democrat politicians, all excellent communicators. I never said nor implied there weren't. But none have managed to tweak Republicans' noses like Ossoff just did. And he did it in such a classy manner without getting down in the dirt with them. He let Republicans jump to their own filthy assumptions.
Urban Hermit, I would like to see every Democratic candidate go on the offense has Osoff has. If they all do it and in their own way using examples and stories, there is a good chance the message of white house corruption and Republican approval of Trump's theft from the American people may get through.
Troy Jackson is definitely on the offensive in ME. He is attacking Collins and Trump several times a day. Meanwhile over 100 billionaires are spending up to $300 million to get her reelected.
It's essential that people go to the free press, like Substack and YouTube, the Guardian, etc. to get their news and not from the MSM.
There are so many important issues that need to be dealt with. So many important things that need to be said. We absolutely do not need to waste airtime and print space on 'are they or aren't they?' instead of actual campaign platforms.
The comment from Stephen Cheung is straight from middle school. Meanwhile, while the federal government sees the biggest danger to the country being people who pick lettuce and clean homes, China is building the future.
Looks exactly like Odd Job from the old Goldfinger James Bond flick trying to off Sean Connery with his hat and a saw later on, I think. Kree-pee....but dead-on.
As the son and nephew of men and women that served in WWII and even WWI, I am still offended at the political stunt Trump pulled at Arlington in 2024. Steven Cheung assaulted a guard at Arlington and then did a photo op for Trump's election campaign.
Of course, the rotund Cheung will never suffer any consequences for assaulting a Federal employee.
I recently finished Japanese writer Seichō Matsumoto’s crime thriller, “Tokyo Express.”
Superb. Am midway into another of his, “Inspector Imanishi Investigates.”
Matsumoto (1909 – 1992) won Japan’s highest literary awards, though being from the working classes and never having attended any university. He’s famous for his views of a Japanese society he saw as having rewarded corruptions in high places, as Heather cites criminal Donald for normalizing similar corruptions atop the U.S.
Also superb, plots defying understanding things till the very end.
Heather’s been questioning any understanding our own U.S. recently, especially as to how the criminal Donald base remains at about a third of all Americans – enough to keep floating his criminality and corruption, given that another third of Americans can’t be bothered ever to vote. Why in her Letter today does his assault on America (all the non-dictator world) even worse now hurt our military in war zones, betray our foreign allies, and further betray the U.S. working classes about whom the criminal has ever only lied?
One reason for our apathy, according to Bernie Sanders, is how, as he put it talking with Mehdi Hasan yesterday, “The Democratic leadership is . . . way, way out of touch with where ordinary people are.”
Why, Mehdi asked Bernie, have U.S. progressives so well won recent primaries in spite of being massively outspent by establishment Dems and superpacs? Bernie’s answer – because many or more of us than MAGA still put Lincoln’s “of the people, by the people, for the people” over the billionaires and all their MAGA-accepted corruptions.
Our own plot twists as those in Seichō Matsumoto? We have to wait till Nov. 3.
Phil, your comment propelled me to my bookshelves to find Tillie Olsen's celebrated "Tell Me a Riddle" (1961). In this collection of four short stories, she writes movingly about the lives and struggles of working-class people, especially women, and of an aging immigrant couple, which won the prestigious O. Henry Award.
Anyone running for office in the spirit of public service would do well to splash the cold water of her characters on their face.
Lila Kedrova as the grandmother has one of the most touching scenes in film history when, in San Francisco visiting granddaughter (played by Brooke Adams), she tells of the experience of pogroms back in Russia.
The granddaughter had been having personal problems, which the grandmother knew to be hurtful. But the latter so beautifully put things in perspective, that the young woman was not only appreciative, but marvelously moved by her grandmother's tact and wisdom.
Fascist Republican Moral Depravity: Why Do WE the People Tolerate This?
Yes there's the despicable Israeli genocide tolerated by men and women but this behavior underscores the tolerance women have for themselves as societal political activists.
Republicans know they tread in hypermasculinity(testosterone anyone?), misogyny(grab them by the pussy), sexual scandals, irreprehensible behavior but all is good because we're sending people to the state legislatures and Congress.
How is it that a country can tolerate this immorally depraved group of people? Why is this tolerable behavior? How is it that Republican women tolerate such immoral abuse? Have they no respect for themselves as women? How can women dismiss this? Where are the Republican men condemning this immorality? Why don't Democratic women come forward and denounce this abuse of women?
So when Democrats like Ossoff call out this moral depravity, the fascists get all huffy puffy. This "Natalie thing" is the tip of the iceberg and the fascists know that what is being laid bare is constantly lying below the surface and they want to deny what they have become. A huge slime pit of immorality they cannot escape from.
"How is it that a country can tolerate this immorally depraved group of people? Why is this tolerable behavior? How is it that Republican women tolerate such immoral abuse?"
The answer to that is evangelical indoctrination, and a toxic marriage between tech billionaires and evangelical fanatics. It's pretty vital that we all understand the role of evangelicalism in this dystopia we're living. Substacker Andra Watkins does phenomenal work breaking down how evangelicalism is influencing every insane policy, and I recommend the documentary SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE for a really concise look at how these abusive fanatics took over an unimaginable percentage of the US population.
Apropos of this - I'm happy to see Rep. Jared Huffman has just released a book on exactly this: No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism
Alexandra,I agree about Andra Watkins who I’ve been following for several years.At first her interpretation of how Project 2025 would affect us sounded like conspiracy theories although she has been spot on….
Joyce Vance also had a great interview with Jared Huffman.I didn’t know the original J6 report was to include a section on the “Christian” nationalists influence/involvement but Liz Cheney vetoed as she didn’t want to offend her conservative “Christian” base.😡
So I’ve seen this Harp woman on TV though I hardly watch it. I noticed she’s always carrying a large bag. I’ve seen it described as a diaper bag, but that couldn’t be right, could it?
i can't believe you people think it's a 'real marriage'. even after knowing that Melania did the nude photo shoots...almost forgot...AND that she was part of the Epstein crowd...
I presume she has an iron-clad prenup, renegotiated after the Access Hollywood tape came out. She will walk away from this train wreck a multlimillionaire.
Ossoff's Razor -- the simplest explanation usually turns out to be the right one....with apologies to William of Ockam, who's been dead so many centuries he no longer cares if you turn his name into a pun.
Thank you, ICTT! Puns are the best. That Aristophanes used them sanctifies them. Living with ICE sirens 24/7 and a local gulag, at 92 must cling to every shred of humor.
Wading past the faux outrage pumped up by fake people, Tuesday's primaries underscored the extent to which MAGA is now falling to pieces.
Mango Mussolini's endorsement turned out to be the kiss of death in at least two districts where his preferred fruitcake lost because the electorate didn't much care for fruitcake. In Pennsylvania's Butler County, where he got shot during the campaign trail and won by something like 14 points in 2024, Republicans narrowly lost a state assembly seat they've held for 30 years, adding a critical new voice to Governor Shapiro's slim Democratic majority.
South Carolina's Graham said she 'didn't know much 'bout no national security' which isn't really the right thing to say at a time when America's security is at its lowest level since 9/11. And former Florida Republican Congressman David Jolly, now a "proud Democrat" won the state's gubernatorial primary against another Trumpie Loony-Tuney, who'll likely go the same way Herschel Walker did in Georgia.
Dig past the Natalie Twinkletoes story and muse on Orange Turd's now saying he will ask his new bestie, Baby Kim, to give up all his nukes voluntarily. As Robert Hubbell says, "while he's at it, he should try to convince water to run uphill and sunlight to slow down."
These people are running on fumes, no matter what they claim, or what they pretend to be outraged at. There's a ginormous crash-and-burn Hindenburg moment coming for this clown-car of fruitcakes, fakes, fascists and fuckups. That's the story beneath the story. We should not lose sight of it.
Thank you for highlighting these points. I have noticed they seem to be running on fumes. They commit own goals on a regular basis. It reminds me of the old saying about giving someone enough time and space to damage themselves. Thus saving you the effort. Of course, we will keep adding to the hits. The Art of War speaks to the enemy doing work for you and other wise phrases. I'm just too tired to list them all. We have such a smart group here I'm sure others could add many to the list.
The two most pressing matters, for me at least, are the Epstein Files and the national debt. If I had the moxy and the media platform, I would write . . .
. . . that if the cultural rot and those responsible for it are not scraped away without pity or mercy, the citizenry will be so de-moralized that republican governance will be unsustainable; that is, the rule of law will give way to the rule of the rich.
. . . that national debt taken on since 1981 represents 75-80% of the $51 trillion transferred to the top 1%, principally through tax cuts; that is, the tax cuts f*cked the last two generations of the middle class and its manner of financing will f*uck the next two or more generations.
I'll see your two pressing matters and raise you a third -- our national security. Most of us really do not understand just how weak and vulnerable we now are on the world stage, just how much credibility we've lost, how many friends and allies we've managed to piss off right at the moment friends and allies are sorely needed, and just how deeply our anti-terrorism and counter-intelligence capabilities have been undermined and hollowed out by creepy-crawlies like Stephen Miller, who'd much rather use those powers against taco stand operators and mamacitas in California and Arizona instead.
Like a strong, unassailable dollar, we tend to take our security for granted --- right up until another 'black swan' 9/11 moment comes crashing down on us.
The decoy Air Force One was one of those potentially calamitous moments and anyone that was left on that plane knows it. That's probably why condescension Karoline Leavitt is leaving, she wasn't invited onto the catering truck switcheroo.
The Trump-Epstein files and the crushing national debt are indeed most pressing matters, as is our national security of a most monstrous urgency(Trump's treasonous, traitorous actions, agenda & Bond villain corruption).
But I'll up the ante, it's also our Nation itself, the actual lands, the Commons. Plans for selling off, logging and liquidating our national forests so this regime can get to more of their ill gotten gains, the data centers that are being proposed and built anywhere and everywhere, in a city near you or me, National Parks being neglected and funding diverted for Donold's D.C. vanity projects, National Monuments being reduced, exploited or marred by extractive industries. Drilling here and there, on land or off the coasts, they don't care about anything but goddamned money and that includes our Nation, America the beautiful...it's our republic, we must keep it...for us & for posterity's sake...
Can’t resist adding a fourth….the gutting of government expertise. At the national level, we are being “led” by a group of idiots and morons who’ve done a good job of getting rid of anyone who knows anything about anything. What is really chilling to me is that were the economy peachy-keen in the middle of all of this chaotic insanity, Stinky Diapers’ poll numbers would be 15 points higher. That’s how close we are to outright fascism in this country.
The Key Resources Underpinning Modern Economies with Ed Conway | Archive TGS 127 (Aug 19 2026) [Conversation originally Recorded on May 7th, 2024] @NateHagens
Ed Conway's book Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization focuses precisely on those six foundational substances: salt, sand, copper, iron, oil, and lithium. The book explores how these essential commodities underpin global infrastructure, technology, and human history.
The Six Materials and Their Roles
1. Sand: The base for concrete, glass, and the silicon chips powering modern electronics.
2. Salt: Vital for human biology, chemical manufacturing, and pharmaceutical production.
3. Copper: The vital conductive metal used throughout electrical grids and digital wiring.
4. Iron: The primary ingredient for steel and the structural skeleton of modern buildings.
5. Oil: The energy source that drove the industrial economy and modern transport.
6. Lithium: The key element enabling high-capacity batteries for phones and electric vehicles.
JaKsaa, thank you for this list. Might I add antimony, a mineral I have been getting to know because it is critical for national security--military hardware and munitions, and advanced optics and electronics. The U.S. does have some natural deposits, but we rely to the nth degree on imports; I don't know why, but I believe we are beginning to mine it.
Professor Richardson -- I'm sorry to compare your summary to a sensationalist article from a tabloid newspaper like the New York Post, but that's how it sounds. It's not you, it's the news content.
Similar to how Mark Milley became concerned about presidential decision-making during Trump's final months in office in his first term, has the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Dan 'Razin' Caine, done anything to create procedural safeguards to potentially override the president? Probably not, since he is a Trump appointee, but perhaps he has had a change of heart.
Mark Kennedy...HCR documents our culture too, and her first sentence tonight summed up today's shallowness of what the legacy media feeds the public..."The political world has been consumed over the past few days with a Republican meltdown about Trump’s aide Natalie Harp."
This Letter does report the reality of mainstream media, so we can't blame the messenger. Still, after working at avoiding being bombarded repeatedly with this tabloid fluff and finding unexpectedly that it followed me here felt disappointing to me too. Sigh... the present political world IS disappointing.
It’s important to know that someone with very privileged access to the president and to much of the sensitive info he has access to, is potentially in a position to influence him. That she seems to have a degree from Liberty University (Falwell) doesn’t exactly instill confidence.
"If you like my books, I’m betting that you’ll like these too!"~ Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor
JaKsaa especially likes #6. 'Deep Unlearning: The Rise of AI and the Radicalization of a Tech Idealist' By Timnit Gebru
Gebru has been warning about the profound dangers of tech fascism from inside the belly of the beast for many years now. Her scholarship and analysis helped inform mine and Astra’s understanding of this threat, especially this essay with Émile P. Torres, and I cannot wait for her text to be out in the world. I’ll be writing a blurb in the coming months, but in the meantime, here’s the publisher’s summary:
“Timnit Gebru has been present at nearly every inflection point in tech’s recent history. She was an engineer at Apple on the cusp of the iPhone’s first release, a PhD student at Stanford’s computer vision lab as her advisor worked on the enormous datasets so crucial to AI’s development, and the most senior Black woman on the Ethical AI team at Google as DeepMind and Open AI took over the field of artificial intelligence—where she was forced out for having raised the alarm about bias in large language models, causing global shockwaves in the tech industry… Over the course of her life, Gebru has seen up close how the destructive ideologies and outsized egos of the tech world have come to wreak havoc on our environment, our economies, and the lives of billions of people. She has also come to understand how we could have made a different choice every step of the way, and how we still can.”
Not out until 2027, but available for pre-order and will be worth the wait."
If you really want to learn about the decline and fall of the US empire, subscribe to the substacks from military history professors Phillips P. O'Brie and Robert Pape. They don't hesitate to call it like it is.
Harping on Natalie to distract from the President’s lack of interest in the war, over interest in changing the DC landscape, raking in money by every means possible while leaving no sign of where it ends up, and ignoring the exploding national debt is business as usual for this administration. A star struck young woman and a senile old sexual abuser are an interesting combination. Anything imaginable is apparently fair comment. President Clinton could possibly relate. The real issues of war, environmental destruction, and fiscal corruption take the back burners. Keep your eyes on the prize and your mind open. Contact your representatives and vote Blue.
Manufactured outrage works because it forces everyone else to argue about the distraction while the real story keeps moving underneath it.
And there’s a lot they would rather we not look at: profiteering from the presidency, a war going badly, sailors without adequate supplies, attacks on a free press, a slowing economy, and a national debt that just passed $40 trillion.
The outrage isn’t the story. It’s the cover.
And Epstein files?
The Epstein files are the stinky bright red sock that keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the laundry basket. It doesn't get washed because it would stain so much else in the basket.
Lady Emsworth, I also can't help wondering if Natalie met Donnie on one of Trump's excursions with Epstein. She is the right age. Inquiring minds want to know!
Hey, Ruth. Jay Kuo wrote a bio of her. He doesn't cite sources, but I think he's pretty credible. Scroll down til you get to the heading, "That young, beautiful woman." According to Jay, she got her start being in Trump's orbit in 2019 while on Fox News.
https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/more-than-just-a-human-printer
Lynell, I read the article and it was interesting, letting a person with little to no experience manipulate the president is appalling. I had wondered how Trum got so much BS onto his social media platform, and now I know. I knew he couldn't come up with the videos, pictures, and rants he posted because he has little talent at anything, but his bimbette seems to have some knowledge of that area and how to print out and post stuff. I do wonder who she is really working for. I get it that she is obsessed with Trump, which is hard to believe because he has nothing to commend himself to anyone, but she is infatuated to the point of leaving love letters or rather obsession letters.
MAGA folk are in a cult and Natalie Harp is a high priestess of the cult.
" . . . bimbette" -- perfect, Ruth.
‘Rising up through the ranks……! Fill in the blank from the list of women who have played this roll since the days of him owning a ‘modelling agency’!
Morning, Lynell! That is quite a link; thanks for posting it!
WE (note the caps) have to bring it to the top. The BIG NEWS today is that Epstein Survivors’ $320 Million FBI Negligence Lawsuit Moves Closer to Surviving Dismissal
https://www.lawcommentary.com/articles/jeffrey-epstein-survivors-320-million-fbi-negligence-lawsuit-moves-closer-to-surviving-dismissal
"U.S. Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe issued a report Tuesday recommending that U.S. District Judge David S. Leibowitz allow the case to proceed for now and permit 90 days of limited discovery."
Discovery should include all the DOJ files + a lot undisclosed by Patel et al.
No mention in MSM.
Ooh, yuck, I had better go do my laundry LOL! I think I have a couple of those stinky bright red socks, except mine are yellow boxers and I won't go into anymore detail right now...
We will never be able to unsee this excellent graphic comparison.
Unfortunately, all the merchandise at the Epstein Store suffers from planned obsolescence. This is simply because the clientele's mental age is stagnant at 18 yet the client's body continues to naturally deteriorate. As the clientele ages out, they become increasingly oblivious to the obvious age discrepancy of the "arm candy" they purchase.
Shopping at Jeff's now defunct "Fountain of Youth Store" was sort of a perverse brand loyalty.
"As everyone knows" Melania traded all her "pretty years" and is awaiting the payout at the end of her no work no show contract, surely thankful her duties have been usurped.
Thank you to your continued attention to this "matter." (Minimise Attention To Trump Epstein Relationship)
Linda, thank you for first chuckle of the day!
Wouldn't it be nice if we could hang stinky red sock on the brim of every one of those stinky red hats - until the owner promised to listen to some REAL news? I refer to The Guardian and the Times and the Independent - US media seems to have been subsumed by trump. Not forgetting several EXCELLENT substacks, of course.
Oooooh, good one LE!!!!!!
Love that analogy!!! It's perfect! Kudos to you! Your English teacher will be proud!!!!
Katie Phang reported quite a lot of breaking news about the Epstein files yesterday. There were rulings to release proceedings of the grand jury in the Ghislaine Maxwell case to the DOJ asking for a dismissal in a case brought by Epstein survivors who are suing the government because the FBI did not investigate their allegations over the last 15 years. The DOJ is claiming that the survivors waited to long to file. And there were handwritten notes from the missing FBI interviews that were leaked.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEyyMA0ImJY
The Jay Kuo article makes it clear that Natalie Harp has a real case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. She clearly is mentally ill and is a security risk. What is unclear is what this says about Trump's mental state--whether this is a narcissist feeding his ego by relishing the adulation and abject subservience of this woman, or whether he is the more needy of the pair and she is a sop to keep him occupied while others are now fully in charge of the decision-making in the administration.
What also got submerged by the flood yesterday were the rising tensions in Europe and NATO responses to Russian provocations in multiple countries along the Russian and Belarusian border and the buildup of Russian forces in Kaliningrad. There were also reports that Iran was contemplating expanding into offensive attacks on bases in Europe that have been supporting US forces involved in the Iran War.
https://www.narativ.org/p/a-world-on-the-brink-of-global-conflict
These are the real hair-on-fire events that are occupying the rest of the world.
Can't think of five more horrifying words, Georgia: "the decision-making in the administration."
Thanks so much, Georgia, for, once again, helping us keep focus on what the administration Should be addressing. The Republican Senate is responsible for the ongoing unlawful actions of the DOJ and FBI re Epstein files and a multitude of cover-up's for Trump. And what about the U.S. Treasury? Are we waiting for an economic collapse? It happened in China. In today's NYT, article on life imprisonment of head of Evergrande real estate mogul. Will we ever see Trump and his criminal fan club behind bars???
This is Putin's wet dream. I wonder if even he expected the level of decline and incapacity the orange cocksplat would display at this point in Round 2 of the "let's see how much I can get away with" game.
Just one more perversion diversion, while the rest of the world burns.
Yes, the WH will be feeling grateful to Jon Ossoff with Ellie Leonard's revelations regarding Trump and a 13/14/15 year old girl landing in the last 24 hours.
The general rule is: when right-wing propaganda begins to blame a Democrat for even just vaguely hinting at an affair, it means that they are covering up something much worse than affairs with consenting adults, horrible things THEY committed themselves - again and again.
But nothing has been covered up. We know about Trump's close relationship with Epstein. We know about his share dealing and self-enrichment enterprises which become more and more brazen. We know his economic policies are failing. We know he has no idea of how to end the war with Iran.
First of all, you narrow it down to Trump and don't mention the GOP. That's the most important form of cover-up. The GOP hired him as their clown in chief so that their own actions would not be studied or mentioned by us at all anymore. Instead, we all develop TDS.
Secondly, when it comes to "we the people", only one third knows about the state of the union right now. Another third has become so cynical and/or politically illiterate that they just don't care to inform themselves, and the last third has been brainwashed by GOP media for more than two decades now, so they're stuck in their "alternative facts" bubble.
It sounds like you haven't been keeping up with the legal developments. It's understandable, I had to drop out for a while as I couldn't keep up with the evolving political, geopolitical, and sex trafficking aspects but having started paying attention again since Katie Phang's suit, boy oh boy ...
Why vote for this? Hello? Anybody out there?
EUWDTB, you are so right about the Republican severe hypocrisy related to sexual misconduct. I honestly don't understand how so many people can ignore that since it is right "in your face" really often!
Mike Johnson is actually supporting Max Miller who has been credibly accused of spousal and child abuse -- he simply doesn't care what Miller did -- which, if true, is horrific.
just one more reason to loathe that disgusting little shyte-weasel born of bayou muck and Mississippi River run-off.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Gail, I was just about to say that. I'm sure that's what most of us are thinking.
That is so true and the Republicans have honed doing this to an art, sans doing anything else politically, like their jobs.
It is awful that focusing on Harp caused people not to see the real issues of the Trump administration that Ossoff was talking about.
Ossoff "Trump is making millions in stock trading. He is not interested in a war he started. He is building a billion dollar ballroom on tax dollars. You are broke. It's obvious he doesn't care. He flies around with Natalie"
MAGA "Oh! Oh! Oh! - He said he flies around with Natalie!"
Exactly! They cannot and do not want to think about the rest. They are so twisted and broken as people it is amazing to think that they even still are alive.
Alive ever as any zombies, Linda.
They “doth protest too much”
I think Heather was rather arguing the reverse -- they've brought attention to something President Donnie Diapers doesn't want us to see. Once you make it clear to people that there's "nothing to see here at all, nope, no sirree Bob, heavens to Betsy, absolutely not!" they tend to wonder what ELSE is going on you don't want them to see.
Personally, the first thing I noticed was just how much Miss Kew-Pie Natalie Barbie Binky looks just like Ivanka.....koinkidink?
That has also been discussed. See this piece by Jeff Tiedrich where he shows a gif of Trump getting handsy with Ivanka and she looks like she is really experienced in fending off his unwanted advances without totally knocking him down.
https://www.jefftiedrich.com/p/jon-ossoff-mentioned-diaper-nurse
It is absolutely sickening, and that should be the story about that. His Ersatz daughter Natalie is around him more than his real daughters.
I about fell off my chair when I read that Maggie Haberman referred to Harp as being a "binky" for Trump. First thing I thought was she must have gotten the word "binky" from Jeff Tiedrich.
"Binky" is terrific and I see that it's now trending more than "human printer" as a nickname for Natalie. Very effective. Jeff Tiedrich has a wonderful turn of phrase!
I thought she got it from Jeff too. She might have. I can see his gif of the binky in my mind too.
He's an old lecher who cannot help himself.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9lmN1eOhuIA
Yikes. It's all relative. Now that the White House is so unsafe with him and his band of criminals, walking the streets of DC seems relatively safer.
However, as Jeff Tiedrich points out, which young girls said that. I like his pie chart with No one, and No one in yellow.
Ye shall know them by their acts! Um…isn’t it slightly ‘biblical’?
And, as you suggest…a + b = SEE! 👀…A man who, though old and decrepit, still THINKS he must HAVE a young, crazy fan.
Epstein would APPROVE, if he hadn’t been murdered!
I said the very same thing to my husband today. "Its a little creepy how much Natalie Harp looks like ivanka".
I thought the resemblance was very notable.
The resemblance of the “binky” to Ivanka is simply striking. Any sane man would be embarrassed. Are we not dealing with mental “distress”?
Linda, Republicans can't manage to deal with the real issues. They use all their campaign money pumping out lies, insults, deceptions, and gaslighting. I bet few Republicans in Congress have any idea what the American people actually need or want or even care. The Repubs have spent all their time trying to find ways to deceive and gaslight the people and have honed their skills at lying, cheating, and stealing from the American people. It's too bad so many Americans choose not to pay attention to what is being done to them and all of us. They have been carefully groomed to blame Democrats or immigrants, or the woke, or leftists, or communists or something for their woes, so, of course those woes never get better for them, almost as though they need to suffer for a bunch of whiny white toddler-men who care for nothing and no one but themselves and raking in the bucks from their MAGA cult members.
Yes, Ruth. Sad, but true.
It's called "neofascism".
You need to make people horribly cynical first. Through neofascist propaganda. Then you keep them in their "alternative facts" bubble through constant new, fabricated outrage and hatred.
So what do we do in the meantime? We cultivate TDS...
EUWDTB, so many of the MAGAs have Trump Derangement Syndrome and have it bad! They seem to have come to terms with it, though, so it doesn't bother them that they can no longer distinguish the truth from the massive Trumpian lies. They don't notice that they no longer think about our democracy with any kind of pride, only pride in their Baby Donnie whom they have been so carefully groomed to believe is god on earth. TDS is a serious condition that those who have it don't want cured; without it, they would have nothing!
MAGA is less than half of those who vote for the GOP, however. Poll after poll shows that many/most GOP voters don't like Trump at all. But they are victim of something SO much more important: decades of GOP fake news. So they're convinced that everyone is corrupt, that Democrats are evil, and therefore see voting for the GOP and Trump as the best option among only bad options available...
In the meantime, all WE focus on and talk about is Trump. We should be talking about the GOP and the current installation of fascism instead... IF we want to save democracy, that is.
And not JUST on a national level, either. The cleansing needs to be on a state and local level, as well. Trust me, I speak from THE Most Corrupt State of Ohio, which gives me legal standing!
Ruth, the Democrats response to the MAGA freakout shows how easily manipulated the Democrats are. A better response would be along the lines: Senator Ossoff observed that the president is not interested in doing his job. He golfs and trades stocks. He had a gifted plane insecurely retrofitted. The senator did not mention the president exploding the deficit, losing his war or murdering boaters off South America, and profiting on his office. Likewise, despite the conniptions of gutter-minded commentators, the senator did not impugn the character of Ms. Harp.
" focusing on Harp caused people not to see the real issues of the Trump administration that Ossoff was talking about."
There's a trick to that.
You just close your eyes real tight and stick your fingers in your ears. True experts like Kevin Hassett can go "Lalalalalala!" at the same time.
"US national debt crosses $40 trillion mark after more than doubling in only a decade"
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/us-national-debt-40-trillion-trump-biden-b3035982.html
Oh, Doubled in only a decade, eh?
Who was in office for six of those ten years?
That's never the right question. The question is: who passed the BILLS and executive orders that CAUSED this massive increase?
Fact is: not Biden or the Democrats. It is and has always been the GOP.
The biggest driver of the massive debt increase is the Trump 2016 tax cuts. Before that, it was the G.W. Bush tax cuts and the Iraq war.
When "we the people" finally wake up and vote for Democrats again, they have to clean up the mess the GOP left behind. That, unfortunately, costs money too. But those aren't creating any STRUCTURAL debt (= debt that cannot but increase, regardless of what the next president does), these are merely temporary deficit increases, and Democrats only pass them in response to a disaster (the 2008 Big Recession, and then Covid).
All new legislation Democrats pass always applies (since Clinton) the "pay-as-you-go" rule. That means that any new bill has to include a measure that makes sure that it is paid for and won't increase the debt.
When the GOP takes over control of DC again, the first thing they've been doing and continue to do is dropping that rule.
So yes, this is definitely on the GOP, not Biden!
EUWDTB, there has been considerable research to show that there is a huge difference between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to spending and increasing the debt. Republicans far outdo Democrats no matter who is president. If the average American, though were asked which party's presidents increased the debt most, I bet most would say Democrats. That's because Republicans somehow constantly get a pass because they give the people teensy tax breaks for short periods and make a huge deal about it while giving corporations and the super rich in general huge tax cuts, then they cut programs that actually make life possible for a lot of struggling families and individuals. It really is a scam, a massive theft by Republicans and their oligarchic buddies, with a few Democrats here and there thrown in.
Wait, wait, don't tell me. I know this one....
Yeah, but unfortunately Biden gets at least partial credit for that one too. And he deserves his share, although he did have the pandemic as an almost reasonable excuse, sigh. However, this Iran war is going to make that budget growth look downright mild if it keeps up.
Try to back up your claim with evidence: What decisions did Biden make that increased the federal structural debt?
Oh c'mon, he signed the $1.9 TRILLION dollar American Rescue Plan of 2021 to help recovery after the pandemic. I'm NOT saying it was wrong or bad, but it was DEFINITELY a HUGE contributor to the increased federal deficit.
He also added student loan relief for another $200 billion.
I personally DO NOT believe that additional federal debt is an awful thing. I just think that if you are going to attack Trump for increasing the debt, at least be fair and attribute that which was Biden's responsibility to him.
Yesterday I had said that debt is so high because of Trump and Bush and today Paul Krugman said it. In this piece
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-case-against-bond-market-panic?r=f0qfn&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
he says,
"I’m not saying that Democrats should be like Trump, and blithely ignore debt and deficits. They should by all means push for tax hikes on high incomes, close loopholes exploited by multinational corporations, strengthen IRS enforcement, and more. This could make a big difference: As Jared Bernstein and Bobby Kogan have shown, our deficit would be far more manageable if first Bush, then Trump, hadn’t rammed through tax cuts that hugely favored high-income Americans:"
What has also doubled is Treasury buy-backs of its own long-term bonds, bonds that had much lower yields being bought back at a much higher price - just to stabilise a very nervous bond market.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/19/us-treasury-doubles-debt-buyback-bond-market
They're having to borrow yet more money to finance these buy-backs when the deficit is already larger than the military budget.
New Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, said that he wanted markets to decide for themselves when he announced the end of the Fed's forward-looking reports - and that's what they've just gone and done!
Trump's comments yesterday on interest rates show that he is already getting fed up with his new Fed chair as the economic outlook worsens, despite all the "good numbers".
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SlA_Ucocq8o
The $4 billion-worth of Treasury buybacks of long-term bonds are going to run from Sept 9 to Nov 4. It's not a coincidence that the program will end the day after the Nov elections. Treasury Secy Bessent is hoping it will be enough to keep the bond market from melting down (i.e., interest rates blowing up) before the election, which, if that were to happen, would further reduce Republican chances to hold onto power in Congress. For a very good description of the growing role (and danger) that hedge funds are playing in the bond market (Bessent was a hedge fund guy), see: https://www.northerntrust.com/united-states/insights-research/asset-servicing/a-suite/insights-hub/hedge-funds-as-the-new-marginal-buyer-of-us-treasuries
"profiteering from the presidency" this line alone should be really focused in the government make it such that any president who chooses to serve shall not ever be doing so, maybe freeze their assets during their term? Idk...just a starting thought.
That would be terrible. You shouldn't have your assets frozen when you decide to run for office to help your country. That's nuts.
I would prefer to see what most Presidents have done voluntarily: any major assets would be placed into a blind trust to be managed by a person designated by the President (or whoever's assets they are) or by a standard financial business company that manages assets for its clients. There should be no permissible communications between the client and the company managing the assets.
That has been custom for most Presidents and it should be standard for Presidents, Senators, Representatives, cabinet officers and subofficers and judges. You shouldn't have to pay a price to be in office (which freezing assets would cost people) but you shouldn't be able to manipulate your assets and the market while you are in office either.
what i wanted to say was something around the liked of “restricted* from certain transactions”, not frozen so I apologize for that on my end.
Perhaps not, but at the very least all senior politicians should be required to disclose their assets - in full, blind trust and all. How can you ever hope to restore trust in your politics unless you get a grip on this habit of people using high office to enrich themselves?
I have NO PROBLEM with requiring full disclosure. I think that going into politics is an agreement with the people: I will be trustworthy if you trust me. Disclosure of all financial issues is essential for the people to have that trust. That doesn't stop you from having your assets used to grow your own wealth, which, at least as long as this country is capitalistic, is important, but you shouldn't be able to do it yourself because you are inherently in a conflict of interest. So a blind trust is the ideal thing.
There are a lot of real stories and this is absolutely one of them. The President of the United States must be accompanied by a woman who feeds him positive stories and tweets so he can cope with daily life and she has no security clearance, access to sensitive documents and an unprofessional and seemingly obsessive attachment to him. And, all of this whilst he is in obvious and serious cognitive decline and at war with one of the US's most significant enemies. No wonder the WH Comms team and the right wing social media machine went into overdrive trying to ensure that voters' minds went to sexual infidelity rather than national security.
I think all the protestations about what Ossoff said about simply traveling with her are going to feed more speculation about the nature of their relationship than anything else. The GOP doth protest too much.
Yes, they must be feeling desperate to have miscalculated so badly. American voters haven't been troubled by Trump's marital infidelities or his sexual violence. If they'd left it alone, it might have blown over. Ossoff's team was very smart to set up the WH the way it did. And, Trump responding to the question about Natalie and ballroom with look how beautifully I've decorated the Oval Office ... 😄
The Oval now looks like a Dollar Store barfed all over it with plastic gold gee-gaws! And he thinks it's the height of good taste. SMH.
It appears; the circus has grown to more than 3 rings. The clown star at the center, now, is further from the ceremonially supposed "master of ceremonies" for which he was elected, than he has ever been. It will be quite the show when the tent collapses.
Now's the time to invoke the "pay no attention to that man (or woman as the case may be) behind the curtain," Kelli. We must make sure that the story of Trump's failed presidency is...the story. Your post is a great start toward that.
Kelli, you have named the background perfectly! However, I think this time people will be spending some time looking into this Natalie-Gate to find out what is really going on. I have had a few moments to consider who and what Natalie is. My first thought was that she could be a Russian operative, groomed and sent in to keep Putin posted on Trump's insanities. Then, I thought she could be working for nearly anyone including corporate bosses, subversive groups around the country hoping she can plant their crazy ideas into Trump's demented brain. The best part is that now, people will be noticing her and what she is doing and will investigate her past, hopefully letting the rest of us know what is really going on in Trumplandia with its newest nursemaid for Baby Donnie.
EXACTLY…the only reason “Natalie” refuses to get the proper ‘Security Clearance’ is because she is as duplicitous as Trump himself…THE PERFECT PAIR…so, Melania should be thinking the “D” word, and I don’t mean ‘Donald’!
The disgust over Trump’s public comment that if Ivanka were not his DAUGHTER, he would 🤮 ‘so do her’🤮 is ringing in my ears today.
Epstein convinced DJT that his every sexual fantasy could be bought, and with enough dirty dollars any crime covered up. Epstein paid the piper, finally, and Trump will too!
PATIENCE PEOPLE!🤔
Her brother’s interview was revealing. Conservative christian homeschooled. Fixated on Bush, previously. I don’t think she’s nefarious. I think she has a screw loose.
The outrage has always been his playbook. Throwing shit at the wall while grifting anything and everything. I keep wondering when Americans are going to catch on to this administration's main ruse.
But it is curious how the FOX echo chamber keeps on keeping on. There's a whole swath of America that believes their tripe to the exclusion of all evidence. And vilifying a Democrat in Georgia - it's all one could ask for (even if it's fake).
We have friends who have Fox news on from morning til they retire at night. Talk about living a comfortable fact free existence!
I'd have a hard time with that
It changes your brain. I think its irreversable.
Or to quote the many different sources (M. Twain, G.B Shaw, etc ...) "Arguing with a fool is like wrestling with a pig. All you do is get dirty and the pig enjoys it."
I don't believe that it is a concerted campaign of confected outrage. Conservative media has been desperately waiting for something like this for a pile-on, especially with all the bad vibes coming from the news about Republicans Max Miller and Chuck Edwards to say nothing of the Epstein files saga which rolls on and on. The blizzard of angry comments is what conservative media does.
https://x.com/SundaeDivine/status/2089783714003714304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2089783714003714304%7Ctwgr%5E2931b68a213f9b826183c2b3f6a925f80c9c951f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rollingstone.com%2Fpolitics%2Fpolitical-commentary%2Fnatalie-harp-relationship-trump-frenzy-1235611409%2F
Think of it like this: you have a president with a very chequered history of really seedy sexual relations with women - E. Jean Carroll, Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal, the Access Hollywood tape and the whole Epstein thing - spending a lot of time with a clearly very troubled young lady who seems bizarrely devoted to him and a snarky comment from a senator is the story you're going with as a distraction from all the other stuff? No, I don't buy this at all.
The conservative media and the White House have made this the story by this absurd pile-on. Does Trump really need this on top of everything else? Of course, conservative media and the White House went straight to adultery as the salacious import of Ossoff's words - after all, it's sort of what Trump does!
As for Ossoff, his comment on X received more than 5 million views and he's must be delighted with all the attention he's receiving.
Trump has said nothing about this after his ugly outburst against Kristen Holmes and yesterday he was back in his happy space.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/19/trump-white-house-renovations
CLEARLY we are paralytically witnessing a train wreck of a rapidly sundowning president who can hardly maneuver a toy car on a table destroy our country on every level while people who have the power to reign him are not. I shudder as one third of Americans continue to approve of him....
"Commander in Leaf"
America can rest easier tonight. The president is on the job.
Not necessarily the job involving Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, American sailors, oil shipments, or national security.
Donald Trump is picking trees.
According to Maggie Haberman, seventeen days into the Iran war, Trump was visited at the White House and seemed far more interested in his beautification projects than in the war itself. Instead of maps of the Middle East, he reportedly showed off photographs of maple trees and explained that he was choosing trees for the White House.
He also wanted everyone to know he was good at it.
Finally, a presidential accomplishment nobody can fact-check until October.
Imagine the Situation Room:
“Mr. President, Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz.”
“Red maple?”
“Sir?”
“Beautiful tree. Tremendous tree.”
“Mr. President, commercial shipping through the strait has nearly collapsed.”
“Sugar maple?”
“Sir, this could disrupt the global oil supply.”
“Sugar maples make syrup. Very important industry.”
Somewhere, a four-star general quietly updates his résumé.
Before the war, roughly 140 ships a day normally passed through the Strait of Hormuz. On one recent Sunday, just three made the trip.
Three.
But don’t panic.
The maples are coming along beautifully.
Maybe Trump has finally discovered his true calling. Foreign policy is complicated. Landscaping is straightforward. Trees don’t ask follow-up questions, demand congressional approval, or wonder why gasoline costs more.
You can see the appeal.
The Pentagon may need to adjust its briefing strategy.
“Mr. President, we’ve identified three possible targets.”
“Interesting.”
“They’re called Crimson King, October Glory, and Autumn Blaze.”
“Now you’ve got my attention.”
There is something almost perfect about the image because Trump has always treated the presidency like a giant property-management contract. Gold fixtures. Ballrooms. Monuments. Renovations. Branding.
Unfortunately, countries are not resorts.
Wars are not construction projects.
And the Strait of Hormuz cannot be reopened with nicer shrubbery.
So perhaps this should become the unofficial slogan of the administration:
The world may be burning, but have you seen the landscaping?
As Rosie O'Donnell just said, America controls the Strait of Hormuz like I'm straight.
I'm not straight, by the way. And neither is Rosie O'Donnell. Straight out of LaLaLand.
And over 300 Trump bank accounts closed for money laundering. Corruption like we’ve never seen before. AND THE PEDOPHILE PROTECTING REPUBLICANS ARE SUPPORTING IT!!!!
Distraction Manipulation Extraction … Repeat
Let's not let this white house orange crap make us forget about the mistreatment of many thousands of people snatched off our streets without due process, the withheld Epstein Pedo-files, and the mistreatment of our service people on ships and elsewhere.
And what about the welfare of all the seamen on the other boats sitting forever in the Persian Gulf?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/us-navy-destroyer-with-300-sailors-aboard-broke-down-for-four-days-in-the-pacific/ar-AA2auaGv?ocid=msedgntp&pc=LCTS&cvid=6a86a6650f2f400db52091859578298e&ei=16
Talk about a sitting duck. 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Right. Do not be distracted from the many truly serious issues for which Trump and his enablers should be held accountable. There are plenty of actual atrocities to focus on.
Sharon, I am hoping we can keep all of the Trumplican misuse of the American people in the forefront. I do believe it is all of a piece with Trump, Miller, Vance, Musk, and a few others orchestrating things, though Trump mostly in the background due to his dementia. Republicans and a few Democrats in Congress as a whole, rubber-stamp the prescribed actions on behalf of Trump and the oligarchs who desperately want to rule this nation. There are the Roberts 6 on the Court, the incompetent but useful cabinet members as well as Republican governors and state legislatures who also blindly support this attack on this nation from within.
They all want power and money and think their oligarchic buddies will let them in on the haul. None of them realize that this insanity/EVIL has been in the works for a half-century and more and it is deep in our lives, only involving a few in number compared to the number of people in our nation.
The way to expose this entire mess could come if all of the Democratic candidates across the country in every level election, would have information like what Jon Osoff presents. The point is to present what the people need and that the candidates honestly want to work for those things and have a real plan. Then, describe a list of the presidential, congressional, judicial, and oligarchic injustices set against the American people and give specific, easy-to-follow examples and the names of those who are participating, particularly those at local, state, or federal-level that people will recognize. Ask questions about a person who would leave department heads on a decoy plane as well as Trumplandia's journalists while he took a woman with no credentials, Natalie Harp with him on the "escape plane." Ask, what kind of person does that or would even consider that? With all these issues listed, candidates can find which work best with which audiences in short videos on social media, in conversations on MSNow and Substack, and on billboards, flyers, bumper stickers, etc., whatever it takes to get the message out to America.
Make sure Epstein is mentioned regularly and that somehow there are efforts to stop investigations of his NM ranch and despite the law, refusal to release the rest of the files, and with impunity.
Senators who voted for Todd Blanche should be identified as the ones who put into office a private lawyer for a corrupt president and he will do as much damage to this nation as he can get away with, so why should we let him get away with anything. Mention with stories what ICE is doing on a regular basis, like not allowing medical treatment for innocents who are incarcerated, then releasing them to "die at home." Show videos of conditions in some of the facilities while describing the horrors through individual stories that people can relate to.
We do have weapons; it is time our Democratic candidates ignore the "oligarchic donors' wishes" and tell the truth and stand for what is right. Most of all they must hold the American people, our democracy, and our constitution as paramount.
Ruth Sheets, every day I am reminded of my thought about the Republicans who refused to accept the results of the 2020 election in November—that they should immediately be OUT OF CONGRESS. It was treason.
Kristen Holmes has identified Natalie Harp as the Truth Anti-Social propagandist of the racist attack on Michelle & Barak as apes.
CNN: "Harp, a former right-wing television host, who began working for Trump after crediting him with saving her life, Harp has become a main conduit between the president and the outside world, passing along messages from allies and setting up meetings, tapping out Truth Social posts and toting printouts of laudatory articles, all while staying in close physical proximity at all hours of the day."
Sharon the Curious: Right on! For example kidnappings and serial murders by ICE.
This Administration promotes Aryanism and uses fascist methods.
I am among those who have no rest during this oppressive Administration.
Thank you so much for sharing your, our moral convictions.
The manufactured outrage over the mention of "Natalie" is exactly what Heather says: An attempt to change the subject and attack Senator Ossoff. But now we are hearing all the very weird stories about her, while at the same time noting that Melania has all but disappeared, and I can't help being distracted. Natalie sounds certifiably nuts and has assumed great power. Please wake me when this is over.
And wasn't this the job that Laura Loomer wanted? She must feel so sad right now 🤣
I’m developing a comedy sketch calling Natalee out in the most nasty way. I do stand up as well. I can’t wait to use it. I can get as graphic as I want. Scenario: Natalee working hard at it while Trump tweets on his social media. Think about it for a moment. Ya tonight at the ELBOW room. I’ll do my new piece.
Bill, be sure to mention Natalie's dashing into the catering truck to escape with her Darling Donnie. That would make a hilarious sketch on Saturday Night Live too!
What catering truck I got it also jumping into a trunk.
But surely it's weird enough already without the boring sexual innuendoes.
I do dirty comedy. Because the world is dirty. And I’m told that I’m funny. It could go to my head but it doesn’t.
It might be that travelling in the trunk of Trump's car, crouching with him in a catering truck or chasing after his golf cart hauling a printer didn't really appeal.
'“The word “affair” was never uttered, and yet apparently every single conservative talking head in the world heard it anyway, so what does that tell you?...'"
It tells me Republicans doth protest WAY too much....and think everyone else is just as dumb as they are....methinks.
But please, do stay awake, despite wanting to laugh, go to sleep and engage in projectile vomiting all at the same time. We need all of us alert at the wheel right now.
That appropriately named slimy bastard, Newt Gingrich, has a lot of nerve telling Jon Ossoff to apologize 'for having smeared her' when he's been using aggressive, confrontational, hateful rhetoric for decades. Newt's feigned outrage just falls flat as Ossoff was just exposing the odd nature of Donold and Natalie's strange and inappropriate relationship.
Never forget that the low life Newt Gingrich served his wife with divorce papers when she was in the hospital recovering from cancer.
Yes, exactly. I haven’t forgotten, he’s a vile p.o.s.
KMD and horhai: to hear from the creepy Newt yesterday, was the worst. Beyond sickening. Gingrich is largely responsible for the mess we’re in with MAGA.
It's Come to This, if the Trumplican crazies hadn't jumped on this tiny mention in Osoff's speech, most of us would just have ignored it. Many people obviously have known about Ms. Natalie for years, but said nothing. This whole thing makes me wonder what her actual role is, exposing someone with "little" experience to so much restricted information so she can whisper in Donnie's ear. I can't help but think of "The Manchurian Candidate." No matter how much the whiners of Trumplandia complain, this is not a small thing and it fits with the rest of the white house corruption.
Oh wait, a thought just hit me! Maybe since Trump is getting so friendly toward Kim of North Korea, our Natalie is working undercover for him. Hmmm!
I disagree. Trump is not smart enough to come up with that on the fly like that. He was genuinely mad because she is his safety binky. They are having an affair. Not important considering everything else but important to see that so we see how Orange Chicken really is!
“Coq L’orange”!! (DJT’s new moniker! 😆)
Now the caterers for the ‘Ballroom’ have their obvious choice of dish to be served at the first ‘ball’…oh 😱…am I allowed to talk about the President’s body parts? Well then, the soup should be ‘Mushroom’, the whine Californian, and the ‘dessert’ a can of whipped cream served on a pillow!
What!!! 🤷🏼♀️
Melania may well not have disappeared; what's that saying about "a woman scorned?" I have a feeling that the 💩 has yet to hit the fan.
Indeed. I would not want to be anywhere close to tRump when that hits the fan LOL!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Natalie Harp's current idol was not the first U.S. president she had written letters to, according to her brother (CNN, recent Erin Burnett interview). During the Iraq war, he said she wrote to Dubya, who ignored her.
The situation with Natalie Harp is not good. He will shun her at some point and the fall-out will be brutal.
No blond is in forever.
They sound the perfect couple then don't they, certifiably nuts.
For the very reasons you mention, this is hardly the story one would want to go with as a mere distraction. All that's actually happened is this has become yet another scandal to go along with all the others afflicting Trump and his failing administration.
Jon Ossoff just gave Democrats a master class in how to seize control of the narrative and, for a change, put Republicans on the defensive. One of Trump’s feral abilities is to dominate control of the news cycle. It was refreshing to see a Democrat on the offense for a change.
What's with the "refreshing" comment? Turn around and you'll see JB Priztker, John Ossoff, Mark Kelly, Elise Slotkin, Pete Buttigieg, Gavin Newsom, James Talarico, and about 27 other Democrats and their grandmothers all doing exactly the same.
That's the planet I live on, at least.
There are many excellent Democrat politicians, all excellent communicators. I never said nor implied there weren't. But none have managed to tweak Republicans' noses like Ossoff just did. And he did it in such a classy manner without getting down in the dirt with them. He let Republicans jump to their own filthy assumptions.
Totally agree. I don't understand how people get these strange monovision ideas.
Urban Hermit, I would like to see every Democratic candidate go on the offense has Osoff has. If they all do it and in their own way using examples and stories, there is a good chance the message of white house corruption and Republican approval of Trump's theft from the American people may get through.
Troy Jackson is definitely on the offensive in ME. He is attacking Collins and Trump several times a day. Meanwhile over 100 billionaires are spending up to $300 million to get her reelected.
It's essential that people go to the free press, like Substack and YouTube, the Guardian, etc. to get their news and not from the MSM.
YouTube are you kidding? It’s full of AI generated garbage. I use it exclusively for my recordings. Search “Catman Bill - Hartford.”
I disagree.
There are so many important issues that need to be dealt with. So many important things that need to be said. We absolutely do not need to waste airtime and print space on 'are they or aren't they?' instead of actual campaign platforms.
Focus on getting the Epstein files…
The comment from Stephen Cheung is straight from middle school. Meanwhile, while the federal government sees the biggest danger to the country being people who pick lettuce and clean homes, China is building the future.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2026-05-26/china-s-plans-for-an-urban-super-city-video?cmpid=hong-kong-edition&utm_campaign=hong-kong-edition&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=260820&utm_content=7895
And human hand grenade Cheung wants to be considered to get the position of press secretary. Yes! Do it! He'll do our side so much good!
Looks exactly like Odd Job from the old Goldfinger James Bond flick trying to off Sean Connery with his hat and a saw later on, I think. Kree-pee....but dead-on.
Jackoff Cheung is a good nickname for him too.
As the son and nephew of men and women that served in WWII and even WWI, I am still offended at the political stunt Trump pulled at Arlington in 2024. Steven Cheung assaulted a guard at Arlington and then did a photo op for Trump's election campaign.
Of course, the rotund Cheung will never suffer any consequences for assaulting a Federal employee.
I recently finished Japanese writer Seichō Matsumoto’s crime thriller, “Tokyo Express.”
Superb. Am midway into another of his, “Inspector Imanishi Investigates.”
Matsumoto (1909 – 1992) won Japan’s highest literary awards, though being from the working classes and never having attended any university. He’s famous for his views of a Japanese society he saw as having rewarded corruptions in high places, as Heather cites criminal Donald for normalizing similar corruptions atop the U.S.
Also superb, plots defying understanding things till the very end.
Heather’s been questioning any understanding our own U.S. recently, especially as to how the criminal Donald base remains at about a third of all Americans – enough to keep floating his criminality and corruption, given that another third of Americans can’t be bothered ever to vote. Why in her Letter today does his assault on America (all the non-dictator world) even worse now hurt our military in war zones, betray our foreign allies, and further betray the U.S. working classes about whom the criminal has ever only lied?
One reason for our apathy, according to Bernie Sanders, is how, as he put it talking with Mehdi Hasan yesterday, “The Democratic leadership is . . . way, way out of touch with where ordinary people are.”
Why, Mehdi asked Bernie, have U.S. progressives so well won recent primaries in spite of being massively outspent by establishment Dems and superpacs? Bernie’s answer – because many or more of us than MAGA still put Lincoln’s “of the people, by the people, for the people” over the billionaires and all their MAGA-accepted corruptions.
Our own plot twists as those in Seichō Matsumoto? We have to wait till Nov. 3.
Phil, your comment propelled me to my bookshelves to find Tillie Olsen's celebrated "Tell Me a Riddle" (1961). In this collection of four short stories, she writes movingly about the lives and struggles of working-class people, especially women, and of an aging immigrant couple, which won the prestigious O. Henry Award.
Anyone running for office in the spirit of public service would do well to splash the cold water of her characters on their face.
A great movie made from it, too, Susan.
Lila Kedrova as the grandmother has one of the most touching scenes in film history when, in San Francisco visiting granddaughter (played by Brooke Adams), she tells of the experience of pogroms back in Russia.
The granddaughter had been having personal problems, which the grandmother knew to be hurtful. But the latter so beautifully put things in perspective, that the young woman was not only appreciative, but marvelously moved by her grandmother's tact and wisdom.
I will have to see that movie--thank you!
Fascist Republican Moral Depravity: Why Do WE the People Tolerate This?
Yes there's the despicable Israeli genocide tolerated by men and women but this behavior underscores the tolerance women have for themselves as societal political activists.
Republicans know they tread in hypermasculinity(testosterone anyone?), misogyny(grab them by the pussy), sexual scandals, irreprehensible behavior but all is good because we're sending people to the state legislatures and Congress.
How is it that a country can tolerate this immorally depraved group of people? Why is this tolerable behavior? How is it that Republican women tolerate such immoral abuse? Have they no respect for themselves as women? How can women dismiss this? Where are the Republican men condemning this immorality? Why don't Democratic women come forward and denounce this abuse of women?
So when Democrats like Ossoff call out this moral depravity, the fascists get all huffy puffy. This "Natalie thing" is the tip of the iceberg and the fascists know that what is being laid bare is constantly lying below the surface and they want to deny what they have become. A huge slime pit of immorality they cannot escape from.
"How is it that a country can tolerate this immorally depraved group of people? Why is this tolerable behavior? How is it that Republican women tolerate such immoral abuse?"
The answer to that is evangelical indoctrination, and a toxic marriage between tech billionaires and evangelical fanatics. It's pretty vital that we all understand the role of evangelicalism in this dystopia we're living. Substacker Andra Watkins does phenomenal work breaking down how evangelicalism is influencing every insane policy, and I recommend the documentary SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE for a really concise look at how these abusive fanatics took over an unimaginable percentage of the US population.
Too often, they quote a Bible that doesn't exist. And the evangelical faithful never listen; they simply and blindly follow.
Apropos of this - I'm happy to see Rep. Jared Huffman has just released a book on exactly this: No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIXCTv6e_Lg
A tale as old as time - you gift wrap shit in religion and people feel justified and self-righteous.
Alexandra,I agree about Andra Watkins who I’ve been following for several years.At first her interpretation of how Project 2025 would affect us sounded like conspiracy theories although she has been spot on….
Joyce Vance also had a great interview with Jared Huffman.I didn’t know the original J6 report was to include a section on the “Christian” nationalists influence/involvement but Liz Cheney vetoed as she didn’t want to offend her conservative “Christian” base.😡
https://substack.com/@joycevance/note/p-209317977?r=fqsxl&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
No choice at this stage. Country bamboozled. Voted for mafia fraud.
We (the People) always have choices. We can and should show up, stand up and speak up.
For me problem is fear. He snaps his fingers an army arrives. Or limos. Or bevy of blond young women. Like bizarre fairy tale.
So I’ve seen this Harp woman on TV though I hardly watch it. I noticed she’s always carrying a large bag. I’ve seen it described as a diaper bag, but that couldn’t be right, could it?
I've read that her bag is full of equipment for printing out her non-stop missives to her boss.
What does Mrs. Trump think of this relationship? And what about Ms. Loomer? Inquiring minds want to know... Actually, we don't really care...do U?
One political cartoon I just saw, had Mrs. Trump thanking Harp for keeping Trump away from her. Might be some truth there.
i can't believe you people think it's a 'real marriage'. even after knowing that Melania did the nude photo shoots...almost forgot...AND that she was part of the Epstein crowd...
I presume she has an iron-clad prenup, renegotiated after the Access Hollywood tape came out. She will walk away from this train wreck a multlimillionaire.
Yes. Affair in plain sight. Focused on grass rather than war. Selfish crook, fraud. America is doomed.
Ossoff's Razor -- the simplest explanation usually turns out to be the right one....with apologies to William of Ockam, who's been dead so many centuries he no longer cares if you turn his name into a pun.
Thank you, ICTT! Puns are the best. That Aristophanes used them sanctifies them. Living with ICE sirens 24/7 and a local gulag, at 92 must cling to every shred of humor.
Hang in there, Virginia!
Wading past the faux outrage pumped up by fake people, Tuesday's primaries underscored the extent to which MAGA is now falling to pieces.
Mango Mussolini's endorsement turned out to be the kiss of death in at least two districts where his preferred fruitcake lost because the electorate didn't much care for fruitcake. In Pennsylvania's Butler County, where he got shot during the campaign trail and won by something like 14 points in 2024, Republicans narrowly lost a state assembly seat they've held for 30 years, adding a critical new voice to Governor Shapiro's slim Democratic majority.
South Carolina's Graham said she 'didn't know much 'bout no national security' which isn't really the right thing to say at a time when America's security is at its lowest level since 9/11. And former Florida Republican Congressman David Jolly, now a "proud Democrat" won the state's gubernatorial primary against another Trumpie Loony-Tuney, who'll likely go the same way Herschel Walker did in Georgia.
Dig past the Natalie Twinkletoes story and muse on Orange Turd's now saying he will ask his new bestie, Baby Kim, to give up all his nukes voluntarily. As Robert Hubbell says, "while he's at it, he should try to convince water to run uphill and sunlight to slow down."
These people are running on fumes, no matter what they claim, or what they pretend to be outraged at. There's a ginormous crash-and-burn Hindenburg moment coming for this clown-car of fruitcakes, fakes, fascists and fuckups. That's the story beneath the story. We should not lose sight of it.
Thank you for highlighting these points. I have noticed they seem to be running on fumes. They commit own goals on a regular basis. It reminds me of the old saying about giving someone enough time and space to damage themselves. Thus saving you the effort. Of course, we will keep adding to the hits. The Art of War speaks to the enemy doing work for you and other wise phrases. I'm just too tired to list them all. We have such a smart group here I'm sure others could add many to the list.
The two most pressing matters, for me at least, are the Epstein Files and the national debt. If I had the moxy and the media platform, I would write . . .
. . . that if the cultural rot and those responsible for it are not scraped away without pity or mercy, the citizenry will be so de-moralized that republican governance will be unsustainable; that is, the rule of law will give way to the rule of the rich.
. . . that national debt taken on since 1981 represents 75-80% of the $51 trillion transferred to the top 1%, principally through tax cuts; that is, the tax cuts f*cked the last two generations of the middle class and its manner of financing will f*uck the next two or more generations.
I'll see your two pressing matters and raise you a third -- our national security. Most of us really do not understand just how weak and vulnerable we now are on the world stage, just how much credibility we've lost, how many friends and allies we've managed to piss off right at the moment friends and allies are sorely needed, and just how deeply our anti-terrorism and counter-intelligence capabilities have been undermined and hollowed out by creepy-crawlies like Stephen Miller, who'd much rather use those powers against taco stand operators and mamacitas in California and Arizona instead.
Like a strong, unassailable dollar, we tend to take our security for granted --- right up until another 'black swan' 9/11 moment comes crashing down on us.
The decoy Air Force One was one of those potentially calamitous moments and anyone that was left on that plane knows it. That's probably why condescension Karoline Leavitt is leaving, she wasn't invited onto the catering truck switcheroo.
The Trump-Epstein files and the crushing national debt are indeed most pressing matters, as is our national security of a most monstrous urgency(Trump's treasonous, traitorous actions, agenda & Bond villain corruption).
But I'll up the ante, it's also our Nation itself, the actual lands, the Commons. Plans for selling off, logging and liquidating our national forests so this regime can get to more of their ill gotten gains, the data centers that are being proposed and built anywhere and everywhere, in a city near you or me, National Parks being neglected and funding diverted for Donold's D.C. vanity projects, National Monuments being reduced, exploited or marred by extractive industries. Drilling here and there, on land or off the coasts, they don't care about anything but goddamned money and that includes our Nation, America the beautiful...it's our republic, we must keep it...for us & for posterity's sake...
Can’t resist adding a fourth….the gutting of government expertise. At the national level, we are being “led” by a group of idiots and morons who’ve done a good job of getting rid of anyone who knows anything about anything. What is really chilling to me is that were the economy peachy-keen in the middle of all of this chaotic insanity, Stinky Diapers’ poll numbers would be 15 points higher. That’s how close we are to outright fascism in this country.
The Key Resources Underpinning Modern Economies with Ed Conway | Archive TGS 127 (Aug 19 2026) [Conversation originally Recorded on May 7th, 2024] @NateHagens
https://youtu.be/fpYb9bTj35c?si=xnEv1PkIxueCjx10
Ed Conway's book Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization focuses precisely on those six foundational substances: salt, sand, copper, iron, oil, and lithium. The book explores how these essential commodities underpin global infrastructure, technology, and human history.
The Six Materials and Their Roles
1. Sand: The base for concrete, glass, and the silicon chips powering modern electronics.
2. Salt: Vital for human biology, chemical manufacturing, and pharmaceutical production.
3. Copper: The vital conductive metal used throughout electrical grids and digital wiring.
4. Iron: The primary ingredient for steel and the structural skeleton of modern buildings.
5. Oil: The energy source that drove the industrial economy and modern transport.
6. Lithium: The key element enabling high-capacity batteries for phones and electric vehicles.
JaKsaa, thank you for this list. Might I add antimony, a mineral I have been getting to know because it is critical for national security--military hardware and munitions, and advanced optics and electronics. The U.S. does have some natural deposits, but we rely to the nth degree on imports; I don't know why, but I believe we are beginning to mine it.
Guess who has gobs of antimony? China.
Professor Richardson -- I'm sorry to compare your summary to a sensationalist article from a tabloid newspaper like the New York Post, but that's how it sounds. It's not you, it's the news content.
Similar to how Mark Milley became concerned about presidential decision-making during Trump's final months in office in his first term, has the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Dan 'Razin' Caine, done anything to create procedural safeguards to potentially override the president? Probably not, since he is a Trump appointee, but perhaps he has had a change of heart.
Mark Kennedy...HCR documents our culture too, and her first sentence tonight summed up today's shallowness of what the legacy media feeds the public..."The political world has been consumed over the past few days with a Republican meltdown about Trump’s aide Natalie Harp."
Agree.
This Letter does report the reality of mainstream media, so we can't blame the messenger. Still, after working at avoiding being bombarded repeatedly with this tabloid fluff and finding unexpectedly that it followed me here felt disappointing to me too. Sigh... the present political world IS disappointing.
It’s important to know that someone with very privileged access to the president and to much of the sensitive info he has access to, is potentially in a position to influence him. That she seems to have a degree from Liberty University (Falwell) doesn’t exactly instill confidence.
"If you like my books, I’m betting that you’ll like these too!"~ Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor
JaKsaa especially likes #6. 'Deep Unlearning: The Rise of AI and the Radicalization of a Tech Idealist' By Timnit Gebru
Gebru has been warning about the profound dangers of tech fascism from inside the belly of the beast for many years now. Her scholarship and analysis helped inform mine and Astra’s understanding of this threat, especially this essay with Émile P. Torres, and I cannot wait for her text to be out in the world. I’ll be writing a blurb in the coming months, but in the meantime, here’s the publisher’s summary:
“Timnit Gebru has been present at nearly every inflection point in tech’s recent history. She was an engineer at Apple on the cusp of the iPhone’s first release, a PhD student at Stanford’s computer vision lab as her advisor worked on the enormous datasets so crucial to AI’s development, and the most senior Black woman on the Ethical AI team at Google as DeepMind and Open AI took over the field of artificial intelligence—where she was forced out for having raised the alarm about bias in large language models, causing global shockwaves in the tech industry… Over the course of her life, Gebru has seen up close how the destructive ideologies and outsized egos of the tech world have come to wreak havoc on our environment, our economies, and the lives of billions of people. She has also come to understand how we could have made a different choice every step of the way, and how we still can.”
Not out until 2027, but available for pre-order and will be worth the wait."
'Six (Other) Books to Pre-Order Now'
PATTERNS by NAOMI KLEIN
AUG 19 2026 | Substack
https://naomiklein.substack.com/p/six-other-books-to-pre-order-now?r=kxzps&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer
AI Hype, Ethics & Algorithmic Racial Bias (8/13/26) @DemocracyNow!
https://youtu.be/aCB-NQtsKrs?is=6OETtdvRxsZQoWM_
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“Regime Change” and “Careless People” are both superb - and highly recommended for anyone alarmed at the decline of US and world politics.
If you really want to learn about the decline and fall of the US empire, subscribe to the substacks from military history professors Phillips P. O'Brie and Robert Pape. They don't hesitate to call it like it is.
Phillips O’Brien is excellent.
Harping on Natalie to distract from the President’s lack of interest in the war, over interest in changing the DC landscape, raking in money by every means possible while leaving no sign of where it ends up, and ignoring the exploding national debt is business as usual for this administration. A star struck young woman and a senile old sexual abuser are an interesting combination. Anything imaginable is apparently fair comment. President Clinton could possibly relate. The real issues of war, environmental destruction, and fiscal corruption take the back burners. Keep your eyes on the prize and your mind open. Contact your representatives and vote Blue.